With the arrival of spring, we received a fresh influx of new and already classic games. New projects with different mechanics and gameplay will be a great addition to your collection of board games. Also, there are new board games for the whole family that will allow you to spend time together in an interesting and exciting way...

 Note: This review is written after two three-player games in competitive mode. Other modes did not play. In the first game, the bare base was played, in the second - in the base together with kickstarter extras. goals The "Ancient Creatures" and "Black Powder" add-ons were not used. BRIEF REVIEW MECHANICS  There's a lot to The Great Wall, but the core of the game is the worker placement mechanic. The field is divided into an administrative zone, where players send their workers to activate actions, and a battle zone, where players build wall sections and/or barricades, and send archers, infantry, and cavalry to fight the horde. Foot soldiers can also be placed in an administrative area as overseers and will produce resources for their owners during the income phase. The number of available actions and received bonuses depend on the player's chosen command cards (they are revealed simultaneously). There's something in common with rock-paper-scissors: some command cards give their owners extra goodies if other players pick certain cards (say, if you pick a Despotism card, you can place an extra worker if other players pick a card "Economy"). Some locations of the administrative zone are activated if there is at least one worker on them, and to activate others, they need to be completely filled with workers. So, in addition to everything, you will have to try to predict the plans of other players here. Each player has his general and 2 or more advisors. Advisors can either be kept drunk, which gives additional opportunities, or put under the general so that he receives additional icons and his ability is strengthened. Victory Points in The Great Wall are honors awarded for building fortifications, defeating hordes, general effects, advisors, and tactics cards, as well as three artifact cards that give extra points in the end-game SP tally. The latter are especially important. Players can also gain tokens of dishonor (they give penalties if not removed by the end of the game): either if you are the only player with workers in a resource gathering or troop gathering location when it activates, or if a horde breaks through a wall , and you have no troops in this field.  There are several end-of-party triggers — automatically after 6/5/4 years in a party of (1-3)/4/5 members, or at the end of a year if: a) all three zones of the wall are completely filled with fortifications (or 2 out of 3, if there are less than 4 players); b) or the stock of shame tokens has run out (this, most likely, can only happen in cooperative mode); c) or you beat the Genghis Khan map (if playing with the appropriate module). DESIGN AND COMPONENTS  I have the version with wooden meeples, but all versions of the game have miniatures for the Iron Dragon and the Rat, so I can roughly judge the other components by those. Both illustrations and components (in all versions) are of luxurious quality. Both the artistic text on the cards and the very functional built-in inserts are pleasing (although if you want to insert the walls into the box without disassembling them, you will have to throw out the insert from the box with additional purposes). Overall, the nice cards, meeples/miniatures, and 3D walls add a lot to the game's immersion (more on the combination of theme and gameplay below). However, I have one important remark. The game is big and takes up a lot of space. There are a lot of different cards spread out all over the field. And the fonts here are very small. You'll have to constantly pick up cards to look at what's written on them, or ask other players to remind you what cards they have, since you won't be looking at their effects yourself. It is especially critical for elderly people with poor eyesight. I would not recommend them to buy "The Great Wall", despite all its advantages. GAME PROCESS  I skipped the Kickstarter campaign because I'm used to Awaken Realms making ameritrash with overproduction and mechanics that range from decent to useless. It wasn't until I looked at reviews from reviewers with similar tastes that I realized that this time Awaken Realms made an overproduced euro. I really like the variety and thoughtfulness of the mechanics. There is a large deck of generals and an even larger deck of advisors. They all have special abilities that range from cool to awesome. However, the cards of generals and advisers seemed quite balanced to me (with the exception of the general, who can spend gold like any other resource, but maybe it's just that we haven't learned how to counter him yet). A large space for searching for synergies and creating combinations. It is difficult to say how balanced everything is in general, but if one of the players is unlucky enough to be obscene with the starting hand, then it is quite possible to counter him - everything is in the hands of competitors. Also, by the end of the game, everyone will have obscenely strong abilities and everyone will get a fan from them.  The worker placement here is unlike other games with similar mechanics I've played. Players have to think not only about whether their competitors will help them by filling the missing slots in locations that are activated only when completely filled, but also about whether it is worth taking a risk and going to the barracks in the first place to recruit soldiers: if no one else goes there , you will receive a dishonor token. In addition, the workers in the administrative area are activated in the order according to the tea ceremony track, but the activation order of the locations is determined by the player with the active command card in hand. Therefore, an active player can play all kinds of tricks: for example, activate the locations of recruiting troops or building fortifications before the competitor has time to collect resources from the location that generates them. The tea ceremony track also determines who will receive the cards of the defeated hordes in the event of a tie. In some games turn order will not play a big role, but sometimes it is critical. Choosing the right moment to send workers to the tea house to gain control over it is another interesting and difficult decision. The rock-paper-scissors mechanics of choosing team cards are even more interesting when you consider that after discarding team cards, players may not return them to their hand (and may also later draw cards from the discard pile into their hand). Each card left in the discard pile gives the owner 2 honor. On the other hand, it is easier for other players to predict which team card the opponent will choose next time.  When the horde is defeated, part of the units remaining on the card die, unless their owner spends "chi" to save them (with the exception of assassins, they cannot be saved). Exactly how to deploy your troops is a decision with important strategic implications, not one for the atmosphere. But the output still comes out thematically. In addition to the wide variety of cards in the kickstarter database, there are also many additional game modes in addition to the main, cooperative and competitive ones. There are 6 historical scenarios (chronicles) that significantly change the goals and rules of the game, as well as three modules that can be mixed into the base. More about them below. GAMEPLAY WITH KICKSTARTER ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVES GENGHIS KHAN  "Genghis Khan" consists of a central card with 10 vital points and two trait cards (chosen randomly from the corresponding deck). Each has additional points and an ability that makes life difficult for players in the section of the wall where Genghis Khan is currently located. It cannot be attacked directly. When defeating another horde, the player who received its card can move one of the surviving soldiers to the Genghis Khan card. Each point covered gives the player 6 honor, but that soldier is essentially removed from the game. Also, during layout, two types of basic horde cards are removed from the deck and replaced with three special types. Yes, in our party we removed the assassins and palii (who set fire to the fortifications). They are replaced by Genghis Khan's Armored Archers (shooting your archers on the wall; in the base they are immortal unless the horde breaks through the wall), scouts (forbid attacking other hordes in the same section of the wall while the scouts are alive) and barbarians are replaced by another card from the deck hordes). Together with the special abilities of Genghis Khan himself, this makes you think much more about the competent placement of your soldiers in the battle zone. Additionally, when playing with Genghis Khan, a random Emperor's Grace card is selected during the layout. When a player builds part of a wall, they receive this grace and its special bonus. Until another player does the same and takes away that mercy. Each player also gets a standard bearer in addition to the standard troops: he helps to recruit more soldiers. This partially compensates for the increase in game complexity. Verdict: A great addition. It's not necessary, since the base is already great, but it's definitely worth it. Especially when you want particularly deep and complex games. RAT This module features a small deck of cards. Each year, one is revealed and indicates who will get the right to place the rat (as always, ties are allowed by the tea ceremony track). A rat must move every year. When a rat location is activated, each player who has a worker there receives 1 gold. Verdict: A decent addition, but nothing special or impressive. Adds another difficult decision to the game, and the extra gold doesn't hurt if you're playing Genghis Khan or a difficult scenario. IRON DRAGON This is a cannon (not related to the Black Powder add-on) with its own special location and a small deck that determines which horde cards (in a 3×3 square) can be fired from this cannon. When..

ABOUT THE GOOD PLOT  The plot of "Familiars" is without exaggeration very charming. I will not spoil it; I will only say that you play as four charming familiars, who one fine day fell to the duty of protecting a little girl. While this game doesn't have as many funny moments as The Lost Seas (also a Plaid Hat Games game, I just love it!), Familiars is closer to Disney / Pixar / Studio Ghibli in spirit. In the course of the game, relationships are gradually built between the characters, and the plot unfolds relatively slowly, which allows you to fully enjoy the surrounding world and setting. The plot is rather a saga; there is a feeling that a lot of time passes in the new chapters, and the characters develop - especially the children who grow up. In addition, during the game, the plot will branch out depending on what important decision you make.  Each of the four familiars is a full-fledged individual. They are reminiscent of the sidekicks to the Disney heroes we all know and love so well, only now they have become the heroes of their own story. The plot of the game will pay a lot of attention to each of the familiars. You are probably interested in the question, can "Familiars" come to a group of adults? Yes, they can. My company really liked the plot, and I personally liked the solo games. Although marketing and reviewers say the game is perfect for a younger audience, that doesn't mean it's all pink ponies and rainbows. There are darker, tense moments in the plot. Of course, the quality of the storyline is a very subjective criterion, and you may not like the same thing as me. If you prefer serious dark stories, then this game is definitely not for you; although "Familiars" has serious moments, overall it is a light fairy tale. I can't go into too much detail without spoilers, so I'll just add that it's basically like a Pixar or Studio Ghibli movie, just a little more mature. VOCATIONAL TRAINING In most decks that emphasize plot, you have to read quite a bit. The problem is that the final impressions depend very much on who is reading aloud to others. To be honest, I'm not much of a speaker, like most of my desk friends. Therefore, I cannot help but note how much the voice acting helps the plot. The voice acting in "Familiars" is simply wonderful. The narrator, familiars and other characters are all excellently voiced with rare exceptions. The voice acting not only makes familiars more alive, but also helps to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a fairy-tale world. Thanks to the voice acting and the well-developed plot, players are fascinated by the story of "Familiars" and never get bored. ILLUSTRATIONS AND GAME FIELD-BOOK  I love spiral bound playground books for a number of reasons: This leads to a great variety of locations. This allows players to enjoy the pictures in detail and immerse themselves even more in the atmosphere of the game. This makes layout much easier. Having played dungeon crawlers like "Gloomy Harbor" and Descent, they know very well that trying to find the appropriate map tiles for the scenario is a headache. Unique rules can be introduced in each scenario with progressively increasing complexity.  I wish more dungeon crawlers and storyboards took this approach. It provides much more variety than a standard set of tiles and takes up much less table space.  The illustrations here are made in bright warm colors, in tune with the atmosphere of each of the scenarios. As soon as you open the first page of the field book, you will immediately feel the atmosphere of the game thanks to the bright pictures. It is probably worth mentioning the miniatures. They are high quality, beautifully detailed and unpainted - so table runners with painting experience can get an extra buff by painting them. ABOUT THE BAD REPLAYABILITY Although the plot of "Familiars" branches out in several places, in general it remains practically the same, so replayability is low. On the one hand, this is a minus, on the other hand, there are a lot of scenarios, so you will still spend a lot of hours playing the game. There are no legacy elements (such as sticking stickers or destroying components), so the campaign can be replayed. However, "Familiars" is a shallow game in terms of mechanics, so playing in some new style will not work. The variety of events, plot solutions and enemies is also small. In addition, you can't play individual scenarios here, just like you can't skip several scenarios in order to get to the "most interesting": the development of many scenarios depends on whether you have previously encountered certain events / items / keywords. DOWNTIME In addition, you can't play individual scenarios here, just like you can't skip several scenarios in order to get to the "most interesting": the development of many scenarios depends on whether you have previously encountered certain events / items / keywords. As a rule, in cooperatives, downtime is not such a serious problem, since you are constantly discussing your plans with your friends, and the actions of your friends are also interesting. However, downtime is still a problem, especially if you have scattered people in your group. ABOUT THE AMBIGUOUS GAME MECHANICS  In terms of mechanics and depth, the game is very lighthearted. It's a cross between a dungeon crawler and deckbuilding, but it's much simpler than most of its relatives in both genres, both in terms of difficulty to master and victory. For those not in the know: deckbuilder is a genre of decks where you have a specific set of cards. As the game progresses, you buy more powerful cards. Each turn you draw cards into your hand, play them, then repeat. Dungeon crawler is a genre of board games in which you move figures around the map (usually a dungeon), fight monsters and use skills. Most often, you also roll dice that determine the success of your actions. "Familiars" took the mechanics of both genres and simplified them. The result is a great game for newcomers to the tabletop world, as well as for casuals and kids. The downside is that fans of mechanically deep games, in which you need to analyze, calculate chances and think strategically, have nothing to do here. Personally, I prefer story boards that are easy to win; I don't like it when you spend many hours on a game, then lose and start all over again. This was my main gripe with Plaid Hats Games' previous game, The Forgotten Seas, where the difficulty jumped dramatically in places and was easy to lose, leaving some losing games feeling less than pleasant. PREFERABLE TO PLAY WITH FOUR  Although Familiars scales for 1-3 players, the scaling doesn't work well for me. According to the rules, you combine the decks, including the missing member cards, so that when playing solo, you have one big deck. But when playing solo, it is much more difficult to customize the deck for yourself, since it must take into account all 4 familiars. When playing with four people, it is much easier: each player can create a deck that matches the spirit of his character and at the same time matches his play style. For example, you can make Burzilla a walking tank/warrior by adding more strength/defense focused cards to his deck, or you can make him a gentle giant by adding more support cards. However, in general, the space for customization is small compared to other deck builders. Because the difficulty of Familiars is low, regardless of the number of players, you won't feel like the odds are against you. It's just that with a small number of players, you won't be able to fully enjoy the game mechanics. Therefore, I strongly recommend playing with four people. So you can choose the appropriate deck and items for your character. APPLICATION I usually can't stand add-ons. I play a lot of computer games, and board games are a great way to spend time with friends and family. When I think about the push for an app, I have a picture of people buried in their smartphones, tons of bugs, and the developers of the game abandoning the app as soon as sales drop. But don't worry: Familiar is nothing like it. Plaid Hat Games is the only company that has convinced me of the viability of board games with an app: first with Lost Seas and now with Familiars. Everything is arranged simply: you enter the code of the location you are going to on the site, and the site will instruct you on what to do and how to lay out the game. Since it's a website instead of an app in "Familiars", this eliminates incompatibility issues (almost all modern phones can open a regular website). Unlike other boards with an application, here it is not a way to stand out, but a way to improve your game. However, I recommend using a tablet or device with a large screen instead of a smartphone: it's easier to follow the instructions and navigate the app. Personally, I prefer that the app does not require too much time: introduce events into the game, facilitate the layout, but do not touch the actual gameplay. The gameplay of "Familiars" takes place on the field and not on the screen, which I am very happy about. A few times there were bugs (the background music or the narrator's voice disappeared), but these are insignificant little things that will be fixed soon.LOOOONNNGGG CAMPAIGN The campaign is really long. Each scenario takes about an hour, each era has 10+ scenarios, a total of three eras, so at least 30 hours of gameplay are waiting for you. Therefore, it is desirable that you have a group of 4 players ready to meet regularly. Personally, I don't like long campaigns because of organizational problems, and I often forget the plot and rules if there is a long time gap between games. It ruins an otherwise great gaming experience. In general, a long campaign can be both a plus and a minus - depending on your preferences. If you don't..

INTRODUCTION I recently completed Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance's 7 mission campaign. The review is based on a solo playthrough with two characters: John Connor and the Sentinel (a reprogrammed T-800... hi Arnold). There will be minor campaign spoilers in places, such as describing the objectives of some missions. CUBES To begin with, the game uses three types of dice: Action Dice: 4 regular D6s of the player's chosen color of blue, red, white, or yellow. They are cast at the start of a character's turn and are distributed across action slots. Attack Dice (see photo below): 4 custom dice that characters use to attack enemies and vice versa. 1 hit on two faces, a terminator skull on two faces, a double hit on one face, and a fist-symbol of Resistance on the last face of a hit (required to activate special abilities). Reinforcement Dice: 2 regular D6s, which you use to check if new Skynet units will appear on the field. GAME PROCESS  Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance is a cooperative tactical game with a campaign mode and a dice placement mechanic for 1-4 players. Each round you choose in which order to activate the characters. This is important because of the enemy activation mechanic (more on that below). Here is the sequence of moves: Roll 4 action dice. Distribute the dice to the slots on your character card, weapon cards, equipment cards, and your class to activate the corresponding actions. Roll the dice and check whether enemy reinforcements will appear on the field. Activate enemies targeting you. Activate the boss, if there is one. First you roll 4 dice for your character. Their number does not change from mission to mission. Some abilities allow you to borrow dice from other characters, but as a rule, there are only 4 of them. However, as you progress through the campaign, you'll have new options for where to place your dice, and this is the main way you level up your character. At the start, the following actions are available to you: To move – place a cube in the movement slot, move the corresponding number of dots. Characters usually have 2 movement slots. Interact — rummage through boxes, open doors, hack computer terminals, etc. To rest - to remove a wound from a character or bring a comrade who has lost consciousness. Attack - some characters (Guard, for example) have an attack written directly on the character card, but, as a rule, to attack, you need to place a cube on the weapon or equipment card. After completing all actions, you pass a check for enemy reinforcements. The number of dice rolled depends on the current scenario; 2. For each result corresponding to the entry point of the enemies (it is placed on the field during the layout process), you take one enemy from the pool and place it on the corresponding entrance.  The pool of enemies is prescribed in each scenario. You line them up according to the picture in the script layout description. The colored stand rings help distinguish which enemies target which character. Then you activate all enemies of the corresponding color character. First everyone moves, then attack the nearest character if they can. You will then activate the boss if there is one. Unlike regular enemies, bosses are activated every turn of each character, making them much more dangerous. Since you know which enemies are activated during each character's turn, this plays an important role in planning each round and making decisions in which order to activate characters. For example, in the photo below for the beginning of a new round. If John Connor (blue) is activated first, 5 enemies are activated at the end of his turn. EVALUATION OF THE GAME AESTHETICS AND RULES Probably the main claim to the game. The miniatures are of acceptable quality and quite thematic, but I've seen much better minis. Granted, I don't paint them and don't obsess over them at all, so it's not a negative for me, but others may not like it. In my opinion, they are of an acceptable level and are much better than tokens or cardboard. The cards are cute and will probably last a long time, but they are a bit flimsy. And the tiles are slightly bent; most likely, you will have to straighten them with a glass of books. Otherwise, the components are excellent. The rule book is detailed and vividly illustrated with pictures and diagrams. However, the tiles and obstacles described three times in the mission layout did not correspond to the image. I decided to go by the image and, judging by the forums, I did the right thing. In general, I would rather give 0.5 points than 1 point. The listed disadvantages are not critical, but they spoil the assessment a little. GAMEPLAY AND MECHANICS Since each mission has its own layout, and since you need to place crates, obstacles, doors, and terminals at certain points, the layout takes a lot of time. Plus creating a pool of enemies, shuffling decks... In general, the layout takes 10-15 minutes. In my opinion, it's not too much for a game like this. Various playing fields, mission objectives and enemies are one of the main advantages of the game. As I mentioned, sometimes the image of the components does not match the description of the script, so be careful. What makes TG: RotR stand out from other similar games? As difficult tactical situations arise each round, you will have to make interesting and sometimes difficult decisions. Is it worth risking the possible failure of the Sentinel so that Jon can be the first to appear and complete one of the mission's objectives? The game has enough variety of solutions to make it interesting to play and at the same time everything does not slide into analysis paralysis. Every round is something to think about. Should I run to the other side of the field? Should I attack this terminator before moving? Is it worth spending precious actions to walk up to that crate and open it? Can I afford to ignore approaching enemies and engage the objective? Since the gameplay and mechanics are harmoniously combined, these solutions do not overload your brain. You have many options, but not too many, and the decisions you make are important. The gameplay is generally intuitive and the rules are clear. By the middle of the first mission, I hardly consulted the rulebook, and when I did, the information I needed was very fast. I haven't checked the timer, but I think they last 1-2 hours. Even the long missions did not cause a feeling of drag. Time flew quickly. FAN  If bonus points could be bet, this game would definitely get them. I really enjoyed it. Sometimes I find it hard to finish campaigns even in fan games because to be honest the campaigns take a lot of time and effort, but here I completed a campaign with 7 missions (total of 9 games) in 6 days. In the last mission, he even stayed up late; it was so interesting. I especially liked the fact that I managed to quickly remember the rules and get used to the mechanics, so that I was no longer distracted by technical moments, immersed in the atmosphere of the game. TOPICS I'm a big fan of the Terminator movies. For me, T2 > T1 > Let the savior come > T3 > Dark Fates. The atmosphere of the movies is perfectly transferred to the table. It feels like you're a desperate Resistance fighter trying to defeat Skynet's relentless soulless machines. The characters are interesting and diverse. There are tons of futuristic weapons and gear that will be available throughout the campaign. Also, during the campaign, each character will receive three class cards (after missions 1, 3 and 5), which will give access to additional abilities, wound slots, equipment, etc. My campaign featured a lot of last-minute wins, epic moves where 4-5 enemies were killed at a time, desperate attempts to stall vehicles and complete objectives, and memorable moments like this: SOLO MODE AND RE-PLAYABILITY The rules recommend controlling two characters in solo mode and playing as if there were two players. So I did. It is easy to manage two, there was no feeling that too much was piled on you. For one character, the passage would be too difficult, and even after losing consciousness to them, you would instantly lose. Controlling three or four characters is probably cool, but I suspect it might be too much for one person. Since the game is co-op, it's solo playable by default, and the gameplay is no different from normal mode. AI's moves are calculated quickly and easily, and it is not easy to defeat it. Although some moments in the campaign like the one described above are strongly remembered, I think that if you wait a year, you will be able to go through the campaign again, forgetting most of the details. In addition, the Terminator Genisys: Fall of Skynet app was released for the game with new characters, weapons, equipment, enemies, as well as a full campaign and random mission generator. If you have the base + expansion, you can record hundreds of games, but the game will still be varied. CONCLUSION Terminator Genisys is a great Terminator themed board and one of the best campaign games I know of. If you are a fan of "Terminator" and campaigns, then I recommend it. The game is gorgeous...

REVIEW OF CASTLE RAVENLOFT Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft is a simple cooperative dungeon crawler. GAME PROCESS  Each Castle Ravenloft mission has its own victory conditions. You read the layout instructions, choose your heroes, put them on the starting tile and you can start. Each character has its own parameters and special ability, as well as power cards that give additional unique opportunities. Character parameters are armor, HP, speed and the power of the second breath (healing surge). If the character's HP is zero at the start of the turn, then he is forced to use a second breath charge after gaining the appropriate amount of HP. In total, the heroes have two charges of second breath for the entire party. On your turn, you can move and attack, attack and move, or move twice. When attacking, you choose one of the power cards, roll a die and add the bonus from that card to the result. If the total is equal to or greater than the opponent's armor level, then you have dealt damage to them. When you defeat a monster, you receive the number of experience points indicated on the card, as well as a treasure card (they give additional special abilities). Experience can be spent on avoiding contact with monsters, as well as leveling up the character to the second if you are lucky enough to roll a 20 on the die when attacking. When you finish a move on the edge of a tile that is not adjacent to a wall, you automatically explore it. When exploring, you place a new tile on the field, draw a monster card and place its figure on the new tile. After your turn ends, the enemies phase begins. If you didn't research on your turn, you'll have to draw a contact card, and they don't bode well. You then activate one of the enemy cards and follow the instructions that describe the monster's behavior. Victory occurs when the victory conditions of the mission are fulfilled. Defeat occurs if the character has 0 HP and no second breath charges at the start of the character's turn. Also, most missions have additional defeat conditions. PROS OF THE GAME Probably the best gateway dungeon crawler I've ever played. I had to play a game with a complete newbie and she got the hang of it almost instantly - by turn 3. Learning/learning how to play Castle Ravenloft is very easy. Characters feel significantly different thanks to special abilities and power cards. Each in its own way is useful for the team and will diversify the tactics a little. The game is licked, which is nice. Moves flow very quickly, downtime is minimal even with a large number of participants. Miniatures are chic and add atmosphere. It is nice that there are both simple missions for beginners and more difficult ones for experienced ones. One of the few dungeon crawlers that can be played in just an hour or less. CONS OF THE GAME Some will not like to rely on the cube. Castle Ravenloft depends heavily on randomness, so if you don't like randomness, the game is unlikely to work. The dungeon tiles are pretty bland and boring. This makes the miniatures stand out more on the field, but the field is not visually impressive at all. There is only one d20 in the kit, although it would be more convenient if each hero had their own die plus one extra for the enemies. CONCLUSION Castle Ravenloft is a good simple dungeon crawler for tabletop players of all ages. It cannot be called deep, but that's what makes it good: you can immediately start a game and get a fan without bothering with a lot of cards, rules, etc. In my opinion, he is somewhat underrated. Castle Ravenloft and other board games in the Dungeons and Dragons series are a great option for those looking for an easy-to-learn and replayable co-op dungeon crawler. He is also well suited to the role of a family. If you don't like dungeon crawlers or prefer deeper games, then this is not for you. WRATH OF ASHARDALON REVIEW PLOT The village of Lognbridge is located near the Fiery Peak itself - a volcano inhabited by tribes of kobolds, orcs, as well as much more dangerous monsters. These tribes regularly raid the village, and now that the red dragon Ashardalon has chosen the volcano, living here has become even more dangerous. Many brave warriors descended into the dungeons beneath the Fiery Peak in an attempt to slay the dragon and other monsters, but none returned. Now a new group of adventurers has arrived in the village in search of evil. Maybe they will succeed... COMPONENTS  As in the first game of the series, here you will find a decent-sized box filled with cards, tokens, tiles and plastic figures. There is a well-thought-out tab that makes it easier to lay out. However, the cards will not fit into the appropriate slots if you put them in the protectors. Many have complained about the lack of artwork on the cards, tiles, and part of the tokens in Castle Ravenloft. Nothing has changed here. Basically, Wrath of Ashardalon is just a continuation of Castle Ravenloft in a new setting, with new monsters and heroes. GAME PROCESS  The gameplay basically remained the same. Heroes take turns moving and attacking, exploring new tiles (if they're on the edge of a tile), making contact (if they haven't explored a tile this turn), then activating monsters and traps. This continues until the heroes complete the quest goal or one of them dies, and all the healing charges of the second breath have already been used up. However, there are some innovations. First, some tiles now have doors. When a player draws such a tile, a random door token is placed on it. The hero standing next to it can open it. If it is not closed, then the tile is turned over and the token is reset. If it is locked, the hero will have to spend a turn trying to open it. Sometimes the doors turn out to be mined and cause damage to nearby heroes. The mechanics are simple and at first glance may seem superfluous, because the tiles almost always have exits without doors, but in practice it is sometimes faster / more optimal to use an exit with a door. They are not needed often, but sometimes it forces a decision: to take a risk, knowing that there is a chance to run into a mined door, or to choose a longer detour.  Another innovation is cameras. Often the final boss or goal of the quest will be in the chamber. The entrance to the chamber is shuffled into a stack of normal tiles, and when it is drawn, you take a separate stack of chamber tiles and place them around the edges of the entrance tile. It turns out a huge room consisting of 4-6 tiles. Most often, monsters are placed on several tiles at once - the boss's entourage. The chamber card shows the boss and monsters of that chamber. As a rule, in the quests it is discussed which of the cameras is used in it, but in the campaign mode, random cameras are used, so you have no idea who is waiting for you there. The campaign mode is also a nice innovation. You can now play as one character throughout a series of quests, gradually accumulating items and gaining power. During a quest, you now draw a treasure token for each monster you kill, instead of a treasure token that says gold (although some tokens immediately give treasure). All treasures are now items, not one-time instant bonuses, and they come with a price. Between quests, you can buy treasures (three random cards available) for gold to use in future quests. So, although pumping is extremely limited (you can only pump up to level 2), you gradually get stronger at the expense of treasures. Otherwise, the gameplay is the same as in Castle Ravenloft. IMPRESSION  Although I own Castle Ravenloft, the campaign mode and treasure tokens made this a must-buy for me. I really enjoy going through the campaign, so I brought the Ashardalon rules to Ravenloft as well. Despite the fact that now the characters do not reset the second level obtained after the quest and can gradually stock up on the best items, the game is still difficult. Wrath of Ashardalon has the same monsters as Castle Ravenloft, but now there are more 2-hit monsters that cannot be killed with a single standard attack. So monsters have not only become more durable, but there are often more of them now. Some tiles are long corridors, when you open them you have to pull out another tile, which means another extra monster. In addition, some of the monsters themselves can be explored - that is, more tiles and more monsters. In many games, the flow of monsters overwhelmed us. Therefore, the optimal tactic is to run forward as quickly as possible, reducing the number of enemies as much as possible. As I mentioned, all treasures have become items, not instant bonuses. Outside of campaign mode, getting treasure for every kill can make heroes very pumped by the end of the quest. This is probably why the monsters have become stronger and more numerous, but it still gets too easy towards the end. If you have Castle Ravenloft and you are not playing in campaign mode, it is worth shuffling the treasure cards, which will reduce the number of items in the hands of the heroes. Monsters, as before, behave quite differently. Archers stay away and shoot, other monsters run at you, and still others look for reinforcements. The statuses "slowed" and "immobilized" were replaced by "poisoned" and "stunned". Another novelty is a curse, which is mixed into the deck of contacts. The curse imposes a certain penalty on the hero, which can be removed under certain circumstances or if you roll a sufficiently high value on the die. My only gripe with Wrath of Ashardalon is the lack of variety in victory objectives. In almost all quests, there are various bosses waiting for you, but in general the gameplay is the same: find the 9-12th tile, kill the boss. In Castle Ravenloft, the quests were much more varied. Probably, we will have to rely on fan scripts. In general, Wrath of Ashardalon is a fan..

REVIEW  Chronicles of Avel is a cooperative family game that resembles a dungeon crawler at the beginning of the game, and a tower defense towards the end. The goal of the game is to defeat all the monsters before they reach the castle. During the game, the heroes travel through the lands of Abel, trying to earn gold and equipment to become stronger, as well as erect obstacles in the way of monsters. Most often, gold and upgrades are given as a reward for defeating monsters. Players will have to work together to develop an optimal strategy to fight against monsters. Time is ticking: after a certain number of moves, the Black Moon will descend, the Beast will appear on the map, and all the monsters on the field will start storming the castle. If the players properly prepared for this, set traps, sealed the spawn points, strengthened the castle with protective walls and pumped, then they have a good chance to save their kingdom.  The party is divided into two acts. In the first, players take turns moving their heroes around the map, exploring terrain, fighting monsters, and spending gold and actions on upgrades. In the second, after the rise of the Black Moon, the game turns into castle defense: the movement of monsters serves as a timer, and the gameplay focuses more on battles. Although the game is divided into acts, there is no sense of artificial separation. The timer in the game is the phases of the moon, which gives a feeling of increasing threat. This forces players to act efficiently and not delay to prepare as best as possible for the second stage. The first stage, which takes up most of the game, has quite a lot of monster fights, so the fact that the second stage consists of almost only fights does not seem surprising; it is the logical conclusion unfolding in the first act of the story.  Heroes start in the castle and from there begin to explore the map, tile by tile. At the same time, the tiles are turned over, revealing monster spawn points and useful bonuses; For example, the opportunity to purchase protective fortifications and strengthen walls. It is very fun to wander around in search of key tiles that strengthen the defense of the kingdom. Altogether, the first act takes up about 3/4 of the game - and that's good, because there's a lot you have to do. In addition to sealing monster spawn points, erecting walls, and placing traps, players need to find better gear to increase their chances of surviving the battle. Typically, this requires defeating monsters that sometimes drop gear and/or gold.  When a player drops gear, they can blindly rummage through the gear pouch for 5 seconds, trying to find a matching item. Items are divided into swords, helmets, shields and elixirs (and the mini-add introduces new types into the game, boots, for example). The drawn object can be placed directly on the character or in the backpack (the corresponding notch on the tablet) - but if there is a place for it on the tablet. It turns out a kind of mini-puzzle. This is a great idea: children feverishly rummage in a bag while their relatives count to 5, and it turns out very tense and exciting. And the limited size of the backpack helps children learn to plan ahead and manage cash wisely. For example, it is hardly worth fighting a monster when you have a bag full of unspent coins.  The second act is the defense of the tower. After each round, the monsters don't just hang around their spawn points, they march towards the castle. Players have to plan in advance how to deal with them, because if even one monster gets to the castle, it means defeat. The combat is simple, based on cubes. Each round of battle, the hero rolls dice for himself and for the monster. They have block symbols, damage and empty faces. The power and usefulness of a cube depends on its color. Monsters drop black and purple; black is stronger. Heroes always start with two basic greens, but with the help of equipment and elixirs they can acquire new ones. The blue cube is good for defense, the orange is good for attack, and the yellow magic cube is versatile. Some gear gives you new dice forever, while others allow you to reroll results. It is enough for children to understand how the cubes work in order to decide for themselves when to get involved in the battle and when to wait. If the hero loses all hearts-tokens of health in battle, then he goes back to the castle. He is considered unconscious, but will be able to fight again on his next turn. While battles are a key component of the gameplay, there is no player elimination here.  Chronicles of Avel is a family game, so accessibility is a very important factor. It's easy to get used to here thanks to a well-thought-out rulebook with clear, clear instructions and visual examples. I taught my children to play without problems. Reading skills are optional here, as Chronicles of Avel has clear iconography and color separation. Together with cooperativeness comes a game accessible to children of all ages. The box recommends playing with ages 8 and up, but my 7-year-old daughter plays and makes smart decisions on her own. I think I could teach a younger child to play as well, helping them plan and (if necessary) make moves. In addition, parents can adjust the difficulty of the game. I recommend starting with an easy or medium level and then increasing the difficulty as the kids get the hang of it and gain confidence. Adults can easily start with high difficulty. Thanks to the modular field, re-drawability is high here. The instructions have several layout options, and you can create your own unique party. While the final boss Beast's mechanics don't change from game to game, where he spawns on the map has a significant impact on the game's difficulty. If you want a tense game, put it closer to the castle, if you want an easier victory - away from the castle. Chronicles of Avel also has a bunch of different big and small monsters that appear on the field randomly. It is unlikely that you will encounter the same monsters in two games. The overall plot doesn't change much, but the puzzle does change as the tiles are drawn randomly.  The illustrations here are beautiful, colorful and perfect for a children's fantasy. The monsters are creepy, but cute at the same time: they look menacing, but not enough to give younger players nightmares. The scenery here is colorful; very nice to watch. In addition, players can draw some art for the game themselves. Perhaps one of the most unique finds of Chronicles of Avel is that the game encourages creativity that is not formally about the game itself. In the box there is a notebook with character sketches that you can color and redraw as you wish, and then lay out these drawings on the character tablets. Those who are not interested in doing this can be satisfied with a black and white sketch, and special enthusiasts can draw a character from scratch, not according to a template. Here you can even come up with your own name for the character.  The components here are of excellent quality. Customized two-layer tablets that hold equipment tokens and health hearts. The map tiles and equipment tokens are made of thick cardboard (which is not surprising, considering that they will have to be taken out of the bag). Wooden meeples of various shapes and colors. Bright colored cubes that are easily distinguishable from each other. I especially liked the Chronicles of Avel lore booklet, it really brings the game world to life. The built-in organizer is not bad; it has a section designed like a wooden chest that protects components (such as the cardboard Beast) from damage. Not the best organizer I've seen (I had to add several bags for optimal storage), but generally functional. In addition, it easily fits all components from mini-dope. But the main thing is that Chronicles of Avel fulfills its mission: to provide a cooperative fan for the whole family. ..

 In this article, I want to talk about a dozen of the most interesting and rated novelties among Euro table games. These are mostly games released in English in 2022 and have high ratings on BGG. BITOKU  Score: 7.91. Difficulty: 3.7. Game time: 2 hours  Hardcore euro on the theme of Japanese mythology. Exploits the most popular Euromechanic of recent times: a mixture of worker posting and card drawing. "Bitoku" has a good design and an interesting setting - the action takes place in the world of yokai (mythical Japanese creatures). When you first get acquainted with the game, you will be amazed by the huge field with many components. For the entire game, the player will have to play only 12 cards and display 12 worker cubes. At the same time, you can fight for lake treasures, collect income-generating crystals in crystal caves, travel along the winding path of mits and collect pairs from mits and dragonflies, move the spirit marker of the bitoku set, make pilgrimages on the path of enlightenment, cross the river and take the hills of Hikaru , get stone spirits - ivakur from the Garden of Stones, build buildings in the magical forest, play vision cards, etc. The number of move options is huge, so the game risks dragging on for several hours. However, you soon realize that despite the many options, the game is not that difficult, since it is devoid of any tricky combinations and is a banal euro point salad.  BRAZIL: IMPERIAL  Score: 7.75. Difficulty: 3.0. Game time: 1 hour 30 minutes   Complex euro game. First of all, it is worth noting that the game is very encyclopedic: the great politicians, soldiers, scientists, figures of Brazil are mentioned on the cards and tokens, as well as phenomena related to this country. Like the history of the Brazilian Empire, we will go through the various stages of the country's formation. Initially, our task will be the construction of plantations, land research. Then the development of industrial production, the founding of new cities. At the end of the game, the rapid development of culture and science, and even war, begins. Perhaps the most difficult thing for the author was to squeeze all this diversity into the 1.5 hour game time, and he succeeded. Another thing is that due to transience, all actions are simplified - and it will not be possible to do much here. In terms of gameplay, the game is similar to "Sid Meyer's Civilization", and in general to computer turn-based strategies, because the basis of the game is the movement of units on the map, the exploration of tiles and the construction of houses around cities. The design of the game is excellent, except that it needs dual-layer tablets, I hope they come out someday. It is difficult to assess the game: on the one hand, it impresses the imagination with its thematics, on the other hand, there is no typical crowd of deep strategies and cunning combinations. This game is more of a country simulator than a euro, there is not even a single track. So some will like it, and some won't. CARNEGIE  Score: 8.05. Difficulty: 3.8. Game time: 1.5 hours.  One of the main contenders for the title of the best game of the year, Carnegie. The game is named after the American oligarch Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). The player will hire employees of his company, produce goods, develop a transport network between US cities and engage in charity. The game is a complex euro with a strict, concise design and unique mechanics. The highlight of Carnegie is the first player's choice of timeline, which determines what actions players can choose. Sometimes it is more profitable to choose even a less good action for yourself, if the opponents will not be able to benefit from it. The peculiarity of the game is the complete absence of luck: there are no cards or dice, and all information is open and available from the beginning of the game. Some will like it, while others may find the game too dry and boring. DISTILLED  Rating: 8.13. Difficulty: 2.9. Game time: 1 hour.  Card euro family difficulty level. And really, the whole family should like it, especially grandfather - a lover of moonshine. After all, in it, players will be engaged in the production of strong alcoholic beverages from all over the world! Gin, tequila, rum, baiju, setu, pisco, grappa and many other drinks that many have not even heard of. The game is quite encyclopedic, introducing inquisitive players to the features of these drinks and the people who invented them. The game mechanics are simple: buy ingredients (water, yeast, sugar), mix them into a drink deck, survive a couple of rounds and sell them, getting money and victory points. At the same time, the success factor is big for the euro: two cards are lost from the drink deck during the distillation process. They wanted elite rum - but only cheap moonshine will turn out! It's a shame... Distilled already has an app that doesn't change the game, but adds new drinks — this time spirits from Africa and the Middle East. EARTH  Score: 7.91. Difficulty: 2.9. Game time: 1 hour.  Card euro of family difficulty level, dedicated to the development of life on Earth. Players improve the ecosystem of our planet by working with maps of plants, animals, territories in view of climate change and other events. The game is similar to "Wings": its rules are simple, it lasts about an hour, and the basis of the mechanics is the playing of cards. And the most important thing - as in Wingspan, the game pleases with many unique cards (in total, there are more than 300 of them in the game). At the same time, as in "Wings", the bonuses of these cards are often repeated. The game is currently leading BGG's "hot" games, but this is primarily due to the theme of the game. Games about animals and ecology usually receive a lot of attention from players, it is enough to mention the good, but obviously overpriced places of such games as Ark Nova, Cascadia, Wings. As for Earth, the game mechanics are quite primitive, there is little interaction between players, and the game is also criticized for a lot of fiddling: at the end of the round, you have to calculate the growth of all plant cards, get fertilizers and perform other necessary actions. In general, Earth is a complicated version of the game "Wings", only with plants instead of birds. ENDLESS WINTER  Score: 7.89. Difficulty: 3.2. Game time: 1.5 hours.  A Eurogame based on the 2 most popular mechanics of recent years: posting workers and log building. During his turn, a player puts a meeples on a cell and performs an action, strengthening it by drawing cards. Action cells are not blocked here, but whoever performed the action in the round will be the first to receive the bonus. Cards can be saved until the end of the round, then they will give a good reward. There are only 4 actions. For example, the action of hunting will allow you to take cards of animals, it is most profitable to collect animals of the same species. And the resettlement action allows you to move the tents on the map and build communities, whoever has more of them will receive a reward from the hex. "Endless Winter" will not surprise an experienced tabletop player with unusual solutions, but it is a solid strategy with quality components, good balance, simple rules and pleasant gameplay. Recently, there have been many games with similar mechanics: "Dune: Imperium" with dense interaction and frequent battles, "Ruins of Arnaku" with colorful, diverse maps and cunning combinations for exchanging resources, "Bitoku" with a huge colorful field and lots of action. How will "Endless Winter" answer them? For example, modularity - the presence of large and small add-ons that can be turned on and off to diversify the game. Yes, "Ancestors" offers alternative maps of fellow tribesmen and animals with more diverse actions. And "Rock paintings" allow you to draw erasable animals with markers on the tablet, receiving bonuses for this. It doesn't change the game much, but it looks unusual. Another plus is high-quality components, three-dimensional tablets. The accompanying minus is the high price of the game. And due to the many components, the game requires a large table even when playing together. Summary: The game is good and interesting, but falls somewhat short of the above competitors. LACRIMOSA Score: 7.85. Difficulty: 3.1. Game time: 1.5 hours.  This Eurogame is primarily interesting for its theme and bright cover, dedicated to Mozart's musical work. However, the game itself is simple and does not shine with any unique game mechanics. The main action is to draw cards in one of two ways, by placing them above and below the tablet. The cards above the tablet allow you to perform these actions, while the cards below the tablet bring you resources at the end of the round. One of the main actions is to travel the map of Europe, which allows you to get rewards in different cities. These reward tiles are randomly placed on the field, making each game unique. There is also an area-majority mechanic in the game, when players lay out their markers in the form of notes on fragments of the Requiem. At the end of the game, the players who contributed the most to each part of the Requiem are awarded victory points. Of course, this part is especially effective when playing with 3-4 players, in duel mode the fight for fragments is less intense. MARRAKESH  Score: 8.19. Difficulty: 3.3. Game time: 2 hours.  Since 2022, Stefan Feld has been involved in the development of a large-scale series of Eurogames called City Collection. For example, the game "Hamburg" became a redesign of "Bruges", "Amsterdam" will continue the game "Macao", "Cuzco" - a re-release of "Bora Bora" and so on. But the highest-rated game, which has already received many awards, is Marrakech - perhaps precisely because..

 To begin with, I must warn you about several features of Frostpunk: The Board Game. First, the game is difficult. Very difficult. This is not a bug, but a feature. After a dozen games, I realized that I always had ways to get out of a sticky situation at hand - I just didn't notice them in time. You just need to learn to play better. Second, the game is very dark. I was not very pleased to read about children freezing to death. Others may be affected by cannibalism or other unpleasant acts to which people may descend in a hopeless situation. In my opinion, the author should be praised for beautifully transferring the gloomy atmosphere of the computer game to the table, but keep in mind. BRIEF REVIEW AND WHY BUY THIS GAME This game stands alone in my collection of 300 boards. She is absolutely unique. Complicated, heavy, time-consuming and desk-space-intensive, but I love it. Perhaps, of all my games, it most deserves a ten. After her, "Twilight of the Empire" is the closest to the top ten, since the party in "Twilight" is a whole event. So far, Frostpunk is the only co-op that has surpassed Spirit Island for me. If you want a challenge, want a beautifully beautiful and highly replayable delight that tells exciting stories and beats you mercilessly, then Frostpunk is for you. IS THE GAME WORTH ITS PRICE? I purchased the deluxe all-in and it was definitely worth it. However, I've become a big fan of the game, so if you're on a tight budget, it might be worth sticking with the Frostlanders add-on. All other add-ons only slightly improve the game and add more atmosphere to an already excellent game. Is the game worth the time spent mastering the game and long games? In my opinion, yes. Even if your friends aren't interested in Frostpunk, it's great to play solo, and each game will be memorable for a long time. Of course, if the game does not start and you constantly lose without understanding why, then Frostpunk will cause you only irritation. But if you adapt to this apparently unfriendly pleasure, then all the effort will pay off when you rejoice at the first victory. FULL REVIEW Desktop Frostpunk is a great adaptation of the computer game. I played the PC original, but it's not necessary to understand it at all to enjoy the tabletop version (just like you don't have to watch the Battlestar Galatica series to enjoy the board game of the same name). The action of the game begins after the end of the world. This time, the culprit was not zombies, nuclear war, or a shortage of iPhones, but the cold.  The action takes place in an alternative steampunk universe. You control a group of survivors who have reached a house-sized generator designed to combat the cold. The game begins as soon as you move into a new house, and all kinds of troubles immediately fall on you from all sides. Your task as city leaders is to keep everything under control. At its core, Frostpunk is a game about worker placement, hand and resource management. However, it does not immediately become obvious that resources include not only material, but also "spiritual" indicators: a place for construction, time, morality, the number of sick and dead... Interesting.  Your job is to collect enough resources to keep the fire going (literally) and explore the surrounding area to mine materials and expand the building site. You will have to build shelters, grow or forage food, maintain morale and health at the appropriate level. You will also be able to change the rules of the game by issuing new laws and developing technologies. Each batch will have 8 standard laws (4 pairs of two mutually exclusive directions to choose from) and another 4 randomly drawn from the general pool. In total, a party can have a maximum of 4 laws. Technologies are also drawn randomly (4 pieces). I like the randomness and how the laws have a significant impact on the game. At first glance, this is a small thing, but it greatly increases replayability: in each game, a new puzzle awaits you. So far, we have not managed to pass all 4 laws or develop all 4 technologies in any party. We usually pick the 2 most useful ones and limit ourselves to that. You have to make difficult decisions, especially when choosing technologies, because you have to take into account how long their development takes and how useful they will be at the time of study. After all, there's no point in studying heating for explorers if you've already explored the entire map, right?  A new event awaits you every morning. As a rule, you will have to face its consequences later. Every night you suffer one of these consequences and regret your earlier decisions). You also have a hand of random town cards that give one-time bonuses. It is important to correctly apply them as early as possible, because their, at first glance, insignificant effects can greatly increase your winning chances. Therefore, the solo gameplay will be slightly different from the cooperative gameplay: the number of cards with bonuses and the speed of their application significantly affects the course of the game. There are many interesting and offensive ways to lose, but winning is very difficult. On the other hand, victory is very gratifying. As a rule, losses are associated with the townspeople losing hope in one way or another, so try to keep them happy. COMPLEX DECISIONS  The fight for survival in Frostpunk: The Board Game is very exciting. You always lack actions for everything you want (however, this is not so rare in tabletops), but even if there were enough actions, there would not be enough resources, or free space, or time... You will inevitably have to make difficult decisions about what to give priority. We really want to do A or B, but have to do B instead, because otherwise we're probably out. If you neglect one of the aspects of the city's development for a long time, then soon (maybe not immediately, but after a move or two for sure) you will realize what a mistake you made, but it will be too late. The game often teases you, offering short-term gain at the cost of long-term consequences that may or may not materialize later. Excellent motivation to take risks and flirt with fortune, hoping that the consequences will not respond to you. It is very thematic, unfortunate and exciting to know that somewhere in the deck there is a running bomb waiting for you, and to consider whether it is worth preparing for its explosion or you can wait another turn and do other things. You should also not forget about the tower with coal cubes: remember how many cubes are left there, and decide whether it's time to repair it (cleaning the accumulated cubes), or risk overheating.  It may seem that remembering such an elementary thing as how many cubes we threw into the tower and how many stuck there is very simple, but you will have so many problems in your mind that you will often forget. Great job, Adam Kwapinski, simply stunning. DEATH SPIRAL If you've played Frostpunk, you know what I'm talking about. About the midgame. The moment when you have enough strength to maintain a stable situation, but never develop. Chances are, you're already running out of supplies, or you're getting an extra sick person every turn. The midgame, in my opinion, is where you lose or win. If you only stabilize the situation, it will not be enough to win. The temperature will decrease with each step, the generator will be stressed more and more. Problems accumulate. If you fall behind or simply do not develop, then the game will kill you. If not now and not on the next turn, then in a few turns. It's just that you are still suffering. Judging by my limited experience (I've managed to win 4 times so far), you have to act thoughtfully, choosing the least evil. Develop A, sacrificing B, when you are sure that you can deal with the consequences of B later. Allow starvation and put up with the fact that a couple of townspeople will die (if, of course, the level of morality allows). Build a sawmill that you, in theory, cannot afford. Burn in a desperate situation with the last firewood to get coal. Make a risky decision to clear the snow. It was for this game that we had the most memorable, albeit long, brainstorming sessions. We weighed the available options, minimaxed and argued. It was wonderful.  I think Shut Up & Sit Down's Quentin Smith was saying that in a good co-op you should feel like you could have won when you lose, and that you could have lost when you win. Since Frostpunk is very hardcore, I think most people will agree with at least half of this suggestion) It's also worth noting that because of the serious consequences of your actions, Frostpunk encourages flexible behavior. In this game, you can't decide before the start: "Let's build a wall drill earlier this time / replace working machines". You can't decide, "Last time we died because there wasn't enough food, so let's focus on producing food this time." This will only lead to another defeat. You can't say: "I will never / always accept this law," because their value is always different in different parties. Yes, we used a charcoal stove and child labor in the last batch, although I don't like either. But in this batch, the value of wood (which is the most valuable resource in the early game) dropped because we found a lot of wood. And child labor became valuable because we didn't have any good cards for children and the total number of workers was small. In addition, we were offered to choose what the consequences of the adopted law would be, which further increased the value of child labor. In the end we won. It's just amazing.  Another favorite board game that punishes greed and haste is the little-known space exploration game Leaving Earth. It has a great "try your luck" mechanic: when you learn a new technology, you put 3 cards on it from a large deck of..

 Tindaya is a cooperative survival game... but with a few unusual twists. Your task is to ensure that at the end of each era all tribes remain alive and do not meet the conditions of general defeat. In this case, there is a final calculation of victory points, which determines whether you won (in cooperative mode) or who exactly is the winner (in competitive mode). WHERE ARE WE? Canary Islands, XV century. The Izegem tribes live quietly for themselves, farming, fishing and herding, traveling the ocean and learning new professions, carefully using the island's limited resources. Settlements grow into villages. The sage seeks new knowledge and tries to appease the gods. But their way of life is destroyed by the arrival of evil Spanish conquistadors, who kill the locals and seize the islands. There are 8 Canary Islands in total. Each island has a volcano, dense forests, a wide coast and high mountains. Perfect for growing crops, raising pigs, fishing or grazing goats. Build a new home for your expanding tribe and feed the new residents. Explore the islands and meet new people. Spanish conquistadors begin to populate beautiful islands and build fortresses. TIME TO PLAN Your little tribe of 3 commoners and two nobles must plan their lives. The main thing for them is that the gods remain satisfied. Gods are capricious and only give certain types of food, animals or resources in each era. As an alternative, human sacrifices can be made; who would miss a few conquistadors? If the gods remain displeased, their level of anger will rise, promising cataclysms and even the complete destruction of the islands. Life in constant fear, survival - this is the essence of the game. Each member of the tribe must have food and shelter, but an excess is dangerous: excesses also anger the gods. Seers Tibiabin and Tamonante can come to the rescue. They reveal the future of Tindai: where the gods will arrange a cataclysm and in what way; at which islands will the ship of the conquistadors appear. At the beginning of each era, the sacred fire must be supported by gifts. But if they are not enough, you have a bleak future. Do not forget about the objectives of your missions and other tasks. It is necessary to plan ahead, but it will not be easy to live to the end of the era.  The life of a villager is very simple: gather resources and produce goods. You have to take care of livestock, you have to trade with the tribes that visit you. Nobles are more intelligent and can travel between islands by canoe, founding new settlements and learning new trades. They also fight against uninvited guests - settlements of conquistadors who want to seize these lands. But the most difficult job is to go to the volcano and satisfy the gods. As you develop your trade, you will gain access to more advanced goods and weapons. It is necessary to look to the future and learn to survive. At the artisan market, you can buy an idol, a large vessel, or even walls. Idols give one-time bonuses (or a resource if broken). The walls protect against conquistadors and some cataclysms. Each player has a trade and tribe board. Goods and resources are represented by tokens that are placed on tablets. Cube = 1 action and cylinder = 1 action can be performed twice. Competent management of actions is the key to success. Keep in mind that the amount of raw materials and wild animals is limited, so it is not always profitable to squeeze all the juices. THE END OF AN ERA At the end of each era, several events occur. First, people and animals reproduce: in all cells where there are 2 or more, new ones appear. Secondly, residents demand food and shelter. Do not anger the gods by leaving them to die. Even the gods hate excesses; do not make more food than necessary. Similarly with goods. If the gods have received the offering, the level of anger will decrease. Then the cataclysms begin. The higher the level of anger, the more calamities. With proper planning, everyone will survive, but islands can change. Conquistadors are also arriving: you will have to fight them. They occupy empty islands. If you survive, a new era will begin. At the end of the game, the victory conditions are tested: you must control the islands or the conquistadors will win. Actually, you had to keep an eye on it the whole game. Also, in this phase, it is checked whether the missions and other tasks of yours have been completed. And finally the victory points are counted, if it comes to that. COOPERATIVE AND COMPETITIVE GAME MODES While survival is all about Tindaya, it doesn't feel like the competitive mode was added as an afterthought. In competitive mode, you have more food for thought. Secretly plan actions, take advantage of good moments to get software or minimize losses. You can focus too much on survival and forget about other tasks. However, this does not mean that the "Alliance" mode is easier; survival is not easy. Mechanically, Dominion mode features hidden challenges that players only see when they pick up the corresponding cards and then place them next to their tablet face down. During the game, players place plus and minus tokens on any cards, including those of others. If at the end you have completed your task, then you gain or lose as much as there are pluses and minuses on it. COMPONENTS The base ocean tiles are thick and look very nice. Creating islands at the start of the game is very fun. There are different types of territory, you can't confuse them. Excellent two-layer tablets with informative icons. Meeples of residents and nobles are cute and do not get lost against the background of the islands. The design of the cards is also well thought out: the cute illustrations are easily distinguishable from each other. Otherwise, the components, including the cardboard tokens, are nothing special. EXPERIENCE FROM THE GAME Roughly speaking, game moves can be divided into 2 parts: Find out how the figures on the field will affect the game at the end of the round. Act based on the information that will happen at the end of the round. And in the first part of the move, analysis paralysis awaits you. It gets easier after a few games, but before that we used to spend as much as 20 minutes in a 25-minute round analyzing what exactly would happen at the end of the round and how we should act. And only in the last 5 minutes they rearranged the figures. All this is not very interesting and not fan. Primarily due to randomness. INFLUENCE OF RANDOM In Tindaya, almost all information is open for most of the round; players know what is on the field, what it will do, and how their actions will affect the outcome. At the start of a round, you draw a random card and roll dice to determine where the trouble will occur at the end of the round. And the difficulty of the current round (and the game as a whole) depends entirely on the location of these problems. If they are placed somewhere far from your settlements, they do not affect the game. While analyzing the situation on the field, you will often hear the comment in your mind: "This god is going to destroy the farms on the islands in a radius of ... hmm ... oh, there's nothing there, so you can safely ignore him." Imagine a game with gods, volcanoes and tsunamis where you can look at an approaching tsunami and say that I could just as well have left it in the box: zero impact on the game. God aimed for where a bunch of your terrified meeples had gathered? "Ah, this god kills goats, but I have a pig farm there, sneeze." As a result, there is no tension or sense of danger. Similarly with the conquistadors, who, according to the idea, pose a threat to your settlements. They can sleep far from you, and then you will have to think about how to get rid of them. Or they can sleep next to each other. You realize that they are going to attack your island, you make two weapons, and then you just do nothing: the conquistadors themselves rush to your daggers and commit suicide. Can you call your actions a smart move? No, the game basically played with itself, no decisions had to be made. Just stay where you are and the problem will take care of itself. Sometimes, by chance, you are surrounded by dangerous gods, conquistadors and a volcano. In that case, you just run away. You need to spend an action to move - and you are safe. Very disappointing. In the first 2-3 games, the changing field under the influence of eruptions and tsunamis, islands that rise and sink are very impressive. But the more you play, the clearer you understand that this is just a chain of random events, the consequences of which are not so difficult to avoid.  Can Tindaya give you a real challenge? So; sometimes you are surrounded by troubles that you can't deal with. On the other hand, sometimes "trouble" helps you too. Let's say conquistadors settled on distant islands, then an eruption began and killed them. You didn't have to lift a finger; the randomness of the game has removed from your path the only obstacle on the way to the winning condition. There is also randomness on the resource tiles. Sometimes you find 2 trees and your neighbor finds 4. What awaits you on the next tile: 2 weapons or 3 stones? It's amazing that in a game where you can calculate everything that will happen at the end of a round, there is a random allocation of resources. In competitive mode it would drive me crazy. Your wood tile gave you 4 resources and me 2. An unfair advantage. There is also a deck of cards with potential bonuses. Sometimes they neutralize threats looming in front of you, sometimes their effect is irrelevant. The randomness of Tindaya is a huge distraction from the gameplay. In any round, you can find trouble-free, resource-rich tiles and cool bonus cards. Or spend a bunch of actions just to survive, find unnecessary resources and useless bonuses. The difficulty..

GAME OVERVIEW In Chickens, each player becomes a farmer who tries to create a harmonious yard with different breeds of chickens. Choose carefully which chickens you place next to each other, because not every group will be scored at the end of the game!  During the game, players will place cards in front of them in a 4×3 grid. You start the game with 4 cards in your hand, and the first thing you do on your turn is draw 2 new cards. They can come from the central draw deck or from any other player's reset. You now have 6 cards, one of which you place in your yard and the other to the discard pile. Pretty simple, don't you think?  But there's a catch: you can't freely place cards next to each other unless they're of the same breed. If you place cards of different suits next to each other, their value must be exactly 1 more or less than the cards that were played next to them. It turns what might seem like a somewhat simple card game at first glance into a rather complex and addictive puzzle game.  Once all players have filled their yard, the game ends and points are awarded: each egg in your largest continuous group of 1 species is worth 1 point, and if your rooster is in another group, you also get points for eggs in that group. You get extra points for medals for your chickens and completed objectives, and the player with the most points is declared the best chicken scout!  Chickens is a fun yet challenging puzzle game that is easy to learn and simple to play! We were very surprised by the depth and strategy of this little card game! If you are looking for a mysterious abstract filler, then this is the game for you!..