Whirlwind Wooing (a review of Love Letter)

The princess is sad and lonely, now that her mother has been carted away by the police. You know what would cheer her up? Various suitors throwing themselves at her feet, working with all their might, using whatever means necessary, to get their missives to her (while at the same time thwarting their rivals'). The people closest to the princess, who know her best, are more likely to persuade her that your letter is the one worth receiving. But can you persuade the persuaders without giving yourself away?

Level Up! (A Review of Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000)

Smash Up, a clever little card game designed by Paul Peterson and published by AEG, turned out to be a smash hit last fall and it was no surprised when AEG announced the first expansion pack, adding 4 new factions.  This time Ghosts, Plants, Steampunk… people, and the Bear Cavalry (yes you read that right) join in the fray.  But is it worth adding these factions to the base game?

That's One Ugly Farmer (A Review of Guildhall)

It's the dark ages and there are pigs running all over the place causing chaos and disorder.  It's your job to hire some farmers to pick up those pigs so that everyone else can finally get some work done.  That's the man for the job right there on the cover.  He's so good at his job that he's holding 2 pigs, better hire him quick and give him some good benefits before someone else recruits him to their own guild!  There are some representatives from the other various occupations too but most of them look shady and it's really hard to look away from that farmer's big old nose.  And don't mind that guy in the back left, he's absolutely not about to kill someone.  I think that pretty much sums up Guildhall, now let's go watch that dancer without having to worry about getting run over by a herd of pigs.

News Bits: 3/25/2013

Lots of great news this week, including two announcements I'm very excited about from AEG. Without further ado, the NEWS:

AEG announces a summer release for Trains [Link] Trains sold out quickly at Essen, but there were whispers on the wind that a US publisher would import it. I earlier mentioned rumors that AEG would be that publisher, and this week, AEG confirmed the rumors. Trains is slated to arrive this summer, and I am super stoked. (Trains, for those not in the know, is a train/route-building game that uses a deck-building mechanic.)

All of the Smashing! (A review of Smash Up)

Aliens. Ninjas.  Robots. Pirates.

These tropes have been central to the geek culture for years.  Hours upon hours have been dedicated to discussing and arguing which group would win in a fight.  They have been smashed together in fiction, and now, they've been smashed together for an all out knock-down drag-out fight to see who is the most awesome in Alderac's new card game, Smash Up.

The tagline on the box claims that Smash-Up is the "Shufflebuilding game of total awesomeness."  But does it live up to the hype?

News Bits: 10/1/2012

Sorry about the tardiness of this week's news. But here it is--at last!

Deutscher Spiele Preis Winners Announced
It's award season, and the winners of the Deutscher Spiele Preis have been announced. No surprises here: Village by Markus and Inka Brand, which also won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, took top honors, followed by Trajan and Hawaii. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the worthiness of these winners, but a hearty congratulations nonetheless!

News Bits: 9/10/2012

There are lots of juicy news morsels for your consumption this week. Enjoy the news!

Greater Than Games Offers Opportunity to Be a Mastermind
Greater Than Games, creators of the cooperative superhero card game Sentinels of the Multiverse, is offering an opportunity to create the next Sentinels of the Multiverse villain. The contest is up on their website and runs through September 28. According to the comments, the winner's villain will be included in the next run of the game, and the winner will receive a free copy  Sentinels of the Multiverse is one of the most thematically rich games I've played. The chance to create a part of its mythos is a pretty big draw.