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Red Rising WBG Score: 8/10 Player Count: 1–6 You’ll like this if you like: Fantasy Realms Gùgōng Lost Cities Published by: Stonemaier Games Designed by: Alexander Schmidt (II), Jamey Stegmaier Red Rising Reviews Ratings & Rants. Before I get into the review, I little background if you will. If you would rather get straight to the review, click here. I wanted to give my thoughts on the way Stonemaier games launch their games. If you would like to have a look at the the video interview with Jamey and Alex, or the preview then head here. Otherwise, read on! Red Rising Retrospective. First, I want to look at the logistics. Always a fun way to start right!? All Stonemaier Games feel like an event to me. I like the way Jamey Stegmaier goes about his business. After a few Kickstarter experiences, Jamey now prefers to use his own site to launch games. And then at a later point, mass retail for general distribution. A few months before launch, Jamey will start his design diaries on Facebook. Releasing pieces of information, day-by-day about the mechanics, art, game conception and rules. Jamey always starts this by saying he won’t give too much away at first. But if you don’t want to be teased in this way, he encourages people to come back at a set date when all will be revealed. He offers the best of both worlds. Jamey runs a weekly live broadcast on Facebook where he answers all questions from the vewing public. Nothing is off topic and he will engage with criticisms, issues, or concerns anyone may have. Often using this as a forum to explain his process to people who have not heard before. It is all so open and honest. Like most publishers, Jamey also gives out advanced copies to a select group of reviewers. They have plenty of time to learn and play the game to form an opinion. Jamey embargos the release of these reviews until a set date. This is so the reviewers are not pressured to get things out first. This gives the reviewers time to play the game multiple times, and in different player counts. This embargo date is always before the release date of the pre-order for this game. So, people have plenty of time to watch and read the reviews before they decide to pre-order or not. The pre-order date will be only a few weeks before you get the game. Jamey will not set this until production is complete, and the games are on their way to international fulfilment centres.Its nice to be able to get a new game wihtin weeks, not months! Although, in these difficult times, I appreciate that U.S. shipping for this game has been slower that expected. Red Rising Rant. So why am I talking about this? Well, it’s a great and fair system, that still gets criticised. Why? Well, because its Stonemaier. Despite being still only a small team of local passionate games developers and publishers, Stonemaier are perceived as a huge business. They have only made 11 games in nine years and have as far as I can see, three full time employees. Hardly big. But since the success of Wingspan, all things Stonemaier have been rather polarising. Wingspan ruffled some feathers with some contentious awards such as the Board Game Geek best card game of the year. It’s a great game, but is it a card game? Tapestry also upset some due to the cost of the game. The pre-painted miniatures included affected this and were seen as superfluous by some. Also, the lack of balance in the asymmetric civilisations, leading to an update on some starting rules irked others. And then Pendulum! People were not happy about plastic components, the fact it was a real-time game and the less said about inconsistent sand timers the better! But moutains and mole hills comes to mind. It seems Stonemaier games have been built up to be knocked down by a minority of people in the community. As soon as anything is seen as “big” and “popular” it is liable for attack in any walk of life. So this is of course nothing new. But it is a shame. I understand all these concerns and issues. I agree with most of the above points. But I disagree it means people should then attack Stonemaier for it. They are all minor issues, tiny insignificant things, set aainst a catalogue of brilliant games. But were all dealt with. Jamey took on board the feedback and adapted to it. Seen here with Red Rising. A game that offers a collector’s edition for people who are willing to pay more for nice components. But a cheaper retail version too, for others who are less keen. Taking the feedback from Tapestry and creating a solution. The retail version is still made to the usual high Stonemaier standards. And you can also buy the upgrade pack which would give you everything you missed out on if you later want that, bar the insert. Taking the feedback from Pendulum. Again, best of both worlds. What about Wingspan's huge success and contentious awards? Well Jamey doesn’t judge on the awards he wins! There is not much to be done here! But for the record, Wingspan is not a "card-game"! I get the reaction. But it is still a good game, who cares about titles? Well, the other great cards games that didn't win that year I suppose! And finally. In a world of extremes, the board game community is not averse to this either. It seems things must be either amazing or terrible. We have all seen the scores on BGG of 10 or 1 for some games. People have extreme opinions on things and can, it seems, often forget that it's acceptable for some games to just be "ok". You don’t have to love or hate everything. With that said, let's talk about the game now! Red Rising Review. Red Rising is set in the world created by author Pierce Brown in his series of books. A dystopian future and a world ruled by a class system based on “colour” (not related to race). People are assigned roles in life that seem impossible to break. A “Red,” the lowest class, attempts to change that. I won’t go into the story much more to avoid spoilers. But you will get all this and more from the back of the first book, so I hope that was ok! But suffice to say, it becomes a very big story and the world created is very engaging. I was excited to see how this translated to the game. The books are good fun. They create a wonderful deep world that captivated Jamey after he read Red Rising back in 2014. During which time, Jamey was busy with Scythe. He spent a few years tinkering with ideas for a Red Rising game but could not make a breakthrough. Even speaking about his failures openly here. But not long after this, Jamey stumbled across a mechanism that worked for his idea for the game. After playing Fantasy Realms, Jamey partnered with co-designer Alex Schmidt and set to work. From this, a card collecting game, very much like Fantasy realms was born. A game where players are looking to find the best combinations of cards in their hand to score the most points. I am certain the simplicity of this will put some people off. People who are more accustomed to the more mid-weight nature of Jamey’s games may be disappointed. But after playing this game now many times, I can say that is not the case for me. Before I get into the rules, I wanted to share the thoughts of Gareth from @boardgamemeeple "Red Rising delivers pretty much what was promised, a fast playing, simple to learn card game with enough depth and decision making delivered through the goal to craft the best hand of cards from those available. Juggling and adjusting your hand to optimise scoring is a real delight, especially grabbing a much needed card or claiming the Sovereign token at the last moment to both gain victory points for yourself but also making the previous holder lose the opportunity to score bonus points and hopefully claiming victory for yourself is so satisfying. The variable victory point mechanic on the cards really is something wonderful. Each card has both a VP value for itself but also gives you a chance to score bonus VPs for meeting its requirements; like pairing with other cards or owning a number of resources. This makes you strive to optimise your hand and to squeeze as many points as possible out of each card, absolutely fantastic. The only minor issue for me is that the rich and engaging world of Red Rising just doesn’t come alive through the artwork alone, which while it is a shame it doesn’t take away from the fact that Red Rising is a nicely balanced card game, a whole ton of fun and has already become my most played game this year, well done Jamey and Alex." @boardgamemeeple score - 7.5/10 As Gareth says, the rules are simple, and I can see why people may think this makes Red Rising a simple game. But it is not. But first, let me take you through the rules. Red Rising Rules. The game is simple. To set-up, lay out the board and deal two cards to each of the four areas. Jupiter, Mars, Luna, and the Institute. Then deal five cards to each player and give them their house card, player rules card, rocket and influence tokens. Then each player can place your rocket token on the Flight track. In a two-player game, you would also add three tokens to the Institute. This acts as a dummy third player for this part of the scoring. This is the only change for a two-player game. There are other rules for solo, but I won't go into that here. But you find some great information on this here. On your turn, you will place a card from your hand onto one of the four areas on the board. You can carry out that cards deploy effect if you choose. You will then take a card from any one of the other three areas and take that areas location effect. From this exchange of cards, players are looking to maximize the points from the cards in their hand. Each card has a simple score on the top left, but also an end game scoring opportunity on the bottom. This will often need cards working with other cards in combo effects. And through the game you will be looking to find ways to curate a hand that works together as best you can. The Institute is where you can place your influence tokens at certain points in the game. This can be from a card deploy power or when you take a card from this part of the board and use that location benefit. At the end of the game, the person with the most influence tokens in the institute gets four points per token. The player with the second most gets two points per influence token. On the Fleet Track, players can move their ship up a space to gain more end game points. As above, this is done when a card deploy action allows it, or if you take a card from the Jupiter section of the board. Taking cards from Mars will get you one helium. Little red crystal components that score you points at the end of the game. They can also be used to buy extra cards and activate other end game card powers. The last area is Luna. This is how you get the Sovereign Token. This gets you 10 points at the end of the game if you have it, but also combos with certain card powers for extra points. Play continues until as a group, all three of the following factors have happened. Someone has got seven helium, at least seven points are on the Fleet Track and at least seven influence tokens are in the Institute. This does not have to be the same person doing all three of these things. Rather, they need to have been reached collectively. Once this happens, each player counts up their points from their cards, and activates any end game powers. They then add their points from their helium crystals, points from the Fleet track and tokens in the Institute to get their final score. Most points wins. Want to play again? Red Rising Response. OK, so you have learnt the game in under five minutes of reading, and I get that makes it sound simple. But it is worth noting that one thing Jamey looks for in a game is that it can be explained to others with ease. He does not want to publish games that are intimidating or long and boring to learn and teach. This may seem off brand? With games like Scythe and Euphoria published, which on the surface, look like more complex games. And they are mid to high weight games, but they are also easy to learn and teach. Way easier than some may think. Hard to master for sure, but easy to get started. But is there any complexity in Red Rising beyond the simple mechanic and gameplay? Yes! Yes there is! And very simply, from the card-combos. At the end of the game, you will have between four and seven cards. Perhaps more, maybe less. But generally, that amount. But you can still score between 100-400 points from these. The combo effects are huge, wild and fun, but also, complex. Players will be thinking through the game about what cards have come up? What is available? What may not be seen in this game? What card to keep? What to deploy? Which ones to try and pair with something else? What cards are you opponents perhaps keeping based on the cards they are taking? It is very deep. It can lead to a bit of mild analysis paralysis for some players as they learn the deck and opponents tactics. Red Rising is simple in rules and Mechanics, but it is not simple in strategy. Well, if you want to try and score well anyway! Any analysis paralysis is understandable. But don't worry, it does not worry the game. But there are 112 unique cards in this game all offering new and exciting ways to score points at the end of the game. You will want to have a bit of a think! But this can make the end game scoring sometimes a lengthy process. Which is another complaint I am sure this game will get. So, let’s get into that! Red Rising Recording. A typical game for me at two-player took on average 25-35 minutes to play. For three players, around 35-55 minutes. Each time, scoring was around ten minutes to complete. Some people will not like that balance. Thinking too much time is spent counting and not playing. But I loved it. The scoring was a fun part of the process. I enjoyed seeing what each player had done with their cards. There are some ways to see how people are doing during the game score wise. From the progress they are making on the Fleet Track, how many Helium tokens they have and how many Influence tokens they have in the Institute. But this usually pales to the hundreds of points in each player's hand that you will not know about. So the score at the end can be a bit of an event. It’s fun to go through card by card, how many points each player has, and for the early games, learn how each player did it. To see which cards work well with others, and which less so. I enjoyed the process, for both the dramatic reveal of the scores, but also learning and analysis of the game. So many games end with a moment of, “and you got 124 and I got 67. Well done! What's next?” Whereas with Red Rising, there is a bit of drama. It unfolds over time and can be exciting! Jamey is looking to develop an APP to speed this process up for those that will not enjoy this. But it was a simple thing to do, it is just a matter of time. But as I say, it was a fun part of the game. I didn’t see it as the game had ended and it was now dull end game admin. I found the process to be a part of the game itself and an enjoyable one. But this is a key consideration to make if you are on the fence with this game. Red Rising Recipe. The fun in this game lives within the card combos. This is where the complexity lies too, but it is also where the joy from the game comes. Finding cards that work together is very satisfying. The way this game asks you to curate your hand is so engrossing. Sometimes, you may need to place a card down you want to keep, to free up another card you also want. This of course puts the first card at risk of being taken by the other players in the game. Anything on the board is free game for any other player and you won’t always know what their plans are. You may also tempt them to change their plans with a juicy piece of bait. This is also a fascinating part of the game that started to come through for me from game six onwards. Players started to second guess what other people were doing. And on quite a few occasions, laid cards as bait or as a bluff. Hoping to fool their opponents into assuming they were playing a certain way to distract them from their real plan. I don’t have many games that play as "rule-light" as this, but also offer the level of complexity with the scoring. As such, it meant that I played it a lot. And that I and those I was playing it with, all got quite adept at the game quickly. I am more used to playing a new game five to ten times whilst the new game sheen lasts. And then it falls into a "once every few months" rotation when something else comes through the door. I don’t see this happening with Red Rising. The game plays in such a short amount of time but offers such complexity and satisfaction with the scoring. As such, this is the perfect medium length game. It plays in under an hour every time, and it is easy to teach and learn. Red Rising has to score well considering how often I would be willing to pay this game. Red Rising Red Flags. The components are great. The presentation is great. The rule book is great. But it is not perfect. Theme wise, like Pendulum and Tapestry, I am left a little underwhelmed. I don’t feel I am in the Red Rising world at all. There is zero story in this game. This is to avoid any spoilers for those that have not read the books. I get that. But this is an IP. People expect a bit of that don’t they? Jamey hopes people will read the books from playing the game and I am sure that will happen a lot. It worked for me and many others I have seen talk about now reading the book having been inspired by this game. But I do think it’s a shame that more of the Red Rising universe isn’t felt in the gameplay itself. The characters are there for sure, but they mean nothing to the game. It can become a little abstract to play. This is my only criticism. But a big one for me. Scythe created this amazing world that so many of us fell in love with. This is a big part of Stonemaier’s success. We all want to fall in love with another world that Jamey and his team create. This will come from the open-world game Jamey is developing due for a release in a few years. But I hoped I would see more of this in Red Rising too. This is the rod Jamey has created for his back. It is hard for a card-collecting game to have as expansive and immersive a world as a large-board engine-builder with mechs! I understand that. But I do feel something could have been done in Red Rising to develop this a little more. Some flavour text on each card? Event cards that change the scoring or game proceedings that are linked to events in the books? A minor point that has also come up is the deck size. In most games, especially at a lower player count, you will not get through the deck. A lot of the cards need other cards to be present to maximise their scoring. If they don’t come up; those powers are redundant. This can be frustrating and did bug me for the first three games. I then realised I was playing the game wrong. I was trying to make my starting hand work for me too much. I was being stubborn with my “Plan A”. But then I started working with the cards I had available to me, rather than the cards I wanted to have, and this changed. It became a much better experience. I realised each game was going to be very different based on what comes up and I started to enjoy the game even more. Another small issue is the colours of some of the components being too similar in the Collector Edition. As they are metal, Jamey explained it was hard to get huge differences. This does not affect the game but a point that has been raised by some. There may be the odd second take in low light but that’s it. I agree it can also be momentarily confusing when you are setting up or packing away if they get mixed up. But the inlay does have a separate home for everything. Red Rising Round-Up. I like this game. It sits currently sixth in my all-time Stonemaier favourites. Behind, Scythe, Viticulture, Wingspan, Tapestry, and Euphoria. But ahead of Charterstone, Pendulum, Between Two Castles and My Little Scythe, and Between Two Cities. It is very different to any of these other games. Quicker and lighter, closest to Between Two Castles for weight. But with a lot more satisfaction in the scoring. I felt more in control of my destiny than when playing Between Two Castles. And as silly as it sounds, the huge numbers available in the scoring do make it more fun. I like scoring in the double and triple hundreds for games! If you are looking for the next Scythe, you will not find that here. If you want a game that oozes the IP, you will not get what you hope for. But if you want a polished, Stonemaier game that is the perfect sub hour game, then look no further. Red Rising is a solid game that I will keep in my collection and enjoy for many years to come.

K3 WBG Score: 7/10 Player Count: 2-4 You’ll like this if you like: Azul, Patchwork, Hive. Published by: Helvetiq Designed by: Philippe Proux Designer Philippe Proux has a passion for wood work, mountaineering and games. It doesn't come as much of a surprise that he brings the world K3, a wooden strategy game about climbing a mountain. Using beautifully crafted wooden pieces, the game works as a co-op or competitive game, and brings a delightful sensation of calm strategy to the table. To set up K3, place all the wooden pieces bar the white and grey ones into the provided bag. A high quality cotton bag bringing added portability to this game. Draw nine pieces out at random and lay them out as the base of the mountain. All players will now draw pieces according to the player count. 17 each for a two player, 12 for a three player, and nine for a four player. Each player will also get a combination of the white and grey pieces depending on player count again. Players must then quickly assort their pieces into a pyramid. With a base of six, five, or four depending on how many pieces you have. The first player to finish building their pyramid will take the first turn. The trick here is to be quick so you can go first, but not so quick that you build your pieces in a disadvantageous way. On your turn, you will place a piece from your pyramid onto the base of the mountain, showing your route up the hazardous path. You may only take pieces that are available from your pyramid, as in, one that has no other pieces on top of it. And when placing your piece onto the mountain, it must touch one colour the same as its own. As such, when you are setting up your pyramid, you will want to spread out the colours as best you can, and look to leave suitable pieces near the top, based on the colour of the pieces on the mountain base. You will also have your white and grey pieces which you will want to space out near the bottom third of the mountain, it's unlikely you will want them sooner. The grey pieces act as wild and can be placed on any colour. The white piece acts as you taking a rest. You remove the white piece from our pyramid, but do not place it onto the mountain. You do not forfeit your turn, or get penalised in anyway, but no progress is made up the mountain. If you are ever in a situation where you cannot place a piece legally onto the mountain, or you are out of pieces before the mountain summit has been reached, then you are eliminated. This is a last player standing situation, so you must plan accordingly. The last player still in the game wins. If you are ever in a situation where you can only place a piece onto the mountain so that it touches two other pieces of the same colour then you must allow the following player to chose one of your accessible pieces to take as their own There is also a cooperative variety where players work together to try and reach the summit. This works similarly to the main game, with players taking it in turns to place a piece onto the mountain with the same rules as the competitive game. Except victory here is attained by reaching the top with all players still in the game. If you do not make it or any player is eliminated, then all players loose. Playing K3 feels very calming. The puzzle to first assort your own pyramid, and then place your pieces correctly onto the mountain so that you will not leave yourself short later in the game is one that I take great satisfaction from. Of course, in the competitive game, you can be scuppered by your opponents, but the challenge does feel more like a solitary one. You can of course see what pieces your opponents have coming up, and plan your move accordingly, it depends on how you wish to play. I prefer the cooperative experience where this doesn't happen. Completing the mountain path feels fulfilling. Like you have achieved something as a team. But the game plays quick enough that any failed attempts can be quickly forgotten as another attempt for the summit is made. Missing out by one piece as the picture below shows can be a real heart break! Just one more wild, green or yellow for the top piece was needed! This is a highly tactile game. From the beautifully constructed box, to the cotton bag, and finally the expertly crafted wooden pieces, everything feels like it has been made with real attention to detail and high quality. It is a delight to hold and manipulate these pieces in your hand. The hexagon shapes fit together side by side on the mountain beautifully. They roll in your finger tips so delightfully as you ponder you next move in a manner I think only board game hobbyist would understand! This game feels unique in my collection. (Steadily reaching 500). This is an abstract strategy game at its heart. But the physical construction, built between players either cooperatively or competitively, brings something new to the table for me. This works perfectly as a quick filler or a game to take out with you to the park. I am always on the look out for weather proof games. Not just from the rain, but the wind too. Far to many cards have blown away from my exterior tables for my liking. A nice solid weighty piece like this always catches my eye. Find any flat surface and you will be playing in seconds. This game worked well for me with my two children, (6 and 8) and I can see it being the perfect game to teach kids multiple game and physical disciplines. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys games such as Hive. This has a similar component quality to that, working in multiple environments and situations. It is simple enough to teach in minutes. But still with a challenge that will satisfy those looking for a quick, fun, strategic game.

Dice Trip WBG Score: 7/10 Player Count: 1-4 You’ll like this if you like: Any roll and write! Published by: Helvetiq Designed by: Hartmut Kommerell Dice Trip has a very pure concept. The package, name, branding, theme, rules and structure are all very clear. In a world of roll and writes turned up to 11, Dice Trip brings the genre back to the core. And the net result is a very pleasing, relaxing, and meditative game. This, I feel, is what this mechanism should be about. Some other games have somewhat over complicated the idea of rolling a dice and marking the result on a sheet of paper in the pursuit of points. With games like Ganz Schon Clever, I like the clever cascading affect created. With Hadrian’s Wall, I love the deeply entrenched theme and structure. With Divvy Dice, I enjoy the choices and solo campaign experience. But all three, sometimes, just feel like too much of a game. This sounds silly I know. But aren’t roll and writes supposed to be simple? I love all the aforementioned games, and will play them for years to come. They are my top three in the genre in fact. But I did have a longing for a more simplistic roll and right for those times when I am tired in my collection. Dice Trip hits this spot perfectly. Time to Roll! To set up, give each player a sheet and a pencil. Done! The rules? Well, they are not that much more complicated. Lets see if we can do it in three paragraphs? Players take it in turn to roll the dice. Each player must then combine the four dice to make two numbers. A five and one could make a 51 or 15 for example. Each dice must be used once, and then the two numbers created are written onto the sheet in front of each player. The sheet will show a map of Switzerland. Although there are other maps in other variants. The idea is you are looking to score points by creating links of numbers in consecutive order. A link of four cities next to each other in directly ascending order will score two points. Five consecutive cities will get three points. This runs up to a run of ten plus which would score nine points. Players will also score there longest road of ascending cities. They don’t have to be in direct order, but they must be in successive order. Players will score one point per city in this sequence. There are also points available for any number you write which has two of the same number in. 11, 22, 33 etc. And there are also coloured circles on the sheet which if you match up with the coloured dice, you will score a point. As in, there are four dice of four different colours. And for example, if you use the 4 from a blue dice to write 41 onto Basel which is the blue city, you will score an additional point. Each player has two special powers that they can use when ever they wish. One is to re-roll the dice which affects all players. The other is to use the number on a dice twice, which only affects them. Any time you can’t or don’t want to use a dice, you must cross out a city and score a negative point. No number can be written twice so sometimes this is unavoidable. The board us set up into three zones. North East, North West, and South. If you can avoid crossing a city out in all three areas you will be rewarded with nine additional bonus points at the end of the game. If you have crosses in just one area, you will gain seven points. And if you have just one zone without any crossed-out cities you will get four points. Points will also be awarded if you can place a number from each 'decade'. That’s the entire game. Highest score wins. Players will carry on until all cities have a number or a cross in. It feels so natural and relaxing to play. I find I can set up and teach this game to new players within a minute, and we are usually done for game one within ten minutes. This game is best played relaxed on a couch. Drinking a hot beverage of your choice. Perhaps planning a driving holiday. Maybe even to Essen one year! That’s certainly how I last played it just now and it was a delight! The game works well in a solo or two, and is an idea filler or "chiller" game. There is a delicate balance between getting your numbers into the right place, building the ascending roads, and not blocking other scoring opportunities. Learning where to place your first numbers is key and understanding the setup of the score sheet will help players improve their score; rewarding repeat plays. This improvement is satisfying and another reason this game is just so relaxing. The feeling I get when I play this game is one of content and relaxation. It is not the best roll and write on the market. It doesn’t try to be the cleverest. But it certainly will end up being the one I reach for more than many others due to its accessibility.

There are very few sports games out there. Let me re-phrase that. There are very few good sports games out there. Out of the thousands of games listed on BGG, over 5,000 are sports based. But a lot of those are racing games or in truth, terrible. When a new one comes long, I am often highly skeptical of it. I am unsure why. Surely a good one has to come around soon? But I often pass on playing them due to the many poor experiences I have had in the past. Recently, I saw a demo of ManagerBall at UKGE and was very impressed. There was something a little more thought out with this game than some others that made me think this could be one of the few good sports games. Having now run through many ‘seasons’ with this game, I can safely say that it is fun. There are some issues with it that I would like to see tweaked. But overall, this was a fun experience. It felt unique, and I had fun playing. Let’s see how it plays. Kick Off! On the surface, the game is loosely based on a Top Trumps mechanic, but there is a lot more going on. Players will select a team from six pre-set groups of cards. The only really difference is the name of the players and their kit colour. All the teams are evenly balanced. You will then place your selected starting 11 face-down on your player mat leaving you with three substitutes. Each player has a group of ratings like Top Trumps. Speed, Aggression, Technique etc. You can alternate your formation to some degree, but largely this part feels a little prescribed, and each team starts largely the same. Each player will then be able to “sign” a Superstar player. There is a deck of cards you can draw from, full of players with higher stats and jazzy kits! This one player can be instantly added into your starting 11, and could be a Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, or Attacker. This is where some minor asymmetry kicks in. Using the IOS enabled app, one person will then need to enter in the team names and colours for each person playing. It works from two up but is a lot more fun with at least four players controlling one team each. The app will generate a fixture list for you and tell you which two players are up first. You will see all the fixtures, so you can have two games running at once if you have at least four players. But in a three-player league, one person will be watching at all times. Games are quick and fun to watch though, so this is not a fault. Games consist of players choosing a card to flip. They must start with Attackers first when attacking, and Defenders first when defending. Midfielders work for either discipline when you have exhausted the usual suspects. The home team starts with possession and will pick one of their Attackers first. They will flip the card and pick one of the statistics from their chosen card and read out loud which one they are going for, and their players appropriate score. If they have a higher number than their opponent, they can then have a shot on goal. So far, so Top Trumps. Strikers will have two shots (two die rolls). Midfielders just the one. Defenders also only one, but with a negative two attributed to their dice roll. Shooting consists of throwing the 26 sided die into the provided stadium shaped dice tray (which is awesome). Roll a one and you will score an own goal, roll a 20 and you will somehow manage to score twice as well as getting your hands on the goal of the season trophy. If you roll higher than the defending goalkeepers stats. You will score. If you roll less than half their stats, the goalkeeper will catch the shot and possession is overturned. Anything in between means the attacking player will pick a new player and start the process again. The dice also has multiple ‘refs whistle’ icons on a number of the sides that will elicit a card draw from the appropriate deck. These cards could see your players being sent off, injured, or a penalty, free kick or corner being awarded. It can also prompt the end of the game which can be frustrating if this happens early in a game. Fantastic if you are currently leading! Otherwise, the match is finished when both players have used each of their ten outfield players once. Full-Time. And this is the entire football part of the game. You will be doing this over and over, game after game. But crucially, wining games is only part of the actual game experience. Sure, winning games helps. Winning games will get you points in the game. ManagerBall points. But it is not the entire objective. You are playing more as Chairman and Manager of this team, not just the manager. Your overall objective is about your club’s sustainability financially as well as success on the field. You will start the game with a cool £25m in the bank. Sounds a lot. But after each game you need to pay your players wages. If you win the match, this is manageable. You will get a £5m win bonus, £1m for TV rights and potentially a bit more from other sponsors or ad-hoc rewards. However, if you lose, and perhaps get fined for your poor conduct in the post-match TV interview, your funds will quickly become depleted and over time you can fall into administration. This is all managed by cards that are drawn by both managers after each game. The variety of rewards and punishments from these cards is high and a lot of fun. The risk of leaving yourself exposed financially is real. We can't all be like City! Let’s Shop! Other than paying your players wages, the main way you will spend your money is in the transfer market. At the end of each season, when each team has played each other team twice, all players will enter a transfer window. This a chance for players to sell unwanted players to other teams or the bank, buy new Superstar players, and can also be a time when you are forced to sell one of your better players. Cards drawn earlier in the game could force a sale of one of your preferred starting players in the next transfer window. You will always be fairly rewarded for these forced sales, but of course, you would prefer to sell your weaker players, not your better ones. But this football. Players have feelings and sometimes want to go, no matter what the club did for them. Looking at you Jack. Each player can take part in up to two transfers, crucial if you need some funds, or want to improve your starting 11. The off-season break will also see players being rewarded financially for their finishing position in the league based on the results on the pitch. As well as one person winning significant prize money if they currently hold the goal of the season trophy. Awarded to anyone who last rolled a 20 when attempting a shot. Depending on your player count and available time, you can play multiple seasons or just one. That’s entirely up to you. But at the end of each season, the app will ask you to enter your current financial situation, rewarding each player with more ManagerBall points, based on their current fiscal position relatively speaking to the other players. A league table will then be created based on the Manager points you got from your league position and financial situation. More than just a game. This game is far more than just a sports simulation, or the simple Top Trump mechanic of comparing stats of one card to another. That is a core part of the game, and if that doesn’t sound fun, then the rest may not make up for it. But if you do feel you would enjoy that kind of quick card play, the rest of the mechanisms will certainly draw you into this game. I enjoy the balancing act between trying to upgrade your players and win games, all whilst trying to stay afloat financially. The first few games I played I ran into administration very quickly due to poor play and one rule mistake! Not being able to pay you player wages after games forces you to sell player for half their face value to the bank until you can pay their wages. This quickly results in you not being able to fill a full team, and ends your chances of winning the game very quickly. I later found a more conservative way to manage my finances, which while at first, was frustrating, ultimately ended up with a more satisfying experience. The best way I can explain this, is by saying this is more of a simulation than an arcade game. Putting it into old-school 90s video game terms. This game asks you to think seriously about the decisions you are making rather than just letting you do whatever without any consequences. This isn’t a quick fantasy football game where you can sign all the best players, play seven strikers and just have some care-free fun. You need to think more seriously about what you can afford and what is realistic. Harry Redknapp would hate it. This is resource management more than a pure sports game. I really enjoyed this part of it. Playing multiple seasons help cement this aspect for me. Slow growth with one or two player improvements per season is sustainable and ultimately satisfying when you see your teams progress over four or five seasons, and of course, the fact that you haven’t gone bankrupt yet! You don’t need to make all those changes in one season, and it is strange how you become attached to some of your players. You won’t want to sell them all! ManagerBall will come to Kickstarter later this year or early next. I will put a link here when it does. But go check out the pre-link page here.

Covert Ops WBG Score: 8/10 Player Count: 2-5 You’ll like this if you like: Cockroach Poker, Unstable Unicorns, Dogs! Published by: Golden Ginty Games Ltd. Designed by: Mathew Jones, Ollie Jones Canine Kleptomaniacs is a hilarious, fun, and delightfully made game that I have previously reviewed here. The game came out in 2020 and has regularly hit my gaming table ever since. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my family adore this game! In 2021 the first expansion came out, Covert Ops, and we were all very excited to play it to see what it changes and adds to the game. Before I come onto the expansion review, I should say this first up. I am not the biggest fan of expansions. I like what some do for some games. But in a grumpy way, I often think that if the game needed it, the initial game wasn’t that great. But most of the time, the expansion is jumping on the band wagon of the base games’ success. I know this is not the case all the time. And I appreciate this is quite a simple and basic statement to make for a large subject. But I felt it needed to be said before I say this. I love this expansion! I won’t go into how the base game works. You can check that out in the main review. But let’s talk about what this expansion brings and why I love it so much. New Hiding Places. Canine Kleptomaniacs is all about stealing Collectables from your owner for points at the end of the game. It’s a set collection game at its heart. But it’s no good just having the cards in your paws, they will score you nothing there and are liable to be nabbed by other dogs. When you want to secure your Collectables and score points in the game, you must place sets of cards down from your hand into your Hiding Place. These cards are then safe and available for you to score at the end of the game. No one can touch them. But not anymore! In Covert Ops, Hiding Places can now be raided by your rival dog players. Players are given a Mutt on a Mission card at set up. This allows them to choose to raid another player's Hiding Place on their turn. You can increase your chances of a successful raid by gathering XP cards from the Action deck during the game. For each XP you use on a raid, you can increase the number of times you may roll the dice. To be successful in a raid, you need to defeat the number rolled by your opponent who is trying to defend their turf and collectables. The defending player's number of dice rolls will be determined by the level of their defence. All players are given a Secure Hiding Place at set up. These areas cannot be raided. But other Hiding Places must be defended by the new C.R.A.P. system. Hilariously, this stands for ‘Code Red Anti Pilferage’. When you acquire a new Hiding Place, you automatically gain a C.R.A.P. card as well. Roll the dice and the number you get will determine the level of security you have on this Hiding Place; and in turn when raided, the number of times you can roll the die in defence. This is a fun system. It adds a lot to the game and makes players think about where and when they place any collectables down. If you roll a low number for your C.R.A.P. defence then you can re-roll on later turns. It all seems quite fair and thought out and brings a new dimension to the game I enjoy a lot. It opens up the game in a way the base game couldn’t You want to protect your most prized Collectables - often the ones other players desperately need - but now, the main way you can do that is by making them potentially available to other players. Special Gadget Cards. There are also new Special Gadget cards, clearly labelled with a blue outer marking. When acquired these must be played immediately. They are all clearly labelled so need minimal instruction to add in, and they give players the chance to pilfer extra Collectibles in fun new ways. I like the Electroscopic Squeakatron which allows the player who draws this card to take all of one type of Collectable from every player's hand. The power of the card is nice, but I just love the name - this is clearly what a Dog would call it! Masters Bedroom Cards It was always exciting to raid the Masters bedroom to get a bonus card. Now, there is an added twist, with new cards added into the deck that will take points away from you at the end of the game. This evens out the bonuses usually acquired from here and adds an element of danger when taking this action. None of these additions complicate the game and can be added into the base game with minimal changes or extra rules. This is important for me in an expansion. I like how Covert Ops brings a whole new feel to the game without sweeping changes. It feels a lot more Dog-Eat-Dog, for want of a better phrase. No, scrap that, I actually like that phrase. It’s spot-on for how it feels, and you know, Dogs! There was always a lot of Take-That and player interaction in the base game, but the thought of being able to safely tuck away your Collectables in the safety of your Hiding Places did make the game sometimes one sided to the players that acquired extra Hiding Places first. Now, this has gone. And due to the raiding opportunity, each player needs to be a lot more careful with how they lay down and hide their Collectables. I don’t know if this was the reason for this expansion being done, but it certainly helped the only real issue I had with the base game. It fixes this issue and does it in a really fun way that is very much in keeping with the base game's feel. Canine Kleptomaniacs is a fast, fun family card game that plays best in a three to four player experience and Covert Ops is a must have addition if you like the base game. It fixes the only minor issue with it and adds a lot more fun to the table.

Trolldilemma Card Game Preview Trolldelimma WBG Score: 7/10 Player Count: 3-5 You’ll like this if you like: Cockroach Poker, Skull, Citadels. Published by: Barefoot games Designed by: Tim Jahn Disclaimer: This game was provided free for an unbiased preview. Trolldilemma is the second game from Barefoot Games, the team behind 2020 release Chef à La Card. It is hitting Kickstarter in Autumn 2021. This is a preview copy with slightly different quality components and print quality of the final version. But otherwise, this represents the mechanics and rules of the final game. Trolldilemma on face value looks incredibly simple, but there is some depth to this game that will surprise and maybe even delight you. You play as a Troll under a bridge, attacking anyone who dares to trip-trap over your bridge. Traveller cards will be revealed in the same number as there are players. Each player will then be assigned one of the Travellers to go to their bridge. Players will then either gain the benefit of that particular Traveller card or take the loss it brings depending on the cards text. But the way the cards are assigned, and the clever way their value changes is what makes this game fun. Let me explain. In Trolldilemma, there are 55 different traveller cards. Each cards shows the characters Courage in the top right of the card. The Courage scores run from one to 55. The higher you go in Courage, the bigger the target for the Troll, and the greater the reward when the Troll robs that Traveller. So, you always want to get the higher value card right? No! That would be too easy! The very top value Traveller cards, those with a courage of 42 or higher, will take away your coins. The braver the Traveller, the greater the reward. However, if they become too brave, they will fight back and rob you! So, players will be looking to get the higher value cards, but not when they are too high. Although it wont always be completely within their control. After the first round wen Traveller cards are assigned by table order, and when everyone has at least one Traveller who has come their way; all cards are reversed to show the Skull side. Then, on every subsequent round, once the Travellers for that round have been drawn in the Reveal phase, all players on the count of three will give their skulls to themselves or any other player at the table. The player with the highest number of skulls will then get the highest value courage cards. So, if the highest value card is offering nine coins, it’s a straight fight for who can get the most skulls and people will give their Skulls to themselves hoping to have the most. But if the top card robs you of your coins and the second highest value card gets you coins, you need to find a way to have the second most skulls, but certainly not the most. You may give some to yourself, and some Skulls to others. As you get more Skull cards, your power to dictate who gets which card in the following round will increase. You may not want the most Skulls in one round, but it does mean that you have more power to vote in later rounds. It may be that in one round, no one wants the top card as it is has a negative effect due to its high Courage, and one player is given all the Skulls to force them to deal with that particular traveller this round. They will then lose some coins if they have any. But, they are then left with more Skulls than anyone else for the next round handing them the power. There is a delicate balance between wanting to win certain cards, but not all of them, but also not wanting to give up all your Skulls for later rounds. Having more than eight skulls at the start and end of your turn is also how the game comes to an end. Within the deck there are also a number of other cards that bring chaos, fun, and interesting mini games into the order of play. Let’s take a look at these. Trollbird. At a courage of 17, the Trollbird gives the player who has this card the ability to act as the player with the most Skulls in the next round, even if they don’t physically have the most Skulls. Trollan Horse. With a courage set to 18, this card gives the player who receives it eight coins, but then at the end of their turn, they will then lose coins equal to the number of sulls in front of them. Troll’ey. This card has a score of 29 and when received by a player, will enact a quick mini game. On a count of three all players will point both of their fingers, either left, right or one each way. The Troll’ey card will then move left and right, depending on all the fingers directions, taking a coin and skull with it each time is passes through a player. When the card reaches its final resting place the player who now has it will take all the coins and Skulls it gobbled up along the way. Capitalist Kobold. This card comes with a courage score of 37, and like the Troll’ey, starts a mini game when it arrives. On the count of three, all players will reveal between one and five fingers on their hand. All players who show a unique number will receive that many coins. Nasty Necromancer. This card, has a score of 41 and shows a necromancer with a staff, On top of the staff is a pointed hand. The player who gets this card must throw it spinning in the air. The person the staff is pointing at when it lands will get a skull from all other players. Holy Men. This card has a score of 54 and gives the Troll player who receives it the chance to either gain two coins from each other player or discard three skulls. Something you may want to do if you are close to ending the game due to having a lot of Skulls but are not in the lead so don’t want this to happen. King of the Trolls The final card with a courage of 55 will allow the Troll player who gets it to steal as many coins from another player as you own Skulls. Troll Guide. There are four Troll guide cards numbered 11, 24, 33, and 40. When drawn, these card cause another card to be immediately drawn to go travel with this one taking on the Troll guides courage. So, it could be that a very high card that will rob from you, now becomes the lowest ranked card. It could facilitate a situation where the top and bottom card will both take coins from you but the middle-ranked card gives you nine coins. An interesting situation to try and navigate, especially in a five-player game! The end game mechanic brings in yet another dynamic to take into consideration when passing Skulls in the Redirect round. In later rounds, if you have the most amount of Skulls, but you don’t have the highest number of coins, you need to elongate the game. Conversely, if you have the most amount of coins, you will want to end the game as quickly as possible. The difficulty here being that if you want to elongate the game by getting rid of Skulls, this will mean you will most probably not have the most amount of Skulls in a round, and will not get the best card, and potentially other players will catch up with you by looting higher amounts of coins. The entire game is a balancing act made even more interesting by the five item cards available. There are eight in total, and in each game, five will be randomly dealt onto the table. These cards give players the chance to buy special powers for the cost of five coins, which can change a number of factors. This game looks very simple to start with, and in terms of turns and turn options, it is very simple. But the dynamic at play from the different powered cards and the way the end game is triggered brings a very interesting and often laugh-out-loud hilarious experience to the table. I have really enjoyed getting to know this game with this preview copy. I think at Kickstarter this could do very well. The art is gorgeous. The theme is a lot of fun. And for a card game with a twist, this is certainly one I will cherish in my collection.

by @boardelv 1. Gloomhaven - the ultimate adventure game that made my team meet every single day to play at least one map! The whole experience of playing Gloomhaven is unforgettable and one of a kind. The feeling of unlocking new character is so exciting! 2. Twilight Imperium - Meeting for TI isn't the whole process. You have to be ready to play a game that takes up to 8 hours! But all the emotions, sudden twists, unstable alliances, epic space battles and scheming… simply awesome! 3. Root - I love asymetric games! Choosing your factions, learning how to play it and what to do against other factions is so much fun! Don’t get fooled! Although Root is super cute it’s actually a great startegy game which aquires you to think a lot and upahead!

by Tom Harrod, @buryboardgames WBG Score: 7/10 Player Count: 2-5 Players You’ll like this if you like: Sushi Go!, Seven Wonders, Tybor The Builder Published by: Unfringed Designed by: Chris Priscott Judging a book by its cover is an easy trap. We’ve all done it before in many walks of life, and the same applies for board and card games. Zuuli is the kind of game that might fool a few people, if they judge it on aesthetics, alone. Now before we jump in, I should say: Zuuli is due to hit Kickstarter on 7 September 2021. I was fortunate enough to get a preview copy of the game, direct from Unfringed Things ahead of release. What’s It All About? Zuuli is a card-drafting game where you’re building a cute and cuddly zoo. Each player starts with one New Plot enclosure, and a hand of cards. Some might be animals; some could be additional enclosures. Others might be upgrades for enclosures. You’ll perform classic drafting – pick one and pass the rest on – until you have a selection of cards. Then everyone arranges their zoo into a tableau of sorts, for end-of-round scoring. At the end of the round, more cards get dealt out and the game continues. Not all cards enter the game though, even at different player counts; hand size scales accordingly. Zuuli has a familiar, formulaic structure to it. Once you’ve played the first round, you have a strong grasp of what it is you’re trying to achieve. The game lasts three rounds, with your score ever-accumulating. So: endearing animals, cheerful cartoon colours, set collection, and drafting. At a glance, I’d forgive you for assuming Zuuli shares some similarities with the likes of Gamewright’s Sushi Go!. I’ll admit they sit within the same genre of games, and claim to have similar target markets, age-wise (suggested at 8+). However, Zuuli sits a rung or two higher up the strategy ladder. Let’s creep forward and observe Zuuli in its natural habitat… Bit Of Pick-And-Pass Drafting; Pinch Of Memory, Smattering Of Push-Yer-Luck When it comes to the drafting, you’re not picking a card and then revealing it like you do in Sushi Go!, or Seven Wonders. Here you keep the card face-down; you don’t show it until the entire drafting phases finishes. This keeps other players guessing, so there’s a lot less open information on the table. To some extent, this makes things a little more chaotic. Why? Because players cannot hate-draft in such an obvious manner. Instead, a whole extra spoonful of memory-based skills get injected into Zuuli. This is all the more prevalent with lower player counts. If playing in a 2- or 3-player game, you’ll receive back your initial hand of cards at least twice. When you get an old hand back, you might recall which cards are missing. The issue is, you cannot tell which opponent has drafted what… Edit: Tom has since discovered, direct from the designer, that he misinterpreted this rule of total ‘blind’ drafting. Zuuli is, in fact, more akin to Sushi Go!/7 Wonders in the simultaneous draft-then-reveal mechanism. Tom happily accepts he got this rule wrong, but has decided to keep his review as it stands, since he’s basing his analysis upon how he digested this preview copy. And who knows? Maybe Unfringed Things will consider Tom’s accidental interpretation of the rules as a Bury Board Games Variant of Zuuli…?] This is, at least, the case in the first round. It’s all a total blind pick-and-pass affair in that regard. Nobody at the table knows who’s drafting which exact cards. At the end of the round, everyone reveals their drafted cards. (In a 3-player game, for example, you draft eight cards each in the first round.) Then everyone ‘develops’ their zoo. In other words: you’re arranging your cards to best house animals into enclosures. What Kind Of Cards Are There? Enclosure cards state their habitat type (yellow Plains, green Jungle, or blue Water). Some, like your New Plot enclosure, present all three terrain types. Others that you might draft during the game provide a single, or double-terrain. When it comes to the rest of the enclosure’s anatomy layout, there’s a number in the top-left. This determines the space available within that enclosure. A score multiplier sits in the top-right, with any habitat-specific conditions along the bottom. The animal cards, meanwhile, state whether they’re Fierce (predators) or Friendly (herbivores). You cannot house Fierce animals in the same enclosures as Friendly ones. That’s the first rule of Zoo Club! The Lion and the Sloth cannot hang our together, or else it’s going to end with a chomp, chomp, chomp. Each animal has a habitat it needs to live in, which is one of Plains, Jungle or Water. (Some aren’t fussy and can live in one of many.) The animal card has a space size that it requires, which goes hand in hand with the enclosure’s space allowance. Animals also have a points value, and some have requirements or set collection bonuses. A Menagerie Of Multipliers By now you’ll have worked out that you need to do some mental arithmetic to house all these animals. (Alongside a dollop of pushing your luck during the draft.) You need to keep certain animals apart, while you’ll want to house others together. You need to ensure their collective space doesn’t exceed the size of the enclosure(s). The set collection in this manner, as well as certain enclosure requirements, means you have to spin multiple plates. Providing the animals end up in correct enclosures, you’ll earn the sum of the animal(s)’s points, times by the enclosure’s multiplier. The third type of cards are the Upgrades, which you can bolt onto enclosures. These, in effect, break all the aforementioned rules! Some let you house Fierce and Friendly animals together (they’re all ‘Well Fed’). Others provide an extra habitat type onto the enclosure, providing flexibility. Some increase the size of the enclosure, so you can house more creatures in it. The drafting in rounds two and three works in the exact same way as before. The big difference in these later rounds is: now you can see what cards your opponents collected earlier. Now, if you are so inclined, you could hate-draft. But you’re still drafting these cards face-down, so once again, a strong element of memory takes hold. The interesting factor kicks in at the end of the second round. You get to arrange your new cards… plus the cards you had from last year. You can move animals around – providing you obey all the enclosure prerequisites. The only things you cannot move are the upgrades. Think of it as you can move animals from pen to pen. But once you’ve performed the manual labour on an enclosures, you can’t ‘reverse’ the effects! You’ll want to move animals into different pens to sneak in extra points here and there. But what if you can’t house an animal (or animals) at the end of the year? You lose that animal’s points. So watch out: poor drafting choices can put a dent in your tally. There’s one interesting plot card, called the Holding Pen. It has a multiplier of x0, which means whatever animal you put in it scores you… zero. Wait – what? But hey, that’s better than having, say, an elephant on the loose, and it costing you -5 points! The Terrible Tale Of The Overzealous Zookeeper The crux of Zuuli is trying to house as many animals as possible without being too greedy. In one game, I saw one player only draft one enclosure in the first round. They had a menagerie of animals, but nowhere to keep them. With that many creatures on the loose, they scored zero. Meanwhile, the other two players had snaffled up all the enclosures that round. They had room for all their animals. That other player could never catch up, because the scores in Zuuli increase in a progressive manner. That other player was, in essence, one entire round behind their opponents. Let that be a warning to you! Sometimes in games there’s a small indicator on cards, telling you how many cards there are of that type in the deck. This isn’t present in Zuuli, which might have helped that player make better decisions. However, it is worth saying again that this is a preview copy of Zuuli. As always, the final product may differ to some extent compared to a prototype. I must say though, this is a mighty fine prototype. The card stock itself is quality, and one of the best-produced preview copies I’ve seen in a while. There’s ten different types of animals, which feels like enough of a variety. Aat the risk of sounding like a hypocrite though, I’d like to see more! The artwork on the cardbacks shows 28 different silhouettes of animals, so I’m sure the designer has other creatures in mind. But seeing these on the cardbacks felt like a bit of a tease… Straight Out Of A Pop-Up Picture Book So now we’ve got to talk about the art style, itself. I’m aware I’m swimming out into oxymoron waters when I say ‘The art in Zuuli is too cute’. How can something be ‘too cute’? Hear me out. The animals look adorable. But they’re not cute like the anthropomorphic food in Sushi Go!, which leans onto its twee Japanese background. These animals are straight out of a kids’ pop up picture book. There’s nothing offensive about that at all, but I would argue it’s misleading. This art style doesn’t sell the true strategical depth behind Zuuli. My almost-six year-old nephew would croon over this art. He’d fall in love with the elephant spraying water, and the shy, smiling anteater. But could he play Zuuli? No. The maths and strategy required is too much for kids of that age, who live for this kind of art. And fair enough: Unfringed Things’ suggested age for Zuuli is 8+. But once kids hit a certain age (and eight might be that kind of age bracket), they grow up, and fast. No parent or guardian wants to admit it, but at that age they’re leaving the realm of being little kids any more. They’ll turn their nose up at certain art, no longer interested in products that look like ‘baby stuff’. Lurching In Limbo – Final Thoughts On… Zuuli Does the art style for Zuuli leave it lurching in limbo? As an analytical adult who runs over board game details with a fine comb, I can appreciate the quality and love that’s gone into the art. But I fear there are plenty of adults out there who won’t care for Zuuli’s aesthetics. Some might dismiss it as a game because [on a gut reaction] it looks beneath them. There are some who won’t take it seriously. Is that an opportunity missed? I’d argue yes, because despite a suggested age of 8+, Zuuli is not a game for kids, alone. And that’s a shame, because there’s a fun game in Zuuli. If adults and kids alike give it a chance, they’ll discover a drafting game that challenges them. The face-down drafting, and trying to house animals into enclosures elevates the decision-making in comparison to, say, Sushi Go!. The problem is, board and card game art is so vital in today’s saturated market. Will Zuuli pass the first impressions test? Will people see past that? Zuuli doesn’t reinvent the card drafting wheel. That’s not a negative – fans of the genre will pick it up with ease and get into the swing of things. The set collection is simple, to grasp. But at the same time, it’s also a satisfying puzzle when you get to rearrange your zoo at the end of rounds two and three. Looking for a simple 30-minute card-drafter? Zuuli ticks all the boxes, mechanisms-wise. Zuuli hits Kickstarter on 7 September

By @stevegodfrey77 Picking your favourite anything like board games, movies or your children is normally not an easy task. There are of course lots of things to consider, things that might just give them the edge per another, like for example, a great gaming experience, if they’re made by you’re favourite director, or the fact that they let you eat you’re Jaffa cakes in peace without trying to steal them, the truly important factors. Up until January of this year (2021) my list was pretty much set in stone. That is of course until I played my now number three game. At which point the number three slot became a hotly contested battle of Vikings and Space. Honourable mention to Blood Rage which lost that battle but it was down to the narrowest of narrow margins. Now onto my top three games......at the moment. 3. Twilight Imperium 4th Edition Way back in 1999 I, like many of you, was bemoaning the fact that space politics is boring and that no one cares about trade disputes and planetary blockades. Cut to all these years later and here I am banging on about a game that encapsulates all of that...but it’s a ton of fun! TI4 is the big eight hour plus space opera in a board game that you may have heard of and whilst I understand a lot of people being put off for various reasons, please don’t be put off by the run time because you honestly won’t feel it. This isn’t your standard area control game where the biggest fleet wins, in fact trading and negotiation are often the best routes for a lasting and successful empire. This brings with it a cleverly baked in mechanic that keeps everyone around the table engaged and talking at all times, and keeps every moment of any down time interesting, whether your planning your next move, engaging in conversation about a planet you need or just watching an epic fight break out (in game that is, their can be some backstabbing but its never gone that far!) With TI4 you’ve got not only a great game but also a fun time with your friends with a surprising amount of laughs and a load of epic moments to talk about way into the next game. 2. Viticulture For my number two game, ironically crushed between two space epics like the very grapes which are so important in the game is Viticulture. Viticulture is a worker placement game in which you will be going through the process of making wine and running a vineyard. It’s a game that absolutely oozes the theme like the innards of a crushed grape that would keep Stu Francis salivating ( you may have to google that one). I love how the game isn’t afraid to say “hey, this is how you make wine, and we’re not going to skip any steps”. Now while that means that making wine isn’t a quick process, it helps the game rather than hinder it. In fact it’s all the more satisfying when you do slide you first wine token into your cellar, doubly so when you make your first rose or your first champagne. What elevates it is that all of this ramps up and a slower start makes way for a race to the finish as the summer spaces get largely ignored as people clamber for points in winter. From its stunning Beth Sobel art to its multiple avenues to victory it’s definitely one of the most chilled out worker placement games I’ve played. Whether I play it with just the base game or with the Tuscany expansion I always have a great time at any player count. If you want to relax whilst playing a competitive game whilst simultaneously upping your alcohol intake then viticulture is your game. 1. Star Wars Rebellion Now from crushing grapes to crushing Rebel scum (or the Empire, whatever takes your fancy) As Sheryl Crow once sang this is my favourite mistake. I got Rebellion as mistaken Christmas present one year and whilst I was pleased because it was a game I was wanting to try it wasn’t what I was expecting. It turns out what I actually got turned out so much better that what I originally wanted. I could easily tell you that Rebellion is a cat and mouse hidden movement game where the Empire has to crush the rebellion and that it is absolutely Star Wars in a box. I could also tell you that this encapsulates the original trilogy with its tension and scale. Just seeing the empire dominate the board with all its units and the rebels barely holding a fleet together is brilliantly thematic. I could also wax lyrical about how strategic the game is. But rather than tell you all that, I want to tell you about what is really great about Star Wars Rebellion. That’s the stories you can tell with this game, that, by and large is not a story driven game. Now I love TI4, but Rebellion will always win out because of the theme. It’s Star Wars! It’s an obvious thing to say but more often than not the person you’re playing with will have some knowledge of Star Wars now matter how big or small. Because of that and because it’s so ingrained in people’s minds you can’t help making up your own narrative and alternative versions of Star Wars and even maybe role playing a little bit, and that’s partially how you want to enjoy the game. Wether you’re threatening to blow up Endor and the silly teddy bears with a death star rather than Alderaan just because you could, or freezing Chewie in carbonite, you can just have a lot of fun with it. I’ve honestly had more great memorable moments in my half a dozen or so plays of this than I have with most of the games in my collection. Yes it’s big, yes it’s long, yes it’s only two player (ignore that 2-4 player nonsense on the box) but if you love Star Wars then you owe it to yourself to play a game if you can.

Kameloot WBG Score: 7/10 Player Count: 3-6 You’ll like this if you like: Parks, Ticket to Ride, Splendor. Published by: Blue Orange (EU) Designed by: Fred Boulle, Cédric NH, Grégory Grard, Mathieu Roussel Kameloot is an interesting set-collection game where players will either work together, on their own, or against each other, in constantly changing teams and dynamics. The concept is so simple, but the execution and smooth play will make playing Kameloot a highly entertaining one. To set up the game, give each player a double sided Tavern token. One side shows the Hooting Owl symbol, the other the Black Cat. Flip it like a coin for each player to determine the starting teams. Players are then dealt four cards and the remaining ones are left in a pile in a central deck. That’s it. You will be up and running within minutes. Each card shows one of seven magical objects. The Magnet Ring, The Two-Branch Magic Wand, The Six Fingered Glove, The Enchanting Potion, The Magic Cloak, The Permutation Parchment, and the ultra-rare Unicorn Horn. The cards will all have a number on them showing the amount of cards in the deck, and the minimum needed for that card to complete a set. The idea of the game is to complete sets of cards in order to sell the magical objects to the other non-playing 'punters' in the Tavern that you are in. Once the minimum number of cards for each set has been reached, as a collective amongst all the players in the same tavern, the cards can then be sold. This is done by flipping them over to the coin side and distributing them, one by one to all the players who contributed to the set. Starting with the player who completed it. If three players completed a set with seven cards in it, one player will get three coins, the other just the two. This is not just about completing sets, but being in the right Tavern at the right time, contributing to as many sets as possible so you don't fall behind, and when possible, closing sets up so you can get the lions share. Each card also has a power that can be enacted. Instead of adding the card to a set, you can play a card to use its power instead. Depending on the card you play, you will be either able to change your location of which Tavern you are in, change another players location, collect all of a certain Magical objects from the discard pile, place two different types of magical objects down instead of one, draw two extra magical cards from the deck, or swap a set of magical cards from your collection with another players. The final card is the Unicorn horn. This acts as a wild card and can be added to any existing set to help complete a collection. It has no power of its own outside of this. Players will be making choices based on the cards they have in hand, those on the table in front of them and in the other players area, and the team that they are currently in. Could they help complete a set of cards already down from other players in the same Tavern as them? Could they switch Taverns and help complete another set? Or could they go rouge and be the only one in a certain tavern and complete their own? There is a very interesting dynamic in this game created by teams that are constantly changing. You could be one card away from completing a large set that you started, with two other players on your turn, only for the next player to switch your allegiance without your consent, and then have another player complete that set on a subsequent turn. Leaving you empty handed, and there is nothing you can do to stop this. It’s fun to see players change teams so regularly like this. Sometimes of their own volition, and otherwise, less enthusiastically! Although there is obviously some frustration in this if it means you miss out. But games are light and quick and I would suggest this feeling of frustration is small and fleeting. Some sets only need two cards to complete, so it is fun to watch someone be kicked off a team onto one on their own, and then for them on their next turn to place these two cards down, to then immediately claim them both for themselves! There are times when you want to be working with the other players around the table, and other times when working alone will benefit you more. The game ends when a player can no longer draw back up to four at the end of their turn. So, the full deck will be seen. The winner is determined by the player with the most amount of coins from the cards they collected. As such, games are very quick, but a lot of fun. The game works from three to six, but shines in a five. Odd teams seem to be more entertaining, with Taverns of three against two or four against one. And on occassions, all five in the same place. In larger player counts there are more changes of teams, which is where the fun comes! The game feels familiar and new at the same time. The set collection is a tried and trusted mechanism, but the switching of allegiances at this rate feels fresh. This is a great, light, family-friendly card game that works quickly and can be explained in minutes. It offers the chance for players to enjoy a simple set-collection game, with quick and simple choices, but still with a lot of laughter and enjoyment.

For The King (And Me) WBG Score: 7.5/10 Player Count: 2-5 Players You’ll like this if you like: Tucano, Skull, Abyss. Published by: IELLO Designed by: Steve Finn Fans of 2007 release Biblios will be very familiar with this game. For the King (And Me) is a reimplementation of Biblios, with a new theme and a slight tweak in the scoring mechanism. Dice have been replaced with banners. Other than that, there is not a lot new here, but Biblios, was a very popular game, and as such, if you haven’t played that, this could be something you want to check out. There is a reason games like this get a re-skin. They are good! For the King (And Me) has replaced the monastery setting from Biblios with a royal palace. The theme is not screaming out in this game. This change is largely redundant, but it is a fun aside to what is a highly entertaining and addictive two phase game. You start with an innovative drafting phase, followed by a quick and exciting bidding phase. Games will take between 10-30 minutes depending on the player count and players speed, but every time you play, I would wager you will want to play again, in fact, I bet you two gold you will want another game! To The Table! The board is double sided for different player counts, so pick the one suited for you. Remove any cards with a number marked on it higher than your player count and then remove the number of remaining cards based on your player count in the helpful tally in the rules. Set a three and one banner under each character on the board, and set out the deck of card and you are ready to play. The cards you are left with will be a mixture of gold cards numbered with a value of one to three. Government cards numbered one to four for each of the five or six colours used in the game. And King cards which are used to modify the banner scores for each colour. Players will then take it in turns to draft one card more than there are players. One card can go to them in secret. Another is privately placed on the face down Favour deck ready for auctioning in the second phase. The others are placed face up in the centre of the table for the other players to pick from. One by one, starting with the player to the left of the current player. This will continue until the draw pile is extinguished as which point all players will collect their cards, the Favour deck in the centre is shuffled and we move into the second, bidding phase. Players will use the cards they acquired in phase one to bid for cards in phase two. Either bidding with gold cards on coloured Government cards, or any face down card on gold cards. Players will take it in turns to start the bid, and it will continue clockwise until all but one player passes. The winning bid gets the card. That is the entire game! The player with the highest collective value for each colour of Government cards wins the highest banner number currently under that colour on the board. The person with the second highest will get the other banner. Everyone else gets nothing. It sounds a little dry written down like this. I admit. But it is a lot more fun that it sounds. I will try and explain why now. Set Collection. Drafting. Bidding! Essentially this is a set collection game with a draft phase and then a bidding phase to get the cards for your sets. There will be either five or six different sets to collect depending on the player count and the top two scores for each set will win the banners for that colour. The way you get cards feels fresh, and as there is a huge switch in the manner in which cards are acquired at the mid-way point, it stays this way throughout. I like games with clear mid points like this. It often helps to gives the game a sense of time. Or to help scoring or assessing your current performance. But the complete change in core mechanic at the halfway point in this game does none of this. It simply keeps the game fun. It feels like two games in one. The banners you are looking to win change constantly throughout the game. The King cards allow players to increase or reduce their value accordingly. This will be done both to help your own game, and to negatively affect the others in the game. Players need to try and keep an eye on what cards people are collecting. Which colours do players gravitate towards? If you can keep an eye open, you may be able to guess which Government colours players are collecting, and as such, try to reduce those banners numbers when you get the chance. Players can only ever change the top banner but the bottom banner is affected by this. The bottom banner must always be half of the top, rounded down. A six on top means a three on the bottom. A four sees a two below. A five for the highest number will see a two underneath. Ch,Ch,Ch Changes! You may be racing away collecting the red colour Government cards, with a current value of five at the top for that colour. But then two players who are not collecting reds may noticed that you are after that colour a lot and drop the banners down. Suddenly, your victory on this colour is worth a lot less and you haven’t even had a turn! In the drafting phase, players will always look at one more card than there are players. Four in a three player, five in a four. This would mean one card being kept by them, one being placed in the pile ready for the second bidding phase, and the others being left for the other players to take. This is a great way for the leading player to not only take a card and place one ready for bidding on phase two, but to judge what other colour cards each other player is collecting. In the second bidding phase, players will bid using face down cards for Gold cards, and Gold for Government cards. If a three value Gold card comes up, players who collected minimal gold in phase one may go big for this. Those who managed to get a lot of Gold on phase one may pass and let these go. Or perhaps bid one or two just to up the bid to make it more expensive for other players. But later in the round, if a player has no Gold left, they may then go for the Gold cards with more gusto. The relative value for each type of card is constantly changing. Current Government Advice Is… The Government cards can be bid on with the Gold cards. If a Government card with a value of four comes up, in the highest current banners colour, you may see some high bids coming in! But of course, only from players who can afford it. Has one player not gone for this as they are not collecting that colour, because they already have loads of cards in that colour already, or simply as they cannot afford it? The entire game is a delicate balancing act between judging what cards each player has in their hand, judging what cards are yet to come out, and assessing the constantly changing value of each colour’s banners. The game plays quickly and works well with younger players. I have enjoyed with my six- and eight-year-old very successfully. But this is not just a simple family game. This is a strategic, cutthroat, and hilarious game that would work as a perfect filler with most gaming groups. The game works in a two, but I would recommend this for groups of three and up as a minimum. It can be a little bland and predictable with just two players, especially with someone you play regularly with. But it is nice to have that option. Players will generally focus on trying to get the highest banner on two or three colours, but there is something to be said for having a few cards of each colour and aiming to get the second banner for each colour. Especially in the higher player counts when it is easier for players to focus on the higher value banners. Tactics and strategies are often varied but always devious. This is a game for those that enjoy having a deceptive feeling in games. Does pulling the rug from under your family and friends’ noses appeal to you? How about a bit of bluff a bidding? This game has it all, along with a lot of fun. For the King (And Me) is here in my collection for good.

The Quacks of Quedlinburg – The Alchemists WBG Score: 8/10 Player Count: 2-5 players You’ll like this if you like: Clank! Port Royal Published by: Schmidt Spiele Designed by: Wolfgang Warsch I know this won’t be very popular, but I didn’t love Quacks of Quedlinburg. I know! Sorry! But, to cut to the chase, I love this expansion. If you are a fan of the base game you will love it too. And if like me, you didn’t get on with the base game, well then, this could fix all your problems too. Related to this game I mean. It won’t sort your ear worms. In Quacks, you are looking to create the most wonderful and 'point-worthy' potion. This is a push-your-luck game where you are pulling potion ingredients out of a bag one by one, in unison with the other players. Looking to build on your existing brew and fill your cauldron as best you can. But watch out! In your bag are the nasty Cherry Bomb white chips. Too many of those in your concoction and kaboom! Your potion will explode! At this point, you must either sacrifice the points you had scored, or the money you had earnt. Also, now, you cannot roll the bonus dice. The loss seemed too great to me. The risk too high. I know I am in the minority here, but let me explain. Pulling the chips out one by one can be excruciating! You have no idea what will come other than guess work. You can develop your bag each round. Adding ingredients you want into it. Thus, reducing the risk, but it is still blind luck what comes out, and in what order. There is no control here and when you draw cherry bomb after cherry bomb, round after round it can be a little annoying from some. Whilst your opposing players are pulling pumpkins, spiders and the like, you are blowing up. It can be frustrating. Push It Real Good! Now I know this is the nature of a push-your-luck game. But there are few push-your-luck games where the game lasts this long. Or the effects of pushing-your-luck too far are this great. Or the lack of control has no mitigating options. I usually love this mechanic. I enjoy pushing my luck and the sense of exciting when it pays off is huge! But with Quacks, I was often left frustrated as for me, it has all three of these issues and the pay off wasn't ever enough to make up for the frustration of the loss. A loss you couldn't control with anything other than luck or conservative play. As such, we have created a few house rules to make it more fun. And let’s be honest, this is not a serious heavy game. Shouldn’t it be more fun? For example, there is a vile you can use to put back any chip you pull out that you don’t want. But you cannot do this if the chip you pulled would have caused you to explode. We changed that. We also amended a few other rules, and I am not saying it was better for it. But it was better suited to my family. But I do prefer to play the proper rules so did dream for an expansion to fix it. With the first expansion for this game, a few extra bits were brought to the table. But these two issues where not addressed. But with this second expansion, they are addressed in part. And I was very excited to try it out. Spoilers! I was not dissapointed. Lucked Out! First let’s look at the luck-based element of the game. Now, this is a major part of the game. You don’t want to completely remove it. It is a huge part of the fun! Drawing things from a bag that will cause success or failure has some genuine tension. You don’t want to remove that. But having zero control makes the game dull for me. There is minimal strategy. This can be disheartening for players. Especially younger ones, if they keep pulling things you don’t want. With 'The Alchemists', they have created opportunities to have some of your chips pulled from the bag before the round starts. When it comes to pulling out a new chip, you can either pull as usual, or place one of the chips you have out already instead. Giving you some choice. Some control. Some sense that you can manipulate your destiny. Even if only a little bit. I like this opportunity to add some control to the game. But it is not given for free. That would not be right. You need to earn this power, and your opportunity to do this increases with time, round by round. This works brilliantly with the game. As your bag fills up, you will be building larger and larger potions. Your opportunity to control this a little more each time grows at the same rate. It is a very clever system. So, what about the high-risk nature of blowing up and losing too much if you do? Well, this has been addressed in a way I never imagined! Now, on occasions, you may want to aim for seven exactly. Push your luck right to the wire. You still lose the same things as before if you go too far but now, there are times when you can also gain things from this hitting exactly seven white chips. It makes the events of your potion making so much more enjoyable. Still tense. But not annoying as seven can be good. Let me explain how this all works. In 'The Alchemists', you are presented with an extra choice at the beginning of the game. Three from eight patients are chosen at random before play begins. Then each player chooses which patient they will try to cure. This is done by placing the relevant essence card into their flask. Each aliment will bring the player a different potential extra power if they can cook the right potion. In the first round, nothing changes. But then each subsequent round, and growing each time, you are able to control your destiny a little more. At the end of the preparation phase, you will move your essence marker along a certain number of spaces. One space for each different colour chip you pulled that round. Another space if your neighbour’s cauldron exploded. And another space if the white chips in your cauldron totals exactly seven! The amount needed to exceed in order to explode. So, now you gain a benefit from narrowly avoiding an explosion but only if you do so perfectly! Not a huge benefit, but something. This is a clever rule. If you got this bonus on the essence track simply from exploding, players would not care if they exploded as much, if at all. But to say you gain the benefit from a total of seven white chips only is a smart touch. It makes pulling extra chips when on four white chips or more so much more exciting. And less stressful. Seven white chips can now be something to aim for! The powers available on the essence cards are varied and fun. You can add more rats tails into your cauldron, extra points, dice rolls, chips, ruby’s and even refill your flask. But most enticingly, the chance to pull chips out of the bag before the next preparation phase starts. If you score high enough on the essence tracks, in a later round you can have up to 10 chips pre-pulled. You put any firecrackers you pull out back into the bag but lay the rest out in front of you. During the next preparation phase, you can then decide to either pull from the bag as usual or one from here. Each patient brings different powers and opportunities. If the above does not sound appealing, don’t chose it. There are eight different patients as I said. You will only ever have three in each game, but each player only ever tries to help one patient. So, it is up to each player what they want to add to their game. It is a clever way to bring these new powers into the game. I can imagine a few of you who have read the above have thought it fixes an issue that did not exist. I know many love the base game as it. I understand that and so too do the designers of this expansion. You pick the powers you want. But for me, it made a game I so wanted to love, but found large issues with, so much better. It turns this from a sometimes unpayable six into a joyous eight. That is a large jump for me. I am less than enthusiastic about some expansions. But here, with 'The Alchemists', something wonderful has been conjured up. Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Alchemists expansion is out now and available at all good retailers.