I have a feeling that “Wingspan” will persist as a great board game for many years to come. While I do own the “Oceania” and “European” expansions, I sometimes feel that the wild nectar tokens introduced in the former were a bit too powerful and tainted the original game a little bit. Luckily, “Asia” can be played as a standalone experience. It’s primarily a two player game, but can be played solo or used to expand the base game up to six or seven players. Special thanks to Stonemaier Games for sending a copy for review purposes.
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“The bees have discovered economics!” is probably my favorite line from any rulebook I’ve seen as of late, although I love the term “beeples”. While the tabletop game “Apiary” features space bees, “Honey Buzz” has bees of the more regular sort and tasks players with competing for the Queen’s favor by earning the most victory points…as Earth bees tend to do. Special thanks to Elf Creek Games & their PR company for sending a copy.
Criminals are running rampant and only you and your team can infiltrate the ranks and break up the syndicate. In this 2-4 player experience, each player will be tasked with sending agents to gather intel, infiltrate mobs, and arrest criminals. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Special thanks to Doctor Finn’s Games for sending out a copy for coverage purposes.
I can’t help but draw some parallels between “Atlantis Rising” (the board game) and the “Stargate: Atlantis” (the television series). I mean, you’ve got a massive city with branches protruding from a central hub and Ancients / Atheniens who run the place. It certainly helped to attract me to this title, in addition to the fact that it’s a co-op experience like “Pandemic” and more on-point, “Forbidden Island” (where tiles sink into the depths). At its heart however, this is a worker placement game. Special thanks to Elf Creek Games & their PR company for sending a copy. Continue Reading
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When I was diagnosed with “Fibromyalgia” over two years ago, I first thought it was some fake, made-up diagnoses that doctors give you when they have no idea what’s wrong with you. “Chronic Pain Syndrome” is another one and is often linked / spoken alongside Fibromyalgia. It took a couple of years of therapy to accept my condition but I have to admit, it’s frustrating trying to explain it to other people. I suppose that’s why I’m here writing something THIS personal…in part for personal therapy reasons and to also just send this article to whomever asks so that I don’t have to keep explaining it.
What do you think would happen if you gave a chicken a beehive launcher? Or how about a rabbit armed with a wagon wheel shield? These are just some of the crazy combinations you’ll find in “Barn Brawl”, a game that’ll be seeking funding on Kickstarter in April, 2024. It supports 2-6 players and is appropriate for ages 14+. Games typically take around an hour. Before we slap on our “horsuriken” (you’ll see) and dive into the game, I’m required by FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to cover this game. As always, any and all opinions are my own.
We absolutely loved the original “Awkward Guests”, which is like “Clue” but on steroids. It can be played competitively or cooperatively/solo, though we prefer the latter. In “Awkward Guests”, players had to figure out who killed Mr. Walton, with what weapon, and with what motive. If you played on a higher difficulty, you also had to figure out a possible accomplice. “Awkward Guests 2: The Berwick Cases”, coming to Kickstarter in April 2024, has two players going head to head to figure out who killed the Berwick Sisters (suspects in the original game). Before we begin I am required by FTC regulations that I was paid to cover this game, however any and all opinions therein are my own. As this is a prototype (which was also in Spanish but playable), rules and components discussed here are subject to change.
There are times where I enjoy a strategic, engine builder of sort and then there are times where I am in the mood for something a bit more casual. While I don’t have a ton of experience with narrative games, I have played and enjoyed “Destinies” and “Legacy of Dragonholt”. Similar to “Dungeons & Dragons”, the story in games like these usually leads the characters through some kind of peril accompanied by skill checks. I would say that “Lands of Galzyr” falls into this category as players will be leading characters from one adventure to another trying to earn prestige as they go. It’s also on the cuter side to boot…you’ll see what I mean. Special thanks to Ville over at Snowdale Design for providing a press copy for review purposes.
I’m a huge Star Wars fan, let’s just get that out of the way now. I grew up playing “X-Wing” on the PC. In those days, you installed games via 3 1/2 disks and created a boot disk so you could boot the PC to DOS in order to have enough memory to run your games. This was “before the dark times, before the Empire.” Still, it was light-years ahead of DOS Text Adventures. Anywho, fast-forward through about two-dozen “Star Wars” games later and we come to “Star Wars: Outer Rim” and later its expansion, “Unfinished Business”. This game focuses more on the scum and villainy as opposed to plight of the Rebel Alliance against the Empire. Kind of like Mos Eisley Spaceport, because you’ll never find a more wretched hive…I’ll stop now.
Sadly, my “X-Wing Miniatures” and “Star Wars Armada” phase is on hiatus, as Aidalee doesn’t really care for miniature games with tactical planning. With Vinnie having spread his wings and moved several months ago, I relied on Tabletop Simulator for my “X-Wing” fix. When I got my copy of “Snap Ship Tactics” I was really excited as it boasted a solo mode with AI programming. I’d finally be able to use my laser tool and 3×3 rubber mat again. In the end, I wasn’t disappointed. Special thanks to Scott over at Snap Ships Tactics for sending the core / starter game over for review purposes. As always, press copies or not, paid coverage or not, my opinions remain my own.
Most of us tabletop gamers are familiar with “Pandemic” and “Forbidden Island” as they are (what I consider to be) staples in the cooperative genre. Instead of curing diseases or getting off a sinking island, what if you all had to work together to outwit an alien tesseract that was removing bits of itself to destroy Earth? To make matters worse, Will Smith and Jeff Goldbloom aren’t around this time to blow up a mothership. I’m pretty sure I’ve used that joke before, so props if you can find it in a previous article. I’m old and don’t remember such things. Special thanks to Kurt over at Smirk & Dagger Games for providing me with a copy of the game for review purposes.
You folks have no idea how much I had been anxiously awaiting this one. I backed this beast of a game on Kickstarter in late 2022 and finally received it (Second Edition) late 2023. Oh, it didn’t disappoint! I only backed the core game as I wasn’t sure in 2022 if I would have liked it enough to invest hundreds of dollars into all of the expansions. Part of me wishes I had but alas, I was unemployed and awaiting a decision on my disability case (still am). Any-who, for the uninitiated, let’s take a quick look at what makes this game tick.
I recently binged “The Big Bang Theory” and always wondered if anyone would make a game out of “Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock”. While not involving reptiles or Vulcans, “Dominus Charta” does add hammers to the mix, along with some abstract movement rules a la “Chess” & “Checkers”. It supports two players and takes about a half hour to an hour to play. Before we get started I’m required by FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to cover this game, however any and all opinions are my own. The only thing paid for was my time and expert opinion.
I’ve played my share of Euro games and you know what? The older I get, the less patience I have to learn games with 30 page rule-books. Twenty-five year-old me would never have hesitated, but as a forty-something tired adult, I often welcome a more simpler diversion. “Trio” is such a game, featuring only 36 cards making learning the game easy. It supports 3-6 players and is appropriate for ages 8+. The average play time clocks around 15-30 minutes. Despite the game being quick and easy, make no mistake…there’s still a bit of thinking (and luck) involved if you want to pull ahead and win. Special thanks to Jason Schneider from Happy Camper Games for providing me with a copy to review. Before we begin I’m required by FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to cover this game, but any and all opinions remain my own. The only thing paid for here was my time.
2023 has come and is on its way out the door, but my memories of this year will always remain bittersweet.