tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28061224767585191312024-03-18T19:43:32.341+00:00The Game ShelfAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.comBlogger940125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-64566244147582343312022-01-26T14:00:00.001+00:002022-01-26T14:00:00.213+00:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Macaron<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u>Macaron</p><p></p><p><span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Sunrise Tornado Game Studio<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> </span>Ta-Te Wu<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYYZde--7_5tdz-_o9-cKbuzVj0GDkBOnG0GUK1ouHQfWKmGoGHzoCc272ZYollk93ETrT-DwiwKRUCj8gOumTnaoTs2YlBFDNAtyEfLsLJ6w3Hw1mnoWhU7jf-TQ9xsCAOlr0yYQquTZCNwWR0vvK4MzyNog2KarWaYWWcQpVVHldtWqXItp7b0-_wA=s1000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1000" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYYZde--7_5tdz-_o9-cKbuzVj0GDkBOnG0GUK1ouHQfWKmGoGHzoCc272ZYollk93ETrT-DwiwKRUCj8gOumTnaoTs2YlBFDNAtyEfLsLJ6w3Hw1mnoWhU7jf-TQ9xsCAOlr0yYQquTZCNwWR0vvK4MzyNog2KarWaYWWcQpVVHldtWqXItp7b0-_wA=w200-h143" width="200" /></a></div>Sunrise Tornado Game Studio have a track record of crowd-funding very cute games. Up until now, our favourite has been <a href="http://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-game-shelf-previews-cat-rescue.html"><i>Cat Rescue</i></a> - a game of rescuing and re-homing cats from the streets, with lovely cat artwork, that has since been used in a number of their campaigns. The same designer and publisher combo also recently gained a wider audience with a reprint of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/260316/art-decko"><i>Promenade</i></a> released by Rio Grande Games.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/311990/macaron"><i>Macaron</i></a> continues with the cute themes - a small package that looks just like a luxury package of tasty marcarons. The artwork throughout the game is simple but lovely, and should be just the thing to attract lighter gamers to the table. However, if you're expecting a light card game, <i>Macaron</i> might hold a few surprises - it's a simple game, but it'll certainly exercise your brain!<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><i>Macaron</i> is a trick taking game that takes course over a number of rounds. Players will choose to play to 10 or 20 points to win. Points are gained by winning more tricks during a round, and by correctly betting on how many tricks they will win this round.
At the start of a round each player will be dealt a hand of cards before choosing two to pass away to the player on their right. The last player will then select which ingredient(s) will be trumps this round, while the first player chooses the allergy ingredient. Each player then gets a chance to bet on how well they will do before the round begins with the start player starting the first trick. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhadF0_3xGWw0ZJ1vbwcPTwF0eubDpyVcfv8yhwSMaPbnzxmTb_hGPptDcJC0zF7ryHb7fRNyy51AEHwstim9bhZ4sX3GPcT63vcwer2fTF7hCPYOzsS7dY3wS6MV4kBWcVwXYmo-szPWSNAKglkSXNcZX0WXy22B4tprlP2gQYqoP5aPMIuxAuapGYbA=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhadF0_3xGWw0ZJ1vbwcPTwF0eubDpyVcfv8yhwSMaPbnzxmTb_hGPptDcJC0zF7ryHb7fRNyy51AEHwstim9bhZ4sX3GPcT63vcwer2fTF7hCPYOzsS7dY3wS6MV4kBWcVwXYmo-szPWSNAKglkSXNcZX0WXy22B4tprlP2gQYqoP5aPMIuxAuapGYbA=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Gameplay then proceeds as a fairly standard trick taking affair, the lead player plays a card with a number and ingredient (set), each other player must follow with a card of the same ingredient. Once every player has played a card the player with the highest numbered card in the correct set wins the trick. Should you not have a card that matches the set then you can play a card of any set, typically this is a losing move, unless you play a card from one of the trump sets. Trump cards beat all other cards except for another trump card of a higher number. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">At the end of a trick the winner will earn 1 box, this lets them move along the scoring track 1 space. Should a trick be won by a '1' card then the winner will instead gain three boxes. Should a trick be won which contains any number of cards of the current allergy ingredient then the winner will earn no boxes, unless one of the cards played this round was a '2'. The round will end either when each player has run out of cards or one player earns their eighth box at which point boxes will be converted into points and points will be rewarded for correct bets or lost for incorrect bets.
<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /><i> </i></div><i>Macaron</i> is certainly an interesting twist on trick taking gameplay, the fact that there are two trump sets (most) rounds changes up some of the standard trick taking tactics, even more so given that a player gets to choose which ones they are. Combine this with one set essentially becoming a poison that saps away points and you can do a great deal to counteract your opponents. That said I do feel that some of this ebbs away in a two player game. When each trick consists of only two cards there's less room for trumps or allergies to be played. You can deduce when a player has run out of a certain set and try to work around that. This is possible at higher player counts, sure, but it leaves more room for a wrench to be thrown into your plan. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">While <i>Macaron </i>worked perfectly well at two players, there was one aspect of the game that didn't quite match up to how I would have hoped. Betting for points should have been a valid way to earn bonus points, with a real risk for betting wrong. But in reality at two players you almost always reached a certain level almost regardless of what you did. On the advanced side of the betting board there were great bonuses for losing every set for the whole round, but with two trumps and a single opponent watching your every move this feels essentially impossible. Meanwhile betting on 5-7 boxes was an almost sure-fire bet if your hand was anything other than complete garbage. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIg132zAO2iNAuuTJAUaXZHImhnIVuh4WU-9VxZCbR0Nb7rQ-N62fGYriqkP7zPPju7aqvISKSJBCdvp6ZxGD4CmK6WM-I7K35osV-77JnQlQl06pgmGT9e2dc9-EDH7TYqLoMs5CmfDDX61xcRQy_EgMJxyUpJOTr_P-hAzcspUhiJksKh5KWMhnNnQ=s3619" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3619" data-original-width="2259" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIg132zAO2iNAuuTJAUaXZHImhnIVuh4WU-9VxZCbR0Nb7rQ-N62fGYriqkP7zPPju7aqvISKSJBCdvp6ZxGD4CmK6WM-I7K35osV-77JnQlQl06pgmGT9e2dc9-EDH7TYqLoMs5CmfDDX61xcRQy_EgMJxyUpJOTr_P-hAzcspUhiJksKh5KWMhnNnQ=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">It's worth noting that trick taking games are far from my favourite genre. I quite like the mechanic in a co-op game such as <i>The Crew</i>, but when done competitively the flow of the games tend to focus on one player having control. Being the lead on a trick provides you with a lot of power over the other players, doubly so if you have a good hand of cards. This isn't something I find particularly enjoyable, and while <i>Macaron </i>has some unique twists, at its core it players trick taking very straight. Ultimately I didn't find myself looking forward to the next game of<i> Macaron</i>, but I think this speaks more to my taste than the game itself. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>Don't let Amy put you off <i>Macaron</i>. It turns out that I'm quite good at it, and I've won every time we've played, so I can see why that's been a dissatisfying experience for Amy. All too often the shoe is on the other foot and I'm being trounced in a game where her natural aptitude is higher, so I know how it feels.</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">For me, <i>Macaron</i> is a delightful trick-taking game. There are very few trick-taking games that work for two-players, which is a shame, because they're a style of game I really enjoy, perhaps because traditional card games were the thing we played most when growing up. However, <i>Macaron</i> does not rely of this uniqueness as its only selling point, it has a few other unique aspects that I've really enjoyed puzzling out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">My strategy varies each round depending on whether I'm the player selecting the trump flavour or if I'm the player selecting the allergen (We've only played at two, so this just alternates every turn. The strategy when you're deciding trump can be quite simple - I try to put myself in a position where I have a lot of the trump card and ideally, noting in one or two other flavours, so that I get to play trump often. If you're deciding the allergen, it's far harder to visualise the correct strategy - if helps if you think the other player has lots of cards in the allergen, and perhaps if you have the '2' card from the allergen flavour, that'll give you an element of surprise to win one trick. I love that we've played a number of times and I'm still trying to figure out the best ways to play for each turn.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpxbAxoM0DWIDmLYy5CIMnOFEVTvOYEABhJuTy9SSIpc4IAtTIpGKfMxklXI2El3myHSwMBz79FfyDr2Obrb6WqfkM1Ytmgx9Qd-6UfXKkSDGU0fkwfagAPi3tI4QIos52tFsEX8eXAHMJxe6TkxDC_OwFqvv0brs6BzpYo7yt_uBFLKzQZSR4H7LTvQ=s3649" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2242" data-original-width="3649" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpxbAxoM0DWIDmLYy5CIMnOFEVTvOYEABhJuTy9SSIpc4IAtTIpGKfMxklXI2El3myHSwMBz79FfyDr2Obrb6WqfkM1Ytmgx9Qd-6UfXKkSDGU0fkwfagAPi3tI4QIos52tFsEX8eXAHMJxe6TkxDC_OwFqvv0brs6BzpYo7yt_uBFLKzQZSR4H7LTvQ=w400-h246" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Not only is there this enjoyable layer of interest, but you also have the option to bet on how you'll score in each round. This element reminds me a little of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244505/pikoko"><i>Pikoko</i></a> and also <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/221965/fox-forest"><i>Fox in the Forest</i></a>. Like <i>Fox in the Forest</i>, you might find yourself in a situation where you're really playing towards the scoring sweet spot - you might have won a few unexpected tricks early on in the round, and then need to deliberately lose some tricks just to make sure your bet is correct. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Macaron </i>is a fast game whether you choose to play to 10 or 20 points, and I really enjoy tryin to puzzle out the optimal way to play every time this game comes to the table. I'm quite disappointed that I won't get to play this more with Amy!<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>There are more layers of strategy here than you might expect.<br /></li><li>Here's a chance to play a trick taking game that works excellently for two.<br /></li><li>There is no real theme in the game, but the artwork certainly makes this look like a game you want to play and introduce to people.<br /></li></ul><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>If, like us, you have one player who's naturally better at the game, it might not be a good pick.<br /></li><li>The betting does not feel quite as critical as it could be, especially if you're racing towards winning the maximum 8 points early in a round.<br /></li></ul></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>6.5/10 </b>It's not often that a game polarises our opinion so much as <i>Macaron</i> does. I've really enjoyed playing the game, whilst Amy has been happy it has ended quickly. It's always a risk when one player has more of an aptitude for a certain time of game than the other, and for once the player who seems more naturally able at the game is me! If you're looking, that rare thing, a trick taking game that plays well at two players, then Macaron is perhaps it. With the added interest of betting on your success and selecting the trump flavour and allergy flavour, there is more to <i>Macaron</i> than meets the eye.<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Macaron <i>was a review copy which appeared unannounced - thank you to whoever sent it our way!<br /></i></span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-76561974428864013782021-12-15T13:30:00.003+00:002021-12-15T13:30:00.174+00:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Wok and Roll<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Wok and Roll</p><p></p><p><span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Origame</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> </span><span class="ng-scope">Daryl Chow</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2020<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWGj_ANuGfK17mFvBshOXs5OisWZO-4JNqtim4bGvvuZpFMhz9612otxM5hyZ8x3CAWlW_2eoXw5qaSvbJnFvKeFL-j5jFw05QRfM_Y9b0y6Ysl_aAexcKndpEeYKDp35rP7JPKpREU0/s900/pic5731909.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWGj_ANuGfK17mFvBshOXs5OisWZO-4JNqtim4bGvvuZpFMhz9612otxM5hyZ8x3CAWlW_2eoXw5qaSvbJnFvKeFL-j5jFw05QRfM_Y9b0y6Ysl_aAexcKndpEeYKDp35rP7JPKpREU0/w200-h200/pic5731909.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i><a href="https://www.origame.co/wok-and-roll">Wok and Roll</a></i> is a roll and write game from publisher Origame, from Singapore, publishing games by designer Daryl Chow. The roll and write craze, which seemed like it would be a flash in the pan, is still alive and kicking and Wok and Roll brings with it a delightful theme, that I've not yet seen in roll and writes. Each player is creating a menu for their own Asian restaurant, picking ingredients from the roll of the dice.<br /><br />Amy has always been a source of groan-worthy puns, but the opportunity to name your restaurant at the beginning of each game of <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/319320/wok-and-roll">Wok and Roll</a></i>, really took this trait to new depths. I would be happy to play this game for the sole purpose of seeing what Amy could come up with next. Why naming a restaurant is so much more fun than naming a town in <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233867/welcome">Welcome To</a></i>, I'm not sure, but the photos in this review will give you a little insight into the mind of my wife.</div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the start of a game of <i>Wok and Roll</i> each player will be handed a dry-erase restaurant board on either the regular or advanced side. If you are playing on the advanced side you'll also be given a house special recipe token. After everyone has named their restaurant the game will begin. Each turn the active player will roll all six dice, they then have two chances to reroll as many dice as they desire. Once all rerolls are done players can use the dice to cross off recipes in their restaurant. The active player can use all six dice, while the other players can use only the four white dice. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Most of the recipes on a player's board reward points, with bonus points for completing an whole section. These recipes are a combination of rice, noodles, meat, fish and vegetables, five of the six faces of the dice. The last face is menus, by using a pair of menus a player can unlock the ability to treat menus as one of the other five die faces for the rest of the game. Should you use three menus at once you can unlock an end game scoring bonus. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZWO6Q5B6TI71kh3HA5wRO0Bp6UsB7hcfJkOBWOkgUP2lqmoAmw7fmQt0GyhSlI_3yc3DG1ordMGmN24vVzf0MPgZVHYK6zXrSzVkWdzR0UuRk17r8O8d4S2-rFpMGbBGCNUFZbWoOA2G/s2048/2021-12-10+20.31.24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="2048" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZWO6Q5B6TI71kh3HA5wRO0Bp6UsB7hcfJkOBWOkgUP2lqmoAmw7fmQt0GyhSlI_3yc3DG1ordMGmN24vVzf0MPgZVHYK6zXrSzVkWdzR0UuRk17r8O8d4S2-rFpMGbBGCNUFZbWoOA2G/w400-h245/2021-12-10+20.31.24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Should you be struggling to make recipes you can always take ingredients from your fridge. The fridge starts with one of each ingredient which you can cross off at any time to top up the dice available. Certain recipes will reward bonus ingredients into your fridge when acquired. The advanced side of the board changes up how menus and the fridge are used, making scoring and advancing more complex. Eventually a player will have finished three complete sections of their recipe board. At this point the game immediately ends and players add up their scores. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Over time you notice trends in your gaming tastes, perhaps you might like deckbuilders, or heavy euros about farming. For us, we seem to like roll and writes with dry erase boards. A strange niche perhaps, but <i>Wok and Roll</i> joins Tokyo Metro and Lets Make a Bus Route in the dry erase 'genre'. Another surefire hit is a game that we can play on the sofa, with sturdy boards and a built in dice tray in the box <i>Wok and Roll </i>manages to tick this box too. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The mechanics of <i>Wok and Roll</i> are fairly basic roll and write fodder, roll the dice, get some rerolls then everybody uses them. The two red dice that are reserved for the active player are a nice touch, but hardly a new addition to board games. <i>Wok and Roll </i>is good, for sure, but it's far from unique. The theme works nicely and I had a stupidly large amount of fun making wok puns in my restaurant names. The game play gets tied nicely with the theme, with bonus points given for becoming renowned for cooking certain styles of food, but once again none of this is new mechanically. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vqCBZnExS1lOstJIY42FJjRGqngjC-bq3g6BZ1MhdMoNfzNB13FcqE3TQDc8o94REQm2HKRvxhcwZkyGkiISNtTn4qJvQzfgVVtYJPiyceJJS4J6PSGCiOdznZGFCf2ziT8bC9w6azOn/s2048/2021-12-10+20.33.05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1523" data-original-width="2048" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vqCBZnExS1lOstJIY42FJjRGqngjC-bq3g6BZ1MhdMoNfzNB13FcqE3TQDc8o94REQm2HKRvxhcwZkyGkiISNtTn4qJvQzfgVVtYJPiyceJJS4J6PSGCiOdznZGFCf2ziT8bC9w6azOn/w400-h297/2021-12-10+20.33.05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>But then how much does <i>new</i> matter? Sure we might have seen this all before, but it's been given a polish and a good theme, a punny name and a built in dice tray. It's also got some of the best dry erase pens in board games. <i>Wok and Roll</i> is a polished product. Both sides of the board are fun to play, with the advanced side adding some particularly hard choices on how to progress as a restaurant as you have to invest in unlocking recipes. Overall it's certainly worth picking up and playing <i>Wok and Roll. I</i>f you already have a humongous collection of roll and writes you might not find anything new to surprise you, but if you only have one or two, then <i>Wok and Roll </i>is a great exemplar of the genre.
<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><i>Wok and Roll</i> is a slight spin on one of the main types of roll and write games we often see. One players rolls the dice, but you get better opportunities when you roll the dice, compared to when others roll the dice. Here, instead of the active player getting first pick, it's two specific dice that are only available to the active player, so you can really try to roll specific combinations of faces to try and ensure you get a great result, perhaps completing one very tough recipe, or two recipes in a single turn, while you give your opponent a bad selection - maybe just a single recipe book and a combination of ingredients that don't make a recipe. While it's conceptually possible to manipulate things in this way, it's often quite hard to pull off, especially with dice luck added to the mix.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKMXHkLxN6ia9vfLUfjcJ2hFaZMC4W4KbHpDZeo3DfYk8jv6Rvgn3kBUO3tMnMb9dQUy_MMVo-vxue05gzFAmr_YvNnyuu-jOQlzhOcNLZlYULpfc9UiJ_bmWUFRURldBebSdZ0MaD7AN/s2048/2021-12-10+20.37.34.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKMXHkLxN6ia9vfLUfjcJ2hFaZMC4W4KbHpDZeo3DfYk8jv6Rvgn3kBUO3tMnMb9dQUy_MMVo-vxue05gzFAmr_YvNnyuu-jOQlzhOcNLZlYULpfc9UiJ_bmWUFRURldBebSdZ0MaD7AN/w400-h225/2021-12-10+20.37.34.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As seasoned gamers, it's usual for us to play the standard mode once and swiftly move onto the advanced mode. The standard mode has end game scoring objectives, and you have to invest in the objectives that you wish to score at the end of the game. To me, this feels quite advanced. It's a area of the game that I neglected in my first game and regretted, and it's certainly a tricky choice to decide whether to invest in more objectives or work harder to score other objectives more highly. In the advanced mode, there's no end game objectives, which seems like a shame, whereas the 'advanced elements are set up more like hurdles you need to overcome during the game instead.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal">So long as you're not super competitive and keen to make every turn have a huge disparity in quality between your results and your opponents' then there's plenty of light fun to be had. The theme of making a menu, lends itself really well to a roll and write, making you feel like you're ordering food the old fashioned way from a takeaway. It's the type of game that you can play to relax and it's sure to make you smile.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li><i>Wok and Roll </i>brings a charming theme to life.</li><li>There's lots of paths you can take to boost your points and optimise your timing for the end game.</li><li>With abundant re-rolls, there's plenty of opportunity to mitigate bad luck and make the best of your rolls.</li></ul><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>While we jump to the advanced mode in most games, here, standard is best for us.</li><li>It can be hard to make choices that influence other players.</li></ul></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>7.5/10</b> <i>Wok and Roll</i> brings to the table a lovely theme and charming production that lend themselves really well to the roll and write genre. It's a quick game, with lots of interesting choices as you try and optimise your rolls to be the best for you and the worst they can be for others at the table. It might not satisfy the most competitive of gamers, but it's light and fun, and can even be played on the sofa!<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Wok and Roll <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by</i> </span><span face="">Origame<span style="color: #1e1e1e;">.</span></span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-60936399478439504882021-11-24T13:00:00.003+00:002021-11-26T17:00:04.119+00:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Canopy<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Canopy</p><p></p><p><span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Weird City Games<br /><br /><u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> </span><span class="ng-scope">Tim Eisner</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDsGl-Y0qfy9KK4L16mtUYnYYdKPu40SQg8Lv7J_clqlQ1J43mzXSvhcEB3NOpZkKZ_fWO-0SdLeRHQhcVa5pYJ10yS4XltcX0b6qdeze8wSELA_NQ12rIbyMXQaA4gRHTdwX3SHccgw/s1080/pic5090694.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDsGl-Y0qfy9KK4L16mtUYnYYdKPu40SQg8Lv7J_clqlQ1J43mzXSvhcEB3NOpZkKZ_fWO-0SdLeRHQhcVa5pYJ10yS4XltcX0b6qdeze8wSELA_NQ12rIbyMXQaA4gRHTdwX3SHccgw/w167-h200/pic5090694.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295607/canopy"><i>Canopy</i></a> is primarily a two-player game where players complete to grow a rainforest, filled with many tall trees, beautiful flowers and a variety of exotic animals.<br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The game was funded on Kickstarter and what really stood out to me was the publishers focus on the environment. For each game sold, a tree is planted, and the game itself uses no plastic beyond the two seals that hold the lid on the box in place of shrink wrap. Cards are wrapped with little paper bands, and there are no plastic baggies in site, with lovely, branded paper bags provided instead.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the start of the game the main deck will be split equally into three separate season decks. Season 2 and 3 will be put aside, while season 1 will be used for the first of the three rounds of the game. Cards will then be drawn from the deck into three piles of cards that players will be actively choosing from. On your turn you will look at the first pile of cards and make a choice; you can choose to take it and add it to your forest before restarting the pile with a single new card from the deck. Or you can skip it, putting the pile back, adding a single new card to it, the picking up the next pile to make the same decision. Should a player skip on all three piles then instead they gain a single card from the top of the current season deck. Once all cards from a season have been collected the round ends, with a scoring. This then repeats for the next two seasons. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfjyoX76PQVYh8Sw_3OQEpTk_tyzvajr89LqzgqbdfD-S0EknEsT0k5M2exQucBUI5QNCFNAGSc4lJ83UX0QXlMVNG-YgIE4K7m_lAnQehJum_0ae3BmFsRl43bCa-Hj1VDTGsnyEfttf/s2048/2021-11-12+21.14.43.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfjyoX76PQVYh8Sw_3OQEpTk_tyzvajr89LqzgqbdfD-S0EknEsT0k5M2exQucBUI5QNCFNAGSc4lJ83UX0QXlMVNG-YgIE4K7m_lAnQehJum_0ae3BmFsRl43bCa-Hj1VDTGsnyEfttf/w400-h225/2021-11-12+21.14.43.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The reason for this selection mechanism is that not all cards are good, or perhaps can be bad in the wrong numbers. Each round you'll be scoring points for your plants and weather cards; but sun scores only if paired with rain and ferns only score if you have an odd number of them, so getting the right cards is crucial. Then there are straight-up bad cards, get too much fire and you'll make you lose some plants at the end of the round, but get even more and your fire will spread to your opponents too! The freshly burnt ground also enhances seed cards. Disease is similar, but for animal cards and without any real bonus, while droughts are 'bad' but also a handy way of getting rid of another card you don't want. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">On top of plants and weather you'll also find animals and trees. Animals all come in pairs, with end game points for collecting the mating pair. However, one of the pair will also have an ongoing power that you can use as you play. Trees are similar to plants but you don't lose them every round. A tree can be grown with as many trunk cards as you want, but as soon as you add a canopy card the tree is completed. Trees score the round they are competed, but also have some bonuses associated to them. Each season the tallest tree will reward its owner, with more points for later seasons. Once the final season ends the player with the most complete trees will get a sizeable bonus too. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Canopy</i> is a pretty pure push your luck game, with the slight twist that after skipping a pile you have some knowledge of what is in it (though there'll always be one new mystery card added). While this sounds great in theory, in practice it often falls apart, only really coming into play if you go all the way to pile three, your opponent grabs pile one, and then you gleefully head straight to that joyful pile two you saw last round. When it works it feels great to pull out a perfect Monstera collection out of no-where. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Unfortunately the rest of this mechanic can feel clumsy. All you want to do is move to the next pile to investigate it, so it's easy to forget to add the new card as you go. All the constant picking up and putting back face-down can end up feeling like busywork when everyone knows pile one is two fires, a disease and a drought. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cbvJm8u0InEEVfTGa6HFYxSIV0fx7wJVTTLpxYh-knGR6O4047QLgU4n8_ewXhC5umMC1X__Ztp8rRenpWgW0J5GlsDJH2rM94ZpyoNW_rAL7-ro7Tsf8QhkuCifNMj6i7HAmyoLU3XK/s2048/2021-11-12+21.18.45.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1905" data-original-width="2048" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cbvJm8u0InEEVfTGa6HFYxSIV0fx7wJVTTLpxYh-knGR6O4047QLgU4n8_ewXhC5umMC1X__Ztp8rRenpWgW0J5GlsDJH2rM94ZpyoNW_rAL7-ro7Tsf8QhkuCifNMj6i7HAmyoLU3XK/w400-h373/2021-11-12+21.18.45.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The push your luck element also suffers from the way the game is set up. The player aid gives you a list of how many of each card you have in the entire deck, but this means absolutely squat when the deck has been shuffled and split into three different rounds. You can't go desperately searching for that last fern you need because all the rest are in the next season. Hunting for that monkey that gives you a great bonus once per season, well he's in the season three deck so don't look forward to using him too much. The theoretical solution to this is seeds. Seeds let you skim through the top few cards of the seed deck at the end of a round to help correct any mistakes made. But in practice, due to the shuffle and split, you might have a round with no seeds too! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">So perhaps <i>Canopy</i> is a highly luck-fueled game, but that doesn't make it a bad game. There are certainly choices to be made, you just have to be flexible and go with the flow of the game rather than trying to tame it. Ride the wave of luck all the way to victory! It's an absolutely gorgeous wave to ride too. <i>Canopy</i> has fantastic art of many of the exotic plants and animals found in the rainforests of Earth, with a nice mini factoid presented at the bottom of each card. As a nature lover it's hard not to be charmed by the game's presentation, even if you don't love the gameplay. Overall I thought <i>Canopy</i> was fine. It tried something different, which worked, but not outstandingly well. Unfortunately, I do find the game somewhat forgettable, lacking that compelling reason to keep it on the shelf. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><i>Canopy</i> is a really eye-catching game, with beautiful artwork, plus a really visual way of building out a tableau of tall trees, adorned with different rainforest creatures. If you focus on trees, you'll build something quite impressive, but those points and the bonus points that come from having tall or plentiful trees, won't be enough alone without an altogether more messy and table-hogging set collection game that happens off to the side, where you are collecting the animal cards and different plants. Here, the set collection can get kind of interesting with different types of scoring, which mean that sometimes you really, really don't want to add any more to a set which will push you towards different decisions when you select a pile of cards. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find a good pile, and other times you might get really burnt and need to hope that you get one of the very few opportunities to discard a card that you've already collected to try and maintain a positive score for the round.<br /></div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWdHQ9AVbvZlfjEI3clviC2_IV6Ex_uzawIk8_Tb7r85fCQFSQo8R01QTvWI__R-6UnRMdUhUI4WWXQmD_xWI6P_0M3gGsGIxsxAxXrY5QudX8A8ZA8JTV53FmkD_2HbeyWqk5PCge3QW/s2048/2021-11-12+21.21.28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWdHQ9AVbvZlfjEI3clviC2_IV6Ex_uzawIk8_Tb7r85fCQFSQo8R01QTvWI__R-6UnRMdUhUI4WWXQmD_xWI6P_0M3gGsGIxsxAxXrY5QudX8A8ZA8JTV53FmkD_2HbeyWqk5PCge3QW/w400-h225/2021-11-12+21.21.28.jpg" width="400" /></a> <br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The luck in this game really wore me down and after a handful of plays, so much so that I really never wanted to see it ever again. I joked to Amy that the sustainable materials of this game, even down to paper bags provided instead of plastic baggies (!), was it's greatest selling feature, and that meant I could conscientiously place the whole game into our cardboard recycling! <br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">If the set collection here sounds interesting, but you too are apprehensive about the push your luck aspects, then we recently reviewed <i><a href="https://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-game-shelf-reviews-tucano.html">Tucano</a></i> from Helvetiq. It's a much simpler game but has similar fun set collection options and a much more controlled method of drawing cards, leading to a little bit more player interaction too.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>There are lots of nice twists on set collection scoring that give you some very tricky choices when taking cards.</li><li><i>Canopy</i>'s artwork is wonderful and you build out an impressive looking forest as you tableau of cards.<br /></li><li><i>Canopy </i>is perhaps the most ecologically friendly board game we've ever seen.<br /></li></ul><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>There can be a whole lot of luck involved in the cards you draw and there's very few ways to overcome bad luck.<br /></li><li>The rewards for most trees and tallest trees can be a very large points swing, often won by a hair.<br /></li></ul></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>5/10</b> <i>Canopy</i> feels like a push your luck game at heart, but it's one that doesn't really shine for us. Pushing your luck for a completely random outcome can be very dissatisfying, and piled on top of someone else getting particularly lucky with the way the cards fall, you can feel completely hosed. The artwork is undoubtedly the shining star here and the set collection has some interesting aspects, but it's wrapped a round a core that didn't much enjoy.<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Canopy <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by</i> <span style="color: black;">Weird City</span> Games.</span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-68560669742168913232021-11-03T13:00:00.032+00:002021-11-03T15:27:36.299+00:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Small Islands<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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</p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Small Islands</p><p><span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> MushrooM Games & Lucky Duck Games<br /><br /><u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> </span><span class="ng-scope">Alexis Allard</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2018<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YV9KmpSfyASbzFU4uoNlJ3JC5qRXPGWHQurDISXAc33JVxtey0eJbydaEoqJ7xpzRAegh3_-SOPHLcP1CXD9XemjqXjKEWi86JIlZ8NYVBUjZQ3danTEeW40JDOYd1p4Wzkm1idexXBQ/s600/small+island.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YV9KmpSfyASbzFU4uoNlJ3JC5qRXPGWHQurDISXAc33JVxtey0eJbydaEoqJ7xpzRAegh3_-SOPHLcP1CXD9XemjqXjKEWi86JIlZ8NYVBUjZQ3danTEeW40JDOYd1p4Wzkm1idexXBQ/w200-h200/small+island.webp" width="200" /></a></div><br/>The first impression of <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/236248/small-islands">Small Islands</a> </i>is like a maritime <i>Carcassonne</i> - it has the familiar square tiles, with land and sea edges that must be matched as you build a central landscape together throughout the game. Like many gamers, <i>Carcassonne</i> was one of our first modern board games and it's one that has really stood the test of time, with a number of expansions having also been crammed into our base game box over the years.<br/><br/><i> </i><i>Small Islands</i> caught our eye when it was shown at the UK Games Expo a few years ago and then I had regrets when it was really hard to find for the next couple of years. Thankfully, that problem has been solved, with Lucky Duck Games announcing a reprint of <i>Small Islands </i>to share it with a larger audience and we have been excited to give it a try.</div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the start of a game of <i>Small Islands</i> four island tiles are arranged in the center of the table to form the start of the play area. Each player then gets two random island tiles each and an objective card. Each round of the game a market of three tiles will be made available with a stack of tiles depending on player count to be used to refill the market. Players will get to draw two more objective cards, choosing from their three; one to score this round, one to save for next round and one to discard. The round will then begin with players taking it in turns to draw a tile from the market and then place a tile into the play area. This continues until the stack of market tiles for the round has been depleted at which point any player may choose to place a boat instead of an island tile in order to end the round. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The island tiles themselves are rather simple with only two terrain features: land and water. Land must always connect to land and water must always connect to water, essentially if the tiles look nice then you are playing by the rules. On the islands you'll find several features; Three different types of fruit, temples, anchors, and construction sites. These are all involved with the objectives you chose, which are the only ways to gain points. Objectives will typically ask for an island with more of one fruit type than another, or with a minimum combination of one temples and two anchors or similar. Should an island meet these criteria then once the round ends you will be able to place one of your buildings on a construction site on the island and then score the scoring half of the objective card. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38Yy8sJOZXLPiSqodTg1wmtqE0X4T2ahLEHhyphenhyphen7REnv5Vq2PQco00fxZ59iW4wDAzTbJ7BpnTg2OIsaaOSehoX2qNq8Az3KGdcCQfhApL5H9j5O1UzFwl4TUE3WGxCKaWqQIaZQ8D_p8nJ/s2048/2021-10-09+11.58.22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="2048" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38Yy8sJOZXLPiSqodTg1wmtqE0X4T2ahLEHhyphenhyphen7REnv5Vq2PQco00fxZ59iW4wDAzTbJ7BpnTg2OIsaaOSehoX2qNq8Az3KGdcCQfhApL5H9j5O1UzFwl4TUE3WGxCKaWqQIaZQ8D_p8nJ/w400-h221/2021-10-09+11.58.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></div>Small Islands</i> will continue like this for four rounds. After the fourth round players will add up their points and gain an extra point for each anchor symbol that can be found next to the boat in their colour (it pays to have good parking). The Game also features an advanced mode that lets you make your own objective cards. Essentially instead of each card having an objective and a scoring mechanic on it you'll get twice as many cards to choose from, half of which are only objectives and half are scoring mechanics. If you want to find an island with a temple and guavas on it and then score for dragon fruit, the option is now available.
.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /> </div><i>Small Islands</i> certainly sticks to the <i>Carcassonne </i>school of making a map out of tiles. But while there are many similarities <i>Small Islands</i> manages to be both simpler and more complex. The tile laying itself is incredibly simple, with only two types of terrain on the board you'll usually be spoilt for choice on where to place your tile for the round. However with three tiles in your hand to choose from and a wealth of scoring options available, trying to work out where is best to play can be a minefield. Each island can only be scored by each player once, so do you make a small island with only one building spot on it, in the hope that you get there first? If a sprawling island appears that meets your objectives for the round do you build on it, or wait for it to grow more next round? If you wait you always run the risk of it being merged with another island that you've already scored, and then you can't build there again since you have a hut on the, now humongous, island. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Not only are you thinking about our current scoring objective, but you also saved one for next round, it's perfectly viable to tank your scoring in round one to prepare for a better score in round two. Though since everyone is working together to make the islands it's rare you get complete control over how a landmass develops. The objectives themselves have an impressive amount of variability for cards that are all about the combinations of the game's six symbols. Unfortunately this actually makes the game a little harder to pick up as some of the symbology on the objective cards can be a touch confusing. Keep the manual on hand so you can refer to it when the weirder cards appear. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQcasfcCnHPh_6UliqKlsvVLzlJu3zRFXCfXiDING4jWStJmmqtt301IrT_CHvajVJINUL4yL4PqJGIQbGLjpZ1O54tFOGOpdh6N7lDo0pyPDOXJZ-UDkz59U7p7P8kgpOW-Q4bG97rTP/s2048/2021-10-09+11.57.36.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="2048" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQcasfcCnHPh_6UliqKlsvVLzlJu3zRFXCfXiDING4jWStJmmqtt301IrT_CHvajVJINUL4yL4PqJGIQbGLjpZ1O54tFOGOpdh6N7lDo0pyPDOXJZ-UDkz59U7p7P8kgpOW-Q4bG97rTP/w400-h239/2021-10-09+11.57.36.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>While <i>Small Islands</i> is certainly a gorgeous game with wonderful art and all the joy that simply tile laying games provide. The gameplay doesn't quite find that perfect spot in terms of complexity. With very specific objectives able to be destroyed, or helped, just by your opponents trying to do their own thing, it can be easy to feel out of control of the situation. This could have been helped by the advanced mode, but in practice if my objective is to have a lot of dragon fruit on the island then I probably want a scoring mechanic that rewards for having lots of dragon fruit, so you are encouraged to build towards the default. <i>Small Islands </i>is fun, but just lacks that 'let's play again' factor, after a few games I felt pretty done and even the advanced scoring mode didn't help much
</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><i>Small Islands</i> is a pretty interactive puzzle. Some rounds you'll be happily working away building out two or three islands that suit your scoring objective, whilst in other rounds you'll get stuck in a tug of war with another player - you have no idea exactly what objective they're trying to optimise, but whatever it is, it's undermining your objective at the same time. With two players this negative interaction is thankfully quite infrequent, but with or without it, there is certainly an interactive element to the game, since all islands are common and, so long as there is enough space, all players can score from every island. You want to try and avoid making an island that's more lucrative for an opponent than it is for yourself!</div><div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, you could choose to be more laid back, not scoring too many islands early in the game, waiting for them to get larger and worth bigger points, or waiting for an objective card that is better suited to the opportunities available. Your choice of objective card really is the most critical one each round and the points scored can vary hugely from achieving just two or three points in a round to 20 or more from a great combination of islands. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3UGxmMVdPfagjrwfPptuhdMWQiolkhh8tv_r8IBXd0IBUOhoTSIdpwea7Fvrzylg3ivf_bxs97w99DAxW1_rAG1RBLXqXh-eg4hz0R0silrUcmoJx8jQITBSe1wDpY-wNV-8p9QNIVqX/s2048/2021-10-09+12.00.56.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="2048" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3UGxmMVdPfagjrwfPptuhdMWQiolkhh8tv_r8IBXd0IBUOhoTSIdpwea7Fvrzylg3ivf_bxs97w99DAxW1_rAG1RBLXqXh-eg4hz0R0silrUcmoJx8jQITBSe1wDpY-wNV-8p9QNIVqX/w400-h253/2021-10-09+12.00.56.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The gameplay of <i>Small Islands </i>is very accessible and easy to explain, and the bright coloured artwork is a very attractive way to bring people into the game (although the tiny components are perhaps a bit too understated). On the other hand, the symbology on the objective cards still throws up some curve balls that we need to look up in the rulebook, which could be a bit of the hurdle for the less experienced gamers who I think could otherwise really enjoy the game.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Although attractive and certainly not without merit, <i>Small Islands</i> was unfortunately just a little bit boring for me. Once you've selected a scoring card for the round, you choices become quite obvious and you're just making the best of the layout of the board and tiles available. Don't get me wrong, there are choices and you need to figure out the ones that will score most highly, I just don't find them to be interesting choices. Perhaps the game is just too simple for my taste, but there are other, perhaps more elegant tile-laying games, with simpler rules that I enjoy more.</div><div> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>The artwork for both the cover and the game on the table is really bright and eye-catching. It's very visually appealing.</li><li>Other than understanding symbology on the objectives cards, <i>Small Islands</i> is a very accessible game, with each round being a bitesize chunk.</li><li>The advanced mode gives you more options to customise and optimise your strategy</li></ul><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>The wooden pieces are rather small and fiddly.</li><li>Once you understand the game there is not significant hidden depth and we are concerned that we'll tire fast of the game.</li></ul></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>6/10</b> <i>Small Islands</i> looks charming and it plays really smoothly, but ultimately, there's just not enough going on to give the game longevity in our collection. The choices feel quite obvious and, even though the game can look quite different each time you play, it feels exactly the same. <i>Small Islands</i> is a good game, but I'd rather play <i>Carcassonne</i>, which, even though it too is light, I believe it has far more interesting choices for you to make.<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Small Islands <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by</i> Lucky Duck Games.</span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-73303010738044410232021-10-20T18:14:00.002+01:002021-10-20T18:15:39.683+01:00The Game Shelf Previews:- Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Hot Banana Games<span class="ng-scope"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b>Pauline Kong, <span face="proxima-nova, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">Haymen Lee, </span><span face="proxima-nova, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">Marie Wong</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2022</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkrPeIoUT0LaVedXfGInMILOwu-iyPQNlCVMSwuYcqAIjtG845P44jeV2QdqYcVCMzQqy3Gr1i5FKrhzeRSaz4Qt2rAVLzP3f41q-LukTD2-vo7QL2pEu9fb-3C3z_277PqjE17KbOlA/s1000/box-cover-image.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkrPeIoUT0LaVedXfGInMILOwu-iyPQNlCVMSwuYcqAIjtG845P44jeV2QdqYcVCMzQqy3Gr1i5FKrhzeRSaz4Qt2rAVLzP3f41q-LukTD2-vo7QL2pEu9fb-3C3z_277PqjE17KbOlA/w200-h200/box-cover-image.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">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;</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Invite over my friends for a weekend stay</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Take said friends on a trip to the Chinese supermarket</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Buy a heck of a lot of dim sum</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even buy a steamer so that we could correctly cook the dim sum</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Be taught to cook dim sum</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eat a whole ton of dim sum and take some nice photos of this wonderful looking game</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">But, like I said, theme doesn’t a matter to me…</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">If you’d like to host your own dim sum get together, then perhaps a game of <i>Steam Up</i> is the perfect appetiser. </div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the start of a game of <i>Steam Up</i> the eighteen steamers are filled with different dim sum morsels from the bag. An equal amount of steamers get two, three, and four items in them. Then the steamers are stacked randomly into stacks of three on the game board. Each player will be assigned a customer with its own special power and a feast zone where they can take dim sum. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Each round starts with a fate (event) card being drawn before play begins, these can change the rules a little for the round, or provide a bonus to a certain player. During your turn you'll get two actions from a choice of four. You can either gain a food token, gain a fortune card and rotate the steamer board, play a fortune card for its power and rotate the steamer board, discard two fortune cards for a food token or spend food tokens to buy a steamer. Rotating the steamers is important to ensure that the food you want to buy is in your feast zone. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklKMxWy8Ixj2sZ9hvmp723BOh43ouA6GyIwfJEpWqWd3WTL6MS_vWm2FplXUvrNsIX8xjRZC8uOo4V3iCuiPvTMp0lt9bCLTEQ8scUGMCUQ7w_AXW_yCdwOHniFUcYvw06UTQATlJGiI/s2048/2X5A0084.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklKMxWy8Ixj2sZ9hvmp723BOh43ouA6GyIwfJEpWqWd3WTL6MS_vWm2FplXUvrNsIX8xjRZC8uOo4V3iCuiPvTMp0lt9bCLTEQ8scUGMCUQ7w_AXW_yCdwOHniFUcYvw06UTQATlJGiI/w400-h266/2X5A0084.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>To buy a steamer you'll need to discard food tokens matching the food inside one of the steamers in your feast zone. After doing so you'll gain points as you add the morsels to your player board. Each character has different powers, with some gaining more points for focusing on a single food type, or for splitting their dietary needs. Every time a steamer is selected the steamer tracker moves down one space. Once the tracker reaches 0 it becomes the final round, with any players yet to play this round taking a final turn.</div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /> </div>From the second we opened the box the wow factor of this game struck home. There's games with table presence, and then there's games with stacking bamboo steamers filled with fantastic dim sum shapes on a rotating table board. It's worth noting what we had was a prototype of the deluxe version with 3D printed components. In the final version the dim sum should be made of the same slightly jelly-like material as the berries from <i>Everdell</i>. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Once you get past the initial awe you are left with a very competent family game. The actions are simple, you'll typically be taking a food token ready to grab what you want, with your spare action either grabbing or using cards, or buying those delicious dim sum treats. The rotation aspect can be very important, in a two player game you only have a quarter of the board that you can take steamers from. Even if you do a turn as one of your actions then you'll get the choice of up to four of the six steamers. Moreover if you are drawing/using cards to turn the table then that's one of your two actions used, meaning you can only take a token or buy a steamer, not both. A lot of actions can be lost to the table being where you don't want it to be, which adds a layer of depth to the game since the tokens your opponents are collecting is public knowledge. Sometimes filling your own stomach doesn't win you the game, so much as starving your friends does! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7OXmxJdy0oYj4LlxT2OxjNln6jitrJu36mN4TBaiqx3RlxjD79KMT03OtIxLqYKJV3eLvYXssi6LBI73b5uScTLLaxfNamvfyGWxW2igMSMK3yximpF6kwCG2uP8_6xZyc28e5P6NaY/s2048/Fortune+Card.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7OXmxJdy0oYj4LlxT2OxjNln6jitrJu36mN4TBaiqx3RlxjD79KMT03OtIxLqYKJV3eLvYXssi6LBI73b5uScTLLaxfNamvfyGWxW2igMSMK3yximpF6kwCG2uP8_6xZyc28e5P6NaY/s320/Fortune+Card.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>If I had to draw a criticism then it's that the character's powers don't always feel equal. In particular one character lets you discard a dim sum from a steamer you just bought in order to draw one from the bag, while another lets you discard a dim sum from a steamer you just bought and swap it with one from any steamer of your choice. These are functionally identically except that the second character both gets more choice, and more chance to mess with their opponents. But of course this is still a preview of a game yet to be on Kickstarter, there is time to make little tweaks to balance out characters, and in a larger player count game the different power levels will be less notable anyway. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Steam Up</i> is an fantastic family weight game with a theme that has been embraced wholeheartedly. The incredible production quality makes you want to sit down and play, while the fast, light-weight, gameplay really hits home.
<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><i>Steam Up</i>
has all of the ingredients (including sticky rice, shrimp dumplings and more!) of
a family classic. It looks great, has an appealing theme and simple mechanisms
that our easy to teach. However, that’s not to say that the game is easy to
play – it is full of very difficult decisions. You only have two actions per
turn and you’ll be forever wanting more. If you need to take a new ingredient
token, and then rotate the plate of steamers so that the one that you can
complete is facing you. The problem is that you don’t have an action spare to
then claim the steamer and the next player is bound to rotate the table again!
In a two player game, the player who gets lucky and reveals a steamer that they
can complete without having to rotate the plate will feel very smug.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyR9LWIehxa2vSSv6nBUDqHjIsr-oeEATgVqXMto_rGzmg3TgMPsMdPk0mH5sckANoktTQLUiAT1GerCimvtSHEBNWGLWwa1XIwYtnjM-liOHj6UE8ACW_NPhlnhC52rLGGDdlUEYxZQ/s2048/LuckyDie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyR9LWIehxa2vSSv6nBUDqHjIsr-oeEATgVqXMto_rGzmg3TgMPsMdPk0mH5sckANoktTQLUiAT1GerCimvtSHEBNWGLWwa1XIwYtnjM-liOHj6UE8ACW_NPhlnhC52rLGGDdlUEYxZQ/w400-h266/LuckyDie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">A game of
<i>Steam Up</i> is all about efficiency; making sure you take dim sum of the highest
scoring types; making sure that you don’t end up so full of shrimp dumplings
that you can’t take any more, but they keep coming your way (and scoring you no
points) and making the most of the fortune cards and your personal player
ability to ensure that you are not wasting a single action and you’re always
progressing and scoring the maximum points possible with each move. It’s not
easy to execute a really efficiently played game, but the person who does will
come out on top.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">If you take
<i>Steam Up</i> too seriously, you might get a little frustrated with a few of the
luck factors, but if you are looking for a light family game with a bit of meat
and a lot of beauty, then Steam Up will certainly be a winner.</span></p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>For component quality and table presence, this is one of the best games you'll ever find.</li><li>The game is light, which pairs well with its accessible theme to make <i>Steam Up</i> a wonderful introduction to modern board gaming.</li><li>The action limit per turn makes for some really tough decisions.</li></ul><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br /><ul><li>The fate cards add an element of luck that can be a big swing in this otherwise tight game.</li><li>A combination of the power of the fate cards and the power of your personal player ability can also seem to be a big factor in who wins.</li></ul></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Steam Up</i> is a great family game. It's got a theme that not only has a huge and accessible feel, but it's a theme that has leant itself to a wonderful production that has great tactile elements and a wonderful table presence. Why not gather your friends and a selection of dim sim and have a feast around your table?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;">Steam Up </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a preview copy kindly provided by </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hot Banana Games</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">. All photos were provided by the publisher. It <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/steam-up/steam-up-a-feast-of-dim-sum">launches on Kickstarter</a> on October 19th 2021.<br /></i></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-84911992834049550862021-10-13T13:00:00.001+01:002021-10-13T13:00:00.211+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Sierra West<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkaWXFmr_HC-UHtVzyOwTB1koMzIjEs6op85fl5bYvU6lqgODW5VUYzmYbx-2OMPHhNFiPCUcReoJDNiiajgxqozFkEA6kYrmA_AA5liQ29dE5oIn_sFGZFaJd7JTuSFAkucs84_FKkU/s2048/SierraWestCard.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Sierra West<span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Board&Dice<br />
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<u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> </span><span class="ng-scope">Jonny Pac</span><br />
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<u><b>Year:</b></u> 2019<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UmEmjMts153skXSusxM8hDsIUkN0SIf2xewDmdrPHhHaprSwR_W_lDZWMLM8H6FxM7LmGTBTxWZYGwz5EUoEQIt5tqMTK4q-9se86EMjBiHptSPNhKKj74l74JdcABUQCCinWO4YWYU/s900/pic4705378.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UmEmjMts153skXSusxM8hDsIUkN0SIf2xewDmdrPHhHaprSwR_W_lDZWMLM8H6FxM7LmGTBTxWZYGwz5EUoEQIt5tqMTK4q-9se86EMjBiHptSPNhKKj74l74JdcABUQCCinWO4YWYU/w200-h200/pic4705378.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I remember getting a quick look at <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/257066/sierra-west">Sierra West</a></i> 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<i> Sierra West</i> 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.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Sierra West </i>is a modular game, featuring four modules that each change the game in a dramatic way. Each game mode comes with a unique set of cards that make up the 'mountain' of cards you can collect to deckbuild during the game. It also features a unique mechanic that changes both how you score and how you will approach the main game. Since the separate set of mountain cards interact with the new mechanics; the modules all start similar, and then diverge as the game goes on. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Whichever module you choose to play you'll be playing in the same way. On your turn you'll choose how to place three cards to underneath your player board in order to make a pair of paths. Each path has a single worker that will walk along it, collecting resources and activating actions as they go. Should they reach the end of the path then they can be moved up onto one of the three card's bonus action spaces. These typically grants you the ability to trade in your hard earned resources for advancements on the building tracks, which act as point multipliers at the end of the game. Sierra West has three basic resources: food, wood and stone, which are used to buy many of the point gaining opportunities in the game. You'll also be gaining a large number of boots, these let you move your explorer around the mountain, or advance your wagon along the trail. You'll want to get your explorer in position before gaining shovel actions which let you 'dig out' the card underneath them, moving it from the mountain and adding it to you deck. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BQDNw0SHtVfJ67tY-aTU7EvSQxFCenf2KyliMVLY94vWIyPg_8gf0ikKM95Tr38rSwxsfN_Agis4UmJvWj4uDZZnAqeh31mwd_KrAcMwFL_W5Z4kVhMhUVrda5PIvfMnPePU6gy9987M/s1999/2021-10-09+12.04.40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1824" data-original-width="1999" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BQDNw0SHtVfJ67tY-aTU7EvSQxFCenf2KyliMVLY94vWIyPg_8gf0ikKM95Tr38rSwxsfN_Agis4UmJvWj4uDZZnAqeh31mwd_KrAcMwFL_W5Z4kVhMhUVrda5PIvfMnPePU6gy9987M/w400-h365/2021-10-09+12.04.40.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>This destruction of the mountain is important for a couple of reasons. As cards get taken from the mountain new cards become available, these new cards are typically closer to the base of the mountain meaning your explorer needs less boots to reach them. You'll also reveal the module specific cards, these make the module mechanics more powerful, making them more and more tempting to use as the round goes on. Finally once the mountain is taken apart enough the game will end. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">At the end of the game you'll get points for how far your wagon moved along the trail multiplied by each of the three building tracks, and then gain a significant number of points for the cards that you added to your deck during the game. Each module then has its own way to score bonus points before you get a couple of points for left over gold and lose some points for failing to build cabins (and alternative shovel action) or hunt animals (a reactionary action based on your opponent's card choices). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /> </div>Sierra West is quite unlike anything I've ever played before. The mechanics in the game might be familiar, but the way the player cards are used to create two unique paths results in a method of action selection that is entirely new. This gets combined with the cabins, which let you rest one worker in order to power up the other worker's travel, before then departing themselves on their path. This allows for a huge amount of tailoring your game experience, especially when combined with the deckbuilding elements. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There isn't a huge amount of player interaction to be had during the game, though what is there is significant in effect. Essentially you get one chance to hunt an animal when a player lays their card down, and a chance to gain a bonus resource when a player upgrades one of their building tracks. Both require a worker to do, this doesn't prevent the worker from going down their path during your turn, but a hunter/scavenger can't go to a hut. This provides a nice balance of deciding if that bonus resource is worth ruining your plan for next turn. The turns can take a little longer when things get more complex, with order of actions getting critical as you gain the more useful huts. While this never became a problem at two players, I don't think I'd play at the full player count of four as there would be too much downtime between turns. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Something that Sierra West does incredibly well is its modular gameplay. Each module manages to keep enough of the base game to feel like the same game, while changing enough that it feels so very different. This provides great replay value, as it almost feels like four games in a box. However this did mean that every game session required a mini rules-learn, including a refresher on setup as each module has new components or a different mountain arrangement. The way the module's new actions cascade in power as the game progresses pairs well with your deck becoming more and more filled with module cards as the game progresses. But this can result in terrible luck, drawing a hand of non module cards towards the end of the game can result in your having a rather dull turn while watching the other players reap massive rewards. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Overall<i> Sierra West</i> succeeds on a lot of counts. The modules help bring the western theme to life as they provide fantastic variety in each game, the cards are played in a fascinating way and each turn provides you with a selection of choices giving a huge amount of player agency. However it is also a game with some noticeable niggles, downtime can be an issue, the layered player boards can be a little clunky to use with your cards and some of the cabins are of questionable use at best. Even with its flaws there's still plenty of game to enjoy, with four modules to try you'll certainly want to play each one at least once. Be honest with yourself, how many games in your collection have you played more than four times?
<br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sierra West</i> has quite a lot going on. It's got a bit of deck-building, some action programming and some engine building, if you choose to build the different huts that enable you to power up your actions. There's not one mechanism that really stands out and the game is better defined by the way in which these come together, using cards in a way I've never seen before. Initially, I dismissed the player board and the way you have to layer your cards as a pointless gimmick, but it soon became clear that , though a little fiddly, this is hugely necessary as you try and wrap your head around the optimal sequence to move your workers to get the most out of each turn. Some turns are quite low pressure, but on other turns you're really puzzling out the most efficient way to play. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsZjr9B2nh3vL6qhIVje4hfeeBWhghwcXJ5tOX5FfLlzYGdKgtU4GZtvD1SNYnkrrnSceXWWoaIvjn5mKjfmlfWjdnfTi0gLcx-CPF6uHpr1-viYgerL6jvIoqJwFJNBdVkqz5-OnvURi/s2020/2021-10-09+12.10.01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1844" data-original-width="2020" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsZjr9B2nh3vL6qhIVje4hfeeBWhghwcXJ5tOX5FfLlzYGdKgtU4GZtvD1SNYnkrrnSceXWWoaIvjn5mKjfmlfWjdnfTi0gLcx-CPF6uHpr1-viYgerL6jvIoqJwFJNBdVkqz5-OnvURi/w400-h365/2021-10-09+12.10.01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;">There's a few basic ways to earn points and each has its own merits. Building your deck is definitely a good point-making strategy, but you don't want to dilute your deck for the sake of points and then not be able to execute good turns. Adding huts to your player board is perhaps best done in the early game when you can make the most of your abilities, but you have to make sure to use them well, else they might not pay as high dividends as the deck-building option. Ensuring you're able to hunt whenever an opponent gives you that opportunity is also a strategy I hugely favour, ready to get a windfall of goods when I find that elusive pelt icon in my deck. It's unlikely you'll be able to focus on all three of these options each game, and then you've also got to consider whichever module you've added to the game as well. Some module offer points, whilst others are just a contribution to your engine building, and I've really enjoyed each and every module.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In spite of all of this, the game feels quite refreshing simple to play once you're around the table. I love how each turn is a puzzle to solve as you organise your three cards to try and achieve the right balance of resources to be able to cash in for some progress on a track or add a new card into your deck. In every game we've played I've felt my engine building and/or deck-building really click and it's been a joy to play. I have, however, noticed that Amy has had a couple of bad shuffles of the deck which have resulted in some inefficient turns that are a real deal-breaker. Perhaps I wouldn't enjoy it so much if the shoe was on the other foot!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sierra West </i>isn't quite like any game I've played before and I love how it both looks and plays, using its unique card mechanisms as part of the games mechanics as well as to create the impressive look on the table. It plays quickly as a two-player game, and the amount of planning involved in each turns means there is no downtime at all. It's a really smooth game that ticks a lot of boxes for me!<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Sierra West</i> packs in quite a lot of depth, but still feels like a light experience to play.<br /></li><li>There are opportunities to focus your strategy in a few different area, so you can explore different options in each game.<br /></li><li>The game has great visual appeal, and there is a gameplay purpose behind all of unique things that are done with the cards in the game.<br /></li></ul>
<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It's great to have new modules to try each game, but it does make every game a learning game.<br /></li><li>A bad shuffle of your deck can really rain on your parade.<br /></li></ul></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span>7/10 </span></b><span>Every time we've played <i>Sierra West</i> we've found it hugely enjoyable, but it seems to be missing that one thing that grabs us and makes us want to bring it to the table. Perhaps it's because it uses a few different game mechanisms in a minor way and so doesn't have much of an identity. A couple of years after its release, it is a bargain in many stores right now though, and it's one we'd definitely recommend more people to try.</span><br /><br />
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<div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Sierra West <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by</i> Board&Dice.<i><br /></i></span></div>
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Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-52522290638807561302021-09-16T15:00:00.001+01:002021-09-16T15:00:00.207+01:00Thoughts from the Yellow Meeple:- Subastral<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Subastral<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Renegade Game Studios<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b>Ben Pinchback & Matt Riddle</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Oqx9D8d41Z-tjd6er2T86A5gCrNUUnh-k1iemkTqw0vTiCAiUBTydq-oLt8BaeNMgOZA4KbIT1q4JJnTjThfLloeIny6J8JQDEzjy44CHzstdqNyqZHiuDhznethp6zDG0zanI5qkWd/s900/subastral.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="646" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Oqx9D8d41Z-tjd6er2T86A5gCrNUUnh-k1iemkTqw0vTiCAiUBTydq-oLt8BaeNMgOZA4KbIT1q4JJnTjThfLloeIny6J8JQDEzjy44CHzstdqNyqZHiuDhznethp6zDG0zanI5qkWd/w144-h200/subastral.webp" width="144" /></a></div><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Subastral </i>is a small-box card game for 2-5 players in which each player is collecting notes of the different biomes of plant Earth. You'll be treated to beautiful artwork from prolific board game artist, Beth Sobel decorating the cards for the eight different biome types, as well as the 6 central cloud cards which form a panorama.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Whilst <i>Subastral</i> has a serene and beautiful look to it and very simple card design, don't let its simple aesthetics fool you. While the rules are indeed simple, this set collection game treats you to some very elegant tricks when it comes to card selection and scoring, which will really get you thinking.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In a game of <i>Subastral</i>, each player starts with a hand of three cards. Each turn, you play a card into the central 'market' area, placing on the pile equal to its value. You can then take one stack of cards positioned to the left of the card you placed and take those cards (plus one face-down from the deck) into your hand. Or, alternatively, you can take all cards from a stack to the right of where you played and place them into your tableau in front of you. Your tableau is built following strict rules. Cards are always placed into a column of matching artwork/environment type, or if the cards are from a new biome, then they must be placed to the right of cards previously placed. The game proceeds in this way, with players taking turns until the game end card is revealed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Scoring then takes place based on you tableau. You'll score points for complete rows of cards, starting on the left, of your tableau. You'll also score for your two largest sets of any biome, but, importantly, these biome sets will score with a multiplier based on their position in your tableau, so it's far better to build up big sets towards the right hand side of your tableau.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xtrkhFcC1ynibpbNCzL28aSqi0w2m4rKC9ep7sD-B_5nbN_wSZNncP70GKH_2UAl2AbQki4BJfw7KMiwSPmPrk7b4EWRf0TP_nTIYUT6zHuXI0UE38iF6YQsg_SpkdlYbL-lwDpCdGH5/s2510/2021-08-28+11.40.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="2510" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0xtrkhFcC1ynibpbNCzL28aSqi0w2m4rKC9ep7sD-B_5nbN_wSZNncP70GKH_2UAl2AbQki4BJfw7KMiwSPmPrk7b4EWRf0TP_nTIYUT6zHuXI0UE38iF6YQsg_SpkdlYbL-lwDpCdGH5/w400-h200/2021-08-28+11.40.08.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">I've never felt so much need to take account of the make-up of the card deck than I do in <i>Subastral</i>. The biomes come in three different levels of rarity. If your strategy for the game is going to be to try and collect many cards from a certain biome, then you probably want to focus on those with high numbers of cards in the deck, but in order to get those sets to be as far right in your tableau as possible, you need to take some other cards first. On the other hand, if you're going to try for mixed sets, it's best to make your first few columns the more common cards to try and start more than one good row in your tableau. What we've tended to find is that it's tricky to win if you try and do a bit of both, but sometimes, the way the cards fall means you probably won't be able to focus on only one strategy.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;">It can sometimes be a little difficult to work with the cards you have available. Your starting hand can be a reasonably large factor in whether you're able to access some of the early cards you want, and later in the game, player interaction ramps up so that other players will likely be trying to avoid leaving you anything lucrative. You need to stay adaptable and keep in mind the importance of taking some helpful numbered cards into your hand. With the best will in the world, even a good player seems to be able to have a bad game of<i> Subastral </i>because the cards don't fall well. But with just 10 or 15 minute play time at two players, there's always time for another game.</span><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb_Yt_wacmxqHmBNakcDWaA7m3M3T9rI6tOUJlkAKvZtQ-ZE3tZ_H66b4WJ3EBglTVSg3yY1cedqFvSo0zeU1yQLIkjINBIaQzKUfzsYSJAOPebwDlRVHiDATQmnvo8OyqTBUuKu75PJ-/s2543/2021-08-28+11.40.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="2543" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb_Yt_wacmxqHmBNakcDWaA7m3M3T9rI6tOUJlkAKvZtQ-ZE3tZ_H66b4WJ3EBglTVSg3yY1cedqFvSo0zeU1yQLIkjINBIaQzKUfzsYSJAOPebwDlRVHiDATQmnvo8OyqTBUuKu75PJ-/w400-h195/2021-08-28+11.40.57.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Subastral </i>reminds me of a couple of cards games which have a great reputation. I can certainly see a link between it and <i>Piepmatz</i>, from the same designers, with its clever scoring and new take of set collection. The nature theme and artwork, as well as the critical nature of how you play your cards into a tableau, remind me of <i>Arboretum</i>, which has the same artist as <i>Subastral</i>. With both comparisons though, I think that <i>Subastral</i> is a slightly lower complexity game and for me that's a big plus. Both <i>Arboretum</i> and <i>Piepmatz</i> eventually left our collection because they were a bit too antagonistic and tricksy. <i>Subastral </i>still has some of those moments of tough decisions and hard situations, often caused by the other people around the table, but it has a shorter playtime and I always love to suggest another game when things don't go quite as planned for me. It's slightly lighter, but for me, no less satisfying and the lighter style fits with the beautiful art to create a game I want to relax with for many years to come.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the Yellow Meeple, <i>Subastral</i> is an<b> 8/10</b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;">Subastral </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-76438954754364715602021-09-14T13:38:00.003+01:002021-09-20T20:26:41.621+01:00The Game Shelf Previews: Arkosa<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Arkosa<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Toon Hammer<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b>Anglea Dickens<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /><br /></div><i> </i></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPABG7RDrec0RIYp6nbfUTNckryU-nP0hMkv5jpHKG6Qy6Ur-O7KYhBIHNplwgg5ePNiw7b9BaKYL6WXReIVmZ6PMcWb8EpnpSFqHgvLrJ-6-JZm9wEWyk1Av-rVRGZpLK6ommEzxqfsD9/s600/pic6258803.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="447" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPABG7RDrec0RIYp6nbfUTNckryU-nP0hMkv5jpHKG6Qy6Ur-O7KYhBIHNplwgg5ePNiw7b9BaKYL6WXReIVmZ6PMcWb8EpnpSFqHgvLrJ-6-JZm9wEWyk1Av-rVRGZpLK6ommEzxqfsD9/w149-h200/pic6258803.webp" width="149" /></a></div><p>Arkosa is a 1-4 player colony survival game in which you play the part of a colony leader on an alien planet. Fortunately you too are an alien, as are all your buddies, less fortunately there has been a great disaster, you and your handful of buddies are all locked up in an underground bunker trying to survive. That's when you get a reply to your SoS signal. A passing spaceship is coming by, in just three cycles, but they only have enough room on their ship to take one bunker's worth of people. Can you brave the dangerous wastes to scavenge enough resources to not only survive, but thrive on this wasteland of a planet, surely the visitors will take with them the most talented and ingenious people! Well, It couldn't hurt to bribe them with a few mega batteries and a good meal too! </p><p>Thus starts a game of Arkosa, on your turn you'll be taking two actions, or passing to remove yourself from the round. There are four potential actions to do, you can trade, turning in food and air for building resources to expand your base. You can build, turning in said resources to add a new room to your bunker. You can take a bribe card, these end game cards represent potential offerings to give to your saviours, worth points should you complete them, but fail and you'll upset them with the broken promise. Lastly you can play a worker card, workers are varied and can help in several ways, often they can simply generate a few resources or morale, but most importantly they can scavenge the wastes. Whenever you do this you must pay, and then claim the reward, from a space on the board. The rewards can be anything from power crystals (needed to make your rooms function) to new crew members to join your bunker (there's only so much room, but no-one likes Dave anyway). They will also progress the exploration marker along the exploration track. Should this marker land on an item, you get a lucky find, but should it land on an event... who knows what will happen. Even worse every now and then it will reach a raid space, those are never good!
</p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8QGJaQVOOG1lxaFSHTWDR_8Vh6o1liuzx6JE1wdf1Yb2D0EKe8qi4uEmmTdiSDgYczUunodvIVC_vn90PoRXrBujjKjXkLfZSGGl4pXva4dVsao0PiRiSdFim-hIAg4SQXokZJ4sn36u/s2048/2021-09-20+13.29.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8QGJaQVOOG1lxaFSHTWDR_8Vh6o1liuzx6JE1wdf1Yb2D0EKe8qi4uEmmTdiSDgYczUunodvIVC_vn90PoRXrBujjKjXkLfZSGGl4pXva4dVsao0PiRiSdFim-hIAg4SQXokZJ4sn36u/s320/2021-09-20+13.29.51.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">After every player has had their fill of actions and passed players will need to go back to base and make sure everything is functioning. People need food and air (so fussy), but will also reward you with points if their morale is high enough. Machines need to be powered and run in order to produce all kinds of wondrous effects, from resources, to happiness, to cloning your opponents workers for free labour and so on. Bases seen to, you'll return to scavenging for rounds two and three before final scoring. <br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Arkosa has an absolutely fantastic theme and it brings it to life both in the gameplay and the evocative art. I have to confess at first I was a little unsure of the style, but with time the unusual artistic approach really grew on me. The world is surprisingly realised with tons of different aliens with all kinds of combinations of limbs and body parts. The Arkosa universe is weird and wacky, which prevents you being dragged down by the otherwise glum theme. Besides unlike most apocalypse themed games there is still hope... well... for one bunker.
The game itself is a fascinating combination of resource management and base building, with that little hint of antagonism coming up every now and then. The events can sprinkle some random luck into the game, while the raids often serve to bring the current winner down a notch. Should that not be enough then search out the right crew and you can raid your opponent's stuff. While these characters exist they a re rarely the most powerful, so out right war is not really on the cards, but a little chaos in the right place can go a long way! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIZx2tj4nhz7Ic-y7KD5_t2ytsR_QU18-mpkt4-bZsEvD2qxzAYCOOmps6JPvFZGBfglMg7o2FjZyorQKVdQFOrC2tRkBxMhZ0MD6qGQ-xw0hGdm3QJaIGrcLj4zjbRAPWKdeYhXpOFwS/s2048/2021-09-20+13.25.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIZx2tj4nhz7Ic-y7KD5_t2ytsR_QU18-mpkt4-bZsEvD2qxzAYCOOmps6JPvFZGBfglMg7o2FjZyorQKVdQFOrC2tRkBxMhZ0MD6qGQ-xw0hGdm3QJaIGrcLj4zjbRAPWKdeYhXpOFwS/s320/2021-09-20+13.25.42.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">There's a lot to love between the quirky art style, fascinating creatures and tight gameplay. You'll never find yourself with abundant resources, and while not an intrinsically luck based game there's just enough to level the playing field when someone's apocalypse is going a little too well. Once you progress onto the advanced game you'll have a choice of different leaders, rooms and workers to start the game with ensuring that every playthrough has a different twist. If this seems like a game for you, then check it out on Kickstarter now!
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;">Arkosa </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a preview copy kindly provided by </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Toonhammer Games</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">. All photos are of a prototype copy of the game. It is available <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/toonhammer/arkosa-a-bunker-building-board-game">exclusively on Kickstarter</a> throughout September 2021.<br /></i></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-56508189941562227692021-09-14T12:30:00.002+01:002021-09-14T12:30:00.255+01:00Around the World in ~80 cards :- Subastral<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qVJI7ie08aZTbw_smPI_ul4TRFY5APeTUXEye_E93gj6xMTttCAXgl9B9W7pEoP2rMW191qv5nj7TSTzL5v8rUrO4oNmGrm4PxJHAnLxzqqfowbQ9-weNggCoOKj7jE5xCUUg6d4PwlX/s1297/subastralAcard.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta>
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Subastral<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Renegade Game Studios<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b>Ben Pinchback & Matt Riddle</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Oqx9D8d41Z-tjd6er2T86A5gCrNUUnh-k1iemkTqw0vTiCAiUBTydq-oLt8BaeNMgOZA4KbIT1q4JJnTjThfLloeIny6J8JQDEzjy44CHzstdqNyqZHiuDhznethp6zDG0zanI5qkWd/s900/subastral.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="646" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Oqx9D8d41Z-tjd6er2T86A5gCrNUUnh-k1iemkTqw0vTiCAiUBTydq-oLt8BaeNMgOZA4KbIT1q4JJnTjThfLloeIny6J8JQDEzjy44CHzstdqNyqZHiuDhznethp6zDG0zanI5qkWd/w144-h200/subastral.webp" width="144" /></a></div><i>Subastral</i> is a 2-5 player card game in which you compete to explore the globe, discovering the many and varied biomes of Earth. There are eight biomes to explore and you'll be rewarded both for variety of biomes visited, and for having extensive notes on your two most visited biomes. At the start of the game you'll have three cards in hand numbered from 1-6. These cards relate to the six cloud locations in the centre of the table. On your turn you'll play one card from your hand to the cloud matching it's number. You'll then have a choice to take cards in one of two ways. If you are taking from a cloud location of a lower number, then you'll draw the cards into your hand, along with a bonus from the top of the deck, before giving the now empty cloud a replacement card. If the cloud you choose is higher than the card you played then you'll add the cards to your tableau before refilling the now-empty cloud. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The game will continue like this with each player taking a turn to do one action until the end game card is revealed, at this point everyone continues playing until they’ve all had an equal number of turns. Scoring consists of two phases; first you score your runs in your tableau. Runs are a series of up to the eight different terrain types. As you gain cards of differing terrain they are placed in the order you acquired them, while repeats of the same terrain type are placed in a stack on top of the old one. You can therefore have multiple runs so long as you have multiple copies of the first card you collected, but as soon as a run hits a gap the run ends. For example if you had 2 forests, 1 desert, and 2 tundra and you had gained them in that order you'd have a run of three and a run of one as there wasn't a second desert to continue the second run. Lastly you will score points for the two largest piles of one terrain type that you have. The point value of these cards is based on how far along your tableau they are. For example if you manage to get three copies of the eighth terrain type you went to then you'll get a handsome 24 points.
</div><p></p><p></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCPCsY3NwJiwFuxwQfW2SsiYcoz6e8NG82H-lMy5TxPx7T7osLJ-G82tvfLfr7L2KMY02nL7nE9KB-uemSwQFG2aIFuiQtqyyxZbjHS4wWNTFm27R_nE3VaG-DvWhvkeDg8bXh3yyMyNG/s2793/2021-08-28+11.38.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="2793" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCPCsY3NwJiwFuxwQfW2SsiYcoz6e8NG82H-lMy5TxPx7T7osLJ-G82tvfLfr7L2KMY02nL7nE9KB-uemSwQFG2aIFuiQtqyyxZbjHS4wWNTFm27R_nE3VaG-DvWhvkeDg8bXh3yyMyNG/w400-h153/2021-08-28+11.38.47.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we have a run of 6 cards, and two runs of three.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Subastral</i> is a fast card game that can easily be played by two within 15 minutes. Nevertheless the process of playing is not so simple, choices are constant, and the game is at it's best when the choices are difficult. Picking up cards into your hand is a necessary evil to keep your game flowing, but means that those cards are unlikely to ever end up in your tableau. At the same time every card you play from your hand will end up in a tasty looking pile of at least two cards ready for an opponent to snap right up. This can work extremely well in a two player game as one player's actions can restrict the other player's access to a terrain type that they desperately want. When you first play the game you'll be more than likely more focussed on what you can achieve for yourself, which keeps the game feeling light, with every turn having a handful of options to go for. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">However things can also end up less easy going. While you would like the abundance of choices on offer to be a veritable smorgasbord to choose from. The reality is you are limited by your cards. If you have a hand full of a single number then you'll find your options extremely limited. A clever opponent could track which numbers you are picking up (though to be fair you also get a random one each time), and which terrain types you desperately need, and try and ensure that those. two things never complement each other. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzIP90gFjcMqXDCvRWUy_9T8nB3fcF9BKmw20inizjUOAXfwArGIJH5wV4fw15ocnU1ye4zZIcaXMw24EkRHsr9Lun1zI6a90tPsuoVX-QIjPPayVLQyDTFSwiE6TitewVsX0MP5urBgA/s2510/2021-08-28+11.40.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="2510" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzIP90gFjcMqXDCvRWUy_9T8nB3fcF9BKmw20inizjUOAXfwArGIJH5wV4fw15ocnU1ye4zZIcaXMw24EkRHsr9Lun1zI6a90tPsuoVX-QIjPPayVLQyDTFSwiE6TitewVsX0MP5urBgA/w400-h200/2021-08-28+11.40.08.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where you play in the clouds dictates what cards you can potentially add to your collection.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Subastral</i> really impressed me with it's simple, yet deep, gameplay. It's only a quick filler game, but it manages to scratch that gaming itch each time it comes to the table. It helps that the game is gorgeous with fantastic art of some of the more wonderful views available on our planet. It also helps that being a small card game it's easily portable, its always a bonus when a filler game can be easily slipped into your gaming bag. Overall I'd highly recommend picking up <i>Subastral </i>should you get the opportunity.
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;">Subastral </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-4403146578633094842021-09-12T15:32:00.001+01:002021-09-12T15:36:16.859+01:00The Game Shelf Previews:- Verdant<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
<meta content="The Game Shelf" name="twitter:title"></meta>
<meta content="The Game Shelf Previews:- Verdant" name="twitter:description"></meta>
<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDTxdb3meGvvBpsw9hLXOcewIiDWrG6UIMzRCnSvyyrjnJrtuVfZiqu_8gmuMXha62Nf1g5MEHHeChe_n69Swf_w3UmENtRu7is2-qJZd7dSZSweQ_92Gsg8W7GTpZ4mhpOxKMNImbWfx/s1294/Verdant+Card.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Verdant<br /></p><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Flatout Games<br />
<br />
<u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> Molly Johnson<span class="ng-scope">, </span> </span><span class="ng-scope"> Robert Melvin<span class="ng-scope">, </span> </span><span class="ng-scope"> Aaron Mesburne<span class="ng-scope">, </span> </span><span class="ng-scope"> Kevin Russ<span class="ng-scope">, </span> </span><span class="ng-scope"> Shawn Stankewich</span><br />
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<u><b>Year:</b></u> 2022<br />
<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_uyJxul2Rib-RE-GktbXnnNtyyAGXqqG2sG-FqZY-EuhzxvquioIQ3simGRXsqtwdPNtK9k_uVQmBkf99ZDszPFaIndxJQcIwvHVj7cSelL1-43vvqJNE-uLX6hHvREtldxyaG6COnSY/s900/pic6094080.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_uyJxul2Rib-RE-GktbXnnNtyyAGXqqG2sG-FqZY-EuhzxvquioIQ3simGRXsqtwdPNtK9k_uVQmBkf99ZDszPFaIndxJQcIwvHVj7cSelL1-43vvqJNE-uLX6hHvREtldxyaG6COnSY/w200-h200/pic6094080.webp" width="200" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/334065/verdant"><i>Verdant</i></a>
is a puzzly spatial card game for 1 to 4 players, where each players
lays cards to create their own home in the form a tableau of cards. You
are however, all playing as houseplant enthusiasts, so at least 50% of
your home is taken up by plants, which would all like to be situated in
ideal light conditions around your home. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">If you've enjoyed <a href="https://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2019/10/calico.html"><i>Calico</i></a>, or you're anticipating the arrival of your copy of<i> <a href="https://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-game-shelf-previews-cascadia.html">Cascadia</a></i>
in the coming days/weeks, then you'll be familiar with how the Flatout
Games Colab excel at designing puzzly games. Verdant is no exception
with its many different scoring objectives and areas to optimise. It's
also filled with delightful, artwork from Beth Sobel, that comes
together to convey that stylish, cosy type of home decor that I can only
hope to be able to achieve some day.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Each
player starts with a single room and a single plant placed next to it.
These are both placed into the player's 5x3 grid. Rooms and plants both
come in one of five colours. Rooms have four symbols around the outside
of them, representing how light, or shaded, that part of the room is. If
a plant is adjacent to a room for the first time and it features the
same light-level symbol at the top of its card, then it will grow,
gaining a leaf token. Once a plant gets enough leaf tokens it is fully
grown, letting you take a plant pot for it which is worth some bonus
points on top of the plant's individual score for being complete.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCkuW0cYcUoSILPkQPbqmcoLFnZL0STDqwFAFOzTiJdsc-PrsagfUzN1a0oJt-jNe6EamQ_twvQnVFk5crEX95AxRPu3iru_NN00IqBQ-QWitkPV00V5B3DkdfKjuAiffX8xkkG8UZnaS/s2048/2021-08-08+08.50.09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="2048" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCkuW0cYcUoSILPkQPbqmcoLFnZL0STDqwFAFOzTiJdsc-PrsagfUzN1a0oJt-jNe6EamQ_twvQnVFk5crEX95AxRPu3iru_NN00IqBQ-QWitkPV00V5B3DkdfKjuAiffX8xkkG8UZnaS/w400-h271/2021-08-08+08.50.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Every
turn the active player will take 1 card and an associated item. There
is a market of four rooms, plants and items, placed so that each item is
paired up with one room and one plant. Regardless of whether they take a
room or a plant the new card must be added immediately to their grid,
causing plants to grow should the light levels match. The item can then
be used, or be stored for future rounds, though each player can only
store one item at any one time. The market will then be refilled, with a
green thumb being placed on the card not chosen. Green thumbs can be
cashed in to get several immediate bonuses.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Items
come in two main varieties: Furniture can be added to rooms, each room
typically scores 1 point for each flower that matches it's colour that
is adjacent to it at the end of the game. Should the room have furniture
of a matching colour in it then this is doubled. But even non-matching
furniture is important and at the end of the game there's a sizeable set
collection bonus for having different types of furniture in your house.
The other types of item are gardening tools, these each offer a
different way to add more leaves to your plants, vital tools if you take
some of the more difficult plants to grow, or can't get the right light
levels in your rooms! The game ends once each player has completed
their 5x3 grid of rooms and plants.<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /> </div>Perhaps
it's only natural that such a wide variety of plants can come together
to make such a healthy point salad. <i>Verdant </i>rewards you points for doing
so much that it's often hard to decide what you want to do. The reality
is, much like their previous game, <i>Calico</i>, There is always an ideal
plant/room for you in the deck. That perfect combination of colour,
light level and growth. There's also the perfect item to go with it, the
furniture you need in the matching room colour of your dreams. Well
it's time to shatter those dreams because you'll likely never see it,
either it'll be paired with an awful item, someone else will grab it
first or it simple won't appear from the deck before you give up on it. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">See,
so much of the puzzle of <i>Verdant</i> grows as you play, do you surround a
yellow room with four yellow flowers? Well that's a fifth of your play
space taken up, and you'd better hope that room has the right shading
all around it. Once you committed to those flowers, do you focus on
surrounding them with more yellow rooms to get more points, or try to
get rooms with the correct shade to make your plants grow. Do you go for
low scoring plants to get those plant pot bonuses fast, or high value
plants and take the long game? Decisions you make early on cascade into
limitations later. However unlike <i>Calico</i>, there's no initial guidance on how to
play, the limitations only grow as you play, which can make the early
game feel a little more free, but also makes it far harder to know what
you want at any one time.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Sij74E_PxaK1JvYy-k1QFMCqTWdxAUUkvbq4cPxspFV5g39X2H9vfTl1rDbxTKY_C9MtNj5MlHBYO9H6g84JB1SvrP2jp2itziO3-thbTK3XivTzQJERJCj85fgizGO57n3r_y_uMSp-/s2048/2021-08-08+08.53.05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1813" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Sij74E_PxaK1JvYy-k1QFMCqTWdxAUUkvbq4cPxspFV5g39X2H9vfTl1rDbxTKY_C9MtNj5MlHBYO9H6g84JB1SvrP2jp2itziO3-thbTK3XivTzQJERJCj85fgizGO57n3r_y_uMSp-/s320/2021-08-08+08.53.05.jpg" width="283" /></a></div> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The
addition of the objective cards does alleviate this a little, giving you an end game objective to work towards, but even
with those <i>Verdant </i>feels a little more free form, creating a less tight and stressful puzzle, than its predecessors. That's not to say that it's a bad
game, quite the contrary, being rather more approachable to new players.
The bad choices in V<i>erdant </i>are not quite as bad as they have been in
their previous games, personally I find that reduces the puzzly feel a
bit too much. Ultimately<i> Verdant i</i>s a really solid game with lovely
visual and symbology that does wonders to help make the game self
explanatory from the moment you sit down. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: orange;"> </span></span></b></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Games
with a spatial puzzle are some of our favourites and Verdant ticks a
lot of boxes. Each player will play just 13 cards to complete their
tableau of 5 x 3 cards and those 13 choices have so many layers to them.
First you need to choose a new room or a new plant, where you might be
influence by light conditions available or some of the different end
game objectives you need to achieve. Then you'll want to consider which
tile you want - either furniture, a pet or something to help you grow
your plants. Plus you'll want to consider the colour of any pets or
furniture you choose. Or perhaps you'll get tempted by a card with lots
of green thumb tokens! There's lots to think about and that's before you
even decide where you want to place the chosen card and token in your
tableau.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR9fb7rXrnnhLIDDT4d39Y4ns7V8DH71YQ7ZDISuT8XLkDXVWFvk9B69NjSaarRI5LhYpoTUUWdp7UuzWhzzca4iv2royitUUkfH7eYLnAPC_yoqswbWF5mz1JtXkmRoKXsAl4Wzy4yQo/s2048/2021-08-08+08.46.57.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1890" data-original-width="2048" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR9fb7rXrnnhLIDDT4d39Y4ns7V8DH71YQ7ZDISuT8XLkDXVWFvk9B69NjSaarRI5LhYpoTUUWdp7UuzWhzzca4iv2royitUUkfH7eYLnAPC_yoqswbWF5mz1JtXkmRoKXsAl4Wzy4yQo/w400-h369/2021-08-08+08.46.57.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Another
significant choice is whether you want to play lots of smaller plants,
which need less light to grow. This gives you a chance to get plant pots
early and the early plant pots give you points. However the bigger
plants are more economical in terms of the end game points they give
you. You might also find yourself with less to do towards the end of the
game if you only take small plants, but that might give you flexibility
to more easily achieve some of the end game objectives, either from the
standard or the advanced game.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As
you might be able to tell, this is a puzzle with lots of levers to pull
and I love how these come together to give you constantly interesting
choices during the game, but also inspires you to think of other avenues
you want to explore the next time you play. It doesn't burn your brain
like Calico, it is a more relaxing game which is very in keeping with
its theme and is that perfect chill-out, casual experience.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Verdant </i>feels cosy - in theme you're making a cosy house and in gameplay, it has an easy breezy yet satisfying feel.<br /></li><li>There's many different scoring opportunities to aim for and you can choose a different focus each time you play.</li><li>Two different puzzles are very elegantly woven together.</li></ul>
<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The shuffle can vastly change the game and a game with very few watering cans, fertiliser etc. can feel less fun.</li><li><i>Verdant </i>didn't quite have the special sauce we found in<i> Cascadia</i> and <i>Calico</i>, but it's still a very good game.</li></ul></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Verdant </i>is
another beautiful addition to the accessible but thinky games that
Flatout Games are now known for. If you enjoy optimising a puzzle and
discovering the small strategic nuances in a simple, elegant game
system, then you're sure to enjoy creating a delightful, colourful
tableau in <i>Verdant</i>.<br /><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Verdant <i>was
a prototype kindly provided to us by Flatout Games. If you want to be
notified when the Kickstarter launches, you can sign up here <a href="https://www.flatout.games/verdant-signup">https://www.flatout.games/verdant-signup</a>.<br /></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-14745126120483770322021-09-02T13:00:00.001+01:002021-09-02T13:00:00.183+01:00The Game Shelf Previews:- Solar Sphere<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_QHNCePBMzPlCcLs_yfRSewTq-Bis6lzES8xVingM2F51lXpRyRh4GQwM3Fw2skBz7zwnU583yi3MbkUyphJyFe2_RHokFvJdQ7-g2VhI7RrSNsO5mzkCLzINxeTg2en1pbBDUsAAi7r/s1294/solarsphercard.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Solar Sphere<span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Dranda Games<br />
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<u><b>Designer: </b></u>Ayden Lowther, Simon Milburn<br />
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<u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq0mCHMM5tX4zEOVWSVPQngzy7fRWwozEJK7iFUsrgGL73qkkMBvpZ4wKErJwui4l6t-02nR-bwUJ1pq8cGDrjXeU7cSwEkH1KFYTttTC5lRARUblzp21ExsOQkCYBXXNKjOKS4abfOxEp/s900/pic5920049.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="665" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq0mCHMM5tX4zEOVWSVPQngzy7fRWwozEJK7iFUsrgGL73qkkMBvpZ4wKErJwui4l6t-02nR-bwUJ1pq8cGDrjXeU7cSwEkH1KFYTttTC5lRARUblzp21ExsOQkCYBXXNKjOKS4abfOxEp/w148-h200/pic5920049.webp" width="148" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/329228/solar-sphere">Solar Sphere</a></i> is a competitive dice placement game coming to Kickstarter in September 2021. It's the second game from the design team of Ayden Lowther and Simon Milburn, under their publishing company, Dranda Games. It has artwork that's consistent with their first game, <i><a href="http://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2019/09/solarstorm.html">Solar Storm</a></i>, which was a really fantastic cooperative game, but offers a completely new game, only with a somewhat similar, sci-fi theme.<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Solar Sphere</i> is set ten years after the events of <i>Solar Storm</i>, and players are competing to win prestige by contributing to the building of a solar sphere, enabling mankind to harness the power of the stars. Contributing to the solar sphere is, however, just one of the ways to gain prestige, along with defending against aliens and building a strong crew with high morale.</div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Solar Sphere</i> takes place over 6 rounds. Each round every player will roll their three dice and place them on their player board, higher numbers are generally better, but low numbers, or a large amount of the same number, will grant you morale, which can either be saved, or used for bonuses. Players will then take turns placing their dice on the various locations around the sun. Each of these locations has a requirement for the die placed there; odds or evens, 1& 2s only etc. If you lack the correct number on a die you can spend some drones to alter your die pips to make them work.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The locations mainly do typical worker placement things; generating you some resources, getting you new drones, repairing used drones so you can use them again and so on. However instead of activating a location you can upgrade it for yourself, permanently situating a drone there in order to make every future activation more powerful.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWvU1A0K416a45DHi4KsfL0osTyUq1rznCwBYqnUZzShf7oslIGYOuHfiFKavhpOGMVKLbWW1NVag_tV_pTuikpYcXq9uq5WY6lR0de_PsET3mWnikJm5srZ7XDSZpN1UB9Iu8UiM8VBN/s2048/2021-08-28+11.48.25.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="2048" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWvU1A0K416a45DHi4KsfL0osTyUq1rznCwBYqnUZzShf7oslIGYOuHfiFKavhpOGMVKLbWW1NVag_tV_pTuikpYcXq9uq5WY6lR0de_PsET3mWnikJm5srZ7XDSZpN1UB9Iu8UiM8VBN/w400-h284/2021-08-28+11.48.25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div class="MsoNormal">You'll be doing this with three main goals in mind. Hiring crew gives you new in game bonuses,perhaps letting you trade a resource type for another, or gaining some extra drone repairs. You can have three crew at any one time, whenever you hire a fourth crew you'll have one retire, granting you sizeable bonuses as they do so. You can also defend the project from incoming aliens. To do this you'll be sending drones to fight them, each ship has a number, which is the number of drones needed to defeat them, though you'll be rolling a die to add 0-2 to that number. Points are rewarded to everyone who helped defeat an alien, with more points to the player who sent the most drones. Lastly you can spend resources to build the solar sphere itself. Doing so will reward you mostly with points on the solar tracker, which is worth end game points.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">All three of the above actions will earn you faction icons, which can be grouped up for set bonuses at the end of the game. At the end of six rounds the alien attacks stop and players see who has earned the most points by combining their current score with their solar track, morale track and faction icons bonuses.<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span><span><i>Solar Sphere</i> is a dice worker placement game that wants you to play as efficiently as possible. With only three (or four if you unlock a bonus die) workers per round can you really afford to waste time gathering resources or building drones? Probably not, so just spend your morale, it makes it easy to fix up those broken drones and gather crystals, so why not? Of course all things need to be taken in moderation, there's valuable end game points for leftover morale, so you have the constant question of whether those instant bonus resources will grant you more points than keeping your morale up.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">While there are three ways to gain large number of points you'll certainly find yourself wanting to focus, placing a drone down on a worker spot might waste a valuable action, but that spot becomes permanently better for you, of course you'll have to make sure you are using that space most rounds to really make it count. Both crew and solar sphere building strategies demanding good amounts of resource gathering. Fighting off aliens is comparatively cheap, but comes at a large drone commitment. It's one thing when these come back to you broken ready to repair next turn, but should you not win the fight you'll end up barely being able to manipulate your dice next round. I really enjoyed the risk reward of trying to send <i>just enough</i> to fight on multiple fronts, it was certainly a lucrative strategy, when the die liked you!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRmUOIIbIRV6MDMd7QyG3wsKFdQ0hxIIfxRANW98KXplnPattPigj-p9pUPnL9nBGH2FWqxLcNNbMuw9oxrk9iKsvEhNnSapQJGaEYyBKetCMSy2XAsyNbTKJlwGZDR4v0AjorB_GCcJb/s2048/2021-08-28+11.50.36.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="2048" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRmUOIIbIRV6MDMd7QyG3wsKFdQ0hxIIfxRANW98KXplnPattPigj-p9pUPnL9nBGH2FWqxLcNNbMuw9oxrk9iKsvEhNnSapQJGaEYyBKetCMSy2XAsyNbTKJlwGZDR4v0AjorB_GCcJb/w400-h220/2021-08-28+11.50.36.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div class="MsoNormal">If you like feeling like you had the freedom to do everything you wanted to do, then <i>Solar Sphere </i>certainly isn't the game for you. Even when you really focus down on a strategy it can be hard to get much done in the game's measly six rounds. When I first played the game I found this a little disappointing, I wanted to sample from every item on the menu and as such ended up with an awful score. But once I'd learned to use the right crew of the right job things started going a lot smoother.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Ultimately <i>Solar Sphere </i>feels a touch less refined than its predecessor, <i>Solar Storm</i>, which was an extremely tight co-op game. <i>Solar Sphere</i> has some great elements to it, the use of morale giving a constant, and thematic, quandary of how hard to work your crew. failed fights against aliens end up with government ships helping which is a fantastic way to bolster someone after a bad roll and stop players from coming in to snipe the second place point rewards. The tight nature of the actions means that every choice counts, but in turn makes some of the more basic actions feel wholly underwhelming. I certainly enjoyed every game of Solar Storm and would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes to work out that efficient play, without minding that little bit of dice luck thrown in.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Solar Sphere</i> gives you just 3 dice placements per round, and is only a six round game, so, naturally, every decision is an important one. If defending against aliens is a big part of your strategy, it is also important to make sure that each round of three dice placements stands alone as a success because the defence is evaluated at the end of each round. Managing your resources to make sure that every placement is effective is a tricky puzzle and making sure that, in particular, you've got enough drones to execute your plans is a huge aspect to keep track of.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr58WPmLOFIp7PqUO-NyNN1aTtmlXbb5-6G48Xr8xYhDjq25FmQNujTUJmMwvT5iH-7U40O8my619BEfncVorpPEqZtlPc0U3MzVCpzVDMRsefTNHpv71ExKi2qtlqZ4eYjnSccN7E5MxY/s2048/2021-08-28+11.51.56.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr58WPmLOFIp7PqUO-NyNN1aTtmlXbb5-6G48Xr8xYhDjq25FmQNujTUJmMwvT5iH-7U40O8my619BEfncVorpPEqZtlPc0U3MzVCpzVDMRsefTNHpv71ExKi2qtlqZ4eYjnSccN7E5MxY/w400-h230/2021-08-28+11.51.56.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The biggest drawback that I find with<i> Solar Sphere</i> is that it's very easy to formulate a plan early in the game, perhaps set your sights on two or three crew who boost a certain action and then make sure that action becomes a focus for your second half of the game. What's disappointing is that my strategy is always far too ambitious for the game length and I really have to scale back, or simply play the game more tactically that strategically. My engine-building brain just wants to do more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With that said, <i>Solar Sphere </i>is still a very clever dice worker placement game with a big focus on efficiency and resource management. If those things are your jam, then this is definitely a game to check out on Kickstarter!</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Solar Sphere</i> is a tight game, and it's filled with tough choices.</li><li>There's a lot of moments of satisfaction, with each round feeling like its own puzzle to get the most out of.</li><li>The modular board means that quite a large board game can fit into a much smaller package.</li></ul>
<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There are three very different aspects to the game, and it's difficult to know whether to focus or spread yourself thin.</li><li>There's lots of engine building potential, but the game isn't long enough to let you explore all the paths you might like to.</li></ul></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Solar Sphere</i> is a far more ambitious design than <i>Solar Storm</i> and it's wonderful to see a small publisher using the Kickstarter platform to grow into bigger games. If the prototype box is anything to go by, then there's quite a substantial game packed into this small box. If you like games that force you to make a small number of critical decisions, with tight resource management, then <i>Solar Sphere</i> brings all of this together with some stylish artwork to bring you a fresh take on dice work placement.<br /><br />
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<div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Solar Sphere <i>was a prototype copy kindly provided to us by </i>Dranda Games. It's <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/drandagames/solar-sphere-harness-the-power-of-the-stars">live on Kickstarter</a> from September 7th 2021.<i><br /></i></span></div>
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Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-42806862592282455952021-08-26T15:00:00.001+01:002021-08-26T15:00:00.257+01:00The Game with your name on it:- Bullet<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUNEkN6PSj61dMA1FIbxGl1Zuf2eYrkq9aR9rYuqzkNIlf0wzsfkfgtJ2suh4p6c-IP2g-6Nl0T5uvR1TBA4FZrnQ54tgbIjn-5UkpzIFSE-shYGFUlWSc7KMsf2yW3XiJp7t8kRt17M/s1425/BulletAmy.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta>
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Bullet♥︎</p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Level 99 Gams<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><strong></strong> <span class="ng-scope"> Joshua Van Laningham</span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /> </div><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRcauaMWi1Pmb-NlKY7cYP6hfa_Iun4uv4WnHimqY8rG5yavugrIXRnmtCE2mXQ7ampyEiixMYiGXXqh8y7PW9WhL0fEOukhL1zH1hD8jDpRDMWWxHFdDLAvT9m97LAnmRSy_nbeccMbg/s902/pic6007944.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="902" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRcauaMWi1Pmb-NlKY7cYP6hfa_Iun4uv4WnHimqY8rG5yavugrIXRnmtCE2mXQ7ampyEiixMYiGXXqh8y7PW9WhL0fEOukhL1zH1hD8jDpRDMWWxHFdDLAvT9m97LAnmRSy_nbeccMbg/w200-h199/pic6007944.webp" width="200" /></a></div><i>Bullet</i> is a 1-4 player puzzle game in which players take the role of anime heroines defending the earth against a never ending rain of destruction. Until they are the last heroine left, at which point the rain of destruction mysteriously ends in completely normal and not at all suspicious way. If you are playing solo then you can play the boss battle mode against mega-strength versions of the other heroines, or simply play normally attempting to get a high score.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">A game of <i>Bullet</i> takes place over several rounds. In each round players will add a number of bullet tokens into their personal bag, reset their energy to full and draw three pattern cards. Then the three minute timer begins. During the three minutes you'll be drawing tokens from the bag, a token will go into the column equal to its colour and then drop down a number of spaces equal to it's number, skipping any spaces that already contain a bullet token. Should a token ever fall to the bottom of your track then it will damage you, take enough damage and you are out of the game.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>Of course you do have the ability to fight back. Each player has a deck of pattern cards from which you'll have three face up each round. Should you be able to get bullets into an appropriate pattern then you can discard the pattern card to remove a number of bullets from your board as indicated by the patter. Though it's worth noting that this is the basic function of pattern cards, not only does each character have a different deck of patterns, but some characters use them in unusual ways. Any bullets removed this way get handed to one of your neighbours, a kind gift for their next round. Playing patterns is free, but you do need bullets in the right places, that's where you'll be investing energy. Energy can be used on a number of abilities which vary by character. Typically they let you draw more pattern cards and move bullets around, which can both help you line up patterns, and make it slightly safer if one column keeps getting hit. Should your timer run out all is not lost, but you can no longer use energy or pattern cards, you simply have to draw the rest of the bullets from your bag and hope you survive.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRb-iwOjweU6vFspyB4KCS3H-uo_Wx9qZfrHrjfrVs3qXtXIqGigQmxdhaVs__0K6OhqnPHFzi0zTyI5d0UAO7kXZDeaueqH0PXwtCNWgXKBZsPJDRxpNHZrt2Tx0RBFGEeE86T42xb6P/s2048/2021-08-08+09.16.19.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRb-iwOjweU6vFspyB4KCS3H-uo_Wx9qZfrHrjfrVs3qXtXIqGigQmxdhaVs__0K6OhqnPHFzi0zTyI5d0UAO7kXZDeaueqH0PXwtCNWgXKBZsPJDRxpNHZrt2Tx0RBFGEeE86T42xb6P/w400-h225/2021-08-08+09.16.19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Bullet</i> brings in a lot of unique elements to create a game like no other. The puzzle elements are evocative of games like Puyo-Puyo or Tetris without being yet another tetromino puzzle game. The strongest part of this is that all your defeated bullets in a round get passed onto the next player round the table. Just like those classic video games, one player having a good round results in their opponents being dumped with a load of bad tiles. Where things change is that every character is so unique, some are more powerful, but can only take two hits, some have the ability to heal so it encourages you to take slightly more risks. Some have patterns that are more flexible, but less powerful. One doesn't even remove bullets the normal way, but instead pushes them around, letting you push them off the board to clear them. All this variability does wonders for the longevity of the game but introduces a potential issue.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXoz-dsLciri3w55zaHtdanq4jh5jCgQx2uRaMkBvaZI_vxUk4rgyww_cuvDsQAjhNVlndbe9l4RqpY3FuAidrpEctd6XIUFJaFvhZeHwFGJJIIB-7S7BkpQT8VXEfoffmavCjeHEK6jG/s2048/2021-08-08+09.11.59.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1684" data-original-width="2048" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXoz-dsLciri3w55zaHtdanq4jh5jCgQx2uRaMkBvaZI_vxUk4rgyww_cuvDsQAjhNVlndbe9l4RqpY3FuAidrpEctd6XIUFJaFvhZeHwFGJJIIB-7S7BkpQT8VXEfoffmavCjeHEK6jG/s320/2021-08-08+09.11.59.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>In competitive videogames characters are created by designers to all be equal. But in reality this is far from the truth, at high level gameplay some characters are a frame quicker here or there, or perhaps they have a couple of pixels more range, letting them win when the player input is otherwise equal. Fighting games end up putting their characters on Tier lists with better characters being "high tier", while the less fortunate ones end up being "low tier". This isn't necessarily a problem, all the characters are playable, but a player using a high tier character, all else being equal, will beat one using a low tier character. While I can't claim we played the game enough to know the intricacies of every last character, it certainly struck me that not all <i>Bullet </i>characters were created equal. Some simply couldn't clear the same number of bullets as others in ideal situations. To be fair their ideal situations might have been more lenient, but as the later rounds devolve further into the too many bullets to handle range, some characters didn't seem to be able to keep up. I wouldn't be shocked to find a tier list of <i>Bullet</i> characters somewhere on the web!<br /><br />Ultimately<i> Bullet</i> hasn't earned a place on our shelves. This isn't because I don't think its a great game. The concept is fantastic, the art is good, the musical soundtrack that gives the 3 minute timers is a great idea (though could use a touch of tweaking to let you know time is nearly up). While it can have some characters that feel a touch weaker than others I'm sure an experienced player would know how to use them better than me. Mostly the issue is with all the different characters having significantly differing playstyles Bullet demands a lot of repeat plays and investment to get the most enjoyment from it. I have a *lot* of games, so only a handful can \afford to be the kind of games that demand this level of investment into the gameplay. I fully appreciate that for a large number of people this isn't a con, but instead a huge boon..<div><br /></div><div>7.5/10<br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span></span></div><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>Bullet</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-5076164000820779962021-08-19T15:00:00.003+01:002021-08-24T15:54:27.678+01:00Thoughts from the Yellow Meeple:- Bullet♥︎<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Bullet♥︎</p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Level 99 Gams<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><strong></strong> <span class="ng-scope"> Joshua Van Laningham</span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRcauaMWi1Pmb-NlKY7cYP6hfa_Iun4uv4WnHimqY8rG5yavugrIXRnmtCE2mXQ7ampyEiixMYiGXXqh8y7PW9WhL0fEOukhL1zH1hD8jDpRDMWWxHFdDLAvT9m97LAnmRSy_nbeccMbg/s902/pic6007944.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="902" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRcauaMWi1Pmb-NlKY7cYP6hfa_Iun4uv4WnHimqY8rG5yavugrIXRnmtCE2mXQ7ampyEiixMYiGXXqh8y7PW9WhL0fEOukhL1zH1hD8jDpRDMWWxHFdDLAvT9m97LAnmRSy_nbeccMbg/w200-h199/pic6007944.webp" width="200" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/307305/bullet"><i>Bullet♥︎</i></a> is a real-time game that contains a number of game modes, but with the main one being a competitive game where your success becomes your opponent's problem!<div><br /></div><div>Each player plays as a heroine and it's great to see a board game cast full of strong women. Not only that, but all of the heroines are well-dressed too; especially rare in a game with a manga-like style that all too often means that the female characters are far from appropriately dressed.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div>In Bullet, each player starts with a bag of 10 randomly selected tokens. Tokens come in 5 colours and values 1, 2, 3 and 4. In each round, you'll draw all of the tokens from your bag, one at a time, dropping that token into the column of your player board corresponding to its colour, a token will drop into a space corresponding with it's value, eg. a value 3 red token will drop into the 3rd empty space in the column, jumping any previously placed tokens. If a token descends off the bottom of your board, you are hit with a bullet and take a wound. Very quickly, you'll realise the need to remove bullets from your board and you do this by creating certain patterns. Each character has their own deck of unique patterns and plays in a slightly different way. You also have some powers to allow you to manipulate the position of bullets on your board so that you're not entirely beholden to luck. You don't have a whole lot of energy to use these powers, but this energy does replenish every round. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you clear bullets from your board, you pass them to the player to your left, so if you have a really great round, chances are that the player next to you is going to have a very chaotic next round! If you take all of your damage points, you are eliminated from the game and the game is won by the last player standing. If that happens to everyone during the same round, then the player with the least bullets on their board will win.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRb-iwOjweU6vFspyB4KCS3H-uo_Wx9qZfrHrjfrVs3qXtXIqGigQmxdhaVs__0K6OhqnPHFzi0zTyI5d0UAO7kXZDeaueqH0PXwtCNWgXKBZsPJDRxpNHZrt2Tx0RBFGEeE86T42xb6P/s2048/2021-08-08+09.16.19.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRb-iwOjweU6vFspyB4KCS3H-uo_Wx9qZfrHrjfrVs3qXtXIqGigQmxdhaVs__0K6OhqnPHFzi0zTyI5d0UAO7kXZDeaueqH0PXwtCNWgXKBZsPJDRxpNHZrt2Tx0RBFGEeE86T42xb6P/w400-h225/2021-08-08+09.16.19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>If real-time games are not your thing then you do have the option to play <i>Bullet </i>without any timer, but I found that the game really lost something when we didn't play with the timer. Plus, there's a playlist of 3 minute length songs available for you to use as a timer, which really adds some atmosphere and tension to the game. The only downside of the songs is that the ending isn't all that obvious to each track and the playlist auto plays the next song! The timer makes sure you are making quick decisions and not agonising and optimising the way you play each power. You'll need to sometimes go on instinct and make the best decision in the moment. If you're playing a complex character for the first time, real-time can be a little stressful as you try and remember your special abilities, but it's such a quick game that it's not a chore to play again once you're familiar with your character.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXoz-dsLciri3w55zaHtdanq4jh5jCgQx2uRaMkBvaZI_vxUk4rgyww_cuvDsQAjhNVlndbe9l4RqpY3FuAidrpEctd6XIUFJaFvhZeHwFGJJIIB-7S7BkpQT8VXEfoffmavCjeHEK6jG/s2048/2021-08-08+09.11.59.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1684" data-original-width="2048" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXoz-dsLciri3w55zaHtdanq4jh5jCgQx2uRaMkBvaZI_vxUk4rgyww_cuvDsQAjhNVlndbe9l4RqpY3FuAidrpEctd6XIUFJaFvhZeHwFGJJIIB-7S7BkpQT8VXEfoffmavCjeHEK6jG/s320/2021-08-08+09.11.59.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">The characters themselves are a huge strength in this game. Firstly, the rulebook gives you a guide about the different difficulty of each, meaning that you can make an informed choice in early games. However, what's really impressive is the variety in the way each heroine plays. Given that the game itself is so simple, differentiating the characters is clearly where a lot of time was spent and each character has something interesting for you to learn. I have to admit that sometimes we have played a game where it felt like one character was more powerful than another, but there are so many other factors going into whether you are being overwhelmed by bullets, that it's quite hard to pinpoint and it's easy to imagine that the grass is greener on the other side when you've lost control.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Perhaps the biggest drawback to the game for me is the luck factor though. You might be a master of manipulation and being really efficient, but if, either t the start of the game, or in between rounds when you fill your bag with random bullet tokens, you get a whole load of 4s,or a huge majority in a single colour, then you'll be at a huge disadvantaged compared to a player with a rainbow of 1s and 2s. Over the course of the game, the tokens will get transferred between players and things can start to even out, but sometimes you can't overcome a very bad start. Particularly canny players, can also try to cause you to have a bad time too, by focusing on giving away the worst of their tokens, or again, a lot of tokens in a single colour. This deeper aspect of the game uncovers hidden player interaction in a game that otherwise feels like a very solitaire experience.</div><i><br /></i><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Bullet</i> is a competitive real-time game that really works. Unlike many games in this genre which either rely on quick observation skills, dexterity or puzzle solving, <i>Bullet</i> has a lot more going on. You need your wits about you to try and make the most optimal moves and make the most out of your character's ability. I have loved playing Bullet and exploring the different characters, but ultimately the luck factor is just a little too high for me. For the Yellow Meeple, <i>Bullet</i> is a <b>6.5/10</b>.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span></span></div><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>Bullet</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-88779550321766684392021-08-18T14:00:00.002+01:002021-10-09T10:34:02.394+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Dunaia<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyMDt_w5fwKcJWbNAak6E2_EPmIpNwgsBrLIqC1bZQmgZ57mSm6D3F1hj8ojtlATmL6sD7mVdHYC2RJEQV6_krLgAWRzt1uUm6rXuqsorTgSNEvnO23fw0lH2H6vBnxikpXGIjdqvG05x/s1292/Dunaia+Card.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u> Dunaïa<span class="game-year ng-binding ng-scope"></span></p><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Blam!<br />
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<u><b>Designer:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope"> </span><span class="ng-scope">Thomas Dupont</span><br />
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<u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaSIkPuWLvz2zBqpSXFNPDWFsNz9g1UWfILK5muDpikmk8hbTuwJy8g8xnv1Gc_3EHmE_LcYrgNrYlMxgkIpqexmXN47-tK7UVxsQ-pF2QsZ6g-EkGdSWmjhmAHjMwLQeYXdPxzT2b7vg/s900/pic4919209.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="863" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaSIkPuWLvz2zBqpSXFNPDWFsNz9g1UWfILK5muDpikmk8hbTuwJy8g8xnv1Gc_3EHmE_LcYrgNrYlMxgkIpqexmXN47-tK7UVxsQ-pF2QsZ6g-EkGdSWmjhmAHjMwLQeYXdPxzT2b7vg/w192-h200/pic4919209.webp" width="192" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/265682/dunaia">Dunaïa</a> </i>is a 2-4 player game with a somewhat generic fantasy theme, in which each player controls six dunaias who are individually awakened in each turn to activate the areas around them. The theme is very weak, but gives rise to very colourful artwork of lush green landscapes and futuristic looking buildings hidden among the hills. The cover artwork, on the other hand looks quite dated to my eye, but is it worth getting past that to discover the tile-laying and resource management game within?<br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Dunaia </i>starts you off with a 3x3 grid of empty fields. between a number of these fields stand your six Dunaias, large golem like meeple, handily numbered form one to six. At the start of a game a number of dice are rolled, on your turn you will pick one of these dice to take your turn with, you may only pick white dice if available, once the white dice run out you can take the die in your colour. If there is no die for you to take then the dice are rerolled.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">With the die you pick you'll do multiple things, first the Dunaia of that number will activate, triggering the effect of the two fields (or builders later on) next to it. These abilities can grant you metal flowers (the game's currency), number chips or the ability to move your Dunaia about the map. After activating your golem friend you can place the die into one of four slots to get a little extra resources, or to buy a building blueprint. You'll have to spend metal flowers to buy buildings, with higher levels being harder to build and more expensive. Finally during your turn you can spend number chips to activate associated special powers, not only do you get the power, but a third of an artifact, with bonus points for players who manage to make several full artifacts.<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluUm0aGL-wrEq1nCQR2yFnrdBcXFSkQ4T6VQVbqtk6btZgJTP7orJKw83SFTg46dYi4Dq9LwAGN2IIJj85M2dF88GqivEVegIZ7Aq8T6vZnn962jLMd_DgLbNJhApWHvsUJImZCWwK0T-/s2048/2021-08-08+09.25.43.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1451" data-original-width="2048" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluUm0aGL-wrEq1nCQR2yFnrdBcXFSkQ4T6VQVbqtk6btZgJTP7orJKw83SFTg46dYi4Dq9LwAGN2IIJj85M2dF88GqivEVegIZ7Aq8T6vZnn962jLMd_DgLbNJhApWHvsUJImZCWwK0T-/w400-h284/2021-08-08+09.25.43.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Since you're only acquiring blueprints, you'll need to build the building before you can use it. Once on your grid you activate a Dunaia next to it and the build marker moves one space to the right, when it's done, the building is complete. Level one buildings provide instant rewards, level two buildings have effects when activated and level three buildings grant bonus points based on your village composition. The game will end when the three objectives for the game have been completed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: orange;">Amy's Final Thoughts</span></span></b><br /> </div><i>Dunaia</i> is certainly an interesting game and it's fair to say I've never played anything that plays quite like it. Worker activation via a die pool, but with the ability to relocate your workers to be in the best spots. Of course the most prominent action you'll want is to build, so you'll be stomping those robots around in a swarm of frenzied construction activity. However most built buildings are useless once built, so the more you build the less effective your golems become. That in itself is enough of a game, combined with the dice drafting trying to ensure your golems are in the right position is a challenge in itself. But with the addition of the number chips granting bonus powers and the artifacts making you want to use an even variety of said powers, things start to lose a little focus.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In a way <i>Dunaia</i> reminded me of <i>Mystic Vale</i>, which might be a strange comparison, but they both felt like games with a fantastic idea behind them that will one day be a great game. Unfortunately this is not it. Little in the game feels exciting, every die does more or less the same thing, your golems all start with the same activations and as you'll move them around, they often continue having the same abilities as the game goes on. At a glance it feels like you should be engine building your own worker placement board, but the reality is you are slowly locking up your action spots as the game goes on. Instead of power cascading upwards into a grand climax, Dunaia tends to peter out with a whimper.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJlIVgdv7QQ2gfxucf62f0UMlM-FeACRpx4sCGSoFXGpkJUo7lMgqb5Vv-AFXUXH02Bxfdt6iSJO5qG54Q4FdCI_U4sbdKwbJ7rwJdaTiHa71APransxcFpIM8QcaAB5NHBfTXxMj7D1j/s2048/2021-08-08+09.24.02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1211" data-original-width="2048" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJlIVgdv7QQ2gfxucf62f0UMlM-FeACRpx4sCGSoFXGpkJUo7lMgqb5Vv-AFXUXH02Bxfdt6iSJO5qG54Q4FdCI_U4sbdKwbJ7rwJdaTiHa71APransxcFpIM8QcaAB5NHBfTXxMj7D1j/w400-h236/2021-08-08+09.24.02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>There also the matter of the art, it's good enough when you look closely, the theme of a tribal society reconstructing buildings using futuristic robots from a bygone age is incredibly intriguing. But it's utilised so badly, building sites are a blue hologram, built buildings are covered up by symbology. It's a game where positioning and colour are important, why not have the purple buildings look distinct and interesting compared to the red and yellow ones? There's also the fact that some of our artifacts were printed backwards, hopefully that was a simple misprint, but it's frustrating to have puzzle piece components that don't always fit right!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Overall, <i>Dunaia</i> simply isn't a game for me, it has a solid theme that's thoroughly underutilised by the art. A wonderful game mechanic that gets blurred by neutering it's efficacy. There's certainly a lot to like, but all the little niggles overtake the fun factor and ruin <i>Dunaia</i> for me.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: orange;">Fi’s Final Thoughts</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>Dunaia</i> is a hard game to describe. Build your own worker placement? Your choices in this game are extremely customisable - you create the spots on your own board that will be activated by the dice you select. If you really want to activate a particular tile or space on your player board, then if you locate lots of dunaia surrounding that space then you'll be able to activate it lots of times, however, if you're building new locations onto your player board, you'll need to move the dunaias around so that they're adjacent to spaces you are building. In my first game, it didn't click with me how important it would be to move my dunaias around the board. Even in my second game I felt like I really hadn't optimised my game, needing to get a lot of movement to eventually finish building out my player board because I didn't really plan out an efficient way to build things.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;"> </span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5SxNzcLfS7oL_jofolqFaz5uyN_mhxE2b3aeAtlQlIFxE2ng-97tRUm-aicbVRYAh_Y7EEAPL62DlPL3emkhL27D1XUeDK7ZGlUSZTU4nj1lAwVEfVs75q9hz8cykTUsg6PLZiOv17Qt/s2048/2021-08-08+09.21.33.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1489" data-original-width="2048" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5SxNzcLfS7oL_jofolqFaz5uyN_mhxE2b3aeAtlQlIFxE2ng-97tRUm-aicbVRYAh_Y7EEAPL62DlPL3emkhL27D1XUeDK7ZGlUSZTU4nj1lAwVEfVs75q9hz8cykTUsg6PLZiOv17Qt/w400-h291/2021-08-08+09.21.33.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>In some ways, it's great that I still had more to explore and optimise in the way I played after a couple of games, but on the other hand, I might not offer this as a game to a new player now that I understand what's going on - a new player might have a similar experience to me and get quite handily beaten in their first game. Once you're got into the swing of the game though, it starts to feel like a much lighter game and with two players it only lasts about 30 minutes, and it doesn't have a lot to keep us interested after a first few plays.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>I think there's just very little in <i>Dunaia </i>that makes it shine as an overall game experience. It doesn't look great, and the individual aspects of the game seem mechanically great, but just don't come together to make anything exciting happen. It's got lots of ingredients I enjoy, not least the few different ways to score points and the way that you're encouraged down certain paths with scoring objectives, dice combinations that you want to take to gain artifacts and the way that some of your early tile choices might guide your later choices. Sadly it's just not enough for this to be a game that will ever be chosen from the shelf.<br /></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Managing your board and creating great spots to activate is a pretty unique mechanism.<br /></li><li>Your goals are constantly changing as you try to build out your board and optimise your dunaia locations to be most efficient. <br /></li><li>There's lots of different types of scoring to aim for and to guide your strategy.<br /></li></ul>
<span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>To me, this game looks like a blue and green smudge on the table, with any artwork very well disguised.</li><li>It took a couple of games to really click how to play well, meaning that we wouldn't want to put this on the table with a new player.</li></ul></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">The Verdict</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span>5.5/10 </span></b><span><i>Dunaia</i> is a pretty quirky game. It does a few things that feel quite fresh and different and kind of feels like a deconstructed dice worker placement game. Ultimately though, that quirkiness made it a bit too inaccessible, with a surprisingly big learning curve for what is eventually a quick light game once you understand it better. I'm glad we experienced it and we enjoyed exploring its new ideas, but it didn't come together and create a memorable experience. <i>Dunaia </i>looks generic, has a generic theme and the mechanisms feel like the ingredients of a great game that just didn't happen.</span><br /><br />
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<div><span face="" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Dunaia <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by </i>Lucky Duck Games<i>, on behalf of </i>Blam!<i>. <br /></i></span></div>
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-27403291524953934252021-08-05T14:00:00.002+01:002021-08-06T09:20:15.276+01:00Thoughts from The Yellow Meeple:- The Initiative<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>The Initiative<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Unexpected Games<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><b></b> <span class="ng-scope"> Corey Konieczka</span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJ0DIof2ktYRhCPr3ltK5oPX9_boqZ7xzu-BRok7kis_sMGg-70PfYi9G3oy5bbcc86pMEMUL2c-tO4hr9wYtlVgbzKNYv5vkUy38idB5oBIm3689CXPpt8tuxGSmM1wiw29PqEcoJF8/s900/pic5910298.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJ0DIof2ktYRhCPr3ltK5oPX9_boqZ7xzu-BRok7kis_sMGg-70PfYi9G3oy5bbcc86pMEMUL2c-tO4hr9wYtlVgbzKNYv5vkUy38idB5oBIm3689CXPpt8tuxGSmM1wiw29PqEcoJF8/w200-h200/pic5910298.webp" width="200" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/328908/initiative"><i>The Initiative</i></a> is an immediately intriguing game - the cover is wonderful and for a brand new publisher, there was a lot of buzz for this title when it released earlier in the year. <span class="ng-scope">Corey Konieczka is a very well known game designer, involved in many of Fantasy Flights Games' greatest hits. Unexpected games is his own publishing brand, but you can see the links back to fantasy flight, even down to the basic insert and the proof of purchase token in the punchboard!<br /></span><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>The Initiative </i>is a cooperative game for 1-4 players which uses a comic book to tell the story of a group of teenagers who like to play a board game (yes it's very meta!). The game is a campaign, with sequential missions that take you through the story, adding new game mechanisms and increasing the difficulty of the codes you solve. We're about half way through the campaign at the time of writing our reviews. <br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Each scenario comes with a new map layout and a new puzzle to solve. The game centres around the double sided board and tokens are laid out on the appropriate side of the board to suit that scenarios particular map. Each player gets a hand of cards which are numbers between 1 and 12. On your turn you can play cards to take actions. The basic actions are gather (pick up two tokens in your space), intel (look at two tokens in any space), run (move your pawn up to three rooms) or gather, which allows you to remove all previously played cards from an action space. Gather is important because you can only play a card that is higher than those played before on any action. As you start to gather tokens from the board, some will be good eg. a symbol that is useful to the puzzle, some are useless symbols and others are penalties that can make you discard cards, or block certain actions. You only have until the deck runs out before the unpredictable end game timer will start ticking.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPFvGOcRO9B_Sj-9-CH9DjR6-KFBdoBsI89YtxF69RIRHcif0J_NiqJsrox-4uaMNKCPsXMxYgdTq7_WyrJS_p90eyVkWf3HTgLGRIrJ_35JsVFCWtKgKZ7c6aDmjTXcuy3SGzTqA9Mx6/s2048/2021-07-24+11.55.54.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPFvGOcRO9B_Sj-9-CH9DjR6-KFBdoBsI89YtxF69RIRHcif0J_NiqJsrox-4uaMNKCPsXMxYgdTq7_WyrJS_p90eyVkWf3HTgLGRIrJ_35JsVFCWtKgKZ7c6aDmjTXcuy3SGzTqA9Mx6/w400-h225/2021-07-24+11.55.54.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The first three games play in the same way and then new rules start to be introduced every one or two games. The new rules are kept very simple and (so far at least) don't hugely change the game, but each game can still play out very differently. The shuffle of the tokens can lead you to have an easy game or a hard game, and your ability to deduce the answer to the puzzle early may mean you can squeeze a win in a game that is otherwise going downhill fast. Win or lose, you'll still move on in the story, but you might learn different information along the way.<br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The gameplay in <i>The Initiative</i> is incredibly simple and in most cases, I would describe a game like this as too simple. However, I really like how you have to try and work together, with limited communication to make the best of the cards in your hand and maximise each others ability to use the actions and have good turns. Communicating and discussing when is the right time to gather, who should move where on the board and hinting that you have really high cards, so it's OK if some of the piles are jumping to high numbers quite quickly, all help create a highly cooperative experience in which everyone is engaged. It gives me a similar feeling to <i><a href="http://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2018/08/thoughts-from-yellow-meeple-spy-club.html">Spy Club</a></i> or <i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/257957/x-code">X-Code</a></i>, which are both cooperative, card-driven games with a similar simple yet satisfying feeling.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZev5DXVaqTwaKJo-gQ1SOGr1sz-ghpWxM02nfFpZHh64HuiT8xDT8DEI7YVCA-6jUa7jr0WG-cfMtyge6o9iBCq3Hj7nSvNOzoT0JdZ_Re7ZyBJfKdCr-A2Dl_GdTBQbjwY0n6k58S4h/s2048/2021-07-24+11.49.26.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="2048" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZev5DXVaqTwaKJo-gQ1SOGr1sz-ghpWxM02nfFpZHh64HuiT8xDT8DEI7YVCA-6jUa7jr0WG-cfMtyge6o9iBCq3Hj7nSvNOzoT0JdZ_Re7ZyBJfKdCr-A2Dl_GdTBQbjwY0n6k58S4h/w400-h330/2021-07-24+11.49.26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">I wouldn't categorise <i>The Initiative</i> as an escape room game. The game is not packed full of challenging puzzles - it leans towards de-coding clues instead. Each game you'll get one or maybe two clues to decode and you're given all of the cyphers you'll need to do it - you might have to look a little carefully, or consider which particular cypher is the right one in this instance, but there is nothing standing in the way of you and the right answer. <i>The Initiative</i> never made me feel stupid, and still gave me a sense of satisfaction, even though I wasn't really taxing my mind very much. I'm completely satisfied with the low level of difficulty in the puzzles, and it fits well into a game that has a very relaxing, rather than stressful, overall feel.</span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Whilst the story is perhaps not the games strong-suit, it certainly had some appeal to me, after all these kids do find the board game at a garage sale and board game thrifting is very, very close to my heart. Not only that, but the comic book style is really engaging and gives life to quite a slow story, as well as leaving some opportunities for visual clues. And finally, to be honest, I really dislike story in games, I'd rather just get on with playing and so a very quick interlude between each mission is perfect for impatient gamers like me. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUb5_C-nNuuVhBWkSCXiZs-EQQ3u6RhUcbTzG_9knefF0LFW_JACT3wTXDWyCxsOWNxB9AIK2W-uSq-NLGjNgyFsIEZI67xvCNGtHLpEl88EiOV9mkas0JtzMvspQic5afXD1I-Ljf5Kf0/s2048/2021-07-24+11.46.39.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1348" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUb5_C-nNuuVhBWkSCXiZs-EQQ3u6RhUcbTzG_9knefF0LFW_JACT3wTXDWyCxsOWNxB9AIK2W-uSq-NLGjNgyFsIEZI67xvCNGtHLpEl88EiOV9mkas0JtzMvspQic5afXD1I-Ljf5Kf0/w264-h400/2021-07-24+11.46.39.jpg" width="264" /></a></div></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><i>The Initiative </i>is one of my favourite experiences of the year so far. It's not a spectacular game in any obvious way, but it's a cosy warm blanket, an easy-breezy game that I really enjoy sitting down to play a couple of games of. It does for campaign games what<i> <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295486/my-city">My City</a></i> did for legacy games - it has created a family friendly experience that's short and sweet. Neither the game's mechanics or the puzzles you solve are hugely taxing, but you still feel a sense of achievement and progression throughout the game. I can't wait to complete it and to hand it to a friend to give them the same wonderful experience. For the Yellow Meeple, it's an <b>8.5/10.</b><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>The Initiative</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-2235456027238691242021-08-03T13:41:00.001+01:002021-08-03T13:41:00.236+01:00Roll For:- The Initiative<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>The Initiative<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope">Unexpected Games<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><b></b> <span class="ng-scope"> Corey Konieczka</span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021<br /> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz0CwnMRtDG4SfC7_OwLLvPe7IIXpOdYNs1drnucYFZImmJX35wSD_U0FVWGg3QDTgNUgY6R7TMGaXHU_heOF6uMjwu_CLwQzyARMYiv6vFUSfew__ND_zfEDKqTvz_mzRWV4H389zTu6/s900/pic5910298.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEz0CwnMRtDG4SfC7_OwLLvPe7IIXpOdYNs1drnucYFZImmJX35wSD_U0FVWGg3QDTgNUgY6R7TMGaXHU_heOF6uMjwu_CLwQzyARMYiv6vFUSfew__ND_zfEDKqTvz_mzRWV4H389zTu6/w200-h200/pic5910298.webp" width="200" /></a></i></div>The Initiative is a 1-4 player cooperative game which has you wandering through maps collecting clues in order to solve the mission's puzzle. The missions themselves are tied together into a campaign story told via an interactive comic book. Naturally then there are spoilers as you go through the story, so I won't be talking explicitly about anything story or mechanically past the intro of the first mission. Throughout the game you'll also be finding secret cards, these might unlock new rules, tell more story, or introduce a new puzzle for you to complete between missions.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Once you have read the intro for your mission you set up the mission by placing the player board in the center of the table and adding the shuffled clue tokens to the spots marked on the mission card. You then place the mission card into the decoder's slot. The decoder has a series of flippable panels which should all start down, hiding the solutions. Above many of the panels will be one of the symbols from the clue tokens, when you collect one of these tokens you can flip the panel, giving you a part of your solution. Eventually, once you have flipped enough of the panels, the answer for the round may become clear to you. As a group you can, at any time, agree on what you think the answer is. If you do so you can reveal the answer, if you were correct then you win, otherwise you will lose.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Mechanically the game is a card game, on your turn you can perform one or two actions by playing a card on top of that action's discard pile. The only caveat being that your card must be higher than the card below it. The actions themselves are relatively simple. Run lets you move through rooms, gather lets you collect tokens from the room you are in. Intel lets you flip some tokens face up, helping you avoid traps and know which rooms to go into. The final action lets you clear one of the other actions of cards, letting players start again with low numbered cards. Should the player deck run out then it gets reshuffled with some time cards included, if you draw too many time cards then you will lose the mission.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-7Q8qVegfp9OBQn9M6_KuFxJIJn7BZpIHHsmdsDHXB_keMvh6NGU6bMC7AuybbrPhz_KeHhMLHckhD3rzhpnCnM0yEBRmyw3vMCvEQsvlKpwravqgs6zYj9OsTrmqU8yt3xmiEbe6EfB/s2048/2021-07-24+11.53.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-7Q8qVegfp9OBQn9M6_KuFxJIJn7BZpIHHsmdsDHXB_keMvh6NGU6bMC7AuybbrPhz_KeHhMLHckhD3rzhpnCnM0yEBRmyw3vMCvEQsvlKpwravqgs6zYj9OsTrmqU8yt3xmiEbe6EfB/w400-h225/2021-07-24+11.53.34.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The how to play may be rather simple, but it doesn't remain that way for long. New hazards are included including roaming security personnel who will mess with your actions and new traps to help thwart you. These are added slowly, letting you get the feel for each new addition before they start combining threats on you. The mission card's puzzles will also get more complicated. In Mission One you are only looking for a simple phrase, but sooner or later even once all the letters are revealed you'll have a puzzle on your hands to figure out the last answer. In our experience all of these puzzles are aimed at that perfect level, enough of of challenge to make you satisfied once you get the answer, but not so long that you spend minutes scratching your heads. In addition as you unlock some of the secrets in the game they will include meta-puzzles to be completed between missions. Again none of these are overly complicated and they actually succeed in giving you a basic education into encryption. Once again these tend to appear in a very tutorial like way, with a simple puzzle for you to solve right away using your newly learnt skills, then hidden away in three mission's time the game might ask you to put those skills to use again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBzyxyONsX5j_y-vOkl8PljGoy-CrOajjdwFDFdsZmrZLzxU1iKH51MCMf61EkWLJtbVtQJeKePDlVSq14AL3nD42nI01McylmadV63uHaa49Ia00EjA2UNT8q7_2DXI4HA6blWxu07eW/s2048/2021-07-24+11.46.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBzyxyONsX5j_y-vOkl8PljGoy-CrOajjdwFDFdsZmrZLzxU1iKH51MCMf61EkWLJtbVtQJeKePDlVSq14AL3nD42nI01McylmadV63uHaa49Ia00EjA2UNT8q7_2DXI4HA6blWxu07eW/s320/2021-07-24+11.46.39.jpg" width="211" /></a></div></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">You may be getting the impression then, that this game is easy. And you'd be largely right, <i>The Initiative</i> isn't trying to give you the mind-blowing puzzles of an escape room game. The missions themselves are 30 minute experiences which lack the nuance or difficulty of other cooperative card games. The story itself is engaging enough, but brief and certainly no epic work of fiction. But the beautiful thing is that The initiative is far more than the sum of it's parts. The initiative takes simple gameplay ingredients and comes up with a recipe for fun. If you are looking for a heavy game to have three hour epics with then look another way, but if you wanted a light game that's perfect to share with a group of regular house-guests</span></span> or as a family then The Initiative is there for you with open arms.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmW20auZK8_9AjqIqPPnHbMkn2BLCHbHEwkeAdf82gHt1loxZKILTCqzOKBO85IyWBstdM1dryVXbrMVlKQ_J2YxUcY7B8Ki1XkJ84KH86XcHnxwnseN3H4yOavVS5g_XpvejCbBuGXyFv/s2048/2021-07-24+11.49.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="2048" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmW20auZK8_9AjqIqPPnHbMkn2BLCHbHEwkeAdf82gHt1loxZKILTCqzOKBO85IyWBstdM1dryVXbrMVlKQ_J2YxUcY7B8Ki1XkJ84KH86XcHnxwnseN3H4yOavVS5g_XpvejCbBuGXyFv/w400-h330/2021-07-24+11.49.26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Overall <i>The Initiative</i> is a wonderful game! The story might be simple, but it manages to touch some great emotional points as you progress with real character development... or not, if you fail the puzzles! While I can't guarantee you won't fail any puzzles as things get trickier, the consequences for failure are usually light and the puzzles are generally aimed to make you feel smart, rather than to stump you. The main flaw with the game is that it's not really re-playable, once you know a mission's solution that's it, you could simply say it out loud and reveal the mission card and count it as a win. This does make it feel much like a legacy game, but without the need to damage components meaning that you can pass it on to a friend once you're done.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">8.5/10</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>The Initiative</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-35541482751640676062021-08-01T13:00:00.001+01:002021-08-01T13:00:00.259+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Sky Towers<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Sky Towers<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <span class="ng-scope">EX1ST GAMES</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><span class="ng-scope">Charles Ward<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2019<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonEH18C5Lh8puvyqi-87GHm_lgBLI0lhX6Y9s7Lk2Gh_C6ZW8PZMrrLPkWP25gi3-CW9mbi7eCUFXQImjbbf_5m9ULVddIjJfPcoFg2jO9RJrnUjG9qn9SxvRXhwcQ1JEomxljmp8ZbiB/s900/pic5798029.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonEH18C5Lh8puvyqi-87GHm_lgBLI0lhX6Y9s7Lk2Gh_C6ZW8PZMrrLPkWP25gi3-CW9mbi7eCUFXQImjbbf_5m9ULVddIjJfPcoFg2jO9RJrnUjG9qn9SxvRXhwcQ1JEomxljmp8ZbiB/w200-h200/pic5798029.webp" width="200" /></a></i></div><i><span class="il"> </span></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><span class="il"> </span></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/324883/sky-towers"><span class="il">Sky</span> <span class="il">Towers</span></a> </i>is a Forever Free Print and Play Game from Charles Ward of EX1ST GAMES. Whilst there are plans to publish a physical copy of the game, it will always be available for free here: <a href="https://www.ex1st.com/games/skytowers/">https://www.ex1st.com/games/skytowers/</a>. It recently won best 2-player game in the 2021 54 Card Game Design Contest</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Sky Towers</i> is a tactical, set collection card game from 1-4 players . It features charming artwork and clever card abilities and given it's two player credentials, it's a game we were keen to try out.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>Each players starts with a hand of cards numbered from one to ten. On your turn you will get two actions, each of which can be either playing a card, or drawing a new card. When you play a card it must be added to one of your two towers, if you have yet to start one of your towers then you can use the card to form the first part of a new tower. Whenever the numbers of the cards in a tower reach 21 the tower is scored, placing all the cards used into your scoring area, freeing up one of your tower slots and possible earning you a bonus objective.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWwti2zxTXTGxs66GcHFjtkaxQZ5ZUOrTZxwZyz6W7d2H5YUWjUlWcfU1jdp-UsUvZ97dKNzFp-G5mIAzbutAz-9XwoMqkokMhaGX1TbIFNLxqlT9oH8chSAYp6oo7MUou1X1xiFCLivU/s2048/2021-07-24+11.38.51.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWwti2zxTXTGxs66GcHFjtkaxQZ5ZUOrTZxwZyz6W7d2H5YUWjUlWcfU1jdp-UsUvZ97dKNzFp-G5mIAzbutAz-9XwoMqkokMhaGX1TbIFNLxqlT9oH8chSAYp6oo7MUou1X1xiFCLivU/w295-h400/2021-07-24+11.38.51.jpg" width="295" /></a></div> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">So far so simple, but almost every numbered card has a special ability, these vary from being able to take extra actions, place the card on an opponents tower, or limiting what can be played on top of them. Most notable is the five, which causes all players to discard their hand down to five cards. This can be critical as there are four bonus objectives to be claimed. The objectives require players to perform certain actions, such as making a tower made of three seven cards, or a tower only using ones, twos and threes. While these bonuses can be claimed any time a tower is completed, if another player manages to also complete that objective then they will steal the bonus from you! At the end of the game the player with the most flags on their scored tower cards will win.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amy’s Final Thoughts</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><i>Sky Towers</i> makes for a charming, light, family game. The theme of the game may be rather tacked on, but that doesn't mean that there isn't charm there, with some famous skyscrapers being represented including the leaning tower of Pisa which actually causes your tower to lean due to the placement of it's card slot! There is a good amount of player interaction in the game, with the ability to make players discard cards, and even play a couple of cards onto other player's towers, potentially ruining their attempt to steal objectives from you. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The objectives themselves offered enough points to make them enticing and certainly game you a way to try and play, but at times they felt a little too hard to achieve, especially with the ability to steal them from other players. For example, one of them requires a tower with three sevens in it. There are only five sevens in the entire deck, so you'll need at least a little luck to be able to achieve that, especially at higher player counts.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Overall, <i>Sky Towers</i> made for an entertaining enough filler game. Families will likely have the best time with it, where the cute art style and simple gameplay will really hit home. For us the gameplay was a touch too simple and luck dependent, with the brutal truth being that Sky Towers doesn't do anything for us that isn't also achieved by better games.<br /><b style="color: orange;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div>Fi’s Final Thoughts</b></div><br />I've heard a lot of names for the traditional card game where you try and make a hand that has to equal 21 in total - be it pontoon, 21, blackjack or whatever you call it, if you have a family member who enjoys that game, they might also enjoy <i>Sky Towers.</i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b> </b></span><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDp9AsUUW2t3UAm_a66x31KoI51EjDA51T9xbTu8paMhMehjoaT7CexwyLJkvQgcf3Uki4aOiARJQsXYBv1PvVjpUc7Bs9swti8w1m_cthH00__grS5U4oQZU0cI43Qe5qDOWnDLiRpfnA/s2048/2021-07-24+11.41.42.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="2048" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDp9AsUUW2t3UAm_a66x31KoI51EjDA51T9xbTu8paMhMehjoaT7CexwyLJkvQgcf3Uki4aOiARJQsXYBv1PvVjpUc7Bs9swti8w1m_cthH00__grS5U4oQZU0cI43Qe5qDOWnDLiRpfnA/w400-h206/2021-07-24+11.41.42.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">There's no doubt that <i>Sky Towers </i>is a simple game and easy for new players to grasp, but it has two twists that add a somewhat unexpected layer of tactics to the game. Limiting players to building only two towers at time means that you might get to a point where only very specific cards will work for you. Perhaps you don't want to finish a tower too quickly because the objective card you obtain might get solen later in the game. Maybe you don't really want to dig for the exact card you need, or perhaps you now know that there are no sevens left in the deck and it might be better to demolish a tower and start again. There are some good, interesting decisions to be made.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The card abilities are also a nice twist, sometimes allowing you to make special moves. However, it's the lower numbered cards, with no abilities which have the flag symbols that will ultimately be counted to win the game, so you need to judge quite carefully whether to build quick, low scoring towers, or spend more turns to get more points.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">After a handful of games, I do feel like I've seen most of what<i> Sky Towers </i>has to offer, but it is a nice lighter game that I enjoyed quite a bit.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>The art style is really charming and humorous.<br /></li><li>The restriction of working on only two sets at a time creates tough choices and makes timing key.</li><li>There's extra depth at two players since you're able to count the cards esily and really fight over the objectives.<br /></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>Objectives are easily stolen in a 2-player game, which can cause some frustrating gameplay.<br /></li><li>There's not a great deal of depth, so avid gamers might tire of this one quickly<br /></li><li>You can get quite unlucky when trying to draw the cards you need to complete towers.<br /></li></ul><b><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div>The Verdict</span></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>5.5/10 </b><i>Sky Towers </i>doesn't feel special but it is well tuned mechainically, with a couple of interesting twists on set collection. It might be too simple for many gamers, but, with that said, it's a free print and play, so what do you have to lose, besides a bit of printer ink?! (Let's be honest, you might even be able to print it out at work!) It's certainly worth a couple of plays to enjoy the artwork and fun 2-player interaction.<br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i> </i><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;">A printed version of Sky Towers<i> was</i><i> kindly provided as review copy by </i></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;"><span class="ng-scope">EX1ST GAMES</span>.</span></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-19024887269323343762021-07-31T08:51:00.003+01:002021-07-31T08:51:37.111+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Peruke<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Peruke</p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Peruke Games<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><span class="ng-scope">Mark Littlewood</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2019<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitL1aWOaPD0BPXwSFTJ63g3xs5ers84xuHh1F1nB8HjEQmUDdqcCMXyorWXT9EhWJwCWlfRpR7O8fMotLCm-rWdIEtaCuAnnTBJ-OhfylfwoVnVHhwFWuE-7dGnvC-1o-g-_wSakRSil8d/s900/pic6036635.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="821" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitL1aWOaPD0BPXwSFTJ63g3xs5ers84xuHh1F1nB8HjEQmUDdqcCMXyorWXT9EhWJwCWlfRpR7O8fMotLCm-rWdIEtaCuAnnTBJ-OhfylfwoVnVHhwFWuE-7dGnvC-1o-g-_wSakRSil8d/w183-h200/pic6036635.webp" width="183" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Peruke</i> is a self-published game, which can be purchased in the UK from the designer's <a href="https://www.perukegames.co.uk/">website</a>. It plays 2-4 players and features lovely chunky wooden pieces in a very simple game of dice rolling and push your luck.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><i>Peruke</i> is a very portable game, neatly packed into a small tin. We've played it outdoors, on the sofa, using the foot stool as a table, and I'm sure it would be right at home in a trendy bar setting.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><span></span><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>At the start of a game of <i>Peruke</i> each player will take a row of wooden tokens numbered from one to six. In the case of a two-player game you will take two rows or tokens. After a quick set-up roll so that some of your tokens start defended, players will then take turns rolling the three dice. You can use the results of your dice to attack or defend. If you defend then you flip a token matching the number rolled on a die over to make it harder to take. If you attack then you either take a face up token from an opponent of your choice, or flip one of their face down tokens to be face up. You repeat this process for all three of your dice, meaning that a roll of a double may let you take even a defended piece from an opponent. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideNhi2RnV6n2sx469T0DnNHqmF0eupoScapefCf2lpgLKEMgFgKwifPKPtjX2q_vTnfLcgrjPeSTlq04pZ4Hh3q4kxRYdAk7ycWZpO6kXdpONEMuqZfQzUjjacHaC-Am80E9KkqJInQ9Y/s2048/2021-07-24+11.32.51.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideNhi2RnV6n2sx469T0DnNHqmF0eupoScapefCf2lpgLKEMgFgKwifPKPtjX2q_vTnfLcgrjPeSTlq04pZ4Hh3q4kxRYdAk7ycWZpO6kXdpONEMuqZfQzUjjacHaC-Am80E9KkqJInQ9Y/w400-h225/2021-07-24+11.32.51.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The game will end when one player has run out of tokens in their row. At which point all players will score the value of each of the tokens they took, plus the value of any tokens remaining in front of them.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amy’s Final Thoughts</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br />Luck and Strategy are two of the biggest components of board games. Some games are high strategy, no luck, like Chess, which certainly has it;'s place but can be a 'marmite' game. Some games are high strategy, high luck, like wargames, where having the right unit in the right place should do wonders, but occasionally, every now and then, the dice decide that a peasant will win the fight against a dragon.Very rarely you encounter no strategy, high luck games, Snakes and Ladders being the perfect example, and, well there's a reason that adults don't enjoy that game. Unfortunately while <i>Peruke</i> isn't quite Snakes and Ladders level of no strategy, it's not far off. You roll the dice then make a very basic choice. Moreover, this choice becomes further and further limited as the game goes on. When your opponent only has a three left and you only have a two left it's a race to see who can roll their opponents number more often than they can roll it themselves. Hardly a battle of the brains.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">While it may be lacking in substance, <i>Peruke </i>certainly gets some style points. The moment you open the tin you are greeted by tasteful, chunky, wooden tokens. Even the way they are stored in the tin is surprisingly satisfying. I'm also willing to confess that the gameplay is likely to be better with more players, as then you have the option to bully one player out of the game early in order to score your high value tokens still in front of you, this in turn makes you more inclined to play defensively so you aren't the target of the bullying. If you are looking for a simply, but pretty looking filler game for 3-4 players then you probably will get some entertainment out of <i>Peruke.</i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Overall <i>Peruke</i> feels like a 'gift shop' game, the kind of thing that someone might buy for you for secret santa, because they know you like games, and this one looked pretty. It does have some value as a filler game, though I strongly advise against playing the two player variant, which only manages to further dilute the slim number of choices you will be making over the course of the game.<br /><b style="color: orange;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div>Fi’s Final Thoughts</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Peruke</i> really lacks any real decision making at all, it's the least thinking I've done while playing a game for a long, long time. You are completely at the mercy of the dice and simply choosing whether to attack or defend on each turn, if you're presented with a choice at all. In the latter stages of the game, you might even roll the dice and do nothing at all.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The two player game seems to make choices even more obvious, with the choice of keeping your own back row of pieces seeming to be doubly as powerful as attacking and/or defending elsewhere. Very rarely are you presented with a choice that is not obvious and even when you're forced to think it'll either be good luck or bad luck that will win or lose you the game over the course of many pointless rolls of the dice.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXAaPMFs3giAXUwjHNCxVluWY4hurX_9sk6k_q6eQzJiupyODmQ3VsNGJEpu3w-ntcM0c-kvicxWBsDdP9IyuDtei9CdbW-_aLG-2ToL8tGKGDJN29DSsUsoAE65VpdBXeVDQUsJhmE1R/s2048/2021-07-24+11.30.25.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXAaPMFs3giAXUwjHNCxVluWY4hurX_9sk6k_q6eQzJiupyODmQ3VsNGJEpu3w-ntcM0c-kvicxWBsDdP9IyuDtei9CdbW-_aLG-2ToL8tGKGDJN29DSsUsoAE65VpdBXeVDQUsJhmE1R/w400-h225/2021-07-24+11.30.25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>The most fun I had with<i> Peruke </i>was the task of trying to get the parts back into the tin - it's really well designed packaging that fits the pieces very snuggly, plus it ends up displaying the game really well too. Peruke has a lovely hand crafted look and when you open the tin, it looks really enticing. Unfortunately, I'd be surprised if most people are not disappointed by lack of fun inside the tin.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>The presentation of <i>Peruke</i> is lovely.</li><li><i>Peruke</i> might make an OK activity to play at the bar.</li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>This is 'roll dice and hope you like what you roll' the game.</li><li>80% of moves are obvious and the remaining 20% require very little thought.</li></ul><b><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div>The Verdict</span></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>3/10 </b><i>Peruke </i>is presented really nicely and looks like the sort of gift you might buy at a craft market. Sadly there is very little game in the box and it seems unlikely that it would be the kind of gift that might get a friend interested in the hobby. Roll some dice, make very few decisions and whoever rolled the best will win...<b><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i> </i></b><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Peruke<i> was</i><i> kindly provided as review copy by </i>Peruke Games.</span></div></div><div><br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-69473705850211521572021-07-21T18:29:00.001+01:002021-07-21T18:29:15.861+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Decktective<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Decktective: Bloody-Red Roses & Decktective: The Gaze of the Ghost</p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> dV Giochi<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><span class="ng-scope"> Martino Chiacchiera<span class="ng-scope">, </span> </span><span class="ng-scope"> Silvano Sorrentino</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2019 & 2020<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCzexSXWwWiF5H9QZMC62zYhSLuUjf2ZmOQ0Re6noBVIyjV3s2iw8N8p0QZ69KLRhn0cncdEr0p8XWYjCYkY4Ur2MZFqFsOC3ImQ04KYHnGCu6MVVP1qQGBR1EZHeKn3pXpmrqFuyl-1t/s900/pic5279047.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="682" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCzexSXWwWiF5H9QZMC62zYhSLuUjf2ZmOQ0Re6noBVIyjV3s2iw8N8p0QZ69KLRhn0cncdEr0p8XWYjCYkY4Ur2MZFqFsOC3ImQ04KYHnGCu6MVVP1qQGBR1EZHeKn3pXpmrqFuyl-1t/w151-h200/pic5279047.webp" width="151" /></a></div></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Decktective </i>is a series of murder mystery style games from publisher dVGiochi.<i> </i>Much like their <a href="https://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-game-shelf-reviews-deckscape-escape.html"><i>Deckscape </i></a>series, which is a series of escape room games, <i>Decktective</i> aims to do a lot with a small deck of cards. The main gimmick here is that each game of <i>Decktective </i>involved you assembling a 3-D crime scene of of the first few card you encounter as you work your way through the deck - the scene is likely to contain clues that will help you solve the mystery. We've decided not to include photos of the 3D scenes, to avoid spoilers in this review.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">We've played the first and second game from the series and definitely had mixed experiences which well share in this combined review covering both titles.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <span><a name='more'></a></span><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>Much like the<i> Deckscape</i> series of games <i>Decktective </i>needs no explanation before you sit down to play. The first 3-4 cards do a fantastic job of tutorialising how to play and setting up the game rules as you go. Regardless of the game you play you'll start by setting up a 3D map by placing the lid backwards onto the bottom of the box, so that you have an open box with 2 layers of wall. You then can slide cards into the gap between those walls and then place another card at the bottom of the box for the floor. This 3D terrain allows you to survey your surroundings and do some sleuthing outside of the clue cards given to you by the game. Certain events during the game may cause the terrain to change, so a good memory and keen mind will reveal extra hints.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0Mh3ljCH07zRI8nIldx0-5bpRVRTj7fLDrXZeJN4wAkTTtp59Ptl8DPdAIL8ASPM0z8S8UxrBGTzoDOD0CDaUWWToUVRZfKCNXnwj5qsHOzlQBswDi_3WXXpWFD1uTlteWRzgnfvtK5n/s2048/2021-07-16+19.45.03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1708" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0Mh3ljCH07zRI8nIldx0-5bpRVRTj7fLDrXZeJN4wAkTTtp59Ptl8DPdAIL8ASPM0z8S8UxrBGTzoDOD0CDaUWWToUVRZfKCNXnwj5qsHOzlQBswDi_3WXXpWFD1uTlteWRzgnfvtK5n/s320/2021-07-16+19.45.03.jpg" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>The majority of the gameplay follows a simple pattern. Each player has a hand of clue cards and on their turn will play one, then draw one. Clues can be played face up or face down, but you can only play clues face up if the number on them is equal or less than the number of face down clues on the table. Your job then is to work out which clues are important and which are either irrelevant, or already apparent due to other factors. You cannot discuss the contents of your clues to other players, though you are allowed to tell them the title if you need some help deciding.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">As you go through the decks events will occur, these may change the map or cause you to lose access to testimony of certain characters or items. Eventually you'll reach the bottom of the deck, at this point you will be able to discuss discarded clues from memory (no looking at them!) before solving the questions on the following 5 cards. Each question card presents a multiple choice question which is answered by placing a clip over the card. The clip ends up pointing to your answer on one side of the card and the number of points earned for that answer on the reverse. After answering all of these you will get your final score which tells you how great (or not) your detective skills are.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amy’s Final Thoughts</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Decktective</i> certainly presents a unique twist on the murder mystery genre, there's no need for cross referencing information out of the game, reading in game newspapers or cumbersome apps. All you need is a deck of cards and a handful of clips. This certainly gives it a very apparent selling point of being portable. It's a great game to shove into your bag if you are going away for a few days, just in case the weather turns on you, and if it doesn't then at least you weren't lugging around a huge box! To help with this, the rules are extremely simple and taught in a fantastically easy way, making this a game you can play with anyone.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The key though is playing with people who are really going to get into the theme of the game, which is perhaps where we fell short. Fi isn't exactly a fan of story based games as is, and this seems double true for murder mysteries, where she tends to tune out as soon as the answer isn't obvious. For <i>Bloody-red Roses</i> this was not a problem as the clues really led you by the nose to find, at least close to, the right answer. But for <i>The Gaze of the Ghost </i>genuine sleuthing is required, keeping a careful eye on some of the changes occurring, and, importantly, having someone to discuss theories with. To this end, while the game works fine with two players, I would probably recommend playing it with 3-4 to really get that discussion going.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Decktective</i> has a fantastic gimmick, but these early games are yet to make best use of it. The 3D terrain is used adequately in<i> Bloody-red Rose</i>, but certainly sparingly, enough to give you a couple of bonus clues for looking carefully. <i>The Gaze of the Ghost </i>went heavier into this theme, with the scene changing numerous times throughout the night. The addition of a timeline on the clue cards helped you piece things together and gave the feel of an evolving mystery you stumbled into, rather than a crime scene. I'm certain that as the series goes on we'll see more weird and wonderful changes - you'd be surprised what these people can do with a deck of 60 cards!</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Overall <i>Decktective</i> presents a solid medium through which to tell a murder mystery in a fantastically portable and friendly package. This makes it great for introducing to a mix of gaming experience since the story matters far more than the game mechanics themselves. Detective games will never be best at two, but we had a good time with<i> Bloody-red Roses,</i> and a slightly frustrating time with <i>The Gaze of the Ghost</i>. Not frustrating enough to put me off the series though and I'm certainly looking forward to see what comes out in the future.<br /></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div>Fi’s Final Thoughts</b></div><br />Murder Mystery games are 100% not my genre. I've been known to go to sleep instead of get involved in a murder mystery party. However, the Deckscape games are a series of escape rooms that have always impressed me with what they do with a simple deck of cards and I was ready to be impressed by Decktective.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">We played <i>Bloody-Red Roses</i> first and it was a brilliant introduction for me. The mystery felt pretty obvious and we were very easily led to the correct story with no red herrings along the way. To many that might seem disappointing, but for me, I do like to be able to solve the puzzle and we went into the game knowing nothing and came out having solved it. At the other end of the spectrum was <i>Gaze of the Ghost </i>- I think we probably scored 20 or 30% at the end of that game because we simply couldn't figure out what was going on. We had a few theories but they all fell apart upon further discussion. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b> </b><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZwLe7omek3DR6tW19nxDh0tDD7KSXlajuvii3Gs_coiTqqJ-l_-SqmlIKVLvaJH6aGHYtrGPIdc0vODVT60JFlIDQH8DOcY9g3k47cTzwD6EaVPnODvHZltFoXC1TH9AgEdkyaJz15Ir/s900/pic5176438.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="683" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZwLe7omek3DR6tW19nxDh0tDD7KSXlajuvii3Gs_coiTqqJ-l_-SqmlIKVLvaJH6aGHYtrGPIdc0vODVT60JFlIDQH8DOcY9g3k47cTzwD6EaVPnODvHZltFoXC1TH9AgEdkyaJz15Ir/w152-h200/pic5176438.webp" width="152" /></a></div><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Overall I enjoyed <i>Bloody-Red Roses </i>a lot more due to the difficulty aspect, but I did find that<i> Gaze of Ghost</i> made the most out of this series' gimmick. It's great that these are such small-box, portable and re-useable experiences, but they also try to do something eye-catching with the 3D scene. <i>Gaze of the Ghost </i>made far more use out of this, giving you more visual and spatial clues and developing the scene over the course of the timeline of the game. With that said, neither seemed to be truly maximising the 3D scene and could've delivered the same with a series of flat pictures - some more use of the 3D aspect would be nice to see in future games in this series.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The other way in which the mechanisms shine here is in how the cooperative system works. Each player has agency, making their own critical decisions about what information should be public and what information might be a red herring or not relevant to the story. Then, at the end of the game you really need to pool your shared knowledge, making it a really strong cooperative experience. Its slightly strange that you are then allowed to share information about the cards you threw away, but it works.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Overall, I'd definitely recommend <i>Bloody-Red Roses </i>for a lighter gaming audience who perhaps haven't taken on too many escape room or murder mystery games before. It'll be too easy for most, but it delivers a fun experience. I can't really recommend <i>Gaze of the Ghost</i>, but I do hope that the designers develop on this system, using the mechanisms in stronger ways like <i>Gaze of the Ghost</i> did, but just stringing the story together with a bit more logic.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>Everyone has a part to play in this cooperative game - you each learn different things along the way which you can share at the end.<br /></li><li>You can play <i>Decktective </i>while sitting on your sofa (we did!), so long as you have a coffee table or stool to lay cards out on.</li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>We found <i>Bloody-Red Roses</i> too easy and <i>The Gaze of the Ghost</i> too hard.<br /></li><li><i>Bloody-Red Roses </i>makes very little use out of the 3D scenery.<br /></li><li><i>The Gaze of the Ghost </i>involved huge leaps of logic, that didn't feel like much fun at all.<br /></li></ul><b><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div>The Verdict</span></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>5.5/10 </b>If you played and enjoyed the <a href="https://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/search?q=sherlock"><i>Sherlock</i></a> series, then this is a better implementation of a very similar system. For us, these two games made a pairing where one was too easy and the other too hard, but the system works pretty nicely, so hopefully another game in this series will hit the sweet spot for us in terms of difficulty. If they can do that and make great use of the 3D element, like in <i>The Gaze of the Ghost</i>, it'll probably be our favourite murder mystery style game.<b><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i> </i></b><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;"><i>Both </i>Decktective <i>titles were kindly provided as review copyies by </i>dV Giochi.</span></div></div><br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-90813230783271247872021-07-15T13:30:00.001+01:002021-07-15T13:30:00.198+01:00Thoughts from the Yellow Meeple:- Fired Up<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Fired Up<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope"> Drawlab Entertainment</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><span class="ng-scope">Giorgos Eleftheriadis, Theofilos Koutroubis </span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHkTqQ9d1_DOSR6P_mujC48zbQWYSInSn2lYUX2iIGM888OjIJB4oBIoHoi9LhX998X_0HXwqxVdEW830b2GSinWZO07iGOq7goTORyTY5YugtlD0Xvmr9wxpxG98xmBDxOy7ITalukc/s2048/pic4555626.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHkTqQ9d1_DOSR6P_mujC48zbQWYSInSn2lYUX2iIGM888OjIJB4oBIoHoi9LhX998X_0HXwqxVdEW830b2GSinWZO07iGOq7goTORyTY5YugtlD0Xvmr9wxpxG98xmBDxOy7ITalukc/w200-h200/pic4555626.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>Fired Up</i> is a competitive game for 2-5 players, set in a futuristic world where digital fighters are pit against each other in arena combat. However, the twist to the game is that players are playing as the audience and not the fighters themselves. As spectators you can bet of the outcome of the event, but you also have an influence on how the fight proceeds. You have huge influence from your premium seats, able to cheer and boo competitors, but also able to influence who they attack, who attacks first and who has the greatest attack or defence strength.</div><br />We first got the chance to try out <i>Fired Up</i> at the UK Games Expo a couple of years ago. After a couple of rounds we really impressed with how innovative the game was and how well it blended competitive gameplay with a game that felt almost cooperative. Now that we've had the chance to play the final version, let's see how it holds up to those positive first impressions.</div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Each player starts with a hand of four cards which describe a certain objective that you can obtain points for fulfilling in each round. Each round you'll pick two of these cards as your objectives and you'll refill to a hand of four to pick from in the next round. Objectives either describe something that happens during a fight, eg. all attacks are blocked, or something that happens in the setup before a fight eg. all fighters target one single fighter. Players then take turns to roll an hand of dice which will be used to manipulate the fighters. The dice faces can change the target of a fighter, increase their speed which will bump the up the turn order, add attack or defence value or boost or reduce fighter morale which puts a cap on the maximum attack or defence they can act with. There is a also a dice face to activate coins, which you can use as a wild dice face or spend to place bets on the fighters.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviMV7TuKbh9yWGLaFV9rumBcu0qgpbc1mC0wXl9LdpGKwks3U0y00qzB7jGjgscu3HTuejl_UtAr2OC7TCGANFAESaaQr_jntW3J2qTvIIRFKy-KaRoJO0SMy272dpaGTxMW3E1EEyYaq/s2048/2021-06-22+20.27.38.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1231" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviMV7TuKbh9yWGLaFV9rumBcu0qgpbc1mC0wXl9LdpGKwks3U0y00qzB7jGjgscu3HTuejl_UtAr2OC7TCGANFAESaaQr_jntW3J2qTvIIRFKy-KaRoJO0SMy272dpaGTxMW3E1EEyYaq/w400-h240/2021-06-22+20.27.38.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Each fighter can only be manipulated three times, and once all players have assigned all of their dice it will be time to fight. Fighters attack in numerical order, and attack and defence dice are rolled and compared. Hits and wounds may be the result of a fight, and the defender may even retaliate. As a result of running out of hit points, or being wounded three times, a fighter might be eliminated. In this phase, players will be considering their end game bets as well as their in round objectives to see if the conditions have been met, and points will be scored during the game for either or both. After four rounds the game will end and the player who has scored the most points over the course of the game will win.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh7jAu1kd2BYJx3eGZg9AfCd-6WCFda1otSL4KtPRdh8Kb2KxntLXFFmFAbsM2wgrGuiBeKNvnycS6DJ0h51I2IOHgrwlaKGRM2URnKNB7CDZM4rysDTdIEtqy24NiGw4PollBhDq9yrA/s2048/2021-06-22+20.29.54.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh7jAu1kd2BYJx3eGZg9AfCd-6WCFda1otSL4KtPRdh8Kb2KxntLXFFmFAbsM2wgrGuiBeKNvnycS6DJ0h51I2IOHgrwlaKGRM2URnKNB7CDZM4rysDTdIEtqy24NiGw4PollBhDq9yrA/w400-h305/2021-06-22+20.29.54.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Each round of <i>Fired Up</i> is its own puzzle. How will you achieve the criteria of both of your objective cards? Quite often it's not very simple and with other players also trying to set up the right conditions for their cards, you can find yourself in a tug of war, even through you're likely trying to achieve very different things. Taking the opportunity to activate a fighter for the final allowable time is your best chance of making your choices stick, but it's still no guarantee. Even after you're set up the perfect conditions, if your objective is a fight objective, it's likely you're still doing to need some dice luck to achieve the objective, especially at a high scoring level. There's a lot to think about to try and create your best chance of rolling the right thing, but you still might fail, which can be quite disappointment after all of the effort you spent. It does often feel easier, or at least more assured to get an objective which can be fulfilled before the fight phase, but they are much less common in the deck.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtCLWf-S2GXK956RHKH5SQsB1wZzya4f96X9rFbAv3qs9seId2_LTp2mQ9jEDEqdkB_AonI-pOvAmH6EeTH9VqoWCCkkSCmSDAaCdQ5oabkpsE15XGvHzZWZaysooInm9I0o-9JflLhMo/s2048/2021-06-22+20.29.09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="2048" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtCLWf-S2GXK956RHKH5SQsB1wZzya4f96X9rFbAv3qs9seId2_LTp2mQ9jEDEqdkB_AonI-pOvAmH6EeTH9VqoWCCkkSCmSDAaCdQ5oabkpsE15XGvHzZWZaysooInm9I0o-9JflLhMo/w400-h223/2021-06-22+20.29.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's no doubt that<i> Fired Up </i>creates a competitive experience. With two players it can be a quite solo experience on some turns, when the stars align so that you can both achieve your objectives without interaction, while other turns will be a very intense back and forth. We haven't played with more players, but I imagine there is even more tug of war with everyone trying to optimise conditions for themselves. With that said, because you're all manipulating a central spectacle, there's an almost cooperative feel to the game which really messes with my mind. During the fighting phase I find myself really confused, with it being very hard to keep track of which fighter is attacking and which is defending. It's really important to know exactly what's going on, but my brain can't seem to comprehend the lack of owning a certain character. It's quite bewildering for me to play the game at times.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Fired Up</i> feels like such a unique game experience, that I can't imagine not keeping it in my collection. It's so refreshing to have an arena combat, or just a fighting game in general, where there's no in your face competitiveness. However, be warned, the tug of war to try and line up your objectives can be just as a aggressive. I'm not always happy when I'm playing this game because it can be annoying to set up perfect conditions and then have another player back track, but I do love how the game is a series of short objectives to keep everyone engaged. If you're looking for something a little different that stands out with both its production and mechanisms, then Fired Up is certainly worth seeking out. For the Yellow Meeple though, it's a <b>6.5/10.</b></div><b style="color: orange;"></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>Fired Up</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-13979259432768520282021-07-13T13:00:00.002+01:002021-07-15T18:12:28.276+01:00Gladiators, Ready:- Fired Up<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Fired Up<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope"> Drawlab Entertainment</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><span class="ng-scope">Giorgos Eleftheriadis, Theofilos Koutroubis </span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHkTqQ9d1_DOSR6P_mujC48zbQWYSInSn2lYUX2iIGM888OjIJB4oBIoHoi9LhX998X_0HXwqxVdEW830b2GSinWZO07iGOq7goTORyTY5YugtlD0Xvmr9wxpxG98xmBDxOy7ITalukc/s2048/pic4555626.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHkTqQ9d1_DOSR6P_mujC48zbQWYSInSn2lYUX2iIGM888OjIJB4oBIoHoi9LhX998X_0HXwqxVdEW830b2GSinWZO07iGOq7goTORyTY5YugtlD0Xvmr9wxpxG98xmBDxOy7ITalukc/w200-h200/pic4555626.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>Fired Up</i> is a 2-5 player arena combat game with a twist. Instead of each player having a character of their own to fight in the arena, they are spectators able to watch, and influence, the ongoing game. Your goal is not necessarily to support any individual fighter, but to manipulate the spectacle to become the most enjoyable show for your own personal tastes. Perhaps you like the best warriors fighting head to head, or the little guy making a comeback? Of course nothing increases your enjoyment more than winning a bet, so you can do that too. Perhaps with a little clever manipulation you can make your bet come true! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">At the start of the game five combatants are drawn and placed on the arena, each has a miniature which illustrates which way they are facing and therefore which opponent they will be attacking, and a character board which presents all of the other useful information, health, wounds, morale and current combat strength and defence along with their unique special ability. Players will then draw up to four spectator cards and choose two for the round, these are the objectives that tell you what you want to see happen this round. They can be anything from powerful hits during the combat round, to the weakest fighter squaring up against the strongest when the combat round begins. Once cards have been chosen the manipulation can begin. <br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Each player will roll their dice (with a reroll allowed should they not like the results) and then use a number of dice to manipulate a single fighter. There are six die faces which each allow you to change different things. The speed face lets you change the order that combatants will fight in, while the target face changes who a fighter fights. The strength/defence face lets you increase their stats, while the morale face lets you change (up or down), a fighter’s morale, which sets the limit to how high their stats can be. It's hard to be your best when the audience is booing you! The 2x die lets you copy another die you rolled, while the coin die lets you place bets and/or buy dice of other faces. Each fighter can only be manipulated three times per round. After all players have used their dice, combat begins. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJufqOisUE0QCikOMH5RUZ1RQa9emnE_rmo3iqT9q0iqqLl6de86V7Fln963POKmnkkZ1g31Siouru9mxuQKHZ97nLl-kf8McFucZsfENqZ6KbFxBVfwWzE7Z6kHm_XurYoCUV4LdQ1U9-/s2048/2021-06-22+20.27.38.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1231" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJufqOisUE0QCikOMH5RUZ1RQa9emnE_rmo3iqT9q0iqqLl6de86V7Fln963POKmnkkZ1g31Siouru9mxuQKHZ97nLl-kf8McFucZsfENqZ6KbFxBVfwWzE7Z6kHm_XurYoCUV4LdQ1U9-/w400-h240/2021-06-22+20.27.38.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fighters square off. Each fighter has a board with glass beads tracking their current strength, defence and morale.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Combat is simple, though a touch clunky to understand; in speed order each fighter attacks the fighter they are facing by rolling a number of attack dice equal to their attack stat. The defender rolls defence dice equal to their defence stat and then the dice are compared. Dice faces represent body parts that are attacked/defended, legs, torsos, arms, heads, special attacks/.defences and blanks for misses. Matching die faces represent attacks that were blocked, multiple attacks to the same area have the potential to cause wounds (an alternate way to remove characters), and even a strong enough defence might result in a counterattack. While this is happening players are likely to be revealing their objective cards and scoring points based on the results of the fights. There are three potential bets during the game, which may be along the lines of first fighter to cause a wound, or first fighter to be knocked out. Should these events occur then any bets on that category is revealed and points given out to players who bet correctly. After four rounds the game ends and the player with the most points wins. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Fired up </i>is a novel concept, a combat game where you don't have skin in the game, none of the fighters belong to anyone. This decreases the conflict in the game as a certain character being picked on in less devastating when it isn't a single<i> player</i> being targeted. It also allows for 'player elimination' without... eliminating players. The game doesn't become less fun for anyone when a fighter is removed, well, unless you bet on someone else going out first! The gambling and manipulation of the fighters all feels like Hunger Games, with the wealthy audience making almost as much impact as the fighter’s individual talents. Sure some fighters might have a higher potential stat, but when they have spent all game being demoralised then they won't be able to get above 2-3 dice. There can be moments of frustration when a player immediately counters your manipulation, but since each fighter can only be manipulated three times a round, sooner or later the changes are locked in. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsNLD5RedtHbyz6eRSDaON2XgjKkuiKR_NI5O9o4jAv40xuSvLtTNfZqdASkCReryLKft0FShhD57bG6S9gus-Gw8fxwE9YaKdqywjUBEOKsiNkY73UTL5OhcN5e4xnETrGYlYcTmjfbv/s2048/2021-06-22+20.29.09.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="2048" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsNLD5RedtHbyz6eRSDaON2XgjKkuiKR_NI5O9o4jAv40xuSvLtTNfZqdASkCReryLKft0FShhD57bG6S9gus-Gw8fxwE9YaKdqywjUBEOKsiNkY73UTL5OhcN5e4xnETrGYlYcTmjfbv/w400-h223/2021-06-22+20.29.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The objective cards represent what you want to see, in this case a large number of special defence dice and a large number of special attack dice. Looks like you'll spend the round making the combatants as strong as possible.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The objectives you have to work towards are extremely clever, combining strategising and planning with luck and even a little bit of push your luck. You might have a requirement to see an attack deal damage, but gain bonus points if the attack did three damage and even more points if it also caused a wound. Do you cash that in early on the round when a meek fighter got off a lucky hit, or hold and hope that the slower bruiser pulls of that wound for those extra points? The only issue being if that bruiser fluffs their roll then you could walk away with nothing! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Overall <i>Fired Up</i> is a game unlike any other, its uniqueness alone should be enough to earn itself a place on my shelf. If you like the idea of a combat-heavy arena game, but don't like the conflict that that causes between friends, then <i>Fired Up</i> is the game for you. While you do have enough ability to change the game in your favour to feel like victories are earned, the bulk of the game has you feeling like an audience member of a sporting contest. You'll cheer when things go well and die a little inside when your chosen athlete doesn't achieve what they are capable of. That is assuming that you don't get hung up on the slightly weird combat system. It's simple enough, but not intuitive, and it's important that everyone properly understands it so they know how easy/difficult their objective cards are. While it's not a perfect game, <i>Fired Up</i> has me feeling like a proper sports fan, without the awkwardness of being themed on a real life sport that I typically find dreadfully dull. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">8/10 </div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>Fired Up</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-72995582237104434092021-07-09T13:31:00.001+01:002021-07-09T13:31:00.198+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Fort: Cats & Dogs Expansion<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Fort: Cats & Dogs Expansion</span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Leder Games<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b>Nick Brachmann, Grant Rodiek</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i> </i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82U0hADmLhsNcyXtxuH8BtlD0XJ5OEX6Ej8ZYLBkOyj9Gw-U7cIRMX_xg5sLk5bqNQvYPz5hdW5kozwlt0BiEf9_-QQxsD61OyOXKfVKmgq2mPKhU7rl1HStUp4kcukBf09arMBAA-co/s1080/FortCaDExpansion-Cover-1080px.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="780" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82U0hADmLhsNcyXtxuH8BtlD0XJ5OEX6Ej8ZYLBkOyj9Gw-U7cIRMX_xg5sLk5bqNQvYPz5hdW5kozwlt0BiEf9_-QQxsD61OyOXKfVKmgq2mPKhU7rl1HStUp4kcukBf09arMBAA-co/w144-h200/FortCaDExpansion-Cover-1080px.png" width="144" /></a></div><br /><i>Fort: Cats & Dogs</i> is the first expansion for <i><a href="https://thegameshelf.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-game-shelf-reviews-fort.html">Fort</a> </i>- a deck-building game from Grant Rodiek with charming artwork from Kyle Ferrin.<i> </i>If you enjoyed figuring out which of the children characters in<i> Fort</i> were most like you as a child then you're almost guaranteed to enjoy identifying which dog or cat is channeling either you, or your furry friend.<i></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><br /></i><i>Fort: Cats & Dogs </i>contains two modular expansions, which, unsurprisingly are cats...and dogs. Cats are fickle creatures who run between players based on whoever most recently caught their attention. Dogs are also rather fickle though, and will run away if left in your yard (fair!), but will become loyal if you give them a place to sleep in your dog house. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Cats and Dogs</i> naturally builds off the base game's gameplay. In case you are unaware, in <i>Fort </i>your objective is to build your... fort. You'll need to gain both toys and pizzas to bribe the other kids into helping you do so. On your turn you'll play one kid card, which will have two powers on it, a private power and a public power which anyone can perform with you by discarding a kid of the matching suit. Many cards can be powered up by adding more cards of the same suit, you might have a card that gives you one pizza per skateboard for example. At the end of your turn any kids you didn't play with go to your yard rather than your discard, you then can recruit one kid, either from the common market, or from anyone else's yard. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The Cats module adds cats to the game. These are fluffy and cute and everybody loves them, so there are bonus points for having them in your yard at the end of the game. However being the fickle creatures you'd expect, there's no way to guarantee a cat will stay in your yard. At the end of any player's turn, should they have met the requirement of a cat (such as having no kids in your yard, or having played a certain number of kids from one suit) then that cat will saunter over to provide them company. Whilst you have a cat in your yard you gain use of its power, but remember that such a blessing is only temporary as they will soon leave for a neighbour with enticing treats. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA84Qdf1yZfxd5VG2nXZJprChWBb_5nE2Sdq4d2ZMu52GnzeFkjkgCueIwPpmsrlU00g1QsgQ4MSmaOWdX3yJgmm_yJdpA9lhSssJff8bsvcMV1NHOHPv4hraJyEx5fwU_cMfibeWO8pek/s2048/2021-07-04+17.13.20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="2048" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA84Qdf1yZfxd5VG2nXZJprChWBb_5nE2Sdq4d2ZMu52GnzeFkjkgCueIwPpmsrlU00g1QsgQ4MSmaOWdX3yJgmm_yJdpA9lhSssJff8bsvcMV1NHOHPv4hraJyEx5fwU_cMfibeWO8pek/w400-h231/2021-07-04+17.13.20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>The Dogs module adds man’s best friend to the game. These are fluffy and cute and everybody loves them, so there are bonus points for having the most in your dog house at the end of the game. Each player will be dealt a couple of dogs at the start of the game instead of two of the kids you'd normally start with. Each dog can be played just like a kid card, but often has requirements such as having your fort at a certain level, or having a number of kids in your lookout. Once played they typically have a private power, so there's no following by your opponents, before being added to your dog house. However, if you don't play a dog card then it will go to your yard, and at the start of your next turn it will dig its way into your neighbours discard pile! If you don't give dogs the love they deserve and you'll soon lose them!
<br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amy’s Final Thoughts</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">When we first reviewed <i>Fort</i> last year we were struck by the incredible charm of the games theme. Adding cats and dogs to the game only helped cement the sense of childhood wonder to the game. However I was also struck by some of the slightly unusual choices in the game, starting with a random deck of cards in a deckbuilding game occasionally allowed for one player to have an unusually good start compared to someone else, and the ability to recruit from other player's 'discards' resulted in a game when your carefully constructed deck could be completely deconstructed should your opponents wish to. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">With the addition of the Dogs this first issue has been somewhat changed, you now have two less random cards, replaced with dogs that you likely can't play until half way through the game, by which point they'll have changed hands half a dozen times.
If you didn't like how the kids weren't very loyal in the base game, you'll find a similar issue in how dogs and cats are passed round the table. With the cats it generally feels good as you have to play a certain way to attract a cat, making it hard to get more than one in a round, while your opponents each have a chance to steal it back before you can use their power. This creates a good back and forth, is it worth having a less efficient turn for the sake of getting back that cat? The in-game abilities of cats were generally worth the effort, but knowing that anyone else could take them back meant you couldn't ever rely on them. The points for cats at the end of the game are minor, so the balance is really about their in game use. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjPaV5_Ex1KprHIkJD3AF2nazO31kJVy0xreFx0zdzb7m5wGSOhNMyAyhCZzNbryzLabAK3PRO3F_Gh7-EdUIU5AzeJlUGM5X32GMJ_aLTSXgylJZ1YXcopfJkpwp_aGPXkqUJOFeDjBH/s2048/2021-06-27+19.12.15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1613" data-original-width="2048" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjPaV5_Ex1KprHIkJD3AF2nazO31kJVy0xreFx0zdzb7m5wGSOhNMyAyhCZzNbryzLabAK3PRO3F_Gh7-EdUIU5AzeJlUGM5X32GMJ_aLTSXgylJZ1YXcopfJkpwp_aGPXkqUJOFeDjBH/w400-h315/2021-06-27+19.12.15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div>With the dogs module that changes. There's a good amount of points for having the most dogs at the end of the game, but their in game powers never felt as good as they should do for the requirements needed. The main benefit is that your opponent can't follow them, certainly in a two player game not following your opponent every turn is the exception rather than the norm, so being able to do an action by yourself could be what wins you the game. However the dogs are generally weaker than kids, and certainly weaker than some of the kids when backed up by a few cards of their suit, so are you willing to do less powerful actions for the sake of the end game reward? </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Overall<i> Cats and Dogs</i> helps highlight the best bits of <i>Fort </i>while downplaying some of the potential weaknesses. Neither of the modules add a huge chunk to the game and even with both added in I can imagine a player winning whilst essentially ignoring them. However, they are fun, and thematic (if you have a dog that constantly runs away from home anyway). If you’re looking for an excuse to bring <i>Fort</i> back to the table, then some furry friends will be just the ticket!</div></div><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div>Fi’s Final Thoughts</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">There's no denying how cute this expansion is! We don't often get into the theme of games, so when we talk about our turns it probably sounds very dull, but when playing with this expansion, we were very excited to be playing Pumpkin, or attracting Jitters and it definitely added a lot of joy to our games.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">We've always considered Fort to be quite a tricky deck-building game. Crafting a deck that really works can be extremely difficult, so I was glad to find that this expansion doesn't really add to that complexity - the difficulty of the game remains the same. The cats are the most light touch addition and I don't think you'd suffer too badly if you ignored them all together, however, their minor bonuses are really tempting and it's always fun to figure out if you can attract one of the cats on your turn - I just wouldn't tank my whole turn for one of the cats, no matter how cute! It can be pretty annoying if the cat gets stolen from you before you've even had the chance to use it though, which doesn't seem to happen often at 2-players but could happen more with more players. The downside of the cats at a lower player count is that there are only two in the game, so their end game scoring potential is very low.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUK87YAGQ3yr6CZGLQMpkWxY0cZwOkTrmLW9qLlt3dtOnjLqOH0l7ZSAnnKWFo7Ujkwye7qimteYvtp2gRTEpkQ8ttcowJ_tEh5QYepj1LtPaZ9f-7QwQBwKKr7QjBLuc9bN1CwRW6EOJI/s2048/2021-07-04+17.11.09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1679" data-original-width="2048" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUK87YAGQ3yr6CZGLQMpkWxY0cZwOkTrmLW9qLlt3dtOnjLqOH0l7ZSAnnKWFo7Ujkwye7qimteYvtp2gRTEpkQ8ttcowJ_tEh5QYepj1LtPaZ9f-7QwQBwKKr7QjBLuc9bN1CwRW6EOJI/w400-h328/2021-07-04+17.11.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The dogs, on the other hand will reward you a good chunk of points if you have the most dogs in your dog house at the end of the game. Choosing whether to go for the dogs is a tough judgement call though. It's your whole turn, and although their abilities can be powerful it often seems like a less good option than really powering up one of your other cards. On the other hand, once you've started investing, you might as well keep going to win the bonus. The other thing that can be tricky with the dogs is that they can dilute the focus of your deck because you can't control when you're going to inherit dogs into your deck - having them around can stop you having a good turn, rather like drawing your victory point cards in a game of <i>Dominion.</i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Cats & Dogs</i> doesn't do anything huge to change up the formula of <i>Fort</i>, but it does add some lovely thematic fun. For me, the cats were the more accessible module and I would add those to every game. I was not such a fan of the dogs and might only add those every so often, which is a shame, because their characters are so very lovely!<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>The cats are a subtle way to push you into playing your turn in a certain way, which can be a fun challenge.<br /></li><li><i>Cats & Dogs</i> is a super cute expansion to an already endearing game.<br /></li><li>Both expansions mix seamlessly with the base game.<br /></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>The behaviour of the cats and dogs could've been more thematic.</li><li>The dog cards can dilute your strategy because you can't control which dogs you get from other players.<br /></li><li>Both expansion modules are fun to use, but also easy to ignore.<br /></li></ul><b><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div>The Verdict</span></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>7/10<i> </i></b>Gameplay-wise,<i> Cats & Dogs</i> doesn't seem like an essential expansion, but for most players who love Fort it will probably be essential simply because of its wonderful characters.<b><i> </i></b>Both modules can be thrown into a game without any real lengthening or added complexity, but the cats were probably the one we enjoyed playing with more.<b><i> </i></b>They're funny, thematic and<b><i> </i></b>cause you to think about another layer on your turn without completely changing your plans.<br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Fort: Cats & Dogs Expansion <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by </i>Leder Games<i>. We received an advanced copy and pre-orders will open for this expansion in early July 2021.</i></span></div></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-56122534046266789222021-06-30T13:00:00.001+01:002021-06-30T13:00:00.376+01:00The Game Shelf Reviews:- Go Dotty<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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</p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Go Dotty</span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> (Self-Published)<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b>Neil Barrie</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2019</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0clgXxDk_obtYSqo09xqziaimNJZeGBO5jpKe1h9PM9Ihra8_YY4ME6-qM8Sr3yetTk-ncZmTgKZ2dcapTWINEhY0m4DxySJvgHULNFGQf8CVACzrej25wQOeNfGPeZjBfghyFgfMXSU/s900/pic4536030.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="545" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0clgXxDk_obtYSqo09xqziaimNJZeGBO5jpKe1h9PM9Ihra8_YY4ME6-qM8Sr3yetTk-ncZmTgKZ2dcapTWINEhY0m4DxySJvgHULNFGQf8CVACzrej25wQOeNfGPeZjBfghyFgfMXSU/w121-h200/pic4536030.jpg" width="121" /></a></div><br />Perhaps the most overused phrase on this site in the last 12 months has been 'puzzly tile laying game'. We are enjoying them so much and find that they are perfect games for two players who only have 30-45 minutes to spare after long days at work. We have reviewed many and have a large collection that all justify their shelf space for different reasons. <br /><br />This addiction to the genre led us to decide to give <i>Go Dotty </i>a chance. It's definitely a lesser known game, by an independent publisher, but it does have a listing on BoardGameGeek and is available to <a href="https://www.godottygame.com/product/go-dotty/">purchase directly</a> in the UK and a number of other countries, including the US and Canada.<i> Go Dotty</i> is an abstract tile-laying game for 2-players that plays in around 20-30 minutes.</div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</b><p class="MsoNormal">A game of <i>Go Dotty</i> starts with each player drawing a hand of
five tiles from their bag. Each of these tiles is a square with a number from
one to four on each side. Players will take turns placing a single tile onto
the 7x7 game board grid before refilling their hand to five. Each tile must be
placed next to at least one tile already present on the board, with all sides
of the tile matching the number present on their neighbours.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iF2i3-vVAEIET5lYuWALdL3uKWlCEj004KnmPm6EUDbpIgpxlvX1QuZMKbaXiekThDgfJpmChn0Wni96MDz1dvFxqZ4V_exBRYUXiQfP71oqSKfTHF9AGBUxBeECTemyiGnuM7wEhpOK/s2048/2021-06-22+20.21.44.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iF2i3-vVAEIET5lYuWALdL3uKWlCEj004KnmPm6EUDbpIgpxlvX1QuZMKbaXiekThDgfJpmChn0Wni96MDz1dvFxqZ4V_exBRYUXiQfP71oqSKfTHF9AGBUxBeECTemyiGnuM7wEhpOK/w400-h225/2021-06-22+20.21.44.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your objective is to make as many lines of three in your
colour as possible. These lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
However under no circumstances are you allowed to create a line of four, every
time you create a line of three you have created a space on either side which
you cannot place a standard tile. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is a special tile which can only be placed at the end of a line of three which
then blocks your opponent from playing on any of the surrounding spaces. should
you be unable to place a tile you may discard a tile to draw another, the game
ends either when the board is filled, or when a player has discarded their
third tile.</p></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amy’s Final Thoughts</b></span><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Go Dotty</i> attempts to bring a fresh coat of paint to old game
mechanics. The hand of tiles with numbers on the sides instantly brings to mind
Dominoes, while the creating lines on a grid is reminiscent of Connect Four or
Tic Tac Toe. The added complexity of this merger seeks to create something new
and interesting, and it does <i>somewhat</i> succeed. Having a hand of five
tiles at any one time lets you engineer situations where it’s highly unlikely
your opponent has the right tile to block you, while you are sitting happily on
the exact tile needed to plug that gap. Conversely sometimes you can be
desperate to place a tile in a space, only to be thwarted for half the game as
you simply won’t draw the tile you need.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhj_IPxr8mBx-XbG7JUuiaLxiba-Y_QUhQpsS-fWpopsYIV1tpMYlKuKAFCs2l0NQN3Z9xKb3DHaJKa42wBtm7y2zAiiGGZlx-8fznxaRZhzccbIFKdNk0dba6Ql3J88yImC0Rlx-loaY6/s2048/2021-06-22+20.22.38.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1441" data-original-width="2048" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhj_IPxr8mBx-XbG7JUuiaLxiba-Y_QUhQpsS-fWpopsYIV1tpMYlKuKAFCs2l0NQN3Z9xKb3DHaJKa42wBtm7y2zAiiGGZlx-8fznxaRZhzccbIFKdNk0dba6Ql3J88yImC0Rlx-loaY6/w400-h281/2021-06-22+20.22.38.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Go Dotty</i> was at its best when played aggressively, aiming
to make as many situations where your opponent couldn’t block you even if they
tried. Countering this, blocking moves were the most fun when they also opened
up new opportunities. When we found ourselves both playing defensively it did
become extremely hard to score any points at all, which in turn didn’t feel
much fun for either player. The hand of tiles often led to a logistical puzzle
of how best to rotate and place tiles in order to make hard-to-play squares
that you just happened to have. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This all leads to a successful abstract game, albeit one
with a touch more luck involved than most. But the focus on old-school game
mechanics leaves it in a strange place; simultaneously a touch too complex to
have that retro feel, and a bit too retro to inspire modern gamers. <i>Go Dotty</i>
suffers from being a perfectly average game in a world where average is
no-longer good enough.</p>
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<![endif]--></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b><br /></b></div>Fi’s Final Thoughts</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i>Go Dotty</i> reminds me most of a classic game of<i> Connect Four</i>. It's the same type of challenge to try and create an opportunity that means you have two available spots to place a tile and score a line of three - that way you can't get blocked. Of course, in <i>Connect Four</i>, you only need to do this once to win, whereas in <i>Go Dotty</i>, you'll just keep trying to do it again, and again, which made it out-stay it welcome for me, even on the smaller side of the board. There is more complexity here though because there are extra ways in which you might try and create an un-blockable opportunity. The fact that you can only make lines of three, and never extend them does create more interest in the board and you might take a risk and sit on one of these safe opportunities, hoping that your opponent doesn't have the blocking tile in their available hand.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Besides creating those un-blockable opportunities, you do have to decided whether to be aggressive or defensive in how you play, and, as Amy mentions, aggressive seems to be coming out on top. An aggressive strategy can lead to you really conquering an area of the board and a clump of your colour can quickly contain four of five scoring lines of three. Finally, and pretty weirdly, it's very easy to just force the end of the game if you're ahead. All you need to do it perform a swap of three of your tiles and you can force game over. This is the worst described area of the rulebook and makes very little sense, but, if you play by the rules and are playing with two players (you can't play this game with more than 2-players but the rulebook does state <i><u>if</u></i> it's a two-player game) then you can just end the game early.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Overall, there can be a few good moments in <i>Go Dotty </i>where careful planning or some cunning moves do allow you to have a real feeling of success, but this is outweighed by too much luck, a game length that feels longer than it should be and a bit of a lack of polish. Both visually and gameplay-wise it just feels graphically poor and out of touch with either mass-market and hobby game needs.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>Sometimes you get the change to plan ahead and create perfect spots for future success.</li><li>There are some hidden moments of depth in creating un-blockable opportunities.</li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>The artwork is not very eye-catching.</li><li>You can get lucky and draw the perfect tile you need, or not...</li><li>The game can descend into a boring spiral of just trying to block each other's every move.</li></ul><b><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div>The Verdict</span></b></div><div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>4.5/10</b> <i>Go Dotty </i>is not a great game. It doesn't have enough polish and elegance to make it as a mass market game, but its mechanisms aren't enough to impress a gamer audience. It can create a thoughtful moment or two during the game, but overall it's just quite bland in both looks and gameplay and had too much luck for our taste. If you enjoy <i>Connect Four</i> and <i>Qwirkle</i>, it might be worth a look, but I'm not sure it really stands up to either of those games.</div></div><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"> </span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;">Go Dotty <i>was a review copy kindly provided to us by the designer.</i></span></div></div></div><p></p>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-26150342562408160622021-06-22T13:00:00.001+01:002021-06-22T13:00:00.223+01:00The Game Shelf Previews:- Villagers: Shifting Seasons<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9beZbuyOOXlOL3ZIS98qvtrmZf43CLtXD6qjUSiyySJWjnm-c9trdYizP-s4WwuorECY6tkgFwB73Nx_5uEhyTyLJL10u8hbDbeoJ685GrlB-ApJuUHK1gy8hmc0vqz1Ioib6u3S8Vfry/s1434/VillagersShiftingCard.PNG" name="twitter:image"></meta>
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Villagers: Shifting Seasons<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> Sinister Fish Games<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><b></b> <span class="ng-scope"> Haakon Gaarder</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2022</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdq7QOVcNOQFKJH-leAR33bdp5JnuOmvt16Gbv8G5Yqn0NFDy6Va29NADg7w2l_6aTruLX-5Ud4QDA61y0IEq63iRaqQC_-kWMd-k3zBQ11_pvI9AZTOCxR03QmiwaM5TZrTe5P0Fy-t2/s2048/pic6205805.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdq7QOVcNOQFKJH-leAR33bdp5JnuOmvt16Gbv8G5Yqn0NFDy6Va29NADg7w2l_6aTruLX-5Ud4QDA61y0IEq63iRaqQC_-kWMd-k3zBQ11_pvI9AZTOCxR03QmiwaM5TZrTe5P0Fy-t2/w200-h113/pic6205805.png" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/241724/villagers"><i>Villagers</i></a> was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2018. Its charming artwork and clever tableau building gameplay really charmed backers and made this small card game from a UK-based publisher into a huge Kickstarter success. This month, Sinister Fish will be back on Kickstarter with a new expansion, <i>Shifting Seasons</i>. <i>Shifting Seasons </i>adds a collection of modular expansions, including seasonal event cards, a new clay suit, helpful builder and harvest teams and an all new solo mode.<br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">It's coming to Kickstarter on Tuesday 29th June. Should you be looking out for this expansion, or perhaps picking up the base game with all of its glorious Kickstarter content?</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><b style="color: orange;"></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;">Gameplay</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"> </b></div>Before we look to what <i>Shifting Seasons</i> adds, here's a quick overview of the original game. The game starts with a market of face up cards each representing a potential villager with a career which you can add to your village. The game is split up into two main phases; during the first you will draft cards from the market into your hand. At the start of the game you'll only be able to draft two villagers per turn, but as your village generates more food you'll be able to draft more people each turn. The next phase lets you play the villagers from your hand into your village, by default you can place two villagers per turn, but over the course of the game you can increase this too. Many villagers unlock other careers, for example the blacksmith is needed for most careers that work with metal. When you play a villager with a requirement you must pay the bank, or the player that owns that prerequisite villager, a couple of coins. Eventually enough villagers will be drafted that a scoring round happens, during this many of your villagers will generate money, and after the second scoring round the game will end. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduKBk2l1hIDL3YAoOK7c5HYXgSRXCKciOoEeaHrt4hBiVFaAoN9mIV-YMP-608A4dMeFLj5mhyi6mzsOXaCN_pvF1ZgZcl6x87EFT_u30pgo7LxTDt7y4iOEaMtqvmoKDFqNRlbGtgdvq/s2048/2021-06-08+11.28.40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="2048" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduKBk2l1hIDL3YAoOK7c5HYXgSRXCKciOoEeaHrt4hBiVFaAoN9mIV-YMP-608A4dMeFLj5mhyi6mzsOXaCN_pvF1ZgZcl6x87EFT_u30pgo7LxTDt7y4iOEaMtqvmoKDFqNRlbGtgdvq/w400-h248/2021-06-08+11.28.40.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><br /></i></div><i>Shifting Seasons</i> changes things up in numerous ways. Firstly there is the addition of the titular seasons. Each pile of villagers in the market that doesn't hide the mid or end game scoring cards will instead hide a season card. When that pile empties the previous season card becomes inactive and the newly revealed one activates. These give a variety of bonuses, either instant effects or ongoing changes. Further pushing the shifting theme there is a new game mode where the starting villagers are randomised instead of being fixed. No-longer can you guarantee that your burgeoning village will have a carpenter, blacksmith and cooper, you may find yourself buying in horseshoes for longer than you might be used to! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Lastly the expansion introduces a few new villager cards. The Clay suit of villagers gets added to replace the grapes suit, or as an additional suit at higher player counts. They act much the same as the existing sets of villagers but add some additional variety to the game. Additionally you can optionally play with the 'teams' villagers. These villagers are gained by discarding a pair of cards from your hand to become a team, which in turn provide building/food bonuses, letting you start your empire up sooner.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amy’s Final Thoughts</b></span></div></div><p><i>Villagers</i> is a game with a simple concept and relatively simple gameplay, but nonetheless has managed to carve a name for itself by doing what it does incredibly well. Sure, the theme might be a touch on the dry side, but the way that players each end up spending money to hire each other's craftspeople makes the village theme come to life. There's an economy that naturally builds as the villagers are dependent on each other's skills. The gameplay mechanics are little more than simple drafting, but the small twists, such as being able to discard cards face down on the top of stacks only to draft 'blind' off those stacks later, allow for interactions that a simple drafting game couldn't provide. </p><p>So with such a solid platform to launch off of, how does <i>Shifting Seasons </i>change the game? I was most impressed by the season cards themselves. Not only do they add more variety to the game with different season combinations. But since the season effects are visible to everyone you can plan for them. Suddenly discarding cards during the build phase lets you delay summer that extra round, just long enough for you to be prepared to make maximum use of the free money put on all your craftspeople! The season cards encourage you to play differently to make the most of them, holding back cards you would previously have played, or playing cards in an order that might not have traditionally made sense. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7d5NC9FrZ33PqozeAds_UcZVenG5IOpvjGU8lJJWTCvQ4yq1BKKkdVOCEJ_ucTpDhseBejepc8rUDNrmgDdj3M8UEpk_EV88Yi615-bMb8jiFhp-5Uj3NshDkWNmLZBlke4r-nco2qK4/s2528/2021-06-08+11.33.22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="2528" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7d5NC9FrZ33PqozeAds_UcZVenG5IOpvjGU8lJJWTCvQ4yq1BKKkdVOCEJ_ucTpDhseBejepc8rUDNrmgDdj3M8UEpk_EV88Yi615-bMb8jiFhp-5Uj3NshDkWNmLZBlke4r-nco2qK4/w400-h196/2021-06-08+11.33.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>While the seasons are a great addition to the game, the other changes are less strong. The new game setup where you shuffle the full villager deck and randomly seed the market can result in craftspeople coming out too late to be worth using, which in turn destroys the inter-player economy that the game normally encourages. This was likely exacerbated at a low player count where fewer villagers appear in each game. The clay suit felt like more of the same, which isn't a bad thing as such, but felt like a slight missed opportunity to represent improving technology in the village. Lastly the teams were a perfectly fine addition to the game, offering a good way to survive getting a bad draft in the first round. They fix a potential issue in the base game and as such I don't think I'd ever play without them, but they aren't exciting. </p><p></p><p>Ultimately, <i>Shifting Seasons </i>is an expansion that will bring <i>Villagers</i> back to the table for fans of the base game, and it keeps the game fresh! While some of the modules are less strong, none of them are bad and you certainly can add them all in without adding much complexity to the game. The seasons are a fantastic addition to the game and worth the expansion in itself.</p><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div>Fi’s Final Thoughts</b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><b style="color: orange;"> </b></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Villagers </i>is a really elegant card drafting and tableau building game, which has just the right amount of player interaction for our tastes. Most of the game is spent focusing on your own tableau, creating chains of villagers and synergies, but you also need to be mindful of what other players are building to make sure you are not giving away too much money paying the blacksmith or the carpenter in order to add cards to your own tableau. These synergies help you to craft a new strategy each game and also feel really thematic because they make sense in the context of creating a small community where each villager has a role that helps others to complete their craft.</span></span><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo1yVqI7RRmnc1WpFbl_6FgF10WF0A_BUCd9j7iTLaOJ2irn8ke9AoiCgylwT8f4YfZJRdBcRLTQiAGm5DV3Gu8WBVnVa2DWtNr9PJtSwc9P8TywgVWM65HDUkDxKo0pX3KKH2ZQRU0fg/s2605/2021-06-08+11.27.02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="2605" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo1yVqI7RRmnc1WpFbl_6FgF10WF0A_BUCd9j7iTLaOJ2irn8ke9AoiCgylwT8f4YfZJRdBcRLTQiAGm5DV3Gu8WBVnVa2DWtNr9PJtSwc9P8TywgVWM65HDUkDxKo0pX3KKH2ZQRU0fg/w400-h185/2021-06-08+11.27.02.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Shifting Seasons </i>does not do a great deal to change up the game, but there are some nice touches. The four events - one for each season - which are added to the bottom of the four non-scoring market stacks can give you some nice goals to focus your strategy towards and I liked that they are visible from the start of the game so that they're not a random event that might benefit some players and not others by sheer luck. I also like that many of the events cause you to maybe draft some extra cards into your hand which might not be useful on the tableau, but can e used for an event - this gives you an extra something to think about and also an option for when the available cards might not suit you in the drafting phase. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The addition of the Builder Team and Harvest Team also feels like a nice change. It can give you quite a big boost early in the game to be able to draft or play more cards, although you might suffer later because it costs you two cards to get them, so you might struggle to have enough card choices in your hand later in the game. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><b style="color: orange;"></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">I certainly wouldn't classify <i>Shifting Seasons </i>as an essential expansion, but if you have room in the base game box for some extra content, then the events and builder and harvest teams feel like content we would never play without. However, if you are new to <i>Villagers</i>, then the upcoming Kickstarter would be a great time to jump in and get some of the extra goodies - we especially like the playmat, but do note that it doesn't have a spot for the Builder Team and Harvest Team cards from the new expansion.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Like...</b></span><ul><li>The event cards provide an opportunity to give the game new focus.<br /></li><li>The new category of clay villagers can be added in at any player count, by swapping out other villagers.<br /></li><li>The new modular expansions in no way over complicate the game, they just add a small dash of something new and fresh.<br /></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You Might Not Like...</b></span><ul><li>Shifting Seasons contains a lot of small elements, but no one stand-out thing.<br /></li><li>Like with the base game, there's always a chance of some bad luck in the drafting which can thwart your strategy.<br /></li></ul><b><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></div>The Verdict</span></b></div><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><i>Villagers </i>is an excellent game that is just the right level of complexity to be enough for gamers, but also a game you could introduce to friends who are ready to try something new. With a successful first Kickstarter, there's already a good amount of expansion content and Shifting Seasons adds even more. It mixes seamlessly with the base game and, with plenty of space in the base game box (if you don't have wooden coins), there's no reason not to expand if you enjoy <i>Villagers</i>. Or if you've never played <i>Villagers</i> then the upcoming Kickstarter could be a great place to start and grab the very handy playmat and any other content that catches your eye.<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1e1e1e;"><i>A preview copy of the </i>Shifting Seasons <i>expansion was kindly provided to us by </i>Sinister Fish Games. The <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sinisterfish/villagers-shifting-seasons">Kickstarter campaign</a> launches on Tuesday 29th June 2021.<br /></span></div></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08447679926644054101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806122476758519131.post-70577884424795388192021-06-17T13:00:00.002+01:002021-06-22T17:22:16.196+01:00Thoughts from the Yellow Meeple:- Ecos: New Horizon<p><meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game:</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>Ecos: New Horizon<br /></span></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Publisher:</b></u> <b></b> <span class="ng-scope"> Alderac Entertainment Group</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><b><u>Designer:</u> </b><span class="ng-scope"> John D. Clair </span> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><u><b>Year:</b></u> 2021</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzLhTS1SBkYpd-PCX_CoM0ZKtkaddB-SsBhdwEe7voSl3U-TFRnU6myGIeafRN6VPl9-z789Coa4839yLchqX4jMgn1MtELaJ7gX-6Iyf85b_KRV_trFcZpGQaXbrO1wjJGmCF1e7JIeB/s580/pic6097045.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="580" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzLhTS1SBkYpd-PCX_CoM0ZKtkaddB-SsBhdwEe7voSl3U-TFRnU6myGIeafRN6VPl9-z789Coa4839yLchqX4jMgn1MtELaJ7gX-6Iyf85b_KRV_trFcZpGQaXbrO1wjJGmCF1e7JIeB/w200-h200/pic6097045.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><br /></i></div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/279254/ecos-first-continent">Ecos: First Continent</a></i> is a game we've loved, ever since we discovered it at a board game convention (remember those?!) almost two years ago. It works using a bingo-style mechanism where all players play simultaneously and meshes this with a tile laying game where all players are working together on the same central landscape. It's got a lovely puzzly optimisation feel and you're constantly participating in the game, expanding the landscape and adding, removing or moving the different animals around the map to boost your point scoring.<br /> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><i><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/322877/ecos-new-horizon">New Horizon</a></i> is the first expansion for <i>Ecos: First Continent</i>. It adds a handful of new animal tokens, two new starting decks and a new type of card that encourages you to build certain patterns with the landscape tiles, ultimately creating a multi-layer landscape in the centre of the table.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">To briefly explain how<i> Ecos</i> is played, each player starts with a deck of cards - either one of the starter decks, or a deck that you draft at the beginning of the game.</span></span><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"> You have three cards which start in your tableau, face up on the table and can add more throughout the game. One player takes n the roll of the 'bingo-caller' drawing the lovely chunky tiles from the bag. Each tile contains a symbol and all players can mark off that symbol if it appears on one of their face up cards, using a cube. If you complete a card, then you shout 'Ecos' and get to activate that card. Card activations sometimes give basic points, but more often they allow you to add either terrain or animals to the board and this might affect how many points you get, for example you might get two points per ocean tile you place next to. If you ever don't want to use a tile that is drawn from the bag, you can work towards gaining more cubes, adding more cards to your tableau or drawing new cards into your hand instead. It's a race to reach 60 or 80 points (depending on the length of game you choose).</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="2048" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNKO2fXrifPsMPhD4pwFtv7QdihO5KA5VfcS9h7_rTeP4hpw8oUTUw3l590rIBwPMczpYEe_0LEoaU3srpUzj-E99ukWJrH3mJ9Di0L3POstwZzWQDvFJzWCXkQIhsWU9BFKuj71f8I7p/w400-h253/2021-06-08+11.17.53.jpg" width="400" /></div><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><i> </i></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1e1e1e;"><i>New Horizon</i> does not fundamentally change any of those core mechanisms. Most of the content is more of the same - some new cards, including two new starting decks that use different animal tokens. The big addition is in the terrain objectives. One of your starting cards will now be an objective that asks you to create a certain layout using terrain tiles, trees and mountains. Once you've built them, there will be a small reward and then an ongoing benefit when you or other players interact with that terrain.<br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> </b></div>What most of the new terrain cards have in common is that they're really rather hard to achieve. Most take a good number of tiles, in a very specific pattern, and even with just two players its hard to avoid having your pattern spoiled by another player with nothing but good intentions. I really can't imagine how much harder it is to achieve these cards in higher player count games. The flip side to this is that if you do manage to complete one of the terrain cards, it probably gets triggered for scoring far more often with more players. With two players they are a lot of hard work for very little reward. I love having in-game objectives to work towards, but <i>Ecos</i> already has so many of those that I generally feel it might be best to ignore the terrain cards, which is a shame when they're the biggest part of this expansion.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"></span><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBl9QV71QF_3F5i9c49FYoIowN4WetO6isMcULgqi3ylDjHhRBDLNqH6t6mCagg552j9pE_rd-5NJNkXWXWH7TXxfOiU1Pz8wzCRwkMfmobeRFQnYuAm-O96ZMsTEzzAJYbt6IXJfVfozm/s2048/2021-06-08+11.12.04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBl9QV71QF_3F5i9c49FYoIowN4WetO6isMcULgqi3ylDjHhRBDLNqH6t6mCagg552j9pE_rd-5NJNkXWXWH7TXxfOiU1Pz8wzCRwkMfmobeRFQnYuAm-O96ZMsTEzzAJYbt6IXJfVfozm/w400-h225/2021-06-08+11.12.04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b style="color: orange;"></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Looking at the other new addition, with the two new starter decks, it's certainly fun to have some more animals in the game and figure out how they interact and what the right style of play is to work with each deck. I definitely found one of the new decks far easier to play with though, so generally would prefer to mix and match the deck with the leaf symbols with one of our other favourites from the base game. The pre-built decks alone had plenty of content for me to explore in the base game, and to have some fresh content in this area was good, however, I'm sure other experienced players of <i>Ecos</i> still have plenty to explore by drafting their own starting decks. <br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">Overall I found <i>New Horizon</i> to be an underwhelming expansion and it's actually one that we've chosen not to keep. Ecos: First Continent stands alone as a very elegant game and this expansion lessened its appeal. The base game has huge amounts of variety already, so I'm not sure who is the audience for this expansion, so for the Yellow Meeple, it's a <b>4/10.</b></span></span><b style="color: orange;"></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>Ecos: New Horizon</span> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">was a review copy provided by Asmodee UK. It is available at your </i><a href="http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;" target="_blank">friendly local game store</a><i style="font-family: inherit;"> or can be picked up at </i><a href="http://www.365games.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">http://www.365games.co.uk</a> <br /></div></div>Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17810640796250890382noreply@blogger.com0