Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2025 (Part 29)

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Dale Yu

I’ve recently had mixed feelings about being the gaming organiser/leader in my groups. The upside is that I ensure enjoyable gaming. The downside is that I started perceiving that friends might think it too directorial, which then got me a bit gender head-spinny. But then a girlfriend reminded me that social organisation is traditionally a female role. And I’ve been doing this forever. Oh. Of course.  Sometimes all it takes is a little re-framing with help from your friends to make everything feel right again.

Btw, Infiltraitors (below) was my 200th new game for the year. It’s been fun 😊

 

New-to-me games played recently include …

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Dale Yu: Review of Harvest Valley

Posted on November 23, 2025 by Dale Yu

Harvest Valley

  • Designer: Bruno Faidutti
  • Publisher: Grail Games
  • Players: 2-5
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 15 min
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Harvest Valley is a farming game in which players are trying to build up their farms as their neighbors encroach on their land. There are also wild boars and crows intent on eating crops! Whose farm will be the most successful?  A card game that feels like a tile-laying game. On your turn, either place a card from the display into a grid, or build one of your farmhouses. But not everyone wants your farm to have the biggest harvest! On your turn, place a crop card or a farmhouse card on the shared grid. Once the grid is full, the game ends and the player with the highest score, wins.

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Dale Yu: Review of Clickety Clack

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Dale Yu

Clickety Clack

  • Designer: Ralf zur Linde
  • Publisher: NSV
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 25 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/48Z2lFL
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

In Clickety Clack, you score points by making dice combinations that allow you to keep moving down scoring tracks. It sounds easy enough – take a die from the pool, “click it” onto a second die, and write down the total in a row of your choice on your player board. The farther you go, the harder it will be to write more numbers — and you’re not even guaranteed to score a track!  

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Dale Yu: First Impressions of Movie Tricks

Posted on November 20, 2025 by Dale Yu

Movie Tricks

  • Designers: Vegard Eliassen Stillerud, Eilif Svensson, Ã…smund Svensson 
  • Publisher: Chilifox Games
  • Players: 2-5
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 20-30 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Movie Tricks is a unique trick-taking game:

  • Play cards to determine turn order.
  • In turn order, grab cards from the market.
  • All played cards form the market for the next round.

At the end of the game, score points in different categories, like Best Movie, CGI, Props, Roles, and Soundtrack. If you do not win, you may at least brag about the coolest title!

 

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Dale Yu: Review of Yum Yum Trouble Gum

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Dale Yu

Yum Yum Trouble Gum

  • Designer: Axel Streubel
  • Publisher: Loosey Goosey
  • Players: 2-5
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 20+
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

The troublelicious heist game with just one loser!  YUM YUM Trouble Gum is a card shedding game. When it is your turn, you draw a new card and/or play a card that fits. As soon as everyone and everything is in place, a heist can go down. At that point, be sure to have the right cards left in your hand or, better yet, none at all. Either way, let someone else take the fall!

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Mark’s Bundle of 2025 Essen Game Thoughts

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Mark Jackson
A collage of board games featuring colorful components and game boards. The images include various game layouts, dice, cards, and player pieces, showcasing distinct designs and mechanics.



Five days. Forty-six plays. Four prototypes plus thirty games that were new to me.

Unless otherwise noted, these are FIRST impressions… I only had the opportunity to play many of these games a single time with a physical copy.

If you’re interested in my Essen (well, post-Essen) impressions from 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, you can find them at the following links. (I’m not sure why I didn’t do one of these in 2021.)

For those of you who haven’t read a lot of my reviews, they may give you a better insight into my board game tastes and what I’m likely to enjoy. (Which, of course, may or may not line up with your choices. Your mileage may vary.) I’m also linking to OG articles about the games when they are available.

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Posted in Convention Report, Essen 2025, First Impressions | Tagged | 4 Comments