Robotech means nothing to me. Maybe less than nothing as the general anime aesthetic is not something I find appealing. Thus, I can’t speak to how well Robotech: Reconstruction captures its intellectual property or evokes themes therein, but I do know a little something about GMT’s COIN (COunter INsurgency) series, enough to identify the throughline…
Apologies to the faithful, but I don’t hold the Zombicide series in high regard. I’ve played several iterations on this system, and it’s never done much beyond stir the bacteria in my gut. Despite my adoration for several of their titles, including the exceptional Ankh, I am also critical of publisher CMON Games. Specifically, I’m…
There’s been a lot of fuss surrounding Blood on the Clocktower. Reviewer troupe Shut Up & Sit Down controversially exalted the game prior to its Kickstarter campaign. Backlash ensued. It didn’t hurt the crowdfunding effort, however, as it found success and resulted in a physically impressive product to pair with its equally impressive cult following.…
Undaunted: Stalingrad is a powerful experience. It takes Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson’s acclaimed system and marries it to a campaign format that is engrossing and transcendent. The battle of Stalingrad is captured with such purpose and intimacy that I felt as if I was wandering through an HBO miniseries immersed in dramatic action. I’ve…
Eight men, spread far enough apart to minimize casualties in the case of an explosion, yet close enough together to keep their fears in check. They snuck through the French countryside in search of danger. Sgt. Gillick wasn’t green, but he also wasn’t grizzled. Unfortunate circumstances led to his squad performing reconnaissance on the sector.…
Giant mechs beating the hell out of each other in verdant fields. Asymmetrical loadouts and special technology. Weapons expressed through custom decks. Action programming tickled with a dramatic damage system. Vibrant illustrations and inspired mecha designs. What’s not to like? Embryo Machine. This is not a terrible game. Rather, it’s disappointing. Embryo Machine is a…
Shapers of Gaia is a goofy game. The cover is a bit loopy, it’s a game for strictly two or three players, and the systems are foreign yet also vaguely familiar. Designed by Ian Cooper and Jan M. Gonzalez, it’s important to note that this is a Wizkids game. I continue to belabor the point…
Final Girl is widely considered Van Ryder Games’ best title. This was evident with the ‘Series 2’ Kickstarter campaign crossing the two-million-dollar threshold earlier this year. That’s wild capital for a game that is parted out in $15 slices of content. Supremely wild. The energy behind this second Kickstarter campaign was immense. The game was…
Dark Souls: The Board Game is a noteworthy historical footnote. Some may jest for its failure to deliver its limitless heap of expansive content in a timely fashion. But of greater significance is that this game was one of the watershed moments in the fattening of crowdfunding miniatures heavy titles, particularly those based on established…
Cole Wehrle’s John Company knocked the wind out of me in 2017. It’s remained one of my favorite games since. I’ve never written about it. I have written about Wehrle’s other recent efforts, including Root, Pax Pamir, and the mighty Oath. His work is brilliant, all the way down. My challenges of writing about John…
Player Elimination 