Board Games

Best Games for Family Game Night (as featured on GEICO More)

Posted by Vincent on February 25, 2016
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A few months ago I was approached by Kristen Koch / Associate Editor on behalf of GEICO More regarding my top board game picks for family game night.  It looks like they published the article, which you can find here:

https://www.geico.com/more/living/home-improvement/best-games-for-family-game-night/

As a side note, they seemed to have omitted and shortened some of my entries…I apparently had a lot to say.  I included my full Q&A below for anyone who wants to read everything I provided.  All of the games referenced below include a review, which can be found by clicking on the “Board Games” tab on the top of the page.

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Arcadeopoly: The Card Game

Posted by Vincent on February 20, 2016
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It’s very unfortunate that arcades are becoming less and less of a thing as I get older.  Sure, you can go to Dave and Busters, Chuck E Cheese, or a Replay FX event, but there used to be way more options when I was growing up.  “Arcadeopoly: The Card Game” themes itself around those arcade machines we used to know and love.  Here, you’ll be trying to earn quarters by owning and operating your own arcade cabinets.  Of course, your opponents are out to do the same thing.  Before we press player one to start, I’d like to thank Eric Park from Park Productions for providing me with a press copy for review purposes.

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Fuse

Posted by Vincent on February 19, 2016
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Ten minutes may seem like a long time.  Sometimes waiting ten minutes for the bus in the rain can seem like an eternity.  Of course, if you’re defusing bombs, I have a feeling those ten minutes will fly right on by before you know it.  In “Fuse”, players will be communicating and working together to defuse the required number of bombs (based on difficulty and number of players) before the timer runs out.  Will you crack under the pressure, or successfully pull off this daring and virtually life threatening attempt?

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Stockpile

Posted by Vincent on February 17, 2016
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I’m not much of a risk taker, to be honest with you.  The only time I gamble is when I’m playing with virtual pretend money, giving me the opportunity to lose it all and instantly replenish my funds with the press of a button.  It would be awesome if the real world worked that way, wouldn’t it?  I’m even less familiar with the stock market, but that’s okay…”Stockpile” doesn’t require you to be a Wall Street guru in order to play it.  Let’s take a quick peek at the rules so I can show you what I mean.

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PRESS RELEASE: “Aether Captains” Seeking Support On Kickstarter

Posted by Vincent on February 11, 2016
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Are you a fan of steampunk themed games?  Enjoy blowing pirates out of the sky during airship battles?  Then “Aether Captains”, a game seeking your support on Kickstarter, may just be what you’re looking for.  This game is scenario-based, tasking one player with surviving against a wave of air pirates (who are controlled by the other players).  The player who takes up this challenge will get a mighty zeppelin filled with gun emplacements and other goodies, though the pirates will each have their own objective to complete.  “Aether Captains” is dice heavy and takes about twenty to thirty minutes to play.  Want to read about my experiences with the game?  Go check out my written preview before heading on over to the game’s Kickstarter page.

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Best Treehouse Ever

Posted by Vincent on February 5, 2016
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I never owned a treehouse when I was a kid…I was too busy playing games anyway. Sure, I’d go outside once in a while and play football, basketball, or street hockey, though nothing satisfied me more than beating a tough game on the ol’ NES or bringing out “Fireball Island” and burning adventurers alive. “Best Treehouse Ever” makes up for that, sort of.  I mean, I’m still playing a game inside the home, but that’s basically the same thing as having a real treehouse, right?  Sure, let’s go with that.  In this light strategy/drafting game, players will earn points for building a treehouse.  The more efficiently they match colored rooms, the more points they’ll earn.  So who’s ready to build the best treehouse ever?

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PRESS RELEASE: “Escape Room In a Box: The Werewolf Experiment” Seeking Support On Kickstarter

Posted by Vincent on February 3, 2016
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Escape Rooms seem to be all the rage these days, but I’m not one to complain.  A escape room makes you feel like you’re actually part of a “SAW” movie, but without the risk of meeting a gruesome end. Typically, Escape Rooms are group exercises that challenge players to beat all the puzzles before the time limit expires.  That’s exactly what you’re getting with “Escape Room In a Box: The Werewolf Experiment”, a game that’s seeking funding through the Kickstarter process in February, 2016.

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Aether Captains (Preview)

Posted by Vincent on February 3, 2016
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Things aren’t looking all that peaceful above the skies of Arkady, what with air pirates threatening to take down the Grand Compact.  In “Aether Captains”, a game primarily involving dice & coming to Kickstarter mid-January 2016, one player will assume the rule of the HMS Dauntless & Dominion tasked with defending the Grand Compact from all the other players (who assume the rule of the air pirates).  The pirates will be sending waves of ships against the Grand Compact, each with their own personal objectives which may pit them against one another, depending on the circumstances.  It’s important to stress that I was sent an unfinished prototype…the dice, for example, were not included and paper substitutes were provided.  As such, I primarily used art provided by the developer/publisher so as to better represent the game.  Also, prototypes are generally not reflective of the final product, making the rules you see below subject to change.

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Ticket to Ride: The Card Game

Posted by Vincent on January 31, 2016
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No matter how many games I add to my collection, there’s always room in my closet for “Ticket to Ride”.  I play it on the PC, I play it on the Xbox 360, and when the family is in the mood, we bust out the board game.  Needless to say I’m a big fan of the game…it’s just so simple to play.  I just wish the expansions weren’t so pricy, but I’ll get to that in my upcoming review of the UK map expansion.  Today we’ll be looking at a smaller version of “Ticket to Ride”, condensed into card form.  Does it hold up to the original?  Keep reading to find out!

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Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 5 – United Kingdom & Pennsylvania

Posted by Vincent on January 30, 2016
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I normally stay away from the map packs despite my love for “Ticket to Ride”, mainly because I find them to be very expensive.  I had to make an exception in this case, as this one features the very state in which I live…Pennsylvania.  I was interested to see just what cities would be included and if I could indeed see my house from afar…unfortunately but not surprisingly, I couldn’t.  As a quick disclaimer, I’m going to opt to keep this article brief as I’ve already gone over how to play “Ticket to Ride” in my previous review.  Rather, I’m going to highlight what you’re getting and what I think.

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The Bermuda Crisis (Preview)

Posted by Vincent on January 28, 2016
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I can’t tell you how many conspiracy theories I’ve heard regarding the Bermuda Triangle. While some of them are pretty far out there, it can admittedly be fun to think of the mysteries that surround it.  “The Bermuda Crisis”, a game that’ll be hitting Kickstarter sometime in January of 2016, puts players in the shoes of competing teams exploring an undisclosed island inside the Bermuda Triangle.  Your goal will be to collect treasures in the form of resources, magic, artifacts, and other goodies whilst trading, managing vendettas, and building base camps. Before we get started, I’d like to thank game creator Jerrod Warr for providing me with a prototype copy for preview purposes. It’s important to stress that prototypes are not often reflective of the final product, making everything you read about in this article (including the rules) subject to change.

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Burgle Bros.

Posted by Vincent on January 28, 2016
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So you’ve already saved the world countless times from various diseases in the game “Pandemic” and you’ve saved as many civilians as you could from a burning building in “Flash Point: Fire Rescue“.  All noble causes, don’t get me wrong…but what’s left to do?  How about cooperatively pulling off daring and dangerous heists?  In “Burgle Bros.”, players choose a scenario and attempt to get out of the building with their precious loot!  Before we begin, I’d like to thank Timothy Fowers from Fowers Games for providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.

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Roll for the Galaxy

Posted by Vincent on January 21, 2016
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I used to play a LOT of space 4x games back in the day when I had a bit more time on my hands.  I still enjoy the occasional game of “Galactic Civilizations” or “Sins of a Solar Empire”, but these video games can still take hours to play despite the fact that everything is computerized/automated.  “Roll for the Galaxy” appealed to me because of its advertised forty-five minute playtime, despite the fact that you’re still settling worlds, researching technology, and recruiting workers.  Before I talk about how I felt about this game after it was all said and done, let’s take a brief moment to look at how the game is played.

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Top Ten Two-Player Board Games

Posted by Vincent on January 20, 2016
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We consider ourselves a gamer-family, though there are plenty of times where only two of us are available for a game when we’d like to do something together.  This, coupled with the suggestion from a friend that I make some sort of list, led me to this post.

The below is a list of my top-ten recommended two-player board games, though this list comes with a few caveats. For one, there’s no consideration to publication date.  Secondly, I only listed games that I actually own.  Lastly, there are PLENTY of games that work great as a two-player game but support more, however there were so many that I had to restrict my top ten list to two-player only games.  I did include a few exceptions in the honorable mentions section and honestly wanted to list more than I did.

Are there better two-player games out there than the ones I listed?  Probably…but again, there’s a good chance I’ve never played them (you know, because I’m human and all).  The list is done in video format, so go brew some popcorn and microwave some coffee…or something…and enjoy the show!  Links are provided here for your convenience, because I’m awesome that way.

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Artifacts, Inc.

Posted by Vincent on January 2, 2016
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I can’t help but hum “dun-da-dun-tah” every time I glance at this game.  Who can blame me?  I mean, who wouldn’t want to pretend that they’re Indiana Jones and go on adventures in the search for ancient artifacts?  In “Artifacts, Inc.”, you’ll be able to just that!  More specifically (taken from the rulebook), “players can choose to focus on making lots of money by selling artifacts, having museum majorities, creating the best combination of expeditions and buildings, or searching below the waves for lost cities and hidden treasures.”  Before we ready our whips and don our fedoras, I’d like to thank Ryan Laukat from Red Raven Games for providing me with a press copy for review purposes.

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Paperback

Posted by Vincent on December 20, 2015
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I recently praised “Letter Tycoon” for being a word game that utilizes a unique gameplay mechanic: the ability to buy patents on letters.  “Paperback”, I found, has a similar unique theme…only here, you’ll be building a deck of letters while spelling out words.  Like most deck builders, you’ll start with a very basic deck of cards and will be tasked with choosing what cards you’d like to add to your ever-growing deck.  Before we go any further, I’d like to thank Timothy Fowers from Fowers Games for providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.

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