Times played: 2, with preview copy provided by publisher
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 as usual, I have been glad to get them on the table quickly.
Times played: 2, with preview copy provided by Taiwan Boardgames
Each fall, I look forward to a care package sent to me from my friends at Taiwan Boardgames. I have felt for a long while that the games from the Far East are underappreciated, though their exposure seems to be improving each year! Sure, there are always hits and misses in each box, but I do love the exploration of the new games…
Times played: 3, with review copy provided by Taiwan BoardgameDesign
As described by the publisher – Electropolis is a strategic city-building boardgame. As the mayor of the ever-growing city, you must plan out the best energy solution to meet the skyrocketing demand for electricity. The pros and cons of coal-fired plants, green energy, and nuclear power challenge you with tough decisions throughout the game. The dynamic turn order selection mechanic ignites an intense player interaction in pursuit of construction permits for specific zones and crucial tiles to be claimed. Should you act early to grab the stronger tiles, or wait to be able to construct more buildings and expand your city? Outwit your fellow mayors and build the most magnificent city to win the game!
Paladins of the West Kingdom is the second game of the yet unfinished West Kingdom trilogy – following up the well liked (at least around here) Architects of the West Kingdom. This series of games thematically follows the development of the Franks in the 9th to 10th Century (or so). The designers have a knack for thematically developing games – they previously have designed the North Sea Trilogy: Shipwrights of the North Sea, Raiders of the North Sea, and Explorers of the North Sea.
Game Mechanisms: Commodity Speculation, Trading, Worker Placement
Times Played: 4
“Wonder why they didn’t just call this one The Big Ragoo?”
I tend to love games that pack a lot of decisions and actions into sixty minutes — games that have a lot of bang for the buck. I especially love when I get to build, and while Ragusa isn’t your typical city building game, it does still manage to give that feeling as you are placing your “workers” out on the board. The city populates before your eyes, even though really, everything was already there. Once again, though, I am getting ahead of myself.
Ragusa is the second game from designer Fabio Lopiano, who you might remember from that shooting star Calimala from back in 2017– and we’ll touch on that a bit later. In Ragusa, you are tasked with deploying your houses, which serve as your workers (for lack of a better term), to most advantageously gather resources, to turn into goods, which you will then churn into victory points. Along the way, you’ll be building a perimeter around the city, to keep out the wildlife we’ll presume, which will also score you more points.
Times played: 7, with review copy provided by Next Move Games
5211 was a surprise to me at GenCon – I wasn’t expecting a Japanese trick taking game at the Plan B/Next Move Games booth. The press rep, Mike, was hot to trot about it, and as you may know, there are a number of lovers of Japanese games in my local area…
