Posted in: Board Game
Announcement! For the next six weeks we’ll be celebrating the best that small board games have to offer. Tune in for this first episode where we feature Sprawlopolis - one of the best city building games out there fitting into a demure 18 cards, a rulebook and a wallet to fit it all in. What could be more pocket than that? Answers on a pocket postcard.
Let’s face it, we’re not the target audience for this game. NPI has always been a staunch resistor of “Big Kickstarter,” and upon initial glance, this is one of the genre’s naffer offerings. Generic theme? Check. Generic minis? Check check check check check. But any ol’ cardboard doesn’t just get featured in an NPI review so maybe there’s something hiding behind the plastic.
Project: Elite is a real time dice chucking madness simulator where every second you feel like you’re on fire - and trust me, you won’t have time to check whether that fire’s coming from an alien’s mouth or your own gun accidentally pointed at you. Appropriately, Project: Elite isn’t a game of high stakes action - it’s a game of foibles and a comedy of errors.
So let your guard down for a moment and let this plastic wash over you as we tell you why exactly is it that maybe, against all odds, this game won over our hearts.
Oh no, there he goes again bashing another big Kickstarter board game, you might say. And you know what, you would be right. Cloudspire is so big and so indestructible (no, really) that it can take a big swing. But here’s the trick, frequently if you give large containers filled with various bits a good bashing - things will fall out. And sometimes those things might be amazing. So let’s see if this Kickstartosorous will leave a nugget of gold after you sift through it.
What makes Arkham Horror the Card Game so captivating? Perhaps it really is that good. Perhaps, like The King in Yellow, once you’ve experienced it you’ll just never be able to get away from it. Either way, we want to help you decide which parts are worth the entry cost. So we’ve sat through it. All of it. And here it is, act one of our Mega Review of Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
This is just one of those videos that shouldn’t have a preface or an introduction. All you need to know is that Food Chain Magnate is beloved and Monopoly is beloathed. Go! Watch!
After 7th Continent we did not think we’d be intrigued in seeing another ‘continent composed of cards on your table’ open world board game but here we are. Better sharpen your scythes as you take on the role of hapless villagers trying to unravel a world-ending mystery so “dark” it’ll give Vantablack a run for it’s money.
Tainted Grail is everything “Kickstarter board games” but hyperbolized. The scope? If you want to finish this beast and have time to play some other board games in your life - better take all your annual leave at once. The bling? Let’s not mince words because Awaken Realms does not mince plastic - it’s all truly gorgeous. The cost? Actually, forget other board games - if you bought this - you can no longer afford them. Whether you should buy it is another matter altogether.
Buckle up, I’m about to utter some forbidden words. Rondel. Multi-purpose cards. Tableau building. Wait, don’t ring the police just yet because believe it or not that kind of Eurogame talk is not only legal, but very much abundant in Maracaibo.
In this spiritual sequel to the world’s most famous game about… cows, you’ll become a trader with a ship instead and spin around the Carribean like a mad beyblade, collecting resources and, in a shocking twist - building people out of cards? I can see you’ve already got a headache so let me soothe it with some video review balm.
An Irish Gouge, much like Bradd Pitt’s character in the movie Snatch, doesn’t sound like something very nice or Irish. Thankfully today we are not reviewing Irish Gouge, but Irish Gauge, a delightfully devious and quick train game with drumroll stocks!
That’s right, much like it’s dreaded bulky cousin - the 18xx genre - Irish Gauge combines the joy of stocks and auctions with laying track onto hexagons. But unlike it’s cousin, it manages to remain light and fluffy - like a coal powered meringue. Is it worth your time?
Today we have the pleasure and delight of shining a light on Sabotage, a strange strange design from board game extraordinaire Tim Fowers. Thematically, you’re either spies or supervillains fighting in a head to head game of cat and mouse. Mechanically… you’ve got a team asymmetrical hidden movement dice placement programming game which is something I had to learn to say out lout with confidence for this review. Does it all hold together or fall apart at the seams? Only one way to find out.
Tapestry! When you lose control and you get no bonus,
Tapestry! When the resource’s gone and you can’t go on it’s hard to be….
Wait, put down that pitchfork - this was a fine homage to a horrible song and admit it - deep down in your heart you liked it. Just like I had to admit that deep down in my heart I liked Tapestry, a civilization themed game that asks you to go up four tracks that will propel you as high up as space (and other human achievements). But, my oh my, I don’t think everyone will enjoy this trundle through history and as always, the hardest job falls on us - helping you figure out which camp you’re going to be on before you hit ‘purchase.’
If you were ever looking for a game that would irritatingly make you sing an altered version of The Penguin’s Earth Angel whilst your friends are tearing their hair out desperately trying to figure out how to most optimally sequence their moves - on paper Black Angel is it. Coming from a design trio most famous for Troyes, this 2-4 player game taking 2-3 hours won’t sit there quietly as its bright neon pinks purples and blues will dominate everyone’s attention on looks alone.
But if you’ve been listening to our podcast you might have already heard that this spaceship bearing box didn’t land so well with us. Why? Only one way to find out.
Fresh off the heels of us discussing this little gem on our podcast Efka is already ready with a video review. We’re going to keep it brief this time and point you straight to the video because the person behind the keyboard might or might not be crushed by a horrendous migraine right now. We can at least promise that this game is no headache!
If you came here to find out what exactly letter jam is, then I still have absolutely no idea. If however, you’re looking to find out more about Letter Jam then step right in. The doctor will see you now. What’s that? Feeling a little peaky? Have been feasting on a diet of empty calorie party games? I’m afraid we’ll have to make drastic changes to your diet. Here’s a prescription for one medicinal word party game from Czech Games Edition, the makers of Codenames et al. Take one at least once a week or more frequently. We have created an informational video with everything you’ll need to know. Who’s next?
Pipes! Many people wear them, but also, since 2019, they are an economic simulator. Truly, they are the most versatile kitchen utensil. Thankfully, Pipeline from Capstone Games comes with so many pipe tiles that it could easily win the award for “Guinness World Record of Board Game with Most Pipe Tiles,“ which as we all know is one of the less obscure Guinness World Records.
With so many pipes coming out of the wazoo, it’ll take none other than NPI to see if they all fit together neatly into a good board game.
Here he comes, here comes the Batman - he’s a demon on wings. And he’s gonna sell you a big box of plastic. Just before we rush off to UK Games Expo we want to leave a little review we have made for you of a teeny tiny game about a caped crusader and his, as it turns out by counting all the other miniatures in the box, seventeen thousand friends and enemies.
And since this is quite a long video, we’ll just let it do the talking. Hope you enjoy the review!
Oh no! How do I write this blurb without asking the all important question: will this game sink or swim? If you’ve not heard of Underwater Cities then you are in for a treat if you like your games non confrontational and loaded with more cards than Gambit’s utility belt.
Fans of Shipyard, Last Will and The Prodigal’s Club (which we’ve reviewed a very long time ago) might recognise the name Vladimír Suchý. But unlike the previous games that were published by Czech Games Edition, this time Vladimír set out to make a game via his own, brand new publishing company. And that feels appropriate because Underwater Cities is not only nothing like its predecessors but also feels much grander in scope. Excited? Good. Take a comfy seat, get your kelp treat on and enjoy our review.
Sometimes simple can mean complex and sometimes simple can mean vicious. In the case of The Estates - it’s both. Welcome to a game that says - hey - it’s time to play with some wooden colour blocks and maybe potentially breed an insatiable desire to tell your friends things you’ll come to regret for many years to come. “Sign me up,” you say? Well hang on just a minute, this review is far from over. Sit back, click play and don’t relax because this game is about to hit you like a ton of bricks.
Behold, the wonderful world of birds - nature’s favourite flying mammal - in all its glory. Wingspan doesn’t skimp one bit at showing you just how beautiful these creatures can be and comes with an amount of eggs so large that it can only mean that those one hundred and seventy bird cards have been getting up to no good in your brand new board game box. That’s right. Birds are the new sexy and publisher Stonemaier Games is ready to sell you a board game full of them. Just as well we’ve got a review ready to help you make up your mind.
Diving into peoples dreams, miniature black holes, Winnie the pooh - those are not items from my Amazon checkout page - they’re just some of the elements that make up the whole that is Comanauts. There’s enough ideas in this board game to fill up an Olympic swimming pool and they’re so eclectic that it’ll probably make google bots think this entire page is gibberish spam. I don’t think I’m doing a very good job explaining it so here, just watch this video, it’ll make it better. Uh oh, I think I hear the google bot knocking on my door. Hurry, click play before it takes me to spam prison!
It is a well known rule of physics that in campaign games nobody can hear you scream. But I’ll tell you what - Gen7 doesn’t care about physics. It’s big, loud and it’s barrelling down your door, yelling at the top of it’s lungs: “love me, for I am all that is cool.” Sequel to Dead of Winter? Check. Campaign game? Check. Sealed envelopes? Check. Replayable? Check. It’s like a board game by Gucci if Gucci was still fashionable (I mean, I have no idea, maybe Gucci IS still fashionable - fashion experts - let us know).
But it’s not until a board game has been through the NPI gauntlet can we truly find out if it is actually hip or whether it is just a hipster. Want to know more? Only one way to find out.