Contributor
TheTrainSpotter
A mechanisms obsessive. Never reviews a game in isolation — always reaching for what it borrows, what it refines, and which other titles sit next to it on the shelf.
76 reviews
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FractalFractal is an indie 4X that feels built by people who have played the genre to death and wanted to tidy up its familiar thorns. It is tiring at first, but extremely promising and already very good.
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EvacuationEvacuation is a spicy return to form for Vladimir: a thematically odd, demanding euro that constantly made me consider when to push on and when to pull the handbrake. Its abundance of ways to play, however, makes the commitment to repeat plays less straightforward.
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NucleumNucleum is a heavy, lavish euro with real depth and even more to explore, but its teach and some asymmetric starting options make it more demanding than its friendly flow suggests. It shines far more at four than at three, while Court of Progress did not land as well for me.
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ReviveRevive is a fresh, very juicy engine builder—good enough to make me reconsider my original decision not to add it to the hoard. Its asymmetry and container system do have a noticeable “yolo” quality, though, and that will not suit everyone.
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Amritsar: The Golden TempleAmritsar: The Golden Temple is a substantial, tight medium euro with an unusual but well-integrated mix of mechanisms. Its tiring rulebook and odd illustration hold it back slightly, but it remains a very good addition to any genre fan’s collection.
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Shikoku 1889Shikoku 1889 reminded me how enjoyable a compact yet complete 18xx can be. It retains the clean 1830 DNA while fitting real decisions, bankruptcies, and plenty of possible game arcs into roughly four hours.
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Black FridayBlack Friday takes an older design that received a middling reception and, through small but crucial flow changes, turns it into an excellent stock-market game. It is quick, tightly connected, and full of speculation, without the brain-burn of Rolling Stock.
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PilgrimPilgrim is an odd but successful hybrid of 18xx-style route building, engine building, and a Trajan-like mancala system. It is punishingly tight and occasionally too linear, yet remains a very interesting game for train-game fans.
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Books of TimeBooks of Time has a genuinely clever tableau-building idea, but for me it does not turn that idea into enough depth. I was left with the feeling of a euro VP salad that promises engine building without quite delivering it.
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Great Western Trail: ArgentinaGreat Western Trail: Argentina is an exceptionally clever remix of the classic, with more strategic routes and more demanding decisions. Even so, its added density makes me personally lean slightly toward the leaner original.
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Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles – Episodes 1 & 2Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles – Episodes 1 & 2 turns two already substantial episodes into a far more demanding strategic experience with very little added material. It is excellent—provided you can endure the marathon it asks of you.
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People Power: Insurgency in the Philippines, 1981-1986People Power is a polished, quick, and pressurised three-player COIN that feels like an ideal entry point to the series without the burden of needless exceptions. It is not immune to harsh events, but its core structure keeps the game engaging from the first card.
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MarrakeshMarrakesh is, for me, one of Stefan Feld’s tastiest point-salad euros — perhaps his best of this decade of my life. With the expansion, its already clever core becomes richer without losing any of its interest.
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Captain's SeaCaptain's Sea is a respectable Age of Sail duelling game from Legion Wargames: more abstract than Wooden Ships & Iron Men, yet nautical enough to evoke Master & Commander. It has more depth than Flying Colors' duelling rules, but it is chiefly for genre veterans already tired of those rules.
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SabikaSabika is a tight, burny euro that moved very quickly from “doesn’t pass procurement” to a guilty-pleasure purchase the next day. It is an honest multi-rondel game with cohesion, logic, and enough weight to stand beside the year’s strong medium-heavy euro releases.
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Europa Universalis: The Price of PowerEuropa Universalis: The Price of Power is a heavy, ambitious historical game that, to my surprise, seems to have earned its weight through an exceptionally considered ruleset. It is not for a first encounter or a rushed group, but it promises the feel of a monster game in far less time.
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Mage NoirMage Noir initially feels like a very familiar 1990s CCG, but its mana system contains a genuinely interesting idea. Unfortunately, its basic decks and presentation did not hold my attention for as long as I wanted.
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Dark Ages: Holy Roman EmpireDark Ages: Holy Roman Empire keeps its core 4X system standing even with 6-8 players, but the “big” game does not solve the weaknesses of the two boxes; it spreads them across a map twice the size. It has the tools and modules for demanding groups, provided everyone wants the same, rather aggressive, experience.
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ImpressionImpression is an approachable but slightly brain-burning euro about medieval printers, with an unusual two-phase worker-placement system and engine building that can delightfully run wild. Its poor iconography, however, makes the first encounter far harsher than it needs to be.
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LacrimosaLacrimosa is a tightly constructed, thematic euro in which action selection and deck building genuinely serve Mozart’s Requiem. After a second play, I consider it one of the strongest impressions from last year’s releases.
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Space Station PhoenixSpace Station Phoenix takes a proven euro formula and gives it a genuinely fresh axis. It is not a thematic revolution, but its central idea works so well that the game stands out immediately.
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RiseRise has a clean, clever action-selection system and a network of tracks that promises interesting decisions. Yet despite its good raw material, it left me feeling that it stops just short of completing what it sets out to build.
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Food Chain Magnate: The Ketchup Mechanism & Other IdeasThe Ketchup Mechanism does not make Food Chain Magnate friendlier; it opens up new and much more dangerous routes through it. With the right modules, old certainties disappear — along with any assurance that the game will remain balanced.
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The Hunters A.D. 2114A substantial, app-free campaign game with excellent writing and an ambitious structure, but one that exposes serious scaling problems and eventually grows tiring in its combat and crafting. With four heroes, it finally shows the full game it wants to be.