In London (Second Edition) between two and four players each take on the role of an aspiring architect during the rebuilding of London after The Great Fire that ravaged more than 13,000 buildings in 1666. Even in the first edition of London, the role of a board (in the form of a map of the […]
Some board game designs prove to be just right first time, whilst others apparently fail so hard (either critically, or in terms of pure revenue) that the risk of re-implementing them just isn’t worthwhile. Others, however, are remade and revamped time and time again – either with completely new themes or mechanics by different designers, […]
At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking that The Climbers was just an alternative, multicolored version of Jenga, but in actual fact it’s an abstract strategy game about climbing a mountain by any means possible – including by moving unoccupied blocks, adding miniature ladders and even blocking opponents progress either with specific tokens […]
In this, the second edition of Darkest Night from Jeremy Lennert and Victory Point Games, one to four players will play cooperatively to tackle the growing darkness of an evil necromancer. To do so, they’ll form a crew of heroes from a selection of around thirty, each and every one of which is highly individual. […]
It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that Empires of the Void II from Ryan Laukat and Red Raven Games is a sequel, but what might be a bit of a surprise is just how long it’s been since the original game launched in 2012. It’s also entirely possible that the original game […]
Prior to playing 878 Vikings earlier this year, I hadn’t played a single war game. Since then, including 878, I’ve played and reviewed seven and this, Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection will be the eighth. It’s also, by far, the most complex. Liberty or Death may be the heaviest game I’ve played to date; but […]
In Hold the Line and its simultaneously released expansion The French and Indian War, two players re-enact battles from the late 18th century using dice, miniatures and a highly customisable, hex based board. The expansion adds new figures for the British, French and Indian (henceforth I shall refer to them as Native American) forces and […]
Rising Sun, just in case you’ve missed it, is the latest big-money Kickstarter from Eric Lang and CMON Games. Where Blood Rage was inspired by Risk, Rising Sun allegedly draws its inspiration from Diplomacy, the classic game of empire building and well timed betrayal. Like all of CMON’s headline games, Rising Sun features incredible components and offers […]
Eternal Kings is the result of a recent and successful Kickstarter that exceeded its goal by more than 125%. It is based on a hybrid system that merges the fundamentals of chess with the complex rule-bending card play of games like Magic: The Gathering. It is still available for pre-order via the Kickstarter link, here: […]
In Lembitu, one to four players take control of the armies commanded by the titular King Lembitu, as he attempts to defend his homeland of Estonia. Set during the Livonian Crusades of the early 13th century, Lembitu explores a period in history that is unknown to many – the forced conversion to Christianity of the […]
In Modern Land Battles: Target Acquired from Dan Verssen Games, two players (or more in the team based multiplayer variant) take control of opposing international forces to wage a fierce ground battle entirely in card form. The straightforward setup and lack of a board may suggest a lack of strategic depth, but anyone expecting to […]
Lincoln is a brand new game from Martin Wallace, PSC Games and Worthington Publishing which, as you can imagine, is centred around the exploits of the titular US President. More specifically, it is a fairly straightforward, card driven wargame that deals with the American Civil War and takes place over between ninety minutes and two […]
When it was first released in 2005, I can’t imagine that designers Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews would ever have expected that their debut game, Twilight Struggle, would hold first place on Board Game Geek for more than five years. There have now been several revisions, printings and special editions of the game, leading to […]
Guards of Atlantis is the debut game from Artyom Nichipurov and Wolff Designa, but in almost every way, you’d never know. The game is branded as a “Tabletop MOBA” (with the MOBA acronym standing for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and it supports play for up nine players out of the box, or eleven including the […]
Walking through picturesque countryside and playing board games has always gone hand in hand for me. I’m not quite sure why that is, but it might well be because I link both activities to an idealistic daydream of sitting in a warm pub in front of an open fire. Another thought is that the link […]
As the direct sequel to Artipia Games’ Among the Stars, the story of New Dawn continues the epic saga of intergalactic exploration, expansion and exploitation that the original began. In the original game, alien nations from all corners of the galaxy were forced to work together following a devastating interstellar war. In New Dawn, the […]
In Outlast: Bundle of Terror, Switch owners are treated to perhaps one of the most terrifying first person horror experiences ever made, which is even more personal as the result of the way in which Switch games immerse players so deeply into the experience. That said, Outlast is almost five years old now and despite […]
Abalone is a classic abstract game that pitches two teams of marbles against each other in a mind-bending puzzle that feels reminiscent of Othello and Draughts, but with its own unique mechanic based on momentum. It is played on a minimalistic but appealing raised board that houses two chunky sets of marbles and it is […]
In Divinity Derby, up to six rival Gods amuse themselves by betting on the outcome of three consecutive races that take place between mythical creatures who race around an abstract, circular track. With beasts like a gryphon, a phoenix and a lamissu in play and the players representing Gods from numerous mythologies, Divinity Derby is a […]
As the second game in the Quartermaster General series, Victory or Death: The Peloponnesian Wars uses Ian Brody’s card-driven supply line system to replicate a tighter, smaller conflict than the original. As a result, Victory or Death brings with it a lower player count (four instead of six) and a few subtle tweaks to the way […]
Whilst I must admit that I was a little bit surprised when I first saw the announcement for Star Wars Legion, that surprise soon turned into excitement when I realised that a battalion level miniatures game was in the offing. Although it shares a few concepts with other Fantasy Flight Games set in the Star […]
