Doc Revelator

If you’re looking for a great, thematic game that almost any group can play, enjoy and have a hilarious time with, then King of Tokyo fits the bill.

The dice-chucking gameplay is great. It’s far more than just Godzilla-themed Yahtzee though; there’s a clever risk/reward mechanic and the cards add some modulation of the simple rule/scoring.

It’s a competitive game, but a funny one; the fact that the players all assume the guide of a silly B-movie monster means it’s all in good fun, and the random nature of the dice fits the chaotic vision of monsters knocking lumps out of each other in a city.

This was the game my 8-year-old son decided he wanted to play to welcome in 2015 on New Year’s Eve, and it has become a well-loved member of the family.

Top notch fun for everyone.

Once my family decided to embark on our new hobby of tabletop gaming, buying Forbidden Island was something of a no-brainer. The stunning presentation, very reasonable price and co-operative nature of the gameplay make it a superb introductory game. The theme is exciting and mysterious;grab the treasures from the forbidding ruins and make good your escape before the island is flooded forever.

This game is gorgeous. The components are lovely, chunky and attractive – the treasures really feel like treasures. The artwork is wonderful, perhaps deliberately reminiscent of videogames like Myst, and sells the theme and setting of the game really well.

The gameplay is streamlined and easy to follow, and also scales perfectly for groups of different abilities. The co-op mechanics are the star here. Children playing can be helped by adults, but often have the best ideas themselves, and the discussion and interaction the game precipitates is wonderful. There’s much laughter and immersion to be had here with a group of friends. The urgency provided by the Waters Rise! cards is palpable, and on the harder difficulties the game can be a challenge even for a sharp team. The different player abilities mean that everyone gets their hero moment and has a valuable contribution of their own to make.

It may not be the all-conquering behemoth that the similarly great Pandemic (by the same designer) has become, but it’s a tidy design of a similar ilk with a brilliant theme. It’s a pleasant thing to own and the tactile nature of the components really helps it sing. It’s cheap enough to take a punt on but certainly feels like a luxury production. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

You can read how to play this many times over on this site alone; what you have to know, what you have to experience for yourself, is just how much fun it is.

It’s devious, compelling and laugh out loud funny. It lets you – forces you to – be backstabbing, diplomatic, panicked and teary with laughter. Haven’t even begun to explore the possible combinations of alien races/tactics/powers yet. The theme is marvellous, the artwork is magnificent, the components lovely and tactile.

It’s got the great bluffing element of poker. That feeling of cheeky empowerment you get from Netrunner as you destroy or steal an opponent’s hand. The fragile alliances and treachery of Game of Thrones. But it’s accessible, instant. Strategic but not so much that it saps the life out of the interactions, funny and random but not so much that you get frustrated.

I can’t recommend this masterpiece highly enough. It is a well-loved favourite, sure; but it should be in everyone’s collection, **** Monopoly.

Well, well, well! Libertalia was our very first non-mainstream board game purchase, and we couldn’t be happier with our choice. Even opening the lovely box is a joy. The pirate theme is fantastic, not to mention beautifully illustrated, and gives great context to this cleverly designed and wily game.

Making sure every player starts the first round with the same cards is brilliant; three rounds in, everyone loses track of who’s played what, but strategy is still possible. There’s some superb balancing going on and plenty of player interaction.

The card stock feels so very classy and the incredible artwork is something to be marvelled over – the characters seem almost alive. It’s a relatively simple game to learn (although you might need some clarification of some rules or situations from online sources) and the pleasingly designed manual is as simple as it needs to be.

The game scales well between 2 and 6 players, really coming alive with three or more, but we play it often just the two of us and it gets rather heated, in a very good way.

We can’t recommend this game highly enough, it is a very classy proposition.