Mombasa

Saturdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
*runs around with my arms over my head*
Ok, enough of that. Let's get down to business. You want to see review articles and I'm here to supply them (it is one of the most-popular posts of the week, after all).

Today we have: Sky Dynasty, Inis, Flash Point: Dangerous Waters, My Village, Death Pit Duels, Mombasa, Hold Your Breath, Tiny Epic Western, Colony, Z War One Damnation, Nightlancer, and Scythe.



iSlaytheDragon:

Family Feud Among the Stars (A Preview of Sky Dynasty)

In Sky Dynasty players amass powerful fleets of starships to control Lumia’s key sectors that bestow varying benefits in an ultimate goal to garner influence throughout the system. It is a deck-building, area control card game with a unique simultaneous turn structure, often ensnaring the entire table in high-stakes, winner-take-all battles leading to glorious victory…or ignominious defeat.

Morrigan’s Blessing (A Review of Inis)

As the leader your clan, it’s your goal to prove yourself worthy of being called High King over a newly discovered island. You will achieve this feat by having clans in at least 6 territories, being the chieftain over 6 opposing clans, and/or being present in territories with a combined total of 6 or more sanctuaries.

From Sea to Shining Sea (A Review of Flash Point: Dangerous Waters)

Dangerous Waters retains all the core tenants of the original Flashpoint, so if you’re not familiar I recommend checking out our review of the base game. In summary: you’re firefighters, you’ve got to rescue people to win, and in the meantime fire is spreading and burning your house down.

Love Your Neighbor (a review of My Village)

My Village is a dice-drafting Euro game for two to four players. Players seek to build their personal villages to generate the most prestige. The player with the most prestige when a predetermined number of villagers die will be the winner.

Are You Not Entertained? (A Review of Death Pit Duels)

In Death Pit Duels, you and another player are gladiatorial promoters assembling a team of fantasy warriors to fight to the, well, death! Not that you care…as long as it leads to profit!

Players begin the game drafting their slaves champions through an “I divide, you decide” format. The fighter deck is comprised of ten cards each in four races: human, orc, goblin and cyclops. The first player draws five cards and creates two pairs, setting the fifth aside. The second player chooses which pair he wants and the first player gets the other. Then the second player draws four new cards, adding the previously undrafted warrior to it and repeats the process. When both managers have twelve fighters, the rest of the deck is set aside.

Board Game Quest:

Mombasa Review

Mombasa takes place over a period from the European Renaissance to the early Industrial age during which various companies were chartered to acquire trading opportunities and influence in Africa. Players accumulate shares in these companies, manage bookkeeping, obtain wealth, and collect diamond interests to gain points. However, it is worth noting that a statement in the rules makes it clear that Mombasa is not meant to be a “historical situation”.

Hold Your Breath Review

In Hold Your Breath, our unlucky pirates find themselves swimming towards land. Fortunately for them, they managed to get close, but an argument broke out about who could swim the deepest and make it back to the surface. They are not the smartest group of pirates. The game is separated into two phases, the Descent and Ascent. Players will need to play cards to allow the pirate to dive and return to the surface. But these are pirates we are talking about, so this won’t be a clean game. The cards can also be used to hinder your opponent’s chances of winning. The person who can dive the deepest and return to the surface before running out of time will win the game.

Drive Thru Review:

Tiny Epic Western Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:53); final thoughts and review (15:01)

Colony Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:20); final thoughts and review (11:51)

Toucan Play That Game:

Z War One Damnation Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Z-War One Damnation by Dice Sports.

Nightlancer Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Nightlancer by Adversity Games.

Scythe Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Scythe by Stonemaier Games.

It's time once again for Saturday.

I think that's really all that needs to be said about it.

This Roundup we have: Camel Cup, Dead of Winter, Tash-Kalar, Ryu, Through The Ages, Mombasa, Raptor, Fury of Dracula, Monster My Neighbor, Grand Austria Hotel, Neue Heimat, Pi mal Pflaumen, Modern Art: The Card Game, Fog of Love, and Pew Pew.



Toucan Play That Game:

Camel Cup Review



Dead of Winter Review



Play Board Games:

Tash-Kalar Review

Tash-Kalar is an abstract game with some area control in it set in a battle arena. You place your pieces on the board in specific patterns to summon cards in your hand.

Ryu Board Game Review

RYU is a resource management game with a rondel and drafting mechanic. Can you gather resources and build your dragon before your opponents?

Breacher18:

Through the Ages Review

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization (TtA) is the newest implementation of the 2006 civilization building game Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization. I was excited to receive this game to review as it would be the first time playing a civ game in board game form.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

Mombasa Review

There’s some irony in using a James Bond song to intro one of the least sexy games we’ve ever reviewed. Mombasa isn’t just a weighty, complex game with a fat manual. It’s a game of buying stocks in colonial-era Africa* where one of the areas of the board you’ll be battling is “The bookkeeping track”.

That’s right. Don’t all rush to throw your underwear at the box at once!

That said, if you won't have trouble inviting your friends over to play with stocks and books, we’re happy to tell you that Mombasa’s puzzle is strong and surprising, like a stinky hippo charging at you out of a river.

iSlaytheDragon:

Watch Your Six! Raptor’s Got a New Alpha! (A Review of Raptor)

Imagine an island in the Pacific where not all dinosaurs are extinct. A mama raptor and her five babies are cavorting in the island sun. (Don’t ask me where daddy raptor is. That’s never addressed.) A team of scientists has arrived to capture the dinosaurs, presumably for legitimate preservation and study, not Jurassic Park-style weirdness. Of course, mama raptor is not in favor of this plan, so she will battle to eat those scientists and save her babies. Who will win?

Fast and Furious (A Review of The Fury of Dracula 3rd Ed.)

There are two sides in Fury of Dracula: Dracula himself, and a team of four hunters which fans of the book will immediately recognize: Van Helsing, John Seward, Lord Godalming, and Mina Harker. The goal of the hunters is to find and eradicate Dracula, while Dracula must increase his influence on the world by maturing new vampires, defeat hunters in combat, or simply survive long enough for his power to be unstoppable.

Cards That Go Bump in the Night (A Review of Monster My Neighbor)

Monster My Neighbor is a light, quick-playing card game where you’re either guessing who the monster is or hiding your fiendish nature. Then again, you might start out as a normal everyday villager doing your part to root out the creature only to discover you suddenly become the monstrous target yourself! Monsters are known to have identity crises like that.

Prestige and Luxury (A Review of Grand Austria Hotel)

Euro games are often derided for their dull themes and presentation, put down for being tedious exercises in efficiency. Cube pusher, point salad, multiplayer solitaire. All terms to describe yet another soulless euro game. There’s some truth to it all, but you know what? I love it! I love it all! Farmers and merchants win my favor over wizards and warriors any day of the week. The struggles of a business owner are more relatable to me than the trials of an adventurer. So the stakes of a business facing bankruptcy carry more weight with me than staring down a giant troll. When Grand Austria Hotel offered me the opportunity to run my own high end hotel, I was eager to jump in.

Drive Thru Review:

Neue Heimat Review

Neue Heimat Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:43); final thoughts and review (13:29)

Pi mal Pflaumen Review

Pi mal Pflaumen Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:07); final thoughts and review (08:18)

Modern Art: The Card Game Review

Modern Art: The Card Game Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:41); final thoughts and review (08:16)

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (03:01); final thoughts and review (23:13)

Board Game Quest:

Fog of Love Preview

When a game debuts with a unique and fresh theme, it always catches my eye. We have countless zombie games, a billion trading games set in the Mediterranean Sea, and more fantasy games than one could play in a life time.

So when I was first asked to check out Fog of Love, my interest was immediately piqued. The theme is unusual for sure. In this 2 player only game, players take on the role of a couple and must make decisions over the course of their relationship. The game sprang from the mind of game designer Jacob Jaskov, who was trying to find a game to play with his wife, a romantic at heart. Decision making, role playing, and possibly some bluffing are what Fog of Love promises. Launching now on Kickstarter, we dive in to Fog of Love and see if it delivers on its promises.

Pew Pew Review

I will confess that I grew up in the eighties at the height of arcade video-gaming (insert ageism joke here). The digital glow of those large boxes or table tops drew me in like nothing else. My all-time favorite arcade game was Galaxian (not to be confused with Galaga) which I likely spent a king ransom of quarters playing over the years.

So when I was offered the chance to review, Pew Pew!, a solo, “old-school” arcade space shooter strategy game from Victory Point Games, I jumped at the chance. Does Pew Pew! emulate the feel of my favorite eighties arcade game fun or does it end up missing the mark? Read on!

Pew Pew! is a solitaire game for 1 player that plays between 15-20 minutes.

It's time once again for Saturday.

I think that's really all that needs to be said about it.

This Roundup we have: Camel Cup, Dead of Winter, Tash-Kalar, Ryu, Through The Ages, Mombasa, Raptor, Fury of Dracula, Monster My Neighbor, Grand Austria Hotel, Neue Heimat, Pi mal Pflaumen, Modern Art: The Card Game, Fog of Love, and Pew Pew.



Toucan Play That Game:

Camel Cup Review



Dead of Winter Review



Play Board Games:

Tash-Kalar Review

Tash-Kalar is an abstract game with some area control in it set in a battle arena. You place your pieces on the board in specific patterns to summon cards in your hand.

Ryu Board Game Review

RYU is a resource management game with a rondel and drafting mechanic. Can you gather resources and build your dragon before your opponents?

Breacher18:

Through the Ages Review

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization (TtA) is the newest implementation of the 2006 civilization building game Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization. I was excited to receive this game to review as it would be the first time playing a civ game in board game form.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

Mombasa Review

There’s some irony in using a James Bond song to intro one of the least sexy games we’ve ever reviewed. Mombasa isn’t just a weighty, complex game with a fat manual. It’s a game of buying stocks in colonial-era Africa* where one of the areas of the board you’ll be battling is “The bookkeeping track”.

That’s right. Don’t all rush to throw your underwear at the box at once!

That said, if you won't have trouble inviting your friends over to play with stocks and books, we’re happy to tell you that Mombasa’s puzzle is strong and surprising, like a stinky hippo charging at you out of a river.

iSlaytheDragon:

Watch Your Six! Raptor’s Got a New Alpha! (A Review of Raptor)

Imagine an island in the Pacific where not all dinosaurs are extinct. A mama raptor and her five babies are cavorting in the island sun. (Don’t ask me where daddy raptor is. That’s never addressed.) A team of scientists has arrived to capture the dinosaurs, presumably for legitimate preservation and study, not Jurassic Park-style weirdness. Of course, mama raptor is not in favor of this plan, so she will battle to eat those scientists and save her babies. Who will win?

Fast and Furious (A Review of The Fury of Dracula 3rd Ed.)

There are two sides in Fury of Dracula: Dracula himself, and a team of four hunters which fans of the book will immediately recognize: Van Helsing, John Seward, Lord Godalming, and Mina Harker. The goal of the hunters is to find and eradicate Dracula, while Dracula must increase his influence on the world by maturing new vampires, defeat hunters in combat, or simply survive long enough for his power to be unstoppable.

Cards That Go Bump in the Night (A Review of Monster My Neighbor)

Monster My Neighbor is a light, quick-playing card game where you’re either guessing who the monster is or hiding your fiendish nature. Then again, you might start out as a normal everyday villager doing your part to root out the creature only to discover you suddenly become the monstrous target yourself! Monsters are known to have identity crises like that.

Prestige and Luxury (A Review of Grand Austria Hotel)

Euro games are often derided for their dull themes and presentation, put down for being tedious exercises in efficiency. Cube pusher, point salad, multiplayer solitaire. All terms to describe yet another soulless euro game. There’s some truth to it all, but you know what? I love it! I love it all! Farmers and merchants win my favor over wizards and warriors any day of the week. The struggles of a business owner are more relatable to me than the trials of an adventurer. So the stakes of a business facing bankruptcy carry more weight with me than staring down a giant troll. When Grand Austria Hotel offered me the opportunity to run my own high end hotel, I was eager to jump in.

Drive Thru Review:

Neue Heimat Review

Neue Heimat Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:43); final thoughts and review (13:29)

Pi mal Pflaumen Review

Pi mal Pflaumen Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:07); final thoughts and review (08:18)

Modern Art: The Card Game Review

Modern Art: The Card Game Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:41); final thoughts and review (08:16)

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (03:01); final thoughts and review (23:13)

Board Game Quest:

Fog of Love Preview

When a game debuts with a unique and fresh theme, it always catches my eye. We have countless zombie games, a billion trading games set in the Mediterranean Sea, and more fantasy games than one could play in a life time.

So when I was first asked to check out Fog of Love, my interest was immediately piqued. The theme is unusual for sure. In this 2 player only game, players take on the role of a couple and must make decisions over the course of their relationship. The game sprang from the mind of game designer Jacob Jaskov, who was trying to find a game to play with his wife, a romantic at heart. Decision making, role playing, and possibly some bluffing are what Fog of Love promises. Launching now on Kickstarter, we dive in to Fog of Love and see if it delivers on its promises.

Pew Pew Review

I will confess that I grew up in the eighties at the height of arcade video-gaming (insert ageism joke here). The digital glow of those large boxes or table tops drew me in like nothing else. My all-time favorite arcade game was Galaxian (not to be confused with Galaga) which I likely spent a king ransom of quarters playing over the years.

So when I was offered the chance to review, Pew Pew!, a solo, “old-school” arcade space shooter strategy game from Victory Point Games, I jumped at the chance. Does Pew Pew! emulate the feel of my favorite eighties arcade game fun or does it end up missing the mark? Read on!

Pew Pew! is a solitaire game for 1 player that plays between 15-20 minutes.

Hello there, all you gaming friends out there in gamer-land! Seems for the moment that it's actually going to be a bit winter-like here in Atlanta. At least for a couple days. No, it's not like the winters I remember in Chicago, but if we had a winter like that down here, this place would never dig out of that. The whole state would shut down until June. It would be a nightmare.

However, a blizzard's-worth of reviews here today is just fine. (Because transitions!)

Today we've got articles on: X-Wing Miniatures Game, Star Wars Armada, Imperial Assault, Conflict of Heroes - The Eastern Front Solo Expansion, Queen's Necklace, Terrakami Games Sci-Fi Containers, Crusader A15 by Rubicon Models, Bountytown, Between Two Cities, Bad Beets, Ultimate Warriorz, Jamaica, The Gallerist, Mombasa, Ninja Camp, Shakespeare, Cthulhu Realms, Eternal Dynasty, Outer Earth, Fool's Gold, and Dark Age Z.



Ars Technica:

A Combined Review of X-Wing Miniatures Game, Star Wars Armada, and Imperial Assault

This week Ars Cardboard dives into miniatures wargaming—but forget stereotypes of tiny Napoleonic soldiers walking across home-crafted terrain. We’re talking about Star Wars miniatures here, from capital ships to TIE fighters to Darth Vader himself. If you’ve ever wanted to command a squad of X-Wings, take control of an Imperial Star Destroyer, or experience a shootout with stormtroopers, the current trio of licensed Star Wars miniatures games from Fantasy Flight have you covered. And with the Force Awakens mere days away, there's never been a better time to dive in.

Play Board Games:

Conflict of Heroes - The Eastern Front Solo Expansion Review

Conflict of Heroes is a war game, the Eastern Front expansion lets you play it solo. It changes the flow of the game and adds a formidable AI opponent.

Queen's Necklace Review

Queen’s Necklace is a card game in which you take on the role of a jeweler in Paris before the French Revolution. You want to buy gems that are in fashion for as little as possible and make a big profit when it comes time to sell. The person with the most pounds wins the game.

Graven Games:

Terrakami Games Sci-Fi Containers Review

Welcome to the beginning of a multiple part review of the laser cut terrain available from Terrakami, a company specialising in laser-cut MDF and acrylic accessories for tabletop wargames. In this review we’re going to be building a selection of Terakami’s Sci-Fi 28mm Containers, and then moving onto to some of their larger kits including their Container Crane in the near future. We picked these up with the plan of using them in our games of Warhammer 40k and Infinity, but they’ll work equally well in any game using a sci-fi setting.

Chaosbunker:

Crusader A15 by Rubicon Models Review

Part of the Third Quarter 2015 releases is the A15 Crusader, including 6 different variants from Mk I to MK III, as well as the AA and CS versions.

iSlaytheDragon:

Fist Full of Cards (A Review of Bountytown)

In Bountytown you’re a bounty hunter shooting (literally) to clean up the boisterous frontier town so that the railroad can come through and, with it, a little respectability. Of course, you’re not the only gun-for-hire aiming to bag some crooks. While you might think more equals better, that just means some other quick draw artists are crowding in on your reward money. A duel or two to steal a bounty from some other gun just might prove the old adage that this town ain’t big enough…

In the Peace Thereof Shall Ye Have Peace (a review of Between Two Cities)

Between Two Cities is a tile-drafting/city-building game for three to seven players (playable with one or two players with variants). Each player works with the player on the right and the player on the left to craft two cities that are a perfect 4×4 grid. At the end of the game, the player whose lower-scoring city is highest on the scoretrack wins.

Board Game Quest:

Bad Beets Review

In Bad Beets, players attempts to get rid of all of the beet tokens in front of them. This may involve feeding them to the dog, sharing them with another player, or eating them (ewww!). The main mechanic will be familiar to anyone who has played Coup, you can take any action, even if you don’t have the card that allows you to take that action. However, other players can call you out and you are penalized if you were bluffing.

Ultimate Warriorz Review

Ultimate Warriorz is a reimplementation of 2009’s Mad Arena. The object of the game is to be the last warrior standing. If more than one warrior is alive after seven rounds, then the warrior with the most popularity will be declared the winner.

BoardGameKing:

Jamaica Review

Captain Henry Morgan becomes the Governor of Jamaica with order to take out the Caribbean pirates and buccaneers! Though, he hires all of his former crew to join him in his quest to enjoy the fruits of the piracy without being punished!

Jamaica was published in 2007 by Asmodee and designed by Malcolm Braff, Bruno Cathala and Sébastien Pauchon who are well-known for such projects as Mr. Jack Extension, Shadows over Camelot, Corto and etc.

The main artist is Mathieu Leyssenne. He took part in such colorful games like Animalia, Bonbons and many others.

Drive Thru Review:


The Gallerist Review

The Gallerist Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:55); final thoughts and review (25:44)

Mombasa Review

Mombasa Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:03); final thoughts and review (16:57)

Ninja Camp Review

Ninja Camp Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:02); final thoughts and review (06:13)

Shakespeare Review

Shakespeare Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:01); final thoughts and review (14:19)

Board To Death TV:

Cthulhu Realms Review

In Cthulhu Realms, each player tries to reduce their opponents to insanity or have more sanity than their opponents when the deck runs out.

Eternal Dynasty Review

Eternal Dynasty is a game for 2-5 players with elements of territory control, worker placement, and political maneuvering.

Outer Earth Review

In the near future, both rapid space exploration and terraforming technology have opened a new science field allowing mankind to explore, discover and terraform planets for habitation.

Players manage a planetary development company and compete in the planet auction market for the developing rights of these newly explored planets.

Fool's Gold Review

Fool’s Gold takes place during the gold rush of 1849. Players are investors who send prospectors on a quest to find gold at various locations — in the mountains, in a forest, at a river, etc. — with each location having perils, gems, quantities of gold and bountiful supplies of silt. As players remove valuable gold cards from the location decks, silt becomes more prominent and gold harder to find.

Dark Age Z Review

Dark Age Z is a strategic board game for 2 to 5 players. You are one of the kings in the Dark Age. All players strive to gain as many victory points (VP) as possible by killing the zombies that attack the Frontiers of the Kingdom Cities. At the end of the game, the player with the highest VPs wins the game.