We had been called out in the middle of the night. A major disaster had been declared. It was all hands on deck. After a swift site rep, we were dispatched to various locations around the oil platform. As we approached by helicopter, which was going to lower us onto the deck of our assigned rescue boats, we could see the extent of The Spill by Andy Kim from Smirk & Dagger Games.
It was time to take over Earth. We had cunning plans, but then, we were also all trying to sabotage each other at the same time. We knew we had to convince a couple of different regions to be loyal to us and the rest would happen automatically. We also had a super secret weapon. We were going to bribe the Earthlings with Cake of Doom by Amar Chandarana and Pearl Ho from Rainy Day Games.
Oliver KinnePost read time 7 min readLeave a Comment on Vast: The Mysterious Manor (Saturday Review) It was time to prove myself as a favoured crusader once again. My goal was to kill the devious Spider, while being very careful to avoid the Skeletons. Both of these enemies were out to kill me. I had my Fury and my Light, representing my devotion to my divine goals and I knew I could use these to powerful effect. Ultimately though, it was Grit that would increase my capabilities as a hero. I took a deep breath and then entered Vast: The Mysterious Manor by Patrick Leder from Leder Games.
You have been tasked with building the sustainable energy network of the future. Your goal is to connect wind farms, hydro-energy plants and other green power sources to each other, as well as different cities. You have to decide which part of the network needs attention first and what can wait until later. Take care though and make sure you don't spread your workforce too thinly, but also avoid putting all of your light bulbs into one circuit. You want to end up making the best use of each and every Powerline by Dirk Henn from Queen Games.
As a member of the lowest caste in our colour-coded society, I worked extremely hard every day. I believed that my blood and sweat would create a better world for my children. I prayed that one day, Mars' surface would become habitable. However, my caste and I had been betrayed. I and others like me were nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. So now was the time for my caste to revolt. It was time for the Red Rising by Jamey Stegmaier and Alexander Schmidt from Stonemaier Games.
Oliver KinnePost read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Pingyao: First Chinese Banks (Saturday Review) In the Qing dynasty, camels were one of the main means of transport. People would travel for days to cross deserts, wilderness and plains to reach the city of Pingyao, where they would trade their wares to increase their wealth. So an agency of bankers was established to help grow the economy and slowly build up a financial network. Soon, wealth began to accumulate in the city of Pingyao: First Banks of China by Wu Shuang from Jing Studio.
Oliver KinnePost read time 7 min readLeave a Comment on Betrayal at House on the Hill: 3rd Edition (Saturday Review) You had received a mysterious invitation to the old mansion on top of the hill, which had lain empty for decades - if not centuries. You were about to throw the letter in the bin, along with the junk mail, when you hesitated. It could be interesting to see who else would turn up. After all, there was this old story linking your ancestors to a Betrayal at House on the Hill: 3rd Edition by Dave Chalker, Banana Chan, Noah Cohen, Bruce Glassco, Brian Neff, Will Sobel and Jabari Weathers from Avalon Hill.
Oliver KinnePost read time 7 min read10 Comments on Serious war games – controversial or not (Topic Discussion) War games are often seen as controversial. Replaying the atrocities that occurred during a large-scale conflict seems completely inappropriate. Condensing the huge amount of suffering, death and destruction into a game of pushing tiles around a board and rolling dice or playing cards seems perverse. So in this article, I try to put everything into a bit more context and tease out the pros and cons of war games and how controversial they really are when compared to some of the other games in our vast hobby.
It was 2100 and the construction of our gigantic project had begun. We were trying to tackle overpopulation and rising sea levels. Recent advances in technology had enabled us to build higher and stronger buildings that could house more people. We were also able to build on the water, using immense floating platforms as foundations for these wonderful structures. It would take time, but eventually, we would be able to complete our first MegaCity: Oceania by Jordan Draper and Michael Fox from Hub Games.
I always say that not everyone will like every board game, but there is a board game for everyone. I suppose, I should concede that some people don't like board games at all. Our hobby isn't for everyone and that's fine, of course. However, in this article, I want to look at the sort of games that should suit most people.
