Dale Yu: Review – Bermuda Pirates (and a small Essen Preview of 50 Clues)

Posted on October 13, 2019 by Dale Yu

Bermuda Pirates

  • Designer: Jeppe Norsker
  • Publisher: FoxMind
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 7+
  • Time: 20-30 minutes
  • Played with review copy provided by FoxMind

Bermuda Pirates was a game I had heard nothing about prior to seeing it on the FoxMind stand in Indianapolis at GenCon 2019, but it was a game that had constant hoots and laughter from the gamers demo-ing it, so I thought it would be worth taking a look… From the publisher’s description:

The Bermuda Triangle has been know for its treacherous sea. An adventurous band of pirates has set its sights on an island known for the treasures it conceals. On their way, they must overcome mysterious, suddenly appearing, whirlpools that will instantly drag their boat to the bottom of the sea. Will you be able to navigate your boat to the island in this mystic sea, amass the treasures and make your way back safely? Will you outsmart competing bands of pirates trying to get their hands on the treasures before you?
Bermuda Pirates is a highly original game where players’ boats are literally captured by the sea on their way to the treasures.

Memory, dexterity, and sharp observation skills will be put to the test to prevail in this captivating game for the whole family.

In Bermuda Pirates, each player must push their boat with only one finger and reach the treasure island in the center of the board and grab some treasures. Avoid the whirlpools (magnets) as your boat might sink and you will need to start again! First player to get 4 different kinds of treasures wins!

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Posted in Essen 2019, Preview | 1 Comment

Dale Yu: A Second Look at Tanto Cuore

Posted on October 13, 2019 by Dale Yu

Tanto Cuore

  • Designer: Masayuki Kudou
  • Publisher: Japanime Games / Arclight
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 13+
  • Time: 45 minutes
  • Times played: probably at least 40, but 3 in past month with new review copy provided by Japanime Games

Tanto Cuore is a game that I have played for almost ten years now…  I first got a copy of a game from a friend in Japan back in 2009. As you probably know, I had a hand in Dominion, and as a result, I’ve been very interested in all forms of deck builders since then.  Tanto Cuore was one of the first games to use the basic deckbuilding ideas from Dominion but offer a few different twists to the recipe.

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Dale Yu: Essen Preview of Trial of the Temples

Posted on October 12, 2019 by Dale Yu

Trial of the Temples

  • Designers: Michael Mihealsick and Wei-Min Ling
  • Publisher: EmperorS4
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 14+
  • Time: 30-45 minutes
  • Times played: 2, with preview copy sent by EmperorS4

EmperorS4 has been one of the most consistent (IMHO) Taiwanese publishers since I have started to follow games from the region.  Walking in Burano, Round House, Shadows in Kyoto, Burano and Hanamikoji have all been well received here. This year, I received advance copies of two of their games, and Trial of the Temples was the first one to hit the table.

The publisher describes the game: “Every century the most powerful Archmages gather at the centre of the world — “Mages’ Arena”. They must enter the trials at the three temples to compete for the title of “Supreme Master”. Each Archmage will refine crystals and create magical barriers to block their opponents in order to complete the trials and find the best timing to surpass their opponents. Archmages will aim to cast a spell from the spellbook to create an amazing spell chain! Who will win and receive the ultimate title?”

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Posted in Essen 2019, Preview | 1 Comment

Barrage (Game Review by Larry Levy)

Posted on October 11, 2019 by huzonfirst
  • Designers: Simone Luciani, Tommaso Battista
  • Artist: Antonio De Luca
  • Publisher: Cranio Creations
  • Players: 1-4
  • Time: 75-150 minutes
  • Times Played: 3, all with four players

This is a review of one of the most controversial games of the year.  The game is Barrage and the reason for the controversy is its recently completed Kickstarter campaign run by its publisher, Cranio Creations.  Without going into too much detail, it appears that Cranio badly underestimated what it takes to run a successful KS campaign, so delivery dates were missed, promised components either weren’t included or fell far short of their expected quality, and many backers were bitterly disappointed.  Needless to say, the complaints about this situation have been loud and numerous.

Despite all that drama, the events surrounding the Kickstarter campaign will not be a part of this review.  There are two reasons for this.  First, I wasn’t a KS backer and am only peripherally aware of all of the many alleged shortcomings of the campaign, so I’m really not qualified to discuss them in depth.  More importantly, though, I don’t honestly feel they’re relevant to this article.  The way I see it, the audience for a review of this game, or any game, are folks who are curious about the title and want to know if they should play and/or buy the game.  Promises that may or may not have been made in the past aren’t really a concern for these readers—they just care about how the game plays and the quality of the components.  I will certainly discuss Barrage’s components; in fact, because of the controversy surrounding them, I’ll devote considerably more words to them than I normally would.  But this will be a review of the game I played recently and not the one that so many of the KS backers thought they’d be receiving.  It’s not that the details of the KS campaign shouldn’t be discussed; it’s just that this isn’t the time or the place for that.  The question at this point in time is, given all the controversy surrounding this game, is it something that a prospective player or buyer should investigate?  That’s the question I’ll try to address in this review.

Now that the elephant in the room has been discussed, let me get to the subject at hand.  Barrage (which, in addition to its normal English meaning, is also the French word for dam) is about generating energy.  Specifically, hydro-electricity.  The players represent industrialists from four post-WWI powers who believe that the best way of satisfying the enormous power demands of the future will be by harnessing the incredible power of flowing water.  They have all gathered at a promising spot in the Alps to test their theories and devices.  And getting in the way of one’s rivals is not only satisfying, but could lead to world domination. Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | 5 Comments

Dale Yu: First Impressions of Kibble Scuffle

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Dale Yu

Kibble Scuffle

  • Designers: Keegan Acquaotta, Scott Gratien, Jennifer Graham-Macht, Jesse Haedrich
  • Publisher: Wizkids
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 14+
  • Time: 30 minutes

In Kibble Scuffle, players try to get their cats to eat the best (most valuable) food out of the three food dishes by the end of the game.  Each player starts with their own deck of 20 cards. These are shuffled, and each player draws a starting hand of five cards from their deck.  The box itself is the start player marker, and it’s not your usual box. In one of the corners, there is a spout actually in the box, and the 55 food cubes are placed inside the box, and they will be shaken out of said box via the spout!  The three bowls are placed on the table, and four cubes are randomly shaken out onto each dish.

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Posted in First Impressions | 2 Comments

Dale Yu: Essen Preview of 3 small games – Flipover Frog, Decrypto: Laser Drive, Doctor! Doctor!

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Dale Yu

One of the general trends that I’ve noticed in the past few years is that the release calendar is slowly but surely trending backwards. When I first started seriously playing games, it felt like most of the new releases were timed for the Tuesday/Wednesday of Essen week. Each year, as I was acclimating to the time change on my first walk through the halls on setup day, I saw plenty of folks anxiously awaiting the arrival of the pallets of their new games, straight from the factory (or at least straight from LudoPack).

I don’t know whether this is a consequence of the Scheer meltdown where a bunch of companies missed Essen entirely, now it seems like games are ready earlier – in order to build in a cushion to make the show. That has been going on for awhile now.

Then, in the past two or three years, it feels like the release schedule has been backed up to the point where now many games are launched (either fully or softly) at GenCon in August. Games now come to market here in August, and then they have their European release in Essen in October. It makes sure that the production of the game is done in time for Essen, but it also helps get a little bit of buzz going about a game going into the main convention of the autumn.

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Posted in Essen 2019, Preview | 1 Comment