Dale Yu: Review of Queen Marie-Antoinette

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Dale Yu

 

 

Queen Marie-Antoinette

  • Designer: Julien Griffon
  • Publisher: Oka Luda
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 30 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

A game of strategy and influence at the court of Versailles – Step into the intrigues of the royal court!


In Queen Marie-Antoinette, you play as ambitious courtesans vying for favor in the opulent court of Louis XVI. Recruit influential characters from five distinct factions (Favorites, Merchants, Military, Clergy, Aristocrats), fulfill secret Plots, and adapt to the Queen’s ever-changing demands to earn influence points.  The Queen’s Requirements and shifting Conditions will disrupt your plans and force you to rethink your strategy each turn. Only the most cunning courtier will rise to the top.

 

 

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Heroscape: A New Age Begins

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Mark Jackson
A collage of HeroScape game expansions featuring various character miniatures and their descriptions, set against a cosmic background. Includes titles such as 'Might of the New Alliance', 'Paragon of the New Alliance', and 'Secrets of Lithodel'.

You may not have realized it – but the Heroscape team has not simply been adding figures & terrain to the world of Valhalla. They have also been adding tons of lore. We are now leaving the Age of Annhilation (what with the Wellspring storm unleashed by Valkyrie General Thormun) and entering a new age: the Secrets of the Citadel.

This means that Valkyrie generals have been forced into difficult partnerships:

  • The New Alliance – Jandar & Utgar
  • The Umbral Covenant – Vydar & Revna
  • The Clockwork Combine – Einar & Volarak
  • The Verdant Pact – Ullar & Aquilla

At RenegadeCon last Friday, the team shared the upcoming summer releases for this new era in the history of Valhalla. All of the new boxes feature these unfamiliar alliances. Additionally, we are getting to see the first glimpses of heroes with multiple classes. All of the heroes and squads in this wave are unique – meaning you’ll only need a single box of each to “complete” your set.

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Dale Yu: Review of Space Lab

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Dale Yu

 

 

Space Lab

  • Designers: Corentin Lebrat, Johannes Goupy
  • Publisher: Studio H 
  • Players: 1-4
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 20 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: 
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Interest in space research is at an all-time high. Across the world, dozens of space labs launch, hoping to uncover the universe’s secrets!  Launch your very own international space station! Recruit members from the world’s four largest space agencies to create the ideal team and complete the most prestigious projects outer space has to offer!

Space Lab is an exciting and accessible tableau-building game full of interesting decisions.
On your turn, collect all the cards from the same agency from the top of the deck or the recruitment center. Manage your hand and place your Lab cards around your Capsules intelligently to optimize their powers and your objectives. Watch the pace of the game to anticipate the end and maximize your score!

 

 

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Dale Yu: Review of Giraffe Raffe

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Dale Yu

 

 

Giraffe Raffe

  • Designer: Hisashi Hayashi
  • Publisher: Mandoo games
  • Players: 1-5
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 20-30 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Play tricks to Trees, or play Apples to skip your turn, but be careful to not put yourself in a position where you cannot play cards or an Apple!  Either play one or more cards to a tree as long as your play is higher than what is already there and gain a reward, or you can play an apple and skip your turn. If someone cannot take their turn, they lose!

 

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Toy Battle, Civolution, Zenith, and Mooki Island Win France’s As d’Or Awards

Posted on March 1, 2026 by huzonfirst

The winners of the As d’Or–France’s Game of the Year awards–were announced last week. Taking the main award is Toy Battle, a 2-player affair in which tiles representing toys do battle on a small territorial map. It was designed by Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini. Mori is a veteran designer with many hit games and award nominations to his name, but this is his first significant award. The other nominated games in this category were Flip 7 and Rebirth.

Three other games were cited. The winner in the Expert category is Civolution, designed by Stefan Feld. It beat out the other two nominated games, Arcs and Ants. In the Intermediate category, the award goes to Zenith, designed by Gregory Grard and Mathieu Roussel. The runners-up were First Rat and Take Time. Finally, the Best Children’s game is Mooki Island, designed by Florian Sirieix. The other nominated games were Archeo and The Twisted Spooky Night.

Congratulations to all the winning games and designers!

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Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2026 (Part 10)

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Dale Yu

 

 

New-to-me games played recently include …

6 NIMMT! BARON OXX (2025): Rank 6848, Rating 7.1 – Kiesling / Kramer

The latest 6 Nimmt variant, where the number now only determines play order and you can play in any row where your card has the same color icons as the last card in the row. But there’s now double jeopardy because you also take the row if there are 6+ icons in that colour in the row (as well as if you play the 6th card). It’s definitely more fun than the original, with more options to consider, but it’s still 6 Nimmt with all the luck that that entails.

Rating: 6

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