"...crisis on Wall Street as Lehman totters towards..." - "...worries could wreak havoc on markets..." - "...banking giants rush to raise capital..." - "...markets in disarray as lending locks up..." - "...sweeping plan to fight crisis..." - "...vast bailout..." - I switched off the television. The news wasn't good and it was clear what we had to do to stop the world markets from collapse. It was time for some Q.E. by BoardGameTables.com.
It was going to be great. We were going to visit most of the USA and play to millions of people over a few months. It was going to be fun, but also a lot of hard work and the planning was the most difficult. In the end, we decided to roll the dice to decide what states we were going to visit in what order, but rather than making it completely random, we turned it into a little game. It would let us build an almost circular route, so we could finally go On Tour by BoardGameTables.com.
Living in the country is nice, but getting to work requires a car. In fact, getting anywhere needs a car: shopping, going out (unless it's to the local at the edge of the village), seeing friends (because even though you pretend to, you don't actually get on with your neighbours) and doing the school run. On the other hand, because it's so hard to get around, we don't actually spend as much on things, which is good. However, there is a lot we need to do if we want to make sure our household leaves only a Tiny Footprint by Gaard Games.
It was time to find the next victim. The beaches were full of swimmers, so it was going to be easy pickings. Yet, the sea around the island was patrolled by the Orca, a 42-foot former lobster boat, that was launching barrels into the sea to flush me out. A little speedboat was also making its rounds and using its fish finder to see if it could spot me. So far, I hadn't been found and already five people had lost their lives to my merciless attacks. I just needed four more victims to end up in my Jaws by Ravensburger.
Your 8-bit computer may seem to be collecting dust in your loft, but actually, there is still a lot of life in the old box yet. Two of the microprocessors, Mikro and Chip, are keeping themselves amused by playing little, fun games. After all, their buffers and memory stacks are still in working order. With a handful of assembly instructions, they keep each other entertained: push, pop, peek as well as some Mini Memory Mischief by Atikin Games.
It was the fifth factory you had visited today, as you were trying to find three turquoise ceramic tiles to complete your pattern in the King's palace. You needed three - exactly - no more, no less. The first factory you had visited had no turquoise tiles, the second had four, the third had only one and the fourth had two. The factory you were in now, was the last one that made these tiles, and if it didn't have the exact number of turquoise tiles you needed, you had to go back to the previous one and make do with two, which would put you behind schedule and make the King angry. Yet, you were in luck. The factory overseer told you that they had your tiles and exactly three of them. You were so pleased that you found three tiles that were all Azul by Next Move Games.
I slammed down Cowgirl and immediately opened the bidding with a "Klik", which was countered with a "Thwak" and to which I responded with a "Splat". A "Twang" played by the other side brought us level again, which meant I could still win this. After a moment's hesitation, the other side played "And" and immediately put down Wheel-Demon, closely followed by "Zooom", giving them the leading bid. However, their unexpected move actually gave me the advantage. I put down "Kerunch", which they countered with "Eeeek!!", which I trumped with "Crrash", which they... no... they couldn't keep up. The bids were level, which meant I was victorious and was inching closer to victory with another two Heroic Echoic by Happyclash Games.
With a loud "Bang!" the head flew off, followed by a "leg-splosion" that severed both legs, leaving only the body and the left arm. It wasn't pretty. Yet, you knew you could turn it all around. There were still plenty of options. You just had to duck and dive and try and swap body parts with another robot to boost your own. You were sure that in the end you would be a Bots Up.
I know, it's not yet Christmas, but bear with me on this one. Cracker Games by The Dark Imp is going to be on Kickstarter on 1 September 2020 and is scheduled to reach backers in December, before Christmas. So, yes, lead times are a bit longer. However, even if you're not in the mood for the festive season, the Cracker Games are worth checking out, as you'll see in my review below.
"Guess what?" I asked - but there was no reply. The other player just looked at me - suspiciously. "Guess what?" I asked, this time with more feeling. Yet, there was still no reply. The other player tilted their head and squinted at me. "Guess what?" I tried for the third time. The other player started to open their mouth, but then thought better of it. It was going to be harder than I thought. The other player clearly knew what to do so they Don't Get Got by Big Potato Games.
