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AICN TABLETOP: CINEPLEXITY, a game every AICN reading gamer should own!!
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
Well, since there appears to be a little bird still in transit (more on that later), I figured I would pop back into the Wayback Machine and talk about one of my favorite games that’s been out for a while. Why? Because it hasn’t gotten the love it deserves, and more importantly, it’s a game that every game loving geek that reads AICN should own. No, I’m not exaggerating. If you like a good party game, you must have CINEPLEXITY in your collection.
Being a cinephile, I love playing movie related games. There’s something about the mental gymnastics of it that gets the juices flowing and promotes both thought and conversation about one of my oldest and deepest loves. But there’s a problem. If you’re anything like me, you might find it hard to find friends willing to play these games with you. I mean, once you’ve beaten SCENE IT in one turn without anyone else getting a chance to go, people kind of wince at the notion of getting creamed. The trouble with most movie related games is that they rely on direct knowledge – trivia skills if you will – and the person who has seen the most movies usually wins. I’ve got a closet full of these games. I love them. But when my wife and I go over to fellow geek households, THIS is the game we tote along.
I’ve played this thing with dozens of people. Filmmakers, geek buddies, game designers – my favorite game was with Drafthouse owners Tim and Karrie League at a post Fantastic Fest party with a number of their nearest and dearest employees over pizza and beer. While many of the hardcores were initially all about it, a few of the less knowledgeable members were a little reticent. But five minutes in everyone was having a blast. Because CINEPLEXITY isn’t about how much you know about movies or how many movies you’ve seen – it is about how well you know the movies you know.
An incredibly simple game, you can teach someone to play in under a minute. The box comes with nothing more than a tray of cards, with each card reading one of a number of categories. The categories include props, scenes, settings, theme, actors, characters, genre, production and critiques. Each card has something on it that pertains to that category involving movies. For example: “SETTING: CHICAGO” and “PROPS: ROBOTS OR ANDROIDS”. At any given time there are two cards on the table and one person begins as THE DIRECTOR. The point of the game is to be the first person to name a film that contains BOTH elements of the cards in play. For example, if the previous two cards were listed, someone might say “I, Robot.” And they’d be right. But if someone says “Wait, was that Chicago?” then it is up to the director to make the call. If the director says yes, the person who named the movie gets one of the cards, the next person in clockwise rotation becomes the director, they pull a new card to replace the old one – and it begins again.
Say CHICAGO was the card given to the correct person in the previous example. The next card pulled is “PRODUCTION: TITLE STARTS WITH M THRU S.” Think of a movie with Robots or androids that begins with a title starting with M through S. How about Silent Running? Bam! “SETTING: RESORT, HOTEL OR CABIN” starting with M thru S. Got one? How about The Shining?
The only time it gets a little weird is with the CRITIQUE cards. Those actually require the director to make a judgment call. With topics like “A GOOD FAMILY FILM” or “THE MUSIC WAS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE” OR “PERFECT DATE MOVIE” the director is forced to decide whether the respondent actually named something that fits the bill and is fully allowed to say ‘Fuck that, that movie sucked.”
What works most for this game is the free, easy going format and just how it leads to great conversations. Someone will mention a movie no one else has thought of in years. Or someone will call forth a movie so bad the whole table winces at the idea of even thinking about. Someone will share their love or hate for a pick or argue the merits of whether or not the movie stated actually fits the bill – whether by technicality or just being wrong. The end result is a bunch of friends sitting around talking about movies for hours while jumping through mental hoops that really get your juices flowing. And it continues like that until you’ve gotten a certain number of cards based upon how many players there are. Or supposedly. Of the dozens of games I’ve played, I’ve never once played that way. We just play until the beer runs out or the conversation winds down – and then you tally up the number of cards you have. Most cards wins. It really is that simple.
If you’re any sort of party game fan, or like me have a closet full of movie related games, this is a MUST OWN. You can watch a group of giggling teenage girls play a demo of it here, and shriek at just how different of movie choices they think of from you. Or you can play the demo here, especially entertaining if you’re reading this while bored and looking for something to do. This is made by the Out of the Box folks, the same company that makes APPLES TO APPLES. You can pick this up at their site (linked above), at your friendly local game store (Austinites, I know for a fact that the Dragon’s Lair keeps this in stock) or here at Amazon for those without an FLGS to support.
I’m glad I got a chance to send a little love Cineplexity’s way – because the next few weeks will be jam packed for the column. I’ll have some 40K playtests and Space Marine rumors, a look at next month’s mini release Against the Giants, and next week is BIG. FREE RPG DAY is next Saturday, and I’ve gotten a hold of a bunch of the modules they’ll be giving away. More on that next week. Oh, and if you’ve got the time and want to hear a little more game talk, check out this 8 minute interview I did with NPR earlier this week about the D&D Phenomenon, particularly about the disgruntled players.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
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...and it was designed by "Dork Tower" creator John Kovalic!
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of all can i say first posters disgust me
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is that real? and what is it?
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its a mockery of King's dark tower?
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Massa,
Kudos for the NPR interview. It was really cool. My wife has gotten me listening to NPR now despite the fact that it makes me feel 60 years older than I am. Also Cineplexity sounds like a kickass good time and I will be picking it up. Sweet dude -
but this can't be as good a movie game as Traumfabrik.
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I still dont win. Sheeesh.
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Someone will get the reference.
Well maybe. -
Or at least Anderson. Or Night Shyalala, perhaps.
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but does it have a counterspell?
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Does anyone play Fantasy Moguls? Just wondering.
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... yes, Cineplexity is DEFINITELY a movie-lover's delight. Another GREAT movie-themed game is Hollywood Blockbuster, a game where you bid to buy actors, directors and other movie elements to create the best flicks. In fact, I would highly recommend anybody who's bored with Monopoly but still feels the itch to play games check out a site called BoardGameGeek.com.
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Fuck Cinefaggy.... A&A is a REAL game, you homo! Get with the diggs! Dig?
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I'm definitely gonna pick it up.
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on NPR... you don't sound like you should.
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my high school sweetheart got married tonight, to some hotshot investment banker. oh well. honestly ive been dreading this night since i was seventeen, but i really dont feel as bad as i thought i would. there's nothing i can do now. Then i went to the bar with this girl i like, and almost got into a fight with her fuckhead boyfriend who physically abused her in front of a hundred people. So that also ruined my night that assholes cant get hot chicks when smart, double masters degree, handsome dudes like me get nothing. Oh well, i guess. dems da breaks kids. I think ima be alright though. No worries. She wouldve been the meanest wife ever. you know? then listen to this. This married broad in my program was like having her friend call me and talk about some movie, and instead of talking to her, i told her i had a family emergency so i could get off the phone. then the married girl like leaves me this message on facebook telling me how im an asshole (which i am) and rather than take it seriously i just deleted the message. I dont care what she has to say, she's got some schmuck husband to listen to that bullshit. Alright guys, if you have anything mean to say, be gentle 'cause the love of my life just married someone else and im fragile. and needed to vent. Peace
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I think the game could be fun with the right group of people, and I'll probably be picking it up for myself. But Out-of-the-Box Games should maybe consider making a new demo video for their site, cuz those girls make look bored out of their minds playing it!
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Jun 15, 2008 3:43:11 AM CDT
Now THIS is shameless pimping that we can tolerate on AICN
by shiftyeyeddog2
It's perfect for the theme and demographics of this site. There is some identifiable value to shamelessly promoting this product here.
"Gone," not so much -
A game every one should own.
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thanks man, youre the best.
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If so, where were the bad points of the game? If that weren't a review then it's just another worthless ad-article that you may as well file under bullshit! Cant you be honorable about it like magazines and flag the content as appropriate. Otherwise Massawyrm your in danger of having all of your opinions becoming worthless as we don't know if it's from the heart or the marketing department of ACME inc.
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As a long, long time gamer (way to back to red box D&D) I really appreciate this colum. I was afraid that it may fall by the wayside after 4e (which I think is much fun), but I'm glad to see the spotlight turn to lesser known games and board games. I certainly like the looks of this one so thanks for the heads up. Anyone else looking for card games I'd highly recommend SJG's Munchkin.
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Thanks for the very kind words on CINEPLEXITY.
I just wanted to pop in here and note that I didn't design Cineplexity. It was created by three friends of mine: John Sams, JM Rasmus and Sean Weitner. (I did, however, do the graphic design, and I'm a huge fan of the game.)
John Kovalic -
walk away for everrrrr,one day u shall laugh,best foot foward young man :).......Anyway.....Where is Monki with MGS4?????,I wont be buying it for years but shouldn't somebody be on the case round here?????
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Glad you posted it, never woulda heard that otherwise.
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So if they had any part in pimping it they would've told me and this review was a surprise. And everyone should buy this game since JM, John, and Sean are three great guys. Not as great as me, but I'm sure that they understand that.
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Amazon link in article.
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does he throw the game?
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The table tends to self-judge. If there isn't handy-dandy access to IMDB or somesuch, say, a Movie Guide, most players around the table will jump on a judge that's wrong, who'll then tend to correct his or her answer...
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