huck1eberry

This game is a zombie game, but it’s not the only focus. There is a psychological thriller aspect that is much more apparent.

Mechanics

Crossroads cards, these cards give the game a new flavor each time you play. After your turn you pick up a card and read it, you share the information if certain criteria are met. If not you don’t. They can be good or bad, depends on your standpoint.

Hidden Traitor, there may be one, there may not be.

Gameplay

Take turns searching for different survival gear, food, etc.

Share your findings. Or don’t. Depends on your goal.

Try to complete tasks as assigned by the mission card.

In the game you have your own secret objective, your attempt to complete the goal people may think you are a traitor.

The game is a blast. You accuse your best friend of being a traitor because they won’t share their tools. You may also exile them if you choose.

The game is great. Almost perfect if you ask me. You need the right group to play for sure.

Love letter is a simple strategy and role deduction game that anyone who can read can learn quickly.

You are trying to get a letter to the Princess, whoever get’s closest to the Princess wins.

The rules are simple, draw a card, discard a card (play a card).

At the beginning of your turn you draw a card, and “discard” a card, completing whatever the cards text says to do.

There is a mechanic to discard the first card from the deck, you do so blindly so you never know which card is missing from the deck.

I love this game. It’s simple and quick. There is a bit of strategy to how you play. If you want a simple role deduction game to play between long sets of games this is the game for you.

I will start with the fact that this game is pure Ameritrash awesomeness. If you don’t like that style of game you might just want to move on.

The components are wonderful and plentiful. Flying Frog is top notch when it comes to its bits. Sturdy cardboard and well printed cards. Characters are actors photographed in costumes. Pure Cheese!

The game is a living pulp novel. The more you play and get into the character, the more you will love the theme. Theme is simple adventure, excitement, fighting ***** or Mobsters. Collect the treasure and hit the skies in your very own Zeppelin. What more could you want.

The game is very rules heavy. It can take a few play throughs to master. (just ask the cast of Table Top) Keep the rules book handy, there are also a few good onesheets on another boardgaming website for help.

This is a big game. You need a lot of table space and a lot of time to get through.

Overall
Heavy on theme
Dice Rolling
Cooperative and competitive options
Lots of bits cardboard and plastic
A fun romp around the world!

Carcassonne is a great entry level game. With expansions and a little determination on your part you can truly explore the genius behind this little tile layer.

Components:

Nice thick tiles and wooden meeples.

Game Play:

Draw a tile, place the tile. Find the best way to maximize points by placing your meeples.

You gain points by building cities, farms, cathedrals, etc.

Scoring:

This is the most difficult part of the game to grasp. The larger your contiguous farm, city, etc. the more points you score.

Overall:

This is a great little gateway game. Maybe a second step for some. Make sure to read the rules and double check some FAQ’s if the scoring is at all confusing.

Tsuro at its most basic is a tile laying game. Simple enough, but with a bit of strategy can be very exciting, and sometimes cutthroat.

Game play is simple lay a tile and move the pieces it affects. There are times you lay your tile and it affects only you (normally in the early rounds). As play advances your (or others) tile placement affect multiple pieces on the board.

If the tile will affect a piece (the tile continues the pieces path) you move the piece. This can have the affect of breaking an opponents plan, or even knock them off the board.

The objective is also simple, be the last piece on the board.

You can be knocked out of the game if your piece is moved off the board or if your pieces end up on the same path.

In a Nut Shell:
This game is simple in nature, but has some good strategy. It falls into the light gaming category. It’s great for between games or playing a few games in a row while talking with friends. A nice addition to any ones collection.

What can I say about the DC Deck Builder?

It’s okay. I have played it through roughly 10 times with friends and students so I think I have a pretty decent grasp of the the game.

You start out as a DC Super Hero, you can choose or deal out characters randomly. Each Hero has their own special ability, not bad. Makes sense.

You can then buy cards (at first using punch and kick actions) from a community pool(this is where them starts to break down), that help you defeat or buy more cards (these cards include equipment, lower level heroes, and villains).

The goal is to beat Super Villains who also come with their own special abilities that launch when their card is flipped. The person who defeats the most Super Villains normally wins.

The theme breaks down due in part to the community pool of cards. You can buy cards like Super Strength and Super Speed regardless of who your hero is. I think they could have made some character specific decks and the game would have better flow. I like the idea it’s just the follow through wasn’t great.

Overall:

If you can get it super cheap, it’s not a bad deck builder, it can be fun. I wouldn’t go out of my way to play it though.

What can I say about Love Letter. It’s amazing. The game is played in quick rounds. You draw a card and “discard a card.” The discard phase equates to playing a cards special abilities. Each card has an ability such as “look at target players hand,” (a players hand is one card). Your goal is to gain influence (highest point value of card) and get your letter to the Princess (the Princess is a card, she happens to have the highest value). You play until their are no more cards to draw (16 card deck) or everyone else has been knocked out (different cards have abilities to knock out other players). The game is quick and wonderful.

Pros
Quick
Some basic strategy and gamesmanship
Not cutthroat (can be a little if you want)

Cons
Some may want a bit more strategy (Try Coup)
None that I can think of.

This game can be a light in-between games game or you can really make a night of it playing it a few times.

Most of the games I get to play are with my wife and son (5). So I need some simple mechanics and pleasing themes. This hits both for me.

My wife really enjoys gaming. She is drawn in by good mechanics and quirky themes. Currently really loves Smash Up. Dungeon Roll was a stretch or so I thought.

My son needs a more simple mechanic. He has played some more advanced games but simple and quick are best. He loves this.

Gameplay:

Roll some dice. Have someone else roll some other dice. Match up the dice. Battle, resolve items, maybe fight a dragon. It’s simple.

But the game offers other elements that make gameplay more exciting. They have characters that can be dealt at random or chosen. We choose. My son likes the choice. The characters add special abilities which give the game a bit more depth.

There is some strategy with the dice rolling. What to keep when you have scrolls (allow you to reroll any number of dice), what to bring back when you quaff a potion (you can choose the type). Not super tough but some choice non the less.

Replay:

We have had fun each time. And it’s quick enough to play between longer games.

Who it’s for:

Really anybody can enjoy it. You have to know what it is and except what it is though. Don’t think you are getting a huge revolutionary game. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s fun.

Pros:
Components are well done
Fun and quick
Has a mechanic that could be added to
Characters change a bit of strategy
The player mat offered by inked is good

Cons:
May be too simple for some
Some of the kickstarter stretch goals could make it better

My family has really gotten into gaming in the last couple of years now that my son can understand following rules and such. Settlers is a bit above his concentration and understanding. Catan Junior has been great for him. He gets the strategy and can win on his own.

Gameplay:

This is similar to Settlers in a couple of ways. It’s a resource management game. Try to collect to by ships, pirate coves, or cards. The major differences are, the board is pre-set, there is only one d6 so there is equal chance of getting any resource, and the board trades are simpler.

The strategy is basically the same. The end game is a bit quicker. Get 6 or 7 pirate coves out and you win.

It plays in about 30 minutes, which can be a stretch for some of the little ones out there.

Pros:
It’s Catan at its roots
The components are really nice
Quick (for the little ones this is a must)

Cons:
If there are any, it can be too simple at times. (There isn’t a good in-between for this and Settlers)

Conclusion

If you are playing with a little one between about 4 and 6 this is a great introduction to resource management. If you don’t have any that young you won’t like it. It’s fast and easy, but starts to give kids an idea of strategy. I do really enjoy this version.

This game is quick, easy and can be very fun.

During a weekend of marathon gaming with intense rules and memory. Zombie dice is a nice refreshing break. A quick game where smack talk can extend your fun.

Components:
13 dice Red Yellow and Green, each dice has a different number of Brains, Feet and Shot Gun Blasts. This simple Mechanic gives you a little strategy in your game play.

Game Play:
Roll three dice at a time, try to roll 13 brains over however many rounds you are playing.

Green: More Brains
Yellow: More runners
Red: More shot gun blasts

Your goal is to roll 13 brains. Scoring is simple. 1 brain = 1 point. Roll three shotguns and you lose all points for that round.

Keep brains and shotguns re-roll runners (feet). Always roll three dice.

It’s a game of chance but can be fun as you challenge your friends to keep rolling.

Why should you play it?
It’s fun. It’s quick. It’s a nice quick break.

Why you shouldn’t play it?
You don’t like quick games of chance.

As I questioned in the title this game is abstractly simple. It can abstract, it is simple, and sometimes is both or neither.

The premise and basic rules are simple, draw a card play a card.

The goals are abstract. They change depending on the card or cards played.

Game Play:

There are 4 types of cards

Keepers (These are cards you place in front of yourself and help you achieve goals.)

New Rule (These spell out new rules you will be playing by ie., draw 2 or play all.)

Action (An immediate action ie., pace one card to the left)

Goal (How you win, normally a combination of 2 keepers.)

The game starts simple enough, draw a card play a card. As new rules are introduced the game changes. The new rules can be helpful or devastate your “strategy.” As you play people will place goals, sometimes this helps, others it kills what you have been working on for four hands! But I digress. The person who wins meets whatever goal is set. They win immediately. For instance while playing with 7th graders, one played a new goal, the person across from them had the two keeper cards out, they won, game over.

That is how game play works. Never Count your chickens before they hatch. Anything can change at any time. With the right/wrong rule, action or goal played.

Overall:

This is a fun quick game. I wouldn’t recommend playing it game after game, as that would be an exercise in aggravation, and may end friendships. But the game is fun.

I bought the regular version. I plan on buying at least one of the themed versions. I think the “nerd” element will get me. I think Star Fluxx and Pirate Fluxx may be high on the list. But, then again Oz Fluxx has a pretty high rating, and the rules, just like this list, are always in Fluxx.

I bought this at the same time I bought King of Tokyo, but I left it in the box for the first dozen or so plays. I wanted to get a good understanding of the core game before playing the expansion. I am glad I did. King of Tokyo isn’t super complex but, knowing the game well before adding Power Up is a good idea.

Components:

Power Up includes not Kung Fu Panda as well as new Power Up cards. The cards themselves are character specific, giving certain abilities from the beginning of the game. When I first read the abilities I thought there would be a huge power shift, but after playing a few times, I see there is a real balance of power here.

The cards are a bit smaller than the cards that you buy in KoT, but still just as thin. I wish they were a bit more hearty.

A few more counters that continue to be sturdy and contain good art detail.

Rules Changes:

There are now Power Ups you begin with (either temporary or permanent) and you can buy Power Ups when you roll three hearts in Tokyo (hearts can now be useful in Tokyo!).

Overall:

I would definitely recommend this if you are a fan of KoT. It adds a decent element. It can be played from time to time to spice up the game.

I don’t play a lot of solitary games so SET has sat on my shelf for quite awhile. My wife loves it but we have never sat down to play. I could see the mathematical and educational components of the game so I picked up a couple copies from the LGS to play with my students. We finally got the chance yesterday. And I can say I was quite impressed.

The game is simple, lay out a dozen cards and find the set where either all characteristics are matching or no characteristics are matching. (ie., color, shape, quantity or fill) The game can be quite a challenge. There were some rounds in which we found one or two sets right away and others where there was seemingly no set. I say seemingly, just because we didn’t see the set did not necessarily mean it doesn’t exist.

A fun fast paced game that I was surprised that so many students liked. I guess you should never judge the type of gamer someone will be.

A great time killer between a couple friends. Take it to the coffee shop and kill some time. A great little game.

This weekend I went to see my family for a belated birthday celebration for my son and I. I was surprised to receive some late birthday monies! After our breakfast I was able to sneak into the LGS and right there like a beacon of light was King of Tokyo. I had recently watched some video with my son. We were both excited to pick up the game (and the Power Up expansion). As soon as we got to my Mother-In-Laws we tore in.

The Components

The cards are very nice card stock (although a couple of my characters were missing small parts, a bad cut job).

The cards that dole out the special abilities are a bit thin but there are plenty of them.

I like the dice. They are specially made and pretty awesome.

Scoring and health are kept with a nice board complete with two spinners to count up victory points or count down life.

The board has nice artwork and is sturdy yet small.

Game play

The play is pretty simple roll the dice, pick what you like reroll. See it’s like Yahtzee.
Earn energy, attack, heal, score victory points.
The game is simple but is very fun. I like the speed of the game. Nice inbetweener for some longer games.

How to Win

Be the first to earn 20 victory points, score by rolling the dice or being in Tokyo. Or don’t die. Most of the games we have played have settled to last person standing.

Overall

The game is quick and fun. The theme is a throwback to all the Kaiju you know and love.

P.S. I went to iello’s website and they had a post that they knew of the quality issue with some of the game and will quickly replace the damaged pieces.

I love Hey! That’s My Fish, so I was happy to see this digital version available.

The game follows the same basic rules as the board version. Lay out tiles (done for you with some extra configurations), place penguins (random order), and start moving (same order).

Again this game is a basic strategy game, the app allows 3 difficulty settings, and is a lot of fun. The easy setting allows younger gamers to develop their skills. The digital version offers a vs computers and vs real opponents option. (This will not stop me from getting the real version out.)

Pros

True to real game
Multiple board options
computer and real life opponent.

Cons
No vs real life via the interents option
missing the textile feel of real version

Buy this game you won’t be upset!

Digitial Carcassonne isn’t too bad if you want to play and don’t have anyone to play with. Similar to Carcassonne, but not as fun as actually playing in a group. They have limited computer trash talk but, that doesn’t live up to the real thing.

You take turns laying tiles, computers take their turns. After each tile you are given the opportunity to lay a character marker. Points are score and markers returned by the computer.

Pros

A chance to play Carcassonne

Cons

Sterile
No real life partners

I would love it if they offered an online real person play option. But it’s not too bad for the price and lets you practice your strategies.

Like I said, not bad in a pinch.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that is so the case in DiXit, but, ultimately you want to use far fewer.

I had played DiXit when I bought Journey. The game play is the same, the challenges are the same, so why buy both? Simply put the additional cards and different artist make the game equally as entertaining.

I bought this version specifically to play with my students. I am a 7th grade teacher and their is great value educationally in this game. Students use inference, imagination and creativity to succeed at this game. And they have fun while doing it. Creativity is very challenging to teach directly. I cannot lecture on being creative. I can let them explore though.

The Rules
Everybody has 5 cards in their hand. The “Active” Player plays a card face down and gives a clue. The next players then have a chance to play a card, face down, that they think matches the description or clue. After a quick shuffle the Active Player lays out each of the cards played. The remaining players then vote (using voting tiles again face down) for the card they think the Active Player played. Scoring is based on voting. 3 points for voting for the Active Players card, 1 bonus point for each person who votes for your card. Exceptions are, if no one votes for the Active Players card everyone gets 2 points. Or if everyone votes for the Active Players card everyone gets two points. The Active player scores by having at least one but not all people voting for their card. (3 points) First to 30 points wins.

The Components of this game are great in a teaching setting too. The board having the basic point values for quick reference is invaluable. I was a little disappointed in the cheap plastic tokens. (Quite a step down from the wooden bunny tokens of DiXit.)

Pros
Encourages creativity
Beautiful Art
Many learning functions (Inference, summary, description, etc.)
Board has scoring reference
Easy to learn

Cons
Cheaper plastic tokens

Overall

A great game for everyone. I love it. I enjoy watching my students and son play the game and practice some wonderful storytelling skills. Great for adults too.

there are Super Heroes.

I bought this for my son because he loves his super heroes. At least that’s what I can tell people. I bought it for me. I had never played HeroScape but I have always been intrigued by miniature games. I think HeroScape is a great on ramp. I love super heroes always have and always will so this was a perfect pick up.

The game is awesome because it offers not only multiple campaigns, difficulty levels and set ups, but also allows for a free style of play. This is great when playing with my son. We use one of the suggested set ups and scenarios and play out a game.

This game works like many other miniature games. Range of movement, attack range, powers and defense are on a card describing the character (there are simple and complex sides to each card). We of course use the simple option.

After moving you can chose to attack or not, each player rolls their attack or defense dice. Not reinventing the wheel here, just simple game play.

There could be some add-ons to make the game more replayable. But over all we enjoy it.

The components are solid as is true with HeroScape no surprise there. The miniatures are okay. Nicely painted and pretty sturdy.

The cons – I would have really liked to see some expansions, more characters maybe play out some big time comic battles and what not.

Overall a great little miniature game. Had a lot of fun with it. My son likes to get out the game and just play make believe and there isn’t any thing wrong with that.

I bought this game for my 4 year old at the recommendation of our LGS. He was watching us play Catan and he wanted to play. The building fazes and trading were a bit much for him. So we were looking for something similar to give a try. This worked out very well.

Game Play
Each player starts with 8 tokens and an equal distribution of square tiles. Players take turns placing their tiles. Each tile contains path portions, some contain “blocks” and/or a picture of a child matching the color of one more of the tokens.
The objective of the game is to cap off paths on all sides and place all 8 of your tokens. It’s a pretty simple game/concept but, introduces your little ones to strategy. The more they play the more their strategy develops. (My son often now not only tries to win but also to block me from winning.)

Components
The components are built for children, nice study pieces for the board and wooden cut outs for the tokens.

Overall
The game can be simplistic in play, but that was perfect for us. It is a great beginner to the “euro style” game. We still enjoy playing it after having it for over a year.

I have been playing Apples to Apples with my wife and various people for many years now. I have noticed that every player plays different. After awhile you can start to read the player and play to them.

Types of Players

The literal: They will play their cards as literally as possible arguing that that is the heart of the game.

The Ironical: They will play the most outlandish combinations hoping for a laugh that will lead to the point. (ie Cuddly Cactus)

The Dark Humorist: Always a bit of a chuckle as they play their card.

There are more types but you get the gist. I love playing with a mix of players, it keeps things going and can be down right hilarious.

The game itself is simple. Match the noun to the adjective that best (or worse) suits the other. If you have younger kids to high school age it’s best to pick up the junior version as they will get more of the references.

The components are equivalent to your usual deck of cards. A little flimsy and if you get a rougher player they can get bent up. You also get two trays to keep the cards separate and easy to draw from.

This game is great for the casual and social gamer group. Take it to a party where everyone is sitting enjoying their favorite beverage and have some fun.

This game is super accessible for all ages. My 4 year old demoed this game at CHI-TAG this year and loved it so much that he had to have it (over Catan Jr. and Mario Chess).

The set up is simple line the tiles up alternating 7 and 8 until you run out. Each tile has from 1 to 3 fish on it. The goal is to have the most fish and you win. There are two main ways to accomplish this task, 1, after you move your penguin from a space that tile is yours, and 2, “break off” a piece of iceberg. Once all pieces of a chunk are separated from the rest of the board you collect all the pieces.

This game is literally easy enough for my four year old but can have some pretty cut throat strategy components. We have loved the game and truly enjoy playing.

Pros
– easy to set up and easy to play
– helps the younger crowd start to develop strategy
– quick and fun!

Cons
– often a two player game ends in a tie

Overall we love the game and have played it quite a few times.

I love to play games with my family. Sitting down talking and putting aside the electronics for an hour or two is good for the sole. I have a little one (he turns 5 next week). At 5 he takes a loss pretty hard, games will eventually help get rid of that. So this game is great! We work together and he loves that.

You are a team (determined by a random draw, each team member has special abilities) that finds a mysterious island, the island starts sinking from the moment you land on it. Your job is to collect the 4 treasures and get your team to safety before the island sinks and the treasures are lost forever.

The game play is fast and fun. 3 actions, Draw 2 Treasures, And help the island sink. . . by drawing flood cards. You can set the difficulty by making the flood faster by setting a higher water level. Which is great, as you get the hang of the game you can make it harder.

The best part is that in this strategy game you are trying to beat the game while working together. I am new to the cooperative gaming and had such a good time. But I can see that as we progress this game will continue to be amazing.

Pros –
Easy to set up
Easy to play (my almost 5 year old can play)
Components are well made
Cooperation and team play is encouraged
Randomization will keep the game fresh

Cons –
None as I see it currently

My wife loves playing this game. Which is awesome because it is so outside of her realm.

We have been playing with friends and it has been awesome. So much fun to be had. It took a couple times to get down all the mechanics and set the house rules. Some loud arguing giving way to “it’s my game.”

There are so many fun elements to the game that we have been playing nice and keeping everyone alive. That being said we are on the verge of becoming more backstabby (not as quick to help for the treasure). I believe that will take our game to new heights.

Games take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.

Whimsical and charming. This game is Epic in it’s smallness.