I came across this little gem about a year ago and wasn’t sure if I’d take a liking to it. It played very similarly to Tetris, but promised the introduction of various musical instruments as more of the board was covered. Its price tag was five dollars on Steam, so that factored in a bit…what’s more, the developers donated a portion of sales to charity. Not only was the game cheap, but they were helping to support a good cause. It was honestly a no-brainer, so I picked it up and dove right in.
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I’ve been playing Endless Space for a while now, having been fortunate enough to be involved in the Beta. For those of you who haven’t heard about this game yet, it’s a 4X space sim, much like the Galactic Civilizations series. For those of you who have never heard of Galactic Civilization, then think of the game Civilization, but in space.
Jennifer introduced this game to me and I figured I’d share it with the rest of you. Most people have at least heard of the card game “Rummy”, however there is a variant called “Aggravation Rummy” that makes the original card game that much more challenging. Let’s take a quick look at what you’ll need to play and how the game is played.
I was anxious to get my hands on Star Trek: The Next Generation Deck Building Game, mainly because I’m a Star Trek fiend. I owned the Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game as a kid (review to come eventually) and have recently reviewed Star Trek Fleet Captains and Star Trek Expeditions.
This was the first trivia game that I remember playing as a teenager that I actually liked. I can’t remember if we were sporting the Windows 3.1 or 95 back then, but I remember that the game was really funny. I didn’t have a lot of games that pushed the boundaries of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, but this one took all three and defecated all over them. I used to play this game just to listen to the end credits…mainly to see what new Xena Warrior Princess spoof would come up. Every skit had me in stitches, which was saying a lot considering how much I hated being a teenager.
I’ve reviewed a few worker placement games already…Lords of Waterdeep and Agricola, for example. For those of you new to the genre, worker placement games task players with strategically placing (you guessed it) workers around the board in various places in order to gain resources and other bonuses. The kinds of resources you can acquire in this fashion vary from game to game, but you’re ultimately using said resources to perform other actions and ultimately trying to score more points than everyone else.
Tetris Link, a board game that I recently reviewed, was well received in our household. When I discovered that there was a Tetris card game, however, I was on the fence. How can something like Tetris be adapted to cards? Yet, I couldn’t ignore that the board game adaptation was an overall success among the kids.
I recently reviewed an old favorite of mine called Clue: The Great Museum Caper and thought I would keep with the theme by taking a look at a similar game called Scotland Yard.
If you’ve been following along, you may have picked up that I enjoy strategy games. I like reasoning and problem solving…mainly because I enjoy the journey itself and the satisfaction that I receive when I do come through successfully. Tower defense games scream strategy, as you are constantly trying to find the best setup possible to stave off whatever those enemy mobs are after.
“My buddy Keith tried camping out on top of a building once. He was shooting crows, but the police were too busy teargassin’ him to ask what he was doin’ up there. He screamed for an entire year every single time he opened his eyes! Oh, man! At first, it was funny; then it just got sad, but then it got funny again! Oh, man!”
I probably got more mileage out of Roller Coaster Tycoon (RCT) 2 and 3 compared to any other simulator game out there, though SimCity came in close second. I enjoyed RCT 2 and 3 mainly because I liked building things from the ground up and being able to be as OCD as I wanted regarding colors, prices, and ride design. I still load up RCT 3 when I can, when I have the time. When I saw Thrillville: Off The Rails on sale on Steam, I figured I’d give it a shot and see how it fared up with my sense of nostalgia.
This was my favorite board game as a kid. I used to play it for hours on end with my younger brother, who gave me a run for my money more times than I can count. I lost the game in a flood during hurricane Ivan and was unable to find a new copy anywhere. I buckled down and bought the game used from Amazon…something I never do…but gosh darnit, I had to.
Looking for a natural way to lower your blood pressure? Stressful day at work? Have the urge to slap someone offside the head? Consider Zoloft too mild? Then look no farther.
I like tower defense games, mainly because I enjoy “upgrading” things. There’s also a fair amount of perfectionist in me, so in games like this, I often restart the entire map if ONE enemy mob gets through.
I first learned how to play Mancala as a kid; it was part of a games pack that came with some other popular “stone” games on the PC. The game was fairly easy to understand, though I remember the computer being quite the jerk. There was no way to adjust the difficulty, so I’m fairly certain that the personal quest for expanding my vocabulary started there…though Top Gun, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Mega Man for the NES were major contributors.
I enjoy a good game of Scrabble, but sometimes I’m not able to commit to an hour of playing board games. Word on the Street, which I’ve previously reviewed, is an excellent alternative…though I came across this card game whilst browsing at my local store and figured I would give it a try.