V-Sabotage originally debuted in 2016 under the title of V-Commandos. At the time it was an unknown game from an unknown publisher. It received a small amount of positive press but mostly was content operating in the shadows, white-knuckling a KA-BAR and waiting to strike. That initial push was enough to gain some momentum which…
Tiny Towns is a Peter McPherson design from way back in 2019. It’s a polyomino builder where you place cubes in a grid. The aim is to make shapes that then convert into little buildings. It’s a very comforting activity, stylistically and mechanically. There’s a serenity in these types of experiences, doing your own thing…
Five years is quite the gap between debut and expansion, particularly for a game that’s grown such a cult following. Part of it is that Sidereal Confluence took some time to really find its audience. Part of it is that as a design, it’s a very tightly woven and intricately balanced machine. The math behind…
My interest in Critical: Foundation is rooted in nostalgia and curiosity. This is an RPG beginner box with its reticule zeroed in on board gamers. That’s not to say it wouldn’t appeal to someone with no interest in Catan or Arkham Horror or whatever, because it could suit that sort of newcomer as well, but…
I consider myself an informed and well-rounded board gamer. I have to be in order to fulfill my role as a critic. Here’s me coming clean: I’ve never played a David Thompson release. That’s more difficult than you may think. He’s become one of the most prolific designers in recent years. I never had interest…
Billing yourself as another game but faster, better, lighter is perhaps the bedrock of board game marketing. As Jim Jarmusch said in his famous quote on filmmaking, “nothing is original.” So, Gemini Gauntlet is Robo Rally but quicker. Maybe even better. This is a Lynnvander release designed by Josh Derksen. I think Derksen is somewhat…
Atlantic Robot League offers inspiration. You inhabit the role of a savvy gambler, placing indiscriminate bets on mile high robots slugging away at each other. It’s the kind of dramatic far-future concept I’d liken to Robot Jocks meets The Cincinatti Kid. Plus, it’s a Wizkids game. I don’t embrace all of their releases, but Zev…
I’ve banged the drum for Godtear. It remains a top tier skirmisher and I’m still clapping that snare. Winter’s Reckoning is the first organized play kit for the game. It’s a response to the community’s desire for support beyond the regular champion boxes Steamforged Games has released. It’s an solid offering and a worthy inaugural…
I began my Cosmic Frog review by pointing out how weird of a board game it was. This has always been true of Jim Felli’s designs, even in the beginning with Shadows of Malice. The Mirroring of Mary King fits right in by once again establishing that it doesn’t. The Mirroring of Mary King is…
I wonder how the crew at Leder Games feel about every asymmetric post-2018 game being directly compared to Root. Cole Wehrle’s bellwether design has become the genre reference point, for better or for worse. Here though, it’s totally appropriate. A competitive bout between anthropomorphs. Check. Asymmetric factions with unique player boards and distinct mechanisms. Check.…
Player Elimination 