In-Depth

Some of these reviews are longer and more in-depth than others – and some are flat-out strange – but each should give you enough info to decide whether or not the game deserves a spot in your happy home.

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Game Review: Swat!

By Greg J. Schloesser
March 20, 2010

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: FRED Distribution (aka Gryphon Games)

Players: 2-7
Ages: 7+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $15
Links:

Reiner Knizia appears to be the undisputed master of getting his games published and republished … again and again and again. Well over a dozen of his previously published games have been republished, often with new names, themes and artwork. While these cosmetic changes likely mean more dollars and Euros in the pockets of publishers and distributors – and Herr Knizia – they often cause confusion amongst the buying public. I can’t help but wonder how many unsuspecting folks have actually purchased a game, only to discover that they already own an earlier version that was published under a different name.

In spite of this potential confusion, it is good to see good games brought back to life. The latest of Reiner’s reincarnations is Swat! from Gryphon Games, which was previously released by Winning Moves as It’s Mine! I’ve enjoyed this family-friendly game for many years and am happy to see it once again available.

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Game Review: Stix & Stones

By W. Eric Martin
March 19, 2010

Designer: Steve Ryan
Publisher: Educational Insights

Players: 4+
Ages: 7+
Playing Time: 180 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $25
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Twice, once each with five and six players

Steve Ryan’s Stix & Stones from Educational Insights has all the hallmarks of a game designed for a mainstream audience as it’s a new take on a familiar game with a clever title that’s a well-known phrase. Here’s the pitch that retailers would give to potential buyers: ”Stix & Stones is like Pictionary, but instead of drawing you build images out of plastic sticks and stones that your teammates then try to identify.”

For the mainstream buyer, the phrase “like Pictionary but different” would get many of them to the cash register, but we serious gamers are made of sterner stuff. Sure, “like Pictionary but different” gives someone 75% of a good game – the game will promote creativity, be interactive and provide great moments – yet the final 25% of the game is the critical stuff. Does Stix & Stones have something like the arbitrary die roll in Pictionary that makes randomness as powerful as skill? Or does it fit the Cluzzle model of having cleverness in your artistry be of primary importance?

Before I answer those questions, check out these images from one of my games and take a guess as to what’s depicted:

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Game Review: The Caucasus Campaign

By Francis “Private K.” Lalumiere
March 5, 2010

Designer: Mark Simonitch
Publisher: GMT Games

Players: 1-2
Playing Time: 120 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $49
Links:

In order to quench the German war machine’s ever-growing thirst, Hitler needed oil and lots of it. In 1942 – after the fall of Rostov in November ‘41 – the Führer launched a series of offensives in the Caucasus. Those were met with resistance at first, and then with a slew of Soviet counterattacks manned by a seemingly inexhaustible supply of troops. The Russian army eventually kicked the Wehrmacht out of its territory, but only after a costly and bloody struggle.

The Caucasus Campaign – subtitled “The Russo-German War in the Caucasus, 1942” – recreates this vast conflict on a strategic scale and pits the German player in a battle not only against his Soviet opponent, but against the clock.

The game is played on a map of the northern part of the Caucasus, stretching from the Caspian Sea in the East all the way to the Black Sea in the West. This is a traditional hex and counter adventure, albeit with a very low counter density. Seasoned wargamers will feel comfortable with most of the mechanics: land movement, sea movement (used sparingly, and limited to Soviet units), rail movement, zones of control, ratio-based combat resolved with the help of our old friend the CRT (Combat Result Table), units flipped to indicate step losses, supply lines, and so on.

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Game Review: Catacombs

By Frank Branham
February 12, 2010

Designers: Ryan Amos, Martc Kelsey & Aron West
Publisher: Sands of Time Games

Players: 2-5
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 30-60 minutes
Rules Language: English
Links:

It is fairly rare that I review games anymore, even rarer that I beg a company to see if they have a review copy.

I did, and the game is Catacombs.

The reason for me to ask for a copy is that Catacombs is a genre of game that I adore, but am almost universally disappointed by: The crossover Strategy/Dex game. Usually this ends up being a skirmish game, and for every Micro Mutants, there are a ton of Clout or Packen Wir.

The hard part to get right is that you have to get a number of things right to make the game work:

1. It cannot be overly long. An hour is pushing the bounds.
2. The game has to focus on the dexterity element. That is usually the selling point.
3. It has to be relatively simple to grasp.

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Game Review: The BoardGameGeek Game

By Greg J. Schloesser
February 11, 2010

Designer: Richard Breese
Publisher: R&D Games

Players: 3-6
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 60-75 minutes
Rules Language: English & German
Links:

The most popular board gaming site on the Internet is decidedly BoardGameGeek. Founded by Scott Alden and Derk Solko in 2000, the website exploded in popularity and swiftly became THE place to go for everything related to board games, including news, databases, information and even discussion forums. The Geek (as it has come to be known) helped unite gamers from around the world, forming a thriving community where none had existed previously. Thanks to this, it became cool to be a Geek!

Richard Breese has designed a game to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Geek. As my friend and fellow East Tennessee Gamer Trip Godel explains it, ”The BoardGameGeek Game was conceived and designed as a loving tribute to the small group of authors and artisans whose work we cherish. In this regard, The BoardGameGeek Game is a perfect 10, filled with game shops, quotes, surprises, and even personal recognition. As a game, it memorializes the best works of the industry without trying to compete with them. The fact that Richard Breese was willing to attempt such a delicate task is a testament to his skill and confidence.”

The game itself casts players in dual roles as both publisher and customer. As publisher, the player will distribute his company’s games between six shops, hoping to entice customers to purchase his wares. Later in the turn, he will send forth three customers to purchase games, hoping to gather impressive collections for his game club. The player who assembles the most valuable collection becomes the envy of gamers around the globe and emerges victorious in the game.

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Game Review: Endeavor / Magister Navis

By Greg J. Schloesser
February 6, 2010

Designers: Carl de Visser & Jarratt Gray
Publisher: Z-Man Games / Lookout Games / Ystari Games

Players: 3-5
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 90 minutes
Rules Language: English / German / French
Price: $50
Links:

I first played this Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray design a few years ago at Spiel in Essen. The game had not yet been published, and I recall having a few issues with the game that prevented me from enjoying it. However, due to the passage of time, I cannot recall what those issues were. The passage of time since I played had a bright side – I forgot what I didn’t care for about the game and desired to play it again. Much to my pleasure, I enjoyed the published version considerably more and am happy to continue playing it.

While Endeavor has the theme of nations expanding their empires across the globe, in reality the game is quite abstract. The rules attempt to set the atmosphere by spinning tales of advancing one’s civilization in the areas of culture, finance, industry and politics, while controlling vital trade routes between worldwide cities. In reality, however, the flavor is mostly absent, as players are simply placing tokens and collecting cardboard chits, tracking their collection on their player boards. The buildings that players purchase simply enhance this collection process or allow a player to be more aggressive militarily. Sadly, while the game paints an intriguing thematic picture, in reality the theme is little more than a ghostly presence. That being said, the game itself is quite engaging and challenging. There are numerous options and decisions to be made each turn, and a wary eye must be kept on one’s opponents.

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Game Review: Such a Thing?

By Greg J. Schloesser
February 4, 2010

Designer: Urs Hostettler
Publisher: Valley Games

Players: 2-10
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $20
Links:

I’ve always been a big fan of party games. I’ve spent countless evenings with friends playing untold numbers of party-style games, most of which are designed to elicit laughter and good conversation. While I have the reputation of being a staunch “European-style” gamer, I’m still eager to play a fun party game.

Such A Thing? by designer Urs Hostettler – published in Germany by Abacusspiele as Ein solches Ding – challenges players to think of something that fits a number of different specifications and descriptions. Each player continues to add to the description until one player is challenged to “name such a thing,” at which point they will be put to the test.

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Game Review: Vasco da Gama

By Greg J. Schloesser
February 1, 2010

Designer: Paolo Mori
Publisher: What’s Your Game?
Distributor: Rio Grande Games / HUCH! & friends

Players: 2-4
Ages: 12+
Playing time: 60-120 minutes
Languages: Italian / English / German
Price: €35 / $60
Links:

Even if I ultimately do not enjoy the game itself, I am always delighted when I find a game that has an original mechanism. When the game proves to be thoroughly engaging, challenging and tense, then it will likely be a big hit and become a personal favorite. Vasco da Gama by designer Paolo Mori shows every sign of becoming just that – a personal favorite.

First released by What’s Your Game? at Spiel 09, Vasco da Gama casts players as wealthy ship owners vying to obtain the vast riches available along the African coast. In order to succeed, players must first obtain contracts, outfit their ships, enlist the aid of influential Portuguese nobles and hierarchy, and set sail for the African ports. All of this must be accomplished within very tight financial constraints. Players must carefully coordinate all of these tasks, while staying one step ahead of their eager opponents. Fabulous riches and lasting fame await the player who is the most successful.

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Game Review: En Garde

By Greg J. Schloesser
January 31, 2010

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: FRED Distribution (as Gryphon Games) / Ferti

Players: 2
Ages: 13+
Playing Time: 20-30 minutes
Rules Language: English / French
Links:

I guess it is only natural that a game about fencing would be designed strictly for two players. I’m not very familiar with fencing, but I’m pretty sure most fencing matches involve just two individuals. I guess if there are more participants, it would be a sword fight!

I’ve been enjoying this little two-player game since the mid-1990s when it was released by Abacusspiele in a small card box. The components were very basic, with dice representing the fencers and the field being formed from cards. I played the game so much that the box is now considerably worn. So I’m especially happy that Gryphon Games has released a new, spiffier version.

The card game pits two players in a fencing duel, with each player attempting to be the first player to score five points, with points being scored either by hits or positioning at the end of a round. Players position their pewter swordsman at either end of the twenty-three space board and draw a hand of five cards. The large cards are numbered from 1 to 5, with five of each number. Cards regulate movement, defense and attack. Players alternate playing cards to move and/or attack, drawing cards to replace those played. The idea is to try to position yourself so that you can make an attack.

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Game Review: Assyria

By Greg J. Schloesser
January 6, 2010

Designer: Emanuele Ornella
Publisher: Ystari Games / Rio Grande Games

Players: 2-4
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 45-90 minutes
Rules Language: French / English
Links:

Ystari has developed quite the reputation amongst gamers, having published a nice collection of outstanding strategy games. For several years, I thoroughly enjoyed every game they released, including the outstanding Caylus, winner of the International Gamers Award in 2006. While they have published a game or two over the past few years of which I am not too fond, for me, their reputation remains intact, and each game they release is a must-try. Their latest release is Assyria by designer Emanuele Ornella. As with Ystari, I hold Ornella in high esteem, as he has created some very engaging designs, including Oltre Mare, Il Principe and Hermagor, so a release that teams them both is one that I cannot miss trying.

As one can surmise from the title, Assyria tells the story of the emergence of the powerful nation of the same name in 2000 B.C. The nation that was to become Assyria was in its infancy, with various tribes struggling to expand and survive. Players expand along the delta, establishing new villages and constructing wells and ziggurats. They vie for the favor of the nobility, and attempt to win the favor of the gods. Some will survive, while others will succumb to the perils of the land. There is a perennial shortage of food, and floods are a predictable, yet devastating occurrence. Both cause the consistent loss of people, forcing player to rebuild their empire from the remnants. In the end, the most successful tribe will emerge as the dominant force in the budding empire.

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Game Review: Mow

By Greg J. Schloesser
January 1, 2010

Designer: Bruno Cathala
Publisher: Hurrican

Players: 2-10
Ages: 7+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Rules Language: Too many to mention here!
Links: (all sixty languages)

I am always on the lookout for fast, fun games that can be played with family and friends, but can also be enjoyed by gamers as a light filler. While I already have numerous such games in my collection, it is always good to add more to keep things fresh. As such, I’m happy to add Mow from designer Bruno Cathala to this collection. Mow was originally released in 2008, with an expansion pack being offered to allow for an increase in the number of players. This year, Hurrican released a set combining both decks, thereby allowing for play with up to ten players.

Mow features two decks of cards featuring whimsical drawings of cows, many of which are being pestered by annoying flies. Basic cards range in value from 1 to 15, with a heavier concentration on the mid-range cards. An assortment of special cows increases this range from 0 to 16. Only the green deck is used when playing with fewer than six players, while both decks are combined when more players are participating.

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Game Review: Twilight Struggle, 4th Edition

By Francis “Private K.” Lalumiere
December 25, 2009

Designers: Ananda Gupta & Jason Matthews
Publisher: GMT Games

Players: 2
Rules Language: English
Price: $55
Links:

What’s this you say? A fourth edition?

That’s right. Originally published in 2005, Gupta and Matthews’ masterstroke went on to win several awards and sell out year after year. So a mere four years later, GMT comes out with a fourth “upgraded” edition that states without a doubt that the Cold War is just as icy as ever.

In a shrink-wrapped nutshell, Twilight Struggle is a card-driven bombshell that some people have a hard time calling a wargame. That’s because you don’t have troops and you never quite attack the opponent, you see. Instead, each card is used either to play the historical event it represents, or to strengthen one’s influence in one country or another (up to the Operations number on the card). When a scoring card shows up, whoever controls most of the territory depicted on the scoring card earns victory points. Simple enough… but then you’ve got to deal with realignment rolls (gentle nudges in the power structure), outright coups d’état, the unending space race, and that pesky nuclear Armageddon threat.

Just that.

I wouldn’t recommend playing this one without a strong deodorant on. Get ready for tension of a rare magnitude in the boardgaming world.

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Game Review: Cavum

By Pete Lane
December 7, 2009

Designer: Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling
Publisher: QWG Games / FRED Distribution / HUCH & friends / Red Glove
Players: 2-4
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 90-120 minutes
Rules Language: Dutch & French / English / German / Italian
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Three, twice with 2 players and once with 4

Wolfgang Kramer and frequent collaborator Michael Kiesling are a pair of innovative board game designers responsible for some classic and esthetically pleasing medium weight Eurogames. Being that my group had rated a few of their classic games highly, (including El Grande, Tikal, Maharaja and Torres) it was a no-brainer for us to give Cavum a shot. Originally released in 2008 in Europe, Cavum is now available in a second edition from a variety of publishers in different langauges.

The first thing we noticed when picking up the box is the weight. It’s shockingly heavy, and once the lid is off, it’s easy to see why. The beautifully illustrated cardboard pieces are thick and sturdy, and almost make you not want to punch the bits out due to the unique design. Even the “un-used” areas on the punch sheets are decorated with evocative “olde tymey” pictures that make them look like an old prospector had used them to keep track of his latest haul. The board (which was wrapped in its own cellophane) continued the stunning art design by incorporating the same “weathered steam century” feel. Since everything in the game is represented by the beautiful, heavy stock cardboard pieces (no cards or flimsy paper), you spend a long time punching them all out. When all is said and done you end up with 189 chips of various sizes, 48 wooden cubes of various colors, and one action board for each of four possible players that help take you through the turns. Thankfully the game also comes with several small-sized plastic bags to keep everything organized!

In Cavum, players are prospectors digging tunnels through a mountain, discovering veins of gems which are sold off for victory points back at the stations they’ve built within cities surrounding the mountain. The game plays in three turns with each turn divided into four phases, with the player who has the most victory points (VPs) at game end being declared winner.

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Game Review: Dream Factory

By Chris Norwood
December 4, 2009

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: Filosofia Games
Players: 2-5
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 60 minutes
Rules Language: French (English language in the works)
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Four, once with 2 players, twice with 4 and once with 5

Dream Factory is an auction-based, set-collection game in which you play the role of a big-time movie producer. You score points based on the overall quality of all your films and through collecting awards at the end of each round, and the producer with the most points at the end wins the game!

Dream Factory is not a new game, having been first published in German as Traumfabrik way back in 2000, but I had somehow missed the boat on playing it before now. While I was always attracted to the theme, the original version was hard to come by, and the Uberplay reprint – Hollywood Blockbuster – was just plain butt-ugly. And ultimately, I always asked myself, “Do I really need another Reiner Knizia auction game?” After playing my shiny new copy of Dream Factory, however, my answer is a definite “Heck yeah!”

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Game Review: Commands & Colors: Ancients Expansion #4 – Imperial Rome

By Francis “Private K.” Lalumiere
December 3, 2009

Designer: Richard Borg
Publisher: GMT Games

Players: 2
Rules Language: English
Price: $60
Links:

When in Rome… roll leader symbols.

This is the fourth expansion in the Commands & Colors: Ancients series, and it’s Roman all the way: Rome against the Parthian Empire, Rome against the Goths, Rome against the Britons – heck, Rome against itself. This package bridges gaps here and there with a slew of battles left out of previous expansions.

More blocks, more rules, more fights – but only a handful of cards to deal with it all.

New Units

There’s a whole new army in there, but purple this time. (Purple is the new red!) The box also holds blocks and stickers representing new units sprinkled over several different nations, from the cataphract camels of the Eastern kingdoms to the brand new heavy cavalry of the barbarians.

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Game Review: Soaps (Where Soap Opera Writers Get Their Ideas)

By Dr Aneurin J Kennerley
November 28, 2009

Designer: Danny Goodisman
Publisher: The Game Crafter

Players: 2-5
Ages: 18+
Playing Time: 30-60 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $22
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Five, three times with 2 players, once with 3 and once with 4

A little introduction: I’m a “Brit”, and my wife and I along with approximately eight million of our fellow countrymen (1/9 of the population of the UK) settle down in front of the box every weeknight for what can only be described as a soap fest. During prime time we can enjoy Emmerdale, Coronation Street and EastEnders. If that’s not enough lather for one person you can add Hollyoaks and the Australian imports, Neighbours and Home & Away to that list. A total of 3.5 hours of screen time, wow. (If you want to know what all the fuss is about I’ll leave you to “google” them.) So when the opportunity to combine this obsession with my other – board-gaming obviously – came along I snapped up the chance to give Soaps (Where Soap Opera Writers Get Their Ideas) a quick spin (programme 4 – 60 degrees).

Soaps is a card-based game in which players are directors/writers of a new soap opera. In this role you control the fate of various show characters. Over 3-4 weeks (don’t worry – only 30-60 minutes gaming time) you get the chance to put your newly formed cast through their paces with various life-changing events from illicit affairs to lawsuits and even alien abductions. Ultimately, the pilot soap with highest audience (points) will make it to final production; the rest will fail to sud.

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Game Review: Richard III – The Wars of the Roses

By Francis “Private K.” Lalumiere
November 25, 2009

Designers: Tom Dalgliesh & Jerry Taylor
Publisher: Columbia Games

Players: 2
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 60-180 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $60
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy

[Author’s note: Richard III is essentially a reimplementation of the system developed for Columbia Games’ own Hammer of the Scots, albeit with a few simplifications (no movement ratings, for instance). While I’ve read the rules to Hammer of the Scots, I haven’t played the game and will therefore devote my energies to a review of Richard III rather than to a side-by-side comparison of the two games.]

“That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.”
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Between 1455 and 1486, two powerful houses – York and Lancaster – vied for control of the English throne. While Lancastrian Henry Tudor eventually emerged victorious, history may yet be rewritten each time the red and white wooden blocks storm the cardboard battlefield.

Richard III evolves on a mapboard depicting England and Wales. Each player controls an army of 31 wooden blocks, each sporting an ID sticker on one side only, thus creating an elegant fog of war when the units are stood up.

The players are dealt each a hand of seven cards, which can be action cards (showing a number between 2 and 4) or event cards (enabling a special event but often at the cost of a reduced numeric value). Each turn, players simultaneously select and reveal a card from their hands. Actions are conducted according to the cards played, then two new cards are played, and so on through seven game turns – the length of a campaign. Then follows a political turn in which the dust settles and the crown can switch sides. After three campaigns, whichever side occupies the throne wins the game.

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Game Review: At the Gates of Loyang

By W. Eric Martin
November 19, 2009

Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher: Hall Games

Players: 1-4
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 60-120 minutes
Rules Language: English / German
Links:

Version played: Purchased copy
Times played: Five, once solo, twice with 2 and twice with 4

So I’m in round eight of At the Gates of Loyang, just after taking cards in the first pass through the card phase. The other three players are still in, dropping cards slowly one at a time, while I’m starting to write this review. My goal: See how far I can get before it’s my turn in the action phase.

One of the other players in this game, who played in an earlier four-player game today and a two-player game yesterday, has dubbed Loyang “the best game that I never want to play again.” His emotional arc while playing the game went from confusion to liking the game to really liking the game to becoming annoyed to outright dislike. Pal that he is, though, he offered to play a few more times to see whether the game speeds up with experience. Has it?

Unfortunately, no, it hasn’t. What players gain in experience and forethought, they lose from additional depth of what’s possible in the game and how they can best squeeze an extra coin out of the rearrangement of a dozen or more moves during the action phase. Oh, wait, my turn…

Inside the Gates, the Fields

So how does Uwe Rosenberg follow up the incredibly successful and well-received Agricola and Le Havre, both winners of multiple awards? With a title that precedes both of them. Yes, At the Gates of Loyang was designed in early 2005, after Rosenberg was inspired by the harvesting mechanism in the 2004 Splotter Spellen release Antiquity. In that game, once the raw materials from an area have been harvested or collected, the land can’t be used again. (Are they harvesting with bombs? I can’t imagine what else would destroy the land so thoroughly.)

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Game Review: PQ-17: Arctic Naval Operations 1941-43

By Francis “Private K.” Lalumiere
November 8, 2009

Designer: Chris Janiec
Publisher: GMT Games

Players: 2
Rules Language: English
Price: $69
Links:

Zip up your parka, wear a wool scarf, and wrap your hands with whatever you can find – welcome to the Arctic. It’s 1941, the Allied war effort depends on your supplies, and the Germans want you at the bottom of the icy waters, so try to make it to the Russian coast with your convoy in one piece.

As a naval operations game, PQ-17 has got it all: convoys, escorts, aircraft, submarines, reconnaissance, suspense, combat (on the sea as well as above and below…), time constraints, weather surprises, ice threats, fuel problems and night turns! All rolled into a tight package that, while requiring a sizeable chunk of time to digest its many intricacies, provides a satisfying simulation and promises to raise wargamers’ pulses everywhere from Reykjavik to Murmansk.

PQ-17 is a block game with a twist: Each block on the map represents a force (that can comprise merchant ships as well as warships and submarines) whose exact makeup remains confidential until the enemy has properly identified said block. Until then…

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Game Review: Railways of the World

By David Pazmiño
November 5, 2009

Designers: Glenn Drover and Martin Wallace
Publisher: FRED Distribution

Players: 2-6
Ages: 12+
Playing Time: 120 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $75
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Eight, three times with 2 players, three times with 3, once with 4, and once with 5

If games had pedigrees like race horses, then the new Railways of the World base game and series from FRED Distribution would certainly fit the bill as the best bred train game. With such parents as Age of Steam and Railroad Tycoon, this new train game series has the bloodlines to back it up. But does it deliver?

First off, Railways of the World relies on the same track-laying, goods-delivery, and economic-optimization system in the now classic Age of Steam. Since Age of Steam had a particularly high learning curve, it was hard for casual gamers to jump in and enjoy their first game. Railroad Tycoon from Eagle Games refined the system to make it a bit more accessible: The game was streamlined, with money not quite as tight and a bit more luck added through Tycoon and operation cards, making it appeal to the more casual gamer and families. Part of Age of Steam‘s original appeal was the vast replayability from the myriad official and fan-based maps. Eagle Games wanted to do the same thing for the Railroad Tycoon system, but then Eagle was sold to FRED Distribution. While one expansion for Railroad Tycoon did materialize – Rails of Europe – that seemed to be the end of the line.

Now, though, FRED Distribution has decided to breathe new life into Railroad Tycoon by transforming the game into Railways of the World, changing a few rules, further streamlining the system, and offering something that the original fans wanted: more maps.

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Game Review: Flat Acting

By Jonathan Degann
November 1, 2009

Designers: Mark & Matthew Anticole
Publisher: Eye-Level Entertainment

Players: 2-5
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Rules Language: English
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Four, three times with 3 players and once with 5

Shimmer is a floor wax!
No, new Shimmer is a dessert topping!
It’s a floor wax!
No, it’s a dessert topping!
Hey, hey, hey, calm down. It’s both a floor wax AND a dessert topping!

The new game Flat Acting, by Mark and Matthew Anticole, promises to do for board games what Shimmer does for aerosole products. On one level it is a family game of strategy that fits in the genre of Eurogames. On another level, it is a story-telling game that relies heavily on its theme to encourage players to creatively explain some pretty weird hijinks on a movie set.

In the world of Flat Acting, four different genres of movies are somehow competing for dominance in the same movie. Each player controls one genre – romance, western, detective, or spooky – and attempts to play his appropriate actors on the board in a fairly straightforward battle for majority control of areas. In addition, there is a fifth, neutral set of playing pieces, the crew, who are just taking up space. (I’ll bet that’s how some actors feel in real life.) The “set” suffers from a similar multiple personality disorder, having various locations (garden, western town, house/office, cemetery) which any of these actors might appear on. This basic game could work well enough as a typical thinly themed Euro, but the designers take it a step further. Anytime a player introduces an actor onto the set, he must explain what’s going on in the story. Why? Because. It’s just a rule, and if you forget, you get penalized.

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Game Review: Rummino!

By Nathan Beeler
October 31, 2009

Designer: Alauna Sallis
Publisher: Marina Games
Players: 2-6
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Rules Language: English
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Four times, twice with 3 players and twice with 2

By now everyone should know the great blunders in life as taught to us by Vizzini in The Princess Bride: “Never get involved in a land war in Asia,” and “never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line.” To that list I might have added “never forget to zip your fly before a job interview,” “never taunt someone who was held back one or more grades,” and “never agree to review a family game from a small publisher that has an exclamation mark in the title.”

The truth of these statements seemed self evident to me, and until I played Rummino! recently I would have sworn by all of them – but the real truth is that Rummino!, a family game from a small publisher boasting said exclamation mark, doesn’t exactly suck.

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Game Review: Castle Panic

By Andrew Knaack
October 30, 2009

Designer: Justin De Witt
Publisher: Fireside Games
Players: 1-6
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 60 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $35
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Six, once solitaire, once with 2 players, twice with 4 players, twice with 6 players.

With the sudden spurt of cooperative board games, it is no wonder they are under scrutiny. The popularity of the titles creating this surge – Shadows Over Camelot, Pandemic, Ghost Stories – could lead to an early grave for the genre without serious innovation, particularly since many argue that the games lack competitiveness or that one player can play for the whole field.  Castle Panic tries to bring a new competitive/cooperative feel to the genre, while being simple enough to introduce newcomers to the game.

Castle Panic is a simple cooperative-ish game where players work together on a team to protect their six starting castles from attacking monsters and bosses. The game uses a very simple, card-driven battle system where each attack card hits monsters on certain parts of the board. Players play with their hand face up and can trade designated amounts of cards each round. If any of the original six castles remain at the end, the players have won.

What sets Castle Panic apart from other cooperative games is the idea of the “Master Slayer” – the title for the individual who has collected the most points by delivering the final blows to the attacking monsters if the players’ team wins. The promise of this accolade encourages players to act in their own interests instead of letting one player run the show. If players play with the goal of becoming the Master Slayer, the game takes on more of a Cutthroat Caverns feel in which players must work together for anyone to win, but there is always paranoia as to whether people are out to help just themselves.

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Game Review: Bailout! The Game

By Paul Lister
October 8, 2009

Designers: Jordi and Shari Sopourn
Publisher: Liberty Street Games

Players: 2-6
Ages: 14+
Playing Time: 60-90 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $30
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Twice, once with 2 players and once with 3

We live in “interesting times,” with a failed financial system, a perpetual “War on Terror,” and a debate about whether we are killing our planet with global warming – yet a look at the top ten games on BoardGameGeek sees the most popular game designs are, thematically, a journey into the past or the future. Designers and players don’t tend to deal with the here and now. There are a few exceptions to this pattern among recent releases, such as Michele Quondam’s One more Barrel and Scott Nicholson’s Tulipmania 1637 – a parable for modern times if only its release had been on time – and I am looking forward to Splotter’s 2009 Essen release Greed, Incorporated.

So if the here and now is not a theme for established and serious game designers, it is a void to be filled by the casual gaming auteur. RJS, a firm of Florida architects, have stepped in to this space by publishing Bailout!, a game about the great banking rescue of 2008. The game may well have some commercial success as it is topical and attractively packaged. However, I found it to be the most tedious game I have ever played. The closest comparison I can make is to Snakes and Ladders with some tiresome accounting and trivial decisions thrown in without the excitement of being able to move up a ladder to bring the game to a merciful close.

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Game Review: Onexeno

By Nathan Nabeta
September 25, 2009

Designer: Ray Lauzzana
Publisher: Penrose Press

Players: 1-7
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 20-30 minutes
Language: English
Price: $19.50
Links:

Version played: Comped review copy
Times played: Five times, twice solo, twice with 2 and once with 7

Most games try to sell themselves with large, colorful boxes covered with flashy artwork. The box for Onexeno is the exact opposite. It is a tiny, solid black box with only the game title on the cover with blue letters. I love it. The graphic designer in me loves this solid little box with its uber-simplistic approach to design – if only the game were as cool.

At first glance, Onexeno is a fairly simple game. Each card in the 70-card deck has one of the possible combinations for blocks along the outside of a 3x3 grid, along with a point value that matches the number of blocks on the card. Players attempt to play cards to a 5x5 grid on the table, matching the sides of a card in their hand to one or more cards that are already in play on the table. If a player succeeds in placing the last card in a 5-card row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), he takes those cards and places them in front of himself, scoring the point value on the cards. The round ends when the draw deck runs out and all the players pass; the game ends when one player reaches 500 points.

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