So, I was taking a look at some of my older reviews…especially the ones that weren’t published with the format that I’ve come to adopt and enjoy. I admittedly bashed “For Sale” pretty hard and based on suggestions from the community, I’ve decided to take another look at the game to see if my opinion about it has changed. Let’s take a quick look at what the game is about and how it plays.
Board Games
“Crootle”, put simply, tasks players with matching colored tiles in an attempt to form a path from one end of the board to the other. Sounds simple, right? Well, yes and no. While being able to match colors is a skill that we learn at a very young age, the manner in which players place the tiles will ultimately determine who wins and who loses. I have weakness for games that are easy to play but involve a bit of critical thinking and strategic planning…to that end, “Crootle” certainly fits the bill. Before we get started with the preview, I’d like to thank the folks at World Village Games, LLC for providing me with a prototype copy. As with most prototypes, it’s important to stress that they usually aren’t representative of the final product. The content in the pictures featured below are therefore subject to change.
More and more board games are being funded through Kickstarter as of late, and I’m not going to complain. “Bring em on!”, I say. Most of them show a lot of promise, and such is the case with “Elemental Blast.”
I’ve written so many zombie articles at this point that I’m all out of lead-ins and funny puns. So, you may ask, why do I continue to cover zombie games? Well, why not? Most of the zombie games I come across are incredibly fun to play, and “Tiny Zombies” ended up being no different in that regard. Don’t let the name fool you, these zombies are anything but tiny. In this instance, you and your friends will team up and take on the role of a group of survivors. For those of you who have played the video game, think “Left 4 Dead”, but on your dining room table with cards. Will your group successfully make it to the safe zone before you succumb to the horde? Before we take a quick look at what makes this game tick, I’d like to thank Christopher Haskins from Nord Games for sending out a prototype copy. It’s important to stress that prototypes aren’t usually representative of the final product, so the content and pictures featured below are subject to change.
Whenever I’m playing a war game, whether it be a World War II first-person shooter or real-time strategy game, my heart sinks a little every time I catch a glimpse of enemy Panzer tanks approaching in the distance. I don’t know what it is about those massive beasts that makes me so anxious, but I do know that I can never get enough. “Tanks of War: Third Reich Rising” does nothing but satisfy that craving, putting players in the role of commanders who must manage their ever-growing deck of tanks in an attempt to grasp victory. As the last sentence implies…yes, this is a deck-building game. With tanks. How could that not be awesome? Before we take a look at this upcoming Kickstarter project, I’d like to thank Rich Nelson, the President of Giant Goblin Games, for providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to stress that because this is a prototype, the rules and components mentioned in this article are subject to change.
Sharpen your pencils and flex your math muscles, it’s time to play “Mahta Mahti”! In this easy-to-play card game designed for three to ten players, you’ll be trying to match numbers on the cards you play in order to score points. The game itself comes with a deck of one-hundred and twenty-nine square playing cards. The four numbers listed on any one card can vary, forcing players to think about which card they should play when considering the playing field as it stands. Before we get into specifics, I’d like to thank Jeff Greenmun from Mahta Mahti Ent, LLC for providing me with a prototype copy. It’s worth noting that because this copy is a prototype, it’s possible that the pictures you’ll see in the content below are not fully representative of the final product.
Show of hands…how many of you folks dabbled in creating your own space missions in whatever pop-culture medium you happened to like at the time? I myself had a very bad addiction to the “X-Wing” series on the PC, followed by “TIE Fighter” and later, “X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter”. The latter of the three even had a downloadable mission editor which I relentlessly picked at. “Gunship: First Strike!” reminds me a little of those days, as I didn’t find myself focused on any one ship, but on the larger picture at hand. In this particular game, players will be given three different types of ships and will be endeavouring to outmaneuver the other in deadly space combat. Before we start priming the turrets and charging the shields, I’d like to thank Steve Wood from Escape Pod Games for providing me with a free review copy.
When I first laid eyes on this particular game, I had trouble envisioning just what was inside the box. Did modern-day technology advance to the point where they can shrink herds of buffalo and put them inside a small box? Is this some odd variant of “Pass The Pigs”? Thankfully, it turned out to be neither, despite how badly I wanted miniature buffalo to go stampeding through my living room. “Buffalo”, in this case, takes on the role of a verb meaning, “to outwit, puzzle, or baffle”. It’s a card game designed for two to eight players, meant to be played by older children and adults. Before we get started checking out this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Amanda Young from Tiltfactor for providing me with a free review copy.
“Apples to Apples” and “Crappy Birthday” are big hits in my house, as both (we feel) are casual games and a lot of fun to play. “Awkward Moment” is similar to the aforementioned games, moreso to the former. For those of you who haven’t played games of this genre, you are essentially choosing someone to be a judge. Players then submit a card or cards to the judge anonymously and whoever’s card gets chosen scores points. Of course, the rules vary depending on the game, but that’s the basic idea. Before we take a look at the rules and gameplay elements of this particular one, I’d like to thank Amanda Young from Tiltfactor for providing me with a free review copy.
I’m a sucker for zombie games, whether they be open-world post-apocolyptic survival games or themes that involve players being the zombies themselves. “ZOMBIEPOX” is neither, focusing more on zombie control and outbreak prevention. Players will be teaming up to prevent the spread of the disease (ZOMBIEPOX, hence the name) all the while vaccinating and curing as many as they can. Before we get started fighting off the undead, I’d like to thank Amanda Young from Tiltfactor for providing me with a free review copy.
“The Agents”, put simply, features more agents than an episode of “Get Smart”. It’s a tactical, turn-based card game that tasks players with earning the most victory points. As always, there’s a catch: cards have two different effects. You can play one of those effects on yourself, but the other effect will be made available to your opponent. It’s an interesting give-and-take mechanic that I don’t see very often in card games, but before I get into all of that, I’d like to thank Saar Shai for providing me with a free prototype copy. While the prototype may not fully represent the finished product, it is close enough to where I could do a full review. Be advised however that some of the rules mentioned below may be subject to change.
Go on, admit it…you played with blocks as a kid. There’s no sense in denying it. We, as educated and mature adults (ha!), often refine our tastes as we get older…yet there are occasions where the simplest things can grant us the most enjoyment. “Convert” is one such item, tasking players with stacking blocks in such a way that would earn them the most points. It’s a very simple, yet elegant abstract game for two players that you won’t want to play just once. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Ian Reed from Yodeo Games for providing me with a free press copy. It’s important to note that the copy I received was a prototype, meaning that it may look a bit different from those created during production. The box and the scorecards, for example, will look much better in the final version than in the pictures below. Because my copy was close enough in quality to the final product however, I opted to do a full review.
Glory. Everyone wants it, but few end up acquiring it. This is especially the case with this quote unquote “little” card game that will soon be punching and kicking its way onto Kickstarter. In “IncrediBrawl”, players will be given their own set of cards and must duke it out with others in an attempt to earn the most glory (victory) points. Before we take a sneak peek at this particular card game, I’d like to thank Jake Leeman from Vision 3 for reaching out to me and providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to note that the prototype copy is not representative of the final components, so the pictures and content you’ll see in this article are subject to change.
No one really knows where the legendary Lost Dutchman Gold Mine is, but that won’t stop people from looking for it. There’s still some speculation as to whether or not the legend is actually true, but those who do believe estimate the mine to lie somewhere in the southwestern parts of the United States. The mine itself is named after one Jacob Waltz (a German immigrant) who reportedly found the mine but kept its location secret. In, “The Lost Dutchman”, players will be taking on the role of prospectors in search of this legend. Not only will they be competing against one another, but they’ll be braving the elements and trying to overcome various dangers. Before we begin checking out the game in further detail, I’d like to thank the folks at Game Salute for providing me with a free review copy.
Kirk: “Bones, did you ever hear of a doomsday machine?”
McCoy: “No. I’m a doctor, not a mechanic.”
Kirk: “It’s a weapon built primarily as a bluff. It’s never meant to be used. So strong, it could destroy both sides in a war. Something like the old H-Bomb was supposed to be. That’s what I think this is. A doomsday machine that somebody used in a war uncounted years ago. They don’t exist anymore, but the machine is still destroying.”
-Star Trek, “The Doomsday Machine”, Airdate: Oct. 20, 1967
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist)
“Doomworks”, put simply, is a card game that tasks players with building a doomsday device. Each player will be endeavouring to complete their machine before everyone else while attempting to earn the most victory points in the process. This Kickstarter success nearly doubled its funding goal and just recently hit the virtual shelves with an Earth-shattering kaboom. Before I get into all of that however, I’d like to thank Daniel Schroeder from One Man Act Games for providing me with a free review copy.
Fasten your seatbelts and place your tray tables into their upright positions…we’re about to take a look at “Airlines Europe”, a board game that deals with airline companies, stocks, and quite a bit of strategy. In “Airlines Europe”, you’ll be attempting to earn the most victory points by having the most shares in the most successful airlines on the playing board. Let’s take a quick look at the components and how the game is played before heading into the review.