Onitama Review

Review: Onitama

Designer: Shimpei Sato

Publisher: Arcane Wonders

Artist: Jun Kondo and Mariusz Szmerdt

Player count: 2

Runtime: 10 minutes

“Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend.”

― Po from Kung Fu Panda

Onitama roughly translates as “Awesome Kung Fu themed abstract game”, which, like a tin of Ronseal, it does exactly as it says on the tin, or in this case, box. This game also graciously offers you the opportunity to constantly refer to your opponent as “Young Grasshopper”, to say things like, “Your Kung Fu is strong”, and of course, “Stop trying to hit me, and hit me”. There is such a thing as being a poor winner, so watch it, as the tide of battle can turn very quickly in Onitama.

[caption id="attachment_2592" align="alignnone" width="2776"] Say it with me now...TIGER UPPERCUT![/caption]

One cannot but notice the similarities between Onitama and Chess on first impressions, and although this is true, it is only fleetingly so, it is much like comparing a Harley Davidson to a BMX, more on this later, first bow into the dojo and we shall begin.

You and your opponent are rival Kung Fu dojos, who are battling it out for supremacy, and to the field of this great battle, you take four of your most skilled warriors. Facing off against one another across the tranquil arena you stretch and shake off that nervous pre-fight excitement, bow first to your master, and then respectfully to your opponent and go.

[gallery ids="2597,2588" type="rectangular"]

Fight!

Fight!

Fight!

Not quite, Onitama is a game of skilful, precise strikes, of calculated risks, and of considered judgement. Of knowing your opponent, and predicting their attacks and retreats. It is Kung Fu (well, as much as a board game can be Kung Fu). Unlike a game of chess, of near countless openings, strategies and moves, Onitama, deftly, and simply imposes restrictions and limits on your form and creativity. And it does this with a handful of cards. These cards are your movements, all of your attacks and retreats, all with an appropriately Kung Fu-ey related animal names, like Frog or Crab.

[caption id="attachment_2590" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Love the stylised Chinese writing here depicting the animal[/caption]

Each card further abstracts the game board and depicts it as a simple grid, with a number of the squares shaded, with one being darker than the others. This darkest square is your warrior, any of them, and the shaded cells are all the possible squares they can move to. Should you land on an opponent you take them and they are removed from the game. It is that simple, and yes, up to this point, the game may sound a little linear, and you’d be right, but obviously, that isn’t the game.

You see, you only get five cards per game, randomly drawn from the deck. These are the only moves any player can make. Five cards. Five attacks, five prescribed movements that both players can see, predict and plan for. Again, that may sound a lot more interesting, and it is, but that still isn’t the game.

[caption id="attachment_2595" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The Reds are making full use of the arena width[/caption]

These five cards total all the cards you’ll use, and you will share them with your opponent in a manner that makes this game very, very interesting. Two will be dealt to you, two to your opponent and the remaining card placed between you both. Any of your pieces can move as either of your cards show, but then you’ll place that card to one side and take the card that was previously left out of the game. Now your opponent does the same, sifting one card at a time between the cards in front, to the card at the side.

This mechanic creates a flow, almost a sense of a dance across the play area as you and your opponent/partner sway back and forth. It creates a harmony and a balance which sits right at home with the theme. One of the things I love about this game is how quick and accessible it is, there is no text to read, its a case of pattern recognition in the moves you can make now, what your opponent can make and what move you can make later. A game of Onitama is so very quick, I don’t think I’ve played a game longer than ten minutes, and in that way the game too feels very kinetic. Although Onitama is an abstract game, the production and these notes of energy and flow really capture and encapsulate that Hollywood-stylised essence of Kung Fu.

[caption id="attachment_2593" align="alignnone" width="4032"] That's a strong defensive opening from the Blue Guys[/caption]

So, how much like a game of chess is Onitama? You do move pieces back and forth across a board in varying patterns, the win condition is very similar, it is a greatly abstracted view f a battle, and here, I would say the similarities end. Chess can be “mastered”, there are opening moves that are better than others, someone who has played many games will have little difficulty besting a newbie. Onitama, on the other hand, has such a degree of variability that a “perfect” opening doesn’t exist, as it can’t exist every game. Likewise, chess is often considered a battle above the board as much as it is on it, and Onitama isn’t that. Each of your opponents pieces can only move in two ways, and you can see those two ways, the difference is in this joy of pattern recognition, of building up your opponents move now, and move next and layering that against what you want to do, and the cards/moves you do not want to give them.

[caption id="attachment_2596" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The luxurious, fancy-pants playmat[/caption]

The production of this game, heck, even the box screams “Hey, pay attention to me!”, it has a cool magnetic closed box that looks more like a fancy bottle of whiskey than a board game, the insert is moulded perfectly to fit everything nice and tidy, and of course, you have the neoprene plat mat and the gorgeous oversized cards. However, and it's sizeable, however, it feels overproduced. The moulds on the figures aren’t what I’d expect from a game made in 2014, but even then I think there is a degree of charm, the impression of ancient skill and strategy that this game wants to have is well overshot with plastic models instead of something more solid, timeless and classical. The playmat tough great and functional is, I can’t help but feel is a half inch too narrow, those oversized cards don’t align neatly with my compulsion towards the neat and parallel.

Am I being picky? Yes.

Am I acting like a teenager at a house party dissecting the latest arrival?

(what an odd analogy) Well, yes, I am. But, in my defence, the game is crying out for attention about how it looks more so than how it plays.

And that is the main point, isn’t it? How good is this game? In short, it is a great, quick game that offers an interesting array of game restrictions each time you play. Each game feels noticeably different, and yet fundamentally the same. Part of that greatness stems from its shortness, its brevity, but also for its ‘feel’, it is an abstract game that wears its theme like a well-tailored suit, you’ll see it on the board and the pawns, you’ll see it scrawled across the cards, but you feel it in the game with the flow and sway of combat. Onitama isn’t the type of game you'll play for hours on end, it is the type of game you play between games, while you’re waiting for your dinner, and it’s perfect to travel with or for lunch break games, and at around £25 you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this little gem.

SUPERHOT Card Game Review

Game - SUPERHOT Card Game

Designer: Manuel Correia

Publisher: Board & Dice

Artist: Paweł Niziołek

Player Count 1 - 3

Runtime: 20 - 40 minutes

[caption id="attachment_2569" align="alignnone" width="2783"] A very pretty picture of SUPERHOT the Card Game[/caption]

SUPERHOT the micro deck building game is based on the very successful video game of the same name the crux of which is the move you move the faster time passes, stay still and so does time. Add to this very unique twist in the FPS genre a very eye grabbing and minimal art style and it’s easy to understand why the video game garnered so much traction. These fundamental aspects of what made SUPERHOT the video game it is have been downloaded on to cardboard to create an equally unique tabletop experience. It is a deckbuilding, hand management game where your cards not only represent your attacks and your defence but time as well. How does it do this, and how well does it? Well, dear user, sit down and jack in: your SUPERHOT card game review is loading.

LOADING...PLEASE WAIT

I always like to envisage and describe this game as if the player is playing a retro computer game of John McClane, a Steven Seagal character or >INSERT ACTION HERO MOVIE REFERENCE THAT MILLENNIALS WILL KNOW< as they have to neutralise a bunch of bad guys who are raiding/robbing/bad-stuffing in a building. In typical fashion, our hero is unarmed and must use their smarts, their wits and an unbreakable will to overcome the massive odds stacked against them. That is what is going on in my head when I play this game, and it is just one of the reasons I enjoy it so much.

[caption id="attachment_2580" align="alignnone" width="3917"] In Play as seen from above[/caption]

SUPERHOT makes full use of all of the 82 cards in the box, they circle around the play area in a very different, unusual and interesting way and, depending on where they are, it changes how you need to use or react to them. Now, I say “they circle around the play area”, but I use the word ‘circle’ in the loosest possible way. It’s more like a swirling tendril of movement. Much like watching a swarm of woodcutter ants as they do their “woodcutter-ant-thing”, you know that they have a plan, that they know what they are doing, but from the outside looking in, the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ seem hard to define. It is within this maelstrom of cardboard that the magic and mayhem of SUPERHOT the card game surges into action.

I don’t often like to spend a lot of time writing about the components and the rules of a game, but if I try and tell you how this game feels and flows and how it is interesting and worthy of your time and money without first telling you about them, you and I will both get lost very quickly. In short, to adequately describe a cake I need to talk about the flavours, and SUPERHOT has a very special flavour.

There are three types of card, mission cards, which will outline the objective for your current level of the game, these stack up until level three which acts as the finale. Easy, got it.

Bullet cards. Bullets are bad. When they are in their neat little deck, they are thankfully, less bad. When they are in any other deck or in the play area, then they’re in flight. And that is bad. When they’re in your hand, well, that’s worse. Have four of them in your hand, and that’s, well; it’s game over.

[caption id="attachment_2571" align="alignnone" width="4032"] What you really, really don't want in your hand[/caption]

Every other card is an obstacle, and that’s a pretty broad term for something that you’re going to interact with. Mainly bad guys, dudes with guns, dudes with shotguns, dudes with katanas, tables, pillars and pliers - yes pliers. All of these cards are multi-use use cards, when they are in your hand you make use of the top of the card, and when it’s not you use the bottom. Again: easy.

[caption id="attachment_2582" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The Line.[/caption]

Then there is The Line. This represents everything that is immediately in your vicinity - try not to think of it as a queue of things to interact with, the line is a representation of three-dimensional space. Its radial space, not lateral, despite the name.

With me so far?

Good.

Now, the cards in your hand are both the actions you can take, and most importantly, each card is also a unit of time. For the sake of convenience let’s call them seconds. The Line is everything that you can possibly interact within the next six seconds. Taking on a dude with a shotgun is going to require some real clout, as you have to equal or beat his defence with your attack/dodge/combination of both. The more cards you use, the longer it takes to beat him.

[caption id="attachment_2574" align="alignnone" width="4032"] 2 Dudes with Shot guns. Thats four bullets they'll fire if I can't take care of at least one of them[/caption]

When you play cards you put them in the Used Cards section (time spent). The obstacles you interacted with become assets you get to use in the next few seconds, i.e. you’ve stolen a gun, dodged behind a pillar, flipped a table etc. these cards then come into your hand. You’ll then draw more cards from your deck up to four of them (if you play it right you can end up with more than the starting four cards in your hand, this is you doing something I can never seem to do, something I like to call “Being good at SUPERHOT”). This represents the passage of time for you, the player.

[caption id="attachment_2581" align="alignnone" width="3784"] A very nice play mat to play the game on. This was a paid for extra, but I think was well worth it[/caption]

Now, for every second you spent doing something, that time now passes in the game, the line moves along like a conveyor belt. If you used three cards/seconds those obstacles that formed the first three seconds of the Line now pass into your discard pile. They are now behind you (for the time being). Important to note here is that it is the three seconds that passed, not necessarily what happened in those three seconds. So you don’t remove the first three cards, but the cards that are in the first three spaces.

[caption id="attachment_2577" align="alignnone" width="4032"] A Bunch Obstacles between you and victory![/caption]

Then the bad guys have their go, that’s when they’ll fire their guns, or hack at you with a katana. And when they fire their dreaded bullets. You’ll take the appropriate number of bullet cards and put them in the Object discard pile. They are now in flight, but you’ll have a little time before you have to deal with them.

[caption id="attachment_2576" align="alignnone" width="4032"] A huge array of mission cards, with a range of difficulties - I love how they compound one another in later levels[/caption]

Do you remember those really simple mission cards I mentioned earlier, and how they stack to create a finale? There is an important piece of information I didn’t mention, you don’t reset the decks between levels. All those bullets that were fired in level one, unless you’ve dealt with them, they are still flying around. Upon completing a level all you do is reshuffle the decks, draw a new hand and new mission cards. This adds such a great level of complexity to the game, a wonderful scaling and compounding of danger making level three an utter bitch. It creates a gravitas to your decisions, as something ignored, or not dealt with properly now, will come back and bite you once those decks are reshuffled.

[caption id="attachment_2572" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Engage Bullet-Time[/caption]

SUPERHOT has a very distinctive look, and one of the things it does is it allows the player to imprint their own vision/theme over what is presented to them (much as I discuss at the top of this review), this is facilitated and indeed encouraged by the low polygon minimalist art style. These “bad guys” are beyond race or gender (okay maybe not gender there is a definite lean towards a male physique and they’re called dudes, but you can’t prove anything). This for me is a really interesting and innovative step for representation in board games. On the flipside of this, where I see John McClane taking out a bunch of guys doing terrible German accents, you could play this game from the point of few as the antagonist, taking out the security guards for your own nefarious gains! By not identifying anything, you get to tell your own story.

[caption id="attachment_2578" align="alignnone" width="4032"] In play close-up[/caption]

Alternatively, you’ll just see a load of red and black blobs that you just can’t connect with in any meaningful way, and the game just won’t connect and resonate with you, but you should be able to pick up on this when you look at the cover of the box.

There are but two more important things o say about SUPERHOT. The first of which is that this game is tricky. For me at least I found it initially hard to get my head around the flow of the game and the movement of the cards. It is one of those games that if I don’t play it regularly I find that I still need to refer to the rulebook occasionally just for a clarification or a refresh.

The second thing is that SUPERHOT is a solo game at heart. Yes, it can be played at two players, and it can even be played at three (and these are as a co-op, versus, and even semi-co-op). But, it is meant to be a solo game, if you do fancy taking it on in either of the other modes, all players need to be au fait with the game at the one player count first.

[caption id="attachment_2579" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Even the backs of the card are pretty![/caption]

Sounds pretty cool, right? It is. It really is. It may also sound a little confusing, and it is that too, but, as soon as you get into the rhythm of movement, of thinking of the cards not only as actions but as time itself, the game clicks. The overriding theme of computer hacking from the original video game is enhanced here by the card art and layout of the mission cards, it is all incredibly apt as it provides a metaphor for itself, looking beyond the mere mechanics of the game to experience the game itself. One cannot help but draw a parallel to that of the Matrix, and specifically, that moment when Neo sees the code and understands that it is both there and not there at the same time.

With SUPERHOT, as soon as you stop seeing the mechanics, you’ll see the game.

Disclaimer:

This review was based on a full-priced retail copy of the game, bought with my very own hard earned cash.

[caption id="attachment_2570" align="alignnone" width="1968"] SUPERHOT the Card Game[/caption]

EndNote:

On researching this game to gain a fuller understanding of the designer, theme etc. I did learn that the implied role the player takes on is that of an Agent Decker, with a game of the same name upon which the mechanics of SUPERHOT are based.

 

Disclaimer:

This review was based on a full-priced retail copy of the game and a paid for play mat - because, y'know  "Pimping", all of which I paid for myself, out of my own pocket.

Burgle Bros. Review

Designer: Tim Fowers

Publisher: Fowers Games

Artist: Ryan Goldsberry

Players: 1 - 4

Run Time: 45 - 90 minutes

 

Admit it, you've always wanted to rob a bank. But not really rob it, not in real life, with actual people, real security and a genuine risk of imprisonment. No, you want to rob a Hollywood bank, like Danny Ocean, robbing a bank with style, panache and in a way that can only be pulled off by making your escape in a mini cooper (yes, I know neither of those films actually feature a bank being robbed, but you know what I'm getting at I'm sure) Burgle Bros. from Tim Fowers lets you do exactly that. You and your merry band of crooks must break into a bank, crack the safe on each floor. Dodge security cameras, motion detectors and avoid at all cost the patrolling security guards, to finally escape with all the loot. And most importantly do it in style and to a great soundtrack.

[caption id="attachment_2549" align="alignnone" width="3757"] Burgle Bros. in full swing[/caption]

The bank is made up of three grids of tiles, each representing a separate floor in the bank, and each has its own flight of stairs and it's own safe to be cracked. There are also eight walls on each floor that your team and the security guards will have to navigate around. There is a wide array of characters to choose from, and in a typical co-op fashion, each brings something unique to the game. Now, put on your suits, balaclavas and stick a heist playlist on Spotify and you’re ready to play (In fact I’m going to listen to one while I write this review.

[caption id="attachment_2543" align="alignnone" width="2808"] This is your gang, all suited and booted[/caption]

With four actions a piece, each player will ideally want to creep around the bank, peeking at tiles before moving into the room revealed. You’re looking for the safe on each floor, but more than that you’re looking for the code to crack it, each tile is numbered 1 - 6, and these represent the pieces of the code needed, so once finding the safe you’ll need the other 5 tiles that make up its row and column. Spend some action points preparing the safe to be cracked allows you to put some dice on the safe tile, these you’ll roll when you attempt to crack it, trying to roll the numbers of the code. Thankfully, successes are cumulative, and once it pops open you’ll grab the Loot and a Tool (that is obviously stored in a safe y’know, because where else would you keep an EMP grenade or a pair of roller skates?) and head off to the next part of the mission.

 

 

[gallery ids="2551,2556" type="rectangular"]

Sounds pretty easy, huh? But then there are the motion detectors, heat sensors, fingerprint scanners, laser fields, open walkways, deadbolt rooms, and of course the guards. In short, navigating around this bank will not be easy, just on account of the rooms, but the guards! Well, they add something really special.

[caption id="attachment_2547" align="alignnone" width="2416"] Guards! Guards! Guards![/caption]

Each floor has its own guard, and it will take its turn moving after each player on that floor, and it will move towards its target room, - assigned by the route deck - for which you simply use one of the red/orange dice, and it will move in the most direct clockwise path a number of spaces equal to the pips on that die. Make it through that deck, and you turn the die up one pip. Crack the safe and turn it up again. Set an alarm off, and it’ll temporarily go up again, once for each alarm sounding - and here it gets super interesting. Setting an alarm off will obviously set the guard on duty into panic mode, he/she will start running for one thing, but they’ll now head towards where the alarm is going off - abandoning their original route. Why is this so interesting? Well, for one thing, it makes the game incredibly tense, watching a guard slowly make its way towards you, step by step is a great example of atmosphere and theme entwining brilliantly with mechanics, but, it also lets you the player interact with the AI.

[caption id="attachment_2536" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The rooms that will no doubt cause you a lot of trouble[/caption]

In many games, where the “game” is playing too, it often relies on a deck of cards to dictate what the AI does, however, unlike Burgle Bros. the interaction is one way. This card is drawn, you as a player are limited somehow (like the solo mode of Viticulture) as the AI fills that space on the board or this thing happens to force your attention and action elsewhere (like Pandemic). This is still true of Burgle Bros. but in this game, you can act back, not simply react to it. And this, this makes this game brilliant.

 

 

[gallery ids="2542,2540" type="rectangular"]

Burgle Bros. is a game you can tell was design with theme at the forefront, each of the different types of rooms makes sense - ending your turn in a Thermal detector room would set the alarm off as your body temp changes the environment (just think of the trouble Redford went through to get around that one). A laser field would slow you down (unless you’re the Night Fox). Each of the rooms makes sense - which is good because the description on some of the tiles is sadly lacking in clarity. True Story: when my brother-in-law played it for the first time, he said: “It probably has something to do with a poor translation from a foreign language or something like that.” Once you’ve played the game through, even only once, he tiles click, but on first impressions, these descriptions are quite jarring. The same is sadly true of some of the tools, and the special rules on some of the Loot. It’s a minor thing, but irksome, and in some cases painfully noticeable.

[caption id="attachment_2538" align="alignnone" width="3024"] The language can be a little jarring on some tiles and cards[/caption]

The retro cartoon movie poster style artwork had me, it is whimsical and silly and takes a game which is based on a highly illegal activity, and makes it okay, and fun, and helps lift this game off the table. With each game you’ll tell a heist story, some of the success and some of utter failures, but in each one I can pretty much guarantee there will be a memorable moment, accentuated by this artwork, you’ll be able to very easily imagine the Rigger barreling down a corridor with a dog under one arm and a painting under the other as he is chased by a rapidly approaching guard. Burgle Bros. does what every great game does, it draws you into its little cardboard world, exposing you to this adventure.

There is one problem I’ve experienced with this game, and it’s one that is quite unique to this game as it is essentially a 3D game played in two dimensions. The three grids represent three floors of the bank, which on the whole makes sense but there are a few rooms such as the walkways and the arboretum where you can move/see into different floors - this has caused some players to miss obvious errors as they’ve had trouble converting the three separate grids into one tower. The simple solution, don’t play with people that have poor spatial awareness. Another option (one I’m very seriously considering) is getting yourself a Burgle Bros. Tower, by either building your own or buying one.

After hearing of this game I was immediately interested, and the more I looked around about it the more interested I became. The glorious artwork, the massively underused theme, and fantastic fun gameplay has made this one of my best purchases of 2017. With standard, advanced, and a “Fort Knox” variants all in the box, plus the ability to easily make your own blueprints this is a game that can and will hit the table over and over again, you could, in fact, call it a steal!

[caption id="attachment_2560" align="alignnone" width="1944"] Me, on the train home with Burgle Bros. after a great day at Dragonmeet 2017[/caption]

This review was based on a full priced retail edition of the game that I paid for with my hard earned money

Tortuga 1667 Review

Publisher: Façade Games

Designer: Travis Hancock

Artist: Sarah Keele

Players: 2 – 7

Run Time: 20 – 40 mins

“A dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid.” - Jack Sparrow, on the issue of hidden role board games.

You're right, sorry; Captain Jack Sparrow.

There is little doubt or argument that Walt Disney and Johnny Depp made Pirates cool[er] again...a least for a little while, until the whole Mermaid thing - anyway.

Pirates = awesome.

Boardgames = awesome.

Boardgames that look like books = erm...

So, what else could a triple-decker awesome sandwich be, other than timber shiveringly awesome? Ladies and gentlemen, polish your brass monkeys, as I present to you a review of Tortuga 1667 from Facade Games.



You’ll play as a dubiously real pirate, in and around the island of Tortuga in, well 1667. You’ll hop back and forth between the Flying Dutchman, the isle itself and the Jolly Roger all in an attempt to horde as much of the treasure in the hold belonging to you and your countrymen. However, you don’t know who your countrymen are. Also, the whole hoarding thing is a little bit tricky, as it depends where you are, who you are and, who is with you.



This game has a smattering of worker placement, area control, variable player powers, bidding, and hidden roles to label just a few of the core mechanics. If that sounds like jumble ingredients doomed to failure then you are in for a pleasant and sweet surprise because it is the blending of these that makes this game worthy of your gaming table and shelf.



Picture this, you're on a ship in the bay of Tortuga, across the halcyon blue waters are two other ships. One with loads of gold, the other bustling with another group or unruly pirates. Now, if you’re the captain (taking the number one spot on the ship) you can order an attack against it to try and get some of that treasure. If you’re the first Mate (number two spot), you can try and mutiny against your captain and dispatch him to the Island. If you are the very last in the line on the ship, you’re the Cabin Boy (Roger!), and you can shift one of the treasure chests from the French hold to the British hold or vice versa. With the exception of the cabin boy, everything comes down to a vote (I know, I know, these must be the most democratic bunch of pirates in the history of Piracy) where everyone (except the captain during a mutiny) on the ship gets to cast their vote, plus the top card of the Vote Deck. Failures don’t do any harm, except potentially reveal whose side you’re on. Successes result in capturing a treasure chest- and then placing it in a hold (careful now), or you get promoted. But may also reveal whose side you’re on.



 

About this voting business, it’s not quite as clear-cut as saying “yay” or “nay”, your hand of just three Vote cards dictate how you're going to vote on any one of the three viable actions: Attacking, Brawling (vying for control of the island) and Mutinying. An attack needs at least one cannon and one torch - where each bucket of water nullifies a torch. The brawl action is either British or French flags, suggesting who piles into the fight to half-inch the treasure, and Mutinying boils down to a steering wheel or skull and crossbones (obviously). What makes this interesting is that depending on the action, your allegiance and perhaps, more importantly, the allegiance you are trying to present, you can only vote with the cards you have in hand. And you have to vote (hand management, there’s another mechanic for you). This creates an interesting mix, as there are cards you really want to keep for your actions, your plan, but you have to vote when called upon, and that can mean giving up a card you want for a result that might favour you, use a card you don’t want to hang on to, but in doing so you’re either sending the “right” message about your allegiance, or the “wrong” one.



If that wasn’t interesting enough, you’ve also got the Event Cards, a whole deck of them, and these set the pace for the game. The game-ending card - the Spanish Armada - hidden at the bottom. Until that card turns up though, there is a whole deck of shenanigans to get through, and most of these are varying degrees of bad, from the innocently named albatross to the ominous Black Spot. How you get these cards is one of my favourite parts of this game, in your turn, regardless of where on the board you are, you can interact with these cards in a couple of interesting ways. You can look at any two of these cards, you can demand that another player chooses between any two cards, or you can reveal one yourself. Knowing, and keeping track of these cards is almost like a metagame that goes on throughout, this part of Tortuga is about memory, manipulation and backstabbing.

On top of all of this, you’re trying to figure out who everyone is.



Being a hidden roles game, there is the potential downfall of it being very easy to suss out who is on which side, but, I’ve found that to be hugely player dependant. How good you are at lying, bluffing, and how much of a risk you are prepared to take as that deck whittles down. The deck acts not only as a countdown to the end of the game but to a player’s plans. Remaining hidden is of the utmost importance in this game, but you want to strike that delicate balance of also finding out who is on your side. When its crunch time, you need to ensure that you can shift that treasure quickly, you need to know who you can rely on, and who you throw overboard. Be wary of the honest ones!

There is, however, an elephant on the boat, and I think a much-needed caveat when it comes to playing this game: the player count. Technically, it plays two to seven people. Technically. But at two players it is kind of a drag, your actions are pretty prescribed. Three players is much the same. At four you get a big ol’ chunk of flavour. At five it is like you’re playing a different game, but at seven (I know I missed six, get over it), at seven this game is rollicking good fun!



Tortuga 1667 relies on, and flat out requires player and social interaction, so with more players, there is more of that, thus more fun. Further to this, the game becomes more volatile, swaying a vote becomes harder, and more involved. The odd player is Dutch, winning if the English and French draw, it is a brilliant twist on a hidden roles game that I’ve not seen before and Tortuga pulls it off with style. The variability and independence of the Dutch player can have massive consequences, and if played right can hold the tide of the battle in their hands.

And talking of style, I hope that my photos of this game do it justice. The game, the box, the board, art, components everything is flat-out gorgeous. And yet, manages to never feel over produced. It is tight, succinct and comes in at around £25. The neoprene playing ‘board’ juxtaposed by the simple, almost old-fashioned pawns is quite simply delightful.



Tortuga 1667 is one of my favourite games of 2017; it does everything a really good game needs to do. It gets you thinking, gets you interacting and playing. You never feel like you don’t have a choice of actions, and whatever you do you’ll be moving towards your ever approaching the goal. Ultimately the game comes down to being able to carefully balance subterfuge with careful, planned strikes against those players you think/hope are your enemy. Played at the higher player count this game will not fail to entertain and enthral, and oh my, doesn’t it look very pretty on your shelf.



This review was based on a full priced Kickstarter campaign at the Early Bird pledge level.  

Dead & Breakfast Review

Publishers:          Braincrack Games

Designer:            Rodrigo Rego

Artist:                   Louis Durrant

"Relax," said the night man. "We are programmed to receive, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." The Eagles, Hotel California

 

[caption id="attachment_2506" align="alignnone" width="4032"] It's behind you!!![/caption]

 

Your eyelids are heavy, you've been driving all night, and because you went left when you really shouldn't have, and then because the battery died on your phone you lost your way.  Behind schedule, in the middle of nowhere, you stop to rest for the night at a delightful, ivy-covered bed and breakfast.  The warm yellow glow of lights in the window, the cheerful and friendly blue door invite you in.  And yet, your skin crawls, something screams inside you to run, hide, tear away from this place and never look back. But...but you’re just so tired.

Welcome, to Dead & Breakfast.  If that introduction sounds all too heavy and morbid just take one quick glance at this delightful artwork from Louis Durrant and you'll realise I'm simply been melodramatic.  In this game of tile placement you'll be building up the most horrible and frightening of hotels, by ensuring you have the most elaborate and cohesive array of ghouls, ghosts, witches, and cursed dolls to scare even the hardiest of lone travellers, but at the same time trying to ensure the outside of your hotel looks as inviting as possible, with long, continuous vines of flowering ivy.

 

[caption id="attachment_2504" align="alignnone" width="4032"] BCareful placement to get these flowers and creatures into just the right spot.  I hope[/caption]

 

Dead & Breakfast is wonderfully simple to teach, and equally quick to get started, turning devilishly taxing.  You’ll build a hotel in a grid of five by five, selecting double window tiles from a central pool, placing them next to an existing tile to create your hotel tableau.  Once a row is completed you’ll select one of the four available guests waiting for a room, and you’ll cover one of your windows with this guest, each of which is terrified by one of your creatures in either the row or column in which they’re placed.

You'll score points in two (three, if using the bonus cards) ways, the ‘biggest’ and most obvious method is your ill-fated guests.  By aligning your guests in a row and/or column that has those beasties you'll score points, potentially lots of points.  However, equally, as important though is your second source of points: flowers (obviously these are scary flowers as is fitting of a haunted hotel).  Each hotel lobby (the brightly coloured front door) needs to be offset in the most delightfully twee way with flowers of the right colour, so by placing tiles with that colour flower that connect back to your lobby/door, you'll score points. Bonus points, ah well, they’re bonuses for doing stuff aren’t they, like aligning your guest orthogonally, or having your vines spread off the edges of your hotel.  These bonuses add an extra layer of strategy and complexity to the game that some may want to help elevate to a more serious game, but there is enough going on without to enjoy the game for most.   

 

[caption id="attachment_2510" align="alignnone" width="4032"] A gallery of creatures[/caption]

 

The scoring of both the guests and flowers come to a rather lovely juxtaposition.  You can't win by solely focusing on one method over the other, although ivy is lower scoring, it is a steady "revenue" of points you can't simply ignore.  This scoring balance hangs perpetually in front of you like some malicious spirit, taunting you with good choices, but rarely the perfect collaboration of orientation, creature, vines and flowers, and when it does appear another player, of course, wants it.  It is within this delicate balance that this game really shines.

 

[caption id="attachment_2503" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Your awaiting guests[/caption]

 

Don’t be lulled into thinking just because it’s cute, and uses a simple tile placement mechanic, and because it’s easy to teach that these things combined make a simple game.  With each turn you must make the best decision from those options available, it’s a game or careful, calculated loss, of forward planning, of keeping your options open, but succinct enough that you can close those literal and metaphorical holes in your plan later and maximise your scoring.  After a quick rules explanation, I’ve seen players jump straight in, with a clear-cut defined plan of action, only to come stumbling to a halt as by the time it's their turn again the landscape has changed, their plan has to adapt, and much like the ivy that creeps along the walls, it has to grow and change.

 

[caption id="attachment_2509" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The ghost, making its way around the available windows[/caption]

 

The ghost that mournfully meanders around the central pool of visible window tiles will dash your hopes of picking up that which you need.  The bonuses demand you sacrifice your optimal placement of guests or creatures with the sweet promises of extra points at the end.  The bright, pretty flowers will twist and turn, fighting every attempt to tame them and simply get them where you want.  This game wants you to be tricked (or treated) Dead & Breakfast is far more than it seems, it is possessed of a game greater than the mere sum of its components, yet remains ectoplasmically-slick in terms of its rules.  You will be beguiled by its charm and its appearance,  not noticing its hidden depths until you are a couple of turns in, and by which point it will be too late to escape.

Dead & Breakfast is live on Kickstarter from the 23rd Feb, and you'll even be able to try the game out yourself via Tabletopia.



This review and pictures are based on a review copy of the game, as such the game and components may look different from the final product.

 

A4 Quest Review

Publisher:	Boar & Dice, Thistroy Games	Published Year:	2017
Designer:	Michał Jagodziński, Paweł Niziołek, Jarosław Wajs	Player Scale:	1
Artist:	Paweł Niziołek, Jarosław Wajs	Run Time:	5 – 15 mins

Three things about me you should know in regards to this review.

I love and have loved comic books since I bought a Batman compendium at a car boot sale for seventy-five pence when I was six years old.

My all-time favourite computer game is the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Recently, because of a new job, I’ve been playing and enjoying a lot of solo gaming.

 

[caption id="attachment_2490" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The beginning of your quest[/caption]

 

What do these things have to do with A4 Quest?  Well, if you were to blend them together with some dice and tokens you’ll get something like this game.  And what’s even better is that it’s a Print and Play - but if you fancy a printed version with some bonus content look no further than this Kickstarter.

 

[caption id="attachment_2487" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Three very different quests to choose from[/caption]

 

A4 Quest looks like a comic book, with bulky, exaggerated cell-shaded style characters and landscapes provided by the clearly very talented Mr Jaroslaw Wajs, taking you on a little adventure, or quest if you like, from the top left of one A4 page to the bottom right.  You’ll fight enemies, hunt for food, riffle through treasure chests and explore mini-quests along the way, each time hopefully earning a little experience or some other boost to help and better prepare you to face off against the boss.  And, you do it all with five dice and a few tokens - loose change and a dice app will do the job equally well in a pinch.

Four of those dice form your pool of personal “energy”, with each encounter you’ll allocate one of these dice to the task, and taking into account any modifiers, consult the table to see what you’ve won.  Every now and then you’ll need, or just want to, make camp and rest, that’s when you get to have something to eat (spend one of your steaks)  and replenish your dice pool.

 

[caption id="attachment_2493" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The tantalising, teasing treasure table[/caption]

It is a simple game of dice allocation, but it poses some wonderfully taxing questions and puzzles for you solve.  You see, four dice won’t get you very far, especially if you are a dice rolling jinx, and what you do with your higher rolls is normally pretty obvious - kill baddies.  But what about everything that isn’t a five or six?  And that is where this game gets fun, and by fun, I mean challenging.  You’ll plan all your dice out, I’ll hunt here with my four, pick up some steak, I’ll dip into the treasure chest with that five and increase my defence, keeping my six for that enemy in the next cell, using my two to move to the next section.  Phew!  But, oh no; you’ve run out of dice now, you didn’t plan ahead so now you’re stuck with having to rest, miss out on stuff, taking a risk right before your next big fight.  if only you hadn’t hunted, or took the treasure, or whatever…

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2491" align="alignnone" width="4032"] A string of enemies and tough choices in Episode 2[/caption]

 

Something has to give, there is a fundamental cost to doing each action, spending those very limited resources.  On the other hand, you need to keep doing each action to progress, to toughen up and replenish your dice pool and health, you’ll never defeat the boss or some of the tough enemies, without boosting your stats.  Opportunities to bump your character up are tantalisingly frequent tempting you to spend your dice, “Ooooh, look here, a treasure with a plus-three modifier, so my four becomes a seven which means I can get some crystal, and a crystal means I can really kick ass when I get there.

The only time you ever feel like you have enough dice is when you have four, and no sooner does that happen that you get rid of one. Often I find myself questioning Past-Rory’s decision-making abilities, almost allowing myself a “do-over”. Despite the limited selection of action choices, quite wonderfully this game doesn’t get old, choices are never obvious since with each game, each roll of the dice your story changes.

 

[caption id="attachment_2492" align="alignnone" width="4032"] The Knight, ready for adventure!  Packing extra steaks, because...steak![/caption]

 

There is an unavoidable drive forward (it’s in the rules), much like a story or comic you always have to move on to the next cell.  This pace not only ensures a short play-time but creates a brevity and a sense missed moments, passing by opportunities which you’ll no doubt regret later on.  Yay!  You’ve got all the dice you need but none of the bonuses.

 

[caption id="attachment_2489" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Archers suck, Knights Rock and don't get me started on the Paladin[/caption]

 

With four characters (that’s including the recently released Mage) and three adventures, there is plenty of simple variety.  The archer plays very differently to the Knight, who in turn is leagues away from the Paladin, and each adventure ups the ante, ups the challenge, and they all use the same components, giving this game a nice array of play options, complete all episodes with one progressively more powerful character, or try each hero against each story.  None of this will ever take you too long to do, and knowing this gives the game a feeling of being open and malleable.

A4 Quest is a quick game but packs a good walloping punch, or perhaps a sharp jab, to the ol’ grey matter as you weigh each seemingly easy choice against its inherent loss of a die.  A poor roll of the dice is almost as agonising as rolling four sixes, and it’s the choices these dice represent that catch you off guard.  All too soon you’re on your final assault of the boss and you don’t have the attack that you need, and you’re down to one steak and...and...how in blazes did the bottom of the page get there so flippin’ quick?!  I should at least another foot of paper surely!

 

[caption id="attachment_2488" align="alignnone" width="4032"] Fighting the boss is never going to be a walk in the park[/caption]

 

Best of all, this is just the beginning.  A4 Quest is the precursor to something grander, something different, new and fresh in the world of tabletop gaming, which you should pay attention too.  Episodic Gaming.  We’ve all heard of a Legacy game, and maybe even played (or at least started) one or two.  Page Quest Season 1: Mythical Artifacts is the brave, bold new step Board and Dice are taking us.  Using the same mechanics as A4 Quest, Page Quest is a real-world nineties setting of adventure, but with one big difference, your missions; the story, will be e-mailed to you monthly.  You’ll have to wait for the next episode, much like the comic books that this game looks like, you’ll following and developing your story, your character as actual, literal time passes, making decisions about how it develops for you, and only you.  Because here is the other great thing, it’s solo play – (it can be played two-player too though) the biggest trouble I’ve had with my game of Pandemic Season 1 is getting everyone together - I bought Pandemic just before my son was born, now he is walking and talking (one of his first words was Batman, I’m so proud) and I still haven’t finished that game!  I can’t see that being a problem with Page Quest.



Is this the next twist, the evolution of legacy gaming?  Will this be the next big movement in board game mechanics? Maybe.  But, I for one am very excited about it.

This review is based on a Print and Play PDF that I downloaded and printed myself, like a big boy.  

Review: Escape the Dark Castle

 

Publisher:	Themeborne Ltd.	Publish Year:	2018
Designers:	Alex Crispin, Thomas Pike, James Shelton	Player Scale:	1 – 4
Artist:	Alex Crispin	Run Time:	20 Minutes

You've spent years languishing inside that dank, dark pit; the dungeon of the Dark Castle, and now, now you have your means of escape.  All you have to do, to once again breathe deep the free air is make it past un-named inhuman beasts, guards and ne’er-do-wells beyond number.

Oh, and the traps.  

And the wicked temptation of booby-trapped treasure.  

And of course, the evil overlord of the Dark Castle itself who awaits at the very end.  But then, once you’ve bested that nightmare, then you'll finally be free.  Not bad for twenty minutes of gameplay.



Escape The Dark Castle not only throws you and your fellow prisoners into jail, but it throws you back in time with the lovingly nostalgic choose your own adventure style gameplay. Everything about it screams atmospheric-retro adventure/horror fun.  From the stark white-on-black box, the fonts used and of course the eye grabbingly bleak artwork.  The Kickstarter video has to be one of my all-time favourite promotional videos capturing the essence of the game and the gameplay itself.  In Escape from the Dark Castle one to four players will choose their characters, and upon collecting your character specific, custom die you’ll set forth.  And it is from here, the very beginning of the game, you’ll notice something is very different, you are not choosing heroes.  No, far from it, you are but simple folk, Tailors, Cooks, Abbots and the like, and much like the style of the game, your chances of survival are bleak.



The game is incredibly simple, reveal a Chapter Card from your individual story/adventure deck of fifteen cards – and you’ll do so just like turning a page in a book. The Page Turner reads aloud the text on the card - which is pretty much all flavour - no additives or preservatives in sight – and as a group make your choice, roll some dice, match some symbols and that's it.  Continue exploring your own adventure until you’re out, or someone dies.  And death comes all too easily in the Dark Castle.    You’ll very quickly come to realise the fragility of your characters and relish those literal rotten apples which provide meagre, but much needed health points.



Most of the challenges you'll face, including combat, are resolved using your character dice, with each character’s die being slightly different.  Your character card will show how many of each symbol - Might, Cunning, and Wisdom - appears on your die (by the very atmospheric scratches on the wall), meaning every character has a couple of doubles.  

[gallery ids="2473,2479" type="rectangular"]

The in-game conflict comes in the form of simply rolling matching symbols to those of the Chapter Card.  On some of the meatier monsters, this will be three or four symbols plus a chapter die roll from each player, on some of the “easier” challenges you’ll be given a chance roll X number of Wisdom in Y amount of attempts.  Fail to kill or complete the Chapter and you’ll lose (read: haemorrhage) health.



This does mean that the game hinges heavily on the luck of a roll - yet in doing so the game accomplishes its main objective: immersion.  There are no cards to sort or shuffle (once you’ve completed set-up), no tokens or pawns to move around and once you remember what each of the symbols are called, you’ll probably never need the rulebook.  This simple, easy elegance keeps all players in the game, and more importantly, invested in their story.  When you play this game you’ll be “Telling a story”, just as much as you’re playing a game.  With forty-five total chapter cards, and only fifteen used each game there are many ways to Escape the Dark Castle and many stories to be a part of.



One cannot help but smile when a string of cards are drawn consecutively that make a cohesive sense, whether by design or chance that this deck of cards just happens to be telling a logical story.  None of the Chapter cards in my experience are "good" they are varying shades of bad, and the pattern I've come to notice is, the more darkness in the picture, the more health you'll almost certainly lose.  One of my favourite parts of this game is watching the face of the person who reads the card.  That moment when their face drops, usually from just looking at the picture.  Upon reading it out there is quite often another groan.  

Another great and simple mechanic I love is the “role” of the Page Turner - this game is fully cooperative, with no turn orders, so each time a chapter is completed the players must decide who is going to turn the page.  Why is this important?  Because the Page Turner comes under the effects of “you” on the revealed card.  So when I destroy the nest of that hulking monster I’m the only one that gets attacked.  Bugger! If I fail that Might test, I’m terrified when fighting that Spectre, and so can’t really hurt it. Double Bugger.

[gallery ids="2481,2470" type="rectangular"]

You know the deck is only fifteen cards long.  Yet, despite what you know there is a compulsion to rush through this short game, the overarching narrative, with the addition of the chilling artwork ushers you along when what you really need to do is slow down and sneak out of the castle.  Unlike ye olde choose your own adventure, actions here do not feel quite so binary, although realistically they are - don’t mistake me here, binary does not mean simple or easy for there is a loss attached to either option. Fight or flee being your main choice when a card gives you one.  Some of my favourite beasties are those that allow an additional choice of attack strategies, these cards really stand out and I’d love to have more of them in the deck.  Mechanical simplicity aside, the advent of the character and chapter dice adds spades of randomness that feels right.  The Tailor doesn't feel like a character with a lot of Might, and the weighted dice realise this in a way that some sort of stat or profile card simply wouldn't.  



Escape the Dark Castle is an enjoyable, immersive quick adventure story/game that is easy to teach, quick to set up and easily accessible to many, including young children - just be prepared for some nightmares.  This game will look different on your table, it will look different to the other games on your shelf.  The beautifully bleak black and white art and graphics, the incredibly simple rules and brevity of the game create a fabulous mixture of short, intense storytelling, that, like any good game, or book will have you revisiting time and again.      



This review is based on a full retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.