Basically, Dungeon Heroes is a simple and fast dueling dungeon crawler with asymmetric objectives. The hero player tries to find 3 of 4 treasures hidden in the dungeon with the help of his thief, warrior, healer and wizard. Player - The Dungeon Master first lays out the dungeon during the first nine turns (passive phase), and then actively tries to prevent the heroes from getting the treasures (aggressive phase). It sounds pretty corny, but the mechanics make Dungeon Heroes a unique game. Each player can perform 4 actions. During the first nine turns, the dungeon master takes four tiles per turn and places them face down on the field. The tiles have 4 types of monsters, 4 types of traps, 3 treasures, 4 special items, 2 clouds of poison gas, 3 portals and 4 moving floor tiles. The owner of the dungeon decides where to place what, but cannot see where it lies after laying out the tile, so Dungeon Heroes has a place for memory training. Of course, the treasures should be hidden away from the players, and the passages to them blocked by monsters and traps, but isn't that too obvious? Yes, there is room for bluffing here too. After laying out all the tiles, the Dungeon Master uses his actions in a different way: he reveals tiles and moves monsters, hunting heroes.  Heroes spend on moving around the dungeon from the very start, but with some restrictions. Yes, the thief and wizards move like a chess king, and a warrior and a healer - like a rook, but only one square. Also, each character has their own special ability. A thief can step on traps and neutralize them without taking damage. A warrior can move to the same cell as a monster and kill it. The healer heals himself and others by spending an action point. Well, the wizard can open a tile anywhere on the field by spending action points. In my opinion, the wizard ability is the most useful because it allows you to explore dungeons without too much risk and guesswork, which reduces the role of luck. Moreover, a maximum of 2 actions out of 4 can be spent on one character. That is, the wizard can reveal a maximum of two tiles, and the remaining two actions are spent on activating a thief, a warrior or a healer in any combination. Dungeon Heroes has interesting, seemingly non-obvious elements. I was surprised at how much bluffing there was and how well it was thought out. The magician reduces the role of the bluff, but does not reset it. Traps and monsters block the path of the adventurers, but each of them is neutralized by a certain character, so the Dungeon Master needs to place tiles wisely, and not just build a wall of monsters or traps.  My batches took about 20 minutes. Laying out and assembling the game is very fast. Three games with a friend took just over an hour, and we really enjoyed seeing how different strategies worked against each other in practice. Dungeon Heroes also has its own metagame: where the dungeon master will place items. Vicini (if you've seen The Princess Bride) would be happy with what's going on: you can't just pick up and step on the tile in front of you—every action involves risk. The game is deep enough to keep you from getting bored, and the semi-random layout of the field ensures high replayability. There are, however, disadvantages. Some players may not really like playing as a Dungeon Master due to the randomness of the tile draw. For example, if you pull out a lot of traps at the start, it will slow down most characters, but not the thief. A similar problem with a bunch of monsters: they usually start to pose a real threat to the heroes only from the aggressive phase, which does not look very thematic. In my opinion, if you're unlucky with the randomness, you can just start a new batch (thank goodness they're fast), and as for thematics... well, that's the game. Overall I like Dungeon Heroes. If you're looking for a deep tactical dungeon crawler where it's important to plan ahead, this game is unlikely to fit the bill. But if you're looking for some fast-paced, light-hearted fun about dungeon exploration, bluffing, and luck that doesn't leave much room for planning, then Dungeon Heroes can take a worthy place in your collection...

REVIEW 7 heroes, 3 villains, simple rules, it's Marvel United  PLAYERS: 1-4  GAME TIME: 40 min  PUBLISHER: CMON Games,  PUBLISHER IN UKRAINE Geekach Games In Marvel United, players take on the role of one superhero from the Marvel Universe and work together to defeat a villain. GAIT STRUCTURE Each turn, the player plays one card on the "timeline", side by side, and plays the value on the card just played AND also uses the value on the previously played card. Each icon provides either a move, a hit, a heroic action, or a wildcard action (any of the above). It is important to understand which hero will play before you and which one after. Each hero comes with a different deck, each deck has a different number and distribution of icons, making them somewhat unique from each other. For example, Hulk has more punches and Cap has more heroics, understanding your deck composition and your friends will be helpful for proper cooperation. In addition, there are three cards in each deck that also grant unique abilities only to the hero playing them (they cannot be used by other heroes) and make the deck even more themed around that hero.  After the heroes have played three cards on the timeline, it's time for the villain to attack. One card from the Sinister Deck is revealed, and the Villain will move, attack, spawn tokens, and play powerful abilities that cripple heroes. Each villain has different victory conditions that are specific and themed to that villain.  Round by round, the Heroes will try to complete the tasks to defeat the villain. The Villain will win by destroying all the Heroes, or by completing his Nefarious Plan (if he has one), or by running out of the Sinister Plans deck. COMPONENTS The quality of the components is top notch, the miniatures are probably the best miniatures I've seen in the history of CMON. They have a lot of detail, and the reliefs under each one make them glow, giving them a touch that other games (like Blood Rage) didn't have.  The card quality is good and due to the small number of cards in the deck (12) protectors are not needed, just be careful when shuffling the deck. The illustrations are beautiful and in a chibi style that makes the game unique and gives it a special appeal. SINGLE PLAYER MODE  Marvel United is a fully co-op game and can easily be played with two or more characters, but if that's not your thing, shield mode is for you. Choose 3 characters of your choice and shuffle their decks. You will have five cards in your hands and you will play with them. The rules are basically the same as in the normal game, except for a few nuances, for example, you can play the same hero card on the next turn.  Solo mode is fun, but it removes the fun part of character interaction by allowing the player to play the same hero's cards multiple times in a row. To be honest, I prefer to play together and choose two heroes to control. IMPRESSION Marvel United has simple rules, but with each individual deck and clever card game system, it creates a unique feel for each game. While the feel of the heroes is based on their own deck (some heroes hit harder than others, and others take more heroic actions, for example), the highlight of the game is the Villains. Each villain is unique and can have their own victory condition and abilities that will completely change the way you play against them. Even using the same hero, a new Villain will force you to use a new strategy, and that's one of the game's strengths. The characters are different enough to make the player cooperate in different ways, but the game shines with each new villain that enters the game. They all have different threat maps to deal with the ability of the locations and the ability to block them, and how they interact with the heroes and the field will make the Marvel United experience different.  Marvel United is awesome. The simple gameplay but unique feel makes the game a great choice for those interested in the Marvel theme. The game is family-friendly, its difficulty can be increased by removing certain cards from the decks, giving the heroes fewer wild symbols, and fewer cards will make them more fragile to win. The core game offers 7 unique heroes and 3 different villains for pretty good replayability. Also, changing locations makes it play differently because you have to play for the same character icons all the time. (example: if you play after Hulk's turn, you can get hit a lot) Is it enough to use this to satisfy yourself with just the basic set, or do you need extensions? The base game itself is a very good deal for the money, the quality of the components is very high and the combination of heroes and villains offers great replayability. Is it enough? Yes........ but if you're a huge Marvel fan, you'll want to find all the expansions you can because they offer not only more heroes and villains, but also different challenges. If you love Marvel but aren't a huge fan, the basic box will give you some good family time at a very good price...

MEDIEVAL ACADEMY GAME REVIEW In Medieval Academy , players take on the role of squires training to become knights of the realm. Players advance by mastering combat and fighting dragons, as well as furthering their education, serving the king and demonstrating their chivalry and bravery. Only one player will be selected as a knight, so start training!  Medieval Academy is a card drafting game for 2-5 players that consists of 6 rounds and lasts 30-45 minutes. The game consists of a deck of 52 cards, 7 double-sided playing fields and a large number of tokens. Players compete for first place in as many playing fields as possible, earning them points at the end of each round. The player with the most victory points is the winner. HOW TO PREPARE THE BATCH Preparation is simple. Lay out the 7 playing fields as shown below. Each playing field is double-sided, each side offering different scoring conditions for greater replayability. Top: Gallantry Middle: Jousting (black armor), Tournaments (white armor), Education Below: royal service, charity, quests  Lay out the scroll containing the circular marks and the turn order indicator. Place an hourglass figure in Round I. Shuffle the deck of study cards and place them within reach of all players. Make separate stacks from each group of assessment markers. Each scoring marker will have an icon that matches the game board, with the exception of the Gallantry board. Each player will take all the pieces of their color by placing 1 circular disc in the lower left corner of each of the 7 playing fields. Deal 5 study cards to each player. Pick a starting player and give them a totally useless but also totally awesome First Player Sword token. Now the game is ready to start. GAME PROCESS  Playing fields The game includes 7 different playing fields. There are 2 additional fields that can be obtained from the publisher, which allows you to mix and match them. Each field is double sided and contains everything a player needs to know to play it and score when needed. Let's take a closer look.  When a field gives points – Playing fields are counted in one of 3 intervals: Each Round: As shown on the example card above (Gallantry, Jousting, Tournaments, Education) Rounds 3 and 6: (Royal Service) Endgame: (Quests, Charity) When the field is updated - the position of the markers on the playing field is preserved until they are reset. Quest and Charity fields continue to accumulate until the end of the game, and other fields are reset at the end of Round 3. Scoring conditions – Bravery, Combat Challenges, Tournaments, Royal Service, and Quests all reward players who lead, while Education and Charity punish players who *don't* lead. Game field icon - very easy to read which point tokens go to which field. Start space – where point markers are placed at the start of the game or after the field is updated. Let's use the tournament field shown above as an example. This field counts points each round, updates after the 3rd round and awards 3 points to the player in 1st place, 2 points to the player in 2nd place and 1 point to the player in 3rd place (only for games with 4+ players). The Gallantry board will always be the first board to score points, and is the only board that does not award point tokens. Instead, the Gallantry scoreboard awards movement points to players in the lead. These movement points can be used on any square in the game (including the Gallantry square itself) and must be used before any other square is scored. The player in 1st place on the Gallantry field gets 3 movement points, the second place player gets 2 movement points, and the 3rd place player gets 1 movement point (4+ player games only). Movement points are scored in reverse order, meaning the player with the fewest movement points uses their points first, up to the player in the lead. CARDS At the beginning of each round, players are dealt 5 cards. Players choose a card they wish to play and place it face down in front of them, then pass the rest of their hand in the direction currently indicated on the circular tracker. In the first round, the cards are dealt clockwise and then counter-clockwise.  After all the cards have been dealt, players take their cards and play one card at a time, starting with the first player of the round. Players advance the points marker for the selected square (from 2 to 5 cells). If a player moves a piece and lands on the same area as another player, the new piece is placed on top of the old piece and is considered "ahead" for scoring purposes. Play continues in the appropriate direction until each player has played 4 cards from their hand; the remaining cards are discarded. ACCOUNT TOKENS The counting tokens are divided into 6 groups to correspond to the 6 suits in the deck. There are a large number of tournament tokens (sword) and education tokens (book), fewer Royal Service tokens (crown) and only a few quests (dragon) and charity (money bag). This is consistent with when each field is scored. COUNT At the end of each round, players will determine which fields to count and which players are in the lead. If a situation arises where two pieces occupy the same position on the playing field, the top piece is considered "in front" for scoring purposes. Players determine the score they earned that round, take the accompanying points token and place it face down in front of them. All relevant game boards are updated and play continues in the next round. The game continues until all 6 rounds are completed, after which the players tally their points, including negative points in the education and charity fields. The player with the most points is the winner. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE GAME The components in this game are of really good quality, as expected from Iello Games. The box is well made and sturdy, even lined with linen on the outside. Fields and tokens are thick cardboard with bright colors and easy-to-read text. The player's elements are beautiful wooden chips in bright colors. The artwork in this game is fun, and actually quite themed. The cards in each suit from 2 to 5 illustrate how your squire grows in power. The game is fast and quite fun. If I'm playing with my 10-year-old sister, we can usually finish the game in about 20 minutes. WHAT DID NOT LIKE While I love this game, there are some things that I think could be improved. Game components, despite the high quality, could be a little thicker. As it is, they are a bit difficult to fit for someone with big hands like me. Point tokens are completely unnecessary and a bit annoying. I know keeping them face down adds to the strategy, but I wish there was a better way to keep track of your score. This game is a reprint of the French game, and while the rulebook explains the game well, there are a few places where the translation fails. CONCLUSIONS One of the things I like most about this game is that it's pretty simple. Of course, there are a lot of tokens, extra chips and that funny sword. But at its core, Medieval Academy is just a card game. And that's what makes you make tough decisions. There were many times when I wanted to be dealt every single card, but I was forced to pick one and pass the rest; not knowing what was waiting for me from the player on the right. Are you looking for relatively quick points in competitions and tournaments at the expense of education? Is it better to focus on the Royal Service or to do quests? 17 points from quests is pretty mouth-watering, but never forget that the last player on the Charity field will lose 10 points. Medieval Academy is a fun, fast-paced card-drafting game with challenging picks, fun surprises, and fun challenges. Combine that with high-quality components and a great design, and you've got an unbeatable game!..

 I'll start with a disclaimer that I'm a big fan of PC Skyrim and have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in it. I bought the tabletop simply because the box had the word "Skyrim" on it. Here are my impressions after playing the first campaign solo, including learning and replaying the first chapter (because I didn't understand all the rules right away). In total, it took about 12 hours. WHAT IS ENJOYABLE IN THE GAME  — The atmosphere of "Skyrim" is perfectly conveyed. The art, the field (although it is huge), the game mats, the equipment, the quest markers... everything is perfectly in line with the spirit of Skyrim. It plays very atmospherically if you turn on the soundtrack from the original. - The battles are very simple, but quite fan-like - in this they are similar to the original. You have several attacks to choose from, and enemies have several types of armor. You roll the dice, subtract the armor rating and deal damage. During the course of the game, the loss increases, different types of attacks, status effects, armor appear... but the calculations do not become excessively complicated. You can make a thief build and make a free attack with 2X damage at the beginning of the battle, you can chop with a two-handed ax. For me, the simplicity of the fighting game is a plus, although to some people. Those who expected deep battles that require a lot of thinking will be disappointed. — There are both scripted quests and those drawn from the deck. In my opinion, this is quite an interesting feature. Once a villager gave me a quest to find a fugitive, for which I had to go back and forth in different locations. I did it in parallel with the main quest and as a result had to decide what to focus on. Desktop "Skyrim" has a lot of freedom of action. You can spend the entire game clearing dungeons and doing side quests, or you can follow the main story. Most likely, it is optimal to combine both, but there are always a lot of options. Also, losing a battle or failing a mission doesn't mean it's game over. It will just make your life more difficult.  — There are a lot of side quests here: from the most primitive to those that branch and are performed in several stages. Sometimes very simple tasks (for example, helping a resident of a fortress) can open access to a much larger quest with a significant reward. It is very similar to the computer original. I really liked how well the quests and exploration of the surrounding world were developed here. — It is nice that you can easily change the level of difficulty of the game. As a person who does not like overly complex games, this option is useful for me. - All character classes play very differently, which increases replayability. True, the game forces you to pump according to a certain pattern (Nords are always melee fighters, Khajiits are thieves, etc.). You can, of course, do it your way, but then you will lose all class bonuses. — In battle and during skill checks, you can take risks using the "try your luck" mechanic. This adds tension and intrigue. WHICH IS NOT VERY HAPPY - The rule book is a real horror. The rules are haphazardly scattered throughout the book, some nuances are explained to you even before the basic elements are explained, it is problematic to find the right rule (they are scattered throughout the actual rule book, the scenario book, and the training mode book). The tutorial book has a bunch of typos (wrong page numbers where the book refers to the main rulebook), etc. Overall, it's terrible. I eventually managed to make my way through these slums, but it wasn't easy. In most decks, I can more or less understand how the gameplay is set up after reading the rulebook, but not in this case. I had to watch the video walkthrough. - Crafting, upgrades and equipment enchantments are very poorly done from a thematic point of view. These mechanics are completely random - and the outcome depends entirely on what you are lucky enough to draw from the deck. Maybe I was just unlucky, but all my attempts at enchantment gave bonuses to magic, which is useless for my melee character. By the third chapter, I finally scored on charm, because I never got anything useful.  The same goes for drawing gear cards from the appropriate decks (melee/magic/stealth) in cities: you might end up with something that's perfect for your build, or you might end up with garbage, and the outcome is unpredictable. You have to pay for drawing the card, and then pay extra for the actual purchase, which is a clear overkill. As a result, I introduced home rule (you can look at the top three cards of the deck and choose one for a fee) to reduce the role of randomness. — Layout instructions and quest descriptions are sometimes confusing. Yes, the rule book instructs you to take card 209 at the start of one of the quests. But the tutorial book says you draw this card at the end of your first turn. And at the end of the first turn, I thought I must have done something wrong, because I had no idea where to get that particular card. Also, when the game instructs you to remove cards from the game, you have to be very careful. If you need to draw a card that is not in the deck (because it has been removed from the game), then you draw the next card in order. For example, if card 102 is needed, but it is no longer available, you take 103. If 103 is not available, then 104, etc. During most quests, you remove several cards from the game. If you forget to remove any of them (I've had this happen twice), you'll be very confused by the results. And correcting the situation and finding out where and when you made a mistake will not be easy. — There is little artistic text in the quests. It's not a problem for me because I've spent countless hours in Skyrim on PC, but many may be disappointed by the fact that most quests only have one or two lines of art text. For a game with such an emphasis on story and atmosphere, this is a clear oversight. — Personally, the main minus for me is the crazy price of the game. The components are good, but for $140, I was hoping for more substantial stuff in the box than 6 minions and a bunch of cards. I have games in my collection that are $30-$50 cheaper that have trays with tons of minions, colorful tiles, thick company books, voice acting, etc. Compared to other games with massive campaigns and a similar price (like " Gloomy harbor" or Middara) the content of the desktop "Skyrim" is not impressive at all. And I am silent about the prices of 70-90 dollars for additions, and for the Upgrade Kit with a rather gloomy appearance of minnows ... for 90 dollars. I understand that the authors had to fork out for the franchise, but the kickstarter campaign looks like clear extortion.  Overall, Skyrim is a fan game, but the price is way overpriced. I would give her a 7/10...

TIDES OF TIME REVIEW In Tides of Time , players will draft beautiful tarot-sized cards and compete to build the kingdom that will best stand the test of time. The goal of Tides of Time is to score the most points after 3 rounds of play. HOW TO PREPARE THE GAME  Tides of Time is a quick game that is easy to set up. Shuffle all 18 cards together, then deal 5 to each player. Each player will also receive two Relic Tokens (more on that later). GAME PROCESS  First Round Following the objectives and icons on the cards, each player will choose one card and place it face down on the table. When both players have chosen their card, reveal the cards. Each player then passes their hand to another player. Repeat until each player has 5 face up cards. Players will then score each card based on its purpose (more on scoring in a moment). Players will take into their hands all the cards lying face down. They will then choose one card for the next round, placing it face down in front of them and placing a relic token on top of it. Players will also choose one card to destroy, placing it back in the box where it will remain for the rest of the game. The remaining 3 cards remain in the hand for the next round.   Second round At the start of the second round, each player draws two cards from the deck to increase their hand to 5 cards. Both players then reveal the relic card chosen at the end of the previous round. The gameplay of the second round is identical to the first round. At the end of the second round, players assign their last relic token to another card and destroy the other card.  Third Round The gameplay of the third round is identical to the second: players reveal the relic card chosen in the previous round and replenish their hand to 5. TIDES OF TIME MAPS The maps in Tides of Time are divided into 4 main objective types with different combinations of palaces, temples, fortresses, libraries and gardens. COLLECTION OF THE MAJORITY Most collections reward you for having one more suit than your opponent. Most collection can be affected by modifier cards.  Combination of one set A suit collection gives you points for each of your cards of the same suit. A collection of the same suit can be affected by modifier cards.  Several sets Multiple sets reward you for collecting cards from multiple suits in a set. Sets of 2, 3, and 5 are available, each with different point values.  Modifiers / Big Goals  Cards: Eye of the North, King's Nest, Mole Mountain, Roof of the World, Sapphire Port Cards in this category modify existing cards or provide bonuses for individual cards. For example: King's Nest allows you to win all draws, which is useful when scoring for majority. Top of the World doubles the icons on the cards in your most abundant suit. This means that if you are trying to collect one fortress suit and you have two of them, you will now have 4, giving you 12 points. CALCULATION OF POINTS Points are scored at the end of each round. Players look at each card for a purpose and score on the attached notepads. Let's walk through an example hand to see how it is evaluated. The first player has the following cards. Mole Mountain : 8 points "For most suits with only one card." The first player has 4 suits, each with only one card so they can score 8 points. Eye of the North : 3 points "For each set you don't have." The first player has no palaces, so he gets 3 points. Golden Ziggurat : 7 points "For most in palaces". The first player has no palaces, so he gets 0 points. Pillars of Heaven : 5 points "For each library and garden set." The first player has 1 Libray and 1 Garden, scoring 5 points. Mana Well : 9 points "For each set of palaces, fortresses and temples". The first player has no palaces, so he gets 0 points. The total for this round is 16 points. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE GAME Tides of Time. The artwork is amazing… I really wish the game had full size posters. These artists would also illustrate the covers of fantasy novels. Oversized cards with a nice linen finish that feels good in the hand. It also helps that the art really stands out. Tides of Time is fast. The box says 15-20 minutes, but once you learn the objectives and the cards (there are only 18 after all), your games will take much less time. Actually, a 10-minute game isn't unreasonable. Tides of Time is fun. Of course, you will have to deal with luck, but there is considerable knowledge and skill involved in the game. Deciding what you want to play balanced against what you think your opponent might play leads to some pretty questionable moments. WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE As much as I love this game, it can be too luck-based at times. In each game, each of the 18 cards will be played by one of the players, but if you get a bad hand, it can be difficult to come back from a bad round. Also, while I like the oversized cards, it would be nice to have a poker sized deck like Love Letter. Literally throw it in your pocket and you're good to go. CONCLUSIONS Overall, Tides of Time is a great little game that's also pretty inexpensive. I think I picked up my copy for about $9. It is easy, fast and very interesting. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes two player games. USEFUL LINKS Tides of Time on BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176229/tides-time VIDEO REVIEWS ..

YSPAHAN REVIEW In Yspahan, you try to build bazaars in the wealthiest areas to increase your wealth, use your influence with the Overseer Shah to control the market, and ship your goods and those of your opponents to distant lands in caravans destined for the desert. But don't delay, you only have three weeks before the markets close and the caravans begin their journey east. PREPARATION FOR THE GAME To start a game in Yspahan, place the City square in the middle of the table. In the upper left corner of the "City" field, place a white cube on the "1" field of the "Day" tracker (1-7), a white cube on the "I" field of the "Week" tracker (I - III) and the Overseer (white pawn) in the center crossroads. Place the Tower space on the side within reach of all players. Place 9 white dice and 3 gold dice next to the Tower board. Sort the camels and gold coins into separate piles and place them near the field with the tower. Shuffle the cards and place them near the tower board as well. Set the Caravan field aside. Each player gets 2 gold coins, a construction field of their color, and all the dice of their color. Players place one cube on space 0 on the scoring track on the City space, then set aside 1 cube to use on the building space. Finally, the first player's black marker is given to the starting player and the game can begin. GAME PROCESS In his turn, the player will take all the white dice and roll them. If the player wants more choices, the yellow die can also be rolled at a cost of 1 gold coin per die. After the die is rolled, group them by face value and place them on the tower field as follows: The group of dice with the lowest denomination, regardless of number, will be placed at the bottom of the field. The next highest value will be placed on the next division of the "Rook" field, and so on. Finally, the group of dice with the highest number will be placed at the top of the Tower field, regardless of value.  The current player will choose one group of dice, take them all, and perform the action associated with that group. Any yellow dice rolled by that player will be discarded after being selected, regardless of whether they were selected or not. After that, the rest of the players choose one group of dice and perform the corresponding action. Each player chooses one action on their turn. The Tower space is central to the game and allows players to choose their moves for that round. The "Tower" field is divided into 6 sections, each of which has 3 options. From top to bottom, these sections are: Take the gold Shops supplying vases Dresser stores Supply of barrel shops Bag shops Take the camels Each chapter has 1 unique action and 2 common actions. For the "Camel" and "Gold" sections, the player will take as much of this resource from the general supply as the number of dice. For example, 4 dice will equal 4 of this resource. In the Sack, Barrel, Chest, and Vase sections, a player can place as many cubes of their color as there are cubes in the shops in the area (more on that later). Finally, for all 6 sections, the player can take one card from the deck. or move the manager. If there are no dice on a player's turn, he will simply take a card. SUPPLY OF STORES Shops in each district are grouped into bazaars. Within the neighborhood, all shops of the same color are parts of the same bazaar. If a player chooses to supply shops in a nearby area, the following rules apply: Only one cube per store. If a bazaar contains goods from one player, another player cannot place goods there. You cannot have 2 unfinished bazaars in the same area. You can end one market and start another market in the same turn. If the group of dice selected by the player allows more dice to be placed than there are stores left in the neighborhood, the remaining dice are lost. SUPERVISOR MOVEMENT The warden is moved down the path by the number of spaces indicated by the value in the selected group. Select a group of 3 elements and you can move the guardian exactly 3 cells in a straight line (or at an angle) in any direction. Players can increase (or decrease) this amount by paying one gold per field. If the Overseer ends its movement adjacent to a space containing a cube of any player, that cube will be moved to the Caravan in the order specified by the player moving the Overseer. If the player whose die is being moved owns a camel, he may choose to discard the camel to preserve the position of that die and instead move a die from his supply to the Caravan. CARAVAN The caravan consists of 12 camels, divided into 3 groups of 4 camels each. When placing camels, the player must first place along the bottom row, then the middle row, and finally the top row. Each row will have a number of available spaces equal to the number of players, and each camel can only hold 1 cube. For example, in a three-player game, only 3 spaces in each row are available for dice. The owner of the placed product will immediately receive points for the bottom and middle rows. When the caravan fills up, the game stops immediately and the caravan receives "End of the Week" points (more on that later). CONSTRUCTION While taking a group of dice is mandatory, building a building is optional and only possible if the player can pay the resources shown under the desired building. Buildings grant the player special abilities until the end of the game. The buildings on the player's field are located from left to right: Squad - Whenever a player chooses the "Take Camels" action, they can take 1 additional camel for free. Shop - Every time a player chooses the "Get Gold" action, they can get 2 extra coins for free. Hammam - Each time a player chooses a Movement Control action, they can add or subtract up to 3 additional spaces. Caravanserai – The player who owns the Caravanserai draws a card each time one of his goods is sent to the Caravanserai. Bazaar - A player who owns a Bazaar receives an additional 2 points for each completed souk during the end-of-week scoring (see below). Hoist - Each time a player chooses the Supply Store action, an additional cube can be added to the total. Each time a player constructs a building, the marker to the right of the board moves down, immediately netting the player that many points. END OF THE WEEK AND CALCULATION The game is played clockwise, with each player taking turns rolling the dice and choosing their desired action. Whenever the game returns to the original player, the day marker is moved. If the day marker is at 7, it moves back to 1, the week marker moves forward, the supervisor returns to the intersection, and the end of the week points are tallied. CALCULATION OF POINTS For each completed bazaar in each district, players receive the points indicated in the colored square next to that group. Players who have built a Bazaar receive an additional 2 points per completed Bazaar. After scoring, the dice are returned to the players. CALCULATION OF THE CARAVAN Players with caravan dice will score as many points as their caravan dice multiplied by the highest row occupied by at least one of their dice. The caravan is not empty. In the example below, yellow has 3 cubes in the caravan and the highest cube is the second row. So each of their 3 dice gets a multiplier of 2 times 6 points. Red only has 2 dice but occupies the 3rd row: so each of the 2 dice gets a 3x multiplier; also scoring 6 points. FINAL CALCULATION The scoring at the end of week 3 is identical to the scoring in weeks 1 and 2. The player with the most points is the winner. HOW I LIKED THE GAME Let me start by saying that I love this game. It's pretty easy to explain, has bright colors, is easy to play, and has wooden camels! Yspahan was one of the first games I bought in my current race for "most board games up my street". I watched the gameplay/review video of Yspahan and was mesmerized. It had very little to do with any game I've ever played. It had dice, but you didn't use them to dictate movement. There were figures, but they did not walk on the field as I had seen before. She let you build buildings, but you didn't do anything with them…they just sat there and gave you cool "superpowers". After the release of Yspahan, other games using similar mechanisms appeared. Grand Austria Hotel and La Granja allow you to select the desired action from groups of dice. Jaipur uses camels as pseudo-currency. And while these games are great, Yspahan makes it easier and more straightforward. WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE While Yspahan offers strategy, there are only a few basic ways to earn points. It doesn't bother me, but there are people who like to strategize to win a unique game. Yspahan doesn't really have that option. Nothing in Yspahan bothers me anymore. It's not a perfect game, but it's really fun, and plays faster than other similar games because of the one action you take per turn. CONCLUSION  Yspahan is a light European style game that is fun and easy to play. Give her a chance, you won't be disappointed. USEFUL LINKS Yspahan on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22345/yspahan VIDEO REVIEWS ..

DINO DUDE RANCH REVIEW In Dino Dude Ranch , each player tries to catch Triceratops, Stegosaurus and the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex by luring them out of the Jurassic hunting grounds with their favorite food and bringing them back to their own dinosaur ranch. You and your mercenaries will have to act fast to fill your ranch with dinosaurs before tar pits cover your land. PREPARATION FOR THE GAME Preparing Dino Dude Ranch for a party is simple and quick. The Jurassic Hunting Lands field is located in the middle of the table and is filled with 4 dinosaurs randomly drawn from the bag. Food tokens (leaves, fish, meat) are placed within reach of all players, hired hand cards are placed in their places on the hunting grounds, and tar pit tiles are stacked nearby. Each player takes a two-sided ranch field (the 15-space "day" side is for 2-4 player games, while the "night" side is for 5-player games), one hired hand card from the deck, and a Farmer Bonus card (which is also is for reference). Keep the bonus card hidden from other players. Finally choose the first player and you are ready to play. GAME PROCESS A player's turn consists of 1-4 actions. Players always roll the dice and collect the corresponding resources. Players can also discard a hired hand (take the top card from the stack) or a tar pit (add a tar pit to their ranch). Players can then capture up to 2 dinosaurs (subject to resources), purchase up to 2 hired hand cards (2 resources of any type per card), or play a single card. The game continues in this way until one player has filled his ranch OR all dinosaurs have been captured (both the hunting grounds and the bag are empty). Players add the total of all the dinosaurs, including the points from the sets found on their hidden bonus cards, and then subtract their tar pit cards. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner. CARDS OF HIRED HANDS Hired Hand cards fall into a few broad categories: cards that give you resources, cards that let you take extra dinosaurs from hunting grounds or steal them from your opponents, and cards that give you points. Most cards must be played on your turn, but some cards allow you to play them during any player's turn. They usually allow you to prevent another player from taking an action or to influence another player's action. The cards definitely transform Dino Dude Ranch from what could be a fairly bland game into one with some strategy and planning involved. At any moment, another player can steal a dinosaur from your deck for themselves, or force you to roll a die with the resource you need. Smart use of hired hand cards will definitely affect the course of the game. WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE GAME Dino Dude Ranch Box - Tank. It's so heavy that I joked with the designer on Twitter that I could stand on it. The visuals and illustrations are fun and colorful, but not flashy or overly bright. The Dino and Tar Pit tiles are thick and well printed, and the pouch that stores them is quite well made. Elastic and very easy to grip to pull out the tile. In fact, for any game that uses figure bags, I'd like them to use the same type of bag. Hired Hand cards have a nice linen finish and are easy to read. Food Tokens are beautiful coin-sized cardboard discs with distinct color and iconography. The cubes are excellent with deep indentations for icons, they hold well in the hand.  The gameplay is easy to learn and quite fun. At any given turn, you never know what you might roll out. Will this be the only resource you need? An employee card that will help you? Or will it be a tar pit taking up precious space on your land? The cost of luring dinosaurs to your ranch is low enough that it usually only takes one or two turns to collect the necessary resources, and the turns take such a short amount of time that even my 5-year-old didn't lose patience or get bored. If you backed the Kickstarter at the Deluxe level, you were upgraded to wooden bits instead of cardboard. I stuck with the base level but decided to get the deluxe set which added Veloceraptor tiles and nice wooden components. WHAT ARE THE CONS? There are only a few things that bother me about Dino Dude Ranch, and most of them are purely cosmetic. The drawing, although good, is not my personal style. Also, some of the graphic design elements could use a bit of improvement and overall improvement. Hand cards are the same height as poker cards, but about half the width. Because of this, it is difficult to shuffle them. The text on the Hired Hands cards is easy to read, but they could benefit from some shortening. Anytime you can remove text from something and keep it legible, it's a win for everyone. FINAL IMPRESSIONS My family really likes playing this game and so do I. My 10-year-old sister even invited her friend to play the game. I could see the wheels turning in my sister's head about how she could use the Hired Hands cards to stop her friend from doing various things. My 5 year old brother really likes this game and he likes to buy dinosaurs, place them on his ranch and pull new tiles out of the bag. I was pleasantly surprised after playing this game. I was expecting something that my family would enjoy, but I would just put up with this game. Letimann Games have done a great job of creating a game that is truly family fun. If you get the chance to pick up Dino Dude Ranch, don't miss it. USEFUL LINKS Dino Dude Ranch on BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/170477/dino-dude-ranch VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 I'm into fillers. Just the concept of an addictive game that uses very few components and is travel-friendly brings back the days when I was younger and played Crazy 8s , President or UNO with friends and family. Nowadays, with modern game design philosophies, we have seen some interesting card games such as Sushi Go , The Mind , Pairs , Skull King and Cockroach Poker Royal . Another representative of such games that should be added to this list is Point Salad . Aside from being a clever pun on board game slang, it's a fun game that innovates the Set Collection genre with its incredibly simple rules. However, interesting games do not always mean good games, so where is Point Salad ? Let's find out. I usually try to avoid explaining the rules step by step, mainly because that's what everyone does and it's not the most fun to write about. However, I will make an exception because the rules are incredibly easy to learn. With a deck of 108 double-sided cards, you must draw some of these cards depending on the number of players (or, if you are playing with a full number of players, nothing is drawn). Mix them well and make three equal decks with the Point Salad side up. When you have three decks, turn over the top two cards from each deck to reveal the vegetable side to form a column under each deck. This is your "vegetable market". RULES IN TWO WORDS On your turn, you have two options: Take two cards from the market and add them to your play area, or take one of the point salad cards and add it to your play area. As a free action, you can also flip one of your Point Salad cards over to the vegetable side, and the icons in the corner of the card will show you what's on the other side. After you have completed your action, it is the next player's turn. You keep doing this until all the cards are gone. Players will then calculate their points based on the Point Salad cards they receive. Each Salad with points card tells the player what scores they will get, for example, if the most Carrots or Lettuce are 3 points, but for each Onion and Pepper card you lose 1 point. Each Point Salad card in this game is unique, so there are 108 ways to score points. Whoever gets the most points wins.  That's all. Nothing more. COMPLEXITY DOESN'T ALWAYS BREED GREATNESS Frankly, it's very rare to see a game this simple in a market that seems to be drowning in a sea of complexity and gray plastic miniatures from Kickstarter. Point Salad takes a less-is-more approach with its simplified rule set and simple components, while still providing a solid set collection filler that can easily compete with other light collecting games like Cat Lady and Sushi Go. The main reason I'm so confused by this game is that, unlike other set collecting games, there is no linearity to card value. Most deck building games often have cards like "if you have the most of that card you get points" or "for every two cards of that type you get that many points for each pair" etc. Point Salad is a little smarter than that. Yes, Point Salad has these ways to earn points, but the key difference is that players choose these goals themselves. The value of each of the six types of vegetables is determined not by the game mechanism, but by the collective decisions of the players as a group. Additionally, the point value of vegetable types is exclusive to each player at the table. TIME IS EVERYTHING Another hurdle to overcome is time. Get too many types of vegetables early and players can easily determine which Point Salad cards will be valuable to you. If you take a lot of Point Salad cards early on, any Veggie cards you might need to score points may already be taken by other players. Timing is of the essence with Point Salad. Although this game is a very tight package, there are some loose ends that need to be tied up. Like other set-building games, Point Salad will feel repetitive after a few games, especially when you consider that most Point Salad cards are variations of five or six objective types. To be honest, it's hard to call it a mistake since it's the genre's fault. Other games with light rules like Sushi Go and Cat Lady also have this problem. It's like complaining that Social Deduction games require communication with other players; it's just part of the nature of the genre. A big red flag is player scaling. This game says it can be played with up to 6 players, but more players pushes the game in such a direction that 20 minutes feels a bit empty. When you're playing with fewer players, like 2 or 3 players, your move will have a big impact on everyone at the table, and when it's your turn, the game state won't change much. On the other hand, larger players, like 4-6 players, hate draft is a bit fruitless because you're only arguing with the players next to you in turn, and the state of the field changes so much that it feels like you're playing some weird version of cardboard slot machine that does not use cherries. After all that, is it worth it? I'm going to give two different answers. If you already have a matching game like Sushi Go, I see no reason to buy it. Point Salad is the best game of the bunch, but not enough to warrant a new purchase. What's out there in the genre right now are pretty damn good games, and I wouldn't recommend spending the extra money to get another version of the same type of game. Then again, I like to keep my collection sparse, so that's probably my bias. However, if your game library lacks a collection of short games, Point Salad is something I would definitely consider. It's not an expensive game, and it's extremely easy to teach non-players in your circle in very little time. Even though the gameplay is repetitive, Point Salad does a great job of forcing players to make difficult decisions, such as which objectives to target, which kits to purchase, and timing all of their actions within a 20-minute period. In short, it's a very impressive game in a very deceptively small package, making it the perfect gateway game...

GRAVWELL REVIEW In Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension , every player piloting a spaceship is somehow trapped in the Singularity. You will make one last desperate attempt to escape through the Warp Gate before time runs out and you will forever be left adrift, another abandoned spaceship. Gravwell has a unique card selection mechanic, unique turn order choices, and it's a lot of fun. HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE GAME?  Gravwell is easy to make because it has very few components. Lay out the field on the table and place the white token on the circular track. Give each player a spaceship and the corresponding emergency stop card. Shuffle the fuel cards and then deal them as follows. For each player, put 3 cards face down (4 players equals 9 cards face down). Then place 1 face-up card on each face-down card.  Choose the first player, then have them choose 1 pile of cards. In clockwise order, all other players choose 1 pile of cards. The last player will then select an additional pile of cards, and the selection of cards is reversed. Thus, the choice of cards for a 3-player game is decided as follows:P1 -> P2 -> P3 -> P3 -> P2 -> P1 -> P1 -> P2 -> P3  A round can be started after each player has 6 cards. GAME PROCESS Each player chooses one card and places it face down on the table. When all players have chosen their cards, all players will turn over their cards and turn order will be determined alphabetically by the element on the face of the card. So the player who chose Jo (Jodium) will take their turn before the player who chose Kr (Krypton) and the player who chose Si (Silicon). Movement in Gravwell is gravity-based, meaning you will be affected by other players' ships, as well as the 2 existing abandoned ships already on the field. Your ship will always base its movement on the nearest source of gravity (other ships). There are 3 types of fuel cards (an expansion is being developed that will add additional types of cards): Standard Movement (Green Cards): Moves your ship to the nearest gravity source Repulsor Movement: (purple cards): Moves your ship away from the nearest gravity source Attraction Beam (Blue Cards): Pulls all ships towards you In the example above (Iodine, Krypton, and Silicon), the first player will pull all other players 2 spaces closer to him (a tractor move). The second player will move 2 cells away from the nearest gravity source (repulsor movement), while the last player will advance 9 cells to the nearest gravity source. If at any time a player moves in an unwanted direction, they can choose their emergency stop card. This will cancel their movement and the game will continue clockwise.  The game will continue until all players have played all 6 of their fuel cards. The circular marker is then moved up, all the fuel cards are shuffled and dealt again as before, but this time the player in last place will choose first. The game ends immediately when the first player exits the warp gate or if no player exits the warp gate by the end of the 6th round. In the latter case, all players lose. PROS OF THE GAME Gravwell's design is top-notch, with eye-popping bright colors and fantastic artwork. This is definitely a game that will stand out on your shelf. The box is strong, well assembled and should withstand transportation. The ship models are very nice to look at with the tilt upwards on the bases which looks quite lively. The cards are sturdy and well made, and should last quite a few games. The text of the card is easy to read, which will make it easier to determine the turn order for everyone. The game is quite random due to the cards and the fact that you can never be quite sure about the turn order. Choosing a card that moves you forward by 10, only to find out that you're moving backwards because of another player's choice. Fair warning: if you don't like random games, this game might not be for you. But because the game is so short, it's easy to get through. CONS OF THE GAME I have purchased 3 separate copies of Gravwell and each one has quality issues. The ships consist of a plain vessel on a transparent leg. While this looks impressive, it means that the ships are 2 pieces. In each of the 3 copies I bought, one of the ships separated. Although annoying, it is fixed with one drop of super glue. After reconnecting I never had any further problems. The only issue I have is the size of the box. It's a standard 10" square box, but it's tall enough for the contents. Especially since the insert takes up about 75% of the space. It's a small issue and I'm sure it's due to retail issues, but it affects storage. EXPERIENCE FROM THE GAME I like the strategy in this game. If you know the people you're playing against, there's an extra level of outplaying your friends or loved ones. I play this with my daughter and she makes almost the same choices as me. This means that she and I often make the same decisions, which means that we can never be sure who will go first. This may be frustrating for some, but we always laugh hysterically when another person "steals" your turn order, forcing you to backtrack.  Gravwell is a unique and special game that is fun to play. The pending expansion will likely add 2 additional card types and special asynchronous ship abilities. But even without them, this game is just a thrill. Check out Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension! USEFUL LINKS Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension! on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/142992/gravwell-escape-9th-dimension VIDEO REVIEWS ..

KAHUNA REVIEW  Kahuna is a Polynesian themed territory control game that consists of 3 rounds. The action takes place in an archipelago consisting of 12 islands, and you fight to control more islands than your opponent. Each island is connected to each other by 3 to 6 bridges. Players gain control of an island by owning most of its bridges. Gaining majority control of an island causes all of your opponents' bridges on that island to be destroyed. PREPARATION FOR THE GAME To start the game, each player is dealt 3 cards (hand limit 5 cards). An additional 3 cards are placed on the table face up, and the remaining cards form a drawing pile.GAME PROCESS On their turn, each player draws as many cards as they wish, with each card representing a separate island in the chain. They will place a bridge token connecting this island to another. Bridges can also be destroyed by playing 2 cards from the same island or 2 cards connecting the bridge they want to destroy. The player then draws one of the face up cards or a card from the top of the deck to indicate that their turn is complete. At the end of the first round, the player with the most islands gets 1 point. At the end of round 2, the player with the most islands gets 2 points. Finally, at the end of Round 3, the player with the most islands subtracts the opposing player's number of islands from their number and adds that number to their total score. The player with the most points wins. WHAT I LIKED ABOUT KAHUNA First, let's talk about quality. The box is sturdy, bright and with the nice compact square box that many Kosmos games are known for. The insert keeps everything tight and strong. Each player receives a set of solid black or white wooden pieces (25 bridge tokens and 10 majority tokens). The parts are sturdy and should last many games. A total of 24 cards with a nice matte finish and thick that are not difficult to shuffle. Finally, the board is sturdy and just the right size to be placed on a table between two people. The rules are well laid out with plenty of full color illustrations to cover any questions you may have. The cards have icons in each corner that correspond to the icons on the field. It helps to navigate the maps to find the islands more easily. In addition, the island whose card you have will be highlighted in red. The gameplay is intense and quite competitive; this is not a two-player solitaire. At some point in the game, you will get your hands dirty; by directly attacking your opponent, taking cards you know they need, or destroying one of their bridges, causing their advantage to collapse or your advantage to strengthen. WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE If you are dealt cards that are close together on the field, it is much easier to lock down 1, 2 or even 3 islands within the first few turns. It's not a sure win, but it sure makes it easier to get that first point. Due to the application of a unique scoring mechanism, this makes it difficult to win the overall game. FINAL IMPRESSIONS  Kahuna is simply one of my favorite games. It is very tactical, as capturing one island can cause cascading effects by destroying your opponents' bridges. You have to think more in terms of web connections rather than linear progressions. It is quite common to be significantly behind, but it will not work to take the lead in just one or two moves. There are enough options to avoid randomness, but few enough to avoid analysis paralysis. If you like games for two, then Kahuna should definitely be in your collection. ..