dljuly3

Tsuro is a simple game with a very simple concept. Each player starts on the edge of the play board. Players each take turns placing tiles on the game board. Each of these tiles has multiple paths for the player to follow. There are only two rules when placing tiles:

1) The tile must advance the players pawn.
2) A player cannot lose by placing his or her tile unless there is no other choice.

Players lose by completing a path that connects to two edges of the game board (meaning it is impossible for the player to continue to place tiles to advance his or her piece). Players can use tile placement to their advantage; tiles can be used to advance other players so long as the player continues to follow the 2 rules above. This can be used to knock other players off the board. The last player standing is the winner.

The game is really fun no matter how many players are playing. In a 2-4 player game, there is a decent bit of strategy in how you place your tiles. The game only takes 15 minutes or so. In a 5-8 player game, it’s pure chaos, but still a lot of fun. Players will quickly fall, but the game will still only take up to 15 minutes.

I love pulling this game out at parties. It’s simple, takes less than a minute to teach, and very entertaining to drunk people. That simplicity also makes it great game for new gamers, such as children.

All in all, I give it a personal 10/10 just for how much use I’ve gotten out of it. It is easily one of my most well loved games.

Four Taverns is a game with a simple premise. You play one of four competing taverns. These taverns hire adventurers to complete tasks. Completing tasks gains the tavern prestige, which increases the taverns notoriety.

In the game, adventurers are represented by cards which you draw. Each adventurer can be one of four types (with some exceptions): warrior, cleric, rogue, and wizard. These adventurers have a value assigned to them; the higher, the better. The adventures are represented by cards in the middle. Each adventure has a certain value that must be reached for each adventurer type in order to complete that adventure. Players can play over multiple turns to complete an adventure. As the player completes adventures, his or her tavern gains prestige. This allows the tavern to level up, which just means the player can hold more cards in his hand. Players replenish their hands by drawing cards at the beginning of the turn. There are other cards in the game that allow you to tamper with other players occasionally, as well as powerful multi-class adventurers that meet two requirements on each adventure card.

The game is essentially a giant card drawing game with very little strategy and a lot of luck. Players just hold cards in hand until they can complete an adventure. The player(s) who happens to get lucky enough to draw the right cards early will complete adventures first. This is where the game really becomes imbalanced; because of the mechanic that increases hand size for leveling up, it becomes easier for those players to hold cards for adventures. This means the player(s) that were lucky enough to draw the right cards early on run away with the game. I found that you could basically call the winner of the game within a few minutes of starting and be right 95% of the time.

The game has potential, but needs A LOT of work. 3/10.

I found this game at GenCon 2011 thanks to the Cheese Weasel Conquest Games. I happily purchased the game after playing a life sized demo version of it. The game itself is extremely easy to learn, but takes a good while to truly master, giving it a tremendous amount of replay value, as well as making it a fantastic play for boardgamers of all ages and skill levels. A typical game will take 5-30 minutes in my experience, and can be played individually or with a group of people working cooperatively.

The goal of the game is very simple: contain a disease that is spreading among the populace. The playing surface is a giant grid of people. On each turn, players will draw a card that directs how the disease spreads (usually in a certain direction, with a few twists). The same card will allow the player to immunize or cure certain people. If a person becomes completely surrounded by diseased people, that person dies. Too many deaths, and the players lose, with the number of people allowed to die specified by the difficulty level. The game is won, however, if the players manage to completely surround the disease with immunized people, as then the disease can no longer spread among the populace.

For me, I really enjoy the educational side of the game. The game is a beautiful visual aid in teaching people of all ages the dangers of not vaccinating. I truly believe the creators of the game have found the ultimate way in which to relay that point in a simple, fun, and, most importantly, easy way to understand.

All in all, the game deserves at least a 9/10.