by volpegiocosa
Today we would like to talk about the
XX72 series, designed by
Mike Heim.
We usually begin the article quoting the title and its publisher. In this case,
there is no publisher to mention.
The series XX72 is, in fact,
a series of games can be freely downloaded from the Internet, generally in
PDF format, and to be printed.
They are, in fact,
Print & Play (PnP) games, a list of which is periodically updated with new releases.
1572: The Lost Expedition.
Perhaps the most famous game in the series
Whos is the author As we said, the author is
Mike Heim, who has had the kindness to grant us an interview.
How many authors that we met, his curiosity and creativity were born
already in his childhood.
In the 80's, with some friends, he created
co-opFortress America version, creating an
artificial intelligence to guide the moves of the american forces.
Its first issued game was
Cryptic, in February 2016, for a contest on microgames. Later it was followed by many other games in the format of PnP.
A publisher will soon publish
Bird Song, and it could pusblish many Mike's PnPs.
How the series XX72 was bornHis love for
survivival games have pushed for the XX72 series creation. The first chapter,
1572, was born after playing the game
B17 Bomber, and
the Source of the Nile.
The success of this title led to 1672, in the next year for another competition, and so on.
A series of games is so created
that can easily reach everybody, and that, even with modest resources, can be put them on the table.
A
legacy version of 1572 is available.
Legacy means that
the story continues and the previous matches affect on the next.
In this case, anyone in the world has a copy, can "receive a status" from a previous player, and to give his contribution, before moving on to the next player.
The game is currently on sale. 1972 - The Lost Phantom. The first game we played of the XX72 series
XX72 commonalitiesClassification systemThis system of classification, that is based to use
a date with some fixed digits, is also used in other types of games.
We refer to the
series 18XX, games railway, themed with all
the one that revolves around the economic level, and not only that, set precisely in the 1800's.
The series XX72 fixed
the final two-digits , so that the environments are more varied, covering, potentially, any historical period.
Play solitaireThey are all games in solitaire and, as we said, for
free re-distribution. Volpe Giocosa have come to know with more details during the
lockdown, precisely for these features.
In this period, in fact, many fans have played the game of
1572: The Lost Expedition (
The Lost Expedition, not to be confused with the title published recently by the Supernova Studio Games).
We gave him a way to look up information on the whole series, and we
have also tried it in co-op mode.
As we have said, the game is
distributed in PDF and
does not need a color printer to be able to play.
The first page is the "expandable part", which means a new copy is needed for each match, unless precautions are taken.
It is this page that provides you with a map of the game, a grid of hexagonal boxes.
These games can be define as
roll 'n' map games (roll the dice and "map"), that is, roll the dice, and
fill the boxes with terrain types depending on the rolled number.
We will see how to
the dice are the main engine of this game, since that also handle the events.
At the end of the turn, it is required that the player
sketches a kind of diary of what happened, so that at the end of the game has written a story.
1672 - The Lost Crew. The shipwreck is a recurring theme
The settingAs we said, the setting is varies,
depending on the century in which it is set that game in particular.
Anyway, there is always
a group of people or a single, that are "lost", or at least
must make a journey from one side of the hexagonal map, often inhospitable.
The terrain, that they encounter, affects the
movement and other aspects.
The
random Events and checks with the roll of the dice will have an impact on the characteristics of the group or of the individual (e.g. health), sometimes in a positive way, but often no. Often there is also
a group of pursuers that runs after the group.
The collapse of these scores, can end the game prematurely announcing
the defeat of the player.
What material you need to playSurely the pdf should be printed, even if some fans have created
methods to play on personal computers.
As we said in speaking of the mechanical,
the first printed page for each match is required. It is also enough in black-and-white.
If you see that the game interests you,
you can cover that, or put in a transparent bag and
use markers for whiteboards.
It is also required to
a number of dice, which varies from game to game.
They are common
6-sided dice, which are easily available or you can take on "loan" from other games (do you have in mind
Sagrada?).
It may be that the relubook requires
a colored die, but it is a possibility
avoidable.
The games listWe propose here the
list of games in the series XX72 currently available and those on-work.
Each game has a complexity different from one another. However, because the basic mechanics are similar for all, after you will be confident with the game engine, you will be able to play any title with the same ease.
The list is provided in chronological order of release.
1572 - The Lost Expedition (2016) A very pretty of the Lost Expedition. You can have fun with the colors, but just less
Six explorers, including the player, have had
a bad experience in expedition to the fantastic city of El Dorado in the virgin forest.
Not only that
the way to the coast, coming out from the dense jungle to save themselves.
It is
, perhaps, the most well-known of the series.
1672 - The Lost Crew (2016) As you can see, the material required is very little
After a shipwreck, the player and the four unfortunate travel companions, landed on
an island in the South Pacific after the shipwreck.
Using recycled materials, coming from their wreck, they
built a raft of fortunto
achieve the rest of the civilized world.
Not familiar with those waters, and there seems to be full of
islands inhabitants by cannibals.
1972 - The Lost Phantom (2017) Small works of art by the fans
The airplane of the player,
a model aircraft Phantom which overflew
Vietnam during the conflict, was shot down. The pilot is safe, but has to take
a march to the East to save himself.
The jungle is treacherous,
the enemy army in his tracks.
1872 - The Lost Crows (2019) Even here, a fan enjoyed coloring the map
We are in the vast
american plains.
Crow is the name of a american tribe.
You don't
want to drag your tribe into a bloody and useless war.
You will need to drive through Montana over the border with Canada, before the cavalry reach you.
1472 - The Lost Samurai (2020)As in 1672, there is in the midst of a shipwreck that
will take the player on an island. This time will have to
become a samurai and will
collect clues about the evil Shugodai, so that it can
depose him before establishing his kingdom.
1772 - The Lost Shipment (to be issued)Another shipwreck. This time, the landing region is the
Georgia, Southern United States.
The slaves on board the ship now
have a chance of being saved, reaching,
Florida Spanish, before
the settlers can reach them. The journey through the marshes could be really tough.
1372 - The Lost Relic (to be issued)Still another theme for
the Lost Relic, where a
Thomas Aquinas's relic is hidden in the Pyrenees for at least 100 years.
The player will have to recover it, even through snow storms,
before the other factions to find it.The subject came to mind in the context of the project1572 Legacy, by a group of Italian players.
DownloadOn BGG you can find always updates. We recommend that, in case of doubt,
compare multiple versions, to avoid errors due to editorial issues.
Also the above images are from BGG.
In each XX72 BGG game page you can find a PDF version, at least.
An image of Said Avenger. Graphically you could do better
Software to "check" the diceProbably many of you could dislike this series because
the game is based on the use of dice.
In fact, from the moment that we talk about
survival games, the fact that there are
random elements is probably due to.
We take the opportunity to make available
Says Avenger:
an Windows software to calculate the probability the output of a number of dice and how many sides you want.
Ease of implementation and the gameMany
PnP need some
manual dexterity, for example,
to cut and paste the cards.
Here, however, anyone who in 10 minutes can start to play, by printing out only the files by a
black and white printer. Then, as with all games of this type,
you can play with colors and graphics,
Some
rulebooks have more details: than others, but after you became confident with the logic, are
all equally complex.
Maybe in the first matches
you will commit some error, but patience.
Completing the mission is
moderately difficult and sometimes, when things go wrong, the game may
"screw" and lead you to defeat, so inexorable.
Setting and series entry points The environments are perceived, even through
the writing journal and to the references to
true stories.
As we often say, the setting comes to the player if these, when you sit at the table, it is
ready to be engaged by the game.
With regard to the journal, where possible,
take only few notes and write your own story at end of the match, if you want.
We entered in the series
starting from 1972. We'll talk about the game in detail, but we have found
a appropriate enrty point to the series.
But, of course each, player may prefer one or the other setting.
As we said, the pictures are taken from BGG relevant pages.
This article is a summary of the Italian version on
Volpe Giocosa blog.
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