If you’ve ever watched Thomas the Tank Engine, then you’ll know that freight cars are cheeky little buggers. How Sir Topham Hat is able to stay in business by having trains pull one or two cars at a time is beyond me, but we’re not here to talk about that today. Rather, we’re going to talk about “Yardmaster”, a game that tasks players with loading their train first by reaching their point goal. Will YOU be very useful, or end up causing confusion and delay? Hey, his words…not mine.
2015 has been a pretty good year for DGA. My YouTube channel has reached 9,000+ subscribers and contains over 2,500 videos, a far cry from last year’s numbers. While being diligent with my content is part of the reason the numbers continue to grow, it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of gamers like you. It also helps that there are a TON of awesome games out there just waiting for someone to discover and play them. Yes, it’s that time of year again folks…the 2015 DGA Awards are upon us!
Who’s ready to boldly go? I thought so…after all, who can resist the feeling of raising shields and exploring the unknown with the iconic characters we all know and love? “Star Trek: Five-Year Mission” does exactly that, tasking players with cooperatively getting through a multitude of events (called alerts) we’ve seen in the various episodes on television. Get through enough alerts before the Enterprise explodes and you win the game, though failing enough to plunge the Alpha Quadrant into darkness is indeed a real possibility. Will you choose characters from “The Original Series” or “Next Generation” (yes, you can play as either) and more importantly, will you succeed where they did?
Gamewright has been releasing a lot of dice games as of late, but I’m not going to complain. After all, “Dragonwood” and “Qwixx” turned out to be a lot of fun (just to name a few). “Rolling America” tasks players with filling in their individual map of the USA with numbers rolled on the dice. How well they group and position these numbers will ultimately determine who wins the game. Before we stand to respect our great country’s National Anthem (and shame on you if you don’t know it), I’d like to thank Marketing Coordinator Nora Meiners from Gamewright for providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
Mushroom Varietal Points…now THERE’S a term I’ve never heard used before. I suppose I should have expected it, seeing as how “Morels” is all about mushrooms. In short, “Morels” is a set collecting game that tasks players with gathering & cooking three or more like mushrooms in order to earn MVPs. Alternatively, they can sell sets of two or more for foraging sticks, which act as currency and allows them to expand their future collecting options. Sounds rather tasty…just keep an eye out for the Destroying Angel for it’ll make you incredibly sick. Allow me to explain…
While this game was published in 2007, I hadn’t heard of it until about a month ago. I seem to be doing that a lot lately…finding stuff I don’t expect under the “you may also like” section of Amazon’s various game pages. “Airships” tasks players with building a fleet of airships (surprise, surprise) with the intent on earning the most victory points. It can be compared to “Splendor”, but with a lot of dice rolling and calculating probabilities. I suppose I should explain the game a bit more before doing any more comparisons, so let’s get to it!
Folks couldn’t leave well enough alone. You see, Sheepland was a nice place…full of rolling green meadows, lush forests, and majestic mountains. Don’t worry, it’s not being invaded by orcs, trolls, or anything like that. Rather, someone had the bright idea of putting up fences (probably someone who had stock in Sheepland Timber Company). As a shepherd, you must compete with other shepherds in getting the most profitable lands by herding sheep onto land that you own. Then there’s the black sheep, whose rare black wool is worth a bit more. Will YOU be the richest shepherd in Sheepland?
One of the first games I played as a kid wasn’t Poker, Blackjack, or anything derived from your standard deck of fifty-two cards. It was a little French game called “Mille Bornes” released by Parker Brothers back in 1971 (though its original publication was 1954). It is widely believed that “Mille Bornes” was derived from “Touring”, which was originally produced in 1906 and picked up by Parker Brothers in 1925. Essentially, it’s a road race game where players try to get to the goal line by laying down distance/mile cards while trying to deal with hazards via remedies and safeties. “Iron Horses” works much the same way, though it takes places in the 19th century where railroads dominated commerce. Before we begin, I’d like to thank Chris Rossetti, the Founder, CFO, and Lead Designer for Rampage Games LLC, for providing me with a press copy of both the standard version and the Limited Edition for review purposes.
I liked “Fairy Tale“, though all the information displayed on the cards resulted in sensory overload my first few times out. Despite the learning curve, I began to appreciate it more and more over time…so much in fact that I sought out other games with a similar drafting mechanic. “Tides of Time”, while only supporting two players as opposed to Fairy Tale’s five, seemed interesting enough to pick up. I admit, the attractive $12 price tag (on Amazon as of 10/21/15) had something to do with it. Let’s see how it compares with “Fairy Tale”, shall we?
When I reviewed “Concept” earlier this year I stated that it was extremely visual intensive. “Dohdles!” operates on a similar theme, though instead of placing pawns on various pictures to give clues, you’ll be sculpting the solution out of dough. Folks who lack artistic ability (like myself) will be pleased to know that players will be able to ask questions to help overcome this “all-thumbs” barrier. Before we get into all of that though, I’d like to quickly thank Sarah from Southard Inc. (a representative for Thames and Kosmos) for providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
In the mood for a fast-paced abstract puzzle game? Then “Ubongo” may be what you’re looking for. In this game, players will be racing to complete their individual puzzles in order to earn gems. Having the most valuable gem collection will win you the game, so get those thinking caps on and don’t dawdle! Before we go any further, I’d like to quickly thank Sarah from Southard Inc. (a representative for Thames and Kosmos) for providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
I immediately compared this game to “Get Smart” within seconds of finishing the manual, what with agents being the center focus of “Agent Hunter”. This is a two player game where the goal is to eliminate your opponent’s safe houses before he/she does the same to you and secure the most victory points at the game’s end. Que Johnny Rivers and get ready, because you’re about to be a “Secret Agent Man”.
Firstly, let’s get something cleared up. When I refer to “Red7” in this article, I’m talking about the card game, not the pilot named “Elyhek Rue” who flew as “Red Seven” during the Battle of Yavin (may he rest in peace). I know, I know, it’s easy to get the two mixed up. Count yourself lucky that you know someone as knowledgeable as me who can help you out with such things. Yeah. At any rate, “Red7” tasks players with having the best card at the end of their turn…or be eliminated. Sounds simple, but holy heck there’s certainly more going on here than meets the eye.
“Love Letter: Batman” is just so flippin’ awesome…there, I said it. It’s just so easy to jump into and seriously, who doesn’t like Batman? “Coup” wasn’t half bad either, though it tends to be slightly more complicated. I later learned that “Lost Legacy” is the official spin-off to “Love Letter”, prompting me to pick it up. “Lost Legacy”, based on my research, includes two sets of cards: “The Starship” and “Flying Garden”, the former of which we’ll be touching on today.
If you’re clumsy, then perhaps you shouldn’t be a thief. I mean, what good would you be as a thief if you constantly lost the money you’ve um, “acquired”? It’s good for those TV blooper shows I suppose…but for the thief, not so much. “Clumsy Thief” revolves around this theme, tasking players with stealing money piles from other players in order to have the most by the end of the game. Before we get hauled off to jail to serve hard time, I’d like to thank Game Designer Jeanie Mehran for reaching out and providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
In case you missed last week’s press release, “Yokai Battle” is on Kickstarter and looking for your support. In short, it’s a strategic card battler featuring Japanese occult monsters. The idea is to be the first player to conquer five terrain cards by summoning these monsters onto them. Of course, it wouldn’t be a battle without all sorts of weird looking monsters that possess varying abilities (called “jutsu”). Before we dive into this preview, I’d like to thank Arno Guenshérian from Moe Blaze for reaching out and providing me with a press copy. It’s important to stress that I received a PnP (print-and-play) prototype, meaning that everything you’re about to read about is subject to change. In my experience, most prototypes are not reflective of the final product. With that said, I’ll be featuring pictures provided by the developers to give you a better taste of what you’ll get should you support the game.