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.

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SaltCon 2021 End of Summer Fun

“Back in the Game”

That was the bold statement on the winning t-shirt design for SaltCon End of Summer 2021. And it couldn’t have been more appropriate!

It was awesome to be back at SaltCon this past weekend playing game after game for a couple of days straight.

SaltCon is the big board game convention in Utah, USA and it’s packed with gaming goodness. The event is typically held for 4 days in March each year, so I was sad when it was announced last Fall that the March event would be canceled. But, the news a few months ago that they’d hold an “End of Summer” SaltCon for 3 days at the end of July got me excited again.

Let’s dive in!

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World’s Fair 1893 board game review

One of my favorite memories as a teenager was when our family went to Canada for Expo 86. It was a World’s Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I thought it was so cool.

The theme of Expo 86 was “Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch” and it was a spectacle.

Perhaps it was because of my experience going to a World’s Fair that I was drawn to the board game World’s Fair 1893 when it was published a few years ago.

I first played the game at SaltCon a while back and enjoyed playing it. Then earlier this year, Renegade Game Studios announced a new version of the game. They sent us a copy and we’re excited to tell you all about it.

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Best Games of 2020! – The Dice Tower Awards

The best board games, card games, dice games, family games, and party games of 2020 have been awarded!

The Dice Tower recently announced the winners of The Dice Tower Awards — the annual crowing of the best board games published last year.

With thousands of new games published every year, there’s never a shortage of great new board games to play.

Top board game reviewers, podcasters, and industry contributors from around the world participated in the nomination and voting process.

Now, let’s see The Dice Tower Award Winners for 2020:

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Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Secrets & Soirees – expansion game review

The king is at it again!

More crazy castles to build with your neighbors plus options to go it alone!

Last year we reviewed a fun game from Stonemaier Games called Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig. It was a mash up of two games we really enjoy — Between Two Cities and Castles of Mad King Ludwig. And they did a fantastic job bringing those two games together in yet another enjoyable game.

So of course we were excited to get a chance to review this new expansion, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Secrets & Soirees.

And it’s time to share our thoughts about the expansion game!

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Disney: The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits board game review

When was the last time your family spent some time in The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland or Disney World?

It’s a classic ride that Disney fans flock to the world over. And now you can live it up on your own kitchen table!

Last year, while all the Disney parks were shut down, Funko Games published Disney: The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits Game.

Players explore all the classic rooms of the ghost-infested manor, from the festivities-filled Ballroom to the Attic and out to the Graveyard and beyond in search of ghosts.

Are you ready for those grim grinning ghosts to socialize?

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Shifting Stones Board Game Review

It’s time to leave no stone unturned!

Shifting Stones from Gamewright is a fun hand management, puzzle style game for the whole family.

Players will discard Pattern cards from their hand to manipulate the center Stone tiles in order to complete other Pattern cards. The player to do this the most proficiently will be the winner.

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Dinner in Paris board game review

Almost 2 years ago (June of 2019), a friend and I traveled to Normandy, France for the 75-year commemoration of the WWII D-Day landings.

It was an amazing experience to visit so many historic sites over the course of our week in France. And we capped the trip off with a final day and a nice dinner in Paris at a cafe near the river Seine.

So when I heard from Funnyfox about their just-released board game, Dinner in Paris, it brought back tons of memories and sparked my interest in playing the game!

Now the big question is…is the game as memorable as my actual last dinner in Paris?

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Photosynthesis: Under the Moonlight Board Game Review

Photosynthesis, from Blue Orange Games, is a beautiful and elegant game about using the sun’s power to grow majestic trees.

In the expansion, Photosynthesis: Under the Moonlight, players will not only be using the rays from the sun, but they’ll also harness the light from the moon to activate powers of their unique forest animals.

Photosynthesis: Under the Moonlight is actually 3 expansions in one; Forest Animals, Moonstones, and the The Great Elder Tree!

You can play all of them at once or À la carte, it’s up to you.

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Butterfly collecting isn’t just fun for kids

Did you ever wander through fields swinging a net trying to catch butterflies?

Or if you haven’t experienced that joy, I bet you can still picture kids having fun in such an activity.

But can you imagine adults doing that same thing?

For some reason, it’s hard to imagine adults wandering around a field swinging butterfly nets to catch the flying insects.

So when we received the game Butterfly by Rio Grande Games, we just assumed it would be a game only kids would enjoy. But we were wrong!

Butterfly can be enjoyed by players of all ages.

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