Brandon Kempf – Three Games Lightweight Anticipation

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Brandon Kempf

I have a lot of games. A lot of games that are on my shelves, or on my table being played, that I have told myself that I want to review at some point. For one reason or another, this doesn’t always happen. My goal here on The Opinionated Gamers is that I want to get about one review out per week, but I’d like to write about more games. So I’m taking a page out of Patrick Brennan’s playbook, and we’re going to start writing about games in threes, in snapshot form. This should be a good way for readers to get to know me and my gaming tastes a bit better, and also another way for me to talk about games that I maybe don’t really want to dedicate two thousand words to. Welcome to Three Games.

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Dale Yu: Review of Legacy- Hellas 2019 (An escape room game)

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Dale Yu

 

 

Legacy: Hellas 2019

  • Designer: Mathias Daval and Johanna Pernot
  • Publisher: Argyx Games
  • Players: 1-4
  • Age: 13+
  • Time: 60 minutes
  • Times played: 1, with review copy provided by Argyx Games

In this game, which is currently in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign (that has already been funded), your group tries to solve the mystery of your family history.  There are two episodes included in the box, and we were given a chance to try the second.

 

In the first, Eiffel 1889, you try to track down your ancestor who was involved in the construction of the Eiffel Tower – the star of the World’s Fair that year.  You have a lot of different sources of information at your disposal.  Now, I haven’t had a chance to see this first episode, but luckily, it is not needed to play the second.  The two stories are meant to be standalone from each other.  In Hellas 2019, the story now moves to Greece, where you work with your cousin and his travel agency to try to find your family’s treasure.  This is the part of the game that we got to experience this weekend.

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Ride the Rails (Game Review by Brandon Kempf)

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Brandon Kempf
  • Designer: John Bohrer
  • Artists: Ian O’Toole
  • Publisher: Capstone Games
  • Players: 3-5 
  • Time: 45-60 Minutes
  • Times Played: 2 (USA Map and France Map)

I am not a train gamer. There are times where I have dabbled a bit —  Railways of the World, Age of Steam or 1846, but for the most part, my train gaming has been dominated by the ultra heavyweight title Ticket to Ride. I always enjoy aspects of playing heavier train games. I love route-building, the movement of goods or people, and the investing, but for the most part, I don’t like the amount of time it takes to play some of those bigger games. Railways and Age of Steam pushed the limits of the time I want to invest in this style of games. 1846 pushed the limits and then freightrained me with great vengeance and furious anger. Never again — well, never say never, I suppose. 

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Dale Yu: Review of Hallertau

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Dale Yu

Hallertau

  • Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
  • Publisher: Lookout Games
  • Players: 1-4
  • Age: 12+
  • Time: 50-140 minutes
  • Times played: 6 with print and play preview copy provided by Lookout Games

*** Please note that all of the images here are taken from a prototype print-and-play version of the game.  This may or may not represent the finished product! ***

Hallertau is the newest release from the longtime partnership of Uwe Rosenberg and Lookout Games, and unsurprisingly – the theme here is about farming!  The flavor text: “In the 16th century, the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt had paved the way towards the Reinheitsgebot law for beer that was adopted in all German states in the 19th century. Not only did this law dictate the ingredients but also the sales price of beer. Today, the Hallertau region south of Ingolstadt is the biggest hop producing area in Germany, priding itself upon being the first place in Middle Europe to cultivate hops. This game is set around 1850—the time that made the Hallertau region what it is today. Immerse yourselves as a chief of a small village in the Hallertau region. Provide the local craftsmen with the goods they require to develop the community center—the status symbol of your village—by cultivating crops, breeding sheep, and literally playing your cards right. In the end, the player who best developed their village wins.“ Continue reading →

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OG Reactions to the SdJ and KedJ

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Chris Wray

Yesterday, Pictures won the SdJ, and The Crew won the KedJ.  Congratulations to the winners!  Here are reactions from the Opinionated Gamers.

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Dale Yu: First Impressions of Godspeed

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Dale Yu

 

 

Godspeed

  • Designers: Adam Hill and Clayton Hargrave
  • Publisher: Pandasaurus
  • Players: 2-5
  • Age 10+
  • Time: 60-90 minutes
  • Times played: 2, with review copy provided by Pandasaurus

Godspeed is a science fiction themed game about racing to colonize Minos, an exoplanet circling Ursae Majoris 18.  Somehow on this distant planet, there are teams of astronauts from the USA, Japan, Soviet Union, Europe and India.  Yes, I said the Soviet Union.  The backstory here is that this all happened back in 1968-1969, before people stepped foot on the Moon.  Though the game is set in the midst of the Cold War, the goal here is not to annihilate the opponents, but rather to have the most victory points at the end of 10 rounds.

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