Jungle Race was a 2018 boardgame release – in this family game, five racers vie to cross the finish line first. Each player is dealt a hand of cards corresponding to the racers. On a turn, you can play a card for a racer, showing your support of that racer. That car will overtake the next position in line – moving closer to the front. However, if you support the car which is currently in the lead, it will go all the way back to the back of the line!
The Queen of Hansa (and actually, all of Hobby Japan) was a game that I hadn’t initially thought of looking at while in Essen last October. It’s a company that I’m not too familiar with, and none of the titles sounded familiar. However, after a discussion with one of my good friends, Klemens Franz, I got some insider information that they had games I should really check out. Sure, Klemens is biased as he is the artist for this game – but it was still a good tip, and I’m glad to have listened to my friend. I discovered this game as well as finding a new reprint of a game that I adored, Tenka Maidou, which I had not been able to acquire – now called Rumble Nation – but more on that in a different review.
Gelato Mio is a nice cardgame that comes in a small deck tuckbox. It is the second game in this format that I have tried from artgames, the other being Vidrado. Â Unlike Vidrado, this is more of a traditional card game – where players try to collect cards in order to make ice cream and eventually fulfill order cards for victory points.
The game is made up of 87 cards – split into a number of different decks. The bulk of the cards are in the ingredient deck; these are shuffled and a 3×3 array of cards is set out on the table.  Continue reading
In Crack the Code, your team acts as a group of hackers working to secure your network in a collaborative fashion. Each player will have a goal card and a tray with colored marbles on it – the goal card obscures the marbles so that the player can’t see the marbles.. Using the available command cards, the players must work together to get the marbles in each tray to match the goal card for that player. Of course, to make things more complicated, players can only communicate with each other in a limited fashion.
Coyote is another reprint for Heidelbaer – the original being done all the way in 2003! This bluffing game was originally set in the American West and had an Indian theme – this new version has the same name, but is now set in Alaska – per the publisher:
“One day Coyote crossed the river with his friends, but he was carrying too many things and almost drowned before Bear pulled him out of the water. Poor Coyote had lost everything.
They sat down by a fire to dry off and rest. Coyote became jealous of the other animals because they still had all their things, so he challenged them to a bluffing game to win their belongings. The other animals agreed to the challenge as they thought Coyote would never win. After all, he is known to never tell the truth — but in this game everybody has to lie because no one knows the truth…
Opinionated Gamers have opinions about the best games of 2020 that they have played so far. In addition, they have opinions about poetry, in particular, haiku. We bring you some of our favorite games of 2020 & 2021 in haiku form – this time with answers!
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Beautiful atlas
Adventures in strange new lands
Cooperation
(Ans: Sleeping Gods)
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Head to the war god
Plant and research with card play
heat and green brings life
(Ans: Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition)
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Scientific trees
Lead to exploration of
The final frontier.
(Ans: Beyond the Sun)
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Unlike first two times,
We go back in time. Facing
Spies, not viruses.
(Ans: Pandemic Legacy 0)
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Card order matters,
Everything is shared, and the
Crocodiles bring dough.
(Ans: Faiyum)
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Seek factions favor,
Battle for supremacy,
To control the Spice.
(Ans: Dune Imperium)
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Draw card, tile to board
Knizia Legacy
Played twenty-four times
(Ans: My City)
–
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again. (Basho)
(Ans: Cosmic Frog)
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Clear the crocodiles.
Build cities in swampy land.
Pharaoh is happy.
(Ans: Faiyum)
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Good technology
Solves all the world’s problems
(And even off-world)
(Ans: Pax Transhumanity)
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Trees are not for shade,
But for ever-growing tech.
Colonize planets!
(Ans: Beyond the Sun)
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Is this card red or
Is it blue, yellow, or green?
We will find out soon!
(Ans: Cat in the Box)
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Over the wintry
Forest, winds howl in rage
With no leaves to blow. (Soseki)
(Ans: Winter Kingdom)
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Capitalism
Does not care of human costs.
Extract and sell death.
(Ans: The Cost)
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Civilizations
At first barbarian then
Empire progresses
(Ans: Imperium Classics/Legends)
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Trapper keeper of
Monsters and strange lands that pass
Slowly hand to hand
(Ans: Carnival of Monsters)
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Use nitrous oxide
Fisticuffs atop a car
Family saves the world
(Ans: Fast & Furious)
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Seeking treasure now
Narrowing options quickly
Aha, found them both
(Ans: Loot of Lima)
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Roll the dice and draft
Choose your passengers with care
Draw, avoid traffic
(Ans: Let’s Make a Bus Route: the Dice Game)
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A twisted classic
Ego versus Id in tricks
Powerful potions
(Ans: Jekyll & Hyde)
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BONUS Haiku accidentally cut from Wednesday:
Bricks, sheep, and barley
Community center moves
We give thanks to Uwe
(Ans: Hallertau)
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Older Games Below
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Your inner viking
Hunting fishing and raiding
Let the banquet start
(Ans: Feast for Odin)
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Choose your favored map
Select your stations carefully
Decide to fuel wisely
(Ans: Power Grid)
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Welcome guests, come on in!
Oh, don’t mind that gravedigger.
Enjoy your stay, even if brief,
(Ans: Bloody Inn)
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An obscure word – three
What twisted mind thinks that makes sense?
A point for the other team
(Ans: Code Names)
