Space exploration, dice manipulation, resource gathering…”Stellar Leap” has a lot going for it. In this game, players will be trying to earn the most prestige (victory points) by completing missions, growing population, discovering new planetary bodies, and so on. Like in “Settlers of Catan”, resources are earned by rolling dice. Whoever has rested population on the planets of the numbers rolled will earn resources! I personally like games like this as it keeps players invested even when it isn’t their turn.
There’s a fire in the library and only you and your friends can go in to save as many books as possible! “Fire in the Library” is a push your luck game where you’ll be drawing cubes of different colors from a bag and deciding whether or not to continue. Red/fire is bad and can end your turn with zero points. Luckily, you’ll have some tools to help you out along the way.
I can’t say that I’ve ever played a game where I managed a group of street musicians…yet that’s what you’ll end up doing in “Big Easy Busking”. You’ll be assigning energy cubes from three different musicians from your team (trumpet, drums, sax) and play songs onto the available crowd cards / venues in order to hopefully earn both majority and threshold points.
“Dreams of Tomorrow” is probably one of the more beautiful games I’ve ever played. It’s the kind of game that grabs your attention from across the room and draws you over to inquire more about it. It’s a tableau building game where players will be catching dreams by paying experience, then weaving said dreams by paying creativity and hope. Said dreams have abilities on them that can be used to give players an edge, but once a dream is weaved over, the ability is lost. Only weaved dreams count as points in the endgame, so you’ll have to weigh your options carefully.
“Tetris Link” is a fairly enjoyable tabletop game that involves a little bit of dexterity. That, coupled with the fact that there aren’t a whole lot of games like it on the market, makes it a “play more than once” candidate in my household. “Drop It”, truth be told, was even better. Here, you’ll be paying attention to piece placement rules moreso than “Tetris Link” as well as score points in a number of different ways. In other words, I found it to be a bit more strategic.
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Most of us have been there…reluctantly agreeing to house a family member or friend for a certain period of time and it turning out to be more than we bargained for. My ex’s cousin, who shall remain nameless, took hour long showers and was quite the drama queen. He then had the nerve to tell me that I was selfish for kicking him out even though I was supporting him while he went to school. *Shrug*
“Apples to Apples” set something of a trend. I’ve seen hundreds of variations of this card game out on the market ever since its release. Who could blame these developers? Apples to Apples is not only highly popular but a fun social experience to boot. Now, I can’t possibly cover them all because science. That being said, I do take on those that either seem unique or make me laugh really, really hard. That’s why I agreed to look at “Top Tale”, a game coming to Kickstarter in mid-July. Since the game has not released yet it’s worth noting that my copy may not be representative of the finished product. I’m also required by FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to cover this game, but any and all opinions are my own.
I have about 500 tabletop games in my collection and most of them have one, maybe two ways to play them. You typically buy a game, open the box, and cram to read rules that will persist from game to game. Yes, I’m well aware of games like “Fluxx” where the rules are constantly changing. I’m also aware that some folks prefer to spend their afternoons not with a bulky Gloomhaven box but a small deck of fifty-two playing cards. TIC (Two In Common) Playing Cards are more similar to the latter in the sense that you’ll have multiple games to play in the convenience of a small box. Before we begin I’m required by FCC Regulations to note that I was paid to cover this game, but any and all opinions remain my own.
Did you enjoy “New York Slice”? If so, you may enjoy Piece of Pie, which is a drafting game that tasks you with creating a pie by drafting pieces from the center of the table. You’ll have to observe both the public and private goals, just like in the recently mentioned “Sagrada”. It’s definately more of an entry-level game in my opinion, but it’s both colorful and enjoyable. “Piece of Pie” is ideal for casual gamers or those who aren’t into the heavy games like other people.
We like Sagrada. If you like dice drafting and placement, then we think you’d like Sagrada too. In case you didn’t know, there are a couple of expansions out for this game, one of which (Passion) we recently covered. It adds a wild glass die that can be bought with favor tokens and used to bypass color restrictions. The expansion also includes some new public/private goals as well as special abilities. Watch us play and see if it would be something you’d be interested in playing yourself!
“Too Many Turtles” is a fast-paced, head-to-head tactical card game with a honorable message: “Save the Turtles”. A typical game takes roughly 25-30 minutes, with players laying down turtle cards and moving them around the three rows in their playing area in order to gain the upper hand and win the current round. The first player to win two rounds is declared the victor. This game, at the time of posting, is currently seeking your support on Kickstarter. Before we delve deeper into the gameplay, I’d like point out that my copy was a prototype so everything you see and read about here is subject to change. I’m also required by FTC regulations to disclosed that I was paid to cover this game, but any and all thoughts remain my own.
“Pipeline” made my head hurt, but not necessarily in a bad way. It’s a fairly heavy economic game that I felt was over before it had even begun…but I feel that way about most engine builders that I play. The components were of pretty good quality, though expect to set aside a couple of hours to both learn and play your first game. It’s also a bit of a table hog, what with the a formation of each player’s personal pipe network that they’ll be tapping for oil on a regular basis.
Game of the Year. That is all.
Bluffing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoy a good psychological mind battle. “Curios” has a bit of that, along with some hidden information mechanics that keeps the players engaged throughout. Essentially, you’re trying to determine the values of the different colors as you’re taking gems of that color throughout the game. You can reveal more cards in your hand in order to grab more chances to take gems, but this will give others information that could turn the tide in their strategy for the better. It’s simple, yet lovely to look at. It’s an easy recommend for those looking for a relatively light, but “thinky” filler.
It’s difficult to crunch any kind of complicated 4X into a 1-2 hour experience, but “Tapestry” did so rather well I thought. The components are absolutely beautiful and the gameplay is pretty streamlined to a point. There’s still a bit of a learning curve, so this game isn’t for the faint of heart. Expect a 3-4 hour experience your first time out if you’re unfamiliar with moderate to heavy Euro-games. Go check out our gameplay video below for a long, exhaustive, but fun first run-through. Stick around for first impressions afterwards.