Tag: Themes

Thematic Mismatch – how board game themes can help or hinder (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Thematic Mismatch – how board game themes can help or hinder (Topic Discussion)

I have always felt that the theme or setting of a game can really help with learning it. In a game about the Spice Routes, for example, it will be instinctively clear why there are mechanisms to exchange resources of different types with each other or for money. After all, that's what the spice trade was mainly about. However, a game's theme or setting isn't necessarily useful. Sometimes it can be a hindrance. In this article, I want to look at this a bit more closely.

Stamp Swap (Saturday Review)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Stamp Swap (Saturday Review)

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.

Star Trek: Away Missions – Commander Scotty: Federation Expansion (Saturday Review)

Post read time 4 min readLeave a Comment on Star Trek: Away Missions – Commander Scotty: Federation Expansion (Saturday Review)

Aye, let me tell ye, it's nae just another day in the engine room! There we were, mindin' our own business, when a ripple in time itself plucks me and three of me trusted crewmates right out of our own century! Next thing ye know, we're smack dab in the aftermath of the Battle of Wolf 359. We've got to deal w' snarlin' Klingon warriors, Romulan spies and these strange machine-creatures. If that wasn't enough, we’ve got some right-determined Federation teams makin' things difficult. We were right in the middle of one of those Star Trek: Away Missions - Commander Scotty: Federation Expansion by Andrew Haught, Mike Haught and Phil Yates from Gale Force Nine.

Arcs (Saturday Review)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Arcs (Saturday Review)

The spacefaring cultures were moving their forces through the gates and across the systems, changing the control in the clusters in the Reach. The balance of the court was also no longer guaranteed. Agents were making their influence known and securing their positions. It didn't take long for the first battles to start, damaging cities and spaceports and leading to captives and trophies. Maneuvering was getting almost impossible and the only way to move fleets was in Arcs by Cole Wehrle from Leder Games.

Climbing High – from Scout to Odin (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Climbing High – from Scout to Odin (Topic Discussion)

I am a big fan of card games. Having grown up in Germany, a deck of cards was usually not far away. Playing trick-taking games was part of my youth, whether with the family or friends. I love card games in general and my love was rekindled when I was introduced to the modern hobby with games such as Citadels or Love Letter. I also found many new trick-taking games, but a genre that was new to me was so-called ladder-climbing games. In this article, I want to look at these fascinating games in more detail.

Rolling Realms Redux (Saturday Review)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Rolling Realms Redux (Saturday Review)

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.

Looot (Saturday Review)

Post read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Looot (Saturday Review)

Our longships were ready to sail. The crew had just completed stowing all provisions and supplies for the long voyage ahead. We needed resources and building materials to develop our fjord and complete our port, altar and jarl palace. But we were not alone. Vikings from other fjords had the same ambition to store up the most riches and be crowned Jarl of the Vikings! It was a race, but we were ready! We were ready to Looot by Charles Chevallier and Laurent Escoffier from Gigamic.

Choo Choo My Friend – from Shikoku 1889 to 1880: China (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 4 min readLeave a Comment on Choo Choo My Friend – from Shikoku 1889 to 1880: China (Topic Discussion)

If you know me, you'll know that I love economic simulation games. I love trading stocks and shares. It feels great when I buy into someone else's company and ride their success to profit. It feels even better when my own company does well and I can take all the gains for myself, because nobody else believed it would do so well. Add to that my love for playing with toy trains and you can see why I'm in love with 18xx games. So allow me, if you will, to take you on a journey of trains, tracks, stations and shares.

Dragon vs Kingdom (Saturday Review)

Post read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Dragon vs Kingdom (Saturday Review)

The new town was going to be glorious. Here in this wasteland that had seen many battles, it was important to create defenses, while also ensuring there were enough shops and houses for the people. It was going to take some time and our initial focus was on building towers that would allow us to see invaders far into the distance. The towers would also allow us to protect ourselves, because in these lands it was a matter of Dragon vs Kingdom by Chris Backe from No Box Games.

Ultramassive (Saturday Review)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Ultramassive (Saturday Review)

A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes are enormous and entirely ungovernable. They form when massive stars collapse on themselves at the end of their life. They grow by absorbing mass from their surroundings and if they absorb other stars or merge with other black holes, they become supermassive, millions of solar masses in size. Yet, some black holes are even more gigantic and powerful. They are Ultramassive by Alex Greenberg and Jacob Phillips from Studio Unknown.