Draconis Invasion (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Jeff Lai
  • Publisher:  KEJI Inc.
  • Players:  1 – 6
  • Ages:  14 and Up
  • Time:  30-90 Minutes
  • Times Played:   > 5 (On Review Copy from Publisher)

Draconis box upd.png

I’m a big fan of deck building games, and between Clank, El Dorado, and a others, we’re still seeing new twists on the genre several years after the release of Dominion, the genre’s founding game.

I was offered the chance to review Draconis Invasion, a “medieval fantasy deck-building game” by Jeff Lai.  Each player is a hero charged by the King to gather an army and crush the dark forces.  Although the players are fighting a common enemy, there will be only one victor among them at the end.  

I’ve enjoyed my plays, and if you’re a fan of deck building games, I recommend Draconis Invasion.   Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Preview of Taiwan Monsters Brawl

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Dale Yu

 

Taiwan Monsters Brawl

  • Designer: Hung-Che Lin
  • Publisher: Chiaos Creative
  • Players: 2-4
  • Ages: 15+
  • Time: 30-60 minutes

As I’ve been preaching about for the past two years or so, I feel like the new hotbed of undiscovered games might be Taiwan.  Sure, I’ve been lucky enough to get a few boxes a year filled with the newest and greatest releases; but it’s becoming apparent that the rest of the gaming world is catching on.  There are an increasing number of games being picked up/reprinted by larger established game companies, and this movement shows no sign of stopping… Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Okey Dokey

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Dale Yu

 

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 →

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Dale Yu: Review of Mistkäfer

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Dale Yu

 

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.

Continue reading →

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Wordsy (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Chris Wray
  • Designer:  Gil Hova
  • Publisher:  Formal Ferret Games
  • Players:  1 – 6
  • Ages:  10 and Up
  • Time:  20 Minutes
  • Times Played:   > 7 (with 2-4 Players)

GilHova

I first played Wordsy at Geekway to the West, and it was one of the highlights of the convention for me.  I bought a copy, and I’ve played it several times since, with everybody from my parents to my regular game group.  They’ve all loved the game, and I expect this clever twist on the word game genre to be a hit in the coming months.  

Continue reading →

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Review of Rhein: River Trade

Posted on June 4, 2017 by gamekahuna

Review of Rhein: River Trade [#JonathanFranklin]

Rhein: River Trade

    • Designers: Marco Canetta and Stefania Niccolini
    • Artists: Alan D’Amico and Mirco Paganessi
    • Publisher:Arclight, Devir Americas, Giochi Uniti, Stratelibri,and available for sale in the GeekStore
    • Players: 2-5
    • Ages: 12 and up
    • Time: 60-120 minutes (First play will be ~30 minutes per player)
    • Times Played: 3

 

  • Game provided by Devir US for review purposes

 

 

Image by BGG: draghetto

Rhein: River Trade

Have you ever wanted to cruise on the Rhein/Rhine river?  If so, do I have a game for you.

To prepare for your cruise, you need to know what is along the Rhein and this game will teach it to you while making deliveries to many of the places you will stop at and eat.

At the same time, do you like What’s Your Game? Games like ZhanGuo and Railroad Revolution?  This game was designed by the pair who did those. This game is lighter than games from WYG, but it has almost that same level of crunch, so if you are looking for a 45 minute snack of a game, this might not be the right appropriate.

Continue reading →

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