Desert Vampires Card Game Fan Spot - Ocho Vamprios Talk

2005-10-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

I have noticed lots of discussion online describing Ocho Vampiros as a cross between Dominos and Blackjack -- all this aside and separate from the forth-coming Vampire Blackjack rules / game soon to be released by Cold Harbor (if one is to believe their website and the flip-flopping hourglasses, which promise yet another variation for strategy fans. See http://www.coldharboraz.com/Vampire_Blackjack.html However, since I do not plan to have a "Halloween Freak House" gaming party, I will take my time in evaluating the rules once the "boys from Cold Harbor" do something more official than all the endless Halloween hype.

That said, allow me to add my two cents on the Dominos / Blackjack comparisons. But first, here's one of the stories which draw the comoparisons: http://www.blackjack2002.com/20051005/new-combination-of-blackjack-and-dominoes-to-celebrate-its-first-halloween_4232_oecjhr.php

As a fan of many traditional and nontraditional games, I am glad that Ocho Vampiros is now being described in relation to other games (be it with very simple "blurbs") which, no doubt, provided the inspirational root system for Ocho Vampiros rules and rule variations. There are two ways to look at the similarities between this game and its forefathers. The simplest is to note the obvious connections. For example, Dominos is a "chain" game and Ocho Vampiros (like many card games) relies on a "connection" system, a "chain," though vertical rather than with branches. The second way to compare these games is by examining the numbers. By this I mean that Ocho Vampiros, like Blackjack, is at its heart purely a numbers game. (Many disagree with me on this; however, I stick to this assertion. A player who plays Ocho Vampiros according to a numbers system will have just as much "luck" as a player who plays Blackjack "by the book." No, such a player will not always come out ahead; yet the odds will fall in his favor.)

Let's quickly consider the structural method of comparison in relation to Dominos first.

"Chain Games" and "Structural Similarities." Ocho Vampiros begins with the "Street" sides of each card face-up. Street Cards are numbered 1st Street to 7th Street, plus City Parks (wild cards in most versions). Because cards are only played atop cards which "connect" to the current card-in-play, what we have in this phase of the game is a simplified version of vertical Dominos. Play moves clockwise around the table with each player adding to the pile until a Vampire card allows one player to capture those cards and record them as points. Can there be anything simpler for a numbers-lover? The number of cards (whether playing with one or two decks) is limited and easily memorized. Further, because the number of "Street" Vampires is always four per deck-in-play, this, too, is easy to discern even before cards are ever "flipped" (and revealed) and play moves off the streets to an imaginary "indoors." For a moment, let's forget that there are Door Cards (which complicate the numbers). Just Dominos requires correct "connections" and strategic choices, so does Ocho Vamp. In the beginning, you are likely to have many possible choices of connections. The cards you choose to connect will have consequences. This should not be overlooked at the beginning of the game. Everyone realizes toward the end of a game that the card he or she plays will determine the card your neighbor-to-the-left will play; however, the beginning of the game is equally important. This is the point in the game where you are most likely to have choices. (Later, of course, your choices are more limited by your neighbor-to-your-right -- especially so after the draw-deck runs out.) A rule-of-thumb here is to limit the number of connection possibilities the next player will have. This is easily accomplished because, in Ocho Vampiros, the next player's cards are right there, face-up for you to study. The only secret is what is on the other side of those cards -- even that is predictable to 25% or better for most cards.

Of course, there are Door Cards. Without them, the game would be winnable to the experienced player nearly every time. But these are opportunities as well. Because a Door card requires all cards to be "flipped" or revealed, once one has been played, you will know the identity of all cards except those newly drawn. You will almost certainly know the location of several vampires. This addition is where the structural similarity to Dominos stops, but a keen Dominos player will find familiar ground playing Ocho Vampiros. I will plan to discuss Blackjack similarities next time.

2005-07-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

The basics of card navigation in a regular game:

Door --> connects to --> Any Card
Vampire --> connects to --> Any Card
Any Indoor Card --> connects to --> Any INDOOR Card, Doors
City Park --> connects to --> Any Street Card, Doors
2nd Street --> connects to --> 1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, City Parks, Doors
3rd Street --> connects to --> 2nd Street, 3rd Street, 4th Street, City Parks, Doors
4th Street --> connects to --> 3rd Street, 4th Street, 5th Street, City Parks, Doors
5th Street --> connects to --> 4th Street, 5th Street, 6th Street, City Parks, Doors
6th Street --> connects to --> 5th Street, 6th Street, 7th Street, City Parks, Doors
7th Street --> connects to --> 6th Street, 7th Street, 1st Street, City Parks, Doors
1st Street --> connects to --> 7th Street, 1st Street, 2nd Street, City Parks, Doors

Note: There are eight Vampire Cards--four STREET side Vampiros and four INDOOR Vampiros.

A rule of thumb for the basic game is to simply observe the other's players' cards as they are revealed and commit them to memory. Remembering your opponents' cards is especially helpful when you are a new player and are not aware of the "memory shortcuts" as I refer to them, such as the fact that only one Closet Card will have a Vampire on its reverse side.

Why put forth the effort of remembering your opponents' cards? They are there for everyone to see. The answer is that sooner or later -- and probably sooner -- a Door Card will be played. When a Door Card is played, of course, all cards are flipped over. If you do not remember that your opponent has a Vampiro on the opposite side of his 1st Street Card, he will likely use it against you soon after the next Door Card is played. If, on the other hand, you make a point to remember where his Vampire is hidden, you may be able to force him to play the 1st Street Card (Remember, if he has a card that "connects," he must play it) and, thereby, render his Vampire useless.

How would I force him to play card that he doesn't want to play? Simple. Since you see what cards he has (showing) at present, you can often play a card which would set him up so that the Only card he can play is the one he would prefer not to -- in this case, the 1st Street with the Vampire on its opposite side.

Does this sound basic? It should. But you might be surprised how many people don't apply basic "forward thinking" when playing a strategic game. Many play cards like they would play Horse Shoes, simply throwing something to the play pile and hoping for the best. If the conversation is going good, I can't fault someone for losing track of their strategy occasionally; however, if you wish to actually win at Ocho Vampiros, you really must pay attention -- not only to your own cards, but to your opponents' cards as well.

2005-06-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Calling all Ocho Vampiros Card Game fans. It is my intention to build a simple, user-friendly fun spot for people of all ages and locations who wish to chat, comment or share strategy secrets about the game of border-crossing vampires.

A Note About Card Players (You Know Who You Are) -- Card players are a unique brand -- we use our brains while video gamers are simply using their thumbs; we discuss politics and history while TV addicts vote for their favorite 80s band. Of course, even card players have favorite 80s bands and favorite video games, but those of us who are willing to slow down for a moment ... just a moment, long enough to sit around a table with a group of friends ... well, we discover a flavor of entertainment that the more isolating pastimes do not allow. We discover teamwork, conversation and good wine.

A Note About Ocho Vamprios -- For a game that has not been around very long, I find Ocho Vampiros to have the marks of a classic game. At present, if I want to play Ocho Vamp. with a gathering of friends or friend's friends, I have to teach the game to most if not all of the guests. That's all right. I'm a patient person and the basic game is very simple. But I foresee a day coming quickly when the need to teach the rules to the newcomer will be a rarity, no more common than needed to teach someone to play Blackjack or Bridge or Crazy 8's. In my opinion, the key to a brilliant game is its adaptability to personality. What I mean by this is that the game can be employed, manipulated, altered is such manner as to allow for the level of play desired by the present company. In other words, children play a different sort of poker than adults. Friends play a different style of card play than rivals. A card table with a bottle of wine at the center witnesses a different brand of strategy than one without. Ocho Vampiros has come so far so quickly because it is adaptable. The basic game can be played with many different "adjustments" to add or diminish the difficulty, and the necessary strategies will vary greatly depending on the number of players, whether or not players are grouped into teams, and ... well, just how closely they wish to pay attention. Therein lies the secret to a classic game: if you don't want to take it too seriously, you certainly don't have to, and yet you still enjoy yourself wholeheartedly. Ocho Vampiros can be played for money, yes, with hostile squint-eyed glares between players, but so can most good card games. What makes the difference is that it can also be played by my daughter at a slumber party.

A Note About simplicity -- We are in an age of billion-dollar recreation. So much money is spent on promoting new forms of fun that rarely is a game just a game; nowadays, it's more likely that a game is simply one part of a multitiered corporate package -- a movie, a CD, a novel, a comic book, a cartoon, collectible figurines, a board game, a video game, trading cards, tournaments, bedspreads, a NASCAR sponsorship. Is it necessary? I strongly believe that such mega-packaging cheapens the original product. Even more often, the original product was cheap to begin with, thus the need for a multimillion dollar promotional. It's so much more ... Satisfying ... when the fun is a natural evolution ... when the strength of variety comes from the game itself, not the hype ... when word of mouth spreads the rules to a game ... when there's no celebrity spokesperson.

My strong opinions on these matters led me to pick up a deck of Ocho Vampiros -- "the game of illegals," it was called. I'm glad I did. And I'm proud to host a fun spot on the web that brings Ocho Vampiros fans together ... that salutes card games fans of all stripes ... that encourages simplicity in a world that seeks to complicate our fun.

Please feel free to post any information about Ocho Vampiros by clicking on the "comments" section on this site. I will moderate, but I will be a quite liberal leader.