Just when I think I’ve played them all, something like “Hogger Logger” comes along that reaffirms my faith in the gaming community. While it might appear to be a simple “High-Low” card game on the surface, it has some really creative mechanics that gives the game enough oomph to set it apart from the rest. I know of at least 341 Kickstarter backers (who raised $12,279) who would agree with me. Before I go any further, I’d like to quickly thank Ryan Shapiro from Hogger Logger LLC for reaching out and providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.
“Five Tribes” can be a little difficult to describe, mainly because there’s so much going on at once. It has “worker placement” and “set collecting” mechanics, yet the execution is not what I expected…that is, turns play out as if I was playing the simple yet elegant game of “Mancala”. Still confused? Don’t feel bad, I was too at first. All you need to know for now is that the Sultanate of Naqala has died and players will be competing to take his place through the ancient art of earning the most victory points. Don’t scoff…our history would be a little less bloody had folks back in the day actually adopted such a policy. Before get into how the game plays, I’d like to quickly thank Madison Sites from Days of Wonder for providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
Like the idea of “Acquire” but find it too complicated for either yourself or your gaming group? “The Game of 49” might be a bit more your speed. In short, it’s an auction game that tasks players with getting four chips of their color in a row on a 7×7 grid…doing so earns them victory. I suppose one could compare it to “Bingo”, but with auctioning instead of random number calling. Further, players will be able to earn back the money they’re spending from time to time, though the amount they earn is often dependent on how many tokens they have out at the time. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Game Designer & Publisher Mark Corsey for reaching out and providing me with a free prototype copy for review purposes.
There are some war games out on the market that can literally take days, even weeks to complete. Now, I’m all for large and grand battles…but there are days where I need to tone it down (just a tad) to make way for real life engagements. That’s why I can appreciate games like “Fog & Friction WWII”, a card/strategy game that’s currently seeking your help on Kickstarter. It’s easier to learn and play but features artillery, tanks, supply routes, planes, battlefields…almost everything you’d expect from an in-depth war game. What’s more, expansions are planned that’ll allow you to custom build your very own Axis/Allies deck…who doesn’t like a little deck building from time to time?
As a review critic, I own a TON of tabletop games. I of course am not complaining, but I often run into situations where I need to buy extra “stuff” for some of those expandable games. Take “Magic: The Gathering” for example…while at first glance you might think you’d only need card sleeves or a binder, you may also need some dice to act as counters. Just where are you going to put all that stuff? Enter: “The Adventure Case: the Ultimate Tabletop Gaming Accessory”, a project that’s currently seeking your help on Kickstarter. With still over a month to go, the project has blown past its $1,000 goal and is currently sitting at $12,519 (as of 4/30/15). If you’ve ever wanted a beautiful-looking case with which to hold some of your miscellaneous gaming supplies, then look no further.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
I have an extremely low tolerance when it comes to bullying, mainly because I was often a victim myself (I was short and hella-smart). I simply can’t stand people who are jealous or miserable enough to go about making someone else’s life harder than it needs to be. As an adult you learn that bullying is mostly misguided and misdirected anger, but somehow that doesn’t give you comfort when you’re just an eight year old kid who doesn’t know any better. “Bad Bully!” takes me back to those days, though this time I can actually DO something about it. Here, players will be targeted by the game (a bully) and be tasked with being either the last one standing or the one with the highest point total at the end of the game. Before we get started, I’d like to quickly thank Game Designer Anton Spalding for reaching out and providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
I see a lot of things as a game critic, but I’ve honestly never come across a card game that tasked players with growing trees in order to win the game. The closest comparison I could possible make is the single-player PC game “Reach for the Sun”, though it centered around plants like sunflowers and lilacs. Instead of a solo experience, you’ll be competing against one or two other people to turn your seedlings into monstrous trees that award a lot of points. Of course, you can mess with your opponents a bit by burning down or harvesting their trees. Before I get into the nitty-gritty details though, I’d like to thank Game Designer Steve Thaemert for reaching out and providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
I haven’t met a person who didn’t know how to play “Tic-Tac-Toe” and I have yet to meet someone who actually enjoys playing it. Why? The game is just way too simple and if both players are paying an ounce of attention, the end results will be the same: “draw”, “draw”, “draw”. BORRRRING! “Barnyard Legions”, a game that’ll be seeking funding through the Kickstarter process in April of 2015, spices up the idea of “Tic-Tac-Toe” by introducing barnyard factions and cards with special abilities. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Patricia Meredith from Games Afoot for reaching out and providing me with a prototype for preview purposes. It’s important to stress that prototypes are not often reflective of the final product, making everything featured here (including the rules) subject to change.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
What would happen if you crossed a deck-builder like “Dominion” with the card and combat mechanics from a game like “Magic: The Gathering”? Enter “Dreams of Dystopia”, a game that’ll be launching on Kickstarter sometime in early April, 2015. In this case, each player will receive a “Master”, complete with a separate life points and fame tracker. They’re similar to the “Planeswalkers” you might find in “Magic: The Gathering”. At any rate, it’ll be your job to reduce your opponents’ Masters down to “0” whilst building up your very own deck of cards. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Game Creator Andreas Propst for reaching out and 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 seen below (including the rules) subject to change.
Believe it or not, most of us were toddlers at one point in our lives…I know, crazy right!? What’s even more crazy is that some of us might even have younger kids that we’re trying to raise into respectful adults one day. There’s no reason to leave them out of family game night, especially when you have games like “Find My Monsters”, a card game that’ll be seeking funding through the Kickstarter process in April, 2015. Before we get into the why’s and the how’s, I’d like to thank Anthony Natale from Nostalgic Big Kid Games for reaching out and providing me with a prototype. It’s worth noting that prototypes are not often reflective of the final product, making everything you see in this article (rules included) subject to change.
While I’ve played quite a few video games that are set in the “Wild West” including cozino. (“Call of Juarez Gunslinger”, “Sunset Riders”, etc.), I can’t recall ever playing a board game that captured that “shoot-em-up” feeling I get when I play the aforementioned games. “Gunslinger: Legends of the Dusty Trail”, a board game that’ll be available on The Game Crafter in April 2015, allows players to assume the role of one of seven notorious gunfighters of the old American West: Kid Rango, Chief War Wind, Pablo ‘The Pistol’ Perez, Walter Winston, Raging Arrow, Luther ‘The Lawman’ Hale, or Little Pancho. From there, players will be recruiting a posse in order to rob banks or trains, collect bounties on mercenaries, and engage in gunfights against one another. Before I start letting the John Wayne jokes fly, I’d like to quickly thank Game Designer Tim Droegemueller for reaching out and providing me with a press copy for review purposes.
I’m not that big on “Match-3” games, mainly because I find them to be pretty straight-forward and boring. The exceptions to the rule are games like “Puzzle Quest”, which offers RPG elements and gives me a reason to keep matching like-colored gems. “Ironcast” is similar to “Puzzle Quest” in that regard, but also has “FTL-like” elements when it comes to making strategic decisions and permadeath. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Michelle Turner, Ripstone’s PR & Marketing Manager, for providing me with a free press copy for review purposes.
It’s no secret that I consider the “Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game” to be one of the best tabletop games around. There’s only one problem…it’s designed with dogfights in mind, not capital ship battles. Sure, a few “huge” ships were introduced for the series, but the models were so large, unwieldy, and costly that it made using them a pain in the exhaust port. Then “Star Wars: Armada” came along…ooooh boy was I excited! It’s the complete opposite of “X-Wing”…that is, it focuses more on capital ship battles and less on dogfighting. Enough of the small talk though, let’s get right into this!