Rejoice, my friends! It’s time for our annual convention, where collectors from around the world gather to trade their tiny postal treasures. We must prepare our most beautiful and best-arranged collection and show it to the expert crowd. If we do well, we may walk away with the top prize at this year’s Stamp Swap by Paul Salomon from Stonemaier Games.
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.
Siberia: a vast area of over 13 million square kilometres, which consists of taiga, tundra and even temperate forests. From the north of this region, where temperatures regularly drop below -25°C, come reports of a massive meteor having crashed. Not only that, the team who went to investigate the impact crater lost contact and never returned. Rumours are spreading of a strange parasite that possesses all living things in the region. After a team sent to rescue the first group also fails to return, heroes from the now long-forgotten war in Europa decide to explore for themselves. They borrow mechs and head to base camp. From there, they start their Expeditions by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games.
As a member of the lowest caste in our colour-coded society, I worked extremely hard every day. I believed that my blood and sweat would create a better world for my children. I prayed that one day, Mars' surface would become habitable. However, my caste and I had been betrayed. I and others like me were nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. So now was the time for my caste to revolt. It was time for the Red Rising by Jamey Stegmaier and Alexander Schmidt from Stonemaier Games.
Oliver KinnePost read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest (Saturday Review)Sailing the winds in your sky pirate ship, you and your crew land on a different island each day, looking for treasure, adventure and glory. You need to be fast though, because you're not alone. Other ships in the fleet have followed the same course and they want their share of the varied loot. If the crew member you send to the island is too slow, they will not come back with valuable treasure, but with a terrible curse or worse, they will not return at all. Only the best pirate will make it in Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest by Paolo Mori from Stonemaier Games.
Oliver KinnePost read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Wingspan: Oceania Expansion (Saturday Review)Nectar, when you think about it, is just a sugar-rich liquid, produced by plants, to attract pollinators. Depending on where in the world you are, pollinators could be humble insects, such as the highly adored, busy bees, or they could be magnificent hummingbirds or other birds, or they could even be bats. A free source of sugar is highly prized, as it will give a quick boost of energy, and possibly a little sugar rush too, which make for a valuable reward for all pollinators. So it's no surprise that this source of food as one of the new resources in the Wingspan: Oceania Expansion by Stonemaier Games.
We were at the dawn of a new civilization. We didn't know it yet, but we were going to embark on an exciting adventure that would offer us a lot of new opportunities, some challenging times and many new discoveries. It would take a very long time indeed, but we would not only master fire, but eventually reach the stars. We would explore the world and stamp our mark on it. We were ready to make a reality of our Plans & Ploys by Stonemaier Games.
As is customary at the end of a calendar year, it's time for my top 5 board games of this, rather odd, year and for me to announce the winner of the Top Table Award 2020. Let me say that this year, I happily allowed games into the top 5 list that were published before 2020, as long as these games were new to me this year. There is a clear winner for me, not just based on the number of plays, the amount of enjoyment the game brought and the nostalgia factor that the game has for me, but because this game took a well-established genre and took it to the next step, making it more accessible to a wider range of people. However, let me not spoil it for you, but start at number 5 and work my way to the top slot.
Oliver KinnePost read time 9 min readLeave a Comment on Viticulture: Essential Edition (Saturday Review)The irrigation system was ready, but there was still work to be done on the trellises. The windmill, cottage and tasting room were still just ruins and only the first third of the wine cellar was accessible. The crush pads were all clean and ready to receive the first harvest of grapes, yet the fields were still bare. Orders for some red and white wine had already come in and two types of grapes were ready to be planted. It was the beginning of a vineyard that was going to be splendid. Mama and Papa were looking forward to putting the work in and creating a heritage that would make the family name proud. At the same time, it was daunting, because they knew nothing about Viticulture by Stonemaier Games.
Oliver KinnePost read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia (Digital Eyes)You were constantly tired from working endless hours day in and day out. You had very little time to think about the world and when you did, you didn't have the words to describe what you saw and felt. However, you had used every spare moment to puzzle together scraps of clues into a bigger picture and had created new words with meanings that your heart dictated, but that were otherwise unknown. You felt that you were now so close to wrestling away the power from your oppressors and turn this world into a better place - but you knew you had to make sacrifices to build your Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia by Stonemaier Games.
