Category Archives: Essen 2013

Game Review – Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends

Posted on February 28, 2014 by

 Designer: Vlaada Chvátil Publisher: CGE / Z-Man Games Players: 2-4 Time: 60 minutes (though I’d say closer to 45) Ages: 12 (officially – though my 8 year old does just fine with it) Times Played: 7 (with review copy provided … Continue reading →

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Ben McJunkin: Review of Wildcatters

Posted on January 28, 2014 by

Wildcatters Designers: Rolf Sagel & André Spil Publisher: RASS / Vendetta Players: 3-4 | Ages: 12+ | Time: 120 mins. Wildcatters is a criminally under-the-radar title from a pair of first-time designers, Rolf Sagel and André Spil.  The game pits … Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Nauticus (Kosmos)

Posted on January 10, 2014 by

Designer: Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling Publisher: Kosmos Players: 2-4 Ages: 12+ Time: 90-120 minutes Times played: 3, with preview copy provided by Kosmos Nauticus comes from the same pairing of designers that brought you classic games such as Tikal … Continue reading →

Posted in Essen 2013, Reviews | 1 Comment

Ben McJunkin: Swing and a Miss – Another Handy Guide to Essen Games

Posted on December 24, 2013 by

A couple months back, I put together an article titled “Pitching Essen,” which purported to offer a quick pitch for each of the twenty games I was most excited about heading into the SPIEL fair in Essen.  Now that I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Essen 2013 | 3 Comments

Dale Yu – Review of Blueprints (ZMan)

Posted on December 13, 2013 by

Blueprints Designer: Yves Tourigny Players: 2-4 Ages: 14+ Time: 30 minutes Times played: 5, with review copy provided by Z-Man   Blueprints is a game that I had been anticipating for almost a year now.  I had heard some very … Continue reading →

Posted in Essen 2013, Reviews | 2 Comments

Dale Yu: Review of Sanssouci (Ravensburger)

Posted on December 4, 2013 by

Dale Yu: Review of Sanssouci Designer: Michael Kiesling Players: 2-4 Ages: 8-99 Time: 30-45 minutes Times Played: 3 with review copy provided by Ravensburger   Game Idea – Over the course of 18 rounds, players are trying to construct the … Continue reading →

Posted in Essen 2013, Reviews | 1 Comment

Dale Yu: Review of Bruxelles 1893 (Pearl Games / ZMan)

Posted on December 2, 2013 by

Bruxelles 1893 Designer: Etienne Espreman Publisher: Pearl Games / Z-Man Players: 2-5 Ages: 10+ Time: 90-120 mins Main Mechanic: worker placement, auction, majority control, modular board (This game had been covered in an Essen Preview earlier, but it is being … Continue reading →

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Tom Rosen: Essen Second Impressions

Posted on November 27, 2013 by

I initially reported on my Essen first impressions a couple weeks ago and I’m back to update those with my Essen second impressions.  This is based on the new games I tried while at BGG.CON as well as the games … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Essen 2013 | 13 Comments

3000 Words Worth of Essen First Impressions

Posted on November 25, 2013 by

OK, having written a full Essen article without once mentioning a game, I suppose the time has come to write about the games. Back in 1995, Mike Siggins wrote: “What is certain is that on the evidence of Essen, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Essen 2013, First Impressions | 16 Comments

Dale Yu: First Impressions from Essen #5 – Card Games Part 1 – Funf Gurken and UGO!

Posted on November 20, 2013 by

First Impressions from Essen We’ve decided that we’re going to hold off on writing our group reviews until around Thanksgiving – in order to give as many of our writers a chance to play the games at the fall conventions … Continue reading →

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