Tag: Set Collection Games

Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom! (Saturday Review)

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It was either us or them. We were the only two teams on a planet far, far away, a planet that was crawling with bug-eyed monsters or BEMs as we had started to call them. My navigator moved around the directional grid to guide the vehicle across the planet's surface and allow the gunner to take aim at one of the weird inhabitants of this rock in space. We had to be careful though. We had to target the right BEMs to come out victorious in this fight to the end. It was all about who was going to be the Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom! by Bez Shahriari from Surprised Stare Games.

16 Candies (Saturday Review)

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"I got candy!" comes the shout. Taken aback, you look across the counter and see the eager and very happy face of the youngster staring up at you. Another sugar-loving customer has come to your amazing sweet shop to pick and mix their favourite delights. Below the face, on outstretched arms, cradled in cupped hands are 16 Candies by Dickie Chapin from Envy Born Games.

Applejack (Saturday Review)

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To create the best apple brandy, you have to freeze fermented cider and remove the ice. It's quite simple and very effective in increasing the alcohol content of an already delicious drink. It's really easy to apply this to cider made after the autumn harvest. Just leave the casks in the winter cold and when enough ice has formed, pour the remaining liquid into another cask. Repeat the process as often as you please to concentrate the remaining liquid to levels of anywhere between 25% and 40% alcohol. It's what we call "jacking" and it will come as no surprise that the resulting drink is called Applejack by Uwe Rosenberg from The Game Builders.

Sea Salt & Paper (Saturday Review)

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The sea was calm and the sun was shining. The sandy beach stretched for miles, strewn with shells, some occupied by hermit crabs. In the distance, I could see a few small boats. Underneath the long abandoned lighthouse, there was a small colony of penguins. As I closed my eyes and dozed off, I dreamt of fish and merpeople. My mind was thinking about Sea Salt & Paper by Bruno Cathala and Théo Rivière from Bombyx.

Matches (Saturday Review)

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A great fire engulfed the Whelming Matches factory. All the water in the world couldn't put it out, so hot it burned. When the flames eventually died down many hours later, one artefact was found among the glowing embers. It was cold to the touch and nobody knew what it was. Maybe it was one of the Matches by Daniel McKinley from Thing 12 Games.

Aquamarine (Saturday Review)

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It was a beautiful day. The sea was calm and the sun was shining. The water was crystal clear and even while you were sitting on the side of the boat, in your full diving gear, you could see the corals and wonderful sea creatures in the water. You knew it was going to be a long day and you would probably split it into two or three dives. You did one last check of your gear and then you leant back and dropped into the Aquamarine by Matthew Dunstan and Rory Muldoon from Postmark Games.

Scout (Saturday Review)

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Finally, the baton of ringmaster has been passed to you. Your predecessor has been in the job for many decades, but now it's your turn. You need to get the most out of the motley crew of performers and put together a show that will beat your rivals'. Yet, immediately it becomes clear that you need to bring in new talent to make your circus really stand out from the rest. It's time for you to Scout by Kei Kajino (梶野 桂) from Oink Games.

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.

Self-sorting games (Topic Discussion)

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We all know how some games can take a while to set up. Sometimes it's because there are just a lot of components and different pieces to take out of the box and place on the table. Other times, it's because you have to sort components a certain way, after they were all mixed together in a previous play of the game. The opposite can also be true, where you have to shuffle tiles or cards, after they ended up all in order when you finished playing the game last time. In this article, I want to look at both: games that sort or shuffle themselves during play and are virtually immediately ready to play again, as well as games that expect you to shuffle or sort components before you can play them again.

Library Labyrinth (Saturday Review)

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It is the evening and everyone has gone home, but you. The library is dark and everything is quiet, when suddenly, out of the corner of your eyes, you think you can see a book opening all by itself in the horror aisle. As you turn to get a better look, you see Dracula standing there, with Bram Stoker's book by his feet. You know exactly what to do, because this isn't the first time this has happened. You rush to the fiction section and pull out three particular books, whose heroines will surely be able to catch the vampire and put him back in his book. The problem is, the library's aisles are starting to shift and change and your way is being blocked but shelves. You have to be quick and find a way through this Library Labyrinth by Jessica Metheringham and Mill Goble from Dissent Games.