“And deep down in your heart, you know we never should’ve left the island.” – John Locke I have a difficult time recalling 2012. With particles floating through the air and crumbling upon close inspection, it all feels like an out of focus dream. What I do remember is that this was one of the…
Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders is a grand campaign adventure game with the same genealogy as Kinfire Chronicles, Oathsworn, and Descent: Legends of the Dark. This type of game has really taken off in the crowdfunding space and we owe much of it to the success of Gloomhaven. New titles spring into existence…
Dark Venture is a radical adventure game born of hallucination from one-man-band Rob Lemon. I prodded this quirky design in 2019, writing about it in my monthly Independent Shelf series in Tabletop Gaming Magazine. I found this artifact so becoming that I even included it on my 2019 games of the year list. Well, this…
It’s historically been a very difficult project marrying together Euro-style mechanisms with the more thematic adventure game format. Despite many attempts, Legends of Andor and Lost Valley: The Yukon Gold Rush are the only titles that really managed prosperity. Trail Story: America is making a push for that short list. This Dan Manfredini design leans…
Brett G. Murrell’s Worldspanner Factions is effectively Duel of Ages III. The genealogy of this system stretches back 21 years to the original set. From the beginning, this game featured wacky competitive adventure full of oddball moments like Robin Hood riding around on a motorcycle wielding an assault rifle. It’s as nutty as it sounds.…
Sea of Thieves is the latest video game to tabletop adaptation courtesy of Steamforged Games. That’s a matter of fact introduction, but this is a matter of fact game. Unlike many of the other titles produced by this publisher, there are no swanky miniatures or glitzy plastic upgrades. The box size is what we used…
Lost Adventures is every bit the look of a mouse. The box is small and unassuming. The only components of quantity are mini-sized cards and run-of-the-mill black cubes. Your objective is the plainly titled “golden chalice”. Aside from the competing adventurers sitting around the table, your primary antagonist is a faceless black pawn that begins…
I dig so much of Shiver Me Timbers. Designer Michal Vitkovsky presents us with a sandbox pirate adventure that parallels Merchants & Marauders conceptually. The details of these games are an ocean apart, but your broad goals and desires are mirrored. And this game almost topples the giant, getting it halfway out on the plank…
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…
Player Elimination 