Board game reviews and previews
Board game reviews and previews
Ahau: Rulers of Yucatan takes the Maya civilisation as its inspiration, delivering a Euro game mixture of area influence and engine-building. During the game you'll be expanding your city state, building pyramids, and if push comes to shove, asking the gods for a helping hand
You play as entrepreneurs who have bought derelict space stations, and aim to turn them into the swankiest holiday resorts in the cosmos. This isn't your Airbnb style holiday, think about it more like Space Vegas. (note to self - trademark 'Space Vegas', it sounds awesome)
Roiks Raggy! People fall into one of two categories: those who can do a passable Scooby-Doo impression, and those who think they can. Whichever group you fall into, you'll want to call upon your inner Scoob' to get stuck into Scooby-Doo: Escape from the Haunted Mansion.
"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?". Why yes, yes I do Harry Callahan. It's a good thing too, as push-your-luck is one of my favourite things in a game.
The rather wonderful people at Big Potato Games sent me a selection of their games to play, so I made the most of the Christmas break to test them out. A collection of people from 9 to 70-something helped me out, and here's what we thought.
English country gardens are exactly what spring to mind when I'm playing Flourish, the latest game from James and Clarissa Wilson, names you might remember from one of the prettiest games ever - Everdell
Whirling Witchcraft is the latest in a proud line of games which let you build a tableau, your 'engine', on the table in front of you. Rival witches are aiming to wield magic so powerful that they simply overwhelm their neighbours, claiming victory in the process.
The brain you stole, Fritz. Think of it. The brain of a dead man waiting to live again in a body I made with my own hands! Dr Frankenstein gave life to one of the all-time classic movie monsters in the 1931 version of Frankenstein. In Horrified, by Ravensburger, players have to work together to bring down the monster, along with his bride!
Holidays, as I understand it, are coming. As I write this, Christmas is barrelling down on us like a festive red-and-white juggernaut, and it's the time of year when families reach for games. If your experience of games at gatherings can be summed-up with Charades and Pictionary, you might be pleased to know that there are loads more to choose from.
In space, no-one can hear you scream. Luckily they can hear you shouting "Oh my god, I can't believe you did that! You absolute nerf-herder!", because you'll be saying things like that quite often when you play Gravwell: 2nd Edition.