There are 31 millennia in the yard. Thanks to the godlike Emperor of Mankind and his demigod-like clone-son primarchs, humanity spread across the galaxy during the Great Crusade. Their goal is to unite all people under the banner of the Imperium. After some time, the emperor decides to return to Terra (Earth) and appoints his beloved son Horus as the new head of the Crusade. However, after the newly appointed "Master of War" is grievously wounded in battle, he succumbs to the temptation of Chaos. Chaos convinces Horus that his father abandoned the campaign to become a god. Horus, allied with some of the Primarchs and the forces of Chaos, returns to Terra, intending to overthrow the Emperor and become the ruler of the Imperium. Brother goes to brother...  The action of the game "Horus Heresy" begins at the moment when Horus and his forces arrive in the orbit of Terra. Here is a dueling wargame with card-based mechanics from Fantasy Flight Games. To win, the Imperium player must either kill Horus, take control of all four spaceports, or hold out until the initiative track reaches the "Imperial Victory" mark. The traitor player wins by either killing the emperor or taking control of all four spaceports. In appearance, the game is simply gorgeous. Plastic miniatures on detachable bases (which also serve to indicate their rank - from 1 to 4) represent various units: tanks, demonic hordes, space marines, chaos space marines, etc. In addition, both sides have heroes - the leaders of the game. Unfortunately, they are represented by cardboard boxes like those in Arkham Horror. It would be great if these god-like entities towered over the other units... well, that's a small problem.  The illustrations and design are very atmospheric and not overwhelming at the same time. The rulebook is well laid out; it is especially pleasing to have an excellent glossary, table of contents and numerous examples. It is not perfect - we had a few questions, but there are very few unclear points. No wonder they still haven't released the FAQ from the game. Most of the field is occupied by a map of the area around the imperial palace. There's also a hero health track on the field, Horus' ship Vengeful Spirit, and a couple of other items that I'll talk about in more detail later. Three-dimensional plastic houses are placed in the corresponding holes on the playing field. They depict various fortifications and, of course, the emperor's palace. They look great, but in practice it is very inconvenient to place units in them: there is not much space, plus the surface is not completely flat. Because of this, the units often topple over and sometimes fall out. This is very annoying during large battles: it is not easy to place troops in places not intended for them (or rather, ill-conceived). Didn't expect this from Fantasy Flight Games.  The game mechanics are based on the initiative track (TI). It not only serves as a timer and determines turn order, but also has strategic value. So, the initiative is in the hands of the player whose marker is closer to the "start" cell. Every action he takes, including drawing order cards from his hand, requires spending a certain number of Action Points (AP). Each OD spent moves the player's marker 1 space along the track until he overtakes the opponent's marker, after which the initiative passes to him. At the same time, in those areas of the map where there are troops of both sides, the "battle for control over the territory" begins. There is also a check for exceeding the number limit and the execution of special actions if the player's marker has passed the corresponding phases on the track. The initiative track is a brilliant find. By controlling TI, you can limit your opponent's actions... the reverse is also true. Another great feature of the game is the strategic map. It looks like a miniature copy of the main map, only divided into large zones - regions. Players can place order cards on the region to draw. At the same time, the cards will touch only the zones corresponding to the selected region. The advantage of drawing cards from the strategy card is that they are always only worth 1 VP, not as much as the card says. In addition, on the strategic map, you can cover the opponent's cards by moving them to the bottom of the stack, as well as bluffing (placing an order in a region that you do not need at all). After the initial set-up, the traitor player begins the assault on Terra by repeatedly drawing several cards from the bombardment deck. The first cycle means the seduction of part of the imperial troops - army units and tank units. If there is an imperial eagle symbol in the corner of the drawn card, then nothing happens, but if there is a Chaos star, then the unit goes to the side of the traitors. Then the gray stand is replaced by a black one so that the units do not get confused. The next cycle represents a powerful orbital bombardment from the Horus fleet in Terra's orbit. The traitor player chooses a zone, decides whether to use point or chaotic bombardment, after which the damage is distributed among the units present there, and nearby fortifications may become unusable. Very interesting and exciting mechanics that allow you to immediately feel yourself in the shoes of commanders-in-chief. Not only affects the future strategy of both sides, but also adds replayability. Battles are fought on special maps; each player has his own combat deck. Each card displays the strength of its attack (0-4 damage) and defense (0-3 shields), as well as the cost of canceling the card's special effect by another player (also in shields). I'm a big fan of another action card game, Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage. But in "Horus Heresy" battles are even more interesting, because here there is more thematic (the presence of certain units can trigger special effects) and here players can react to the actions of the opponent during the battle. For example, if the active player (defendant chooses who will be active in the first phase of the battle) plays a card that has a special effect, then the passive player must decide what is more profitable: sacrifice useful cards to cancel it, or suffer the resulting penalty and save shields to absorb damage . Here (as well as, for example, Magic or Cosmic Encounter) you can often hear much more emotional shouts during the course of the game than in dice-based combat games. Completely different feelings; the stakes for both players are much higher in terms of the importance of short-term planning, luck, and the willingness to make strategic sacrifices. Very exciting. There are also difficult tactical decisions. Units attack, move, and occasionally do both, according to the order cards that are played. At the same time, both the units and the zone to which they are going to move are activated and receive the corresponding token. Such units cannot receive new orders until the TI has an update phase or until certain cards are played on the strategic map. Therefore, you need to plan your movement and attack in advance, as orders can take units out of the game for several turns. In addition, the scenario book and deck of event cards add depth and replayability to the game.  Overall, I really like Horus Heresy. It not only immerses you in the atmosphere of an epic mythological clash of titans, but also boasts a beautiful gameplay: atmospheric and strategic. Yes, I almost forgot - there are no victory points here, cheers! Kish, Europhiles! All the elements of "Horus Heresy" fit together perfectly. Very thoughtful design. A worthy addition to both the shelf and the gaming table...

 I have mixed feelings about Clank. When I wrote about it before, my opinions ranged from "newbie-friendly and thoughtful deckbuilding hybrid" to "threadbare mechanics, too many turns wasted." I haven't played the other games in the series: Clank! In! Space!, Clank from legacy and add-ons. Of the games from this author, Paul Dennen, I was much more attracted to Dune: Empire. That's why Clank! Catacombs reminded me of reuniting with an old friend - or rather, an acquaintance - who has become a lot cooler over the years. Although maybe I just changed. Already after five minutes it became obvious that the old friend, as before, is a little strange and strange.  If you've played Clank, you'll get the hang of it quickly; at the heart of its Clank! Catacombs is practically the same game. You are a thief breaking into a tomb to steal as much treasure as possible (good thing you have a bottomless sack) before the local dragon turns you into toast. This is a game about stealthy movement through the catacombs ... well, implemented quite abstractly. It's just that certain actions - for example, beating a skeleton or a runner with catacombs - cause a noise that adds the corresponding dice to the dragon's bag. Periodically, you pull a few cubes from the bag and someone can get hurt. Little by little, the wounds accumulate (well, besides the dragon in the catacombs, there are other dangers). Some thieves successfully escape with the loot, others are less fortunate. And some die at the very exit, which is almost as profitable as escaping alive. After all, why do you need legs if you're rich? Clank has some pretty exciting mechanics: a mix of try-your-luck with deckbuilding, which can seem strange and random, but at the same time is very addicting. Unlike most deckbuilders, here your deck randomly inflates as you find companions, treasures, magic books, and all the junk you bought on the market simply because there was a free action and there was nothing else to do. There are very few ways to clear your deck, so the trash cards you start with will likely stick with you for the rest of your adventure. Sometimes it's annoying, especially at the start, when, with bad timing, you can drop a bucket into the depths of Moria and wake up a scaly lair just because you stood very noisily in place. However, this is Clank. All its pros and cons have been preserved.  With one exception - by card. A beautifully thought out map. The map represents Clank! Catacombs are catacombs, and definitely deserve a special mention and an exclamation point. The idea is generally simple: you do not lay out a ready-made map, but gradually explore the tomb, opening tile by tile. Each tile has eight tunnels that loop around each other, bend in unexpected directions, or lead down deeper into the catacombs. There are also blocked tunnels that can be opened with the help of another innovation - the unlocking of a resource useful for moving. You will also encounter monsters that will bite you if you do not kill them. In addition to empty rooms, you will come across a variety of treasures: from small ones that give minor bonuses to large ones that need to be extracted from the chest with the help of picks, and dungeon prisoners that make it easier to find new loot. The game also has rooms that reset your movement points, markets where you can buy goods, portals for fast travel. In general, the effect is impressive. In the original Clank, everything was pretty much the same, but with a fixed map, you quickly found optimal routes, safe tunnels, and places to avoid. Here you are wandering in the dark. You can walk through a tunnel for a long time and then get stuck, you can encounter three monsters, although you expected to meet only one, you can wander into the deepest catacombs in search of a portal. And now you have finally found the desired tile! The dragon is getting closer. You are bleeding. You haven't been to the market for a long time. You can jump into the portal right now... but there's some valuable loot waiting for you just around the corner. One more step down that corridor and you'll have enough treasure to win. After all, everything will work out for you, right?  I'm not sure what happened: whether Clank improved or I softened and grew to love this random mix of deckbuilding and hand management. Certainly, the innovations make Clank more interesting. I would even say that you should look at deckbuilding in a new way. On a fixed map, it was easy to find yourself in a crazy situation where you were dropped cards with no movement. In the new Clan, this is also possible, but the role of randomness has decreased. You are fighting on several fronts at the same time: with your trash deck, with the map, with the prospect of having a valuable artifact snatched from under your nose, even with your own greed. Please note that for the artifacts that give the most points, you will have to climb into the deepest tunnels. Previously, for a safe return to the surface, it was necessary to monitor how many cells there were before the exit, and also hope for the mercy of randomness. Now there is a new layer of strategy - tangled deep tunnels: how to move through them in the optimal way to push a pile of treasures and return to a safe place before the dragon roasts you all? And then someone puts a card on the market that forces everyone to return the tile where they are. The labyrinth rearranged itself. Your plans are ruined. And yet it is so thematic that there is no point in getting upset about it. Altered dungeons are fun. Clank has always tried to be a fun game, but it has failed in the past. Overall, as I said before, Clank! Catacombs is very similar to the controversial original from 2016. Almost the same types of cards, the same dependence of your health on the noise you make, the same gameplay. But I prefer to lay out Clank! Catacombs. Not sure if it beats the original head on, but it's more fleshed out and with more interesting dungeon exploration. Looks like Dennen can do more than just Dune...

 Note: I've played quite a few dungeon crawlers, including Descent 2 , Imperial Assault , Jaws of the Lion , Warhammer Quest , Silver Tower , and Blackstone Fortress . I invested in the first Massive Darkness , but it didn't appear on the table very often - the game seemed too dark and full of fiddling - so I ended up selling it. I liked the intended gameplay and setting changes of the sequel, so I invested in Massive Darkness: Hellscape and recently received the box. GAME PROCESS  So far I've played 3 missions not counting the intro scenario: the first with 2 characters, the second and third with 3. I've tried 4 of the 6 base classes (rogue, paladin, wizard and berserker). The game consists of a chain of independent scenarios, slightly connected by the plot. No leveling is saved between scenarios (the Heavenfall app does add a campaign mode, but I haven't tried it yet). The map is built from two-sided tiles; the description of each scenario indicates which tiles to use, where the starting mobs, spawn points, doors, treasure chests and monster portals are located. If you played "Zombicide", the layout is quite similar and the gameplay is partially similar. There are 9 scenarios in the base (plus a very easy training mission) + a few more kickstarter goals. Each game round consists of an action phase, an enemy phase, a leveling phase, and a darkness phase. During the action phase, heroes have 3 action points available, which can be spent on movement, attacks, exchanges, and special actions. Then comes the phase of enemy actions; they each have 3 action points. After that, if the heroes have gained enough experience, they can level up their characters, which increases the HP/mana reserves and gives a new skill (the level of the dungeon can also be leveled, making the enemies more dangerous). At the end of the round, the darkness counter moves, and if it stops at certain divisions, some events will occur. COMBAT  The combat here is similar to the first "Massive Darkness" . Players collect a set of dice depending on the available equipment and the location (in the dark/in the light). The enemy then adds their defense dice to the set based on their defense score and the number of minions accompanying them (in the case of the mob leader), after which all dice are rolled. Symbols of swords - hits, symbols of shields on the defense cube - a block of losses. Roll results can be modified by skills, spells, and/or enemy abilities. Taking damage from the crowd first takes minions (which weakens their available dice pool) one by one until only the leader is left. He's basically the weakest of the mob because he won't get any bonus dice when fighting you head-to-head. Melee attacks hit targets in the same zone as you, magic attacks hit targets in the same or adjacent zone, and ranged attacks hit no closer than an adjacent zone, but with an unlimited maximum radius (if you have line of sight).  Enemies use their weapons when attacking (it can be both melee and ranged). Their rolls are similar to player rolls, except they don't use the shadow cube and mana symbols. In general, the fighting game is now straightforward, although there are a few flaws. First, many skills and abilities are activated strictly in certain situations. There are basically three keywords that are used: attack, defense, and combat, followed by a number (almost always 1) that indicates how many times the ability can be used. Attack skills work only when the hero or enemies attack, defense, respectively, when they are attacked. The concept of "combat" is poorly defined in the rules; I understood that skills with this keyword can be used both offensively and defensively. You don't immediately get used to what skills you can use someday - especially considering that there are still a lot of nuances in the game. Second, when attacking, the heroes roll all their dice (attack, defense, shadow if they are in a shadow area, and the enemies' dice), after which roll modifiers are applied. In which order is determined by the player. Finally, all sword symbols are counted, shield symbols are subtracted from them, and monsters receive the remaining damage (minions receive damage before leaders). In my opinion, the phase of calculating modifiers can become quite hemorrhoids when you have to take into account several factors at once. For example, if I play a wizard in the shadow zone attacking a mob of fiends with 1 leader and 2 minions, he rolls his attack die (1 yellow) and a shadow die (purple), and the mob rolls a defense die (1 blue) and two minions (black). Let's say there are 2 swords, a shadow symbol on the purple die (allowing the wizard to activate an attack spell of his choice without spending mana), 1 shield on the defense die, and claw and scratch symbols on the black dice. The shadow symbol allows the wizard to cast a fire spell for free, which adds 2 more swords and a burning token. In the modifier calculation phase, the wizard will have to factor in the claw symbol, which in this situation detonates the fiend and deals damage to the wizard, then the scratch symbol, which deals additional damage to the wizard. The wizard then casts a shadow symbol to increase his attack. Now it's 4 swords against 1 shield, so 3 damage. The second devil is killed. And finally, the wizard places a burning token on the crowd. Now imagine having to do that in every fight. Very frozen. CHARACTERS  The authors worked on making the character classes very different from each other. Each of the six classes has its own unique mechanics. Berserker uses wounds to fuel his traits: the more damage he takes, the more he can do. The wizard has a spell amulet that determines which spell is currently available, which is returned when the spell is canceled or when a unit of mana is spent. Gets a manageable cooldown. The Rogue has a pouch of ability tokens; it draws 3 at the start of the turn and can be used in combos with actions. The paladin has auras that can be cast on zones to buff or heal those in that zone. The tracker has a push-your-luck mechanic: he draws as many shot cards as he wants, trying to get no more than 7 arrow symbols in total - if more, then instead of a shot of enormous power, he will get a stun. And the shaman has peti and a table of elements that strengthen spells. All the classes feel very different and I enjoyed getting to know each of them. For kickstarter purposes, there are also additional characters: a monk, a necromancer, a mechanic and a bard. I haven't tried them yet. ENEMIES  Enemies are divided into three types: mobs, traveling monsters, and bosses. Mobs spawn at specific spawn points, either at the start of the game or as an effect from the darkness track. Each mob consists of one leader and minions equal to the number of players. Mobs will be filled with weapons as well as loot tokens. Weapons determine the type of attack available to them. Roaming monsters are stronger than mobs. They appear either as a card effect or as a track of darkness. They don't have weapons, but they drop more than loot. Bosses appear according to the scenario, usually in the final battle. How each boss acts is determined by his deck of cards. The two base bosses behave very differently. Also, mobs and traveling monsters level up with players, becoming more dangerous. LOOT  There is a lot of loot in this game. Maybe too much. Dozens of loot cards in three types (common, rare and epic) plus monster items. Fortunately, there is no limit to the number of items that can be carried; my heroes ran with a dozen items. Most of the loot can be used by any class, although of course there are also class-specific ones. You can also forge a random item of a higher level from junk items by spending 3 items of the same level and a forging action. The problem is that the result may not be optimal for your class, so whether it is worth the risk of spending an action and three items is another question. I also cannot fail to note such an innovation as the bag of the month. At the start, there are 15 tokens in the bag: 10 regular loot and 5 rare. When you find a treasure in a room or take it from an enemy, you draw random tokens from the bag. Over the course of the scenario, new rare and epic loot tokens will be added to the bag - due to advancing the darkness track or other effects. So over time, the chances of finding good loot increase. There are also sets of items; if you collect them, you will receive additional bonuses. However, in my games I've never come close to collecting a set because there's so much varied loot. COMPONENTS  Typical CMON quality: great artwork, cool miniatures, and overall solid quality. Interestingly, the darkness track and boss cards are quite thin, but the class-specific components are as thick as the tokens. In general, there are a lot of tokens here: HP, mana, spawn points, forges, doors, pillars, portals, fire, ice plus special class ones. You will definitely need an organizer to make folding and folding easier. As for the cards... more cards. Monster cards for mobs, roaming monsters and their items of three levels (six in Heavensfall), door cards, loot cards of three levels, class skill cards. A card holder or plenty of free table space for multiple decks is desirable.  The rulebook is quite decently laid out. There is an alphabetical index, so finding the right points and keywords in general will not be difficult, but some of the rules that are often found are quite difficult to dig up. On the back is a note about the order of the move, and it is not detailed enough; hopefully an improved fan version will be released soon. The first few games we had to consult the rulebook a lot. REPLAYABILITY Replayability is enough. Many scenarios, different combinations of classes, random mob spawns... In general, you will explore the..

 Note: I'm more than halfway through one act. The parties consisted of both 2 and 3 participants. The number of ships was as follows:  2 players - 2 ships;  3 players - 3 ships;  2 players - 3 ships;  2 players - 4 ships. Our company considers itself to be quite experienced players and lovers of story games. We've gone through almost every known game with a campaign mode; "Gloomhaven", Descent, Middara, Etherfields, "Tainted Grail", 7th Continent, "Pandemic: Legacy", Clank Legacy, Aeon's End Legacy, card "Arkham Horror", Bardsung, Roll Player Adventures, Kingdom Death, " ».. . So, let's begin.  I really wanted to like Stars of Akarios . We were looking forward to the game and expected a lot from it. Similarities with "Gloomhaven" and 7th Continent were striking. And we, as I already mentioned, love story campaigns... However, after traveling with Akarios for 30-40 hours, we felt... tired. So the review will be critical. Critical, but not purely negative. Our first problem, like many other players, was the confusing rulebook. While she does a pretty good job of introducing the basic rules, her attention to detail is sorely lacking. Personally, I really didn't like that a lot of the basic pilot/ship skills weren't covered in the pilot/ship skills section (???). Just take a look at the BGG forum and the game's Facebook page to see how many questions arise about these skills, because the rulebook should answer those questions. I understand the desire to reduce the size of the rulebook (which is typical of many recent games), but it hurts the players. And with the description of the mechanics of exploring the surrounding world, things are even sadder. The rules of this section are just terrible. Due to unclear wording during the game, you have to interpret them according to the principle "well, it's more logical, probably" or based on experience. Case in point: Which skill checks can I retry and which can't I? We re-read the chapter several times, but still couldn't figure it out. The Akariosa rulebook is just as weird as the Akariosa world map. I still can't help but note the "push" and "pull" icons. Why is the first arrow pointing to the ship, and the second arrow pointing away from the ship?  The second problem is tracking progress in campaign mode. Additional tasks are thrown at you, story lines emerge here and there. What are we even doing here? You can get into the plot only if you make special marks on a piece of paper. Instead of dozens of copies of the pilots' tablets, it would be better if the authors put a large notebook in the box to track the progress of the campaign. There is almost no space on the available sheets. So much extra paper that will never be needed... Hardly a single player in the world will play the campaign 24 times. And if it passes, such an enthusiast can independently print the tablets he needs.  The third problem is the plot itself. I'll be honest: the plot here is... lousy, to say the least. It lacks descriptions. It is very lacking. I still have no idea what kind of humans/inhumans are on my crew. I don't know what a yur looks like. Is Captain Soma a man or a woman? And is a person at all? It is unknown. How many of us are here? How is everyday life on the ship? The script book feels kind of soulless, empty. I didn't feel drawn to the plot. I wasn't drawn to any of the characters. The Sparks vs Establishment showdown was interesting in theory, but even knowing that I work for Sparks, I have no idea who they are, who their boss is, or what she (or he?) looks like. And we joined Sparks essentially purely by accident, stumbling upon their base. This is probably what the characters wanted, but it doesn't cancel out the feeling of railiness. Of course, I didn't expect Akarios to be Middara or Despised Grail, but given the hype of a "story driven campaign" the result was... underwhelming. But maybe the mediocre plot is compensated by the great gameplay? What about game mechanics? They are not very good either.  Exploring the world around you is actually a walking simulator. All problems are solved with ease. Several times the game "pressed" us... but the pressure was very slow and gentle. We managed to easily complete all the tasks and move every location we visited. In places, there is interesting lore, but enjoying it is hindered by the already mentioned lack of descriptions and constant throwing here and there; the plot thread is lost very quickly, and you no longer understand who is who and what is where. What about space battles?  Well... There are some very interesting ideas there. In general, the battles did not leave the worst impression. But there are still complaints. Enemies make U-turns very often. On the one hand, it creates the atmosphere of a dog dump, but on the other hand, the enemies are like space balls, lobbing lasers from all directions. According to my feelings, I do not have the opportunity to "outwit" them due to competent positioning and evade the attack. I can position the ship to gain some advantage on my turn. However, the actions of enemies are completely uncontrollable. Enemies are too unpredictable. Most II decks have 16–20 cards. It's not so scary... if they had a certain consistency. And yes, according to feelings, there is no difference between a fight with a Synthetic or with a Ronin. They will all move, then either drain my random ability or crash into an asteroid. All enemies are similar. And the stupidity of AI is compensated by the fact that their parameters are much higher than ours. We cranked the difficulty slider all the way to "hard" and still didn't fail a single mission, except for one of the opening missions where we flew in the wrong direction and unsurprisingly lost. However, I'm not complaining about the lack of challenge; it's not so scary anymore. I complain about the game's overall balance; that enemy ships are made very strong to compensate for the randomness of their actions. Sometimes they'll randomly vanshot you with a +2 armor drop hit. Sometimes they will suddenly stun your entire crew. Sometimes they'll lock onto an asteroid or fire at you with the accuracy of Imperial stormtroopers, unable to find a target. This, in my opinion, is the main drawback of the game along with the weak plot and descriptive part; enemies are completely unpredictable. The progress and outcome of the battle depends almost 100% on the drawn AI cards. Even if you play like a god, get in the best position, cleverly maneuver through enemies and obstacles... only to draw an AI card that hits everyone within 3 hexes.  I still can't help but mention the immunities. Why do enemies have so many immunities? What's the point of getting a cool new gadget if it's useless against more than half the enemies you encounter? And they don't have immunities even with justifications like "oh, synthetic shields are immune to armor-piercing blows, of course." Just "this guy is elite, so he's immune to half our arsenal." It gets even worse if you play with 4 ships because more elite enemies will enter the field. And finally, modifier decks. We have to constantly shuffle them, which is a bit annoying. Is your stress level up? You need to add a miss card - shuffle the deck. Is your stress level down? You need to find this card, remove it from the deck and shuffle it again. As a result, changing the deck starts to become almost maddening, considering that the results are still extremely unpredictable because we are always shuffling it. Overall, navigation and moving ships around the map looks great. The atmosphere of the dog dump is also great. I really like the basic mechanics, the dice, the  upgrades... but once the enemies enter the field, everything goes to hell. In my opinion, the current rules would be more suitable for a PvP game. And in Akarios, it would not hurt to radically rework II decks and immunities. As a result, we turned in our last batch early because we just got bored. Not sure if we'll make it through the campaign; probably, we will, considering that we prefer not to quit halfway and that we have had nightmares (Etherfields, hehe-hehe). I should also note the abundance of typographical errors - from small mistakes to unsightly scripts (the same paragraph is repeated five times). Every few pages I had a typo.  I really wanted to love Stars of Akarios. The game has enough interesting ideas. The ship management and stress mechanics are just great in my opinion. The concept of the campaign with an emphasis on the plot and alternating exploration of the surrounding world in the spirit of the 7th Continent and space battles is also excellent. Ship upgrades and modifier decks like Gloomy Harbor are also interesting. But playing space battles or exploring the map is not interesting at all.  Together : great ideas, big ambitions, bad execution.  Rating - 5/10 . Most likely, I will force myself to finish the campaign. I definitely won't play a second time (unless a miracle happens, and Acts 2-3 will turn out to be superior). USEFUL LINKS Stars of Akarios on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/273910/stars-akarios VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 One of the most popular game mechanics of board games is the polymino (Tetris, Mosaic) mechanic. It consists in laying out figures of various shapes on the field. Most often, the goal is to place the tiles in such a way that they completely cover the entire field. Games with these game mechanics are usually well-suited for family gatherings and novice players. Girls often like this kind of mechanics, so these games are well suited for putting their significant other on the table. However, let's do without gender stereotypes, I'd rather talk about the best games with this mechanic. I will start, of course, with the most famous game of the genre - "Patchwork". The rules are simple: we take one of the three scrap tiles from the market and place it on the field. For large tiles, it is necessary to pay with buttons and loss of time, thanks to which the opponent can make several moves in a row. The goal is to fill most of the field, and ideally the entire field. The game is fast and simple, and it can be played in 15 minutes. Unfortunately, Patchwork can only be played by two people.  "Patchwork" was released in 2014, the author of the game was Uwe Rosenberg, famous for his large-scale Eurogames. Interestingly, Uwe originally came up with the "Patchwork" mechanic as an element for his next game, but he liked it so much that he decided to create a separate game. As a result, "Patchwork" became one of the most famous and popular board games. However, the low cost of the game contributed a lot to this.  "Bear Park" is another simple family game consisting entirely of "Tetris" mechanics. Up to 4 players can play it. During his turn, the player places a tile on the field, receiving other tiles in reserve based on which cells he closed. The player's field consists of sheets, and the earlier he fills the sheet, the more victory points he will receive. Victory points are also awarded for placing expensive tiles and completing objectives. The goals for each game are chosen differently, which ensures the variety of the game. The game is simple, played without tension, and a game for two lasts about 20 minutes.  Another short polymino relaxation game is the abstract "Project L" . However, it is very easy to fill out the field in it. The fact is that there are no complex-shaped "crakozabr" in this game, the figurines consist of a maximum of 4 cells. But the player can simultaneously fill up to 4 different fields. After filling the field, the player gets all the figures back - and one more that the field brings. In addition to the action of filling the figure, the player can improve the figure, get a new one, take another square from the market. It is worth noting the pleasant tactile sensations from the colorful glossy figures in the game, which fill the two-layer tablets. The game itself is simple, played quickly, the number of players is from 2 to 4.  I recommend Paris. City of Lights" . The uniqueness of the game is that the field where the players will place the figures is shared. And it is formed by the players themselves at the beginning of the game. However, there is no need to strive to fill it. Instead, players get points for placing figures next to lanterns. The points for a figure are equal to the figure's size multiplied by the number of adjacent lanterns - so one well-placed figure can yield most of the victory points. You should make your moves here, as in chess, based on how you would harm your opponent. This is achieved by placing your figure on common cells or drawing cards that give unique opportunities. The minus of the game is that it is only for two, and someone may not like the bland design of the game and large, but uninformative leaflets.  The novelty of polymino games is "Unknown Planet" . Here you need to place figurines in order to fill the field of the planet. In addition, each figure pumps two tracks. A total of 5 tracks: one works for victory points, another gives certain properties to the player, the third brings single-cell tokens to close holes. The most interesting red track, which allows you to move on the surface of the planet by an all-terrain vehicle that collects meteorites and rescue capsules. The gameplay becomes noticeably more complicated if you choose advanced planets and corporations instead of standard ones. For example, one planet prohibits placing tiles of certain types in each sector of the planet, and another requires throwing all tiles down, as in "Tetris" (the planet, by the way, is named after the creator of "Tetris" Oleksiy Pazhitnov). You can add to the game a module of random events that trigger every round. A plus is the possibility of playing with up to 6 people, while the time of playing with a large team does not increase much, since the progress of all players takes place simultaneously. The disadvantages are the weak interaction between players and the high price of the game.  My favorite polymino game is Cat Island. Added to the mechanics of placing cat pieces in this game are cards that players collect through the draft method. Some cards allow you to place cat tiles, others bring treasure, and still others are actually objective cards. The selected cards must be paid for in game currency - fish, which slightly compensates the players for success in the arrival of cards. Filling ship cabins with cat tiles is just one way to get points. Collecting cats of the same color touching each other brings much more victory points. "Cat Island" is a beautiful, simple family game. The disadvantage of the game is the high dependence on success: whether the desired color of cats will come to the market, or whether profitable cards of goals (lessons) will come into the hand. But this has its own plus, because anyone can win the game! There are also several additions to the game, but in my opinion, they are not mandatory.  In addition to the actual polymino games, there are many games that partially use this mechanic. For example, in the hardcore Euro zoo game Ark Nova , filling the zoo field with animal enclosures is an important element. In The Grand Show, a medium-difficulty Euro game with cards and dice, building a tent out of tiles is one of the three main actions. The player loses points for each unfilled section of the field at the end of the game. In the combined European game "Santa Maria", competent placement of tiles on the field is the key to victory. However, the field here is only 6 by 6 cells, so it is not the shape of the tiles that is more important, but what is drawn on them. Having mentioned "Santa Maria", I cannot but note that, despite the interesting gameplay, the game has ugly graphics...

 I originally had this game as an app on my phone. The app is just great, but the board game is so much more fun. The actual parts are such good quality and a pleasure to use, the images are great and the packaging is quite large. I think this is the most played game in our house.  The main objective is to collect enough gems to fight your way to 15 victory points. This game is very much about math.  Game time: 20-30 minutes  This game can vary from time to time as you never know what cards and nobles you will get. We've had games that lasted less than 20 minutes, but on average I'd say 25 minutes. The more times you play, the shorter the game will be. We play it while we prepare dinner)  Strategy vs. Luck: 30% strategy, 70% luck  There is a lot of luck involved in this game. Both with the release of gem cards and noble tokens that give you bonus points. Once you've settled on a strategy, there's little opportunity to go back and change it, especially in a 2-player game. You'll be fighting for the same rare gems and holding your breath every time you flip a card.  Replayability: 8/10 The randomness of the cards and the timing of the game make it one of the most frequently played games in our house. You don't have to invest a lot in each game, so you don't get upset when you lose - you just want to do it again!  Mastery Factor: Low This game isn't hard to master, but it's not as easy as some of the others we have. It depends on how much math you like... The game is easy to set up and easy to clean up, and since you don't have to hide anything from your opponent the strategy is quite flexible. It does take up a bit of desk space though, so the game isn't very portable.  More than 2 players? So! We've played this game with 3 and 4 players with great success, but the tension is greater in a 2 player game because you know your opponent will get a chance to buy every new card exposed. Conclusion: 9/10  I love this game. It is a major treasure in our collection and I will never stop playing it. This is excellent value for money. USEFUL LINKS Luxury on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148228/splendor VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 I invested in Bardsung at the Legend level (all gameplay content, but no perks like furniture or a neoprene mat), despite the fact that the Dark Souls tabletop left me with... less than rosy impressions. And I'm happy to note that Bardsung turned out to be much friendlier and more interesting than Dark Souls.  The box is quite large; the Descent-sized base alone. The kit comes with a bunch of trays of varying degrees of usefulness. Token holders are great, but most other trays are just slots for coins. And the card holder cannot even be pulled out of the box separately from the other trays.  They look great, but you have to pay for beauty with convenience. The same applies to the tiles: they are bright and colorful, but it is quite difficult to consider the tiles demarcating the line zones. Because of this, a whole sheet is added to the game, which explains exactly how each tile is delimited. The same applies to the rule book. The rules explain quite well the process of battle (with a visual example), expeditions and campaigns. However, due to this, the rules are scattered in different sections, and it is very difficult to find the right moments. And even after rereading, it is difficult to find them the second time. FFG usually avoids this problem by having two rulebooks: a tutorial and a reference. In Bardsung, however, the guide is far from complete, and it was of little use even after I played a few solo games for practice. You might think that I didn't like the game as a whole, but I didn't. Apart from the rule book, I really liked Bardsung. In my opinion, this is one of the best dungeon crawlers I've played, and definitely the best among the Descent-like ones (I personally don't care about Grim Harbor, but this game is a completely different game). What did I really like? I can highlight the following: BATTLE It's nice that you finally have just cubes with numbers and a minimum of modifiers. Most checks require you to roll a D20, add a skill parameter, and compare to the required number. That's all. It's probably the closest analogue to D&D, if you don't take into account the official line of D&D tabletops. Bardsung has the same 6 parameters and the same advantages and obstacles mechanics as in fifth edition. The main thing is that it works and that everything is solved quickly. PERFECTION Once you get the hang of the rules, the moves flow very quickly. Shuffle cards to determine initiative, take 2 actions. Attack is simply a skill check followed by a damage roll to determine whether or not you hit a critical hit. All possibilities are indicated on the cards, it is easy to track them. The monsters' AI is simple, but quite effective. MONSTER HEALTH MONITORING Monsters are either healthy, injured, or dead. Living monsters simply flip over after receiving a wound. Bosses can have several cards, each of which must be "killed" separately. Compared to games where you can have dozens of damage tokens lying next to a monster, this is just a breath of fresh air. RANDOM DUNGEON Dungeons are generated in the style of Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower - a deck of cards. There are also decks of cards that modify the monsters and obstacles you encounter; as a rule, by increasing their parameters or making skill checks more difficult. This makes every encounter a little different from the last, and you never know exactly what is waiting for you around the corner. There is also a great analog timer here in the form of echo tokens. If you stay in one place for too long, traps or traveling monsters will appear. It also makes sense to close the door behind you, as this will reduce the frequency of the aforementioned. CHARACTER SKILLS AND PROGRESS Bardsung has a very flexible pumping system; you can build up options, gain new skills, and flip existing ones to make them stronger. You can also take skills from other classes at a slightly higher cost. But even within one class there are several development options. For example, Nightfeather (rogue birdperson) under my leadership buffed skills that make it easier to isolate monsters and give bonuses in 1v1 combat. But I could also buff poison or focus on finishing wounded enemies with free actions. TACTICS In my opinion, there are interesting tactical decisions in the game. I especially liked the twist of the following combination: damage the monster with the first attack and then move it or yourself into a suitable position for the task of the second, more powerful attack. Or, in the process of research, use a special ability to break into a room, take out a monster, and then destroy a flag that would give my enemies a big bonus. DURATION OF THE PARTY Each chapter is divided into "chapters" and each chapter plays fairly quickly (or will when I finally get the hang of the rules) so it's easy to play through the current chapter and then collect the game, unlike other dungeon crawlers where each a batch takes at least 1-2 hours. Something I didn't like: BOOK OF RULES As mentioned above. RANDOMLY Sometimes you just get unlucky and your shots are terrible. Not that it's a critical flaw, since randomness is an integral part of dungeon crawlers, but in Bardsung it's exacerbated by the fact that your items don't recharge without spending gold, which can snowball. With good rolls, you have nothing to recharge items, so you spend gold to buy more treasures and become stronger. With bad rolls, you not only lose access to items, but also gold, so it becomes difficult to recover from a series of failures. Personally, I'm ready to put up with it, writing it off as an integral part of the game, which also helps generate a variety of stories.  Small flaws aside, Bardsung is a great game that reminded me of when I first opened the red box of D&D as a ten-year-old and wandered through dungeons with a level 1 warrior, rolling dice and hoping that this time I would finally get my hands on a +2 sword . In my opinion, Bardsung perfectly conveys the same experience of a dungeon adventure, and I'm willing to close my eyes to its shortcomings. The game will definitely remain in my collection and I recommend it to all dungeon crawlers...

 Dixit Odyssey is a card game where you can let your imagination run free. It's an expansion of the original Dixit board game, but it also came out as a stand-alone version: it's basically the same as the main game, but has added the ability to play with up to 12 players. This allowed some new mechanics to be added, making the game even better than it already is. I first encountered Dixit Odyssey in 2016. I was with a bunch of friends and they introduced me to what would later become my favorite board game. It wasn't the first board game I ever played, but it definitely started my passion for board games. I immediately decided to buy it and started introducing it to all my friends. Since then, it has become one of the games we play most often during our game nights. Besides being a great game, it's also a work of art. For this version of the game, the card artwork was created by Marie Cardois and Pierrot. Without further ado, let's get into the components and gameplay of Dixit Odyssey . GAME COMPONENTS These are the components that come with the full version of Dixit Odyssey, not the expansion version that only gives you 84 new cards to add to the original Dixit . Main field (divided into 2 parts that fold together) 84 new cards 12 wooden bunnies 12 green pegs 12 red pegs 12 player tablets Rules HOW TO PLAY DIXIT How to win there? There are different ways to earn points. First of all, there must be a narrator in each round: there is no rule as to who must go first. In my group, we usually do first-come-first-serve. The Storyteller must look at the 6 cards in his hand, choose one and give it a "title". It can be anything with which he associates this card, for example, the title of a movie, song or book. It can be an emotion or a feeling. It can even be a single sound or gesture. It is important that it is not too obvious and too complicated. This is where the other players come into play: each of them must choose a card from their hand that best fits the association given by the narrator. They will have to try to pick the best card to get more bonus points. When all players have dealt their cards, the storyteller shuffles them and places them face up on the table, each card numbered on the side of the field.  At this stage, all players except the storyteller must try to guess the storyteller's card by placing a green peg on the board in the number space associated with the card they believe belongs to the storyteller. Each vote must remain secret until everyone has voted. It's time to show the votes and collect points. SCORE POINTS As the storyteller, you have to give a name so that at least one person guesses your card; in this case, the narrator and the one who guessed the card get three points each. But, if all players or none of the players guessed the card, then everyone except the narrator gets two points. In addition to these points, each player other than the narrator receives one bonus point for each vote their card receives (up to three bonus points). If there are 7 or more players, you can also use the red peg: if you have a problem between two cards, you can use both pegs to vote for both cards. But if you guess the storyteller's card using only one peg, you get a bonus point. So, take a risk for that bonus point or play it safe to have a better chance of not flying? Your choice. When all the points are distributed, it's time to give the new storyteller a new association. In my company, we make it so that those who have already given the name have to wait until everyone gets a chance to be the narrator. How to monitor points? Just move the rabbit along the board by as many cells as you have scored. The first rabbit to score 30 points wins. IS IT WORTH PICKING DIXIT: ODYSSEY INTO THE COLLECTION  So, let's start by saying that Dixit is one of the best board games in recent years, personally speaking. It's fun, it's got an original concept, and it's been praised and raved about pretty much everywhere. Dixit Odyssey took what was already a great game and made it even better by introducing a second tie-in for voting and some new variations that you can find in the rulebook. In particular, I'd suggest trying the Dixit party variant, which adds spice by adding the ability for the storyteller to "lock" points on one of the cards drawn. This game is very easy to explain and only takes 2 minutes to learn how to play, so I think it's a great game to introduce people to the world of board games. It is also a great game for all ages, even for young children. I played this game with my 7 and 10 year old cousins and they had a lot of fun. The only thing is that they could be a little too obvious with the titles, but once they figured that out, they actually got pretty good and creative. Trust me when I say that I have yet to find someone who hasn't told me they love this game and asked me where to buy it. So what are you waiting for? Grab this game and let your imagination run wild!..

 Land of Clans by TACTIC (from Finland's leading game developer) is a game for 2-4 players with a game time of up to 30+ minutes to control territories. The game mechanics are simple enough to play with 8 year olds and the rules are very well explained and laid out in just three pages, with short text and good illustrations. This game can also be played with 4 or 6 players in 2 teams of 2 or 3 players each. With only three players, this isn't as good because it introduces a "kingmaker" element to the game, allowing two players to "choose" a third player and then continue as a normal two-player game. We prefer a four-player game where each player has their own set of 4 wooden locks and 15 wooden tokens.  Each player is dealt two Wizard cards and 5 random playing cards. These five cards make up his starting hand, while the Wizard cards are placed face up in front of each player. Cards, tokens, castles, a cross-shaped playing field and terrain tiles of various shapes are all made from the highest quality cardboard or wood. There are no dice. The map (playing area/field) is covered with a grid of squares that form plots of land, each of which is marked with a numerical value and a colored figure - each individual figure has its own color; the shapes and numbers match those on the cards the players are holding.  To "conquer" an empty space on the field, a player must play a card that matches the value (shape/color/number) of that space. They then place one of their wooden discs on that spot. By placing the discs, players try to create and match the landforms depicted on one of the four "Victory" tiles located around the field.  When a player's discs form a shape that matches the shape of a terrain tile (the victory tile), he can grab one of the pieces of the same shape from the supply and then place it on the board, returning the discs to their owner. They then place one of their locks on that figure to show that they own it, but it's dangerous. Opponents can place their pieces around the castle/piece in what is basically a siege position and the attack can continue. Both sides can play cards (crossed swords to attack, shields to defend) to increase their values. If the defense wins, nothing happens, if the offense wins, the current lock is replaced by the attacking force's lock; in any case, all used cards are discarded.  There are several additional features that can be done during the game. For example, some squares have a Celtic knot symbol. These are waste lands and can only be claimed by a player by placing a counter on it when it is the last square of the "win" tile shape. If it can be shown that this is the last place needed, then it can be obtained by discarding any card, it does not have to match the shape/color/number. The second additional game concerns the Wizard cards. They are essentially "jokers" that can be used like any card to place a disc on the field, except that the wasteland field has unbeatable protection against wizards.  Game mechanics are not new, they can be found in several games. They are good, reliable mechanics that work well. Lands of Clans uses this mechanic extremely well; So good, in fact, that it's a very good game for teaching new players some classic and necessary strategies in territory control games. I think it has high value as a family game, and I would put it on the lower end of the experienced player rating scale for playability.  Very well made wooden parts, quality tokens, cards and field. The rules are extremely easy to understand, although I would suggest that the 8+ age rating only counts if the children are regular and competent board game players, otherwise an experienced teenager should be involved with an adult player - if only as a consultant (ie two 8-year-olds play against each other with an older player explaining the moves and other available actions.  Although the game is called Land of Clans and shows a Scottish scene on the box cover that seems to take place around the mid-16th century (allegedly it is not known that kilts were regularly worn before 1538), there is nothing there. The only hint of a Scottish flavor, in fact the Celtic knot used to distinguish the "Wasteland" squares on the field, has connections (pun intended) to Ireland, not Scotland. Basically what I'm trying to say is don't buy the game expecting a Scottish connection, buy it because it's a good, enjoyable game with a light strategy. USEFUL LINKS Land of the Clans on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/319709/land-clans VIDEO REVIEWS ..

GAME OVERVIEW  Coatl is a colorful abstract puzzle game in which you will make the most beautiful "feathered" snakes. Having created them, you will try to win the title of high priest. You set up the game by placing a market square in the center of the field. You place parts of the body, head and tail in the designated places. Place a stock of 6 prediction cards next to the prediction deck. Each player receives a personal playing field, a temple card, and a prediction card. You also place 2 temple cards face up in the center of the table. The temple map gives you bonus points if you finish a Coatl that meets certain conditions, such as being 6 long and having no red parts. A prediction card can be placed next to a Coatl you are making or have just completed. They also give you points at the end of the game. During your turn you can choose one of 3 actions.  Take Coatl Parts: During this action, you can choose 1 space and take Coatl Parts from it. You can choose 2 body parts, 1 head or 1 tail. You must pay special attention to what color you take to match the conditions of your prediction and temple cards. The Coatl tokens you have taken are placed on your personal space where you can place up to 8 pieces.  Take the Prediction Cards: The prediction cards have a certain condition that Coatl must fulfill in order to get points for it. You can draw as many cards as you want from your stock, but you can only have 5 cards in your hand. An example of a prediction card is that you must have the colors in a certain order.  Build a Coatl: You can take as many actions as you want while building a Coatl. You can create a new Coatl, expand an existing Coatl, and/or place prediction cards next to the Coatl. Once the Coatl has a head, tail, and several body parts, it is finished and you cannot continue to extend it. The game ends when one player completes 3 Coatleys. You then get points for completing temple and divination maps. So make sure you fulfill the terms of these cards to the best of your ability. If you have the most points at the end of the game, you are the winner and can claim the title of High Priest! OUR IMPRESSIONS If you like abstract puzzle games, we highly recommend Coatl! A lot of people make the comparison to Azul, but we don't think you can properly compare the 2. Coatl and Azul are really two different games, but if you like Azul, you'll also like Coatl. At Coatl, you have several ways to win. Basically, you're trying to satisfy all the Prophecy and Temple cards as best you can and create the perfect Coats. You can also spawn 3 Coatleys as quickly as possible, which can leave your opponent with less ready Coatleys. As a result, the game can end very quickly or take a very long time. We really like this variety, although it can also be annoying when you do everything perfectly and your opponent rushes in and ends the game. In any case, these different options allow you to try new tactics. Coatl plays beautifully and the gameplay feels very simplistic. You will quickly learn the rules, and all actions speak for themselves. You have a few actions you can take during your turn, but not so many that you have to think for 5 minutes. Thus, the game of Coatl is quite fast and you won't have to wait long for your opponents. Since the game doesn't take too much time and the steps are simple, you can also introduce this game to new board game players. In addition to the gameplay, this game looks very beautiful. All components are of very high quality, and the game is very colorful. This is a real party on the table! We consider it an advantage that the scoring scale is on the other side of the total field, this saves a lot of space on the table. We also like the fact that the points are tallied at the end, so you can play with peace of mind without keeping track of the score. In games like Azul, scoring points after each action can sometimes get in the way of the fun. On the other hand, we can imagine that instant scoring would add a kind of racing element that would make the game a little more exciting. For example, you can check your opponent's score to see how many points you need to beat him or her. Overall, we are very happy with Coatl . We're fans of abstract puzzle games and always welcome variety in our collection. However, experienced players will probably cool off a little faster to games like Coatl and Azul. The games tend to offer less replayability and less depth than other more complex board games. So we want to have a few of these types of games in our collection so we can rotate. This ensures that the game remains fun in the long run! Coatl is the custodian of our collection. As far as we are concerned, Coatl is a great new game in the abstract puzzle collection! GAME FOR TWO PLAYERS You can play Coatl with multiple people, but you're still doing everything by yourself. Everyone is working on their own puzzle. If you have played this game more often and have experience, you might be able to interfere with another player and take the pieces he or she needs, but this is very rare. We can imagine that with 4 players it can take quite a while before it's your turn again, so we think it's better to play with fewer players...