Category: Podcasts

Give and Take – games with interesting player interaction (Topic Discussion)

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I know that some people hate player interaction. They prefer a multi-player solitaire experience, where they are in full control of their destiny. If they win, it's down to how well they played. However, I quite like player interaction, both negative and positive. Being able to form temporary alliances that are eventually broken or having a way of stopping another player from getting too far ahead can be fun for me. So in this article, I want to look at player interaction in a bit more detail.

Climbing High – from Scout to Odin (Topic Discussion)

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I am a big fan of card games. Having grown up in Germany, a deck of cards was usually not far away. Playing trick-taking games was part of my youth, whether with the family or friends. I love card games in general and my love was rekindled when I was introduced to the modern hobby with games such as Citadels or Love Letter. I also found many new trick-taking games, but a genre that was new to me was so-called ladder-climbing games. In this article, I want to look at these fascinating games in more detail.

Rolling Realms Redux (Saturday Review)

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The seemingly endless lands lay in front of us. Ahead of us, we could see a small village where cute little dragons were tending stores. To our left, people were playing cards, closely watched by a row of playing cards and a rather angry-looking queen. Above us floated different spaceships, some delivering their wares to the small village, while others were expanding the land with new sections. What we saw were the amazing Rolling Realms Redux by Jamey Stegmaier and Karel Titeca from Stonemaier Games.

Massively Multiplayer – from Quacks of Quedlinburg to Dragon vs Kingdom (Topic Discussion)

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One of the things that most competitive and many cooperative games have in common is some sort of turn order. You go first, then comes Bob and then it's my turn. Turn order might change throughout the game, but there is always someone whose turn it is. The more players there are, the more of an issue it can be, because the longer you have to wait for the round to come back to you. Yet, there is an interesting set of games where everyone plays at the same time, which I want to look at in this article.

Looot (Saturday Review)

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Our longships were ready to sail. The crew had just completed stowing all provisions and supplies for the long voyage ahead. We needed resources and building materials to develop our fjord and complete our port, altar and jarl palace. But we were not alone. Vikings from other fjords had the same ambition to store up the most riches and be crowned Jarl of the Vikings! It was a race, but we were ready! We were ready to Looot by Charles Chevallier and Laurent Escoffier from Gigamic.

Choo Choo My Friend – from Shikoku 1889 to 1880: China (Topic Discussion)

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If you know me, you'll know that I love economic simulation games. I love trading stocks and shares. It feels great when I buy into someone else's company and ride their success to profit. It feels even better when my own company does well and I can take all the gains for myself, because nobody else believed it would do so well. Add to that my love for playing with toy trains and you can see why I'm in love with 18xx games. So allow me, if you will, to take you on a journey of trains, tracks, stations and shares.

Dragon vs Kingdom (Saturday Review)

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The new town was going to be glorious. Here in this wasteland that had seen many battles, it was important to create defenses, while also ensuring there were enough shops and houses for the people. It was going to take some time and our initial focus was on building towers that would allow us to see invaders far into the distance. The towers would also allow us to protect ourselves, because in these lands it was a matter of Dragon vs Kingdom by Chris Backe from No Box Games.

Pattern Matching Pleasure – from Carcassonne to Looot (Topic Discussion)

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There are certain categories of games that I absolutely love. You will have heard about my recent escapades in the world of 18xx games and the excitement these types of games create for me. They offer me a good dose of brain training, while also being thematically enjoyable. Yet, there is another genre of games that I love: tile-laying games. So, in this article, I want to talk about these games a bit more and explain what I like about them so much.

Ultramassive (Saturday Review)

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A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes are enormous and entirely ungovernable. They form when massive stars collapse on themselves at the end of their life. They grow by absorbing mass from their surroundings and if they absorb other stars or merge with other black holes, they become supermassive, millions of solar masses in size. Yet, some black holes are even more gigantic and powerful. They are Ultramassive by Alex Greenberg and Jacob Phillips from Studio Unknown.

Vrahode: Age of Prophecy (Saturday Review)

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The Age of Inception is all but over. People are starting to forget the stories that were passed down. Tabuhl's Tail, a sign of things to come, will soon return. While our memories fade, that most ancient of omens is ready to lighten the night sky once again. It is time for a few of us, whose memories are more vivid, to get ready for a new age, when Tabuhl's Tail returns and reigns supreme in Vrahode: Age of Prophecy by Jeffrey Irving from Weathervane Games.