Dale Yu: First Impressions of Tak

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Dale Yu

 

 

Tak

  • Designers: James Ernest and Patrick Rothfuss
  • Publisher: Cheapass Games
  • Players: 2
  • Time: 20-30 minutes

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Tak is a fictional game found in a book that has since come to life.  The game was first described in passing in The Wise Man’s Fear, a 2011 novel by Patrick Rothfuss.  This unfinished trilogy tells the epic story of Kvothe, a young boy who starts his life in a troupe of traveling players and he becomes the most notorious wizard that the world has ever seen.

 

The game itself is an abstract one – pitting the two players directly against each other in a battle of wits.  The game itself can be played on various sizes of square boards, with the most common games being played on a 5×5 or 6×6 board.  The board starts out completely empty, and the goal of the game is to make a road (continuous string of your pieces) from one side of the board to the other.  The first person to finish a road is the winner.

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Quadropolis (Game Review by Chris Wray)

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Chris Wray
  • Designer: François Gandon
  • Publisher:  Days of Wonder
  • Players:  2 – 4
  • Ages:  8 and Up
  • Time:  30 – 60 Minutes
  • Times Played:  > 5 (With 3-4 Players)

Quadropolis

Days of Wonder has a well-deserved reputation for solid production value and quality gameplay. Their latest release, Quadropolis, has already been released in Europe and is available in North America this week. It has been topping hotness charts around the hobby, and after a few plays, I see why.

Quadropolis is a medium-light tile placement and set collection game with a city building theme. Each player acts as the mayor of a modern city. The game has two modes: “classic” and “expert.” The former is suitable for most of the family, but the expert mode is intended for experienced players. This review will focus on the classic game and then do a short summary of the expert game. Continue reading →

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Dale Yu: Review of Escape the Room – Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor (Spoiler Free)

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Dale Yu

 

Escape the Room – Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor

  • Designers: Nicholas Cravotta & Rebecca Bleau
  • Publisher: ThinkFun
  • Players: 3-8
  • Time: 90 minutes
  • Ages: 10+
  • Times played: 1, with review copy provided by ThinkFun

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Escape Rooms have definitely become part of the social landscape in the past few years. These escape rooms seem to be in most major cities – if you haven’t seen them, just google it… Here in Cincinnati, we’ve had three or four different firms pop up in just the past two years. The puzzle room has also made a splash on (admittedly small) cable TV in the show Race to Escape, a weekly show on the Science channel. http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/race-to-escape/ They are currently offering a preview of a full episode to watch online at – http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/race-to-escape/race-to-escape-video/the-explorer-s-study/

Escape the Room – Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor attempts to package the real life “escape the room” game concept into a box that can be played by a group at home rather than having to pay to go to a commercial “Escape Room” or “Breakout” location. Not familiar with this type of game? No problem; here is some background… Continue reading →

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Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment (SPOILER FREE)

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Craig (shigadeyo)

Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment

  • Designers: Juliana Patel, Ariel Rubin
  • Publisher: Stay At Home Werewolves
  • Players: 2-6
  • Ages: 13 and up
  • Time: 60-90 minutes
  • Times Played: Once with 4 players
  • Preview/prototype copy provided by the game publisher for review purposes.

Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment - Box Front

Introduction

Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment is the inaugural game coming from Stay At Home Werewolves.  The project was successfully funded on Kickstarter by 2,353 backers with the campaign ending on 3/04/2016.  In summary, the game “is a 60-90 minute cooperative game where 2-6 players solve puzzles, crack codes, and find hidden clues in order to find an antidote to thwart a mad scientist’s plot to turn them into werewolves.  [It] is an experience as much as a game.  It’s a chance to host an unforgettable night of fun with your friends as you race against the clock to twist your brain around puzzling problems and cunning clues.”

Taking things a step further, Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment attempts to package the real life “escape the room” game concept into a box that can be played by a group at home rather than having to pay to go to a commercial “Escape Room” or “Breakout” location.  Not familiar with this type of game?  No problem; here is some background… Continue reading →

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Monday morning at the gathering

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Dale Yu

Well, first, it’s Sunday night finished…

We kept playing new games from Ken Hill’s game pile.

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Wood may not be the right material for the tiles as they are different

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You start with 17. Facedown and 5 face up that you get to choose the location.  Then draw a facedown tile and put it in the chosen place.  Winner is the player to have a face up line of 22 in ascending order.

It’s an interesting take on RackO. But since I own racko, no need for this.

The final game for the night is Legends from Ravensburger

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Saturday night at the Gathering

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Dale Yu

After dinner, back for more games. First off, Alan’s Adventureland from Rio Grande.  Here players try to build the best amusement park they can.

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There is a little but of card drafting and a little bit of board placement strategy.  Interesting card play where they might determine what you could play or where you can play it.

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