Reviews

We ended the evening with Druids without Journeyman, and it left me with a much better impression. It seems to sit more naturally within the spirit of the original Caverna, even if some tiles are still raising a red flag for me.

A relaxed family euro with a charming fantasy setup: nobles turned into goblin shopkeepers fleece gullible heroes with their politest smiles. It is polished and pleasant, though perhaps a little too restrained for its theme.

Architects of the West Kingdom felt like a fantastic game, and I completely understand the buzz around it, even if the final scoring left me staring at the board as if it had thrown a Hadouken at me. The later session, however, was Caverna with its rare expansion—an interesting addition, but far from essential.

A light crisis game that, when the dice decide to become the stars, turns legions into peanuts and pushes the adrenaline into the red. At that point, the night knows exactly how it has to end.

Trick of the Rails is an interesting trick-taking game with a train flavour, but it asks for some patience before it becomes clear what you should be pursuing. Its theme is also the main reason I would make room for it on the table.

Northern Pacific is a small, lightning-fast game with practically no rules overhead and far more depth than its running time suggests. It was the best new game I played over the long weekend, even if I am not sure it will withstand endless repeat plays.

Red Light: A Star is Porn is an unexpectedly entertaining, provocative little game that wins you over first with its artwork and then with its silliness. It is nothing remarkable, but with the right group it can produce plenty of laughs for two or three plays.

Conan became the right, noisy holiday ritual: honest dice, a diabolical overlord, and a group having an almost unreasonable amount of fun.

Cryptocurrency was the last loukoumades bite of the trip: honest for exactly what it is, without trying to be something grander. I clearly prefer it with four players; at three, the RNG weighs more heavily, though it is still perfectly enjoyable.

Dungeon Derby took me from “I’ve bought another dud” to still laughing about moments from the game two days later. It is not a game to take seriously; it is one to put on the table with the right, loud group.

Popular Front remains an epic six-player game: harsh, brutal, and perfect for groups capable of turning the Spanish Civil War into a historical argument and a political discussion around the table.

I brought Millennium Blades to a rare gathering of old competitive Magic players, and the nostalgic joke landed for most of the group. It was not unanimous, though: one player never connected with its appeal.

Terraforming Mars with the Hellas map was an ideal way for three players to close out a Saturday night. And for me, it remains clearly better as a tabletop experience than as a game on Steam.

Raccoon Tycoon is a simple, friendly market game elevated substantially by its auctions and clever set collection. It is a very good light/gateway game, including for non-gamers.

Franchise is a lean, pleasantly mean area-influence game with no downtime and plenty of friction once the table is full. The second play confirmed that it has held up far better over time than I initially feared.

We switched from Sidereal Confluence to Trade on the Tigris after a last-minute pistoleto left us with five players, and it was not a bad trade at all. I enjoyed it again, but I want one more game at six before deciding whether the “good” strategies are actually too good.

Tulip Bubble remains a tried-and-true favourite of my group: with the right people around the table, it can be genuinely epic. This evening also showed how brutally the market cards can sweep it off course.

Talon is quick and enjoyable in battle, but a standalone skirmish does absolutely nothing for me. Its real value seems to lie in a short campaign, provided someone is willing to set one up.

Mage Wars Arena returned to the table as an old, complex love that was never really forgotten. And Battlegrounds: Domination turned out to be a much better reason to revisit it than I expected.

Inca Empire is an old game that recently found a place in my collection: a restrained route builder that is quick and pleasantly tight. Its real substance lies in the sun cards, which keep every player's actions under constant scrutiny.

Cavum is a hidden gem of networks and explosions: tight, clever, and wonderfully malicious in exactly the right way. My group may fear empty hexes, but this was one of our most enjoyable games of the year.

In AuZtralia, once again, we ended up on the menu. And this time, the revelation came at the eleventh hour.

Ground Floor: Second Edition is an honest heavy euro that showed me its best side at five players. It is expensive, but my two plays did not confirm the reservations I had heard about the first edition.

Magnificent Flying Machines is a light beer-and-pretzels game for laughs, teasing, and plenty of Take That!. Just do not expect its scoring to convince you that there is a serious plan behind all of it.