Dale Yu: Review of Princes of Florence

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Dale Yu

Princes of Florence

  • Publisher: Korea Board Games / Wizkids
  • Designers: Wolfgang Kramer, Richard Ulrich, Jens Christopher Ulrich
  • Players: 1-5
  • Age: 12+
  • Time: 70-90 mins
  • Played with review copies provided by Korea Boardgames/Wizkids.  Played >50 times (estimation) with older versions (alea/RGG)

Says the rulebook: “Assume the role of the head of an Italian aristocratic dynasty and lead your family like the Medici or Borgia. The players support the builders, artists, and scholars so that their completed works will bring their families fame and prestige. As the patrons of the creators of great works, the players seek to multiply their fame and reputations, but only one will become the most prestigious Princess or Prince of Florence! “

 

As SPIEL 2022 rolled around, one of the most anticipated games for me was the Korea Board Games version of Princes of Florence, a game which first came out in 2000.  For me, this one of the classic standard bearers of the hobby.  Back then, we probably introduced people to games via Die Siedler, but then, when they were ready for more complexity, surely it was PoF, El Grande or maybe Torres that came next?

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Posted in Essen 2022, Reviews | 2 Comments

Blood On The Clocktower, or How I Realized You Can Be Stressed In Multiple Ways For 2 Hours At A Time

Posted on July 13, 2023 by ericwedens

Review by: Eric Edens


You Mean Like Werewolf?

Blood on the Clocktower (BOTC) is a social deduction game which requires a Storyteller to play.  To explain how to play I will briefly compare this to Werewolf but please know this will be the last time I compare this game to other games in this review. It’s easy to talk about BOTC as if it is just an iteration of other games and I want you, the reader, to see how this game “is” instead of how it “isn’t” like other games.  To play this game, like Werewolf, you need a large space for at least 5 (better with at least 8) players and 1 Game Runner, called here Storyteller.  There is a good team and an evil team and the game ends when either the good team executes the leader of the evil team (the demon) or the evil team outlives the good team.  Players will randomly be given their secret role and alignment.  The game is played in two recurring phases, day and night, just like Werewolf. During the night a murder can occur and during the day a voted on execution can occur. The game continues until one of the two teams has won.  If you’ve played Werewolf, this is likely feeling similar and at this point I’ll leave that comparison for good.

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Dale Yu: Review of Votes for Women  

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Dale Yu

Votes for Women

  • Designer: Tory Brown
  • Publisher: Fort Circle Games
  • Players: 1-4
  • Age: 12+
  • Time: 60-75 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by Fort Circle Games

Votes for Women is a card-driven game covering the American women’s suffrage movement from 1848-1920, culminating with the ratification (or rejection) of the Nineteenth Amendment. The game was launched on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

To win, the Suffragist player must have Congress pass the proposed Amendment and then have three-fourths of the states (36 of the then 48 states) ratify the Amendment. The Opposition player wins by either preventing Congress from passing the proposed Amendment or by having 13 states reject the Amendment.

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Dale Yu: First Impression of Dungeons and Dragons: Trials of Tempus

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Dale Yu

Dungeons and Dragons: Trials of Tempus

  • Designers: Thor Knai, Adam Carasso, Kyle Newman
  • Publisher: Wizkids
  • Players: 2-8
  • Age: 12+
  • Time: 90-150 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by Wizkids

Says the publisher: “Dungeons and Dragons: Trials of Tempus  is a co-operative, team-based game for 2-8 players in which rival parties of heroic adventurers battle to prove their worth and mettle in the ever-changing Battlerealms of Tempus, God of War! Choose your hero wisely for the skills and allies you need to conquer each trial are never the same, and the guardian that awaits you all at the end will surely test the limits of your bravery…or is it your cunning? The trial will tell. To win, you and your party must work together to earn more points than your rivals by completing quests and gathering loot! Finally, you must defeat the trial guardian. Whichever party has the most points when the trial guardian falls wins the trial!”

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Posted in First Impressions | 1 Comment

Patrick Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2023 (Part 4)

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Dale Yu

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying Pandemic Season 0 on our Wednesday nights. A major part of that is no doubt because we’ve been nailing it. Veterans of Season 1 and Season 2, we had a pretty fair idea of how to build our characters to best meet the challenges ahead and our spend has been on point so far. We’re finished July now and each game has been won first time, with each objective fulfilled completely bar one where we hit 75% (which is still considered fulfilled). The games are getting tighter and tighter now though and some have been a bit touch and go – we’ve certainly had luck go our way at times.

Regardless, we’ve appreciated the mechanic differences that the re-theming has introduced – city affiliations, factions, the introduction of clean-up teams, city targeting, and the like. All interesting in their own way and frequently requiring re-thinks on priorities. Good stuff. Love a good campaign!

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Posted in Commentary, Sessions | 2 Comments

Portugal’s Jogo do Ano Award Announces Its 2023 Nominees

Posted on July 4, 2023 by huzonfirst

One of my favorite of the lesser known annual game awards is the Jogo do Ano, Spiel Portugal’s Game of the Year, and they just announced their five nominees for 2023.  Bucking the current trend towards honoring lighter designs, the Jogo do Ano, which has been around since 2007, focuses almost exclusively on heavier titles.  For example, the last three winners are Imperial Steam, Imperial Struggle, and Barrage.  Here are the nominated games this year, together with their designers:

  • Carnegie (Xavier Georges)
  • Federation (Dimitri Perrier, Matthieu Verdier)
  • Lacrimosa (Gerard Ascensi, Ferran Renalias)
  • Tiletum (Simone Luciani, Daniele Tascini)
  • Weather Machine (Vital Lacerda)

This is Luciani’s sixth JdA nomination, more than any other designer.  His only win was for Barrage.  Lacerda, who won previously for Lisboa, had his fifth game nominated.  Tascini now has four nominations and Georges (who won earlier for Troyes) now has three.

The results will be announced later this year.  Congratulations to all the nominated designers!

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | 2 Comments