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So here it is! The 2021 games of the year. I was going to do a top 10, but I simply could not decide between all these great games, and so you are blessed with 12 beauties this year instead. One for every month! Best Card Game - TEN Best Surprise of the Year - Riverside Best Mid-Weight Game - Furnace Best Solo Game - Rolling Realms Best Party Game - Night of the Ninja Best Roll & Write - Hadrian's Wall Best Heavy Game - Golem Best Adventure Game - The Adventures of Robin Hood Best APP based Game - Destinies Best Family Game - Juicy Fruits Best Euro Game - Tinners' Trail Best Dungeon Crawler - Resident Evil 3 Best Card Game - TEN TEN is a fantastic game. You can read the full review here but if you are looking for a new card game to play with you family then I cannot recommend TEN enough. It is so much fun, plays fast, and can be taught and played with anyone. Best Surprise of the Year - Riverside Riverside was recommended to me by Marie from Burtons Boards when we visited the Essen Spiel this year. I had not heard of it before, and I certainly was not in the market for another roll and write game. But after playing the game at the show with designer Eilif Svensson, I was hooked! The game has a beautiful look, the art on the box is one of my all time favorites! The game itself plays incredibly smoothly and offers some highly satisfying cascading turns, something essential for me in a good roll and write. What makes this game special over other games is the way the game feels like an event. So many roll and writes feel like a mathematical equation to me. Either with a pasted on theme, or no theme at all. In Riverside, I don't feel like I am Captain a ship of tourists, but I do feel immersed in this beautiful snow landscape and fully engrossed in my mission. Best Mid-Weight Game - Furnace Furnace is a stunning game. I love engine builders so that must be said right from the start. But even without my mechanical bias, this is a truly great game. You can read my thoughts here, but I would recommend this game to anyone for any group. Best Solo Game - Rolling Realms Rolling Realms holds a special place in my heart for what designer Jamey Stegmaier did with it during lock down, but even with the sentimentality removed, this game holds up as one of the best solo experiences I have ever had. I enjoy solo games when they are somewhat removed from a big immersive theme. This goes against everything I say about games in a group. But playing solitaire I don't want to have a game do that as it just makes me miss my friends who I would usually share this epic experience with. Alone, I would rather get into the math, strategy and game choices. Rolling Realms does this better than most with a simply stunning solo experience which you can read more about here from the brilliant Mostly Solo, who explains solo games better than most! Best Party Game - Night of the Ninja Night of the Ninja has hit the table for me so many times. As soon as I have a big group I play this game. I don't care if they are gamers or not, this games works with everyone! You can play at home, on the couch, round a table, or in the pub. This game is so versatile and is always brilliant. It looks stunning and just writing about it makes me want to play again. Who is coming round for a game? You can read more about it here in my Brotherwise Games feature. Best Roll & Write - Hadrian's Wall Ok, this is the third roll & write on this list, but they are all just too good to not include, and they all tick slightly different boxes. Hadrian's Wall works well for a solo game just like Rolling Realms, but due to the epic nature of this game, it just feels better to me with others. Where Rolling Realms suits both group or solo play, Hadrian's Wall to me is more about trying to beat other peoples scores, and there are some parts of the game that are affected by other players unlike most roll and writes. As such, Rolling Realms takes the spot for best solo game, and Hadrian's Wall takes the overall top spot for best Roll & Write. But really, they are all fantastic and this was just my way to fit them all onto the top 12. Which lets face it, was supposed to be a top 10 anyway. You can read a little more about this game here at Erlijne's great website. Best Heavy Game - Golem Golem's inclusion in this list may be a little premature as I have only played it a few times, hence it not having a full review here yet. But I just love the game so much from my early plays I feel confident it will stand the test of time and repeat plays. The theme intrigues me. You can watch more about this here. I love the way the board looks. The idea behind some of the mechanics is really interesting, such as the marbles acting as a randomly determined option each turn. The choice of which of the three tracks to work on, and how to best deploy your Golem and Students is a delicately balanced and intriging strategic decision. There are not many turns in this game, but they all feel very important. The game has received some minor criticism for the way it has handled the theme, but personally I think they have done an okay job. They called in a cultural expert and personally I find it intriguing and interesting more than anything else. Maybe my opinion will change on this over time or with more thought. But for now, I am simply left wanting to play again. Best Adventure Game - The Adventures of Robin Hood The story in this game is a lot of fun. The art is simply stunning. The game teaches you how to play it better than any game I have ever experienced before. But what stands out the most is the joy from opening parts of the board up like an advent calendar. There are no two ways about it. That is just a lot of fun! For my full review, head here. Best APP based Game - Destinies I have not reviewed this game yet as I hope to run a feature soon on the use of Apps with games. When that is done I will link that here. I have loved the experience of playing Destinies. It feels so unique in its mechanisms. I have played with my son and solo. Both experiences work very well. This would be my second choice for best solo game and also best adventure game. It feels epic and engaging, but works in a solo for me as the App keeps you focused on the game, not the empty seats around you. The App integration is flawless. It works so well and is integral to the game. You could make this game without it but it would be cumbersome and a lot less exciting. This game shows what can be done with Apps and I think will lead to some very exiting advances in the years to come. Best Family Game - Juicy Fruits Juicy Fruits looks great. It plays great. It is great! I am surprised this game hasn't received more hype. It ticks so many boxes and has some wonderful ways to make it work for different age groups or abilities. It feels incredibly satisfying to play well, and understanding how to do this is a relativity straight forward process. You can read my full review on the game here. Best Euro Game - Tinners' Trail I only backed this on kickstarter because Movin Meeples was so pumped for it! I knew next to nothing about the original or this re-print. But I am so glad I got this. The game scales brilliantly to all player counts, and like any good Euro, makes you heavily invested in moving bits of different coloured wood around and turning them from one type of thing into another. There are a nice amount of mini expansions included with the Kickstarter version to keep the game interesting and I really enjoyed the scoring mechanism. The art on the cards and board is stunning but it did get a little busy near the end of the game. A larger board may have helped here. But overall, this is a brilliant game that I look forward to playing many more times. Best Dungeon Crawler - Resident Evil 3 Resident Evil 3 is a stunning conversion from a video game to a board game. This seems to be happening more and more now-a-days and I for one am delighted about that! This game brings the nostalgic joy of the original PlayStation game to life on the table with such precision and detail. There are so many touches in this game that would make any fan of the original computer game giddy! Whether or not this would work as well for those not familiar with the source material I am not sure. But my son who has never played the PS games loved this! You can read my full thoughts here. Honorable Mentions A game about WEE WHIMSICAL CREATURES and trying to identify them after someone makes noises - This is a fantastic game and has seen so many plays this year! Every person I have played this with has been in hysterics within minutes! Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition - I have only played this game once so I don't feel I can include on my list but I think with more plays it would have made it. A brilliant version of Terraforming Mars that asks the players to make some very interesting decisions. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea - I love this game like I love the original, but as my family doesn't and I have not found any friends interested in playing repeated games of this yet, it just hasn't had enough plays to get to my top 12. You can watch my short video on the game here. Excavation Earth - I only played this once at Essen, hence it not making the list. But I loved it and would like to get a copy for myself. The art is stunning and the complexity of the options available are so brilliant dealt with in the game incredibly smooth game play. Maglev Metro - Another one with only one play, this time at UKGE; but with more plays I think this could have made the top 12. The game looks great, the components are fantastic, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to change your upgrades as you progress through the game and your requirements change. Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor - This game should arrive today! I have it refresh on the tracking email so many times already! I have played online and at Essen in 2019 and am certain this will make next years list despite technically being a 2021 game! Happy City - Such a simple game, but it offers a short, sharp, fun experience that suits all my family. It narrowly misses out by just being a little too simple. But for a quick filler, its great. You can read my full review here. Hit The Silk! - I love this game and it pains me to not have it on my top 12 but with only space for one party game I have to be ruthless. Hit The Silk! would be my second choice for party game this year though and offers more of a full-game feeling that Night of the Ninja which is more just playing round after round. I have certainly laughed more playing this game this year than any other! You can read my full review here. Loading - A crazy real-time card laying game played in large groups. It only misses out as it is not available in the UK yet. nd I don't have a copy yet. And I only played it once. But other that that, its great!! What Next? A beautifully made game that narrowly misses out on my number one family game of the year. We have enjoyed this one so much and I look forward to seeing more expansions for this. You can read my full review here. Games I have not played yet that may have made the list. Sleeping Gods - This game looks amazing and I cannot wait to play it. I did not back the kickstarter and have not got a retail copy yet. But I am so exited to play this soon. Ark Nova - I missed this at Essen as it sold out so fast! I am keen to get this soon and am certain this will win a lot of people's game of the year this year! Those that have it anyway!

Adventure Mart WBG Score: 7 Player Count 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: 7 Wonders Duel, Its a Wonderful World, Bargain Quest Published by: Hub Games Designed by: DigiSprite Adventure Mart is a fast paced card-playing deck-builder with a very interesting round structure. It has a delightful art style and striking box which suggests a more light weight game than the treasures contained within this box. However the rules certainly are very simple, it's incredibly quick to set-up and teach, and getting this to the table is a absolute joy. Let's head to the shops and see how this plays. Set-up and rules. To set-up Adventure Mart, separate the deck into the six different types shown on both sides of the card. First place the blue backed stock cards onto the top row. For a two player game deal out four cards, for a three player game place five, and for a four player game deal six cards. Then lay out two fixtures cards above two staff cards. Below that place Adventurers cards face down equal to the number of players plus one. Finally on the bottom row deal five face down Bulletin cards. Give each player the standard starting hand of nine cards, five gold coins, and give one player the initiative token. Each player shuffles their nine cards and deals five into their hand. The game can then begin by the starting player turning and reading the first bulletin card. Players will take it in turns to either buy a stock card, recruit one staff member, build a new shop fixture, or turn one of the adventurer cards over to start a sale action. The rounds last until all players pass. The game runs for five rounds. At the end, the player with the most gold wins. Gold is attained from the value of your final stock and fixtures, the gold in your possession, and from any REVIEW bonuses on your cards. Strategy. Each round, new adventurers will be dealt face down. Players will not know exactly what the adventurers have come to buy until they decide to try and sell to them, and flip the card to reveal their fate. If you don't have the right items for the adventurers then there is not much you can do at this point, and other players will inevitably be able to steal the sell from you. This has led to some criticism for the game, largely from Tom Vasel. But I do not understand this. There are only ever three types of items the adventurers want to buy. There are dozens of cards you can buy, but they are all within three suits. Martial, Magic, and Exotic. It really is not that hard to keep your hand well stocked of all three types to plan for any eventuality. There are also different powers you can gain from various fixtures and staff that allow you to sneak a peak at the adventurer cards before you start a sale. Some powers even allow you to pick from all the available adventurers after checking it one to find one that best suits your hand. But ultimately, this is a deck-building game, and sometimes your hand will be better than other times. And of course, as the game builds, you would hope to see constant improvement in your available options. Each adventurer will have a different amount of money to spend, and often, a different REACT action that will happen at different points. All of these are clearly marked and explained on the cards. You wont know what this will be until you reveal the card, but all players are in the same position. Having a balanced hand will help, but this variety is part of the game and adds to the fun. Once you have made your offering to the adventurer, based on what type of items they want and how much gold they have to spend, you will work out the quality of the items you have offered and declare this to the table. Each stock item has a star rating. This is how you work out its quality. Each other player then has the chance to try and offer a higher quality of stock items to the same adventurer, sticking to the same parameters of item type and gold available. The player that can offer the highest quality package will get the sale, and the available gold. The value that you sell to the adventurers is shown on the top right of each card. Any cards left in your hand at the end of the game can be sold for the value on the bottom left, generally a lower value. As such, you want to win these sales as often as you can to maximise your gold. The stock items that you can buy, serve more than just things available for you to sell on, they also offer unique powers that you can use on your turn. As play passes round to each player, they have a choice to make. This decision is not just about what they want to do, but also about what they think other players may be planning on doing next. There are only so many cards drawn each round. If there is a powerful stock item, you may want to get it before another player does, however that is your entire turn. It then may allow the next player to get the fixture you had your eye on, or recruit the staff member that has a power that could really help you. You can only ever have a maximum of four fixtures and staff at any one time, so there is a limit to how many you can buy. But there are only ever two shown at once, and only five rounds. Buying these cards early, especially if they have a useful action that could be used multiple times is key. But of course, there are also a limited number of adventurer cards each round, and starting the sale has a huge benefit. Not only do you get to make the first offer, but you also get the initiative token, which increases your quality score for this sale by one and your gold return if you make the final sale by one. Also, the player who holds this at the end of the round will be the first player in the next round. Timing when you buy cards and when you try and make a sale is what this game is all about. If you start a round with a balanced and powerful hand, it may be you want to go straight in for a sale. But if the fixtures and staff available offer useful and powerful actions, you may need to get these first. Maybe there is a powerful item that would compliment your hand, and you are fearful of starting a sale before you get this first. Having only one action per turn with limited cards each round adds a lot of tension and makes each decision, albeit very simple, tense and enjoyable to make. This really is where the heart of the game lies. I enjoy the process of slowly building my powers both across my fixtures staff and deck of items. I like the different ways the cards can be used and the choices this offers. The staff for example, once used are flipped upside down to show they have worked that day and cannot be used again. You can rehire them the next day if you pay their salary again, but if you don't use them during a round, you wont need to pay their salary and can save them for the next day instead. It's nice to have this option, especially as the gold you are paying them could all be end game points instead. Like many games, Adventure Mart is all about inputs and outputs. Trying to spend gold in a way that will generate more gold by the end of the game is your constant challenge. How much luck is in the game? Each round begins with the player holding the initiative token reading the daily bulletin. This adds a new rule or slight change to the parameters for all players. The bulletins are varied and interesting enough to add a nice twist each round, but not game changing enough to add any specific advantage to one player. I don't see much luck in this game as some other reviewers have suggested. Going first helps to get first choice, but you can make sure you go first buy winning the last sale each round, and missing out on one card may be frustrating, but there will always be others. All players have access to the same starting hand, and can all buy new cards based on the ones they need. And of course, you can't win all the sales anyway. That is not possible. So, pick your battles. Diversify your stock, and try to win the ones that will help you the most. Ease of play. The game does have a lot of keywords and iconography but they are all self explanatory, and the rule book has a simple glossary at the back that clearly explains everything if you are ever unsure. It may take a game or two for each key word to become second nature, but there is nothing out of the ordinary or particularly new here, so experienced players will adapt quickly. But it does serve the argument that this is not a simple light game as the art suggests. Which brings me to my final point. Some games with cute, fun, light art are expected to be light games. Likewise, games with more serious and sophisticated art suggest a more mid-weight or heavy experience. But obviously this is not always the case. But why is this? Why can't we have games with fun bright and childlike art that offer a more strategic experience? Do all adults want to have all mid-weight and heavy games looking the same? Do we all want to be farming a field in Europe, or fighting zombies in a war? No! I think there is a place for a game like Adventure Mart, which offers a mid-weight filler experience but with fun bright art. This issue seems to be more about peoples expectations. Some people can see the box art, expect one thing, get another, and then react negatively towards the game. If you ever want proof that this is a fact, just look at books like Harry Potter and the various covers that have been printed for it. So, if you are looking for a game that sits somewhere between filler and mid-wight, but offers a breezy and fun art style. Adventure Mart could be for you. The game offers some interesting powers and your choice each round is simple but strategic. The choices you make will effect your success in the game, and the flow will be quick, simple, but rewarding. I would recommend Adventure Mart to anyone looking for a filler plus game. A filler is a quick light game you may play in-between other games, or when you only have 20-30 minutes to play. Filler plus is one step ahead of this, where the game length isn't necessarily that much longer, the set-up and teach is still simple, but the game does offer a little more strategy. You may need to pitch it to your adult friends that this isn't a child's game when they see the box art. And in turn, you may need to get your children to understand they have to concentrate in order to do well in this game. But if you can teach the value of not judging a book by its cover, as well as enjoying a fun game, what a great use of your time that will be! Happy shopping.

Kitara WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Root, Blood Rage, Targi Published by: IELLO Designed by: Eric B. Vogel Kitara is an intriguing game. Similar to Root, on the surface it looks like a family friendly, animal themed game. But also like Root, it has so many hidden depths. From the box art, you can get an idea for the battle that awaits within as two warrior's sit astride seemingly giant beasts, going head to head in mortal combat. But the brutal area majority battle in Kitara offers far more than what I first expected from the gorgeous sun rise below. Or is it a sun set? At its heart, Kitara is an area majority game. Card drafting and hand management is present too, but the core of the game is about controlling the board. And in order to control the board, you must fight! The game starts with each player having three warrior pawns on the board in their home territory. On your turn, players will draft one of six face up cards into their play area. Each player will start with one card here at their disposal and they need to build up a collection of cards that work well together. At the start of the game, players can only access the first two of these six cards. But as they draft more cards into their play area they will increase their ability to choose from a wider selection in later turns. Each card they take has a mixture of symbols on it. Some offer a wider selection at the drafting phase as already mentioned, there are also straight up points available, more movement for the next phase of the game, and most commonly the ability to place some of your others warriors onto the board. Once you have drafted your new card and placed any new warriors the new card allows, you can then use all cards you have in front of you to move your warriors. The board is made up of various areas, some of which generate food for your tribe but no points, and others which generate points but no food. Players will have three different types of warrior pawns. Only your master animal pawns will score you points, and only when they are located in the ruins spaces. Your hero pawns will generate points every time you fight with them, and your regular warrior pawns are there to make up the numbers. Literally, this is about who has the most warriors on any space. Kitara is a numbers game. You can only move onto an opponents space if you have more warriors than them. It's a simple rule, but you will be surprised at how often a player will start to attack and then realise they have miss counted! Especially when the board gets a little cluttered near the end of the game. Each warrior counts as a power of one, irrespective of their type. The hero pawns are a lot larger and so it can be misleading when glancing at the board, counting up how many warriors each player has in each space. When you move into an opponents area, they do not lose any points or warriors, they simply have to retreat to their nearest space with other warriors present. If you made this attack with your hero pawn, you can dip into the bag and pull one point token out. You can do this each time you attack in a round, but only keep one token per round. The points on the tokens vary from two to five, so its worth going in for a second attack if you can, if you draw a two point token on your first attack. Attacking the other players feels like the most natural thing to do. Not only do you get the points if you used your hero pawn, but also you can start to control the way the board looks. Pushing your opponents back and owning more land yourself is crucial in this game. Clearing space in the ruins areas allows you to score two point per round if you manage to get your master animal pawn there, and having any warrior on a grassland means you can feed your tribe and keep your cards. At the end of you turn, once you have used all your movement and scored your points, you must feed your warriors. For each card you have in play, you need one food. Food comes from controlling the savanna spaces. For each food you are short, you must discard one card of your choice. If that card you discard has warrior any images on it, then you must also remove those warriors from the board. Managing your food is key to winning this game. In the game, there are two different decks of cards to play with. There is no significant differences other than the food icon. The red deck offers the chance for some cards to generate food as well as points, warriors, movement, and the chance to increase your range when drafting. Having played with both decks a few times, I don't really see the need to ever play with the blue deck again. The red deck with this simple change, offers more chances to have a more powerful hand, a more satisfying turn, and a more enjoyable game. Other than the simplicity of learning the game without the food icon, I am unsure why there are two decks in the first place. The cards are highly functionally. They all look the same, and lack any original or exciting art. It's a shame, as the art that is present in this game is stunning, but it's not used enough. It exists on the player aids, the box art, and a little on the board, but the game does become a little abstract when playing. I love abstract games, and really enjoy Kitara despite the lack of theme. I just feel that if the theme could have been implemented on the cards, it would have added to the overall sense of immersion. The player aids look amazing! They are not really needed after a few games, but initially they are helpful reminding you on the left what each symbol means, and on the right, the order of your turn. But after a few games, when all this becomes second nature, I found I did not even use them. I still got them out the box and set up with them, if only to help clarify player colour. But other than that, they quickly got pushed to the side and forgotten which is a shame as they look great. I am unsure why the animals are so big though? On the back of the rule book, the designer talks of his desire to make this game as realistic as possible and explains the research conducted to give the games' theme some credibility. He explains what is real and what was exaggerated in the game. The over sized animals detracts from this sense of reality for me. I am fine with that in most games. I love a fantasy theme. But Kitara sits more in the real-world, and everything else feels more closely akin the truth. This slight change with the over sized animals jars a bit. Either go all in and have a number of fantasy themed animals, events or powers, or make is close to real-life. It almost feels like the art has a sizing error, as it just doesn't make sense when compared to the rest of the game. But this really is nit-picking. Overall the game looks great and the production is of a very high standard for a game of this size and cost. The meeples are all the same design across the four playing colours which is a shame, especially when each colour has a different wild animal on the player aid, but in the game, it's all just Rhinos. But they look great and the colours really pop on the board, especially in a four player game. But there is no doubt minis or at least different style meeples would have been better. Budget always wins though I suppose. The game scales brilliantly to the different player counts. The board needs to be tight and full of conflict so a larger board with more space simply wouldn't work with a two. As such, the game comes with two boards. One single sided small board for the two player, and a doubled sided board used either for a three or four player game. I much prefer the game in a four, but three and two works well too. They are all tight and engrossing affairs. But I like the options in a four player game. Having more players present, and more opponents to fight makes for a better game. In a two, you obviously only have one choice, and this worked better for me than a three. In a three player game, when you have two opponents to fight, it can become a little frustrating for the player in the lead, always being attacked. Whereas in a four, you may still want to go for the leading player all the time, but geography may not permit. If you cannot reach them, you cannot fight them. Movement points are limited and as such, the game becomes a lot more strategic and tense. It's tight and fun in a two but has obvious choices. In a three, one player can feel picked on. The game excels in a four for these reasons. The timing of the game is also very interesting. The cards that you draft are numbered in power from one to five. You sort the deck so that all the ones come out first, then the two's and so on. When the first five is seen in the draft line this signals the end of the game. Everyone has one last turn and then it is game over. The cards dictate the game length and there are the same amount no mater the player count. As such, the game has the same game time no matter the player count. Each player will have less turns with more players, and the game will remain at around 30-40 minutes, depending on players familiarity with it. I like games that don't have game the length affected by player count, especially in a game like this where on other players turns you are just watching. But it does feel very different moving from a two player to a four player, and having so many less turns. It feels like some cards should be added to make the higher player count games longer, but I presume this decision was ignored in favour of a consistent game length? And this was in turn, because the game has no involvement for the inactive player. You don't want a long game when most the time, you are just sat there watching other players do their thing. This is either then, an elegant solution, or a frustration born from the games mechanics, depending on your point of view! At its core, Kitara is a fantastic small box game. It sits in the mold of games like Targi. You get so much more from the game than you expect. It offers a lot more strategy than the simple rules would suggest. It pulls you back, asking you to play over and over. Not only to try and win, or beat your previous scores, but to fine tune your strategy. Getting cards that generate points early can be a good way to get a head start in Kitara, especially if you are able to keep these cards round after round. But if they don't give you enough movement or allow you to add the right warriors to the board then it may not work out for you. You need to find a balance to do well in Kitara. Some cards are clearly more powerful than others. There is an advantage to being the first player because of this, but there are enough cards in the game for this to be minimal. But I am surprised the game doesn't have any rules by which the second, third and forth players start with more warriors on the board to even this out. (Everything packs away beautifully as well. Minor point I know. But I do love a good box insert!) Overall, Kitara is a surprisingly good game. Surprising in that it offers more than its small size and simple rules would suggest. Surprising in that the game is a little more cut throat than the art may suggest. Surprising in how abstract the game feels despite the wonderful theme. And surprising in how different each player count feels. I will certainly be keeping this game in my collection and can see myself turning to it on multiple occasions. It scratches quite a few itches, and due to the consistent play time irrelevant of player count, will work for many situations. Kitara is a very clever little game that stands head and shoulders above its smaller physical presence.

This is a preview using prototype parts. Images do not represent the quality for the final game. Route East is a new game hitting kickstarter in March 2022 from first time designers Lost Venture Games. The game takes inspiration from founders Jonny and George's own experiences travelling the Silk Road from Istanbul to Shanghai. Many parts of the game from the Car on the cover art to some of the events in the action deck take inspiration from their own real-life experiences. The game looks and feels like an adventure. You can feel the truth in the game. For what is essentially an action point, adventure race game, a real sense of adventure oozes from every aspect of this production. I was instantly drawn in from the box art, and on opening the board, I was not disappointed. Everything looks gorgeous. It feels like something epic and exciting is about to happen. The final game will use a matt rather than a gloss finish, but it already looks like a highly polished game, even in the prototype form. A lot of care and attention has gone into the factual detail and thematic ties to all parts of the visuals. Setting up is easy. You lay out the board as above then add in the cards to the spaces shown, place the fuel tokens over the off shore rig. Then add the player tokens to the start space in Istanbul and deal three destinations to each player, that's it! When done, it should look something like this. The rule book is also very easy to digest and read, even in this early form. To win Route East, you must be the first player to move your piece to the finish space in Shanghai via your three destinations. On your turn, you can use three actions. You can either move your piece one, two, or three spaces, or use your actions to draw one, two, or three action cards. These card mostly help you with a variety of fun and interesting abilities. After each turn, you must end on either a hotel, hostel, or border space. You need somewhere to sleep after all. On your next turn, you will pay either $25 or $50 for your previous night based on where you stayed the night before, then draw an Ignition card to get started. Or if you stayed at a border crossing, draw a Border card if you plan to cross one of the many border crossings in the game that turn. The crossings can be as simple as a $25 fee plus a fuel token, but life does not always pan out like that! Borders are often closed, or require additional payments to get past the corrupt border guards! On your way, you can stop off at cash points to top up your funds, visit petrol stations to gather more fuel for upcoming crossings, take a short cut on a dirt road or ship crossing, or take a detour to one of the three tourist destinations you need to visit along the way. At the start of the game, each player will be dealt three random destination cards. They must all be in different countries, if they are not, you must discard and re-draw until this is the case. This will then create your path to Shanghai. Planning your route at this part of the game feels a little bit like Ticket to Ride. And the overall game does have a similar feel to this. The 'map-style' board. Plotting routes to various destinations. It does all feel a bit TTR, in a good way! When you reach a destination, you must reveal the card and then you can use the bonus that destination card offers. There are some interesting and powerful abilities to be gained for reaching each one. Either helping you or hindering one of your opponents. Plotting your route and making it to each one is the most fun part of the game. I only wish you could visit more of them. I have suggested a variant whereby you need to visit more than three, perhaps with more actions each turn so the game does not get too long. Who knows, it may make the final cut! But you can always house rule this yourself if not. We played a game where you had to visit 6 destinations instead of three and we gave ourselves six actions each turn again instead of three. It worked well. The three destinations you must visit do affect the game a lot. They could be all along a nice orderly path, or seemingly at the end of long and needless detours. But the game has enough swings and deviations that no matter your cards, it will always feel like a tense and close race. I have played five times so far and each game has ended with the other players only a turn or two behind from finishing themselves. There is nothing worse than a one horse race. Route East doesn’t seem to suffer from this. The final few turns are all through dirt roads where you must roll even numbers to pass. This alone creates a nice catch up mechanic for any players languishing behind. There are plenty of destination cards to offer a nice variety each game. Each are wonderfully illustrated with thematically tied powers and a nice local titbit. I would like to have more facts about them present on the art or perhaps in a separate guide book. This again I believe is one of the plans for the development of the game before and during the kickstarter. Everything about this game makes me want to pack my bags, pick up my passport and head off on an adventure. After finishing the game of course! This is the biggest compliment I can pay this game. Route East is a great family friendly gateway race game that sits in a nice place between Ticket to Ride and The Quest for El Dorado, and scratches the itch both games offer. There are a lot of cards for each of the main decks. The Ignition, Action, and Border cards. There is some repetition on the text, but certainly enough variety to make each draw feel exciting. The wording is clear and there is no need to refer to the rule book once you start playing. Everything just makes sense. I am excited to see how this game develops and will watch closely to see how the kickstarter goes. I will post a link to that here when it goes live. I would recommend backing this game to anyone who likes games such as Ticket to Ride or The Quest to El Dorado. As mentioned, this game sits nicely between those two and is a nice game to add to your gateway collection. I see a lot of potential for development with this game, either in this first copy, or through expansions. I would like to see different maps, action cards, and events added to future copies. It does feel like this could be the start of something big in the gaming world if the kickstarter gets the right traction.

The King is Dead: Second Edition WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: War Chest, Blitzkrieg, Air, Land & Sea. Published by: Osprey Games Designed by: Peer Sylvester By Steve Godfrey The King is Dead! And since this is a second edition I suppose you could say that the King is Dead Again! Whichever way you look at it, being a male monarch in medieval England doesn’t have the most long term of career prospects. Luckily for the players though all we have to do is deal with the fallout, gain loyalty from a majority of the country and stop the French invading and taking over……..simple really! You have to know these things when you're a king, you know. Set up by giving each player a set of the eight cards, everyone has the same cards so just make sure each player has a complete set. Shuffle the region cards and place them randomly face up around the board. Give each player two random cubes from the bag. Then add two blue cubes into Moray, two red cubes to Gwynedd and two Yellow cubes into Essex (my home County) then place cubes randomly into each region until they each have four cubes. The rest go into the general supply. On your turn they can either play a card from your hand or pass. If you play a card, perform the action on that card. This is either going to add followers onto the board or switch others around but with restrictions. Once a card Is played, discard that card from the game, then take one follower (cube) of any colour from anywhere on the map and add it to your supply. Passing doesn’t end your round however. The round will only end once everyone has passed in succession. This means you can still change your mind and play a card after passing. Once everyone has passed a power struggle will occur. You check the first region card around the board and check which faction has the most followers in that region then place a control disc of that colour in that region and place all the followers into the general supply. If there are no cubes in that region or there is a tie for most then a black French control disc is placed instead. The game will end in one of two ways. When either all eight power struggles have been resolved or if the French place all three control discs on the board. The game will score differently depending on how the game ends. If by way of a power struggle then determine which faction has the most power discs, then the player with the most cubes of that colour wins. If the game ends in French invasion then the player with the most sets of each colour will win. You don’t vote for kings! Now and again a game comes along that I love to explain to people, usually because it has a little M Night Shyamalan style twist that makes people sit up and say “what?!, say that again!” The King is dead is one of those games. Some of you may have worked it out from my brief rules rundown above, if not, don’t worry. Basically you only have eight cards in your hand and each time you play one you discard it out of the game with no way of getting it back. This means you have a maximum of eight turns in the game and how and when you decide to take them is crucial and absolutely makes this game the little slice of brilliance that it is. Looking at this game from the outside it would be so easy to say “well just play one card per round then you're guaranteed a turn every round”, but the decisions are so much harder than that. The first time you play a card you think to yourself “that’s fine, that’s set me up nicely for the next power struggle” and you're all set to pass into the next round. But then someone else plays a card which may put a medieval spanner in the works, maybe for this round or a future round and then the conundrums really start. Do you sit back and let it go and try and push up for future power struggles instead, do you change your follower strategy, or do you play another card to retaliate and then hope that your opponent doesn’t decide to play ANOTHER card to swing the balance back in their favour. Playing that second card this round will mean you'll essentially be skipping a round in the future but it may just be worth it. These are the decisions you will have to struggle with EVERY. SINGLE. ROUND. and it’s brilliant. The cards themselves give you plenty of options. You have some cards that let you move cubes to different regions either into adjacent or across the map. The trick here is that the next player in turn can’t use the same card to reverse what has just been played. Re- enforcement style cards will add cubes to the board and strengthen a faction's control in a region. Then you have the negotiate card which lets you switch the position of two unresolved region cards and place your white negotiation disc on one which blocks it from being moved again. I love how an eight region map and a hand of eight cards each gives you so much depth and so much scope to make some really interesting and thoughtful choices. Every card you play isn’t a simple decision and you're never just playing a card for the current power struggle. Since cards are precious and power struggles are public knowledge You are constantly weighing up your options and trying to make your cards work for future rounds as well. It’s not just the cards though because taking a follower after playing cards adds that little extra layer to your choices. Now stand aside, worthy adversary! Chances are your best laid plans and strategies will change during the course of the game. Because all your cubes and cards are public knowledge it’s fairly easy to see where people's loyalties lie or if they seem to be pushing for sets and bringing about French victory. Because of that there can be a bit of a mid game panic as you see the loyalties veering away from you and you scrabble to try and either turn the tide your way or try and grab relevant followers. If you do happen to find yourself on the wrong end of a revolution though the game is quick enough and easy enough to set up that you can just go again. The randomness of the set up is where the game finds it’s replayability and for such little effort that is a lot of replayability. The production on The King is Dead is just fantastic. The tapestry style art on that beautiful box cover and the cards is amazing and I’m always drawn to a beautiful box and board with those shiny surfaces on (I think that’s the technical term anyway!) The art was done by Benoit Billion who has now taken my number one spot as the best name in all of board gaming. Consult the book of armaments The King is Dead does come with a small variant which sees you throwing new cards into the mix and it is honestly my preferred way to play the game and require no real effort to throw in or teach. Remove the three faction support cards from each deck and shuffle up the twelve cunning action cards and deal three to each player replacing those support cards. They essentially do similar things as the other cards but in different combinations and the rule book will give you a run down of each one. Since each card is different the other players can’t easily deduct what cards opponents have in their hands. Some people may prefer the predictability of the original set up while others may prefer the slight randomness of the cards. The standard factions support cards are good and are great for learning the game. They don’t over complicate things and it’s easier to teach everyone the same cards. They also have their limits though. If you don’t manage to play them at the right time then they may wind up being unusable. The game is so simple though that it will only really take a game or even two to feel confident enough to use the new cards. I love the fun back and forth and the will they, won't they play another card dilemma. The best thing about The King is Dead though is that it’s a simple to learn, quick and utterly engaging area control game which has a ton of replayability in a brilliantly produced small box of delights.

Title: Rallyman GT WBG Score: 7.5 Player Count: 1-6 You’ll like this if you like: Formula D, Flamme Rouge, Downforce Published by: Holy Grail Games, Designed by: Jean-Christophe Bouvier By Steve Godfrey I don’t particularly like watching motor racing. Now when I say that I’m talking mainly in the general sense but specifically F1. When I was younger the racing was just some boring program that my parents had on during a Sunday that more often than not delayed my favourite show from coming on. A board game version of it though? That may just hit the right gear. Rules of the road After making your track, determine the first player and they place their car at the start line and closest to the edge of the next corner. Once all players are on the starting grid the first player plans their trajectory with the gear dice. There are six black dice with a gear number on it (one of each gear), two white coast dice and three red brake dice. Which of these dice you get depends on your car, tires and the weather. Place dice along the track with the dice going in ascending or descending order or a mix of both. So if you start in gear zero you’ll lay out gear dice one then two etc. the white coast dice let you remain in the same gear and the red brake dice let you skip a downward gear. This is for those “whoops I didn’t quite plan that right” moments. Corners have numbers indicating the highest gear you can take those corners in, any higher and you’ll automatically spin out. Some corners will even give you gear restrictions depending on how you go into the corner. Next you have to roll the dice. You can choose to go flat out and roll all the dice at once or go one at a time. In either case if you roll three hazard symbols (two in the rain) you spin out. Going flat out has more risk but will give you focus tokens. Rolling one by one means that you can stop your movement before rolling any of the dice to avoid disaster. It also allows you to use the focus tokens to avoid rolling a die. Each round turn order is determined by the following. Cars in the highest gear go first, any ties the car furthest round the track then the car closest to the inside of the next corner. The game ends after a determined amount of laps. “Lights out and away we go!” Sports games aren’t an easy thing to translate into board games. For the most part sports are fast paced and board games, famously are not. The faster the sport, the harder it is to find new ways to get the pace and feel of the sport you're trying to emulate. Well unless designers are going to ask gamers to run round the room with the board in hand and a huge fan blowing at them! I think most gamers would agree that one of the reasons we like board games is because it involves a large amount of sitting. I know I do! So designers are then left to focus on the strategic and tactical elements to get the essence and focusing on that strategy is something that Rallyman GT does really well. Setting your trajectory at the start of your turn seems like a simple thing to do, lay dice out, done, right? Well no, because there are so many tactical decisions to make as you're doing it. Choosing your speed and dice order are just the first part of a row of interesting decisions you get to make on your turn. You’ll quickly find that there are usually a few combinations you can place your dice in as you plot your turn. Some will get you further along the track whereas some may not put you as far round but will set you up in a nice advantageous position for your next turn, and if your luck, may even hinder you opponents in the process. “With half the race gone, there is half the race still to go.” Rallyman GT is the first game that I’ve played that simulates the idea of the “racing line” properly. Sure you can take the corner using any of the spaces but taking that ideal line will give you the advantage. Aside from the obvious tactical advantage it’s really satisfying when you manage to pull it off well and put your metaphorical pedal down and power out of a corner and surge ahead. There’s even a certain smoothness that you feel when you do manage to take those racing lines and especially when you manage to set yourself up perfectly for your next move. On the flip side you also feel how harsh it can be when you're forced to take the wrong lines or if you have to come into a corner too slowly. That’s not a negative thing though because it all adds to the racing experience and goes further to prove just how tactically this game can be played from an offensive and defensive perspective. All of this is before you even have to roll the dice, which brings its own conundrums. Playing it safe is, well, playing it safe and if you want to have a chance of winning then it’s probably your best chance. As the old saying goes, slow and steady wins the race, which I’m pretty sure was written from someone who has never seen high speed racing or was their schools “slow bike race” champion 4 years running. You can still push your luck when those hazard symbols come up but having the option to stop means you rarely have to worry about those devastating spin outs. Going flat out? That’s where the excitement comes in, rolling one at a time can have its “oooh” moments, but the tension of rolling all those dice and almost dreading opening your eyes to look at the result, that’s where the game gives you those moments where you cheer loudly. You even do it for other players. They’re your opponents, but it’s still tense and them spinning out may just be your chance to swoop in and take the lead! It works the opposite way when those hazard symbols come up but that’s the price you pay. Still getting the focus tokens regardless gives some consolation and is also a big help when trying to regain some ground in later turns. “The lead car is unique, except for the one behind it which is identical.” Rallyman GT can have any issue with a runaway leader if one person is having a good day with the dice and you’re deciding whether to put all or some of the dice in jail, then the chances of catching the leader can be pretty low. Now that's an extreme example but it can happen. This isn’t a problem unique to Rallyman GT however. This is something that all games involving those dreaded cubes can suffer with in various different ways. Take Formula D for example. This is a race game that has the same problem but, in my opinion anyway, suffers a lot worse. Rallyman has some ways of mitigating the dice and being that spinning out is more likely here it does make catching up more of a possibility. The last game I played of Rallyman this problem was rearing it’s annoying head but with some clever players everyone managed to catch up without the leader crashing. It can be disheartening when it starts to happen but in Rallyman Gt it doesn’t necessarily mean it's over. All that strategy and tactical play is a lot of fun but half the fun of the game is creating the maps before the game starts! There are some pre-made maps in the rule book if you're just wanting to set up and play. Making your own is great though. Take a number of tiles depending on the sort of game you want using the handy dandy guide in the rule book and create away. I like taking the tiles at random and seeing what craziness I can build. Another way I find a lot of fun is to hand all the players a number of tiles and one at a time add one to the track. This adds a bit of interactivity to set up and the other players can’t blame you for the bonkers map that’s laid out in front of them and the fact that they never get out of fourth gear. If they think that’s painful then they clearly haven’t spent any time driving on the M25. Honestly though, the Grand Prix could learn from some of these tracks. Rallyman Gt is a fun racing game that I think appeals to people wanting an enjoyable race game but also racing fans who want to explore the tactical side of the sport. It won’t make me a fan of racing but put this game in front of me and I’ll be more than happy to wait for the green light.

Title: Cartaventura WBG Score: 7 Player Count: 1-6 You’ll like this if you like: Choose Your Own Adventure, Tales of Arabian Nights, Forgotten Waters. Published by: BLAM ! Designed by: Thomas Dupont, Arnaud Ladagnous This review will contain very minor spoilers to explain the games' mechanisms. Over the last few months there has been a lot of mystery surrounding this game for me. The art for the box was popping up everywhere I looked. Admittedly, confusing me when it was different each time. I did not realise there are four versions of this game at first, but all four looked stunning and so appealing to me. But I couldn't figure out quite how the game worked or how big it was. Not that this matters, but it added to the enigma! Now proudly owning one copy of this game, I can tell you, first up, its a really fun choose your own adventure style game, in a tiny box! I have the Lhasa version, there is also one called Oklahoma, Vinland and a mini one called Tintagel. Each tells the tale of a different adventurer in four completely different stand alone games. Cartaventura: Vinland is set in the the land of the Vikings. Players will follow in the footsteps of explorer Erik The Red trying to prove your father's innocence. Cartaventura: Oklahoma places you in 1854 in the United States. Players play as Bass Reeves, a slave, who works in cotton and sugarcane fields who has intentions for freedom! Finally, Cartaventura: Tintagel is a mini scenario for Cartaventura. It takes you on the footsteps of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It was initially available for free within a French magazine and now I expect, does the rounds at conventions and eBay! But back to Lhasa, where I have been playing as a French War correspondant, travelling through the Far Eat in search of Alexandra David-Neal. A fascinating woman with whom I have been a little obsessed with since playing this game. It is worth checking her out, even if you just read the highlights here. What a fascinating life. The game comes with a brief piece of history about her and her life at this time too. Making the adventure to try and find her in the game all the more exciting! The game has multiple endings and it took me three game until I found the ending I was satisfied with, but I wont spoil it by saying anything about what happened in either ending. Or why I wanted something specific. Each game ending was fun and gratifying. But as each adventure transpired, I was left feeling I had either missed parts out, or wanted to try and take a different route. Learning and playing Cartaventura could not be more easy. There is no rule book per say, and the on-boarding process for this game is fantastic. You simply start playing. In the box is 70 cards. The first few take you through the basics of what each symbol means, a lightning bolt means you must do that card right away for example. Nothing you won't be familiar with already. You then start reading the story and making choices. At the end of most cards there is a two-pronged choice to make. Go here or there. Talk to this person or that. Do this thing, or that thing. You will soon be given resources to manage which will affect which choices you can make as not everything in life is free of course. And you will realise that each action has a consequence. You cannot say something bad about someones business without them having an opinion of your work for example. Some cards you reveal will be a map, showing where you are and giving you choices of where you want to go. Again, everything will have a consequence, and the game is played with a clever sense of time passing. Doing once thing will affect your ability to do another. A ship may sail and remove your options for other things. It's hard to not go into too much detail here without spoiling the game, so you will have to let your imagination do the rest of the work. The game has multiple endings, and your actions in one game, will affect subsequent games in a very clever way that again I won't spoil here. There are some parts of the game that will remain the same each time you play of course, especially for the first few turns. But it doesn't take long for your choices to fork, and new experiences to be had. I found that playing this game evoked a real sense of adventure and mystery. I think games like this rely on the story more than the mechanisms, and the story in Lhasa is truly fascinating to me. This era of history interests me a lot anyway, and I have always had a romantic interest in the area the game takes you too. Learning a little bit more about the people and cultures during this time, in what feels like a historically accurate account, adds a lot to this game. I was curious to try every different option. I wanted to look down every street, talk to every person. Experience every possible eventuality. This is how the game looks after about 5 minutes of playing, (with a few cards removed) no matter the choices you make. I feel comfortable showing this picture without spoiling anything. It gives you a good impression of how the game looks, and the multiple options that will be available to you at any turn. Most of the criticism for this game I have seen focuses around the lack of options available to you as the player, and how the game has a basic linear path that feels more like a choose your own adventure story and less like a game. I could not disagree more. Each time I have played, the game has felt completely divergent, and the story I told was vastly contrasting, and had very different endings. There is more to this than just your choices, but I appreciate how this can be the case for some. Of course, the choices will not go on forever. This is a physical product after all. In future, digital versions of games like this will offer more choice. But for a small box, low cost game, I think there is more than enough in this production to justify this game being given worthy consideration of anyone interested in choose your own adventure style games. And that is the key point. If you like choose your adventure style games, I think you will like this. If you don't, then I don't think this will change your mind on the genre. The main choice if you do like this type of thing, is which story interests you the most. For me it was Lhasa and it's mysterious place in history. But now, having experienced this one and enjoyed the way the game is structured, I want to play them all!

Arts & Architecture WBG Score: 9/10 Player Count: 1-5 You’ll like this if you like: Viscounts of the West Kingdom, Wingspan, Lost Ruins of Arnak Published by: Stonemaier Games Designed by: Jamey Stegmaier If you would like to read the review for the main game, then head here. If you would like to read the review for the first expansion Plans & Ploys, then head here. If you would like to read the review for this second expansion, Arts & Architecture, then read on! I enjoy Tapestry a lot. The game is so smooth, looks incredible, and is incredibly easy to teach and play, despite its complex looking set up. I think it is a great Gateway game for this reason. I enjoyed the first expansion a lot, but this second one has really excited me as it promised a new fifth track. That's 20% more fun guarantied! On my first few plays with this expansion I was instantly smitten by it, but also, unsure how best to progress on five tracks compared to four. You don't get any more turns, but I had so much more I needed to try and achieve. After a few plays, I calmed down in my attempts to reach the end of all five tracks, which as far as I can tell, simply can't be done, and just focused on the game, which I will go into now. Arts & Architecture brings in four new elements to the game. The fifth Arts Track, six advanced Capital City mats, 20 Masterpiece cards, and the new inspiration tiles. Plus there are more landmark, tech, tapestry and civilization cards and eight beautifully painted miniatures. Let's take a look at all the new components added first. Arts Tracks This is by far the headline change to the game with this new expansion. It is always nice to get more "stuff," but I also want something new. Something that changes and enhances the game. A fifth track certainly does that. The track offers a new focus, a juggling act. Trying to advance on four tracks was always a challenge, now with an extra one thrown in, you really need to focus on what is right for your strategy each game. But this new Arts track doesn't just bring a new place to try and advance, it also has new benefits. Masterpiece cards and Inspiration tiles can be gained from this new track which I will cover more below, and there is a new symbol showing each colour of the four buildings. Players can now gain new buildings, but chose which one to take. I have found that the Arts track compliments the other tracks very well. Particularly the Science track which I always favour. I like how the Science track allows you to move up other tracks, and now with five tracks to move up, this seems even more crucial. Advanced Capital City Mats The new capital city mats offer more than just variety in terms of the layout. New rules around gaining benefits and placements are introduced as well. I like the Cavern which has interesting placement rules, and extra points for each completed row. I enjoyed the flexibility of Cloud City which lets you move your buildings after placing them, something I often longed to do in previous games! My new favorite though is the Swamp. It has giant lily pads that do count as a completed area, but they can be built over when required offering flexibility with larger landmark buildings. They will lose you pints if still visible at the final income turn, but help you complete more rows and columns in the earlier rounds. Masterpiece Cards The Art tracks brings in new Masterpiece cards. These cards can be placed anywhere in your player area, but the game suggests you use the space on your player board where the Maker of Fire image is. This is so you don’t forget to use them each income round. The cards offer new ways to gain resources and various different benefits that are triggered each income round, and at certain stages on the Arts track. The final space on the arts track allows you to trigger three different cards if you have that many by then. I found this to be a very useful way to gain more resources, have more turns, and build stronger scores. Inspiration Tiles. The Arts track also introduces the Inspiration tiles. When gained, these can be placed onto your payer board in the spaces where you store your buildings before you acquire then. They offer upgrades to your income phase, with additional points and resources now available for every exposed space. As such, it makes sense to get these early in the game so you can utilise them for more income rounds, and then focus on acquiring the buildings on that track. It adds a focus to your game, and works well when combined with the other new flexible ways to acquire buildings. Other new elements. This expansion also brings in new landmark, technology, and tapestry cards. They are mainly more of the same, but some do require landmark buildings to be placed on them for additional benefits. The new technology cards need a landmark building placed on them in order for it to qualify for the final upgrade spot. Whilst the tapestry cards offer additional benefits when the spaces on it are covered by buildings or landmarks. It's interesting to have the choice of where to place your buildings now, and with the landmark cards, it is nice to be able to get more landmark buildings in order to satisfy the different options. The landmark cards were first introduced in Plans & Ploys and allow players to get landmarks pieces irrespective of who reaches certain spots on the tracks first. I like this, as 'first' in Tapestry shouldn’t always mean 'best'. The new Civilization cards. The new Civilization cards offer more variety for people who have played the base game, and Plans & Ploys a lot, and are dealt out with one of the original Civilization cards for players to choose from. You can always have the choice to use one of these new Civilization cards if you wish. I like the new Gamblers card a lot. It offers a nice chance to use more tapestry cards, in a completely chance encounter. I lot of Tapestry avoids luck, and rightly so. There is some elements with the cards and dice of course, but this game seems to be more about strategy than random factors. That is a good thing, but I like the choice to add some pure luck with this card. I enjoyed using the Urban Planners card too, although on one occasion, I realised the error of my ways when I foolishly combined it with the new Archipelago Capital City mat, which is a series of small islands, only large enough for one landmark building each. The Urban Planers rewards you for Landmarks that touch each other in your capital city. The Archipelago makes this impossible! This is nothing against the game, just my own lack of focus! Relentless is my new favorite Civilization though. It adds a real focus to gain a new Landmark building each turn, and offers big rewards for doing so. In a game where you can deploy multiple different strategies, I do like my Civilization card to add some clarity to where my attention should be focused, and reward me in turn for doing so if I do well with it. The new miniatures are wonderful. They are probably some of my favorite buildings in the game, apart from the Shuttle of course. Like the previous games, they are not really necessary, and don't add anything to the game mechanically, but thematically and visually, they are stunning. This expansion is fairly priced though, and offers a lot more than just these painted miniatures, so I don't think any criticism can be placed on their inclusion or the affect they had on the price in the way the base game suffers from. Set-up and Game length. I will play Tapestry without this expansion on occasions. Particularly when I'm teaching the game to new players. But when I am playing with people familiar with the game, it will always be my choice to add this to the game, and my preference over Plans & Ploys. I have played with both expansions and it worked fine. The landmark cards were the main change in Plans & Ploys, and they are present in Arts & Architecture anyway. There is no real additional time or complexity added to the game when including this expansion or indeed both, and only a few more minutes added to set-up and rules, detailing the new track and what it brings with the Inspiration and Masterpiece cards. The extra track does add a little more thinking time initially as players become familiar with it, but it also opens up more spaces to go to which reduces competition for getting to the landmark spaces first. Well, just a little! Summery. Overall, I think this is by far the better of the two expansions, and elevates the game into new heights. Tapestry is a polarizing game due to its price, the popularity of the publisher, and the civilization theme not satisfying everyone. If you don't like the base game this will not change your mind. But if you are a fan of the base game, I would heartily recommend this expansion, both for added variety and longevity to the game, as well as creating a new experience to have with Tapestry. I would still like to see more done withe the theme and story of this game. It would be nice to make the names of each space mean something. I never feel like I am inventing, discovering or exploring anything. It feels to me that an expansion could ingrain the theme into this game a little more. Perhaps cards that rewarded you for doing certain things shown on the track spaces. For example, a reward for building Ships, found on the Exploration track, could be to actually gain Ship tokens to add to the board which would then allow you to reach a new island to explore for new bonuses. What Arts & Architecture does bring is new options, more choices, increased strategy, and a better overall game experience. Tapestry is my third favorite Stonemaier game behind Scythe and Viticulture, but it is quickly closing in on Scythe for second spot and with this expansion added, is getting very close indeed.

Title: Demeter WBG Score: 7.5 Player Count: 1-100 You’ll like this if you like: Riverside, Hadrians Wall, Ganz Schön Clever. Published by: Sorry We Are French Designed by: Matthieu Verdier Let's get this out of the way as quickly as possible. Demeter is a brilliant game. There are so many options available to you as you play this game, but you will feel in complete control of your destiny, which when you start to get right after a few games, feels great. It does take a few go's at this to learn the strategy due to the many different choices you can make, but once this becomes more familiar to you, the combination turns you can take at the later stages are wonderfully satisfying. OK, with that said. Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Namely, there are hundreds of great blank and write games out there. Games where you roll a dice, or flip a card, and then mark something off on a sheet of paper just like here with Demeter. Alongside Riverside, Hadrians Wall, Ganz Schön Clever that I mention above, there is also Welcome To, Cartographers, Silver & Gold, to name just a few recent descents! This is a cluttered market place, so the question needs to be, not, is this a good game? But rather. Is this game better than the rest? Where does Demeter rank in the genre? I would rank Demeter very highly. It is certainly up there as one of the best flip and write games for me. With so many good games in the genre, I think the theme and art needs to come into it. It is fine margins that separate these great games. So, you need to make your own choice as to which theme interests you the most. So, yes. Demeter is a great game, but I think it will be personal preference around theme that will determine which one is right for you. The art and theme for Demeter is fantastic. No blank and write game ever really screams theme as you play it, I would say Riverside is the best for this. They all do become quite abstract when you start playing. I do like the art in Demeter, and think the idea is a good one. It follows on from the game Ganymede, where now, having landed on the planet of Ganymede, you are investigating the local wildlife, which happens to be Dinosaurs. But in truth, at no point during the game do I ever think about this. Does this matter? Not really! It's just with so many games that are all very good, you need to find a way to separate them out. Unless you just buy them all! How to play Demeter. Playing Demeter is surprisingly easy. There are five different types of cards which match the five major things you can do shown in the top right of the player sheet. There are fifteen different cards of each suit. Before you start, shuffle and remove three cards at random then place the remaining 12 on the table by the four objectives and scoring markers for each species. You will then play through twelve rounds, drawing one card for each of the five decks each time. Players can chose one of the five cards on offer to use on their sheet. Players can choose which ever card they like, no matter what other players are doing. There is no way to affect the other players in this game other than the scores for the Dinosaurs which we will come to later. On each of the five cards, there will be a symbol that will show you what benefit that card will give you. They are mostly symbols for spotting dinosaurs, but you can also construct new buildings or observation towers, recruit new scientists, or study the dinosaurs you have seen. Once you have chosen which card to go for, players will mark the indicated space on the top right space on the player sheet. This is important because if you do one from each card and complete a row, you will gain additional benefits. It also just helps you remember which card you chose that round. Players will then mark off the benefit they gained on the sheet, and then also claim the benefit of the card colour they chose. The blues let you recruit a scientist. The Red card lets you create a new observation post, the yellows let you study an already discovered dinosaur. The purple's let you mark off a space on the research track. And finally, the grey cards let you chose one of the above four options, it acts as a wild. The player board does look initially complicated but will quickly make sense in your mind after your first game. It is helpful to separate the board into four areas. There is the top left area we have talked about. The purple research track. The buildings on the top right. And then the main area which is separated itself into five areas, each showing a different species of dinosaur. You job is to discover and study the dinosaurs which means to colour in the space of the part of the dinosaur you are discovering. And then when the dinosaur is fully coloured in, you can draw a line from the dinosaur to the box close to it when studying it, to claim that benefit. You need to first spot and then study these beasts. Adding scientist's and observation towers increases your end game scoring options, and will help you complete objectives in the game. There are four randomly selected objectives for each game. You need to try to meet the criteria of these, but also qualify to score against them in the first place. Reaching the top of the research track three times will allow you to score the first three objectives, and discovering and studying the top four Gallimimus' on the bottom right of the sheet allows you to score against the forth one. It is a nice challenge to have to meet. Not only to do well in the four objectives, but to also reach the point where you can score them. The buildings will allow you to gain a benefit twice when you get that benefit. For example, the first blue building when constructed, will allow you to gain two scientist instead of one when you get the gain the scientist benefit. Getting buildings early in the game I found to be crucial to scoring well. Once you have discovered every Dinosaur of its type, as in all three Triceratops are coloured in for example, you will then score the bonus for that type of dinosaur. In a multiplayer game, you will flip over the token for that type of dinosaur and then each next person will score two less points when they discover that type of that dinosaur. This is the only way that players will have any type of interaction with each other in this game. This has both positive and negative affects on the game play. In a multiplayer, you do feel rather that you are playing a solitaire game, and other than the odd conversation here and there, asking what the other person may be doing, and then comparing scores at the end, it does feel rather isolated as you play. But this game plays brilliantly as a solitaire game. There are no rule changes, dummy players, or solo cards to use. You just play as usual and try to beat your previous scores. I like solo games like this, but would prefer there to be a score rank in the rule book so you can compare your scores. I always think it's a missed opportunity when this isn't done in a game that works so well in in solo mode. This has both positive and negative affects on the game play. Negative in that in a multiplayer, you do feel rather that you are playing a solitaire game, and other than the odd chat here and there, asking what the other person may be doing, and then comparing scores at the end, it does feel rather isolated as you play. Positive in that this game players brilliant as a solitaire game. There are no rule changes, dummy players, or annoying solo cards to use. You just play as usual and try to beat your previous scores. I like solo games like this, but would prefer there to be a score rank in the rule book so you can compare your scores. I always think it a missed opportunity when this isn't done in a game that works so well in a one. Summery. Demeter feels very satisfying to play. There is a quick learning curve and I saw my scores dramatically improve as I learnt the strategy for the game. I found in game two and three I had incredibly high scores as I had a rule wrong around the building bonus, but thankfully some friends corrected me there when I posted my confusion online! (Thanks all!) But after that, when playing correctly, I saw my score steadily improve each game. The rule book is clear, I was just being slow! The game offers a clever puzzle you need to work out how to get right. Playing the game over and over does not get any less enjoyable or interesting. Demeter offers a constant challenge to try and figure out the right way to solve this puzzle the most efficient way. Games of this nature go from good to great when they offer cascading turns late in the game. Jamey Stegmaier spoke about this recently, where some games offer you lots of little turns with limited power, which all build to one (or more) big turns later in the game. I love games that do this. There is so much satisfaction in feeling you have earn't the right to take lots of actions on one turn. Saying to the other player, "Here, check this out. I can mark this, which lets me tick this, so I can score this, which in turns lets me do this and meet this objective!" It's a great feeling. A good blank and write should have this. Demeter does, but getting to the point where you can utilise and maximise 'one big turn' near the end of this game takes practice. In doing so, there is even more satisfaction than usual. You don't just feel you have earn't the right to do this in this game, but you have earn't the right to do this from the experience you gained from each time you play this game. This feels wonderful. This offers again, both good and bad things to the game. Good in that this 'one big turn' or multiple big turns in the case of Demeter, is great. It is very enjoyable to do this and your previous efforts and low scores will feel worth while as you develop your skills in this game. But, it does mean this game has a huge advantage to experienced players. I have not seen anyone score well in this game until at least game three, but then you still need I think at least five games before you score really well. The game is quick and can be done in 15 minutes, but not everyone will be up for five games to catch up with you each time you teach them. I would put Demeter into my top five for blank and writes without doubt. I will play it many more times. Due to its simplicity I would put it into my top five solo games as well. I would like the theme to be utilised a little more, and perhaps a few more ways to score in the game. I understand some of this is addressed in the first expansion, Autumn and Winter, but I have not played that yet. Overall Demeter is a great little game and one I would encourage you to check out if you are a fan of this genre, dinosaurs, or the art in Ganymede.

Title: Katamino Family WBG Score: 7 Player Count: 1-2 You’ll like this if you like: Ubongo 3D, Miyabi, Patchwork. Published by: Gigamic Designed by: André Perriolat, John Perriolat Games using polyomino shapes became all the rage a few years back. I think people like the sense of calm these game create. Bringing order where there was once chaos. There is also the nostalgic harp back to Tetris. A game so many of us grew up with. I still remember the exact time and place I completed level 9-5 for the first time. On the way to South France in a back of my mates dads car, summer of 2000 if you are interested. Previously known as Katamino Duo, this new release from Gigamic is a beautiful production, perfect for all fans of polyomino shapes and pattern building. Contained within this colourful box are 18 well made painted wooden pieces, a wooden board, and 40 cards offering a multitude of options. You can play this game in so many ways. The classic two player version is for one player to draw a card, each player to take the pieces shown on their side of the card, then race to add them all into their space on the board. After each round both players then choose an extra piece to give to their opponent with the person who finished second in the last round picking first. Each round, the space to build in grows by one row. The player who finishes first each round scores a point and after four rounds the player with the most points wins. In the case of a tie, the players swap the last piece they gave to each other and duel one final time! The cards used to play the different games are all colour coded. Five different colours represent five different abilities. Players can choose to play at whichever level they are most suited too. There are also nine double coloured cards with one side suitable for children, and the other designed for adults. This is a great way for two players of different abilities to compete at the same time in a fair manner. You can also play Katamino on your own using similar rules. There are dedicated solo player cards, challenges and puzzles. Completing all six solo challenges was a satisfying thing to do, one I will continue to enjoy time after time. It was nice to take the race element present in a two player game out of the experience. Just focusing on your own goals at your own pace was a nice experience. There are also dedicated cards for 3D challenges. Either on your own, or in a race against another player. Players will attempt to complete towers ranging from 2x3x5 to 3x3x4. Depending on the size, players will either take specific pieces as shown on the card, or can chose the pieces they want based on a few parameters, and then attempt to arrange them into the required size. It is incredibly satisfying to finish, and you will surprised at how many variation there are. There isn't just one solution to each puzzle. Like most versions of this game, the shapes combine in hundreds of different ways. The rule book also offers a number of puzzles for younger children to try to complete. Using the shapes to create flat puzzles that resemble animals, or make up your own animal shapes. These are very simple to understand and designed for children from three and up. It is nice that this game can work for every in the family. Also included is a balancing game called Kataboom. Players take it in turns to balance a piece on top of the previously laid shape. The last player to place a piece without the construction toppling over is the winner. You can use both hands, and also use the piece you are placing to amend the previously laid pieces. It is surprisingly addictive, trying to beat not only your opponent, but as a team, your previously achieved height. It feels a little bit like Jenga, but a lot faster to play and a lot less hassle to clear up! Even putting this game away at the end is fun. You could of course just chuck all the pieces back into the box. They would fit just fine and not get damaged. But on the rear of the rule book is an image, tantalisingly showing you one solution to the many ways you can fit all the shapes back into the board together as one. I cannot imagine anyone would not at least try and put all the shapes back in this way after playing this game! I quite enjoy packing up most games anyway. It is a nice cathartic experience finding all the right bags or spaces in the box. This game takes from that sense of order and creates at entire game from it. Playing this game takes me back to playing Tetris and the zen state my mind goes into when playing these type of games. Manipulating these beautifully made 3D shapes in my hand only adds to the sensory pleasure of forming the required patterns. As much as some levels can be hard, and frustrating. When you complete a level you have been stuck on for a while, well, it makes you feel like you have actually achieved something. Even as a 42 year old man, I want to ring my mum and show her what I did!

Title: Quarto WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2 You’ll like this if you like: Go, Chess, SHŌBU Published by: Gigamic Designed by: Blaise Muller First made in 1991, Quarto has gone through many face lifts and make overs. This current edition from Gigamic is a beautifully made set with solid wooden pieces and a lovely wooden board. Quarto is a game I proudly leave out on display like a Chess set. Hoping to entice people to ask about it. Which in turn lets me teach them the game so we can play. And once we play this, why not one of the other hundreds in the house? If you will forgive the rather crude reference, is Quarto therefore, the perfect starter drug for board games? The game has gone through multiple published editions I would suggest, because of its traditional appeal. A simple to understand, hard to master board game, that can be taught and played in minutes and by anyone. It has all the makings of a classic in both looks and game play. In Quarto, players take it in turns to choose one of the 16 pieces to give to their opponent. They will then place it anywhere within the four-by-four grid. There are no placement rules, you can use any space you wish. Players will play in turn like this until all pieces are used and a tie occurs, or more likely, a connection of four is made, and spotted, in one of eight ways. In this picture, you can see four of the eight ways a connection of four can be made. The first is shown the in the bottom row. All four pieces have the same hollowed top. you could equally have four flat tops to make a valid connection. Along the right column you can see four large pieces. Again, four small would also work. Running along the second column you can see four pieces all with a square shape. Four circular shapes would also win you the game. And finally, in the second row, you can see four light coloured shapes. Four dark shapes would work just as well. When placing a piece, players need to look for the chance to build to, or complete one of these eight win conditions. But of course, the piece you are placing is not chosen by you. Your opponent will not want to intentionally help you. As both players are playing on the same board though, in order to help yourself you need to help your opponent. But in a way where they don't realise it. With eight different win conditions, it is easy to miss something. Like Connect Four, Chess, or any other popular puzzle or abstract game with different win conditions, you can be focused on one end goal and miss another right in front of your face. This happens a lot in this game. Having played this game probably over a hundred times now, I cannot count the amount of games that have ended with me thinking I am one move from victory, only for the other player to then make a connection I had not even seen. And with the way this game works, when this happens, you are literally handing them the victory! Making the connection is not enough though, you must also spot the connection and shout "QUARTO!" If you don't, and continue the game, the connection can no longer win you or any other player the game. This sounds redundant, but I am certain there are many games where I have won but not even noticed! There are a few variations to help with beginners or more advanced players. Either removing one or more of the win conditions or adding a new one. For beginners you can state that you can only win with the same colour or size for example. Or for an advanced game, you can add the possibility of winning with a group of four in a two by two square. With the horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, there is already a lot going one. Adding in this advanced variation brings in nine new ways for the game to be won! Or more likely, nine new ways to miss an opportunity! Quarto is a great game to encourage children to try new games, learn patience, strategy, and how to be a good winner or loser. All the reasons I love playing games with my own children wrapped up in a beautiful wooden package. It is also great for teaching me how to be a good loser to them, which happens a lot anyway, but almost every time with this game. I think this is a young mans game! Quarto has such a high level of accessibility due to its simplistic rules and visually appealing pieces. Just looking at this board makes people want to pick up and fondle the pieces. There is also a novelty in seeing something that looks a bit like Chess, but isn't Chess. It intrigues people in a wonderful way. This does beg the question why is it that everyone has heard of and played Chess, but not Quarto? I suppose a few hundreds years has something to say about this. But come the mid 25th century, mark my words, Quarto will be as well known as Chess! OK, maybe not, but it certainly offers an enjoyable, accessible, and strategic game session, and looks lovely all set up now on my coffee table left after my last game with my son. Now, if I could figure out how he beat me again!

Title: A game about quickly grabbing creatures that are totally different, and watching out for turnips. WBG Score: 8 Player Count: 2-3 or more with more sets! You’ll like this if you like: GRABBELL, Dobble, Llama. Published by: Stuff By Bez Designed by: Andrew Beardsley, Behrooz Shahriari Where to start with this game? The name? The art? The crazy fun gameplay? Everything about this release from board game designer, enthusiast, entrepreneur, and all round great person Behrooz Shahriari makes me happy. Very happy indeed! Following on from the 2021 UKGE release of A game about WEE WHIMSICAL CREATURES and trying to identify them after someone makes noise which sold out after one day (I bought my copy at about 11am!) I sense that Bez has got a cheeky glint in her eye when she names games this way. Perhaps it is because she finds a descriptive name like this helpful? Maybe it helps the game stand out? Maybe, its just because its funny? But for whatever reason, the game is a lot of fun and one my family and I have brought out many times over the last few weeks to share with other family and friends. The game is always a hit! The game is based on the game Grabbell which was one of the many games playable with the ingenious deck of cards released by Bez called ELL deck. I picked this deck up on a whim, and was surprised and delighted at the contents. The cards are cleverly designed to show two letters with a different border for each. They can be used for many different games out of the box, with lots more variations available online. You can find many examples here. Grabbell is a fun game, but doesn't look as good as this. What Bez has done with the art here is change a simple graphic lettering design to hilarious looking monsters and creatures. There is also a bit if colour, which is new for her games. But what has remained consistent is that they are all hand drawn and delightful. It feels like something you may pick up from a local art fair, but with the fun and craft of someone who knows how to make a really good game. Learning A game about quickly grabbing creatures that are totally different, and watching out for turnips, is quicker than saying the name! Place all the cards face down randomly on a table. The game then starts as players, simultaneously in real-time start to grab the cards! Players can use one hand to pick up a card and another to hold their collection. Players need to gets as many cards as they can before they are all gone. Points are scored for the number of consecutive cards in your deck that don't have matching body parts. Either the head shape, body type, or leg style. All must be different. You can have turnips between similar creatures, but you can never have more than one turnip in a row. And if you have more than five turnips in total, you loose. Once all the cards are collected, players check their hands to see if they broke any rules and the player with the most points wins. Its quick, fast, hilarious fun! Perfect with children or adults after a few drinks! I have enjoyed this game so much over the 2021 festive period, and saw it as a perfect game to bring out with all my friends. As you can set-up and teach this game to any player of any age within a minute, the game works for all occasions. It plays within a few minutes, and generally the players who loose demand a rematch immediately. I have never played this game just the once! This game will be a treasured part of my collection and I hope to enjoy many more plays with this deck. I have two decks allowing me to play with more people, up to six is suggested. Two to three players per deck. But I played with eight with these two decks and it was fine. It was a quicker game with more players. But not less fun! The frantic nature of eight hands all grabbing at the same cards at the same time made for a hilarious game, that perhaps was more suited for the adults than the children. It seems that the quantity of players has a direct affect on the competitive nature of adults playing family games! The game costs just £5 and is available from here. I would not hesitate to buy this game again and again myself and would recommend it to anyone! Bez will be at multiple conventions in 2022 if you want to try the game first. But if you have a copy or not, I would highly recommend popping over and saying hello to her. I would wager you will leave with a big smile on your face. Bez is amazing!