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Each player represents an evil lord. Recruit creatures, ranging from simple goblins to terrifying...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Stellar Leap in Tabletop Games
Apr 23, 2020
You are the member of an alien species, and your mission is to explore the galaxy! Discover new solar systems, build colonies on new planets, and gather resources along the way to sustain your species. Some neighboring alien species have also decided to foray into exploration, and will likely cross your path at some point or another. Are you a friendly race, willing to cooperate and maybe even cohabit a new planet? Or are you more aggressive and less willing to share? Only time, the cards, and the dice, will tell. Put your strategy to the test as you race to become the most prestigious alien species in the galaxy. So suit up and get ready for blast off!
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. We 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
Stellar Leap is, at its core, a worker placement game with elements of dice rolling, variable powers, and a modular ‘board’ sprinkled in. To setup, each player receives an individual player board and components, while the Galaxy is set up for use by all players. Players then add their home planet, as well as 1 population marker, to the Galaxy, and the game is ready to begin! Stellar Leap is played over a series of rounds in which players take turns performing any or all actions available to them.
To begin a turn, players first recover any Population markers that may have been exhausted on their last turn (more on that in a bit). Next, the player rolls the two dice, manipulating them with Special Dice Powers if desired, and resources are collected. The Galaxy is set up in columns, each column numbered 1-6, to which these dice rolls will correspond. If you have a Population marker on a planet in one of the columns that corresponds to your die roll (you have a Population in column 4 and you rolled a 4), you collect the resources provided by that planet. It is important to note that any player can receive resources from a die roll, even if it is not their turn!
The next phase of play involves three elements: Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions. There is no limit to the amount of Movement you can take on your turn, as long as you have resources available to perform that action. You may take two High Command Actions: Populate (add a new Population marker to a planet), Tax (collect any two resources), Discover (add planets/asteroids to the Galaxy), or Attack (fight an opponent located on the same planet as yourself). The same High Command Action could be performed twice on your turn, but you can only perform two per turn. The Division Actions can each be taken once per turn. Those actions are: Intelligence (complete a Mission), Mining (mine an asteroid for resources), or Labor (exhaust one of your populations on a planet to receive additional resources). Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions can be taken in any order on your turn – turns are not ‘set’ in a specific order and actions can be taken at your discretion. You also are not required to take every available action on your turn if you do not want to – your turns could be as long or as brief as you want them to be, depending on which actions you want to take.
At certain points throughout play, Events will be triggered. When an Event is triggered, draw the top Event card and resolve its effect. Some are resolved immediately, and some remain in play for the rest of the game. The game ends once six Events have been triggered. Players then tally up their Prestige points (earned by completing Missions, discovering planets, winning combats, and fulfilling their secret objectives), and the player with the highest Prestige is declared the winner!
So as you can see, there is quite a bit going on in Stellar Leap. Admittedly, it seemed pretty daunting to me as I first read through the rules. But in all actuality, the game flows pretty efficiently and calmly. How? Player Reference cards! I absolutely looooove a game that includes good references cards for player turns because it makes it so much easier to check instead of digging through the entire rulebook for an answer. The Player Reference cards included in this game are well-written, clear, and concise, and that truly helps the game flow smoothly even though there are many elements to every turn. Another thing that I love about Stellar Leap is that you have so many strategic options. Everyone has their own secret objectives for end-game scoring to complete, but you also have to decide which Missions you’d like to accomplish to earn points as well. And do you want to risk many combats, or would you rather live harmoniously with your opponents? When adding planets/asteroids to the Galaxy, you also have to strategize where you should put them – do you want them close to you for easy access? Or do you want to keep them as far away from opponents as necessary? The modular board makes this a different game every time you play, so you can’t just pick a blanket strategy for every play.
The only thing that gives me pause with this game are the rules regarding Movement. You pay certain resources to move, but it depends on the ‘threat level’ of the destination as well as its location in your Solar System or a neighboring Solar System. It just was a little tricky to keep track of how many of each resource I had to pay to move, when moving more than just one planet away. That aspect takes a little bit more concentration, but other than that, the game gave me no issues.
Speaking of no issues, let’s touch on components. The player boards are dual-layered and they are awesome. The text is clear, the organization is logical, and they are just of a great quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the ‘meeples’ are cute and chunky, and the cardboard chits are good too. The space theme is definitely translated well in this game, and that adds to the immersion.
Overall, I would say Stellar Leap is stellar. (Ha, see what I did there?) The gameplay is engaging and the strategy is adaptable. Some of the rules seem a little tedious in some aspects, but for the most part, they are logical and easy to remember. Weird Giraffe Games is a publisher that has made a blip on our radar, and we are excited to see what other games they will put out in the future – we’ve been impressed so far! Purple Phoenix Games gives Stellar Leap an other-worldly 9 / 12.
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. We 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
Stellar Leap is, at its core, a worker placement game with elements of dice rolling, variable powers, and a modular ‘board’ sprinkled in. To setup, each player receives an individual player board and components, while the Galaxy is set up for use by all players. Players then add their home planet, as well as 1 population marker, to the Galaxy, and the game is ready to begin! Stellar Leap is played over a series of rounds in which players take turns performing any or all actions available to them.
To begin a turn, players first recover any Population markers that may have been exhausted on their last turn (more on that in a bit). Next, the player rolls the two dice, manipulating them with Special Dice Powers if desired, and resources are collected. The Galaxy is set up in columns, each column numbered 1-6, to which these dice rolls will correspond. If you have a Population marker on a planet in one of the columns that corresponds to your die roll (you have a Population in column 4 and you rolled a 4), you collect the resources provided by that planet. It is important to note that any player can receive resources from a die roll, even if it is not their turn!
The next phase of play involves three elements: Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions. There is no limit to the amount of Movement you can take on your turn, as long as you have resources available to perform that action. You may take two High Command Actions: Populate (add a new Population marker to a planet), Tax (collect any two resources), Discover (add planets/asteroids to the Galaxy), or Attack (fight an opponent located on the same planet as yourself). The same High Command Action could be performed twice on your turn, but you can only perform two per turn. The Division Actions can each be taken once per turn. Those actions are: Intelligence (complete a Mission), Mining (mine an asteroid for resources), or Labor (exhaust one of your populations on a planet to receive additional resources). Movement, High Command Actions, and Division Actions can be taken in any order on your turn – turns are not ‘set’ in a specific order and actions can be taken at your discretion. You also are not required to take every available action on your turn if you do not want to – your turns could be as long or as brief as you want them to be, depending on which actions you want to take.
At certain points throughout play, Events will be triggered. When an Event is triggered, draw the top Event card and resolve its effect. Some are resolved immediately, and some remain in play for the rest of the game. The game ends once six Events have been triggered. Players then tally up their Prestige points (earned by completing Missions, discovering planets, winning combats, and fulfilling their secret objectives), and the player with the highest Prestige is declared the winner!
So as you can see, there is quite a bit going on in Stellar Leap. Admittedly, it seemed pretty daunting to me as I first read through the rules. But in all actuality, the game flows pretty efficiently and calmly. How? Player Reference cards! I absolutely looooove a game that includes good references cards for player turns because it makes it so much easier to check instead of digging through the entire rulebook for an answer. The Player Reference cards included in this game are well-written, clear, and concise, and that truly helps the game flow smoothly even though there are many elements to every turn. Another thing that I love about Stellar Leap is that you have so many strategic options. Everyone has their own secret objectives for end-game scoring to complete, but you also have to decide which Missions you’d like to accomplish to earn points as well. And do you want to risk many combats, or would you rather live harmoniously with your opponents? When adding planets/asteroids to the Galaxy, you also have to strategize where you should put them – do you want them close to you for easy access? Or do you want to keep them as far away from opponents as necessary? The modular board makes this a different game every time you play, so you can’t just pick a blanket strategy for every play.
The only thing that gives me pause with this game are the rules regarding Movement. You pay certain resources to move, but it depends on the ‘threat level’ of the destination as well as its location in your Solar System or a neighboring Solar System. It just was a little tricky to keep track of how many of each resource I had to pay to move, when moving more than just one planet away. That aspect takes a little bit more concentration, but other than that, the game gave me no issues.
Speaking of no issues, let’s touch on components. The player boards are dual-layered and they are awesome. The text is clear, the organization is logical, and they are just of a great quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the ‘meeples’ are cute and chunky, and the cardboard chits are good too. The space theme is definitely translated well in this game, and that adds to the immersion.
Overall, I would say Stellar Leap is stellar. (Ha, see what I did there?) The gameplay is engaging and the strategy is adaptable. Some of the rules seem a little tedious in some aspects, but for the most part, they are logical and easy to remember. Weird Giraffe Games is a publisher that has made a blip on our radar, and we are excited to see what other games they will put out in the future – we’ve been impressed so far! Purple Phoenix Games gives Stellar Leap an other-worldly 9 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated On the Rocks in Tabletop Games
Sep 7, 2021
I have to come clean right at the top of this one. I have not really tried a whole lot of different cocktails in my life. I have been mostly a beer kind of guy. Not that I am opposed to cocktails at all – in fact, I have really enjoyed most of the drinks I have tried. That said, I wish I was more hip so I would know all the drink lingo and really know why someone would want their concoction shaken and not stirred. So, I went into this one thinking I would learn the secret finally. But I didn’t. I did have a good time playing it though.
“On the Rocks is a marble drafting, cocktail recipe fulfillment game for 1-4 players. It is NOT a drinking game.” – straight from the game’s BGG page. So what does that mean? Well, this one is a variation of the “I cut, you choose” style game, but HEAVILY themed around bartending and enhanced with additional fun mechanics. The winner is the player who amasses the most amount of money by the end of their shift.
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, consult the rulebook, as there are many steps. However, once setup, the game should look similar to the photo below. Choose the starting player and the mixology competition can begin!
On the Rocks is played over several rounds with each player completing specific steps. The first step is optional, and is Tip Cards. Players will accumulate Tip Cards throughout the game, and each one features a special ability that may be used at this time. The next step may also be optional, depending on if the active player had received a Complaint card previously. Complaints must be completed on this step and is pretty much a wrench thrown in the plans by competitors.
Once these (possibly) optional steps have been completed the active player then takes the 2d6 and Rolls them. This number determines how many ingredient marbles are to be pulled from the bag and added into play. For the cost of one ingredient marble, the active player may manipulate the rolled dice by flipping it to its opposite face. Next, the player will Draft the number of marbles from the bag they rolled in the previous step. From these drafted marbles the player will Mix them into the blue Jigger Bowls in the middle of the table one at a time, a la Mancala (oh that’s fun to say: A LA MANCALA!). Then the player will Select & Place a jigger of marbles from the table onto their player board. Placing the corresponding marbles onto the drinks is how recipes can be completed. If any ingredients were selected from the jigger but not placed, the player must then place the ingredients into the Extra Ingredients shot glasses on the top portion of the player board, to Save for later use.
When the ingredient marbles have been placed and saved, the player must then complete the Resolve step. Several ingredient marbles are “Premium” or “Spill” marbles. Premium marbles (golden) allow the player to select ANY two ingredients from the draw bag and the Premium marble is then discarded to the coaster in the middle of the table. The black Spill marble forces the active player to draw a Spill card from the deck and complete its action. It also during the Resolve step that the player may complete a recipe card by discarding the drink’s ingredients to the bag and flipping its recipe card face-down. If the entire order (all of the face-up recipe cards) is completed, the active player’s round ends and they notate this by placing one of the three lemon tokens on their player board. Some round end cleanup is performed, like drawing another set of 3 or 4 drink recipes for an order, and the player’s turn is over.
Once a player has completed their third order of drinks, they must indicate “Last Call” to the other players at the table. This informs the other players that they have one last turn to earn any extra money before the game ends. When the game has been finished, final scoring is performed and the winner is they who earned the most money throughout the night. The other players must immediately fix the winner a drink, or buy the winner a shot. Okay, those aren’t in the rulebook, but merely suggestions for the revised second edition…
Components. For those that follow our reviews, you know I am a sucker for games with great components, and this one definitely delivers for me. The aesthetics and art style are just perfect, the double-layer boards are always lovely, and the rubber jiggers are excellent. I cannot see anything that can be improved in terms of components, and I completely expected that because this was published by Pentree Games and 25th Century Games (one of my favorite publishers in the business). The game looks and feels deluxe, which is VERY satisfying.
I think that the Pittre duo of Michael and Christina really knocked it out of the park with this one. Wait, this is their first game design?? And it’s incredible? Okay okay, I’ll be keeping my eye on you two. On the Rocks is a light game with excellent table presence and some difficult choices presented. Now, the choices may be TOOOOOO difficult for some gamers, especially our AP-prone players. Carefully planning out each ingredient’s distribution into the jigger bowls can send them into a frenzy, so I have advised to choose one or two bowls they wish to buff and concentrate on hitting those with the marbles they want, and just randomly place the other ingredients. I know that is a big ask, but this game is supposed to take 45-90 minutes, not 45-90 hours. My other gripe about the game is the color-dependence of the ingredient marbles. I am sorry to all my colorblind friends out there, but I am unable to see how you might keep a possible 12 different marbles straight in your heads while simultaneously remembering the state of marbles in each jigger bowl. I hope I am completely wrong, as I do not suffer from colorblindness, and please do let me know if this is still playable for those gamers.
These gripes aside, everything else about the game is fabulous. I love being able to manipulate my dice rolls (yes, with a cost) to have ultimate control of the number of marbles pulled from the bag. That bag, however, takes control away immediately unless I draft a bunch of clear (wild) or golden marbles to affect my final placements. I also adore struggling to choose which recipes to concentrate on first, and weighing the possibilities of completing the higher value recipes, or blitzing the smaller ones first.
Oh, and the Spills cards? They can be real pains in the booty. These effectively give the active player the ability to completely botch another players’ plans by discarding their ingredient marbles from their player board. Not enough player interaction? How about negative Tip cards, which are earned by completing a recipe, that impede a competitor’s progress by making them complete the Tip card before being able to move on with their plans, or by limiting their marble selection to two instead of the entire bowl? Yeah, this has player interaction for sure.
Again, I like a good drink now and then, just as much as the next person. However, I have never been a bartender, and I do not plan on ever becoming one. I could not ever imagine having to compete with other bartenders for tip money either, especially if it is as brutally cutthroat as On the Rocks portrays it to be. I will, however, play a game where all that “fun” is diluted to dice, cards, and marbles. I was looking through my collection recently and noticed have embarrassingly few games with an adult beverage theme. If you are like me and require more games depicting fun with alcohol, then I strongly urge you to check out On the Rocks. I feel like I can finally graduate from Fuzzy Navels and Stone Sours just by playing this game and really upping my liquor acumen. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a delicious 5 / 6. It seems readily available for consumption, but please do not try to go drink for drink with this game. It’s not designed to be a drinking game… or is it?
“On the Rocks is a marble drafting, cocktail recipe fulfillment game for 1-4 players. It is NOT a drinking game.” – straight from the game’s BGG page. So what does that mean? Well, this one is a variation of the “I cut, you choose” style game, but HEAVILY themed around bartending and enhanced with additional fun mechanics. The winner is the player who amasses the most amount of money by the end of their shift.
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, consult the rulebook, as there are many steps. However, once setup, the game should look similar to the photo below. Choose the starting player and the mixology competition can begin!
On the Rocks is played over several rounds with each player completing specific steps. The first step is optional, and is Tip Cards. Players will accumulate Tip Cards throughout the game, and each one features a special ability that may be used at this time. The next step may also be optional, depending on if the active player had received a Complaint card previously. Complaints must be completed on this step and is pretty much a wrench thrown in the plans by competitors.
Once these (possibly) optional steps have been completed the active player then takes the 2d6 and Rolls them. This number determines how many ingredient marbles are to be pulled from the bag and added into play. For the cost of one ingredient marble, the active player may manipulate the rolled dice by flipping it to its opposite face. Next, the player will Draft the number of marbles from the bag they rolled in the previous step. From these drafted marbles the player will Mix them into the blue Jigger Bowls in the middle of the table one at a time, a la Mancala (oh that’s fun to say: A LA MANCALA!). Then the player will Select & Place a jigger of marbles from the table onto their player board. Placing the corresponding marbles onto the drinks is how recipes can be completed. If any ingredients were selected from the jigger but not placed, the player must then place the ingredients into the Extra Ingredients shot glasses on the top portion of the player board, to Save for later use.
When the ingredient marbles have been placed and saved, the player must then complete the Resolve step. Several ingredient marbles are “Premium” or “Spill” marbles. Premium marbles (golden) allow the player to select ANY two ingredients from the draw bag and the Premium marble is then discarded to the coaster in the middle of the table. The black Spill marble forces the active player to draw a Spill card from the deck and complete its action. It also during the Resolve step that the player may complete a recipe card by discarding the drink’s ingredients to the bag and flipping its recipe card face-down. If the entire order (all of the face-up recipe cards) is completed, the active player’s round ends and they notate this by placing one of the three lemon tokens on their player board. Some round end cleanup is performed, like drawing another set of 3 or 4 drink recipes for an order, and the player’s turn is over.
Once a player has completed their third order of drinks, they must indicate “Last Call” to the other players at the table. This informs the other players that they have one last turn to earn any extra money before the game ends. When the game has been finished, final scoring is performed and the winner is they who earned the most money throughout the night. The other players must immediately fix the winner a drink, or buy the winner a shot. Okay, those aren’t in the rulebook, but merely suggestions for the revised second edition…
Components. For those that follow our reviews, you know I am a sucker for games with great components, and this one definitely delivers for me. The aesthetics and art style are just perfect, the double-layer boards are always lovely, and the rubber jiggers are excellent. I cannot see anything that can be improved in terms of components, and I completely expected that because this was published by Pentree Games and 25th Century Games (one of my favorite publishers in the business). The game looks and feels deluxe, which is VERY satisfying.
I think that the Pittre duo of Michael and Christina really knocked it out of the park with this one. Wait, this is their first game design?? And it’s incredible? Okay okay, I’ll be keeping my eye on you two. On the Rocks is a light game with excellent table presence and some difficult choices presented. Now, the choices may be TOOOOOO difficult for some gamers, especially our AP-prone players. Carefully planning out each ingredient’s distribution into the jigger bowls can send them into a frenzy, so I have advised to choose one or two bowls they wish to buff and concentrate on hitting those with the marbles they want, and just randomly place the other ingredients. I know that is a big ask, but this game is supposed to take 45-90 minutes, not 45-90 hours. My other gripe about the game is the color-dependence of the ingredient marbles. I am sorry to all my colorblind friends out there, but I am unable to see how you might keep a possible 12 different marbles straight in your heads while simultaneously remembering the state of marbles in each jigger bowl. I hope I am completely wrong, as I do not suffer from colorblindness, and please do let me know if this is still playable for those gamers.
These gripes aside, everything else about the game is fabulous. I love being able to manipulate my dice rolls (yes, with a cost) to have ultimate control of the number of marbles pulled from the bag. That bag, however, takes control away immediately unless I draft a bunch of clear (wild) or golden marbles to affect my final placements. I also adore struggling to choose which recipes to concentrate on first, and weighing the possibilities of completing the higher value recipes, or blitzing the smaller ones first.
Oh, and the Spills cards? They can be real pains in the booty. These effectively give the active player the ability to completely botch another players’ plans by discarding their ingredient marbles from their player board. Not enough player interaction? How about negative Tip cards, which are earned by completing a recipe, that impede a competitor’s progress by making them complete the Tip card before being able to move on with their plans, or by limiting their marble selection to two instead of the entire bowl? Yeah, this has player interaction for sure.
Again, I like a good drink now and then, just as much as the next person. However, I have never been a bartender, and I do not plan on ever becoming one. I could not ever imagine having to compete with other bartenders for tip money either, especially if it is as brutally cutthroat as On the Rocks portrays it to be. I will, however, play a game where all that “fun” is diluted to dice, cards, and marbles. I was looking through my collection recently and noticed have embarrassingly few games with an adult beverage theme. If you are like me and require more games depicting fun with alcohol, then I strongly urge you to check out On the Rocks. I feel like I can finally graduate from Fuzzy Navels and Stone Sours just by playing this game and really upping my liquor acumen. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a delicious 5 / 6. It seems readily available for consumption, but please do not try to go drink for drink with this game. It’s not designed to be a drinking game… or is it?
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Small Islands in Tabletop Games
Oct 13, 2021
I have often wished to have been born in a different era of time. For me, I would have loved to have seen the birth of jazz in the US early 20th century. Or to witness the Renaissance first-hand. Another wish of mine was always to somehow discover something amazing. Like an island, or an unknown mountain range, or a new species of animal. That is so exciting to me, and I would have really loved to have just been around during these times. So along comes Small Islands, and my dreams have been woven into a board game about discovering new islands. That means the game is good, right?
Small Islands is a tile placement exploration game for one to four players. In it, players are explorers tasked with discovering resource-rich new islands upon which their clans may either exploit or inhabit. However, it’s each clan for themselves, and the players all need those precious resources. In the solo game, the player’s AI opponent is Alexis Allard, designer of the game. He has goal cards to be used and finishing point totals that the solo player will be attempting to beat during the course of the game.
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, the player claims their player color and assigns Alexis with his color. They take all the components for each player and places them on the table. The starting tiles (that feature flying seagulls) are placed on the table in any orientation that is legal for play: islands need to connect, and seas need to flow from one tile to the next, as seen below. The Landscape tiles are to be shuffled and placed within reach. The four ship tiles are displayed, with all ships on their gray side, save for the solo player’s chosen color. The Navigation tile is placed below the ship tiles, and the beginning three Landscape tiles are placed in a row beside it. The small stack of Objective cards are shuffled and placed nearby, with the player drawing one to begin. They also draw two Landscape to start. For solo play, one Alexis difficulty card is chosen, and his deck of Explore and Land cards is built accordingly. The Prestige (VP) tokens are (apparently when I play) just thrown on the table and gathered in a loose pile. The game may now begin!
Small Islands is played over four rounds, with several turns being played per round. The solo player begins each round with their turn. A turn is divided into three phases: Preparation, Exploration, Reward. The Preparation phase has the player populating the Navigation Tile with six Landscape tiles face-down as a draw stack. The player then draws two Objective cards to add to their one they are currently holding. From these three cards the player will choose one to become their current objective for the round, one to be saved for a future round, and one to be discarded back to the stack. These Objective cards provide a strategy to guide the player through the current round, and also setup future rounds for scoring purposes. Upon them are icons that will award the player with points for scoring islands containing specific combinations of resources.
During the Exploration phase in the solo game, the player takes their turn first, and then Alexis will take his. A typical Exploration phase has a player deciding if they will Explore a tile or Land a ship. To Explore a tile, the player chooses one of the face-up Landscape tiles from the market/offer row and, along with their two held tiles, choose one to add to the play area. These tiles may be rotated in any fashion, as long as they can be legally placed: island edges are to be extended, sea spaces connected, et al. It is also at this time the player may place one of their Bonus Tokens upon any tile on the play area. These Bonus Tokens are resource icons that cover up existing icons on a tile, or directly over another Bonus Token. A player would do this in order to affect the balance of icons on a given island for scoring purposes.
Should the Navigation tile be empty of Landscape tiles and the player wish, they may instead Land a ship, thus ending the Exploration phase. The player chooses any of the ship tiles, and places it legally on the play area (in a sea space, as shown below). Once the player ends the phase, the game progresses to the Reward phase.
After the player takes their turn during the Exploration phase, Alexis takes his turn. This is done by drawing an Expedition card from his stack and following its instructions. The Expedition card will show whether Alexis would like to Explore or Land, which Landscape tile he would like to draw, and where he would like to place it – in relation to where the last player tile was placed.
During the Reward phase, the player will place any of their clan houseeples they wish on any island upon which they have not placed a houseeple previously. Then, consulting their Objective card, score points for successfully satisfying the card’s requirements. For Alexis, the player will draw a new Expedition card from Alexis’s stack, note the icons present on the Mission area of the card, and place Alexis houseeples upon islands that satisfy its requirements.
The game continues in this fashion until the fourth round is complete. The player totals their Prestige points (VP) and if they score more than Alexis, they win! The player must then take a picture of their archipelago they built and send it to the designer directly and gloat to them about their massive victory. Or simply rest in the satisfaction of having played the game well. Whichever.
Components. This game has a lot of components, and they are mostly cardboard and houseeples. The cardstock and board are good quality, as I have come to expect from Lucky Duck Games, and the houseeples are all different shapes for each clan color. I find that a nice and unnecessary, but very cool, touch. The art in this one is simply amazing. I mean, look at these photos! Everything from the color scheme to the art style all mesh well and give a well-considered polish to a great theme.
Okay, I won’t even hide it – I LOOOOOOVE this game. I never really liked Carcassonne very much, but Small Islands gives a similar feel, but executes everything so much better. Even with the solo rules. There are so many options available at any one time, and having a random Alexis game each time you play is just so satisfying. I feel like I could keep this game forever and not play the same game twice. Ever. And I think that I would WANT to play this one forever. Yes, I think this is a solid fit for my collection indeed, and I can see it working for so many different gamer types.
Having Alexis constantly applying the pressure to maximize and strategize every turn is delicious, and having almost zero conflict with him as we both explore is welcome. You know when you start the game how many points Alexis will score at the end of the game, so having that knowledge really makes you consider all the options available. It just works on so many levels.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, but with some great decisions to be made, then I strongly urge you to check out Small Islands. I knew immediately that this was a game for me. It’s on the lighter side without being too simple, I get to build a thing and admire it at the end of the game, and I have an opponent who just wants to see me win because he designed the game! I’m in and out in less than an hour and feel content that I was able to have a great experience with a well-designed game. I cannot wait to introduce this to all my friends and family gamers so they can fall in love with it as well.
Small Islands is a tile placement exploration game for one to four players. In it, players are explorers tasked with discovering resource-rich new islands upon which their clans may either exploit or inhabit. However, it’s each clan for themselves, and the players all need those precious resources. In the solo game, the player’s AI opponent is Alexis Allard, designer of the game. He has goal cards to be used and finishing point totals that the solo player will be attempting to beat during the course of the game.
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, the player claims their player color and assigns Alexis with his color. They take all the components for each player and places them on the table. The starting tiles (that feature flying seagulls) are placed on the table in any orientation that is legal for play: islands need to connect, and seas need to flow from one tile to the next, as seen below. The Landscape tiles are to be shuffled and placed within reach. The four ship tiles are displayed, with all ships on their gray side, save for the solo player’s chosen color. The Navigation tile is placed below the ship tiles, and the beginning three Landscape tiles are placed in a row beside it. The small stack of Objective cards are shuffled and placed nearby, with the player drawing one to begin. They also draw two Landscape to start. For solo play, one Alexis difficulty card is chosen, and his deck of Explore and Land cards is built accordingly. The Prestige (VP) tokens are (apparently when I play) just thrown on the table and gathered in a loose pile. The game may now begin!
Small Islands is played over four rounds, with several turns being played per round. The solo player begins each round with their turn. A turn is divided into three phases: Preparation, Exploration, Reward. The Preparation phase has the player populating the Navigation Tile with six Landscape tiles face-down as a draw stack. The player then draws two Objective cards to add to their one they are currently holding. From these three cards the player will choose one to become their current objective for the round, one to be saved for a future round, and one to be discarded back to the stack. These Objective cards provide a strategy to guide the player through the current round, and also setup future rounds for scoring purposes. Upon them are icons that will award the player with points for scoring islands containing specific combinations of resources.
During the Exploration phase in the solo game, the player takes their turn first, and then Alexis will take his. A typical Exploration phase has a player deciding if they will Explore a tile or Land a ship. To Explore a tile, the player chooses one of the face-up Landscape tiles from the market/offer row and, along with their two held tiles, choose one to add to the play area. These tiles may be rotated in any fashion, as long as they can be legally placed: island edges are to be extended, sea spaces connected, et al. It is also at this time the player may place one of their Bonus Tokens upon any tile on the play area. These Bonus Tokens are resource icons that cover up existing icons on a tile, or directly over another Bonus Token. A player would do this in order to affect the balance of icons on a given island for scoring purposes.
Should the Navigation tile be empty of Landscape tiles and the player wish, they may instead Land a ship, thus ending the Exploration phase. The player chooses any of the ship tiles, and places it legally on the play area (in a sea space, as shown below). Once the player ends the phase, the game progresses to the Reward phase.
After the player takes their turn during the Exploration phase, Alexis takes his turn. This is done by drawing an Expedition card from his stack and following its instructions. The Expedition card will show whether Alexis would like to Explore or Land, which Landscape tile he would like to draw, and where he would like to place it – in relation to where the last player tile was placed.
During the Reward phase, the player will place any of their clan houseeples they wish on any island upon which they have not placed a houseeple previously. Then, consulting their Objective card, score points for successfully satisfying the card’s requirements. For Alexis, the player will draw a new Expedition card from Alexis’s stack, note the icons present on the Mission area of the card, and place Alexis houseeples upon islands that satisfy its requirements.
The game continues in this fashion until the fourth round is complete. The player totals their Prestige points (VP) and if they score more than Alexis, they win! The player must then take a picture of their archipelago they built and send it to the designer directly and gloat to them about their massive victory. Or simply rest in the satisfaction of having played the game well. Whichever.
Components. This game has a lot of components, and they are mostly cardboard and houseeples. The cardstock and board are good quality, as I have come to expect from Lucky Duck Games, and the houseeples are all different shapes for each clan color. I find that a nice and unnecessary, but very cool, touch. The art in this one is simply amazing. I mean, look at these photos! Everything from the color scheme to the art style all mesh well and give a well-considered polish to a great theme.
Okay, I won’t even hide it – I LOOOOOOVE this game. I never really liked Carcassonne very much, but Small Islands gives a similar feel, but executes everything so much better. Even with the solo rules. There are so many options available at any one time, and having a random Alexis game each time you play is just so satisfying. I feel like I could keep this game forever and not play the same game twice. Ever. And I think that I would WANT to play this one forever. Yes, I think this is a solid fit for my collection indeed, and I can see it working for so many different gamer types.
Having Alexis constantly applying the pressure to maximize and strategize every turn is delicious, and having almost zero conflict with him as we both explore is welcome. You know when you start the game how many points Alexis will score at the end of the game, so having that knowledge really makes you consider all the options available. It just works on so many levels.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, but with some great decisions to be made, then I strongly urge you to check out Small Islands. I knew immediately that this was a game for me. It’s on the lighter side without being too simple, I get to build a thing and admire it at the end of the game, and I have an opponent who just wants to see me win because he designed the game! I’m in and out in less than an hour and feel content that I was able to have a great experience with a well-designed game. I cannot wait to introduce this to all my friends and family gamers so they can fall in love with it as well.
Paul Kellett (118 KP) rated Shadows of Malice in Tabletop Games
May 8, 2019
Great framework for narrating an adventure (2 more)
Good solo game
Interesting mechanisms
A lot of fiddly tokens (1 more)
Slightly heavy rules
A different take on the adventure board game
Shadows of Malice is an interesting take on the adventure game. Aside from the introduction explaining that you are heroes on a quest to find and activate mystical light wells and defeat the demon and his shadows before they can break through from the shadow realm and capture the wells for evil, there is no fancy artwork, immersive flavour text or even the well known fantasy monsters.
Instead, you get plain cards with simple line art and either just an icon/dice modifier or a short line of text explaining the effect. These cards are items of armour, weapons or other loot, potions, skill masteries, fate effects or abilities. A selection of these make up your character. Again, there are no defined heroes, you can be whatever you fancy being.
When you encounter a monster you roll 3d6 against a chart which will define the creature's species and its strength. Creature types are things like "Avian" and "Reptilian" so you can imagine fighting a dinosaur, a giant eagle or whatever fantastic creature you desire.
This makes the game a great framework to roleplay in. You are never stuck encountering the same things again and again. On the minus side, if you don't have a good imagination, it boils down to just rolling dice and beating target numbers. If you want a game to give you a story to follow, SoM is not that game.
The rules are good, if a little heavy but after a game or two it should soon click and it's mostly straight forward. The designer has recently just uploaded a revised rulebook to BGG which streamlines a number of things.
SoM comes with 4 large landscape hex tiles plus a shadow realm tile and you can choose any number of tiles to arrange in any position around the shadow realm tile. Each tile is divided into a number of smaller hexes with varying terrain and locations printed on them. This is the world you will be exploring and, despite being tiny compared to other game boards, each tile adds about an hour to the play time.
Gameplay involves exploring the land fighting creatures, gaining loot, visiting cities to trade goods or mystic seers to buy potions while searching for the special light wells that you must take control of.
In between player turns, the shadows act. They begin confined to the shadow realm but as the rounds progress, barriers fall and the shadows are more likely to find a way out to manifest in the land. Once there they start searching for the light wells and it's game over if they get to them first .
This makes for a tense cat and mouse with your heroes racing to either get to a well or intercept the demons on route.
Instead, you get plain cards with simple line art and either just an icon/dice modifier or a short line of text explaining the effect. These cards are items of armour, weapons or other loot, potions, skill masteries, fate effects or abilities. A selection of these make up your character. Again, there are no defined heroes, you can be whatever you fancy being.
When you encounter a monster you roll 3d6 against a chart which will define the creature's species and its strength. Creature types are things like "Avian" and "Reptilian" so you can imagine fighting a dinosaur, a giant eagle or whatever fantastic creature you desire.
This makes the game a great framework to roleplay in. You are never stuck encountering the same things again and again. On the minus side, if you don't have a good imagination, it boils down to just rolling dice and beating target numbers. If you want a game to give you a story to follow, SoM is not that game.
The rules are good, if a little heavy but after a game or two it should soon click and it's mostly straight forward. The designer has recently just uploaded a revised rulebook to BGG which streamlines a number of things.
SoM comes with 4 large landscape hex tiles plus a shadow realm tile and you can choose any number of tiles to arrange in any position around the shadow realm tile. Each tile is divided into a number of smaller hexes with varying terrain and locations printed on them. This is the world you will be exploring and, despite being tiny compared to other game boards, each tile adds about an hour to the play time.
Gameplay involves exploring the land fighting creatures, gaining loot, visiting cities to trade goods or mystic seers to buy potions while searching for the special light wells that you must take control of.
In between player turns, the shadows act. They begin confined to the shadow realm but as the rounds progress, barriers fall and the shadows are more likely to find a way out to manifest in the land. Once there they start searching for the light wells and it's game over if they get to them first .
This makes for a tense cat and mouse with your heroes racing to either get to a well or intercept the demons on route.
Paul Kellett (118 KP) rated This War of Mine: The Board Game in Tabletop Games
May 27, 2019
Very immersive experience (4 more)
Great solo game
Stands out as a piece of art
Great teaching tool
Great storytelling game
Brutally hard (1 more)
Adult and disturbing depictions of war
Brutal Survival game
This War of Mine is a game of civilians struggling to survive in the middle of a war. It is harsh, brutal and contains scenes that some players might find distressing.
It is gritty, realistic and very hard. It's a remarkable game that really makes you think and can stand as a piece of art, capable of teaching about the harsh realities of war and humanity.
You play as a group of 3 (or 4) civilians trying to survive. You have to rebuild your shelter to try and barricade against the cold and other raiding groups.
A fully cooperative game, no player controls a single character but takes turns deciding what the group will do and resolving situations.
Split into phases, you spend the day building up your shelter, adding beds, workshops and other items that might ease your struggles.
You will try different combinations of things to try and work out the most efficient and vital components to build first. Depending on the whim of the various encounter and event cards as to how well these things will work.
The night phase is the main part of the game. You need to send people out to scavenge the nearby ruined buildings, post a guard to protect your shelter and try to get some rest. This is a fine balancing act and you will be forced to push the survivors to breaking point in order to do any of these things.
Scavenging brings danger from snipers, soldiers and other aggressive survivors trying to defend their property.
You pick one of 3 locations to investigate and build an encounter deck. As you explore, you reveal cards, find valuable resources, food, medicine, bandages, weapons and parts crucial to building better items in your shelter.
While scavenging, you will be told to reference numbered paragraphs in the Book of Scripts. This tells the story of what and who you find and it is this that brings home the grim reality of what you are doing.
You will have to make some terrible decisions - do you return home empty handed and risk one of your group dying from hunger or illness or do you steal the supplies you need from the old couple you found hiding in the ruined apartment?
This game is definitely not for everyone but I firmly believe that everyone should experience it at least once.
I borrowed a copy from someone in my game group and played a couple of short games before handing it back but I found myself thinking about it a lot afterwards and ended up buying it myself.
This War of Mine is definitely much more than just a boardgame. It is art. It is a lesson in humanity and the harsh reality of war.
It is gritty, realistic and very hard. It's a remarkable game that really makes you think and can stand as a piece of art, capable of teaching about the harsh realities of war and humanity.
You play as a group of 3 (or 4) civilians trying to survive. You have to rebuild your shelter to try and barricade against the cold and other raiding groups.
A fully cooperative game, no player controls a single character but takes turns deciding what the group will do and resolving situations.
Split into phases, you spend the day building up your shelter, adding beds, workshops and other items that might ease your struggles.
You will try different combinations of things to try and work out the most efficient and vital components to build first. Depending on the whim of the various encounter and event cards as to how well these things will work.
The night phase is the main part of the game. You need to send people out to scavenge the nearby ruined buildings, post a guard to protect your shelter and try to get some rest. This is a fine balancing act and you will be forced to push the survivors to breaking point in order to do any of these things.
Scavenging brings danger from snipers, soldiers and other aggressive survivors trying to defend their property.
You pick one of 3 locations to investigate and build an encounter deck. As you explore, you reveal cards, find valuable resources, food, medicine, bandages, weapons and parts crucial to building better items in your shelter.
While scavenging, you will be told to reference numbered paragraphs in the Book of Scripts. This tells the story of what and who you find and it is this that brings home the grim reality of what you are doing.
You will have to make some terrible decisions - do you return home empty handed and risk one of your group dying from hunger or illness or do you steal the supplies you need from the old couple you found hiding in the ruined apartment?
This game is definitely not for everyone but I firmly believe that everyone should experience it at least once.
I borrowed a copy from someone in my game group and played a couple of short games before handing it back but I found myself thinking about it a lot afterwards and ended up buying it myself.
This War of Mine is definitely much more than just a boardgame. It is art. It is a lesson in humanity and the harsh reality of war.
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