Orbit Preview
Did you know there are only a few mammals in the world that lay eggs. They’re called monotremes. One member of the monotreme family is the short-beaked echidna. Orbit is a game about tourists in space.
Medium-weight games
Did you know there are only a few mammals in the world that lay eggs. They’re called monotremes. One member of the monotreme family is the short-beaked echidna. Orbit is a game about tourists in space.
I miss the days when worker-placement games kept things simple and relied on solid core game design to tempt the box off your shelf and onto the table. Mutagen gives me that same feeling again, and I like it all the more for it.
Looot does a lot of things well. It combines two separate geometric puzzles – one shared, one personal – and asks you to figure out the best way to take advantage of the opportunities on each.
The mental gymnastics aren’t venturing into Lacerda or Splotter levels here, but there’s enough to keep your brain on its toes. Not that brains have toes, but you get the idea.
So Mass Effect: The Board Game isn’t a 1:1 recreation of any of the video games. It’s also not a sprawling TTRPG full of its relationships and intergalactic power struggles. What is it then?
Cascadero is the sort of game which is an instant hit with me. Two to four players, a super slim box which fits in the gaps on any shelves, a couple of minutes to set up, and all done in under an hour. Ideal.
This is a great example of everything a modern Euro game should be. Clean design, clear rules, bright boards, and just the right amount of mental overhead.
A big vision, and a really unusual setting and theme which feels exotic and fresh to me.
A game about making a character for another game. Is that really a game? It turns out that yes, it most definitely is a game, and a fun game at that.
It’s not just fish down there though, there are other things. Horrible things. Unspeakable things.