Reviews

Flip 7 is brazen, stripped-down push-your-luck with a little take-that and plenty of tzatziki. And yes: if you embrace the mood, it can blow a gasket in the best possible way.

A summery crab-and-shrimp battle with fast-forming conflict zones, asymmetric factions, and dice that demand a strong stomach. It is fun when the odds are shared fairly, though its production did not win me over.

Atlantis Exodus is an abundant, heavy euro by Greek designers, with interesting ideas but a real playtime far beyond what the box suggests. My first game was demanding, yet it left me curious enough to return for another.

“Catan with Nukes” sounds like advertising nonsense, yet it hides enough chaotic fighting for the right group. It is not a game to take seriously: it is mutant zombie rabbits versus super-sheep, with nukes in the middle.

Viscounts of the West Kingdom was the forgotten stop on our Tomesaga journey, and it turned out to be well worth discovering. Clever, enjoyable, and, for me, clearly the best game in the West Kingdom series.

Raising Chicago is a nearly hidden Spiellworx gem: a pure auction game with no luck and enough tension for players who enjoy looking their opponents in the eye before making the next bid.

7 Empires felt to me like a simplified Imperial that never finds a reason to exist. Even at the longer length, its small amount of tension is not enough to justify returning to the table.

A faithful, substantial adaptation of Heroes III whose greatest enemy is the time it demands at the table. We had a very good time, but a first play that runs to four hours or more needs a special occasion.

Great Western Trail: El Paso is not a bad game; it is, however, a cut-down GWT that left me wondering why I did not simply play one of its bigger siblings.

Frozen Frontier is a fast, clever economic resource-management game with enough interaction to ensure you are never simply playing by yourself. And yes, the fact that I missed it during procurement still hurts.

Inferno is a tight euro with an unusual theme, heavy pressure, and scoring that gives nothing away. It does not scale perfectly and its asymmetric guardians do not always land, but it is a thoroughly respectable game overall.

Cascadero is a compact, mildly thinky Knizia route-builder, ideal for one or two quick games back to back. It did not thrill me, but it is the kind of game that can comfortably make an occasional appearance with almost any group.

Everdell Duo keeps Everdell’s condensed feel and brings it to a solid two-player game. It is not quite a gateway game, but with a little help at the table it is perfectly manageable.

Pipeline remains a very solid title, provided the group is in the mood to play Tetris with pipes. Emerging Markets adds a little spice, but it is still fiddly and selective.

Galactic Cruise is a lavish, attractive medium-weight point-salad euro with six interlocking parts and plenty of freedom in how you build your route. My first play left me wary of the card RNG, but a second game with four players made its strengths much clearer.

Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game takes familiar deck building and gives it a genuinely thematic constraint: limited metals force you to build a more colourful deck. It is very good for its genre, as long as you do not pack in more than three players.

Fancy Feathers has a genuinely odd drafting system that gives it character, but for me it is not enough to carry the whole game. The quality of a session seems far too dependent on which birds show up.

Burning Banners is an asymmetric, thematic fantasy conflict game that rewards patience, but demands real preparation with its rules, errata, and timing. It is not the classic wargame you may expect; it is more about spell management and solving scenarios amid buckets of dice.

Planta Nubo is a pleasant but overly relaxed euro, with clever ideas that never quite become memorable. Its stated playtime and its rulebook, meanwhile, seem to inhabit a completely different greenhouse from reality.

Cargo Empire is a pleasant but overly dry pickup-and-deliver game that fails to hold my interest as much as I wanted it to. I would play it again, but I would not be excited to set it up.

Distilled is an honest, thematic card game for people who appreciate both a good game and a good drink. It has substance without becoming tiring, and its scoring rewards foresight.

Paranoia: The Uncooperative Board Game is a chaotic, merciless betrayal game that captures the spirit of its setting, but asks the group to endure a few utterly undignified deaths first.

Cascadito is a simple, cheerful Knizia roll-and-write with polished production and enough variety to avoid feeling entirely disposable. I would not readily choose to play it myself, but the younger member of our group responded to it very positively.

Carcassonne remains the family game that can turn farmland into genuine domestic drama without wearing me out. With its first two expansions, it gains exactly the extra depth I want—provided we do not overdo it.