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Space Hoppers: Singko Academy WBG Score: 6.5 Player Count: 3-6 You’ll like this if you like: Published by: Orbiter & Rover This is a review copy. See our review policy here Space Hoppers: Singko Academy is a fresh new card game created by Orbiter & Rover where players compete to gather Souvenir cards in a take-that race game. The game successfully funded on Kickstarter on 2023, and is now available at retail. The artwork is colourful and attractive, the rules are simple to grasp, and the gameplay is quick and enjoyable. So, is it worth playing? Let's get it to the table to see how it plays. How To Set Up Space Hoppers: Singko Academy Separate the five decks and give them all an individual shuffle. Deal four crew cards, two monkey wrenches, and one souvenir card to each player. Players will place the Souvenir card face up in front of them along with their four Crew cards, adding the two Monkey Wrench cards into their hand. Then place one Hop card face up into the central playing area (this immediately effects all players) along with each of the separate decks, placed face down along with the modifier tokens. You are now ready to play. How To Play Space Hoppers: Singko Academy Players now take it in turns to draw an Encounter card. Players will read the card out loud and immediately follow its instructions. These cards can do all sorts of things, but your goal is to try and get Souvenir cards. Any of the next two players in turn can now play a single Monkey Wrench card if they choose, if not, play moves to the next player. If a player draws a Souvenir card they will add it to their face up collection in front of them. If a player ever reaches five Souvenir cards (four in a six player game) they win the game. (Note, some Souvenir cards are worth double) So long as no other player can change this with a Monkey Wrench card of course! Any cards played during a players turn are discarded to the bottom of their respective discard pile. Any player who played a Monkey Wrench card must draw a new one. You must have two in hand at all times. Crew cards act as each players life points. If you ever lose all your Crew cards you are out of the game. Any player with one single Crew card remaining is immune to other players stealing their final card. However, final Crew are not immune to Encounter effects or Monkey Wrench cards. Your Crew all have individual scores for various attributes. Many Encounter cards require you to score a minimum within one of these characteristics. You can gain new and extra Crew throughout a game, but be warned, you can also lose them! There is a variant where you can pick your crew one-by-one from all face up crew cards as part of a more customisable set-up. You can also boost your final crew card if you wish. And there is also a chaotic version where all players can play Monkey Wrench cards when ever they chose! Worth a try, at least once. Play continues with players drawing an Encounter card until one player has reached the required number of Souvenir cards. Is It Fun? Space Hoppers: Singko Academy Card Game Review Games of Space Hoppers: Singko Academy move fast. You could see games over within minutes. If a player gets lucky, they can see victory come their way before any other player has a chance to stop them. In a two-player game, this is actually quite common. As such, I feel this game excels with more players. More people, more chaos, more fun. Building a strategy can be hard. Things change fast. Your Crew can come and go, and the unpredictable nature of the Encounter cards can mean it is almost impossible to predict the path the game will take. The art is great though. Everything is so bright and colourful, and adds to the comic book fun of the game. There is also a lot of effort within the lore of the game. Each card has a fair bit of flavour text. Whether you ever read this or not is up to you! If you are looking for a quick, fun game that is light on rules and can be set up, taught, and played all within minutes, Space Hoppers: Singko Academy delivers. You will be disappointed if you are looking for a deeper strategy, but if you just want quick, fast fun, this is the one. I like the drafting option to build your Crew during setup, rather than just randomly gaining them. Using their combined skills to achieve Encounters is satisfying, especially if you have hand-crafted them yourself. But it can be a little random too. You never know what attributes you will need. You can't aim for one over the other as you never know what Encounter cards will come your way. I tend you just try and build an evenly balanced c Crew. I like the variety in the Monkey Wrench cards. They offer some fun and interesting things to do. The Hop cards do bring a fresh twist to each game; I just wish they were used more, and you could cycle through a few of these each game. But overall, this is a light, fun game that certainly does not outstay its welcome. It just perhaps comes in a little too light for me. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a simple, fast, vibrant card game to play with their family, that offers quick, entertaining, take-that style card play without too much stress.

Expeditions: Gears of Corruption WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-6 You’ll like this if you like: Scythe, Innovation, Dune Imperium. Published by: Stonemaier Games Designed by: Jamey Stegmaier This is a free review copy. See our review policy here. I have reviewed the main game here, where you can also get an understanding for how to set-up and play the game. This review will focus purely on the new expansion, what it adds, and our thoughts on these additions. Expeditions first came out in 2023. Billed as the sequel to Scythe, one of the biggest games in the industry, it received a mixed reaction. Some, expecting simply more Scythe, were a little disappointed. Others, more open to judging the game by its own merits, praised the game's clever but simple mechanics, ruleset, and structure. I was and remain a big fan of the game, but there are a few things that could be fixed and made better in my opinion. Does this first expansion do this? Well, lets it get it to the table and see how it plays. What's New With Expeditions: Gears of Corruption Two new Mechs to play with. 7 mech mats (2 new mats and 5 dual-layered mats to replace the originals) 16 new map tokens (each with a secret bonus on the face-down side) 6 new Hero (wild) workers 8 new starting cards 6 new discovery cards 7 new mech cards 12 new corruption cards and 1 corrupted mech reference card 6th player components: power, guile, glory, and action tokens 6 silkscreen printed corruption tiles A new Automa solo mode (5 progress cards, 1 corrupted mech reference card, 1 rulebook) How To Set Up Expeditions: Gears of Corruption Set up as you usually would with the main game with a few changes. First, replace the old map tokens with the new ones, being sure to place them face down on the board. Keep the old tokens for using in the main game, still. You will use the normal ones when you gain one through any other means other than exploring. But exploring new tiles now gives you these new benefits. Also, replace all the old player boards with the new ones. The new boards are duel layered so all the tokens fit nicely and snug inside now. No more sliding about. Not that it happened a lot, to be honest. But it does help when you lif the board to slide and tuck cards underneath. You can now also randomly select which mech each player will play as by shuffling and then dealing out the mech cards. You will also need to replace a few elements from the base game permanently. Tile 16 used in the base game should be permanently removed and replaced with a new one provided here. Also, item card 011. These fix some minor errors on the original print. The six new corruption tokens should be added to the corruption bag, ready to be used in all games. Then shuffle the new item cards and character cards into their respective decks. If you are using the new Corrupted mech module, place the corrupted mech reference card on the Basecamp glory track, showing the “Corrupted Mech Arrival” side, then shuffle the 12 corruption cards and set them nearby. Finally, each player now starts with one wild Hero worker. This can be used as any worker during the game. You will only have one throughout, you cannot get any more. You are now ready to play. How To Play Expeditions: Gears of Corruption Play as usual, but now when you explore a new tile, the map token will grant an immediate bonus. Flip the token, and gain whatever is shown on the reverse side. The corrupted mech is used to add a dummy extra player into the game. It first appears when a player places the first glory token. At the end of that player’s turn, any unused mech miniature is chosen and placed onto a revealed, unoccupied location. Now, flip the corrupted mech reference card to show “Corrupted Mech Turn” and place it to the right of that player. Next, deal five corruption cards face up in a pile next to the reference card so their corruption costs are all visible. Place the remaining corruption cards face down to form a deck beside this pile. From now on the corrupted mech will take a turn before the player that activated it takes their turn. To do this, deal a new corruption card face up to the top of the pile. If the deck of corruption cards is empty, move the bottom card of the pile to the top. If there is an open space in the specified direction on the new card, the mech will advance one space in that direction. Face-down spaces are considered open. Any map token is removed, the space is revealed if previously hidden, corruption tokens are placed on it, and the corrupted mech is moved onto it. Spaces already occupied by other mechs are not considered available. However, if the corrupted mech tries to move onto an occupied space, the player occupying that space will face the penalty described on the card. If there are no available spaces in the specified direction, the mech will attempt the next direction clockwise (and continue in this manner until it moves). If there are no available spaces in any direction, the mech will stop trying after checking all six directions and will not move. If the top card displays a second direction icon, the mech will attempt to move once more. Players can utilise the Vanquish ability to eliminate corruption cards when their mech is next to the corrupted mech just like you would vanquish a corruption token. They must pay the cost indicated at the bottom of the top corruption card to acquire it. This action can be repeated to acquire multiple corruption cards in a single Vanquish ability. Should a player take away the final corruption card that was revealed, the corrupted mech is removed from the game, regardless of whether there are still unrevealed corruption cards left. Place all the remaining corruption cards, the corrupted mech reference card, and the mech miniature back into the box. Is It Fun? Expeditions: Gears of Corruption Board Game Review I would get this expansion for the duel-layered player boards alone! Not that there was a real issue with the originals. I just love duel-layered player boards and feel it always makes the experience smoother, more luxurious, and obviously safer from knocks and cat attacks! The new boards in this expansion are wonderful and certainly make the experience better. But is this enough for a first expansion? Well, if you want to play this game with six players, I would say it is a must-have. But for me, the game shines with three or four players. I am not sure if a sixth player will ever be important to me. But it's perfect if that is your preferred player count. The other components included are nice add-ons, and I have found that the new exploration tokens do encourage people to explore a lot more in their first few games with them. But outside of that, there are no real new strategies needed here to play the game with what is added. But with that comes no added rules or complexity to the teach for new players. However, I love the two new mechs. They bring more variety, and it is nice to have the mech cards to choose your character from as well, especially with players all familiar with the game. But the star of this expansion for me is the new corrupted mech module. In two-player, how I play this the most, the game can become a little isolating. Players go off and do their own thing and rarely encounter each other, staying at opposite ends of the board. The new corrupted mech module fixes this with an incredibly simple extra dummy player, but in such a cool way. They are not there from the beginning, they can be removed, and the movement and control of them is so simple. It brings a more dynamic player board, with obviously more chances of encountering other mechs, and just makes it a better game. It is a simple touch, but one that I really enjoy. I won't play without it again at two-player. I am unsure if I will use it for higher player counts; maybe the odd three-player game will see this included if players have not used it before and are curious. But in four player or higher, I am unsure if I would use this as the board is already busy enough. I would suggest. But of course, it is a nice option to have. If you are a fan of the base game, this is a great addition. If you did not enjoy the original, this will not change your mind. But it certainly does help with the main gameplay issue I previously had about the lack of player interaction. However, it did not address the main issue I have with the tiles being easily exposed to the odd nudge and displacement. Tile holders would do the trick here, as seen in the demo game Ecolapse. These are available on Etsy as an unofficial upgrade, but I would love to see an official Stonemaier version of these in a future expansion. But, does it all fit in the box? Well, yes. Really quite well. And you can finally use the final two spaces for extra mechs, which is all rather satisfying. And there are a few new bags to sort the money out. Ahhhhh! Much better. All is right with the world again.

Undermined! Pairadice City WBG Score: 7 Player Count: 2-6 You’ll like this if you like: Rescuing Robin Hood Published by: Devilfly Games Designed by: Nick Barker, Chris Fisher This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Undermined! Pairadice City debuted on Kickstarter in late 2023. It marks Devilfly's inaugural game and sets players against each other in an interesting blend of semi-cooperation and competition, within a racing scenario where the goal is to reach a predetermined points total first. Participants can assist one another each round in return for mutually agreed-upon benefits, deploy cards that may either hinder or aid fellow players, but all while pursuing their individual interests. Intrigued? I certainly was. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How to Set Up Undermined! Pairadice City First, shuffle all the separate decks of cards and place them out in front of you. From the shop deck, lay out the top five cards face up into a line. Each player then takes the starting cards shown with the gold boxed text at the bottom, two event cards and two coins each. Keep the event cards in your hand and your other cards face up in front of you. Place the dice and coins into a general supply along with the handy player aid. You are now ready to play. How to Play Undermined! Pairadice City Players will now take turns running through the four main steps of each turn until a player reaches the agreed-upon points target. The starting total is 12 points, but there are variants to play to 15 or 18 depending on how long you want to play. The first step is simple. Players draw an event card and two coins. At this point, if you want to, you can exchange two event cards in your hand for one from the top of the deck. The second step sees players visit the shop. Here, players can exchange coins for any one of the five face-up items, adding it to their hand. There is a limit of four items, but some cards allow you to increase this. If players do not have enough money at this point, they can sell treasures for their face value, but at the start of the game, you won't have any treasures to sell. And of course, treasures are worth points, so this is a key part of the game. Deciding if you want to rush to the total or try to build up your engine so that you may take one step back now but will be able to take two giant steps forward later. The next step is the preparation phase. Here, players can pay two coins to move the top Rock card to the bottom of the deck if it has too high a value. They will then choose one tool to use to try and mine the top Rock card this turn. And then finally, ask for help from the other players if they are not using an explosive this round. If anyone agrees to help, they roll one die to add to your total for this round. Help can be offered for free or in exchange for cards, money, or whatever you want. It's a negotiation. It's up to the players if they want to do this, and of course, honour whatever promises they make at this point! Play then moves to the final stage, the Mining phase. Here players roll two dice, add whatever they get from other players' dice who are helping, and then whatever bonus they have from the tool they chose that round, and any other cards they may be able to use. If the total combined number is equal to or greater than the number on the top Rock card, that player will then flip that card and gain the benefit on the back. Money or the chance to dip into the Treasure and Peril deck. If it is a Treasure card, simply add this to your face-up cards. This will not count towards your hand limit. But it will count towards your point total or can be sold in a later shopping round. If it is a Peril card, you must immediately carry out whatever it says, and if any other player helped and rolled a one, they sadly have to face this Peril too. Event cards can be played throughout all this based on what the card says, and play continues like this until someone reaches the agreed points total. Is It Fun? Undermined! Pairadice City This game offers an interesting mix of competitive card play and cooperation. I found that in most games I played, two or three players would join forces while one player would go rogue. Either because they refuse to help or because they attack others first, causing a rift in the group! This can cause some arguments and frustrations with younger player, who generally do not cope as well with take-that and double crossing. But works well with more experienced or less sensitive players! The game comes with a second Rock deck with a higher value on the top. This makes achieving the target harder, encouraging more collaboration, and pushing players to work harder to build their arsenal of Tools and Items; perhaps selling Treasures early on to develop this, rather than just push for the points goal. I would encourage adding these in from game one. The game is kept fresh with the varied Tools, Items and Event cards, which bring about some very interesting and fun options. However, as some Events are good for all, others bad for all, and the rest just affect one player, there can be some frustrations here too with the luck of the draw. This also applies to players who draw Treasures and Perils instead of gaining money when successfully mining a Rock card. You could theoretically go through an entire game and play just as well as another player and score no points as you just get Peril cards all the time. Now you can buy items to negate the effects of the perils, but you still won't get any points! And your money supply will dwindle quickly without any treasures to sell. This is obviously pretty unlikely, but I have had a few games where one player felt like this was happening to them. It feels like there should be a little more control here. The Big Magnet Item card helps a little here. Allowing you to draw two cards and choose one from it. But it is costly, only has two uses, and is the only card in the deck that really helps with this sort of thing. There are more than one though! But the Tool and Item cards are a real highlight, and I am exited each Shopping round when I get the chance to add one to my collection. The four card limit is a little frustrating, but can be negated with a few cards, and only being able to shop once per turn also holds you back a little. But there are some Event cards which bring more opportunities to the table, although for all players, so you will help the other players too. But sometimes, it is good to be nice! And shopping is always fun, right! But my biggest issue with the game is with the Rock mining itself. When you use Explosives, you can smash your way through more than one Rock card if you score high enough. Generally two cards, but sometimes three if you are lucky. This feels great. But happens quite rarely as there are only so many Explosive cards in the game that you can get. As such, I am unsure why you cannot just go through as many cards as you can each time, no matter how you are mining. It just feels more fun this way? It wouldn't happen often, but still, I think the chance should be there. I want this game to offer me the chance to combo through a few Rocks Blow a few up each turn. Gain a little momentum. Have some fun. But with all that said, when I play this game, I do have fun. There is a very interesting game here. The theme feels unique and is well implemented into the game. The cards are varied and offer a different game experience each time you play. The mix between working together and against each other appeals to my devious nature, and I find the balance of keeping others onside while secretly plotting against them to be a lot of fun. Although, there is perhaps a little too much "take-that" in the game for my liking. Although this is just personal taste. I also think there could be a little more variety with the Rock cards. They offer either money or Treasure/Peril cards. It feels some thought here could have brought a little more excitement to the game. And the rewards, as well as being a little stale, could be a little more. A little bigger. But again, I must stress, when I play, I do have fun. And the more I played, the more fun I had. This is a real builder of a game. As you learn new ways to play and try new strategies, the game open ups a little and you feel a little more in control. But then, you can still be slapped in the face by the game every now and then, that is part of it. And I suppose, thematic to the old Wild West. But if this game every got an expansion to fix some of the issues around variety and a lack of control, I would be very interested in seeing that.

Divinus WBG Score: 6.5 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Land vs Sea, Doing LOTS of stickers and admin Published by: Lucky Duck Games Designed by: Filip Miłuński This is a review copy. See our review policy here - SPOILER FREE REVIEW Divinus is the ultimate demigod experience. If you are looking for one? Take on quests, challenge Greek and Norse gods, and shape your own mythological destiny. Each game unlocks new quests, stickers, LOTS of stickers. And the god characters in the story keep the legacy element fresh with their constant requests, mischievous behaviour, and combative nature. With the app guiding the narrative, players will use their dice to select and lay down tiles, create new worlds, complete quests, and hopefully gain divine favour. What that all means by the end of the experience, well, let's see if you get there first. But it's not just about impressing the gods. You'll make permanent changes to your playing character (your demigod) and the game world by collecting artefacts and making seemingly pivotal decisions that alter the course of the game throughout. Battles, holy sites, and even the fate of gods are in your hands. Your choices matter and have apparently lasting consequences. So, let's dive into Divinus, get it to the table, and see how it plays. How To Set Up Divinus For your first game, there are only a few rules to read, and set up is pretty simple. This will change quickly. Rules wise. Set up remains relatively quick and straightforward throughout the campaign. First, layout the game board and separate the tiles two their two separate backs. Remove any based on your player count, using the symbol on the tile and place them face down in two separate piles on the designated spaces for them on the game board. Then turn over six of each, placing them face up onto the numbered spaces on the board. Each player at the start of the campaign needs to choose one of the four demi gods to play as. Take the associated box and dice for this character, and place it in front of each player. Next, take out the game one god cards. There is a small card box for each game n the main box. In each one you will find the components you need for each part of the campaign. In the first box you will find four god cards. Place these in their designated spaces on either side on the top of the board. These will set you main scoring challenges for the first game. Some components will run through game to game, some will be removed permanently from the game after a few uses. But don't worry, the app does a very good job at clearly explaining all this as you play through. You are now ready to play. Later games will require little more set up, adding extra things, but I don't want to spoil that here. Just know the opening game is far from the complete experience. How To Play Divinus Players will roll all their dice and then starting with the first player, use any combination of dice to claim a tile. As many dice can be used as each player wants, but each die can only be used once. You could use simply a die showing a "one" to take the tile in the "one" space. Or you could combine dice such as a "one" and a "two" to claim the tile in the third space. You can also combine dice to reduce your number, so a "one" and a "three" to claim the tile in the second place. However you want. Take the tile and place the die or dice you used into the space the tile came from. Do not replace the tile. The tile that is taken is placed in front of you. The second tile you take this way must connect to the first tile you took, with one side matches the tile you have already placed. Subsequent tiles must be placed in the same way, matching one other previously placed tiles side. You will be building a 4x4 grid over the course of each game. Players continue like this until they run out of dice, or do not have any dice that they can use. At this point, you will take back all previously dice, re-roll all your dice, replace the tiles from the spaces you took the dice, and then hand back over to the next player. Essentially you miss a turn, but get all your dice back. So, you want to use your dice as efficiently as possible as soon as someone completes their grid, that is the end of the game. You cannot fall too far behind in your own grid by refreshing your dice too often. The main that players are looking to do as they build out their grid is to match terrain on the tiles and complete the mission set in each round god mission cards. This is mainly about creating the largest number or largest amount of certain terrain. But later in the game, this evolves to other challenges. All focused around specific tile placement. As the games evolves, stickers will be added All over. Into the rulebook, (lots there!) onto tiles. New powers onto your own god character box. You will even change the numbers on your dice. As you take and play tiles with stickers on, some will be numbers that link to the app; either by scanning them, or much more simply by adding in the two digit number. This will then start a story, with a fair bit of text on the app you will need to read. At the end, you will need to make a choice based upon the events that you just read about. Your choice will affect the rest of the game of all parties, but mostly you. Allegiances will be formed. Behaviours judged! In later games, getting tiles with number stickers on that you have interacted with before will be beneficial. It will help you with various parts of the story, and opportunities to "level up" your character by attaining certain tiles, offering certain powers. But there will be benefits for other players to take these tiles and interact with them as well. Of course, on top of the opportunity to stop the original player to take this tile from doing so. It can be a bit of a rush when these tiles come out. And as such, if any are drawn during the initial set up, you need to replace them with another tile, and shuffle them back into the stack. Once the first 4x4 grid is formed, players all take one final turn, and then the app will take you through end game scoring. Players will score extra points for completing their grid, as well as the challenges set by the gods for each round. New parts of the story will evolve, more stickers will come out, new rules will be introduced, and a new round can then begin. after the final game, you can reset and go again by buying a refresh pack, or play your now unique version of the game in one of challenges. Is It Fun? Divinus Legacy Board Game Review I want to love this game so much. There is so much about it that excites me. And some of the game is brilliant. The game itself is a little simple, but if you like tile-laying, it offers a nice challenge. Each game is quick, there are simple and clear goals to aim for, and the process by which you do this with the dice is a lot of fun. The issues comes more with the legacy parts, the story, and crucially; the stickers. The story is quite long. There is a lot of reading. Normally I want to read every word and not miss a thing with games like this. But by game four of Divinus I found I was skipping through pages of text just to keep the game going. I found it frustrating to keep pausing the game midway, when it usually moves at quite a nice pace, for one player to have to read out three pages of flavour text. This is not always conducive to the best game experience, and is very uncommon for me. I usually want to devour everything. After each game, when you want to crack on with the next chapter and try the new rules or components added to the game, you will be busy with a fair bit of admin. Adding stickers to the rule book, game board, and dice; running through various mid-game clean-up phases, and reading a lot more text. The flow again is frustratingly interrupted. Just when you excitement is peaked, there is admin to do. The concept of this game sadly is better than the execution. But I hope a lot of learning can come from this. There is a great game within this. It feels like an early edit. The directors somewhat egotistical cut. But with a few tweaks and a lot of cut backs in the stickers and text this would be a great experience. Now, of course, some will love this. The text and stickers all come together to make this a rich and evolving experience, which some will love. Some may even expect it for a legacy game like this, and so do I. Usually, I would lap it up. It just crossed the border of deep, layered, evolving and fun into laborious. Adding stickers to dice can truly enhance the gaming experience by providing a personalised touch and a unique aesthetic appeal. And let's be honest. It's just a fun thing to do in a game! It also brings a genuine sense of ownership to the game. The varied ways to score points in the game, influenced by the different demi-gods each round, introduce a layer of complexity and strategy that keeps players on their toes. This dynamic element ensures that each game session is different and presents new challenges for players to overcome. It adds depth to the gameplay and encourages players to adapt their strategies based on the changing requirements each game. This balance between familiarity and novelty ensures that players are constantly invested in the game, making each session something you want to get into. But, ultimately, the success of the game has to be measured by its legacy elements – the lasting impact it leaves on players, the memories created during gameplay, and the overall enjoyment it provides from the story and development of the rules. By combining evolving mechanics and rules, customisable components, and dynamic gameplay, the game does create a cool experience that resonates with players long after the dice have been rolled. But you will need to judge for yourself if the admin to get through is worth it for the payoff that Divinus delivers.

Moonflight by independent designer Man O’ Kent games is a beautifully constructed deck ‘un-builder’ that puts the player into the strange world of Moonflight. A town born wherever the shadows of the hunter’s moon fall. If I haven’t already lost you, then let me explain! Not the hunter’s moon bit, I am no expert there, although I believe it’s something to do with harvest time and prepping for winter. No, I mean the deck ‘un-building’ bit! I am sure you have heard of deck building. If not, go check this out. But have you heard of 'un-building'? Well, this is a game where you need to build up your deck in the first half of the game before the ‘flip’ at which point you then need to shed cards like a sheep in springtime. This is because points are scored by what’s in your hand at the end of the game and there is a hand limit so you can only hold so many. And most cards are pointless! It’s a clever idea and not one I have seen many times, but does it lead to an enjoyable experience? Well, yes! It really does! The first half of the game you are racing to build up your deck of cards to become more powerful. Essentially you want to generate money each turn to buy better cards. Your hand limit and maximum coin count is limited each round, so you need to get cards that can increase your hand limit and generate coins quickly each turn. You can only carry five coins over to the next round. As such, you want to spend all your money as best you can to make your deck develop as quickly and efficiently as possible. A lot of the cards are set up to do this, so you will find your hand improves each round in the direction you intend quite easily. This is a fundamental part about why deck building games are fun. Seeing immediate gains and benefits to your efforts. Being able to do new things quickly. Using new cards is a lot of fun. Some deck builders force you to wait too long before you can use the new cards. Whereas in Moonflight you will not have this problem. The cards you will have access to early in the game will mostly be worth zero points at the end of the game, but they will help you build your hand size and coin earning potential to get the higher value point cards. But they will clog up your deck later in the game. The game has a clever timing mechanism using the stack of available upgrade cards. After each round when you acquire a new card from one of your own three personal stacks, if one of them is empty for you or any other player in the game, all players will draw three new cards to place on top of each stack. This is a very clever rule for many reasons. Firstly, this allows players to cycle through their deck quickly to find the cards they want. This makes deck building more fun! Secondly, it allows for tactical play to block your opponent’s more powerful cards. If you see another player has a great card available on their next turn, you can try to empty one of your stacks, meaning that they will then have to bury that card under another that you hope will be less attractive to them. Thirdly, it acts as a variable timer on the game. When you can no longer fill one of the piles, the mid-game ‘turn’ happens. This is when all players will physically turn all their cards 180 degrees. Every card in their hand, deck, supply stacks and discard pile is affected. Each card is designed to have two sides to it. A top and bottom. On the same face of each card, exists two different scoring options, costs, powers, and effects. When you flip them round, you will find that most turn from cards that help you to build your deck, to becoming cards that help you burn it all to the ground! Your once beautiful deck full of money and hand increasing powers becomes the target of a trash filled slaughter! In what essentially becomes a race game of who can devolve their deck the quickest, the 'turn' changes Moonflight completely on its head. The end of the game is triggered when one player has exhausted, their cards so much that their draw deck and discard is empty during the reset stage. Each player then scores the cards they have in their hands. It’s a fantastic way to manage the games length and set the strategy that each player adopts. There are four decks available at the start of the game which are chosen by the players during set-up. The Jack o’ Clay and Bones specialises in controlling the discard and trash stack, providing an ability to use both stacks to extend its users hand. This allows the player holding these cards to use newly acquired powers quicker and cycle through a build and trash mechanic a lot quicker. The Jack o’ Words and Names can draw cards quicker than other cards allowing it to build bigger hands to carry out more powerful actions. After the ‘turn’ this power switches to controlling both hand and deck by drawing cards into your hand in incredible numbers. This risks getting a lower score, but also ending the game quicker so others suffer the same fate. The Jack o’ Cot and Hovel likes to build a bigger tableau. There is an ability in the game to ‘set’ cards. This allows you to keep cards from turn to turn, rather than using and discarding. The Jack ol’ Cot and Hovel allows you to set cards quicker than one can type "game, set, m…" After the ‘turn’ this power to set cards continues, and now allows the user of this deck the power to order their cards in a specific way. Allowing the player to try and structure when they draw their cards worth the most points. The Jack o’ Bond and Kind deck is all about generating coins. Giving you the chance to buy your way to victory, this can bring about the ‘turn’ quickly if you chose to do so. After the ‘turn’ this deck will require more time to prepare a final hand, using coins to trash cards. So, this is all about a quick first half and steady burn in the second. The four decks feel very different. Their unique powers and theming is a joyful experience to behold. Having tried them all, I cannot say I favour one over the other. But I like the opportunity to use each one and work my strategy to each deck’s strengths and weaknesses. Moonflight is an asymmetric deck un-builder. Is it a one-of-its-kind is this respect? I think potentially so! Does that mean you should go out and buy this? Well maybe! It certainly scratches am itch I didn’t even know existed before! But now when that tickle comes, I have no idea where else to look. Designer Glenn Ford has created something special with Moonflight. I look forward to playing this game with new players over the coming years to see their face as they realise what it is this game is trying to make them do. It is a novel and refreshing experience that is a lot of fun to boot. My only slight comments are the art and rule book. It’s all very brown. But the theme excuses the art in part. But it's a shame this isn’t a little more vibrant. The rule book works well but is ordered in a way that confused me. The game is not complicated but the rule book perhaps could have been structured in a more friendly manner. But other than that, this game delivers on all levels and these are minor quibbles for something that I think is quite special. Speaking on the rulebook, designer Glenn Ford commented, “my previous game SSO had a very small, tightly written rulebook with essentially no examples or explanations and people struggled with it because of that. With Moonflight I had more space in the book and the box and so was possibly overly careful about giving extra explanations and examples, I also inherently personally prefer rulebooks that cover every eventuality, even at the cost of length and I’m still finding the sweet spot for other people, I think. I am always personally available for rules questions, and welcome the chance to add to any FAQs, but equally there really haven’t been too many questions that actually need clarifying.” “As for the artwork, with the double ended nature of the cards finding images that worked either way up effectively while also fitting in with the ancient/timeless feel of the theme and coming in at the sort of price point a small independent designer can cover was always going to be tough, but I really stand by the overall feel of the game and am very proud of some of the small details in the cards. The art does have a lot of richness and historical references to it if not full colour and while I accept that’s not to everyone’s taste I think they reward repeated inspection in a way that I really like." "Ultimately, with the artwork, its one of the most expensive and time-consuming part of any game and with a tiny budget and zero staff I aimed for making a virtue of necessity by shaping it to an overall theme and feel rather than commissioning higher impact pieces.” I quite agree with this, and these are minor quibbles as I say. Overall, Moonflight is a beautiful piece of work that I am delighted to have in my collection and will play for years to come. It offers a unique and engrossing experience that I think rewards mid-level strategy game fans heavily.

Booty Dice WBG Score: 6.5 Player Count: 2-6 You’ll like this if you like: Bang! The Dice Game Published by: Messy Table Games Designed by: Eric Olsen This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Booty Dice comes from new publisher, Messy Table Games; who have a mission statement to bring fun, fast, and engaging games to the market. With Booty Dice, they have certainly achieved that. This is a fast-paced pirate free-for-all where players attack and steal from each other while trying to defend themselves from attacks. This all happens is a very quick and simple game that is basically just throwing dice. Want to see how easy this is to learn? Lets get it to the table and find out! How To Set Up Booty Dice Each player takes 5 gold Doubloons and 10 life tokens. Place the six dice and player aid into the central playing area. You are now ready to play. How To Play Booty Dice Players now take it in turns to roll the six dice. Players can re-roll one or all of the dice up to three time if they wish, or stop when they have the roll they want. Players will then enact each final dice face as per the below player aid. If players ever eliminate a player using the Cutlass, Mutiny, or Blackbeard's curse roll, then they will take all of their Doubloons. Players will continue like this until one player has amassed 25 or more coins, or only one player has any life tokens left. That's it! Told you it was easy. Is It Fun? Booty Dice - Dice Game Review This game is a fantastic choice for casual gatherings, whether it's a night out at the pub or a laid-back game night with friends. Its simplicity and ease of learning make it accessible to players of all levels, even those who are not seasoned gamers. While the gameplay may lean more towards luck than strategy, it offers a refreshing break for those looking for a light-hearted and enjoyable experience. One of the standout features of this game is its thematic elements, which are well-integrated despite the limited components. The quality of the components, especially the chunky dice, adds to the overall tactile experience and enhances the game's immersive feel. It's the kind of game that you can easily bring along wherever you go, thanks to its compact size and quick setup time. Personally, I find myself drawn to this game when playing with my children for its reliability in delivering fast-paced and simple gameplay. It's a go-to option for those moments when you want to dive straight into the action without any delays. With its blend of simplicity, theme, and casual mechanics, this game has all the makings of a crowd-pleaser that promises lots of fun and laughter. If you are looking for a game that is intricate, strategic, and requires tough decision-making, this may not be the right choice for you. However, if you prefer a game that is easy to learn and can be enjoyed within minutes, especially with younger or more laid-back players, then this could be the perfect fit for you.

Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos WBG Score: 8.5 Player Count: 1-3 You’ll like this if you like: Unmatched, Battle Line, Star Wars Destiny. Published by: Chris Loizou, Bryan Steele Designed by: SBG Editions, This is the reviewers own copy. See our review policy here Please note the pictures include a play mat which is sold separately. In the Cursed Empire Heroes of Thargos get ready for some epic battles in the custom made RPG realm of Thargos! It's like diving into a pool of dragons, monsters, heroes and weapons, but with cards instead of water. The game is set in the world created by designer Chris Loizou, in which various other games have been set. Including a sprawling RPG, which is about to have a 3rd edition come to crowd funding. You can find out more about this HERE. The game can be played in a, RPG style story mode, using the cards as prompts for the story. There is a solo and three player variant. But the main course I would say is the two-player duel; where players build their own custom deck and race to a specific points target based on their chosen heroes. Lets get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos The rule book is one of the most conversational ones I have ever encountered. It does a fantastic job explaining the different ways to use these cards in a very interesting way. There is also a quick start guide to get you up and running in no time. The first thing to do is sort out the cards, which is a good chance to familiarize yourself with what's in the box. Look for the red-backed cards first. These are the character cards. They are all double-sided to show the characters' normal and injured states, used in the game. The card's faction symbol is shown on the top left. This is mainly used for optional rules but will be relevant to some Lasting cards, which we will get to soon. The card's CPV (Character Points Value) is shown on the top right. This is used for calculating the Victory Points needed to win for each deck. You add up the CPV for all your characters, and the total is your points target for that game. The more powerful your chosen characters, the more points you need to win. Smart, isn't it? The main text shows the in-game effects of the card, unique to each one. At the bottom, the card's Might, Mind, and Mysticism scores are shown. The colors used here will help you link these traits to other relevant modifiers in the game. The reverse side shows the card's injured side, where there will be a new in-game effect. Understandably, but sadly, the art does not change. Players will now forge their Battle deck. You need to have a good balance between the three types of cards: Mission, Lasting, and Action. For your first game, I suggest taking 20 of each. As you get to know the game better, you can customize this however you see fit. Avoid taking any duplicates for any one player, and note that certain powerful cards have a padlock symbol on them. This means you can only have one of this type of card in your deck. Shuffle these up and get ready for battle! At this stage, players will need to choose their four characters. Ideally, you'll find cards that work well together and with your chosen deck. This could be based on their complementary powers or a varied mix of Mind, Might, and Mysticism, linked to the cards in your battle deck. But don’t worry too much for your first game. Note your CPV, then divide this by two (rounding up). That’s your target score for the game. Reaching that points goal is how you win, unless your opponent does so first or either of you run out of cards. That's another way to lose, so be careful not to burn through your deck too quickly. Players now draw the top six cards from their battle deck. If you do not have at least two gold mission cards, place these six cards at the bottom of your deck and draw again until you do. Note that some character cards may affect your hand size, so read your card's main text to check for this and remind yourself of their abilities. The first player will place one of their four character cards face up on the non-injured side, placing it into an imaginary (or real, if you have the awesome play mat) track. The opponent will then do the same. They don’t have to match the same track as the first player, but they can if they wish. You're looking to match up cards that can perform well against each other based on their attributes. Keep going until both players have placed all four of their characters, resulting in four complete tracks of two characters each. Next, players take turns placing one of their mission cards between two characters on one of the tracks. These missions are challenges that the characters in the same track will compete in at a certain point in the game, but not immediately. Ideally, place missions into tracks that suit the character you have there, and consider the attributes of the other player’s character too. When all four missions are placed, draw back up to your hand limit, and you are now ready to play the base game. How To Play Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos Players will now take turns to draw back up to their hand limit, play one Lasting card, and then take one action, which can be playing an action card or attempting a mission. At the start of a player's turn, they can draw back up to their hand limit if they are below it at this point. Then, with these cards in hand, usually six, players can choose one Lasting card to play under one of the four characters to boost that character’s attributes. The Lasting cards show stats for the three attributes, just like the character cards. When placed under a character, these stats will add to the character’s base attributes, mostly increasing them but occasionally decreasing them. Some Lasting cards also have permanent powers affecting character stats, sometimes based on other factors such as which other cards are also linked to this character. Players can take one action per turn. This might involve playing an action card or attempting a mission. When you play an action card, you perform the action specified on the card. These actions can enhance your attributes, allow you to draw more cards, heal an injured player, or carry out other exciting activities. If you attempt a mission, pick one of the four face-up missions in the tracks and declare you are attempting it. Each mission card will test at least one attribute, sometimes more, specified with a number next to the relevant attributes on the card. These numbers boost the defending player's stats for that attribute. For example, if your character has a score of four for the tested attribute and the defending character has a score of two, but the mission card shows a plus two, the score is now tied at four each. To win a mission, the attacking player must beat or match the defending player's score in the tested attribute after considering the buff on the mission card. In the example of a tie at four each, the attacker would win. However, if the buff was plus three and the defender's score is now five to four, the attacker still has options. On the top right of each card is a plus number. The attacking player can play as many cards as they want from their hand, face down, and declare which attribute each card is boosting. You can play as many cards as you wish, but you must play an equal number of cards to each attribute if you boost more than one. Remember, if you ever run out of cards, you lose the game. So, don't burn through your deck too quickly. Additionally, if you use too many cards to attack, you may be short of cards to defend on the other player's next turn, as you won't draw back up to your hand limit until the start of your next turn. Once the attacking player has finished playing extra cards, the defender can then choose to play cards of their own to boost their attributes. They can only play cards to the attributes that the attacker boosted, and like the attacker, must play an equal number of cards to each if they boost more than one attribute. When this is done, all cards played are revealed and the winner is declared. If the attacker wins, they take the points shown on the mission card, move it to their points pile, and carry out the text on that card. The defender must replace the displaced mission card with a mission card from their hand. If they don't have one, they will need to draw and discard from their deck until they find one, which can dangerously deplete their deck. If the defender wins, the attacker must flip their character card to the injured side, and the mission card stays in play. An injured card cannot be injured again, but there are variations to this if you play with the undead expansion! Play then moves to the next player. Remember, the attacker from the previous round now becomes the defender and will not draw back up to their hand limit until the start of their turn when they become the attacker again. So, they may now be seriously depleted of cards needed to defend! Play continues in this manner until one of the winning conditions is met. Is It Fun? Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos Card Game Review The world created here is incredibly rich. Every card has been crafted with exceptional care and attention, interlinking brilliantly both in theme and mechanics. If you're looking for a game with a complex and deeply woven tapestry, I'm not sure there's anything better. The solo mode works very well, using a simple dice system to dictate your opponent's actions. The story mode is intriguing and offers a unique experience, though it might demand a bit more from you as a player to bring the narrative to life. If you're a fan of RPGs or seeking a card game that delves deeper into storytelling, you'll love this mode. However, for me, the 1v1 battle is where this game truly shines. The way the cards interact and how your characters develop as you add more Lasting cards each round make the balance and flow of each game feel just right. Players enhance their powers at a similar pace, creating a balanced and engaging experience. The strategy of which characters to develop versus which ones your opponent is focusing on is crucial. With mission card points ranging from one to four, targeting the higher value missions is a priority for both players. Knowing when to defend, when to attack, when to hold back cards, and when to go all out is what makes the game so compelling and fun. And it truly delivers. You will need to keep a close eye on all your powers. The character's abilities, combined with the additions from Lasting cards and the action cards you play, can make it easy to overlook something. However, this rich development of your four characters is a big reason this game engrosses me so much. It's fun to see them evolve and enjoyable to use new powers. With 33 unique characters, each game will feel different. Once you've learned the decks a bit more, creating your own custom pack of 60 cards is where the game really shines. Knowing what's coming up, understanding how you can develop your heroes, and building something based on planning and strategy rather than random draws is very satisfying. I look forward to seeing how this game evolves and will be closely following all future expansions.

Masters of Crime: Vendetta WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Detective, Sherlock Holmes Published by: KOSMOS Designed by: Lukas Setzke, Martin Student, Verena Wiechens This is a free review copy. See our review policy here - SPOILER FREE REVIEW The Masters of Crime series started in 2021 with Rapture. There are now five in the series. The second to be released was Vendetta. Vendetta is a cooperative murder mystery game that puts you in the middle of a thrilling investigation. Under the cover of night, you slink through the rain-drenched streets of New York. Your godfather's urgent summons rings in your ears—there’s a rat in the family, and it’s up to you to sniff them out and restore the family's honour. You'll solve puzzles, follow clues, and make crucial decisions to crack the case. With a deck of cards, hidden clue documents, and use of the actual Internet, you'll dive into a choose-your-own-adventure experience. You'll explore realistic locations, encounter suspects, and decide how to handle each situation, earning points along the way. The game keeps you on your toes with complex puzzles and escape room elements. Set in the gritty mafia world of modern-day New York, your job is to find the mole responsible for the godfather’s son's death. Whether you play it straight or get a bit rough to get the info you need, the choice is yours. Vendetta really ups the immersion by using real-world tools like Google Maps and Wikipedia. You'll send emails, visit detailed web pages, and make mobile/cell phone calls. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays! How To Set Up Masters of Crime: Vendetta Open the box and take out the first card. That's it! oh, you may want to grab a pen. How To Play Masters of Crime: Vendetta Turn over the first card and start to read it. Ideally, have a phone nearby. Simple, aye?! You will read through various cards, look at pictures, and ultimately try to solve the case. At the end, it will tell you specifically what questions you need to answer, and where to go to input your answers. It is all very clear and straightforward. The game will guide you. Is It Fun? Masters of Crime: Vendetta Board Game Review Vendetta is a tantalising crime game where you delve into the seedy underbelly of the city, solving intricate puzzles either on your own or with a band of fellow sleuths. You’ll traverse various locales, piecing together clues that twist and turn the storyline in unexpected ways. Each choice you make alters the course of the game, ensuring no two experiences are the same. Keep your smartphone handy—you’ll need to dig up online intel to crack the case. That said, it feels more like a one-shot murder mystery game. Although, perhaps over time I will want o go back and try it again. I have heard it likened a lot to a card game version of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, although I have not played that game myself. But it certainly seems true from what I experienced here, and had read about the other game. It offers an intriguing and accessible experience with a touch of online media integration to keep things fresh. However, the box suggest it is for 16 plus due to mature content, which I would agree with, so you may want to be wary of that. Venues and content such as Strips clubs are included. The execution of the story and puzzles though is commendable, although there were a few moments where it felt a bit confusing, but I was never lost for long. Vendetta's theme hooks you from the start, with a storyline as rich and dark as New York’s finest espresso. The simply crafted illustrations pull you deeper into the narrative but seem more like a still from a video game. But they work well with the theme and do look good. The key to the success of this experience is that every decision feels consequential, shaping the unfolding events and keeping you on your toes. I never felt like anything didn't matter or wouldn't affect our outcome in the game. It is all brilliantly linked. I would recommend this to anyone seeking a straightforward crime-based murder mystery-style game. It took us about 3.5 hours over two sessions to complete. I plan to keep it on the shelves, perhaps revisiting it in a year or two with a different group. Hopefully, by then, I'll have forgotten most of the story - my age and the number of games played should help with that!

Belratti WBG Score: 7.5 Player Count: 3-8 You’ll like this if you like: Codenames, Decrypto, Turing Published by: KOSMOS Designed by: Michael Loth This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Party games need to be easy to learn and teach, quick and fast to play, engaging throughout, and most importantly, fun! Belratti excels in all these aspects, delivering a high level of enjoyment along with a good amount of strategy and thought. Players will be engrossed from the very first turn, and the changing roles keep the game fresh. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Belratti Place the five joker cards in the middle of the table, with the Belratti card above them. Shuffle the picture cards thoroughly and deal them face down to the players. The number of cards each player receives depends on the number of players. For 3 players, deal18 cards each. 4-5 players, 9 cards each. And with 6-7 players deal 6 cards each. Place the remaining cards face down as a draw pile. Next, distribute the character cards. Based on the number of players, distribute the Cat cards (museum managers) and the Owl cards (painters) as follows: Two Cat and One Owl for three players. Two and Two with four. Three and two with five. Three each with six. And Four Cats and three owls with seven players. Don't worry too much about who gets which role. After each turn all players will pass all character cards clockwise. Throughout the game, each player will assume each role multiple times. You are now ready to play. How To Play Belratti The game plays out over four phases. In the first phase the players playing as the Cat, the Museum Managers draw the top two cards from the draw pile and place them onto the table as the theme cards for this round. These cards represents the style of painting the museum directors are looking for when it comes to adding new work to the museum this round. Then, based on these two pictures and their apparent ease/difficulty, the museum directors will now ask for a number of paintings to be offered from the other players, ranging between three and seven. They can discuss the number of required picture cards but they are not allowed to talk about the themes specifically. In the next phase, the players playing as the Painters now must choose their pictures, based on the total quantity requested in the previous round. Painters are looking to select picture cards from their own hand that match the style of the two theme cards. They must agree on who places how many cards, ensuring the total meets the managers' demand. When their selections have been made, place them all face down into one pile. Then, additionally, four 'fake' picture cards are randomly added from the draw pile to the painters' selections. These are shuffled into one deck. In phase three, the selected paintings are revealed face up to all players. The Painters need to try and remember which cards they played, and which theme they are linked to. But do not say or reveal anything yet! the Museum Managers now need to equip the Museum by selecting the right pictures. The museum managers can openly discuss their thoughts and must assign their chosen cards to the two theme cards. Their goal is to identify the painters' cards and sort out the fakes. The quantity of which of course was chosen by them in the first round. Now, in phase four, the painters reveal which cards they played. Points are awarded for correctly assigned cards and deducted for fakes. Correct cards go to the team's point pile, while incorrect cards and fakes are placed on the discard pile. For the next round, painters refill their hand cards to the original number from the draw pile. Character cards are passed clockwise. Two new theme cards are drawn and revealed and the next round begins. The Joker cards can be used by both museum managers and painters for special actions. The Museum Manager Actions allows the player to either question if a picture card belongs to a painter or not, or exchange theme cards if they don't like the options available to them. The Painter Actions allows the players to swap any number of picture cards from their hand with new ones from the draw pile, add one less fake picture to the pile in phase two, or change the required number of picture cards by one, either up or down, based on the cards they have available to them. The game ends if six or more cards are on the Belratti deck after a round. To determine the final score, count the picture cards in the team's deck. Achieving fifteen points or more means victory over Belratti. Your score can then be tallied to the score chart n the rule book. Over 30 is the best achievement. There are different levels from zero and up! There are a number of variants in the rules that allow you to adjust the difficulty of the game, or simply to play the game faster. Is It Fun? Belratti Board Game Review This game is an absolute blast. Sometimes, you’ll have the perfect cards and feel like a mastermind—powerful, clever, and indispensable. Other times, it can be more challenging and even a bit maddening. If the thought of this kind of game makes you want to flip the table, it might not be for you. But if you relish the mental gymnastics of making one seemingly random item connect to another, you’re in for a treat with this little box of delights. There are a few games that dabble in similar mechanics, but Belratti was among the pioneers and remains one of the best. It delivers a delightful package with simple rules, an intriguing theme, charming artwork, and joker cards that spice up the gameplay. It’s a game that’s as much about strategy as it is about outsmarting your friends, with a sprinkle of chaos for good measure. I highly recommend this game to anyone seeking a new party game for three to seven players. It’s a breeze to learn, teach, and play in just minutes, offering lively and entertaining debates while giving players of all skill levels a chance to cooperate. It's perfect for all ages and abilities, with rotating roles ensuring everyone stays engaged. Plus, since everything is out in the open, there’s no need for bluffing or lying. The cards do all the heavy lifting, so no showmanship is required. This truly is the ideal party game for every personality type.

Sand WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-4 You’ll like this if you like: Venice, Horrified. Published by: Devir Designed by: Ariel Di Costanzo, Javier Pelizzari This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Pick-up-and-deliver games often suffer from a poor reputation, likely due to the simplistic and luck-driven mechanics many of us encountered in our childhood games. These early examples typically followed a basic formula: roll the dice, move, do something, and repeat. This repetitive pattern, heavily reliant on chance, quickly lost its appeal. However, in today's world of innovative game design, the potential for a sophisticated pick-up-and-deliver game is much greater. Indeed, some modern games, such as Clank! and Pandemic, incorporate this mechanic alongside others, demonstrating its versatility. Venice, in particular, stands out as a strong example of a game that primarily relies on the pick-up-and-deliver mechanic, showing that it can still be engaging. Despite these examples, no game has truly revolutionised the pick-up-and-deliver mechanic or achieved significant acclaim solely on that basis. Could Sand be the game to change that? Let's bring it to the table and see how it performs. How To Set Up Sand First, place the game board within reach of all players. Then separate the Mission cards by day and shuffle each deck. For four players, return the last workday deck to the box. Take as many cards as the number of players plus one from each deck, then stack these cards from last workday to first. Now reveal the first workday cards and arrange them numerically from highest to lowest value to the right of the deck. Then place the four Specialisation Seals on the game board. Next, set aside four white cubes and each player takes one. Do the same with the black, red, blue, and grey cubes. These are your indicator cubes used on your player mat. Put the remaining 20 cubes that match the plant colours (blue, red, white, and black) in the bag and leave the rest of the pastel coloured cubes next to the game board as a common reserve. Now draw cubes, called 'Boxes' from the bag randomly, and place one in each space of the cities. Then separate the Camp tiles by colour. Place the blue tiles closest to the sea face up, and the grey ones closest to the mountains. On each tile, place two Minor Tribe tokens (value one on the bottom and value two on top). Now set up the dice stand near the board, place the dice next to it, and keep the money within reach of the players. For your first game you will need to build this. Each player now chooses a colour to play as and takes their player board, and a helper card and pieces in their colour. Place your Desert Worm in the port space of the main board and your track indicator cubes on to your player mat. The: blue on 15 space of the Hydration Track, red on 15 of the Food Track, and grey on 10 of the Health Track. The maximum spots. Then place your white and black cubes on the 0 space of the Prayer and Prestige Tracks. Each player also takes five coins of value one and places it onto their mat. Now place your four Action tokens face down in your Action Pool and cover the first space of your Actions Used section with the Action Section Blocked tile. Place your Shelter and six Song tokens in their corresponding spaces on your player mat. Place Companion tiles face down in the designated spaces on the right of the mat and place the Worm tile in its space, showing the basic side. Next, randomly place Turn markers on the game board. Players going second, third, or fourth get the indicated Prestige reward on their mats. Now shuffle and place a number of Desert Traveller tiles equal to the number of players plus one on the table. In reverse turn order, each player picks one tile and places it on their player board, showing the ability. Return the rest to the box. If you prefer you can place these the reverse side to remove any asymmetric powers, or create a more simple game. The first player now rolls the dice (rerolling all once if desired), and places them on the dice stand, and takes the first turn. How To Play Sand Players will now take turns moving their action tokens down to the spaces below to show which actions they want to take. This is the only tricky part about teaching the game, but once players get it, the rest will flow nicely. The rulebook does not do a great job for this part, so I recommend just reading the below! Hopefully it makes more sense. At the start of the game, all players have the opportunity to take three actions for each phase of the game. There are a number of rounds, tracked by the Mission cards, and three phases in each round: Morning, Day, and Night. In each phase, you can carry out all your available actions one at a time, in turn order. For example, if you have three actions, you will take them one at a time in order, then move the tracker to Day, do the same, then to Night, and repeat one final time. This totals nine actions throughout the day/round. The round will then end, an upkeep phase will occur, and you will continue until the Mission cards run out, at which point final scoring will take place. Once all players have chosen which actions they want to take by moving the action tokens down to cover the spaces below, players take turns doing one action, moving one action token back up until all players have exhausted all available actions. The action tokens relate to the dice. So if the blue die is a five, the blue action token gives you an action with the power of five. Actions relate to the dice colour, number, both, or neither. It depends on the action. Here are the main actions: Move - This action can use any colour die; the number is key. Based on the current level of your worm, your worm card will show you how many pips on a die and resources you need to move through the three pathways available to you. Simply choose where you want to move, pay the associated cost, and move one space. At the start, movement will cost four or six pips. Any colour die works—just move an action token for a die with at least that many pips. You can use coins or prayer points to supplement any missing pips. If you are short, you cannot move. Load Plants - When you are in a space with unclaimed plants, you can simply pick them up in exchange for any action token that matches the colour of the plant. The plant is then added to your player board, filling one of the spaces where the action token just moved from. This will limit your number of available actions until you drop off this good. Timing here is crucial. Deliver Goods - When you're in a space with a matching coloured good in the top left or bottom right to any good you currently hold in an action space, you can deliver that good. This part is where the fun really kicks in! Strap in! First, take the good you're delivering and check if it matches the colour in the top left or bottom right. If it's in the top left, you'll score maximum points for this item, as shown on the bottom indicator on your player mat—the plus green symbol score. For a basic good, that's three coins. If it's on the bottom right, you'll score the lower reward—one coin for a basic good. Take the coins and add them to your board. If you're delivering two goods that match an area item shown in the top left, you'll get a bonus reward—one of the six special goods shown. Take the indicated one in this case. If both colors are on the bottom right, you can take one of the top available tribe tokens. This will be used for end-game scoring. If you have any songs on the board (explained later), score one extra coin for each song token you have. Now, add all the goods you've delivered to the appropriate space on your player mat. As you place them, they'll cover symbols that will give you immediate rewards. This could be money, resources, the chance to upgrade your worm, or gain additional support from one of the four travellers you have with you. Finally, you'll also gain coins equal to your current position on the Prestige track, which then resets to zero. Care for your Worm - After spending resources on your board, here's how you get them back. The blue Hydration links to the blue die, the red Food to the red die, and Health to the black and white dice. Simply move up the appropriate coloured action token and gain resources based on the current number of pips on that die. For Health, use both the white and black dice, taking the highest shown number, not both. Pray - Use this resource to add pips to the dice as you use them. Add to it by using the white die. Earn Prestige - This is used to gain extra money when you sell goods as explained above. Gain prestige from the black die. Compose Songs - If you're on a space with a musical symbol on the top right, you can spend any die/action token to add one of your coloured song tokens to this space. If another player's token is there, you can displace it with your own. Then, when delivering goods, you'll gain an additional coin for each token on the board. At the end of the game, you'll score an additional three points for each token you have, if you have the most tokens. The goal of the game is to move around the board, collecting resources, selling them at the most efficient spaces, and upgrading your Worm to do all this more efficiently. Upgrading your worm early to reduce travel costs is crucial, as is managing your resources wisely to avoid running low before you can replenish them. Timing is key—you'll want to collect goods you can deliver in the same day phase to maximize your actions. Holding onto goods means fewer actions available in the next phase, which can be a setback. Once all players have taken their actions and completed all three day phases, they'll choose one of the available Missions to complete in turn order. They'll place their player token on their chosen Mission and either take the top resource, adding it immediately to their player board, or use the bottom end-game scoring mechanic on the card. Players then return their tokens to the turn order tracker, starting with the token furthest right. New mission cards are dealt out, all goods spaces are replenished, the first player will reroll the dice for the next round, and play will continue. In the final round, players will score coins for all completed missions, for having the most songs, and the player with the most tribe tokens will gain an additional 12 coins. During the game, delivering the same coloured good for a fourth time earns you the associated specialization seal. At the end of the game, you'll gain one coin for each good that matches the colour of any seal you possess. The player with the most coins wins. Is It Fun? Sand Board Game Review In the first few games, you might feel frustrated with limited resources, little money, and few options in the initial turns. However, as the game unfolds and you upgrade your abilities and strategies, you'll find yourself accomplishing more with less effort and generating more resources. With this knowledge in later games, you'll approach the early stages more strategically, accelerating your progress and enjoyment. Initially, some players may find the game a bit underwhelming, despite its beautiful art and classic euro mechanics, especially if they start poorly and fall behind. However, subsequent plays are more engaging, balanced, and satisfying. I'd encourage those who've had negative experiences with pick-up-and-deliver games to give this a try. It might just change your perspective on the mechanic, offering a delicate balance between resource management, engine building, and pick-up-and-deliver. The game's tight interconnections and strategic depth make every decision feel crucial, pushing you to maximize efficiency in every action. Sand grips you from the start and leaves you eager for more. It's not just fun; it's about the satisfaction of mastering the game. Unlike many euros where you accept your level, Sand compels you to improve because success feels incredibly rewarding.

Nunatak WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Vaalbara, Published by: KOSMOS Designed by: Kane Klenko This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Some games have an immediate appeal when you see them set up and others enjoying them. I can envision Nunatak being a major hit at conventions this year for that very reason. The large semi-transparent plastic cubes used to build pyramids give it a visually appealing and fun look, even before considering the rules, mechanics, and strategy. But is it any good? Yes, it certainly is. The scoring mechanics alone are fascinating. So, let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Nunatak Before your first game, time for some arts and crafts! Construct the temple dome according to the punch board illustration. Then place this down on the table. Now, assemble the frame parts at the table's centre, ensuring each builder bar faces a player. Then organise the floor tiles into four piles by their numbered backs (1, 2, 3, 4) and shuffle each pile separately. Randomly place the 25 level1 floor tiles face down in a 5x5 layout within the frame. Stack the remaining three piles face down, creating a single stack: stack 4 beside the game board, stack 3 atop stack 4, and stack 2 atop stack 3. Similarly, sort building cards into four piles by their numbered backs (1, 2, 3, 4) and shuffle each pile individually. Place the stacks face down, with stack 1 atop and stack 4 beneath. Position this draw pile beside the game board. Reveal the top four building cards, placing them face up nearby to form the display. Shuffle the blessing cards and place them face down near the game schedule. Reveal the top two blessing cards, positioning them face up next to the deck. Finally, each player takes a player sheet and selects a colour and takes the18 ice blocks, 100/200 score marker and two marker stones in that colour. if you are playing a two player game, both players will also take half of the blocks of one other colour as well. Each player now places one marker on the zero space of the score track and the other on the first space of your builder track closest to them. You are now ready to play. How To Play Nunatak Players will now take turns selecting one of the face-up building cards and placing one of their ice blocks onto a matching space on the board. Each card displays one of the matching symbols on the tiles on the main board, determining where you can place your blocks. The builder card also allows you to swap the positions of two floor tiles. The Elder card lets you choose one of the face-up blessing cards. Once a 2x2 space on the board is completed, place the next tile in the stack on top of it. You can now build onto this secondary level. There will be four building levels in the game. When you do this, the player with the most blocks in this 2x2 formation will score five points. In case of a tie, the player whose turn it is wins. The player with the second most will score two points. Ties result in players sharing the points, with each receiving one point. When you place a block onto another level, you will score one point for each of the four blocks below it that is your own color. Completing a row or column allows you to move your marker on the architect track by one space, linked with the architect building cards and affecting your final score. Some building cards show two images. You can pick the one that works best for you. When you take a building card, place it into your area and group them accordingly. This way, you will know how many of each you have, important for end-game scoring. The game ends when the fourth level is complete. The player who placed the most tiles on the first level's outer edge can place the Temple cap onto the top of the structure, scoring a bonus seven points. Players now tally up their final points for each group of building cards they acquired. Builder cards earn 20 points for the player with the most cards. Others get two points per card. Sculptor cards score based on total numbers. One card yields three points. Ten cards could score up to 75! Artisan cards offer varied points. Each set earns 10 points, plus two points for every two cards of any type, three eights points for each three, 15 for each four, and 24 for each set of five. Beast of Burden cards' scores multiply by the total symbols on all cards by the number of cards. Architect cards score similarly, multiplying the total cards by the current Architect track level. Elder cards score one point per matching symbol on other cards. For example, two Elder cards with Architect symbols and five Architect cards yield ten points. Each set of each type also scores a ten-point bonus. Points can really escalate! Is It Fun? Nunatak Board Game Review Nunatak is a fast-paced game that will instantly grab you. It's so easy to learn and teach, getting you up and running within minutes. Turns are equally speedy, with just a few choices of which building card to take and where to place it. However, watch out for completing rows, colours, and 2x2 spaces, as well as the scoring metrics when building onto higher levels. It's easy to miss some of the scoring and bonuses this triggers. But here's the interesting part: the game truly comes alive within the scoring mechanism. While it may seem all about the building, Nunatak is a visually stunning game with a deeper focus on scoring. While it's visually stunning during gameplay and after completion, the real essence lies within the scoring. It's essentially a set collection game with elements of area majority, but the big bonuses come from the cards at the end. The blessing cards bring a delightful element of variety to each game. With a total of 20 cards available, you'll typically only acquire 2-6 per game. This means you'll encounter and utilize different ones each time, adding freshness to your gameplay experience. Some of these cards offer intriguing powers and scoring options, both as you play and when you tally up the final points at the end of the game. This combination delivers much more than you might expect. Initially assumed to be a light family game focused on visuals and physical components over strategy and gameplay, Nunatak proves otherwise. With its potential for winning awards, it catches your eye with its looks and delivers a fantastic game experience with its intriguing scoring mechanics. I'd recommend Nunatak to anyone who enjoys set collection games with a visual punch. It could be the standout game of the convention circuit this summer—get ready for your social feeds to be inundated with pictures of people building plastic/ice towers, starting with mine!

The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible WBG Score: 9 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Tiletum, Brass: Birmingham. Published by: Hobby World Designed by: Stan Kordonskiy This is a free review copy. See our review policy here I've come across some varied opinions about this game, and it's important to address them with honesty. While some concerns are rooted in the origins of the publisher, I can empathise with that perspective. However, I struggle to understand criticisms about the lack of tension in the game itself. To be candid, I deliberated whether to review this game. The timing of releasing a game about Ivan The Terrible, particularly by a Russian publisher, may understandably raise eyebrows. Yet, delving into historical context reveals a more nuanced understanding of the figure. While not excusing any wrongdoing, it's worth noting that perceptions may be skewed by mistranslations or misinterpretations of his nickname. Although I believe he did kill his own son! I acknowledge the complexities surrounding supporting businesses from certain regions, especially given ongoing conflicts. However, I firmly believe in separating politics from the product itself. Evaluating a game should be based on its merits alone. It is not the publisher or designers fault for what their country is doing. Therefore, this review will focus solely on the game's mechanics and experience. Ultimately, each individual must decide their stance on the broader political landscape. So, with that said, let's get this to the table and see how this plays. How To Set Up The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible Place the board in the middle of the table and place the Tsar's Favour tokens on the 10, 20, and 30 spots on the Victory Point track. Then shuffle the six Assignment cards and lay out five face up below the Kremlin Chambers, one per Chamber. Place the last one face down nearby. Now, gather up all the Goods pieces and Coin tokens to make a pile by the side of the board and then place the Round Marker on the top on the Round track on the 1550's space. Next, shuffle the Region tokens with the dark background and stack four face down at the bottom of the Round track on the 1580's space, then place four face down with the light and dark background onto the other three round spaces, as well as four face up onto each region on the board. Now, take the Spoils tokens and shuffle them face down, placing as many as needed for your player count face up into the Field of War on the main board: three for two players, five for three players, and six for four players. Stick the rest nearby, face down. Now shuffle the Trade tokens and place ten of them into the round slots on the waterways on the map. The rest can sit next to the board, face down. Then shuffle the Title and Estate decks separately and flip three cards from each deck as a display. If you're playing with just two players, flip two cards from each deck instead. Keep the decks next to their displays for easy access. Now for player setup. Each person takes their chosen colour's components: Player's Pad, Victory Point and Tsar's Favour markers, two Seal tokens, three Boyar pieces, six Building pieces, and ten Warrior pieces. place all these in front of each player. Each player will also take one Grain, Wood, Stone, and three coins from the pool. Placing these on their player boards. Each player will then place their Victory Point Marker onto the 0 space of the Victory Point track. Everybody's Tsar's Favour markers go on the Tsar Favour track on the main board in random order, starting from the top. If you've got three or two players, leave the bottom spaces empty. then pass the First Player token to the player sitting to the left of whoever's Tsar's Favour marker is on the lowest spot. Lastly, shuffle up the Project deck and deal three cards to each player. Take a peek at them, keep one secret, and shuffle the rest back into the deck. Then reveal six cards from the Project deck and lay them out face up as a display. Keep the deck next to the display. Now that everything's set up, let the games begin! How To Play The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible The game plays over four rounds. Each round has two main phases, as well as a clean up phase. In the Planning phase, starting with the first player, players will take it in turns to place one of their three Boyar pieces onto one of the five chambers at the bottom of the board. Each chamber has two actions. The main one everyone can do, and a secondary one shown on the right shaded in yellow that only the player who bids the most coin in each round can do. Ties are broken by the player higher on the Tsar's favour. Players place money with their Boyars as they place them, and cannot add or remove money after they have been placed. But you only spend the money if you are the winning bidder. All other players get their money back, but then do not get to carry out the secondary action. Once all players have placed all of their Boyars, play moves to the Action phase. Here, starting with the first player, players will take it in turns to move one Boyar from the chamber they placed it in during the Planning phase, down to the bottom area of the chamber to carry out the main action. Then if they were the highest bidder, they will add one of their two seals to the room and carry out the secondary action too. They will then move their Boyar onto the main board to a City matching the colour shown on the Assignment card below the Chamber. Unless the Assignment cards shows an 'X', in which case you will simply gain one coin, and if you have the secondary action, increase your space on the Tsar favour track, . The first Chamber lets you gain resources from three cities you have a presence in. The resource for each city is shown under the city's name on the main board. Then, if you have the secondary action, you can gain the benefits of one of these three cities for a second time. The second Chamber lets you add Warriors from your resources onto the board, into a city you currently have a presence in. Alternatively, you can move a Warrior from one city to another. If they pass through a Waterway with a Trade token on it, you can then carry out one of the Waterway actions on your Player board. Flip this token, adding it to your player board, and carry out the action it shows on the reverse. If your Trade token slots are filled, replace a previous token. The secondary action here lets you do this three times instead of two. The third Chamber lets you claim a new Project card or fulfil a previously claimed card. You can do this two times, or three if you have the secondary action. Project cards are fulfilled by paying the resources shown on the left. Then you gain the points shown on the right, and then one of three things happens. First, you can add a building onto the board in an area where you already have a presence but no other building. Second, you could add a Warrior to the Field of War, taking one of the face-up tokens and claiming its benefit. Or third, you could carry out two Trade actions from the available ones on your player board. The fourth Chamber allows you to swap any two goods with any one good. You can also claim one of the harder-to-attain Foreign goods, and a second one if you have the secondary action. In the fifth Chamber, you can take one of the face-up Estate or Title cards, and a second one if you have the Secondary action. It's crucial to plan ahead and decide what you want to do, then carry out your actions accordingly to build your presence on the map, fulfil Projects, and earn points. Players then score based on each of the four areas on the board. The player with the most influence gets the first pick of the two benefits for each area, while the player with the second-highest influence can take the other one. Influence is determined by players' Warriors, which give you one influence, and buildings and Boyars, which give you two influence each. In a two-player game, there is no second place for this, but the winning player must be ahead in influence by more than that area's scoring potential. Otherwise, the other player can choose which benefit the winning player gets. It's a nice little twist for the two-player version. After all players have carried out the actions of their placed Boyars, refresh all Estate, Title, and Project cards, replace the four area scoring tiles, and ask each player to return all their Boyars and seals back to their supply. Finally, the Assignment cards are shuffled, including the one Assignment card not used that round, and five more are placed face up below each Chamber. Move the round marker down one space and start the next round. At the end of the second and fourth rounds, there is additional scoring for any Title cards players have at these points, as well as for the player with the most favour and the player with the most Warriors in the Field of War. In the second round, all players get any Warriors in the Field of War back at this point. Otherwise, they stay there for the rest of the game. After the second round, any Trade spaces without a Token have their space refreshed; any Tsar Favour tokens not claimed on the points track are removed, and then the game will continue. After the fourth round, players will also score points based on any leftover resources at a ratio of 2:1 for Foreign goods and 3:1 for normal goods and coins. At any point during the game, on a player's turn, players can also carry out free actions. These may come from cards they have acquired during the game or the actions shown on their player board. These actions let players exchange goods/money for other goods/money, rearrange Trade Tokens on their board, or discard Trade tokens for Project cards. After the fourth round, the player with the most points wins the game. Is It Fun? The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible Board Game Review This game is absolutely fantastic. From the midpoint of my first round, I was completely hooked. Every choice feels crucial, every move significant. You're constantly considering your opponents' actions and potential moves. You're strategising about which areas of the main board to control by the round's end and how to counter your opponents' strategies. Your brain is working overtime from the get-go to maximize your efficiency. With only 12 turns in the game, there's a lot to accomplish, and some turns may take a while as you weigh your options. However, this doesn't slow down the game. While you're thinking, so are your opponents. I've encountered minimal frustration from slow play, although it could be an issue for some. Overall, the game maintains a brisk pace, with turns themselves being quick—it's just the thoughtful decision-making that may frustrate. Visually, the game is stunning. The artwork is meticulously crafted, and the symbology are clear and straightforward. The rulebook even includes a helpful guide on the back for new players, making everything easy to understand right from the start. The theme of this game is fairly abstract. It's an economic, resource management Euro game with contract fulfillment. Throughout my gameplay, I never once felt like I was in a specific country or acting as a particular person. The era didn't even cross my mind. Instead, it felt like a crunchy strategy game where efficiency was key, targeting specific point combinations by aligning everything with my overall game plan. For instance, coordinating Project, Title, and Estate cards that complement each other—like cards that reward points for completing each type of Project—and then collecting and completing those projects while ensuring I had the right cards to generate the necessary resources all seemed straightforward. But discovering those combinations in the game, acquiring them, and executing them was incredibly satisfying. I would recommend this game to any fan of economic Euro games who isn't deterred by or is even attracted to the abstract theme. As I mentioned in my introduction, this is a personal preference. I might not have initially chosen this game if I were browsing for a new one. However, after playing it multiple times, I'm delighted to have it in my collection because it strikes the perfect balance of weight, game length, and strategy to fit right into my personal sweet spot. It also works very well as a two-player game, which some Euros struggle with, delivering an engaging experience that remains tight and competitive until the end.