There are probably more games about Easter Island than people living there, but it seems that this isolated little island is an endless resource for ideas for game authors. With Rapa Nui we have a very welcome addition to the genre “Easter Island Game”, because the mechanics and the theme go well hand in hand [...]
Québec convinces as a fast-paced strategy game, which thanks to its introductory rules is also family-friendly. The competition for majority in the zones of power coupled with a win-win based participation in building construction creates a game feeling free of aggression that is little known in a worker placement game like this. The continuous expansion [...]
As also new editions of old games can become „Game of the Month“, “Airlines Europe” is the worthy new winner of this title. Alan R. Moon’s game can easily be called a “classic”, and also in the new version the mechanics – which served as a model for other great games like “Ticket to Ride” [...]
If you know the other games by Pegasus you might be in for a double surprise – “Strasbourg” is neither a fantasy game nor a historical roleplaying game (which could have been expected) but a real Euro with an ingenious bidding mechanic. Because all players decide for themselves how many bidding cards they draw and [...]
‘The Castles of Burgundy’ is this year’s highlight from Alea. Players develop their princedom and try to be faster and better than their fellow gamers. Because new supply and possible actions are controlled by dice, players’ plans need to be constantly adjusted according to their respective capabilities. Originally, Stefan Feld’s much more complex design has [...]
Many prude American gamers are put off by the cover of the game (I can only say: honi soit qui mal y pense), but they are missing out on a great new Tummelhofer game that really rocks! “Pantheon” is a game that is easy to get into. Like in all good games there are several [...]
At first glance this is a small card game in a big box. But the built-in mechanics pose a real challenge for everyone, even more so against one’s own desires. Frivolously, we may be tempted to create a mighty card display as a source for victory points, but in consequence poverty increases in our district [...]
Games for 7 players that play fast and are not boring are pretty rare: but “7 Wonders” manages this beautifully. Using an attractive card drafting mechanic (lent from the game “Fairy Tale”) every player is always active and has to make decisions, the cards themselves are then played simultaneously while conflicts and trades are resolved [...]
Games with artists as protagonists have a good tradition in European gaming, if one thinks of classics like ‘Princes of Florence’ or ‘Leonardo da Vinci’. There are also many games, in which artists (or at least artistically ambitious craftsmen) play an important role, like in ‘Pillars of the Earth’. It’s a well-liked theme, which perhaps [...]
Development games that do not use dice pose an extra challenge with respect to game balance: in order to create tension for the players the rules need to impose an element of asymmetry that does not favor starting conditions or player positions. Our task is to develop a civilization in ancient Greece and expand its [...]