Hans Solo

Pros: Quick playability. Just as good with 2, 3, or 4 players. Card skills are printed on cards and are simplistic enough to understand after a few plays. They did a great job with the art on the cards.

Cons: Fallen behind syndrome. If you get 3 or 4 favors behind it gets extremely difficult to come back from that especially in a 4 player game. Not a fan of the block favors (however for a $10 value it’s what should be expected).

Tips: Discard high cards early and steal the round with the Guard. Discard the Countess as to throw other players off your trail. Don’t be afraid to use that Prince on yourself to gain more knowledge of the cards left in the deck.

Overall: Love Letter really fits a niche and owns that niche. Filler games with lots of luck , strategy, and fun. You may go to this game more than any other when you only have a short time before moving on to something else because it’s so good. And for the price almost everyone should own this game. Each game is different because you never know what you’ll draw. Your strategies can always change from game to game because there is more than one way to approach most cards’ skill. You’ll have your ups and downs when playing this game and at times feel like you can’t figure out the right strategy for that game. But don’t give up, because nothing is better than a Princess talking about you the next morning at breakfast.

Pros: Easy to learn the mechanics but has deep enough content and choices that it takes a few plays to really put some strategies into use. The game has great artwork and bits. It is a great gateway game into the Euro style with a fantasy theme guiding you along the way. There are several paths to victory. Lord cards lead to a different strategy or path to victory each game.

Cons: As a new player you can be left in the dust in terms of scoring your first game or two. Could use a little more player to player interaction to make it an even better “tweener “ game (a game between Euro and fantasy).

Tips: Don’t get sucked into only one type of activity. If you build only buildings you fall behind on conquests or intrigue. Buy buildings based on the types of resources you will need for you Lord specific quests (buildings that give you more orange if you notice most of your Lord quests require a lot of orange). If you can get the resources for your quests from another source you can focus on intrigue or obtaining first player or multiple plays. Gobble up those plot quests even if they do not match your Lord quests. Don’t under value the power of the Intrigue/ first player spot.

Overview: So I’ve played this game a few times now and I felt it was time for a review. I very much enjoy this game and have downloaded the iOS version which means many more plays in the future. I think the thing I enjoyed the most about this game was being able to make those tough decisions you have to make in a Euro style game but having fantasy adventures after you make those decisions. It may not be the first game I want to pick up when I play but in terms of getting someone into a deeper game with even more strategy you cannot go wrong with this one.

Pros: Quick game to learn, great art work, great as a party game, intro game to gamers, turns go quickly so there is little down time.

Cons: Monster player cards seem so show wear quickly, wish the energy cubes were a bit bigger or a different shape.

Tips: Energy, energy, energy; cards, cards, cards. The first few rounds you have to gather up energy and buy cards. Your monsters start to do some really fun things once you accumulate cards. You can turn one turn into two or three. You can damage everyone when out of Tokyo. You can really turn into an efficient monster.

Overview: So this was a game I went out and bought specifically because I don’t have any like it in my collection. Most of my collection consists of heavy long drawn out games like Arkham Horror and The Game of Thrones board game. I really wanted to get a game that I could break out more often and get people to play and replay because it wasn’t overwhelming with time and rules. This game does just that. I bought it at my Thursday board game night and we played it right away. Halfway through the game all 6 of us were standing around the board instead of sitting. I then brought this game into my classroom and the students were just as engaged with it. There is just enough strategy, push your luck, and complexity to keep avid/ deep gamers interested. I haven’t played any expansion but the fact that options exist to expand or add to the game makes me very excited. I am more than willing to break this game out and have a quick romp in Tokyo.

Pros: Easy to learn, great interactions during gameplay, Individual power cards that get switched each round really help make sure you get your revenge. Rules are right on the board for easy viewing. Great time period art on the cards and board.

Cons: Got to put on all the stickers on the political favor tokens. Mayor card has too little power (however it does keep the game close by doing this)

Tips: Play with people who don’t take offense from being voted agaisnt, ganged up on, or beaten down. This will happen. Wheel and deal throughout the game add some mystery to your vote and throw people off of what you may or may not do.

Overall: A great area control game that includes backstabbing, slandering, and political favors. Set in the time period of one of my favorite movies (Gangs of New York) it’s easy for me to get into the theme of using immigrants as political favors to win districts to strength my grip on the city. This game always ends with one or more people pouting so it must be doing something right.

Pros: Great to introduce strategy games, simple yet great artwork, high replay value

Cons: tiles can move alot while playing

Overall: I am a Special education teacher for students with specific learning disabilites and I use this game as a reward within the classroom. The sudents just love playing this game and it really helps motivate students to reach their goals. It is such an easy game to teach and has just the right amount of strategy to make it fun but not overwhelming. The students have asked me over and over again when we can play it next. It is also great for my students who stuggle with interactions with peers.

Pros: rich in theme, excellent art, variying outcomes and characters, extensive expansions, lots of randomness to each game.

Cons: may take long to complete your first few plays, relys on players willingness to engage in theme and outcomes, organization back into box

Tips: Play this game with someone who has played it before who can act as a guide. (you will learn the game so fast and avoid looking back into the rules every 10 minutes). Throw yourself into the experience; read cards in a dark anddreary voice, make decisions based on the character you chose, and finaly when reading the card make the person roll or make the choice before you read the outcome (it really spices up the experience)

Overall: I am in love with any game that has a rich deep theme and engages players into the overall world in which they play. Arkham Horror does just that. When a friend of mine described a game where your character can go insane just from looking at a monster they are trying to fight or avoid I knew I had to play this game. I was hooked instantly. The dark horror feel of the game is felt right from the start and it doesn’t let up till all players end up devoured and the world ends. The game’s theme actually got me to read the stories of HP Lovecraft which its based upon. Don’t be put off or scared away from the length, the amount of compoents, or rules. These things won’t bother you if you get into the experience the game offers.