To see the ending we have to go back to the beginning. Awaken Realms, Michael Oracz, surreal sprawling dreamscapes. My heart is beating and I’m in. I treat it like a formless object at the edge of my vision, afraid to look too hard or too direct and spoil the mystery. It’s a thriller I…
I was a fan of Themeborne’s Escape the Dark Castle. Sector is the same core engine with a few new wires and screens soldered on. Perhaps you already knew this, perhaps not. While there are numerous fans of this series, there’s also a solid contingent of hobbyists who condemn it. Because well, this is barely…
Cosmic Frog is out there. Being a Jim Felli/Devious Weasel production, its idiosyncratic setting and theme is altogether expected. In fact I welcome it. I eat it up like a two mile high galactic amphibian shoveling earth into its gullet. This is a game that totally gets it. It’s empowering, at once realizing the goal…
The Galactic Corps is an expansion for Core Space that introduces security forces to the game. My expression right now is one of exasperation and struggle. How do I write about this? It’s only part of the reason why it’s been four long months since I’ve written anything, but it is a significant part. I’m…
Unfortunately for Core Space, Pax Pamir 2nd Edition was released in 2019. Otherwise this hybrid miniatures/board game would have ran away with the illustrious honors of my top release of the year – don’t scoff at that designation, it comes with a repurposed Pinewood Derby trophy as well as a Charlie Theel quote to slap on…
I’m sitting at a desk. I’m looking over my notes scribbled lawlessly during several incursions into a Nazi castle. I’m wrangling with many thoughts trying to formulate an angle. But there’s only one way to launch this V2 rocket. Reichbusters is a misfire. This is a cooperative dungeon crawler where the dungeon is a Third…
In racing there’s a combination of raw competition and unfettered velocity that aligns perfectly with the emotional components of gaming. What is racing but an extended victory point track which competitors plummet along in peril of collision? It’s the most visceral counting of points we can fathom. Yet this formula rarely transcends average. There’s a…
There is no denying we have a morbid fascination with war and destruction. We turn it into entertainment at every opportunity with films like 1917 and games like Tank Duel. Yet, just as much as we love blowing something up we love putting it together too. Titles like Civilization and Tiny Towns pull in the…
A game’s most important quality is how it feels during play. It’s the whole point of why I write about board games and what I hope you take away when reading. It’s also the reason why I simply didn’t dig Evolution from North Star Games. That title explored an interesting space, tackling evolutionary theory in…
The post-apocalyptic genre is perhaps my favorite of genres. Among my top films are Fury Road and Children of Men, and among my top novels are The Road and Blood Meridian. My point is that Posthuman Saga is exactly the type of game I stand up for. It’s the type of thing that should directly appeal and have my heart in…
