One Olive a Game (A Review of Cinque Terre)

At least I didn’t say it was a lemon!  This little game won’t mushroom out of control or leave you with sour grapes.  There’s no squashing your opponents or other rotten tomatoes to throw.  But still, it can prove to be a little bit like garlic, with a few layers to peel back for nuance and flavor.  And then there are oranges, which I can’t think of a pithy comment at the moment, but they’re in the game, too.  No matter, you can trade in any or all of these goods as you peddle your produce around the circuit of five villages; or Cinque Terre.

Make Your Fortune By Going Broke (A Review of Last Will)

Are you good at spending money?  I mean lots and lots of money, enough to buy mansions and hire out butlers and still have more to blow.  But that's the whole point, you're uncle made it his last wish (or will) that his relatives should enjoy the vast wealth that he never got to enjoy himself.  And whoever is the best at spending his hard earned cash the fastest will inherit the rest of his fortune.  So get ready to go for broke.  Like they say, you've got to spend money to make money.

Dystopian Digging in Deck Building (a review of Arctic Scavengers)

Since Dominion's release, many have been eager to capitalize on the deck-building phenomenon, but in every case, I've found myself cold toward the new and that much more impressed with the original. Ascension, for example, I thought was okay, but its twist (same cards each game/different order and two currencies) left me craving the more balanced approach of Dominion. Eminent Domain was kind of neat, but it lacked the variety (and thus replayability) of Dominion. Thunderstone was thematic, but its mechanics were bogged down by its theme, and games outlasted my interest. On and on.

Arctic Scavengers is the newest in the line of Dominion followers, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland of scarce resources and frightening possibilities. How does it stack up to the others? Find out below!

Feel the Burn (A Review of Cavemen: The Quest for Fire)

In the land before time – because early man hadn't yet invented swatch watches – our knuckle-dragging ancestors lacked many things like bows, baskets, and trapper-keepers.  Indeed, you may wonder how the species survived without Tupperware, pedometers and koozies, but times were even darker than that - literally.  Until, that is, one momentous, undocumented moment.  Now, Rio Grande sends you back in time – way back – to be a part of arguably the greatest achievement in human history: the discovery of fire!  Can you lead your small tribe of cavemen to grow and prosper, being the first to patent the roaring flame?  Can you do better than our distant cousins?  Well, let’s hope so, considering that their IQ was smaller than the number of fingers you have on one hand.  And s'mores-eaters and Kumbaya-singers throughout history will memorialize you forever more!

Raining Candy (a review of Piñata)

A swing and a miss! You love tugging that little line, drawing the bounteous piñata higher and higher as the blindfolded batter swings low. Or loosening your grip to ground the piñata as she swings high. You chuckle and chuckle at your clever dodges and revel in the laughter of the crowd. Until it's your turn at the bat.

Now the crowd has turned against you as you beat the air, hoping against hope that candy will shower you with sugar. You can taste victory...but can you find it in the dark?