Roz

As a hidden movement game, Specter Ops is certainly enjoyable, and the varied character abilities do provide a fresh mechanic that differentiates it from games like Letters From Whitechapel and Fury of Dracula. HOWEVER. I HIGHLY recommend playing Specter Ops with 5 players. At 5 players, one of the hunters is secretly in league with the agent player, adding a betrayal element like Battlestar Galactica. Searching for a hidden foe, while not being able to trust your allies takes this game to 11. Very fun, and a whole new twist on two of my favorite genres!

I’ve been a long time fan of Flying Frog Productions board games and since purchasing this game at GenCon 2014 it has rapidly risen to become my absolute favorite game. Not only is the setting (a horror western) practically tailor made to my sensibilities, but I can’t get enough of playing the game itself. A completely co-op game, (1-4 players vs. the game A.I.) The heroes dungeon crawl their way through the mines and through portals to other worlds across a series of replayable adventures, and as if that weren’t enough, you can grow and level up your heroes by going into town between adventures, where you can buy and sell gear or even become mutated by the corruption of dark stone! I can’t recommend this game highly enough! All of the heroes and monsters come on sprues so some assembly (and super glue) is required. This core set includes everything you need to play, or it can be combined with City of the Ancients to add ALL NEW content and increase the number of players to 6! So git on out there partner, and test yer grit against the Shadows of Brimstone!

I’ve been a long time fan of Flying Frog Productions board games and since purchasing this game at GenCon 2014 it has rapidly risen to become my absolute favorite game. Not only is the setting (a horror western) practically tailor made to my sensibilities, but I can’t get enough of playing the game itself. A completely co-op game, (1-4 players vs. the game A.I.) The heroes dungeon crawl their way through the mines and through portals to other worlds across a series of replayable adventures, and as if that weren’t enough, you can grow and level up your heroes by going into town between adventures, where you can buy and sell gear or even become mutated by the corruption of dark stone! I can’t recommend this game highly enough! All of the heroes and monsters come on sprues so some assembly (and super glue) is required. This core set includes everything you need to play, or it can be combined with Swamps of Death to add ALL NEW content and increase the number of players to 6! So git on out there partner, and test yer grit against the Shadows of Brimstone!

“Say Bye” is unique for how quickly it plays and how challenging it can be. A cooperative game, all the players work together to defeat an equal number of villains, but the twist is that each player only has 10 units of time to scout defenses and prepare to face a foe. Oh, and it’s all or nothing, the players either all succeed or completely fail together, making Say Bye to the Villains one of those games that will challenge you to keep you coming back for more!

At first glance, Hyperborea can appear rather daunting, with its multitude of miniatures, colored cubes, personal faction board/tracker, and modular hex tile board setup. Add in the fact that there is no printed words on any of it (everything is represented in universal pictograms) and many new players might feel slightly overwhelmed. HOWEVER, gameplay is fairly simple and straightforward. Build a bag of colored cubes to draw from and assign those cubes to actions on your personal board. How you proceed from there is up to you. There are multiple factors to scoring (like 7 Wonders or Agricola) and a multitude of paths to victory, from exploiting the map, acquiring technologies, or even dominating your opponents. Hyperborea is a new favorite, both tactically fulfilling and yet elegantly simple.

Warmachine High Command is a new deck building game from Privateer Press that actually manages to emulate the feel of playing the Miniature wargame in card form. As a deck builder, High Command has a bit more complexity than a Dominion or Ascension. Initial game set up requires some additional effort from most deck builders. Each player/faction draws from their own customized decks building up better resources and war assets. The big difference is when you deploy your assets to capture locations from a shared pool in the center, pitting your warjacks and warriors head to head against your opponents. In addition, the winds of war are ever shifting and can change buying or battling conditions each turn in unexpected ways.
Each faction manages to maintain its own unique feel and play style, and your choice of Warcasters and accompanying attatchment decks further hone and customize the experience.
Incredibly repayable and tactically deep, High Command is a fantastic new way to enjoy Warmachine, both for fans of the original and deck building players alike!

Undisputedly the Hidden Gem of Gen Con 2012, Spartacus captures the theme and feel of the television show like no other game since FFG’s Battlestar Galactica. In Spartacus, side dealing is not only encouraged, but necessary. Nothing is out of bounds and nothing holds you to your promises but your word. “Sure, I’ll trade you these slaves for your assistance in carrying out my scheme against hated rival…” Only to find out that “hated rival means YOU!

But influence and treachery is only half of what makes up this excellent boardgame entry, the other half is Blood Glory on Arena’s storied sands! Each round, one player will host a fighting match in the arena, pitting two players to send their best (or sometimes, worst) combatants onto the sands to fight for their lives and honor, while the powerful houses place their bets on the outcome.

This is a fantastic game for anyone looking for a theme heavy game of shifting alliances and shrewd business, made INFINITELY better if you are familiar with the source show.

I first demoed Sentinels at Origins 2013. Then I immediately demoed it again. Then, I bought up every bit of it I could get my hands on. This game is AMAZING! With all of the combinations of heroes that all play differently, times the number of villains that each provide a unique challenge, times the multitude of environment decks that can have a drastic effect on both hero and villain cards, this game has more replay ability than any other game I’ve ever played! (In fact, I downloaded an app just to help me randomize my choices, there are so many!)
The best part? The presentation of the universe. Each hero card is presented as an issue of a pretend comic book. And every single card has a dash of flavor text, as if it were quoted from X issue of X comic. BRILLIANT!
If you have EVER been a fan of superhero comics, DO NOT let this game pass you by another instant!

A fun, very cooperative boardgame which puts the players in the role of various Norse gods, fighting to keep the forces of evil from overrunning the halls of Asgard.
As the evil gods march closer to Odin’s Hall, the players must visit the various realms represented on the board to marshall aid (in the form of viking souls, forged weapons, etc.) in fighting back the darkness.
Visually, the board is full of colorful art, representing the various realms, but each realm is represented by a rune, which at a glance is often difficult to understand. One playthrough is enough to sort out the meanings.
Every game plays vastly differently based on which gods are in play, and there are cards to adjust the difficulty, should things become routine.
Yggdrasil is a fast co-op game, in the vein of Arkham Horror (only much simpler), with a unique Norse theme. Good luck!