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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.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Popcorn Dice in Tabletop Games
Aug 18, 2021
Two things everyone in my little family likes: popcorn and dice games. My daughter would eat popcorn all day if you let her. She takes after her dad. My son would play dice games all day if you let him. I like to let him as much as possible. Once I saw that Van Ryder Games was coming out with a marriage of these two beloved things, I knew I had to get my hands on it for preview.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is an advance retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Popcorn Dice is a very light dice chucker where the winner is the player with the most amount of points at the end of the game. Setup could not be simpler: place all the dice in the popcorn bucket and pass it to the starting player. Done. Let’s make some corn!
The active player shakes up the popcorn bucket and then dumps out the dice on the play surface (I would normally use the word “table,” but we have actually played this on many different surfaces). Every die face showing the golden kernel icon is placed back in the bucket: it’s not fully popped yet. All dice showing the single Pop! icon is placed in the player’s score pile to be counted later. Each Burnt dice face showing can be countered with one Double Pop! icon, with both dice being placed back in the cup. If there are no Burnt faces, then the remaining Pop! and Double Pop! dice can be placed in the score pile. However, if at any time four Burnt dice are unable to be canceled with the Double Pop! then the turn is over and ZERO points are scored. Similarly, if no dice (upon a subsequent re-roll) are moved to the score pile, the turn is over, but the player may count up their score pile dice. The active player may continue rolling as many times as they wish or are forced to stop due to unwanted dice rolls. The first player to 30 points signals the end of the game. Every player continues the round so each takes the same number of turns, and the player with the most points wins!
Components. This game is a plastic bucket in the shape of old timey popcorn buckets and a pile of dice. The bucket is nice and very sturdy, and the dice are great! They are big and chunky (like the size of King of Tokyo, if memory serves) and the icons are mostly clear. I say mostly because The Double Pop! and single Pop! icons are white ink on off-white colored dice. They can sometimes be hard to distinguish, especially if playing under less-than-favorable lighting. Other than that, I totally dig the look and style of this game.
When I say that my son and I played this 23 times the first day we received it, I am not at all exaggerating. My kid LOVES Popcorn Dice, and it plays differently from other dice games. I was just expecting this to mimic earlier dice games like Martian Dice and Zombie Dice. Thankfully, this one is lighthearted enough for my children, and still keeps the adults very satisfied. And let me know if you ever accomplish The Perfect Pop.
It is so simple to play, and that’s the beauty of it. I’m talking 10 minutes with toddlers. When you need something super quick and easy, and maybe to bring in absolute gaming beginners, you cannot lose with Popcorn Dice. Have some youngsters tagging along with their parents to game night? Show them Popcorn Dice and watch them be entertained nearly the entire night trying to pop the best batch of corny goodness. If you need that one little game in your collection that can work in many many different scenarios, then consider adding Popcorn Dice to your collection. Grab your copy here: Popcorn Dice from Van Ryder Games.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is an advance retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Popcorn Dice is a very light dice chucker where the winner is the player with the most amount of points at the end of the game. Setup could not be simpler: place all the dice in the popcorn bucket and pass it to the starting player. Done. Let’s make some corn!
The active player shakes up the popcorn bucket and then dumps out the dice on the play surface (I would normally use the word “table,” but we have actually played this on many different surfaces). Every die face showing the golden kernel icon is placed back in the bucket: it’s not fully popped yet. All dice showing the single Pop! icon is placed in the player’s score pile to be counted later. Each Burnt dice face showing can be countered with one Double Pop! icon, with both dice being placed back in the cup. If there are no Burnt faces, then the remaining Pop! and Double Pop! dice can be placed in the score pile. However, if at any time four Burnt dice are unable to be canceled with the Double Pop! then the turn is over and ZERO points are scored. Similarly, if no dice (upon a subsequent re-roll) are moved to the score pile, the turn is over, but the player may count up their score pile dice. The active player may continue rolling as many times as they wish or are forced to stop due to unwanted dice rolls. The first player to 30 points signals the end of the game. Every player continues the round so each takes the same number of turns, and the player with the most points wins!
Components. This game is a plastic bucket in the shape of old timey popcorn buckets and a pile of dice. The bucket is nice and very sturdy, and the dice are great! They are big and chunky (like the size of King of Tokyo, if memory serves) and the icons are mostly clear. I say mostly because The Double Pop! and single Pop! icons are white ink on off-white colored dice. They can sometimes be hard to distinguish, especially if playing under less-than-favorable lighting. Other than that, I totally dig the look and style of this game.
When I say that my son and I played this 23 times the first day we received it, I am not at all exaggerating. My kid LOVES Popcorn Dice, and it plays differently from other dice games. I was just expecting this to mimic earlier dice games like Martian Dice and Zombie Dice. Thankfully, this one is lighthearted enough for my children, and still keeps the adults very satisfied. And let me know if you ever accomplish The Perfect Pop.
It is so simple to play, and that’s the beauty of it. I’m talking 10 minutes with toddlers. When you need something super quick and easy, and maybe to bring in absolute gaming beginners, you cannot lose with Popcorn Dice. Have some youngsters tagging along with their parents to game night? Show them Popcorn Dice and watch them be entertained nearly the entire night trying to pop the best batch of corny goodness. If you need that one little game in your collection that can work in many many different scenarios, then consider adding Popcorn Dice to your collection. Grab your copy here: Popcorn Dice from Van Ryder Games.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Arcane Arena in Tabletop Games
Jan 23, 2021
The Tournament of Champions is coming! The Tournament of Champions is coming! The bravest fighters must prepare themselves to face-off in a three-round arena match to determine the ultimate warrior. There is no time to waste learning finishing moves here. Combatants will only have three rounds to prove they are superior in this all-out brawl!
Arcane Arena is an arena-style fighting card game. In it players will take on the mantle of a warrior competing in this brutal last-man-standing battle royale. They will need to train and learn new techniques and then show their opponents all they have learned. The game takes place over three rounds of increasing actions and, truly, the last warrior standing will be crowned Champion!
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, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, refer to the rules to deal each player their starting deck of Buy, Move, and Attack cards. Remove all Focus and Wound cards and make a stack for each on the side of the play area. Shuffle the remaining “Trainer” cards and create a market of six cards to be purchased. Set the arena board on the table and populate it with player tokens and Favor tokens (glass beads in this prototype). Each player shuffles their starting deck and draws four cards to create their starting hand. The tournament is now prepared for warriors.
Arcane Arena features three rounds of two phases each. The first round has players limited to three turns during the first training phase and 10 hit points for the second phase of the game.
The first phase of each round is the Training Phase. During this phase players are able to use their four cards “as a buy” for their purchasing power. The player lays a card, announces it is as a buy, tallies the currency to be spent, and then purchases a card from the collection of six cards in the offer or one Focus card from its stack. Once completed with their Training Phase, the player will restock the trainer pool of cards for purchase. It is then the next player’s turn to complete their Training Phase.
Once all players have had their Training Phase, the Combat Phase begins with the active player. The active player must play cards for either their Move, Effect, or Attack keywords. Each card will instruct the player the amount of Move they can use, which Effect can be used and how, and how many Attack points of damage they inflict on a target within range.
Play continues in this fashion with each player playing as many cards from their hand of four as they wish until only one player remains with hit points. If it is the third such round of Combat Phase (5 turns at the Training Phase and 20 HP during Combat) then the last player standing is the winner!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so some components will be different from the finished version. That said, this game has decent components planned and the art style is interesting, with hints of a more ancient style. The iconography on the cards is okay: I did find myself trying to figure out what the icon for “purchase” actually was, so it threw me off a couple times. Similarly, the effect bar on the card is very small and can easily be overlooked if the players are not constantly checking for that bar for information.
Gameplay for Arcane Arena is something with which I am struggling to describe. I have always been poor with arena-style games that have players moving around and attacking. It is so difficult for me to abandon my Barbarian-style of just blocking movement and wailing on a stationary enemy. Once movement is expected I am a fish out of water. That is not at all a knock on Arcane Arena, but on my style of play. However, if I belong to a group of gamers with similar style be warned: there’s a lot of opportunity for movement here and it may be uncomfortable at first.
I do like the theme of the game and its implementation. I can understand the premise and relate it to the gameplay. I like that it is split between two distinct phases and having cards with multiple usage is a positive for me. I also enjoy that every time a new phase begins all players combine their cards, shuffle, and draw a hand of four cards. This is new for me, as in typical deckbuilders the card just purchased usually goes directly into the discard pile only to be drawn on much later turns. Such is not with this one. A card just purchased may be drawn immediately in the next Combat Phase, depending on luck of the shuffle and draw.
So while I do not enjoy the moving around the arena aspect of the game, all else is good for me. If you are similar to me I would say give it a shot, but it may be difficult to be successful if, like me, you plan to be a stalwart rock instead of a nimble wisp. If Arcane Arena sounds like your cup of tea, do check it out when it comes available!
Arcane Arena is an arena-style fighting card game. In it players will take on the mantle of a warrior competing in this brutal last-man-standing battle royale. They will need to train and learn new techniques and then show their opponents all they have learned. The game takes place over three rounds of increasing actions and, truly, the last warrior standing will be crowned Champion!
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, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, refer to the rules to deal each player their starting deck of Buy, Move, and Attack cards. Remove all Focus and Wound cards and make a stack for each on the side of the play area. Shuffle the remaining “Trainer” cards and create a market of six cards to be purchased. Set the arena board on the table and populate it with player tokens and Favor tokens (glass beads in this prototype). Each player shuffles their starting deck and draws four cards to create their starting hand. The tournament is now prepared for warriors.
Arcane Arena features three rounds of two phases each. The first round has players limited to three turns during the first training phase and 10 hit points for the second phase of the game.
The first phase of each round is the Training Phase. During this phase players are able to use their four cards “as a buy” for their purchasing power. The player lays a card, announces it is as a buy, tallies the currency to be spent, and then purchases a card from the collection of six cards in the offer or one Focus card from its stack. Once completed with their Training Phase, the player will restock the trainer pool of cards for purchase. It is then the next player’s turn to complete their Training Phase.
Once all players have had their Training Phase, the Combat Phase begins with the active player. The active player must play cards for either their Move, Effect, or Attack keywords. Each card will instruct the player the amount of Move they can use, which Effect can be used and how, and how many Attack points of damage they inflict on a target within range.
Play continues in this fashion with each player playing as many cards from their hand of four as they wish until only one player remains with hit points. If it is the third such round of Combat Phase (5 turns at the Training Phase and 20 HP during Combat) then the last player standing is the winner!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so some components will be different from the finished version. That said, this game has decent components planned and the art style is interesting, with hints of a more ancient style. The iconography on the cards is okay: I did find myself trying to figure out what the icon for “purchase” actually was, so it threw me off a couple times. Similarly, the effect bar on the card is very small and can easily be overlooked if the players are not constantly checking for that bar for information.
Gameplay for Arcane Arena is something with which I am struggling to describe. I have always been poor with arena-style games that have players moving around and attacking. It is so difficult for me to abandon my Barbarian-style of just blocking movement and wailing on a stationary enemy. Once movement is expected I am a fish out of water. That is not at all a knock on Arcane Arena, but on my style of play. However, if I belong to a group of gamers with similar style be warned: there’s a lot of opportunity for movement here and it may be uncomfortable at first.
I do like the theme of the game and its implementation. I can understand the premise and relate it to the gameplay. I like that it is split between two distinct phases and having cards with multiple usage is a positive for me. I also enjoy that every time a new phase begins all players combine their cards, shuffle, and draw a hand of four cards. This is new for me, as in typical deckbuilders the card just purchased usually goes directly into the discard pile only to be drawn on much later turns. Such is not with this one. A card just purchased may be drawn immediately in the next Combat Phase, depending on luck of the shuffle and draw.
So while I do not enjoy the moving around the arena aspect of the game, all else is good for me. If you are similar to me I would say give it a shot, but it may be difficult to be successful if, like me, you plan to be a stalwart rock instead of a nimble wisp. If Arcane Arena sounds like your cup of tea, do check it out when it comes available!
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