Instead of looking at a particular game, this week I want to look at a number of games that are great to have with you when you're out and about. These games are easy to learn and quick to play, don't take up much room in your pocket or on the table, are quick to set up and put away, but still create enough interest to while away the time. Most of these games will already come in a small box, but some you will have to re-package yourself to make them portable.
As you can tell from my previous reviews of subQuark's games (Mint Tin Mini Skulduggery, Mint Tin Mini Apocalypse and Mint Tin Aliens), I love mint tin games. The love and effort Kate Beckett and David René Miller put into every game makes them very special indeed, and Mint Tin Pirates is no exception of course. It offers lots of pirate fun in a small tin that you can easily take with you, that is easy to learn, quick to play and has a small footprint, so can be played virtually anywhere. I believe Mint Tin Pirates was subQuark's first game, and it already showed that it is possible to squeeze a lot of fun into a small package, something that the whole line of subQuark games shares.
Oliver KinnePost read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Minty’s Bootiful Football Game (Saturday Review) I haven't yet reviewed any pure print-and-play (PnP) games, but Alex Bardy contacted me via Twitter and sent me a complimentary copy of Minty's Bootiful Football Game. I decided to try it and wasn't disappointed. As the name suggests, it is a mint tin game all about football. Now, I love mint tin games, in case you hadn't noticed, but football isn't really my cup of tea. Yet, when I played this game, I actually really enjoyed it and did get the feeling of taking part in a real football match - but let's start at the beginning.
Here is yet another mint tin game, simply because they pack such a huge punch in such a small package. Mint Tin Mini Apocalypse by subQuark is another game that comes in a small form factor mint tin, is really quick to learn and a lot of fun to play. It easily fits into virtually any pocket and doesn't take up much table space, so you can have it with you anywhere and play it everywhere. It is a realtime game, which means there are no turns and both players take their actions continuously in order to win. It creates a lot of frantic excitement and hilarity for players of virtually all ages.
I absolutely love mint tin games, and Mint Tin Mini Skulduggery by subQuark fits this bill perfectly, as it comes in a properly small, rectangular mint tin, rather than the larger format that many other mint tin games come in. That means it fits perfectly into your coat pocket, so you can have it with you at all time. After all, you never know when the opportunity arises to play a game when you're out and about.
I recently went to the Watford Colosseum to watch the Snooker Shoot Out. I have enjoyed snooker for most of my life now and used to play it regularly with friends, even though I've not played in many years now. I know most people find snooker boring, and it can be, but you would have loved the Snooker Shoot Out, which is fast paced and a real laugh. Afterwards I thought about the idea that snooker could be considered a two player only, dexterity tabletop game. I appreciate it's stretching the concept a little, but then I reckon there are other terms in the tabletop games industry that are used loosely.
Oliver KinnePost read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture (Saturday Review) If you like dice action selection games where you slowly build up action combos, then Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture by Undine Studios is for you. Now don't be put off by dice rolling, beause in this game you can easily mitigate bad luck and even bad rolls still give you plenty of opportunities. Oaxaca ("wa-ha-ka") is also beautifully illustrated, quick to learn and really quick to play, while still maintaining enough interest even for very "serious" gamers. So there is something for everyone and one of the few games that I can confidently recommend for family gaming as well as regular games night groups.
Since the days of Yahtzee, roll-and-writes, as these games are now known, have made a huge comeback: Roll through the Ages by Matt Leacock, Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama by Indie Boards and Cards, Harvest Dice by Grey Fox Games and the recent Railroad Ink by CMON are some of the many games in the genre.
We all know classic dice rolling games, like Yahtzee, or games using dice to decide the outcome of battles or events. You may also have heard of, and probably even played, roll and write games, such as Roll to the Top, Avenue, The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game and many more. However, more recent games use dice in quite different ways, creating interesting game mechanics that I want to talk about.
If you play in a regular games group, you probably play certain games several times - you may even have one game that is your group's go-to game. If so, you may have started to record game end totals, so that players can try to beat their own score, or even aim for the group's high score. You may even start to record more details, such as the factions played, number of rounds or game time. Maybe you also have an end of year awards ceremony, where people in your group with the highest score in each game, or with the most games won overall, get a small prize - or everyone gets a printout of their scores.
