The board game pieces are highly detailed with the starting piece being a separate color so it is easy to find. There is definitely some forethought put into the polish of this game that makes much of it intuitive and a pleasure to look at.
The game itself is not very deep in design or play, which may be a turn off for the more hardcore of boardgame players though can be good for newcomers.
The core mechanics of the game are pretty simple to learn in under 15 minutes. Meaning more time can be spent playing the game rather than reading instructions. It also means it is great for newcomers to the game or those unfamiliar with boardgames in general.
There is no direct conflict between players, which makes it a good game for beginners but also players who do not like the cut throat tactics of games like Monopoly. It also makes for a good game for couples to play as there will be no arguments or moves that may slight another player.
Ticket to Ride offers numerous expansions such extra maps to play on like Asia or Africa which can extend the gameplay as well as change it up to keep things fresh.
From the large board map to the high quality illustrations, Ticket to Ride has a definite quality to its detail. This makes for a game that is great to show off to new players as well as great for ones collection.
Why did the other player give that specific clue? Should you play, discard, or give a clue in return? If you give them a clue, how will they interpret it? It is these meaningful and occasionally tense decisions that make Hanabi an absolutely excellent game for couples who like to work together to solve problems.
Hanabi is a truly simple and very accessible game to people of all ages. Players stack cards of one color to finish five firework displays consisting of five cards each. Players are dealt five cards that they hold outwards to other players. On your turn you can perform one of three actions – give a clue, discard a card, or play a card.
By flipping one of the eight clue tokens you can point out something about another player’s hand, for example, “these cards are yellow”, “these are twos”, etc.
Discarding a card restores a clue token, but you must be careful with what you discard because there is a limited number of cards of each type, you might discard a card that doesn’t let you complete the firework.
If you play a card that doesn’t fit any of the current piles, then that is an illegal play, the card is discarded and one of the lightning tokens is turned over. As soon as all three lightning tokens are turned, the game is over. The game can also end when the draw pile is empty or if you successfully stack all the fireworks.
Consisting of just 60 cards, 8 clue tokens, and 4 fuse tokens, the entire game can fit in a box about the size of a deck of cards, making it easy to throw in a pocket or purse and have on hand anytime.
The game successfully evades the popular issue of many cooperative games where a player ends up taking over the game and telling others what to do. In Hanabi this is pretty much impossible because there is no way to see your own cards, so everyone is forced to work together.
The game encourages replayability because it’s one of those games that you get better at the more you play. Players will always be trying to beat their high-scores. To make the game harder or easier you can easily remove or add clue tokens or lightning tokens (extra lives).
The game also has an included “expansion” – the rainbow-colored cards. These add two more possible variations to the gameplay. You can play them as the sixth color and just add 5 more points to the maximum, or you can make the game a bit more difficult by having players give clues about the rainbow card as if it was one of the five default colors.
The game has five possible colors, but since they aren't very bright and the background is the same, it might be difficult to tell them apart in poor lighting. There are only a few cards of each type and a limited number of clues you can receive, so misinterpreting what other players tell you can lead to huge misplays.
Hanabi could be considered an exercise in memory, teamwork, and communication, so this isn’t the game to play if you’re in a distraction full environment or if you want to casually socialize with your buddies.
Furthermore, it’s important to limit your table talk because someone might accidentally say too much in a clue or pass off some important information in a remark here or there. Showing frustration or excitement about a play that someone’s about to do is also bad because it might impact the player’s action.
Depending on the number of players, the game can take 1 to 2 hours to play through, which is alright for more experienced board gamers, but it can be a big turn-off for new players or children who might lose their enthusiasm as the game progresses.
Each game of Stone Age will turn out differently. Obviously, your dice rolls are going to lead to different results, and the buildings and civilization cards you draw are going to be in a new order.
There are many paths to victory, you can always try a different strategy. Best part is, no strategy is superior, you get points from many things, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
Often, when one player takes a card from the central layout it reveals multiple cards beneath it that open up new options for their opponent. This encourages players to pay attention on their opponents turn. Furthermore, players need to be aware of their opponents position on the military track since maxing that out immediately ends the game in a victory for the player to fill it up.
The base game doesn't offer a huge amount of variability between plays so it could potentially get repetitive. Fortunately there is an expansion available that adds much more depth and replayability.
The basic premise of Santorini is simple; players use their workers to move around the map, build towers, and attempt to be the first to ascend to the 3rd level of one of these towers. However, much like its more serious counterpart, Chess, Santorini has an astounding amount of depth as players move to block and trap one another all while positioning for that one winning move. Adding in the God Powers further opens up the options for interesting gameplay and in-depth strategy as players make use of one of these unique cards to give their workers special powers like building twice, moving opponents, or even removing buildings.
The base game of Santorini will almost always play out differently as players try different techniques and strategies for besting their opponent - different starting points, different routes, trying to build up yourself or trying to disturb the opponent. However, the game gets really interesting with the introduction of God Power cards.
Adding in the 30 God Powers from the base set adds a whole new layer of variable conditions for each game and allow for a huge variety of potential combinations. Each God Card adds some sort of different rule to the game, and you must follow this instruction for the whole game. Otherwise, you lose. Some God Cards give you specialized win conditions, some allow the removing of opposing workers, and others make you specifically alternate your movement patterns. For example, the Apollo card allows a player to swap positions with the opponent.
If that isn't enough, the Golden Fleece expansion adds another 15 God Cards, 10 Hero Cards, and an entirely new variant to the game.
From the raised, three-dimensional board to the high quality building blocks, all of the components in Santorini are top-notch. The tarot sized cards are beautifully illustrated and contain easy to recognize iconography, the main game board is made up of 3 parts that raise it up off the table and give it an excellent sense of scale, and the building pieces are fantastically modeled so that they stack together easily and look great as the city is built from the ground up!
There are many different editions of Scrabble including collectors editions with the whole board made out of wood to sets that have a rotating plastic board.
Once the tiles are laid out at the start of the game they never change their order so all of the games information is available to all players for the entirety of the game.
At the start of the game you form a ring with all of the pieces available in the game and that ring takes up a decent amount of space for a quick, 2-player game.
Whether you are trying to learn the rules to the game or honing your strategies while waiting for a friend at the bar, Mint Works has the ability to be played solo, including 4 different 'AI' players that focus on different tactics and strategies to give each play a different feel from the last.
Each game of Mint Works typically plays out in 10-20 minutes, but that time is filled with decisions about where to best place your mints in order to gain the most points and maximize your productivity for that round, leading to very rewarding games.
As the name suggests, Mint Works was designed to fit inside a standard mint tin, making it easy to slip into your pocket or purse for gaming on the go.
Each scenario features an overarching storyline that encourages players to keep playing as they slowly uncover more and more details about the mystery that is unfolding. Each mission in a scenario is designed to reveal more and more information about the dangers players are facing while giving clues as to the nature of the mystery they are trying to solve.
Fantasy Flight has already announced and released several add-on packs that include new storylines, characters, monsters, and equipment, further broadening the depth and replayability of this game.
Arkham Horror TCG is fully cooperative as players work together to defeat the forces of evil. This is great for couples that aren't looking to compete with one another and instead would prefer to experience a unique and interesting story as they fight as a team.
During each Scenario players will need to complete a number of individual missions, each taking up 1 game, in order to finish the scenario. During setup for each mission they are instructed in creating an Act deck of goals to complete as well as an Agenda deck that is used as a countdown timer for the forces of evil. In order to complete the mission players will need to race to finish the tasks given by the Act deck before Agenda deck finishes counting down. This mechanic really helps make the game feel like a struggle to thwart the forces of evil before humanity is overrun.
At different points along each mission players will be forced to make decisions that will affect not only that mission, but the storyline overall. This means that even playing the same scenario will have different results based on the decisions made by each player.
Not as easy as it looks due to restriction set out on where on can place tiles. This makes for some strategy in the game trying to figure out what will be the best moved of the allowed pieces.
Deceptively simple! "Each new piece played must be placed so that it touches at least one piece of the same color, with only corner-to-corner contact allowed—edges cannot touch"
When playing with more than three people it can be too easy to fall into this familiar multiplayer trap where many players can team up against one with that one having no real means to stop this uneven play.
Most plays will take less than 30min so it is easy to squeeze in a quick game while dinner is in the oven, at the end of the night before bed, or maybe a quick game before breakfast.
When a player purchases a building tile they place it in the first space of the building dial where it has 0 uses. Each turn the dial moves one increment around, slowly increasing the number of uses each building provides from 0, to 2, 3, 4, and finally to 4 + 1gold. This encourages players to wait longer to activate each building, however, there is the risk that their opponent may use it before them since using a building returns it to the 0 use section of the dial. Additionally, if a building isn't used in the 4+ section, it is removed from the game the next time the dial rotates, which can cost players points at the end of the game. All of this leads to interesting and meaningful decisions about when to activate different buildings in order to maximize their benefit to the player.
The Inland Port app is available for around $5 on both Android and iOS and makes for an excellent opportunity to either try the game before buying the costlier physical version or to learn the game after you already own the physical copy.