Brandon Kempf – Two Plays and Done Gen Con 2019 Edition

Posted on August 30, 2019 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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The Escape Game: Prison Break (Spoiler Free)

Posted on August 28, 2019 by xitoliv

Establishment: The Escape Game
Location: Cincinnati
Room: Prison Break
Link: TheEscapeGame.com/Cincinnati 

The Escape Game is a chain of escape/puzzle rooms based out of Nashville, with locations across the country.  In addition, they have a board game which Dale has reviewed previously and a subscription puzzle service which we’ll be reviewing soon.  The company graciously offered to let us try out the “Prison Break” room at the Cincinnati location, so today I’ll give you an overview as best I can of escape/puzzle rooms in general and towards the bottom you’ll get our thoughts on this one.  Of course, we don’t want to spoil any of the fun, so no need to fret on that front; we won’t discuss anything too specific.

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Hats (Game Review by Brandon Kempf)

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Brandon Kempf
  • Designers: Gabriele Bubola
  • Artist: Paolo Voto
  • Publisher: Thundergryph Games
  • Players: 2-4 players
  • Time: 20-30 Minutes
  • Times Played: 6

“Offff with your hat!”

I love simple card games that play quickly, but yet make you think. Games that aren’t bogged down with needless, excessive rules. Knowing that, it should be no surprise that one of the people I listen carefully to around here is W. Eric Martin. It’s very rare that he has lead me astray. Last year he had me ready for Lost Cities Rivals (which is still possibly my favorite Gen Con 2018 game) and this year he put Hats on my radar. 

Hats is a card game where two to four players vie to have the most valuable collection of hats, using an interesting exchange mechanism. 

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Dale Yu: First Impressions of Shikoku

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Dale Yu

Shikoku

  • Designer: Eloi Pujadas
  • Publisher: Grand Gamers Guild
  • Players: 3-8
  • Age: 8+
  • Time: 30 minutes
  • Times played: 3, with review copy provided by Grand Gamers Guild

There is a tradition in Japan where pilgrims trek on Shikoku to see the 88 Buddhist temples on the island. This game represents the trek up the 33 steps at the Yakushi Nyorai temple which ends at the temple pagoda.  The Buddhist principles embrace a path of moderation – and as a result, it is less desirable to be either first or last in this journey.

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Letter Jam (Game Review by Brandon Kempf)

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Brandon Kempf
  • Designers: Ondra Skoupý
  • Artist: N/A
  • Publisher: Czech Games Edition
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Time: 30-60 Minutes
  • Times Played: 5

“Be careful with your clues, we might just end up with a Better Ham”

Word games hit a really odd spot in my gaming habits. I absolutely love playing them, but as anyone who has ever played them with me will tell you, I am absolute rubbish at them. I really enjoy them though. Now mind you, I don’t really enjoy straight word games, I don’t particularly enjoy Scrabble and other interesting twists like Paperback have left me feeling a bit cold. I love the team, almost party style word games like Codenames quite a lot though. I enjoy working through puzzles while not feeling like I am on my own to do things. Letter Jam, from the same publisher — Czech Games Edition — that brought us Codenames, walks that fine line between individual puzzle, and a cooperative team effort. 

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Curios

Posted on August 22, 2019 by gschloesser

Designer Uncredited
Published by AEG
2 – 5 Players, 30 minutes
Review by Greg J. Schloesser

 Curios is part of AEG’s line of games that are aimed squarely at the family and casual gamers market.  These are games that are designed to be fairly simple, easy to understand, and playable quickly. The idea is to tap into the vast market of folks who aren’t nearly as into games as hobbyists, but do enjoy playing an occasional game around the dining room table.  Who knows which game will be the next UNO? 

Curios casts players in the role of rogue archaeologists, attempting to find hidden treasures and artifacts at various locations across the globe.  Players vie with their opponents to uncover and collect rare artifacts, hoping that they will prove the most valuable. Fame and wealth awaits the cleverest…and perhaps the most unscrupulous…archaeologist! 

There are four sites where these potential treasures can be uncovered:  The Great Pyramid, The Forbidden Temple, The Lost Shipwreck and The Ancient Colosseum.  Each of these locations is represented by a small board, each of which has five columns of spaces where players may place their archaeologists.  The columns range in capacity from one to four archaeologists. 

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