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Star Wars: Unlock! game review

Happy Star Wars Day!

To celebrate, we’re diving into a review of another Star Wars family board game – Star Wars: Unlock!

That’s right, the very cool Unlock! escape-room series of games now has a Star Wars themed game – with 3 distinct game adventures. As far as escape-room games go, the Unlock! series have been our favorite. So I was super excited when Asmodee published a Star Wars version.

After having played through all 3 adventures, I’m happy to report that all of them are super fun to play.

May 3, 2023 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, Asmodee, cooperative, escape room, puzzle, solo, Star Wars, strategy, theme

Board Games Cooperative Games Family Games Game Reviews

Decorum board game review

How well do you get along with the people living under your same roof? Do you know what makes them happy? And can you provide that?

Well, even if you can’t help out in that regard, you can at least try to make them happy with their decorating goals in a fun cooperative board game by Floodgate Games – Decorum!

Decorum is a cooperative, hidden information game where players try to decorate their shared home in a way that makes everyone happy. The catch is that you don’t know what’s going to make the other players happy!

You must deduce what types of things make them happy by what changes they make to the decorations in the various rooms during their turns. Hopefully you’ll all be able to figure that out and arrange things just so before the game ends or you’re not going to survive in the same house for long.

March 25, 2023April 19, 2023 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, cooperative, Floodgate Games, strategy, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Namiji board game review

A decade ago, Funforge released a family board game called Tokaido where players are travelers crossing the “East sea road”, one of the most magnificent roads of Japan. In the game, players collect beautiful items, discover great panoramas, stop for meals, and visit temples – enjoying the journey along the way.

As if to mark a 10-anniversary of Tokaido, last year Funforge and Asmodee released a new board game called Namiji featuring similar game play with a slightly different theme. Instead of traveling a road in Japan, players are now Japanese anglers seeking a fruitful journey at sea.

Those familiar with Tokaido will feel right at home when playing Namiji. And those that haven’t yet played Tokaido, will discover a delightful game to enjoy with their family and friends.

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, Asmodee, family, Funforge, luck, strategy, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Play the villain in Star Wars Villainous

I’m currently watching Andor on Disney+ and loving it.

With Disney pumping out more and more Star Wars shows (The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tales of the Jedi, The Book of Boba Fett, and much more) it’s no wonder Ravensburger recently released Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side.

Designed with a similar premise to the popular game Disney Villainous, players take on the roles of popular villains to achieve their nefarious goals before their opponents reach theirs.

Only this time, players get to be their favorite Star Wars villains in Star Wars Villainous!

November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Ravensburger, Star Wars, strategy, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Mountains out of Molehills board game review

I love it when a board game gets a catchy title.

And that’s exactly what I thought when I heard about Mountains out of Molehills by The Op. My mind immediately started thinking about the possibilities.

Then I saw the box art, the cute mole characters, and the sweet looking 3D game space where the game box is actually part of the game play area and I totally wanted to play it!

The big question was if the game play would live up to what visually looked like such a fun family board game.

We’re happy to report that it does!

October 16, 2022November 7, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, card, drafting, programmed movement, The OP, theme

Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews

Marvel Dice Throne dice game review

Who would win between Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel?

Or between Black Panther and Black Widow?

Or between Loki, Mile Morales Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and Thor in a free-for-all match?

Well, in Marvel Dice Throne, by The Op and Roxley Games, you’ll get to find out.

And as you might guess, who comes out on top will change from one play to the next. That’s what makes this dice-rolling, dice manipulating, and card playing game a hoot. With a high amount of luck and some card management, almost anything could happen to turn the tide of fortune.

September 26, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, card, dice, luck, Marvel, Roxley Games, strategy, The OP, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest board game review

The original Libertalia board game was published 10 years ago (2012) and now there’s a new ship on the seas (or in the sky – as is the case with the new theme).

Stonemaier Games recently released this revised and expanded edition of Libertalia with new artwork, 40 characters per player, a reputation system, deluxe loot tokens, and a solo mode.

We owned the original Libertalia and sold it a few years ago in one of our game purges. Now that we’ve played the new Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, will it meet the fate of the original and find another home? Or will it find a permanent spot in our game closet?

Let’s dive in and see…

July 26, 2022September 22, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, luck, pirate, simultaneous, solo, Stonemaier Games, strategy, theme

Board Games Cooperative Games Game Reviews

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game review

In 2017, Guerrilla Games developed and Sony published a Playstation 4 video game that’s set in a world overrun by machines. As of February 2022, the video game has sold over 20 million copies–making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.

Because of its huge success, Steamforged Games brought the game to life in board game form in 2020.

In Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game, players band together to form a hunting party to take down the rampant machines.

Over the course of multiple encounters, players will level up their hunters with new skills and upgrade their equipment to become even stronger before they face the final encounter against the Sawtooth.

June 28, 2022July 7, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, miniatures, Steamforged Games, strategy, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Everdell Board Game Review

“Within the charming valley of Everdell, beneath the boughs of towering trees, among meandering streams and mossy hollows, a civilization of forest critters is thriving and expanding. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host—you have a busy year ahead of yourself. Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?

Prepare to be enchanted by the wondrous world of Everdell. Once you are here, you might never, ever, want to leave.”

Such is the intro text to the board game Everdell by Starling Games.

The big question is, is it true – Once you enter and play, will you ever want to leave?

April 24, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, card, luck, solo, Starling Games, strategy, theme

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SaltCon 2022 Recap – 22 Games Played

I had a fantastic first weekend of March because I was hanging out and playing tons of games with my friends at SaltCon Spring 2022!

I look forward to this 4-day gaming event with much anticipation every year. And it was especially great this year because the air was finally clearing around the Covid pandemic. Which means we could see the smiling faces of the 1,700 or so people who came out to play all sorts of games.

This year I was able to attend 3 full days of the event and played 22 different board games, card games, and dice games!

It was a lot of fun and I’m ready to share my thoughts on each of the games I played.

(Consider it like a bunch of mini-reviews.)