Digital cheats – practising against AIs (Topic Discussion)

Since the lockdown, many board games have now also been released in digital format. Some of these implementations are just a representation of the physical game on your screen. You still have to move everything by hand and do all the housekeeping. Other solutions enforce rules and carry out all the actions for you. You just need to point and click. Some games also come with AI opponents, allowing you to create a competitive game even when you're by yourself or add additional, digital players to a multiplayer game. In this article, I want to look at using these computer players to help you improve your game.

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.

A Race in Time (Saturday Review)

History was an interesting place for all of us. We recognized a number of famous figures, while some were new to us. As we travelled through the ages, we encountered new people and learned about different events. Some eras were more familiar than others. Our aim was to be the first to reach the present day. We all took part in A Race in Time from History Heroes.

Plutocracy (Saturday Review)

After Earth had been mostly laid to waste, major corporations took charge and colonized much of the Solar System. Interplanetary trade was the only source of money and therefore power. Earth's few remaining societies still held a fair amount of political influence, but controlling as many of the independent planetary parliaments as possible was probably even more important. If you timed it right and invested your money wisely, you could gain power in the Solar System's ultimate authority, the Plutocratic Council. After all, Earth's political systems had been replaced by a Plutocracy by Claudio Bierig from Doppeldenkspiele.

Float Downstream (Saturday Review)

"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)

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.

Teaching games – responsibilities as a learner (Topic Discussion)

Here is another article in my series about teaching games. Last time I spoke about the responsibilities the person has who teaches the game. This time I want to cover what is expected of the people learning the game. After all, the teacher will not get anywhere if no one is willing to actually learn the game. So, as a learner there are certain things you have to try and do to make the rules teach easier for everyone.

Eternal Palace (Saturday Review)

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.

Teaching games – responsibilities as a teacher (Topic Discussion)

Continuing my series of articles about teaching games, in this article I want to talk about what responsibilities the teacher has. It's not always obvious, but when you teach a game, you're not done after explaining the rules to the group. You have to continue to keep an eye on things, to make sure everyone plays correctly. You also have to be ready to answer questions during the game. That's a lot of responsibility to shoulder.