The Game Shelf Previews:- Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum

Game: Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum

Publisher: Hot Banana Games

Designer: Pauline Kong, Haymen Lee, Marie Wong

Year: 2022

Theming in board games is really a distraction for me. I’ll play anything, no matter the theme, but food or cute animals are pretty universally appealing and I’m not immune. Steam Up, in particular, is built upon a brilliant theme, giving rise to a game that, frankly, looks delicious. The arrival of the prototype of Steam Up caused me to;

1. Invite over my friends for a weekend stay

2. Take said friends on a trip to the Chinese supermarket

3. Buy a heck of a lot of dim sum

4. Even buy a steamer so that we could correctly cook the dim sum

5. Be taught to cook dim sum

6. Eat a whole ton of dim sum and take some nice photos of this wonderful looking game

But, like I said, theme doesn’t a matter to me…

If you’d like to host your own dim sum get together, then perhaps a game of Steam Up is the perfect appetiser. 

The Game Shelf Reviews:- Sierra West

Game: Sierra West

Publisher: Board&Dice

Designer:  Jonny Pac

Year: 2019

 

I remember getting a quick look at Sierra West at UK Games Expo two years ago. At the time, I feel like both the publisher, Board&Dice and the designer, Jonny Pac were both on the verge of becoming a big deal. Jonny Pac is a designer who mainly designs games with a Western theme, and Sierra West is no exception. You are playing as pioneers in the 1840s, who are travelling out West no a trusty wagon over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The game is not hugely thematic in nature, but the game's setup has you recreating a mountain out of cards, which is just one of the many unique aspects in this card driven euro game for 1-4 players.