There are few auto-buys I have in my life: a new Matthew Reilly novel, a month of Disney Plus whenever a new season of the Mandalorien is on, … and Concordia expansions. I came to Concordia rather late and at that point, my group of friends had already moved on to other games. So it …
Read more “First Impressions of Concordia Roma / Sicilia – Location, Location, Location”
Standing in front of the soon to be opened gates of the world’s largest board game convention, I was ready. A large crowd had been building up, waiting. But I had arrived early, so I was towards the front and would be inside the halls among the very first. I had read the pre-fair coverage …
Read more “Review of Sky Team – Tower, we have a problem … or ten”
Aaah, Kickstarter, what a hodgepodge of emotions! From FOMO to buyer’s remorse, happy anticipation to the dread of something possibly never fulfilling, pride of having backed something amazing to the feeling of superiority when one has managed to miss a dud. Lately, I’ve noticed a new aspect of it which for lack of a better …
Read more “Review of Rolling Heights – True to Its Theme, Things Take Longer Than Planned”
You are a game designer and looking for a challenge? Well there is the holy grail of creating a true civilisation game that can be played in under two hours (and no, Mosaic isn’t it). There is the endless adventure game (Lands of Galzyr technically did it, but what is an adventure if there is …
Read more “Review of Paperback Adventures – Extreme Combative Solo Wordsmithing”
It’s quite remarkable how fast the initial buzz about Horseless Carriage has subsided. Simply by the fact of being another game from publisher Splotter Spellen, known for their innovative and often quirky games, many had anticipated it with great excitement. The theme also sounded interesting: building and selling cars in an early era of automobiles …
Read more “Review of Horseless Carriage – A Class of Its Own”
While Kickstarter and crowdfunding in general has allowed a lot of small designers and independent publishers a chance to fulfil their dream and turn their ideas into products, it has also taken on a life of its own. After the initial rush, there seems to have been an extended period where games were mostly sold …
Read more “Review of Tiwanaku – The Game That Should Not Work”
From time to time, I like to acquire a game for no other reason than to see what the buzz is. Throwing caution to the wind, not going into extensive research, and deciding to just try a game out myself. What’s the worst thing that can happen? I sell it off again and gain in …
Read more “Review of Shogun no Katana – Japanese Baroqueness”
I’m not the biggest fan of roll-and-writes, but I’ve played my fair share of them. From simple ones like Railroad Inc or Saint Malo over combotastic ones like Ganz Schön Clever to more complex ones like Troyes Dice, Welcome to the Moon or Hadrian’s Wall. At some point, I got rid of all of them. …
Read more “Review of On Tour – Why Some Roll-and-Writes Work While Others Don’t”
I like interesting use of dice. Grand Austria Hotel is one of my favourite games ever, Castles of Burgundy used to be at some point. I really enjoy Troyes, even if my friends don’t want to play it with me, and I enjoyed Woodcraft to name a more recent title. So when I heard of …
I have to admit, this one is a tricky one to write as I was looking forward to Encyclopedia for quite some time. While I’m usually more attracted by mid-to-heavy games, interesting use of dice is always something that gets my attention. The fact that a number of YouTubers were very positive in their previews …
Read more “Review of Encyclopedia – The Power of Expectations”