Trick games are probably the best "classic" card games in my opinion because of the combination of luck, strategy, and bluffing that occurs when playing with other people. It gets even better when you add bets, because trying to hit a certain target number of tricks (or - even harder - no tricks at all) dramatically increases the strategy. It's a complex mix of elements that's hard to replicate in a single-player game because trick-or-treating games thrive on player interaction. For Northwood! so clever because it turns everything into a puzzle.  During the preparation of the game, you arrange 8 fiefdoms in a row. The object of the game is to convince each possession to ally with you through skillful diplomacy (by winning the required amount of bribes for that possession). Instead of forcibly conquering kingdoms through violent expansion or threats, you engage in diplomatic conversation (cards of the same suit are called "conversation cards") to peacefully unite the land of Northwood. Can we have more designs dedicated to peaceful discussion of our problems rather than criticism? Let's go back to mechanics. The target number of bribes depends on the location of the fiefdom in the row. The goal for the leftmost possession is 0 bribes, while the rightmost possession is 7. Now here's what makes sense: - After setting up the game (and between each "round") you draw a hand of 8 cards. After checking your cards, you decide which estate to visit. There is no set order. And since each fiefdom has a separate trump suit, you can prioritize which one has the best chance of winning. You can only visit each fiefdom once, and if you don't reach your target number by the end of the round, they will become hostile and impossible to defeat again.  I'm visiting the King of Eyes and have to win 1 trick with this card combination - I think it's possible! - Feudal rule each bribe by playing the top card of the deck and you must respond (following the standard bribery rules). There's a lot of luck involved in this, so there are a number of luck mitigation abilities available to you. You have 4 allies with one-shot abilities each round that range from changing the composition of your hand to reordering the top cards of the deck to canceling tricks won. And once you win fiefdoms, their ability becomes available to use once, so your skill set expands as you progress.  I can't win a single trick against the King of Flowers, so I brought in the Queen of Leaves and the Queen of Eyes, two friends I made earlier, to help! - Because you can choose the order in which to visit each fiefdom, you can find strategic allies to help mitigate the unique challenges of a particular fiefdom. Taking 0 bribes is hard, but maybe if you have the option to return the winnings, it will be a little more real... - Finally, even if you lose a few fiefdoms, you can still win! This is because in order to win, you must win 3 possessions that have stars under them (each possession gets a random location card, 3 of which have stars). You won't find out until the end, but there is an incentive to keep playing until the end, since you can theoretically only win by winning 3 of the 8 fiefdoms. I've played a few times and I think there are actually too many ways to mitigate luck, but luckily for me there are two additional levels of difficulty that I haven't tried yet! I'm really impressed - which is probably pretty clear from this post. For Northwood! does a fantastic job of capturing the aspects of luck, strategy, and betting in bribery games. Bluffing - not so much, but who would you bluff against...yourself?..

 I played a few games of Napoleon vs. Europe (NaE), a strategy wargame spanning the entire period of the Napoleonic Wars. At the heart of it is a card engine; Most of the actions you take are related to cards. Of the wargames dedicated to this period, I had to play The Napoleonic Wars and Wellington (a card engine wargame from GMT Games). They didn't leave a particularly bright impression, because both games adhere to the real story quite strictly and do not generate such a tense atmosphere as other wargames on the card engine such as Hannibal, Paths of Glory and Crusade and Revolution. After looking at the box, the map of Europe, and some of the cards, I decided to buy Napoleon against Europe in the hope that the game would have about the same experience as the old Napoleonic wargames I played a long time ago (Empires in Arms and War and Peace by Avalon Hill) - only without the need to look for a bunch of fanatical players who are ready to play for several months. Napoleon against Europe is a purely card-based wargame with somewhat simple but very interesting mechanics of sea battles, diplomacy, economics and logistics, as well as large-scale land campaigns involving army movements, battles, sieges, pursuits... Although I have limited experience playing NaE, I will try to describe the game mechanics, their pros and cons.  The action begins in 1805, when the French army stands near the English Channel, and French ships are in their ports. They are opposed by the ubiquitous British fleet and England's continental allies: Austria nearby, Russia in the distance. Each game move is one year (up to 1815); there are 11 moves in total. Each turn consists of a preparation phase and 6 rounds (however, due to event cards, their number can be reduced to 5 or increased to 7 if there is a winter campaign), in each of which participants take turns playing, as a rule, one or more cards . The French are always the first to go. The game has two separate decks for the Allies (called the Coalition) and for the French Empire. Both have 55 cards, which are divided into two stages: the first is Epic, the second is Punishments. There are also two counters in the game that play a very important role, marking the SP - victory points (roughly like in Paths of Glory), and the level of escalation (roughly like the level of mobilization of the country (War Commitment) or the state of war (State of War) in Paths of Glory). When the escalation reaches the 15 mark, both decks are shuffled with Punishments cards. The game ends with the French winning if they score 20 or more programs, or the coalition winning if the French have 0 or less programs. If neither side has fulfilled the victory condition by 1815, the winner is whoever controls key areas of France. Let's go to the components and gameplay:  1) Maps (on which the game engine is built) with a cost of 1, 2 or 3. More reminiscent of For the People (GMT's excellent US Civil War strategy wargame) than Paths of Glory. As a rule, the maps of the first stage bring more benefit to the French, and the second stage - to the coalition. Thanks to this, the French can try to drag out the "agony" until the final, if they did not manage to win an automatic victory in the midgame. The number of cards received by both sides is not fixed, but depends on the number of controlled key points, the number of states attacked or conquered by France, and events. A total of 6 to 10 cards. The cards look great, the text is easy to read, there is even a special yellow star in the title of the cards that are removed from the game after the draw. The only thing is that the numbers in the British flag on the coalition maps are not very visible. Among the effects on the cards there are some very interesting ones that you will have to puzzle over - whether to play them out as a historical event that can greatly alleviate what seems to be an almost hopeless situation (or a situation in which you would have to take rather absurd actions to solve, as in many other Napoleonic ). games), or as glasses. On the other hand, there are also pointless or worse, boring effects. More about them below.  There are also 4 cards that are constantly in play - one for each of the great powers. As in the best card wargames, there are a lot of different event cards: combat, political-diplomatic, economic, response measures, reinforcements, operational... Some cards have a double type - for example, a political event, aka reinforcements. On average, battle cards have less effect on the outcome of battles than in wargames like Crusade and Revolution and Paths of Glory, as they only decrease or increase by 1 the result of rolling two dice, not one. Great cards include Bayonne Trap and Madrid Uprising; both perfectly reflect the stupidity of the rulers of Spain and the anger of the people. Another great map is "Tilsit World": thanks to it, you can make peace with Russia without defeating it in battle, and establish a Continental Blockade. On the other hand, there are cards (fortunately not very numerous) with such complex and ambiguous wording that it is difficult to correctly interpret them in the first games. It is preferable that the players agree before the start of the game on a certain interpretation to avoid disputes. There are also cards that have little to do with history: for example, "Guerrillas" and "Cossacks", which in the game have almost no effect on French morale and the depletion of French strength. Another problematic card is the ever-present French card, Napoleon's Genius, which allows you to move a French army from Poland to Moscow or from Bayonne to Cadiz in one action, almost guaranteed to wipe out any opposing army. In reality, nothing like that happened. In general, the idea is interesting, but the implementation was disappointing. Many of the cards in Napoleon against Europe have questionable effects and are almost always played on points. Notably, French generals have a very low activation cost; You can move several for almost any card. Moving coalition armies because of the higher price of activation is a pain. There are very few campaign cards in the deck that allow you to move several generals at a time - like in Hannibal or For the People, which makes playing for a coalition quite difficult. Simple hand management is a bit frustrating. You just see what was drawn and act on the situation (a similar feeling was in The Napoleonic Wars and Wellington). It is necessary to think for a long time about what and when to act, I did not have it. Reserve some card for the upcoming turn (like Kemal in Paths of Glory, or in Crusade and Revolution, when you don't get a reinforcement card and you have to think hard). Figuratively speaking, many cards have no "soul", they are primitive. There are, of course, well-thought-out maps, but in general the game is not polished enough, unfortunately. 2) The map is elegantly designed, the regions resemble the monstrous map from Empires in Arms. The cardboard is thick and looks great. In the corner are the software, escalation, move and round counters. There are also boxes for each army, which contain corps, generals, depots and special units. All great powers except Spain have one army, France has two. One of them is called the Great Army. Regions on the map are of different colors; they reflect the presence of mountains, swamps, slums, forts, rivers, key points... There are also sea regions, ports and naval blockade boxes - one for each port. All names are in French. The map is arranged in such a way that the main campaigns will be played out quite historically. From the minuses, the coloring does not look too attractive. Some regions and army boxes are small and do not always contain all tokens. Poor regions (which have a higher attrition rate) are distributed somewhat oddly; yes, all of Spain and Russia are poor regions, although Russia and Ukraine seem to have very fertile soil. And Perpignan in France is a blooming garden, while nearby Girona is an Egyptian desert. 3) The rulebook seems to be perfectly structured: numbered paragraphs, large font, color illustrations, exceptions highlighted in red. But as you delve deeper into the book, so many flaws surface that many give up at this point. Also, the English translation from the original French version is poorly done (though the Spanish translation turned out excellent). In my opinion, most of the game's flaws are the result of a lack of proper testing and proofreading by players (not developers). Among the main shortcomings are the randomly scattered rules, which is worsened by the absence of an alphabetical indication, as well as errors in some explanatory examples. The main thing in the game are land campaigns (England quickly establishes complete control over the seas). The rules for army and corps movements are quite complicated, but when you get the hang of it, you will understand that some of these rules are just "water", and some rules are practically never applied. I should also note that the rules allow you to capture besieged cities - for example, Cadiz, Königsberg or Lisbon - in a round or at most two, although in real life sieges would last several turns and would not always end in success.  The game focuses on battles, as befits a good Napoleonic wargame. The outcome of battles depends on many modifiers (including cavalry advantage, soldier quality, terrain, demoralization, lack of supplies, general talent (here the French player has a big advantage)). True, numerical superiority does not play any role, even if 95,000 French are fighting 180,000 Coalition - which is obviously completely unrealistic. Trenches and redoubts dug/built before the battle (like the Russians at Borodino and the British at Torris Vedras) are also not taken into account. There is no place for tactics either, although it could be done roughly..

ABOUT THE GAME It's a modular dungeon crawler, somewhat similar to Massive Darkness 2. There are 3 types of custom dice (black, green, and pink from weakest to strongest) that are required to pass various skill checks (usually when you fight, solve a task, or dodge from attack). There is also a built-in "try your luck" mechanic: you decide how many dice to roll during a check, but more dice means not only an increased probability of success, but also an increased probability of trouble. The characters roam the field in search of the items they need to carry out their escape plan (a winning condition with varying objectives and a boss battle), encountering various enemies and traps along the way, and if they're unlucky, Batman himself (what a monster ). After collecting items, the characters move to a new map - from Arkham Hospital to the place of the final confrontation. In this map, they have to complete a series of difficult tasks to successfully escape, with a limited number of actions at their disposal. The one who gains the most bad fame (which is given for successfully completing the most actions) will be the winner in the event of a successful escape.  The first introduction to the game (learning the rules and training newbies) took a lot of time, but subsequent games in TTS (solo and 3 players) were faster: about 2-2.5 hours. They ended in the sixth round on average. PROS OF THE GAME  The characters are very thematic and interesting. A comparison with Marvel United is suggested, where there are many interesting villains in terms of mechanics, but most of the heroes are quite boring and primitive. Here, all 5 characters available in TTS (Joker, Two-Face, Bane, Harley Quinn and Scarecrow) are unique due to the presence of various skills that are issued for completing certain tasks. Sometimes it's very thematic when you do something that suits your character to get a new skill. Yes, the Joker will most likely act chaotically and often take risks, the Scarecrow - at the slightest opportunity to spray frightening gas even on those enemies who do not interfere with him, and Two-Face - to plan a move depending on which side of the tossed coin.  Batman is a dangerous and unique enemy. When it appears, it seems to you that you are losing now (sometimes it happens); he is not just another security guard, only with higher parameters. He moves in unpredictable ways and attacks you with various squirrels and gadgets (once when I was playing Scarecrow, I had Batman in a gas mask in my way...). The combat is quite dynamic and not too boring. I like that the game has several different kinds of dice, and the "try your luck" mechanic is cool, if not completely polished. AMBIGUOUS MOMENTS The final stage of the game is not very interesting; your options are too limited. Yes, in Aaron Cash's escape plan, you basically just move to the left and do everything listed on the card. You don't have to make decisions; just roll the dice 9 times and hope you get lucky. I'm sure the developers made the ending tense. You really feel like you have a cover in case of bad rolls. However, you have so little opportunity to influence anything that you are almost an outside observer. However, I must note that this is only one of many escape plans, and the simplest one at that, and the developers promised to address this problem. The chance tokens are also surprisingly balanced. When you roll dice to attack an enemy or solve a challenge, each additional black die also gives you a chance token, the in-game currency that can be used to turn one of the die's faces into a joker. During the game, we often accumulated mountains of these tokens, which made it very easy to solve the tasks that required them. You also get a chance token when you reach one of the divisions on the infamy meter, which can happen when you attack a jailer (rolling all the dice and getting 6 chance tokens) and win. Sort of a reward for defeating a strong enemy... More on infamy below. MINUS THE GAME The infamy mechanics are poorly worked out. Personally, I'm not against semi-cooperative games where the whole team wins, but there's only one winner. However, in the current version of the game, you gain fame for passing almost any check, and only lose it when you pass out. Depriving competitors of fame is impossible, only a few cards give additional fame, and everything related to fame is public information. The very idea of villains jostling at the very exit and betraying each other at the finish line and losing because of it is very thematic and looks cool, although not for everyone, of course. But in the current version of the game, playing as support characters is not very pleasant, since you yourself have to pass as many checks as possible to win. I strongly condemn such a winning condition; in my opinion, all styles of play should be viable. I'd hate to play Dark Harbor where the Plutovka of almost every party takes almost all the gold and is the only winner. So, if the current infamy mechanic doesn't change in the final version, then we will most likely be playing without it...

 Beyond the Rift: A Perdition's Mouth Card Game is a cooperative game with a campaign mode. It has a lot in common with its predecessor Perdition's Mouth: the same characters, the same (not all, but many) enemies, the same decks of modifiers and wounds that clutter your deck. However, there is no field and neither is the pan; several decks of cards are enough for the game. The mechanics are actually very simple. There is a hero action card deck (each has a fixed set, but new cards may be added during the campaign), an enemy deck, and a terrain deck (not in every scenario). The composition of enemy decks and terrain depends on the scenario. That's basically all, if you don't take into account character tablets and cards of wounds and fatigue. However, the variety generated by these simple mechanics is astounding. Then you try to kill the summoners before they finish the ritual. You are rescuing peasants from a burning hut. Then go through the dungeon in search of a dwarven mechanism. So you find yourself in the middle of a battle between orcs and elves and trying to stop them from killing each other... The scenarios are very diverse, despite the fact that the game consists of only a few hundred cards and a 15-page rulebook, all of which are fan-made.  In addition to the impressive variety provided by the 78-page campaign book, I really like the hand management (the game encourages combo-making) and the try-your-luck style combat. Each turn in the card selection phase, you replenish your hand to the maximum size (6 cards when playing with 2 heroes; by the way, you can play here with 1 hero), after which the characters take turns playing cards in any number (so that there is enough energy). Only when they can't or don't want to play any more cards does the enemies phase come. You defend, attack, and do a bunch of other things by playing cards and paying for them with energy, a resource that's also generated during the card draw phase. It is possible to play 1-2 cards and end your turn, but usually the players are much more active. Because many cards allow you to draw new cards or gain extra energy—sometimes instead of playing the card's alternate effect, and sometimes with it. Why would you rather pay 2 energy to get 5 energy, or play this card as a 4 attack with 2 range?  The choice usually depends on the other cards in your hand and other players' hand, because it is possible (and desirable) to combine attacks to deal more damage. And among the action cards there are many non-standard effects: you can sell cards for energy, exchange cards or get new energy prices - and much more. It turns out a very difficult and fan optimization puzzle... but with one cover.  "Try your luck" mechanics. When you attack an enemy, your attack value must exceed their defense value. Everything seems simple, only with each attack the enemy draws a card from the deck of modifiers and adds the number indicated on it to his defense. Should I spend a card with attack 5 on an enemy with defense 3? Usually not, since there are few cards with a value of 0 or 1 in the reaction deck. The risk may pay off if you are lucky enough to wound the enemy (and then maybe become more vulnerable - each wound dealt lowers some of the enemy's stats), but on the other hand, maybe . it is better not to risk and spend energy to discard some cards and draw new ones... Defense is arranged similarly: when you are attacked, you play as many defense cards as you want, and then add a modifier to the enemy's attack.  While Beyond the Rift was the most pleasant surprise of all the 2022 decks, I do have a couple of caveats. First, the quality of the components. I understand that the company is very small, and I'm willing to forgive the thin rulebook and the lack of illustrations on most of the cards. Especially since there are also quality components: dual-layer tablets are great. But here's a deck of modifiers... Half the cards are already bent in the middle (I played 24 games). It was possible, of course, to put them in protectors, but the size is non-standard (like the modifier cards in "Gloomy Harbor", only wider), so I did not find suitable protectors.  Second, I don't really like the campaign structure. Each mini-campaign (6 in total, usually consisting of 3 scenarios) has a branch A and a branch B. If you go through branch A, you won't see branch B. Many will like this because it increases replayability and gives players some freedom of choice But personally, I don't like the fact that you have to replay everything to see the missed content, although it's not the most unpleasant thing. When I got to the third campaign, Into the North, I found that I couldn't complete it simply because I had completed the second campaign of The Lure. Given that these mini-campaigns are not connected by a common plot, I don't see why it was banned. Maybe for balance reasons because you get 2-3 items in each campaign. But then why not just introduce an item limit? Regardless, this is purely a campaign issue, not a game mechanics issue, and I might replay it to see everything. Not the worst minus.  Overall, I consider Beyond the Rift to be one of the deepest campaign card games I've played. Small dimensions and quick deployment are additional advantages. This is one of my favorite games of 2022 and a very pleasant surprise. I highly recommend it. ..

 Civilization with euro elements without a map is about making our policy the best in all of Greece. We get an economy game with different factions, dice, cards and great fields for players. DESIGN AND COMPONENTS The game looks very beautiful, and the box cover itself attracts attention. The player fields are expertly crafted and indented to accommodate faction tablets. Each field also has all the information you need about the actions you can take. I like this solution.  The only thing I would complain about is the scoring track, where there is only a value every five points. It would be easier to calculate points if all values were displayed. It's especially troublesome when you get a lot of points in one round. There are 7 factions to choose from - each different, with different abilities and different victory conditions. There is also a short description on the back of each nation tile. Our countries guide us on the strategy we must use in each game to win. GAME PROCESS The game is played over 9 rounds and let me tell you, Hora is very fast playing. One hour - and it's done. In preparation for the game, we draw 7 event cards out of 14. There will be a total of 9 events in the game, with the first and last always being the same. At the beginning of each round we take one event card, and at the end of the round we resolve it. They give a certain bonus to the player who has the most military power and take something away from the player who has the least. I wish they were more varied and created more chaos in the game. There are 7 actions in the game, which have values from 0 to 6. In each round, we roll 2 dice (if we unlock the corresponding space on the player's tablet, then three), we choose which two actions we want to perform and assign them dice. To perform an action, the die must show a result equal to or greater than the result on the die. It may happen that someone is unlucky (as the last meeting showed) and will not be able to perform some actions. People who don't like randomness can be unhappy. However, the game gives us a helping hand and we can lower the level of our residents in the city and change the dice roll by 1 value per resident.  However, to get new inhabitants, we must get them by choosing a special action on the tablet. With very bad rolls, we will have to work hard to achieve the desired actions.  Actions allow us to get a philosophy token, get new citizens and choose a new politics card, get victory points for the culture level in the city, trade and get drachmas, go on military expeditions, play a politics card from our hand and develop our nation. Everything is well shown on the tiles. In my opinion, this makes the game clear, simple and intuitive. After the first round you will know what to do. I wish the policy cards available in the game had more variety and impact on the gameplay. At the beginning of the game, we draw the starting cards, and there are five left. In fact, Chorus is so fast that we play very few of them throughout the game because it's just more profitable to do other things. As I mentioned earlier, this is a solitaire game, and we have virtually no interaction with each other throughout the game. I wish there were some actions that could take something from another player or destroy something. I think it's a bit lacking here. REPLAYABILITY This is where I have the biggest problem as this game is really playable a lot. The factions are diverse and have different starting abilities, but we must collect fame tokens throughout the game. We need them to use certain actions and play political cards. Glory tokens with laurels give us points at the end of the game. Each token is worth 1 point, and the higher you are on the glory path, the higher the multiplier. As a rule, the winner is the one with the most tokens and the most progress on the path to fame. At this point, military action becomes most profitable because it allows us to get it. CONCLUSIONS Khôra rose to the table and pleased with simple rules, dynamic gameplay and excellent quality. Despite my complaints, it's very enjoyable to play. In my opinion, this is a very good board game for beginners. If we added a new variety of event cards and some negative interactions, this would be a masterpiece. So Hora gets a 7.5/10 from me. The choir rested on its laurels and could have achieved much more. ..

Hello everyone, we have received many great games in the last few days, therefore, we are happy to inform you about new products and renewal of goods in our store Meet the fresh arrival and what's new in Lelekan Hurry up, the games are great and for all tastes, be the first to buy :)..

DESCRIPTION OF THE CELESTIA BOARD GAME  In Aaron Weisblum's last game, a remake of 1999's Cloud 9, players board a skyship to collect treasure in various cities around the world of Celestia.  Celestia is a light dice game with a try-your-luck mechanic and features top-notch components. That's what drew me to Essen 2015, when the game topped many hot lists. And over the course of a few games, I began to admire the clever gameplay in addition to the beautiful components. ABANDON SHIP OR TRY YOUR LUCK  Celestia is a card and dice game. Each player's goal is to discover and collect treasures in the most remote cities of the world of Celestia. The player who builds the most prestigious treasure collection (ie the player with the highest score when the player reaches 50 points) is the winner. Each player chooses a color and their pawns are placed on the ship. The ship will move from cities with a low number to cities with a high number, and the longer the player stays on the ship, the better the reward. But if the ship doesn't survive the peril, any players unlucky enough to stay aboard get nothing! One player is appointed captain; this role will change as the journey progresses. The captain cannot disembark while there are other passengers on board.  In a certain turn, the following will happen: The captain rolls the die. The number of dice rolled depends on the number of dice symbols in the next city on the ship's path. Each passenger chooses whether to continue the journey. Going around the table clockwise, each player announces whether he will stay on the ship or leave. If they leave, they take a "treasure" from the deck corresponding to the city they are currently in. A player always gets at least the number of points corresponding to the city, but he can get more. Treasures become more expensive the further along the ship goes, so the passengers try to stay on it as long as possible. The captain must then (if he has any) use "equipment cards" from his hand to resolve the hazards on the die. He simply discards the corresponding cards. Clouds (blue) are resolved with a compass card; lightning (yellow) is resolved by the lightning rod card; birds (red) are solved by cards of horns; and the pirates (black) are decided by the gun card. If he succeeds, the ship moves. Certain action cards can be used at this time. If the captain can't overcome the events on the dice, he doesn't play any cards at all and the plane crashes. None of these passengers still on board receive the treasure. Then the next round begins. The next player on board to the captain's left becomes the new captain. Each time there is a new journey, the player with 50 points will announce it by ending the game. The player with the most points wins. If there is no player with 50 points, the plane returns to the first city, all passengers board, and each player draws an equipment card.  There are also a few ability cards that can help with the journey: The turbo card (which has a symbol representing all four hazard colors) can be used to overcome any obstacle. A disembark card can force another passenger to leave the ship after all passengers have spoken, but before the captain plays equipment cards. The jet pack card allows the player to jump from the ship right before the plane crashes. The "Alternative Route" card allows you to roll the dice of the captain's choice after all passengers have spoken. The hard hit card causes the captain to reroll all the dice without any events (i.e. empty) after all the passengers have spoken. (This game will most often be played by someone from the ship.) The "Magic Spyglass" allows the ship to still complete the challenge after the captain declares that it cannot. Unlike the other cards, these are not "ability" cards, but rather treasure cards located in the decks of the first four cities, and cost two points if unused. One is pictured above along with treasure cards worth "6" and "9" points. IMPRESSION I love games of chance and Celestia is one of the best. This game has all the hallmarks of a good family game: it's easy to pick up—even non-gamers can pick it up in a few minutes—but there are interesting solutions. The production value is solid and the components are beautiful. Gameplay is fast, often taking less than half an hour. It's easy to see why Aaron Weissblum's latest creation has landed on so many hot lists. The game goes 2-6. I haven't tried it with two players, but I didn't prefer it with three: the more the merrier. Part of the fun is having a lot of power cards lurking around the table and seeing when different players come out of the ship. It's not exactly a fun game, but it's pretty close, with laugh-out-loud moments at the table. Pardon the pun, but Celestia can trick you into thinking you're all on the same ship. It is true that you long for the farthest city. But there can be "take it" moments because of some strong cards. However, the game remains friendly: even forcing someone off the ship means they still get the treasure map and can avoid the crash. The only really mean part of the game is the hard hit card which forces the captain to take extra risks, but playing this card has always been a laugh in my games. I look forward to future adventures with Celestia. The try-your-luck genre often leans toward the abstract — think Cant Stop, No Thanks — but there's a clever theme to it...

LONGHORN BOARD GAME REVIEW In Longhorn , two players compete to collect the most cattle in a 3 x 3 location grid. But be careful, collect too many of one breed and you won't be able to sell them at the end of the game. The game ends when there are no more moves allowed. The cattle you have at the end of the game, as well as any gold nuggets you manage to steal along the way, will give you your points in the game. HOW TO PREPARE THE BATCH A Longhorn only takes a minute or two to prepare. Players first choose which rogue they want. Will you choose the evil Jesse the Artist Byrd or the mean and disgusting Eagle Perkins?  Arrange the location tiles randomly in a 3 x 3 grid. Shuffle the square action tokens and place one in each location. If a Sheriff Badge token is randomly selected, it must be placed on the Nugget Hill location. Mix up the cattle parts and randomly place a certain number of them on each location tile according to the number found in the lower left corner of each location. For example, Red River Valley should always start with 4 cows, while Nugget Hill should always start with 6. Flip a two-sided robber token like a coin, and whichever side of the robber comes up gets to go first (say, Eagle Perkins for this example). Then the opposing player representing Jesse Byrd the Artist will place the outlaw token anywhere with 4 cattle (Dagger Flat, Kid Copper Ranch, Red River Valley, and Cherokee Spring).  Below you can see the preparations for the game and its readiness for the party. GAME TURN The first thing a player does in his turn is to steal cattle. Choose a color and take each cattle figure of that color from the current location and place it in front of you. These cattle will form the player's herd, the value of which will be calculated at the end of the game. If a player selects the last cattle from a location, he must pick up an action token and perform its action. After that, the player must move the robber token to the number of cells equal to the number of cows they just milked. Movement: Must be orthogonal You cannot move over a tile on the field more than once per turn. You cannot end on an empty space, but empty spaces can be passed. If all the fields where the player can move are empty, then the game is over and the counting of points begins. After the robber token is moved, the player flips it over to indicate that it is the next player's turn. ACTION TOKENS There are 7 different action tokens in the game: Gold nuggets - cost from 200 to 500 USD. They are counted at the end of the game. Branded Iron - Discard this token and take all cattle of 1 color from 1 location orthogonal to the outlaw token. Epidemic - Discard this token and remove all remaining livestock of the same color from the field. This will make all cattle of that color unnecessary at the end of the game. Sheriff – If a player is forced to take this token, you are captured and lose the game immediately. Snake Oil - Discard this token and immediately take another turn. Ambush. Discard the token and take either a random gold nugget token or 2 cattle of the same color from your opponent. Rattlesnake - Your herd is in a panic. Choose one cow of each color from your herd and place it on any space orthogonal to the snake token. END OF THE GAME  The game ends when one of the following conditions occurs: If a player must take the Sheriff's action token, they immediately lose the game. If one of the players manages to collect 9 cows of the same color, he immediately wins the game. All locations located by the number of squares determined by the last livestock raid are empty. CALCULATION OF THE VALUE OF THE HERD To determine the value of a player's herd: Each cow in his herd will earn the robber $100 for each cow of the same color still on the playing field! Each player also adds up the value of the gold nuggets in front of him. The player with the most money wins! WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE GAME The artwork in this game is fantastic: Vincent Dutre's work is simply incredible. It's obvious that Bruno Catala respects his work enough to put Vincent's name on the cover of the game. The colors are bright and rich with the oranges and browns of the desert and the beautiful blue sky. Text and icons are clear and easy to read without getting in the way of the illustrations. The game pieces are made of strong cardboard with a nice paper coating. The cattle pieces are well done and their colors are easy to distinguish. The outlaw token is thick and wide, easy to pick up and move around. The game is fast and once you read the rules carefully, you can play without any problems. WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE I picked up the Longhorn based on a website recommendation. I've played it a few times with my 10-year-old daughter, and while it's moderately enjoyable to play, it mostly failed me. I generally like games with the mancala mechanism, but Longhorn seems odd to me. You can move in multiple directions, but since the field is only 3 x 3, it's hard to make good choices about where you end up. I like the variety of resources, knowing that there is a balance between taking too much and leaving enough so that the ones you do take are valuable at the end of the game. But since there are really only 8-12 moves, it feels like the game is over too quickly. CONCLUSIONS  Longhorn is actually the smaller, older brother of the critically acclaimed Five Tribes. I think Longhorn could have been something bigger than what it was…but then it became the five tribes…so I guess that's saying something...

 Labyrinth: The War on Terror is a strategic wargame (although the game also has a lot of politics), which takes place in modern times. Designed for 1-2 players. In the duel, one player plays for the United States, and the other plays for Islamic extremists, between whom an extremely asymmetric confrontation is played out. In the solo version, the player plays for the United States against Table II controlled extremists. Usually, a duel takes about 90 minutes: that's how long it takes to completely scroll through the deck, as soon as the players get used to it and start to understand the cards well. However, the length of the game can be changed by playing until the deck is rolled twice or three times. Each additional scroll adds about 60 minutes. However, the final may come earlier if one of the parties fulfills the winning condition. Solo parts take a bit longer, but at least getting to know the part table is faster.  At the start, 4 layout options are available, each of which reflects a certain era in the US war on terrorism. Most likely, the option "Let's go!" (Let's Roll), in which the action takes place after September 11, when the world community does not yet have a clear position, and other countries are waiting for how the United States will react. There are also post-Operation Enduring Freedom and post-Operation Iraqi Freedom options in which other countries have a stronger stance. There is also an alternate history version in which Albert Gore became president in 2000. The layout is no different from the "Let's Go!" option, but the US has different views on the methods of combating terrorism. Usually I describe the rules in fine detail, but this time I will limit myself to general information.  The countries on the map are divided into Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Muslim countries take one of three possible positions toward the United States: allied, neutral, or hostile. The U.S. can only station troops in allied countries, so if the U.S. wants to attack or suppress terrorist cells in a certain country, it must first secure an alliance with it. Also, Muslim countries have one of three possible governments: good, normal, or bad (again, from the US perspective). These indicators reflect the degree of stability of the country's ruling regime and their ability to independently fight terrorism. So even if a country is hostile to the US, it is in the US's best interest to have a good (effective) government because it reduces the global influence of terrorists. As for non-Muslim countries, their views on methods of combating terrorism play an important role: they can be soft or hard. If the views of most of the world community contradict those of the US, then the US receives penalties for every attempt to influence the governments of other countries. The engine in the card game. Players can use the cards in their hand to either play the corresponding event or to use the operation points (GO) indicated on the card to perform one of the available actions. Some events are positive for the US, others for terrorists, others are neutral and can bring both profit and loss to both. If you put a card on the GO, and this card has a profile event for the opponent, then the event will still be played automatically. Each map can bring 1-3 GO. After receiving GO, the player can spend them on one of the available actions. Let's move on to one of the genius inventions of the game, which provides a balanced asymmetry. Each type of government in Muslim countries has a certain "price": 1 for good, 2 for normal, 3 for bad. To take action in a country, the US must play a cost card no less than the cost of the government; that is, to act in a country with a good government, you need a card with a price of at least 1, and with a bad government - a price of 3. Therefore, it is easier for the US to act in countries with good governments. Terrorists can play a card with any cost to perform an action in the country, and receive as many actions as the GO indicated on the card. For example, a card at the cost of 1 GO allows you to recruit one cell, and at the cost of 3 GO - up to three cells. However, the success of terrorist actions is not guaranteed; with each action they roll a D6. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the stability level of the government, then the action is successful. Otherwise, it will fail, and GO will still be wasted. Thus, it is more difficult for terrorists to operate in countries with good governments and easier in countries with normal and bad governments.  There is another level of stability - the rule of Islamists. Countries under Islamist rule are always considered hostile to the US, and terrorist actions in these countries are automatically successful without a die roll. The US cannot take any action in these countries other than to attempt regime change: essentially sending troops to install a US-friendly government there. However, this is a risky tactic because it ties up a lot of troops, requires resources and action, and the operation is often delayed until the US can establish a stable government in the country. The US has three victory conditions: economic, political and military victory. Each Muslim country has a resource level from 1 to 3 that reflects the value of the country, from its culture to its oil reserves. USA instantly wins economically if Muslim countries with good governments have a total of 12+ resources. The US wins politically if the 15+ Muslim countries have normal or good governments (the region stabilizes enough that terrorism is eliminated). The US wins militarily if not a single cell of terrorists remains on the map. Terrorists also have three victory conditions. For an economic victory, it is necessary that the Muslim countries under the control of the Islamists have 6+ resources, political - that the reputation of the USA is at level 1 and that 15+ Muslim countries have a bad or Islamist government (the region is so destabilized, and the attitude of the world community towards the USA is so negative , that the US can do nothing more). An analogue of a military victory requires a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction on the territory of the United States. SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE Bringing real events into the game is a potential problem. Not only that some are indignant (and many tabletop players like to be indignant), but also the historical reliability is always in question, since in any game there will be elements of an alternative history in one way or another - otherwise the game will not work. However, September 11 is still fresh in my mind, this is a sensitive topic. And the very thought of playing Labyrinth, not to mention getting a fan from it (especially when you're playing as terrorists and trying to use weapons of mass destruction on the US), requires a certain abstraction from reality. That said, I'm amazed and delighted that there are both people willing to make games about these themes, and people willing to play them. I'm also impressed by the fact that the game is unbiased. I don't mean to say that the game puts the US and terrorists on the same moral level; it does not. However, Labyrinth takes an unbiased view of US politics. The player can choose a tough approach to the fight against terrorism in the spirit of neoconservatives and find out the strengths and weaknesses of this strategy. Or maybe it's softer in the spirit of the left, and find out the strengths and weaknesses of this strategy as well. Labyrinth does not argue that brute force is good and diplomacy is bad. As well as vice versa. Instead, the game perfectly conveys the pros and cons of both approaches. There is also a fascinating story during the game, but the narrative, in my opinion, is felt more when playing for the USA. The terrorist player rather acts according to the situation; it may be atmospheric in its own way, but it doesn't compare to the US game. When the world community changes its mind and prefers soft methods, the hard methods of the US can lead to the collapse of its diplomacy and reputation. What should the United States do: try to restore the damaged prestige? Don't give a damn about politics and continue to bend your line despite the general disdain? Events help a lot in the story that is being made, but still the main elements of the narrative are the reputation of the United States and the attitude of the world community to terrorism. DIFFICULTY OF LEARNING The rules are structured like a typical wargame: rule 4.6.3.2 sends you to rule 6.2.5. In general, there is nothing wrong with this, but some people find it difficult to digest such rules. On the other hand, the rule book explains all the rules in minute detail. While there are tons of rules questions on BGG, most of the answers are in the rulebook if you read carefully. But it seems that not all players can overcome these rules. I understand them, especially if you play solo. Table II is frighteningly complex, and I'm always not 100% sure I've interpreted each action correctly. However, thanks to this, the game's AI is surprisingly refined and powerful; Once you've mastered the rules, Labyrinth turns into a great solo game. Personally, I have only one complaint about the rule book - their structure. I must have turned out to be a bad wargamer, but even with clear content, I struggle to find some points. For example, information on what to do at the end of a turn is placed against the logic of information on what to do on your turn. However, these are trifles. The main thing is that everything is in the rule book. COMPONENTS  The components are of excellent quality, especially by the standards of GMT games. Not that they're usually terrible, but not that good. The cards are also of high quality: they are dense and will last a long time. Overall, I have no complaints about the components. There is even..

GHOST STORIES GAME REVIEW  Ghost Stories is a co-op horror game where you work together with your teammates to defeat one or more incarnations of Wu-Feng and the many ghosts that come before him. Each player takes on the role of a Taoist monk who must stop the wave of evil ghosts and save the village.  Ghost Stories is developed by Antoine Bosa and published by Repos Production . GAME PROCESS  Ghost Stories is a game about battles. You want to clear as many ghosts as possible each turn to avoid being destroyed. Whenever it's a player's turn, he or she can move one square around the village to perform an action. You can do two things: Ask the villagers for help. All village tiles give you benefits such as removing ghosts and moving ghosts to better positions. Try to exorcise the ghosts by rolling the dice. You are trying to match the colors/icons on the ghost card. You can also use Tao Tokens to help yourself if you have a bad roll or if you need more successes. You can also use your monk's special ability each turn, which can allow you to move in a special way or maybe even give you an extra die to use when fighting ghosts. You also get a Yin-Yang token, which allows you to use a village tile without being on it, or to return a village tile that was previously destroyed.  At the start of your turn, each ghost on the field is activated, and then a new ghost appears. That's why it's so important to get ghosts off the field as quickly as possible each turn. Ghosts can have abilities that activate immediately when they appear, abilities that activate when your turn begins, and some even have abilities that activate when you banish them. You win if you can deal with Wu Feng, who is near the bottom of the ghost deck. You lose if all priests die, if three village tiles become destroyed, or if the last ghost card in the deck is put into play. PROS OF THE GAME  Ghost Stories has some great components, especially the ghost cards. Each card is rich in detail and they blend in very well with the player boards and village tiles. The monk figures look fantastic too! Almost everyone in my company believes that Ghost Stories has one of the best designs in the world of board games. There have been several board games that have tried to cover this theme, but I don't think any of them have done it as well as Ghost Stories. Designer Antoine Bosa deserves a lot of credit for making the horror theme popular in this game. Everything from the villagers to the ghosts themselves give this game the feel of an authentic Chinese ghost story. Ghost Stories have insane replayability. The village field is placed randomly at the beginning of the game, and now you never know which ghosts will appear during each game. The relatively short game length makes Ghost Stories a great addition to any type of board game night. It's also great for those who like a high-energy game that seems to just fly by rather than crawl. Ghost Stories plays surprisingly well as a two-player game. It's great for any number of players, but it's one of those rare co-op games that plays just as well with two players as it does with a full complement of players. You can use only two characters and get help from the other two, or you can take two characters each. CONS One thing that might put people off Ghost Stories at first is how difficult it is. Even on the "easiest" level, it's quite possible to lose five out of six games. With each turn, new  ghosts appear, defeating them can be extremely difficult, and it can be a little frustrating. That being said, when you get those rare wins, it just... feels... AWESOME! You can definitely get unlucky with the dice and ghosts that drop every turn. Some ghosts are much harder to deal with than others, so if you encounter a couple of them early or at the wrong time, your chances of victory will be greatly reduced. CONCLUSIONS Ghost Stories really stands out with its vibrant theme, amazing map art, and challenging co-op gameplay. If you're into the horror genre—or even if you're not—this co-op game is a must-buy for any board game fan. Even if you keep losing, you'll keep coming back to try and save this village! This is still one of my group's favorite co-op board games, even after many, many times. If you enjoy the base game, I highly recommend checking out the Ghost Stories: White Moon expansion. This gives Ghost Stories even more replayability as you now have to save the villagers while dealing with all those ghosts...