Honest Reviews. Smarter Play

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Adam Roffel has only been writing about video games for a short time, but has honed his skills completing a Master's Degree. He loves Nintendo, and almost anything they have released...even Tomodachi Life.

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Posts By Adam Roffel

Radlands a Quick and Fun Card Game Experience – Inexpensive Too!

There is a really nice deluxified version of Radlands, a somewhat binged out version with nice plastic tokens, and a standard version available. The standard version, specifically, is so inexpensive that even before this review is over I suggest you head out and pick it up if you enjoy two player card games! We got the middle of the road version from Roxley games, which includes plastic tokens and a nice storage box! But is the game any good? Let’s…

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Windmill Valley Board Game Review

My Dutch roots makes the idea of playing Windmill Valley very appealing. Growing fields of tulips to earn points? Sign me up! But a good theme of a fantastic production only gets a game so far – to that end, is Windmill Valley worth your time and money? Let’s take a look! I think off the top we need to mention how good the production is. All of the cardboard pieces are nice and thick, and while you can get…

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Interviewing Niels Mølgård Frederiksen, LEGO Designer

When LEGO creates culturally appropriate LEGO sets for the mass market, I’ve always been curious to know what work goes into making those sets happen. Unlike sets based on LEGO City, or even LEGO Star Wars, sets that are based on specific cultures require just a bit more work, including lots of research to make sure the representation is appropriate. The LEGO Group gave GamesReviews the opportunity to interview Niels Mølgård Frederiksen, the designer behind the ...

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LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern Review

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing the designer of the LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern set, and he had some great insights into what it takes to be a LEGO designer, and what went into making this set happen. And this interview made me look at LEGO sets in a brand new light! Let’s take a look at the LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern! First and foremost, I do think that interviewing Niels, the designer behind this set,…

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Dungeon Legends Board Game Review

There is nothing wrong with releasing an easy to play, straightforward dungeon crawl sort of game, and that is exactly what Dungeon Legends is all about. We raved about this game when we wrote about it in our components overview and impressions article, so check that out, but how is the game itself? I love having games I can get to the table to play with my younger kids, and as a huge fan of cooperative experiences, this one scratches…

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Project Ironside Table Kickstarter Update + New Tables!

We have been following the story of Project Ironside, the first really affordable board game table currently available on the marketplace. For just a few hundred dollars, consumers have been promised an inexpensive yet durable board game table that will work in any gaming room for years to come. We have been VERY impressed with how this company has handled the Kickstarter campaign so far, and with their recent merger with Box King, bigger and better things are ...

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Three Things I Want – Nintendo Switch 2

With the Nintendo Switch 2 officially announced, and a Nintendo Direct scheduled for April, it’s time to start talking about what we want out of this brand new console. With more power and more capabilities, there are definitely more options for Nintendo moving forward. Despite the console having graphics comparable to the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4, Nintendo is right where they need to be with their home console. Now it’s about the games. I think a few ...

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The Joys of Small Playmobil Sets – Playmobil Dinos

This week, a big box of Playmobil arrived and my 6 year old was ecstatic! Like most kids, his philosophy on toys is the bigger, the better. And while we did get a large Dinos themed set in the box, it was the smaller boxes that quickly grabbed his attention. In this article we will look at three new Dinos Playmobil sets and let you know what we think of each!   Playmobil Dinos 71525 The real gem in all…

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Underwhelmed, But It’s Not Nintendo’s Fault – Excited for Switch 2!

Let’s get this out of the way first – I am absolutely stoked for the Nintendo Switch 2, and despite my muted feelings towards today’s trailer drop, my wife and I will be finding a way to make one of these units appear in our household on launch day. At this point in our lives, my wife and I are playing our video games on the Nintendo Switch almost 90% of the time, with the last little bit being divided…

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Is IV Studio My Favourite Publisher of 2024?

It’s been about 9 months since a huge box of games arrived at our studio from IV Studio, thanks to the publishing team. I had obviously seen a bunch of the things that IV Studio had released, and was pretty excited about what I was going to find in the box. Excitement was probably an understatement, because once I finished playing all the games in the box, I was pretty excited for what this company was going to do next!…

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Root Underworld Expansion – The Underground Dutchy Review

We’ve been delving deep into the world of Root over the holidays, and took yet another expansion pack for a spin. The Underworld Expansion for Root not only provides a new board with two new maps to play, but two brand new factions to sink your teeth into. Moving from the shadows, the Dutchy burrows into clearings, sways ministers, and attempts to dominate and attack across the forest. Is this a good faction to use in your next game of…

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Root Riverfolk Expansion – The Riverfolk Company Review

There is always room for more when it comes to Root, and the Riverfolk Company faction from the Riverfolk Expansion are adding yet another little change to the world of Root. As with all wars, there is someone looking to profit commercially from a war, and that about sums up what the Riverfolk are looking to do. Can you balance the needs of the different factions and score points? Is it worth having? Let’s take a look! I’ve really come…

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Root Riverfolk Expansion – The Lizard Cult Review

More Root is always a good thing, in my opinion, so when the Leder Games sent over the Riverfolk expansion for the game, I knew I had to check it out! With two brand new factions to play – who doesn’t want to play as the Lizards or the Riverfolk Company – a new Vagabond, and a few other goodies, is this a worthwhile expansion to grab? Let’s take a look! Like the Woodland Alliance, the Lizard Cult is looking…

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Advanced Civilization Board Game

It had been a long time since I played Advanced Civilization, a game that was released in 1991 but was an expansion for a game released in 1980. I don’t often dip into really old games anymore, with perhaps a game like Carcassonne being my oldest. However, there is something to be said for a more simplistic, board game experience. And Advanced Civilization delivers that! What I actually enjoy is that despite the games length – it took us 8…

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Tower Up Board Game Review

Tower Up was not a game I had a lot of interest in, but after a few games over the holidays with my family, I’m singing a much different tune. The simplicity of Tower Up might not be for everyone, but I think if you are looking for a filler game that feels pretty meaty, then this could be the perfect game for you! When I think about filler games I tend to look to small box games, generally card…

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