Even old Scrooge – or Scrooge – would be hard-pressed to find fault with the latest project from Humble Bard Games. Charles Dickens’ popular story “A Christmas Carol,” about a stingy old moneylender in industrial-era London, has inspired at least half a dozen board games. Among them are Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” (which featured Mickey Mouse as Scrooge testing the audience’s trust quite a bit) and “The Haunting of Christmas.” ABOUT THE GAME Designer John S. Bailey is a teacher in the field of everyday life and has a special connection to "A Christmas Carol." In his words: "The themes and morals of this story are rich and deep. Everyone will likely take something from it that challenges them. For me, I can relate to Scrooge as a person in many ways… my connection to Scrooge has nothing to do with money. His character, the way he sees the world, the kinds of disappointments he's experienced, and how quickly he forgets the wonderful things from his past that could have changed his life for the better if he'd let them." The game fully reflects these sentiments. DESCRIPTION Spirits of Christmas is a medium-easy cooperative/solo strategy game where players use a turn table and card-based actions to guide Ebenezer Scrooge on his journey from miser to saint in Victorian London. Fans of solo and multiplayer card games from developers like Button Shy and Solo Game of the Month's Gabe Barrett will recognize a lot of familiarity in Spirits. But what sets it apart is: six levels of difficulty that gradually make the game more difficult; seven "communication modes" for multiplayer; three plot options. This gives you ten different ways to play, both solo and co-op. It takes about five minutes to unpack and familiarize yourself with the rules before your first game. The variety of strategies means that replayability is very high. COMPONENTS The game components are high-quality and extremely themed. The spirits that visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve are instantly recognizable – no matter which film adaptation you prefer, from Albert Finney (the designer’s favorite) to The Muppets (my personal favorite).  Wooden tokens, linen card covers, black-core cards, and thick cardboard coins add depth to the atmosphere. And this is important: while many see Scrooge as nothing more than a symbol of brutal capitalism, Dickens wasn't writing about economic systems - he wanted to show the Scrooge in each of us. The game's beautiful illustrations were created by the designer's daughter, capturing not only the family's joy at the source material, but also Scrooge's gradual transformation. GAME PROCESS Players start with “spirit cards” that pay for actions and complete scenes in each “chapter” of the story. The size of the hand depends on the number of players: in a solo game – 5 cards, and with 5–6 players – only 2.  "Scene cards" can be laid out randomly (the basic option) or in order - in the complex "Story Option". Each section corresponds to one of the three spirits of Christmas – past, present and future. A unique spirit token is placed on the roundel. Players move it by spending coins, which quickly run out, so choice and risk are critical here. Coins also affect the scoring. It's a clever mechanic: no one wants to be a miser like Scrooge, but the game makes you feel at least a little bit like him. Actions on the rondel allow you to: move Scrooge to another scene, to exchange or play cards, get 3 cards. Completing a scene requires the right combination of spirit traits (joy, compassion, mercy). The balance of these traits changes with each chapter, making the game dynamic and unpredictable. ADDITIONAL MECHANICS To complete a chapter, you need to complete all or just the "shaded" scenes (marked with a bow). The only problem is that they are difficult to distinguish in low light. "Torch of Prosperity" gives bonuses if activated on the rondel in time. “Gift cards” provide starting advantages, adding variability. END The section ends when: players are running out of money, all the "shadow" scenes have been played out, All scenes of the chapter have been completed. After three chapters (or sooner if resources are exhausted), the game ends. If players complete all three chapters without going bankrupt, they win. The level of victory is determined by the points table. On the lowest difficulty, victory seems easy, but as the difficulty increases, the game becomes a serious challenge. RESULT  Spirits of Christmas is a solid board game from the developer of Holdout, Song of the Seas, and Roll-With-It. It will appeal to both card game fans and those who appreciate a strong theme.  The atmosphere of industrial London, combined with the emotional light of Christmas, makes the game a great option for a cozy evening party by the fireplace on the eve of the holidays. Thanks to its compactness, simple rules and deep strategies, it can take you from “Deception!” to “Joy of the World” in a matter of minutes. And yes, Little Tim (spoiler alert) – survived.  Spirits of Christmas is a crowdfunded game now available from Humble Bard Games. It’s not yet rated on Board Game Geek, but it’s sure to become a favorite that will stay on your table well after the holidays...

SIGNAL GAME REVIEW  Signal is a quiet, cooperative brainteaser, a meditation on communication that is nowhere near as valuable as the phrase “meditation on communication” might suggest. Players work together to communicate with an alien, represented by a vivid black-and-white illustration on a card and embodied by a lone, silent player. The Terrans send signals: black-and-white rods, cubes, circles, and triangles arranged on a cloth board. Much of the game time is spent arranging these signals. When the signal is ready, the alien responds by changing it. Maybe he/she/they move some pieces or remove some. They might create a stack or swap pieces. It could be, and often is, some combination of things. The hope is that the alien will send back exactly the signal that is shown on the front of his card. Nothing more, nothing less. Whatever the alien does, he follows the rules written on the back of his card. For example, “Place a black rod on a black disk” or “Remove two rods and place another piece between them.” If the first round of communication is successful within ten attempts, everyone moves on to the second round. The goal remains the same, but an additional set of rules is added, which are followed after the first set of rules. A third round awaits you on the other side of the second, if you solve it.  Trying to crack an alien's code is incredibly fun, especially when your efforts are barely reaching the goal. The rules themselves are never fancy. Instead, they're designed to interact in clever ways. The second-round rule forces you to take a step back and think differently about the first-round rule. I don't really like playing games that involve blind, failed guesses, and I enjoyed my first time giving up the role of an alien in Signal. I miss a future where I won't be able to do that anymore, since you can't play against the same alien more than once, and you can never do that with the alien you've embodied. There's always the fear in games like this that being the oddball is going to be thankless. You sit there in silence while everyone else talks, then perform a transformation algorithm while they watch. It sounds uninteresting. Fortunately, while the role of the oddball won't appeal to everyone, Signal avoids that problem. The instructions leave room for creativity, for stubbornly insisting that you can do it. There's also room for thinking hard. If your teammates are stuck on a certain step in the instructions, if they keep making the same mistake, you can try to do it in a way that might make a difference. There is something anthropological about being an outsider. I observe people with joy and fascination. Because the game allows for real exploration, you learn something about people as individuals and people in general through the way they play. Some people do it without hesitation. One friend made his first guess by gathering a few figures, shaking them in his hand, and then laying them out on a cloth, ready to read the dice. Another friend was absolutely certain every time that this rule had something to do with symmetry. Groups and individuals became fixated on ephemeral things, interpreting noise as a signal. Sometimes following the noise really works. “It only removes the parts it sees from above,” when the real reason is both unrelated and mutually exclusive. This relative lack of precision—I promise, aliens are pretty picky—may irritate puzzle fans, but it speaks to the larger point of this wonderful exercise. The goal of Signal isn’t to spell out the rules or fully understand why what you’re doing works. The goal is to communicate successfully. Communication is imperfect. You can’t always say exactly what you want or mean. That doesn’t mean you can’t get along...

PRODUCT UPDATE Hello, friend. The Lelekan store is updated with board games for every taste. New hits, reissues of favorite classics, and a few unexpected new releases are now available. In this receipt: New games for companies Games for children and family leisure Dueling games for cozy evenings Complex strategies for experienced players And there are many different types of flooring that will suit everyone. Play fun with Lelekan FULL LIST OF UPDATES YINSH (Ukrainian) GIPF My Story (Ukrainian) Mada (Ukrainian) Bridge Or Park 2 (Ukrainian) Bridge Or Park (Ukrainian) Ninja (Ukrainian) Odin (Ukrainian) Choice (ukr)\ You Laugh, You Drink (Ukrainian) 25 Words Or Less (25 Words Or Less) (ukr) The Only Game For Date Night (ukr) Privacy (Ukrainian) For Girls (Ukrainian) Year Of Dating (Ukrainian) Who's First? (Who's First?) (Ukrainian) Drunk Party (Ukrainian) How Did I Not Know This? Military Edition (Ukrainian) Harmony (Harmonies) (ukr) Cthulhu: Death May Die – Fear Of The Unknown (supplement) (ukr) Cartographers: Map Pack 3 – Undercity: Depths Of Sabek (supplement) (ukr) Cartographers: Map Pack 2 – Affril: Plane Of Knowledge (supplement) (ukr) Cartographers: Map Pack 1 – Nebblis: Plane Of Flame (supplement) (ukr) Trailblazers: Travel Edition (Ukrainian) And many other interesting things) GAME LIBRARY UPDATE Tucano (Tucano) (Ukrainian) Welcome to the rainforest! This wonderful place is full of delicious and ripe fruits. You can collect them to make a real feast for yourself. And toucans will help you! That's Not A Hat (Ukrainian) Time to receive and give gifts, while training your memory! What gift is in front of you? A hat or a cat? In an instant it will turn into whatever you want! The main thing is to skillfully convince... PROMOTIONAL OFFERS Amygdala (Amygdala) (Ukrainian) https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/srategies/amygdala-amygdala-ukr Tenth Level (Level 10) (ukr) https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/igry-po-typu/ukrayinskoyu-movoyu/desyaty-riven-level-10-ukr Cossack Campaign (Ukrainian) https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/historical/kozatsky-pohid-cossack-campaign Tilletum (Tilletum) (English/Ukrainian) https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/srategies/tiletum-tilletum-anglukr Lost Seas (Forgotten Waters) (ukr) https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/igry-po-typu/ukrayinskoyu-movoyu/utracheni-morya-forgotten-waters-ukr Outpost (Settlement) (ukr) https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/forpost SCHEDULE OF GAMING PLACES Friday 12.09 16:00 - 19:00, Red Dawn , 1-6 players Age 12+ Games library at club rates. Saturday 13.09 16:00 - 20:00 Predator Planet , 2-7 players Age 10+ Games library at club rates. Sunday 14.09 17:00 - 20:00 Robinson Crusoe , 1-4 players Age 10+ Games library at club rates. Registration: By appointment, come with friends and family! Question: For additional information, call +380938247182. Come and enjoy a great time with Lelekan!..

CIRCLE THE WAGONS GAME REVIEW Circle the Wagons is a quick and easy, down-and-dirty Boomtown card game for two players. Collect cards from the central display to make your city unique. Earn points for the largest groups of territories in your city, take a chance on three bonus cards, and hope you don't lose. Get the most points and win Circle the Wagons!  Circle the Wagons is a light-hearted two-player wallet card game from Button Shy Games. Known for its line of 18-card limited wallet card games, Buttonshy has released games like Turbo Drift, Pentaquark, Ahead in the Clouds, and Cunning Folk. PREPARING FOR THE GAME Setting up Circle the Wagons is simple. Shuffle all 18 cards together, territorial side up. Separate the top three cards and place them in the middle of the table with the bonus text facing up. These are the bonus cards used in this game. The other 15 cards are placed territorial side up in a circle around the bonus cards, as you can see in the following image.  Choose the first player and you're ready to start the game. But first, a little trick: the first player gets the first choice of cards, but the second player can tell the first player where to start. This can have a significant impact on the game, as you'll see in a moment. GAME PROCESS  In Circle the Wagons, two players take turns selecting territory cards from the central display in a clockwise direction. After the first player selects and allows the second player to indicate the starting card, the game begins. CARD SELECTION The active player has two options: 1. Choose the first card in order and place it in its Boom City. 2. Skip any number of cards to select another card and place it in their Boom City. Any skipped cards will be passed to the other player to place in their Boom City. In the following example, the first player chooses card #1 and puts it in their Boomtown. The second player will choose card #3, which means that player 1 will receive card #2 and must add it to their Boomtown. MAP PLACEMENT There are only a few rules when placing a map in your Boomtown. 1. Cards can only be placed right side up or upside down. Cards can never be placed sideways. 2. The newly placed map must touch or overlap the existing map of the area. 3. New cards can overlap old cards in any way, including completely covering another card. New cards can never be slid under a previous card.  Play continues clockwise, with each player choosing a card and placing it in their Boomtown. When the last card is placed, the game ends and scoring begins. SCORING At the end of the game, your city might look something like this.  At the end of the game, players will score 1 point for each territory in their largest area of ​​each of the six terrain types: desert, forest, mountains, plains, snow, and water. If two territories are the same size, players choose which one to score. In the example above, the player will receive the following points: 5 points for the mountain region in the upper left corner 3 points for the desert region in the upper left corner 6 points for the snow region in the center, ignoring the two smaller snow regions on the bottom right 3 points for the water region on the right, ignoring the water region above 1 point for a forest region, both of which are one cell 1 point for a flat region, both of which are one cell BONUS CARDS Let's take a quick look at some of the bonus cards for Circle the Wagons. Most maps, such as Cold Water, encourage players to plan ahead, choose the most advantageous cards, and place them in their Boomtown.  Other cards, such as "Bootleggers," can cause a player to lose points if the card is placed incorrectly.  Some cards even pit players against each other, such as "Small Town Ruffian" and may even encourage a player to have the smallest Boomtown: WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE GAME Wallet games can be a hit or miss for me. I like the idea of ​​portability and pared-down gameplay, but they've been a bit of a letdown in the past. Circle the Wagons is one of the first wallet games I've played that felt like a full-fledged board game. Sure, it's lacking in components, but it makes up for it with its quality. The use of double-sided cards is a great idea here. Button Shy have done this in the past with Ahead in the Clouds and Turbo Drift, and they continue to use it to great effect in Circle the Wagons. Designers Danny Devine, Stephen Aramini, and Paul Kluka have tightly integrated the scoring mechanics and gameplay without making the game too long or too difficult.  Since players only use 3 of the 18 bonus cards, each game will be different. According to the BoardGameGeek page for Circle the Wagons, there are “nearly five thousand unique ways to score points.” I’ve played nearly a dozen games, and each one has been different. In some games, you simply collect the maximum number of badges, and you also place them for the largest regions. In other games, you try to avoid collecting resources. And in other games, you literally try to make your city as small as possible. In many cases, the bonus cards contradict each other: you get points for bottles on one card, while another card penalizes you if you have the most bottles. Beth Sobel's art is understated and subtle, yet gorgeous. The detailed illustrations of the icons blend and contrast beautifully with the rough and unevenly painted backgrounds, creating a set of artwork I would happily hang on my wall (goal tip Jason). WHAT DID YOU NOT LIKE? The only real downside to this game is the environment. While stacking cards into piles makes for some really interesting choices, the physical task of doing so is a bit frustrating. The extremely subtle curvature of the cards means they'll always be shifting around. This can make it difficult to keep your city in order. It's possible that a production copy of the game will be better, so take this with a grain of salt. It would also be great to have a few more cards or a small token to mark the starting card… but then it wouldn’t be a wallet game, would it? FINAL CONCLUSIONS Combining Patchwork, Isle of Skye and Kingdom Builder, Circle the Wagons is the quintessential big game in a small format. Rugged, beautiful, streamlined and genuinely fun. I predict Circle the Wagons will be Button Shy's flagship game, and rightfully so. Back Circle the Wagons on Kickstarter while you can, you won't regret it! What do you think of Circle the Wagons? Share your thoughts on what you like and/or dislike about the game in the comments below!..

QUARRIORS GAME REVIEW Developed by Mike Elliott and Eric Lang and published in the US by WizKids Games, Quarriors is a great dice-rolling game. A 2011 Golden Geek nominee and 2013 Origins Award winner, this game will make you want to travel back in time and play the game again like the first time.  In Quarriors 2-4 players will arm themselves with powerful magical spells and summon legions of hex-shaped creatures to battle their opponents. Boldly cover yourself with Glory by defending your creatures from opponents, or choose wisely to challenge increasingly powerful creatures to conquer your enemies. HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE GAME? Quarriors is a dice game based on the same principle as the original Dominion deck-building game released in 2008. A central field consisting of 3 base cards, 7 creature cards, and 3 spell cards is located in the middle of the game board called the "Wildlands". The 7 creature cards and 3 spell cards are drawn (and shuffled as needed) randomly until each stack is unique. Place the corresponding dice on each card within reach of each player.  Finally, all players are given 8 quadity dice and 4 helper dice (creatures with low power), and the game can begin. GAME PROCESS On their turn, the player draws a certain number of dice from their bag and rolls them. The faces of the dice with the mystical teardrop symbol, symbolizing quadrature, can be used to provide energy to existing creatures or to attract more powerful creatures and spells from the Wild.  The non-square dice faces are usually either creatures that can be summoned into battle or special abilities (spell dice). Players who choose to send their creatures into battle must have enough square available to pay the creature level cost located in the upper left corner of the die. Most dice in the game will have at least one square face and several other faces, all of which are displayed at the bottom of the power card for that die.  After the quid value for any creature has been paid, the player sends their creatures into battle. The attacking player adds up the values ​​of all of their attacking creatures (located in the upper right corner of each creature die). Then, in clockwise order, each player offers a defender, which may or may not be able to defeat the attack amount presented. If a creature is defeated (either the attacker or the defender), it goes into that player's discard pile. In the example below, the bottom player (with an attack value of 4) attacks the top player.  Attacks continue until all of the attacking player's creatures are defeated, or until any remaining creatures have traveled around the table. These creatures will now act as defenders for that player while the other players take their turns. Any creatures remaining in front of the player at the start of their next turn will gain Glory points equal to the number in the upper right corner of that creature's Power card.  After attacks are resolved, players can use any remaining quidity to capture new creatures from the Wildlands. Players pay the quidity cost found in the upper left corner of the power card they wish to purchase. Players then place all rolled dice in their discard pile along with any captured creatures, and active status passes to the next player. Play continues in this manner until one player reaches the Glory Goal, depending on the number of players. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE GAME Of course, the first thing to mention is the cubes. They are awesome. Not full-size, but a little smaller. They come in all colors and styles. Some are solid, some are frosted crystal, some have specks of glitter, they are just really cool. The illustrations in the game are really nice, with just a little bit of cartoonishness to keep it from looking too serious. The gameplay is easy to explain and only takes a few minutes to get going. WHAT DID YOU NOT LIKE? While the dice are cool, the printing on some of them is blurry. It's not a huge problem, but it can make them difficult to read. The game is fun, but maybe not suitable for many repeat playthroughs (if that's what you're looking for). CONCLUSIONS Quarriors is essentially a simple game: you roll dice, attack other players (if you want to), and capture new creatures (if you want to). The base game includes 130 dice and 53 creature and spell cards, which gives Quarriors a lot of variety. Each set of dice is represented by multiple power cards, and each power card has different options. This means that from game to game, each set of dice can perform completely different actions depending on the settings. Quarriors doesn't offer much strategy, but smart purchases early in the game can make a big difference towards the end...

PRODUCT UPDATE Hello, friend. The Lelekan store is updated with board games for every taste. New hits, reissues of favorite classics, and a few unexpected new releases are now available. In this receipt: New games for companies Games for children and family leisure Dueling games for cozy evenings Complex strategies for experienced players And there are many different types of flooring that will suit everyone. Play fun with Lelekan FULL LIST OF UPDATES Dobble: Waterproof (Dobble Waterproof) 7 Wonders: Second Edition 7 Wonders: Cities - Second Edition Draft & Write Records (Draft & Write Records) Fuse: Countdown (Fuse) Beacon Patrol King of Tokyo Hegemony (Hegemony: Lead Your Class To Victory) Dixit 10: Mirrors Dixit 2: Quest Dixit 3: Journey Dixit 4: Origins Dixit 5: Daydreams Dixit 6: Memories Dixit 7: Revelation Dixit 8: Harmonies Dixit 9: Anniversary Edition (Dixit 9. Anniversary Dixit: Odyssey (Dixit Odyssey) Dobble: Harry Potter Arkham Horror: The Card Game: The Dunwich Legacy Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Edge Of The Earth: Investigator Expansion Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Edge Of The Earth: Campaign Expansion Painting (Canvas) Painting: Reflections (Canvas: Reflections) Wyrmspan Card of the Empress Victoria: Card Civilization (CIV: Carta Impera Victoria) And many other interesting things) GAME LIBRARY UPDATE Redcordsman (Unbeatable) Congratulations: if you live in an apartment and miss your own garden, then the perfect game has found you! You've entered a gardening competition, where creating a beautiful garden is everyone's number one goal. Test your skills: will you be able to become a respected Redcordsman? The Game The only way out is to beat the game. Who set the rules? Who is mocking the players' minds? It is not clear. The only thing that is clear is that the game will not retreat until you gather your strength and defeat it! By the way, do not give in to your first impression, because the game is actually not difficult and not scary at all. On the contrary - it is very interesting! PROMOTIONAL OFFERS Amygdala https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/srategies/amygdala-amygdala-ukr Tiletum https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/srategies/tiletum-tilletum-anglukr Camelot Market https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/igry-po-typu/card-games/rynok-kamelut-kameloot Lost Seas https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/igry-po-typu/ukrayinskoyu-movoyu/utracheni-morya-forgotten-waters-ukr GAMING SCHEDULE This week we have a club game library, so discounts are available to everyone) Also, if you like any of the offered games, you can purchase it with a 10% discount! So we present to you the schedule of events at the Lelekan club August 25 - August 31 Monday 25.08 17:00 - 20:00, Restless Gobblers, 2 players (multiple boxes available) Age 5+ Club game library 50% discount. Tuesday 26.08 16:00 - 19:00, War Sheep, 2-4 players Age 7+ Club game library 50% discount. Wednesday 27.08 17:00 - 20:00, Smileys, 2-4 players Age 6+ Club game library 50% discount. Thursday 28.08 16:00 - 20:00, Dungeons, Dice & Adventures, 1-4 players Age 12+ Club game library 50% discount. Friday 29.08 18:00 - 20:00 Puerto Rico 1897, 2-5 players Age 12+ Club game library 50% discount. Saturday 30.08 18:00 - 20:00 Castles of Burgundy: Anniversary Edition, 1-4 players Age 12+ Club game library 50% discount. Sunday 31.08 18:00 - 20:00 Coup: Steampunk, 3-6 players Age 10+ Club game library 50% discount. Registration: By appointment, come with friends and family! Question: For additional information, call +380938247182 or write to direct. Come and enjoy a great time with Lelekan!..

GARDEN RUSH GAME REVIEW  Garden Rush (designed by Kee Mansell) is a lightning-fast two-player game that requires you to stack tiles and build a board in which you plant and harvest vegetables to score points. The game comes in an open box with a magnetically held flip-top lid. This flip-top lid opens to reveal a play area. The box also doubles as a storage mechanism and, when flipped, as a game board that holds the players’ gnome figures.  Players sit at opposite ends of a playing field, which is divided into two identical gardens with a hedge between them. During setup, vegetable tiles are drawn from a bag and placed on each hedge square with the vegetable side facing up. Each garden is arranged in a 5×5 grid with the corners cut off, forming an inner square. In the corners of this square are four icons representing special actions that players can perform when these icons are covered by tiles. These actions allow you to take an additional tile from the ruler, harvest (i.e. score points) from a bed in your garden, move a tile from one spot to another, or flip any vegetable in either player's garden to the opposite side. Each hedge cell lines up in a column of cells in your garden. On your turn, you have two options: take the tile or harvest (i.e., score points). If you take a tile, you can place it with the double side with the vegetables facing up in the column corresponding to the location of the hedge cell you took, or you can place it with the single side with the vegetables facing up in any other column. Once a hedge cell is empty, the remaining vegetables are moved to fill the empty space, a new vegetable is placed at the end of the row, and the new vegetable takes its place on the trampoline.  Yes, you read that right. Trampoline. In Garden Rush, anthropomorphic vegetables not only smile at you, but they also seem so eager to be cut and eaten that they literally jump at the chance. WHAT IS ALL THIS FOR? In Garden Rush, each type of vegetable has several patterns in which it can be planted. Once you plant it in one of the patterns, it can be harvested for points equal to the number of plants that made up the pattern. Once harvested, double vegetable tiles are flipped to their single vegetable sides, and single vegetable tiles are removed from the board. If that sounds a little strange, think about carrots. Carrots can be harvested when you plant two or four carrots diagonally across from each other. If you harvest two carrots, you get two points. If you harvest four, you get four points. Nothing else special.  These points are important for two reasons. First, there are certain breakpoints on the score track that, if you manage to end your turn with your gnome on top of them, allow you to perform a bonus action (potentially a chain of bonuses if you're clever enough). Second, and most importantly, Garden Rush isn't just about scoring points. It's about getting to 40 points, and that means getting those points before your opponent can do the same. Once a player reaches 40 points, the round ends and whoever is further up the score track wins. Otherwise, the game ends when the bag runs out of tiles, and whoever has the most points up to that point wins. WONDERFUL RAGU There's a lot to like about Garden Rush. The rules are easy to teach and learn. You'll be playing without any problems in a matter of minutes. The game is short, and experienced players only need 20-30 minutes to throw it in a backpack and play with a colleague during their lunch break. The design, while absurd, is bold and fun. The quality of the components is top-notch. The gameplay is also pretty simple. Garden Rush is a game about balancing long-term goals with short-term gains. Do you intentionally score less points to avoid hitting a checkpoint on the scoring scale, or do you forgo extra actions to score more points? And when it comes to picking vegetables from the hedgerow, figuring out how to arrange the vegetables so they fit with other types of vegetables can be quite a challenge. This aspect of the game always reminds me of Tiny Towns in that you have to arrange different objects in a limited space to take advantage of scoring opportunities when they appear. The pace of the game is almost perfect. It starts off slow. With a mostly empty garden, it's easy to relax and just enjoy yourself. But as your garden starts to fill up, things get more lively. The tension builds as your little gnome-point figures battle for position on the scoreboard. The energy is palpable. Garden Rush is, in a word, exhilarating. However, this minor annoyance doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the game at all. Garden Rush ticks many of my boxes, and it's become a game that's practically always in my backpack, ready to be pulled out and set up at a moment's notice. If you're looking for a two-player game that's easy to set up and take down, quick and easy to play, but still offers some challenge, Garden Rush might be just what you're looking for...

PRODUCT UPDATE Hello, friend. The Lelekan store is updated with board games for every taste. New hits, reissues of favorite classics, and a few unexpected new releases are now available. In this receipt: New games for companies Games for children and family leisure Dueling games for cozy evenings Complex strategies for experienced players And there are many different types of flooring that will suit everyone. Play fun with Lelekan FULL LIST OF UPDATES Tower Stacks High Society Hickory Dickory Dam (Barrage) Dinosaur Island First Snow Skulls of Sedlec: Complete Edition Passengers The Language of Flowers: Complete Edition (Tussie Mussie) Once Upon a Honey Almost Innocent Star Wars: Bounty Hunters Dune: Imperium – Uprising Aye, Dark Overlord! The Red Box Go! Animals Against Tourists (Scram!) Newton & Great Discoveries Concept Kids: Animals And many other interesting things) GAME LIBRARY UPDATE If It Fits Before you get a cat, make sure that your pet is the right consistency for you, because you are the only one responsible for the capacity of the container that it will occupy! How to do this? Just place the box conveniently and wait… not too long. If it fits, the cat will fit! — that’s the motto of this fun and cute card game. As you probably guessed, we call everything cute that contains cats, and this box is really full of them! Click! The Great Wall What would you dream of doing if you found yourself on top of the Great Wall of China? We think we know the answer: maybe at first you would look around, take a deep breath, scream, spit down, admire the views… But who are we trying to fool? The first thought that comes to your mind is to take a nice photo! As soon as possible! The board game "Klats!" is exactly about this: in it you will have to choose the right parts of the wall, move them, swap them around to find the best angle for your little one (if you don't know, this is a Ukrainian "selfie" - we shout "here I am!" and take a picture!). And all this in conditions of fierce competition, because walking along the Great Wall alone is too expensive a pleasure! Everyone wants their own photo, get in line! PROMOTIONAL OFFERS Amygdala https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/srategies/amygdala-amygdala-ukr Tiletum https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/all-games/srategies/tiletum-tilletum-anglukr Camelot Market https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/igry-po-typu/card-games/rynok-kamelut-kameloot Pirates Of The 7 Seas - Second Edition https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/board-game-pryznachennya/family-games/piraty-7-moriv-druge-vydannya-pirates-of-the-7-seas-ukr Lost Seas https://lelekan.com.ua/uk/all-board-games/igry-po-typu/ukrayinskoyu-movoyu/utracheni-morya-forgotten-waters-ukr GAMING SCHEDULE We present to you the schedule of events at the Lelekan club August 18 - August 24 Monday 18.08 17:00 - 20:00, Radlands, 2 players (multiple boxes available) Age 14+ Games library at club rates. Tuesday 19.08 16:00 - 19:00, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, 1-4 players Age 14+ Games library at club rates. Wednesday 20.08 17:00 - 20:00, CIV: Carta Impera Victoria, 2-4 players Age 8+ Games library at club rates. Thursday 21.08 16:00 - 20:00, Radiance, 1-4 players Age 10+ 50% discount on the tariff. Friday 22.08 18:00 - 20:00 Siege Storm, 1-2 players Age 14+ Club Day 50% discount on the rate. Saturday 23.08 18:00 - 20:00 Lovecraft Letter, 2-6 players Age 14+ Game library for a large company 50% discount on the tariff. Sunday 24.08 18:00 - 20:00 Pret-A-Porter: Third Edition, 2-4 players Age 10+ Games library at club rates. Registration: By appointment, come with friends and family! Question: For additional information, call +380938247182 or write to direct. Come and enjoy a great time with Lelekan!..

BULLET BOARD GAME REVIEW When a friend expressed interest in playing Bullet, I found myself in the unusual position of having to tell him to read the rules. This almost never happens, but the circumstances were exceptional. When I returned fifteen minutes later, I asked him if he knew how to play. And indeed, during that time he had managed to learn everything in detail. STAR EXPRESS  Bullet is essentially a mobile app. 1-4 players race — it’s a real-time game — using cards and abilities to remove colored balls from their game boards. These balls are randomly drawn from each player’s personal bag and added to their personal game board. The balls have numbers that indicate the number of empty cells they cross before stopping. If a ball accidentally reaches the bottom of the game board, it takes away some of your health.  Balls are removed by playing cards from your hand that depict something like a tetromino. Certain cells must contain a ball, some must be empty. Once the ball tokens are lined up properly, which almost never happens without using one or two special powers to move them, they can be discarded.  The incentive to move quickly in Bullet has two aspects. First, any balls left in your bag after the time runs out must be added to your board in full, without any mitigation. The more balls on your board, the more likely it is that the next one will fall to the bottom. This deluge of penalty periods can be devastating. Second, any bullets you manage to remove will be passed to the player to your left in the next round. The more bullets your opponents have, the harder their job will be, and the better for you. Bullet Star is a knock-out game. There is no winner, just the one who can last long enough to see the bodies of their enemies float by. BARGAIN? I think mobile apps provide a kind of mindless dopamine rush. The closest I've come to that in my desktop experience is probably the crazy pinball mania of Ganz Schon Clever!. Bullet and its big sister are a little too cognitively intensive to evoke the bliss of a mobile app gaming experience, but they still feel like video puzzle games come to life. You definitely get good value for money. The set includes eight characters, each with a unique deck of cards and asymmetrical abilities. Bullet Star also includes rules for various modes, including boss mode, co-op mode, team mode, and solo mode.  The experience is insane. You have to sweat. There's a strong feeling that you could figure it out if you could just see the one thing you're missing. My only complaint is that you could play alone, as you won't really notice the other players at the table. The only time you think about other people is when one of them throws you a fresh batch of balls that you've taken out so you can add them to your bag for the next round. It requires such intense concentration that you don't even start swearing madly. And where's the fun in that?..

WONDERFUL NATURE Are you tired of the hustle and bustle of the city? Tired of the constant noise and distractions? Maybe you should take a break from the hustle and bustle and escape to the idyllic countryside. Enjoy the pristine beauty of the countryside and remember: it is your responsibility to keep it pristine and lush.  Naturopolis is the latest pocket-sized game from publisher Button Shy, and is a direct successor to the Sprawlopolis line of games. This game, along with Sprawlopolis and Agropolis, and their associated mini-expansion games, share the same core gameplay mechanics. Solo or in pairs, you play cards from a deck of eighteen cards and create a specific landscape with different scoring mechanisms. However, Natuoropolis takes a different approach to the theme, focusing on creating natural beauty and scenic landscapes, while punishing you for spoiling that beauty with an excessive amount of roads and asphalt. BUILDING A BETTER WORLD Those familiar with other games in this series will recognize the gameplay pattern. Setup only takes a few minutes. Shuffle all eighteen cards together and draw the top three. One side of the cards depicts the aforementioned landscapes, while the other side of each card features a separate scoring target. These first three cards will be placed with the targets facing up, indicating your unique scoring mechanisms for this particular game. You will then deal three cards to the first player and one card to any additional player(s). Turn over the top card of the deck to begin, and you’re good to go!  The moves are simple: you simply add a card to the table in front of you. Each card contains one quadrant of each biome in the game: forests, grasslands, mountains, or lakes. Some cards depict rivers, some depict roads, and some depict campsites. You can place your card so that it overlaps or lines up edge to edge with any card already played on the table, and it can even create gaps in the landscape if you follow the other placement rules. After placing a card, you pass the two cards remaining in your hand to the next player. This repeats, with each player placing one card over and over again until the deck is completely empty. A COMPROMISE IN BEAUTY After all, you have a beautiful natural landscape to admire… but what does that mean? Looking at the three objectives you drew at the beginning of the game, you can sum up your target score by adding the numbers on the three objective cards. In general, scoring options that are harder or less common to complete may only add a couple of points to your target score, while easier objectives will add more to your target score. Beat that score and win the game. Can’t beat it? It’s a tough game—you lose, and your park will be ugly.  In addition to your specific goals, there are some standard scoring rules that help give your landscape an edge. For each of the four main biomes, you'll receive one point for each card that falls within your largest contiguous area of that biome. This encourages you to try to build large, sprawling forests and massive lakes. However… you'll also need to manage your roads, as each individual road will reduce your total score by two points. This is the biggest difference from previous games in the Sprawlopolis series, and reflects the thematic emphasis on the beauty of nature. CONCLUSIONS Thematically, Naturopolis achieves its goals. The tension of choosing between starting a new path and continuing to develop your sprawling biomes is at the heart of the gameplay decisions. Balancing your moves between setting up big point wins and managing negative point values leaves each of your fifteen card turns on a razor's edge. Given the context of the other games in the series, it's easy to see how this game repeats the formula and tweaks it a bit to make it seem new. There are also combo expansions that let you add this game to the other two in the series to combine cards and create mega-landscapes with a mix of natural beauty, cityscapes, and farmland. On top of that, it all fits comfortably in your pocket or purse, perfect for a quick game at the brewery or while waiting for your meal.  That said, the same minor flaws as the other games in the series are present here. While Button Shy positions these games as co-op, in our testing they really felt more like a solo experience. Much of that is due to the game's limited size. The eighteen maps feel much better for a solo player than when you're sharing your card draws with someone else. Another minor issue I ran into while playing was that the road penalties are so severe compared to the points you're earning that the game almost always requires you to manipulate the placement of roads rather than actually scoring points. The fact that the theme is combined with the mechanics seems intentional, but as a player, actively working to reduce losses was less fun than creating the perfect landscape for my target maps. However, at just $12 and with a few free add-ons, it's hard to pass up such a challenging solo puzzler in such a small package. Be prepared: you'll probably lose most of the time. While Naturopolis isn't likely to win over those who didn't like Sprawlopolis or Agropolis, it offers much of the same compact gameplay and will please fans of the series. If you're new to the series and are wondering whether to get involved with this game, don't worry. It's affordable and works reliably as a standalone game, and it can also serve as a great introduction to the world of Button Shy's wallet-sized games...