Some games arrive quietly, sit on a shelf for a while, then suddenly reappear with confidence. Tacta is one of those. Originally designed by Jason Tremblay and first published by The Op Games, it drifted past a lot of players the first time around. Then a fresh edition landed via Osprey Games, backed by a … Read more
Pandemic turns up on a lot of beginner lists, and I think that’s mostly right. But it comes with a couple of caveats that those lists don’t always mention, and they’re worth knowing about before you buy. The short answer is yes, Pandemic is a good game for beginners. The slightly longer answer is: it … Read more
Mind Up is a push-your-luck game about building a sequence of numbers without going over your limit. It is fast, easy to explain, and generates the same stop-or-keep-going tension that the best games in the genre manage without overstaying its welcome. Published by Helvetiq, Mind Up plays 2 to 6 players in around 20 minutes. … Read more
The Egyptian mythology area control game that rewards aggression and punishes patience. One of The Most Aggressive Euros Game You Will Find Kemet is an area control game for 2 to 5 players in 90 to 120 minutes. You are an Egyptian civilisation competing to reach 8 victory points by attacking temples, recruiting mythological creatures, … Read more
More importantly can you stop playing once you start? Like the game which is about pushing your luck for just 1 more card i find myself pushing it for Just one more game. I’ve recently been captivated by Flip 7, a card game that masterfully blends strategy with chance. If you’re on the hunt for … Read more
When Finspan was announced I was not sure the world needed another Span game. Wingspan has been one of my most-played games for years. Wyrmspan added dragons and a more complex engine layer. Where does a fish game fit? Having played Finspan a reasonable number of times, my answer is: it fits well, but for … Read more
Is it Spicy enough for you? Dune: Imperium is the game that convinced several people in my regular group that deck-building was actually interesting. It does something clever: it takes the card-acquisition loop of a deckbuilder and fuses it with a worker placement layer, so the cards you buy determine what your workers can do. … Read more
The push-your-luck bag-building game where exploding is part of the experience, not a failure of it The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a push-your-luck bag-building game for 2 to 4 players in 45 to 75 minutes. Each round you draw ingredient chips blindly from a bag and place them along a spiral cauldron track. Draw too … Read more
Everdell is the game that gets commented on before anyone has taken a turn. The Ever Tree centrepiece dominates the table. The resource tokens are smooth, chunky, and satisfying to handle. Andrew Bosley’s artwork on every card is detailed and warm and feels genuinely hand-crafted. And then, once you start playing, you discover the game … Read more
Parks is a route-building, resource-collection game for 1 to 5 players in 40 to 70 minutes. Two hikers travel along a seasonal trail of action spaces, collecting resources and spending them to visit US National Parks. Each hiker blocks an action space, so the order you move in and where your opponent is constantly shapes … Read more
