Don't worry, Galactic Cruise is VERY safe.

Once in a blue moon comes a euro game that feels... special. There's just something about it that makes it stand out from the crowd. I am not sure that Galactic Cruise is that game - it's too hard a call to make because whether it feels like that to us or not doesn't matter. It's how everyone else receives it.

But I do hope that it is, there's just something cooking in this game that feels simultaneously breezy and crunchy - a good combination! Not to mention the standout production, art, compelling premise - a total package.

When we started working on this review, I asked Elaine, half-seriously, if she thought she could build a human sized rocket out of cardboard. The glint in her eye made me realise very quickly that my half-seriously was her full-seriously.

It took more than a week.

Which seems unreasonably long for something that's meant to be intetionally shoddy. But even a silly thing can take a long time. Especially when you have to cut out and glue together something like forty triangles.

Seal everything with primer and let it dry.

And then paint it and let it dry.

But, eventually we got there.

Yup, that's a "rocket" alright. And here is the kicker - the stupid thing is so big we could barely get it into shot. There's maybe a five second scene where the entire thing is visible in the video, otherwise you can see parts of it and that's it.

But it was worth it! Mostly because we got to make the kind of NPI video we used to make circa 2017-18 where we got to be silly, a little creative and just gush about a game because we enjoyed it. You might even say we've gone retro NPI to keep the theme of retro-futurism going.

And you can obviously watch the result for yourselves. I hope it brings some of that much needed levity.

Hallertau Review - One Year Later

Long time podcast listeners will remember that initially Uwe Rosenber’s latest entry into his farming universe canon did not exactly wow us, yet here Efka is, almost one year later reviewing Hallertau. What is Hallertau then, and what changed?

Well, you’ll have to watch the video to find out, but if nothing else, Hallertau is an interesting entry not just in Rosenberg’s long list of designs, but euro games in general.

Underwater Cities 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.

Gen 7 Review

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.