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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Fort: Cats and Dogs Expansion in Tabletop Games
Feb 3, 2022
In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.
This breakdown is for the expansion for the hit game Fort, and this expansion titled Fort: Cats & Dogs Expansion.
This expansion adds a bunch of Dog cards, some Cat cards, and four Doghouse tiles. The Dog and Cat components belong to their respective modules, and the expansion can be played with either module or both simultaneously.
The Dogs module will add Dogs to players’ starting decks. When a Dog is played, their need (the text immediately below their picture) must be fulfilled before their special action is completed. They may also be used as their normal icon to be played with the base game actions. Most Dog cards are then discarded to the players’ Doghouse. However, if Dogs end up in a player’s Yard, at the beginning of their turn they must discard the Dog to the neighbor’s Doghouse. The player with the most Dogs in their Doghouse at the end of the game scores a cool seven points!
Cats, however, are little terrors and have no loyalty to their owner and their special abilities may be lent to whomever currently controls the Cat card. Cats are attracted to certain players based on which cards are present in their Yard at the end of their turn. It is then that the Cat card moves to the player’s tableau and can offer ongoing effects. The other players may then attempt to lure the Cat card to their own Yards at the end of their turns as well. Players score more points at the end of the game for having more Cats attracted to their Yard.
In my opinion Fort did not need any expansions that change the game. However, after adding Cats & Dogs to my game I found that another level of attention must be paid to each turn if you wish to score these extra bonus points. For example, should a player monopolize all the Cats and also have the most Dogs, that will score them 17 bonus points at the end of the game! That is certainly nothing to sniff at. The cards feature great art, again by Kyle Ferrin, and the Doghouses are nice cardboard tiles. I still most certainly enjoy playing vanilla Fort, but I think that with other gamers who are familiar with the base game I will almost always include both Cats & Dogs modules in my games.
Official recommendation: If you are a fan of Fort, as we all are, then adding in Cats & Dogs may spice up your game for you. However, if you are a fan of Fort as is, then this is certainly not a must-have. I thoroughly enjoy this expansion, and like I mentioned – will probably always be adding it into my games, but Fort definitely stands on its own. It is a luxury expansion, yes, but it is also very affordable. So pick it up the next time you are filling your board game carts. I recommend it highly, and the value added far outweighs the cost for this reviewer. MORE FORT!!
This breakdown is for the expansion for the hit game Fort, and this expansion titled Fort: Cats & Dogs Expansion.
This expansion adds a bunch of Dog cards, some Cat cards, and four Doghouse tiles. The Dog and Cat components belong to their respective modules, and the expansion can be played with either module or both simultaneously.
The Dogs module will add Dogs to players’ starting decks. When a Dog is played, their need (the text immediately below their picture) must be fulfilled before their special action is completed. They may also be used as their normal icon to be played with the base game actions. Most Dog cards are then discarded to the players’ Doghouse. However, if Dogs end up in a player’s Yard, at the beginning of their turn they must discard the Dog to the neighbor’s Doghouse. The player with the most Dogs in their Doghouse at the end of the game scores a cool seven points!
Cats, however, are little terrors and have no loyalty to their owner and their special abilities may be lent to whomever currently controls the Cat card. Cats are attracted to certain players based on which cards are present in their Yard at the end of their turn. It is then that the Cat card moves to the player’s tableau and can offer ongoing effects. The other players may then attempt to lure the Cat card to their own Yards at the end of their turns as well. Players score more points at the end of the game for having more Cats attracted to their Yard.
In my opinion Fort did not need any expansions that change the game. However, after adding Cats & Dogs to my game I found that another level of attention must be paid to each turn if you wish to score these extra bonus points. For example, should a player monopolize all the Cats and also have the most Dogs, that will score them 17 bonus points at the end of the game! That is certainly nothing to sniff at. The cards feature great art, again by Kyle Ferrin, and the Doghouses are nice cardboard tiles. I still most certainly enjoy playing vanilla Fort, but I think that with other gamers who are familiar with the base game I will almost always include both Cats & Dogs modules in my games.
Official recommendation: If you are a fan of Fort, as we all are, then adding in Cats & Dogs may spice up your game for you. However, if you are a fan of Fort as is, then this is certainly not a must-have. I thoroughly enjoy this expansion, and like I mentioned – will probably always be adding it into my games, but Fort definitely stands on its own. It is a luxury expansion, yes, but it is also very affordable. So pick it up the next time you are filling your board game carts. I recommend it highly, and the value added far outweighs the cost for this reviewer. MORE FORT!!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated ICECOOL in Tabletop Games
Jun 25, 2019 (Updated Aug 13, 2020)
Moving components around the board/play area is a staple of most board games. As board games have evolved, that mechanic has maintained an integral role in many games. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Well just because it’s not broken, doesn’t mean it can’t use a little innovation….and that’s where ICECOOL comes into play.
You and your Penguin buddies are so hungry that you decide to skip out on class early to go grab some snacks. But you’ve forgotten about the Hall Monitor! Their mission is to catch any unauthorized hall wanderers and send them back to class. Can you outmaneuver the Hall Monitor, or will you be caught and forced to go hungry until the end of class?
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the rulebook in its entirety in this review, but rather provide a general overview of the rules and gameplay. To read the rules more in-depth, grab a copy of the game from your FLGS! -L
ICECOOL is a dexterity game in which players are trying to amass the most points over a number of rounds. Here’s how a round plays out. Select one player to be the Hall Monitor (called the Catcher) for the first round, and place their Penguin pawn in the kitchen box. All other players, aka the Runners, take their 3 colored fish tokens and attach them to the three corresponding doorways, and begin with their Penguin pawns in the classroom box. As a Runner, your goal is to collect your 3 fish tokens from their doorways. How do you do that? Flick your Penguin through a fish doorway to collect your snack. Yes, you read that right – flick. In this game, all movement is achieved by literally flicking your pieces throughout the boxes. To collect a fish, you must pass through the corresponding doorway completely in one single flick. Each time you collect a fish, draw the top card from the fish deck and keep it hidden from your opponents. Your other goal? Avoid the Catcher. If at any point, your Penguin comes into contact with the Catcher, you must forfeit your Hall Pass to the Catcher.
As the Catcher, your goal is to collect the Hall Pass of every other player. You achieve this goal by flicking your Penguin into any of the Runners. Turn order is as follows: Runners-Catcher, Runners-Catcher, etc., until the end of the round is triggered. The round is over when the Catcher has collected Hall Passes from every other player, or any Runner has collected all 3 of their fish. At the end of the round, each player collects 1 fish card per Hall Pass in their possession. So if you were caught by the Catcher, you’re outta luck! For the next round a new player is selected to be the Catcher, and play continues as above. The game ends once every player has taken a turn as the Catcher. Count up the points from your collected fish cards, and the player with the most points wins!
So a game of flicking Penguins around some boxes – sounds pretty simple, right? Yes and no. ICECOOL admittedly does not really require any serious strategy. Yes, you are trying to collect all 3 of your fish, but you’re mainly playing keep-away from the Catcher. And as the Catcher, you’re “It” in this quasi-game of Tag. So strategic, this is not. On the other hand, mastering the art of flicking your Penguin is a long and arduous process. Ok, it’s not arduous, but it is tricky to master! ICECOOL really puts your dexterity to the test to see if you have the proper form and control to move your Penguin to exactly where you want it to go. Half of the fun of this game is all the whiffed flicks and the comically accidental misdirections. The rulebook offers some flicking techniques to try out before your first game, and they are actually pretty helpful. I’ve not yet been able to achieve the jumping flick, but maybe one day I will rise to that level.
One other super neat thing about ICECOOL is the game setup. You’re playing with boxes of varying sizes. But here’s the kicker: they all nest into each other!!! So for storing, it looks like you just have one box. But in reality, there are 4 other boxes hidden inside. This concept is not one I’ve seen before in any other game, so that just makes ICECOOL a little bit more unique and interesting for me. Since I’m talking about the boxes, let me touch on components. The boxes are all of great quality, and are sturdy enough to hold up to clashing penguins. The Penguins themselves are good solid plastic, and I know they will last forever. Be careful though, flicking too hard might hurt your fingers! The deck of fish cards are a standard card quality. The artwork of the game is cute and thematic, and overall it’s a fun, immersive experience.
ICECOOL is not a game that I pull off the shelf at every game night. But it is one that is light enough, and entertaining enough, that it certainly gets a good amount of gameplay from my collection. Whether you are using it as a nice, short filler game, or you’re playing with some young’uns, it makes for a happy atmosphere full of energy and happiness. And that’s why Purple Phoenix Games gives ICECOOL a brrrrrrrrrilliant 18 / 24.
You and your Penguin buddies are so hungry that you decide to skip out on class early to go grab some snacks. But you’ve forgotten about the Hall Monitor! Their mission is to catch any unauthorized hall wanderers and send them back to class. Can you outmaneuver the Hall Monitor, or will you be caught and forced to go hungry until the end of class?
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the rulebook in its entirety in this review, but rather provide a general overview of the rules and gameplay. To read the rules more in-depth, grab a copy of the game from your FLGS! -L
ICECOOL is a dexterity game in which players are trying to amass the most points over a number of rounds. Here’s how a round plays out. Select one player to be the Hall Monitor (called the Catcher) for the first round, and place their Penguin pawn in the kitchen box. All other players, aka the Runners, take their 3 colored fish tokens and attach them to the three corresponding doorways, and begin with their Penguin pawns in the classroom box. As a Runner, your goal is to collect your 3 fish tokens from their doorways. How do you do that? Flick your Penguin through a fish doorway to collect your snack. Yes, you read that right – flick. In this game, all movement is achieved by literally flicking your pieces throughout the boxes. To collect a fish, you must pass through the corresponding doorway completely in one single flick. Each time you collect a fish, draw the top card from the fish deck and keep it hidden from your opponents. Your other goal? Avoid the Catcher. If at any point, your Penguin comes into contact with the Catcher, you must forfeit your Hall Pass to the Catcher.
As the Catcher, your goal is to collect the Hall Pass of every other player. You achieve this goal by flicking your Penguin into any of the Runners. Turn order is as follows: Runners-Catcher, Runners-Catcher, etc., until the end of the round is triggered. The round is over when the Catcher has collected Hall Passes from every other player, or any Runner has collected all 3 of their fish. At the end of the round, each player collects 1 fish card per Hall Pass in their possession. So if you were caught by the Catcher, you’re outta luck! For the next round a new player is selected to be the Catcher, and play continues as above. The game ends once every player has taken a turn as the Catcher. Count up the points from your collected fish cards, and the player with the most points wins!
So a game of flicking Penguins around some boxes – sounds pretty simple, right? Yes and no. ICECOOL admittedly does not really require any serious strategy. Yes, you are trying to collect all 3 of your fish, but you’re mainly playing keep-away from the Catcher. And as the Catcher, you’re “It” in this quasi-game of Tag. So strategic, this is not. On the other hand, mastering the art of flicking your Penguin is a long and arduous process. Ok, it’s not arduous, but it is tricky to master! ICECOOL really puts your dexterity to the test to see if you have the proper form and control to move your Penguin to exactly where you want it to go. Half of the fun of this game is all the whiffed flicks and the comically accidental misdirections. The rulebook offers some flicking techniques to try out before your first game, and they are actually pretty helpful. I’ve not yet been able to achieve the jumping flick, but maybe one day I will rise to that level.
One other super neat thing about ICECOOL is the game setup. You’re playing with boxes of varying sizes. But here’s the kicker: they all nest into each other!!! So for storing, it looks like you just have one box. But in reality, there are 4 other boxes hidden inside. This concept is not one I’ve seen before in any other game, so that just makes ICECOOL a little bit more unique and interesting for me. Since I’m talking about the boxes, let me touch on components. The boxes are all of great quality, and are sturdy enough to hold up to clashing penguins. The Penguins themselves are good solid plastic, and I know they will last forever. Be careful though, flicking too hard might hurt your fingers! The deck of fish cards are a standard card quality. The artwork of the game is cute and thematic, and overall it’s a fun, immersive experience.
ICECOOL is not a game that I pull off the shelf at every game night. But it is one that is light enough, and entertaining enough, that it certainly gets a good amount of gameplay from my collection. Whether you are using it as a nice, short filler game, or you’re playing with some young’uns, it makes for a happy atmosphere full of energy and happiness. And that’s why Purple Phoenix Games gives ICECOOL a brrrrrrrrrilliant 18 / 24.
T.I.M.E Stories
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The T.I.M.E Agency protects humanity by preventing temporal faults and paradoxes from threatening...
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Star Wars: Imperial Assault in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
Star Wars: Imperial Assault: The Kotaku Review
Imperial Assault is a board game that was released in late 2014. I only got around to playing it over the weekend, and I already count those months between as wasted.
Having made a ton of money off their excellent X-Wing game before moving onto capital ship battles, Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight’s shot at moving Star Wars into more traditional tabletop territory.
If you’ve ever played HeroQuest, Space Crusade or even XCOM, you’ll be familiar with the basics here: players take control of a character and take turns to move about a grid-based battlefield, using terrain as cover as they battle enemies and complete objectives.
It’s designed for 2-5 players, but shines brighter the closer you get to the latter. A single player—basically the dungeon master—takes control of all Imperial forces, while everyone else selects a single Rebel character, choosing from a stable of RPG class stalwarts (support, sniper, etc).
Reviewer: Luke Plunkett
Read the full review here: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-the-kotaku-review-1734772222
Having made a ton of money off their excellent X-Wing game before moving onto capital ship battles, Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight’s shot at moving Star Wars into more traditional tabletop territory.
If you’ve ever played HeroQuest, Space Crusade or even XCOM, you’ll be familiar with the basics here: players take control of a character and take turns to move about a grid-based battlefield, using terrain as cover as they battle enemies and complete objectives.
It’s designed for 2-5 players, but shines brighter the closer you get to the latter. A single player—basically the dungeon master—takes control of all Imperial forces, while everyone else selects a single Rebel character, choosing from a stable of RPG class stalwarts (support, sniper, etc).
Reviewer: Luke Plunkett
Read the full review here: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-the-kotaku-review-1734772222
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Xia: Legends of a Drift System in Tabletop Games
Mar 8, 2018
So Much Sand in Space
A board game billing itself as a ‘sandbox’ is always going to be a little bit clunky, and Xia Legends of a Drift System is no exception. There are plenty of different systems for new players to learn and you will have to be patient when teaching the game. Xia Legend sof a Drift System isn’t particularly heavy, but there are many moving parts. A smarter person than me might have been able to figure out a way of sanding down Xia’s rough edges to make a more elegant experience, but I can’t honestly recommend better ways to implement its systems.
Ultimately, Xia’s dice rolling and the inherent meanness of blowing up your rivals and disrupting their turns, will be deal breakers for some. But if you invite people into your sandbox that won’t take themselves too seriously, there are plenty of toys to go around. I highly recommend you pick up Xia Legends of a Drift System.
Original Score: 4.4/5
Reviewer: John Severn
Read the full review here: https://www.gamesquest.co.uk/blog/xialegendsofadriftsystem/
Ultimately, Xia’s dice rolling and the inherent meanness of blowing up your rivals and disrupting their turns, will be deal breakers for some. But if you invite people into your sandbox that won’t take themselves too seriously, there are plenty of toys to go around. I highly recommend you pick up Xia Legends of a Drift System.
Original Score: 4.4/5
Reviewer: John Severn
Read the full review here: https://www.gamesquest.co.uk/blog/xialegendsofadriftsystem/
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