We will talk not only about the novelties of the world of board games. Veterans of this hobby also deserve to be told and shown about them). So today we have the strategy game Mare Nostrum in its first edition).  Mare Nostrum is a strategy game in which ancient civilizations (Rome, Babylon, Carthage, Greece, Egypt) fight for power over the Mediterranean. To do this, they produce soldiers and ships (and eventually monsters), build markets and found cities to produce more resources.  The victory of the nation is brought by the purchase of heroes and/or wonders of the world. They are represented by cards that give the owner some special bonus. According to the standard rules, the first to buy a total of 4 heroes and/or wonders of the world wins. An alternative way to victory is to build pyramids: this is also a wonder of the world, the most expensive in the game.  Each round begins with a trading phase. Nations collect all available resources (by taking goods and money cards, depending on the number of relevant buildings), then begin trading. The holder of the Master Trader title chooses how many cards will be put up for trade, and all nations must put up the appropriate amount of resources. The process of trading is like a tableau: one player chooses a resource from another player, then that player also chooses a resource, etc. Trading continues until the commodity cards run out.  There is no such freedom of negotiation as in "Colonizers". Only negotiations like: "If you take this product from me, I will take it from you in return." It turns out a very interesting hand management: you need to try to plan in advance what resources to mine, while paying attention to what resources other players are trying to collect.  After everyone has collected piles of newly acquired wealth, it's time to part with them in the construction phase. In this phase, nations build armies, buildings, and buy heroes and wonders of the world. During the construction phase, you have to make difficult decisions that can result in victory or defeat. On the one hand, new houses are needed for economic growth. On the other hand, troops are needed for their defense. Thirdly, for victory, one cannot do without heroes and wonders of the world. Maintaining a balance between these is difficult. When playing with the add-on, you can also make sacrifices to the gods for a one-turn bonus. Then the most interesting part begins - the combat phase: land and sea battles. Combat is simple: each combatant rolls as many dice as he has units. The total result is divided by 5 (rounding down). The final figure = how many soldiers the enemy lost. For example, if your three soldiers rolled a 3, 4, and 5—a total of 12—then your opponent has lost two soldiers.  I find battles to be a very exciting part of the game. Battles are simple, but not boring thanks to the existence of special units and passive abilities. If you ignore the troops, you will grow the economy quickly, but are very vulnerable to looting and invasions. If you focus on conquests, there may be problems with income, although you can potentially benefit greatly from capturing buildings built by others.  After a simple calculation of the result of the battle, you are given an interesting choice (if the opponent has no one left): Annex the territory, which is more useful in the long run, but requires payment for the annexation + the opponent will still have time to receive one income from the houses. Or occupy buildings: the territory still belongs to the enemy, but your economy immediately rises. Or demolish one of his buildings: the benefit is relatively small, but the enemy suffers significantly. All in all, an interesting choice between short-term and long-term benefits.  I especially like how Mare Nostrum allows turn order. It is determined by one of the players, namely the holder of the corresponding title in each of the phases. To get the title, you need to achieve certain achievements: having the most troops, the most cities and temples or markets and caravans. And receiving these titles has far-reaching strategic consequences. For example, determining the order of construction, you get the opportunity to build yourself the last houses of the corresponding type (all players have a common limit of buildings). Or, on the contrary, give the opponents the first move, see what they will build, and react accordingly. An experienced player will pay attention even to the conflicts of nations at the other end of the map and try to establish such a turn order that they engage in an expensive arms race. For the same reasons, it is very important and fun to correctly manage the determination of the sequence of moves in the phase of military operations. Arrange everything so that your enemies cripple each other, and then attack last and take all their wealth. I like resource management games combined with direct conflict, and at the heart of Mare Nostrum is resource management. They are necessary for obtaining heroes and wonders of the world, i.e. victory. Troops are needed only to strengthen and defend one's economy or harm the enemy. Attacking for the sake of attacking is, of course, fun, but it will not lead to success. Replayability is facilitated by the unique capabilities of nations. First, each nation has its own special hero that encourages a certain playstyle. Secondly, with the addition, each nation has its own mythical monster: these are the strongest units in the game, and with special abilities. In addition, nations become increasingly differentiated as they purchase heroes and wonders of the world that provide special abilities. In this way, you can create interesting and effective combinations; there is room for strategic decisions. Each nation plays in its own way, with its own strengths and weaknesses. Are these opportunities balanced? Mostly yes. Partly the balance drives the add-on, partly the players balance the game themselves. In addition, the constant victories of one nation are difficult due to the tendency of "all to beat the leader". In general, the game leaves a very pleasant feeling. The tension is high, the decisions are difficult and interesting, and the emotional payoff is very gratifying. You don't have to be bored at the table.  Despite all that praise, I can't give Mare Nostrum a 10 out of 10. While we've had great, near-perfect games, the weakness of the game is that those games don't happen every time. Many factors need to come together to create an epic experience. First of all, consider supplements as a must. It fixes a lot of problems and polishes the base, complementing it perfectly. Although, of course, it is more difficult for newcomers to learn due to the new rules, the price tag is also higher, especially considering that the game is no longer in production. With the addition, you can play with up to 6 participants. Base officially supports 3-5, but I've never seriously considered a 3 player game. I will not sit down to play with 4 again, most likely. 5 participants is an excellent option, but ideally 6 is better; this is how Mare Nostrum's potential is fully revealed. The fewer the participants, the less conflict, jostling, and drama, and the interplay of many nations' abilities. Secondly, the more experienced the players are - and it is desirable that all are equally experienced - the more interesting the games are. If players aren't familiar with each nation's unique abilities, their mythic monsters, and their hero and wonder maps, many interesting opportunities and strategies evaporate. Third, the ideal party in Mare Nostrum must play by the epic rules, which again require augmentation. According to the epic rules, pyramids are worth 13 resources instead of 12, and heroes need 5 to win instead of 4. In my opinion, it should be played this way and only this way. Otherwise, the game will end at the most interesting and tense place. During the game in Mare Nostrum, as in a good book, the tension should build gradually. At first, nations grow and develop, begin to collide at the borders. Their economies are growing, there is an opportunity to produce large armies. Heroes/wonders of the world are being bought = the stakes are getting higher and higher. If you play by the standard rules, it will all be over early. In one of our parties, all the nations were preparing for war and an epic massacre was about to break out... when suddenly someone bought the pyramids and it was over. Even the winner was disappointed by the wasted potential. Since then, we have only played by the epic rules. Their obvious disadvantage is the increased duration of the games. So the hardest thing about Mare Nostrum is getting the conditions right for a great party. The pendulum swings between "mediocre dreary party" and "posh pastime". But if the stars do align, then your efforts will more than pay off, and you will not regret the time spent. USEFUL LINKS Mare Nostrum on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3931/mare-nostrum Mare Nostrum on the Game Theory portal https://tg.in.ua/boardgames/1377/mare-nostrum VIDEO REVIEWS ..

REVIEW OF THE GAME 7 WONDER: ARCHITECTS 7 Wonders: Architects is the last game in the 7 Wonders universe. The game is based on the inexhaustible imagination of Antoine Bose, where the architects build his 2010 epic "7 Wonders". Despite the 2015 two-player edition, 7 Wonders: Duel , and the recent re-release of the original, Bosa went back to the drawing board to create yet another version of the ancient world. LET'S DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF 7 WONDER  7 Wonders: Architects is very simple. The box contains seven individually sealed containers, one for each of the available Wonders. Each container contains a deck of cards with a convenient plastic holder and a set of five double-sided wonder of the world cardboard pieces. One side depicts the Miracle under construction, the other the finished masterpiece. Each player receives one such miracle and places their deck of vodka cards between themselves and the player to their left and lays out the miracle on their unfinished side.  Common elements of the game are placed in the center of the table. A deck of cards is shuffled. The stack of Scientific Progress reward tokens is shuffled and three tokens are laid face down. According to the number of players, several double-sided Conflict tokens are placed on their peaceful side. Finally, a stack of military advantage tokens completes the general area. All the cards in the game have the same symbols and colors as in the original 7 Wonders , only with a more playful style of illustrations. Each turn, players choose a card from either the two face decks on either side, or the face decks from the deck in the center. The card is placed face up in front of you. If a particular set is completed, players must exchange cards for that set's reward. A miracle is built from scratch by assembling sets of the same or different building materials. As each part of the miracle is flipped, the completed structure takes shape, revealing its unique features and abilities. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus lets you draw an extra card from the center deck twice, while the Lighthouse at Alexandria lets you pick a card from any deck on the table. Sections of the Pyramid of Giza simply bring more victory points, the Colossus of Rhodes has additional military power. Abilities are varied and can be used in different ways to achieve victory. Yellow cards bring gold, which is a universal building material. Green science cards are collected in pairs or sets of three unique symbols to collect progress tokens from the center. These tokens either give extra points at the end of the game or provide unique abilities during the game. One symbol will allow you to take an additional card, the other allows the player to ignore the conditions of the building material when building a miracle.  Blue cards bring victory points and can bring the blessing of the Cat. A player with a Cat chip can look at the center card face down at the start of their turn before deciding which card to take - a major advantage! Combine this advantage with the two-point bonus at the end of the game, which also comes with the Cat token, and this little feline will remain a popular commodity throughout the game. Finally, red cards indicate military power. Each war card contains a shield and the number of shields determines the advantage when the war starts. Some military maps also have one or two horns. For each horn collected, players transfer one Conflict token from the peaceful side to the less friendly combatant side. When each token shows its combat side, a war begins and players receive tokens based on their military strength difference. After a battle, any card with a horn is discarded, and shields without horns are saved for future battles. When one player finishes their miracle, the game is over. Points are accumulated from miracles, blue cards, science tokens, military rewards and that damn Cat. A REAL WONDERS 7 Wonders: Architects is a simplified cousin of the original. Instead of playing cards from their hands, players choose cards from several adjacent stacks of cards. Instead of a constant fee, cards are continuously bought, opened and exchanged for rewards. Instead of a temporary military conflict, players repeatedly push each other to the brink of war. And because of all this, mysterious miracles come to life before everyone's eyes.  To be honest, we really love the original 7 Wonders . This is one of those rare games that can entertain seven as easily as three, as long as the table can support the weight of an endless horde of cards. We like 7 Wonders: Duel and its simplistic head-to-head combat mechanics. We tend to enjoy this title and believe that this series will bring more than one game for us. Architects is a game that can easily be played multiple games back-to-back faster than the original. But speeding up the gameplay does not reduce the number of interesting decisions in the game. Instead, each decision is interesting and purposeful. Progress tokens and miraculous powers decorate the game and serve as harbingers of the end. Constantly flipping conflict tokens create incredible tension as players prepare for war. And while the player can't often win the original 7 Wonders, having a purely military bent, Architects lets loose the hooligans who want to make good money from conflicts. The illustrations for Architects are obviously more playful and pleasant and will definitely appeal to children).  It's difficult for us to rate the various 7 Wonders series , but the willingness to do so is a testament to the relevance of these games. Antoine Bosa has created a whole world of several titles that do not make each other obsolete. They are talking about ranking, not replacement (again, apart from the whole reprint thing). For players who love the 7 Wonders universe, this is a game for any social environment that captures a unique aspect of the experience. USEFUL LINKS Game 7 Wonders: Architects on the portal BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/346703/7-wonders-architects Game 7 Wonders: Architects on the Game Theory portal https://tg.in.ua/boardgames/114129/7-wonders-architects  VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 There are many studies that prove that music in video games improves immersion and performance. The choice of music depends on the genre in which you play: music in a fighting game and in civilization are very different. In the first case, it is aimed at speed and dynamism, in the second it is slightly different from music for board games, which I will talk about later. You can see for yourself. Try turning off the music in Cuphead and it suddenly goes from fast and chaotic to very tactful and slow.  And how about board games? A lot depends on the people you play with. For some people, the game itself is a background for a loud conversation, and therefore the music will be superfluous. This group includes people who don't listen to music, and the game itself is enough for them to immerse themselves. Fewer people believe that music is only needed in big and atmospheric games. Only a few regularly play music. So which games can you play music in? First of all, we reject abstracts. If your entire game consists of conventional meeples or figures, it doesn't matter what you put in the background, because the game doesn't rely on immersion, you need to focus on the process. Most of the time this will be true, but in England it has been recorded that rock music impairs concentration while playing. The participants of the study played "Operation" - a game in which you need to use tweezers to remove bones from a voluminous man. Interestingly, much stronger rock music distracts men. This leads us to believe that music in games works in the same way as music while working. There are many such studies, most of them adhere to the principle that classical and slow music helps us think, and dynamic and loud music encourages movement. But this does not answer the question of immersion in the game, which I want to consider in more detail. My friends and I were playing "Dead Season" once, and the ambient music that someone had put together was playing in the background. In the track, disturbing music played softly, the winds howled and sometimes you could hear the crunch of snow. Zombies occasionally growled. And so the player decides to move from a location to a location without gasoline and rolls a damage die. "Death" drops out, and at the same moment zombies start growling in the track. We made our way to the ants. How to make music an element of the game that will affect the process? There are several types of companies. The first to select a musical team on the theme of the game. This approach affects the process in the same way as in the experience with "Operation". But if you make the music quieter and in the background, the impact will be less. Sometimes such players play music at the beginning of the game to set the mood, but when they get into the process, they turn off the music so as not to distract. This technique is popular in role-playing games, but we are still taking them out of parentheses. This approach affects the gameplay, but probably changes the balance. Others choose a thematic environment. If fantasy, we put folk. If it's a western, we play soundtracks from movies about cowboys. Players who try this approach for the first time say that playing becomes more fun and more atmospheric. If the ambient is assembled from sound effects, as in the example with "Dead Season", then the best immersion is noted. This approach works for immersion, but won't work for games without a theme. Will work well on large and medium games. Still others make a mixed selection that reflects the theme of the game and its mood. For example, this resource contains playlists for almost any game. Ambients are rarely found there, most often works selected for the game. This approach can include original music for specific games. On "Melodice" in playlists you can find music written for specific games, for example "Tribes" or Shadows of Brimstone. In my opinion, this is the best option, but it requires additional training. It can be summarized that: Music in games affects our intellectual activity. It is better not to include it when playing abstracts and games with a large number of variables. Music in themed games enhances immersion. When preparing a game night, we recommend choosing a themed playlist. Music in games is optional. Better to ask your company if they want to include it.  Somehow we will try to play the same game several times with appropriate, foreign and atmospheric music and see how the perception of the game changes. Until then, enjoy the exciting games!..

TERRAFORMING MARS IN A NEW WAY For a long time now, we have been going around and around with the question: is life possible on Mars? There is a whole separate subgenre in science fiction where the Earth is dying at our own hands. Think of climate change, human depletion of raw materials and nuclear war... Wait, all this is already very close to the same science "fiction"... Since humanity takes everything for granted, there is a need to find an alternative "living" space in space. Finding a suitable place in an inexhaustible universe seems to be almost as difficult as finding a house for sale for first-time buyers in the Ukrainian housing market. Maybe Mars is an alternative to real estate in the center of Kyiv? Mars is a pretty stylish place, so you need to make it habitable first, and that's exactly what players will be doing in Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition . Will you be able to grow potatoes like the main character of the movie "The Martian" or will the lack of oxygen take your breath away? GOAL OF THE GAME Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition is the younger brother of Terraforming Mars , one of the most popular expert games, the pinnacle of engine building games and the school of bad graphics and art. Like its big brother, in Ares Expedition , you and your fellow players will terraform Mars into a habitable planet. You must increase the oxygen content, make the temperature pleasant and create literally and figuratively oceans of water. The game will end as soon as there is enough oxygen, heat and water. The player with the most victory points wins the game. HOW TO TERAFORM THAT MARS? Each round takes place in several stages. Players can: build green cards, red or blue cards in your field; perform actions; produce resources; and conduct research. Playing cards costs credits, but you can earn discounts. Building green cards often allows players to gain more resources during the production phase. Red cards usually initiate direct actions, while blue cards contain effects or actions that can be activated, such as during the action phase. Sometimes the cards also contain victory points or the opportunity to gain victory points. With the action phase, players can perform actions on maps or cooperative actions, such as opening oceans, increasing oxygen, and collecting resources or money. During the production phase, players gain more money, cards, and resources based on the cards they play. During research, players can get new cards. The highlight of the phased game is that not all phases go through every round. At the start of a round, all players secretly choose a phase to play in that round. Players cannot choose the same phase they already chose in the previous round. All players now flip over the phases they chose, and these are the phases that all players can play this round. If two or more players choose the same phase, this does not mean that the phase will be completed twice, but it does mean that there will be fewer phases to complete in that round. Players who have selected a phase also receive a bonus during the selected phase. PHEW, MARS HAS BEEN TERRAFORMED, NOW YOU CAN GO TO THE EXPERIENCES We really like the idea of phase selection. This greatly increases the interaction between players. By choosing certain phases, you can cause trouble for other players. For example, you see that your opponents have neither money nor cards, so they cannot profit from card draws during phases 1 and 2. Also, by choosing certain phases, you can inadvertently help your fellow players. So think carefully about which phase will help you the most, but which phase will benefit your opponent the least.  Ares Expedition is also a great engine building game. It feels very smooth and intuitive to play. It's not a short game, but it's not annoyingly long either. With everyone pumping oxygen, heat, and water to Mars, the game is over sooner than you might think.  Ares Expedition is beautifully designed. A common criticism of Terraforming Mars is the incredibly ugly artwork (stock photos, professional illustrations, amateur drawings and sketches mixed together). Ares Expedition is beautifully illustrated and colorfully designed. However, the criticism is that the text on the maps often causes unnecessary confusion. This could have been avoided by sticking to the symbols for the most part, but perhaps the publisher didn't dare. The game components are also of very good quality, unlike the base game. The cards are nice to the touch, and the plastic dice are fine too, unlike the base game dice, which had paint peeling off before the film was even removed from the box.  Expedition "Ares surprised us a lot. It's a beautiful and enjoyable game that we think has a lot to offer both novice and experienced board players. USEFUL LINKS Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition on BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/328871/terraforming-mars-ares-expedition Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition on the Game Theory portal https://tg.in.ua/boardgames/113926/terraforming-mars-ares-expedition VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 We would like to share a little of our impressions about the Euro card game Ark Nova , dedicated to the construction of a zoo. Contrary to the theme, which is more suitable for a non-serious family, the game turned out to be large and complex. And very complex. After all, it is important not only to house animals in an enclosure, but also to participate in environmental programs, breeding and releasing animals into the wild. Hence, actually, the name of the game is "New Ark". The game rocketed to the top of the BGG rankings, easily entering the top 10 best decks. And the number of awards won by her is not worth enumerating, it is easier to say that she won all the awards in which she participated. The game has been translated into dozens of languages and sold in large quantities. Surprisingly, such a rating game does not produce any "wow effect". There are no original game mechanics like spinning wheels in " Tzolkin " or pyramids of cards in " 7 Wonders: Duel ". There is no bright, colorful design like in the fairy-tale "Everdell" with its tree (be it okay) or solidly designed " Brass " with poker chips as coins. There is neither the brevity of "Res Arcana " nor the scope of "The Terraforming Mars " with its many additions. In a word, Ark Nova wins not by some unique chip, but by the overall high level of the game. The basic mechanics are simple: in his turn, the player performs one of five actions represented by 5 cards. Actions are simple: take cards, build enclosures on the tablet, play cards of animals, sponsors and projects. Each action card occupies a slot numbered from "1" to "5". The higher the number, the stronger the effect of drawing the card. After the draw, the card is placed in cell "1", while the others move. So it is possible to play the same action twice in a row, but it is not profitable. Also, actions can be improved by turning the card over, but it is impossible to improve all 5 actions in the game. You will have to choose.  There are more than 250 cards in the game, each unique, but there are only three types of cards: animals, sponsors and projects. In order to play an animal card, you need to have a free enclosure of the appropriate size and money. However, many cards have additional requirements: for example, a hippopotamus will only need an enclosure near water, a bison needs a contract with a zoo from Europe, and a lion needs 3 other predators in the zoo. Animals increase the popularity of the zoo (this is also income and SP) and also give some kind of instant effect. Sponsor cards are played for free and give either a permanent property, or at the end of the game if a condition is met, or income when drawn. And sometimes all three such effects at once. There are the fewest project cards in the game, in fact they are targets for obtaining software. When a player draws, a project card is placed on the table, and opponents can also execute it. However, in addition to the actual condition of the card, it is necessary to have a free worker and perform the action from the cell with maximum force. Interaction between players here is weak. Of course, no one expected the opportunity to curse continuously, as in "Munchkin". But it will not work here even to seriously interfere, to close the centers of action, as in other Euros. Therefore, it is better to play it together. A large number of players will not affect the gameplay, but the wait for the turn will be longer. For two experienced players who are not prone to narrow-mindedness, the game will take about 2 hours. DESIGN Although the photos on the cards were collected on the Internet, they look beautiful and harmonious. At least much better than Mars Conquest or Underwater Cities. But various tokens, money, enclosures and other components were pumped. In general, the design is not bad, but it is difficult to call it a standard of beauty. THEME OF THE GAME Themes in the game feel good. For example, after releasing an animal into the wild, the player vacates the corresponding enclosure. But that doesn't sit well with zoo visitors, and attendance drops to the level of a departed animal. The game is often compared to Terraforming Mars. Indeed, there is something in common: a large number of cards, a long game time, labels on the cards. However, "Mars" is significantly simpler. It's like: a good card has arrived, there is money and conditions for drawing it - you can play without thinking. In Ark Nova, you have to consider your strategy several moves ahead, remember all the numerous factors. WHY IS THE GAME SO POPULAR Well, of course, the hype is largely related to the topic of animals. Animal games are loved by everyone, and the ratings of such games are often inflated. In addition, the game appeals in every possible way to environmental issues, care for nature, and this is a very popular topic. There is also a second point. Usually, card engine games are simple and winning depends a lot on luck with the arrival of the cards. In Ark Nova, you can see the strategicness unusual for a card game, the need for the player to plan his actions several moves ahead, taking into account the open cards on the market. In our opinion, this is one of the most difficult Euros we have played. Overall, the game certainly isn't some kind of milestone in the gaming industry, but it's an excellent big euro card engine. I do not recommend the game to beginners in dungeons and area control lovers, it is more suitable for lovers of complex Euros like Lacerda fans. Our rating: 8/10. USEFUL LINKS  Ark Nova on BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/342942/ark-nova  Ark Nova on the Game Theory portal https://tg.in.ua/boardgames/113946/ark-nova VIDEO REVIEWS ..

PAVE YOUR WAY TO VICTORY This wonderful tile-laying game created by Michael Kiesling has taken the world by storm. Read our Azul review to find out why this Spiel des Jahres -nominated game keeps people talking about it so much! Originally blue and white, but later made in many bright colors, azulejo tiles have been around for a very long time. The beginning of these functional works of art dates back to the 13th century. Originally Moorish in origin, the art form really took off when King Manuel I of Portugal visited Spain in 1503. While there, he was mesmerized by the gorgeous tiling that covered almost every visible surface. Enchanted and inspired, upon his return he ordered the production of Portuguese azulejos. In Azul, you take on the role of one of the commissioned artists. Your goal is to decorate the estate with azulejo tiles (i.e. score the most points) before the end of the game to please the king. After all, the king's mercy is worth its weight in gold. SO LET'S START THE REVIEW) During each round in Azul, players will take turns building tiles from multiple collections of tiles in the center of the table. The tiles a player chooses directly affect the pool of tiles left for other players to choose from. After taking all the tiles of the same color from one of the factories, the player will place those tiles on the "pattern line" section of his board according to certain placement rules. Once all the tiles have been stacked, any completed lines of the pattern will result in the tiles being added to the "wall" area of the player's tablet and points will be awarded. The game continues in this manner until one player has completed a horizontal line of tiles on their wall. A final tally is then made and the player with the most points wins. If you're just wondering what we think of the game, feel free to scroll down to the Opinions section of this review. However, if you want to know more about the game, read on. PREPARATION FOR WORK First, each player takes a game tablet and places it in front of him and places his cube on division 0 of the victory point track:  Then several "factory tokens" (depending on the number of players) are placed in the center of the table in a ring. These Factories are then replenished with 4 tile tiles drawn from the bag: The first player is selected and receives the corresponding tile of the first turn:  Now you are ready to play. WE BEGIN TO FORM OUR PATTERNS At the core of Azul is the tile selection that takes place each round. Before the first player begins his turn, the player's starting tile is placed in the center of the factory circle, and the first player places 4 tiles per factory. On his turn, the player chooses a group of tiles from any factory, takes all tiles of the same color and places them on his board in the pattern line area. All unselected tiles are moved to the central area between factories. Alternatively, a player may take all tiles of the same color or pattern from the center area, but if a player's starting token is present, they must also take it and immediately add it to the "floor line" area on their board (more on that later). Placing tiles on a pattern line requires players to follow some basic rules: All tiles on the same line must be of the same type. A player cannot place tiles on a pattern line if the wall row corresponding to that pattern line already contains tiles of that color. WE TAKE A BREAK AND COUNT THE POINTS After all the tiles have been taken from the factories (any tiles that cannot be used by the players are placed on the floor line), each line of the pattern is examined from top to bottom. For each completed pattern line, the rightmost tile is moved from the pattern line to its corresponding location on the wall. Tiles remaining on a completed pattern line are removed from the player's board and returned to the box for a specified time. Each tile placed on the wall is counted both vertically and horizontally. A tile alone is worth one point. However, if that tile completes a line of tiles, it gets points for each tile in that line. To better illustrate this, consider an example.  In the above example, there are several finished pattern lines - line 1, line 2 and line 4. Lines 3 and 5 are incomplete. Pattern line 1 consists of a single tile in a classic blue and white azulejo style. Since this line is complete, the tile is placed in the corresponding location on wall line 1. There is already a black tile on wall line 1, and since this newly placed tile touches the black tile, the player will receive 2 points. There is currently nothing in wall line 2, so the newly placed tile will not score vertically. The second line of the pattern contains two red tiles. As this line is completed, one of the red tiles is moved to its corresponding location on the line of Wall 2. The remaining red tile is placed back into the box. Since there is already a yellow tile on the Wall 2 line, this newly placed tile will score points for both itself and the yellow tile. And, because of the black tile above the newly placed tile, it will also get a point for itself again, just like the black tile. As a result, the player gains 4 more points.  Row 3 is incomplete, so those tiles remain where they are. Ditto for pattern line 5. As pattern line 4 is completed, one of the tiles from there is moved to wall line 4, where it receives the corresponding points. The other tiles in pattern row 4 are placed back into the box. Finally, after scoring points for each pattern line completed, players look at their floor line. Any tile will give players negative points. The more tiles in that area, the more negative points they get. After all players have finished scoring, any tiles on their floor lines are placed back into the box. The player with the first player's tile places it back in the center area and then fills the bag factories with new tiles. If the bag runs out of tiles, it is replenished with tiles from the box. THE WORK IS FINISHED, THE FINAL POINTS CAN BE CALCULATED Play continues in this manner until the end of a round in which at least one player completes one horizontal line of the wall. Then the final scoring is done. Players earn bonus points for completing wall lines, vertical rows, and collecting all 5 items of the same color. After the final tally is completed, the player with the highest number of points is declared the winner. NOW FOR OUR IMPRESSIONS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE GAME Azul is very attractive at first with its design and excellent components. The colors are bold and bright, and the tiles have a pleasant massiveness and tactility. It's just a very attractive game. Looking at it, we can totally understand the obsession of King Manuel I. Kudos to Chris Quilliams and everyone else involved in the visual aesthetics of this game. When we first saw Azul on the table, we sat down to play knowing nothing about the game other than its popularity. To be honest, we didn't know what to expect. When we read the rules, they were pretty easy to understand and we couldn't wait to start playing once the rules were explained. The first game didn't go very well. By the end of the fifth or sixth round, one of the players managed to earn only 17 points. In the very next round, the player was stuck with a huge pile of red tiles, which all went to his floor. In one fell swoop, almost all of his progress was wiped out. We were a little disappointed and ready to throw Azul into the fire and never return to it. Fortunately, cool heads prevailed. We still convinced ourselves to come back and try the game. Our terrible experience with the first game taught us lessons we didn't even realize. To repeat a banal expression, it's as if a light bulb has gone out in our heads. Suddenly, we were able to look at the mechanics of the game and see the smart strategy behind it. Going from Azul's number one detractor to one of his biggest fans.  Playing Azul is very similar to playing chess. You should always be aware of what your opponent is doing. Sometimes it's very obvious, sometimes less so. If you can clearly see that their execution of one pattern line will earn them a ton of points, then your strategy should change accordingly. You may want to try to send as many tiles of that color to the center as possible so that they are forced to take more than they need. Or maybe you decide to try to collect all those tiles for yourself. However, if you go this route, you'll want to try to maximize your scoring opportunities accordingly. It's a clever game of cat-and-mouse as you try to force your opponents into undesirable positions while trying to force them to open up good scoring opportunities for you. This is where the essence of Azul lies - the constant guessing and re-guessing (and even triple or quadruple guessing!) as you try to figure out how your opponents might react to your actions. “If I take those tiles, they'll probably go to the ones over there, which will leave THOSE other tiles in the center, and then I can grab them next turn and complete this pattern line here. But, if they don't go for those other tiles, they can choose that group instead. Maybe I should take that other group, even if it doesn't help me much, to try to get them to go to the tiles I really want them to take. But, wait…” And it goes on. While these types of mental gymnastics may not appeal to some, for us they really make this game great. The constant need to make interesting decisions even helps to overlook randomness when displaying tiles. I almost don't notice it anymore. I'm all about getting the brain on fire. No wonder this amazing game received a nomination for Spiel des Jahres. In a few short months, it became our second most played game. Easy-to-learn rules, super-fast set-up, and thought-provoking gameplay that keeps you coming back for more. Add to..

GAME REVIEW RAIDERS OF SCYTHIA Are the Horsemen of Scythia just a clone of the Raiders of the North Sea? What new will the Scythians show us? Recently, we managed to play several games of the game Raiders of Scythia , which is localized in Ukraine by the Lord of Boards publishing house, so we want to share a little about our impressions of the game. Also in this article we will compare Riders of Scythia with the mechanically similar game Raiders of the North Sea. So let's start the review! In Raiders of Scythia, the first installment in Garphill Games ' Ancient Anthology series (which includes games like Hadrian's Wall and the recently announced Legacy of Yu), players take on the role of the Scythians (an empire that spanned large swathes of Central Asia and Eastern Europe from at least 1 10th century BC to 2nd century AD) as they advance south in their attempts to expand their power and influence.  At its core, Raiders of Scythia is a game with a worker placement mechanic. Each player on their turn will place a worker to perform an action and then pick up a new worker to perform another action. At the beginning of the game, the choice of actions will mostly focus on accumulating your resources and building a team. However, during the game, you will send your team to raid different locations of the playing field to earn the most victory points before the end of the game. If this sounds familiar, it's most likely because you've played Raiders of the North Sea before. And it's not just a coincidence. Also designed by Shem Phillips, Raiders of Scythia borrows many of its mechanics from its big brother and its expansions. So much so, in fact, that instead of telling you how to play Raiders of Scythia, we're going to talk about the similarities and differences between Riders of Scythia and the games that influenced the Scythians. WHAT ARE THE SIMILAR CHARACTERS IN THESE GAMES In essence, the Horsemen of Scythia function in the same way as the Raiders . As mentioned earlier, you place a worker from your supply into the action area, take that action, then take another worker off the board and take that action as well. Unless you're raiding. Unlike city actions, a raid does not give you a second action.  A raid requires you to use a worker of a certain color, a certain number of team members and the right amount of provisions to do so. Successful raids will reward you with certain resources, upgraded workers and possibly victory points depending on the overall strength of your team. These enhanced workers must visit certain locations and can be used for other purposes if desired. In the city area of the playfield, the results of most actions shown will vary depending on which type of worker is used to perform the action. And for the most part, the actions available are very similar to what you'll find in a settlement in Raiders of the North Sea: stockpile money and/or provisions, draw cards, hire team members, and use team members' unique abilities. Even the team card structure is similar: each team member has a hire cost, a unique raid ability, a unique city ability, and a specific skill. In addition to this, raiding units receive wounds that reduce that unit's strength (as in the Raiders: Fields of Glory expansion), and players can artificially increase their team's strength by using koumiss (similar to mead from Raiders: Hall of Heroes ). Another attribute that has been carried over is the concept of quests (introduced in the Raiders: Hall of Heroes expansion). DISTINCTIONS There are some minor differences between the Raiders of Scythia and the Raiders of the North Sea, and some very significant ones. For example, in the Raiders: Hall of Heroes expansion, you had to use a special action area on the expansion field to complete the quest. This feature is now in the Chieftain's Tent (one of the city actions) in Raiders of Scythia. The Chief's Tent also offers one of several ways to obtain kumis. The koumiss equivalent, mead, could only be obtained by taking cards from the expansion field in Raiders: Hall of Heroes and, occasionally, through a team member's ability. Also, in Raiders: Hall of Heroes, quests were added to the field as various raid locations were emptied, and they mostly just served as additional ways to get more victory points. In Riders of Scythia, they are deployed during training and actively function as one of the two endgame triggers. These are just a few minor differences.  As far as significant innovations go, the first thing you'll notice is the inclusion of horses and eagles. They can be purchased through one of the actions in town and added to your team board above (Eagles) or below (Horses) a specific team member location. Even if that team member dies, the Eagles and Horses will remain on the board and await the next host. Horses give players victory points at the end of the game and increase power during raids. Some Eagles will do the same, while others may double the ability of the added team member, or even provide an additional City Center action that can be performed without discarding a card. Another difference is in the way raids are conducted. In Vikings, many raids required certain strength thresholds to be reached before they could be undertaken. In Raiders, this restriction has been removed and replaced with the need for carriages (obtainable through another town action). Thematically, the further inland you go, the longer your supply chain needs to be to drive this activity. EXPERIENCE FROM THE GAME Raiders of Scythia is a great Euro-strategy that will make you strain your brain. The components of the game are simply incredible, which is only worth the wooden kumis tokens). The rules of the game are easy to learn and easy to explain to beginners. Also a big plus is the theme of the game, which fully corresponds to the gameplay and draws you into the events of the game and this era. VIDEO REVIEWS ..

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        Penguins gathered for a parade of animals, and most importantly at the parade ?! That's right - keep order and go through a beautiful column. Let's help the penguins line up on the ice so that they do not miss the parade. In the puzzle game Penguins at the Parade 48 tasks of 4 levels of difficulty. Shall we train these cute birds? Penguins line up! Place the puzzle pieces with the penguins on the board so that the 4 penguins line up horizontally, vertically or diagonally in a line with no free cells between them. Parade of penguins - trains your brain well, ideal for travel. For whom the game Magnetic puzzles are perfect in the way, even if you are traveling in an old truck on the road . Like other puzzles Penguin Parade develop logic in children and adults allow train brains and take advantage of the time. On-line version of the game..