So you want to see more of what Mars has to offer?  You’ve thoroughly explored Noctis City, you’ve summited Pavonis Mons, you’ve collected more “pets” than you can count, and you’ve built enough security fleets to guard Fort Knox and the Hope Diamond combined.  It’s high time for a new otherworldly adventure, and you’re in luck.  There are so many ways to expand your journey outside the asteroid belt, and the key is just knowing where to start.

1. Prelude

The first thing you’re going to want to do is dig into the history of this terraforming endeavor by adding a prelude to your story.  Preludes enable your experience to differ from your fellow travelers from the outset in ways that will define and shape your motivations for generations to come.  Will you accept the patronage of an eccentric sponsor who will kick your exploration into high gear, or will you establish a self-sufficient settlement in order to get down to the surface with a base of operations ahead of schedule?

The Escape Game Unlocked – The Heist, Volume 2: The Silk Road (online game)

• Publisher: The Escape Game
• Affiliate Link: https://store.theescapegame.co?sca_ref=190786.ILGJJnBNPy
• Players: 1+ (we played with 4)
• Time: about 60-70 minutes
• Times played: 1, with review codes provided by The Escape Game

This game is an Escape Room in a box, done by The Escape Game, one of the better physical escape room franchises around.  We have reviewed the physical rooms a few times (here and here), as well as their boardgame, and this take-home game is an extension of one of their rooms, unsurprisingly called “The Heist”.  You can read our capsule review of the first episode here…

The mission now?  Continue to follow the criminal Hahn into Asia.  Intel has noticed some suspicious activity in Hong Kong… According to reports, Hahn is dealing with artifacts related to the Silk Road.  Your mission is to go there, find Hahn and capture him before he can get away!

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One of the interesting things about writing a regular, annual gaming article is how much things can change from year to year.  But I think it’s safe to say that I never imagined the world-wide circumstances we all would be facing when the 2020 version of my Designer of the Year entry would be posted.  I just hope that everyone reading this is healthy and safe, and making sensible choices.  With any luck, this article will help you take your mind off real-world issues for a little while.

So, yes, it’s time for me to designate my Designer of the Year for 2019.  What, you may ask, is this thing?  Well, here’s the elevator pitch, for those who are new to the series.  It came about when I noticed, way back when, that there are a huge number of Game of the year awards of every shape and description.  But there’s no formal award for the designers, the talented folks who create these wonderful titles.  Nature abhors a vacuum and I’m not that wild about it either, so I decided to fill this one by honoring the person who I feel has published the best portfolio of games over the previous calendar year.  That was my intent when I started posting these articles back in 2004 and little has changed since then, so I’m still at it, hopefully providing a small amount of insight and entertainment to the gaming community at large.

Which games are we talking about?  Just about all of them.  Children’s games are excluded, as that’s a whole different set of designers, and I’m not that familiar with them anyway.  But just about everything else—boardgames, card games, dexterity games, Euros, thematic titles—is eligible.  I do exclude expansions, since they’re not really complete designs (although spinoffs, standalone expansions, and redesigns of previously published titles are included, albeit at a reduced weight).  But everything else a designer produces gets tossed into the pot and affects the final decision. Continue reading →