DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
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What would happen if you crossed a deck-builder like “Dominion” with the card and combat mechanics from a game like “Magic: The Gathering”? Enter “Dreams of Dystopia”, a game that’ll be launching on Kickstarter sometime in early April, 2015. In this case, each player will receive a “Master”, complete with a separate life points and fame tracker. They’re similar to the “Planeswalkers” you might find in “Magic: The Gathering”. At any rate, it’ll be your job to reduce your opponents’ Masters down to “0” whilst building up your very own deck of cards. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Game Creator Andreas Propst for reaching out and providing me with a prototype copy for preview purposes. It’s important to stress that prototypes are not often reflective of the final product, making everything seen below (including the rules) subject to change.
Believe it or not, most of us were toddlers at one point in our lives…I know, crazy right!? What’s even more crazy is that some of us might even have younger kids that we’re trying to raise into respectful adults one day. There’s no reason to leave them out of family game night, especially when you have games like “Find My Monsters”, a card game that’ll be seeking funding through the Kickstarter process in April, 2015. Before we get into the why’s and the how’s, I’d like to thank Anthony Natale from Nostalgic Big Kid Games for reaching out and providing me with a prototype. It’s worth noting that prototypes are not often reflective of the final product, making everything you see in this article (rules included) subject to change.
While I’ve played quite a few video games that are set in the “Wild West” including cozino. (“Call of Juarez Gunslinger”, “Sunset Riders”, etc.), I can’t recall ever playing a board game that captured that “shoot-em-up” feeling I get when I play the aforementioned games. “Gunslinger: Legends of the Dusty Trail”, a board game that’ll be available on The Game Crafter in April 2015, allows players to assume the role of one of seven notorious gunfighters of the old American West: Kid Rango, Chief War Wind, Pablo ‘The Pistol’ Perez, Walter Winston, Raging Arrow, Luther ‘The Lawman’ Hale, or Little Pancho. From there, players will be recruiting a posse in order to rob banks or trains, collect bounties on mercenaries, and engage in gunfights against one another. Before I start letting the John Wayne jokes fly, I’d like to quickly thank Game Designer Tim Droegemueller for reaching out and providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
I’m not that big on “Match-3” games, mainly because I find them to be pretty straight-forward and boring. The exceptions to the rule are games like “Puzzle Quest”, which offers RPG elements and gives me a reason to keep matching like-colored gems. “Ironcast” is similar to “Puzzle Quest” in that regard, but also has “FTL-like” elements when it comes to making strategic decisions and permadeath. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Michelle Turner, Ripstone’s PR & Marketing Manager, for providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.
It’s no secret that I consider the “Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game” to be one of the best tabletop games around. There’s only one problem…it’s designed with dogfights in mind, not capital ship battles. Sure, a few “huge” ships were introduced for the series, but the models were so large, unwieldy, and costly that it made using them a pain in the exhaust port. Then “Star Wars: Armada” came along…ooooh boy was I excited! It’s the complete opposite of “X-Wing”…that is, it focuses more on capital ship battles and less on dogfighting. Enough of the small talk though, let’s get right into this!
If there’s one game that we can all agree to play on family game night, it’s “Sequence”. I mean, it’s just so easy to play: play a card, place a chip, draw a card. “Hex6d” (a game that will be launching on Kickstarter in March of 2015) reminds me a bit of “Sequence” in the sense that you’re using playing cards to manipulate the pieces on the board, though there are some distinct differences. Before we get into what those differences are, I’d like to quickly thank game creator Dana Muchow for reaching out and providing me with a prototype copy for preview purposes. It’s important to stress that prototypes aren’t usually reflective of the final product, making the rules and components featured below subject to change.
Fancy yourself an entrepreneur, be it in real life or in the twisted depths of your mind? “Harbour” just might be the ticket, as players in this game will be tasked with collecting goods and then selling said goods to purchase buildings. The player with the most valuable buildings at the game’s end will win, though that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These buildings allow players to take specific actions that not only help them to collect resources, but keep the prices in the market ever-changing.
One of my favorite “challenges” from “Hell’s Kitchen” is the craps knockoff that tasks chefs with rolling a die and naming an ingredient using the letter rolled. “Scattergories” is for the most part exactly like that: teams roll a die, a letter is determined, and teams have to come up with words that not only start with that letter, but fit the categories chosen for the round. Before you ask…yes, it’s harder than it sounds, especially when that sand timer is “ticking” away.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
My skills as a plumber leave much to be desired. I once poured a banking soda/vinegar solution down my shower drain to clear a clog only to be rewarded with a pipe with a hole in it and said solution everywhere. Oh, good times. Luckily, you won’t need a plumber to play “Waterworks”, a card game that tasks players with being the first to make a connection from the valve to the spout after placing so many pipes. Before you ask…yes, pipes CAN leak in this game, though you won’t need a towel to clean everything up.
Based on the history books I’ve read, avoiding the wrath of the church during the Middle Ages seemed like a pretty smart thing to do. In “Biblios”, that’s your primary goal. Each player takes on the role of an abbot who must acquire resources in order to own the most illustrious library. In this case, that’s having the highest score across five different card categories. The person who can do that not only satisfies the bishop’s trust but wins the game! It won’t be easy…for cards are going to be all over the place during the game’s two phases (gift and auction). Let’s take a quick look at the gameplay and show you what I mean.
I enjoy “Battleship”, though there’s admittedly only one way to play it correctly in order to maximize your hit potential…that is, search in an “X” like pattern until you come across something. The game gets boring once you begin playing this way, for it simply becomes a race to see who will come across whose ships first. In looking at “Battleship: Hidden Threat Card Game” on Amazon, it promised special abilities and cards with special powers…naturally I was intrigued. I quickly nabbed it for $6.58, which is about what other card games of the genre tend to go for (“Scrabble Slam” = $5-7, “Monopoly Deal” = $5-$15, etc.).
Normally I try to avoid games that aren’t fun for the whole family, but in the case of “Cards Against Humanity”, I had to make an exception. I’d occasionally hear some very positive things about it from other people in passing, even though it contained a lot of inappropriate content. “Cards Against Humanity”, to sum it up, is an adult version of “Apples to Apples”. It’s rude. It’s vile. In no way is it politically correct, nor does it advertise itself to be so. If Goody Two-Shoes “Apples to Apples” had a sexier twin sister that flirted with the law every chance she got, then her name would be “Cards Against Humanity”. With that being said, I just had to try it out.
Most of us who “video game” on the computer have probably, at one point in their lives, played “Civilization” or a 4X game like it. The genre is admittedly a pretty in-depth one, what with the usual abilities to build cities, research tech, grow armies, and etc. “Tiny Epic Kingdoms” takes all of that and puts it into one “tiny”, “epic” package. The name itself might sound like one big contradiction, but stick with me…you might be pleasantly surprised! If you don’t believe me, then believe the fact that it raised $286,972 during its Kickstarter campaign (the goal was $15,000). Before we get started, I’d like to thank Michael Coe from Gamelyn Games for providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.
“Jaipur” (J-uh-y-puur or Jiipour) is a set-collecting card game named after the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. Players will be tasked with being richer than your opponent at the end of each week (round). To do that, they’ll be collecting sets of goods and exchanging them for rupees (more or less). How successful a player will be all depends on how well they manage the cards both in their hands and in the market at any point in time. The player who manages to be the richest at the end of the week gets a “Seal of Excellence” and the first player to receive two, wins the game.