Andrew D. Snow

Pandemic is a great cooperative game with a huge amount of replay value, On the Brink, adds even more to that.

The first thing you will notice is the incorporation of petri dishes to increase the overall look of the game. Next you will notice the increased selection of role cards. This gives each game a even more diverse setup than the base.

Playing this game with the expanded rules and offerings, will increase enjoyment, difficulty and replay value for all fans of the original Pandemic board game.

A must for all Pandemic fans

The King in Yellow, when compared to other Arkham expansions, is really light on the rules, and adds a new and fun dynamic to the game. In addition to changing the flavor of the game, The King in Yellow, also provides minimal impact to the already lengthy setup and break down of the complete board game.

If you are looking for an expansion to Arkham, The King in Yellow, would b my first recommendation.

The term “Space Hulk”, from which the game gets its name, is used in Warhammer 40,000 universe for ancient, derelict starships, asteroids, and other assorted space junk drifting in and out of the Warp that eventually merges into one massive form, ranging from the size of a small moon to a large planet.

The game is notable for its hidden play mechanics, from which it derives much of its playability and tension. The actual number of Genestealers in play is hidden from the Marine player, because the Genestealers come into play as “blips” which can represent 0-6 creatures (in the current editions of the game).

Playing the Genestealers is very straightforward; so simple, in fact, that Space Hulk is quite playable as a solo game. Space Marines on the other hand is tactically challenging, partly because the Space Marines player is constrained by a time limit for his turn.

Over all I highly recommend this game to everyone, 40k fan or not.

The variey of Fluxx card games all have one thing in common. Ease of play.

The game begins with each player drawing one card, then playing one card. the cards come in 7 forms, rules, goals, ungoals, actions, Keepers, and Creepers. The game slowly evolves as each player plays new rules which immediately take effect, changing everything from how many cards are drawn and played to hands sizes to how to win.

Offering a wide variety of actions, Fluxx shows the good, the bad and the ugly of card game design.

The variey of Fluxx card games all have one thing in common. Ease of play.

The game begins with each player drawing one card, then playing one card. the cards come in 7 forms, rules, goals, ungoals, actions, Keepers, and Creepers. The game slowly evolves as each player plays new rules which immediately take effect, changing everything from how many cards are drawn and played to hands sizes to how to win.

Offering a wide variety of actions, Fluxx shows the good, the bad and the ugly of card game design.

The variey of Fluxx card games all have one thing in common. Ease of play.

The game begins with each player drawing one card, then playing one card. the cards come in 7 forms, rules, goals, ungoals, actions, Keepers, and Creepers. The game slowly evolves as each player plays new rules which immediately take effect, changing everything from how many cards are drawn and played to hands sizes to how to win.

Offering a wide variety of actions, Fluxx shows the good, the bad and the ugly of card game design.

The variey of Fluxx card games all have one thing in common. Ease of play.

The game begins with each player drawing one card, then playing one card. the cards come in 7 forms, rules, goals, ungoals, actions, Keepers, and Creepers. The game slowly evolves as each player plays new rules which immediately take effect, changing everything from how many cards are drawn and played to hands sizes to how to win.

Offering a wide variety of actions, Fluxx shows the good, the bad and the ugly of card game design.

Fantasy Flight has taken this model and done extremely well with it in regards to the Call of Cthulhu LCG, and the Game of Thrones LCG. What they are doing is lowering the cost to themselves and to their players. By releasing a base set with small supplemental sets in a non-collectible environment, both the publisher and the players are aware of their long term costs. This allows Fantasy Flight to reliably predict sales, as the base number of players remains relatively stable, and the sales numbers are largely unaffected by a “bad” set, as players are only out $20-60 every 1-2 months as opposed to collecting rares and driving the cost well beyond that in the CCG model.

Fantasy Flight has taken this model and done extremely well with it in regards to the Call of Cthulhu LCG, and the Game of Thrones LCG. What they are doing is lowering the cost to themselves and to their players. By releasing a base set with small supplemental sets in a non-collectible environment, both the publisher and the players are aware of their long term costs. This allows Fantasy Flight to reliably predict sales, as the base number of players remains relatively stable, and the sales numbers are largely unaffected by a “bad” set, as players are only out $20-60 every 1-2 months as opposed to collecting rares and driving the cost well beyond that in the CCG model.

While AEG has been making card games for may years, they fell into some of their old habits. Namely, using multiple printers for expansions, so there are slight differences in cards from different sets making them stand out, as well as the problem of making symbols on the cards not as easy to determine as they are in other deck building games.

As with all versions of this genre, Thunderstone can occasionally suffer from the degenerative combos that the random deck design spawns.

Looking past the two small flaws, you will find a game that is very enjoyable, and very easy to learn.