Tournament at Camelot (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Ken Shannon, Karen Boginski, Jody Barbessi
  • Publisher:  Wizkids
  • Players:  3-6
  • Ages:  14 and Up
  • Time:  45 Minutes
  • Times Played: 4 (On Review Copy Provided by Publisher)

TournamentatCamelot.jpg

Tournament at Camelot is a new King Arthur-themed trick taking game in which players participate in a tournament to see who has the most health at the end of the game.  

The game, released by a trio of designers and WizKids, was one of the bigger trick taking releases at Gen Con last month.  I’ve enjoyed my plays so far.  This has a couple of twists, including special powers for each player, plus some novel mechanics for who takes each trick.  

Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of BONK

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Dale Yu

 

BONK

  • Designer: David Harvey
  • Publisher: Competo/Marketoy
  • Players: 2 or 4
  • Ages: 6+
  • Time: 5-10 minutes
  • Times played: 6 with review copy provided by Competo/Marketoy

BONK is another of the new Target-only offerings for this year; this one from the same company that brought the awesome wooden dexterity game KLASK to us. BONK itself is not new, it is a modernization of Rollet, a game that I first saw a few years ago.

The concept in BONK is simple.  Two teams play against each other.  The field is a large rectangle, with areas in each corner cordoned off to hold each player’s slide.  The small area between the cordoned areas is the team’s goal – teammates will do their best to defend their goal and not allow the wooden ball to enter it! Continue reading →

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The Fox in the Forest (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Joshua Buergel
  • Publisher:  Renegade Game Studios, Foxtrot Games
  • Players:  2
  • Ages:  10 and Up
  • Time:  30 Minutes
  • Times Played: > 5

FoxintheForest

The Fox in the Forest is a 2-player trick taking card game from Renegade Game Studios and Foxtrot Games.  The game, designed by Joshua Buergel, was released this summer, getting a bit of pre-Gen Con buzz.

As regular readers know, I’m a trick-taking enthusiast, to put it mildly.  I was eager to get my hands on The Fox in the Forest, and a friend was kind enough to get me a copy for my birthday.  

Two-player trick taking games are genuinely few and far between.  We’ve seen a few games attempt to include 2-player rules, but generally the game is actually meant for three to five players, and the 2-player rules are more of an afterthought.  Not so here: The Fox in the Forest is meant only for two-players, and that is certainly noteworthy in its genre.   Continue reading →

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James Nathan: Mini Rails

Posted on September 12, 2017 by xitoliv

Mini Rails
Designer: Mark Gerrits
Artist: Steve Tse
Publisher: Moaideas Games Design
Players: 3-5
Ages: 13+
Time: 40-60 minutes
Times Played: 5 times with purchased copy, 1 time with review copy
Previously Covered: Lorna’s Mini Review – First Impressions

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Sometimes I can’t tell the difference between what I want and what I think I want. Between what I like and what I think I like. One of the things I think I like is sleek rule sets and another is stock-holding train games, so when something like Mini Rails comes around, I’m a fish in a barrel (even though the outcome varies.)  Continue reading →

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Cities of Splendor: An Expansion Review

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Marc Andre
  • Publisher:  Space Cowboys
  • Players:  2 – 4
  • Ages:  10 and Up
  • Time:  30 Minutes
  • Times Played:   > 6

Cities of Splendor: A Review of Four Expansions

CitiesofSplendor

Splendor is one of my all-time favorite games.  I’ve logged more than 75 plays (though I’ve probably played more than 100 games), hosted Splendor events, and once even placed second at a big Gen Con tournament.  So I was eager for its first expansion, Cities of Splendor, which is releasing soon.

I’m loving this expansion, which is really a series of four different expansions.  I think it adds some nice elements to the base game without adding much complexity.  I’m going to provide an overview and rating for each one.   Continue reading →

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Congratulations to the 2017 IGA Nominees!

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Chris Wray

The nominations for the 2017 International Gamers Awards were recently 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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