Game Reviews Archives - Page 8 of 84

Bellum Magica Board Game Review

Running a castle, plundering neighboring villages and defending yourself from other competing overlords is hard work. You can’t possibly be expected to do it all yourself. You need good, reliable help.

That’s where Evil Creature Inc. comes in.

We take the hassle out of finding your worker needs. We have Evil Creatures and Most Evil Creatures that can do the heavy lifting for you. You just provide the meat and glyphs and they’ll do the rest!

In Bellum Magica, by Blue Orange Games, players take on the role of evil overlords trying to conquer and plunder the human countryside. To do this they need to hire Evil and Most Evil Creatures to provide resources and swords to the cause. The first player to loot their 10th treasure chest ends the game, and the overlord with the most treasure wins.

November 7, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, Blue Orange Games, cards, dice, luck, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Plague Inc.: The Board Game Review

Way back in 2009, our then 6-year old son, Caleb got us rolling in reviewing board games with his video review of Pandemic.

He shared how to play the game and what he enjoyed about working together to save the world from deadly viruses.

Fast-forward 12 years and the tides have turned.

Now we’re infecting the world with viruses and competing to be the most lethal in Plague Inc.: The Board Game!

That’s right, the popular mobile app game, Plague Inc., first released in 2012 by Ndemic Creations, is now available as a board game available from Asmodee.

I know it sounds odd while we’re struggling around the world facing a real global pandemic, but to be honest, we’ve had a very fun time playing Plague Inc.: the Board Game. And we’re happy to share why.

October 30, 2021October 30, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Asmodee, luck, solo, strategy, them

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Santorini in New York?

Santorini has been a favorite 2-player board game in our family ever since we first played the reimplemented game by Roxley Games 4 years ago.

It’s an abstract strategy game with variable player powers where each player tries to get one of their pawns (workers) to the 3rd level of a building. The game components are absolutely fantastic and look just like the recognizable, blue-topped buildings on the Greek isle of Santorini.

So we were quite surprised when Roxley Games published Santorini: New York in 2020.

I mean, what do Santorini and New York have to do with each other?

It was a real head-scratcher.

Of course, that also didn’t stop us in the slightest from wanting to play it right away!

If you’re just as curious about how the awesome Santorini could morph into a new game set in New York City as we were, then you’ve come to the right place—read on!

October 23, 2021 Trent 4 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, abstract, luck, Roxley Games, strategy, variable set up

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Land vs Sea Board Game Review

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.”

So starts the poem used to teach about Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas.

It’s hard not to think about sailing and searching out lands when you’re playing the clever tile-laying, puzzle game Land vs. Sea by designer Jon-Paul Jacques and publisher Good Games Publishing.

Players work to create completed land masses or completed seas depending on the roles they’ve taken. The player or team who does this the best by the time the final tile is played will be the winner!

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Good Games Publishing, luck, strategy, theme, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Queenz Board Game Review

I’ve never been someone who loves bees.

I still have vivid memories of being stung by a bee when I was little and swelling up like crazy. So it’s hard for me to understand the desire of some people to become beekeepers.

It’s a good thing I don’t have to like bees to enjoy Queenz by Rio Grand Games.

It’s a fun set-collection and tile-laying board game where the players are beekeepers planting orchids to attract bees and produce the tastiest honey.

And it’s a great addition to a family board game collection.

October 5, 2021October 11, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, luck, Rio Grande Games, strategy, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Mondrian Blocks Brain Teaser review

Do your kids love puzzle challenges?

Or maybe it’s you that loves such challenges.

If so, then you’ll want to check out Mondrian Blocks, published by Smart Egg.

On its own, it’s essentially a solitaire puzzle. However, if you’ve got more than one copy, you can play them in head-to-head races.

September 27, 2021September 27, 2021 Trent 2 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, puzzle, Smart Egg, solo

Card Games Family Games Game Reviews

The new Skull King!

Three years ago we played a family card game that immediately became a family favorite. We played it over and over and quickly reviewed it to share why we enjoyed playing it so much.

The game was Skull King, by Grandpa Beck’s Games, and the enjoyment we get out of playing hasn’t subsided at all since then!

If anything, we’ve enjoyed it more and more over the years.

And now, there’s a new version of Skull King to love!

We were very excited when we found out Grandpa Beck’s Games was updating Skull King with a few new twists. And now that we’ve had time to play it over and over, we’re excited to tell you all about it.

September 15, 2021 Trent 3 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, 7-player, 8-player, card, Grandpa Beck's Games, luck, Skull King, trick-taking

Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews

Qwinto Dice Game Review

We have no idea what “Qwinto” means or where on earth that name came from, but we do know it’s a fun dice game!

Over the last few years, “roll-and-write” games have been pouring out from almost every game publisher. These are games where players either roll dice or flip cards and then write the results on their personal sheets. A few such games we’ve reviewed include That’s Pretty Clever, Kingdomino Duel, and Metro X.

Qwinto, by Pandasaurus Games, is the latest we’ve played and we’ve been hooked!

We got a copy in the game trade at SaltCon 2021 and have played over 20 times this past month. And when we play a game that much, you bet we’re going to tell you all about it.

September 2, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, dice, family, Pandasaurus Games

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Charterstone Board Game Review

Would you love to build your own little village and watch it grow?

We’re not talking about SimCity here. Instead, we’re talking about Charterstone by Stonemaier Games.

Charterstone is a campaign, legacy game where players compete to win the graces of the Forever King by building a grand village over the course of 12 games.

Since it’s a legacy game, choices players make will permanently alter the game board — making future game options and experiences all unique!

The game was published at the end of 2017 and we finally got a copy and a chance to play this summer. And now we’re ready to share our thoughts about this unique game.

August 23, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, campaign, city building, legacy, Stonemaier Games, theme

Board Games Cooperative Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Stuffed Fables: Oh, Brother! – Even more stories to play

Last week we shared about the cooperative story game, Stuffed Fables – where players are the stuffed animals helping a little girl.

Now that little girl has a baby brother with his own 2 “stuffies” – Pokey the unicorn and muscular Manny.

So it’s time for the stuffies to dive into even more adventures in Stuffed Fables: Oh, Brother!

While the game includes a new storybook, new tokens, sleep cards, and its own discovery deck, players still need components from the Stuffed Fables base game to play.

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Asmodee, cooperative, family, kid, Plaid Hat Games, solo, story, theme