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Star Wars: Destiny card game review

When our monthly game night fell close to Star Wars Day earlier this month, we had to dive into some Star Wars games.

And that meant it was a perfect time to play Star Wars: Destiny!

It’s a 2-player card and dice game battle that we have tons of cards for – so we could set up multiple head-to-head battles among everyone there. Plus, it can be played in 30 minutes and then we can be on to the next battle against a different opponent.

That’s also when I realized that even though we’ve had the game for a number of years, we haven’t posted our full review of Star Wars: Destiny yet.

That changes today!

May 17, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, dice, Fantasy Flight Games, luck, Star Wars, strategy

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games

Gridopolis Game Review

Imagine if Checkers married a building system like Kenex or Tinker Toys, what would their baby look like?

Well, I might have found the answer to that, Gridopolis!

On the front of the rulebook it says Gridopolis is a “3D strategy game and system”. The system part of it comes in the form of a modular playing board called the Grid-Set. The Grid-Set can be built in any manner of ways before you start playing and may change throughout the course of the game making this a truly unique experience.

May 3, 2022 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, abstract, strategy

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Everdell Board Game Review

“Within the charming valley of Everdell, beneath the boughs of towering trees, among meandering streams and mossy hollows, a civilization of forest critters is thriving and expanding. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host—you have a busy year ahead of yourself. Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?

Prepare to be enchanted by the wondrous world of Everdell. Once you are here, you might never, ever, want to leave.”

Such is the intro text to the board game Everdell by Starling Games.

The big question is, is it true – Once you enter and play, will you ever want to leave?

April 24, 2022 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, card, luck, solo, Starling Games, strategy, theme

Articles Board Games Card Games Cooperative Games Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games Party Games Top 10 Lists

SaltCon 2022 Recap – 22 Games Played

I had a fantastic first weekend of March because I was hanging out and playing tons of games with my friends at SaltCon Spring 2022!

I look forward to this 4-day gaming event with much anticipation every year. And it was especially great this year because the air was finally clearing around the Covid pandemic. Which means we could see the smiling faces of the 1,700 or so people who came out to play all sorts of games.

This year I was able to attend 3 full days of the event and played 22 different board games, card games, and dice games!

It was a lot of fun and I’m ready to share my thoughts on each of the games I played.

(Consider it like a bunch of mini-reviews.)

March 20, 2022March 30, 2022 Trent 0 Comments auction, board game, card game, dice game, drafting, luck, SaltCon, strategy, theme, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

3 Azul Board Games Compared

5 years ago, Next Move Games published a unique tile-laying game that made huge waves in the board game industry – Azul.

The game includes colorful and chunky tiles made of bakelite and it quickly jumped to the top of Hot Games lists all over the world. Because of its immediate success, it was very hard to find a copy of the game for months.

Due to the game’s popularity, it was quickly followed by 2 additional Azul games in 2018 and 2019–each delivering familiar elements mixed with novelty. And today we’re reviewing and comparing each of these sequel games:

* Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra
* Azul: Summer Pavilion

February 25, 2022 Trent 1 Comment 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Azul, colorful, luck, Next Move Games, strategy, tile-laying, tiles

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Cape May, the “Queen of the Seaside Resorts”

Cape May, the “Queen of the Seaside Resorts”, is located on the Southeastern tip of New Jersey and is one of the oldest seaside resorts in America.

Founded in 1692 it boasts a beautiful collection of Victorian homes, churches and quaint shops.

In Cape May the board game, players travel the streets of this historic town, developing properties, avoiding catastrophes and spotting birds all the while earning prestige.

The player with the most prestige at the end of the game wins.

December 18, 2021 Dane Trimble 2 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, city buidling, solo, strategy, Thunderworks Games

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Way Back In Time – Kingdomino Origins

Before the dragons came… Before the great duel took place… Before the age of giants began… Before her imperial majesty took her reign… And before the kingdom itself came: The Origin.

In Kingdomino Origins, from Blue Orange Games, players are prehistoric tribal leaders advancing their civilizations and creating the most powerful kingdom in the land. They do this by adding terrain dominos to their kingdom to earn them the most points.

Since the namesake is Kingdomino, players familiar with the original Kingdomino game will find a lot of similarities. Yet in Kingdomino Origins, there are 3 different modes of play!

December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Blue Orange Games, domino, luck, strategy, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Plague Inc.: The Board Game Review

Way back in 2009, our then 6-year old son, Caleb got us rolling in reviewing board games with his video review of Pandemic.

He shared how to play the game and what he enjoyed about working together to save the world from deadly viruses.

Fast-forward 12 years and the tides have turned.

Now we’re infecting the world with viruses and competing to be the most lethal in Plague Inc.: The Board Game!

That’s right, the popular mobile app game, Plague Inc., first released in 2012 by Ndemic Creations, is now available as a board game available from Asmodee.

I know it sounds odd while we’re struggling around the world facing a real global pandemic, but to be honest, we’ve had a very fun time playing Plague Inc.: the Board Game. And we’re happy to share why.

October 30, 2021October 30, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Asmodee, luck, solo, strategy, them

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Santorini in New York?

Santorini has been a favorite 2-player board game in our family ever since we first played the reimplemented game by Roxley Games 4 years ago.

It’s an abstract strategy game with variable player powers where each player tries to get one of their pawns (workers) to the 3rd level of a building. The game components are absolutely fantastic and look just like the recognizable, blue-topped buildings on the Greek isle of Santorini.

So we were quite surprised when Roxley Games published Santorini: New York in 2020.

I mean, what do Santorini and New York have to do with each other?

It was a real head-scratcher.

Of course, that also didn’t stop us in the slightest from wanting to play it right away!

If you’re just as curious about how the awesome Santorini could morph into a new game set in New York City as we were, then you’ve come to the right place—read on!

October 23, 2021 Trent 4 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, abstract, luck, Roxley Games, strategy, variable set up

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Land vs Sea Board Game Review

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.”

So starts the poem used to teach about Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas.

It’s hard not to think about sailing and searching out lands when you’re playing the clever tile-laying, puzzle game Land vs. Sea by designer Jon-Paul Jacques and publisher Good Games Publishing.

Players work to create completed land masses or completed seas depending on the roles they’ve taken. The player or team who does this the best by the time the final tile is played will be the winner!

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Good Games Publishing, luck, strategy, theme, tile-laying