Posts By Adam Roffel

Reef Project is yet another beautifully detailed game from Board and Dice, and after looking at a number of their games – Windmill Valley, Minos, Books of Time – it has become very apparent that we should only expect the best when it comes to a Board and Dice production. While this game has a lot more cardboard components, and perhaps lacks the big flashy pieces or ideas of the other games, it’s still an impressive production. When I say…

Video games have been taken to the next level, providing gamers with experiences that look better than ever before. Remember when we were told the Nintendo 64 had the latest graphics, and how Goldeneye looks more realistic than ever before? While true at the time, it was a far cry from where we are now. And yet, despite 100s of millions spent producing some of the worlds top video games, one genre of games continues to rise to the top:…

I’ve always loved the Super Mario franchise although my ranking of the franchises 3D releases is far different than the average Nintendo fan. Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are two of the most beloved Mario games ever released by Nintendo, yet  I have continued to rank them below my other favorites, namely Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Odyssey. After playing both games for the last 10 days or so, my ranking of my…

When Garden Geckos launched, we had a blast reviewing it as a preview for the Kickstarter campaign. Once again, we are being given a chance to check out the new expansion before it hits Kickstarter, and we are really excited about what this adds to the experience! This one box includes three little expansions that can be folded into your main game, either all together or individually. I’ll quickly run down how each works, and provide a few impressions our…

At Canada Plays 2025, hosted by asmodee Canada, I had the chance to see Rebirth in action. To be honest, it wasn’t a game that looked interesting to me, but something about the look of the game at the game’s end was really intriguing. It had great table presence, and I wondered if I was missing out. I can say I’m pretty impressed after a few games, but one thing I can say definitely: this production is phenomenal! There aren’t…

Bad Comet is one of my favorite board game publishers and for good reason – not only are their games really fun to play, but the production quality is off the charts. It also doesn’t hurt that a lot of their games have cute animal meeples…that always helps! With games like Wild Serengeti, Life of the Amazonia, and Wondrous Creatures under their belts, I knew that Shallow Seas was going to be something special. We were definitely not disappointed, at…

When Earth first released, a friend of mine picked it up and introduced it to me – I thought it was a really good experience, but got beat so bad at the time that I didn’t really want to keep playing. When attending GenCon 2025, we popped into the InsideUp Games room to check out their latest expansion that should deliver in a few months called Earth: Animal Kingdom, and after a few demo rounds, I decided I wanted to…

Cooperative games are becoming a lot more popular, but far too often they are still relegated to campaign or adventure games. Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely love campaign adventure games, but having one-off games readily available to play with ANY group is more enjoyable for our situation, and The Peak Team offers that to us in spades. Whether you are playing with a new group or an experienced crew, the 5 available levels of difficulty will have what you…

Last year, Seti was one of my favorite games, and perhaps one of my top games of all time. Nothing, in my opinion, was going to beat the experience Seti gave me. Enter Shackleton Base, a similarly themed astronaut / space themed experience that took almost everything I loved about Seti – the different aliens, for one – and took it to the next level. There is a lot going on in Shackleton Base, but if you are willing to…

It’s not often that you tell someone, “Hey, tonight we are playing a worker placement flip book!” But that is what you are doing here, and while the concept sounds a bit weird, I was intrigued by how it works. As you flip through the game’s various pages, the rules for how you play the game will change. While this might frustrate some, I found it super compelling. Almanac: The Crystal Peaks might not be for everyone, but it sure…

Disney Lorcana is back with another release and while there isn’t anything crazy like locations or duel inked cards to get excited about this time around, there are reasons to invest in this new set. New card rarities is a good start, but also a bunch of old cards have been reprinted in this set, so if you were looking for early Lorcana cards for your decks, they might be available now. What we are here to discuss, though, are…

Unmatched is Restoration Games’ Villainous, a continuous series of games that are interchangeable with royalty free characters from old stories and licensed IP content as well. I’ve seen box after box of Unmatched release into my local game stores but have never taken the plunge. After playing a lot at GenCon, and going home with a copy of Unmatched Vol. 3, I finally figured out what people love so much. Simplicity is the name of the game here, but ...

Gatsby is one beautiful game, and it was a game a lot of folks were really excited for heading into GenCon 2025. We were able to take a copy of the game home for review, and after playing it for about a month, we’ve decided it’s good enough to keep around. While we feel this won’t be for everyone, there is a lot of compelling gameplay here to keep me entertained for a while. In Gatsby, 2 players will be…

In late August, my family and I traveled aboard the Disney Treasure, Disney’s newest cruise ship. Although two new ships will be entering service soon – the Disney Adventure and the Disney Destiny – the Disney Treasure is still technically the company’s newest, sailing ship! With three shows to enjoy on each Disney Cruise Line sailing, having both Tale of Moana and Beauty and the Best makes this ship’s lineup the most impressive. Our ...

Anytime Bad Comet releases a new board game, I’m instantly going to be interested. I’ve loved absolutely everything this company has put out, to the puzzled Wild Serengeti to the tile and animal laying game Life of the Amazonia. Shallow Seas is definitely the lightest game from Bad Comet, but that doesn’t make it bad. If you are looking for something like Cascadia but with a bit more depth, I think this might be it. In Shallow Seas, players will…