EXPEDITION TO NEWDALE

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Tery Noseworthy
Expedition to Newdale, Lookout Games, 2019 — front cover (image provided by the publisher)

DESIGNER: Alexander Pfister

PUBLISHER: Lacerta/Lookout

PLAYERS: 1 – 4

AGES: 12 and up

TIME: 90 minutes

TIMES PLAYED: 6, with a copy I purchased

I rely on the Opinionated Gamers blog a lot. Of course I read all the reviews when they come out, but I also often go back to check out a game I think I might buy or be asked to play, and I use it to share information with friends about games I think they will like. I recently went searching for Expedition to Newdale because I wanted to send a description of it to a friend and it turns out that we have never reviewed it. I was surprised, although so many new games come out that there are always going to be games we don’t review; this was just the first time I had noticed. Since it’s been hitting the table regularly at our house, I figured I would make up for that omission.

It is billed as a campaign/chapter game; I am not giving away any spoilers or information that you wouldn’t be able to see upon opening the game or playing the first chapter. If you’ve played Oh My Goods, you’re familiar with the basics of the game, since it takes place in the same universe, 5 years after the expansion Escape to Canyon Brook ends. However, no prior knowledge of Oh My Goods is required.

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Dale Yu: Review of Master Word

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Dale Yu

 Master Word

  • Designer: Gerald Cattiaux
  • Publisher: Scorpion Masque
  • Players: 3-6
  • Age: 12+
  • Time: 15 mins
  • Times played: 5, with prototype copy provided by Scorpion Masque

Over the years, I have found that I am almost always interested by my first look at word games. The problem with word games is that they are often finicky – often needing the “right” set of players to make it shine.  One of my favorite all-time game experiences was playing Montage with three other gamers familiar with cryptic crosswords.  The amount of ingenuity, creativity and laughs has maybe never been surpassed.  But, I have found that it tends to flop when played with groups of imbalanced vocabulary or crossword experience.   But, that other group might do really well with Password or Electronic Catchphrase.  What’s My Word is another favorite, but it is limited to two players.  Decrypto is another great game that shines with the right group.  So, when I heard that the company behind Decrypto was producing another word game, I was instantly interested.  The big question for me was: where would Master Word fit in the pantheon of word games?

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Camp Capstone (Online Convention Thoughts by Brandon Kempf)

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Brandon Kempf

On August 15th and 16th of 2020, the year of the pandemic, I had the pleasure of attending Camp Capstone, an online convention hosted by Capstone Games. I had attempted to take some time and attend GenCon Online, but there was just too much going on and it didn’t really make all that much sense to me, so I ended up watching a couple Twitch streams and calling it good. When I saw Camp Capstone soon after I figured it would be the same and I wouldn’t end up having that good of a time and just be frustrated with it. Turns out, I was completely incorrect. 

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Herrlof

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Tery Noseworthy

DESIGNER: Alexander Kneepkens, Inge van Dasselaar

PUBLISHER: Jolly Dutch Productions

PLAYERS: 2

AGES: 10+

TIME: 30 – 45 minutes

TIMES PLAYED: 4, with a copy I purchased

t’s great being quarantined with a spouse who is a gamer; I mean, it’s not great being quarantined, of course, but I appreciate that I have the opportunity to get some physical games to an actual table. So many games turn out to work well for two players. However, one genre that is nearly impossible to do with 2 is trick-taking; with the exception of Fox in the Forest,  I haven’t been much of a fan of the 2 player trick-taking games I’ve tried over the years. Hope springs eternal, though, and when I came across this Kickstarter a few months ago I decided to give it a shot, and I was happy to see it arrive on my doorstep. We broke it out almost immediately.

Herrloff is set in the time of Vikings, and you and your opponent are fighting for the right to be king. Your goal is to be the first player to 50 points.

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Deckscape: The Curse of the Sphinx (Spoiler Free)

Posted on August 19, 2020 by xitoliv

Designer: Martino Chiacchiera, Silvano Sorrentino
Artist: Alberto Bontempi
Publisher: dV Giochi
Players: 1-6
Ages: 12+
Times Played: 1, on a copy I borrowed from Dale

The Deckscape line from dV Giochi are a series of “puzzle” games and reside in the orbit of “escape room” games.  These sorts of things come in many varieties -some require apps and others physically can’t be played again because there are destructive or consumable elements- but what I have liked about the Deckscape series is the relative straightforwardness of the puzzles, a little dabbling in riddles, and the sense of adventure.  They insert you into a narrative and the illustrations of the cards carry you along.

Let’s look at how the Deckscape series plays.

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King of Tokyo: Dark Edition (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Chris Wray
  • Designer: Richard Garfield
  • Art: Paul Mafayon
  • Publisher: Iello
  • Players: 2 – 6
  • Ages: 8 and Up
  • Time: 30 Minutes
  • Times Played: > 10 (On Review Copy from Publisher)

King of Tokyo is a modern classic.  The game is often held up as a “gateway” game, and we here at the Opinionated Gamers put it on our list of 10 recommended intro games.

Publisher Iello released a special “Dark Edition” earlier this year.  Hailed a collector’s edition, the game features new, darker artwork, upgraded components, and even a new gameplay mechanism, the wickedness gauge.

I’m a King of Tokyo fan, so I was excited to try out the new edition.  And though I’m skeptical about the new mechanism, It has rekindled my love of the game and been a big hit with my family. 

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