Contributor
TheCuttlefish
Cares about the box, the insert and the rulebook as much as the game. Has a particular weakness for tidy rules and gleeful take-that.
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274 reviews
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Phoenix New HorizonPhoenix New Horizon is a somewhat kinky worker-placement euro with plenty of engine building and slightly more interaction than the genre usually offers. It is not bad at all, but its turn-order mechanism left me annoyed, especially at four players.
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Knee Deep in HexesA fair, zero-luck game for two that brings the tension of a classic resource-rush RTS to the table. Its rules are simple, but it is far more cunning than it first appears.
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LairsLairs is Battleship with dungeons, monsters, and loot: a clever game with an asymmetric idea and a wonderfully light mood. The base box works nicely for younger players, while any expansion opens it up for older ones too.
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RevenantRevenant finally reached my table after an almost astronomical alignment of free time and patience for the rulebook. I had a very good time, but its excesses are impossible to hide.
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West Story: A Town Building GameWest Story: A Town Building Game is a tight tableau builder with an intriguing dice mechanism, but its scoring and pacing did not fully win me over. I would play it again, though it ultimately felt like a merely average experience.
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Scarface 1920: Bloody BusinessBloody Business is the expansion Scarface 1920 should have included from the start: it turns a lukewarm area-control game into an experience full of intrigue, conflict, and gunfire. It demands time and a group that can handle take-that, but for me it completely changed the game’s standing.
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RoninRonin is a thematic, satisfying area-control game that delivers about an hour of play without piling on luck or unnecessary complexity. For me, it is at its best with four or more players.
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Feya's SwampFeya's Swamp is an enjoyable euro racing/area-control game about animal tribes trying to dominate a magical swamp. It offers clever choices and several paths to victory, even if its asymmetry did not feel perfectly balanced to me.
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Crisis: 1914Crisis: 1914 dresses up a simple, almost push-your-luck card game in serious diplomatic history and Belle Époque moustaches. It is not earth-shattering, but with an experienced group of 4–5 it can become delightfully nasty.
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The Druids of EdoraThe Druids of Edora caught me off guard: rather than a bland variation on something familiar, I found a satisfying optimization puzzle with limited moves and several scoring routes. The first contact is busy, but once it settles on the table, it flows beautifully.
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Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesUnmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cleverly turns the familiar formula into a demanding cooperative boss fight. Shredder is already beating us 3–1, and that is exactly the kind of defeat that makes me want another game.
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MeltwaterMeltwater is a strange, fast two-player strategy game where nuclear winter closes in and survival matters more than conquest. Its rules confused me, but the central idea is interesting enough that I would still give it a shot at the table.
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SanctuarySanctuary retains the flavour of Ark Nova, but serves it in a much more approachable and streamlined form. It is very pleasant at the table, even if I would usually choose its bigger sibling.
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Black Clover: Star FestivalA light hidden-squad-placement game of magical knights, missions, and dice that reminded me of Argent: the Consortium in a much simpler form. It has an interesting foundation, but its player interaction is not as developed as I wanted it to be.
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KeysideKeyside made me take back the pessimism left by the rather strange, mediocre Keyper. It may be the best game in the Key series, and for my group it is one of this year’s strongest experiences.
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Sword & Sorcery: Arcane PortalArcane Portal keeps Sword & Sorcery at the top of my list of GM-less dungeon crawlers: tense, action-packed, and very willing to kill you. It does need an experienced hand at the table, though, because teaching it is not the friendliest process in the world.
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Molly HouseMolly House is a bold, idiosyncratic game with plenty to say, provided the group is willing to study it seriously. I appreciated its ambition, but I did not find that its difficulty automatically turned into fun.
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Shackleton Base: A Journey to the MoonOn my third encounter, Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon finally showed me its best side: a full, satisfying heavy euro with plenty of conflict. The crucial factor is which three corporations enter the game, because they can noticeably change the experience.
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Castle ComboCastle Combo is a youthful little game that, surprisingly, also held up perfectly well with the senate. I recommend it without hesitation for children aged 8–10 who are not looking for anything heavy or “unhealthy.”
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Beer & BreadA solid two-player game of production, set collection, and cards that need to be weighed before you spend them. It does not reinvent anything, but its reverse draft provides the friction it needs.
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Echoes of TimeEchoes of Time is an odd action-programming game with interesting ideas, but also enough aggressive interaction to ruin your plans. It did not leave me indifferent, though there are better options in the same style.
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Lightning TrainLightning Train has a confusing rulebook and did not win me over visually, but on the table it proved to be an excellent, tense, playful pick-up-and-deliver game. After Dune Imperium, Lone Wolf is clearly no one-trick pony.
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Nemesis: RetaliationNemesis: Retaliation retains the series’ thematic spectacle, but my first play felt heavier, more static, and less tense than I expected. It may impress newcomers, but I still prefer the original Nemesis with Aftermath.
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Aldebaran DuelAldebaran Duel is a tight, quick two-player tableau builder that fits perfectly into an after-work session. It does not reinvent the wheel, but its drafting has depth and provides just enough reason for some good-natured swearing.