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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Evo (second edition) in Tabletop Games
Oct 11, 2019
I always get so excited when I start a review because I want to tell you all about these wonderful experiences we have had with different games. I want to let you in on all of our inside jokes that make their way into our every day language. But, alas, I cannot. At least not yet. But my hope is that I will interest you enough to give our favorite games a shot so that you can have these, or similar, great experiences. And Evo is one of our favorite games.
Evo pits its players against one another in a clash to populate an island too small for everyone to enjoy harmoniously. It’s a… Small (dino) World, if you will. By improving your clan’s dinosaurs, survivability, and vigor you may be able to establish the most prosperous clan. At least until the meteor hits and wipes everyone off the face of the island anyway…
DISCLAIMER: We do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Evo is played over several phases over several turns. Exactly how many turns is unknown because the end game is denoted by a randomized meteor token. To setup Evo shuffle the meteor token into the bottom few climate rotation tokens and set them as a stack face down. These will be the round trackers and also will dictate how the climate may change from round to round. Set the climate wheel on the starting space and within view of the players. Shuffle the event cards and place them face down near the enhancement bid board. Give each player the mat, dinomeeples (yay I got one that makes sense!), and bidding totem of their chosen color. Lay the correct map for the amount of players on the table and have each player place their dinomeeples on the corresponding starting spaces on the map. Give each player their starting money (in VP chips). Determine the starting initiative order and place the totems on the bid board in that order. Set aside the combat die and you are finally ready to play!
The first phase of the game is Climate. (after the first round) A new climate token will be revealed which directs the players to adjust the climate wheel or keep it status quo. The climate wheel determines which spaces on the map will have cold, hot, Death-Valley-type, or safe climates for dinos to live on. This is known information at the beginning of the round so the players can plan out the rest of the round to keep their dinos safe before the culling.
The next phase is bidding on enhancements. Draw from the bag enough tokens for the players to quarrel over and place them randomly on the bid board. In initiative order players will bid on enhancements using their VP chips. When a player is outbid for an item they must place their bid totem on another item. Once all players are winning bids on items they pay the supply for their winnings and add it to their mat in the appropriate slots. These could include items to help a dino survive the cold, increase their attack potential, give their dinos more movement (or walks, as we call them), and other special abilities.
Now that the players are enhanced a bit more, their dinosaurs can move on the map. This may be necessary for some, but not all, depending on how they have enhanced their dino clans. A dino can move as many spaces as feet are shown on the player’s board, or the total movement can be split by multiple dinos. The more feet, the more movement. If, during the movement phase, a dino wishes to enter a space currently inhabited by a rival clan’s dinomeeple a combat will occur. Combat is determined by comparing horns and defenses and the roll of the combat die.
Once movement is over, it’s time for the dinos to get saucy – it’s baby-making time! I mean, it’s reproduction time! That’s not appropriate either. You can create one more dinomeeple to place on the map adjacent to another dino. This is how you may expand your empire of cute dinomeeples.
Once these phases are complete the players will consult the climate wheel to see which of their dinos are safe from elimination. For those dinos that are safe a player will earn 1 VP. Play continues in this fashion until the round that the meteor token is flipped from the stack of climate tokens that typically start a round. As the meteor destroys all dinomeeples on the map players will total their VPs and the winner is the clan leader with the most VP at game’s end.
Components. There are a LOT of components in this box. One of the best components in the game is the well-designed box insert. As you unpack the game you can really just setup right out of the box. The maps, bidding board, and climate wheel are normal-style game boards and of good quality. The cards are OK and get the job done. The die is a painted wooden die and it’s fun to roll. The climate tokens, VPs, and enhancement chips are all thick cardboard. The play mats are a matte cardstock (and that’s fine because it just holds your components). The other components are the cloth bag for enhancement draws and those cutie little dinomeeples! Everything is really well-produced and has held up really well for us. My only minor minor complaint is that I wish the dinomeeples were a different shape per color, but everyone having brontosauri is fine with me too. The art. The art is SPECTACULAR on this one. Seriously really great artwork. The cards, the boards, the playmats, the enhancements. Everything looks just amazing.
I kinda already let you know that I love this game. So I am not going to wax poetic here and go into some long analyses of why I love it. It is a more-involved Small World (I hope you caught that shameless reference in the intro) that uses dinosaurs instead of fantasy race/class combos. You know Evo is great when you can compare it to an already-great game from the same designer. I also think you could play Evo and Small World back-to-back and have an enjoyable experience. They are similar, but offer a different experience FOR SURE. I know this one is tough to find nowadays, but please, if you see it for sale in the wild PICK IT UP. It’s a great game that will offer years and years of play for you and your game group. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a prehistoric 16+ / 18. I say “plus” because I may change it to a 6 in the future. It’s that good.
Evo pits its players against one another in a clash to populate an island too small for everyone to enjoy harmoniously. It’s a… Small (dino) World, if you will. By improving your clan’s dinosaurs, survivability, and vigor you may be able to establish the most prosperous clan. At least until the meteor hits and wipes everyone off the face of the island anyway…
DISCLAIMER: We do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Evo is played over several phases over several turns. Exactly how many turns is unknown because the end game is denoted by a randomized meteor token. To setup Evo shuffle the meteor token into the bottom few climate rotation tokens and set them as a stack face down. These will be the round trackers and also will dictate how the climate may change from round to round. Set the climate wheel on the starting space and within view of the players. Shuffle the event cards and place them face down near the enhancement bid board. Give each player the mat, dinomeeples (yay I got one that makes sense!), and bidding totem of their chosen color. Lay the correct map for the amount of players on the table and have each player place their dinomeeples on the corresponding starting spaces on the map. Give each player their starting money (in VP chips). Determine the starting initiative order and place the totems on the bid board in that order. Set aside the combat die and you are finally ready to play!
The first phase of the game is Climate. (after the first round) A new climate token will be revealed which directs the players to adjust the climate wheel or keep it status quo. The climate wheel determines which spaces on the map will have cold, hot, Death-Valley-type, or safe climates for dinos to live on. This is known information at the beginning of the round so the players can plan out the rest of the round to keep their dinos safe before the culling.
The next phase is bidding on enhancements. Draw from the bag enough tokens for the players to quarrel over and place them randomly on the bid board. In initiative order players will bid on enhancements using their VP chips. When a player is outbid for an item they must place their bid totem on another item. Once all players are winning bids on items they pay the supply for their winnings and add it to their mat in the appropriate slots. These could include items to help a dino survive the cold, increase their attack potential, give their dinos more movement (or walks, as we call them), and other special abilities.
Now that the players are enhanced a bit more, their dinosaurs can move on the map. This may be necessary for some, but not all, depending on how they have enhanced their dino clans. A dino can move as many spaces as feet are shown on the player’s board, or the total movement can be split by multiple dinos. The more feet, the more movement. If, during the movement phase, a dino wishes to enter a space currently inhabited by a rival clan’s dinomeeple a combat will occur. Combat is determined by comparing horns and defenses and the roll of the combat die.
Once movement is over, it’s time for the dinos to get saucy – it’s baby-making time! I mean, it’s reproduction time! That’s not appropriate either. You can create one more dinomeeple to place on the map adjacent to another dino. This is how you may expand your empire of cute dinomeeples.
Once these phases are complete the players will consult the climate wheel to see which of their dinos are safe from elimination. For those dinos that are safe a player will earn 1 VP. Play continues in this fashion until the round that the meteor token is flipped from the stack of climate tokens that typically start a round. As the meteor destroys all dinomeeples on the map players will total their VPs and the winner is the clan leader with the most VP at game’s end.
Components. There are a LOT of components in this box. One of the best components in the game is the well-designed box insert. As you unpack the game you can really just setup right out of the box. The maps, bidding board, and climate wheel are normal-style game boards and of good quality. The cards are OK and get the job done. The die is a painted wooden die and it’s fun to roll. The climate tokens, VPs, and enhancement chips are all thick cardboard. The play mats are a matte cardstock (and that’s fine because it just holds your components). The other components are the cloth bag for enhancement draws and those cutie little dinomeeples! Everything is really well-produced and has held up really well for us. My only minor minor complaint is that I wish the dinomeeples were a different shape per color, but everyone having brontosauri is fine with me too. The art. The art is SPECTACULAR on this one. Seriously really great artwork. The cards, the boards, the playmats, the enhancements. Everything looks just amazing.
I kinda already let you know that I love this game. So I am not going to wax poetic here and go into some long analyses of why I love it. It is a more-involved Small World (I hope you caught that shameless reference in the intro) that uses dinosaurs instead of fantasy race/class combos. You know Evo is great when you can compare it to an already-great game from the same designer. I also think you could play Evo and Small World back-to-back and have an enjoyable experience. They are similar, but offer a different experience FOR SURE. I know this one is tough to find nowadays, but please, if you see it for sale in the wild PICK IT UP. It’s a great game that will offer years and years of play for you and your game group. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a prehistoric 16+ / 18. I say “plus” because I may change it to a 6 in the future. It’s that good.
Zachary Wilson (3 KP) rated Super Mario Party in Video Games
Jul 29, 2019
A return to familiar territory (2 more)
Clever use of strategic elements
Variety of modes
Requires a single Joy-Con (2 more)
Boards are small and uninteresting
Only 4 boards in the main party mode
Super Mario Party returns to its classic roots, you know, before Mario Party 9. Though at the same time however it's not a 100% reunion. Sure you can move around freely again which is nice; but this party still wants to spice things up. See, they loved what they created on the 3DS, specifically Star Rush because elements of Star Rush make it's way to this classic party. For instance, every character has a unique die, and you can have up to 3 partners as you play. All taken from Star Rush. Heck, there's a team mode that plays very similarly to the main mode of Star Rush. The main mode in Super then is a disappointment. For starters, 4 boards is terrible and actually, this game now officially has the LEAST amount of boards out of any Mario Party game and that's terrible (I do not count Mario Party Advance or The Top 100 because both are completely different). It doesn't help that the boards aren't as fun as the old games. For one, they're all big squares and that's because they use the same 4 boards in the team mode, which turns the 4 boards into a grid design. These 4 boards are uninteresting to play on in my opinion compared to the very creative boards of the GameCube era Mario Parties. Yes, all the elements of a classic Mario Party are here. Collect coins, buy the star, don't get screwed. Even this has changes for the worse. Everything is cheaper so stars now only cost 10 coins. It's so easy to get coins, you might as well make stars free because I'd be very impressed if you couldn't afford a star. Coins basically become meaningless as you can constantly buy whatever item you want and the star at all times unless you have the absolute worst luck. This means you can go to the same corner of the board that sells the golden warp pipe, and use the pipe to get free stars. Items are not randomized in shops so if you know which item shop sells the pipe, then you can always just visit that shop over and over and not even bother actually trying to chase after the star. There is one board that's an exception to all've my complaints, and it's the best board because of it. Overall the main mode is just meh to me. Because this review is getting stupidly long, I'll rush the rest. The other modes are fine. Team mode's great if you liked Star Rush. Rythm Heaven moddme was fun. Water survival would've been better without the minigames. Basically everything else is perfectly fine and save this game from getting any lower. Look, I don't hate this game. I just think it's an ok game and isn't necessarily the return I was hoping for. If you're a fan of Mario Party then sure, get this game. I wouldn't trust my review. I think Mario Party 9 is amazing and I have no idea why anyone loves Mario Party 4 because I think it's one of the worst. Do you really trust my criticism of this one?
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Go Extinct!: Stardust Catches the Carnivores in Tabletop Games
Mar 26, 2020
“Yo, uhh, got any sevens?” “Naw, go fish.” “Dag, yo.” “Hmm, got any Queens?” “Nope, go fish.” “*&%#@!!” While this may be many of us during the social distancing or self-isolation using meager playing cards, there is now another option – Go Extinct!: Stardust Catches the Carnivores. The title is long, but the playtime isn’t, and the Go Fish is there, but it is masked by an educational skin. Does this one make a case for our collection?
In Go Extinct!: Stardust Catches the Carnivores (which I will shorten to Go Extinct from here on out) players are attempting to score the most points at the end of the game by collecting runs(?) of animals within the same biological family, called “clades.” More points are gained by collecting families with more members, and the game has a known end timeline – when the players’ cards run out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give a feel for how the game generally plays. You are invited to back the game through the Kickstarter campaign running until April 16, 2020, purchase from your FLGS upon release, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the large board on the table for all to see. Follow the setup rules per player count listed in the rule book (because it’s different for three players and for 4+). Shuffle the cards and deal each player six cards. The rest of the deck becomes the central draw deck. You are now ready to begin!
A game of Go Extinct is played over several rounds where players are trying to collect and play complete clades of animals. Only clades played to the players’ personal score piles can be scored at the end of the game, and once in the score pile, can no longer be stolen (asked for) by other players – just like in Go Fish.
Go Extinct becomes a bit more distinct when asking for cards. A player can ask a specific player for a specific animal (Wolverine, Polar Bear, etc) or can ask for cards within the same family (a cub of Delicate Dog or Ancestor of Ursidae). If a player is given a specific animal species, the asking player may take another turn to ask for more animals or clade members. If the ask is unsuccessful, the asked player announces, “Go Extinct” to indicate that the asking player must hunt for animals elsewhere, namely, the draw pile. Redraw at the end of a turn to a hand size of six and the game continues with the next player.
Again, the game ends once all the cards are played, but when the draw deck runs out, a new rule enters play. When asked for a clade, the asked player must give up to three of their cards, if they have that many of that clade. Once a player runs out of cards in their hand, they are finished, and the game ends when every player is out of cards. Tally up the points per clade size, and determine who is the best at collecting animal clades!
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of this game, which is on Kickstarter now, so the components may be different from what will be produced via a successful KS campaign. That said, the components we received are great! The cards are good quality with excellent card art depicting extinct and current animals. The graphic layout is good, and once you can read the cards, the board is no longer really necessary for play. That board. It is absolutely beautiful, though not overly ornate, and is also completely unnecessary for play. We did enjoy having it on the table while we played, but players never actually interact with it or use for anything other than reference. It is a nice touch, though.
Being a family man, myself, and having young children, this will be great for when my kids learn to read. Learning the names of ancestral animals and scientific nomenclature of current animals is something I cannot wait to teach my kids. I really see no reason for me to ever teach them Go Fish while I have Go Extinct in my collection, and I do believe I will keep it there for a long time. If you enjoy light games with a heavy dose of education and direct player interaction without conflict, then Go Extinct is for you. It may be too light for hardcore gamers, but those gamers are not the intended audience. If you are looking for games to bond with your kids over, then you simply must check out Go Extinct. Or if you just want to learn a little something yourself, go ahead and pick up a copy or three. I recommend it. Visit the Kickstarter campaign here and tell them Purple Phoenix Games sent you!
In Go Extinct!: Stardust Catches the Carnivores (which I will shorten to Go Extinct from here on out) players are attempting to score the most points at the end of the game by collecting runs(?) of animals within the same biological family, called “clades.” More points are gained by collecting families with more members, and the game has a known end timeline – when the players’ cards run out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give a feel for how the game generally plays. You are invited to back the game through the Kickstarter campaign running until April 16, 2020, purchase from your FLGS upon release, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the large board on the table for all to see. Follow the setup rules per player count listed in the rule book (because it’s different for three players and for 4+). Shuffle the cards and deal each player six cards. The rest of the deck becomes the central draw deck. You are now ready to begin!
A game of Go Extinct is played over several rounds where players are trying to collect and play complete clades of animals. Only clades played to the players’ personal score piles can be scored at the end of the game, and once in the score pile, can no longer be stolen (asked for) by other players – just like in Go Fish.
Go Extinct becomes a bit more distinct when asking for cards. A player can ask a specific player for a specific animal (Wolverine, Polar Bear, etc) or can ask for cards within the same family (a cub of Delicate Dog or Ancestor of Ursidae). If a player is given a specific animal species, the asking player may take another turn to ask for more animals or clade members. If the ask is unsuccessful, the asked player announces, “Go Extinct” to indicate that the asking player must hunt for animals elsewhere, namely, the draw pile. Redraw at the end of a turn to a hand size of six and the game continues with the next player.
Again, the game ends once all the cards are played, but when the draw deck runs out, a new rule enters play. When asked for a clade, the asked player must give up to three of their cards, if they have that many of that clade. Once a player runs out of cards in their hand, they are finished, and the game ends when every player is out of cards. Tally up the points per clade size, and determine who is the best at collecting animal clades!
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of this game, which is on Kickstarter now, so the components may be different from what will be produced via a successful KS campaign. That said, the components we received are great! The cards are good quality with excellent card art depicting extinct and current animals. The graphic layout is good, and once you can read the cards, the board is no longer really necessary for play. That board. It is absolutely beautiful, though not overly ornate, and is also completely unnecessary for play. We did enjoy having it on the table while we played, but players never actually interact with it or use for anything other than reference. It is a nice touch, though.
Being a family man, myself, and having young children, this will be great for when my kids learn to read. Learning the names of ancestral animals and scientific nomenclature of current animals is something I cannot wait to teach my kids. I really see no reason for me to ever teach them Go Fish while I have Go Extinct in my collection, and I do believe I will keep it there for a long time. If you enjoy light games with a heavy dose of education and direct player interaction without conflict, then Go Extinct is for you. It may be too light for hardcore gamers, but those gamers are not the intended audience. If you are looking for games to bond with your kids over, then you simply must check out Go Extinct. Or if you just want to learn a little something yourself, go ahead and pick up a copy or three. I recommend it. Visit the Kickstarter campaign here and tell them Purple Phoenix Games sent you!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Draftosaurus in Tabletop Games
May 14, 2021
YESSSSS Let’s build a dinopark! I have been waiting for this for years! Yes, I know that Dinosaur Island exists. It’s a good game. In fact, I think it’s a great game. But I have been waiting for a quick game of building a dinopark that I can also share with my young kids. Have I found it with Draftosaurus, or is this just another in a long line of drafting games?
Draftosaurus is so appropriately named due to being a drafting game with a dinosaur theme. Instead of typically drafting cards, however, players are drafting adorable little dinomeeples to populate their theme park attractions. Each attraction, or pen in the game, offers different points for having different dinos in each, or the same, or just one, or exactly three, et al. The player with the most points from these pens at the end of the game is the winner!
To setup, every player receives a park board. Populate the draw bag with dinomeeples based on the number of players using the table in the rulebook. Give the wooden placement die to the youngest player and play can begin!
A game of Draftosaurus spans exactly two rounds. Each round is exactly the same: each player grabs six dinomeeples from the bag, active player rolls the die, players draft dinos, players pass the remaining dinos. Repeat these steps starting at die rolling, but the die is passed along with the dinos from the active player. This is repeated until all dinos have been drafted and placed in pens. Easy right?
The true nature of the game and the most fun part is in the placement die and placement of the dinos in the pens. When the die is rolled, this signifies specific placement rules for all players except the active player. So perhaps the die shows that dinos must be placed in the Grasslands, which are the pens on the bottom portion of the boards. Or maybe the die shows that new dinos may only be added to pens that currently have no dinos in them. Again, these rules do not apply to they that rolled the die, but rather every other player. Herein lies the scrumptious struggle: where does one place the dinos they currently possess in their hand from their neighbor? What pens will score the most points at endgame? Can a T.Rex really be appropriate in this pen? The choices can be maddening, or one can play the game with complete laissez-faire and still have a great time. After two rounds the game ends and players look upon their parks with pride as they count up their final scores.
Components. I really only know Ankama from the Krosmaster games, which though I am not really a fan of, the components are great. I believe Ankama has provided excellent components for Draftosaurus. The dinomeeples are all excellently colored and designed. The boards are good quality, though I question the “Grasslands” being brown and kinda devoid of grass. All in all, the components are great and I love handling them and playing with them.
Yes, we always include our scores at the beginning of each review. So you all already know what I’m about to say here. I love this game! I love having so many options available to me, only to have the die roll tell me I can’t do exactly what I want, so I have to alter my strategy on a dime. I love being able to see my dinos filling up the park (or swimming in the River if there are no places for them) and watching them frolic… well, okay not frolic in tight spaced pens. No wonder they all went crazy and escaped in those movies. In any case, if you or your family/friends/playdates enjoy drafting games, but want something a little different, while respecting your playtime (something that many drafting games extend) take a look at Draftosaurus. Even children can get in on the action, as there is no need to be able to read, necessarily. I haven’t yet tried it with my 3-year-old, but I think I will this weekend now. That all said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an enthusiastically Triassic 19 / 24. Just keep Newman and Nick Fury away from your game table.
Draftosaurus is so appropriately named due to being a drafting game with a dinosaur theme. Instead of typically drafting cards, however, players are drafting adorable little dinomeeples to populate their theme park attractions. Each attraction, or pen in the game, offers different points for having different dinos in each, or the same, or just one, or exactly three, et al. The player with the most points from these pens at the end of the game is the winner!
To setup, every player receives a park board. Populate the draw bag with dinomeeples based on the number of players using the table in the rulebook. Give the wooden placement die to the youngest player and play can begin!
A game of Draftosaurus spans exactly two rounds. Each round is exactly the same: each player grabs six dinomeeples from the bag, active player rolls the die, players draft dinos, players pass the remaining dinos. Repeat these steps starting at die rolling, but the die is passed along with the dinos from the active player. This is repeated until all dinos have been drafted and placed in pens. Easy right?
The true nature of the game and the most fun part is in the placement die and placement of the dinos in the pens. When the die is rolled, this signifies specific placement rules for all players except the active player. So perhaps the die shows that dinos must be placed in the Grasslands, which are the pens on the bottom portion of the boards. Or maybe the die shows that new dinos may only be added to pens that currently have no dinos in them. Again, these rules do not apply to they that rolled the die, but rather every other player. Herein lies the scrumptious struggle: where does one place the dinos they currently possess in their hand from their neighbor? What pens will score the most points at endgame? Can a T.Rex really be appropriate in this pen? The choices can be maddening, or one can play the game with complete laissez-faire and still have a great time. After two rounds the game ends and players look upon their parks with pride as they count up their final scores.
Components. I really only know Ankama from the Krosmaster games, which though I am not really a fan of, the components are great. I believe Ankama has provided excellent components for Draftosaurus. The dinomeeples are all excellently colored and designed. The boards are good quality, though I question the “Grasslands” being brown and kinda devoid of grass. All in all, the components are great and I love handling them and playing with them.
Yes, we always include our scores at the beginning of each review. So you all already know what I’m about to say here. I love this game! I love having so many options available to me, only to have the die roll tell me I can’t do exactly what I want, so I have to alter my strategy on a dime. I love being able to see my dinos filling up the park (or swimming in the River if there are no places for them) and watching them frolic… well, okay not frolic in tight spaced pens. No wonder they all went crazy and escaped in those movies. In any case, if you or your family/friends/playdates enjoy drafting games, but want something a little different, while respecting your playtime (something that many drafting games extend) take a look at Draftosaurus. Even children can get in on the action, as there is no need to be able to read, necessarily. I haven’t yet tried it with my 3-year-old, but I think I will this weekend now. That all said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an enthusiastically Triassic 19 / 24. Just keep Newman and Nick Fury away from your game table.
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Chronicles of Crime: 1400 in Tabletop Games
Oct 21, 2020
Isn’t that box cover just awesome? I never open a preview with a comment about components, but this one warranted it because the box art is so good. Anyway, it’s Paris in the year, well, 1400 AD, and now some strange things are afoot at le Cercle K.
Chronicles of Crime: 1400 (which I shall shorten to 1400 for the duration of this preview) is an app-assisted campaign, murder-infested, cooperative storytelling game for one to four players. If you are familiar with the original Chronicles of Crime, you already know how to play 1400. However, should ye be of the uninitiated, allow me to set the stage for this incredible gaming experience.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, place the Evidence Board in the middle of the table and the Home Location Board near. Keep all the decks of cards nearby (shuffled or unshuffled, whatever is your liking) as well as the alphabetically-labeled Location Boards. Fire up the Chronicles of Crime app, choose “1400,” and then choose the case you would like to play. The app will walk players through the additional setup steps for the case being played. For this solo preview I played through The Missing Pages case. Also, to be completely upfront I got a 95/110 for a final score, but no big deal.
How do I explain this game succinctly? Well, each of the cases will involve players traveling to different Location Boards and meeting Characters at these locations. Many cases will be involving several Special Items and, new for the 1400 version, Vision Cards that may assist players in putting the case into focus. These Vision Cards do not really give the story away or anything, but are merely a vague framework of possible factors.
By using the app and scanning the QR codes on the boards and cards players will be learning about the case, viewing the scene of the crime(s), inspecting items, chatting up locals for information, and also new for 1400: consulting with the goodest boi dog companion! The dog, Perceval, assists the knight (the players) in cases by sniffing items. A word of caution, though, when you play this game do NOT have Perceval sniff any items until you are completely done with a location because he may drag you to another completely different location right away before you were ready. Not that it happened to me, mind you… okay, it did.
Play will continue not so much in “rounds” but until the players have enough evidence and a good handle on the situation enough to return Home to report to their family members all the details of the crime(s) by scanning answers to their questions about the case. The app then assesses the accuracy of the answers and outputs a score. For reference, though I did receive 95/110 on my first play of 1400 I did only receive a 70/100 on my first runthrough of the original Chronicles of Crime, so playing this style of game several times seems to improve how one plays.
Components. As most items in the box of the game are card or cardboard-based, and all really great quality, I will speak on other component items. Firstly, the art and art style throughout the game is simply stunning. I mean look at that Perceval card! And I already raved about the box cover in my opening statement. This art really speaks to me and it says, “I’m gorgeous.”
The app. I have only great things to say about the app. It’s the same app that you would use for original Chronicles of Crime, and operates the exact same way. For me it has been flawless to use and just a joy to bring technology into the gaming world, even for a game set in the year 1400. I am obviously no purist game enthusiast, as I enjoy these hybrid model games. Once you play with the app you will see how ingenious a system it really is. The app coupled with the nondescript cards and other components in the game make for infinite storytelling possibilities that can only be limited by creativity and time constraints. I love the components in the box AND the marvelous app.
Gameplay for me is also just glorious. I love being able to sit down, setup the game, and let the app tell me what’s going on. So what should I do first? Oh, let’s mosey on down here to this Location Board and drum up some information. Ooh I found an Item! I should bring it back to my Family Location Board and ask my merchant sister about it. Hmm, it’s religious in nature? Okay then, my Monkle (monk uncle) will know something about it. Okay, time to go back to that location and speak with the other person who was in there. OH CRAP, I wasted too much (in game) time and now that other person is gone?! Uh oh, I better stop messing around here…
It’s just amazing, and I love this family of games. I am so stoked to delve more into 1400 and discover more shenanigans happening in Paris. Perceval and I are out to solve all the cases and beg for more. If you are looking for a game that uses a hybrid board game/app model, are a fan of this era in history, or just want to have a really great experience playing a game, I urge you to consider Chronicles of Crime: 1400. It has everything I love in a unique game and I just can’t get enough!
Chronicles of Crime: 1400 (which I shall shorten to 1400 for the duration of this preview) is an app-assisted campaign, murder-infested, cooperative storytelling game for one to four players. If you are familiar with the original Chronicles of Crime, you already know how to play 1400. However, should ye be of the uninitiated, allow me to set the stage for this incredible gaming experience.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, place the Evidence Board in the middle of the table and the Home Location Board near. Keep all the decks of cards nearby (shuffled or unshuffled, whatever is your liking) as well as the alphabetically-labeled Location Boards. Fire up the Chronicles of Crime app, choose “1400,” and then choose the case you would like to play. The app will walk players through the additional setup steps for the case being played. For this solo preview I played through The Missing Pages case. Also, to be completely upfront I got a 95/110 for a final score, but no big deal.
How do I explain this game succinctly? Well, each of the cases will involve players traveling to different Location Boards and meeting Characters at these locations. Many cases will be involving several Special Items and, new for the 1400 version, Vision Cards that may assist players in putting the case into focus. These Vision Cards do not really give the story away or anything, but are merely a vague framework of possible factors.
By using the app and scanning the QR codes on the boards and cards players will be learning about the case, viewing the scene of the crime(s), inspecting items, chatting up locals for information, and also new for 1400: consulting with the goodest boi dog companion! The dog, Perceval, assists the knight (the players) in cases by sniffing items. A word of caution, though, when you play this game do NOT have Perceval sniff any items until you are completely done with a location because he may drag you to another completely different location right away before you were ready. Not that it happened to me, mind you… okay, it did.
Play will continue not so much in “rounds” but until the players have enough evidence and a good handle on the situation enough to return Home to report to their family members all the details of the crime(s) by scanning answers to their questions about the case. The app then assesses the accuracy of the answers and outputs a score. For reference, though I did receive 95/110 on my first play of 1400 I did only receive a 70/100 on my first runthrough of the original Chronicles of Crime, so playing this style of game several times seems to improve how one plays.
Components. As most items in the box of the game are card or cardboard-based, and all really great quality, I will speak on other component items. Firstly, the art and art style throughout the game is simply stunning. I mean look at that Perceval card! And I already raved about the box cover in my opening statement. This art really speaks to me and it says, “I’m gorgeous.”
The app. I have only great things to say about the app. It’s the same app that you would use for original Chronicles of Crime, and operates the exact same way. For me it has been flawless to use and just a joy to bring technology into the gaming world, even for a game set in the year 1400. I am obviously no purist game enthusiast, as I enjoy these hybrid model games. Once you play with the app you will see how ingenious a system it really is. The app coupled with the nondescript cards and other components in the game make for infinite storytelling possibilities that can only be limited by creativity and time constraints. I love the components in the box AND the marvelous app.
Gameplay for me is also just glorious. I love being able to sit down, setup the game, and let the app tell me what’s going on. So what should I do first? Oh, let’s mosey on down here to this Location Board and drum up some information. Ooh I found an Item! I should bring it back to my Family Location Board and ask my merchant sister about it. Hmm, it’s religious in nature? Okay then, my Monkle (monk uncle) will know something about it. Okay, time to go back to that location and speak with the other person who was in there. OH CRAP, I wasted too much (in game) time and now that other person is gone?! Uh oh, I better stop messing around here…
It’s just amazing, and I love this family of games. I am so stoked to delve more into 1400 and discover more shenanigans happening in Paris. Perceval and I are out to solve all the cases and beg for more. If you are looking for a game that uses a hybrid board game/app model, are a fan of this era in history, or just want to have a really great experience playing a game, I urge you to consider Chronicles of Crime: 1400. It has everything I love in a unique game and I just can’t get enough!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Survive: Escape from Atlantis! in Tabletop Games
Sep 4, 2019 (Updated Jul 2, 2020)
I have never been on a sinking anything. Sure, I have flipped over kayaks, and paddle-boards, and anything else that requires me to balance on top of water. But I cannot imagine the terror of being on an island that just… sinks into the deep. Oh also running out of room and having to swim to safe land. Oh also while sharks, whales, and sea monsters are chasing me. You know what? Maybe I’m cool with being located in the Midwest. I’ll just play this game and live vicariously through the esceeples (escaping meeples? I need a handbook for these -eeple terms).
Survive: Escape from Atlantis! (which I now will call Survive) is an competitive adventure game featuring action points, grid movement, secret unit deployment, dice rolls, and lots of take-that. And little boats. It also can destroy friendships and ruin evenings. Play at your own risk.
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. We ARE including the 5-6 player mini expansion, however. Should we review the others in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. Also, I do not intend to detail every rule in the book, but give our readers an idea of how the game plays and our thoughts on it. -T
To setup a game of Survive, each player will choose a color and take into their supply all the meeples of that color and two boats. Place all the terrain tiles randomly (and face down) within the bolded line on the board to create the central island. Place out the sea serpents on the sea serpent spots as menacingly as possible. Players then take turns placing their numbered meeples on terrain tiles until all meeples have been placed, and their boateeples on any water space near the island they wish. Keep aside the shark, whale, and dolphin meeples for later. Give the die to the first player and you are ready to play.
On a player’s turn they will 1. Play any tiles from their hand, 2. Move meeples, 3. Remove terrain a tile, 4. Roll the die and move creatures. At the beginning of the game nobody will have any tiles in hand to play, so skip this step if there are no tiles in hand. On subsequent turns players may have collected tiles as a result of the #3 action, and now is the time to play those. Typically they are beneficial for the active player or detrimental to the opponents. Next, the active player will move their meeples in any combination three total board hexes. This can be done with one or more meeples on land or in the water. There are movement restrictions that I will not cover here. After movement, the active player will remove one of the terrain tiles with the lowest elevation (sand, forest, then mountain tiles). The player flips over the tile and will play it immediately if it shows an arrow, or keeps it in hand if it shows a hand icon. Finally, the active player will roll the red die and move creatures per the movement table printed on the board.
Creature movement creates the tension in the game (as if fighting over the boats wasn’t enough). You see, when sharks enter the board and are moved, they are hungry for swimmer meeples (obv). Whales are hungry(?) for boats and will destroy them but fling the meeples aboard into the water to become swimmers. Sea serpents don’t care. They will eat swimmers and manned boats… but they’re the slowest movers. So consider that.
Play continues in this fashion until the either all meeples have been removed from the play grid, or a player flips over the volcano mountain tile and ends the game. Any meeples who have made it to the safety of the outer islands are worth the VP printed on their bottoms. Wait, not the butts. The bottom of the meeples. Which I guess are the feet.
Components. To reiterate, in case it was missed, we are reviewing the 2010 Stronghold edition. There is a newer version, and it seems to look a little better but plays the same. However, I love the components of this version too. The meeples are fine, the creatures are cool, the varying thicknesses of the terrain tiles makes for an interesting mini-3D look, and the board is great without being too busy and distracting. I have absolutely no issues with these components and think they are super.
Now, you may have read in my intro that this game may ruin friendships and the evening, and I really am not joking about this. I have played this so many times where at least one person becomes completely angered by the chomping of the shark or the horrible movement of the sea serpent adjacent to their boat. It’s just a game, and it’s inevitable in this one – your meeples will get eaten. It’s gonna happen! When I teach this now I try to make that apparent right away because it is then not viewed as absolutely treachery when it happens to newer players. Should you be playing with sensitive gamers, please instruct them early that it WILL happen or you’re gonna have a bad time.
However, this game is great! I love it now as much as I ever have. It’s an older horse for me, but one of which I will never tire. I can and love to play it with new gamers, especially the ones that are hoping to join the inner circle. If you can hang through a game of Survive without being angered and taking it all in stride, you are welcome at my table ANY time. That said, as you can see by our ratings, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a mighty and well-deserved 21 / 24. If you enjoy games that upset your players and want a cool theme on it, check out Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
Survive: Escape from Atlantis! (which I now will call Survive) is an competitive adventure game featuring action points, grid movement, secret unit deployment, dice rolls, and lots of take-that. And little boats. It also can destroy friendships and ruin evenings. Play at your own risk.
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. We ARE including the 5-6 player mini expansion, however. Should we review the others in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. Also, I do not intend to detail every rule in the book, but give our readers an idea of how the game plays and our thoughts on it. -T
To setup a game of Survive, each player will choose a color and take into their supply all the meeples of that color and two boats. Place all the terrain tiles randomly (and face down) within the bolded line on the board to create the central island. Place out the sea serpents on the sea serpent spots as menacingly as possible. Players then take turns placing their numbered meeples on terrain tiles until all meeples have been placed, and their boateeples on any water space near the island they wish. Keep aside the shark, whale, and dolphin meeples for later. Give the die to the first player and you are ready to play.
On a player’s turn they will 1. Play any tiles from their hand, 2. Move meeples, 3. Remove terrain a tile, 4. Roll the die and move creatures. At the beginning of the game nobody will have any tiles in hand to play, so skip this step if there are no tiles in hand. On subsequent turns players may have collected tiles as a result of the #3 action, and now is the time to play those. Typically they are beneficial for the active player or detrimental to the opponents. Next, the active player will move their meeples in any combination three total board hexes. This can be done with one or more meeples on land or in the water. There are movement restrictions that I will not cover here. After movement, the active player will remove one of the terrain tiles with the lowest elevation (sand, forest, then mountain tiles). The player flips over the tile and will play it immediately if it shows an arrow, or keeps it in hand if it shows a hand icon. Finally, the active player will roll the red die and move creatures per the movement table printed on the board.
Creature movement creates the tension in the game (as if fighting over the boats wasn’t enough). You see, when sharks enter the board and are moved, they are hungry for swimmer meeples (obv). Whales are hungry(?) for boats and will destroy them but fling the meeples aboard into the water to become swimmers. Sea serpents don’t care. They will eat swimmers and manned boats… but they’re the slowest movers. So consider that.
Play continues in this fashion until the either all meeples have been removed from the play grid, or a player flips over the volcano mountain tile and ends the game. Any meeples who have made it to the safety of the outer islands are worth the VP printed on their bottoms. Wait, not the butts. The bottom of the meeples. Which I guess are the feet.
Components. To reiterate, in case it was missed, we are reviewing the 2010 Stronghold edition. There is a newer version, and it seems to look a little better but plays the same. However, I love the components of this version too. The meeples are fine, the creatures are cool, the varying thicknesses of the terrain tiles makes for an interesting mini-3D look, and the board is great without being too busy and distracting. I have absolutely no issues with these components and think they are super.
Now, you may have read in my intro that this game may ruin friendships and the evening, and I really am not joking about this. I have played this so many times where at least one person becomes completely angered by the chomping of the shark or the horrible movement of the sea serpent adjacent to their boat. It’s just a game, and it’s inevitable in this one – your meeples will get eaten. It’s gonna happen! When I teach this now I try to make that apparent right away because it is then not viewed as absolutely treachery when it happens to newer players. Should you be playing with sensitive gamers, please instruct them early that it WILL happen or you’re gonna have a bad time.
However, this game is great! I love it now as much as I ever have. It’s an older horse for me, but one of which I will never tire. I can and love to play it with new gamers, especially the ones that are hoping to join the inner circle. If you can hang through a game of Survive without being angered and taking it all in stride, you are welcome at my table ANY time. That said, as you can see by our ratings, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a mighty and well-deserved 21 / 24. If you enjoy games that upset your players and want a cool theme on it, check out Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
iDo Food – Kids with special needs learn dining skills (Full version)
Education
App
iDo Food is an innovative and comprehensive application, ideal for learning cooking and dining...