Designer Scott Almes is best known for the Tiny Epic series of games published under his Gamelyn Games label. Our team reviewed about five of them, and we generally found the games to be okay—nothing incredibly special, but nothing incredibly bad either. Then I reviewed Roller Coaster Rush, another Almes design, and it was probably the worst game I've played in 2023. Really terrible. So, based purely on recency bias, I was a little freaked out when I opened the box for Capstone Games' US-published Beer & Bread 2022 edition. Almost immediately, these fears disappeared. If Beer & Bread landed on my desk in 2023, I'd probably name it my favorite two-player-only game, just ahead of Sky Team. A LITTLE OF THIS, BUT NO MORE OF THAT My review of Beer & Bread starts with a scoring system. A bit like Between Two Cities, New Ark, Tigris and Euphrates and other classics, Beer and Bread is a race for points by completing orders on two different sets of cards, beer cards and bread cards. The lower of the two scores becomes the player's final score, so balancing is key to victory. Each player represents an unnamed village upstream from the opposing village. For six years, the villages will hold friendly competitions to see who can make the most beer and bread. Each year is a circle, and each circle is simple. Given a hand of five cards, players must use a card for one of its three functions. Harvest and Store, which produces one of the game's five resources, which will be stored in a nine-room warehouse. Craft and Sell, an order fulfillment feature that requires the player to spend 4-7 resources to obtain a card Upgrade and clear by requiring a player to slide a card under certain parts of their side of the board to have permanent or ultimate power. It also allows you to move score cards from the bakery and/or brewery to get points at the end of the game. In odd-numbered rounds, players play one card each and then exchange hands. In even-numbered years, players keep previously played Harvest and Store cards and add new cards to their hand for new play options.  Beer & Bread instantly became one of my favorite multiplayer card games because the card options are usually very complex. Over the course of three games—once with a very experienced player, once with my wife, and once with my nine-year-old daughter—I was surprised how often I was torn between two or even three options on a card before making a choice. That said, it didn't slow down the game significantly, as all of my activities lasted less than 30 minutes. The card system is so smooth. The Collect and Store action stacks, so if I play the second card of the Collect and Store action, I get all the resources on both cards on my tableau. This means that you can fill up your warehouse quickly, and if you have a good selection of the five resources (water, wheat, barley, rye and hops) you can usually fill the card in the "Produce and Sell" step a couple of times in each round. I like that the upgrade system is unlimited. Some enhancement cards align with end game points and can be great for setting up early game strategy. I also like that it's aligned with the Cleanse action. By limiting the storage of completed beer and bread cards, it encourages players to use upgrades strategically, and also helps create a production engine or add points in the late game. It was easy to teach, and the back of the rulebook serves as a common reference aid for players. The box is small—not Tiny Epic small, but still pretty neat—and the rules even go into too much detail about each card upgrade, even though I thought it was unnecessary. If you don't want to read the rules, there's a seven-minute video on the box that you can link to. ESSENTIALLY Flawless Beer and bread is fantastic. Easy to learn, easy to play at the table and play in half an hour. I can play with gamers, I can play with non-gamers. Each game will play out slightly differently, and the upgrade system allows players to customize the experience to their liking over six rounds of play. My only issue, and admittedly a nitpick: hops, the green resource in Beer and Bread. Hops appear as a required recipe on only 19 of the game's 60 cards (only the beer cards, and yes, I counted). In all three of my games, it never felt like I needed the jumps. This is because the other 11 beer cards don't require hops, and instead of spending a Harvest and Store action on a card that contains hops, I'm going to get pretty much anything else. This way I have maximum flexibility when it comes to stocking items that can be spent on beer cards AND bread instead of just beer cards. Beyond that? I thought Beer & Bread was the perfect game for just two players. It doesn't dethrone 7 Wonders Duel, but Beer & Bread is really good and immediately the best Scott Almes design I've tried. I save it for games with my family!..

 Hello, today we received a batch of great games, and we will immediately hurry to share the news with you!..

 Sipping rum from a deep mug, tucking a dagger and a couple of pistols into our belts, we set out to set sails on ships and furrow the seas playing Merchants and Marauders . GAMEPLAY What is this game about? This is a game about sailors who wander between several islands of the Caribbean basin and trade some with honest trade, and some with robbery (caravans) of merchants and colleagues who pass by.  The essence of the game is very simple: swim, trade, steal, earn 10 glory points and you are the winner. Overlaid on this simple system is a set of rules that specify exactly how this is done. For example, you can trade every time you enter the port, while each city has a "scarce" product for which you can get more money, and by selling 3 pieces at once, you can get a glory point and be one step closer to victory. Also, with the money earned, you can buy various minor (but nice!) improvements for your ship, such as sails, guns, hammocks for team members, etc. In general, the non-combat part of the game revolves very much around the ports - in addition to trading and buying improvements, in some ports you can get missions (which are more often reduced to swimming somewhere and passing a check of one of the parameters there by rolling one or more dice), even in the city you can get a rumor map (roughly the same as missions, but available in all ports). For both missions and rumors, you also need to check the "influence" parameter of your captain with dice, no dice rolled - no rumor/mission. You can also repair a damaged ship at the port or buy a new one (a glory point is also given for the purchase).  A player has 3 actions on their turn that they can spend moving to an adjacent sea zone, entering/exiting a port, or trying to find a merchant/other player hanging out in the same zone (by checking the "reconnaissance" option with the dice). Here we smoothly approach the description of the combat unit. For attacks on neutral merchants, the combat is quite simple: you get several goods cards (which also indicate the amount of money and the area of the ship in which the merchant's return fire "hits") if none of the parameters of your ship's stability have fallen to zero after the return fire . you successfully rob a merchant, receiving money for drawn goods cards, the opportunity to stuff the goods themselves into the hold, and if you looted 12 or more coins - an additional glory point. Ah, yes, completely forgot - after attacking (even unsuccessfully) the first (and all subsequent) merchants, you automatically become a pirate. Each merchant is listed as belonging to one of several nations represented on the table (English, Dutch, French, and Spanish). You gain one search token for that nation and can no longer enter its ports on the field. A few words about how bad it is to be a pirate. First, the game has random events that periodically bring neutral MILITARY ships of various nations into the field. Most event cards will also activate ships already on the field and send them off in one direction or another, BUT if you're a pirate and you're hanging around, they'll swim towards you instead and start looking for you (neutral ships and captains have the same set of parameters, as well as players).  If they discover you, then a fight will begin (another player will play neutral), and you have every chance to go to feed the fish, if you did not prepare for such a meeting in advance. Even if you are sitting in the port, the warship will not sail anywhere, but will wait until you are about to sail out of there, and will try to "hook" you again. But that's not all! Since pirates rarely stop at one robbed merchant, the number of search tokens on their ship gradually increases, and if another player sinks the pirate's ship, then for each token he will immediately receive 5 gold coins, and he himself will not be considered a pirate. However, in addition to warships, pirate ships also hang around the field, which, on the contrary, do not touch fellow pirates, but curiously begin to circle around the ships of peaceful players. And for the sweet - a fight between two players. Here you can evaluate how random the game is. The captains compare the maneuverability parameters of the ships, then roll navigation dice (initiative), whoever has more successes can fire all his guns, whoever has less can only fire from guns equal to the number of successes. Hits lower the ship's parameters (guns, crew, masts/hull, hold), accordingly reducing its combat effectiveness / destroying the cargo being carried / mowing down the crew. If it turned out that the crew of the enemy ship is quite ragged, you can try to board it (at the same time, each captain rolls dice for the number of surviving crew members). If you're lucky, you can appropriate an enemy ship with all the goods and improvements. Well, if you're not lucky, welcome to the bottom. (Yes, you can try to flush, but it usually either won't roll at first because any hit "cancels the flush" or won't roll at the end because you're clearly near death and so your chances are, again, very little). Well, that's roughly how this yoho-ho-and-a-bottle-of-rum-game goes. =) And now impressions! IMPRESSION I played twice, won once, lost once. I liked the game, but the second time, unlike the first, I complained for a long time about the game balance (in general, I always complain about the balance when I lose, so I often can't understand whether the problem is with the balance or the fact that I don't know how to lose =) ). WHAT'S GOOD IN THE GAME? - Pirate atmosphere, romance of the seas and so on - you wander around the ports in search of profitable goods / errands, rob other ships or, on the contrary, try to wash away from them, the pirates get a headache from the military that cruises around, trying to find them and the eternal "let someone fix the ship" after another fight. In addition, the game is beautifully designed (and the version of the friend we played is designed on 10/15). — The feeling of satisfaction from a "spoiled businessman": whether it is a successful sale, a completed mission or a robbed caravan - sailing to the next port, you feel like a "sea wolf", with a sense of fulfilled duty, going "to taverns and brothels" under time for a short rest. - Dynamics. Something is constantly happening in the game: warships are sailing, pirates are sailing, a storm is raging somewhere (and the wind must also be taken into account), every turn you get a map of events, it can even start a war between nations on the field. And you should always keep a close eye on the movements of your comrades, because if you are torn apart in a fight, even a peaceful merchant floating by may think: "Why not?" WHAT DID NOT LIKE — The battle between the two ships greatly distorts this very dynamic: while all this commotion with "initiative-shot-hit" is going on, other players make their moves and then, sadly, wait for the resolution and the next round. — If your ship was sunk in a fight, you start the game over. Only the accumulated glory points are saved, and in the rest - the new captain, the starting trough and the starting 10 gold. As they say, "technically" you can still win, but I will believe in such miracles only when I see it with my own eyes. - Actually, about these troughs. Why such a fatal loss of ship? Because a new ship costs 30-35 gold, which is several ROUNDS of dangling cargo between several ports or looting (while also taking into account repairs and the inability to enter some ports). But the balance of ship parameters is very controversial: for 35 coins you can choose a frigate or a galleon. The frigate has all the parameters of 3, the galleon has fatness of 5, the rest have 4 and only maneuverability is 1. But what does maneuverability give so much to raise the parameters of a ship with low maneuverability? Each of the captains has a navigation parameter (initiative), which is usually equal to 2. When two ships are fighting, the captain of the more maneuverable one rolls 1(!) additional initiative die. It doesn't matter if you have 4 maneuverability and your opponent has 1, you still roll 1 bonus. a cube However, first of all, an additional dice of maneuverability does not mean a gain in initiative at all, you can not throw a single success on three (well, cubes, you understand). Second, there are captains who have a base navigation value of 3, so your maneuverability will only allow you to match the initiative of a "trucker" commander. And, thirdly, even if a truck hits you once (and, let me remind you, trucks have more guns), it is quite possible that, even if you win the initiative, you will have nothing to shoot at or a second hit will destroy your frigate, in whose all "vital" indicators are lower. Well, for the second game I have the feeling that there is practically no sense in the frigate (and if you have a captain with navigation in 3, then none at all). - The last, most annoying thing is how much, IMHO, the game is skewed towards trading and peaceful extraction of victory points. ADVANTAGE OF PIRACY — Piracy brings less money on average (and there is a chance to waste the action, because the victim ship still needs to be found with an intelligence check, and if not found, you can search again only when you enter this zone again). — Actually, a large part of your money will be eaten up by repairs / constant purchase of improvements in order not to go to the bottom. — If you didn't get 12 or more coins from the robbed merchant, you won't get a victory point (glory points) either. — You are constantly pinched by warships and are hindered by the impossibility of entering some (and the more you pirate, the more) ports. If the reward for your head will be decent, then other players will not mind sewing your masts. — There is a chance to..

PLOT The Betrayer's War takes place after the events of Tales of Darkness. If you don't have a completed Tales of Darkness campaign saved, you'll have to go through a "short" (if the rulebook is to be believed) cut-scene before the game, which is actually 40 minutes long, making choices, making decisions, etc. .Keep that in mind.  The adventures of our group began with the pursuit of a thief in a watchtower. After that, the plot becomes more open; we are trying to capture the locations of the various factions scattered across Terrinoth to help Waikar the Betrayer defend Terrinoth from the dragons and Uthuk I'Lan.  We haven't finished the campaign yet, but it feels like Traitor's War is paying more attention to each individual hero and the group as a whole. The story of each character is better developed than in Tales of Darkness. Moreover, what is especially pleasing, it is woven into the gameplay. Scenarios not only focus on individual heroes, but often change their playstyle in new fan-made ways. In particular, with the help of upgrade cards, which are tied to new types of tokens; For example, darkness (umbra), curtain (shroud). The first gives special bonuses to certain characters (yes, Chance will learn to essentially teleport), and the second allows you to dodge the character's target enemies.  Regarding the components. In "Traitor's War" new, experienced versions of the heroes we know appear, and the bad ones also look great. Some plot enemies have their own special minion, and they appear more than once throughout the story. There is also a giant, impressive dragon miniature. And a new three-dimensional terrain that is used in various scenarios. I will not spoil much; I'll just say that the first three scenarios manage this terrain in very interesting ways. The authors perfectly integrated the plot into the script. We encountered many scenarios where it was interesting to follow the development of the plot from beginning to end. Traitor's War makes even more use of the program's narrative capabilities, interactive terrain, miniatures, and other components.  There are many dialogues here. In some scenarios they tie in well with the action (which I like), but others will have a bunch of dialogue at the beginning and/or end. Not that this is a serious flaw, but sometimes annoying; After all, we have a board in front of us, and players want to play, not read. So while overall the story is good, sometimes (but not very often) it slows the game down excessively, which isn't very nice considering each scenario takes 2+ hours. GAMEPLAY The gameplay in "Traitor's War" changes in an ambiguous way, as far as I'm concerned. What I loved about Tales of Darkness was that it was actually a light hearted version of Bleak Harbor. Ditto for parties with natives who aren't ready/willing to delve into the deep strategies of Bleak Harbor. "Fables", on the other hand, offered similar impressions of fantasy adventures (and looked much more solid on the table) without too many problems. I explained the rules very quickly: "You just move and then attack or explore."  In Traitor's War, players have so many options from the very beginning that it feels overwhelming. Descent's gameplay isn't as deep as that of Bleak Harbor, so it's hard for newcomers to remember and effectively use the stacks of cards that are immediately thrown at them. Managing experience cards won't be a problem for Tales of Darkness veterans, but keep in mind that introducing newcomers to the game through this campaign will be difficult. CONCLUSIONS  If you want an enhanced and larger version of Tales of Darkness, then Traitor's War is for you. The plot is better intertwined with the gameplay, the new versions of the old heroes are more interesting, the villains are more interesting, the scenarios are also interesting and varied, the decisions you make have more significant consequences. Beginners, however, will have a hard time at first, but if you add 1-2 new players to your group, then by the end of the first scenario, they will most likely get the hang of it...

 In this article I will talk about the game "The Pursuit of Happiness" . I will say right away that I did not play purely in the basic version, but immediately mixed both additions, so I will talk about the game with add-ons. Grab some tea, cookies, and we'll get started. WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT?  The Pursuit of Happiness is a Euro game for 1-5 players (5th player added in add-on) that simulates the life of a real person. The game lasts up to 8 rounds, which are divided into three periods: teenager, adult and senior. This game is a sandbox where you are free to create your own destiny. SHORT RULES Each round, the player has an average of 6 actions (their number may increase or decrease), which he spends on "living" his life. You place your hourglass token on one of the actions and perform it. You can get 3 units of one of four types of resources (knowledge, creativity, communication and money).  You can start any projects or hobbies. Projects are short-term (they are done once and reset), shared (multiple players can participate in them, for example, "start a music group" or "found a political party"), and long-term (these projects remain with the player until he masters the skill , such as "start writing a novel" or "learn to play the guitar"). You can also buy various items, get pets and many other interesting things. As soon as we move into the "adult" stage, things like "getting a job," "starting a relationship," and "working overtime" are open to us.  The job will earn the player money every round as long as he fulfills its requirements. You can start a relationship, and in the future create a family and have a child.  Work Overtime: The player gets two extra actions, but also increases their stress level. As soon as the players enter the "summer" stage, this opportunity is closed for them.  Also, players can travel to different places and participate in community projects, increasing their popularity. You can go to the city Saturday festival or take part in a quest. All this increases your popularity and brings resources and victory points.  Two important scales in the game are Mood and Stress. For a good mood, players receive a discount on the implementation of projects, and for a bad one, on the contrary, they have to pay extra. Stress is probably the most important scale. A high level of stress robs players of action, and if a player crosses the red line, their character dies and it's game over for them. "Old" players automatically accumulate stress, so if you want to live longer, I recommend a healthy lifestyle (but this is optional - you are free to live as you wish). Eventually the game ends after 8 rounds or as soon as the last player's character dies. PROS OF THE GAME Simple rules. The game is a placement of workers, so there should be no problems with the rules. You can play even with beginners. Atmosphere. With the right approach, players seem to be living real life. You can become a famous blogger, a great lawyer or just a great family man. You can simply travel to different parts of the world or improve in different fields of science. Players can do whatever they want (if there are enough resources, of course). CONS The need for imagination. This game should be played like a life simulator. Some players play it like regular Euro, and from the mechanics point of view it is too simple, so it is quite boring for such players to play it. IMPRESSION Overall, I liked the game. After watching years of gameplays of various bloggers who fully played their lives, the game seems incredibly atmospheric. Either I have a problem with imagination, or I play it like another Euro, but I personally did not succeed in playing my role. If you like simple Euros or the computer game The Sims, I definitely recommend it...

 According to the official description, Legacy of Dragonholt is a narrative adventure game for 1-6 people. In fact, this is not an RPG and not even a tabletop as such. It's a big story book, kind of like the game books from the 1980s. The stories are divided between 5 small quest books and one thick one dedicated to the adventures in the village. Inside - numbered paragraphs. You read the specified paragraph, then choose one of the suggested actions, and then move on to the next specified paragraph. What is unusual is the creation of your character; approximately as in role-playing games, only according to a simplified model. You choose a race and profession from a large list, invent a name and biography for the character. After that, you choose a set of skills for him - and this very point will greatly affect the gameplay: the range of actions available to the character in the game depends on these skills. Fictional example: you want to cross a river, but the bridge has collapsed? Is there agility or athleticism? No? Do nothing, stay on the other side. Stop - maybe there is alchemy to create an ice bridge? Great, go ahead. This spectrum gives the game great flexibility. Of course, to some extent; the plot is still scripted, and you are just a character in the story.  During the game, you can learn new skills, as well as temporarily lose them. You can also find or buy items: this is a small deck of cards that either directly benefit or move the plot branches. Periodically during interactions, as well as after completing quests, you will have to make a corresponding mark (say, A5), which can play an important role later ("If you have A5, then... otherwise..."). Thanks to this, the game "remembers" the choices you made and the plot changes accordingly; brilliantly simple mechanics Sometimes it leads to unnecessary fuss, but for the most part it works with a bang. The difference between "Legacy of Dragonholt" and ordinary game books lies in the skills and marks. A simple and elegant system. The layout and assembly of the game is almost instantaneous; it is enough to open the desired page of the book and continue to follow the story, and, after a break, just make a bookmark. As for the plot as a whole and the NPCs, the game does not go beyond standard fantasy, but they are written well, so that you are guaranteed an exciting read and interesting choices.  The game also welcomes roleplay; make decisions that are like your character, rather than what seems true to you personally. Several times I doubted whether my character was doing the right thing, but I gave in to him. As a result, everything descended into chaos, which I myself certainly would not have wanted, but all the fault lay with my stupid cat person... in general, it turned out great. Although the game is formally designed for 1-6 participants, I would not advise playing with three or more; it's like reading a book together. The two of them are quite normal, but ideally alone. The retail price of $59 is clearly overpriced. It makes sense to take only with a discount. In addition, the game is essentially one-time, the main plot branches out minimally. Although, you may not see all the side quests the first time, and you certainly won't explore the entire village. It is also worth noting that the game has LGBT moments: some may not like it. I would like to believe that there will still be games based on the "Oracle" system; A Cthulhu, Android, or Twilight of the Empire setting would be perfect. In general, it is not cheap, but a pleasant book-game, which you can read to relax after a busy day...

 Hi to all! Over the past few days, we've received a ton of great games. Therefore, we are very pleased to inform you about fresh arrivals and product updates in our store. Get acquainted with the novelties and what's new in Lelekan-chiku. Hurry up, the games are great and will satisfy all tastes, be the first in time)..

ABOUT THE GAME  Dice Throne: Santa vs Krampus pits the hero of Christmas against his evil opposite. The game is independent; other boxes from the Dice Throne series are not required.  In this dueling game, players take turns rolling their character's custom dice pool—and can reroll up to 3 times—then distribute the rolled results to the abilities of the characters they want to activate. Landing a certain combination of symbols on the dice will allow more powerful versions of these abilities to be used. So, for example, the more ax symbols you throw out when using Santa's "Chop the Christmas tree" ability, the more damage the enemy will receive.  During battle, players can enhance their abilities using their character's decks of cards, replacing or enhancing certain abilities on the board. In addition to enhancement cards, each character's deck also has action cards that can be used to change roll results or gain some sort of advantage. The winner is the one who first reduces the opponent's life to zero. ABOUT THE CHARACTERS Santa Claus, Father Christmas, beats the enemy while doing traditional holiday activities: cutting down the Christmas tree, relaxing by the fireplace, playing with the reindeer and drinking the Christmas Egg-Nig cocktail. The sinister Krampus is in charge of deception and punishment.  Santa is an aggressive hero. He has a bit of draw and control, but even that he converts into extra damage in an attempt to end the game as quickly as possible. Despite the not-so-successful combinations of the required symbols and abominable defense, he can kill the opponent quickly - even on turn 5 if everything goes well, and his powerful ultimate allows you to deal a lot of damage if the opponent does not respond with anything. Unfortunately, it is not difficult to stop Santa, and then he will stomp in place, unless he is very unlucky. But if you like to put pressure on your opponents, then Santa is for you.  Krampus is no less aggressive than Santa, but he relies not only on large numbers of damage, but on his cute minions - the so-called "rejects" (Rejects), who do damage for him. Krampus is mediocre at best for the first few turns, but once he builds his engine, he can keep up with even the strongest Dice Throne heroes. Kind of like Doctor Strange (only his cards deal damage in a separate deck, not in the main deck), so if you like Strange, Krampus can fit in too...

 Hello, today we received a lot of great games, and we will immediately share the news with you! ..

 Hi to all! Over the past few days, we've received a ton of great games. Therefore, we are very pleased to inform you about fresh arrivals and product updates in our store. Get acquainted with the novelties and what's new in Lelekan-chiku. Hurry up, the games are great and will satisfy all tastes, be the first in time)..