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.
🎁 1 kudos from readers
274 reviews
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Capital Lux 2: GenerationsCapital Lux 2: Generations is one of those small card games that explains itself in a flash, then immediately has everyone eyeing the other players’ boards suspiciously. If the pocket edition arrives at the suitably funny price, it is a no-brainer purchase for me.
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Imperial StruggleImperial Struggle left me feeling that I had played a substantial, satisfying game, but not yet found a great obsession. On the third, finally correct play, it worked much more cleanly — it simply did not deliver the anxious tension I want from this family of games.
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Apocalypse RoadApocalypse Road is the happy result of me ignoring my initial grumbling. It is a lighter, louder, more violent racing game, where the wheels are merely the platform for the brawl.
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Merv: The Heart of the Silk RoadMerv initially struck me as an overly cramped euro, with a few choices looking suspiciously stronger than the rest and the Mongols losing their teeth at four players. At three, though, with players who know how to cut each other off, it rose noticeably in my estimation.
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Core WorldsCore Worlds is a somewhat overlooked, substantial deckbuilder with good flow and fair scoring. Galactic Orders meaningfully strengthens it, while Revolutions adds a little interest without being essential.
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Vast: The Crystal CavernsVast: The Crystal Caverns is a cheerfully bizarre asymmetric game in which everyone is literally playing a different game inside the same cave. My first play impressed me, while also making it clear that it needs time before you can properly read it.
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Ora et LaboraOra et Labora deservedly has a big reputation: it has water, production, and all the hearty bustle I want from this sort of game. But for it to become truly vicious, it needs a group that already knows it well.
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Gray EminenceGray Eminence is a beautifully researched conspiracy-game production with plenty of atmosphere, but its loose rules framework and troublesome rulebook left me colder than I expected.
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Struggle of EmpiresThe deluxe reprint of Struggle of Empires is a lavish game of imperial intrigue, where the people around the table are almost as dangerous as the map. It wants players willing to negotiate, complain, and ideally betray one another with style.
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CraftsmenCraftsmen proved far better than the reputation built by early negative BGG comments, though it ultimately does not conceal a diamond. It is a substantial heavy euro that benefits greatly from a clear teach and a little restraint on AP.
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Guild MasterGuild Master is a light dicefest for relaxed groups, with neat action selection and simultaneous resolution. Just beware: the dice can leave you behind before you have even built momentum.
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Undaunted: North AfricaI love the original Undaunted and War Chest, so I was eagerly awaiting North Africa and its vehicles. So far it has not disappointed me, though it has not blown me away either.
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Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace has an interesting, refreshing system for choosing and paying for dice, but my first play also left me with several reservations. I would play it again; it just did not win me over as much as I expected.
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Point SaladPoint Salad is a quick, clever little drafting game of vegetables and scoring goals that gave me fifteen minutes of pure joy. Better still, that strong first impression held up when I brought it to four players.
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Freedom!Freedom! is an honest, bloody siege game with approachable rules, dice, and enough fighting to avoid becoming the usual dry stronghold exercise. It has a few production sins, but it tells a story on the table.
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The Grand Trunk JourneyAn honest pick-and-deliver game with hand management and a small deckbuilding twist, which gains tension when time-sensitive contracts send everyone racing. It is dry and somewhat tiring, but for me it remains an enjoyable train game with unusual pacing and a core worth developing.
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Expedition to NewdaleExpedition to Newdale initially struck me as a rather flat campaign game, but its third scenario finally gave it some of the character I was expecting. It does not reach the classic designs of the “Great Alexander,” yet it has more substance as a light Pfister than my first play suggested.
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Glen More II: ChroniclesGlen More II initially left me rather cold, but a second session with a chronicle raised it considerably in my estimation. It still asks for patience with setup and rules, yet I now want to see what it can do when its big box is properly used.
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TOKYO TSUKIJI MARKETA peculiar, almost abstract economic game in which the players themselves shape prices and market balances. It needs repeat plays to be read properly, but for fans of the genre it is absolutely a must-play.
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Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BCA heroic dusting-off of Sword of Rome from the Shelf of Shame, fully justified by the full day, the preparation, and the dry rations. At our table it became a bloody, ridiculous, and intensely personal Italian campaign, with the Greeks pulling ahead at the end.
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Space Infantry: ResurgenceA reissue with a small cult past, without pretending to be more complex than it is. Space Infantry: Resurgence sets up a clear, time-pressured infantry mission with a very recognizable military sci-fi flavour.
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Abomination: The Heir of FrankensteinA remarkably thematic medium-weight euro, with a darkly entertaining premise that feels a little drier at the table than it promises. It is worth trying at least once for the fun of its theme—ideally with the Igor Rules.
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Aeon's EndAeon's End is a cooperative deckbuilder that flowed wonderfully for me and, despite lacking direct player conflict, won me over more than Thunderstone did. It seems especially at home solo or with two players.
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Clinic: Deluxe EditionClinic: Deluxe Edition initially looks like a rulebook labyrinth, but it quickly settles into a tight, unforgiving economic game at the table. It did not blow me away, yet its sweet burn and wealth of variants make it a game I would gladly play again.