Outarde

Concept
Set collecting by worker placement for 2 players only is the game concept, the goal is to be the most influential Touareg tribe in the Sahara region

Material
The small package contains some meeples (Targi,tribe and robber), simple cardboard pieces for the goods and nice cards to form the player board.

Rules
Clear rulebook, yet some minor interpretation issues are possible.

Gameplay
I like the original twist of worker placement in this game and the fluid gameplay. The intersection concept and blocking possibilities makes this game challenging. Every setup is different so replayability is no issue.

Negative points
Some may find this a pasted-on theme, I don’t…

Conclusion
Excellent 2-player game!

Targi Review with Suzanne McHale: https://youtu.be/VrY657__eDg

Concept
Recruit workers to acquire goods and increase your influence in medieval France by using bagbuilding and multi-worker placement as game concept.

Material
A lot of decent cardboard, the art fits the theme.

Rules
All in all, this is a simple game (yet difficult to master). Great rulebook.

Gameplay
To be honest, at first glance I thought this game was ‘meh’: overwhelming board and dull art. But the gameplay is fantastic. The bagbuilding and decisions are fun and thinky in a good way. The game plays very smooth, the first rounds are rather straight forward (yet important strategy-wise) and solitary, but the game gets more tense and even more interactive towards the end.

Negative points
The events are mostly not very harsh (although it can be hard, when the pest strikes your monk). Replayability might be an issue, although there are enough strategies to try out. The bags in the dutch version could have come in the player colors.

Conclusion
Look past the dull and overwhelming board and play this great game!

Orleans “Live Play” by GreyElephant Gaming: https://youtu.be/4X1rJ6XxU04

Concept
Place your dice in the footsteps of Marco Polo, travel from Venice to Beijing and fulfill contracts to win!

Material
Top quality material, beautiful and functional board, nice wooden resources, good dice.

Rules
This is not a light game, the rule book is fine but needs a good reading, eventually it’s not that difficult and the player aids and the board are a good help.

Gameplay
Marco Polo is a dry euro game with indirect interaction and limited actions. Every decision is important and you will have to find a balance between travel and trade. The variable setup and different characters guarantee a great replayability. The dice are important, but luck is not a crucial factor in this game.
I find the playing time and intensity perfect for this kind of game.

Negative points
Can’t think of anything. Some may find the character powers unbalanced.

Conclusion
An excellent mid-weight euro game with a rather short playing time.

Game playthrough by Spazinski: https://youtu.be/Q0oWAsX8av8

Concept
Explore a forgotten island with your scientists, capture and study (extinct) animal species to gain the most points!

Material
The components are just ok, no top quality. You get a colourful island, plastic scientists and a lot of (small) cards. The card holder is original and functional.

Rules
The rules are clear and easy, a player aid explains the special abilities of the cards.

Gameplay
This is a light and quick Feld game. Every turn you decide the use of each card (3 possibilities: special ability, resources, research), play your cards and place a scientist. The setup is variable and you have standard and advanced cards, so every game is different. A lot of actions are taken simultaneously, so the game plays very fluid.

Negative points
You need some luck with the cards, I don’t mind… The interaction is indirect, I don’t mind…

Conclusion
A quick and light, somewhat forgotten, Feld game.

La Isla Gameplay Runthrough by Rahdo: https://youtu.be/HHdnwGPk4Vo

Concept
You start the game with the noble title of Baron and your goal is to become Duke. You do this by building villages and strongholds (collecting resources) or building cities (victory points). Expand your territory or destroy villages by moving your knights.

Material
The components are beautifully made: the pawns are great and the land tiles are thick and subtile illustrated.

Rules
The rules are well explained and easy to learn. Only 6 possible actions, straightforward scoring.

Gameplay
The game plays a bit like “Catan meets Chess”, there is no luck involved, 1 action per turn and no hidden information. But Barony is an elegant game, there are no more than 4 different pieces and only the knights can move. The random setup makes every game different, and the turns can be very quick. I don’t like Chess but I love Barony!

Negative points
Possible problems for the colour-blind (not for me)? Placing your 3 cities at the startup will be crucial for the rest of the game. It’s a tense game, but the end can be a bit of an anti-climax.

Conclusion
Barony is a beautiful, strategic and elegant area-control game. Check ik out!

Link to “Live Play” by GreyElephant Gaming: https://youtu.be/Q6Q6X1xl91A

Concept
Harvest, trade and sell vegetables in this economic puzzle with an interesting card mechanic.

Material
The art of the cards and the game boards suits the Chinese theme very well. The wooden vegetables are cute!

Rules
The rule book is excellent. Rules may seem a bit complicated, but after one play you will get it.

Gameplay
I like this game more than the big farming games of Uwe Rosenberg. The game is less fiddly and not a brainburner (definitely less options than Caverna). Loyang is still a challenging and thinky game. It is also a nice solo game.

Negative points
The gameplay is mostly solitary, down time might be an issue with more players.

Conclusion
Try out this less known Rosenberg-game!

Watch a video by Rahdo: https://youtu.be/pkgvVb9AKgo

Concept
Describe a mysterious drawing, but not too obvious, that’s the concept of this “party game”.
Dixit Odyssey is a better version (components) of the simple and fantastic game Dixit: better score track, voting pads and up to 12 players.

Material
Great art, fine components!
Expansions can be stored in the box.

Rules
The rules of Dixit are very easy, still (the translation of) the rules in my version had some flaws…
There are some variant rules.

Gameplay
Dixit is not a game for tactical or strategic players. It is a wonderful social experience and can be great fun!

Negative points
Replayability might be an issue (expansions can help).

Conclusion
Dixit is a wonderful, social party game!

Watch a video about Dixit Odyssey presented by HemVideo: https://youtu.be/O-jG7MQYCXY

Concept
Mondo is a puzzle game, players compete against each other and against the clock to make the most beautifull world with the most animals and the least active vulcanoes. You can score more or less points with bonus objectives.

Material
A big pile of tiles and 4 game boards. The art is nothing special but functional. The Mondo clock is a mechanical egg timer.

Rules
The rules are clear, the game is easy to teach.

Gameplay
Mondo is a solitaire puzzle that is played simultaneously, so there is not much interaction (but some).
If you like puzzles, you will like this game. But even if you don’t, you might still like the play Mondo with your family. Because of the theme this game appeals to children, but it can still be a challenge for adults. You can set the difficulty of the game with the variable rules and by adjusting the time pressure.

Negative points
The egg timer can break rather easily.
The game can get boring after some plays (depending on your mood), although it plays very quick.

Conclusion
A nice quick puzzle game for families.

Watch a 60 second review of this game by Ben: https://youtu.be/cvBKvCSebao

Concept
You are a group of dwarves digging for gold in underground tunnels. You build the tunnels with your path cards, but watch out: there will be saboteurs among the dwarves! Saboteurs will block gold diggers (but gold diggers can also block saboteurs).
The roles are secret, so it’s a card game with some bluffing.

Material
Just cards in a tiny box, easy to take with you. The card art suits the theme.

Rules
Nothing special, the basic game is easy to teach.

Gameplay
Fast and funny game, hilarious sometimes and there will be a lot of accusations. Don’t take the game serious!
Children will like this game and it’s also a good party game for adults. It plays best with big groups.

Negative points
It can be frustrating if you are blocked a long time and near the end the outcome can be very predictable. You can add some complexity with the expansion (saboteur 2, with more roles).

Conclusion
A fast deceptive card game with a child-friendly theme.

Watch a video of this game by gamesoverboard on: https://youtu.be/JeJpksOcDfw

Concept
Camel (c)up is basically a gambling game where you are watching a crazy camel race. The race is played in some legs untill a camel reaches the finish, the race can be very surprising because of the camel stacking.
You have an option to influence the race a bit (desert tile), but that’s all.

Material
The pyramid stands out as a surprise-dice-rolling-box, the camels are funny.

Rules
The rules are simple and well explained, easy to learn and teach.

Gameplay
This is a quick and fun game, it looks all about luck, but understanding probability can be a winning strategy. Kids will love the game, but it’s also entertaining for adults.
I had surprising outcomes and more predictable ones, so the replayability is reasonable.

Negative points
Luck-based game with almost no tactical options, but that can be positive sometimes…
The more players the more fun, but with large groups (6+) it can be frustrating because the leg might be over before you could do something.

Conclusion
This is just a well-made funny game with some surprises, play it with your family or friends, and have a laugh!

See a Drive Thru Review on: https://youtu.be/8kPHRcXMtno

Concept
The historical town of Bruges in Belgium is the game setting.
Your goal is to earn prestige by :
– Building houses
– Dealing with threats
– Recruiting important persons
– Building canals
– Stepping up on the reputation track

You do this by playing cards (5 different colors), for each card played you choose one of 6 functions (gain workers, gain guilders, deal with a threat, build a canal, build a house or house the person on the card).
The persons on the cards all have a unique ability, which you can use when you recruit them.

Material
The art is top notch, especially the 165 different (!) cards and the board are beautifull and functional.
The setup time is reasonable short.

Rules
The rules may look, at first glance, not that easy for casual/family gamers, but in fact they are not that difficult, the game material helps very well in understanding them. Once played, you don’t need the rulebook for future plays!

Gameplay
You need some luck with the cards, but the many choices of each card give you enough tactical options to build up a strategy. There is some interaction in the game (majorities, some cards), but not much.
I love the pace of the game. The playing time is not very long (and can be variable, depending on your wishes).
I personally think the gameplay reflects the theme very well (I’ve read other opinions).

Negative points
Some game colors can be confusing (yellow/brown and purple/brown), though it’s mostly no problem for me. I think the designer wanted to use colors that fit the medieval town of Bruges (mostly brownish).
And yes, I know the game board is not 100% the real Bruges, but its function is mainly to keep the scores.

Conclusion
If you like a light “Euro game” in a beautifull historical setting, with (mainly) card and (some) dice mechanism, which mixes luck and strategy and has some interaction, but is not agressive, than this game is for you!

Link to gameplay runthrough by rahdo: https://youtu.be/3iudj4R3-ck

Concept
Your goal is to make the biggest patchwork and earn the most buttons.
This can be viewed as an ‘abstract game’, but with a theme. I’m not really a fan of the theme, may be I need to hide some holes in my socks first…
The idea of the time line and the randomness and choice of the tetris-like pieces are well thought.

Material
Typical cardboard material, nothing special but all fits well in the theme.

Rules
The rules are well explained and easy to learn. Great!

Gameplay
This is a quick and elegant game, tactics and strategy are important, but I don’t think there is one winning strategy, so that’s a good thing. I’ve lost (suprisingly) many times focussing on the 7×7 bonus (yes, I know, it’s all about buttons and space).

Negative points
Can’t think of anything really annoying, but somehow the game doesn’t appeal to me that much, may be it’s the theme… Still happy to have this little masterpiece in my collection.

Conclusion
Well-thought, little strategic game for 2 players. Elegant and original theme.

Link to walkthrough by MiWi: https://youtu.be/MrtYOENVTLo

Concept
108 blocks, 6 different colors, 6 different shapes. You take 6 blocks, place your blocks to form lines with same color or same shape and score points, double points (12) for a line of 6 (=qwirkle)!
Qwirkle has some elements of Scrabble, Domino, Sudoku and Uno in 1 game.

Material
Nice wooden blocks and a decent bag, that’s all. Good value. No setup time.

Rules
Rules are easy and quick to learn. Thumbs up!

Gameplay
I’m not a fan of abstract games, but my family likes this game, so I play it often.
The turns are quick, you can always do something, game time is perfect. There’s a tactical element (blocking lines), but you need luck to win, certainly with more players.

Negative points
There’s a lot of scorekeeping during the game (every turn).
The colors can be difficult to see in low light (blocks are black).
No theme (obviously, it’s abstract).

Conclusion
Not very innovative, but simple and fun abstract game for young and old.

How to play video by The Games Capital: https://youtu.be/8ZAY3HSxnuk