Caverna Cave vs Cave (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Uwe Rosenberg
  • Publisher:  Mayfair; Lookout
  • Artists:  Klemens Franz
  • Players:  1 – 2
  • Ages:  12 and Up
  • Time:  20 Minutes (Solo) or 40 Minutes (2-Player)
  • Times Played: > 5 (Both Solo and 2-Player)

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Uwe Rosenberg loves making 2-player versions of his most popular titles, and historically he’s done an excellent job of distilling the core mechanics.  Agricola was followed up by Agricola All Creatures Big and Small, which won the 2-player International Gamers Award in 2012.  Le Havre was followed up by Le Havre: The Inland Port, which then won the 2-player International Gamers Award in 2013.  Naturally, a lot of us have been asking when we’d get a 2-player version of Caverna.

Caverna Cave vs Cave is Rosenberg’s latest creation.  It has hit store shelves in recent weeks, and it is getting a big debut at Gen Con.  A few of us here at OG have had the chance to play it, so we wanted to review Rosenberg’s latest 2-player title, which also can be played solo.

In short, if you like Rosenberg’s games, I bet you’ll like this.  

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Terraforming Mars Hellas & Elysium (Expansion Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designers:  Jacob Fryxelius
  • Publisher:  Stronghold Games
  • Artists:  Isaac Fryxelius
  • Players:  1 – 5
  • Ages:  12 and Up
  • Time:  90 – 120 Minutes
  • Times Played: > 6 (On Review Copy from the Publisher)

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Terraforming Mars has been one of the hottest games of the past year, and we loved it when we reviewed it last fall.  

The game currently sits at #7 in the BoardGameGeek ratings.  It earned a Kennerspiel des Jahres nomination this spring, plus it is poised to do well in voting for several other awards this year.  

So it is no surprise that the game’s first expansion — Hellas & Elysium — is one of the most anticipated releases of Gen Con 2017.  I’ve already played the expansion six times, and I love it.  If you like Terraforming Mars, I bet you’ll enjoy its first expansion. Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Dice Forge

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Dale Yu

 

Dice Forge

  • Designer: Régis Bonnessée
  • Publisher: Libellud / Asmodee
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 10+
  • Time: 45 minutes
  • Times played: 4, with review copy provided by Asmodee North America

Régis Bonnessée is a French designer with three previous games which have caught my eye (Seasons, Lords of Xidit and Himalaya).  When I heard that he was behind this new game, I was definitely interested.  Throw in a game mechanic which has always intrigued me (dice/deck crafting), and this was a must try for me this summer.

In Dice Forge, players take on the role of aspiring demigods.  The players are pitted against each other in a tournament being set up for the Gods enjoyment.  The best player will get a chance to become a demigod as a reward.  Or at least that’s how the story goes.  I’ll admit I didn’t pay much more attention to it because as soon as I saw the customizable dice, I just started to play with them! Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Unearth

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Dale Yu

 

Unearth

  • Designers: Jason Harner, Matthew Ransom
  • Publisher: Brotherwise Games
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 8+
  • Time: 30-40 minutes
  • Times played: 5, with review copy provided by Brotherwise Games

In Unearth, players are in some sort of dystopian future – everyone is in a small tribe that is formed from the remnants of a great civilization.  However, everything has gone wrong, and you are trying to reclaim the former glory of that previous civilization by discovering Ruins and collecting Stones.

Each player has 5 dice which represent their Delvers – 3 d6, 1d4 and 1d8.  There are three decks of cards used in the game – a large tarot sized deck of Ruins cards, a mini deck of Delver cards and a regular sized deck of Wonders cards.  Each player takes the dice of his color as well as 2 random Delver cards and one Ruins card. 5 Ruins are discarded unseen from the deck and then a random End of Age card is put on the bottom of the deck. Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Preview of A Dog’s Life

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Dale Yu

A Dog’s Life

  • Designer: Christophe Boelinger
  • Publisher: Beton Games
  • Players: 2-6
  • Ages: 6+
  • Time: 40-60 minutes
  • Times played: 4, with preview copy provided by Beton Games, adogslife.eu

A Dog’s Life is a family board game from a designer probably best known for his more complex “gamer’s games” such as Archipelago, 4 Gods, and Dungeon Twister.   I have certainly come to respect his complex designs over the years.  This family game is apparently a reprint of one of his first titles – from way back in 2001 – now coming to Kickstarter this year.  I remember playing that version many many moons ago, but not enough to remember any details.  The game is meant to provide a simulation of what life is like as a dog… roaming around the city, finding bones and peeing on things.

Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Photosynthesis

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Dale Yu

Photosynthesis

  • Designer: Hjalmar Hach
  • Publisher: Blue Orange
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 8+
  • Time: 45-60 minutes
  • Times played: 4, with review copy provided by Blue Orange USA

Photosynthesis is a beautiful game which caught my eye from all of the press releases starting all the way back with Eric Martin’s preview from Nuremberg.  But, as I’ve learned many times in the past – games cannot be judged just because they are pretty. I was happy to get a preview copy to see if the gameplay matches up to the beautiful pictures. Continue reading →

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