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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Dice Town: Cowboys in Tabletop Games
Jun 25, 2021
This breakdown is for the push-your-luck dice and take-that game Dice Town’s expansion Cowboys.
This expansion adds a new board overlay to placed between Town Hall and Doc Badluck, 21 cow minis, some General Store cards to be shuffled with the base game, 12 Cowboy card, and four Rodeo cards. The Rodeo cards are 10 VP cards that are earned once a player owns a Cowboy card in each suit. Cowboy cards are recruited by the player who rolls the most Aces. They have the choice of recruiting a Cowboy or Stealing Cows (first from the new Prairie Board overlay, but if empty, then from other players). Cowboy cards can offer various abilities to be used or can be saved to earn a Rodeo VP card. Cow minis can be kept in a loose herd in front of the player or can be added on top of a Deed card in order to keep the Deed card and cows from being stolen by other players. If a Deed card shows, for example, a value of 4 then four cows will need to be added to the Deed card. Once the Deed card has its herd of cows upon it, the card is now worth an extra VP. Also at game end the player with the largest herd of cows will earn 10 additional bonus VP. Yee haw!
So here’s the thing: I love Dice Town as is. But adding in this expansion just adds another layer of strategic complexity and increases the enjoyment for me by tons. Having little cows in my play area and using them to graze upon my land deeds is quite satisfying. Being able to sprinkle in some of the Cowboy cards and hopefully earn a Rodeo card as well just boosts the ol’ final score by a significant amount. So the addition of this expansion is all about those VP gainz.
Official recommendation: I think any gamer who owns and enjoys Dice Town should definitely pick up the Cowboys expansion. It adds very important components to the base game and offers more choices for great rolls. And what gamer doesn’t appreciate more choices? This is a definite must-buy for me, but I wouldn’t turn down a chance to play just the base game either.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Unmatched: Deadpool Expansion in Tabletop Games
Jul 8, 2021
This breakdown is for the expansion for the hit game, and Golden Feather Award-winning, Unmatched system entitled Unmatched: Deadpool.
This expansion adds the amazing Marvel character Deadpool to the game system, to expand any standalone set. It ships with a great DP mini, his HP dial, and a deck of 31 hilarious and ridiculous cards. It cannot be played without a base set, and I have used him with both Cobble & Fog as well as the Battle of Legends, Volume 1 sets.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game expansion for the purposes of this review. You are invited to pre-order from the Mondo website or purchase from any retailers stocking it once released. -T
Does this expansion add a lot to the gameplay of original Unmatched? I very much think so. If you have yet to play any version of Unmatched, please do yourself a favor and remedy this at once. When you have played it, come back to finish the review.
What Deadpool lacks in full game components, it sure makes up for in uniqueness of character play. No more will the player need to strategize and synergize throughout the game. In fact, the Deadpool player now has access to so many crazy cards that really break the rules and make him so much harder to overcome. Deadpool has several healing cards in his deck, but also has a special healing ability that triggers every turn he attacks. I suppose now I realize why DP has an HP dial with a max HP of 10. I really do not want to spoil too much about what can be found in the Deadpool deck, but just know there are many chimichangas, many healing, and many rulebreaking possibilities.
Is it absolutely necessary to invest in the Deadpool expansion to enjoy Unmatched? No, but if you are a fan of Marvel or the character, it is a must-buy. However, if you (or the people with whom you play) are prudish sticks in the mud, then totally pass on it. That leaves more for the rest of us.
Official recommendation: I cannot say enough great things about Unmatched and every character I have played with it. Each character is certainly unique, but I will venture to say that you will be hard pressed to find a character even more unique than Deadpool. He offers such hilarity that I want to use him nearly every game. Now, knowing all the cards that come in his deck can tempt his players to manipulate the environment before starting the game, so do take care if you attempt to play AGAINST a Deadpool player. That’s the warning I will give, but I officially (and highly) recommend all fans of Marvel, Deadpool, and the Unmatched system to grab a copy of this small expansion.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Kingdomino: Age of Giants in Tabletop Games
Sep 7, 2021 (Updated Sep 29, 2021)
This breakdown is for the super popular tile-laying game Kingdomino and its Age of Giants expansion.
Included in this strangely-dimensioned-box-when-compared-with-its-base-game is a plethora of components. Most notably are components to include a fifth player (brown this time) and a very large domino dispenser. Also included are six gianteeples, 17 Challenge Tiles, and a scorepad.
The giants can be found in the art on certain dominoes and their footprints are found on other dominoes. When drawing and adding a tile featuring a giant to your kingdom you must also place a gianteeple upon the domino. This giant is attracted to crowns, so it will cover up (and thus nullify for scoring) one of the crown icons in your kingdom. Dominoes with giant footprints will award the player with the ability to reassign a gianteeple from the placer’s kingdom to an opponent’s kingdom, covering a crown in the process.
The 17 Challenge Tiles that are included in this expansion help players to hone in on a certain strategy when placing terrain dominoes. At setup two of the 17 tiles are revealed and will dictate extra bonus points at game end for all players who satisfy their iconography. Some will award bonus points for having certain terrain types in the kingdom, while others will award points having no crown icons on any dominoes at all! There are several types of Challenge Tiles to explore each game.
Age of Giants is an excellent expansion that includes a lot of thoughtful components and rules. I especially enjoy the domino dispenser and I always like being able to add more players to my games. So for those points alone I would add this expansion. However, the Challenge Tiles are very interesting, especially for players who suffer from not having specific goals to attain whilst playing. Similarly, the addition of the giants and their footprint dominoes are a nice touch, but secondary to me, oddly.
Does this mean I recommend everyone to go out and purchase this expansion post-haste?
Official recommendation: No, this is not a must-buy at all. Everything included within this expansion is great, and adds something to the original Kingdomino, but unless you are needing components for a fifth player, or really enjoy the idea of the Challenge Tile, the rest is really fluff to help pimp out your game. Yes, the domino dispenser is awesome and handy, but not necessary. Yes, it’s cool to be able to send giants to neighboring kingdoms to mess with your opponents, but I don’t think Kingdomino needed that. So, I am torn with this recommendation, but I am thankful I have it in my collection for my first few points.
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated T.I.M.E Stories in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
Original Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: Tony Mastrangeli
Read the full review here: https://www.boardgamequest.com/time-stories-review/