Blog Archives
City of Abundant Mechanics
Action Point Allowance System
Area Control / Area Influence
Auction / Bidding
Deck / Pool Building
Dice Rolling
Grid Movement
Hand Management
Tile Placement
Variable Player Powers
Worker Placement
So reads BoardGameGeek’s list of mechanics for City of Remnants, the most recent offering from Plaid Hat Games. It’s no secret that I’m Fanboy Prime when it comes to their debut title, the simple-but-deep Summoner Wars, but City of Remnants is a different creature altogether. The question is, does this wide collection of tools slot together into a coherent and graceful clockwork whole, or is it something more Frankensteinian? I’d like to say I have a concrete answer, but with so much going on, perhaps this is one game that defies ratings as much as it defies genre.
Mini-Review: Master Plan
Minigame Library, Game #1: Master Plan
Since our attempt to review the Minigame Library from Level 99 Games failed thanks to our complete inability to manage our expectations, I’ve decided there’s just nothing for it but to review each of the six (mini) games in a more traditional manner. First up is Master Plan, the only game where you’ll get to take part in an obstacle course game show for supervillains. The prize: one million one billion dollars (that’s the game’s joke, not mine).
If the concept sounds lame, it’s because it is. If it doesn’t, then I’m afraid it is you who are lame, sir. Thankfully, Master Plan itself is a surprisingly good time.
Summoner Wars Mega: The Index
The sixteen factions of Summoner Wars faced off in epic battle.
A little over a month ago, my wife Somerset and I completed a tournament series of matches, deckbuild discussions, post-game commentaries, and extensive (maybe too extensive) after-action reports on our favorite board game, Summoner Wars. And just tonight, I realized that I completely forgot to index this massive undertaking. You know, for posterity and/or OCD fulfillment.
Well, I aim to set it right… aaaaand… done. Complete list of Summoner Wars Mega matches below.
Vaulting Valkyries!
Of all the Small Box Games I own, this was the hardest to find a header for.
Before we start chatting about The Valkyrie Incident, let’s set the stage with some backstory! Shortly after I finished my reviews of Shadow of the Sun and Stone & Relic, John Clowdus, the owner of Small Box Games, proved himself a fine individual by shooting me a quick email. He thanked me for my previous reviews (of course, because he’s a gentleman) (also, you can find all of my previous SBG reviews here) (I don’t expect you to thank me too, but feel free if you’re so inclined), and mentioned that The Valkyrie Incident was another entry in his series of 2-player area control games. That got me all kinds of hot and bothered, seeing as how Hemloch and Omen: A Reign of War are my favorites of his designs.
And now here we are, at the precipice of finding out whether I liked it. Did it measure up to my two favorite Small Box entries? Was it every bit as gripping? Was the box appropriately small? There’s no alternative but to find out below.
(Half) Alone Time: Sorrow of Salilth
The beleaguered city of Salilth.
First Light. We wake to cold and to sound of screams outside the gates of Salilth. Jewel of the cities of Lassadar, home of our citadel and one of the great centers of the Council of Wardens, is surrounded. It is the time we have feared would arrive — the Grayking is come. We Wardens have prepared as best we as are able but will it be enough? I seems we are to be the first to meet openly with he who was once our brightest promise.
With an intro like that, we know immediately we’re looking at another entry in the Shadows Upon Lassadar series by Todd Sanders. I talked about the first one a couple weeks back, and found it to be both an excellent example of solo boardgaming and completely free. Except for the price of ink and paper, of course. Oh, and scissors! You’ll need those too. As for the two questions that are undoubtedly hanging precariously from the edge of your tongue — whether Sorrow of Salilth is also free, and also wonderful — well, the answers lie below.
Kemet the Frog Jackal
Today I’m going to tell you about a board game that’s about as close to genius as a board game can get, while also being so straightforward that you’ll be upending the box thinking you missed a traitor mechanic or something — you know, the complicated part. It’s called Kemet, from the same company that put out the very admirable Cyclades a while back, and if your entertainment budget only permits you to buy one game over the next couple months, and if the folks in your gaming group can tolerate getting angry — I’m talking simmering, dagger-glaring, evening-ruining pissed off — then you can’t do much better than this one.
Let me show you why.
Alone Time: Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire
Have you ever wanted to play a solo science fiction board game about running a galaxy-spanning super-empire that’s more Asimov than Herbert or Lucas? And carefully sheltering it from alien invaders, power-hungry usurpers, and squabbling offshoot empires? Or observing the rise of cults that worship your emperor as omniscient, sweeping galactic enlightenment movements, or the appearance of a future-predicting Institute?
And would you like that game to have tight, enjoyable, and logical rules?
Because if you answered yes to that last question, Struggle for the Galactic Empire is not for you. All that other stuff is in there though.
Together for the First Time: Stone & Relic
These old stones may contain relics. No telling, really.
My admiration for Small Box Games is no secret, from John and Britt Clowdus’s bold cottage industry business model to their consistently high-quality components and portable boxes (which I haven’t managed to drag along on a vacation yet but absolutely will at some point). My only hangup in this love affair is that I haven’t fallen quite so totally for half of their games — as much as I adored Hemloch and Omen: A Reign of War, I found Tooth & Nail: Factions and Shadow of the Sun a bit wanting. Which is why I’m tickled pink about Stone & Relic, which is every bit as good as my two favorite SBG offerings. Maybe even a bit better.
Alone Time: The Grayking is Risen
The land is corrupted. The silent Grayking, brooding upon his throne in the Tower of Ash, is a far-reaching shadow upon Lassadar. We feel his presence in each of our days. His servants grow bold, stealing into our cities, inhabiting the alleys and dark places of our streets. They jeer at us from our mirrors, shaming our reflections.
So begins the introduction to Shadows Upon Lassadar, an exciting solo fantasy quest game from Todd Sanders, in which you take on the role of a young magic adept assigned the unenviable task of locking the three barrier gates that will keep the mysterious and powerful Grayking out of Lassadar. If that sounds intriguing, the good news is that you can make it yourself right now, for free.
As in, right now. For free.
Doth This Sun Rise or Set?
SBG once against provides great art.
When John Clowdus of Small Box Games announced they were running a Kickstarter for three full games, the question that ran through America’s mind — nay, the world’s — was, “Will Shadow of the Sun be the same as Hemloch, but in reverse?” At least that’s what I was wondering, because although I’ve enjoyed most of the recent offerings from SBG (list of reviews here), Hemloch is probably my favorite of the three I’ve played so far.
I’m pleased to say Shadow of the Sun is absolutely doing its own thing. But since that’s the sort of all-purpose response you could drop about either your son Charles who’s finishing medical school or your son Ted who’s living hand to mouth off a smattering of Ponzi schemes, the better question is whether it lives up to John Clowdus’s other designs. Find out below.
SPACE-BIFF! 