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!

A Review of One Night Ultimate Werewolf by Bezier Games

It's 11:30 pm on a Saturday and you're bored out of your mind.  You're wedged between four people on a couch built for three but moving won't help since every other seat in the room is occupied.  You're at Richard's house.  You didn't know Richard until tonight.  You see, Richard works with Carolyn and Carolyn is married to Steve and Steve is in your board game group.  

Carolyn and Steve were invited to this board game party and Steve thought you would enjoy yourself.  Initially, you did.  You played King of Tokyo and battled to the finish.  You shared a game of Augustus with five other people but got thoroughly trounced.  And now you're crammed into a room full of people and yet not playing anything or having any fun.  Why?  Because it's Werewolf and you got killed on the first night...

"But Donny," you cry, incredulously, "how else would I spend an evening killing my friends and satiating my bloodlust?!"  And I reply "The answer is simple, dear reader: One Night Ultimate Werewolf!"

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.

Suburbia, by Ted Alspach

Did you play SimCity 2000 in 1994, or any year thereafter? I did, and I loved it. There's something about "god mode" and managing an economy that's always held my attention and kept me coming back to the genre for more games - but I didn't expect the latest version to be a tabletop game!

Suburbia is a tile-building game of economic management and city development. It's a pretty deep game, on the level of a game like Power Grid or Concordia, and takes about 90-120 minutes to play. If you're a fan of interactions and building an economy, you should try this game!

I'm including a Q & A with my wife, Amy, and I both answering some general questions after my review. Enjoy!

Loonacy, by Looney Labs

Same size as a Fluxx box!

When I was 8 years old, I was the Morningside Elementary Third-Grade "Speed" champion. It's a simple card game of playing out your hand of cards as quickly as you can while your opponents try to beat you to the same goal. 

Flash forward 20-something years, and it's like my childhood has snuck up behind me - Loonacy reminds me so much of those days that I can practically taste the Star Crunch cookies. If you're looking for a speedy matching game that can be taught in three words - "play matching cards" - then you're looking for Loonacy!