I have been waiting for King of Monster Island for a long time. This is a co-op dice-rolling game in the Lord of Tokyo setting. My box arrived about a week ago. I played solo and co-op. BOOK OF RULES  The authors of the game have a sense of humor. It's funny how the rulebook starts with the heading "Breaking News" and it looks ridiculously silly.  Overall, the rulebook is very nice: gorgeous illustrations and titles. It is written quite clearly. First, there is a list of components with a brief description of each.  The layout is described in detail with a huge illustration on two pages. The rest is fine. Sometimes I did not immediately find the right rule in the book (there is no alphabetical index or glossary), but in general everything is simple and clear. It's a shame, though, that there isn't anything useful in the back of the rulebook. And it is quite wide. You can't put it on a chair - only on the table. COMPONENTS  The King of Monster Island box is somewhat strange, of non-standard dimensions. For clarity, a comparison with a can of cola.  There are quite a few tokens here: minions (left), crystals (top right), support tiles (bottom right).  The field looks luxurious. Also in the box is a prefab volcano that is a tower for the boss action dice. You collect it and put it in the center of the field; looks great  There are also health and glory counters — for both the good guys and the bad guys — as well as ability cards and a volcano.  Black dice belong to players, and red dice belong to the boss.  Energy cards are player ability cards that are purchased for energy. In the same deck are event cards that add an element of surprise.  There are also maps of allies and bosses in the game. All the components are of excellent quality and the game looks great. GAME PROCESS Basically, King of Monster Island is Yahtzee (dice poker). You roll a handful of dice, keep the results you like, then reroll the..

INTRODUCTION I've been playing board games for about 5 years now, and before that I was really into miniatures wargames. I'm most drawn to kickstarter games with lots of miniatures and elaborate plot/lore. I prefer atmospheric decks that have a bit of depth, over-engineered but dry mechanics. I also play tabletop RPGs like Pathfinder 2nd Edition, mostly as a Game Master. I don't have a permanently active desktop cell, but I occasionally play in the company of friends and relatives. Most often, I play solo in the evenings, having sent the monster (baby) to bed. My favorite genre is dungeon crawlers. Now I have and regularly play the following: Middara; Gloomhaven; Etherfields; Swords and Sorcery: Ancient Chronicles; Altarquest. Listed in order from most favorite to least favorite. I don't have boss battlers like KDM, so I don't have anything to compare it to, although I've seen a few KDM letplays online. So the comparisons will only be with the above games, not KDM. EXPECTATIONS AND COMPONENTS  To be honest, I expected a lot from Oathsworn (around 9/10) based on the known information, art and lore. On top of that, Shadowborne Games ran an exemplary Kickstarter campaign, which further raised my expectations. And when the game arrived, it turned out that it even exceeded my expectations. Before moving on to the rules and gameplay, I want to draw your attention to the components. I'm pretty picky about it because I buy the deluxe versions of the kickstarters for three times the price of the standard kit, complete with an organizer and other premium components. However, Oathsworn's components are the best of the Kickstarter games I've invested in. Let's start with the fact that the art and drawing style here are great; on cards, on the box and even organizers. Even the playing field is a detailed work of art that makes you want to use it in an RPG. The only games I've played that come close to Oathsworn in terms of art..

GAME PROCESS Before a game in Street Masters, each player chooses one of the six fighter decks and places his character card. You then choose one of four enemy decks (each with its own boss, minions, and other cards) and finally choose one of eight scenario decks (each with its own layout instructions, special objectives, and event cards). When you place the heroes, boss, objective tokens and crates on the field, the game begins.  A round consists of a fighter phase, an enemy phase, and a scenario phase. In the fighter phase, each player takes a turn - in any order. At the beginning of your turn, you draw a card from the enemy deck (as a result, a new enemy may appear on the field in your zone), and then you can take 3 actions in any order: move, play one card from your hand, and take one action ( this could be activating an ability with one of your played cards, moving extra, interacting with cards or the field, gaining defense tokens). At the end of your turn, all enemies in your zone are activated, after which you draw a card and it's the next player's turn. In the enemy phase, you activate all cards in the enemy zone. In the scenario phase, all cards are in the scenario zone, after which you draw a new scenario card.  Most of the party, not surprisingly, will be taken up by the fight with the enemies on the field. When attacking, you roll the dice indicated on the card and add modifiers. Each die may drop a hit and/or block symbol. The dice here are "explosive": if a critical symbol falls out, you not only count it as a hit, but also roll the dice again. There are three main types of attacks: punch, kick and grab. When a character is attacked, he can place a block if he has the corresponding token. Then you flip your token over: it's now a power token that helps charge up your character's special ability. To win, you need to defeat the boss. Defeat occurs if one of the heroes is disabled or if the corresponding scenario card is..

COMPONENTS The miniatures of the ships are elegantly worked out. The field - a large piece of fabric with an image of the ocean - also looks great and may be useful in other games. But the elements of the landscape are very thin and light and easily turn over if they are caught. The rulebook had a broken binding (although it was replaced), but otherwise there are no complaints about it. I like John Blanche's art, and the book has just a lot of his illustrations. The rules are clearly laid out, with one or two spreads under each section of the rules. Under the description of each ship and captain and the scenario too. The book has a table of contents, so it is not difficult to find the right place. The rules themselves take up about half of the book; the rest — lor and other. A ship's rudder helps turn ships around. The ruler is also very useful; it can be bent and fixed at an angle of 45 degrees. The white and one red die look kind of cheap compared to the other components. However, these are ordinary six-sided cubes, nothing more is required of them. There are several decks of cards in the game, as well as a card for each ship and for each order for each player. Apart from ships and orders, all the cards are quite small. They feel a bit subtle. Given their regular use, it is not a fact that they will last long... BRIEFLY ABOUT THE RULES The rules are quite simple. There are no unusual innovations here that could surprise or surprise - which, in my opinion, is not lacking at all. The gameplay is based on cubes and several decks of cards. Very random, which balances the players in a sense: a less experienced player has a good chance of beating a more experienced one. On the other hand, depth suffers from this. If you're looking for a serious game, then Dreadfleet is not for you; if you're looking for a fun random battle, then the game might work for you.  The move is divided into several phases: 1) Status phase: for each..

 Ryan Lockett has made a career out of creating decks that combine Euro mechanics with narrative. The most obvious example is "Near and Far", but a similar design can also be seen in "Above and Below" and in Empires of the Void II. Unfortunately, according to feelings, all these games did not carefully work out both of their components and did not merge them successfully into a single entity. However, with experience comes success. "Sleeping Gods" from the company Red Raven Games turned out to be a masterpiece.  The design approach of this game is very different from the company's previous games. Instead of trying to give equal attention to both the placement of the workers and the storytelling, the developer focused on creating a narrative that gradually unfolds. There's still resource management—almost overdone, perhaps—as well as combat resolution and skill check mechanics, but they're all clearly secondary to the stories of the Manticore's journey through a strange, faraway wonderland. "Manticore" is your ship. A steamboat straight out of the 1920s with a crew of nine — that is, characters that you, the players, will control together. It all begins like a plot from Ravenloft: a steamship falls into a thick fog and ends up in an unfamiliar sea. Surprises, amazing discoveries and difficult moral decisions await you. The game is apparently inspired by the recent hits "The 7th Continent" and "Tainted Grail". It invites players to explore an open world while requiring close attention to health and fatigue management for both team members and Manticores: the right to move on must be earned. The approach to narrative in The Sleeping Gods is a cross between its two predecessors. "The 7th Continent" sets you the task of removing the curse, focusing on several faint hints of evidence. Along the way, like a pigeon rushing between scattered pieces of bread, you will encounter many side tasks and other interesting distractions from the main..

 Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy (2021) by Gale Force Nine is a simplified and remastered version of Dune: A Game of Conquest, Diplomacy, and Betrayal (2019), which, in turn, is an update of 1979's Dune.  Unlike the 2019 "classic" version, this new version is clearly based on characters and scenes from Denis Villeneuve's Dune. The cover features the actors' faces, as well as the signature ornithopters and a worm hovering over people running through the desert. Gameplay and rules are licked off compared to past versions of Dunes. There are fewer ambiguous moments, and the game time has also been significantly reduced. Dynamic fast games last 30-60 minutes. The feeling of the game is familiar and at the same time different. These innovations are just for busy people: they allow you to play a Dunes-themed game in just 5 turns. The developers have also tried to make the dueling version more relevant, which again is good news for those who don't have a large company of Dunes/board fans. Hooray, they didn't forget about us! My review is based on several batches of two players. RULE BOOK AND COMPONENTS  The first two pages of the rulebook introduce the Dune universe, describing the four playable factions: the Atreides, the Fremen, the Harkonnens, and the Emperor. Unfortunately, the Bene Gesserit are no longer a full-fledged faction, although Lady Jessica and Reverend Mother Mohiam are playable characters that fell into the Atreides and Emperor factions, respectively. The field is thought out; what is where is intuitively clear. In the upper corners are counters of moves and phases, in the lower - vats of tleilax and a bank of sais. A sandstorm token is placed on the edge of the planet. During the course of the game, he can move to any of the eighteen sectors indicated by dotted lines. The map itself consists of four types of locations: Sand, Rocks, Citadel and Polar Hollow. Compared to the 2019 version, the field has become..

 Note: This review is written after two three-player games in competitive mode. Other modes did not play. In the first game, the bare base was played, in the second - in the base together with kickstarter extras. goals The "Ancient Creatures" and "Black Powder" add-ons were not used. BRIEF REVIEW MECHANICS  There's a lot to The Great Wall, but the core of the game is the worker placement mechanic. The field is divided into an administrative zone, where players send their workers to activate actions, and a battle zone, where players build wall sections and/or barricades, and send archers, infantry, and cavalry to fight the horde. Foot soldiers can also be placed in an administrative area as overseers and will produce resources for their owners during the income phase. The number of available actions and received bonuses depend on the player's chosen command cards (they are revealed simultaneously). There's something in common with rock-paper-scissors: some command cards give their owners extra goodies if other players pick certain cards (say, if you pick a Despotism card, you can place an extra worker if other players pick a card "Economy"). Some locations of the administrative zone are activated if there is at least one worker on them, and to activate others, they need to be completely filled with workers. So, in addition to everything, you will have to try to predict the plans of other players here. Each player has his general and 2 or more advisors. Advisors can either be kept drunk, which gives additional opportunities, or put under the general so that he receives additional icons and his ability is strengthened. Victory Points in The Great Wall are honors awarded for building fortifications, defeating hordes, general effects, advisors, and tactics cards, as well as three artifact cards that give extra points in the end-game SP tally. The latter are especially important. Players can also gain tokens of dishonor (they give penalties if..

ABOUT THE GOOD PLOT  The plot of "Familiars" is without exaggeration very charming. I will not spoil it; I will only say that you play as four charming familiars, who one fine day fell to the duty of protecting a little girl. While this game doesn't have as many funny moments as The Lost Seas (also a Plaid Hat Games game, I just love it!), Familiars is closer to Disney / Pixar / Studio Ghibli in spirit. In the course of the game, relationships are gradually built between the characters, and the plot unfolds relatively slowly, which allows you to fully enjoy the surrounding world and setting. The plot is rather a saga; there is a feeling that a lot of time passes in the new chapters, and the characters develop - especially the children who grow up. In addition, during the game, the plot will branch out depending on what important decision you make.  Each of the four familiars is a full-fledged individual. They are reminiscent of the sidekicks to the Disney heroes we all know and love so well, only now they have become the heroes of their own story. The plot of the game will pay a lot of attention to each of the familiars. You are probably interested in the question, can "Familiars" come to a group of adults? Yes, they can. My company really liked the plot, and I personally liked the solo games. Although marketing and reviewers say the game is perfect for a younger audience, that doesn't mean it's all pink ponies and rainbows. There are darker, tense moments in the plot. Of course, the quality of the storyline is a very subjective criterion, and you may not like the same thing as me. If you prefer serious dark stories, then this game is definitely not for you; although "Familiars" has serious moments, overall it is a light fairy tale. I can't go into too much detail without spoilers, so I'll just add that it's basically like a Pixar or Studio Ghibli movie, just a little more mature. VOCATIONAL TRAINING In most decks that emphasize..

INTRODUCTION I recently completed Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance's 7 mission campaign. The review is based on a solo playthrough with two characters: John Connor and the Sentinel (a reprogrammed T-800... hi Arnold). There will be minor campaign spoilers in places, such as describing the objectives of some missions. CUBES To begin with, the game uses three types of dice: Action Dice: 4 regular D6s of the player's chosen color of blue, red, white, or yellow. They are cast at the start of a character's turn and are distributed across action slots. Attack Dice (see photo below): 4 custom dice that characters use to attack enemies and vice versa. 1 hit on two faces, a terminator skull on two faces, a double hit on one face, and a fist-symbol of Resistance on the last face of a hit (required to activate special abilities). Reinforcement Dice: 2 regular D6s, which you use to check if new Skynet units will appear on the field. GAME PROCESS  Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance is a cooperative tactical game with a campaign mode and a dice placement mechanic for 1-4 players. Each round you choose in which order to activate the characters. This is important because of the enemy activation mechanic (more on that below). Here is the sequence of moves: Roll 4 action dice. Distribute the dice to the slots on your character card, weapon cards, equipment cards, and your class to activate the corresponding actions. Roll the dice and check whether enemy reinforcements will appear on the field. Activate enemies targeting you. Activate the boss, if there is one. First you roll 4 dice for your character. Their number does not change from mission to mission. Some abilities allow you to borrow dice from other characters, but as a rule, there are only 4 of them. However, as you progress through the campaign, you'll have new options for where to place your dice, and this is the main way you level up your character. At the start, the..

REVIEW OF CASTLE RAVENLOFT Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft is a simple cooperative dungeon crawler. GAME PROCESS  Each Castle Ravenloft mission has its own victory conditions. You read the layout instructions, choose your heroes, put them on the starting tile and you can start. Each character has its own parameters and special ability, as well as power cards that give additional unique opportunities. Character parameters are armor, HP, speed and the power of the second breath (healing surge). If the character's HP is zero at the start of the turn, then he is forced to use a second breath charge after gaining the appropriate amount of HP. In total, the heroes have two charges of second breath for the entire party. On your turn, you can move and attack, attack and move, or move twice. When attacking, you choose one of the power cards, roll a die and add the bonus from that card to the result. If the total is equal to or greater than the opponent's armor level, then you have dealt damage to them. When you defeat a monster, you receive the number of experience points indicated on the card, as well as a treasure card (they give additional special abilities). Experience can be spent on avoiding contact with monsters, as well as leveling up the character to the second if you are lucky enough to roll a 20 on the die when attacking. When you finish a move on the edge of a tile that is not adjacent to a wall, you automatically explore it. When exploring, you place a new tile on the field, draw a monster card and place its figure on the new tile. After your turn ends, the enemies phase begins. If you didn't research on your turn, you'll have to draw a contact card, and they don't bode well. You then activate one of the enemy cards and follow the instructions that describe the monster's behavior. Victory occurs when the victory conditions of the mission are fulfilled. Defeat occurs if the character has 0 HP and no second breath..