We're Not Wizards - Tabletop Board Game Reviews

I have an expectation that as someone who can play board games with my kids. If I play things right then I'm pretty much future proofing my chance to guarantee I'm always going to have someone who will sit with me at the table and play all of the games. I'm not expecting to jump into a Turczi rules fest as soon as they get to the age of eight, but it would be nice to know that I'm not just waiting for that next game night to get something meatier to the table. The truth of the matter is that mass market board games often treat our children like they are idiots that only know how to roll dice and move pieces. The actual reality being that kids grow out of board games because they struggle to be challenging, and therefore struggle with the balance of fun confusing simplicity as a good direction to follow.  It doesn't have to be this way. The Dark Imp have proved time and time again to me that kids games can be brain burners, like Doughnut Dash with it's programmin

Imperium Classics is the granola of deck building games. Further more, Imperium Classics is the "fruits of the forest" granola cereal killer of a breakfast of deck building games, that demand you see it through with little or no mercy. Crunchy and occasionally overwhelming, with hints of fruity sharpness. Imperium has a need for you to stop for a minute and chew energetically in the hope that you'll be able to digest it. It's the deck builder that you think in the long term will be good for you if you can just persevere and keep chewing for that little bit longer. In all fairness while the first bowl will be a hard slog, and you may need to change spoons halfway through, ultimately this is the type of deck builder your civilisation itch has been looking to help it get thoroughly scratched.  Imperium Classics contains all these click moments. You can try to wade through the rules in order to get an understanding of what is in store for you, but the reality is that unti

There's always that slight silence across the table as the die slowly clatter to their rest. You may not like dice games for their randomness, but you certainly can't fault them for the amount sheer suspense and excitement that they bring to the table. For everyone I know who hates the addition of rolling cubes, there's someone else cheering them on and joyously adding another game the their collection. They are the embodiment of anticipation and for most of us our first foray into board games was based around some kind of dice rolling mechanic and so like most nostalgia, we either look back fondly or cringe that we ever enjoyed something so crass in the first place.  Cubitos not only wants you to roll dice, it wants you to roll lot of dice. It would honestly like you to be swimming about in dice like Scrooge McDuck if it had its way with you, spitting out dice in a cascade while you did the backstroke. And while you are doing this, it would like you very much to race aroun

This is the pre-production version, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game, so not all mechanics may be mentioned in the preview. Sometimes when you get a game for an intended audience, its often better just to hand that game off to the intended recipients, lighting the blue touch paper and just stepping back. As someone who has reviewed close to over 100 games now, sometimes its not an entirely bad exercise to get someone you know who is slightly less experienced, to play the game first and give their viewpoint. So with a combination of the summer holidays and the arrival of Zuuli through the front door, it made perfect sense to hand it over to two of my children to see how they would fair.  In Zuuli, you're charged

This is the pre-production version, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game, so not all mechanics may be mentioned in the preview. I can't think of anything worse than putting your creation out there to an audience in order to ask for money to get the project made, only to have it miss the mark. It must put you into a position where you start to wonder whether you actually don't have something of worth and fun to offer people. Though with Kickstarter it seems to be more about the sizzle and less about the sausage. I've played some mediocre extremely well funded projects in my time. So to me, first time Kickstarter success demonstrates that you're excellent at marketing and audience building, and not necessa

This is the pre-production version, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game, so not all mechanics may be mentioned in the preview. So what have I done? I really don't know. I have a rule about reviews that I keep to myself which is very simple. Any designer that contacts me and says 'Well, it's like chess but..' I normally respond with a quiet thank you and then a polite decline. I want people to sell me the game because of what it is, not because they claim to have improved a game that is so in it's own category some people wouldn't even necessarily put it down as a board game. No, making the horsey jump an extra space isn't going to cut it, and no I like the prawns the way they are I thank you

This review is based on the final retail version of the game provided to us by the designer and publisher. We were not paid for this review. We give a general overview of the gameplay and so not all of the mechanical aspects of the game may be mentioned. I've been hearing about Point Salad for some time, which is mainly down to the prolific streaming shows from AEG over the last year. When faced with the loss of the face to face plays offered through game nights and conferences AEG took to Twitch with gusto and started to show off many games from its back catalogue. As streaming grew more popular, I saw others play together, and Point Salad came up again and again as something that encouraged conversation but wasn't too heavy on the admin that the players would become lost in the rounds themselves and forget the audience around them.  From the off, you can see why it would be billed as a crowd pleaser. It's bright and it creates a joy presence on the table, with garish colo

This review is based on the final retail version of the game provided to us by the designer and publisher. We were not paid for this review. We give a general overview of the gameplay and so not all of the mechanical aspects of the game may be mentioned.  Aye, a ken. its no like we huvny been playin game like this afore, but a 'hink you wid struggle wi tryin summit like this if yi were no a little bit more wi the imagination ye ken, like wi the skills tae look at summit and cry 'thas no a H like ya radge, thas wan o they Ts instead oan its side'.  Cuz yi see, tha's whur ye are when yi get Inkling fae Osprey Games an stick it oan the table, an yir aw like 'Braw, a card game, I like a card game' an I just chuckle cos I ken that this one iz no like the wan you like tae play a' the time. Like rummy, or sticky finghers or that wan aboot the old maid. A ken yiv no goat the patience fir playin patience.  So you have a gander at the cards fir a second and yir like,

This is the pre-production version of Dice of Dragons, so the art, rules and mechanics may be subject to change over the next couple of months. Therefore please treat this as a first thoughts piece, based on version of the game that we were provided with. We have not been paid for the preview. We also do not provide a full play by play explanation of the game, so not all mechanics may be mentioned in the preview. I have a confession to make.  As much as I would be the first to roll my eyes and raise my eyebrows at the thought of playing dice game where chance is the main staple of the game. I must admit that through the last ten years or so, I do like playing them. Give me some Destiny and Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn over Magic every single time. Dice Forge delighted me, Steampunk Rally is a blast. Coraquest and Cubitos produced wild moments and cheers when things rolled the right way. Did I mention King of Tokyo and those chunkiest of chunks clattering across a table? I'm slow

This review is based on the final retail version of the game provided to us by the designer and publisher. We were not paid for this review. We give a general overview of the gameplay and so not all of the mechanical aspects of the game may be mentioned. In fairness, I knew there was going to be a relatively big box, but I was not prepared for the sheer size of box that Farsight from Braincrack games contained itself within. Once you add on the secondary box for the miniatures then you have something that given the right amount of reinforcement could be used as a small table. Or even consider listing on AirBnB as something small and breezy in reasonable walking distance to the local shops and train station. Farsight gives the impression of something big and bold and brash and warlike and that is where the first rug is pulled out from under your feet, as it kind of is but in many ways, this is lighter than most of the miniature skirmish games I have graced my table with in recent memor

This review is based on the final retail version of the game provided to us by the designer and publisher. We were not paid for this review. We give a general overview of the gameplay and so not all of the mechanical aspects of the game may be mentioned.  I have a recipe for a Jalfrezi dish that I make, using pork belly and various vegetables. I cheat with the sauce, as I've never got the entire knack of mixing the correct level of spices and tomatoes in order to make something worthy. It usually ends up tasting like weak ketchup, or has the the power to clean the chrome from a kitchen appliance. I know my limitations and I also know my limits and so I don't bother trying to emulate something I can pour from a jar that is going to help me on my way. I've experimented in adding asparagus and mini corn for texture, but I generally like to stick with sweet peppers, spring onions and finely diced mushrooms. I'll fry the ingredients to prepare them and then stick everything