Reviews

Inferno wraps a severe Euro framework in sinners, punishment and Dante’s journey through ten circles of Hell. Its economy and scoring pressure are properly interactive, though it is noticeably better with four players and depends on the Guardians in use.

Cascadero is the fuller of the two siblings: a light Knizia route-builder that readily supports a second play. It is not a grand event, but it has enough gentle bite to suit a great many groups.

Everdell Duo makes a convincing case for a condensed Everdell built properly for two players. It sits a small step above gateway territory, but it is a sound and welcoming next move with a little help at the table.

Pipeline remains a thoroughly solid, demanding game for a group willing to wrestle with a network of pipes. Emerging Markets adds goals with enough oddness to give the session a welcome extra kick.

Galactic Cruise is a lavish medium-weight euro with striking table presence and six interlocking systems; on a second play, it proved far more adaptable than it first appeared. The early card variance and the price remain reservations, but the underlying design is thoroughly satisfying.

Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game makes its familiar deckbuilding framework answer to its setting rather than merely wearing the licence. Metal management gives a real reason to build broadly instead of pursuing a single colour.

Fancy Feathers has an unusual draft and the right sort of ambition for a two-player pocket game. Unfortunately, too much of the match seems to depend on which birds happen to turn up.

Burning Banners is a wild asymmetric fantasy battle game that asks for real preparation before it starts paying back with memorable stories. It is not a conventional wargame; it is dice, spells, and scenarios with enough momentum to overturn a table.

Planta Nubo arrives with an impressive design pedigree and several genuinely clever ideas, but they do not quite cohere into an equally sharp game. Pleasant while it lasts; remarkably easy to forget afterwards.

Cargo Empire aims for a brisker pickup-and-deliver game, but ends up too dry to sustain much interest. It is perfectly pleasant to play; it just does not create much urge to return.

Distilled is an honest, satisfying card game about making spirits, with thematic systems and an endgame that rewards the distiller who planned ahead.

Paranoia: The Uncooperative Board Game understands that the RPG’s real currency is mutual destruction, though it asks the group to endure some fairly blunt cruelty first. With the right crowd, its chaos develops a crooked sort of strategy and a proper laugh.

Cascadito is a light Knizia roll-and-write with a neat little network puzzle under its dice. It is not one I would reach for myself, but it is well made and clearly has an audience.

Carcassonne is still the family game that turns one field into a small argument and a neatly completed area into a proper triumph. The first two expansions add useful depth without losing sight of the simple idea at its centre.

Unstoppable is a demanding co-op and solo boss fighter whose card crafting pushes it well ahead of Aeon's End. It asks for real planning, and a little patience with the rulebook, but it has the depth to repay both.

Caylus is still a lean, tightly constructed German-style euro whose mechanisms need no decorative excess. Its pivotal building races will not suit everyone, but they go a long way towards explaining its reputation.

Aquatica is a restrained, lightly asymmetric engine builder with a genuinely fresh exploration idea at its centre. It does not try to do too much, which is precisely why it works.

Daitoshi is Garcia working at a much larger scale: a heavy euro full of systems, yet disciplined in the way those systems connect. It is for players already comfortable with this particular dialect of design.

Warhammer 40,000 Tenth Edition gives up much of the old flavour, but retains a sharp tactical game that rewards another go. A first loss with Ynnari against Grey Knights felt less like a warning and more like an invitation back.

Resafa is a fresh, breezy euro from Vladimir, using six dual-action cards to organise a satisfyingly dense game. It is clever and balanced, building to a proper finale without making the table work for it.

Stephens is an odd, mildly abrasive euro whose factory mechanism deserves attention, even if the surrounding design does not always cohere. It is one for committed eurogamers looking beyond the standard recipe.

Deep Shelf has a sturdy economic 3X core, but it hides it behind rules that demand care. In the right company mix it can work; otherwise its imbalance turns the game into a rather procedural race run at two different speeds.

18Rhl offers two maps with clearly different priorities, but it does not do much to refresh the familiar 18XX formula. RHL is agreeably manageable, though its competition for the right networks is tighter than it needs to be.

Ezra and Nehemiah revisits familiar Phillips territory but turns it into a distinct, demanding tableau builder. Its routes to victory offer real texture, even if their relative value shifts sharply with player count.