This is a prototype version of the game and may not represent the final quality or look of the game. You can find more information about the upcoming Kickstarter here Some games just look cool, and Vrahode  is certainly one of them. Thankfully, it plays pretty well too. What first appears to be a simple map-based fighting game, with DnD-style stats and dice rolls, quickly expands into a narrative-based exploration game. After speaking with the designer, they described it as if "Gloomhaven had a baby with HeroQuest in an art gallery, then Shadows of Brimstone raised the kid!" Having played the eight available preview levels, I would certainly agree with that. First up, let's talk about what's not here. In the final Kickstarter version, there will be 24 scenarios. I have just eight here. However, after playing all eight, I feel like I have a good sense of the game and what it can offer. But obviously, there is a LOT more to come. It's also worth mentioning that a lot is changing with this game. The preview copy I received not only had fewer monsters, levels, and components, but the rules are also constantly evolving. I was sent a file with a new rulebook and amendments to the scenarios I had. I've been told there is much more to come as well. OK, with that said, lets gets too it! Getting this game to the table is incredibly simple. Once you've set up your character, just grab the next mission and you're ready to go. Setting up your character is fairly straightforward too. Place all your character trait markers on your character board according to your character card. Anyone familiar with DnD will find this very familiar. Each character also comes with a set of skills, weapons, and armor, all clearly marked on the character cards. Take these from the appropriate deck along with your mini, and you're good to go! Between games, the final version will come with a cover for these awesome character stands, allowing you to easily save and store your progress. Simply place all your cards and items inside, cover the stat counters with the cover, and place it securely back in the box. Very smart! Each mission begins with a brief piece of introductory text, along with some minor setup, including the monsters you'll face in the game. Take the relevant monster card and standee/mini, and you're ready to go. The game operates on a DnD-style initiative structure, with each player and monster taking turns based on their turn order. The main difference is that initiative is drawn from tokens in a bag and assigned after each round. Each player and monster takes a turn, then initiative is redrawn, and the process repeats. This continues until the mission's objectives are complete, which almost always involves "Kill All Monsters!" Once initiative has been drawn, player and monster turns follow a simple pattern. On your turn, you can take two actions, which can include moving, playing a card, or fighting. Skill cards often relate to combat or preparing your character for battle—such as increasing your powers, boosting skills, or prepping certain abilities. For example, one character can double their movement, deal damage, and knock an opponent down, while another can increase their defence for the entire fight. Monster actions generally revolve around moving toward (or away from) their target—you—and fighting. Their behaviour depends on their position relative to yours on the map and whether they prefer close combat (melee) or ranged attacks. Their fighting works much like the heroes'. A 20-sided die is rolled, and unlike most games, the lower the roll, the better. A roll of one is a critical success. Regular successes occur when you roll equal to or below the stat you are testing. For example, characters will test against their Body stat for melee combat. If a character has a Body stat of 12, any roll of 12 or lower is a success, while anything above is a failure. On any successful roll, players then roll a D6 modifier die to determine the outcome of their attack. The attack strength is based on the weapon being used. For instance, a short sword might have a hit ratio of five. The D6 modifies this with a swing of minus 3 to plus 3. Then, check the target's defence score—represented in this game by their Mitigation—and subtract this from your total attack. The remaining balance is applied to the target's health tracker. Repeat this process until their health drops below zero. Various items gathered from your starting character or acquired through loot boxes in the game will affect how you attack or defend. Your character's skills and abilities also play a role. Throughout the game, you can test your character's skills at various points to gain re-rolls against certain failures or large hits from enemies. OK, so far, so DnD! And really, this does feel a lot like a solid role-playing game of Dungeons and Dragons  to me. It doesn’t stray from that formula. Each mission is interconnected and driven by a fascinating narrative. Every mission revolves around one central fight against one or two main enemy monsters. Monsters all have different skill stats and powers that you must work against. Some are more effective from a distance, while others prefer to get up close. You'll need to mitigate these differences. Their special attacks, when allowed to happen, can be catastrophic. And your player skills, leveling up, abilities, and dice-based combat all feel very DnD to me, which is a great thing. And let's face it, the cool character boards holding all your weapons, stats, skills, and health are essentially just fancy DnD player sheets. The maps on which you fight, which I believe will be more like a bound book in the final version, look and feel like terrain maps in DnD to me. They use a similar square distance system, with equally familiar movement rules. There is impassable terrain and tricky terrain. It’s all very DnD, just with fewer skill checks. The story that links these eight adventures feels familiar to my past DnD experiences as well. There are a few small puzzles to work out—though not many, just one. However, there is an intriguing story to follow and be a part of, which unfolds through these eight missions. It certainly develops into something you don’t initially expect and adds a lot of extra tension, excitement, and variety to the game. As you battle your way through different monsters, fight in various situations, and navigate changing terrains, you will also encounter new allies and develop your character’s skills. After each mission, characters will take their items, stats, health - well, everything - to the next level. Sometimes this will slow you down and potentially put you at risk of death. So, again, like DnD, rests are available to heal those crucial health points. This is done in a clever way where the full party can do this if they are under a certain fatigue level, but if not, one has to stay guard. Rest cards are drawn to show the results of the rest and what the resting team can gain after doing so. It keeps even mid-game upkeep thematic. The ever-changing initiative makes for a very exciting battle. Not knowing who will go next and whether you should stick or twist adds a lot of tension to the game. It also means that on occasion, you might have two turns in a row, or conversely, face two attacks in a row before you have a chance to fight back. I like this evolving pace and the back-and-forth of the fight. It keeps things fresh and prevents stale, ritualistic, or patterned victories from becoming commonplace. There is even a skill test you can perform against your Presence to switch initiative order with an enemy if your initiative is numerically adjacent to theirs. And if, by pushing them down this way, they then share a numerically adjacent initiative with another player, that player can also attempt the same skill check. Where once a monster could go before all players, a successful skill check could allow both fighters to act before the monster! Much like DnD, the number and strength of your opponents will depend on your party size, and the game scales perfectly based on this. Nothing else changes in the game other than the difficulty of your enemies, making it work perfectly for one to four players. I would like to see more skills on offer, a levelling-up system that evolves a little faster, and perhaps one or two more ways to engage in combat. I often found myself doing the same things repeatedly. It would also be nice to have more ways to mitigate the luck of the dice. There are a few options currently, but I would like to see more—not to make the game easier, as the balance is perfect as is, but to provide more control. Additionally, increasing the difficulty of the enemies a bit and adding more variety, with cards that make them behave less predictably on occasion, could be beneficial. Speaking to the designers, I understand that some of the upcoming changes are quite significant. Such as once you draw an Ambush card from the rest deck you can discard them and reshuffle for that rest cycle. Increasing your chances of a more restful sleep next time! Also, initiative will only be drawn once until a certain condition changes. When players enter a scenario with a star or battle begins, initiative in drawn. Also, once every hero has made a Presence check if they wish and are wiling to pay two fatigue to change their order, the order remains for the entire battle! No more drawing initiative each round so much faster and less fiddly! This will speed things up a lot. I did not mind doing this, but it did slow the process down a tad. Also, in terms of the components, the small red and white cubes at the bottom of the hero dashboards and on the enemy/ally trackers will be actual pegs so no more fiddling with the tiny cubes! This was fine to do, but they did get knocked a fair bit, so good to hear this is being fixed. Having finished my eight missions, I am eager for more and intrigued to see how this game develops, both with this edition's Kickstarter and future releases. A quick search of Vrahode on BGG suggests there is a lot more to come, and I am all in for it! The plan is for the full game to continue and develop the story I experienced here in these eight missions, introducing new enemies, races, weapons, items, stories, and even rules. Speaking to the designer, they told me that "our goal is to bring an even fuller version of the world using the same game system, one that will allow you to campaign and follow the story or go questing all over the world in an open-world sandbox style." Vrahode comes to Kickstarter very soon, and the plan is to print everything this year. Everything is already completed for the game, and then deliver in summer 2025. Just some very minor amends and editing remain, but if this game excites you like it does me, you could very well be immersed in the world of Vrahode much sooner than you think. For more info - head here.

Tilt 'N' Shout WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2 - or two teams of any size. You’ll like this if you like: Anomia , Stay Cool , 20 Second Showdown. Designed by: Gary Pyper Published by: Big Potato Games This is a free review copy. See our review policy here . I love party games, and anything with a bit of table presence like this always grabs me. It adds the toy factor to what is already something that appeals to me, a game! Now bring in the competitive nature of the trivia side, and you really are talking my language! Tilt 'N' Shout brings all this to the table for a joyful bag of fun. So, let's set it up and see how it plays. How To Set Up Tilt 'N' Shout Take out the base and snap the yellow piece into it. It clicks in nicely. For your first game, you will need to add some stickers to the scoring zones and base sides. Then place the base blocks into the two slots closest to the middle of the base. Next, take out a decent wedge of cards and place them face down on the top. Take the top three of these cards and place them separately into a row. Then take one of the two balls and add it to the play area. Finally, split into two even teams and sit facing either side of the base. How To Play Tilt 'N' Shout One player from one side will now compete against one from the other. First, one player will choose one of the three face-down cards. The cards show a symbol on the back indicating what the category may be. Can you guess what the below cards may be about? Capital cities, Dinosaurs, non-team sports, and modes of transportation if you are interested. Flip one that appeals to reveal that round's challenge: sports teams, types of cheese, items of clothing. When ready, drop the ball into the middle hole of the seesaw and say aloud the first thing that fits that round's category. "Edam!" You can then flick the seesaw down in your direction. This will cause the ball in the middle to begin rolling slowly towards you. The idea of the game is to get the ball to roll into your scoring area. But as soon as you flip the seesaw down, the player on the other side can now say their own answer, "Brie!" and flip the seesaw back down towards them to cause the ball to change its direction of travel. This will continue, backwards and forwards, with the seesaw constantly changing sides, and the balls moving closer and closer to the edge, until finally one team runs out of answers. The ball will then fulfil its journey, land into one team's scoring area, and that team wins that round. The winning team will now move their block one step closer to their winning zone, meaning when they tilt the seesaw in their direction in the next round, it will tilt to a lower degree, causing the ball to move slower. This means that the other side now has an advantage. But of course, they will do the same the next round they win. Reset the three available category cards, and then the next team picks another card, flips it, and the game begins again with the next two players. The game continues like this until one team wins a round with their block in the final position. Teams must not help their teammates out when it is not their turn, and any incorrect answers can be challenged by anyone at any point. Simply move the seesaw back to a middle position until the challenge has been resolved. Is It Fun? Tilt 'N' Shout This game truly brings an exciting and lively atmosphere to any gathering. It is designed to keep players on their toes with its time pressure element, injecting a sense of urgency and thrill into the gameplay. The challenge of testing your trivia knowledge adds an intellectual aspect to the fun, allowing players to show off their expertise and learn about their friends knowledge too. Moreover, the element of healthy competition creates a dynamic and engaging environment where players can enjoy friendly rivalry and strive to outsmart each other. This game offers a perfect blend of excitement, mental stimulation, and social interaction, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a thrilling and entertaining party game experience. If you like time pressure that is! If you don't, then this game will simply stress you out. But for those of you that enjoy this sort of experience, Tilt 'N' Shout brings this type of back-and-forth trivia test to the table in a simple, fast, engaging way, with a cool table presence, lots of variety with the huge deck of cards, and in a family-friendly and accessible way. The game looks cool set up on the table, and will draw people in just by the way it looks. Everyone will want to tip the seesaw and watch the ball roll! My only issue with the game is that the tray the ball rolls in is not quite flat inside, and every now and then, especially when the seesaw is wedged to a lower degree, the ball will stop rolling when it should continue its path. I cannot tell if this is deliberate or not; the rules make no mention of this, so I can only assume it is because the manufacturing of the game has left some tiny imperfection inside the plastic causing the ball to get stuck. It takes a simple tap to get it rolling again, but can be annoying in a tightly fought game! I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys party games that bring people together in a real-time way, challenging people with basic trivia but under time pressure, making the game harder. If you enjoy this sort of experience, Tilt 'N' Shout could well become a firm favourite at your gaming table for many years to come.

Pickleball Blast WBG Score: ? Player Count: 2 You’ll like this if you like: Whack-a-Mole! Published by: Moose This is a free review copy. See our review policy here . You will notice I have not scored this game out of ten. I am unsure how you can! But I will do my best to give you a flavour for this so you can decide if this is for you or not with the below review. I did not score it as I am unsure how you can score a game like this. First, is this even a board game? Or more an activity or 'bit of fun'? Second, as it is so quick, games can be over in seconds, again, I am left unsure how to rate it when the experience can be over so quickly. And third, and most importantly, it really does depend on how I am feeling. Now I am not always in the mood for a four-hour game of Star Wars Rebellion, but I guarantee that even in the worst mood, if I start that, I love it. Here, I really do need to be in the right frame of mind to play. And as such, I am unsure how I can score a game I sometimes think is a 2/10 and other times think is a ten! So, with that said, let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Pickleball Blast Open the box and take out the pieces. The two sides will fit together using the two fasteners that can be attached to either end. The net will then attach to these fasteners and secure the two sides of the board together. It sounds tricky, but it really isn't, and the box has a picture diagram for this process on the inside. You will be ready to play in a few moments. Each player now takes one of the two paddles, stands at the end of board matching their paddle colour, sets their three pickle jars to the lid side up, and ensure their score counter is at zero. You are now ready to begin! How To Play Pickleball Blast The youngest player will begin, and using the button on the paddle, they must flick the pickle that is on a counter-level weight to the other side. They are aiming to hit one of their opponents' three pickle jar lids to flip it over. They spin when hit and have two sides. If you can ever get two of the jars on your opponent's side to show a pickle face, then you have won that round. Score one point on the score tracker and reset the game. The first to score four points this way is the winner. When you hit the pickle, it will move quite fast to the other side and sometimes bounce back. The pickle is weighted and as such, moves in a way you don't first expect. When you hit it, the rules are you must use the button on the paddle to flick the paddle into the pickle to make it fly over to the other side. But you will almost inevitably find that everyone, every time simply hits the pickle like a racket sport. It is against the rules, makes the pickle move way too fast for any type of control, but very hard to police! Aiming the pickle is quite tough, but after a few games you will find that it is possible. However, a direct hit does not mean you flip the pickle jar the right way. It does mean it will spin, but what side it ends on, well, that is just down to chance. And of course, you could easily hit a jar you don't mean to, and flip a jar back to the wrong side. The game is frantic in this way, and without the right mindset, this will just be frustrating. With the right mindset, and you will be in hysterics. When you start the game, the pickle needs to be served to the other side. To do this, you must use the button on the paddle. Remember, it can be hard to do at times, especially for your first few tries. But you will soon get the hang of it. If your serve does not reach the other side, then you lose the point. You can only hit the pickle when it is on your side of the court, and for a more competitive game, try to keep your paddle on the table at all times. Don't go chasing that pickle the moment it passes the halfway point! Is It Fun? Pickleball Blast Party Game Review Okay. Yes! This is fun. But like I say, only if you are in the right mindset. There are honestly sometimes when I have played this and found it to be tedious, lacking in any skill or strategy, and hated it. But other times, when in the right mood with my children, or with a few friends after a few drinks, it has caused a riot! Does this mean I would recommend it? Well, I am very unsure. The box is quite big, and this will take up a fair amount of space. And for that space-to-game-time ratio, it is a tough one. Also, my wife hates it and thinks it looks ugly! So, if I do keep it, I need to find the right space! When offered this game for review, I was unsure if I would say yes. Due to the above concerns, that I all thought may be the case before playing. However, I showed it to my children and asked them if they wanted to try it. They both said yes immediately. It just looks fun! And when it came, they immediately opened it, set it up, and played non-stop for hours. When set up, someone always approaches the game and wants to play. Games do not last long, as people's interest inevitably wanes pretty fast, but they always want to play. Now, the same could not be said for MANY other serious board games. As such, I can see this being a fun game to set up for parties where I leave it placed strategically on a table somewhere for people to just approach and play. I do that a lot and enjoy seeing organic games just start. House games I call them, and I do the same with Drop It , Chicken vs hotdog , and a few other such party games. This game works well for that sort of game night. If you think this is for you, well, I will leave that to your own opinion. It is a hard game to review. But I hope the above information gave you enough details to make up your own mind. Have fun!

This is a prototype version of the game and may not represent the final quality or look of the game. You can find more information about the upcoming Kickstarter here . Camden Games is fast becoming one of my favorite indie design teams. Everything they make is fun. Okay, "everything" may be a big claim. I am sure their tea is lovely, but probably not that much fun. But when it comes to games, well, now you're talking! Their latest offering comes in the nostalgia-inducing sight of a bunch of shiny, see-through plastic shapes in the form of little plastic aliens. Right out of the Space Invader video game archives. Simply as a collectible, I would want these. The fact that they can also be used for a stupidly fun game as well... take my money! The game works incredibly easily. Each player takes a set of alien pieces in their chosen colour. Choose a suitable surface. Anything 'slidey'! I use my large mouse mat table cover or kitchen breakfast bar. The Kickstarter will give you a few options here for some amazing upgrades. But we have also tried on our laminate floor for an epic game along the hallway using the walls as the boundaries, and it worked a treat! Use whatever works for you. Part of the joy of this game is being able to play anywhere and with any size space you want. When both players are ready, begin to set up your pieces. This must begin in unison, as this part is a race! Both players will have four "bases." Pieces in the shape of a kidney stone, with which they can shield their mothership from the imminent attacks. Along with the mothership piece itself, there will also be the attack ships. Six each. In the preview copy I had, there were also some larger attack ships. Players can set up all their pieces however they like within their third of the play area. Whatever that play area is! You will probably want to protect your Mothership with a few bases, and have your attack ships in a good line of sight ready to attack. The first to finish can then take the first shot. No arguments here, please! When you have your turn, you can flick one of your pieces, anyone but the bases, at your opponent. Typically, you will use your attack ships to do this, but it is your choice. When you flick, do so however you want. The idea is to knock your opponent's mothership off the table. But if you do, that is not game over. Each base acts as a life for the Mothership as well as a defensive unit. When your mothership is knocked off the table, you can respawn it back on the table at the expense of any of your bases, in the exact same place as where the now removed base was previously placed. If you run out of bases and your Mothership comes off, that's it. Game over. Games are fast, frantic, and full of laughter! Pieces will fly all over the place, screams will be heard all over the house. But ultimately, a lot of fun will be had. Ricochets, knock-ons, and double attacks will all develop as you get a little better at flicking and understanding the physics at play. It will work for all 'levels' of flicking. But no matter your ability, this is a fun game to play. I have enjoyed this with all ages and abilities, and the one commonality I have found with all games is that within a matter of moments, I also hear laughter! For the Kickstarter, there are all sorts of ways you can buy this. The full version comes with a full tabletop mat, table edges, UV lights to make the pieces pop, and extendable shelves to create barriers on the edge of the table. There is even a phone holder! Alternatively, you can opt for the basic version I have, or even the travel edition shown above. With two sets of playing pieces that can be conveniently taken with you anywhere you go to play on the go, at the pub, or on any surface you can find! Dexterity games can be hit or miss. Sometimes they can be frustrating as they are just too hard. Often, they can involve intricate set-up, only for something to then quickly fall down. With Shape Invaders, you are taking a matter of seconds to go from set-up to playing, and the games themselves are incredibly quick too. If you lose, no matter, rack them up and go again. The pieces themselves really pop. I have seen them under UV lights at a convention and they looked amazing, but even under normal lights, they are bright, vibrant, chunky, well-made, and great to flick. As mentioned, things will fly off the table a lot! Unless you buy the table edges, of course. I have found that a small amount of damage has occurred to my pieces. I have played above a hard kitchen floor, and the pieces really do travel at a rate of knots, so this is to be expected. The damage is not significant, and it certainly does not affect the game. I have lost one piece, though. I have no idea where; my kitchen is tiny, and I looked everywhere! I would recommend this game to anyone. In a duo, in a competition, with children, with adults, at home, down the pub; it really doesn't matter. This game is simply light in strategy, but oh so fun! I really enjoy playing games like this sometimes. I am in the hobby largely for the heavy euros that make me think. But I also want to find the time for games that simply bring joy; and Shape Invaders does that so well. Well worth checking out if you like any type of flicking/dexterity experience.

Mini-Game Party WBG Score: 8.5 Player Count: 2-8 You’ll like this if you like: Chicken V Hotdog , What Next? Published by: Big Potato Games This is a free review copy. See our review policy here . Big Potato not only makes great party games, they also seem to manage to release them at an incredible frequency. Without any duds! The next outing from these fun-loving gamers from East London is Mini-Game Party, an ever-changing team game that pits evolving teams against each other in various small challenges. There are 101 challenges in the game, so plenty to keep you entertained over multiple games, but is it any fun? Let's get it on the table and find out. How To Set-Up Mini-Game Party Take the score pad and write everyone's name on the top. Well, everyone who is playing at least. It may take a while to do literally everyone. Give all players a voting chip and separate the various decks of cards, placing them all face down in separate piles; the Team Maker cards, Mini-game cards, and Mini deck cards. Then split the playing pieces into the two colours and split them into two separate piles. You are now ready to play. How To Play Mini-Game Party Flip over the top card from the Team Maker pile and read out the two choices. This will offer the players the chance to make a simple decision: are they team red or team blue? This will be a choice such as preferring to sneeze confetti or to cry glitter. Do you prefer overripe or under ripe bananas? Are you a Star Wars fan or more of a Lord of The Rings kind of person? Make your choice, and then reveal your voting chip showing your decision, team red or blue. If everyone voted the same, flip over a new Team Maker card and vote again. When you get two teams, you are now ready for the main part of the game. This was just forming teams! One player now takes the top card from the Mini-game deck and reads out loud to all players the rules for this particular card. One side will show the set-up and the other side will show the rules and goal for this card. Each one is completely different, and there are 101 in the game. This could be things like creating words from letters on the cards provided, bouncing a ball increasing times on a table, blowing your voting chip off a table onto a nearby target, or flipping cards from the edge of the table into the box. All sorts of things will be used along with the provided props. But nothing you almost certainly won't have to hand right where you are sat. The cards come in three categories: Elimination, where it is the last team standing who gets the points; Who did it best, where the player who achieved the goal the best wins; or a teamwork category where players win or lose as a team. All players on both teams must take part. The team with more players may have an advantage, but this will be reflected in the scoring. Each player in the winning team will then gain the amount of points equal to the amount of players in the losing team. So, if you just won in a team of two versus a team of three, that's three points each to the two winning players. Note this on the score sheet for that round and then go again. Play six rounds and total the points accumulated by each individual player over those rounds. The player with the most points wins. You play as a team, but as those teams are ever-changing, the game is ultimately won by one player in the end. Unless, of course, it is a tie, or you get distracted by a moth and don't finish. Is It Fun? Mini-Game Party Game Review Mini-Game Party offers a fun, quick, and relatively light experience that caters to players of all ages. Children are likely to be drawn to it because of the straightforward but entertaining nature of the mini-games, while adults seeking a competitive dexterity challenge or those enjoying 'late-night' gatherings will also find it highly enjoyable. Especially when combined with various party game drinks. With a real mixture of 101 challenges, the game ensures that you stay amused game after game. While you may need a few additional items to play, these are common household objects that most people already have, like a table! Everything else you need is in the box. The game does require some level of skill, such as dexterity or linguistic abilities, but nothing overly challenging. Ultimately, it presents a light but fun mix of activities that contribute to a fair and enjoyable experience for all participants from eight and above, I would suggest. Although younger children could certainly enjoy a lot of the cards. And it is easy enough to remove the challenges that don't suit your current group. With minimal editing, this would suit any group. The word challenges in the game are all quite light, and some consist of games where you need to form four-letter words from four random letters. As much as this won't suit younger children, the light nature and group aspect does make it suitable for most players. This design choice ensures that the game remains engaging and fair for a wide range of players. I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a more active party game that keeps the rules light, the fun factor high, and the energy levels soaring. It's a great choice for gatherings where you want to inject some excitement and laughter into the atmosphere. Just set up a few challenges on your table when you have friends around, leave them there for people to inquire about, and I bet within a few moments a fun game will ensue!

This is a prototype version of the game and may not represent the final quality or look of the game. You can find more information about the upcoming Kickstarter here . Goalkeepers Dice Game comes from first time designer Phil Brown. A father of two from New Zealand. He found that when playing games with his two sons, he did not have the right game to play with them. He wanted a game that offered a competitive experience, that worked with all ages so there is was no advantage to his older son, that used dice to create a nice balance between strategy and luck, and that rewarded players rather than punished them. For him, it did not exist, so he went out and made it! Phil had played other dice games that punished players, removing dice as they play. He wanted a game that rewards players and focuses on the positives of winning rounds, and winning games, rather than trying to avoid losing things. He wanted players to focus on winning things. From this, Goalkeepers was born! A dice chucking game that focuses on a number of rounds, that two to five players can play. Goalkeepers offers simple rules, fast an fun gameplay, all with a football/soccer theme. I think it could well be a winner for many. The game works by deciding how many rounds you want to play. Any number between three and seven is recommended. But the choice is yours. How long do you want to play? Then decide the dice setup based on player count: six each for two or three players, five in a four-player game, and four each with six players. Give each player their dice and then place the score markers into a central area. You are now ready to begin. Players will take turns to roll all of their dice. If you roll any TEAM dice (the ones with a football shirt/jersey on), they are placed to the side by your playing area. If you rolled a GOAL dice (the ones with the football on), these are also placed to the side. If you roll a PENALTY dice (the ones with the red card on), you must pass these to other players. You can choose who, and split up however you please. They then get extra dice to roll on their turn. Finally, any dice showing the SHOOT OUT symbol are placed into a group in front of you. When the second player has finished rolling their dice, the shoot out challenge begins. Here the first and second player compare any SHOOT OUT dice they rolled. The player with the most can either take one GOAL dice or two TEAM dice from the loser. Play continues like this until one player uses all their dice, either in the form of GOALS or by losing dice to other players. All players then compare their total number of GOAL dice, and the player with the most takes three points. The player with the second highest gains two, and the player in third takes one. There is also a bonus point of one for the player who ended the round. Play the agreed amount of rounds and see who wins. If there is a tie, play one extra round with all tied players with three dice each. The games are fast and frantic and feel to me exactly how I want a dice-chucking game to feel. I have some control over where I place my red cards, and whether I take the TEAM dice or GOAL when I win a SHOOTOUT. But obviously, there is still a lot of luck involved. It's mainly dice after all. But this, remember was the point. A game that offers a level playing field for all ages, all skill sets. I like the simplicity of this game with just a few dice. It suits me down to the ground. Pop them in a small bag and take them with you anywhere. Simple rules you can teach in a few minutes and games that last as long as you want, but can be over in 5 minutes if you are pushed for time. Perfect. This game is going to head to Kickstarter soon. The game deserves to be made and I hope it can find the support it deserves. It has a lovely origin and a solid design, which has created a fun game I for one will enjoy for many years to come. I sincerely hope many others get to do the same.

Get On Board: Paris and Roma WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-5 You’ll like this if you like: Unmatched , Funkoverse , Smash Up Published by: IELLO Designed by: Saashi This is a free review copy. See our review policy here . Back in 2022 Get On Board: London & New York was released to critical acclaim, winning awards and fans all over the board gaming world. Most most notable, gaining a score of 8/10 on WBG! Right!? I know. Well, unconfirmed and most probably made up reports suggest that spurned on by the glowing review we gave, designer Saashi decided to make a sequel, this time moving from the bustling metropolises of London and New York, to the more tranquil cities of Paris and Rome. Is it very different? Is it any better? Let's get it to the table and find out. How To Set Up Get On Board: Paris & Roma Much like the first game, the first thing you need to decide is choose the correct side of the board to play with. If you have 1-3 players, then use the Rome map. For a 4 or 5 player game use the Paris side. This is clearly labelled on the top left of each map. The main difference is that the Rome side (below) has coloured speedy Connection sections. The burgundy and yellow markings seen below. These are used in the one to three player mode as detailed below. Next, give each person a player sheet and pencil. Check that the markings below the tickets on the top of each players sheet are different. The rest of the sheet will be identical but these to be unique for each player. if not, just swap it out for another sheet. Each player will then take their 32 route markers and departure pawn in their chosen colour. The six common objective cards will then be shuffled and two are placed yellow side up on the space on the top of the board. Place three in a solo game. Then shuffle the five personal objective cards and deal one face up to each player. Next, shuffle the 12 metro ticket cards and deal two to each player. Use cards one to six for the Paris map and less players. Each player will then chose to start their game from one of the two locations, placing their departure pawn at their chosen location. These Metro tickets are then gathered back into one deck and shuffled again and placed onto the top section of the board. In a solo game, add the two rush hour cards and place them after the 9th and 11th card. The oldest player takes the Inspector pawn and becomes the first player. You are now ready to play. How to Play Get On Board: Paris & Roma. The first player, the inspector, now reveals the top card from the metro ticket deck, placing it face up on the discard space for all to see. Each player will now cross off the space for the matching ticket value on their player sheet. This shows them what shape they will be making in the next phase, and what shapes are still to come. In a 1-3 player game note the colour of the border of this first metro card. Either burgundy or yellow. Mark the corresponding colour on your player sheet on the bottom left. This will dictate which coloured connection areas will be in affect this game. When this is done, all players move to the next phase, where they will place coloured markers from their personal pool, starting at their departure pawn, in the shape as dictated by the metro ticket crossed off in the previous phase. You cannot double back on your route, there can be no more than one marker per colour on each section, and you must copy the shape as dictated by that rounds metro ticket completely and exactly. If you ever reach the same intersection for the second time, your game is over and you can no longer score any points. You are eliminated. Harsh huh? Have they not heard of the circle line? You can increase or reduce the size of any shape you have to place by one marker if you want to, by marking off one space in the red top right area on your player sheet. You can do this a maximum of five times and each time, you will incur a penalty of minus one, two or three. Each time your route moves through an area where there are other players coloured markers, and in a 1-3 player game, when you move through the chosen coloured routes, you can cross off one space in the connection zone on the bottom left of your player sheet. The further you go on this route, the more points you will get, as shown by the green boxed numbers. This is an adapted feature from the traffic in the previous game. If you pass through any Metro spaces then you must circle one of the corresponding symbols on the top left of your player sheet. Then at the end of that round, you can cross off any of the spaces circled that round to place an extra marker down. Or, if you choose to leave a circled space uncrossed and unused, it will give you an extra two points at the end of the game. This is a new feature not seen in the previous game and essentially replaces the chance to name your map. When you have finished adding your shape and marking off any related areas on your player sheet, the next step is to score any passengers or places that were moved through this turn. The Grannies are the most simple. For each one moved through, cross off one space on the red area on your player sheet. At the end of the game you will score the points shown in the green boxes next to all crossed off spaces. The Students and Cinemas work a little differently. At the end of the game you will multiply the number of students marked off by the number of cinemas across two lines for a maximum of 24 points. This is all quite similar to the last game. When you pass a Flirt, note the colour of the background, there are two types. The face type doesn't matter, just note the background colour. Mark off the corresponding space on your player sheet and then later, if you pass a restaurant note how many flirts are crossed off on either of the three rows and score two points for one crossed off face or six points for a crossed off couple; for a maximum of 12 per row. Any uncrossed faces must be crossed out, they cannot be scored. There are three opportunities to visit restaurants in each game. This is a slight change from the last game. The final person you can pick up are the tourists. They want to go to the Opera or the Theatre. When you pick one up, mark them off, and then later when you go by either one of these two buildings you will score the points underneath the right most crossed off tourist at that point. Any unmarked tourists are crossed off in the row you just scored and can no longer be used. This is all similar to the last game but now with a simplified scoring mechanic. As you move around the board you will need to focus on all the passenger and building scoring options as well as your own personal objective card and the common objectives. Each common objective can be achieved by multiple players but the first to do this will get ten points, and all subsequent players will only get six. After each round, check if anyone has achieved any of the common objectives then move the inspector pawn one space clockwise, Then move to the next round. There are twelve rounds in a game. When done, score your total points, and the player with the most points unsurprisingly wins the game. In the solo game, at certain points when flipping the next metro card, you will reveal one of the rush hour cards. This means you need to flip over an objective card. If you have not completed it yet you can now only score six points for this one. At the end, you can compare your score to a table on the rule sheet. Is this Fun? - Get On Board: Paris & Roma Board Game Review There is not a huge amount different to the original game. I have marked the changes above in bold. The speedy connection areas being the main difference, other than some slight changes to the way each character scores. As such, if you have the London & New York version already then you may not want to add this to your collection. But if you loved it and want to try the different maps then you will not be disappointed. If you do not have the original game I would recommend getting this one instead as I think it is a fraction better. But if you have the first game and were not a fan, then I cannot imagine you have got this far in the review! So, to answer the question about the two editions, there is not a lot different. It is a little better. But for me, it is more of the same but the same is great! I like the idea of this eventually being dozens of maps across multiple cities around the world. It may make more sense to just sell the maps as expansion rather than a new box each time. But the thought of playing one of these cities before I visit them, or better yet, whilst there, is a thing of board game beauty to me. The more maps the better. I want every city! I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys the flip and write genre and is looking for a new game that works in a short amount of time, plays well in different player counts, but still offers a game experience of substance. If you like this theme of course. There is a lot in this sector. Get On Board is an exciting series of games. I hope they continue with this. Either with new expansion maps or more full box sequels. I think any subsequent full game will need a few more developments and changes to justify its existence. But right now we have two great versions. Both excellent fun. I am delighted to own both. Although, that may be somewhat of an extravagance.

The Kringle Caper WBG Score: 7 Player Count: 1-4 You’ll like this if you like: Exit and Unlock games Published by:  Grand Gamers Guild Designed by: Jonathan Chaffer This is a free review copy. See our review policy here - SPOILER FREE REVIEW The Kringle Capers is the first version of a series of one-off small box escape rooms using just cards. You can find out about the others in the series here . They are all 18-card decks that offer a 60-minute escape room-style adventure, set around a different popular holiday: Halloween, Valentine's, or in this case, Christmas. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up The Kringle Caper Open the box and take out the 18 cards. I suggest getting a paper and pencil too. Keep the cards face down, in order. On a phone or computer, head to this website and click on The Kringle Caper "Play" button. Once you are prepared, click on Start and proceed to select card number one. The timer will begin! How To Set Up The Kringle Caper Read the text on card number one. You will then see a red magnifying glass and some more red text. For each red magnifying glass icon you see you will need to work out the answer for that number of words (or phrases), and then enter them into the website you previously loaded. all answers can be found on the card you are using that time, or perhaps, on previous cards you had access too. You will never need to use later cards until instructed. The website has handy information and hints if you get stuck. The hints will give you a time penalty, while the information will just give you access to some things that may or may not help you. There is no time penalty for using the information section, but it won't all be crucial. We completed the entire game without using it. However, we did use our phones to look up the lyrics to one particular song, and we could have used the information page instead if we had remembered! The hints work well and offer some guides and clues before giving you, if you really want it, the full answer. You won't ever get stuck. If you enter a wrong answer, it will tell you and ask you to look again. If you enter a correct answer, it will add a small bit of story and then instruct you to take the next card. Make sure to get your spelling correct otherwise it will not work. Some answers are phrases instead of single words. Some cards have more than one answer. You must enter them separately, one at a time. Some cards may require you to write on them. If you want to keep the game to use again or lend to a friend, you can simply write on a separate piece of paper or write in pencil. No cards will be destroyed or affected in any other way. A paper and pencil would help in other areas too, working a few things out. Keep playing through each card as instructed until you complete the final 18th card. You will then be given a brief conclusion to the story and your score. This will be based on the time it took you to solve all the cards, any hints you used, and then a final score out of five. I won't spoil anything by saying anymore, but here is the first card, just to give you a flavour. Is It Fun? The Kringle Caper Escape Room Card Game Review If you enjoy puzzle games and escape room style challenges, you will love this. It is very simple, and a scaled-down version. There are only 18 cards after all. So, don't go into this expecting big props, twists, or surprises. It is a simple card-based puzzle game, with some familiar challenges, and a fun holiday-inspired theme. We played this in the blazing sun, in the middle of summer, and still had a good time with it. I will certainly keep it around for another turn on Christmas Eve this year. I think by then we will have forgotten the answers so we will easily be able to enjoy this again! I am keen to try out the other games in this series and see how they develop the idea. But what we have here, with these 18 cards, is a pure, simple, distilled version of a card game-based escape room that offers a good 60 minutes of family fun. Well worth checking out if you enjoy these types of experiences. This one is certainly very well executed, not too tricky to solve (it's ranked 2/3 on the difficulty scale) and was something my entire family enjoyed doing together (nine and eleven-year-olds).

Planted: A Game of Nature & Nurture WBG Score: 7.5 Player Count: 2-5 You’ll like this if you like: 7 Wonders , It's A Wonderful World , Sushi Go Party Published by:   Buffalo Games , Designed by: Phil Walker-Harding This is a free review copy. See our review policy here I get a sense that designer, Phil Walker-Harding, likes drafting games. After the success of Sushi Go, a game that has sold over a million copies in more than 20 countries, you would think most designers would explore other mechanics. But Planted shares a lot of the things that make Sushi Go great. A simple design, with easy-to-learn rules, great fun drafting, interesting scoring, and a gorgeous design. Maybe Phil Walker-Harding should make a drafting game about every theme there is! Back to Planted, this is a gorgeous production that feels utterly premium, pimped out, and upgraded, and this is just a basic version. There is no deluxe. This is as standard. But does it play as good as it looks? Let's find out. How To Set Up Planted First, place the nursery board in the centre of the table. Then give a player board to each player, who should then place it in front of them on the table. Next, split the 60 Resource cards from the 42 Item cards , all of which have a common card back, shuffle them separately, and then place them down into their designated areas on the nursery board. Now, locate the six Plant cards labelled “Beginner,” shuffle them, and distribute one to each player. Players should display their Plant card face-up above their player board above the left most space. There are spaces for six planets cards like this. Place the remaining beginner Plant cards back in the box as they will not be used in the game. Next, shuffle all other Plant cards and stack them face-down as a draw pile on the designated area of the nursery board. Draw four Plant cards and display them face-up in the indicated spaces next to the draw pile, forming the nursery row. Finally, arrange all Light, Water, Plant Food, Green Thumb, and Growth tokens in separate supply piles near the nursery board. You are now ready to play. How To Play Planted The game consists of four rounds, with players aiming to acquire resources, decorations, tools, and new plants to score end game points. At the start of each round, players draw six Resource cards and two Item cards from the nursery board's draw piles, keeping their hands secret. Each round comprises of eight turns, where all players simultaneously select one card from their hand to play face-down in their play area. The remaining cards are placed face-down on the table to the left or right of their player board, depending on the round (as shown on each player board). In rounds one and three, hands are placed to the left, while in rounds two and four, they are placed to the right. Once all players have completed these actions, everyone reveals their chosen card simultaneously. Cards are used for one of four things: either to add to their Tools or Decoration, for in-game powers and end-game scoring, to use as a resource to take immediately, or to use to claim a new plant. To do this, when you reveal the card, you must say "Nursery" as you do so, and then you can take one of the four face-up plant cards. If more than one person does this at once, check the small number on the bottom left of the card, and the player with the lower number picks first. After each card is taken, replenish the nursery with a new card from the draw deck. At the end of the round, players can now use the resources they have gained to feed their plants. Each plant will need a combination of sun, water, and plant food. You must discard each resource used, and then if you have enough for each plant, you can place a Growth token over the scoring zone of that card to show it has been fed successfully. Cards have one to three scoring zones. Once those zones are full, that card is done for the game. Green thumb tokens can be exchanged for any resource at a ratio of 2:1. Any leftover resources can be discarded in pairs for more Growth tokens to feed the Propagation jars on their player board. There are six of these, and each one with a Growth token on at the end of the game will score you an additional one point. Players then discard any final unused resources, all cards in their play area, and get ready for the next round. In a three or four-player game, you will need to reuse some of the cards. After the fourth round is over, score up your points from Growth tokens on the propagation jars, any bonuses you have gained from the Decoration cards you collected during the game, and finally, from all Growth tokens placed on the plant cards themselves. Most points win. Is It Fun? Planted: A Game of Nature & Nurture Board Game Review Drafting games offer a unique and engaging gameplay experience that challenges players to strategize and think ahead. This game stands out for its simplicity, quick setup, and accessibility, making it perfect for family gatherings or lighter game nights. Sessions last around 20 minutes, but still ask you to make meaningful decisions, appealing to players of all levels. The game strikes a balance between being family-friendly and appealing to experienced gamers, with intuitive mechanics that offer depth but in a very simple way. Its quick setup and teardown process make it the perfect family-friendly drafting game. This is a gem in table top gaming, delivering a delightful experience in a compact and accessible package. The drafting process has players deciding between what they want to feed their plants this round, what tools and items will give them the best chance for more points and resource combos. All the while, as players watch the available Plant cards in the Nursery, choosing when to strike and claim a new card. Some of the resource cards have double benefits. You want to draft those quickly. But if there is the perfect Plant card available, maybe you need to shout "Nursery" first, to claim that card. But what if the right Item card has just come up? Choices, choices! The art featured on the cards is truly captivating and exudes a sense of beauty. The gorgeous pastel style creates a serene ambiance that enhances the overall experience of playing. Each illustration radiates a calming and peaceful vibe, making it easy to immerse oneself in the game. The attention to detail in the artwork is also commendable, striking a perfect balance between realism and a laid-back aesthetic. The harmonious blend of colours and the gentle strokes used in the designs enhances the visual appeal but also contributes significantly to the overall enjoyment and positive relaxing atmosphere of the game. But what of the plant cards themselves? The stars of the show! Well, I suppose plants are quite green, aren't they! I mean, they are fine. I like them. But it just seems a little bland compared to the rest of the game. Maybe more vibrant pots? Or a background with a little more going on could have been used? I don't dislike the art on the plant cards. But I do think, every time I play, they are a little lacking somewhat. In general, I find this game quite enjoyable. While it may not introduce any ground-breaking elements, it combines drafting, resource management, and set collection in a pleasantly simple and satisfying way. If it were to be made more complicated with expansions, I think the game would suffer. In its current duration of just over 20 minutes, it is just right. Delightful even. I trust that the developers won't fall into the trap of many other similar games by overcomplicating it, potentially diluting its core appeal. As it stands now, it is flawless. Keep your expectations in check, it is simple in its current state. But go in with these feelings and I suggest you will be pleasantly surprised by the experience.

Rolling Realms Redux WBG Score: 8.5 Player Count: 1-6* You’ll like this if you like: That's Pretty Clever , Troyes Dice , Riverside . Published by:   Stonemaier Games Designed by: Jamey Stegmaier , Karel Titeca This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Rolling Realms first came out as a "bit of fun" for designer Jamey Stegmaier during the lockdown period of 2020. He played it online with anyone who wanted to join in, using a freely accessible one pager. This then developed into a fully published game, which has since seen MANY mini expansion released. One for each Stonemaier game released, and many other for games Jamey enjoys. Rolling Realms Redux is a new stand alone/sequel/collection of new expansions (Delete as appropriate). *You can enjoy playing with up to 6 friends without needing anything else. But can play with an infinite amount of people if you have more copies. Inside this box, you will find all the necessary components to play the game, as well as the opportunity to discover 12 exciting new realms. These expansions, like those that came previously, are inspired by popular games from other publishers. As stated on the Stonemaier website, " The promo packs will only be available in their current form (separate packs on our webstore), not bundled into a big box. You can pick and choose the packs you want. We often discount the packs when releasing new packs." So, this is the best way to develop, or indeed, start your Rolling Realms collection. There is no need to wait for one big box collection. It won't come. Additionally with this release, you'll receive a printed living rulebook that explains all the realms (to date)—both original, new, and promotional. And there is no need to worry about storage space—the game comes in a meticulously designed box that accommodates all realms ever created. How To Set up Rolling Realms Redux Distribute a set of cards to each player, ensuring that each set is identical. Each set should contain 12 realm cards (along with any extra cards from the base game or promotional realms that you may have). Give one resource card, and one score card to each player along with a dry-erase marker and an eraser cloth. At the start of every round, one player will shuffle their realm cards and randomly draw three realms. Each other player must now locate those exact three cards from their own set so that all players are using the same cards. The remaining realms are set aside. Place the two dice into a central area, and you are now ready to play. How To Play Rolling Realms Redux Each game of Rolling Realms last three rounds. Each round consists of nine turns. Players take turns simultaneously. A turn will consist of two simple phases. Phase one. Roll the Dice: A player rolls the two dice and shares the results with all players. Each player records the numbers rolled on their score card in the turn spaces numbered one to nine. Phase two: Activate Realms: Each player will now simultaneously use each die once in a different realm. You cannot activate the same realm more than once per turn. You can spend any previously gained resources while activating realms. Rare situations where you cannot use any die allow players to gain a resource instead of using. Some resources and realm rules generate extra dice, but you still cannot activate the same realm more than once per turn unless altered. Using a dice in a Realm greatly relies on the Realms you possess. Ultimately, you will mark the two numbers rolled on two of your three Realms to progress your status within this Realm and try to earn stars. To clarify, let's explore some of the new Realms introduced in this edition. Here are three of the trickier ones. Hopefully, you will agree that they are all still fairly straightforward. once you have the hang of these three, the others will all full into place. Rock-Paper-Scissors works by players picking one of the rolled dice numbers and then assigning a circle (if it was a one, two, or three) a cross (if it was a six) or a square (if it was a four or five) and then placing the assigned shape into any slow on the left hand column. You will then gain the benefit on that row, either a pumpkin, heart or coin. And with that, let's have a brief pause to explain the benefits. The pumpkins can be used either in pairs to adjust a die roll up or down by one, or in sets of three to adjust a die roll by one but now use it in a realm you have already activated this turn. The hearts can be used in twos to use a die number twice if you rolled a pair, and then in sets of three to do the same if you did not roll a pair. The coins let you use one of the die numbers twice if the sum of the two dice is exactly seven, and then in any number to gain any number. You just need to use the same number of coins as the number you are using. So two coins for a two, four coins for a four. When you gain a benefit, circle the correct number of symbols on your benefit card. You can then use them at any point later in the game by crossing off the ones you have circled. At the end of the game, unused benefits are worth 0.1 point each. Ok, back to Rock-Paper-Scissors. once you have assigned one of the die to mark a space on the left an claimed the benefit, you you must use the other die (which will not be exhausted and can still be used in another realm) to assign a second shape to any space on the right hand column. it does not have to be the same row you chose for the first number. The idea is that over the course of the rounds you will "win" as many games of Rock-Paper-Scissors as possible by placing shapes on the left hand side that beat shapes on the right hand side. Circle beats cross. Cross beats Square. Square beats Circle. When a row wins in this way, mark the space on the left to show you won, and then at the end of the round, count how many victories you had and score stars accordingly. You need nine victories for the full six stars. Wonderland's War is an interesting new realm as it has a timer trigger. At the beginning of rounds four, five, seven, eight, and nine, you must total the roll of the two dice before any manipulation and mark the total in the allocated space on the card. In order to win this realm, you need to use dice prior to these rounds to mark numbers in the different spaces so that the total of your two dice in each battleground is equal to or greater than the sum of the two dice used that round. Blanks are worth zero, and you cannot go back to previous rounds to fill in blanks. The battlegrounds are immediately scored. When you fill a circle with a number in each battleground, you will gain a benefit. When you win a battleground, you will gain one or two stars, depending on which one it is. Flamecraft has an interesting way to use the dice. Either Enchant by circling a benefit above any of the three "Shops" or Gather by writing a number in one of the matching Shops' three spaces to then gain any previously Enchanted benefits. The first shop can be used with a two, three, or four. The second can use a three, four, or five. The final shop can use a five or a six. Those benefits are then marked off; they cannot be gained again. At the end of the round, you will score stars for each Shop where you marked off both benefits during the Enchanting, and also a star for each shop where you write three numbers. Hopefully now, these three other Realms will make more sense to you when you read the rules on them. They are all quite self-explanatory. After nine turns, record the stars earned that round on your score card. Each leftover resource is valued at 0.1 stars. Clear all content except scores on your score card and erase all realm and resource cards completely. Keep the used realms from the previous round aside and then reveal three new realm cards for all players to collect and start the next round. After the third round, proceed to the end-game scoring. The player with the highest cumulative stars wins. Is It Fun? Rolling Realms Redux Card Game Review The joy in this game comes from two main areas for me. First, the combo-turns that you can create as you get better. Gaining more benefits, then using them at the right moment to use three numbers per round instead of two; it's a real hoot! Second, the history of this game. It takes me back to playing online with Jamey during the lockdown months. It gave me, like many others, something to do and a connection with the outside world. Watching the game develop over the weeks, and seeing Jamey openly take feedback from normal, everyday people who were playing along with him was so inspiring. This Redux edition is simply another chance for me to support a game I adore because of this. I am delighted it brings in 12 new realms, and I am also excited to get more of these brilliant pens. Surely, the best dry-erase pens in the hobby? And of course, this new box is big enough to hold all the Realms you may have already. Exploring the new Realms and working out which ones work well together is a wonderful experience. It is almost a little like deck-building. Of course, in the proper game, you are picking three Realms at random, but in the process, you see which ones combine well together. I then like to use this knowledge to create more exciting games later by pairing a Realm that does well with lower numbers with another that prefers higher numbers, and perhaps with a third that has flexibility with both. If you like the original game, I would highly encourage you to check out this version too. If you don't have the original, then get this first. Then add packs as you go. This version is a little better as it has more realms, a cool travel box you can use to take the game with you anywhere you go, and a better solo mode. Solo Mode A quick word on the solo mode, because it is fantastic. Within this box are the rules for a new solo mode. The original box came with a solid "mini Golf" themed solo mode, that is a lot of fun. The new Redux version is called RRR Ball. It is a tournament you play against bots over five weeks. Each week has two matches. In a match, you won't score points, rather goals. Goals are scored by winning a Realm against the bot score. So the maximum amount of goals you can score is three. But some matches have a x2 multiplier. Each match is played in a different league. Each league will give you a different amount of rolls, more in the lower leagues. After each week, when all matches have been carried out, you will determine the rankings for that week. If you have more goals than the bot with the most goals, you will be the league champion and will be promoted to a higher league for the next week. If you get promoted from league one, you will win the solo mode.

Distilled WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Viticulture , The Networks Published by: Paverson Games Designed by: Dave Beck By Steve Godfrey This is a free review copy. See our review policy here There are a few food/drink games out in the world in which it would be almost rude not to pair them with the subject in question. Distilled is no exception. So set it up, sit down with your favourite drink (please drink responsibly) and you’ll be ready to play. The real question you have to ask yourself is this, is the game worth pairing with a 60 year old MacCutcheon Whisky or is it only worth breaking out the cheap supermarket own brand? How to make spirits……alcohol, not ghosts. Give each player a player board and clip board, decide which set of spirits you’ll be using and give each player a card of that set to slot into their clipboard. Then deal each player two distiller identity cards to choose from, but only use the ones that match the regions of the spirits you’re using (there’s handy lists in the rule book for this). Once chosen, give each player their starting items based on their distiller and give them their signature recipe token and ingredient and a metal barrel and glass bottle card. The game is played over seven rounds, each consisting of four phases. On your turn in the market phase you can buy a card from the basic market. Here you’ll find Yeast, water, one of each type of sugar and two different types of barrels. Some cards are free and a few have a cost to them but these are always available. You can buy at most two cards from the basic market per round. You can also buy from the premium market. Upgrade cards let you upgrade your distillery. You can have at most three of these at any one time but you can replace existing ones if you find something better. Premium Ingredients which will go towards making your spirits and are the same types as the basic ingredients, except these are worth money and points if they’re used in your recipes. Items consist of premium barrels and different types of containers for your spirits. There’s no limit to the amount of things you can buy from the premium market; well apart from how much money you have. The last thing you can buy is a new recipe. You can only make two recipes at the start of the game, Vodka and Moonshine. The rest of the recipes on your list have to be brought and fall into a bronze, silver or gold categories and each one being a different price to buy. The higher the price, the more points it’s worth when you sell it! When you distil in the aptly named distil phase, you'll be adding ingredients to your washback to try and make a successful concoction. You’ll need to add at least one sugar, water and yeast to your spirit from your pantry. Any alcohol cards can be used in place of yeast or water. You can then throw in any number of other ingredients you want. You then take the same number of alcohol cards as you have sugars. Shuffle all the cards then take the top and the bottom card from the cards and put them back in your pantry. You then see which cards you have left in your hand and see which spirit you can make on your clipboard out of the recipes you’ve learned. Some will need only certain types of sugars or no sugars or certain types of containers. Each drink will earn you money or points or a combination of both. Certain other ingredients and items in your hand will also net you points and money which you will collect during the sell phase. Some drinks will require ageing before you can sell them. If you have to age a spirit you place it in the appropriate barrel, take a flavour card from the deck and place it with that spirit unseen and place it in your cellar. You won’t be able to sell aged spirits in the round that you make them so be prepared for the fact that the next round you may be a little short on money unless you keep a little bit back. The more you age a spirit the more points/money it could be worth when you do sell it. When you make and sell a spirit you’ll also gain a label of that type (if available) and use it to cover one of the bonus spaces on your player board. This is how you'll get your signature ingredient that you’ll need to make your signature drink. At the end of a round you'll see if any players meet the criteria to score one of the public bonuses. After seven rounds you'll score end game points for your private bonus cards, money, certain upgrade cards and your bottle collection. A game to raise your spirits One of my favourite games is Viticulture and one of the reasons I love it is because it takes you through the process of making wine in order to get points. It tries to give you the sense that you're actually making the thing that the game’s about. Of course it’s an abstracted version of the whole thing because, of course it is. Distilled takes much the same approach in what it’s asking you to do, but it’s a lot more… distilled and has you focus even more on the production of the spirits than it does on the day to day running of the Distillery, but there's still that factor in it. I find it makes the game so much more thematic and gets you so much more invested in the whole thing if you feel like you're actually going through those motions rather than just, say, cashing in a couple ingredient cards to take a Gin card. It feels odd that the act of collecting some cards, shuffling them and ditching two will make a game feel more thematic but what can I say, it really does. Distilled has you doing this from round one, which in a seven round game is very much appreciated; but it throws you in and has you puzzling out how to make your first spirit straight from the off. Now granted your first concoction will most likely be some Moonshine or some Vodka but we’ve all gotta start somewhere. I don’t know about you but if I’d been given a run down distillery and had only a few quid to my name I’d be happy if I got some mildly alcoholic puddle water out of it. Something I really appreciate in this game is that you can always make something, (providing you’ve got the basics) it may not necessarily be the thing you want, but I’d rather take something over nothing any day and it’s still going to net you some money at the very least. The market phase is where the majority of the game is going to be. It’s where you decide which drink you're going to try and build with the ingredients you buy, how to upgrade your distillery and how you're going to store and present it to try and flog it to the booze loving public. With four different markets out there you’re going to have quite a few options to choose from but be warned, money can be tight in this game, especially in the early rounds as your alcoholic empire is beginning to grow. But it makes every decision you make so important. Distillery upgrades are great long term, but spending that cash now means that you may not get the ingredients or storage to make what you want this round. That tightness of only being able to make one spirit per round means that you want to try and make the best you can every time to get those all important points, but that little economic game that sits underneath makes you constantly aware that this game is still about running a business. Is it Whisky or Whiskey? I enjoy whisky but I couldn’t begin to tell you how it’s made. Perhaps this is an excuse to go on a few whisky tours? You know, for research purposes. In the interim though, distilled is peppered with little alcohol related facts throughout the rule book and cards. The most interesting and relevant one relates to making the spirit itself. When you’ve got your elements together you shuffle your cards and remove the top and the bottom card and place them back in your pantry. What’s left is what you have to make a drink with. It’s very thematic in the sense that that’s inherent to the process of making a spirit. They remove the poisonous top and bottom of the mix. It’s a really clever way of integrating a little thematic touch to the game and it also stops that distilling phase from becoming a mechanical hoop to jump through each round. If it wasn’t there then just putting your drink together wouldn’t be as interesting. There’s so many thematic touches throughout the game that prove that this has been a labour of love from the designer. It goes hand in hand with the production that is just as lovingly put together. Little things like storing tokens in whisky barrel shaped trays always bring a rye smile to my face. It all comes from a first time publisher and designer. It makes me really excited to see what’s coming next from them. If I’ve got any complaint is that there’s not really any room in this otherwise well thought out insert for me to store any whisky bottles to take to game night, but I’ll let them off on this occasion. They’ve brought forth Juniper berries! So let’s talk about the empty gin bottle in the room (I know a few gin drinkers who will have shuddered at the thought of that sentence) The distilling mechanic is very random. Spending an entire round to pull together everything you need to make a big point scorer, only to see it turn to vodka all because of a bad draw can be really frustrating. Because of that I can easily see people being put off of this game based just on that alone, and honestly, I wouldn’t blame you. Personally though, I kinda like it. As I said earlier, it makes the whole distilling process a little bit more interesting and adds a tension to the game that can lead each player to have their own private little “yay or nay” moments. There are of course ways to help with this. Some upgrades help you mitigate things in this phase and, finding ways to add more sugars and ingredients into the mix to bulk out the deck and make those bad draws less likely. I will say that for your first couple of plays it will certainly feel like there’s a lot to keep a track of and certainly teaching it, it felt like a lot. You know those teaches where you feel like Columbo and you're using the phrase “just one more thing” a bit too much. With two sets of goals (public and private) and also the bottle set collection and the different regions and signature recipes and trying to remember the scoring on your upgrade cards, I felt there were a lot of little things that could easily get lost in the mix, especially as you're trying to get your head round how distilling works. Not that the distil phase is difficult but that alone may take a round or two until everyone knows what they’re doing. All that being said, the game itself doesn’t feel overly complex once you get into the rhythm of it. We also found the private goals to be a little fiddly and trying to figure them out meant end game scoring took a bit longer than I’d like. Personally I’d be tempted to to leave out the private goals and maybe the bottle set collection for a first game. The icons on the cards and the end game scoring on the bottom of the upgrade cards is too small though. There’s not that many of the icons so it won’t be long before you know what each does. But in both cases they are small enough that it will become a problem unless you sit real close to them, which isn’t always easy with a big game like this. On a few occasions I found myself almost not scoring some of my upgrade cards because the scoring condition is tucked away at the bottom of the card. On the flip side there is a first game guide which will take each player through a few turns to get them into it, in much the same vein as Wingspans Quick Start guide. I’ve personally not used it but I love the fact that it’s there to ease people into the game, especially if you’ve got multiple new players at the table. Distilled…..distilled. Distilled is a game that’s been designed with the theme in mind from the start. It works great at taking you through the process of making different spirits whilst giving you enough of an economic puzzle to back up the fun of getting the best out of your booze. If you're looking for a good time with no alcohol required then this is well worth a look. On second thought, if I move some cards around I could get some miniatures in that insert!

Distilled   WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Viticulture , The Networks   Published by: Paverson Games Designed by: Dave Beck This is a free review copy. See our review policy here If you are looking for a full review of the main game, head here to the excellent piece by Steve. If you are wondering how this plays solo, well you are in the right place! How To Set-Up and Play for Solo Distilled The only real change from the base game is that you will not be using the Distillery goals and Spirit awards in this game. Instead, you will replace them with cards from the small solo deck. There will be some labelled A, B, and C. Shuffle each deck separately and then lay them out into five rows, with two A's at the top, then three C's, four B's, three C's again, and finally two C's. Shuffle the remaining B cards and place them face down next to this pile. Put the other cards back into the box. Then flip the cards in row one, three, and five face up so you can see their text. Finally, place any unused player score token on the bottom row of these card and place the Solo Goal Swap card next to this set of cards. Throughout the game, you will be aiming to complete any of the face-up goals on the row the score marker is currently on. You can complete goals on the row above as well, but never higher than that, or below. When you complete a goal, add a coin onto the card to mark that you have done that, and take any money or points shown on that card. When you complete a goal, any face down goal cards directly above it. If you complete a goal from the row above, you must move the score marker up to that row. Once per game, you can use the Solo Goal Swap card to swap out any two cards with two new cards from the unused deck. Flip it over to show you have used it. In order to emerge victorious in a solo game, you must achieve at least one objective from every row and then surpass the designated score. This score is determined by adding up the red numbers on the goal cards you have accomplished. Typically, the simpler goals come with higher numbers, while the more challenging ones have lower values. Therefore, focusing on the straightforward objectives will lead to a higher final target score. Be mindful of this as you play! The only other change to the game is the spare B cards are used after the end of each Market phase to remove some extra cards from the Market decks. AS if other players had chosen some cards during this phase. Simply flip the top B card, then use the next card to show you which cards to remove. It's very simple and takes a mere moment. Is it Fun? Distilled Board Game - Solo Review There is no dummy player in this solo experience . No automa. Just a simple way to set interesting goals, making each solo game unique, and then a final points target to aim for, based on the level of goals you went for this round. It's a near-perfect solo experience. If playing the game with others isn't your cup of tea, (or glass of Whisky!) your overall opinion of the game may remain unchanged. However, the competitive aspect of obtaining different drink tokens has been removed, relieving some of the pressure. And, you no longer have to worry about other players taking the cards you need or having all the luck during the distilling phase, as they are not there! Some cards will still be taken each round after the Market phase, but only after you have made your selection. While experiencing bad draws during the Distil phase can still be frustrating, but at least you won't have to witness other players getting all the luck that round! So, if you don't like the main game for these reasons, maybe the solo experience will be better for you. But the genius of this solo game for me is how similar it feels to the multiplayer experience. There is no extra admin, no slow down in play. Just a great way to experience a solid game on your own, with interesting, ever-changing, and genuinely interesting challenges. Both in terms of the mid-game goals, but also the end game score target, that evolves as the game progresses, depending on which goals you complete. There are enough solo cards to set up two separate games without any duplicates. I would have liked to see a few more for added variety, but this is certainly enough to keep it fresh as remember, you wont be completing all the tasks used in each game anyway. Generally around five to nine from a total of 14. I am a huge fan of Distilled. It is a truly fantastic game in its own right. With its captivating and distinctive theme that permeates every aspect of the game, from the rules to the mechanics and components, you have a truly solid game here. The solo gameplay is top-notch, offering a seamless experience without any additional rules or complexities, and it does not impact the game length at all. The level of challenge in the solo mode is just right for a game like Distilled. The only downside is that it's an ideal game to enjoy with a drink or two, and I prefer not to drink alone!