I know jack about politics. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a liberal and a conservative or why one US party uses an elephant to represent them while another uses a donkey. Why not dragons? It worked for Emilia Clarke right? Anywho, I’m not here to convey my limited views on how the US government is run…rather, I’m here to talk about a game that doesn’t care if you don’t know anything about politics. “Mapmaker” is fully accessible and playable for just about anyone, making it a Kickstarter project that one should seriously consider backing. Special thanks to Game Designer Josh Lafair for reaching out and providing me with a prototype for preview purposes. It’s important to stress that prototypes are often not reflective of the final product, making everything you see here (including the rules) subject to change.
Board Games
All posts tagged Board Games
I hated gym class. I know, who would have thought, right? A kid half the height and weight of everyone else, including the girls, not liking gym class? “Snag the Flag” is a Kickstarter project aimed at anyone looking to test their reflexes…of course, having fun in the process is not only a side effect, but encouraged! It’s a shame games like these weren’t around when I was a kid…it would have made my gym classes a lot more fun and a lot less bloody.
“Nightlancer” recently launched on Kickstarter and seems perfect for those who want a meaty RPG without the long time-crunch. In this cyberpunk universe, you’ll be trading with the black market and using your contact network to take on challenging missions. While there is a cooperative element, in the end only one of you will escape. Do YOU have what it takes to be a Nightlancer?
No one can contest that games like “H1Z1” and “PUBG” revived the battle royal genre…that is, a “Hunger Games”-esque battle arena system where the map shrinks the longer it plays out. Heck, “Fortnite” was originally PVE until it jumped on the bandwagon with a separate free-to-play battle royale mode. I was surprised (but kinda not based on trend) to see a board game version pop up on Kickstarter and I have a feeling that it won’t be the last one. While I haven’t been able to play “Last One Standing” for obvious reasons, I can’t wait to see what the final product looks like after it’s all said and done. Due to how busy I can get, I’m also attracted by the “10 minutes per player” average playtime.
I enjoy playing this game, mainly because I can talk like Meowth from Pokémon and sound “gangsta”…or at least try to. “Button Men” is a pretty simple dice rolling battler with some light strategy elements to it. The game gets a bit more strategic when you add in the extras like poison or shadow dice. After recording the first impressions video as seen below, I looked up the MSRP and found that it was $35, which I believe is way too much for the amount of content in the box. Yes, it has replayability and yes, the art and components are pretty nice. With game matches only lasting ten minutes, if that, it’s still a hard sell. With that said, there’s a free to play version you can download and print yourself. I’d recommend doing that first before deciding to buy the boxed version.
“Tak” is pretty darned awesome as abstract games go, but does this Second Edition stack up (no pun intended) with the first? That depends. Go watch the below to find out what I mean. As a side bonus, you get to watch first time player Aidalee wipe the floor with me.
Wow, this game! It’s so darn simple and plays very quickly, but Aidalee and I absolutely loved playing it. The components, replayability…all of it hit all the right spots. If you’re a fan of set collecting for points but want something lighter than your average Euro game, then “Majesty: For The Realm” is the game to get. Go watch our initial gameplay session (video below) to learn more!
While I may not be able to correctly pronounce it, “Parfum” is undeniably one of the more uniquely themed games that I have in my collection. I don’t think I own another board game that involves the producing and selling of perfume. “Parfum” is relatively simple to play but has a lot of hidden rules that can sneak up on you if you’re not careful, so I recommend reading the rulebook a few times to make sure you catch everything during a player turn. It’s only about $10-$15 on Amazon currently, making this an easy recommend if you enjoy easy to moderately difficult set collecting / dice rolling games.
My my, isn’t this game pretty? “Azul” (Spanish for “blue”) is a colorful and strategic tile drafting game that is pretty cutthroat. In fact, it might be a bit too cutthroat for some…that is, you can really mess up your opponent if you’re observant and force them to take tiles of a color that don’t fit on their personal player board. Aidalee opened a can of you know what in that regard during our first play session and you can even watch her do it in the video below.
There simply aren’t enough “catch the hidden bad guy” games out there or at least, I don’t own as many as I’d like. “The Omega Virus” and “Clue: The Museum Caper” were the first ones I’ve ever played and ever since I’ve been hooked. “Stop Thief” has players trying to catch a hidden thief who is controlled by an App (downloadable via a cell phone, tablet, etc.). Catching a thief earns you money and if you earn enough, you win! Like “Scotland Yard”, spaces are numbered giving players an easy way to compare the app’s hints and messages with the actual board. My only grief was with the app, which froze on me once and isn’t user-friendly in the sense that I didn’t know that the difficulty drop down menu was actually a drop down and not simply a header. Minor complaints aside, this is a fairly interesting and strategic game that will test your deductive reasoning skills via audio cues. The version I purchased is a remake of the 1979 version and I felt was worth the buying price of about $20 on Amazon.
Imagine a game like “Pandemic” where players have to work together to complete a goal, but with push your luck elements. Now add a zombie theme. Like “Pandemic”, “Raxxon” is without a doubt pretty hard, but can be modified to make it easier (unofficially, of course). Here, you’ll be collectively trying to rescue a set number of healthy survivors but first, you’ll have to find them in the deck filled with some pretty nasty creatures. Aidalee and I enjoyed our time with this one, but would highly recommend modding your first play-thru by aiming for maybe ten survivors as opposed to the default amount. Of course, you’re free to ignore that advice if you enjoy a good challenge.
It’s been about twenty years since I’ve taken a biology class but I’m pleased to say that I remembered five percent of the terms used in this wonderful tabletop game. That’s OK though, the game comes with a super-informative booklet that explains the science behind the game. I love it when games do this, personally. The excellent production quality combined with the interesting worker placement / resource management mechanics make this an easy recommend…just be warned that it’ll take you over an hour to play on your first go (it did for us, anyway). Turns seemed to fly by once we found our groove, however. If you enjoy games like “Lords of Waterdeep”, give this one a whirl!
“It’s-a-meee! Vinchenzo! I’mma gonna win!” I couldn’t not let this game pass by without making an awful Mario impersonation. “New York Slice” turned out to be one of the most thematic games I’ve played to date and as an Italian myself, I was extremely pleased. It’s a majority drafting / collection game that only takes about a half hour to play and looks absolutely delicious. Like all the other board games we’ve done lately, we’ve decided to cover this one in video format. If you are a regular to this blog and haven’t subscribed to my YouTube channel yet, you’ll want to so as not to miss out on my board game coverage. It’s just easier to make a video there than it is to type out a 1,000 word review here. I will say however that this game is a great value for the $20-25 average price tag and serves as a great filler for longer play sessions.
This is one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. My only real complaint was how quickly the game was over. It took us two rounds to really get set up and by then, the game was two-thirds over (assuming you’re not playing the four round variant). The light system took some getting used to, though we really seemed to enjoy the way the sun revolved around the board shining light from different directions. Trees that would be blocked one turn might not be the next, and etc. We decided to do a video play-through/review of this one because of how awesome it looked, go have a look!
Out of all the board game genres out there, abstract is probably one of my favorites. Sure, I like a good dice rolling game on occasion and some worker placement games have earned their place on my shelf…but nothing gets the brain going like a good abstract game. No luck, no B.S…if you mess up, it’s your own fault. “Santorini” is as abstract as they come and by golly, it’s a lot of fun. The goal of the game is simple but getting to that goal, well…let’s just say that if your opponent is even remotely competent then you’re in for a ride.
“Dream Home” is the kind of game that made me consider placing a living room in both my upper floors because I could. Granted, I probably wouldn’t design a home that way in real life, but we’re playing a board game so “YOLO”. In “Dream Home”, players will draft columns of cards and then place the chosen cards throughout their home. Some cards will help players break the rules a bit and even move existing rooms around to get themselves out of a bad situation. You see, points are earned based on how efficiently you pair rooms together as well as how functional your house is. You also have to ensure you have at least four roof cards lest your miss out on some easy points. All in all this was a cool draft & set collecting game that would definitely appeal to families, though Aidalee and I wished there was a “Dream Mansion” version that would allow us to keep playing over a longer period of time. Go watch our initial playthru below!