Reviews

Kanban EV does more than polish a demanding design: it makes it legible, with targeted gameplay changes and a thoroughly rebuilt rules presentation. It is still a dense euro, but its mental load now feels earned.

Obsidia is a strange, dark indie brawler: you build an underworld necropolis, then do your best to turn it into a massacre. It is thematic, brisk, and much funnier once everyone agrees not to take it too seriously.

Honey Buzz, particularly in its deluxe edition, is a lovely piece of table presence that initially looks more intimidating than it is. Beneath the hexes and market prices sits a smooth, accessible racing economic game with satisfying challenges.

Mini Express distils cube-rail pressure into a brisk, spare game of four companies. It is a very good filler with properly sharp decisions, and no interest in being gentle about them.

Tortuga 2199 is better judged at the table than by the noise around it. It has its rough edges, but gives deckbuilding fans who are tired of the usual options a reason to deal a fresh hand.

Curious Cargo is a merciless two-player network builder: only a step above filler in length, but far heavier in the head. I loved it; my opponent swore at me, which is probably the honest recommendation.

Tapestry is lavishly produced, remarkably easy to teach, and brisk enough to keep early plays engaging. Its base-game civilisations are so poorly balanced, however, that the contest can collapse into an exercise in irritation.

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a tidy, appealing blend of deckbuilding and worker placement, though my first plays raised doubts about how much players truly get in each other’s way. Later sessions with Expedition Leaders showed far more staying power than that first impression suggested.

Fleet Commander: 1 – Ignition has a clever dice core and enough miniature-fleet presence to earn a place on the table. The expansions add welcome depth, but the retail price remains an awkward thing to defend.

Pulp Invasion delivers the pulp look and atmosphere it promised, but its solo game does not do enough with them. The X1 expansion gives it a more interesting second life for two, with one player happily in the deep end and the other causing trouble from the shore.

Sovereign Skies is a compact rondel race with considerably more thought in it than its first impression suggests. It is a balanced, satisfying forty-minute filler.

Smartphone Inc. has far more bite than its simple rules initially suggest. It is a sharp game of reading intentions and spoiling plans, with superb production and an expansion that is essential, if not cheap.

Alma Mater is a substantial, tight euro with a splendid table presence and a great deal to absorb before it starts to flow. Repeated play reveals that its engine may be more familiar, and less durable, than it first appears.

Whistle Mountain is excellent at what it does, and three plays have already shown how sharply it can land. Give it a cooperative table or a sensible digital implementation, and even a one-point finish feels rather larger than it ought to.

Roll Player has a clever fantasy-RPG premise and artwork that does its job, but at three players it felt far too willing to let luck settle the matter. One slightly broken trait bought early turned an hour of play into a long confirmation of an old result.

Capital Lux 2: Generations is a small card game with far more bite than it first appears to have. It teaches in five minutes, finishes within forty, and gets everyone watching for the first player to burn.

Sator Box turns Black Rose Wars from a likeable miniature game with Euro instincts into a louder, messier and more satisfying spectacle. It is excess in a box, though it also contains a notably well-supported solo and campaign offering.

Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire was an easy game to bring back, and the second play made a much stronger case for it. It is not flawless, but it is a thoroughly pleasant entry in its corner of the hobby.

Imperial Struggle rewards time, careful rules work and an opponent who prefers a long contest to an immediate throttling. It is substantial and satisfying, but it never quite rose near the top of my own list.

Vs System 2PCG: The Marvel Battles is a properly streamlined rebuild of the old VS, with enough deck construction to reward curiosity without turning into unpaid employment. Its strongest case remains the amount of playable material in the box, with 2v2 looking like its natural high point.

Apocalypse Road takes much of Thunder Alley’s chassis, lightens it, then bolts on guns. This is not merely a race; it is vehicular carnage.

Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road first reads as an over-tight euro, but at three it becomes a sharper game of watching plans, denying space, and making every cut count.

Merchants & Marauders is a sprawling pirate evening: rich in flavour, held together by strong systems, and entirely willing to let the dice embarrass you. It needs the right group and plenty of time, but it earns its reputation there.

Rome & Roll has a clever dice-drafting race at its centre and the pleasing spatial pull of a building puzzle. Its main flaw is painfully literal: the supplied pens make the writing part harder than it should be.