I’ve never heard of “Bin’Fa: The Tao of War” before today, which is a real shame considering how fun it looks to play. “Bin’Fa: The Tao of War” is an abstract strategy game for two to six players and features a customizable board layout. Players will be controlling between one and three armies consisting of generals, units, and supply pawns. While side dealing and alliances are possible, your main objective will be to surround your opponents’ pieces and be the last army standing. It all reminds me a little of “Go” with a touch of “Chess” mixed in for good measure.
Board Games
The folks over at Mage Company LTD, the same developers who brought you “12 Realms“, are at it again. Instead of a fairy tale setting complete with familiar heroes and evil villains, you’ll be thrust into a post-apocolyptic world that’s been devastated by the Third World War. Competing against other players trying to survive, your goal will be to gather the necessary items needed to enter the Golden City. “Raid & Trade” is currently seeking funding through the Kickstarter process (as of 11/3/14), so go check it out via the links below after you’re done here.
When I first heard the words “post-apocolyptic” to describe this game, I thought I knew what to expect. I mean, most of the post-apocolyptic games I’ve been playing as of late involve zombies…not that I’m complaining. “Raid & Trade”, I’m pleased to report, is somewhat different. Rather than fight against zombies and/or infected, you’ll be competing against other players. Your goal? Scavenge up enough to be allowed access to the Golden City, a place where the privileged few have banded together to rough out these harsh times. Before we take a look at what this game has to offer, I’d like to thank Alexander Argyropoulos from Mage Company LTD for reaching out and providing me with a copy of the rulebook (due to International shipping costs). As such, this preview will be focused more on my impressions of the rules based on what I’ve read. It’s also important to note that the game is seeking funding through the Kickstarter process (as of 11/03/14), making everything you see here (components, rules, etc.) subject to change.
It all started with a friendly game of “Blokus” when I got to thinking, “wouldn’t it be cool if there was a game that was like ‘Blokus’, but in 3D?” It turns out that there was, though I was certainly not paying sixty dollars for it. While there were listings on Amazon for “Blokus 3D” by Educational Insights, I quickly skimmed the “Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed” section and came across Rumis (also by Educational Insights). It looked similar and was only fifteen bucks at the time (prices on Amazon vary since sellers set the price), so I went ahead and picked it up. I was interested to see how this particular abstract game stacked up (ba-dum-ch!), especially since I had a pretty good time with “Convert“. If you’re reading this, chances are you are too…hopefully you won’t be disappointed! “Rumis”, just as a quick FYI, means “stones” in Quechua…consider yourself educated for today, you lucky devil.
Games like “Apples to Apples” and “Say Anything” are popular for a reason: they spark the imagination and allow folks to get as silly as they’d like. “What da Blank” follows suit with this idea and tasks players with coming up with the best (or worst) answers to the “messed up” situations with which they are presented. With over $1,000 CAD raised on Kickstarter already, “What da Blank” will need your help to get it across the finish line.
Show of virtual hands: how many of you remember the video game, “Paperboy”? You know, the game that puts you in the shoes of a kid tasked with biking down a street whilst throwing newspapers to the houses of your employer’s subscribers? I honestly didn’t think there’d ever be a tabletop version, though with your help, “Paper Toss” could indeed make it through your living room window…erm, you get the idea. With a goal of $5,000 on Kickstarter and a little over thirty days to go (as of 10/30/14), it’ll need your help to do just that. Hopefully your home owner’s insurance is up to the challenge.
There’s no shortage of games on Kickstarter these days, which is a very good thing. It shows that more and more innovate people are willing to bring their ideas to life and into the dining rooms of families everywhere. “Spell Stealers”, a game seeking your help on Kickstarter, is no exception to that trend. It’s a quick and easy to play family-friendly game that makes use of a number of different gameplay mechanics. Being a family man myself, “quick and easy to play” is right up my alley.
I’m admittedly not all that fond of sushi, nor do I understand the point of all-you-can-eat sushi buffets. I mean seriously, how much raw fish can one person eat? Blech! Luckily, you don’t need to like or even know sushi in order to play “Sushi Go!”, a fast-paced card collecting game that will task you with earning as many points as you can. Before we take a look at this little gem, I’d like to thank Nora Meiners, the Marketing Coordinator at Ceaco/Gamewright, for providing me with a free press copy. For those of you connoisseurs out there, the pictures and content featured below are representative of the English second edition.
You folks have NO idea how long I tried to NOT watch “The Walking Dead” series. I have this funny quirk where I prefer not to watch a show until it is over, just so that I don’t have to wait in-between seasons. After playing the video games (by Telltale) and really liking them, curiosity eventually won out and I watched all four seasons of “The Walking Dead” on Netflix in one weekend. While I’m waiting for Season Five to play out, I figured I’d try my hand at “The Walking Dead Board Game I was able to get at the Board Game Shop: The Best Defense” (which will be known henceforth as “TWD:TBD” to save space and appease my aching fingers). In short, it’s a cooperative game that tasks players with surviving a certain number of rounds whilst safeguarding assets across four key locations.
“Machi Koro” strokes my ego like any other city builder in that it lets me be the mayor of my own city. Luckily, this one isn’t the type that takes hours to play. Competing against other players/mayors, your task will be to develop all of the landmarks in your city before your opponents can do the same in their own cities. In addition to building landmarks, players will be able to purchase establishments that give them the funds they’ll need to expand their city and win the game. The question remains, did I enjoy it as much as “Sunrise City” and “Suburbia”?
Three more “Early Access” games have blessed my library and it’s time to weigh in and see how they look. Like the other articles in this series, it’s important to note that my opinions are subject to change as the games aren’t out of the development phase (yet). As such, the below are not reviews, but merely first impressions based upon the build I played at the time.
I would more than likely be stating the obvious if I told you that “Munchkin Panic” was a cross between “Munchkin” and “Castle Panic”, so I won’t. Erm, yeah. What I will tell you (because I totally didn’t tell you that other thing that I said I wouldn’t mention) is that “Munchkin Panic” is a bit more reminiscent of the latter. If you know how to play “Castle Panic”, you’ll be able to jump right into this so as long as you remember a few key differences. Those who have only played “Munchkin” may feel out of their element, especially if they’ve never played a cooperative or tower defense game before. Before we dive into that realm however, I’d like to thank Kris McCardel, the Marketing and Sales Manager at Fireside Games, for providing me with a free review copy.
I don’t remember much about my early childhood, but I do recall a game that featured both cards and a board with matching card spaces. It was one of those games you found in your grandmother’s closet that never saw the light of day (as far as you knew anyway), but looked like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one for reading directions back then…I just sort of made it up as I went. I had an active imagination, what can I say? At any rate, I was browsing Amazon the other day and came across “Sequence”…needless to say something clicked inside my head when I saw the product pictures. It was only about fifteen bucks to boot so I took a chance. Was I disappointed? Keep on reading to find out!
Being the host of a party can be a lot of work, especially if your interests don’t jive well with everyone elses. For example, let’s say that you’re a respectable and hardworking dad who happens to love board games. It’s a stretch, I know…just bear with me. Imagine that you are having a huge family gathering at your place and need a few ways to keep everyone entertained. Most of them happen to be nongamers, so pulling “Agricola” or “Power Grid” out of your closet will probably be met by blank stares. At best, you’ll only succeed in entertaining the toddlers who have no qualms about throwing the pieces of your treasured games all over the place. “Knee Jerk”, a game that will be launching on Kickstarter on September 16, 2014, may very well be the solution. Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, I’d like to thank Game Creator Andrew Federspiel for reaching out and providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to stress that prototypes are not often representative of the final product, making everything featured here subject to change.
“The Agents“, a card game I previewed for game designer Saar Shai about a year ago, boasted one of the most successful Kickstarter campaign I had ever seen. That campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars, if you can believe it. This kind of success is certainly a strong testament to what a great game and a strong fan base can accomplish. “King Down”, the latest creation by Saar, is now alive and kicking on Kickstarter. It’s a bit like “Chess”, making it easy to jump into if you know what you’re doing. With that said, it introduces some new rules and mechanics that make it a completely different game. You can read my full preview here: King Down Preview.
For those of you who may not be aware, I am a former member of the United States Chess Federation. I’ve won many tournaments and was once rated second best in Western Pennsylvania for my age group. I’m not the best player out there mind you, but I know my “Chess”. “King Down”, a game currently seeking your help on Kickstarter, takes “Chess” to a completely new level. Some of the ideas in “King Down” are borrowed from “Chess”, but new mechanics serve to keep things fresh and interesting. Before we delve too deeply into this, I’d like to thank game designer Saar Shai for reaching out and providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to stress that prototypes are not often representative of the final product, making the rules, pictures, and content featured below subject to change. If the name “Saar Shai” sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the same guy who successfully Kickstarted “The Agents” about a year ago.