Ravine
It's New Year's Day, and we're getting the year started right with Ravine by Mathew Sisson and Stellar Factory.
I backed Ravine on Kickstarter because of our love for cooperative games, and it has become one of our favorites over the past couple of months. It is a quick and satisfying game for 3-6 players, or more with the 6-9 player expansion. The suggested age is 10+, although Benjamin (6) and Isaiah (7, but likes to say that he's 8) have no problems playing without assistance.
The directions are relatively easy to understand, but if you don't like to read or are a visual learner, there are how-to-play videos available online through the publisher and various websites.
You and your compatriots were passengers on a commercial airliner that has crash-landed on an island. In order to survive, you will have to work together to gather food and resources, build tools and shelter, and defend yourselves from beasts and the elements.
Although I tried to dissuade him, Isaiah insisted that we play at the "difficult" level, which requires the players to survive for a minimum of 14 nights, increased from the beginner and normal levels. I was hesitant, but realized that we hadn't lost a cooperative game in a while. The boys have become accustomed to losing gracefully (after lots of Forbidden Island), so I relented and we tried the difficult setting for the first time.
After I making a phone call, I sat down to play, and noticed that Benjamin and Isaiah had already separated the cards into their respective piles and "rolled their hearts" to determine their starting health. Everyone starts with at least three full heart tokens, and "rolls" the remaining three tokens to determine whether they are full or empty at the start of the game. The boys had six full heart tokens each, and I expressed some disbelief at the likelihood that they both rolled so well. Against the odds, they rerolled, and managed to both get all full tokens again. I guess that showed me what I know about probability.
Our luck continued throughout the course of the game, and we managed to not lose anyone to wild beasts or "press your luck" mistakes due to overzealous foragers. There were a few nights with animal attacks, but Isaiah had stockpiled spears to beat them back. We even lost our shelter to a flood, but combined our resources to build another on the following day.
One of Ravine's best mechanics for cooperative play is ability to share food and materials with teammates in order to ensure the survival of the entire group. With young children it is refreshing to see them work together at a game rather than trying to outdo one another in mortal combat.
Ravine ends when you reveal the "Rescued" card, which is mixed in with the final three cards of the "Night" pile during setup. Ours was the final card in the deck. There were cheers, and Isaiah dabbed...at least, I think that's what it's called.
He may have misunderstood what I meant about keeping an online journals of the games we play this year. Or maybe he knew that he could express his thoughts better than I. Here is his review:
Benjamin suggested that if we wanted to make the game easier for younger children, we could give them additional heart tokens to ensure that they can forage without being worried about dying.
***Parental advisory note*** I felt that the Bone Pile mechanic and the accompanying spirits that it summons were not necessary for our game. As such, I removed those four cards from the deck. The overall game was not affected. Generally, I feel that my children are mature enough to understand and differentiate between reality and make-believe; however, I like to discuss spiritual matters with my children when we encounter them.
Genevieve was watching a movie with my mom, who is visiting for the holidays. She joined us for a bit and helped me decide how many heart tokens to wager on foraging attempts. Usually we'll deal her in and the boys will assist her in choosing actions.
All in all, this was an excellent introduction into what I hope will be an excellent year of gaming with the family. Happy New Year all!
I backed Ravine on Kickstarter because of our love for cooperative games, and it has become one of our favorites over the past couple of months. It is a quick and satisfying game for 3-6 players, or more with the 6-9 player expansion. The suggested age is 10+, although Benjamin (6) and Isaiah (7, but likes to say that he's 8) have no problems playing without assistance.
The directions are relatively easy to understand, but if you don't like to read or are a visual learner, there are how-to-play videos available online through the publisher and various websites.
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| Layout - the boys were both pretty with their heart "rolls" |
You and your compatriots were passengers on a commercial airliner that has crash-landed on an island. In order to survive, you will have to work together to gather food and resources, build tools and shelter, and defend yourselves from beasts and the elements.
Although I tried to dissuade him, Isaiah insisted that we play at the "difficult" level, which requires the players to survive for a minimum of 14 nights, increased from the beginner and normal levels. I was hesitant, but realized that we hadn't lost a cooperative game in a while. The boys have become accustomed to losing gracefully (after lots of Forbidden Island), so I relented and we tried the difficult setting for the first time.
After I making a phone call, I sat down to play, and noticed that Benjamin and Isaiah had already separated the cards into their respective piles and "rolled their hearts" to determine their starting health. Everyone starts with at least three full heart tokens, and "rolls" the remaining three tokens to determine whether they are full or empty at the start of the game. The boys had six full heart tokens each, and I expressed some disbelief at the likelihood that they both rolled so well. Against the odds, they rerolled, and managed to both get all full tokens again. I guess that showed me what I know about probability.
Our luck continued throughout the course of the game, and we managed to not lose anyone to wild beasts or "press your luck" mistakes due to overzealous foragers. There were a few nights with animal attacks, but Isaiah had stockpiled spears to beat them back. We even lost our shelter to a flood, but combined our resources to build another on the following day.
One of Ravine's best mechanics for cooperative play is ability to share food and materials with teammates in order to ensure the survival of the entire group. With young children it is refreshing to see them work together at a game rather than trying to outdo one another in mortal combat.
Ravine ends when you reveal the "Rescued" card, which is mixed in with the final three cards of the "Night" pile during setup. Ours was the final card in the deck. There were cheers, and Isaiah dabbed...at least, I think that's what it's called.
He may have misunderstood what I meant about keeping an online journals of the games we play this year. Or maybe he knew that he could express his thoughts better than I. Here is his review:
Benjamin suggested that if we wanted to make the game easier for younger children, we could give them additional heart tokens to ensure that they can forage without being worried about dying.
***Parental advisory note*** I felt that the Bone Pile mechanic and the accompanying spirits that it summons were not necessary for our game. As such, I removed those four cards from the deck. The overall game was not affected. Generally, I feel that my children are mature enough to understand and differentiate between reality and make-believe; however, I like to discuss spiritual matters with my children when we encounter them.
Genevieve was watching a movie with my mom, who is visiting for the holidays. She joined us for a bit and helped me decide how many heart tokens to wager on foraging attempts. Usually we'll deal her in and the boys will assist her in choosing actions.
All in all, this was an excellent introduction into what I hope will be an excellent year of gaming with the family. Happy New Year all!
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