This is a nearly impossible task. Take a 40 year old board game – one which is a stunning masterpiece – and trim off three of the four hours while retaining something meaningful. It takes a certain degree of fortitude, or hubris, to look back at such a classic and even attempt to modernize it.…
Christian Marcussen is mystifying. Between 2010-2012, two prolific titles with this Dane’s name on the box were released. Each in turn domesticated their respective genres and remain to this day pinnacles of exemplary design. Merchants & Marauders came first, the definitive high-concept pirate game that remains relevant and exciting. It’s one of my favorite experiences…
Gascony’s Legacy is all wrong. In the current climate these types of games come stuffed with minis. Not three or four, but a whole damn tray and even better if there’s a second underneath. Here there’s nary a mini in sight. To snub the prevailing ethos in such a manner is almost offensive. That sense…
OverDrive is a new kind of sports game that is best described as the flow of Dreadball with the format of TimeSplitters 2 and the showmanship of the WWE. Perhaps that makes sense and your attention is secured. Maybe it doesn’t and I may as well be speaking whatever language the big shark-man on the…
Coalition forces perform a massive sweep, working with the local populace and enacting COIN doctrine to locate and identify Taliban guerillas in and around the provinces of Helmland, Kandahar, Oruzgan, and Ghazni. Local government police prove invaluable in identifying the few concealed insurgents remaining underground. A joint operation between the United States and the Afghan…
I don’t really know a whole lot about Legends of Andor. I’ve never played it and I’ve never felt a strong desire to. I know it’s an adventure game with some modern Euro-style sensibilities, such as deferring to optimization and puzzle solving over immersion and drama. But Andor: The Family Fantasy Game did appeal to…
It’s no surprise that The Night Cage calls to me. The stark and merciless presentation, the equally bleak odds of success, and the promise for chaos and horror. I’m fond of Cave Evil, Ferox, and Escape the Dark Castle. This is my jam, tuned down a half step and anchored by blasting double-bass. The Night…
Descent has been a constant in the hobby since 2005. Its lineage stretches back even farther, as it functionally carries the torch for 1989’s Heroquest. It’s a comfortable reassurance that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Not anymore. Some view Legends of the Dark as a harbinger of doom. This is…
Oy, talking about this is going to be tough unless we’re on the same page. So let’s begin this review with a lexicon. I can do that because, well, I make up the rules. Warhammer 40,000 (AKA Warhammer 40k) – A famous miniatures game that costs a lot. You roll lots of dice and lots…
I just finished reading my original review of Tyrants of the Underdark. I don’t normally go back and read my old work as sometimes it can be difficult. But this time it was a necessity In order to re-examine my feelings on this game and how they’ve changed over the past five years. It’s been…
Player Elimination 