Heroscape: “Knowing is half the battle”

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Mark Jackson

Good grief. The Embers of War Heroscape releases just arrived on my doorstep this week… and then the Renegade Game Studios team decided to open the veritable floodgates with information about the wild assortment of stuff coming in early 2026 (February, March, April, and May). It’s going to be a busy spring.

Yes, fellow Heroscapers (and other folks who just like reading my dulcet prose), we’ve reached the time of year when I recap the Heroscape-y parts of the fall RenegadeCon. I wasn’t kidding in the first paragraph – there is a LOT to cover, so let’s get right to it. (Seriously – Lee Houff noted that it’s the most stuff they’ve announced in one stream, adding “it’s nuts.” She’s not wrong – but in a good way.)

I’ll be covering both the reveals (thanks to Anais Morgan & Lee Houff) as well as the Heroscape Designer Roundtable (thanks to Rina Amaranthine, S. Rowan, Dyllan Fernandez, and Alex Davy) that were a part of the stream last Friday. (If you’d like to watch it for yourself – including a live playthrough, a paint clinic, and a short feature on Heroscape miniature design – head on over to the Renegade Game Studios YouTube channel.)

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Dale Yu: Book Review of Catan and Catan: The Order of the Ravens

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Dale Yu

Catan 

Catan: The Order of the Ravens

So I was sent an ARC (advance reader copy) of the second book in the Catan series, written by the same man who designed the boardgames, Klaus Teuber.  It didn’t make much sense to talk the second book without also talking about the first, so you get a two-fer here.

Says the Publisher about the first book, Catan:

Written by the award-winning creator of the global board game sensation, Catan is a new adventure perfect for longtime fans and new readers alike.

Norway, 860.

Half-brothers Thorolf, Yngvi, and Digur have conspired to help Asla–daughter of Halldor, a powerful Viking chieftain–to escape her father’s oppressive rule. However, when they are discovered the chieftain’s revenge is swift and mighty. Pillaging his way through the realms of his daughter’s liberators, Halldor banishes his kin and has the brothers driven from their land.

Left with no other choice, the three brothers–together with family and their allies–depart their home, sailing for new shores and, after a treacherous voyage, finally reach their destination: Catan, Land of the Sun.

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Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2025 (Part 25)

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Dale Yu

I’ve never played Molly House. I don’t know what it purports to represent but I have a perception that it provides visibility on historical LGBT relationships and therefore the implication is that the game’s existence promotes normalcy of, and acceptance for, LGBT presence in our society. If it does, that’s wonderful of course.

 

Let me offer an accompanying view. When my gaming buddies were playing it at a recent gaming weekend, it caused me constant distress. All game I felt it was continually reminding them that I was trans.

 

As those who’ve met me know, I’m proud and open about who I am, always happy to talk about it or laugh at myself. Because openness leads to understanding, and understanding leads to acceptance. But after a lifetime of hiding and depression, you know what I also want more than anything? To feel normal. To live a simple quiet life. In my gender. For my friends (and me) to gradually ‘forget’ that I’m trans and allow me to live a normal life as much as I can. I’m gradually adjusting the balance between these competing ‘wants’ as I go.

 

But when people are playing Molly House, there’s no escape. It just keeps getting hammered home in my brain – my friends are thinking Alison is trans, trans, trans, trans. My brain can’t turn it off. It’s a constant dysphoric distress.

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Dale Yu: Review of Bullet★

Posted on October 5, 2025 by Dale Yu

Bullet★

  • Designer:  Joshua Van Laningham
  • Publisher:  Level 99 Games
  • Players: 1-4
  • Age: 13+
  • Time: 15 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/471BkQU
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Assume the role of the universes’ most powerful heroines as you settle their disputes with excessive firepower! Use actions to form patterns, clear bullets from your sight, and bombard the opponent! Deal with the curtain of bullets coming at you each round and be the last heroine standing to win!  Each heroine wields a dynamic power that changes how you play the game! Control fireworks, zombies, the news, and more!  4 game modes! Play solo with Score Attack. Free-For-All with 2-4 friends, form 2 player Teams, or fight each heroine’s dangerous Boss Mode by yourself or with others!

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Dale Yu: Review of ORBIT

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Dale Yu

ORBIT (“Orbital Race Between Interstellar Tourists”)

  • Designer: Reiner Knizia
  • Publisher: Bitewing Games
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 30-60 mins
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/46hj7Ou
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

Come one, come all to the Silo System, the beating heart of our galaxy, for the race of the decade! We’ve recruited the best tourists in all the cosmos: travel-hardened explorers who will compete in the ultimate contest. These pilots must race to visit all the planets in the Silo System, surfing upon orbital paths, teleporting between hyper jump portals, and beaming through hyperspace. Enjoy your dream vacation on one of our luxurious planets or lavish space stations as you witness the ultimate interstellar marathon. All the eyes of the galaxy will be watching this decennial event celebrating the unification of our systems under Silo Supremacy.

ORBIT (Orbital Race Between Interstellar Tourists) is a 24th century tactical space race with simple turns, yet challenging possibilities. Players compete to visit all planets of the system, then return to their starting planet first.  On your turn, you play a card, activate its actions in any order, then draw back up to your hand size. Cards allow you to do a combination of things: move your ship, collect energy for bonus movement, advance planets along their orbit, or even reverse the orbital direction of a planet.

Players can enjoy a randomized set-up across two unique game boards. The game also includes a few variants: two-player dual ship mode, four-player partnership mode, and a stationary planet.  ORBIT is the third and concluding game in the Cosmic Silos Trilogy by Reiner Knizia.

(FWIW, I have been calling this the SOAK series – I had not heard the “ Cosmic Silos Trilogy” moniker to date, so I made up my own… SOAK: Series Of Acronymed Knizia’s…  Also  CST just doesn’t have a good ring to it.)

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Posted in Essen 2025, Reviews | 1 Comment

Dale Yu: Review of A Gentle Rain: Bloom Edition

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Dale Yu

A Gentle Rain: Bloom Edition

  • Designer: Kevin Wilson
  • Publisher: Incredible Dream
  • Players: 1
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 15 minutes
  • Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/48eBWDv
  • Played with review copy provided by publisher

TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND RELAX…

You have come to the lake hoping to see a rare and beautiful sight. The lilies of the lake only open their blossoms in the rain, and only rarely do all eight kinds of lily bloom at once. The goal of A Gentle Rain is to place the lake tiles in such a way to cause all eight types of lilies to bloom before you run out of tiles and the rain ends.

Place each new tile you draw next to a tile already in play, making sure to match the colors of all the tile edges touching the tile you are placing. Each time you manage to complete a square of four touching tiles, a blossom opens between them.

Keep Score, or don’t.

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