“Tahiti” is a resource gathering game that tasks players with collecting the most goods for their respective tribe. The game starts players out on a small group of islands, but through tile placement, players will be expanding the archipelago (an island group or chain) in an attempt to control what type of resources spawn where. Will you have what it takes to ensure that your tribe has the most resources by the end of it all? Before we take a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank James Mathe from Minion Games for providing me with a free review copy.
Board Games
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I first learned how to play UNO as a kid, back in the day when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Not only was it refreshing to find a Star Trek variant of the game, but it gave me great pleasure to watch the kids play a game that I once played in my youth. It’s worth noting that there are a few different versions or editions of this particular game, so some of the rules and/or pictures that you’ll see below may not match up with your copy, if you happen to have one. The special edition, for example, has a few special cards that mine doesn’t. Mine came in a tin case and has “collector’s edition” written on the top, but the art on the front of the tin case is different from other collector’s editions I’ve seen. The ones I found on Amazon seem to come in your standard card package and look a bit different, but the rules are generally the same across all versions.
Games like “Castle Panic” and “Pandemic” are well received in my household, mainly because the kids get to team up with dad instead of being forced to match wits with him. It’s also rare that I come across real-time based board games (“Damage Report” being the last one), but when I do, we generally have a good time. “Rise of the Zombies!” combines these two mechanics and thrust the kids and me back into the world of the undead, a place we frequent often. This time around however, we were working together to stay alive as opposed to trying to eat each other’s brains. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Dan Verssen from Dan Verssen Games for providing me with a free review copy.
As an avid chess player and a former member of the United States Chess Federation, it goes without saying that I know my way around the chessboard. “For the Crown: 2nd Edition” showed up unexpectedly on my doorstep just the other day and I was surprised to learn that the game not only had a chess theme to it, but also deck-building mechanics. This is probably the only time I’ll ever be able to use “chess” and “deck-building” in the same sentence, so forgive me if I spontaneously combust with excitement periodically throughout the review. Before we take a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Stephanie Marroquin from Victory Point Games for sending me a free review copy. It’s worth noting that there is a polybag version and a boxed version…the components I mention and the pictures you’ll see represent that of the boxed version.
It’s not often that I get to be the bad guy. In “Master Plan”, players will all be assuming the roles of supervillians hellbent on claiming the ultimate prize before their fellow colleagues do. Unlike most card games I’ve played, this one actually makes use of a “real space” mechanic that forces players to strategically place the cards they play. Players will be laying down cards in an attempt to be the first one to get their pawn to the prize. Before we get into how that all works, I’d like to thank Brad Talton from Level 99 Games for sending me a free review copy. While the game is still about a week away from being released to the general public, the pictures you’ll see in this article represent the final components.
“Pixel Tactics” is a two player card game with an eight-bit/sixteen-bit theme. Players will be summoning and using heroes to attack their opponent’s leader. The player who manages to kill their opponent’s leader first wins the game. Before we take a look at how this is accomplished, I’d like to thank Brad Talton from Level 99 Games for sending me a free review copy. While the game is still about a week away from being released to the general public, the pictures you’ll see in this article represent the final components.
One of the first “detective” board games I remember playing as a kid was “Clue: The Great Museum Caper”, which involved one player taking on the role of a thief attempting to steal paintings from under the noses of the other players. “Mr. Jack in New York” is a more recent game I’ve played that tasks one player (the detective) in finding and catching the other (Mr. Jack) through a series of logical deductions. “NOIR” feels like a combination of both games, however in this instance, both players have hidden identities and will be attempting to thwart the other in different ways. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Brad Talton from Level 99 Games for sending me a free review copy. While the game is still about a week away from being released to the general public, the pictures you’ll see in this article represent the final components.
“SKIRMISH: Modern Card Warfare” (which will be known henceforth as “SKIRMISH”) is a two player card game with a rock-paper-scissors theme. Players will be using a combination of strategy and bluffing tactics to try and capture the enemy flag. Before we start digging out trenches and defusing bombs, I’d like to thank Jayson Murray for sending me a free review copy. While the game just recently succeeded in a Kickstarter campaign, the copy I received represents the final product.
“Wrong Chemistry” is a recent Kickstarter success that almost doubled the funding it needed to launch its way into the homes of mad scientists everywhere. It’s a game that tasks players with creating bogus elements (inspired by the real periodic table) in an attempt to score points. Players will be working with the same molecule on the game board, rearranging it however they can to get it to match the elements that they currently have in their hand. Before we begin scrambling atoms, I’d like to thank Alexandros Argyropoulos from Mage Company LTD for sending me a free review copy.
In a lot of the zombie games I’ve played, I usually find myself without ammo, medical supplies, and anything else I might need to stave off the undead. You’d think that putting countless hours into the early Resident Evil games would teach me everything I needed to know, but I guess herbs and ink ribbons just don’t hold up in the grand scheme of things. Luckily, I came across a game that doesn’t require me to fight off the undead…quite the opposite.
“Monopoly” has been around for quite some time. While many variations of the board game exist that keep with the main theme, “Monopoly: Electronic Banking Edition” was one of the first editions to drastically change how the game was played. Let’s take a quick look at how this game is different from the base game and whether or not it’s worth picking up.
A while back I reviewed “You’ve Been Sentenced!” and praised it for its educational value. To paraphrase, we all thought it was “good, educational fun.” As a thank you from McNeill Designs, I received six expansion packs that add more vocabulary and content to the base game (which we also got a kick out of).
“Bypass”, put simply, is a tile-laying game that tasks you with being the first person to connect roads from one side of the board to the other. Since everyone shares the same stretch of land and any roads that are placed, it becomes a challenge to complete your path and not help your opponents in the process. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I’d like to thank Sue Jefferson from SimplyFun for sending me a free review copy.
I’ve played many word games over the past year: “Boggle”, “Scrabble Blast”, “WayWord”, “Upwords”, “Word on the Street”, “Jumbalaya”…you get the idea. You’d think that if you played one, you played them all, but any parent worth their two cents knows that this just isn’t the case. Needless to say, I was happy to receive yet another one to try out and review with the kids. Before we take a look at the game and reveal why games like this are beneficial, I’d like to thank Sue Jefferson from SimplyFun for sending me a free review copy.
Ruse is labeled as a murder mystery card game, but there’s a little bit more to it than that. It’s like taking a “whodunit”, simplifying it with a deck of cards, and adding a storytelling element with a Victorian Steampunk setting. A little bit of Clue, a touch of Gloom, a dash of Once Upon A Time…you get the idea. In Ruse, players will be attempting to pin the murder on someone else by using the cards in their hands. Once a player is found to be the murderer, the game is over and the losing player tells his or her sad story.
If retail stores are any indication, it’s never too early to start celebrating Christmas. My local Kmart store already has rows of pre-decorated, fake trees available that are ready to bring joy to kids everywhere come Christmas morning…nevermind that we haven’t even gotten to Halloween or Thanksgiving yet. Today, we’re going to take a look at a game that might very well be the ultimate stocking stuffer for gamer families everywhere.