Do you guys like dogs? Own a dog? We happen to be dogs owners and love them so dearly. Besides having to give them love and attention, of course we have to feed them every day. This time, we are going to review one of the light board games by itten titled Here Comes the Dog. This game is playable for 2-4 players for a duration of just 30-40 minutes. Check it out~
Our Fire Has Lit, Lit, Lit~
Here Comes the Dog takes place during man’s first meeting with dogs where that event is how dogs became man’s best friend until now. In the past, in an empty field, during night time, under the starry skies, after hunting Mammoths (let’s just say the story goes that way) you and your friends are making a bonfire and about to cook the meat from your hunt together. Because of the tempting aroma, the wild dogs from around the location start to gather around, and thus the game starts 😀
For five nights, we will hold this bonfire ritual and try to tame the dogs. After all players each holds three Villager Meeples, the first night starts with the Gathering Phase. In this phase, each player will take turn rolling dice or trading resources that they’ve obtained with the ones still available around the bonfire. The component of the resources represents the real one, red sticks as Fire, black as Coal, and beige as Meat. When will this phase end? Until Meat or Coal has all been taken ? The fun starts during the next phase~
The second phase is divided into two conditions, depending on which resource runs out first. If Meat is first, then the Feeding Phase will start tonight. Picture it on a condition where we have successfully cooked the Meat and the fire is still alive because the Coal is still available :p During this phase, we will feed each dog with two Meat that we own and after everyone i full (lol) all the leftovers will be reset into the center to prepare for the next night.
Beware of Dogs….
What happens if the Coal runs out first?
OH NOOO! OUR FIRE DIED. IT’S DARK! THE MEAT IS NOT COOKED YET! THE DOGS ARE ATTACKING!
Because the Coal ran out before the Meat is “cooked” thus we can not interact well with the wild dogs. They are hungry and could not differentiate between the Meat and us….
Let’s just call this the Assault Phase. In this phase, the dogs will approach each players holding Meat at that time. If you hold one Meat then one dog will come, two Meat attract two dogs, and so on. What should we do? The dogs have to be fend off immediately. A dog may be fend off by giving it two Meat or by igniting a Torch (a combination of one Coal + one Fire). The dogs that are not fended off will bite one of our Villagers. Be careful guys, if three of our Villager tokens die, then all the tamed dogs will “run away” again.
How does the Coal run out first? Don’t forget that we are playing it in a party, so there will always be a dice roll where the person takes the Coal or “purposely” trade the resources with Coal. Don’t be greedy collecting the Meat, that’s what I say.
After both Phase is finished, then our first evening picnic is finished as well and will be repeated on the second night till the fifth. The one who tames the most dogs become the real king of dogs.
Wauwauwauiuiui~ *howling~
Oh right, another important thing to keep in mind, there comes a time in the middle of the Feeding Phase where the thrown dice could trigger the Incident Phase. This phase appears when each of the three rolled dice shows a different color and is not categorized as the second phase. The incident takes form as a sudden Feeding, a sudden Assault, or even an erupting cooking pot or fire (seriously, haha) and has to be finished in that instance without reducing the turn of the player who triggered it. This game ends after the fifth night ends, or after all the players died from being bitten by the dog except for one person (that rarely happens though).
Conclusion
We’ve played Here Comes the Dog numerous times with different group of peoples, at the office, cafés, and friend’s house. And it’s not uncommon to hear some curses flying around the room when we play. (LOL) We can actually play in peace and cook the Meat together, but it will be monotonous if we don’t “interrupt” people, and thus the coal collectors go into action… The interaction between players is high in this game, some of us even started to become skillful in bluffing and diplomacy. “You change the Meat, after that I’ll change mine too…” but turns out the player rolled the dices instead. (OMG, trust issues is real guys) But worry not, there hasn’t been any casualties in our any friendship so far due to this game, everything is still under control.
For the components itself, this game is unique for after you set up, you can feel the theme instantly as if we are having a picnic in front of a bonfire which excites me, also loads of cute wauwau (read: dogs). Replayability? Do you even need to ask? Not forgetting that this game has another game play variation in the Rule Book titled Dancing Villager, played by rolling the Villager tokens. We haven’t tried this variant yet since a few of our Villager tokens appear to be cracked (bitten by dogs it seems) therefor we don’t dare to roll it yet.
Thanks itten for giving us the opportunity to review this game all the way from Essen to Indonesia ^ ^ Hana likes it. Stephan likes it. Athalia likes it. Happy (my dog) also approves of dis.
My favourite games is vary from light, bluffing, tiles, card, party. Sometimes I also do box repairs or simple components upgrading. My first KS pledges was Sub Terra
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