Posts By Adam Roffel

Age of Mythology: Retold might just be the best Age of Empires experience currently available on any platform. I'm loving it!

Over the past few months, my family has been really excited about games that are easy to learn and relatively quick to play. Survive the Island is that game to a T – easy to learn, quick to teach, and relatively quick to play. There isn’t a ton going on in this experience, which might hurt the long term appeal of the game, but it’s a great title to bust out now and then to offset longer, deeper experiences. In…

Tomten is going to be our go-to Christmas game this holiday season and for good reason - it is so accessible!

There are not a ton of Nintendo Switch titles that everyone in my family loves to play together, but Mario Party has always been the franchise that does. With so many great and fun games to play, an evening of Mario Party is a ,pretty big deal in the Roffel household. It’s a call for pizza and snacks, drinks, and more! While I still give the torch to the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo Switch is almost as good as it…

We talked at lengths in the past about Four Gardens having a gimmick that we were not sure was going to work. You can read all about those thoughts in our components overview and impressions . But after putting a dozen or so games behind us, not only does it work, but it’s rather brilliant as well. Four Gardens might not win any awards for its collect-and-deliver gameplay, but the spinning pagoda definitely sets it apart from the competition, even…

Devir is quickly becoming one of my favorite publishers, and for good reasons. No, they haven’t figured out how to fix their box problems – I’ve ranted about this before, just read any of our component reviews of their products – but what they have done is release hit after hit into the marketplace, working with some amazing people in the industry as they go. Devir might be near the top of board game publishers in my opinion, and as…

As we begin the Fall season, it is inevitable that Christmas products would also be hitting shelves, and that is the case with The LEGO Group’s newest set of Advent calendars. My wife and I have loved gifting our kids Advent calendars ever since they were born, but recently we have been investing in the LEGO advent calendar to help populate our growing LEGO winter village we build each year. Any discussion about this year’s advent calendar will be ...

Ever wanted to build your ski resort? I’m pretty sure that once upon a time there was a simulation / tycoon game on PC that allowed you to do this, but I don’t remember if it was any good. How well would a board game fair? Alpenglow is a game with lots going on, from tile laying and card playing, to engine building. While each turn flows pretty well, there are lots of decisions along the way that will keep…

NHL 25 has arrived, and hockey fans around the world can enjoy important, albeit minor improvements to the franchise.

In a year, or rather more accurately, in a half decade where it seems 1-in-3 board games that have been released have had a nature theme, it’s pretty hard to stand out. As I glance at the shelves behind me as I write, I would argue a good 30-40 percent of my collection of games could be classified as nature themed. From games about animals, to games that have animal pieces, to games about trees, leaves, mushrooms, and more. So…