Every now and then I come across games that are a joy to play, usually they end up being the ones where playing the role of referee isn’t required. What’s more, I enjoy games with an educational theme, mainly because I believe in teaching the kids all that I can in order to prepare them for life as an adult.
Board Games
Ever try owning a potted plant but are the type of person who tends to forget things? Important things, like how plants need water and all of that jazz? How did that work out for you? Withered and died huh? Well, I guess you just haven’t played enough Santiago to know better…yeah, let’s go with that.
I’ve had the pleasure of playing and reviewing quite a few worker placement games this year…Agricola, Lords of Waterdeep, and Stone Age, just to name a few. I was surprised to learn about Cargo Noir, having never heard of it until last week when I visited a local board game store for the first time (amazing experience, by the way).
For whatever reason, I watched a lot of “Press Your Luck” as a kid. The Whammy animations are pretty annoying now that I’ve had the pleasure of playing the DVD version of the game recently, but I guess back then I was easy to please. The show involved players earning money by pressing a button and having the choice keep going or walk away with what they’ve won lest they stop their selection on a Whammy, in which case they lose everything.
Dice…lots and lots of dice. If I’ve ever complained in the past (which I have) about not having spare dice lying around the house…I won’t be anymore. Oh, and dice cups. I won’t be running out of those anytime soon either. Why? Because…Farkel Party.
Pandemic remains to be one of my favorite cooperative games, but I came across another one that seemed oddly similar. For those of you who haven’t read my Pandemic review, players will rally together to try and save the world from four deadly diseases. Diseases are spread by way of infection cards, which are eventually recycled to the top of the draw deck so that they can be drawn again. This mechanic increases the chances of infections becoming full-blown epidemics. Diseases can be cured by trading in so many cards of that color, and players will be able to utilize specific abilities depending on which character card they chose in the beginning of the game.
Galactus Prime is the capital of an evil empire that the rebellion is about to attack. The only thing stopping the rebellion from taking over the capital is an ion supercannon that they must take out via a successful attack run. Think “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” and the famous Death Star trench run at the end of the movie, but without the creepy voice in your head telling you to trust your feelings.
Once again, the forces of evil have shown their ugly face and this time, it is up to the Destined Hero to put a stop to their plans of world domination.
I’ve never been a hardcore RPG board game player…as appealing as it is to create a character and assign all of these stats to them, I disliked how long it could sometimes take to resolve a game. Some people enjoy one long, epic experience while others like being able to have their quick fix without committing too much time out of their day.
Looking for something relatively easy to play with a lot of depth? Enjoy playing games with a medieval theme? Like earning gold? Have multiple personality disorder? Well, you’re in luck…
My regular readers may have noticed that I already have a “Lost Cities” review up on my Board Games page. The Lost Cities card game is slightly different than the board game, but still warrants its own review. Let’s take a quick look at what makes this game similar to its sister game, as well as what makes it different.
If you’ve ever played SimCity for the SNES, you’d know that power plants are necessary to grow your city into a megalopolis. Of course, it wouldn’t be SimCity if you’ve never tagged Bowser in to defecate all of your sweat and tears shortly after reaching that 500,000 population mark.
One of life’s greatest questions, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”, has finally been answered. It’s not because it wanted to get to the other side, nor was it because Leonard Nimoy was participating in a book signing at the library across the street. No, friends…it’s because “Frogger” hadn’t been invented yet. (BA-DUM-CHH!) Thank you, thank you…no autographs please!
“I came here tonight and I didn’t know what to expect. I seen a lot of people hating me and I didn’t know what to feel about that so I guess I didn’t like you much none either. During this fight I seen a lot of changing, the way yous felt about me, and the way I felt about you. In here there were two guys killin each other, but I guess it’s better than 20 million. What I’m trying to say is, that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!” – Sylvester Stallone, Rocky IV.
Editor’s Note: Cold War? East versus West? Rocky versus Drago? *Sigh* Watch your Rocky IV, kids.
This is the story about a King who loves his critters. I don’t know if this is the result of his natural love for animals or if it stems from the unhealthy Pokémon obsession that he had as a kid. Whatever the case, it turns out that a nearby dragon has stolen all of the “King’s Critters”…and naturally, he’s gotta catch ’em all…get them back.
It’s Friday. The kids (AKA Dad’s Review Crew) are out for the day and thus I am unable to unwind with them by playing some of the board games stacked next to my desk, which are pending to be reviewed. One of them stuck out however, “Friday” ironically, and I decided that now would be a good time to take a look at it.