Mindclash Games

Woo! Saturday! Woo!
As you're reading this, I'm over at the LGS, hanging out and just taking it easy. I'm hoping you're doing much the same (or have done so and are just reading this later, as I am typing this earlier). Either way, I hope you're able to make good use out of the day.

As for reviews. Of course we have those for you.

Today we have: Anachrony, Elo Darkness, Don't Mess With Cthulhu, Dragoon, Test of Honour Samurai Warband, Wreck and Ruin, Lignum, Downforce, Go Nuts for Donuts, Age of Rivals iOS, 1846: Race for the Midwest, Train Heist, and Posthuman.



Toucan Play That Game:

Anachrony Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Anachrony by Mindclash Games.

theMCGuiRE review:

ELO Darkness Preview

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at ELO Darkness a MOBA style board game that is executed very nicely! Awesome artwork and character design throughout this title. I also want to point out that this is not just a card game with extra "board game" components. The movement on the board is as critical as any card in your hand and really does give you a good translation of what you would experience in a MOBA video game title.

Learn to Play:

Don't Mess With Cthulhu

In this video I will teach you how to play including: Setup, player turns, completing a round, and end game conditions. I will also give you my thoughts and opinions on the game, and would love to hear yours.

Dragoon

In this video I will teach you how to play including: Setup, player turns, phases of a round, and end game conditions. I will also give you my thoughts and opinions on the game, and would love to hear yours.

Meeples & Miniatures:

Test of Honour Samurai Warband Review

The assembly instruction leaflets (which are copies of those included in the main game) seem to have been put together by someone who has seen the model sprues, but doesn’t seem to have much idea about how the different parts were originally intended to be used with the models. As a result there are a number of issues with how models are constructed, including the now-infamous ‘heavy sword’ pose (Samurai incorrectly shown wielding a sword with a round bulb part way down the scabbard) Ashigaru being shown wearing two swords etc. Whoever produced these seemed more intent on showing how each modelling option and accessory could be used on the miniatures, rather than taking notice of whether they should or not.

Polyhedron Collider:

Wreck and Ruin Kickstarter Review

Wreck and Ruin's premise is hardly new or original, as your gang of petrol heads ventures into the wasteland in search of artefacts and resources from before the big "Pox-Eclipse". You'll manage a small car sales lot in bikes, buggies and big-rigs and face off against one to four opponents as you race to capture the tech. It may not be original, but oh boy is it fun.

iSlaytheDragon:

Lignum Review

In Lignum, players take the helm of competing logging companies in a contest to earn the most money. The game is played over the course of eight rounds, each of which represents an in game season. Players will be gathering supplies and hiring wood in order to chop down tress and eventually sell the wood for money.

Downforce Review

Downforce is a racing, betting, and hand management game for two to six players. Players bid on cars, race them around the track, and bet on the winners. The player with the most money wins.

Go Nuts for Donuts Review

Go Nuts for Donuts (hereafter known as GNfD) is a simultaneous action selection/set collection card game that has players trying to earn the most points by acquiring useful cards (i.e, fighting over the best donuts). The game is played over several rounds.

Board Game Quest:

Age of Rivals iOS Review

The intricacies of Age of Rivals is worth several pages of rules explanation, so this overview will be pretty high level. A full rulebook is available on Roboto Games’ site, so readers would do well to explore the game fully if they’re interested in the details.

1846: Rave for the Midwest Review

In 1846 players will invest in and operate train companies. To start the game players draft private companies that can give extra bonuses to the player who chooses them. During the first stock round you can choose to start any of the available public companies by buying 20% ownership in the company. Then you are able to choose the starting value of stock in the company from $40 to $150 a share. Of course depending on your decision, you will have to pay for that share from your personal money into the company’s treasury.

Train Heist Review

The goal in Train Heist is to loot the train enough times to fill your heist meter. This is accomplished through a series of heist actions. On a players turn, may perform up to four actions.

Posthuman Review

I will say that there’s a lot to cover with Posthuman so we’re going to do a high level overview but the actual rules are here if readers want them: Posthuman rules.

Players can select from 6 pre-generated characters to play or can create a custom character. After your starting stats values, equipment, weapons, skills, food, and ammo are set, play begins.

Inside our minds is a whole other world. It can often feel like its at conflict with itself, as our various emotions fight with one-another for control. Will the forces of Gloom manage to take over and leave us in a sad state, or will Bliss be able to fight off their advances and let us live a happy life? That's what you'll be deciding in Cerebria, a new area control game that's up on Kickstarter now.




From the campaign:

Cerebria is a team-based area control game for 1-4 players, set in a person's mind re-imagined as a vibrant fantasy world.

Players assume the role of Spirits, followers of the Inside World's two opposing forces, Bliss and Gloom, with the goal of shaping Cerebria's Identity to their image. For that purpose, they have been granted power over the Emotions, Cerebria's denizens: they can invoke, move, empower and evolve Emotions to influence and control Cerebria's Realms and Frontiers.

Cerebria's state is in constant flux until a Spirit triggers a Revelation - these are key moments in the game when the current game state is evaluated and is preserved as a permanent Bliss or Gloom fragment on the Identity.

Cerebria is a deep and highly customizable game full of player interaction, where timing and cooperation with your teammate are essential to victory.

The Kickstarter campaign is well over its funding goal, but there's only 9 days left to get in on the action, if you're so interested.

Source

Usually, I'm all like, "hey! It's Saturday! Go get your gaming on!" and, in a way, I'm still that. But I'm also, "It's the Saturday before Gen Con... ... ... I Have So Many Things I Still Need To Do!!!" A couple people have asked me, "are you ready for the show?" My answer is, "you're never 'ready' for Gen Con. You're where you are in your attempt to be ready, and then the show starts happening, whether you got all you needed done or not." But I am doing my best to have as much done as possible. That includes getting you your reviews I know you all so desperately desire.

This week we have: Nerdy Inventions, Incantris, Anachrony, Lucky Dogs, Wordsy, Deckscape: Test Time, A Dog's Life, Titan Tactics, Frantic, Have at Thee, Upon a Fable, Sopio, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Shadow War: Armageddon, Massive Darkness, Oh My Goods, Nimbee, Pandemic Legacy Season 1, and The Lost Expedition.



Board Game Quest:

Nerdy Inventions Review

The goal as mentioned above is to gain the most VPs and to do that, you need to build and collect different kinds of inventions.

On a player’s turn, they will roll 3 dice and have 4 different types of actions to use

Incantris Review

Incantris provides a decent variety of game setup options, including a straightforward arena battle, capture-the-flag, sap the crystals (similar to CTF but resource depletion), and shifting arena (moveable terrain). With the addition of the extra miniatures from the Kickstarter, it also allows for multiple wizard types for each player color and cards to fully customize the spells for each wizard.

Anachrony Review

While the story is somewhat convoluted, the mechanisms in Anachrony rely heavily on the idea that most of the area cannot be accessed without Exosuits, and resources can be sent through time. Most of the worker placement spots in Anachrony are on the main board and can only be activated by a worker in an Exosuit. Each player has 6 Exosuits at their disposal and chooses each round how many to power up, but powering more suits will require more resources.

Lucky Dogs Review

On your turn, you will roll six dice (or all you have if you have fewer). Then set aside any dice that match other dice you rolled, these dice are not eligible to be placed on the dog bone tiles this turn.

You then take your remaining dice and see if you can place them on any of the matching number on a dog bone tile. If you are unable to play any of your dice on a tile, either because of rolling all multiples or there are no matches on the tiles, place one die on the doghouse tile.

iSlaytheDragon:

Wordsy Review

Wordsy is played over a series of eight rounds in which players will write down the highest scoring word that they can come up with. Once a player is the first to have written down a word, they flip the sand timer and all other players will have 30 seconds in which to write down their words after which, scores will be tabulated for all the words written.

Deckscape: Test Time Review

Deckscape: Test Time is a cooperative card-based tabletop escape room for one to six players. Players are students of Dr. Thyme who must solve puzzles as part of his test. If they can escape the laboratory in an hour, they win.

A Dog's Life Preview

A Dog’s Life is built around an action point allowance system. You’re using actions to move around the board, feed yourself, mark your territory, challenge other dogs, and find and bury the ultimate treasure: Bones. The goal of the game is to be the first player to find three bones and bury them in your den.

Players randomly choose a dog to begin the game. Each dog has its own den, represented by a space on the board. This is where you begin the game and where you’ll return to bury your bones. (You’re also given a den card to remind you which den is yours.) Each dog has a set number of action points to spend each turn. The faster dog breeds get more points, while slower dogs get fewer. That’s okay. The slower dogs have other ways to stay competitive with the speed demons. More on that in a minute.

Polyhedron Collider:

Titan Tactics, Frantic, Have at Thee, Upon a Fable, Sopio Reviews

Over the years we have been sent a number of review copies of games that have slipped through the net. It’s an embarrassment, it's unprofessional, its ramshackle, but there is a reason these games have remained unreviewed, they have struggled to even get to the table. Some of them are boring, some are uninspiring and some are just plain bad but it's our duty as honest reviewers to tell you why we just don’t like this set of games.

Betrayal at House on the Hill Review

There’s a rumour circulating the industry about us reviewers, about how some don’t post negative reviews. I won’t get into that here as it’s up to the individual reviewers to create content as they choose. We at Polyhedron Collider, however, are certainly not above or below putting the boot in, especially me (Andy), as we firmly believe an honest opinion is far more useful to you, our vast and knowledgeable readership, so you can make a more informed judgement as to where you spend your hard-earned pennies (or not as the case may be).

I make this statement as the subject of this review, Betrayal at House on the Hill, isn’t exactly high on the list of “must buys” here at Collider Towers. Both myself and Steve have played this indelible stain on the gaming world many times (heck, I even owned it before I knew better and sold it) and suffice to say, we’re hardly enamoured by it. Well, let’s not beat about the bush. Personally, I’d rather attend a three-day accountancy seminar on the benefits of triplicated documentation than endure another game of that decisionless dross. Which is not a statement I say lightly given Steve is a bit of a dice-fiend, but even he will concede that House on the Hill is…lacking in any real thought. Although we both agree that Jon will probably like it.

Drive Thru Review:

Shadow War: Armageddon Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (02:43); final thoughts and review (32:04)

Toucan Play That Game:

Massive Darkness Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Massive Darkness by CMON.

Oh My Goods Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Oh My Goods by Mayfair Games.

Nimbee Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Nimbee by A-muse-ment Games.

Pandemic Legacy Season 1 Spoiler-Free Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Pandemic Legacy Season 1 by Z-Man Games.

theMCGuiRE review:

The Lost Expedition Review

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at a new one from Osprey Games - The Lost Expedition. This is a very satisfying game, when you get the win! This one really is a fun and challenging platform. It offers collaboration, tactical decisions and an epic satisfying win if you can get it (this game is tough to win).

It's Saturday.
It's also October.
I mean, seriously, can it really get that much better than this? Oh, yeah, *puts on some Type O Negative while working on the post* There we go.
Anyway, you want 'em, so here's your reviews for the week.

Today we have: Patchwork, Epic Roll: Eclipse, Arcadia Quest, Tutti Frutti, True Messiah, Eclipse, Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, Dodge Dice, Grifters, Codenames: Pictures, and Agamemnon.



Toucan Play That Game:

Patchwork Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Patchwork by Mayfair Games.

theMCGuiRE review:

Epic Roll: Eclipse Preview

theMCGuiRE review takes a preview look at Epic Roll: Eclipse the brand new Epic Roll game from Summon Entertainment! Its currently on Kickstarter! This game follows a similar game play style as the first Epic Roll with some fun new mechanics and the twist of being the villains instead of the heroes. Just a fantastic dice based board game that never disappoints!

Arcadia Quest Review

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at Arcadia Quest from Spaghetti Western Games and CoolMiniorNot (CMON). This is one of my favorite games at this point and cant wait for the Pets and other expansions to come out! You really have it all in this system (PvP, PvE, Campaigning, Questing, single play sessions, great artwork, fun game play, and more).

iSlaytheDragon:

Low-Hanging Fruit (a review of Tutti Frutti)

Tutti Frutti is a speed matching/recognition game for two to six players. Players try to collect matches to the fruits on either end of their fruit stack. The player with the tallest stack at the end of the game wins.

Polyhedron Collider:

True Messiah Kickstarter Review

Central to True Messiah is the concept of belief, it's the power needed to fuel your miracles and the majority of your game will be spent carefully managing this important resource. Belief can only be generated by your faithful followers praying on a holy site. The problem with praying is all that kneeling and closing of eyes leaves you rather open to attack and so while they may be generating your God-fuel, they become a complete push over in combat – they can take a hit, but aren’t going to be dishing one out.

Eclipse Review

Whilst not the freshest game to be covered by our beady eyes here at Polyhedron Collider, Eclipse stands out for me as a very good example of a 4X game manifested in tabletop form. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, 4X stands for “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate” and that tells you pretty much what you need to know about the premise of Eclipse. If any of you have played Sins of a Solar Empire or Civilisation on the PC, you’ll have a fair idea of what’s involved. Start with a small patch of space, blindly stumble around trying to find stuff, start a fight or two then crush your enemies with superior firepower. Or play nice and see how far that gets you.

Board Game Quest:

Trickerion: Legends of Illusion Review

In each game of Trickerion, players are trying to earn the most victory points (called Fame in the game). Each round, they will be visiting the games different area to hire assistants, earn money, learn tricks, and buy resources. Eventually they will put on a performance constituting of one or more tricks. Perfuming on the stage will earn players money, trickerion shards and, of course, Fame points. At the end of the game, the player with the most fame wins.

Dodge Dice Review

In Dodge Dice, you need luck on your side as you roll a set of dice hoping to avoid earning any points. A round will end when a player either rolls a stop icon on the action die or all the dodge dice are removed from the round. Players are not alone in this fight, armed with skip chips that can allow them to skip their turn or ignore a result on a roll. When this happens a player will be awarded the points and a new round begins. This will continue until a player has reached 100 points and ends the game. The person with the fewest points wins the game, with tied players continuing to play until a winner is determined.

Drive Thru Review:

Grifters Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:57); final thoughts and review (06:30)

Codenames: Pictures Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:56); final thoughts and review (03:38)

Agamemnon Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:49); final thoughts and review (07:34)

Aaaaaah... Saturday.
What a glorious day. What cannot be achieved on such a day as Saturday?
Well, I know I can be working on various articles for the site. Hopefully you're getting in some gaming, like I am, too.

At the moment, though, we've got ourselves the Review Roundup.

In today's feature we have: Vikings Gone Wild, Blood Rage: Mystics of Midgard Expansion, Codinca, Blood Rage: Gods of Asgard Expansion, Imperial Settlers: Atlanteans Expansion, King's Forge: Queen's Jubilee Expansion, Talon, 13 Days, 51st State, The Grizzled: At Your Orders, One Night Ultimate Vampire, Area 1851, Tesla vs. Edison: Powering Up, No Thank You Evil, Valeria Card Kingdoms, Legends of the American Frontier, Jail Break, Adventure Land, Anachrony, Android: Mainframe, Shogunate, T.I.M.E Stories: Under the Mask, Aya, Porta Nigra, The Gallerist, Doctor Panic, and Knit Wit.



Toucan Play That Game:

Vikings Gone Wild Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on the Vikings Gone Wild the boardgame by Lucky Duck Games and Everydayiplay.

Blood Rage: Mystics of Midgard Expansion Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on the Blood Rage Mystics of Midgard expansion by Cool Mini or Not.

Codinca Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Codinca by Backspindle games and Ninja Division.

Blood Rage: Gods of Asgard Expansion Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on the Blood Rage God’s of Asgard expansion by Cool Mini or Not.

Play Board Games:

Imperial Settlers: Atlanteans Expansion Review

The Atlanteans expansion introduces a new faction to Imperial Settlers with some new mechanics and new cards for all the existing factions

King's Forge: Queen's Jubilee Expansion Review

Queen’s Jubilee is the first expansion for King’s Forge. It has new craft cards and some new gather cards too. It adds variety without adding complexity. And even makes the game play quicker!

Drive Thru Review:

Talon Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:56); final thoughts and review (14:26)

13 Days Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:07); final thoughts and review (12:13)

51st State: Master Set Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:56); final thoughts and review (14:26)

The Grizzled: At Your Orders Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:42); final thoughts and review (09:04)

One Night Ultimate Vampire Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:04); final thoughts and review (04:17)

Board to Death TV:

Area 1851 Review

In Area 1851, you are one of the area’s top five Tinkerers and you’re looking to prove your grit to the citizens of this Wild West town.

Each turn, players have to deal with and negotiate random events in the area, then continue the turn under those circumstances, by drawing Tinker cards to fill their hand up to five cards, then rolling dice to determine their resources for that turn. Players then spend those resources to build new Gadgets or augment their existing Gadgets with Modifications. These Gadgets and Modifications can then be Delivered to the townsfolk for Reputation. In addition players can choose to scrap cards from their hand, and pull them out of circulation.

Tesla vs. Edison: Powering Up Preview

The Powering Up! expansion takes Tesla vs. Edison gameplay to a whole new level by infusing exciting new systems and introducing both a sixth player and a solitaire variant! Fans of the game will delight in exploring:

Building a headquarters. What is a good electric company without state-of-the-art facilities such as a laboratory, works, office, and studio? Each option offers different bonuses and rewards to the enterprising player!

No Thank you Evil RPG Preview



Valeria Card Kingdoms

Valeria: Card Kingdoms is a tableau-building game for 1-5 players and will feel familiar to deck-building fans. The cards you buy can work for you on your turn and on all the other player turns, as well. On your turn, roll two dice and activate citizen cards with the result of each individual die and the sum of both dice. Other players will simultaneously activate their citizen cards based off of the roll. Next, take two actions from the following: slay a monster, recruit a citizen, buy a domain, or take 1 of any resource. The player with the most victory points at the end wins the game.

Legends of the American Frontier Review

Legends of the American Frontier is an adventure game for 3 to 7 players in which you live the life of a newly-minted citizen in the colonial days of America, starting just after the Revolutionary War in the 1780s and running through the early 1800s.

Board Game Quest:

Jail Break Preview

Jail Break is played on a randomly setup, modular board. Consisting of 24 cards, the jail can be laid out in a 6×4 grid, or really into any shape the players would like. Changing the configuration of the jail can lead to a different experience in each game.

Players will each have a mugshot card that shows their special ability. During the game, players will be able to move throughout the prison, gathering resources and potentially attacking other players. Each turn a card will trigger a random event that could be positive or negative, and at the end of the turn, a guard will be moved to a new location of the player’s choice. The first player to successfully escape is the winner.

Adventure Land Review

Adventure Land is a bit of an abstract fantasy adventure game. There are three different adventures (scenarios) included in the box, each of which has their own complexity level and win conditions. The basics of the game remain the same no matter which adventure you are playing.

In Adventure Land, players will be moving their heroes around a 10×11 gridded game board. As your adventurers move, they will be collecting items and companions to use when they try to defeat the game’s fog monsters. While each of the three adventures has their own unique win conditions, many require players to collect a certain type of item(s) to earn victory points. At the conclusion of the adventure, the player with the most victory points will be the winner.

Anachrony Preview

Each player in Anachrony commands one of the games four Paths. During each round, players will be collecting resources, workers, and scientific breakthroughs in the hopes of advancing their society. Anachrony is a two-tiered worker placement game, meaning that players will be taking actions on a shared main board, while also building up their own player board with actions and special powers.

iSlaytheDragon:

Your Password Is Insecure (A Review of Android: Mainframe)

For you historians out there, Android: Mainframe is a reimplementation of a game called Bauhaus. That probably doesn’t mean much to most of you, since it was released only in Spain and only 17 people have it marked as “owned” on BGG. Allow me to explain.

No, there is too much. Let me sum up. The goal of Mainframe is to capture “nodes” (squares) on the board by surrounding them with “partitions” (little blue walls) with your Access Point Tokens inside. You only get points at the end of the game if your enclosed zones contain only your own tokens, and no other players. The bigger the zone, the more points your access tokens score.

Shogun and Tell (A Review of Shogunate)

Shogunate pits players against each other as heads of rival clans in a power play maneuver seeking the emperor’s throne. You’ll need to deceive others as to your true intentions, deduce that of your enemies’ and even eliminate other claimants.

In this quick, social deduction card game each player secretly receives a clan affiliation and five action cards. Cards corresponding to the five clans are then randomly lined up on the table. The goal is to scheme your clan’s way to the head of the succession line by the end of the game. The twist is that someone else gets to resolve the actions you play!

Polyhedron Collider:

T.I.M.E Stories: Under the Mask Review

If you read my review of A Prophecy of Dragons, you'll know I was disappointed with the previous adventure for TIME Stories, the time travelling cooperative game which I still believe is one of the best cooperative board game experiences on the market. Thankfully, I am happy to say that Under the Mask is a return to form, a fun puzzle and adventure that gets everything just right.

TIME Stories is a mystery and as such your experience will rely on not knowing the puzzles ahead so I'm going to attempt to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. However, there will be some very mild spoilers from here on, so if you want the Under the Mask to be a complete surprise then come back later.

Aya Review

Imagine someone had created a cooperative board game out of domino rally. There you go, you've just imagined Aya and to be fair I could leave the review right there.

In Aya you and your friends have discovered a new land and are travelling inland via river, exploring the untouched wilderness and photographing the local wildlife and breathe taking scenery.

Dog and Thimble:

Porta Nigra Review

You are a builder in ancient Rome. But you want to be a Master Builder, known as the greatest in the Empire. To claim that title, you’ll work to construct four Roman structures, including the titular city gate, the Amphitheatre, the Basilica, and the city wall, faster and better than your opponents.

BoardGameKing:

The Gallerist Review

It’s a perfect economic strategy board game for all art lovers – manage your own art gallery and became successful and internationally well-known art dealer! You have to do a lot of work to achieve that – make promotions for pieces of art and artists themselves, buy and sell in the international market, bring visitors to your exhibitions, sign contracts and of course hire assistants, who will help you to cope with all this work. Develop your own business-strategy and become the richest and the most famous Gallerist! We are happy to offer you a board game review.
Designed by Vital Lacerda, artist is Ian O’Toole, published in 2015 by Eagle-Gryphon Games, Fire on Board Jogos and Giochix.it.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

Doctor Panic Review

It's here. Doctor Panic, the first co-op game to ever feature a whoopie cushion, or a hairnet, or a needle and thread, is now available in shops. Best of all, it's every bit as dumb as advertised!

There's never been a game that demanded SU&SD's attention more. Time for us to turn on the bright lights, disinfect our mouths and begin the delicate operation... of the review.

Knit Wit Review

In (almost!) five years of running Shut Up & Sit Down we’ve always put the game first. We’ve fretted about player counts and waxed lyrical about themes. We’ve snapped apart mechanics like so many Lego bricks. So today, I hope you guys will indulge me in putting something else first.

Look. At. This. Flipping. Box.

I mean that literally. Knit Wit, the new game from Pandemic creator Matt Leacock, is opened with a flip-top magnetic catch at one end. But we’re just getting started.

It's another Saturday. Hopefully you've got something fun going on.

Anyway, here's the reviews we found during the week (it was apparently a big week for posting reviews. There's quite a lot to go through).

We've got reviews/previews of: Chaos & Alchemy, Fields of Arle, High Command - Escalating Conflict, Sellswords, War Stories, Trains: Rising Sun, Kalypto, 7 sins, Hitman Holiday, Amber Route, Twisting Catacombs Dungeon Scenery, M4 Sherman from Warlord Games/Italeri, Trikerion: Legends of Illusion, Games Workshop's Wood Elf Treeman, Sisters of the Thorn, Dark Eldar Voidraven Bomber, and the Zen Terrain Fast Food Stall.



Polyhedron Collider:

Chaos & Alchemy Review

Whoever gave Chaos & Alchemy its name was right on the mark, Alchemy sums up the theme and aim of the game whereas chaos sums up how the game plays, complete and utter chaos.

Play Board Games:

Fields of Arle Review

Fields of Arle is a solo or two-player worker placement game. It is full of ways to score VPs with just a few constraints.

High Command - Escalating Conflict Review

Escalating Conflict is the first expansion for Warmachine: High Command – Faith & Fortune. It adds new warriors and war casters for the new factions from the Faith & Fortune Core Set.

Board Game Quest:

Sellswords Review

evel 99 Games has made a name for itself with their really creative two player games. From BattleCON to Pixel Tactics, these games all have an intense head-to-head feel that really appeal to players who love conflict. In the past, we’ve reviewed a few of their Pixel Tactics games, which are tons of fun and a game that I’m always willing to play. Today, we are going to spend some time with their newest 2 player card game, Sellswords. Level 99 Games bills Sellswords as a game where you “Take to the field of battle in intense head-to-head contest of wits and strategy”. Sellswords definitely has a lighter feel than their other 2 players games. The game feels unique, the rules are easy, but is it fun? Let’s find out!

Sellswords is a 2 player drafting and tile placement game that takes about 15-20 minutes to play.

Top 10 Games That Play in 30min

Whenever I schedule a game night, the first thing I think about it what games can we play in the allotted time. Do we want to play an all-night game like War of the Ring or play a bunch of shorter games with different experiences? I usually opt for the shorter games because I like to introduce and play many different games, rather than just one lengthy one. I also tend to go for at least a few games that the attendees know how to play. Then I can just go through a refresher of the rules, rather than a full blown rules explanation. It’s for this reason that I decided to put together the Top 10 Games That Play in 30 Minutes.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

War Stories Review

You're a platoon sergeant, patrolling the Normandy hedgerows in 1944. Suddenly, a burst of automatic fire opens up from the treeline. You don't know what it is: it could be a machine gun, or a tank. It could be a lone rifleman, or the forward elements of an enemy brigade. Each demands a different course of action, and your life, and those of your men, depend on your picking the right one. What do you do?

Trains: Rising Sun Review

Bad news, readers. Our efforts to appease the grand old month of Expansionanuary seem to be for naught. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting darker. It’s now so cold in my flat that the carpet crunches underfoot.

We must have faith that this will end, friends. Unless the rumours are true, and this is indeed the year of twenty fifspansion.

It’s a possibility too horrid to contemplate. In the meantime, we will stay the course. Here’s a review of Trains: Rising Sun.

Board to Death:

Kalypto Card Game Review

Kalypto™ is an action strategy card game developed by Hyroglyphik Games, an independent game company based in Montreal, Canada.

7 Sins Card Game preview

In the card game 7Sins!, players try to get away with the most sinning. This is done by scoring the most Sin points. The twist is that the person who has the most points of each sin does not score those points, but everyone else does.

Hitman Holiday Preview

From the Creators: Ten assassins gathered in one resort. Only one gets to be called the Number One Killer. Enough said.
Hitman Holiday is game of deduction and strategy where as many as up to 10 players take on the roles of ten of the deadliest assassins mankind has ever known. Gathered at the world’s most beautiful resort, otherwise known as Paradise, they are out to play a game of death in a bid to eliminate competition in business as well as claim the much coveted title of Number One.

Amber Route Review

Amber Route is a journey to the land of Slavic beliefs, monsters and magic. In this game full of surprises, you will embark on a dangerous adventure, leading your caravan through the uncharted territories. At every step you will face lurking evil creatures, traps, and ancient magic. Plan your moves carefully, protect your ambers, expand your retinue, and try to reach the destination as quick as possible.
In this game you must take care of your escort, ambers, and power cards — all while keeping an eye on your opponents. During course of the game, you will encounter monsters, ghost, deadly traps, thieves, and other sorts of evil. All encounters are resolved via dice, but each is resolved in a different way.

Graven Games:

Twisting Catacombs Dungeon Scenery Review

Welcome to today’s review in which we are having a look at some of the new Twisted Catacombs Dungeon Scenery from Zealot Miniatures. The Twisting Catacombs are part of Zealot’s recently successfully funded kickstarter campaign that focused on a range of highly detailed dungeon scenery compatible with an array of boardgames and RPG games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Heroquest, Dwarven Forge Terrain and other systems using 28mm-30mm scale miniatures.

Miniwojna:

M4 Sherman Review

Inbox of plastic 28mm scale (1:56) model of Sherman M4 75 mm model, which is a joint effort of Warlord Games and Italeri companies. Polish and English text, many photos.

Club Fantasci:

Trikerion: Legends of Illusion Review

Christopher Dickinson reviews the upcoming Kickstarter game Trickerion for Club Fantasci.

Brueckenkopf:

Games Workshop's Wood Elf Treeman Review

Time for a trip to the woods! The team of Brueckenkopf Online takes a closer look at the plastic treeman kit by games workshop.

Sisters of the Thorn Review

The team of Brueckenkopf Online ventures even deeper into the woods and today we show you the Sisters of the Thorn / Wild Hunters kit by Games Workshop.

Dark Eldar Voidraven Bomber Review

Spaaaaaaaace! And a shiny Dark Eldar flyer on our desk.

Warhammer Putrid Blightkings

Nurgle time at Brueckenkopf Online. We take a look at the new Putrid Blightkings.

Zen Terrain Fast Food Stall

The team of Brueckenkopf Online takes a closer look at the new sci-fi terrain range from ZEN Terrain.

Mindclash Games is running a Kickstarter campaign for their new board game, Trickerion. In it, players play as magicians and illusionists looking to be the David Copperfield of them all (he's still a thing, right? I remember watching his specials all the time when I was younger. My sister was a huge fan). The campaign has already passed their funding goal with still 28 days to go.
Though now that I'm thinking about magic, I'm thinking Gob Bluth, and now that I'm thinking Gob Bluth, I'm thinking The Final Countdown...

Source

From the campaign:

Inspired by movies like the Prestige, Now You See Me and the Houdini mini-series, we created a world where magic and illusion are part of people’s everyday lives. Most of the magic tricks in the game are part of the repertoires of real world illusionists, past and present, but a pinch of supernatural was also added to the mix – just so you can never be sure whether those Spiritual tricks are really merely illusions...

Each turn, you will visit Magoria’s various Locations – the Downtown, the Market Row, the Dark Alley and the Theater – to expand your team, learn more and more intricate magic tricks, get components for them, and prepare them in your Workshop. Each turn concludes with a Performance phase in the Theater, when players may perform a breathtaking magic show for Fame points and money. After the sixth Performance phase, the player with the most Fame points wins the game, and becomes the next Legend of Illusion.