Scythe, by Jamey Stegmaier

A masterstroke in game design

I've struggled for more than a week to write this review. I'm still struggling. Usually when I enjoy a game enough to want to review it the words flow from my fingertips, pointed and descriptive. Scythe is so good as to almost defy description.

Let me explain. Scythe is a 4x game (kind of, more on that later) about gaining wealth in an alternate-universe, post-Great War Eastern Europe shattered by previous events. Players take on the role of faction leaders, competing to earn wealth, popularity, and a mandate to lead in this world. It's a hex-based area control and resource management game that makes use of restricted action selection and the threat of combat to maintain a constant pressure for you to be efficient, careful, and vigilant.

That's an accurate description of Scythe that places it somewhere between Kemet, Memoir '44, and Agricola, games I like, love, and detest (respectfully), and yet the sum of its parts provide something unique in my experience. Scythe feels a little like puzzle-solving, provides a little of the quasi-negotiation you get from a good game of Kemet, and a lot of the pressure to keep up that you feel in Terra Mystica.

See what I mean? In describing it, I've referenced four of the most popular games in our hobby without scratching the surface of what Scythe really is. That's the mark of something new - even in my most ambitious comparisons, I can only approximate its qualities. Read on, and I'll convince you to play it as quickly as you can.

(Full disclosure: I was provided a review copy of Scythe by Jamey Stegmaier, owner of Stonemaier Games. Scythe is live on Kickstarter now.)

Innovation, by Carl Chudyk

Imagine, if you will, the halls of the Hyatt Regency at DFW Airport in November 2014. A few thousand of my friends and I are huddled together, sitting, waiting for the great pearly doors to swing open and let us ascend into BGG.Con. It's warm inside. There are lawn chairs, and men lounging in them. It's morning, so the smell of fresh-caught taquitos is in the air. A fellow con-goer - lonely, bearded, and proud - looks to me and says, "Innovation is the only game you'll ever need to own." I pall, unsure if I should trust his wild eyes and be led into the darkness... 

Fast forward three months, into the bitter depths of a Texas winter fraught with frigid evenings and frantic gaming with my mates. We've played Innovation a half-dozen times, each round more topsy-turvy than the last. We've nearly lost our wits keeping up with the swirling madness pouring from that golden box. To contain the unpredictable malice that's enveloped us, a member of my crew utters these words of invocation, "Innovation is just Fluxx for smart people."

The enchantment momentarily broken, we force the cards back into the paper vault from which they came. Our breath returns in quick bursts as sanity settles into our minds once more. I wonder, which of these friends was correct? The one who insists Innovation is a vital organ, like a heart or dice tower, or the one who reduces it so aptly into an exercise in randomness? I am lost, I can't find my way. 

Come, join me as I search for my answer...

Eminent Domain: Microcosm, by Seth Jaffee

"Microgame" is an ambiguous term in the tabletop gaming world. It's kind of an "I know it when I see it" thing - Love Letter (16 cards) is definitely a microgame, and so is Tiny Epic Kingdoms (lots and lots of cubes and boards and pieces), but I don't often hear folks call Coup a microgame, even though it comes in the same size box as TEK and has fewer cards than Love Letter (albeit with some chips and other little boards).

I admit confusion at what constitutes "micro", but I still use the word to describe those things that definitely are a game in a small package. Not all microgames are created equal, and in a Kickstarter-led world of reducing components and size and weight to reduce shipping and printing costs, there's a whole host of games that are playable, but fit squarely in the "flash in the pan" variety. 

Not so with Eminent Domain: Microcosm. At 34 cards and about a playmat's worth of table presence, ED:M could absolutely be called a microgame, but I'd rather call it a great game. Just like its macro predecessor, Eminent Domain, there's nothing micro about the depth of choices and the various paths to victory that emerge during play. The experience lives up to everything I expect from larger, deeper two player games like Patchwork and Akrotiri, and for this I say it's one of my favorite games of the year! 

Railways of the World, Video from Edo's Guest Reviews

Hey Nerd Nighters, I was asked to give a few guest reviews of games I love for Edo's Game Reviews! Here's the first in what should be a series of them: Railways of the World by Glenn Drover and Martin Wallace.

Give it a watch, and let me know in the comments if you would ever put your head through a game board like I did :)

See more of Edo's Game Reviews here - they're great!

Rise to Power, by Allen Chang and Alistair Kearney

Normally I adorn these first few paragraphs with quippy one-liners and phrases meant to draw the prospective reader closer to the bottom of the article, where surely I'll let loose some long-considered opinion of a game that redefines the way the reader sees games, and this game in particular.

Sadly, there's no time for that today. I'm so busy playing Rise to Power that its difficult to make time to check my my mail, let alone compose a flowery introduction. You'll have to make due with this: Rise to Power was the best game I played at PAX South, and perhaps the best game I've played in 2015.

If that's not enough to convince you to drop everything and go play it, read on! 

Cosmic Encounter, by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, and Peter Olotka

Play It Again, Sam

In this golden age of gaming we're enjoying, new releases hit our local game stores like a heavy rain pounding on so many windshields. With each blockbuster, those classics we grew up with are pushed back farther into the recesses of our shelves, left to gather dust and retain fond memories as we buy new Star Wars minis and wield our new-found authority as Sheriffs.

I've been told that Cosmic Encounter is "a game that should have meant even more than it did." I'm not sure exactly how to interpret that, but I assume it means that if CE were released today, in our surge of attention for games, that it would be an instant classic.

But wait... it's already an instant classic! From all the way back in 1977, Cosmic Encounter continues to be a fantastic game. Read on, intrepid gamer!

DC Comics Deck-Building Game, by Matt Hyra

Who's your favorite? 

This is a guest post by Raoul Mowatt, proud Chicagoan and owner of many, many games! Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap other games in a single bound! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the DC Comics Deck-Building Game! I’d heartily recommend "DC Deckbuilder" to just about anyone. 

I’ve probably played it over a hundred times, and it still remains one of my favorites, which should tell you something about its replayability (or my easy-to-please nature, or both). It is a quick game that’s easy to pick up and play.

Coup, by Rikki Tahta

There's a theory about board games that says you should only own those games are the best of their genre, type, or purpose. For instance, if you're a fan of worker placement games, you may have Puerto Rico, Lords of Waterdeep, Leonardo Di Vinci, and Agricola in your library. Jones Theory states that you should pick your favorite and divest yourself of the others to keep your board game library small and ensure you play only the best games.

Coup fits perfectly in my collection as a short game for a maximum of 6 players that's incredibly fun (the most important thing!). It's also among the best hidden-role games that exist, regardless of length. As Coup is also among the very best "light" games I've ever played, I theorize that it will be in my library for years to come.

No Thanks, by Thorston Gimmler

Normally you’d see a fancy introduction here, rife with theme and some compelling story about the time I did something or that one thing I think is cool. Not today, friends. No Thanks isn’t a game about theme or stories – it’s a game about numbers, pure and simple, and one of my favorites.

No Thanks is always in my backpack. If I got the heads up that I would be soon be marooned on an island, I’d make sure it was in my jacket pocket. It’s the first game I think of when I’ve got 10 minutes to kill and a group of gamers and non-gamers that need something easy to understand but interesting enough to pull everyone into the “magic circle.”

You can save yourself a few minutes and just go pick this up at your Friendly Local Game Store if you’d like, but if you want to see my strategy guide, read on!

Splendor, by Marc André

Do you like shiny things? Is your gem collection missing that one beautiful stone to pull it all together? In Splendor, you lead a Merchant Guild competing to produce gems and win the attention of Nobles in your town. Show them you’ve got the most beautiful – and valuable – collection of gems in the province, and you’ll win their hearts – and purses!

This recent release from Space Cowboys combines resource-management and set-collection in a Renaissance-themed game for 2-4 players. Splendor provides a pleasant number of tough choices, particularly for a game purposely designed to be easy to learn and with only a few available actions each turn. If the Merchant in you is already counting coins, read on! 

Gloom, by Keith Baker

“And while the tiny opera singer strolled through the swamp lands in an attempt to shake the sorrow of her recent divorce, she strayed too close to the water, and got Mauled by Manatees!”

While a sentence like that may not seem out of the ordinary to a player of games like Munchkin, Gloom diverges in that you are inflicting such cards upon your own characters!

Perchance, good sir, what is Gloom?

Gloom is a tabletop 2-4 player card game published by Atlas games in which players try to inflict the most woe upon their chosen gothic Victorian family before ending their misery with the sweet release of death.   It lasts between 45 and 75 minutes depending on your group, and can weave elements of storytelling into the competitive card game components.  It is immediately recognizable due to it’s transparent plastic cards, allowing modifiers to interact in a novel way by ‘blocking’ what can be seen from cards played earlier.

The Shadow Over Westminster, by Robert Huss

On a shadowy evening in London, three cloaked figured gathered in a hidden Agency to discuss their plans. The Outsider, The Watcher, and The Illuminati Shadow joined forces to discover, and ultimately defeat, an unknown Cataclysm sure to poison the world with Evil.

Given no warning, the heroes immediately found Darkness creeping into the University nearby, unbeknownst to the population of Westminster, but a sure threat all the same. Unsure how to push back the roiling wickedness, the trio sought out Cult Activity in the Underground, seeking clues as to the origins of their plight. After a few horrid hours sneaking silently through the back alleys of London, the Agents returned to the University to pour over their findings. As clear as day, the danger facing the city was the result of a Hive Mind coming to dominate the people of Westminster, then all of the Continent – then the world.

Though endowed with powers unnatural to normal humans, the Agents were ultimately incapable of holding back the darkness spreading through our great city, thanks to the media unwittingly spreading the Hive Mind’s influence. I’m only allowed to tell you this tale because I gave into the Hive Mind early – the rest of you weak, struggling humans will be consumed by its darkness!

Ghost Stories by Antoine Bauza

oooOOOoooOOOooo

"If your cooperative board game isn't hard enough, then players won't come back and play it."

This is what Antoine Bauza told The Nerd Nighters in an interview. In his Cooperative game Ghost Stories, he's definitely taken the first part of his advice to heart, as Ghost Stories is arguably one of the hardest co-op board games out there. Don't let the difficulty drive you away because, all things considered, it is one of the only pure co-op games that always seems to find its way to the table at my game nights. The challenge adds to the mystique of the game, as the game comes with a score sheet so you can record how close you've come to victory until you finally achieve it.

Ticket to Ride, by Alan R. Moon

It’s no secret that Days of Wonder is one of my favorite game publishers. They put out quality games like clockwork, typically elegant, re-playable, and beautiful to look at. Ticket to Ride is the epitome of what DoW creates – a game so simple a six year old could play it, but compelling enough that it’s the second-best selling hobby board game in the US, and one of a very small number of games that I see in every single game library I come across.

Ticket to Ride is for everyone. I love maps and numbers, and TTR has both – but if you love quick turns, little down time, and plenty of tension, well, it’s got those things too. It’s also beautiful – the board, the pieces, the cards, all become something wonderful when laid out on a table. This game feels important. Every time I pick up the box I’m surprised by how heavy it is, and every time I play it, I’m surprised again by how much I enjoy it, despite having played 500+ times before.

If you’re a board game enthusiast, odds are you already own TTR, or at least have played it enough times to have an opinion. If you don’t own it, or haven’t played it, put this on the top of your list. It’s among the three games I ALWAYS recommend to a person starting a new game collection, and I think it should be federally mandated that the app has to be on every iPad. If you’re not already convinced, read on!

The Resistance, by Don Eskridge

In a world ravaged by greed, devastated by natural disasters, and conquered by corporate monsters, a small team of brave revolutionaries dare to work against powerful, terrible forces. This incredible squad of women and men seek only one thing - retribution for the damage done by those who hold power. They are The Resistance and they work to make the world safe for you and I…

…but even in this elite group, treachery lurks within the ranks. Those they trust most to carry out these missions are destined to betray them at the critical moment, and yet they still believe victory – freedom! - is just a few short days away…

Under Two Reviews #1 - Quantum, by Eric Zimmerman

"Under Two Reviews" is a video series in which we take a look at tabletop games and present them to our readers in under two minutes.

In Quantum, each player is a fleet commander from one of the four factions of humanity, struggling to conquer a sector of space" This, and a few more hundred words are in the official description of the game. But rather than tell you that it's a quick, colorful conquest game for 2-4 players using a fleet of starships represented by six-sided dice. How about we show you instead? It'll be quick. I promise.

Enjoy the video after the jump!

Guilds of Cadwallon by Gaëtan Beaujannot and Charles Chevallier

While I have always been a huge fan of expansive, complex games, sometimes you just have a little bit between family responsibilities.  Guilds of Cadwallon is one of those great games that can fill that gap with a group of friends.

The game presumes that you lead one of the numerous trade guilds in the city and are attempting to gather enough influence to become the next leader of the city.  You deploy your agents to the streets in an attempt to control the districts.

Welcome to the Multiverse: A Review of Sentinels of the Multiverse

I love cooperative games.  There, I said it, it's out in the world and there's no taking it back.  I love to work with a team and destroy the evil game!  Whether it's ridding the planet of diseases or clearing a dungeon of vermin, cooperative games got their hooks in me a long time ago and I just can't get enough of them.  

They provide a great entry point to the hobby, allowing non-gamers to contribute and not feel picked on by the experienced players.  They provide an island of collaboration and team building in a hostile ocean of "take that" and "screw your neighbor" games.  All of this brings us to today's review - a cooperative superhero experience - Sentinels of the Multiverse by Greater Than Games!

Legendary: A Marvel Deckbuilding Game, by Devin Low

Welcome Agent Phil Coulson to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ.  Today we need you to bring a team of young agents to the field and have them assist you in the apprehension of some of the biggest villains in the world.  You will not be alone as you will be joined by up to 6 different super heroes in the field.  You will need to utilize each hero’s strengths and work with them to exploit the villain’s weaknesses.

Now that you have been briefed let us dive right in to the world of Marvel Legendary Deck Building Game by Upper Deck.

Review: Talisman (Revised 4th Edition), By Robert Harris

Talisman: The Magical Quest Game. This game will ruin friendships. This is not a joke. Talisman first entered the world in 1983, and has been a growing force in the board game community. It accommodates 2-6 players ages 9 and up. It is my favorite game I own.