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Limbo is a puzzle-platform video game developed by independent studio Playdead. The game was...
Inside Limbo
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Com-Pet-Ability in Tabletop Games
Apr 14, 2020
I have two dogs: a Yorkshire Terrier and a Powderpuff Chinese Crested. I love them dearly, but I just cannot see myself having any more 4-legged mammal pets. We promised our son a pet fish when we move (or a whole aquarium community if my wife will allow), but other than that, we will NOT be adding more pets to our household. So when I heard about a game that requires you to collect cards so that you have five pets to take home I immediate gave the deer-in-headlights look. No, I would not have a pet deer.
ComPetAbility is a card game with two play modes: a mode for players aged 7+ and one for younger gamers. We will be taking a look at the game for older gamers. In this game mode a player is attempting to amass five pets that will be accepting of each other and not cause heck in your house.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of the game for the purposes of this review. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, shuffle the large deck of cards and deal five to each player. Put the rest of the cards in the middle of the table as a draw pile, flip one over for the “shed” pile. You are now setup and ready to go!
The goal of the game is to begin a turn with five compatible pets (com-pet-able). This is achieved by having five cards whose three icons are satisfied with each other. For instance, turtles are compatible with every other type of animal, so the three icons on turtle cards are all green – compatible with all dogs, cats, and birds. Some dogs are compatible with other dogs but not cats, and some cats are compatible with other cats or kittens but not birds.
So on a turn, a player will choose a card to draw from either the draw pile or the shed pile to add to their hand. A turn ends when that player sheds (discards) a card to the shed pile. Turns continue in this fashion until a player begins their turn with five compatible animals. Players will then add up the points in their hands (the numbers in the upper right corner of the cards) of compatible animals. The player that ended the game with a completed set of five animal pets will score a bonus 10 points to add to their total. Whomever scores the highest is the winner of ComPetAbility!
Components. This is a stack of cards in a tin can. Yep, a tin can with a plastic lid. It’s very novel and lovely, but heck for someone who cares about how the games look and fit on their shelves. The game cards are good quality, which is handy because the game mode aimed at smaller children have them handling the cards a lot too so they have to be able to withstand that abuse. The art is cute, and the layout is easy to understand – even for young ones. No issues with the components from us (aside from the can not being a box, wink wink).
So here’s the thing with this one. We liked it. It is a great idea and is executed well. I don’t think I will pull this one out with adult gamers anymore though. The children’s mode of this game is what I hold dear, as my three-year-old LOVES it and “wins” every time. I have just played this one too many times where a player can be dealt either a winning hand or four of the five cards right away. I’m no designer, so I don’t know how to mitigate that besides chalking it up to “luck of the draw.” But that’s a negative for me, and perhaps I shouldn’t let it detract from an otherwise enjoyable game, but it’s what comes to mind every time I see on the shelf as a possibility for Game Night. However, if you like the theme, the style, and ease of play between two different modes then check it out. It can be used as a light filler, a gateway game, or children’s game. So for the pure flexibility of this one, Purple Phoenix Games gives it a canned (hehe) 13 / 18. The turtles are really cute, but the hybrid animals are kinda weird-lookin’.
ComPetAbility is a card game with two play modes: a mode for players aged 7+ and one for younger gamers. We will be taking a look at the game for older gamers. In this game mode a player is attempting to amass five pets that will be accepting of each other and not cause heck in your house.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of the game for the purposes of this review. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, shuffle the large deck of cards and deal five to each player. Put the rest of the cards in the middle of the table as a draw pile, flip one over for the “shed” pile. You are now setup and ready to go!
The goal of the game is to begin a turn with five compatible pets (com-pet-able). This is achieved by having five cards whose three icons are satisfied with each other. For instance, turtles are compatible with every other type of animal, so the three icons on turtle cards are all green – compatible with all dogs, cats, and birds. Some dogs are compatible with other dogs but not cats, and some cats are compatible with other cats or kittens but not birds.
So on a turn, a player will choose a card to draw from either the draw pile or the shed pile to add to their hand. A turn ends when that player sheds (discards) a card to the shed pile. Turns continue in this fashion until a player begins their turn with five compatible animals. Players will then add up the points in their hands (the numbers in the upper right corner of the cards) of compatible animals. The player that ended the game with a completed set of five animal pets will score a bonus 10 points to add to their total. Whomever scores the highest is the winner of ComPetAbility!
Components. This is a stack of cards in a tin can. Yep, a tin can with a plastic lid. It’s very novel and lovely, but heck for someone who cares about how the games look and fit on their shelves. The game cards are good quality, which is handy because the game mode aimed at smaller children have them handling the cards a lot too so they have to be able to withstand that abuse. The art is cute, and the layout is easy to understand – even for young ones. No issues with the components from us (aside from the can not being a box, wink wink).
So here’s the thing with this one. We liked it. It is a great idea and is executed well. I don’t think I will pull this one out with adult gamers anymore though. The children’s mode of this game is what I hold dear, as my three-year-old LOVES it and “wins” every time. I have just played this one too many times where a player can be dealt either a winning hand or four of the five cards right away. I’m no designer, so I don’t know how to mitigate that besides chalking it up to “luck of the draw.” But that’s a negative for me, and perhaps I shouldn’t let it detract from an otherwise enjoyable game, but it’s what comes to mind every time I see on the shelf as a possibility for Game Night. However, if you like the theme, the style, and ease of play between two different modes then check it out. It can be used as a light filler, a gateway game, or children’s game. So for the pure flexibility of this one, Purple Phoenix Games gives it a canned (hehe) 13 / 18. The turtles are really cute, but the hybrid animals are kinda weird-lookin’.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Revolution! in Tabletop Games
Oct 31, 2019
My wife is not able to play games with me as much as either of us would like. We have kids, dogs, and other life responsibilities that limit our gaming time together. However, if there ever was a game that she loves to play and absolutely has figured out, it’s Revolution! by Steve Jackson Games (yes, the Munchkin Man). So that’s why I am including her guest score on this review. She seems to like it an awful lot.
Revolution! is an area control bidding game of influencing kingdom inhabitants to jockey for a superior position of power to win the game. The key is influencing the right people at the right time to gain resources, influence in the kingdom, and support (VPs).
DISCLAIMER – We are using the expansion “The Palace” along with our review as it add components to play with up to 6 people, and our game nights tend toward 6 players more than 4. The base game alone plays up to 4 players and uses 4 fewer characters to influence. Should we add in the “Anarchy” expansion we will either add that information here or link to the review from here. -T
To setup, place the main kingdom board on the table that outlines the different districts in which the players will be vying for majority influence. Each player chooses a color and receives all color-matched components: player reference screen, cubes, disc, and one bid board (which are all identical). Each player will also receive one Force token (red fist), Blackmail token (black envelope), and three Gold tokens (gold coins). You are now ready to begin.
Turns are taken simultaneously. Players will place tokens on their bid boards to denote which type of influence they plan to exert on an inhabitant and how many of each. For instance, you may place all your coins on the General and hope you win. Or maybe you want to place a coin and a blackmail on the Printer. Once all players have placed their influence on their boards, the privacy screens are lifted and each kingdom character is compared individually, one by one. Did your three Coins on the General fly, or did someone add a Blackmail token and prevail? Wait, one Blackmail wins? Yes, in Revolution! the gold Coins are the lowest value influence. So one Blackmail alone is enough to win against ANY NUMBER of Coins. Now, one Blackmail alone is defeated by one Blackmail and one Coin, but simply one Force would beat both of those attempts, as Force is the most powerful token type, but not all inhabitants are affected by Force. Take your General for example. Their color on the bid board is red, meaning that a red token will have no effect here. Once the winners of each kingdom person have been determined, the winners receive the benefits offered by each character. I will not go into detail the benefits each character gives you, but for an example (shown below on the play pic), the General awards the winner with one Support (VP), one Force (fist token), and you may place an influence cube in the Fortress. Before the next turn, each player will check their token collection and anyone who has less than five tokens will receive a number of Coins to bring their collection to five tokens.
As the bidding phase gains you resources for future rounds, or instant Support, etc, the second half of a round is influencing the different districts within the kingdom. You do this placing your won cubes on any space within a specific district to attempt majority control of it. At the end of the game, the players with majority control of each district will receive Support for the districts that correspond with what is printed on the board. These are VERY important as you can amass tons of Support from district majorities. The game continues in this fashion for a number of rounds until all influence spaces on the main kingdom board are full. Players then check for majority in each district and apply Support on the VP track. The player with the most Support at the end of the game is the winner! (It will be Kristin.)
Components. This is a heavy game, not in complexity, but in component weight. The boards are all of great quality, the cardboard tokens are nice, the wooden cubes are typical quality. The art on the game is good, if dated, but good. I have no complaints about the components.
As you can see from our scores at the top, we REALLY like this game. As one of the highest ranking games on BGG from Steve Jackson Games, this one delivers a great time of double thinking, bluffing your neighbors, and certainly rewards players for their great strategy. We used to play this game ALL THE TIME until it became futile playing against my wife. She is that good. At one point I thought I had her strategy figured out, but I have since lost it. However, I am always eager to play this and try again. One of these days I will claim victory. Revolution! could definitely stand an update, or re-theme, or something along with a reprint to bring it into more homes, but I am glad I have a copy (with all the expansions *shoulder brush*) and it will not be leaving my collection any time soon. That’s a mark of a great game, and that’s partly why Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a close-to-a-Golden-Feather-Award-recipient 23 / 24. If you see one in the wild, pick it up!
Revolution! is an area control bidding game of influencing kingdom inhabitants to jockey for a superior position of power to win the game. The key is influencing the right people at the right time to gain resources, influence in the kingdom, and support (VPs).
DISCLAIMER – We are using the expansion “The Palace” along with our review as it add components to play with up to 6 people, and our game nights tend toward 6 players more than 4. The base game alone plays up to 4 players and uses 4 fewer characters to influence. Should we add in the “Anarchy” expansion we will either add that information here or link to the review from here. -T
To setup, place the main kingdom board on the table that outlines the different districts in which the players will be vying for majority influence. Each player chooses a color and receives all color-matched components: player reference screen, cubes, disc, and one bid board (which are all identical). Each player will also receive one Force token (red fist), Blackmail token (black envelope), and three Gold tokens (gold coins). You are now ready to begin.
Turns are taken simultaneously. Players will place tokens on their bid boards to denote which type of influence they plan to exert on an inhabitant and how many of each. For instance, you may place all your coins on the General and hope you win. Or maybe you want to place a coin and a blackmail on the Printer. Once all players have placed their influence on their boards, the privacy screens are lifted and each kingdom character is compared individually, one by one. Did your three Coins on the General fly, or did someone add a Blackmail token and prevail? Wait, one Blackmail wins? Yes, in Revolution! the gold Coins are the lowest value influence. So one Blackmail alone is enough to win against ANY NUMBER of Coins. Now, one Blackmail alone is defeated by one Blackmail and one Coin, but simply one Force would beat both of those attempts, as Force is the most powerful token type, but not all inhabitants are affected by Force. Take your General for example. Their color on the bid board is red, meaning that a red token will have no effect here. Once the winners of each kingdom person have been determined, the winners receive the benefits offered by each character. I will not go into detail the benefits each character gives you, but for an example (shown below on the play pic), the General awards the winner with one Support (VP), one Force (fist token), and you may place an influence cube in the Fortress. Before the next turn, each player will check their token collection and anyone who has less than five tokens will receive a number of Coins to bring their collection to five tokens.
As the bidding phase gains you resources for future rounds, or instant Support, etc, the second half of a round is influencing the different districts within the kingdom. You do this placing your won cubes on any space within a specific district to attempt majority control of it. At the end of the game, the players with majority control of each district will receive Support for the districts that correspond with what is printed on the board. These are VERY important as you can amass tons of Support from district majorities. The game continues in this fashion for a number of rounds until all influence spaces on the main kingdom board are full. Players then check for majority in each district and apply Support on the VP track. The player with the most Support at the end of the game is the winner! (It will be Kristin.)
Components. This is a heavy game, not in complexity, but in component weight. The boards are all of great quality, the cardboard tokens are nice, the wooden cubes are typical quality. The art on the game is good, if dated, but good. I have no complaints about the components.
As you can see from our scores at the top, we REALLY like this game. As one of the highest ranking games on BGG from Steve Jackson Games, this one delivers a great time of double thinking, bluffing your neighbors, and certainly rewards players for their great strategy. We used to play this game ALL THE TIME until it became futile playing against my wife. She is that good. At one point I thought I had her strategy figured out, but I have since lost it. However, I am always eager to play this and try again. One of these days I will claim victory. Revolution! could definitely stand an update, or re-theme, or something along with a reprint to bring it into more homes, but I am glad I have a copy (with all the expansions *shoulder brush*) and it will not be leaving my collection any time soon. That’s a mark of a great game, and that’s partly why Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a close-to-a-Golden-Feather-Award-recipient 23 / 24. If you see one in the wild, pick it up!
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 Quad City Killers in Tabletop Games
Jan 30, 2021
So I am going to cut right to the chase here. I am from the Quad Cities, the area of Iowa and Illinois where the Mississippi River flows East-West instead of its normal North-South. Admittedly, the name given to the area is the Greater Quad City Area and includes around 18 actual towns and cities. I have a love for my hometown and defend it to all who think we are just cornfields and unexciting. That said, when I saw a game was being produced about serial killers roaming my own stomping grounds, I knew I had to preview it.
Quad City Killers (or QCK) is a competitive game of moving around a map and eliminating points of interest by using resources from hand. Or, in actual gamespeak, stalking the streets of the QC murdering prey by using weapons, modifiers, and scenario cards to adjust the winds of chance for success.
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 ending March 5, 2021, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup place the large map (an actual map that you would find in your grandparents’ Oldsmobile) on the table. Shuffle the Prey deck and the Resources deck separately and place them in their spots on the map. Place the Heat tokens on the lowest space in each city. Keep the three dice nearby for all players’ use. Each player will choose a serial killer profile mat, a color of skull mover token, and Dexterity token to track progress. Each player will also draw five Resource cards from the deck and one Prey card to place on the board in a city along with their skull mover token. The game may now begin!
The first thing each player will do on their turn is perform a Hunt action by drawing and placing on the map the top card of the Prey deck. Most Prey are color-coded to be placed in a matching city, but some are not and may be placed in any city on the map. Next, the player may perform any three actions from the following: Hunt, Travel, Attack, Scenario, Discard.
Hunt works the same as the action performed at the beginning of each turn: draw a Prey card and place it on the board. In order to Travel to a new city the player will roll the dice. For a value of 1+ the player may travel to any city within their current state. For a value of 2+ the player may cross the Old Man to the other side (preferably using the half-finished under-construction new I-74 bridge). A player may play a Scenario card from their hand, and if it shows the Action icon they will spend one of their three actions to play and resolve it. A player may also choose to Discard two cards from their hand and replace them with cards drawn from the Resource deck for an action.
The game would not be named Quad City Killers if killing was not involved somehow. As the final option of action to be taken on a turn a player may choose to Attack a Prey card in the same city in which the player’s token resides. To Attack, the player will consult the Prey card’s printed defense value for their target number. The player will then combine any Resource cards they may have in hand with their current Dexterity score (tracked on their player mat) and the roll of the three dice. If the end result matches or exceeds the Prey’s defense value the Prey is eliminated. The player collects the Prey card for a trophy and for its Notoriety value (victory points) at game end.
Resource cards come in different flavors: Weapons, Scenarios, Modifiers, and Ego. Weapon cards are just that: weapons. They may be used once for an attempted kill and then are discarded. Scenarios may mess with opponent tactics, allow players to move Prey cards to different cities, or other various activities. Modifiers may also adjust the current Advantage enjoyed by the player or be played on a Prey card to lower its defense value. Ego cards (and also some Weapon cards) will have an M.O. icon on them and may be placed directly on the player mat. These M.O. cards offer a once-per-turn advantage for the player and are very powerful.
The game continues in this fashion of taking turns moving around the map, hunting prey and killing them, and using Resources to adjust the difficulty of the murder. Once a player has increased their Dexterity token to the end of the track the game ends and the players count up Notoriety values (VP) of all slain Prey cards to arrive at the greatest serial killer the Quad Cities has ever seen (which, being from the QC would be saying something – I don’t remember ANY serial killers here).
Components. Okay, this was a super cool game to open up in the mail. Inside the mailer box was this strange Evidence bag. I have never seen an Evidence bag in my life so I wasn’t quite sure what was inside. But when I opened it and saw it was the components for the game I immediately smiled at how cool that was to include. It certainly made an impression. Now, please remember that this is a prototype copy of the game, and the finished version will have slightly different and improved components. That said, what we were provided is very close to final quality (and better than some games I have in my collection!). The cards are all fine, the dice are dice, and the tokens are well-designed and interesting. The best component, for me, is the excellent map of the QCA. It folds/unfolds like an old map would (prior to GPS) and has my hometown right on it! Luckily I live in a suburb(?) of the Metropolitan QCA so my house is nowhere to be found on the map, but it is very strange and exciting to play a game on a map of your home.
The game as a whole is pretty good. Though the estimated time to finish the game is quoted at 90-180 minutes (and maybe with the full compliment of players), my plays with my wife were well under an hour each time. We both enjoyed the game quite a bit once we got over the whole premise of it. The theme is obviously dark and macabre, but in the end it is still just a game.
I felt very engaged for every second of the game as I watched my wife nail roll after roll during her Attack actions while I fail to manage even a roll of 2+. Yes, I am unable to roll 2+ on THREE DICE. My issues aside, the dice really do add a layer of chance (obv) that all the accounting and cardplay just will not cover. I like that. I like chance in my games, even when it goes against me. I also enjoyed having five actions from which to choose three on my turn, but I could also use the same action all three times if I wished. More options is usually good, and having more than one obvious route or strategy is a huge bonus for me.
All in all I really did enjoy this game quite a bit. Again, the theme may be off-putting for some, and I will not play this game with my children until they are probably older than the suggested 13+ but I can definitely see myself breaking this out with a group of adults who are itching for something completely different from what they are accustomed to playing. If you are like me and need something just absolutely jarring in your collection, I urge you to take a look at Quad City Killers, on Kickstarter now until March 5, 2021. Just stay out of Milan (pronounced MY-lin) and we will be fine.
Quad City Killers (or QCK) is a competitive game of moving around a map and eliminating points of interest by using resources from hand. Or, in actual gamespeak, stalking the streets of the QC murdering prey by using weapons, modifiers, and scenario cards to adjust the winds of chance for success.
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 ending March 5, 2021, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup place the large map (an actual map that you would find in your grandparents’ Oldsmobile) on the table. Shuffle the Prey deck and the Resources deck separately and place them in their spots on the map. Place the Heat tokens on the lowest space in each city. Keep the three dice nearby for all players’ use. Each player will choose a serial killer profile mat, a color of skull mover token, and Dexterity token to track progress. Each player will also draw five Resource cards from the deck and one Prey card to place on the board in a city along with their skull mover token. The game may now begin!
The first thing each player will do on their turn is perform a Hunt action by drawing and placing on the map the top card of the Prey deck. Most Prey are color-coded to be placed in a matching city, but some are not and may be placed in any city on the map. Next, the player may perform any three actions from the following: Hunt, Travel, Attack, Scenario, Discard.
Hunt works the same as the action performed at the beginning of each turn: draw a Prey card and place it on the board. In order to Travel to a new city the player will roll the dice. For a value of 1+ the player may travel to any city within their current state. For a value of 2+ the player may cross the Old Man to the other side (preferably using the half-finished under-construction new I-74 bridge). A player may play a Scenario card from their hand, and if it shows the Action icon they will spend one of their three actions to play and resolve it. A player may also choose to Discard two cards from their hand and replace them with cards drawn from the Resource deck for an action.
The game would not be named Quad City Killers if killing was not involved somehow. As the final option of action to be taken on a turn a player may choose to Attack a Prey card in the same city in which the player’s token resides. To Attack, the player will consult the Prey card’s printed defense value for their target number. The player will then combine any Resource cards they may have in hand with their current Dexterity score (tracked on their player mat) and the roll of the three dice. If the end result matches or exceeds the Prey’s defense value the Prey is eliminated. The player collects the Prey card for a trophy and for its Notoriety value (victory points) at game end.
Resource cards come in different flavors: Weapons, Scenarios, Modifiers, and Ego. Weapon cards are just that: weapons. They may be used once for an attempted kill and then are discarded. Scenarios may mess with opponent tactics, allow players to move Prey cards to different cities, or other various activities. Modifiers may also adjust the current Advantage enjoyed by the player or be played on a Prey card to lower its defense value. Ego cards (and also some Weapon cards) will have an M.O. icon on them and may be placed directly on the player mat. These M.O. cards offer a once-per-turn advantage for the player and are very powerful.
The game continues in this fashion of taking turns moving around the map, hunting prey and killing them, and using Resources to adjust the difficulty of the murder. Once a player has increased their Dexterity token to the end of the track the game ends and the players count up Notoriety values (VP) of all slain Prey cards to arrive at the greatest serial killer the Quad Cities has ever seen (which, being from the QC would be saying something – I don’t remember ANY serial killers here).
Components. Okay, this was a super cool game to open up in the mail. Inside the mailer box was this strange Evidence bag. I have never seen an Evidence bag in my life so I wasn’t quite sure what was inside. But when I opened it and saw it was the components for the game I immediately smiled at how cool that was to include. It certainly made an impression. Now, please remember that this is a prototype copy of the game, and the finished version will have slightly different and improved components. That said, what we were provided is very close to final quality (and better than some games I have in my collection!). The cards are all fine, the dice are dice, and the tokens are well-designed and interesting. The best component, for me, is the excellent map of the QCA. It folds/unfolds like an old map would (prior to GPS) and has my hometown right on it! Luckily I live in a suburb(?) of the Metropolitan QCA so my house is nowhere to be found on the map, but it is very strange and exciting to play a game on a map of your home.
The game as a whole is pretty good. Though the estimated time to finish the game is quoted at 90-180 minutes (and maybe with the full compliment of players), my plays with my wife were well under an hour each time. We both enjoyed the game quite a bit once we got over the whole premise of it. The theme is obviously dark and macabre, but in the end it is still just a game.
I felt very engaged for every second of the game as I watched my wife nail roll after roll during her Attack actions while I fail to manage even a roll of 2+. Yes, I am unable to roll 2+ on THREE DICE. My issues aside, the dice really do add a layer of chance (obv) that all the accounting and cardplay just will not cover. I like that. I like chance in my games, even when it goes against me. I also enjoyed having five actions from which to choose three on my turn, but I could also use the same action all three times if I wished. More options is usually good, and having more than one obvious route or strategy is a huge bonus for me.
All in all I really did enjoy this game quite a bit. Again, the theme may be off-putting for some, and I will not play this game with my children until they are probably older than the suggested 13+ but I can definitely see myself breaking this out with a group of adults who are itching for something completely different from what they are accustomed to playing. If you are like me and need something just absolutely jarring in your collection, I urge you to take a look at Quad City Killers, on Kickstarter now until March 5, 2021. Just stay out of Milan (pronounced MY-lin) and we will be fine.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated A Battle of Onin in Tabletop Games
Feb 9, 2021
I am a big fan of Asian culture and board game theming. Now, I am not at all versed in Anime, nor am I an aficionado. I just enjoy Asian people, history, cultures, food, and board game themes. That said, when I learned of A Battle for Onin I knew I wanted to take a look at it, being as it was touted as familiar mechanics with an Asian theme. So how does it play?
A Battle for Onin is a trick-taking card game where players will be using Shoguns, Ninjas, Samurai, and Monks as suits and each suit will have differing levels of hierarchy. The first player to earn 35 total influence (VP) will claim victory.
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 shuffle the deck of cards and deal each player 13 cards. The dealer then flips the top card of the deck and becomes the Ruling Class (trump) for the hand. The game is now setup and ready to begin!\
After the Ruling Class has been revealed, the player left of the dealer will make a bid for how many Conscriptions (tricks) they believe they will take in the round, with a minimum bid of 3 tricks for all players. Each other player will do the same until the leading player’s turn comes back around. That player then proceeds to play cards from hand in attempt to win tricks. Like in most trick-taking games player will need to follow the suit that was led (or flipped at the beginning of the round). A twist here is that trump may not be led until it has been used to win a trick previously within the round.
As mentioned earlier, each suit has a hierarchy of power, where Bronze is the lowest in power increasing to Silver, then to Gold, and finally to Jade. Within these divisions are yet three more classifications of power: one sphere (lowest) to three spheres (most powerful). In addition still is one card from each suit whose background is orange in color and features one large sphere. These are the Legendary cards, and the most powerful of each suit. Legendary cards may be used as the highest-ranking card in their suit, or as a Ruling Class card. When played as Ruling Class (trump) the hierarchy of Legendary cards are as follows: Monk (lowest), Samurai, Ninja, Shogun (most powerful).
Play continues with players using their cards to win Conscriptions (tricks) and meet their bid. Should a player meet their bid exactly then they score Influence (VP) for their tricks won. Should a player win more tricks than bid earlier, they still score Influence for the tricks won, but those tricks in excess of the bid amount are scored also as Corruption. When a player meets seven Corruption they immediately lose 10 Influence and the Corruption counter resets for that player. If, by chance, a player does not meet the mandatory bid of three tricks, their Influence is lowered by one point. However, should a player bid higher than the minimum of three but not meet that bid their score will be reduced by the amount of the bid for the round (example: a player bids seven tricks but earns only five. They reduce their Influence by seven points – ouch).
Once scores are tallied at the end of each round, a winner may be announced if they score at least 35 points. If no winner is crowned this round, a new dealer is assumed and another round setup as at the start of the game.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game and this copy is actually hand-made by the good people at Guise Gaming. Each card in this copy is laminated and the game box is HAND PAINTED. I have never received a hand painted box before, and it is certainly appreciated. So aside from the non-manufactured components, the art is quite good on the cards. I know some players will have issues with the backgrounds seeming plain, but I quite appreciate it so that I can concentrate on the game and not be overly distracted by what may be happening in the backgrounds.
Gameplay is good, if not a bit confusing at first. With four different suits containing essentially the standard 13 cards per suit it should be an easy no-brainer to keep things squared away. However, I found that having the rule booklet open to the page detailing the hierarchy of sphere color/material was very handy for other players. The Legendary cards are easy to distinguish because they look cool and different from all the other cards. I really know nothing about any Asian language, so the characters (or letters/words) depicted on the cards are of no help to me trying to distinguish power levels.
That said, when contacted by the publisher about A Battle of Onin, they mentioned that other people were calling it a theming of Spades. While I can understand this simplification, what I have yet to mention is that the game also comes with a bevvy of optional scoring rules and a welcoming message to include any sort of house rules deemed enjoyable. Spades does not do that, to my knowledge. While the vanilla gameplay is very similar to Spades, A Battle of Onin using any of these optional scoring modes certainly adds layers of complexity that may be daunting to use at first, but may attract more hardcore gamers.
All in all I am so glad I was able to try A Battle of Onin. Once the suits and power levels are learned, the game is quite snappy and enjoyable. The art is beautiful, and I applaud the use of orange background for the Legendary cards. If you are looking for a different spin on Spades I urge you to take a look at A Battle of Onin. It might surprise you with the varying levels of difficulty found within the optional scoring rules, and a bit more intrigue than the classic game upon which it is based. Personally, my D&D Monk might argue that he is far superior to any Shogun, but also he just kicked in a door that contained a room full of vampires. So there’s that.
A Battle for Onin is a trick-taking card game where players will be using Shoguns, Ninjas, Samurai, and Monks as suits and each suit will have differing levels of hierarchy. The first player to earn 35 total influence (VP) will claim victory.
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 shuffle the deck of cards and deal each player 13 cards. The dealer then flips the top card of the deck and becomes the Ruling Class (trump) for the hand. The game is now setup and ready to begin!\
After the Ruling Class has been revealed, the player left of the dealer will make a bid for how many Conscriptions (tricks) they believe they will take in the round, with a minimum bid of 3 tricks for all players. Each other player will do the same until the leading player’s turn comes back around. That player then proceeds to play cards from hand in attempt to win tricks. Like in most trick-taking games player will need to follow the suit that was led (or flipped at the beginning of the round). A twist here is that trump may not be led until it has been used to win a trick previously within the round.
As mentioned earlier, each suit has a hierarchy of power, where Bronze is the lowest in power increasing to Silver, then to Gold, and finally to Jade. Within these divisions are yet three more classifications of power: one sphere (lowest) to three spheres (most powerful). In addition still is one card from each suit whose background is orange in color and features one large sphere. These are the Legendary cards, and the most powerful of each suit. Legendary cards may be used as the highest-ranking card in their suit, or as a Ruling Class card. When played as Ruling Class (trump) the hierarchy of Legendary cards are as follows: Monk (lowest), Samurai, Ninja, Shogun (most powerful).
Play continues with players using their cards to win Conscriptions (tricks) and meet their bid. Should a player meet their bid exactly then they score Influence (VP) for their tricks won. Should a player win more tricks than bid earlier, they still score Influence for the tricks won, but those tricks in excess of the bid amount are scored also as Corruption. When a player meets seven Corruption they immediately lose 10 Influence and the Corruption counter resets for that player. If, by chance, a player does not meet the mandatory bid of three tricks, their Influence is lowered by one point. However, should a player bid higher than the minimum of three but not meet that bid their score will be reduced by the amount of the bid for the round (example: a player bids seven tricks but earns only five. They reduce their Influence by seven points – ouch).
Once scores are tallied at the end of each round, a winner may be announced if they score at least 35 points. If no winner is crowned this round, a new dealer is assumed and another round setup as at the start of the game.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game and this copy is actually hand-made by the good people at Guise Gaming. Each card in this copy is laminated and the game box is HAND PAINTED. I have never received a hand painted box before, and it is certainly appreciated. So aside from the non-manufactured components, the art is quite good on the cards. I know some players will have issues with the backgrounds seeming plain, but I quite appreciate it so that I can concentrate on the game and not be overly distracted by what may be happening in the backgrounds.
Gameplay is good, if not a bit confusing at first. With four different suits containing essentially the standard 13 cards per suit it should be an easy no-brainer to keep things squared away. However, I found that having the rule booklet open to the page detailing the hierarchy of sphere color/material was very handy for other players. The Legendary cards are easy to distinguish because they look cool and different from all the other cards. I really know nothing about any Asian language, so the characters (or letters/words) depicted on the cards are of no help to me trying to distinguish power levels.
That said, when contacted by the publisher about A Battle of Onin, they mentioned that other people were calling it a theming of Spades. While I can understand this simplification, what I have yet to mention is that the game also comes with a bevvy of optional scoring rules and a welcoming message to include any sort of house rules deemed enjoyable. Spades does not do that, to my knowledge. While the vanilla gameplay is very similar to Spades, A Battle of Onin using any of these optional scoring modes certainly adds layers of complexity that may be daunting to use at first, but may attract more hardcore gamers.
All in all I am so glad I was able to try A Battle of Onin. Once the suits and power levels are learned, the game is quite snappy and enjoyable. The art is beautiful, and I applaud the use of orange background for the Legendary cards. If you are looking for a different spin on Spades I urge you to take a look at A Battle of Onin. It might surprise you with the varying levels of difficulty found within the optional scoring rules, and a bit more intrigue than the classic game upon which it is based. Personally, my D&D Monk might argue that he is far superior to any Shogun, but also he just kicked in a door that contained a room full of vampires. So there’s that.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Per My Last Email in Tabletop Games
Nov 5, 2019
Do you ever wish you could reply to your boss’s emails using the language that first pops into your head? Many people do, so don’t feel bad. What if there was a game that would put you into this scenario and have your boss choosing the worst reply from the group? Enter Per My Last Email – on Kickstarter until November 26, 2019.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. As this is a preview copy of the game, I do not know if the final rules or components will be similar or different to what we were provided. -T
Per My Last Email is a party card game for groups of four or more players with more fun to be had with more than four players. To setup, shuffle the stack of Boss email cards (the red ones) and place them on the table. Next take the gargantuan stack of Reply and HR cards (the blue and green ones respectively) and shuffle them together. Good luck because there are a TON of these included. Deal each player 10 Reply cards, determine the starting Boss player and you are ready to play!
A game of Per My Last Email will play almost identically to Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity – or whichever flavor of this style of game you may prefer. Here’s how it runs down.
The Boss draws a red card and reads the email prompt to the other players. The other players then choose a Reply or HR card from their hand as their response to the Boss’s email. The Boss player then collects the cards, shuffles them, and reads each one aloud to the group. From there the Boss will choose their favorite response and the player who played that card will receive the Boss email card as a reward. Play continues in this fashion until one player holds four Boss cards – or whatever limit you set prior to playing. That player is the winner of Per My Last Email!
Components. To reiterate, we were provided a prototype copy of this game and we do not know if or how these components may change over the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. This game is a box with about a zillion cards. The cards are good quality, and I appreciate that for a game like this there is no linen finish. Linen finishes can sometimes hinder printing on the cards. Not the case here. I also enjoyed seeing each card laid out like an actual company email. This attention to detail is refreshing. Where some designers and publishers may just throw some text on the cards, we get a real-feel email card and it’s lovely. I have no qualms with the components here except I wish I was better at shuffling 8,000 cards.
If you or your game group are fans of the party card games based on Apples to Apples, you might want to give this one a go. The Boss email cards and the hilarious Reply cards (especially the NSFW ones) will bring out tons of chuckles and discussion about how the players only WISH they could send emails like this to their bosses! Per My Last Email is definitely a step up from both Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. Check out the game’s Kickstarter campaign that is active until November 26, 2019.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. As this is a preview copy of the game, I do not know if the final rules or components will be similar or different to what we were provided. -T
Per My Last Email is a party card game for groups of four or more players with more fun to be had with more than four players. To setup, shuffle the stack of Boss email cards (the red ones) and place them on the table. Next take the gargantuan stack of Reply and HR cards (the blue and green ones respectively) and shuffle them together. Good luck because there are a TON of these included. Deal each player 10 Reply cards, determine the starting Boss player and you are ready to play!
A game of Per My Last Email will play almost identically to Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity – or whichever flavor of this style of game you may prefer. Here’s how it runs down.
The Boss draws a red card and reads the email prompt to the other players. The other players then choose a Reply or HR card from their hand as their response to the Boss’s email. The Boss player then collects the cards, shuffles them, and reads each one aloud to the group. From there the Boss will choose their favorite response and the player who played that card will receive the Boss email card as a reward. Play continues in this fashion until one player holds four Boss cards – or whatever limit you set prior to playing. That player is the winner of Per My Last Email!
Components. To reiterate, we were provided a prototype copy of this game and we do not know if or how these components may change over the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. This game is a box with about a zillion cards. The cards are good quality, and I appreciate that for a game like this there is no linen finish. Linen finishes can sometimes hinder printing on the cards. Not the case here. I also enjoyed seeing each card laid out like an actual company email. This attention to detail is refreshing. Where some designers and publishers may just throw some text on the cards, we get a real-feel email card and it’s lovely. I have no qualms with the components here except I wish I was better at shuffling 8,000 cards.
If you or your game group are fans of the party card games based on Apples to Apples, you might want to give this one a go. The Boss email cards and the hilarious Reply cards (especially the NSFW ones) will bring out tons of chuckles and discussion about how the players only WISH they could send emails like this to their bosses! Per My Last Email is definitely a step up from both Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. Check out the game’s Kickstarter campaign that is active until November 26, 2019.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Sacred Rites in Tabletop Games
Jan 14, 2021
You know when you are about to be initiated into the cult you’ve been following for a while and you feel completely ready to smash all the steps to the initiation ritual? But then your friend Roger always comes to sacrifice lessons late and just bumbles his way through, so you feel like you have to carry him and his irresponsibility? Well, you always told him that you wouldn’t be able to help him on initiation day and guess who still hasn’t arrived to the bonfire…
Sacred Rites is a semi-cooperative, social deduction party game for three to nine initiates. These special few are about to be accepted into the cult full-time, assuming they all know the rites and traditions to be celebrated. Did you remember all your moves to the required interpretive dance?
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 gather enough windowed Believer envelopes for the number of players and also include the two Outsider envelopes. Believer envelopes have a cutout section whereas the Outsider envelopes have no cutouts. Shuffle these together and place them on the table Crown-side up (so one cannot see which have windows and which do not). Each player chooses an envelope. Shuffle the deck of Rite cards into a draw pile and similarly shuffle the Tradition tiles into a draw pile. Sprinkle the flower tokens around the table (which I just now considered and should have included that little setup action for more immersion) within reach of all initiates. The game may now begin!
To start a round one player chooses a Rite card from the pile and slides it into their envelope. After contemplating the meaning, they then slide out the Rite and pass it to the next player in table order to peruse in their window (if they have one). This continues around the table so everyone has a chance to “look” at it. Each player then chooses a Tradition tile from the pile and similarly secretly peruses it.
Once everyone has completed these steps the Ritual may begin. Any player may begin by revealing their Tradition tile to the group and stating, “The (whatever Tradition tile says) of our Sacred Rite is…” At this point the player will attempt to give the group a clue as to what the Rite card said without being blatant about it. This could be a word, a movement, a sound, or whatever they so choose. When done, the rest of the initiates respond with, “Ahhhh, (whatever the player just said/did/etc).” Every player will need to present their idea of the Rite with their Tradition, even if they are an Outsider.
When all players have performed, a count of three is made and all players will then either point to the player they feel is an Outsider, or point to the sky to declare they believe no initiate is an Outsider. Initiates who guess correctly immediately score two VP (white flowers), and any initiate not accused will score one VP flower. At this point the Outsider(s) will have a chance to guess the Rite, scoring two VP for a correct guess. The round ends and a new round begins. The winner is the initiate who earns 13 points (or more) first!
Components. This is a BEAUTIFUL game to look at and play. The minimalistic style and color palette are perfect choices for this style and theme of game. The cards are those nice smaller cards, and the tiles are lovely wooden tiles. The VP flower tokens are a nice touch, and it also comes with a great little embroidered bag. This is one of the prettiest games I have played and I love all the component choices made.
The gameplay is something that surprised me. I typically do not enjoy my plays of a similar game called Spyfall, but found myself loving every play of Sacred Rites. You see, in Spyfall players ask each other questions in order to suss out the spy, and rounds can go for too many minutes. In Sacred Rites, each turn is similar in timeframe and have a “shoot-them-to-vote-them-out” mechanic like is found in Ca$h ‘n Guns. I much prefer Sacred Rites to Spyfall and will be pulling it off the shelf every time we get the itch to be shady.
I understand that some people may not be into the theme of rituals for cult initiation, but this isn’t a dark game or have any sort of strange, questionable content. I would feel comfortable playing this with my in-laws as much as I would with anyone’s sweet granny. That said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a moonbeam hippy flowerstone 10 / 12. I believe it to be a wonderful addition to any collection, especially if it lacks a somewhat silly game of accusations and performance, or if, like me, your plays of Spyfall are falling flat. I am so happy to have this one I may actually do a full-length interpretive dance right now. Just let me turn off my webcam…
Sacred Rites is a semi-cooperative, social deduction party game for three to nine initiates. These special few are about to be accepted into the cult full-time, assuming they all know the rites and traditions to be celebrated. Did you remember all your moves to the required interpretive dance?
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 gather enough windowed Believer envelopes for the number of players and also include the two Outsider envelopes. Believer envelopes have a cutout section whereas the Outsider envelopes have no cutouts. Shuffle these together and place them on the table Crown-side up (so one cannot see which have windows and which do not). Each player chooses an envelope. Shuffle the deck of Rite cards into a draw pile and similarly shuffle the Tradition tiles into a draw pile. Sprinkle the flower tokens around the table (which I just now considered and should have included that little setup action for more immersion) within reach of all initiates. The game may now begin!
To start a round one player chooses a Rite card from the pile and slides it into their envelope. After contemplating the meaning, they then slide out the Rite and pass it to the next player in table order to peruse in their window (if they have one). This continues around the table so everyone has a chance to “look” at it. Each player then chooses a Tradition tile from the pile and similarly secretly peruses it.
Once everyone has completed these steps the Ritual may begin. Any player may begin by revealing their Tradition tile to the group and stating, “The (whatever Tradition tile says) of our Sacred Rite is…” At this point the player will attempt to give the group a clue as to what the Rite card said without being blatant about it. This could be a word, a movement, a sound, or whatever they so choose. When done, the rest of the initiates respond with, “Ahhhh, (whatever the player just said/did/etc).” Every player will need to present their idea of the Rite with their Tradition, even if they are an Outsider.
When all players have performed, a count of three is made and all players will then either point to the player they feel is an Outsider, or point to the sky to declare they believe no initiate is an Outsider. Initiates who guess correctly immediately score two VP (white flowers), and any initiate not accused will score one VP flower. At this point the Outsider(s) will have a chance to guess the Rite, scoring two VP for a correct guess. The round ends and a new round begins. The winner is the initiate who earns 13 points (or more) first!
Components. This is a BEAUTIFUL game to look at and play. The minimalistic style and color palette are perfect choices for this style and theme of game. The cards are those nice smaller cards, and the tiles are lovely wooden tiles. The VP flower tokens are a nice touch, and it also comes with a great little embroidered bag. This is one of the prettiest games I have played and I love all the component choices made.
The gameplay is something that surprised me. I typically do not enjoy my plays of a similar game called Spyfall, but found myself loving every play of Sacred Rites. You see, in Spyfall players ask each other questions in order to suss out the spy, and rounds can go for too many minutes. In Sacred Rites, each turn is similar in timeframe and have a “shoot-them-to-vote-them-out” mechanic like is found in Ca$h ‘n Guns. I much prefer Sacred Rites to Spyfall and will be pulling it off the shelf every time we get the itch to be shady.
I understand that some people may not be into the theme of rituals for cult initiation, but this isn’t a dark game or have any sort of strange, questionable content. I would feel comfortable playing this with my in-laws as much as I would with anyone’s sweet granny. That said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a moonbeam hippy flowerstone 10 / 12. I believe it to be a wonderful addition to any collection, especially if it lacks a somewhat silly game of accusations and performance, or if, like me, your plays of Spyfall are falling flat. I am so happy to have this one I may actually do a full-length interpretive dance right now. Just let me turn off my webcam…
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Terra Mystica in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
Terra Mystica Review
An insanely popular game right now is Terra Mystica. So, when I was offered an opportunity to try it out, I gladly accepted.
In Terra Mystica, each player represents a fantasy race that is attempting to expand. Unfortunately, only one habitat is viable for them to build upon, and so they must regularly terraform different parts of the world in order to spread out. The game is played over six rounds, and in each round players first collect income, then they alternate taking actions, and finally, they collect bonuses. The different actions can include terraforming and/or building a dwelling, improving their shipping, improving their skill at terraforming, upgrading a structure, improving on one of the "cult" tracks, taking a "power" action, taking a "special" action, or passing for the round. Each of these actions requires a different combination of workers, gold, and priests. And many of these actions will give you victory points as you perform them. At the end of the round, each player has the chance of gaining additional bonuses (like free terraforming actions) based on how far he has moved along one of the cult tracks. At the end of the sixth round, players get extra points based on how far along they have moved on each of the cult tracks, and also for how many connected structures they have. Whoever then has the most victory points is the winner!
Original Review: 8.5/10
Critic: Josh Edwards
Read the full review here: http://www.boardgamereviewsbyjosh.com/2013/05/terra-mystica-review.html
In Terra Mystica, each player represents a fantasy race that is attempting to expand. Unfortunately, only one habitat is viable for them to build upon, and so they must regularly terraform different parts of the world in order to spread out. The game is played over six rounds, and in each round players first collect income, then they alternate taking actions, and finally, they collect bonuses. The different actions can include terraforming and/or building a dwelling, improving their shipping, improving their skill at terraforming, upgrading a structure, improving on one of the "cult" tracks, taking a "power" action, taking a "special" action, or passing for the round. Each of these actions requires a different combination of workers, gold, and priests. And many of these actions will give you victory points as you perform them. At the end of the round, each player has the chance of gaining additional bonuses (like free terraforming actions) based on how far he has moved along one of the cult tracks. At the end of the sixth round, players get extra points based on how far along they have moved on each of the cult tracks, and also for how many connected structures they have. Whoever then has the most victory points is the winner!
Original Review: 8.5/10
Critic: Josh Edwards
Read the full review here: http://www.boardgamereviewsbyjosh.com/2013/05/terra-mystica-review.html