Sometimes it’s funny why you end up buying one particular game over the many, many others that are out there. I discovered the classic Grand Austria Hotel for no other reason than it was on sale at a bookstore and I thought “never heard of it, but it’s Lookout Games, let’s give it a try”. …
Read more “Review of Sol: Last Days of a Star – We Already Screwed It Up This Far, So …”
As much as I like playing heavy games, I have to admit I groan inwardly every time I open a box and am faced with 20-30 pages of rules. It’s not the amount of pages I mind, it’s more that feeling of “is this really necessary”? It seems that nowadays more and more games create …
Read more “Review of Iwari – Few Rules Can Make For Big Time Drama”
I bought Kanban EV so long ago that I can’t even remember what made me aware of it in the first place. Maybe I saw it in the BGG top games ranking (currently at an impressive number 46) or in No Pun Included’s excellent review of it, I don’t know. What I do still remember …
I like Vital Lacerda’s games: Kanban EV is still one of my all time favourites, I previously wrote about Inventions: Evolution of Ideas, and by now I was fortunate to have either played or owned most of his big box titles. One that unfortunately hadn’t struck a cord with me was the fan-favourite The Gallerist, …
Read more “Review of House of Fado – It Swings Baby, It Swings!”
Ryan Laukat (and in extension Red Raven Games) is best known for his story-infused big box titles such as Sleeping Gods, Near & Far, or Empires of the Void II. The degree in which story is the driving factor varies from game to game – from being at the forefront in Sleeping Gods to pretty …
The base game of Kingdom Legacy, Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom, has been one of my favourite solo experiences of 2024. As a small package of 140 card deck and some stickers, it is affordable yet packs a mighty punch. In 3-4 hours, you’ll build your kingdom from untouched grasslands to castles with knights, astronomers and …
Read more “Review of Kingdom Legacy: Distant Lands – Onwards to New Horizons”
After much waiting and a couple of false news alerts, the latest expansion for bike racing game Flamme Rouge is finally really here: Grand Tour is available for purchase. For some unknown reason, this expansion has been multiple years in the making – or rather waiting as there were multiple times where it looked like …
Read more “Review of Flamme Rouge Grand Tour – A Beautiful Swan Song”
October 2024, SPIEL Essen, one day before the convention opens. I’m browsing through the novelty show, a press-only event that’s basically all new releases cramped into one convention hall. Each game has about 30-40cm of table width, maybe less, and the hall is buzzing with representatives of the publishers pitching their games as well as …
Read more “Review of Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom – Honey, I Shrunk The Kingdom”
After playing the original Pandemic for over ten years, struggling with mutating viruses and terrorists in Pandemic: On the Brink, and upending the usual way to cure things with Pandemic: In the Lab, the prospect of digging into another version of the all to familiar Pandemic seemed daunting to me. Pandemic has rightfully become a …
Read more “Review of Pandemic: Rising Tide – You Saved the World, but Can You Save the Netherlands?”
Have you ever thought about the effects of pollution in medieval Italy? I sure hadn’t. But Joris and Jeroen – better known as Dutch design duo / boutique publisher Splotter Spellen – definitely have! And as always, they ended up with a game that is challenging, punishing, and quite different than anything else out there. …