Pretzel Games

Saaaatuuuuuuurrrdaaaaaaaaaay!
Saturday of a long weekend, too. All. The. Bonus!

But that doesn't mean I'm going to shirk my duties. You want your review articles, and I'm here to give them to you.

So I present to you: Who Knew, Everdawn, Flick 'Em Up, Night of Man, Ra, Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization, Tyrants of the Underdark, VIII Corps: The Somme 1916, Wombat Rescue, Nefarious, Apotheca: The Secret Potion Society, Back to the Future: An Adventure Through Time, Dungeon Time, Bear Valley, and Millennium Blades.



Toucan Play That Game:

Who Knew Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Who Knew by DoYouKnowMyGame.com.

Everdawn Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Everdawn TCG.

Gettin' Higgy With It:

Flick 'Em Up Review

We take a look at the dexterity game, Flick'em Up, by Gaëtan Beaujannot and Jean Yves Monpertuis. Distributed by Pretzel Games. Flick'em Up is for 2-10 players, age 8+ and takes about 45 minutes per game.

The Board Game Show:

Night of Man Review

Do you think the future looks dark? I’m not talking about the presumed candidates for the U.S. presidency. I’m talking about the year 2034. That’s a short 18 years away, and do you know what happens? For one, that’s when dogs and cats start living together. What I really mean is aliens attack and wipe out billions of people. Don’t worry, there’s always a silver lining. It’s a wargame called Night of Man from Flying Pig Games, and everything is starting to look a little brighter.

Play Board Games:

Ra Review

Ra is an auction and set collection board game with a bit of press your luck. If you bid wisely and get lucky you can win.

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is the latest edition of this civ-building board game. It brings changes to both the aesthetics and mechanics of this highly rated game.

Gale Force Nine:

Tyrants of the Underdark Unboxing

Take a look at the components inside Tyrants of the Underdark, the new board game from Wizards of the Coast and Gale Force 9.

Meeples & Miniatures:

VIII Corps: The Somme 1916 Review

VIII Corps: The Somme 1916 is the first in a series of games written by Neal Reid and published by Vexillia Limited.

VIII Corps is a card game, currently available in PDF ‘print and play’ format, which is designed to give the players some appreciation of the difficulties faced by VIII Corps on the first day of the Battle of the Somme as the British 4th, 29th and 31st Divisions attacked the villages of Beaumont Hamel, Serre and the Heidenkopf Redoubt.

The game consists of 77 cards, which are divided into 9 Terrain cards, 39 British & 29 German Cards.

iSlaytheDragon:

That Dingo’s Not Eating My Baby! (A Review of Wombat Rescue)

You are a mama wombat and the mean dingo has come along and scared your babies! They’ve run away from the burrow and are hiding somewhere in the environment. You’re going to have to eat, digest your food, and then poop cubes in order to create smell areas so you can navigate to find your babies and bring them home. The player who plans and poops most efficiently will win the game. Non-poopy translation: It’s a pick up and deliver game with some route building tossed in about getting your baby wombats back to the burrow using cubes as route markers.

Despicable We (A Review of Nefarious)

The goal is simple: take over the world. In game terms this means getting 20 points. You will have 4 actions available to you in order to accomplish that goal. Every round begins with all players secretly choosing an action card that corresponds to the action they’d like to take. Once everyone has selected their card, they are all revealed simultaneously. Before any of the actions are resolved, players receive income if they have spies on the actions chosen by their neighbors. If you have a spy on the espionage action, for example, and your neighbor revealed an espionage action card, you will receive $1. After all players receive their income the actions are carried out in the following order: Espionage, Invent, Research, and Work.

Make Me a Match (A Review of Apotheca: The Secret Potion Society)

In Apotheca players are apprentices trying to impress master apothecaries at the market’s testing grounds. Using a Match-3 style mechanism – albeit sans cascading explosions – and action selection, your goal is to arrange three or more same-colored potion tiles in a linear or special pattern. You can enlist the help of legendary tradecrafters to employ special abilities that aid your concoctions – or mess with your opponents! Complete three matches to win the game and earn your mortar and pestle. We previewed the game during its Kickstarter campaign so you can reference that article for the game’s specific rules.

Board Game Quest:

Back to the Future: An Adventure Through Time Review

In Back to the Future, players will be moving the DeLorean throughout three timelines (1955, 1985, 2015) from the movies. Each turn, players will be selecting roles, playing character cards to their timeline, and resolving ripple effects. As players place the right characters at the right moments in time, they will earn victory points for completing events before the other players can. After enough events have been completed, the victory points are calculated and the player with the most points is the winner.

Dungeon Time Preview

Dungeon Time is played over two phases. In the first half of the game, players are working together to play missions and item cards into a communal stack. Players have exactly 5 minutes to complete as many missions as possible.

Once the time expires, players move on to the resolution phase, where they see how they did. Hopefully they played their cards correctly and were able to complete enough missions to win!

Drive Thru Review:

Bear Valley Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:10); final thoughts and review (13:02)

Millennium Blades Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:15); final thoughts and review (16:15);

Pretzel Games had quite a hit on their hands when they released Flick 'em Up. Whether you decided to join up with the Sheriff or the Cooper Clan, a good time was sure to be had by all. Well, the folks at Z-Man games saw Flick 'em Up and thought, "this is great! Everyone should play it!" and so they've been working hard with various translators and will soon be releasing a "Wider Audiences" version of the game.


What does "Wider Audiences" mean? Well, it means the box will come with rules written in 14 languages (yes, really, 14). They are: English, German, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian.

The new set will be available this July.

Source

duuuuuuuuuuuuuun, duuuuuuuuuuuuun, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun! DUN! DUN!
boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom
Ah yes, Zarathustra couldn't've said it better, himself.
It's Saturday. I hope yours is treating you well.

It's time once more to get you some opinions and insight into a bunch of games. Yes, it's our Review Roundup.

Today's articles feature: Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellion, Between Two Cities, The End of the World RPG, Flick 'Em Up, 7 Wonders Duel, New York 1901, Toast, Card Caddy, Brass iPad Version, El Grande Big Box, Sentinels of the Multiverse: Infernal Relics, Zombies vs. Cheerleaders, and The Bloody Inn.



Breacher18:

Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellion Review

Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellion is a re-implementation of another Fantasy Flight game called Cold War: CIA vs. KGB so you could say that the Star Wars theme is pasted on, I feel that it fits well enough with the mechanics, so this wasn’t an issue for me. SW: Empire vs.Rebellion is a blend of light deck building, hand management and variable powers. With the object of the game being the first person to 7 victory points, let’s take a look how it’s played.

Play Board Games:

Between Two Cities Review

Between Two Cities is a competitive but collaborative tile-laying game. You build two cities, one with your neighbors, and the lowest valued city that scores the most points wins.

Drive Thru Review:

The End of the World RPG Review



Shut Up & Sit Down:

Flick 'Em Up Review

Matt and Quinns are ready to flick one another up! Won't somebody stop them? Seriously we're not insured

This week we're looking at Flick 'em Up!, a beautiful new game of flicking bullets at one another that comes in a ruddy WOODEN BOX. But could anything replace our favourite dexterity game, Catacombs? Only one thing's for sure. This town ain't big enough for both of 'em.

BoardGameKing:

7 Wonders Duel Review

7 Wonders: Duel is 7 Wonders for two.

Over the course of three ages, you complete wonders developing your civilization in the meantime. In the beginning of the game, both players have four wonder cards. Only seven wonders can be completed – it means that one of the players will fail to complete all their wonders.

Like the parent game, 7 Wonders Duel is based on card play. The difference is that you don’t draft cards from various hands of cards but take them from a display of face-down and face-up cards.

New York 1901 Review

The 20th century begins – this was the time New York got its famous skyline. You are pursuing a career in real estate while skyscrapers are on everyone’s minds. You need to build taller and bigger!

Two to four players can enjoy constructing skyscrapers in this city-building family board game. In order to win, you need to gain control of New York streets (by building skyscrapers, of course) and accomplish challenge objectives.

This card-drawing city-building game provides you with quite a strong mental challenge – there is something to rack your brains over solving the puzzle of the Big Apple.

Polyhedron Collider:

Toast Review

Cheers. Good health. Skol. Iechyd da. Every language has the Toast, when you raise your glass, wish someone the best and drink your beverage. But what if you don't actually wish good health on the drinker, what if you want the drinker to die? Then the best option of course is to slip some poison into your enemy's cup. The problem is someone else will no doubt be looking to poison you, so you best keep an eye on which cup has the poison, and which has the antidote. Is it me, or does this wine taste faintly of almonds?

Card Caddy Review

The Card Caddy is designed mainly for traditional playing cards but can easily be appropriated for your favourite expandable card game deck. It's made up of two injection moulded shells that slot together to form a hard plastic box for your cards and there's even a little window allowing you to quickly glance at what's inside

Board Game Quest:

Brass iPad Review

In Brass, players are trying to earn their way as industrialists during the English industrial revolution. The game is played over two eras: the canal phase and the rail phase.

During the game, players will be using a hand of cards to drive their actions which include: building industry (Cotton Mills, Coal Mines, Steel Mills, Ports, and Shipyards), building canals or rails (depending on the era), developing their own industries, selling cotton (either to the foreign markets or to local ports), or taking loans.

Players score victory points for building connections and making deals with their industries. The goal is to have the most victory points after the second round of scoring. Sounds complex? It is, but it’s also a really refined game.

El Grande Big Box Review

El Grande is an area control/area majority game, designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich. It was originally released in 1995, re-released as a 10th anniversary set in 2006 and re-released again in 2015 in a Big Box configuration for its 20th anniversary. It supports 2 to 5 players ages 13 and up, and plays in about 90 minutes (for the base game).

iSlaytheDragon:

Making the Magic Happen (A Review of Sentinels of the Multiverse: Infernal Relics)

The life of a superhero never lets up. Just when you’ve cleaned out one city and banished all your supervillains to prison, the asylum, the void, wherever – another round of baddies show up with their own nefarious plans.

Infernal Relics is an expansion to Sentinels of the Multiverse (now packaged with Rook City) that adds new heroes, new villains, and new environments.

If Buffy and The Walking Dead Made a Crossover Episode (A Review of Zombies vs. Cheerleaders)

Zombies vs. Cheerleaders is a two-player, asymmetrical card game based on the comic book series of the same name. One player takes the side of the cheerleaders while the other plays the zombies. The goal of the game is to either destroy all of the zombies (cheerleader player) or devour one cheerleader (zombie player).

A Cozy Bed and Casket (A Review of The Bloody Inn)

The Bloody Inn casts you as an innkeeper of questionable morals trying to earn as much money as possible.. Rather than earning an honest wage, you’ve decided that murder and theft are more your style. It’s certainly more lucrative. Your plan is to appeal to the darker side of some your guests to help you murder the other guests, dispose of the bodies, and take their money while eluding police suspicion. Your actions may be reprehensible, but no one can say you didn’t work hard for your wealth.

Hey everyone. I hope those of you that celebrated it had a good Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, I still hope you had a kick-ass Friday. As for today, I hope you're having a great Feast of St. Stephen. Or, again, if you don't celebrate such, I hope you're having a kick-ass Saturday.
Being Saturday, it's time to get you some reviews.

Today's offerings include: Food Chain Magnate, Fleet Wharfside, Tumult Royal, Tail Feathers, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, New York 1901, Mission: Red Planet, Orleans, Flick 'em Up, The Bloody Inn, Tide of Iron: Stalingrad, VS System 2PCG, and Le Havre - The Inland Port.



Drive Thru Review:

Food Chain Magnate Review

Food Chain Magnate Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:44); final thoughts and review (24:23)

Fleet Wharfside Review

Fleet Wharfside Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (00:50); final thoughts and review (07:20)

Tumult Royal Review

Tumult Royal Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:17); final thoughts and review (09:49)

Tail Feathers Review

Tail Feathers Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:33); final thoughts and review (17:22)

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong Review

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:39); final thoughts and review (09:29)

iSlaytheDragon:

Gaming In a New York State of Mind (A Review of New York 1901)

Your goal is to become the most successful developer in all of New York. You want to build the most buildings and largest skyscrapers which will earn you victory points. You will do this by placing your building tiles on vacant lots and then demolishing and upgrading those buildings as the game progresses. You begin with a single starter property. Everything else you must earn on your own.

Steam on Mars (A Review of Mission: Red Planet)

In Mission: Red Planet you head up a mining company exploiting the fourth rock from the sun. Given its colorful nickname, and the year 1888, you’d think the main ore in demand would be iron. Alas, not so! Instead, scientists have discovered two new resources – sylvanite and celerium – and of course these minerals will revolutionize our own world. As if using steam power to reach Mars wasn’t amazing enough! Of course, this is no altruistic endeavor for the good of humanity, but one of venture capitalism for the profit of your investors. And if you’re going to beat your competitors to these valuable resources, you’ll need to move boldly and employ some dastardly cunning.

BoardGameKing:

Orleans Review

Orleans was published in 2014 by dlp games. The game was designed by Reiner Stockhausen and illustrated by Klemens Franz, famous for his illustrations in such games as Agricola and Le Havre.

Flick 'em Up Review

Flick ’em Up! was published in 2015 by Pretzel Games. It was designed by Gaëtan Beaujannot and Jean Yves Monpertuis. Illustrations in the game were done by Marie-Elaine Bérubé, Philippe Guérin, and Chris Quilliams.

Board Game Quest:

The Bloody Inn Review

That’s the rather unique theme to The Bloody Inn, a new card game designed by Nicholas Robert. In The Bloody Inn, players take on the role of the proprietors of the inn, trying to earn some Francs through any means necessary. Does this rather dark theme make for an entertaining game? Time to find out!

The Bloody Inn is an economic and hand management card game for 2-4 players that takes about 45 minutes to play. In our experience, The Bloody Inn plays best with 4 players.

Tide of Iron: Stalingrad Review

When I reviewed the new version of Tide of Iron from 1A games, I found the game to have great components, unique scenarios, and solid mechanics that blended well together to create a memorable tactical war game experience.

It isn’t a game for the general gaming audience, rather a game that is best enjoyed over and over again with the same people. Even though there are plenty of scenarios in the box and online, players could eventually grow tired of playing as American and German forces across northwestern Europe.

Fear not! There are four expansions you can purchase that add new locations and Soviet and British troops to your arsenal. Today, we will be looking at one of those expansions, Tide of Iron: Stalingrad. This expansion allows players to battle as either Soviet or German troops in urban warfare. Let’s get into what this expansion brings to see if it is worthy of adding to your war gaming experience with Tide of Iron.

Play Board Games:

VS System 2PCG Review

In VS System 2PCG you play a marvel hero or villain and try to defeat your opponent with supporting characters and clever plot twists.

Le Havre - The Inland Port App Review

The Inland Port is a shorter, two-player version of La Havre. The Inland Port App lets you play against the AI, online with friends or a pass and play game.