Author: Jason
Bright Future (BGG link here) is a card-driven survival game for 1-5 players, designed by Radomir “Gadina” Mirchev and published by Vermin Games. While not to the extent of Cthulu or zombies, we’ve seen more than a few new games with post-apocalyptic themes. For anyone who likes mutated denizens of dusty landscapes, titles like 51st State, Defenders of the Last Stand, Wasteland Express Delivery Service, and more have us covered. Bright Future, kickstarted and delivered in 2015, perhaps goes further than any of the games mentioned above. It does a lot of narrative and worldbuilding work to bring us a…
Biotix is a competitive, filler-length game (20-30 minutes) for 2-5 players, designed by Zachary Huff and published by Smirk and Dagger Games When a Smirk and Dagger hits the table, you generally know exactly what you are getting – lots of backstabbery, facestabbery… any kind of stabbery you like. Whether you engage in social deduction (J’accuse!), card drafting (Nevermore), or “jump the line” player powers in a dungeon adventure (Cutthroat Caverns), a Smirk and Dagger game will almost always allow you to stick it in your friend’s face and (hopefully) laugh about it afterwards. In this respect, Biotix falls squarely…
Overlords of Infamy is a 1 – 5 player worker placement game, designed by David Zuckman and Christian Olsen, published by Obscure Reference Games. Why aren’t there more games that let you play as the Bad Guy? A few games let one player play the Bad Guy while others play the good guys, like in Fury of Dracula or any of the Star Wars games. What I’m talking about, though, is a game where EVERY player must twirl their moustaches, raise their eyebrows menacingly, torture the hero, and out-Bond villain everyone else to achieve victory. Overlords of Infamy proposes to…
Tiny Epic Quest is an adventure-puzzle game for 1-4 players, designed by Scott Almes and published by Gamelyn Games. The first question most people ask about Tiny Epic Quest, before anything else, is: “how does it compare to other Tiny Epic games?” The whole Tiny Epic series of games represent different attempts at the same experiment – how much “game” can a designer fit into one little box? So, I think it’s natural to want to compare TEQ to other games in the line. I also think of TEQ as another in a family of “adventure-puzzle” games – that is,…
The Lost Expedition was designed by Peer Sylvester and published by Osprey Games in 2017. In 1925, explorer and land surveyer Percy Fawcett staged his final foray into the Amazon in search of El Dorado, or the lost city of Z. Stories of his journey and disappearance captivated the English speaking world in the 1930s. The story once again came into prominence in 2009 after the publication of The Lost City of Z by David Grann, which then inspired a movie of the same name in 2017. Were the mostly friendly presentations of Percy Fawcett in the book and the…
Tomb Trader is a 3-6 player negotiation game designed by Asher Stuhlman and published by Level 99 Games. I can’t say that I get a ton of negotiation games to the table. However, I still believe that any gamer with a decent sized collection, especially if they host regular games nights, should have one or more of them on hand. Negotiation games are versatile, can handle large player counts, and can be very fun with the right crowds. The king of the hill in negotiation games, of course, is currently Cosmic Encounter. However, that one involves a lot of setup,…
If you are someone who frequently looks on YouTube for game tutorials, you probably know Ricky Royal (née Richard Wilkins) and his Box of Delights channel. I’d say he’s up there with Rodney Smith’s Watch it Played channel in terms of go-to places to learn games, and deservedly so. When I brought a copy of his game Renegade to my local meetup, no less than four people exclaimed “Ricky Royal? Cool, he taught me Mage Knight!” Renegade represents Ricky’s maiden voyage into game design. As such, he’s given us something straight out of his personal greatest hits – a coop/ solo…
When I heard news of an expansion for Tiny Epic Galaxies – designed by Scott Almes and published by Gamelyn Games – my first thought was not a kind one, I admit. I think TEG is a really good game. I also think TEG is complete on its own. Therefore, I may or may not have had an initial reaction that included the words “money” and “grab.” Oh, and adding an expansion meant that it no longer qualified as Tiny. I backed the Kickstarter anyway! Not only that, I eagerly played a bunch of games the instant it arrived at…
You’ve waited long enough! Hopefully you’ve read Part One where I talk about building a receptive table to your teach, as well as Part Two where I talk about introducing the game folks who have committed to playing. Now we get down to actually teaching and playing it! IV. Teach People How to Play 8) Explain Player Abilities, Resources, and Actions (a.k.a., how they can win) 9) Describe Obstacles and Resistance (a.k.a., how they can lose) 10) Flesh Out the Endgame …
I teach a lot of games. When I go to game night, either with friends or at my FLGS, I usually end up teaching at least one game. I think anyone who plays a lot ends up teaching a lot. Over the past few years, I’ve sought out tips and tricks for teaching games from other blogs, podcasts, BGG articles, and anywhere else I could find them – the latest source being this Dice Tower podcast. When I learn something new, I try to incorporate it into an organized system that I rev up any time I teach a game. Due…