Kombo Klash (Saturday Review)

There was one creature waiting in each corner of the square battle arena and a tower of tiles was in its centre. It was the quiet before the storm as the players looked at their five tiles and silently contemplated the best way of playing them. It was vital that tiles were placed in the right place at the right time to score the most points, while denying other players their chance of racing into the lead. After all, only one of the players would be victorious in this Kombo Klash by Hub Games.

Finding the fun (Topic Discussion)

I think like pretty much every hobby, playing board games is about having fun. You might prefer to play solo, you might like to play with your partner or you have a group of friends you play with. You probably play different types of games with different people. Maybe you play lighter games with your loved one in the evenings, because you're both tired after work and want to have some relaxing time together, but when you play with your games group you want something complex and thinky to really stretch your brain. Ultimately though, I think it's all about having fun.

Patchwork (Digital Eyes)

We were sitting quietly at each end of the sofa in the living room, fully engrossed in our needlework. It was so relaxing to use our hands and make something. Arts and crafts. That was the way. We looked at each other for a moment, seeing the contentment in each other's eyes. I reached into the bag to pick out another piece of material to add to my quilt. It would look all higgledy-piggledy, but that was fine, because I was aiming to create a Patchwork by Lookout Games.

Flexible gaming (Topic Discussion)

As we all know, different people play games for different reasons and with different goals. Even the heaviest of games can be played in all sorts of different ways, and I don't mean with different strategies in mind. Sure, in an 18xx game, you probably want to do everything to win and it's unlikely that people will play it who just want to build scenic routes going through cities that they like - but it is a possibility. In this article, I want to look at the different motivations players have and how different games accommodate them to a larger or smaller extent.

Quadropolis (Saturday Review)

"I think everyone agrees. We want to build the best metropolis in the world and we have a great opportunity to do so from scratch. We have a large plot of land that is ready to be built on. We can really create something special here that will make everyone happy. It will be magnificent." The mayor looks around the room at all the happy and excited faces, until he spots the urbanist. "What's wrong?" the mayor asks. "Well," the urbanist replies, "we do have a few challenges. Depending on which architect builds what we can place new buildings only in certain columns or rows of the empty plot's grid system, and we can only choose buildings from a specific row or column from the available ones. It's going to be really tricky to build our Quadropolis by Days of Wonder."

Kingdomino (Saturday Review)

Four mighty rulers compete to create the most wonderful dominion of them all. They stand proud at the top of their keep and survey the blank canvas of their lands below them. They want to create beautiful lakes full of fish to cater for many fishermen, large forests with mighty trees that will keep their many woodcutters supplied all year round, expansive meadows full of content sheep and happy farmers, giant fields bursting with healthy grain that hard-working millers will turn into flour in their many mills, expansive mines which overflow with precious ore and make the people rich and some wonderful swamp that... well... does something amazing too. Whoever creates the most productive realm will become the Kingdomino by Coiledspring Games.

Forbidden Sky (Saturday Review)

Lightning strikes around you every few seconds, a hurricane is howling around you and visibility is almost zero. Add to that the fact that you're on a rickety platform 7,000 feet in the air, barely tethered to the barrier rail by rope in an almost vain attempt to stop you from being blown off and plummeting to your death, and it's obvious why the situation is so precarious. You are desperately trying to get to the launch pad, get into the rocket and get away and to safety - but you are still exploring your route there and you also have to wire up the launch system - and you're running out of time. You have to be quick and work together to reach the Forbidden Sky by Gamewright.

High spirits (Topic Discussion)

There are many things that affect our mental health in some way. It could be a life-changing or otherwise significant event. It could be certain habits we have or things we do - or don't do. Our physical health can also affect it, as well as the health of someone close to us. Our relationships also have an influence on our mental health. These are all very broad stroke headlines and there are many things that fit into each of those categories. Of course, different events affect each of us differently - in different ways and at different times. Ultimately, it's about how we deal with these events that decided how they affect our mental health.

Curators: Collection Conundrum (Saturday Review)

Ensuring you can continue to stock the display cases with new exhibits, while also being able to pay your loyal and hard-working staff, is very hard. It is all about getting as many people through the door to raise income, as well as have a better chance of attracting funding to see you through another month. However, at the moment your museum isn't in great shape and you need to expand to make room for more exhibits, which in turn should attract more visitors. Well, nobody said it would be easy in Curators: Collection Conundrum by Worldshapers.

Tapestry (Takebacks)

Your tribe is sitting around the fire - a new invention that will prove to be the spark of great things to come, things that nobody can yet predict or even dream of. It feels like you have been here before though. The scene seems very familiar. The faces may be different and so is the location, but the warmth of the flames and the crackling of the embers trigger memories in you - memories of a bright future, memories of generations to come, of a civilization rising out of the plains and large structures reaching into the sky. Yet, something is different this time. It seems as if your tribe of Traders has an extra coin and an extra food in this more balanced version of Tapestry by Stonemaier Games.