Dale Yu: Review of Villanous

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Dale Yu

 

Villainous

  • Designer: Prospero Hall
  • Publisher: Wonder Forge
  • Players: 2-6
  • Ages: 10+
  • Time: 45-60 minutes
  • Times played: 3, with review copy provided by Wonder Forge

Villainous was one of the more hotly anticipated GenCon 2018 releases. There has been a lot of buzz about the game as it is a mass market release that has the Disney license. And, in something which is unique (at least in the board game sense), this is the first boardgame that I can remember which has characters from multiple movies – something seen in Kingdom Hearts and Disney Heroes in the videogame world. Continue reading →

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Chris Wray: What I Enjoyed Playing in August 2018

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Chris Wray

This is the August entry for my series where I post five games I enjoyed playing in past month that I didn’t have time to do full reviews of.  As always, I limit it to five titles, of which there’s a combination of old and new games. Given that this is the month of Gen Con, there are more new titles here than normal.  

In case you’re interested, I also have a Geeklist going called One Sentence Reviews of Gen Con Games.  I’ve also published reviews of Lost Cities: Rivals, Terraforming Mars: Prelude, and Nimble.  

Overall, August 2018 was one of the best months for games I’ve had in awhile! Continue reading →

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Terraforming Mars: Prelude (Expansion Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Jacob Fryxelius
  • Publisher:  Stronghold Games
  • Artists:  Isaac Fryxelius
  • Players:  1 – 5
  • Ages:  12 and Up
  • Time:  90 – 120 Minutes
  • Times Played: > 5 (On Review Copy from the Publisher)

Prelude.jpg

Terraforming Mars is one of the hobby’s biggest successes of the past couple of years.  We loved it when we reviewed it back in 2016.  Since then, the game has gone on to win numerous awards, including first prize in Deutscher Spiele Preis voting.  The game currently sits at #4 in the BoardGameGeek ratings.

The third expansion for the game, Prelude, was one of the most anticipated releases of Gen Con 2018, and it seemed to be selling exceptionally well there.  I’ve already played the expansion several times, and I love it. If you like Terraforming Mars, I suspect you’ll enjoy Prelude, which adds a couple of cool elements and speeds up the start of the game.  Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Team Up

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Dale Yu

 

Team Up

  • Designers: Sebastian Pauchon and Hadi Barkat
  • Publisher: Helvitiq
  • Players: 1-4
  • Ages: 7+
  • Time: 15-20 minutes
  • Times played: 3, with review copy provided by Helvetiq

Team Up is a game that really hits home with me – it’s a game about organizing boxes on a pallet.  As I’ve just moved to a new house this summer, I’ve been playing the real life version of the game for the past few months, and now I get a chance to play it with lighter wood blocks instead of heavy cardboard boxes… Continue reading →

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Patrick Brennan: Game Snapshots – September 2018 (Part 1)

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Dale Yu

If he doesn’t already, Phil Walker Harding should bring his new designs over to Patrick’s place for playtesting. I’m sure that you can get from any point in Australia to another in under 2 hours.

This month has featured a bunch of play-testing on a trick-taking game I’ve designed. It feels close now and I’m really happy with it. It’s certainly feels publishable, and I’ll probably start bandying it around after blind-playtesting is done. It came to me as I was lying in bed after a crazy closer of Canyon one gaming night, and it still has me wonder how (or even if) it hasn’t been thought of previously. Funny how that happens.

There’s still been plenty of time for our regular playlist however – Gloomhaven, Spirit Island, and Pandemic Legacy Season 2 (we’ve just finished September). I found a cheap copy of The Oracle Of Delphi on sale, and that’s been my Euro of choice over the last fortnight. It’s holding up its end of an 8 rating. But in our primary gaming driver, recent new games included … Continue reading →

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Congratulations to the 2018 IGA Nominees!

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Chris Wray

IGALogo.jpeg

The nominations for the 2018 International Gamers Awards were just announced.  Congratulations to these games, designers, and publishers!

The IGA is awarded annually by a jury of prominent gamers from around the world, with a stated goal “to recognize outstanding games and designers, as well as the companies that publish them.”  Over the years the IGA has grown to be one of the major prizes in gaming, alongside Germany’s Spiel des Jahres (“Game of the Year”) and the Deutscher Spiele Preis (the “German Game Prize”).  The IGA’s nomination and voting procedures are outlined on the jury’s website (http://www.internationalgamersawards.net/).   Continue reading →

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