Lunar Skyline

• Designer: Charlie McCarron
• Publisher: Dead Alive Games
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 10+ 
• Time: 15-30 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link:  https://amzn.to/48ZTHWC
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Get ready to blast off into the future with Lunar Skyline—the electrifying trick-taking card game where strategy meets high-stakes bidding and construction! 50 years after the Lunar Rush, where new wondrous materials were discovered on the Moon, the settlers are gearing up to build the first lunar metropolis. As one of a few visionary building and architectural firms, you’re competing to shape the skyline of the metropolis and leave your mark on the Moon for the ages!

In each game, the cards feature two suits/icons, giving you the flexibility to follow the lead card with either suit. You can also win tricks with expert ace pilots (which can be played high or low), or use your underground connections to smuggle in the resources you need. Every trick you take brings in valuable resources for your architectural masterpiece, but the real challenge is outpacing your competitors to complete your contract bids before they do. Nail those bids first, and you’ll get to pick from the lucrative bonuses that can launch you to victory. In Lunar Skyline, the future of this metropolis is in your hands!

Continue reading →

So, while at the most recent Gathering of Friends, Deck Hand Games offered each invitee one of their small format games as a welcome gift.  I managed to get a full set of the four games on offer, and I’ll go through each of them.  The game format is tiny – a small cardboard folder containing 18 cards and a small rulebook.  Be warned that a super helpful setup diagram is found on the inside of the unfolded cardboard cover! 

In addition to the small packet of cards, you’ll also need a standard 54-card deck (most of the games also require the Jokers).  Each of the games plays 2-4 players in 20-30 minutes.

Continue reading →

First Giants

• Designer: Matthew Dunstan, Brett J. Gilbert
• Publisher: Space Cowboys
• Players: 2-5
• Age: 10+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/42Ziqac
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Dive into First Giants, a race to create the most prestigious prehistorical animal exhibit! Build your engine by collecting cards with powerful effects OR score points by playing your cards in the exhibit area. But beware! Once displayed, you’ll lose their beneficial effects. Timing is crucial to win!  First Giants is a game of set collecting and combinations in which players recruit cards representing dinosaurs, flying reptiles, giant mammals… of various size. These cards have many different powers and you can create powerful combination to earn amber, victory points and the ability to exhibit your fossils.

Continue reading →

Ace of Spades

• Designer: Benja Amorin
• Publisher: DEVIR
• Players: 1-2
• Age: 14+
• Time: 40 minutes 
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Your path of vengeance has led you to Sweet Haven, Arizona. You know that the necromancer who has ruined your life has taken over the cemetery as his base of operations and you are going to finish him off at all costs. You face Lord Overkill, a supernatural being, but your prowess as a gambler goes beyond sleight of hand.  Channel your magic through poker plays to take out Lord Overkill’s minions one by one and descend into Hell itself to duel the monster who ruined your life. Ace of Spades is a single-player game, or a two-player game if you prefer to play it in co-op mode, that uses poker mechanics to resolve dangerous duels against the worst spawns from Hell.

Continue reading →