Blog Archives
Battlefields of the Kitchen Table
Under normal circumstances, it might seem a bitter irony that Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini’s partnership will be lauded for Toy Battle over the supernal Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars. But these are no normal circumstances. Not when Toy Battle is currently up for a Golden Geek alongside its crunchier sibling, which I’m sure has infuriated a certain class of grognard, but strikes me as maybe the perfect encapsulation of that silly award. (If you needed further proof that the Golden Geeks aren’t especially rigorous, my podcast is also up for one. “LOL,” as the kids say.)
It helps, too, that Toy Battle is a tremendous little plaything. I’d even say it’s good in much the same way that Old Boney’s Battlefields is good, threading an uncommon needle between strategy and chance, heft and approachability. Or maybe I’m just saying that because it’s colorful, feels great on the fingertips, and my twelve-year-old can give as good as she gets.
Welcome to Middle-Earf
I realize it represents critical malpractice at this point, but I still haven’t tried Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala’s Seven Wonders Duel. Then again, maybe that’s a good thing, since I’m effectively immune to any questions about how much The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth shakes up the format.
Secrets Secrets Are No Fun
With its pedigree, you’d think Secrets would stand out as one of the finest creations ever put to cardboard. Bruno Faidutti stands at one end, with hits like Citadels, Mission: Red Planet, and Mascarade in his pocket, while Eric Lang inhabits the other. And if you don’t know who Eric Lang is, might I recommend Blood Rage or Chaos in the Old World? A social deduction by those two seems like a no-brainer.
But as it would turn out, no brains isn’t the right way to go for a social deduction game. At least not unless you’re content making a merely okay one.
Rampage! RAMPAGE! RAMPAUGDGH!
That Pacific Rim was pretty much my favorite movie of 2013 says more (I hope) about the slowness of that cinema year than about my taste in film. On the other hand, it also predisposes me to love Rampage, a dexterity game that puts you in the shoes of a five-story kaiju bent on knocking the stuffing out of a pristine ocean-view city for no other reason than because ocean-view cities are always so dang smug about their ocean views.
Oh, and it’s one of the best dexterity games I’ve ever played.
SPACE-BIFF! 