Armadillo

• Designer: Rudi zBiber
• Publisher: AMIGO
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 8+
• TIme: 20 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by AMIGO at SPIEL 2022

AMIGO has long been on of the stalwarts of the business, especially for their small card games.  In fact, many folks (including myself) still refer to the slim double deck card boxes as “Amigo Card Boxes”…  Each year, AMIGO usually puts out 2-4 such boxes of card games at SPIEL, and I generally stop by their booth to see what the offerings are each year.

Armadillos young and old meet on the hilly plains of America to take part in the great rolling competition.  They curl up in a ball and off they go down the hillside!  However, their goal is not to be the fastest or go the furthest; they all try to get as close to the goal rock as possible.  In this game, you want to rid yourself of cards as quickly as you can through luck and smart choices over which armadillos — I mean, dice to roll each round.  

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Birdwatcher

• Designer: Zakir Jafry
• Publisher: Renegade Game Studio
• Players: 1-5
• Age: 13+
• Time: 45 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by Renegade Game Studio
• Amazon affiliate link – https://amzn.to/3YcyDVQ

Well, I guess that it’s safe to say the bird themed games are all the rage now; the leader of the pack being Wingspan.  Birdwatcher seems to be a different sort of game – it is a fast, competitive game in which players are rival wildlife photographers on a hunt to snap photos of the elusive and illustrious birds of paradise.

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Challengers

• Designer: Johannes Krenner, Markus Slawitscheck
• Publisher: 1 more time Games, Z-Man Games
• Players: 1-8
• Age: 8+
• Time: 45 mins

“Challengers” is a game that breaks the mold. I was lucky enough to play a prototype at the ‘Gathering of Friends’ last April and it was the game I was most looking forward to seeing at Essen. For my taste it is quite simply: fun in a box.

Firstly let’s talk about value for money. In the days where publishers are charging 60 Euros for a game, Challengers contains not only an enormous number of cards but also 4 colourful player mats in neoprene and three holders for the 3 decks of cards – all for 40 Euros. Continue reading →

Planet B

• Designer: Johannes Natterer
• Publisher: Hans im Gluck
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 14+
• Time: 30-45min/player

“At some point in the not-so-distant future, we humans had to look for a new place to live. Just when we thought we’d have to settle for Mars, we suddenly discovered a new planet, one we lovingly christened “Planet B”. It was a second chance for humanity, and of course we were determined to do everything right this time because as everyone knows, we humans learn very well from our mistakes… In Planet B, you slip into the role of corrupt governors. You make crooked deals with corporations to advance your own interests. You build your city, let the population work for you, rise in the favor of political factions, or control the news. Of course, all of this comes at a price — and by the time you’re vying for the presidency, you’ll want potential voters to be on your side. In the end, as always, only one thing counts: Who has managed to pocket the most government money?“

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