Board Games Reviews

Being the head honcho of an interstellar corporation is hard work, and that becomes very apparent when you get Star Tycoon down to the table. While the box size might give you the impression this is a light-to-medium weight title, you need to prepare yourself for a fairly long experience with some difficult decision making moments. There are very few board games that I just flat out don’t like, but not many. Let’s see where Star Tycoon falls on that…

It might seem silly to be reviewing Root in 2024, but when Leder Games opened up their library to us to look at the plethora of games they have available, we jumped at the chance. And I’m so glad I did. After taking Oath for a spin – what a fantastic experience  – it was time to try something just a bit different in Root. You can check out our full components overview and review of Root, but let’s get…

Mass Effect is one of my favorite games to play on console, and I think I’ve enjoyed them all in one way or another. Mass Effect isn’t an overly complicated video game, but I wouldn’t classify it as a light experience either. There are tech trees to think about, specials to mull over, and so much more. When I was told about Mass Effect, it was pitched as a very approachable, short campaign experience. What I was greeted with when…

Gnome Hollow might have made waves because of its magnetic player boards, but don’t let that really cool new production idea take away from what is underneath – a really great tile laying game with some interesting mechanics that sets it apart. Although not everyone I played with was a fan of how this game played, I thought it was interesting and innovative, more so than I thought it would be! On the surface, Gnome Hollow looks like a tile…

When we looked at the components for Stalk Exchange we noted that it was one of the better produced games we’ve seen in a long time. With the recent launch of this title and Gnome Hollow (LINK components article), The OP has been knocking it out of the park on the production side of things. While a good production goes a long way to making me enjoy a game more, it is not the end-all-be-all, and a good game needs…

I previously wrote on the site that I wasn’t very excited for the game Umbrella, and that the components were the only reason I was giving this game a go. You can read my components review article right now but how does the game itself actually play. Was it more puzzly-then-game as I assumed it would be? Let’s take a look. Umbrella is an easy to teach, easy to play game that is really nice as a filler on board…

Cooperative games are on the rise right now, and with the continued success of Star Wars shows on Disney+, it makes sense that there would be a cooperative Star Wars experience for board game fans to sink their teeth into. Not surprisingly, the choice to headline that cooperation was The Mandalorian, one of the most popular original shows on Disney+, and many people’s favorite piece of Star Wars work. I was a bit skeptical of how good a mass market…

The designer of An Age Contrived recently sent over the deluxified version of his game, An Age Contrived. Generally, we turn around board game reviews pretty quickly, but there was a lot of setup involved in this game. For the record, this review is based on this super deluxe version which included metal player “boards” – that being said, the core functions of the game remain unchanged, and outside of the deluxified player “board”, the other items are available in…

There is something to be said about small box games that pack a powerful punch. What do I mean by that? I mean a small game with only a few components that is easy to table and tons of fun to play. After about a half dozen games of Alpina, that is exactly how I would classify this game. With only a handful of cards and some wooden player pieces, you can enjoy hours of puzzly entertainment that’s easy for…

Horrified: World of Monsters takes the traditional Horrified systems and turns them a bit on end by making you play as …. Monsters? That’s right, things are just a bit different this time around, although the real pull for many Horrified fans will be the new baddies brought into this edition of the game. This is actually my first Horrified game experience, so I had to go back and try others before putting this review together. And honestly, for better…