Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos WBG Score: 8.5 Player Count: 1-3 You’ll like this if you like: Unmatched, Battle Line, Star Wars Destiny. Published by: Chris Loizou, Bryan Steele Designed by: SBG Editions, This is the reviewers own copy. See our review policy here Please note the pictures include a play mat which is sold separately. In the Cursed Empire Heroes of Thargos get ready for some epic battles in the custom made RPG realm of Thargos! It's like diving into a pool of dragons, monsters, heroes and weapons, but with cards instead of water. The game is set in the world created by designer Chris Loizou, in which various other games have been set. Including a sprawling RPG, which is about to have a 3rd edition come to crowd funding. You can find out more about this HERE. The game can be played in a, RPG style story mode, using the cards as prompts for the story. There is a solo and three player variant. But the main course I would say is the two-player duel; where players build their own custom deck and race to a specific points target based on their chosen heroes. Lets get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos The rule book is one of the most conversational ones I have ever encountered. It does a fantastic job explaining the different ways to use these cards in a very interesting way. There is also a quick start guide to get you up and running in no time. The first thing to do is sort out the cards, which is a good chance to familiarize yourself with what's in the box. Look for the red-backed cards first. These are the character cards. They are all double-sided to show the characters' normal and injured states, used in the game. The card's faction symbol is shown on the top left. This is mainly used for optional rules but will be relevant to some Lasting cards, which we will get to soon. The card's CPV (Character Points Value) is shown on the top right. This is used for calculating the Victory Points needed to win for each deck. You add up the CPV for all your characters, and the total is your points target for that game. The more powerful your chosen characters, the more points you need to win. Smart, isn't it? The main text shows the in-game effects of the card, unique to each one. At the bottom, the card's Might, Mind, and Mysticism scores are shown. The colors used here will help you link these traits to other relevant modifiers in the game. The reverse side shows the card's injured side, where there will be a new in-game effect. Understandably, but sadly, the art does not change. Players will now forge their Battle deck. You need to have a good balance between the three types of cards: Mission, Lasting, and Action. For your first game, I suggest taking 20 of each. As you get to know the game better, you can customize this however you see fit. Avoid taking any duplicates for any one player, and note that certain powerful cards have a padlock symbol on them. This means you can only have one of this type of card in your deck. Shuffle these up and get ready for battle! At this stage, players will need to choose their four characters. Ideally, you'll find cards that work well together and with your chosen deck. This could be based on their complementary powers or a varied mix of Mind, Might, and Mysticism, linked to the cards in your battle deck. But don’t worry too much for your first game. Note your CPV, then divide this by two (rounding up). That’s your target score for the game. Reaching that points goal is how you win, unless your opponent does so first or either of you run out of cards. That's another way to lose, so be careful not to burn through your deck too quickly. Players now draw the top six cards from their battle deck. If you do not have at least two gold mission cards, place these six cards at the bottom of your deck and draw again until you do. Note that some character cards may affect your hand size, so read your card's main text to check for this and remind yourself of their abilities. The first player will place one of their four character cards face up on the non-injured side, placing it into an imaginary (or real, if you have the awesome play mat) track. The opponent will then do the same. They don’t have to match the same track as the first player, but they can if they wish. You're looking to match up cards that can perform well against each other based on their attributes. Keep going until both players have placed all four of their characters, resulting in four complete tracks of two characters each. Next, players take turns placing one of their mission cards between two characters on one of the tracks. These missions are challenges that the characters in the same track will compete in at a certain point in the game, but not immediately. Ideally, place missions into tracks that suit the character you have there, and consider the attributes of the other player’s character too. When all four missions are placed, draw back up to your hand limit, and you are now ready to play the base game. How To Play Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos Players will now take turns to draw back up to their hand limit, play one Lasting card, and then take one action, which can be playing an action card or attempting a mission. At the start of a player's turn, they can draw back up to their hand limit if they are below it at this point. Then, with these cards in hand, usually six, players can choose one Lasting card to play under one of the four characters to boost that character’s attributes. The Lasting cards show stats for the three attributes, just like the character cards. When placed under a character, these stats will add to the character’s base attributes, mostly increasing them but occasionally decreasing them. Some Lasting cards also have permanent powers affecting character stats, sometimes based on other factors such as which other cards are also linked to this character. Players can take one action per turn. This might involve playing an action card or attempting a mission. When you play an action card, you perform the action specified on the card. These actions can enhance your attributes, allow you to draw more cards, heal an injured player, or carry out other exciting activities. If you attempt a mission, pick one of the four face-up missions in the tracks and declare you are attempting it. Each mission card will test at least one attribute, sometimes more, specified with a number next to the relevant attributes on the card. These numbers boost the defending player's stats for that attribute. For example, if your character has a score of four for the tested attribute and the defending character has a score of two, but the mission card shows a plus two, the score is now tied at four each. To win a mission, the attacking player must beat or match the defending player's score in the tested attribute after considering the buff on the mission card. In the example of a tie at four each, the attacker would win. However, if the buff was plus three and the defender's score is now five to four, the attacker still has options. On the top right of each card is a plus number. The attacking player can play as many cards as they want from their hand, face down, and declare which attribute each card is boosting. You can play as many cards as you wish, but you must play an equal number of cards to each attribute if you boost more than one. Remember, if you ever run out of cards, you lose the game. So, don't burn through your deck too quickly. Additionally, if you use too many cards to attack, you may be short of cards to defend on the other player's next turn, as you won't draw back up to your hand limit until the start of your next turn. Once the attacking player has finished playing extra cards, the defender can then choose to play cards of their own to boost their attributes. They can only play cards to the attributes that the attacker boosted, and like the attacker, must play an equal number of cards to each if they boost more than one attribute. When this is done, all cards played are revealed and the winner is declared. If the attacker wins, they take the points shown on the mission card, move it to their points pile, and carry out the text on that card. The defender must replace the displaced mission card with a mission card from their hand. If they don't have one, they will need to draw and discard from their deck until they find one, which can dangerously deplete their deck. If the defender wins, the attacker must flip their character card to the injured side, and the mission card stays in play. An injured card cannot be injured again, but there are variations to this if you play with the undead expansion! Play then moves to the next player. Remember, the attacker from the previous round now becomes the defender and will not draw back up to their hand limit until the start of their turn when they become the attacker again. So, they may now be seriously depleted of cards needed to defend! Play continues in this manner until one of the winning conditions is met. Is It Fun? Cursed Empire: Heroes of Thargos Card Game Review The world created here is incredibly rich. Every card has been crafted with exceptional care and attention, interlinking brilliantly both in theme and mechanics. If you're looking for a game with a complex and deeply woven tapestry, I'm not sure there's anything better. The solo mode works very well, using a simple dice system to dictate your opponent's actions. The story mode is intriguing and offers a unique experience, though it might demand a bit more from you as a player to bring the narrative to life. If you're a fan of RPGs or seeking a card game that delves deeper into storytelling, you'll love this mode. However, for me, the 1v1 battle is where this game truly shines. The way the cards interact and how your characters develop as you add more Lasting cards each round make the balance and flow of each game feel just right. Players enhance their powers at a similar pace, creating a balanced and engaging experience. The strategy of which characters to develop versus which ones your opponent is focusing on is crucial. With mission card points ranging from one to four, targeting the higher value missions is a priority for both players. Knowing when to defend, when to attack, when to hold back cards, and when to go all out is what makes the game so compelling and fun. And it truly delivers. You will need to keep a close eye on all your powers. The character's abilities, combined with the additions from Lasting cards and the action cards you play, can make it easy to overlook something. However, this rich development of your four characters is a big reason this game engrosses me so much. It's fun to see them evolve and enjoyable to use new powers. With 33 unique characters, each game will feel different. Once you've learned the decks a bit more, creating your own custom pack of 60 cards is where the game really shines. Knowing what's coming up, understanding how you can develop your heroes, and building something based on planning and strategy rather than random draws is very satisfying. I look forward to seeing how this game evolves and will be closely following all future expansions.

Masters of Crime: Vendetta WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Detective, Sherlock Holmes Published by: KOSMOS Designed by: Lukas Setzke, Martin Student, Verena Wiechens This is a free review copy. See our review policy here - SPOILER FREE REVIEW The Masters of Crime series started in 2021 with Rapture. There are now five in the series. The second to be released was Vendetta. Vendetta is a cooperative murder mystery game that puts you in the middle of a thrilling investigation. Under the cover of night, you slink through the rain-drenched streets of New York. Your godfather's urgent summons rings in your ears—there’s a rat in the family, and it’s up to you to sniff them out and restore the family's honour. You'll solve puzzles, follow clues, and make crucial decisions to crack the case. With a deck of cards, hidden clue documents, and use of the actual Internet, you'll dive into a choose-your-own-adventure experience. You'll explore realistic locations, encounter suspects, and decide how to handle each situation, earning points along the way. The game keeps you on your toes with complex puzzles and escape room elements. Set in the gritty mafia world of modern-day New York, your job is to find the mole responsible for the godfather’s son's death. Whether you play it straight or get a bit rough to get the info you need, the choice is yours. Vendetta really ups the immersion by using real-world tools like Google Maps and Wikipedia. You'll send emails, visit detailed web pages, and make mobile/cell phone calls. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays! How To Set Up Masters of Crime: Vendetta Open the box and take out the first card. That's it! oh, you may want to grab a pen. How To Play Masters of Crime: Vendetta Turn over the first card and start to read it. Ideally, have a phone nearby. Simple, aye?! You will read through various cards, look at pictures, and ultimately try to solve the case. At the end, it will tell you specifically what questions you need to answer, and where to go to input your answers. It is all very clear and straightforward. The game will guide you. Is It Fun? Masters of Crime: Vendetta Board Game Review Vendetta is a tantalising crime game where you delve into the seedy underbelly of the city, solving intricate puzzles either on your own or with a band of fellow sleuths. You’ll traverse various locales, piecing together clues that twist and turn the storyline in unexpected ways. Each choice you make alters the course of the game, ensuring no two experiences are the same. Keep your smartphone handy—you’ll need to dig up online intel to crack the case. That said, it feels more like a one-shot murder mystery game. Although, perhaps over time I will want o go back and try it again. I have heard it likened a lot to a card game version of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, although I have not played that game myself. But it certainly seems true from what I experienced here, and had read about the other game. It offers an intriguing and accessible experience with a touch of online media integration to keep things fresh. However, the box suggest it is for 16 plus due to mature content, which I would agree with, so you may want to be wary of that. Venues and content such as Strips clubs are included. The execution of the story and puzzles though is commendable, although there were a few moments where it felt a bit confusing, but I was never lost for long. Vendetta's theme hooks you from the start, with a storyline as rich and dark as New York’s finest espresso. The simply crafted illustrations pull you deeper into the narrative but seem more like a still from a video game. But they work well with the theme and do look good. The key to the success of this experience is that every decision feels consequential, shaping the unfolding events and keeping you on your toes. I never felt like anything didn't matter or wouldn't affect our outcome in the game. It is all brilliantly linked. I would recommend this to anyone seeking a straightforward crime-based murder mystery-style game. It took us about 3.5 hours over two sessions to complete. I plan to keep it on the shelves, perhaps revisiting it in a year or two with a different group. Hopefully, by then, I'll have forgotten most of the story - my age and the number of games played should help with that!

Belratti WBG Score: 7.5 Player Count: 3-8 You’ll like this if you like: Codenames, Decrypto, Turing Published by: KOSMOS Designed by: Michael Loth This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Party games need to be easy to learn and teach, quick and fast to play, engaging throughout, and most importantly, fun! Belratti excels in all these aspects, delivering a high level of enjoyment along with a good amount of strategy and thought. Players will be engrossed from the very first turn, and the changing roles keep the game fresh. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Belratti Place the five joker cards in the middle of the table, with the Belratti card above them. Shuffle the picture cards thoroughly and deal them face down to the players. The number of cards each player receives depends on the number of players. For 3 players, deal18 cards each. 4-5 players, 9 cards each. And with 6-7 players deal 6 cards each. Place the remaining cards face down as a draw pile. Next, distribute the character cards. Based on the number of players, distribute the Cat cards (museum managers) and the Owl cards (painters) as follows: Two Cat and One Owl for three players. Two and Two with four. Three and two with five. Three each with six. And Four Cats and three owls with seven players. Don't worry too much about who gets which role. After each turn all players will pass all character cards clockwise. Throughout the game, each player will assume each role multiple times. You are now ready to play. How To Play Belratti The game plays out over four phases. In the first phase the players playing as the Cat, the Museum Managers draw the top two cards from the draw pile and place them onto the table as the theme cards for this round. These cards represents the style of painting the museum directors are looking for when it comes to adding new work to the museum this round. Then, based on these two pictures and their apparent ease/difficulty, the museum directors will now ask for a number of paintings to be offered from the other players, ranging between three and seven. They can discuss the number of required picture cards but they are not allowed to talk about the themes specifically. In the next phase, the players playing as the Painters now must choose their pictures, based on the total quantity requested in the previous round. Painters are looking to select picture cards from their own hand that match the style of the two theme cards. They must agree on who places how many cards, ensuring the total meets the managers' demand. When their selections have been made, place them all face down into one pile. Then, additionally, four 'fake' picture cards are randomly added from the draw pile to the painters' selections. These are shuffled into one deck. In phase three, the selected paintings are revealed face up to all players. The Painters need to try and remember which cards they played, and which theme they are linked to. But do not say or reveal anything yet! the Museum Managers now need to equip the Museum by selecting the right pictures. The museum managers can openly discuss their thoughts and must assign their chosen cards to the two theme cards. Their goal is to identify the painters' cards and sort out the fakes. The quantity of which of course was chosen by them in the first round. Now, in phase four, the painters reveal which cards they played. Points are awarded for correctly assigned cards and deducted for fakes. Correct cards go to the team's point pile, while incorrect cards and fakes are placed on the discard pile. For the next round, painters refill their hand cards to the original number from the draw pile. Character cards are passed clockwise. Two new theme cards are drawn and revealed and the next round begins. The Joker cards can be used by both museum managers and painters for special actions. The Museum Manager Actions allows the player to either question if a picture card belongs to a painter or not, or exchange theme cards if they don't like the options available to them. The Painter Actions allows the players to swap any number of picture cards from their hand with new ones from the draw pile, add one less fake picture to the pile in phase two, or change the required number of picture cards by one, either up or down, based on the cards they have available to them. The game ends if six or more cards are on the Belratti deck after a round. To determine the final score, count the picture cards in the team's deck. Achieving fifteen points or more means victory over Belratti. Your score can then be tallied to the score chart n the rule book. Over 30 is the best achievement. There are different levels from zero and up! There are a number of variants in the rules that allow you to adjust the difficulty of the game, or simply to play the game faster. Is It Fun? Belratti Board Game Review This game is an absolute blast. Sometimes, you’ll have the perfect cards and feel like a mastermind—powerful, clever, and indispensable. Other times, it can be more challenging and even a bit maddening. If the thought of this kind of game makes you want to flip the table, it might not be for you. But if you relish the mental gymnastics of making one seemingly random item connect to another, you’re in for a treat with this little box of delights. There are a few games that dabble in similar mechanics, but Belratti was among the pioneers and remains one of the best. It delivers a delightful package with simple rules, an intriguing theme, charming artwork, and joker cards that spice up the gameplay. It’s a game that’s as much about strategy as it is about outsmarting your friends, with a sprinkle of chaos for good measure. I highly recommend this game to anyone seeking a new party game for three to seven players. It’s a breeze to learn, teach, and play in just minutes, offering lively and entertaining debates while giving players of all skill levels a chance to cooperate. It's perfect for all ages and abilities, with rotating roles ensuring everyone stays engaged. Plus, since everything is out in the open, there’s no need for bluffing or lying. The cards do all the heavy lifting, so no showmanship is required. This truly is the ideal party game for every personality type.

Sand WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1-4 You’ll like this if you like: Venice, Horrified. Published by: Devir Designed by: Ariel Di Costanzo, Javier Pelizzari This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Pick-up-and-deliver games often suffer from a poor reputation, likely due to the simplistic and luck-driven mechanics many of us encountered in our childhood games. These early examples typically followed a basic formula: roll the dice, move, do something, and repeat. This repetitive pattern, heavily reliant on chance, quickly lost its appeal. However, in today's world of innovative game design, the potential for a sophisticated pick-up-and-deliver game is much greater. Indeed, some modern games, such as Clank! and Pandemic, incorporate this mechanic alongside others, demonstrating its versatility. Venice, in particular, stands out as a strong example of a game that primarily relies on the pick-up-and-deliver mechanic, showing that it can still be engaging. Despite these examples, no game has truly revolutionised the pick-up-and-deliver mechanic or achieved significant acclaim solely on that basis. Could Sand be the game to change that? Let's bring it to the table and see how it performs. How To Set Up Sand First, place the game board within reach of all players. Then separate the Mission cards by day and shuffle each deck. For four players, return the last workday deck to the box. Take as many cards as the number of players plus one from each deck, then stack these cards from last workday to first. Now reveal the first workday cards and arrange them numerically from highest to lowest value to the right of the deck. Then place the four Specialisation Seals on the game board. Next, set aside four white cubes and each player takes one. Do the same with the black, red, blue, and grey cubes. These are your indicator cubes used on your player mat. Put the remaining 20 cubes that match the plant colours (blue, red, white, and black) in the bag and leave the rest of the pastel coloured cubes next to the game board as a common reserve. Now draw cubes, called 'Boxes' from the bag randomly, and place one in each space of the cities. Then separate the Camp tiles by colour. Place the blue tiles closest to the sea face up, and the grey ones closest to the mountains. On each tile, place two Minor Tribe tokens (value one on the bottom and value two on top). Now set up the dice stand near the board, place the dice next to it, and keep the money within reach of the players. For your first game you will need to build this. Each player now chooses a colour to play as and takes their player board, and a helper card and pieces in their colour. Place your Desert Worm in the port space of the main board and your track indicator cubes on to your player mat. The: blue on 15 space of the Hydration Track, red on 15 of the Food Track, and grey on 10 of the Health Track. The maximum spots. Then place your white and black cubes on the 0 space of the Prayer and Prestige Tracks. Each player also takes five coins of value one and places it onto their mat. Now place your four Action tokens face down in your Action Pool and cover the first space of your Actions Used section with the Action Section Blocked tile. Place your Shelter and six Song tokens in their corresponding spaces on your player mat. Place Companion tiles face down in the designated spaces on the right of the mat and place the Worm tile in its space, showing the basic side. Next, randomly place Turn markers on the game board. Players going second, third, or fourth get the indicated Prestige reward on their mats. Now shuffle and place a number of Desert Traveller tiles equal to the number of players plus one on the table. In reverse turn order, each player picks one tile and places it on their player board, showing the ability. Return the rest to the box. If you prefer you can place these the reverse side to remove any asymmetric powers, or create a more simple game. The first player now rolls the dice (rerolling all once if desired), and places them on the dice stand, and takes the first turn. How To Play Sand Players will now take turns moving their action tokens down to the spaces below to show which actions they want to take. This is the only tricky part about teaching the game, but once players get it, the rest will flow nicely. The rulebook does not do a great job for this part, so I recommend just reading the below! Hopefully it makes more sense. At the start of the game, all players have the opportunity to take three actions for each phase of the game. There are a number of rounds, tracked by the Mission cards, and three phases in each round: Morning, Day, and Night. In each phase, you can carry out all your available actions one at a time, in turn order. For example, if you have three actions, you will take them one at a time in order, then move the tracker to Day, do the same, then to Night, and repeat one final time. This totals nine actions throughout the day/round. The round will then end, an upkeep phase will occur, and you will continue until the Mission cards run out, at which point final scoring will take place. Once all players have chosen which actions they want to take by moving the action tokens down to cover the spaces below, players take turns doing one action, moving one action token back up until all players have exhausted all available actions. The action tokens relate to the dice. So if the blue die is a five, the blue action token gives you an action with the power of five. Actions relate to the dice colour, number, both, or neither. It depends on the action. Here are the main actions: Move - This action can use any colour die; the number is key. Based on the current level of your worm, your worm card will show you how many pips on a die and resources you need to move through the three pathways available to you. Simply choose where you want to move, pay the associated cost, and move one space. At the start, movement will cost four or six pips. Any colour die works—just move an action token for a die with at least that many pips. You can use coins or prayer points to supplement any missing pips. If you are short, you cannot move. Load Plants - When you are in a space with unclaimed plants, you can simply pick them up in exchange for any action token that matches the colour of the plant. The plant is then added to your player board, filling one of the spaces where the action token just moved from. This will limit your number of available actions until you drop off this good. Timing here is crucial. Deliver Goods - When you're in a space with a matching coloured good in the top left or bottom right to any good you currently hold in an action space, you can deliver that good. This part is where the fun really kicks in! Strap in! First, take the good you're delivering and check if it matches the colour in the top left or bottom right. If it's in the top left, you'll score maximum points for this item, as shown on the bottom indicator on your player mat—the plus green symbol score. For a basic good, that's three coins. If it's on the bottom right, you'll score the lower reward—one coin for a basic good. Take the coins and add them to your board. If you're delivering two goods that match an area item shown in the top left, you'll get a bonus reward—one of the six special goods shown. Take the indicated one in this case. If both colors are on the bottom right, you can take one of the top available tribe tokens. This will be used for end-game scoring. If you have any songs on the board (explained later), score one extra coin for each song token you have. Now, add all the goods you've delivered to the appropriate space on your player mat. As you place them, they'll cover symbols that will give you immediate rewards. This could be money, resources, the chance to upgrade your worm, or gain additional support from one of the four travellers you have with you. Finally, you'll also gain coins equal to your current position on the Prestige track, which then resets to zero. Care for your Worm - After spending resources on your board, here's how you get them back. The blue Hydration links to the blue die, the red Food to the red die, and Health to the black and white dice. Simply move up the appropriate coloured action token and gain resources based on the current number of pips on that die. For Health, use both the white and black dice, taking the highest shown number, not both. Pray - Use this resource to add pips to the dice as you use them. Add to it by using the white die. Earn Prestige - This is used to gain extra money when you sell goods as explained above. Gain prestige from the black die. Compose Songs - If you're on a space with a musical symbol on the top right, you can spend any die/action token to add one of your coloured song tokens to this space. If another player's token is there, you can displace it with your own. Then, when delivering goods, you'll gain an additional coin for each token on the board. At the end of the game, you'll score an additional three points for each token you have, if you have the most tokens. The goal of the game is to move around the board, collecting resources, selling them at the most efficient spaces, and upgrading your Worm to do all this more efficiently. Upgrading your worm early to reduce travel costs is crucial, as is managing your resources wisely to avoid running low before you can replenish them. Timing is key—you'll want to collect goods you can deliver in the same day phase to maximize your actions. Holding onto goods means fewer actions available in the next phase, which can be a setback. Once all players have taken their actions and completed all three day phases, they'll choose one of the available Missions to complete in turn order. They'll place their player token on their chosen Mission and either take the top resource, adding it immediately to their player board, or use the bottom end-game scoring mechanic on the card. Players then return their tokens to the turn order tracker, starting with the token furthest right. New mission cards are dealt out, all goods spaces are replenished, the first player will reroll the dice for the next round, and play will continue. In the final round, players will score coins for all completed missions, for having the most songs, and the player with the most tribe tokens will gain an additional 12 coins. During the game, delivering the same coloured good for a fourth time earns you the associated specialization seal. At the end of the game, you'll gain one coin for each good that matches the colour of any seal you possess. The player with the most coins wins. Is It Fun? Sand Board Game Review In the first few games, you might feel frustrated with limited resources, little money, and few options in the initial turns. However, as the game unfolds and you upgrade your abilities and strategies, you'll find yourself accomplishing more with less effort and generating more resources. With this knowledge in later games, you'll approach the early stages more strategically, accelerating your progress and enjoyment. Initially, some players may find the game a bit underwhelming, despite its beautiful art and classic euro mechanics, especially if they start poorly and fall behind. However, subsequent plays are more engaging, balanced, and satisfying. I'd encourage those who've had negative experiences with pick-up-and-deliver games to give this a try. It might just change your perspective on the mechanic, offering a delicate balance between resource management, engine building, and pick-up-and-deliver. The game's tight interconnections and strategic depth make every decision feel crucial, pushing you to maximize efficiency in every action. Sand grips you from the start and leaves you eager for more. It's not just fun; it's about the satisfaction of mastering the game. Unlike many euros where you accept your level, Sand compels you to improve because success feels incredibly rewarding.

Nunatak WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Vaalbara, Published by: KOSMOS Designed by: Kane Klenko This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Some games have an immediate appeal when you see them set up and others enjoying them. I can envision Nunatak being a major hit at conventions this year for that very reason. The large semi-transparent plastic cubes used to build pyramids give it a visually appealing and fun look, even before considering the rules, mechanics, and strategy. But is it any good? Yes, it certainly is. The scoring mechanics alone are fascinating. So, let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Nunatak Before your first game, time for some arts and crafts! Construct the temple dome according to the punch board illustration. Then place this down on the table. Now, assemble the frame parts at the table's centre, ensuring each builder bar faces a player. Then organise the floor tiles into four piles by their numbered backs (1, 2, 3, 4) and shuffle each pile separately. Randomly place the 25 level1 floor tiles face down in a 5x5 layout within the frame. Stack the remaining three piles face down, creating a single stack: stack 4 beside the game board, stack 3 atop stack 4, and stack 2 atop stack 3. Similarly, sort building cards into four piles by their numbered backs (1, 2, 3, 4) and shuffle each pile individually. Place the stacks face down, with stack 1 atop and stack 4 beneath. Position this draw pile beside the game board. Reveal the top four building cards, placing them face up nearby to form the display. Shuffle the blessing cards and place them face down near the game schedule. Reveal the top two blessing cards, positioning them face up next to the deck. Finally, each player takes a player sheet and selects a colour and takes the18 ice blocks, 100/200 score marker and two marker stones in that colour. if you are playing a two player game, both players will also take half of the blocks of one other colour as well. Each player now places one marker on the zero space of the score track and the other on the first space of your builder track closest to them. You are now ready to play. How To Play Nunatak Players will now take turns selecting one of the face-up building cards and placing one of their ice blocks onto a matching space on the board. Each card displays one of the matching symbols on the tiles on the main board, determining where you can place your blocks. The builder card also allows you to swap the positions of two floor tiles. The Elder card lets you choose one of the face-up blessing cards. Once a 2x2 space on the board is completed, place the next tile in the stack on top of it. You can now build onto this secondary level. There will be four building levels in the game. When you do this, the player with the most blocks in this 2x2 formation will score five points. In case of a tie, the player whose turn it is wins. The player with the second most will score two points. Ties result in players sharing the points, with each receiving one point. When you place a block onto another level, you will score one point for each of the four blocks below it that is your own color. Completing a row or column allows you to move your marker on the architect track by one space, linked with the architect building cards and affecting your final score. Some building cards show two images. You can pick the one that works best for you. When you take a building card, place it into your area and group them accordingly. This way, you will know how many of each you have, important for end-game scoring. The game ends when the fourth level is complete. The player who placed the most tiles on the first level's outer edge can place the Temple cap onto the top of the structure, scoring a bonus seven points. Players now tally up their final points for each group of building cards they acquired. Builder cards earn 20 points for the player with the most cards. Others get two points per card. Sculptor cards score based on total numbers. One card yields three points. Ten cards could score up to 75! Artisan cards offer varied points. Each set earns 10 points, plus two points for every two cards of any type, three eights points for each three, 15 for each four, and 24 for each set of five. Beast of Burden cards' scores multiply by the total symbols on all cards by the number of cards. Architect cards score similarly, multiplying the total cards by the current Architect track level. Elder cards score one point per matching symbol on other cards. For example, two Elder cards with Architect symbols and five Architect cards yield ten points. Each set of each type also scores a ten-point bonus. Points can really escalate! Is It Fun? Nunatak Board Game Review Nunatak is a fast-paced game that will instantly grab you. It's so easy to learn and teach, getting you up and running within minutes. Turns are equally speedy, with just a few choices of which building card to take and where to place it. However, watch out for completing rows, colours, and 2x2 spaces, as well as the scoring metrics when building onto higher levels. It's easy to miss some of the scoring and bonuses this triggers. But here's the interesting part: the game truly comes alive within the scoring mechanism. While it may seem all about the building, Nunatak is a visually stunning game with a deeper focus on scoring. While it's visually stunning during gameplay and after completion, the real essence lies within the scoring. It's essentially a set collection game with elements of area majority, but the big bonuses come from the cards at the end. The blessing cards bring a delightful element of variety to each game. With a total of 20 cards available, you'll typically only acquire 2-6 per game. This means you'll encounter and utilize different ones each time, adding freshness to your gameplay experience. Some of these cards offer intriguing powers and scoring options, both as you play and when you tally up the final points at the end of the game. This combination delivers much more than you might expect. Initially assumed to be a light family game focused on visuals and physical components over strategy and gameplay, Nunatak proves otherwise. With its potential for winning awards, it catches your eye with its looks and delivers a fantastic game experience with its intriguing scoring mechanics. I'd recommend Nunatak to anyone who enjoys set collection games with a visual punch. It could be the standout game of the convention circuit this summer—get ready for your social feeds to be inundated with pictures of people building plastic/ice towers, starting with mine!

The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible WBG Score: 9 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Tiletum, Brass: Birmingham. Published by: Hobby World Designed by: Stan Kordonskiy This is a free review copy. See our review policy here I've come across some varied opinions about this game, and it's important to address them with honesty. While some concerns are rooted in the origins of the publisher, I can empathise with that perspective. However, I struggle to understand criticisms about the lack of tension in the game itself. To be candid, I deliberated whether to review this game. The timing of releasing a game about Ivan The Terrible, particularly by a Russian publisher, may understandably raise eyebrows. Yet, delving into historical context reveals a more nuanced understanding of the figure. While not excusing any wrongdoing, it's worth noting that perceptions may be skewed by mistranslations or misinterpretations of his nickname. Although I believe he did kill his own son! I acknowledge the complexities surrounding supporting businesses from certain regions, especially given ongoing conflicts. However, I firmly believe in separating politics from the product itself. Evaluating a game should be based on its merits alone. It is not the publisher or designers fault for what their country is doing. Therefore, this review will focus solely on the game's mechanics and experience. Ultimately, each individual must decide their stance on the broader political landscape. So, with that said, let's get this to the table and see how this plays. How To Set Up The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible Place the board in the middle of the table and place the Tsar's Favour tokens on the 10, 20, and 30 spots on the Victory Point track. Then shuffle the six Assignment cards and lay out five face up below the Kremlin Chambers, one per Chamber. Place the last one face down nearby. Now, gather up all the Goods pieces and Coin tokens to make a pile by the side of the board and then place the Round Marker on the top on the Round track on the 1550's space. Next, shuffle the Region tokens with the dark background and stack four face down at the bottom of the Round track on the 1580's space, then place four face down with the light and dark background onto the other three round spaces, as well as four face up onto each region on the board. Now, take the Spoils tokens and shuffle them face down, placing as many as needed for your player count face up into the Field of War on the main board: three for two players, five for three players, and six for four players. Stick the rest nearby, face down. Now shuffle the Trade tokens and place ten of them into the round slots on the waterways on the map. The rest can sit next to the board, face down. Then shuffle the Title and Estate decks separately and flip three cards from each deck as a display. If you're playing with just two players, flip two cards from each deck instead. Keep the decks next to their displays for easy access. Now for player setup. Each person takes their chosen colour's components: Player's Pad, Victory Point and Tsar's Favour markers, two Seal tokens, three Boyar pieces, six Building pieces, and ten Warrior pieces. place all these in front of each player. Each player will also take one Grain, Wood, Stone, and three coins from the pool. Placing these on their player boards. Each player will then place their Victory Point Marker onto the 0 space of the Victory Point track. Everybody's Tsar's Favour markers go on the Tsar Favour track on the main board in random order, starting from the top. If you've got three or two players, leave the bottom spaces empty. then pass the First Player token to the player sitting to the left of whoever's Tsar's Favour marker is on the lowest spot. Lastly, shuffle up the Project deck and deal three cards to each player. Take a peek at them, keep one secret, and shuffle the rest back into the deck. Then reveal six cards from the Project deck and lay them out face up as a display. Keep the deck next to the display. Now that everything's set up, let the games begin! How To Play The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible The game plays over four rounds. Each round has two main phases, as well as a clean up phase. In the Planning phase, starting with the first player, players will take it in turns to place one of their three Boyar pieces onto one of the five chambers at the bottom of the board. Each chamber has two actions. The main one everyone can do, and a secondary one shown on the right shaded in yellow that only the player who bids the most coin in each round can do. Ties are broken by the player higher on the Tsar's favour. Players place money with their Boyars as they place them, and cannot add or remove money after they have been placed. But you only spend the money if you are the winning bidder. All other players get their money back, but then do not get to carry out the secondary action. Once all players have placed all of their Boyars, play moves to the Action phase. Here, starting with the first player, players will take it in turns to move one Boyar from the chamber they placed it in during the Planning phase, down to the bottom area of the chamber to carry out the main action. Then if they were the highest bidder, they will add one of their two seals to the room and carry out the secondary action too. They will then move their Boyar onto the main board to a City matching the colour shown on the Assignment card below the Chamber. Unless the Assignment cards shows an 'X', in which case you will simply gain one coin, and if you have the secondary action, increase your space on the Tsar favour track, . The first Chamber lets you gain resources from three cities you have a presence in. The resource for each city is shown under the city's name on the main board. Then, if you have the secondary action, you can gain the benefits of one of these three cities for a second time. The second Chamber lets you add Warriors from your resources onto the board, into a city you currently have a presence in. Alternatively, you can move a Warrior from one city to another. If they pass through a Waterway with a Trade token on it, you can then carry out one of the Waterway actions on your Player board. Flip this token, adding it to your player board, and carry out the action it shows on the reverse. If your Trade token slots are filled, replace a previous token. The secondary action here lets you do this three times instead of two. The third Chamber lets you claim a new Project card or fulfil a previously claimed card. You can do this two times, or three if you have the secondary action. Project cards are fulfilled by paying the resources shown on the left. Then you gain the points shown on the right, and then one of three things happens. First, you can add a building onto the board in an area where you already have a presence but no other building. Second, you could add a Warrior to the Field of War, taking one of the face-up tokens and claiming its benefit. Or third, you could carry out two Trade actions from the available ones on your player board. The fourth Chamber allows you to swap any two goods with any one good. You can also claim one of the harder-to-attain Foreign goods, and a second one if you have the secondary action. In the fifth Chamber, you can take one of the face-up Estate or Title cards, and a second one if you have the Secondary action. It's crucial to plan ahead and decide what you want to do, then carry out your actions accordingly to build your presence on the map, fulfil Projects, and earn points. Players then score based on each of the four areas on the board. The player with the most influence gets the first pick of the two benefits for each area, while the player with the second-highest influence can take the other one. Influence is determined by players' Warriors, which give you one influence, and buildings and Boyars, which give you two influence each. In a two-player game, there is no second place for this, but the winning player must be ahead in influence by more than that area's scoring potential. Otherwise, the other player can choose which benefit the winning player gets. It's a nice little twist for the two-player version. After all players have carried out the actions of their placed Boyars, refresh all Estate, Title, and Project cards, replace the four area scoring tiles, and ask each player to return all their Boyars and seals back to their supply. Finally, the Assignment cards are shuffled, including the one Assignment card not used that round, and five more are placed face up below each Chamber. Move the round marker down one space and start the next round. At the end of the second and fourth rounds, there is additional scoring for any Title cards players have at these points, as well as for the player with the most favour and the player with the most Warriors in the Field of War. In the second round, all players get any Warriors in the Field of War back at this point. Otherwise, they stay there for the rest of the game. After the second round, any Trade spaces without a Token have their space refreshed; any Tsar Favour tokens not claimed on the points track are removed, and then the game will continue. After the fourth round, players will also score points based on any leftover resources at a ratio of 2:1 for Foreign goods and 3:1 for normal goods and coins. At any point during the game, on a player's turn, players can also carry out free actions. These may come from cards they have acquired during the game or the actions shown on their player board. These actions let players exchange goods/money for other goods/money, rearrange Trade Tokens on their board, or discard Trade tokens for Project cards. After the fourth round, the player with the most points wins the game. Is It Fun? The First Tsar: Ivan The Terrible Board Game Review This game is absolutely fantastic. From the midpoint of my first round, I was completely hooked. Every choice feels crucial, every move significant. You're constantly considering your opponents' actions and potential moves. You're strategising about which areas of the main board to control by the round's end and how to counter your opponents' strategies. Your brain is working overtime from the get-go to maximize your efficiency. With only 12 turns in the game, there's a lot to accomplish, and some turns may take a while as you weigh your options. However, this doesn't slow down the game. While you're thinking, so are your opponents. I've encountered minimal frustration from slow play, although it could be an issue for some. Overall, the game maintains a brisk pace, with turns themselves being quick—it's just the thoughtful decision-making that may frustrate. Visually, the game is stunning. The artwork is meticulously crafted, and the symbology are clear and straightforward. The rulebook even includes a helpful guide on the back for new players, making everything easy to understand right from the start. The theme of this game is fairly abstract. It's an economic, resource management Euro game with contract fulfillment. Throughout my gameplay, I never once felt like I was in a specific country or acting as a particular person. The era didn't even cross my mind. Instead, it felt like a crunchy strategy game where efficiency was key, targeting specific point combinations by aligning everything with my overall game plan. For instance, coordinating Project, Title, and Estate cards that complement each other—like cards that reward points for completing each type of Project—and then collecting and completing those projects while ensuring I had the right cards to generate the necessary resources all seemed straightforward. But discovering those combinations in the game, acquiring them, and executing them was incredibly satisfying. I would recommend this game to any fan of economic Euro games who isn't deterred by or is even attracted to the abstract theme. As I mentioned in my introduction, this is a personal preference. I might not have initially chosen this game if I were browsing for a new one. However, after playing it multiple times, I'm delighted to have it in my collection because it strikes the perfect balance of weight, game length, and strategy to fit right into my personal sweet spot. It also works very well as a two-player game, which some Euros struggle with, delivering an engaging experience that remains tight and competitive until the end.

Brass: Birmingham WBG Score: 9/10 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Great Western Trail, Scythe, Concordia Published by: Roxley Designed by: Gavan Brown, Matt Tolman, Martin Wallace Wow! What a game this is. Currently placed at three on Board Game Geeks overall ranking charts, Brass: Birmingham is a big hitter, for that there is no doubt. But does it deserve to be? In short, yes. It really does! Published in 2018, Brass Birmingham builds on previous smash, Brass: Lancashire. Lancashire was first published in 2007 and is a brilliant game in its own right. I wont go into the differences between the two games here as it has been discussed many times and way better that I can do justice, but if you are interested, there is a fantastic summery here. But in short, Brass: Birmingham is the more popular game now according to Board Game Geek. However both have very high ratings and reviews and many fans, rightly so. In this review, I will focus on Birmingham as that is the copy I own and have played, and in a very short time, absolutely fallen in love with. I first played this game with my son. He is Eight. I did this for a few reasons. Mainly, I wanted to quickly learn the game before playing with some friends. I find playing is the best way to learn complex games. I also wanted to play it as soon as humanly possible and my son was available! But lastly, I wanted to test the game on an eight-year-old. Could a game with a weight of 3.9 be taught and enjoyed to a younger gamer? The answer was a resounding yes, despite my own misinterpretation on the rule around turns, that I did not correct until a later game with other rule book reading adults that weekend. But following games with my son have proved without doubt, this game is teachable and can be enjoyed with an eight-year-old. Admittedly my son has the advantage of playing daily games with my wife and me, so knows modern games well. But it’s certainly possible. So, let’s get into it. Why is Brass: Birmingham so good? (Known hence forward in this review for simplicity as simply Brass). This is something I have spent a lot of time thinking and discussing with friends. There is no doubt this is an excellent game and deserves to be rated as highly as it is. The question I will try to answer in this review is why. I have broken it down into five simple things. Bragging Rights Learning and playing a more complex game is satisfying. Winning a hard game is even more fun and feels great! This is a simple point, but it is an important one. Everyone I have played this game with has said they have really enjoyed it, more so than most games. And this is not just because it’s good; but because it’s hard. And they did it. They got through it. The process of learning, getting confused, then everything clicking and finally understanding Brass is a wonderful experience. One generally quickly shared on social media afterwards I have found! There is often a sense of “I made it!” And time for me is now gauged in BB and AB. Before and after knowing and understanding Brass! Life used to be so grey… Rich Gameplay There is a lot to this game. It feels deep in strategy, variety, and options. This could be said about many games, but it seems to have another level in Brass. There is a layer of something that I can’t quite put my finger on, that is present in this game that makes it feel special. The best way I can describe is by saying that when you play this game you feel fully present at all times. It absorbs you in ways that some other games can’t, or in truth, don’t need to. This doesn’t mean it’s really hard! Although its certainly on the more complex end of learning and understanding. (More on that later) Or that it demands your full focus for hours on end in a time sapping way. But it does make you want to stay focused and in the game. Your focus will naturally rest on your strategy and the board. Not because you have to, but because you will want to. This feeling of connection is highly rewarding. The game is staged over two distinct periods. Set over a 100 year period during the English Industrial revolution, the first part of the game runs between 1770 and 1820. A time when Barges flowed between towns and cities, delivering Coal and Iron. Placing your own Barges is crucial for your network and connections during this phase and scoring afterwards. Once this period has run its course, all first level buildings and barges are scored and removed, as the technology moves on. The second phase, set between 1820 and 1870 introduces a few new rules around building placement and Trains replace the Barges. Your power to enact more intricate and cascading turns greatly enhances and the sense of progression in the gameplay is highly rewarding. I love a mid-game switch like this. The way it is done in Brass is so intrinsically linked with the theme. It feels natural, but also very exciting, and is elegantly woken into the mechanics and flow of the game. I also love mid-game scoring. Knowing how I am doing against the other players, and assessing my situation relative to their scores in deeply satisfying to me. It helps set up the tension for the second part in a way that wouldn’t be as present were you less aware on the scores. Analysis Paralysis Sure, this is not generally seen a great thing in board games! And in truth, its not great here either. But what I would say is this. If a preceding player is taking some time to think out a move, then you too can think out your move. Sometimes, you may be itching to just take your turn, and playing as an experienced player with new people could be frustrating. But sometimes, a little more time yourself to weigh up the options can be a good thing. Also, and this is a key point, there are only ever a certain number of things you can do in this game. It’s not always obvious which one you should do, or how best you should deploy your chosen option; but the choices are not as daunting as other games. The A.P. in this game comes more from not understanding the strategy than the variety of choices. Once this understanding comes, I find games flow a lot quicker. Any game that has A.P issues no matter the players or experience can cause some frustration. But from my experience with Brass, the A.P. fades in game the later half of the game for most players. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Win or lose, scoring well in this game is satisfying. Developing a strategy that works, seeing your progression through the game and enacting combination turns is a richly rewarding experience. More complex games; certainly the ones on the longer side, can lead to players walking away feeling dissatisfied, if after all that time, they don’t win. Whereas with Brass, each time I have played, every player, win or lose has spoken very highly of the game and their experience with it. In fact, after five games, I personally still had not won! (The sixth game was a rout though!) There is a lot of joy in winning, do not get me wrong, but just experiencing and playing this game is fun. Playing badly is frustrating for sure. But you will still have learnt something about your strategy and enjoyed the deep experience. There are some longer or more complex games that can be a little hit and miss depending on the outcome for you personally or the atmosphere at the table. For Bass, I find both of these variables have less of an impact. The winning I have covered, the atmosphere I will talk more on now. And it is an important point. So may games, you will hear reviewers say that with the right people this game will be a lot of fun. Well, what are the right sort of people and where can I find them?! I get that Cosmic Encounter can be brilliant. It’s in my personal top 10 for a reason, but I wont play with certain people as the game wont be as fun, and way longer too! Brass on the other hand I will play with anyone who want to. I love teaching it. I love playing it. I love winning and losing at it. It’s just such a brilliant experience that other players cannot affect it in a negative way like other games. Perhaps as the game is a little more insular, and there is no real negotiating or trading that other players can affect. But I think more simply as Brass is just so good! Supply & Demand In the game, the main resources are Beer, Iron and Coal. When you acquire Coal or Iron by building a Coal mine or Iron work, you can sell it straight back to the board if there are spaces available market. Being able to do this is a wonderful thing. Instantly clearing your resources from your recently built tiles, as the supply is low and demand is high and (for the case of Coal) your connections have been built, is a great feeling. But if this was possible every turn, or early on in the game, it would not feel as rewarding when it happens. The challenge here, is to develop the right options and being able to enact them at the right time. I won’t cover the rules fully here, for now, I just want to discuss this delicate balance. There are times when certain resources will be plentiful and highly accessible on the board. There are other times when the exact opposite in the case. The genius in this in Brass, is the speed of this swing. Sure, this can a feel a little luck based if you get to sell high and buy low all the time. But generally, if all players are paying attention, you can make your own luck in this game. And a lot of that luck comes from your timing of moves based on the supply and demand of resources. This is a highly rewarding and satisfying part of the strategy in Brass. Brass Tax “This is well and good, but the Rodney Smith video is over 30 minutes Jim!” Ok, sure, learning this game won’t be quick, and the short and rather sparse (for a game of this complexity) rule book defies the deep strategy you need to learn this game in full. But the experience I have had with this game (now I have taught to three separate groups) is that Brass surprisingly simple to understand, and has a bigger learning curve in the strategy to the rules. The rule book is simple, but very good. Read that and watch a video and you will be fine. The only thing I fell down on was the process of what made up a turn, but with this aside, I was able to then teach this in under 20 minutes on my fourth game. Players started the game unsure on their strategy for sure, but they knew the rules. This is important as there was definitely some uncertainty from most of the people I played this with (all new to the game) about how easy it would be to grasp. I get that. I felt it too. But the effort is worth it, and crucially, it is not as much as you may fear. Let’s put it into context. Learning Brass is obviously going to be harder than learning a simple card game like Cockroach Poker for example. But it is way less difficult than building a working rocket that could land on the moon. This may sound flippant, but I often think like this when people are dissuaded from trying certain games as they think it may be difficult to learn. Humans have accomplished so much. I am confident my group of friends can learn Brass! It should also me said that Brass is absolutely stunning to look at! The art is sumptuous. The cards are gorgeous. The board, simply stunning. The production throughout is very good and the quality makes it even more of a pleasure to play. There is no insert though, so it all sits loose in bags in the box, but this may be a space and money saving thing. Brass is, first of all, very affordable for its quality and production value. And secondly, very thin! Surprisingly so. The box is your standard Ticket to Ride size, but half the depth. Summery Adding this game to my collection has not only added a modern classic. It has changed my view on many things. Firstly, it has made me think about all the other more complex euros my gaming group could try. I have avoided putting games like this on the table too often for fear of failure. “People may not grasp it as quickly and not want to play games with me again!” This often races through my mind as I chose what to play for a game night. And it did so for Brass most times before I played. Apart from one afternoon with some other gamer friends who I knew would love it too, this is not a game you would often choose lightly for a casual game with mates. But class out ways difficulty. And all my more casual gamer friends have loved this as much as I have, and I will be less intimidated and reluctant with weightier games in the future. Secondly, it has made me think differently about longer games. Often when I have a few hours to play games, I will want to get as many different games in as possible. I love variety and trying new things. Recently, a friend came round to play games, and we happily only played this. We had around 4 hours in total, and after the general chit chat and catching up, all we had time for was Brass. And I loved it! Usually, I would think about the missed opportunity for a few quick games of this or that. But not this time. It was just pure unadulterated Brass joy! And last but not least, I have changed my top 10 board games of all time. This races into the top 10 and sits easily within some other greats I have loved for years. This has the lowest play count of any other game in the top 10 for me, but I am certain that in a few years it will be up there with the most played too. Brass is a fantastic game and one I would encourage anyone to try.

Singapore 1889 WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-5 You’ll like this if you like: Arboretum, 7 Wonders Duel, Sushi Go Published by: Mercat Games Designed by: Steve Ng Wen Xi This is a review copy. See our review policy here Singapore 1889 is from relatively unknown designer Steve Ng Wen Xi. A name, I hope, that will fast become more of a house hold name amongst board game fans. What he has created here with just a few cards is a wonderful experience. There is a delicate balance between everything you do in this game, which suggest to me, that Steve Ng Wen Xi gets it. I am excited to try his others games and see what else comes from Steve, and if he ever looks into something a little more ambitious. I hope so. But with Singapore 1889, we have a beautifully created set collection game with some intriguing scoring. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays. How To Set Up Singapore 1889 Unfold and place the paper River mat into the center of the play area. Then take all the cards and separate them into the nine different types. Choose goods at random equal to the number of players plus one, along with the Opium cards, shuffle these to form a single deck. Place the deck onto the mat and reveal the first four cards onto the mat. This is called the River. Next, take the Secret Society card and place this above the leftmost card on the mat. Each player then takes one good card from the top of the deck, and finally places one good card above the Secret Society card. The first player is then chosen at random, and the player to their right can move the position of the Secret Society card if they wish. You are now ready to start the game. How To Play Singapore 1889 Players will now take turns choosing one card from the four available on the play mat. Any card they take is added to their hand. The game ends when all players have seven good cards in their hand. When a player takes a card this way, they must first carry out the action shown on the bottom of the card. This is different for each good, but all give the players an opportunity to manipulate the game in their favour. Joss Paper lets the players draw two cards from the deck and then place one above the Secret Society card and the other at the bottom of the deck. Cards placed at the top over the Secret Society card like this affect end game scoring. This is called "Seizing," and Seized cards are used to calculate the value of each card in the player's hand at the end of the game. If there is one Joss paper card seized by the end of the game, for example, this means all Joss paper cards in each player's hand are worth one point. However, if there were two seized Joss paper cards, all Joss paper cards are now worth two points. And so on. The opium is worth one point if Seized but reduces by one if reclaimed. This is a point-scoring variant I will come to later. The Porcelain allows players to swap a good from the River with any Seized Good. Salted Fish allows the player who took this card to look at the top card of the deck and then Seize it or place it at the bottom of the deck. Spices do the same, but you take the bottom card of the deck and either Seize it or place it at the top of the deck. Silk lets you put one good card from the River at the bottom of the deck. And Tea lets you swap a good from the River with a good from your hand. When you take a card below the Secret Society card, you must then move the Secret Society card to be positioned above one of the other three cards. After a player has taken a card from the River and carried out that card's actions, they will then refill the River with cards from the top of the deck, and then check to see if there are three or more Marked goods in the River. These are cards with the Union Jack flag symbol on the top left, as shown above. If there are, the card below the Secret Society card is then Seized and placed above the Secret Society card, affecting end game scoring. If this happens, refill the River back to four cards again and then check to see if all players have seven cards in their hands. If they do, the game is over. If not, carry on to the next player. When all players have seven cards, end game scoring takes place. All players reveal their seven cards, placing them face up on the table for all to see. Then each good has its value calculated based on the Seized goods, and each player's final total is calculated. However, there is a very good small variant, where during set up, all players are dealt a merchant card at the start of the game. These cards allow players a new way to score, such as increasing your total score if you have more than three, four, or five of any one good, or increasing the value of each good by one point if you have at least three of them in your hand. There is also one crazy one that lets you win the game, regardless of the other players' scores, so long as your score is between 13 and 22! Players keep these merchant cards secret and only reveal them during final scoring, which can cause some real upsets and surprises! The other variant is a card that is added to the main deck, face down above the card fifth from the bottom. If this card is ever placed onto the River or Seized, then place it to the side of the board and draw another card. But now, the end game scoring completely changes. The Seized goods that are marked with the Union Jack flag are moved to be above this card at the end of the game; these are now known as Reclaimed goods (as mentioned above with the Opium). Any marked goods in players' hands now score two points per copy in the Reclaimed goods. Unmarked cards are worth one point per copy in the Seized goods area. Is It Fun? Singapore 1889 Card Game Review This game is so beautifully constructed. There is a delicate balance between collecting cards that have a high Seize value. But when doing this, you know those cards are less likely to come up in the River, as there are more of them above the Secret Society card, and only so many of each card in the deck. And all other players will be chasing them when they become available in the river. So, do you go for the obvious high-value but rarer card, or collect others, hoping their value increases during the game, knowing they will be less sought after and easier to manipulate? Each game takes around 20 minutes to play, and turns are fast-paced: players take a card, carry out its action, refill the River, then Seize a card if required. That's it. The game flows at a great pace, and you will find the scoring situation changes quickly, especially with more players. Cards you hoped would be the top point earner quickly change as other players manipulate the Seized goods in their favour, against your plans. It's a constant push-and-pull that makes for a lot of fun. The only thing I don't like about this game is the box. It could come in one-half the size, and that would make it so much more portable. It's the perfect game to take to the pub or out to a restaurant. I may have to move it to a little box or bag. I would recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of set collection games and is looking for new, clever ways to score. The theme is interesting, the art is lovely, the rules are simple, but the scoring is oh so delicate and strategic. You will have a lot of fun with this.

Kingdom Rush: Elemental Uprising WBG Score: 8.5 Player Count: 1-4 You’ll like this if you like: Project L, Tiny Towns. Published by: Lucky Duck Games Designed by: Alara Cameron, Helana Hope, Sen-Foong Lim This is a review copy. See our review policy here There are not a lot of Tower Defence games out there. Board games wise I mean. There are thousands of Apps that use this system. But very few that have transferred over to cardboard form. I wonder why that is? Kingdom Rush is one of the more popular modern-day app versions of this system, and they successfully developed a board game version in 2020, with the release of Rift in Time. A million dollars later and just shy of twelve thousand backers, and the team at Lucky Duck thought it was time for a sequel, and now we have Elemental Uprising. But what's changed? Has it gotten better? Was it any good to start with? Let's get it to the table and find out. How To Set Up Kingdom Rush: Elemental Uprising Each scenario has a different setup that you can easily follow in the scenario instructions, but let me take you through the basics. The first thing to do is set up the map for the scenario you are playing. There are a number of smaller and larger tiles that will make up each different level's game board. Piece these together as per the scenario's instructions, along with the exit(s) and starting hordes. There are a number of see-through tiles used to show which player can build on each area; place these on the main tiles as per your player count. Next, set up the hordes that you will be defending against this round. Each scenario will show you quite clearly which cards you need and which stack they will be placed into. Each stack will be numbered so you can clearly identify the order in which they spawn and move as you play the game. Each player will now choose a character to play with, taking the associated player mat, miniature, and any other tokens used for that character as shown on the player mat. Take a player colour marker and place this next to your board as well as a player aid. Now it's time to divide up the available defence towers. Each scenario will have a number of starting towers available to all players. You can decide who starts with what based on the number of players you have and which colour each player is and their available building sites. You may not keep what you start with, so take into account the upgrade process. More on that later. Each scenario will have a variety of other elements rising up. Does the name of this game make sense now? Place these out according to the set-up. Volcanoes, flowers, all sorts. I won't spoil the surprises of the campaign here. Finally, take your starting coins and gems and check your win condition in the scenario guide in the main rulebook. Place all the various damage tokens, separated into their groups and sizes. You are now ready to begin. How To Play Kingdom Rush: Elemental Uprising Each round begins with the hordes on the map moving. However, in the first round, you can skip this. But in later rounds, you will move all surviving hordes forwards one space towards the exit. Some hordes may move twice, based on the symbol shown on the horde card. If they move off the course, you will suffer one heart loss for each surviving fighter on the card. Next is the main phase where players can place down tower cards and move and use their main hero. Players can only place their tower cards on the spaces matching their player color and need to consider the tower's orientation and abilities in comparison to the current location of the hordes on the board. There are four main types of towers, all similar to the mobile app version of the game: Archer Towers - Fire arrows at your enemies. Mage - Perhaps you prefer to send magical bolts their way. Artillery - Or just bomb them? Soldier - Some like to go old school and send in the troops! As you place each tower down, deal the damage they inflict as you go. This is done by placing specific polyomino shapes onto adjacent hordes. Some towers and upgrades have the power to deal damage to any horde, but most of the time you will be working with one or more adjacent tiles. The Tower you are attacking will show you your options for damage; select the matching damage tile and place this however you see fit, position and orientation-wise, on the selected horde. Each horde will have a variety of enemies you must cover with a damage token in order to remove that horde from the board. All hordes come in the same shape of a five-by-five grid, but a vast variety of layout of enemies lie in wait within that grid. Covering each enemy space with a damage tile is the only way to remove that horde from the board. If any enemies remain on a horde, the horde will advance in the next phase. Some enemies are immune to certain attacks, and others require a different form of damage for each space. As in, a four-by-four enemy that needs each of the four spaces that make up its location to be covered by four separate damage tiles. Players work simultaneously during this phase. You can place your towers down as you like, and whenever you see fit. It does not need to be in turn. But it obviously makes sense to work together to make the best use of the towers you have and the locations in which you can build. If you don't play any towers in this phase, you can instead pass them to another player who can then upgrade the tower to the next level, ready to be used on the next round. Each tower has four levels. Not all levels will be available on each scenario, but you will have access to level one, two, and three. The more advanced levels offer more range and increased damage. As the scenarios develop, you will encounter new enemies. Some will trigger certain actions and require specific ways to defeat them. I don't want to spoil too much here. Just know things ramp up in a really engaging, challenging, and interesting way. The game gives you new and interesting ways to level up your own powers though. And this is where the Elemental Uprising of the game's name comes into play. Certain tokens will be placed out during set up for various scenarios that, when triggered, will give you bonuses, extra ways to cause damage, new events, and even ways to unlock new hero abilities. Speaking of which, a huge part of this game is the heroes you play as and the asymmetric abilities they offer. There are five hero characters to choose from, and each brings new attacks and ways to cause damage. The heroes can unlock new abilities as the campaign progresses and will become a pivotal part of your strategy. Each round you can move the hero and activate their attacks to increase the amount of damage they do. The hero itself will count as damage. The enemies they cover on the horde are considered defeated. When you activate your hero, play your hero card from your hand to remind you that you have done it this round. Once you have activated your hero and used or upgraded all your tower cards, you will now remove all fully destroyed horde trays. Simply take them off the board. Any hero on a tray that is being removed receives one damage unless any other powers contradict this, and the horde card is flipped to show what reward is given, generally a coin or gem. Then, any remaining horde trays advance forward towards the nearest exit. Hordes closest to the exit move first. Any hordes blocked by another horde jump one space. Some hordes have double movement and can leap forwards. Watch out for that! Any hordes that manage to break free and escape through the exit will cause you one damage for each enemy still alive on the horde tray. Players will now pick up all their previously placed towers and hero card back into their hand ready for the next round. Players are now free to discuss how best to use any collected gems and coins to buy upgrade mods for their existing towers with the coins, and new towers to add to either player's hand with the gems. The game then resets back to phase one, adding new hordes, drawing the top horde from each stack you placed during setup, and adding it to the nearest position on the board to the spawn point. If another horde blocks their way, move them forward towards the exit to the first free space. The game then continues like this until the end game condition is met. Generally, this is to defeat all the hordes. But in later scenarios, you will have specific targets to defeat, actions to do, or quests to achieve. Again, I won't spoil that here, but it certainly ramps up the difficulty and interest levels! There are 13 scenarios in total to play, and you certainly will need to play more than 13 times to win them all. Is It Fun? Kingdom Rush: Elemental Uprising Board Game Review Let's start with the bad - because there is a lot of good! Set up and tear-down is long and tedious. It's fiddly, there are not enough baggies, storage containers, and your table and box will be a mess. It's annoying and takes a good 20 minutes each time. The rule book is not the best. They try to make it easy with an introduction scenario that has its own separate rule book, which you think will teach you the game if you read it. It does not do this. It teaches you about 75% and makes the rest seem overly confusing. I honestly think I could halve the size of this rule book and do a much better job given a few hours at the editing station! It's a real shame. The solo game is a little lacklustre and feels devoid of any real emotion, character, or thought. Nothing changes really, and I think it needed to. Because celebrating wins on my own in this game felt a little hollow. I think it needed more of a focus. OK, now, with that moan out the way, onto the good. Oh my is this game satisfying! playing the game in a two is wildly enjoyable, and has created multiple moments of tension, joy, genuine cheers! And multiple tough but oh so tasty decisions to make. We got stuck on a few scenarios for a game or two, but then when you finally beat a level it feels great! There was a quick and incredibly rewarding learning curve both in terms of our understanding of the strategy to the game and how to play it well, but also in how the game throws new things at you each scenario. It ramps up perfectly keeping each new game fresh and delicately balanced. No game ever felt easy. No game ever felt impossible. Winning this game always feels great! Losing just makes you want to try again. Getting access to new powers and towers as the scenarios develop is very exciting too. I can see why they don't give them to you earlier on. It would make the game too easy. But also, it is nice to have an improved arsenal when you are up against tougher opposition. It feels you grow in your skills at a perfect pace to the enemies you are up against. The different hero powers are all very interesting too. They feel balanced but varied enough to make trying each one out an exciting proposition. Developing their skills is a lot of fun, and as the scenarios progress, you will feel like a mighty warrior throwing different polyomino shapes down here there ad everywhere! Which brings me nicely to my final point. The tactile feeling of placing the various damage shapes down, and the puzzle of trying to decide where to put each one feels like a separate part of the game each round, but heavily linked to the overall experience. It just absorbs you each round, and when played with another player, creates some genuinely interesting debate. The strategy and tactics are crucial. You cannot just go off on your own throwing arrows. If you are a fan of the mobile version, then certainly give this a try. You need to understand it won't have the same pace as the app. How can it? But the frantic nature of the real-time phone game is replaced by the strategic thinking of the board game version. Both work. Both are excellent. Each offers a different feeling, and you need to be mindful of that if you expect a direct port. But both deliver an enjoyable experience with a strong tower defence theme.

Paper App Dungeon WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 1 You’ll like this if you like: Welcome To Published by: Lucky Duck Games Designed by: Tom Brinton This is a free review copy. See our review policy here Paper App Dungeon first hit Kickstarter in 2021, and was a huge success with over 4,000 backers pledging over $400,000. Which is incredible for what this is. A small notebook, with a pencil. Although back then, you did get a dice as well to be fair! I think the success can be put down to a few things. Modern board games are amazing. But some of them are huge and very complex. Sometimes you want something small and light. But still fun. Paper App Dungeon delivers this. I, like many others, also crave portability. I love playing games. But it's hard to set up Star Wars Rebellion on the bus. Games that offer complete portability, both in terms of size, but also playing area required are very few and far between. And even then, you still need a flat surface to play on. Paper App Dungeon is its own playing surface. And now, with the D6 pencil, you can simply roll the pencil onto the notebook and play from there. Lets get it to the table and see how it plays. This is going to be quick! How To Set Up Paper App Dungeon Open the notebook to page one and take the pencil. You are now ready to go!! How To Play Paper App Dungeon Turn to the first map. Each notebook comes with 44 randomly generated maps. So, each book is completely unique. Find the smiley face on the map. This is your starting point. Then roll the pencil. The pencil has six sides, just like a D6. Whichever side is lands on is how many spaces you can move. Roll an odd number as you have to move diagonally. Roll an even number and you have to move orthogonally. You must use your full movement and do so in a straight line. If you hit a wall, simply turn directions. Try to avoid going over a pathway you have already gone on. As you go, draw a line to show your path. Your goal is to reach the stairway, your exit to the next map in the book. But along the way, you will want to collect extra health by going over hearts, and extra money, by going over coins. There are treasure chests which will contain the value of whatever you roll with the D6 pencil when you go over it, as well as mystery health, which again will give you the health shown on whatever you roll that turn. So far, so simple. But watch out for monsters that will take your health away, either by the amount shown on their, or again, for whatever you roll when you go over them. As well as spider webs that will take away coins equal to the value of the roll. There are also locked doors that you can only go through by gaining a key, and portals that transports you around the board. You record you gained and lost health and money as you go, and then record your final tally on the map itself. If you fall to zero health then note a death on the final page and restart the next level with 10 health again. You cannot go over ten health at the start, but every now and then you will come across a shop. This is where you spend your coins. Some shops sell items that allow you to increase your maximum health. Play through all levels and note your final health, coins and number of deaths on the final page. That's it! Is It Fun? Paper App Dungeon Pocket Game Review This is a crazy game. Each map takes around one to two minutes to complete. As they are randomly generated, some maps make no sense. You could find yourself heading monster-free, easily towards the exit sometimes. Other times, you will be stuck behind a wall of death, with no obvious pathway to safety. It's cool they are made this way. Each book you buy would be unique, and offer new maps. But it does mean some maps are better thought out that others. Because, there is no thought! (Sorry to any future all powerful AI that I just upset) Also, as this is a dice rolling game... well, pencil rolling, you can sometimes be wandering around, going anywhere but the direction you want. But this is not frustrating or annoying. It's hilarious. The game is small. The game is quick. The game is easy. You cannot take it too seriously. And the consequences of winning and losing are both equally small. But it is so addictive. As it is quick, easy, and fun, you just want to keep coming back for more. The minimum times I have played in a row so far was four. And that was because my son ripped it out of my hands after watching me, and played himself! Paper App Dungeon is the perfect portable game to play on the go, on your own, when you have no space, no time, but want to play. For what it is, this is a ten out of ten game. The shop that pops up every four or five maps is a welcome break. It offers some cool powers, and they change as you play through the game. It's fun to do new things with them, in what is otherwise, a slightly repetitive game. But this repetition in this game is welcome. It feels familiar each time. Which for a quick game you play on the move feels right. I would recommend this game to anyone. Just go buy it. You will pop it into your pocket or bag and play through it on the plane, train, or when out waiting for friends to turn up. It's so portable, quick, and fun, you will fly through the book and I cannot see how this game doesn't work for any person in any environment.

This is a prototype version of the game and does not represent the final quality or look of the game. Every so often, a new game emerges that utterly captivates you. Sometimes, it's a release from a renowned publisher or designer that you've eagerly awaited for months, even years. You've followed every development closely, from design diaries to early glimpses. You've devoured "how to play" videos on YouTube. Other times, it's a complete surprise—a stranger reaching out with an offer to try their unknown game, and it's not just impressive; it's mind-blowing. In truth, as I played it this weekend in my conservatory, the heat led me to voluntarily shed my socks to regulate my body temperature. But I'm almost certain that even if I had left them on, they would have been figuratively blown off by the sheer impact of the experience. This game is awesome. The game is a giant tech-tree-building, territory-controlling, card-playing, race game. It looks epic. It feels epic. It plays epic. The full version will play up to six players. This early pre-release version is up to four. But even in two, the game feels tense, combative, enthralling, and just simply put, very, very good. The game is essentially a race to build three or more Refuge by the end of the fifth round. Each player starts with one Refuge site and four force tokens. These are essentially level one troops. You need to get eight troops onto a hex not adjacent to any other Refuge sites in order to build another Refuge. Players start with two Zealots on their own player board. These are your workers in which you can carry out the various actions. There are two ways to play the game: the basic or advanced. In the basic version, your choices of actions are significantly reduced making it a perfect learning game. But we went straight into the full game as it looked too darn exciting! The main actions are: Move your troops on the board and gain the resource of the hex they finish on. Add more troops, either four onto a refuge, or six around it and one on it. Double the amount of troops on one hex. Flip over a neighbouring tile to a Refuge you control to gain three times the value of that hex's resources, either something called Soylent or Desolene, and gain a Mangled Zealot. This is a worker you can use for one round before they become exhausted. You can also upgrade your Refuge to gain an additional permanent Zealot. Construct Fabrication which increases the yield of your Refuge. Develop one of your many tech trees to make your actions better. Gain P.A.T.Z.E.R. tokens which can be used to develop your tech. Or build a new Refuge. You can do as many actions as you have Zealots, so getting more by upgrading is crucial. As such, we found the game to have a delicious build. Rounds one to three build slowly as you develop your tech and Refuge. But round four and five explode with some truly amazing turns. In the early games, I felt I was way behind and was never going to get close to building my third Refuge, but on each occasion, it happened with time to spare, and on most occasions, with time and resources to build my fourth and sometimes fifth Refuge as well. This was because we were not fighting much. I think we got into the game so much, we did not focus on each other, instead concentrating on our own development, which is stupidly satisfying. But this led to drawn games. Which technically mean you should keep going until one player pulls ahead. But each time, we stopped, restarted, and tried again. This was because we wanted to learn the game from the beginning and try again to build up more efficiently. However, again, as we did not fight each other, it led to more draws. In later games, we managed to find the balance between fighting and developing your own tech. It is very much like Scythe in this way. In that you don't really want to fight too much as it takes your focus away from your own development. But you need to do it to avoid other players developing at the same place. And the board is tight. As you cannot build next to other Refuge locations, you will quickly run out of convenient locations to build new ones. You may well have to go and destroy another player's to simply gain the building site. Developing your tech is so fun though. And I can see why we were so preoccupied with this in our early games. Perhaps because we were playing mostly in a two, and had only one other player to worry about, it made it easier to do this. But in a three, I still found this was the case. Simply as developing your own abilities, gaining extra Zealot, and thus more turns, is just so fun. The game is a beautifully crafted, delightfully balanced, and wonderfully executed example of what modern board games can do. When you combine interesting mechanics, interesting lore, gorgeous art, and intriguing gameplay, you end up with something special. And that is exactly what has happened here. The board is modular. The tiles slot neatly into cases which can be easily formed as they all snap together with tidy little magnets. This means you can form all sorts of shapes for your game board, and they will not slide around or get knocked out of place as you play. Something that drives me crazy in other games. Well done for this wonderfully solution! The art on the game is simply stunning. The cards are the best example of this, especially the Divine tech cards. Each round, one Divine tech card is revealed, offering game-changing powers for the first player who is able to buy this. They are great cards to acquire, but very hard to do so. Which is how it should be. So many games get it wrong by either giving you small upgrades only to avoid the game becoming unbalanced. Why not have huge awesome upgrades but make them hard to get so players who do manage to acquire them have to make sacrifices to do so, so other players don't feel bad if they miss out. Fighting is an intriguing aspect of the game. Players tally up their troops on the hex in question, similar to Scythe. They can add extra tech powers they may have previously developed, as well as any Divine Tech cards they had bought. Additionally, players will play one card from their hand, either to boost their battle strength, which will cost them a fighter after the battle, or to weaken their opponent's strength after the fight, but also weaken themselves during. All players start with the same ten battle cards, making it a quick but engaging mini-game that keeps all players invested as they go head-to-head. The winner will then be able to carry out bonus actions, based on their current Refuge level, such as to take troops from your opponent, harvest resources from the hex you just waged war over, or even level their Refuge to the ground! All players then receive a bonus of either a P.A.T.Z.E.R token for the loser, or a R.U.I.N. token (worth four P.A.T.Z.E.R tokens) for the winner. The game runs through multiple phases across five rounds. It seems complicated at first, but most stages fly by. Essentially, you gain resources each round, take actions, then do your best to control the Ecolapse. The final phase where players need to destroy a hex neighboring one of their refuges. Something that can be very frustrating if you need that hex for resources in the next round. But you can avoid this through various powers or simply by paying the most cost in the voting round that precedes the Ecolapse round. But do you dare spend your resources in this way? What will the other players do? How much do you need to risk losing? I cannot wait to play this game in higher player counts, and I am intrigued to see how this game develops. Everything about it has so clearly been crafted with love, attention to detail, and a knowledgeable mind of modern games. I cannot imagine this being anything other than a runaway success.

This is a prototype version of the game and does not represent the final quality or look of the game. Prepare to embark on an epic journey through the realms of Micro Midgard, the latest creation from the publisher behind the critically acclaimed Micro Dojo. Building upon the success of its predecessor, Micro Midgard introduces players to a thrilling Viking-themed adventure, enhanced with layers of complexity that promise to elevate the gameplay to new heights. Drawing inspiration from the same innovative movement mechanic that captivated players in Micro Dojo, Micro Midgard takes this core gameplay element and weaves it seamlessly into the rich tapestry of Norse mythology. As you navigate the vibrant landscapes of Midgard, you'll encounter multiple ways to score points and win the game. Launching soon on Kickstarter, Micro Midgard invites you to join the fray and discover the secrets hidden within its dynamic gameplay and immersive theme. Prepare to unleash your inner Viking and chart a course for glory as you delve into the heart of this captivating tabletop adventure. Check the links below for updates and be among the first to embark on this epic quest into the realms of Micro Midgard! Kickstarter BoardGameGeek Website Instagram Facebook Page Facebook Group The game is launching with three different versions. An envelope edition where the entire game ships as a letter for super low cost shipping (just like the original Micro Dojo). This is the version I have here. A standard version of the game that fits in a pocket. A larger Ragnarok Edition with dual layer boards and deluxe wooden components. The solo mode has been co-designed by Shem Phillips of Garphill Games. But how does it play? The game unfolds over a series of rounds, as players strategically position their characters on one of the four meeples scattered across eight distinct realms. With each move, players transition to an adjacent realm, activating the action(s) specified there. It's a beautifully simple yet intricately designed system that demands careful planning, fosters a delicate balance among players, and prompts strategic foresight with every turn. The available actions offer a spectrum of choices: players can opt to gain a resource, manipulate the movement of a wolf, or embark on a crafting mission. Crafting actions allow players to progress along one of two tracks, while manoeuvring the wolf triggers actions akin to crafting but activates one of two different tracks. As players ascend these tracks, a cascade of possibilities unfolds, igniting a deeply satisfying chain reaction of strategic manoeuvres. At its core, Micro Midgard is a game of resource management, challenging players to optimize their actions, amass essential resources, and leverage gold and mead for maximum point accrual. Additionally, it operates as a race, with the first player to reach nine points declared the victor. Though if no player achieves this feat within a specified number of rounds, victory is awarded to the player with the highest point total. However, in most instances that I have experienced, a player will claim victory long before this contingency arises. While the game boasts portability, particularly in its envelope version that I possess, it lacks a designated storage solution which I fear will mean I put it away and forget about it. While the lack of a box may deter some from displaying it prominently on a shelf, (envelopes are not as pretty as boxes!) it is a commendable choice in terms of sustainability and accessibility. Nevertheless, backers may find themselves drawn to the full boxed version for its enhanced presentation and organisational appeal. Despite its compact size, Micro Midgard belies its complexity, offering players a wealth of strategic depth. Yet, there are moments where options may seem limited, particularly as the game progresses and certain realms are removed during Ragnorok, altering movement dynamics and intensifying the race to accumulate points. This can restrict your movement on the main board to sideways only progression. You can no longer travel inwards towards Midgard. And in certain positions, with players in certain places, you can often be left in a position where you can only move a few directions with your turn, giving you reduced choices as you plan your turns. This is what makes the game great though. This is not a bad thing at all. The game just gets tighter and tighter, and closes in on you as the race to nine points heats up.