Cthulhu Wars has often been called a Cadillac game. This is an exemplary Kickstarter project: a niche game that would not have been born without Kickstarter. Features available: miniatures (giant size), extras larger than the Black Goat spawn, and matching horse price tag. Much to the chagrin of those who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a single piece of fun, Cthulhu Wars is also a great game; A great choice for anyone who likes to cook on the table. That's why Sandy Peterson has been asked for years to release a version of the game with cardboard instead of miniatures, which will allow you to familiarize yourself with the gameplay without emptying your wallet, and also move the box without the help of a crane. And those requests were granted...or not? Now "Cthulhu Wars: Duel" was born - a purely dueling game without miniatures in a small box, with slightly changed rules. Duel area controls are a rather rare and niche thing for a number of reasons. This game does a good job of bringing the feel of Cthulhu Wars into a duel format. However... let's put it this way: not all the components of "Cthulhu War" are in place.  As expected, in terms of components, the game is not as eye-catching as the original. The box and box are much smaller, and instead of plastic - cardboard. The illustrations are a little dark, but the silhouettes of the monsters are very different, so it's easy to tell them apart - especially if you're already familiar with the original. Including only 10 dice in the set, although during large batches each participant of the battle often has to roll more than 10, is a strange decision. Personally, we added more cubes so that we don't have to remember how many people got what results. Otherwise, there are no complaints about the components. A reduced copy of "Cthulhu Wars" with the same sense of scale of what is happening and increased transportability succeeded in glory.  Of course, the rules had to be reworked in order to turn the multiplayer area control into a dueling game, but not as seriously as one might expect. Many of the changes are minor in appearance: different numbers in the description of the faction's special ability, a slightly different order of phases... Of all the innovations, I liked the decomposition mechanic the most, which plays the role of a constant threat. As soon as one player uses up all his power reserves, the other player's actions gradually become more and more expensive until he has to pass the turn. This solves the problem of the popularity of the "don't go first" tactic in the original. A fast aggressive style of play rules here, as you spend resources more efficiently this way. As a result, players often compete to be the first to impose the battle on their terms, and in this regard, the duel is more interesting than the original.  However, "Cthulhu Wars" was not easily designed for two participants, just like most games of the "figures on the map" genre, which recommend sitting down to at least three. In this genre, a very big role is played by alliances, battles of several participants and "she wins, let's knock her down!". I didn't even realize how important the social aspect of Cthulhu Wars was until I played Duel. It still feels like a turn-based version of a PC RTS (which makes sense given Peterson's background in PC game development), but the most important part of Cthulhu Wars has always been what happened at the table. Negotiations, alliances, betrayals were all common and could easily happen within a single round of the game. And then repeat again and again. It made you emotionally attached to the game, encouraging you to play it again and again - just to try new strategies. Unfortunately, these feelings are absent in the duel. Since there is only one enemy, there is no reason to hold back and not attack actions at every opportunity. Especially considering another rule innovation - scoring points for each kill - makes the aggressive style more appealing... but other scoring methods suffer. Hurting your opponent and getting points at the same time is the most effective way. Yes, it is meant to be, but it means that every action you take in Duel must simultaneously embolden your opponent with a good interpreter. No tricky manipulations, no spreading the map thinly for strategic reasons... it only matters how many units you kill/lose, because every unit lost makes victory that much further away.  This problem is complicated by the factions chosen for the dueling version of "Cthulhu Wars" . The Great Cthulhu vs Black Goat matchup doesn't look great - largely because Cthulhu has always been an extremely straightforward faction, but the Goat has not. Is the matchup balanced? In my experience, balanced. But only after the Goat player plays a few games and understands how to put pressure on Cthulhu without risking Shab too much, because if Shab dies, the game is almost guaranteed to be lost. Cthulhu is great for beginners who will be able to play with the enemy on equal terms without any problems, but the different entry threshold of the factions will become a plus only after more boxes from the dueling series are released and it will be possible to arrange various matchups. And now on the Internet, a bunch of people, in the old gamer tradition, talk about an imbalance, which in reality, most likely, does not exist. However, the different entry threshold makes the balance feel more precarious than it actually is. I believe that after the release of new boxes, the balance will settle. I wonder what Creeping Chaos or my favorite Cho-Cho will look like in the dueling version. I had mixed impressions of "Cthulhu Wars: Duel" . On the one hand, the game impressed players who were not familiar with the original, and the updated and optimized dueling rules give hope that the dueling line has a decent future (when new factions and maps are released). On the other hand, I cannot praise and recommend the basic "Duel" by itself. This is one of those games that you should try before you buy. Fortunately, the author has released an official digital version of the game on Tabletop Simuator just for introductory purposes. Time and the availability of new content will tell how successful this line will be. And so far, the dueling "Cthulhu Wars" turned out not bad, but we have to wait for a decent expansion of the line. USEFUL LINKS Cthulhu Wars: Duel on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/326485/cthulhu-wars-duel VIDEO REVIEWS ..

COMPONENTS In the deluxe box, everything is very tight, the lid closes only if everything is carefully packed. At the same time, the components are very high-quality: the tablets of heroes, bosses and torches are made of linen, as are all maps of loot, henchmen and goblins. All small components are of good quality, and the wooden henchmen and goblin figures have a stylized shape (all different!) and pattern. The miniatures of the heroes resemble "Blood and Fury" in both size and quality. PREPARATION FOR THE PARTY  Game-mechanically, we have a co-op dungeon crawler with a gradually opening map. The preparation consists of laying out the entrance to the dungeon + 4 rooms around it, as well as pouring the rest of the components from the box onto the table. Choose from 2 to 4 heroes, take their tablets and figurines - and go on an adventure! Well, you still need to mix henchmen and the boss in the deck of rooms according to special rules. It's very fast by the standards of the genre; By the way, cleaning in the box is also done quickly. GAME PROCESS  Heroes have 3 stats: Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence, which can vary from 1 to 3, indicating how many dice will be rolled on the corresponding checks. It is they who determine the path of the hero's development, because they almost never change during the game (there are things that can increase one characteristic by 1, not higher than 3, but there is always a lack of space for them). There are starters, which are the maximum values of lives and energy, a special skill of each hero and 2 items. One of them is a basic weapon, the other is usually a skill, like running or learning spells. Unfortunately, this skill is usually replaced by something more useful by the middle of the game. Special skills stay with the heroes permanently, rather than being valuable. The barbarian can add +2 to melee for 3 energy (it's pretty strong, believe me), and the sorceress can shoot a long-range, magic arrow, perfect for shooting goblins.  Our goal is to find and kill the boss of the dungeon, and first his two henchmen. So that life does not seem like honey, goblins are constantly climbing on the heroes,  and if there are 4 of them on the field, a fifth instant loss should appear. That is, you need to constantly reduce their population, because they die from any scratch, having only 1 life. The battle is simple: we choose the weapon we attack with and roll the dice according to the characteristic to which it is tied. We choose one, get bonuses from the rest, apply modifiers. We compare with the defense of the enemy and deal as much damage as it exceeds this defense (now it is clear why barbarian +2 is so strong?). The values of 1 and 2 on the dice are +1 and +2, respectively, and can be added to the base. Well, you can collect energy and health from unused cubes if they fall out. And here's why it's bad to do something other than your own: some "non-combat" classes have -1 dagger and 1 dice for strength at the beginning of the weapon. To kill an ordinary goblin with armor 4, you only need to roll a six, and if you fail, he will also crack in response. It remains to cast a spell. For magic, we roll on intelligence and on success we always deal fixed damage that ignores armor, although we will have to spend energy. Warriors, of course, can learn cool spells, but they struggle with maximum energy, and even 5 or 6 checks are difficult to cast from one cube.  After all, there are henchmen and a whole bunch of different bosses. Henchmen have a lot of health, nasty abilities and can ruin the heroes' lives. Bosses are a separate topic. They can't just be thrown with dice like "I hit, he hit." To win, you need to drag the boss through 1-3 altars in the dungeon, and then kill, even the ability to "tease" appears. After all, he does not just follow the hero like a sheep on a leash, but actively snaps, and no one canceled the goblins that appear. All this is strange, but interesting.  What's a dungeon without loot and treasures? Swords and staffs, chain mail and rings - all according to the laws of the genre. The most desirable are the equipment sets: they give bonuses for the set, even if it is incomplete, and the items themselves are very strong. The point is to collect such a set. There are rooms with treasures or traps, but you have to spend a turn searching for them, which is wasteful, so goblins remain the main source. From each green you can get an item and either keep it or drop it in the open for allies to pick up later. Heroes have a limit of two items in hand, armor, two accessories, and 2 spells. This is how we develop characters, no levels or skills are provided in the game. Our heroes cannot be killed, only knocked down — and they will spend a turn climbing. There are two main defeat conditions: 5 goblins or a timer that has popped up. The gradually decaying torch is responsible for the latter. It drops by one division each turn, as well as for particularly unsuccessful monster counterattacks or the failure of some tests. The torch is raised for the murder of henchmen, which is rare. After meeting the boss, the torch switches to a new track, allowing time for the final battle. The third defeat condition is quite rare: the dungeon is ringed and the boss cannot be found. EXPANSION The deluxe version adds potions, new goblins (potion-bound), a potion room, two henchmen, and two bosses (without potions). Can you guess the name of the mini add-on? Disposable flasks are a bit controversial, but they are not included in the normal equipment limit and can help a lot against the boss (or not).  The Story Pack adds a ton of everything: 8 new heroes, new rooms, gear, kits, bosses, henchmen, goblins, as well as quests and story mode, all for $10. I would recommend it, even if there were only 8 heroes, so it is mandatory to purchase. The only downside: you won't be able to stuff the add-on into the basic box. MINUS I cannot call the high difficulty of the game a drawback, rather a feature. Once they've mastered the game, mature adult players will win about a third of their games. But in order to figure it out, you need not only to carefully study the rules, but also to study the FAQ. It is also advisable to have a file with the decoding of abilities, items, monsters, etc. in electronic or printed form at hand. Of course, all this is in English, but on the game components themselves, only the names of items, monsters, classes, etc. are from the text. USEFUL LINKS Tiny Epic Dungeons on BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/331787/tiny-epic-dungeons VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 "Burgle Bros." - another great game in a long list of great games from one of our favorite creators, Tim Powers. One to four players become members of a team that tries to pull off an elaborate heist in an office building in search of valuable items. Gameplay takes place from a set of 16 room tiles, each of which is a floor of a building. In total, the building has three floors, through which players will have to make their way, with the hope that they will not be discovered. Each floor has walls that affect how players can move from tile to tile. On each floor, players must work together to find a safe and crack it to retrieve their loot inside. Guards patrol each floor, moving around the building according to the coordinates indicated on the stack of event cards. If players cross paths with guards, they will lose one of their invisibility tokens, which serve as your hit points or lives in the game. BANK HACKING Room tiles are full of all kinds of traps and surprises that can ruin your plans. Many tiles can trigger an alarm that will cause the guards to change course and head towards the source of the trouble. Other cards affect your movement, such as ventilation that allows you to move through a floor faster, or passages that collapse beneath you and send you to the floor below. In general, players must always be alert in order to successfully reach safes. Your job isn't over once the safe is found, because you have to crack it! To do this, you need to roll the dice to match the numbers found on the tiles in the same row and column as the safe. Not only does this add a bit of randomness to the game, but it also forces you to carefully explore each floor to be able to roll the right values on the dice, even if you find a safe quickly. I HAVE POWER! Don't think that the game will leave you to your own devices when you solve these tasks. There are several different ways players can recharge their energy to overcome the difficulty of each mission. First, each character has several unique abilities, and at the beginning of the game, players choose which one they want to use. Each of these abilities will come in handy to overcome various obstacles on the way. An acrobat, for example, can move on the same tile occupied by a guard without losing his invisibility. The gunner can look at the top card of the patrol deck to see where the guard will go next. All of these abilities will make your life a little easier, so you'll have a hard time choosing which one you want to use. Additionally, there are tools that can be purchased in various ways throughout the game. Perhaps you will get dynamite, which will allow you to destroy the wall. Or a donut that allows you to distract a guard and delay his movement for one turn. You'll need your tools, your skills, and excellent interaction between the robbers if you and your team hope to find the safes, open them, and escape through the roof before one of the players is discovered and caught. Do this and you win the game! TEAM IS MORE FUN I'm a big fan of co-op games, but there are certain elements that need to be present for a game to be good. The game should be challenging enough to keep players engaged. In "Burgle Bros." this is definitely true: players never know what rooms are hidden under the flipped tiles and where the guards will go next. To succeed, players will have to find a balance between good strategy and a little risk. Cooperative games should also allow everyone to participate. Some games can result in one or two people taking over, while the rest of the players just sit back and move their pieces around as they're told. In "Burgle Bros." it's possible to play that way, although character abilities and tools help prevent this a bit. I LOVE ROOT GAMES! It's hard to describe what I love about Burgle Bros. so much. The theme definitely plays a big role, you just feel like you're part of some heist of a classic movie. Artwork and components give each role individuality. There is also a good balance between strategy and luck. There are times when something terrible happens due to randomness: a guard moves right to where you are, or the dice roll is not in your favor. In general, you retain control over the course of the game. CONCLUSIONS ON THE GAME Plus : The game is simply wonderful, thematic; stylish design, starting from the box to cards and tiles. A solid co-op experience with adjustable difficulty. Many characters and layouts provide excellent replayability.Minus : The game is a real challenge; so that some accidents cannot make the game unfair, you should try to control the situation.  Burgle Bros. - a great game that looks just as great on the shelf as it does on the table. It fits the theme perfectly: not too light, not too dark, but full of exciting twists. Overall, this is a game that I think most players will want to have on their shelves after just one game. If you like what happens in the movies Italian Heist or Ocean's 11, be sure to check out the Burgle Bros. board game! USEFUL LINKS Burgle Bros. on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172081/burgle-bros VIDEO REVIEWS ..

WELCOME TO THE MOON  Welcome to the Moon is a game for 1-6 players created by Benoit Turpin and Alexis Allard , with illustrations by Anna Heidsik . This is a remake of Welcome To... ("Paper Quarters"), which was first published by Blue Cocker Games in 2018. Welcome to the Moon includes eight scenarios that describe the story of humanity's resettlement from Earth and its attempts to find a new home. These scenarios can be played individually in any order or as part of a sequential narrative campaign with additional features added as you progress. This provides a huge amount of content in a very small but very heavy box (heavy because it contains six copies of laminated player tablets for each scenario). There is a basic format that each scenario follows, with additional rules, mechanics, and scoring methods that vary depending on the scenario itself. Each player takes a tablet corresponding to the scenario being played out. The main deck of playing cards is shuffled and divided into three equal piles face down in the center of the table. Three mission cards are drawn from the six available for each scenario and placed face up in front of all players. After that, you can start playing!  The central deck of cards is the engine of all the decisions you have to make. In each round, the top card is played, which is placed face up next to its deck. Each of these cards has a number (1-15) on the back and a symbol on the face. So in each round you will be presented with three numbers and three symbols. For example, 14/Energy, 3/Astronaut and 11/Water. Each player then chooses a combination of number and symbol and applies it on their tablet. By writing the number in the appropriate place, according to the rules of the script, and if possible, taking the action that follows from the symbol. This review would be very long if I were to list all the possible actions, as they are different in each of the eight scenarios, so the best way to illustrate the situation is to use one scenario as an example. In Scenario #2, humanity travels from Earth to the Moon, collecting food and water along the way. You will need to complete the 40 odd steps of the route with numbers in ascending order. This is complicated by the fact that you only have access to numbers 1-15 on the cards, using the energy action to get breaks/stops. This will allow you to break up your long route into several smaller sections, with the increasing numbers starting over after each break. This makes it much easier to fill in all the numbers, but also makes it much harder to get points. There are several space stations along the way, which can be reached using the "robot" action and then using the "plant" action to score points. However, the action "plant" can be used only if you wrote a number in the section with this station. The more you break up your route into smaller sections, the fewer places and chances to use the plant action with the correct number.  The "water" action gives you points if you place a number in the "water" space. It's as simple as it sounds, but it gets really complicated when you have to balance getting the right number in the right place and using the right action at the right time to avoid running out of space to accommodate larger numbers. The "plan" and "astronaut" actions give you limited bonus actions (wildcards) that allow you to use any action with any number. They are extremely useful and often allow you to break a large pot or advance further. The player with the most points is the winner: in this scenario, points are awarded for space stations, water collection and changing mission maps. For example, one of the mission cards gives you points for being the first to place numbers next to four consecutive water spaces. This scenario, at first glance, is very simple. After all, this is not rocket science! However, after only 15 minutes of play, we found ourselves staring intently at our tablets, muttering to ourselves and trying to figure out what number and action we should be using. As the game got closer to the end of the game, it escalated to the point where a misplay on my part would practically kill me from continuing the game, while my opponent raced ahead to victory.  Welcome to the Moon is a tough game to review, as it's essentially eight games rolled into one, with a campaign to boot! It strongly resembles Wolfgang Warsch's Ganz Schon Clever, also known as That's Pretty Clever! ("The Right Move"), the classic Roll & Write game from Schmidt Spiele, albeit with a slower pace and more planning elements. The combination of scenarios allows for a truly huge level of replayability, not to mention the campaign and single player options. The pure and simple core of the game includes a lot of smart, thoughtful improvements and mechanics that I've only just begun to explore. With scenarios ranging from the very simple to the cerebral, Welcome to the Moon really has something for everyone. I think you'll be hard-pressed to find a better deal on the gaming market. Six player games are hard to come by. There are almost no six-player games that work equally well for large family gatherings or intense one-on-one battles. I will definitely be adding Welcome to the Moon to my collection and look forward to playing through each of the remaining scenarios before embarking on the big campaign. An excellent, elegant little game that exceeded my expectations in every way. A must-have for any collection! USEFUL LINKS Welcome to the Moon on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/339789/welcome-moon VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 Have you ever wanted to lead an army of ninja aliens into battle? Wizard leprechauns? Or maybe robo-pirates? "Zamis" gives you such an opportunity. It's a modern classic that spawned countless dopes and remains popular among players. Personally, I fell in love with the game from the first game a few years ago thanks to the crazy mix of settings and chaos that takes place in it. ABOUT THE GAME  In Smash Up, each player chooses two factions and shuffles their decks, each consisting of 20 cards. As a result, combinations like those described above are obtained. The goal of the game is to score 15 victory points. Points are scored for capturing the base. To capture the base, the total strength of the henchmen on it should exceed the value indicated on it. At the start, players have 5 cards in their hand. During his turn, a player can place 1 of his henchmen on one of the bases and play 1 action. If, after a player's turn, the total strength of the henchmen in the base exceeds the specified value, it is captured, and the VPs are divided among the players depending on whether they took first, second, or third place in that base. After counting the points, the player draws 2 cards, and the next move comes. The game ends after someone has scored 15 points. WHAT MAKES ZAMIS SO GOOD? 1. Great and unique illustrations and setting. For a game of this kind, a mixture of many factions is exactly what is needed. In my experience, newcomers are very attracted to the process of choosing and mixing two factions in the most ridiculous combinations. In the last game, one of the players got really excited about the prospect of playing zombie dinosaurs.  2. In the game, surprisingly, there is a place for strategy. The D&D fan part of my gaming cell became familiar with the strengths of the chosen factions after a few turns of the first game and developed strategies accordingly. Indeed, some factions focus on discard pile manipulation, others pile on numbers, and so on. 3. There are many combinations here and it is interesting to try them out. For a lightweight game like "Smash Up", replayability is simply a must. Yes, you will probably quickly decide which factions are your favorites and prefer to play with them, but if you stick to certain combinations, the game can quickly get boring. Even in the "Smash Up" base there are a lot of different combinations, and if you add 1-2 dops, there will be enough of them for dozens of games. 4. Although it's almost filler, it's comprehensive enough to keep you interested in the game. The basic mechanics are very primitive: play 1-2 cards, follow the instructions on the card, score points from the bases, draw 2 new cards. But there is room for strategy and scrolling through quite complex combinations. And there are also a lot of actions, henchmen and special abilities of the bases, which you need to manage correctly if you want to win. NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE PERFECT 1. Due to the diversity of the text, sometimes there is an information load. Although the game is simple, during the course of the game, so many action cards, constant abilities of henchmen and special features of the bases can be used simultaneously (not to mention the potential possibilities of the cards currently in your hand) that you can lose count or at least forget about some useful possibility. Once you've memorized most of the cards, it gets easier, but the first few games can be confusing. 2. The game has quite strong randomness. Although "Smash Up" is not as random as many other fillers, you will suffer from a bad hand at times. In one recent game, I had no henchmen for 4 moves in a row. And all 4 of my strongest cards ended up on the bottom of the deck. There are ways to deal with randomness in Zamis, but a poorly drawn hand can lower your chances of winning. 3. Beginners will have a hard time. As with most decks ... but a person who has never played a certain faction is unlikely to be able to play it optimally right away. However, for many, this is not a problem, since players still receive a fan. After all, "Smash Up" is a frivolous and not very serious game. CONCLUSIONS  I consider Smash Up to be one of the best light/middleweight card games out there. Thanks to the number of additions, you will always have new interesting combinations to try, and even the fan base of combinations is enough for many games. This is one of the main advantages of "Smash Up": the factions are sufficiently different that there is room for various play styles and strategies. Another advantage is a wonderful (in my opinion) art. Among the disadvantages is the variety of text on the cards, which can overload the brain or at least distract. Especially beginners. In addition, an unsuccessfully drawn hand significantly reduces your chances of winning. But as far as I'm concerned, these flaws don't detract from the fanfare you can get from Smash Up. USEFUL LINKS Batch on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122522/smash VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 The world sank. Endless downpours caused by a sunken god rising from the abyss threaten to engulf the last bastions of human civilization. Only a few brave captains can stand in his way - to set off to find out the cause of the eternal downpours and stop them. They have to fight, chart a course, investigate and trade in order to win. Everrain is a co-op game for 1-4 players set in a bleak apocalyptic world engulfed by the ocean and Cthulhu-like sea monsters. Game time — about 3 hours + 1 hour for each player, except for the first. There is an elaborate plot, engine construction and placement of workers. GAME PROCESS  Your task is to collect evidence. Up to 5 evidences can be mined in ports, which will speed up your progress. If you collect the required number of evidence (usually 16), then you win. You are faced with a game timer; if it reaches zero, the Drowned God avatar will appear, and the players will only have a few turns before the avatar destroys the world (destroys ports, sinks ships, etc.) and everyone loses. Evidence can be obtained in several ways: by exploring the surrounding world, completing quests, exchanging for artifacts, randomly finding in the moon and buying at the port. In general, there are many options; In terms of freedom of action, Everrain is almost a sandbox.  Obstacles in your way will be the fatigue of the crew members, the attacks of the enemies (both ships and boarding teams), as well as the mechanics of orders. Each turn you have 3 orders recharged, which you can use to control your team, move and attack your ship. But you can give at least all orders per turn, only 3 will be recharged. This adds tactical depth to the game: you have to think about which orders to recharge and which to leave later.  Team management is also not an easy task: crew members must be in certain locations so that movement and attacks are as effective as possible. But at the same time, the crew members accumulate fatigue, which can then be removed either in the port or by letting them rest in the cabin. However, orders are constantly running out — and you won't be able to get all the tired crew members out of the locations in time.  And, finally, the construction of the engine. The engine is your ship, which can be modified (due to upgrades found or purchased at the port) in many different ways. You can make him a powerful monster hunter who extracts evidence by studying defeated enemies. You can make him an explorer by building the fastest and most maneuverable ship capable of turning around at full speed. There are many options. And considering that there are also many ways to obtain evidence, you can make a ship to your liking. You can also hire specialists with powerful useful features on the ship, which, however, are more expensive than ordinary sailors, for example, a ship's doctor or a navigator. PLOT AND ATMOSPHERE  Perhaps the main advantage of Everrain is that the game is very atmospheric. The stunning illustrations and style perfectly convey the atmosphere of a sinking world with Lovecraftian elements. You feel like you've been transported to an alternate 1800s: upgrades, names of guns, passengers and ports, events - these are the bricks that make up the creepy world you've entered. It's easy to get lost in Everrain. Also, the game has a well-thought-out mechanics of quests, which are revealed gradually, in the course of their execution, due to the addition of new cards to already existing decks. The game even has tiny positive and negative trait cards for each crew member, which adds to the atmosphere and affects the gameplay. COMPONENTS  The quality of the components is excellent, albeit with a few minor gripes. The minions of the crew members and enemies are excellent, the models of the ships are excellent and in dynamic poses. The illustrations are very beautiful and thematic. In general, the quality of the components is at the level of the best boards, but in some places convenience has suffered in the pursuit of atmosphere. Especially in the case of the dice: the enemies' dice have 3 very similar symbols that are even harder to read due to the contrasting tones (red, engraved on black...). Some tokens are also too similar to each other. DISADVANTAGES OF THE GAME The game has its flaws. As mentioned, some components are easy to mix up. The game is long: even in solo it takes 3 hours. And the first game will take even longer because the rulebook has a bunch of little nuances that are easy to forget because of their illogicality (for example, enemies roll one attack die except on their first turn). The rulebook is structured so-so; although it contains all the information you need, finding the right section is not that easy considering how many there are. The game is still too easy. After several games, I never even saw an avatar: by the time the final act begins, you already have a ship capable of extracting evidence on such an industrial scale that in the last 2-3 turns you don't even have to do anything special, and then you win. No final boss fight, no unexpected plot twist... nothing spectacular. Everrain wouldn't hurt the final boss, though on the other hand it would further bloat an already massive game that could take a whole day to play - especially if there are three or four of you. Also, while it's formally a cooperative game, there's almost zero interaction between players. There is also the problem of the snowball building up in the middle of the game: the first act takes as much time as the other three combined. CONCLUSIONS  Everrain is a great game, but very large. A party can take almost the whole day, and learning how to play and teaching others will also take a lot of time. On the other hand, the gameplay is very exciting, themed and fan-based - especially when you upgrade the ship by buying new guns and battering rams. Everrain is worth trying if you can: traveling through a sinking world, collecting crew and hunting for treasure is very interesting. Everrain is an ambitious game that has achieved its goals. I happily spent hours traveling around islands, battling sea serpents and Lovecraftian monsters. It also goes well in solo, and noticeably faster than in a large composition. Would love to see an add-on that raises the mid and late game difficulty. Giant monsters and more varied enemy ships wouldn't hurt either; Now, ship-to-ship battles are unfortunately quite rare. All in all, if you want a massive co-op engine-building adventure in an eerie light setting that takes up a solid chunk of your weekend, then Everrain is the game for you. USEFUL LINKS Everrain on BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/252315/everrain VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 In space, no one will hear your scream... However, space marines do not scream. These genetically modified and devoted to the Emperor death machines fight fiercely and die without fear or doubt. A small squad of these armored warriors, armed with saw swords, flamethrowers and psi-powers, land on the Space Traveler - an abandoned ship that roams the vastness of space. It is clearly teeming with the local Zerg variety, the gene stealers. Your space marines have to carefully make their way through the claustrophobically tight corridors of the traveler, blowing the oncoming aliens to pieces and, most likely, dying one by one. Your task is to reach the final location, where the goal of your mission is located: an alien lair, a self-destruct mechanism, etc. According to the plot, the chances of success are about 44% with the loss of 86% of the personnel. Sound tempting? Then go ahead, for the Emperor! GAME PROCESS  "Space Hulk: Death Angel" is a lightweight/middleweight card co-op for 1-6 players aged 12+. Parties take 20-45 minutes. Each player controls 1-3 squads of 2 Space Marines (the number of squads controlled depends on the number of players; i.e. in a party of four each player controls only one squad, while in a solo party you will control three squads). You lay out space marine cards in a vertical axis and thereby form a battle formation. Location and alien cards will be laid out to the left and right of your paratrooper column.  After the aliens spawn (which is often accompanied by unpleasant events that make life difficult for you), your Space Marines can react with one of the following actions: supporting each other, moving, interacting with the surrounding location, or the Space Marines' favorite option: blowing the hell out of everything with futuristic weapons. But the game prudently limits you, forbidding you to repeat the action played in the previous turn. So you can't just shoot all the time and be forced to resort to various tactics. Each squad (basically there are 6 of them) has a certain special ability for each of the three available processes. For example, a flamethrower can engage a whole group of aliens when firing instead of just one, a paratrooper with a saw sword supported by comrades can simultaneously chop attacking aliens to pieces, and a Lexicanum psionic can freeze in a force field.  You can also "activate" objects located in locations: doors, levers, and fuel tanks — respectively, blocking the way for aliens, receiving a temporary bonus, or destroying a large group of enemies (but the space marine who did this risks getting killed himself) . This provides a variety of gameplay; firing from all barrels and praying is not always the optimal tactic. All attacks are resolved by rolling a single die. The chance of a successful hit is 50% by default. Support tokens obtained by supporting other Space Marines and some game effects allow you to roll the dice both offensively and defensively.  On the defensive? That's right: the aliens who survived your turn attack themselves, trying hard to bite through the space marines' armor. And their chances of success, unfortunately, are quite high: each newcomer has a 33% chance of killing a space marine. The more enemies, the higher the risk of death. If your fighter is expecting an attack, then you can try to avoid unpleasant results with the aforementioned support tokens. However, there are always not enough tokens, and the cube sometimes just mocks you. Especially considering that it is custom, with faces not from 1 to 6, but from 0 to 5. This goes on until you wipe out all the aliens in the current location and move on to the next one. Each mission consists of 4-5 stages that you have to go through to win. If you survive to the end and fulfill the conditions of the mission, you win. IMPRESSION  You shouldn't expect to win, the game is HARD. No, not "complicated" - it's "Robinson Crusoe" complicated. Space Hulk is simply brutal, and you understand this after seeing how easily the gene stealers chew up your space marines. In the course of the game, the game will give you many unpleasant surprises - and you will be defeated more than once or twice. Personally, I win 10% of games. I managed to win, I'm afraid to approach the "Angel of Death" again. As your fighters fall one by one, you feel helpless and frustrated: could you have somehow saved Brother Claudius, or are you just rolling the dice terribly? This cruelty is the essence of the game. On the one hand, this makes Space Hulk even more of a challenge. You won't win on the first or second try; the game will make you sweat to succeed. On the other hand, you will experience a lot of frustration when bad dice rolls lead to one defeat after another. Luck plays a significant role here. No matter how well you plan everything, sometimes you just need a good throw. And such randomness can push some players away from the game.  However, the brutal complexity and sudden deaths fit very well into the Warhammer universe: the paratroopers are both cool and vulnerable at the same time. Their journey through the tunnels is conveyed by an atmosphere of claustrophobia and the sense of impending death that you feel every time an alien creature is pulled from the log. Each success causes an explosion of emotions. Victory is an event worth celebrating. Genestealers are not standard minion enemies; they are a very real threat, and after defeating them I was much happier than after any game of Pandemic. However, I must note that "Angel of Death" is essentially a solo game, to which the rules for multiplayer have been screwed. I enjoyed playing solo the most, and the artificial distribution of roles to several players does not work well. You have to discuss your plans, but you don't have the right to say what you're doing. Does it sound strange? I would! Therefore, many players simply score on planning. In addition, the game is very vulnerable to alpha players; seasoned veterans can easily command novices. However, in solo mode "Space Hulk: Death Angel" is very good and, moreover, compact; to take with you on a trip. If you want a challenging solo game, then this is for you. If you want something easier (that is, games where there are real chances to win) - look for something else. If you want a game where the die doesn't decide your fate, then Space Hulk: Death Angel isn't for you either. As for Warhammer fans, they probably won't be disappointed: the atmosphere of the game and the artistic descriptions correspond to the universe. For those who want similar sensations, but in a more "serious" game, we can recommend the original Space Hulk, which has minions, dueling confrontation, etc. However, it is noticeably longer than the card game. In general, due to the ambiguity of the game, I cannot give it the highest rating. But I can't do low either, because her strengths are very good. Know what you're signing up for, be prepared for a glorious death, and sooner or later victory will be yours. My rating is 7/10. USEFUL LINKS Space Hulk: Death Angel on the portal BGG https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/71721/space-hulk-death-angel-card-game Space Hulk: Death Angel on the Game Theory portal https://tg.in.ua/boardgames/601/space-hulk-death-angel-card-game VIDEO REVIEWS ..

 Family games are the most versatile genre of board games. Games from our TOP can be played with children, with parents, with friends and with newcomers to the world of board games. 10. TICKET TO RIDE, CARCASSONE These games will most likely be offered to you in the store :) They are very popular and sold in large quantities. Moreover, each of these three games has many varieties. Train ticket: Europe, America, Nordic countries... Carcassonne: Classic, Gold Rush, Amazon... They share a common mechanic, but the setting, the place of action in the games are different. If you haven't played these games yet or you're choosing a gift and don't know what the person likes, any of the games will be a good option. 9. POTION EXPLOSION  A very simple and enjoyable game with a bunch of colorful glass balls. During the game, you will collect various ingredients and brew potions. You will learn, for example, how to make potions of wisdom from unicorn tears and dragon smoke 8. THE CASTLES OF BURGUNDY  The events of "Castles of Burgundy" take place in the region of medieval France. Players, playing the role of aristocrats, rule small principalities, building settlements, strong castles, practicing river trade, developing mines and using the knowledge of travelers. The principalities are represented in the game by the personal fields of the players, spread out in a hexagon. During the game, hexagons are filled with settlement tiles. Each tile has its own purpose, and they start working when they appear on the field. One of the best family strategies that opens the way to more complex economic games. 7. SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM  Do you like player interaction, dialogue and bluffing? If so, try the Sheriff of Nottingham game. In it, each participant in turn becomes a sheriff, and the rest try to transport legal goods and contraband through him. You put all the cards in a bag, give it to the sheriff and declare what is there. For example, like this: "Sheriff, you know me, I have never deceived you and always acted extremely honestly. So this time I'm carrying 5 boxes of apples." The sheriff might remember that there weren't that many cards with apples this turn and you're likely to fool him. He wants to open the bag to check, but you stop him: "Maybe something else could have got into my bag, I was going in a hurry ... Maybe 5 coins will help you believe me?" You hand him coins and the sheriff calms down. 6. FOR SALE Quite a brilliant game for its size. You will buy and sell real estate in an effort to make money. Moreover, houses are different: from a cardboard box and a smokehouse to castles and space stations. A simple and dynamic auction game. 5. COLT EXPRESS  Fun in a box! All of you together (up to 6 people, we recommend exactly 5-6) will rob the train. It's every man for himself, whoever takes the most is the winner. You'll be running all over the train, shooting opponents, taking bags of money from them and controlling a sheriff who really doesn't like what's happening on his train! The highlight of this game is how the action cards are played. You lay them out one after the other, but you don't perform the events at once. For example, the first player says that he will get into the wagon, the second player says that he will shoot, the third player will run forward, and so on for several rounds of actions. Then you collect the general deck of cards and start doing all these actions. And from this moment the most interesting begins. Why is he shooting in the air? Why is she going to meet the sheriff? Someone hit a freaking bullet. Real chaos! And an even funnier situation occurs when the train enters the tunnel: everyone puts their cards face down. Anything can happen in the tunnel! This game is not for serious strategy, just relax and have fun, then you are guaranteed to have a great time. 4. TAKENOKO  The cutest and cutest game in this rating. Here you will need to irrigate the area and grow bamboo for the panda to eat. Moreover, the mechanics of the game are quite interesting, that is, you will need to consider how to score more points than your opponents. 3. 13 CLUES Each player sees three clues, which are divided into: Person, Crime Scene, and Murder Tool. Also, players know all the cards of their opponents (except those behind their screen). Your goal is to calculate the set of cards that fits on the front side of your screen, and to be able to do this, you will need to strain your brains. Players investigate by asking each other questions, consulting with an undercover informant, and making accusations to gather clues and frame suspects. The object of the game is to identify which of the 13 clues fits your case before the others! 2. CELESTIA  One of the best family games on the market right now is Celestia. It is based on the push your luck mechanic, i.e. "try your luck". And this means that all your games will be very gambling. You fly with your friends on an airship, and the further you go, the more treasures you can find. But there may be a lot of problems on your way: clouds, birds and even pirates. Before each new city, the captain (and the players take turns being captains) rolls dice that show the obstacles we have encountered. Each player then decides whether to stay on the ship or disembark and receive the current city's reward. Those who remain on board are completely dependent on the captain. If he has the right cards, they fly on. If not, the ship crashes and nobody gets anything. Get off now or hope for luck and fly on? Tit in the form of easy points at the start or cranes in the form of 25 points and the last city? You'll love Celestia for its simplicity and the emotion it brings! And I have not yet said that you can bluff very actively here... That is, there is quite a lot of communication in the game. And isn't that one of the main things we play board games for? 1. PANDEMIC  The best, in our opinion, game from the genre of family cooperative games. In this game you will not need to compete and try to get more points. Here you will all work together as a team to save the planet from terrible epidemics and try to cure spreading diseases. Moreover, each player will have a role with special abilities. This game should be in everyone's collection!)..

 Note : This review contains no plot spoilers. The review mentions the plot, but without specific details.  I will start, of course, with the appearance and components. The "Book of Miracles" can be called amazing without exaggeration. 3D elements are beautiful, strong and functional (more on that below). In addition to colorfully painted cardboard, there are also good miniatures and cubes. So at first glance, the game is very attractive, and it helps to immerse yourself in the story that is being told.  As for the basic mechanics, you can get used to it in a few moves. Heroes have essentially four options for action: move, interact with certain locations, fight enemies or use special abilities. Everything is very simple, moves do not take much time. However, the heroes need to act together and coordinate. Where to go, which enemy to attack, when to use a special ability are all important decisions; especially the use of sparks, which occur quite rarely. Moreover, the gameplay is not reduced to "go and kill enemies", and this is good considering that "The Book of Wonders" is intended to be played with children. Enemies often distract you from a truly important task, and you will not only have to deal with them, but also complete the task.  And they are very diverse. During the course of the campaign, you will encounter various tasks: from find-and-bring to sieges and battles with bosses. Each section feels unique, as it has its own special rules that, while not turning the gameplay upside down, add something fresh that keeps players interested. And three-dimensional elements are used very creatively; For example, the game has a challenge of dexterity, which delivers a lot of fan.  In total, the six-chapter campaign takes a moderate amount of time, so the interest in the game will most likely not die out in your game cell. There is leveling in the campaign, so you will have several options to improve your character, which are very cliche by the way (tank, berserker, marksman and healer). This helps to adjust them to your preferred play style. All of the mechanics listed above are easy to master, so the result is a simple and fan-friendly game for casuals and families.  However, there are, unfortunately, disadvantages that spoil the positive aspects described above. How critical they are to you is up to you. To begin with, a small nitpick: there are unclear points in the rules. What does "hero phase ends" mean? Can every character that hasn't descended yet be descended, or does the current round end immediately? "You need a spark to interact with this card" - do you need to spend it or just have it? We interpreted the rules in our own way, but an official explanation would not hurt. It is also worth noting that the parts (with the exception of the introductory section) took us 1.5-2 hours, which I feel is a bit excessive. Not sure if there are so many parents sitting around playing with small children. They may have to split their heads in two.  Another gripe is the unequal distribution of important skills between the four characters in the party. Personally, we thought that Ken and Sid were much stronger than Lara and Tina. Killing enemies, generating sparks, and supporting other characters are very valuable abilities, unlike Lara's and Tina's abilities, which feel very situational. More often than not, they couldn't do anything useful with the remaining actions, because either the other characters had already cleared all the enemies, or the interesting locations were too far away.  But there are also more serious disadvantages. First, the development of the plot.  The second serious drawback is the large amount of randomness. Battles are fought on dice, each dice has a 50% chance of success. You can roll one die per turn, two successes are required to defeat an average enemy. Only enemies do not roll dice, but deal damage automatically. This speeds up the gameplay a bit, but since the behavior of the enemies is dictated by the randomly drawn cards, situations often arise when the heroes lose consciousness without having time to do anything. And the special actions available at the expense of items and special rights are often extremely situational and sometimes completely useless. Often, a series of bad throws and bad cards radically changed the situation on the field and even led to defeat. If it happens once or twice, it can only be annoying, but when it happens regularly—your fate is decided by bad luck, not tactics—it's frustrating. Moreover, in each section there is at least one mechanic, clearly designed to help unlucky heroes; apparently, the authors noticed the problem, but did not do anything about it.  All in all, I'm not entirely sure what The Book of Wonders is trying to be: an interactive story with gameplay elements bolted on, or a dungeon crawler for kids with story elements? For the first one, the plot is weak, and replaying the campaign is unlikely to be interesting - it's all the same. For the second, there is obvious overproduction, and individual chapters are too long for young children to have the patience to sit through to the end. USEFUL LINKS Wonder Book on the BGG portal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/340237/wonder-book   VIDEO REVIEWS ..

Hello friends, We are glad to announce that already today we are getting the super hit Carcassonne in Ukrainian and the not-so-hit Code Names in pictures. Both games will be in the store after 19oo, but we are already opening the possibility to order these games in our online store. In addition, we received a lot of everything, please contact :)..