It’s the summer solstice and our rite of passage, so we compete. The sacred stone is tossed from a towering cliff overlooking the sea. Into the depths the artifact plunges. We follow. Dive is surreal. Originally published by Sit Down! and distributed in North America by Lumas games, this is an experience that asks players…
Asymmetry in the board game space has existed since Eon Games’ 1977 and ’79 releases of Cosmic Encounter and Dune. It continued being a thing through Chaos in the Old World, Space Cadets, and Vast, among many others. Root really changed everything. Root traversed traditional boundaries, slyly pulling a new segment of players into a…
The PG series is a collection of articles incorporating the perspective of my eight-year-old daughter, Lila. She’s looking over the shelves, her eyes the usual mix of indecisiveness and enthusiasm. I speak up, “how ’bout What Next?” “That’s what I’m deciding”, she gives me a quick jab with those brown eyes. “No, I mean…
The best quality of this Wizkids release is that it’s educational. Admit it, you’re unfamiliar with Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev and his model of measuring a civilization’s technology level. His hypothetical scale is bracketed around how much energy a society is able to use, and it extends to a cosmic level. Nifty. And there’s half…
Yes, that’s correct, GoCaine. This indie design from Richard Nguyen-Marshall and Kharitago Games combines cocaine trafficking with the ancient Japanese game of Go. Peanut butter and jelly. GoCaine. Sure, it’s a little nutty. That’s what drew me to it. The systems employed are simple. Up to six players take turns performing a single action followed…
It’s 2014. Jimmy Falon takes over The Tonight Show, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge dominates social media, and John Travolta introduces Adele Dazeem. But you know what I remember from that year? Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem. As the follow-up to Gale Force Nine’s killer debut, it established a streak. A series of releases…
The PG series is a collection of articles incorporating the perspective of my eight-year-old daughter, Lila. Sometimes the game does the work for you. When Lila saw Animal Adventures spread out on the table – an evocative paper mat, bright character sheets, and several well-detailed miniatures – she went gaga. I had a difficult…
Another top 10 list? Absolutely. People love this stuff. I’m not feeling a lengthy introduction, though. I’ve played almost everything I wanted to that was released over the past 12 months. The gaming year has been kind. There are outliers like Final Girl or Summoner Wars 2nd Edition, titles I’ve been unable to track down,…
Uncertainty dominates our lives. Events continue to be postponed or canceled. Kickstarter delivery dates have shifted from optimistic white lies to blatant punch lines. My preferred grocer hasn’t restocked frozen broccoli in three months. But there has been one constant; that is the quality of Restoration Games’ Unmatched. This system, comprised of many standalone sets,…
Games Workshop’s Dungeon Bowl is frivolous and incoherent in the best of ways. This subterranean take on Blood Bowl was originally released in 1989 and returns this year with a deluxe boxset. It’s an over-the-top zany thing where randomness trumps strategy. Each play unfolds as a silly story with weirdos reliving the glory days of…
Player Elimination 