Dale Yu: Review of Coloro

Coloro

  • Designer: Ralf zur Linde 
  • Publisher: Steffen Spiele
  • Players: 2
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 15 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4oPgM3i
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Coloro is a simple yet captivating collecting game. Your task? Gather the most origami of a single design. The arrow shows you from which row or column you may take an origami. Choose wisely, as your decision affects your opponent’s next move. Did you give them an advantage? Or did you snatch the best pieces right from under their nose? Who will keep their cool and become the Origami Collecting Master?

 

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Dale Yu: Review of Kilia

Kilia

  • Designer: Lars Ehresmann
  • Publisher: Huch!
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 14+
  • Time: 60 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Kiel, Germany — the lively port city on the Baltic Sea — is the starting point for a project of the century: a canal from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea! As influential citizens of the city in Kilia, you participate in the construction of the canal…while trying to make a little more profit than the competition. Improve your ships, accept lucrative contracts, influence the most important people on the city council: there are numerous ways to achieve your goals, but only those who use their influence in several places can ultimately win! On each turn, you play only one card, but whether you use it to procure goods, exert influence, or build on the canal is entirely up to you! Every card can be used anywhere, but what will bring you victory this time?

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Rocket Man: Galactic Cruise Solo

I’m not going to bury the lede here – I’m enjoying the heck out of playing Galactic Cruise as a solo game. And since I started with a sly newspaper/journalism reference in the first sentence of this post, I’ll keep it going with the classic “five W” questions.

Star Lord: Where is Gamora?

Iron Man: Yeah, I’ll do you one better. Who is Gamora? 

Drax: I’ll do *you* one better. Why is Gamora?

Avengers: Infinity War

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Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2025 (Part 31)

After 306 new games for the year, doing the rules/video for Speakeasy (the imminent #307) broke me. That’s it. No more. I couldn’t watch it in one sitting, my mind kept wandering, rule after rule after icon after icon after bonus action after bonus action. Enough. No more 20+ page rule books. I’m going to go back to light and easy for a while and recuperate a little. I’ll enjoy the game of course. I’m just a bit over how much pre-game investment you need to make for every big game that comes along now. The price we pay.

New-to-me games played recently include …

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Dale Yu: Review of In a Nut Shell

 

In a Nut Shell

  • Designer: not listed
  • Publisher: Confident Games
  • Players: 2-20
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 20 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4a9fdtr
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher




Cracking board game for game nights with family and friends

  • WHICH ______ IS KNOWN __ KING __ THE JUNGLE? Guess answers by revealing the fewest possible words from the question!
  • High risk high reward! The fewer words you reveal, the more points you score – will your team take the risk and crack the nut?
  • Amazing box with sliding windows reveals questions one word at a time – slide, reveal & guess! With two thrilling game modes that get everyone involved.

How to play:

  1. REVEAL a word from a secret question.
  2. PASS the box – teams take turns revealing words.
  3. Think you know the answer? Risk it and GUESS!
  4. Guess it right? You SCORE! Guess it wrong? They score!

 

 

 

Umm, so the short description above the jump pretty much says it all – this is a fun party game where you split up into teams.  One player is the clue giver, they draw a random card and place it in the box, and then they reveal a number of terms; hopefully enough for their teammates to guess the right answer.  Your team will score more points if they are able to guess the right answer with fewer words showing.  But, you can’t be too clever, because if you miss, your opponents will score the points instead.   If you know your teammates well, you might be able to leverage your knowledge on shared experiences to go for a big score.

 

Once you master that version (or want to simply change it up), you can play the other game mode.  In this version, each team has a clue–master, and they take turns revealing one word on their turn.  The opposing team then decides if the want to guess the answer or have their clue-giver reveal another clue word.  Keep going until one team guesses the word correctly (they score) or misses the word (opponents score). This version can definitely take awhile though as the first few rounds are always just the filler words – it’s impossible to do anything with the earliest clues….

The box is quite neat, and it serves as both the display as well of the storage of the cards.  Speaking of the cards, there are a bunch of cards in the box, over 500!  So, you’ll likely never see a repeat of a question in the lifespan of the game.  (Or certainly, it’s unlikely you’ll remember it by the time it comes up again).  As you hold the box in your hands, it would even be good in a travel situation – say a road trip or a plane ride!

Games play as quick as you want them to be – each round doesn’t take very long.  It’s super easy to teach, and most folks should fully grasp the rules after a turn or two.  If you’re looking for a great group or family activity this holiday season, this is a good one to try!

Until your next appointment

The Gaming Doctor



Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4a9fdtr

 

 

 

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Dale Yu: Review of Evidence: Hush Money

Evidence: Hush Money

  • Designer: Elliott Humphries, James Smith
  • Publisher: Professor Puzzle Games
  • Players: 1-4
  • Age: 14+
  • Time: 90 mins
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4pzLUFe 
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

An unidentified body is discovered in a dark Chicago alley. The only evidence at the crime scene is the victim’s wallet …  As the lead investigator, you’ll need to use the items inside the wallet to unlock clues on the Online Detective Portal and access further evidence – statements, photos, emails, social feeds, and more. Use both the physical and online evidence to identify the victim, discover the motive, and ultimately, reveal the killer.  Evidence: Hush Money is murder mystery crime-solving game, combining physical components and an online progression system. Answer questions on the Online Detective Portal to advance through the game and uncover the murderer.

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