Dale Yu: Preview of Musical Chairs

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Dale Yu

Musical Chairs

  • Designer: Kelly North Adams
  • Publisher: Rio Grande Games
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 14+
  • Time: 30-45 minutes

When I first heard about this game, I had high expectations for it…

https://twitter.com/BoardofPlaying/status/1247671744627978242

Before I get into the rest of the preview, I feel like I should start by saying that THIS IS NOT A TRICK TAKING GAME. Don’t get your hopes up, like I did – you’ll be disappointed. Now, I’m not saying that you’ll be disappointed in the game, it seems like it has a lot going for it. But it is not a “trick-taking card type” game. Unless you take this to mean that it has rectangular cardboard objects with similar backs and differing fronts which are identified by different combinations of colors and ranks. Sure it has cards, the same sort which are used it trick taking games. But they are not used to take tricks. If you are hoping for the “advertised” TT, it will surely fall short of those expectations.

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10 Great Deduction Games (Article by Chris Wray)

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Chris Wray

Deduction games have long been a part of the hobby, and a prominent one at that.  Classic deduction games include Clue (1949), Scotland Yard (1983), Code 777 (1985), and countless others.  Many of us at The Opinionated Gamers absolutely love deduction games.  The few times I’ve been around a lot of the group — be it at Gulf Games or The Gathering of Friends — a lot of play has centered on clever little puzzles with deduction sheets.

Today’s article is part of our “10 Great” series that features 10 great games in a given subcategory.  I pick a mechanic, theme, publisher, etc.  In this case, I picked a type of game.  We here at the Opinionated Gamers then all vote behind the scenes to create a list of 10 great games that meet the criteria.  We’re aiming for an article a month, and I’d love your suggestions about future lists. 

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Brandon Kempf – Surviving the Purge 22

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Brandon Kempf

Over the next few months, instead of going with my Three Games articles, I am going to take a look at my collection and try to discuss why certain titles survived the great purge of 2019. During this process I may take a look at some games that didn’t survive, but only as a measuring stick for what did survive. Since I am silly, like a lot of gamers, I use Ikea Kallax shelves to display the games that we own. This makes it pretty easy to break things down cube by cube, so that’s what we’re going to do, twenty-four cubes, plus a top shelf for games that don’t fit in the cubes, over the course of a few months. I hope you enjoy!

If you are a BoardGameGeek user, you can also follow along on the Geeklist I created.

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My City (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Chris Wray
  • Designer: Reiner Knizia
  • Publisher: Kosmos
  • Players: 2 – 4
  • Ages: 10 and up
  • Time: 30 Minutes
  • Times Played: 28 (Full 24 Game Campaign, 4 “Eternal” Games)

My City is a legacy game designed by Reiner Knizia.  Released this spring, the game is about placing buildings in a city through generations, watching the community grow from its earliest days through industrialization.  The buildings you construct are represented by polyominoes, those tetris-like shapes we’re all familiar with, so the game has a bit of a puzzle feel.  

The campaign is 24 games, split into 8 chapters of 3 games each.  Depending on your in-game decisions, you’ll be adding new features (generally via stickers) to your city that alters the course of future games.  On the reverse of your board is an “eternal” game that can be replayed anytime. 

My City, designed for 2-4 players, has been receiving significant critical praise for the family-friendly and easy-to-learn gameplay.  My family played through the campaign recently, and we fell in love with My City.

The game is currently released in Germany, and an English-language version is expected this summer.  

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Dale Yu: First Look at The Liberation of Rietburg (A Game in the World of Andor)

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Dale Yu

 

 

The Liberation of Rietburg

  • Designer: Gerhard Hecht
  • Publisher: KOSMOS
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 10+
  • Time: 30-40 minute
  • Times played: 6, with review copy provided by Thames&Kosmos

My online group just finished hacking and judiciously slashing our way through The Last Hope (done over a weekly Google Hangout / Zoom conference), and that fun experience had me wanting more.  I’ll admit that I haven’t been keeping up as close with the new release news as normal with everything going on with the coronavirus.  I was pleasantly surprised to read a blurb about this game from the publisher: “In this stand-alone game set in the fantasy world of Andor, Rietburg Castle has been taken over by evil creatures. Without delay, you — the Heroes of Andor — take on the task of rescuing old King Brandur’s fortress and protecting its remaining inhabitants. But time is of the essence as the dragon Tarok has already set out to destroy the stronghold once and for all. The prophecy foretells that you can only prevent its destruction if you are able to accomplish the four tasks. But which tasks are those? Must you appease the Fire Spirit or kindle the Hadrian Fire? Should you free prisoners from the creatures’ dungeons or submit to the will of the old Skral witch? You are going to have to play to find out”

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Dale Yu: Preview of Dominion Menagerie

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Dale Yu

 

Dominion Menagerie

  • Designer: Donald X. Vaccarino
  • Publisher: Rio Grande Games
  • Players: 2-4
  • Age: 14+
  • Time: 30 minutes
  • Times played: ~10 games with cards from the new set, with review copy provided by RGG

Dominion is one of my all time favorite games. Though, I’m biased as I was one of the developers of the base game and worked with the designer and publisher thru Dominion: Prosperity.  Since then, I have had no involvement in the series, but I still remain a great fan of the system and the game. (I have no stake in Dominion Menagerie at all, I’m just a fan boy like everyone else now!)

 

This newest set is the twelfth expansion to the original game, and there are a number of exciting and interesting ideas injected into the Dominion world with these cards.  This is a “full” expansion – it comes in a full size box and includes 400 cards.  I would like to talk about the three larger themes found in this box.  I will leave the descriptions/previews of the new cards to Donald – as he has already provided a number of preview articles on BGG, and there’s no reason to re-invent the wheel here…

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