Tuff Stuff's Gamer Summer/Fall 1996 - 65 - Gaming Guide
dle-earth" faithful to Tolkien's world.
Visually, the artwork has an overall cohe-
siveness, giving the impression that
every card is a piece of a much larger
tapestry. During play, there's a real sense
of movement, of characters crossing a
mystical land on a quest. Corrupt-ion, a
big theme in Tolkien's books, is equally
important in the game. Good characters
can slowly be turned to evil - and if all
the players' wizards are corrupted, then
no one wins the game.
Beginner's rules are included with
"Middle-earth" to make learning the
game easier. As a player becomes more
skilled, he can then expand the scope of
the game. He may even travel to Mount
Doom and try to destroy The One Ring
before it destroys him.
-Mike O'Connell
ONE ON ONE HOCKEY
Playoff Corp.
Visually, the artwork has an overall cohe-
siveness, giving the impression that
every card is a piece of a much larger
tapestry. During play, there's a real sense
of movement, of characters crossing a
mystical land on a quest. Corrupt-ion, a
big theme in Tolkien's books, is equally
important in the game. Good characters
can slowly be turned to evil - and if all
the players' wizards are corrupted, then
no one wins the game.
Beginner's rules are included with
"Middle-earth" to make learning the
game easier. As a player becomes more
skilled, he can then expand the scope of
the game. He may even travel to Mount
Doom and try to destroy The One Ring
before it destroys him.
-Mike O'Connell
ONE ON ONE HOCKEY
Playoff Corp.
Of all the sports-related CCGs out there,
"One on One" is the easiest to learn and
play. Even people who don't know hock-
ey can learn the game in 15 minutes.
Players put together a deck of 50 cards
featuring their favorite National Hockey
League players, pick six starters, and
then skate, pass, shoot, intercept, and
just plain hustle with the remaining
cards in the deck. Final execution of a
play is determined by the roll of col-
lectible dice, which come complete with
NHL team logos. When players' 50-card
decks run out, the game's over.
Besides being easy to learn, "One on
One" is also a decent game. The skill val-
ues on the player cards are equivalent to
those exhibited on the ice. And because
skill plays an integral part in winning,
having a Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky
in your deck makes a big difference.
To satisfy card collectors, Playoff
included more than 30 ultra-rare cards
that appear once in every two boxes. So
if you. want to complete a set, it's going
to take a few cases to do it. Further, the
26 different dice (one per team) are only
sold with the starter decks, three per
deck. And the dice are not all created
equal; having the "right" dice for your
deck greatly enhances your chances of
winning the game. This being the case, it
would be nice if Playoff offered indepen-
dent kicker packs of dice.
"One on One" is the easiest to learn and
play. Even people who don't know hock-
ey can learn the game in 15 minutes.
Players put together a deck of 50 cards
featuring their favorite National Hockey
League players, pick six starters, and
then skate, pass, shoot, intercept, and
just plain hustle with the remaining
cards in the deck. Final execution of a
play is determined by the roll of col-
lectible dice, which come complete with
NHL team logos. When players' 50-card
decks run out, the game's over.
Besides being easy to learn, "One on
One" is also a decent game. The skill val-
ues on the player cards are equivalent to
those exhibited on the ice. And because
skill plays an integral part in winning,
having a Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky
in your deck makes a big difference.
To satisfy card collectors, Playoff
included more than 30 ultra-rare cards
that appear once in every two boxes. So
if you. want to complete a set, it's going
to take a few cases to do it. Further, the
26 different dice (one per team) are only
sold with the starter decks, three per
deck. And the dice are not all created
equal; having the "right" dice for your
deck greatly enhances your chances of
winning the game. This being the case, it
would be nice if Playoff offered indepen-
dent kicker packs of dice.
Those gripes aside, the overall level
of play on this game is better than I'd
expected. The action can be as fast and
furious as a real hockey game - once you
get the hang of it. With fewer ultra-rares
and easier access to the dice, I'd give this
game a total rave.
-Steve Fritz
JAMES BOND 007
Heartbreaker Hobbies
All the elements that you know and love
about moviedom's greatest secret agent
make their way into this game. James
Bond - Agent 007 - faces insidious
henchmen and unbelievable obstacles on
the way to thwarting an evil master-
mind's nefarious plot.
of play on this game is better than I'd
expected. The action can be as fast and
furious as a real hockey game - once you
get the hang of it. With fewer ultra-rares
and easier access to the dice, I'd give this
game a total rave.
-Steve Fritz
JAMES BOND 007
Heartbreaker Hobbies
All the elements that you know and love
about moviedom's greatest secret agent
make their way into this game. James
Bond - Agent 007 - faces insidious
henchmen and unbelievable obstacles on
the way to thwarting an evil master-
mind's nefarious plot.
The game offers a variety of Bond
cards that highlight the many facets and
faces of the character. "The Man for the
Job" Bond provides cunning, savoir-
faire, and the ability to operate any land-
based vehicle. "The Marksman" Bond
furnishes the cunning with a double
ability in marksmanship. During a game,
a player outfits one of these Bond cards
with Q gadgets and sends him out to
defeat a certain evil plot. For every plot
defeated, a player receives points
towards victory.
Every card features a character,
object, or scene from one of the bevy of
Bond films. Among the bad guys are Dr.
No, Blofeld, Jaws, Oddjob, and Auric
Goldfinger. The gallery of classic Bond
women includes Pussy Galore, Honey
Wilder, Tiffany Case, and Xenla Onatopp
from last year's GoldenEye. Each photo
is marked with the title of the movie
from which each subject is taken, so you
can build a deck around your favorite
Bond film.
The "James Bond 007" rulebook is
straightforward and easy to understand;
plus, it offers a complete card checklist
at the end. Along with the usual com-
mon, uncommon, and rare cards, the
game boasts 10 chase cards to further
pique the interests of Bond enthusiasts
and collectors alike.
cards that highlight the many facets and
faces of the character. "The Man for the
Job" Bond provides cunning, savoir-
faire, and the ability to operate any land-
based vehicle. "The Marksman" Bond
furnishes the cunning with a double
ability in marksmanship. During a game,
a player outfits one of these Bond cards
with Q gadgets and sends him out to
defeat a certain evil plot. For every plot
defeated, a player receives points
towards victory.
Every card features a character,
object, or scene from one of the bevy of
Bond films. Among the bad guys are Dr.
No, Blofeld, Jaws, Oddjob, and Auric
Goldfinger. The gallery of classic Bond
women includes Pussy Galore, Honey
Wilder, Tiffany Case, and Xenla Onatopp
from last year's GoldenEye. Each photo
is marked with the title of the movie
from which each subject is taken, so you
can build a deck around your favorite
Bond film.
The "James Bond 007" rulebook is
straightforward and easy to understand;
plus, it offers a complete card checklist
at the end. Along with the usual com-
mon, uncommon, and rare cards, the
game boasts 10 chase cards to further
pique the interests of Bond enthusiasts
and collectors alike.
-Mike O'Connell
GRIDIRON
FANTASYFOOTBALL
Precedence Publishing/
Upper Deck
This game - the first football CCG entry -
is not licensed by the National Football
League or NFL Players Inc. That means
you won't find actual NFL players, team
logos, or uniforms here. And now that
licensed games have become a reality,
"Gridiron" will have to rely on its
strengths as a game to make it in the
marketplace.
Even if this CCG did contain real-life
pro player likenesses, however, the game
offers little to fans of NFL-style football.
"Gridiron" is set in a world where teams
compete by sending cheerleaders to dis-
tract opposing players. If that doesn't
work, they might spike a star opponent's
Gatorade or just send in the mooks. Every
so often, they even play some football.
GRIDIRON
FANTASYFOOTBALL
Precedence Publishing/
Upper Deck
This game - the first football CCG entry -
is not licensed by the National Football
League or NFL Players Inc. That means
you won't find actual NFL players, team
logos, or uniforms here. And now that
licensed games have become a reality,
"Gridiron" will have to rely on its
strengths as a game to make it in the
marketplace.
Even if this CCG did contain real-life
pro player likenesses, however, the game
offers little to fans of NFL-style football.
"Gridiron" is set in a world where teams
compete by sending cheerleaders to dis-
tract opposing players. If that doesn't
work, they might spike a star opponent's
Gatorade or just send in the mooks. Every
so often, they even play some football.
Purely as a card game, "Gridiron's"
main drawback is the game engine.
Players have to keep track of five differ-
ent groups of cards: team cards, offen-
sive and defensive actions, a challenge
deck, and a spare playbook of cards on
the side. And the execution check ele-
ment leaves a lot to be desired. Finally, it
doesn't help that the card art is, quite
frankly, rather amateurish.
All told, 1 don't think "Gridiron" is
strong enough to compete with NFL-
licensed football card games - and rumor
has it that there will soon be more than
one available. Even The Upper Deck Co. has
