Warehouse 51

Welcome back once again to Saturday. I hope it's treating you well.

Lots of things to look at today, so let's just get right to it.

Today's articles include: 7 Ronin, Adventure Land, Karuba, Warehouse 51, Aether Captains, Rattle Battle Grab The Loot, Istanbul, Wings for the Baron, Shenanigans The Musical Kickstarter, Brass, Star Realms, Star Vixen from Kabuki Models, and Mage Wars Academy.



Drive Thru Review:

7 Ronin Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:36); final thoughts and review (11:35)

Adventure Land Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:09); final thoughts and review (08:52)

Karuba Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:01); final thoughts and review (05:39)

Board Game Quest:

Warehouse 51 Review

Warehouse 51, designed by Bruno Faidutti, Sergio Halaban, and Andre Zats, focuses mostly on a closed-economy auction. The game is essentially a series of auctions where players try to accumulate sets to score the most points at the end of the game.

Relics are one of four colors and three different values. Players earn points at the end of the game for having the most or second-most value of each color. Additional points are scored for having sets that include each color. However, some relics will turn out to be fakes and not counted in the final tally. Managing limited money and using a small amount of hidden information to your advantage is key to successfully purchasing the best collection.

Aether Captains Preview

In Aether Captains, one player takes on the role of the Commander and controls a powerful navy zeppelin (or two), while the rest of the players control one of the Sky Captains. The Zeppelins are massive, lumbering warships with multiple hull sections that will fly around the skies of Arkady, punishing the nimble sky captain ships. The other players, each controlling a specific faction and three of these smaller ships, will be tasked with not only damaging the Zeppelin(s), but also completing a specific objective.

Rattle Battle Grab The Loot Review

You are the captain of your very own pirate ship. However, you are not famous yet and your ship is still somewhat mediocre. But that’s OK because it’s time to go on an adventure. Each game of Rattle Battle is played out over a number of rounds. Each round, divided into two stages. The first stage is the sea battle (quest stage), where players go out on an adventure that is resolved by dropping dice into the box lid, fighting other ships, and collecting loot.

In the second stage, players head back to port to upgrade their galleons, hire crew, and maybe buy some victory points as they prepare for the next round of plundering. After a few trips out to sea, the pirate with the most victory points will be the winner!

iSlaytheDragon:

Market Leaders (A Review of Istanbul)

Nothing captures the heartbeat of a city like the local market. It’s a blur of sights and movement, a well of sounds and smells. The movement of vendors and shoppers melds with the colors of the food and wares sold by the hawkers. The haggling and advertising creates a relentless murmur that’s impossible to escape. It can be overwhelming to some, but not for you. This is your territory. This is your home. It’s where you’re most comfortable. It’s probably why you became a merchant in the first place. But simply being a merchant isn’t enough for you. You want to be the best and you’re out to prove it. Though it would be a lot easier if the competition weren’t so tough.

Those Magnificent Companies and Their Flying Machines (A Review of Wings for the Baron)

In Wings for the Baron, players are German plane manufacturers during the Great War competing for government contracts by creating effective designs. But with a war on your struggle isn’t just against rival companies, but also a deteriorating economy. One can be just as cutthroat as the other!

Polyhedron Collider:

Shenanigans The Musical Kickstarter Review

Shenanigans is a light hidden role and deduction party game. You are all members of an orchestra, along with your classical instrument of choice, but one player is the artiste, who is obviously a pompous prick as another player is the Manager and their job is eject the Artiste from the orchestra.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

Brass Review

OH MY GOODNESS! Just one week on from Paul tackling Through the Ages, Quinns is cracking open another board game classic. Brass is an incredibly nuanced game of carving out the industries of England's industrial revolution that dates all the way back to 2007, when Elvis Presley was on the radio and Vietnam was all anyone could talk about.

Will we recommend this game? Will Quinns have anything informative to say about England? Click play, and find out.

Toucan Play That Game:

Star Realms Review

In this video you can find out my final thoughts on Star Realms by White Wizard Games.

Noobs and Their Paintbrush:

Star Vixen from Kabuki Models Unboxing

Earlier this year, Kabuki Models (Now Kabuki Studios) released the Star Vixen as the first model in their new Cal 75 Range. Being a rather big Star Wars fan that has so far missed out on every Knight Models Star Wars piece that has popped up on ebay at a reasonable price, she was an insta-buy.

Play Board Games:

Mage Wars Academy Review

Mage Wars Academy features a more streamlined ruleset and is quicker to play than its big brother Mage Wars Arena. But that doesn’t translate to this version being less fun.

As we tend to do after Friday, we are now deposited here on Saturday. That means all day getting the chance to do some gaming. It also means we have our Review Roundup.
So without further ado...

This week we have stories on: Rory’s Story Cubes: Batman, King's Pouch, Space Movers 2201, Warehouse 51, Neon City Rumble, Viceroy, Machina Arcana, 7 Wonders: Duel, Age of Tyrants Junkers and Viridians, The Minecraft Card Game, Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 Molle Army Bag, Thunder Alley, Halo: Fleet Battles, and Starfighter.



iSlaytheDragon:

Holy Dice Rolling, Batman! (A Review of Rory’s Story Cubes: Batman)

Rory’s Story Cubes: Batman is a cooperative storytelling game. All nine dice are rolled and players take turns narrating the unique story that the group creates. The only rule is that all nine images shown on the dice must appear as elements in your story. The box includes some suggested ideas on how to accomplish this, but these are only suggestions, not rules. You are free to play however you want.

A Kingdom Forged from a Sack (A Review of King’s Pouch)

As a player in the world of King’s Pouch, you are the leader of a castle city hoping to become the ultimate leader of the land (i.e. have the most prestige points at the end of the game). There are three avenues you can pursue in order to achieve this goal: military strength, religious piety, and political favor. Each strategy will require the construction of specialized buildings, but the real backbone of your empire will the be the citizens that you manage to attract.

Jump Around (A Review of Space Movers 2201)

Space Movers 2201 is a cooperative, sci-fi adventure game set in the distant future (I forget which year). As crewmembers aboard the Liberty led by its dashing captain, Eli, you’ll jump from system to system delivering questionable cargo while trying to achieve various objectives – all while evading the oppressively watchful eye of the Universal Oversight.

Board to Death TV:

Warehouse 51 Review



Neon City Rumble Review

N30N City RUMBLE (NCR) is a two-player “beat ’em up” card game that simulates 5-on-5 tag team combat between mutant martial artists in a radically dystopian 90s setting!

Each turn, you’ll trade for cards at a pawn shop, tag your fighters on and off the tarmac, and then engage the opponent using martial arts, super-moves, and a wide variety of items, all of which are inspired by classic arcade games. Knock out all of your opponent’s fighters until only yours remain to win the game!

Viceroy Board Game Review

Viceroy is a board game of bidding and resource management set in the fantasy universe of the famous Russian CCG Berserk. As the players struggle for control over the world of Laar, they recruit a variety of allies and enact various laws. These cards allow players to develop their state’s military and magical might, increase their authority, and get precious gems they need to continue expanding their nation.

Board Game Quest:

Machina Arcana Review

As I previously mentioned in my review of Rise of Cthulhu, I love the Cthulhu Mythos. So, when I was offered the chance to review Machina Arcana, a co-op board game that mixes steampunk & my favorite Lovecraftian nightmares, I jumped at the chance.

Now, that being said, I have to be honest and admit that I don’t know much about steampunk but I did go into this review with an open mind mainly because I understand that the Mythos cross and compliment many genres and themes. So how well does Machina Arcana pair these two genres into a horror game you should to add to your collection? Read on!

Machina Arcana is a cooperative game for 1-4 players runs between 40 and 120 minutes per player (depending on the mode). Machina Arcana plays best with 1-4 players.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

7 Wonders: Duel Review

Classical cock-blocking simulator 7 Wonders was one of the first boxes we ever recommended on SU&SD. We couldn't believe it. How could a game could be so clever, so beautiful, and support 2 to 7 players with no downtime?

Today, Paul and Quinns have reunited to review 7 Wonders: Duel. A brand-new 2 player game of the same old ancient conflicts.

Have the boys still got what it takes? Or will history... forget them?

rolandsminireviews:

Age of Tyrants Junkers and Viridians Review Part I

For the Upcoming Kickstarter Age of Tyrants the Overlord John Robertson has sent me two pre-production miniatures for the Viridian and Junker forces. Incidentally also the armies I want to start.

The tanks are manufactured by Prodos Games and come in 6mm scale resin casts. I received flawless castings with the only quibble being the two resin addons for the Viridian tank (sat dish and light). John is already looking into options for this. Personally I have put in the sat dish as a communication symbol but will leave out the light for now.

The Board Game Show:

Minecraft Card Game Review

I’ve been playing Minecraft on the Xbox 360 — and now the Xbox One — for several years now, and that’s saying something, because I’m not an 8-year-old. Neither is my friend, Chris, who is 50 years old, and with whom I’ve spent countless hours online exploring, building, exploding and falling to our deaths in Mojang’s less-than-visually-stunning virtual sandbox environment.

As a fan of Minecraft and a board game geek (see what I did there?), I just had to try Mojang’s Minecraft Card Game. Note that the name of the game includes a question mark. The actual name of the game is Minecraft Card Game?, just to make writing and reading about it confusing. But I get it. I think. The name is perhaps the anticipated reply when your tell your friends on game night that you’ll be playing a Minecraft card game. Your friends inevitably will clarify and say, “Minecraft Card Game?”

Yes, Minecraft Card Game? (Man I hate that question mark, so hereafter I leave it out.)

Graven Games:

Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 Molle Army Bag Review

Welcome to our review of the P.A.C.K 720 Molle Army Bag from Battle Foam, a company well known for their products aimed at safely storing and transporting wargaming miniatures. Battle Foam kindly sent us the case in this review so we could try it out for ourselves, and tell us that this bag has been designed for airport travel and meets all FAA regulations for carryon luggage. This is great news for anyone needing to travel to tournaments or take other trips with their armies.

An interesting feature of the P.A.C.K. 720 is the molle system, which allows you to attach further pockets and pouches to this bag, customizing it to fit your specific storage and transportation needs. The P.A.C.K 720 including the standard load out of foam is priced at £135.60 (or $174.99).

Gettin' Higgy With It:

Thunder Alley Review

We take a look at the racing board game, Thunder Alley, by Jeff & Carla Horger. Distributed by GMT Games. Thunder Alley is for 2-7 players, age 10+ and takes about 90 minutes per game.

Play Board Games:

Halo: Fleet Battles Review

Halo: Fleet Battles –The Fall of Reach has everything you need to start playing this capital ship combat miniatures game.

Starfighter Review

Starfighter is a 2-player game in which you send wave after wave of fighters at your enemy to take out their fighters and their capital ship.

As we tend to do after Friday, we are now deposited here on Saturday. That means all day getting the chance to do some gaming. It also means we have our Review Roundup.
So without further ado...

This week we have stories on: Rory’s Story Cubes: Batman, King's Pouch, Space Movers 2201, Warehouse 51, Neon City Rumble, Viceroy, Machina Arcana, 7 Wonders: Duel, Age of Tyrants Junkers and Viridians, The Minecraft Card Game, Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 Molle Army Bag, Thunder Alley, Halo: Fleet Battles, and Starfighter.



iSlaytheDragon:

Holy Dice Rolling, Batman! (A Review of Rory’s Story Cubes: Batman)

Rory’s Story Cubes: Batman is a cooperative storytelling game. All nine dice are rolled and players take turns narrating the unique story that the group creates. The only rule is that all nine images shown on the dice must appear as elements in your story. The box includes some suggested ideas on how to accomplish this, but these are only suggestions, not rules. You are free to play however you want.

A Kingdom Forged from a Sack (A Review of King’s Pouch)

As a player in the world of King’s Pouch, you are the leader of a castle city hoping to become the ultimate leader of the land (i.e. have the most prestige points at the end of the game). There are three avenues you can pursue in order to achieve this goal: military strength, religious piety, and political favor. Each strategy will require the construction of specialized buildings, but the real backbone of your empire will the be the citizens that you manage to attract.

Jump Around (A Review of Space Movers 2201)

Space Movers 2201 is a cooperative, sci-fi adventure game set in the distant future (I forget which year). As crewmembers aboard the Liberty led by its dashing captain, Eli, you’ll jump from system to system delivering questionable cargo while trying to achieve various objectives – all while evading the oppressively watchful eye of the Universal Oversight.

Board to Death TV:

Warehouse 51 Review



Neon City Rumble Review

N30N City RUMBLE (NCR) is a two-player “beat ’em up” card game that simulates 5-on-5 tag team combat between mutant martial artists in a radically dystopian 90s setting!

Each turn, you’ll trade for cards at a pawn shop, tag your fighters on and off the tarmac, and then engage the opponent using martial arts, super-moves, and a wide variety of items, all of which are inspired by classic arcade games. Knock out all of your opponent’s fighters until only yours remain to win the game!

Viceroy Board Game Review

Viceroy is a board game of bidding and resource management set in the fantasy universe of the famous Russian CCG Berserk. As the players struggle for control over the world of Laar, they recruit a variety of allies and enact various laws. These cards allow players to develop their state’s military and magical might, increase their authority, and get precious gems they need to continue expanding their nation.

Board Game Quest:

Machina Arcana Review

As I previously mentioned in my review of Rise of Cthulhu, I love the Cthulhu Mythos. So, when I was offered the chance to review Machina Arcana, a co-op board game that mixes steampunk & my favorite Lovecraftian nightmares, I jumped at the chance.

Now, that being said, I have to be honest and admit that I don’t know much about steampunk but I did go into this review with an open mind mainly because I understand that the Mythos cross and compliment many genres and themes. So how well does Machina Arcana pair these two genres into a horror game you should to add to your collection? Read on!

Machina Arcana is a cooperative game for 1-4 players runs between 40 and 120 minutes per player (depending on the mode). Machina Arcana plays best with 1-4 players.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

7 Wonders: Duel Review

Classical cock-blocking simulator 7 Wonders was one of the first boxes we ever recommended on SU&SD. We couldn't believe it. How could a game could be so clever, so beautiful, and support 2 to 7 players with no downtime?

Today, Paul and Quinns have reunited to review 7 Wonders: Duel. A brand-new 2 player game of the same old ancient conflicts.

Have the boys still got what it takes? Or will history... forget them?

rolandsminireviews:

Age of Tyrants Junkers and Viridians Review Part I

For the Upcoming Kickstarter Age of Tyrants the Overlord John Robertson has sent me two pre-production miniatures for the Viridian and Junker forces. Incidentally also the armies I want to start.

The tanks are manufactured by Prodos Games and come in 6mm scale resin casts. I received flawless castings with the only quibble being the two resin addons for the Viridian tank (sat dish and light). John is already looking into options for this. Personally I have put in the sat dish as a communication symbol but will leave out the light for now.

The Board Game Show:

Minecraft Card Game Review

I’ve been playing Minecraft on the Xbox 360 — and now the Xbox One — for several years now, and that’s saying something, because I’m not an 8-year-old. Neither is my friend, Chris, who is 50 years old, and with whom I’ve spent countless hours online exploring, building, exploding and falling to our deaths in Mojang’s less-than-visually-stunning virtual sandbox environment.

As a fan of Minecraft and a board game geek (see what I did there?), I just had to try Mojang’s Minecraft Card Game. Note that the name of the game includes a question mark. The actual name of the game is Minecraft Card Game?, just to make writing and reading about it confusing. But I get it. I think. The name is perhaps the anticipated reply when your tell your friends on game night that you’ll be playing a Minecraft card game. Your friends inevitably will clarify and say, “Minecraft Card Game?”

Yes, Minecraft Card Game? (Man I hate that question mark, so hereafter I leave it out.)

Graven Games:

Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 Molle Army Bag Review

Welcome to our review of the P.A.C.K 720 Molle Army Bag from Battle Foam, a company well known for their products aimed at safely storing and transporting wargaming miniatures. Battle Foam kindly sent us the case in this review so we could try it out for ourselves, and tell us that this bag has been designed for airport travel and meets all FAA regulations for carryon luggage. This is great news for anyone needing to travel to tournaments or take other trips with their armies.

An interesting feature of the P.A.C.K. 720 is the molle system, which allows you to attach further pockets and pouches to this bag, customizing it to fit your specific storage and transportation needs. The P.A.C.K 720 including the standard load out of foam is priced at £135.60 (or $174.99).

Gettin' Higgy With It:

Thunder Alley Review

We take a look at the racing board game, Thunder Alley, by Jeff & Carla Horger. Distributed by GMT Games. Thunder Alley is for 2-7 players, age 10+ and takes about 90 minutes per game.

Play Board Games:

Halo: Fleet Battles Review

Halo: Fleet Battles –The Fall of Reach has everything you need to start playing this capital ship combat miniatures game.

Starfighter Review

Starfighter is a 2-player game in which you send wave after wave of fighters at your enemy to take out their fighters and their capital ship.