Beasts of Balance

• Publisher: Sensible Object
• Players: 1+
• Ages: 6+
• Times played:  well, I’ve spent 2.5 hours with it so far in 4 different sessions.

Beasts of Balance was offered to me in a recent press box.  I had heard nothing about it – but the blurb in the intro email was intriguing.  Here is what I read:

• Beasts of Balance: Did you love Jenga as a kid? A fan of Pokemon GO? Well, this fun new interactive game combines your favorite aspects of those and more. Beasts of Balance is a true testament to your stacking ability.. As you build the tower, connect each piece to the play plinth and watch the creatures come to life in the connected app through innovative AR technology. Beasts of Balance provides tons of fun family game night with the kiddies or even a fun party game for guys’ night. Ages 8 and up. MSRP $99. www.beastsofbalance.com

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Okey Dokey

• Designer: Hisashi Hayashi
• Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games
• Players: 1-5
• Ages: 14+
• Time: 15-30 minutes (box says 16-32)
• Times played: 8, with review copy provided by TMG

Okey Dokey is one of those quirky small Japanese games that managed to slip under my radar in its initial release.  This comes as no surprise as there are so many little games that seem to come out, and that’s when I limit my search to only Japanese companies/designers that have a known track record for me…  I hear about them occasionally from W. Eric Martin when he ventures into the craziness of the Japanese Game Markets, I used to get some through a now-defunct subscription service, and I am always introduced to a few new ones each time I’m around Joe Huber or Lorna. Continue reading →

Mistkäfer

• Designer: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
• Publisher: Schmidt
• Players: 2-4
• Ages: 8+
• Time: 20 to 30 minutes
• Times played: 5, with review copy provided by Schmidt

Mistkäfer is a new game from Schmidt Spiele in their small box format.  In this game, players are trying to be the best dung beetle by collecting the most balls of poop (or collecting enough lucky 4-leaf clovers).  Throughout the course of the game, players will collect scoring chips – on these chips, they will discover either a single dung ball, double dung balls or a four-leaf clover.  The winner is the first dung beetle to collect 12 dung balls OR four 4-leaf clovers.

Each player is given a player board – there are three rows on this card, each with six spaces.  The rows are colored with Green on top, yellow in the middle and blue on the bottom.  There is a white line which separates the second and third columns on the board.

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