Tag: Components

Float Downstream (Saturday Review)

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"Afloat, upon the surface of a smooth and silent river, slowly breathing, you observe the shifting currents . There is little much to do, but let the river take you. Surrendering to its flow, slowly you realise that perhaps there is no separation between surface and sky, between your mind and the river itself and if your mind is the river and the river your mind, perhaps if you can balance the thoughts and feelings and sensations that arise, you may have some say in where you are taken" as you Float Downstream by Jeremy Dawson from Blood Moon Games Ltd.

3 Minutes to Freedom (or Death) (Saturday Review)

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A game about dancing sheep, rockets, lasers, cabbages and sometimes fun. I would like to add "death" to this list, but other than that, it's pretty much a good description of 3 Minutes to Freedom (or Death) by Samuel Edmondson and Daniel Somerville Roberts from Icarus Games.

Eternal Palace (Saturday Review)

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It was hard to get the favour of the Emperor. Many noble houses were vying for their attention by offering their resources and manual labour to help restore the Emperor's wonderful monuments. As a way to remember the work everyone did and to honour the grace and power of the Emperor, artists were commissioned to create beautiful paintings. It was your hope to catch the Emperor's eye and receive the ultimate recognition: being invited as a guest at the Eternal Palace by Steven Aramini from Alley Cat Games.

Pax Pamir: Second Edition (Saturday Review)

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The Durrani Empire had just collapsed and large swathes of Central Asia had fallen into disarray. It was an ideal opportunity for the ferengi to impose their power over the region and fight out their rivalries somewhere far away from their daily politics. The foreigners were completely unaware of how the local Afghan leaders were manipulating them to their own benefit. They played their own "Great Game" with these superpowers and knew that the imperial might would not survive for long. There was never going to be a Pax Pamir: Second Edition by Cole Wehrle from Wehrlegig Games.

Town 66 (Saturday Review)

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A brand new greenfield site was ready for development. The architects had submitted their drawings and the planners were satisfied that everything was in order. Everyone was in agreement that this new place should grow organically, but had to follow strict rules. New houses could only be placed in certain ways to create this brand new Town 66 by Christoph Cantzler and Anja Wrede from Oink Games.

Immersive resources (Topic Discussion)

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As you probably know by now, I'm a very visual person. I love great illustrations in board games, hence my series "Let me illustrate" highlighting board game artists in the industry. At the same time, a board game with an amazing look alone is not enough. The gameplay needs to be great too and the rules must not be more complicated than necessary for the weight of the game. So in this article, I want to look at how important realistic resources are to me in games.

Player aids (Topic Discussion)

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Teaching a game isn't easy and the same is true for learning. The teacher will do their best to explain everything and get everything right, but the first play of a game should always be chalked down to experience. Players should do what they can to help and expect mistakes to creep in. However, there are also things the game itself can do to make learning a new game easier, some of which will also help with playing the game again later.

The Fox in the Forest: Duet (Saturday Review)

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The woodcutter and I were travelling the lands when we reached a kingdom far to the south. Its people were most distraught, because the fairies of the woods had kidnapped the most famous musician whose music made everything better. Of course, we agreed to help the people without hesitation. We ventured into the forest and peeked under every leaf and fern and beneath the shelf of every mushroom until we finally found the musician, surrounded by angry fairies. Overjoyed, they played an enchanting lullaby that made the fairies go to sleep and allowed us to escape. After reuniting the musician with the people, we were celebrated as heroes and from that moment on were both known as The Fox in the Forest Duet by Foxtrot Games from Renegade Game Studios.

Junk Forts (Saturday Review)

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Get your friends together, grab some bits from the local junkyard and assemble everything into the best stronghold you can, to be crowned champion of the Junk Forts by Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert from Inside the Box Board Games.

Colt Express (Saturday Review)

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It's the 11th of July in the year of our Lord 1899. At 10am Mountain Daylight Time, the Union Pacific Express departed Folsom in Union County, New Mexico as scheduled, but only a few minutes after leaving the village's last buildings behind, heavily armed bandits started robbing the 47 passengers, taking purses and jewellery. A short while later, gunshots could be heard and some of the bandits had climbed onto the roof of the train. It was feared that Marshal Samuel Ford, who was protecting the Nice Valley Coal Company's weekly pay, was being attacked. The whole incident went down in history as the "Attack of the Colt Express" by Christophe Raimbault from Ludonaute.