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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Christmas Lights in Tabletop Games
Dec 29, 2020
A Christmas game? Me?? I have never really been super into Christmastime. My wife (and kids obvs) are mega Christmas fiends, and I am trying to get more into the spirit all the time. So when a call for reviewers went out for this one, I wanted to give it a shot especially now during mid-December. For my wife, of course. Certainly not for me… Certainly not for me.
Christmas Lights is a card game for two to six players that has each player attempting to organize their tangle of light strands into some sort of order. However, as the lights aren’t yet on players are working in the dark. Therefore players cannot see the lights they are untangling and will need help from other players along the way.
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 a game shuffle and place out the Event, Pattern, and Bulb card decks into their piles. Deal each player five Bulb cards face-down and two Pattern cards. Each player will also be given a random Character card and player aid card. Whomever is dealt the Santa character will be the first player. The players will consult their Pattern cards and choose one to begin working on initially. The game is now ready to begin!
On a turn a player has the opportunity to take four different actions, in their specific order: Play, Swap, Sale, and Refill. To Play one or more cards, simply choose it/them from hand and place it/them down to begin or continue the strand pictured on the first Pattern card in exact sequence order. Should a player wish to Swap cards with another player, they simply take the swap card from their hand and grab whichever card they please from an opponent’s hand to be placed in their own. Next the player may offer a card from their hand to be sold to other players during the Sale phase. Should another player wish to purchase the card, they spend not money but information to the seller. This information comes in the form of answers to yes/no questions about cards in the active player’s hand. Wait, why, you ask? Because player hands in this game are played facing away from the player, exactly like are played in Hanabi. That’s right, players do not see the cards in their own hands, but rather every other player’s hand. Once some or all of these phases have been played, the active player will need to Refill their hand back up to five cards. It is now the next player’s turn.
Each of these steps will need to be taken in order. Should a player not wish to Swap, for example, they may not hold a Sale and then decide to Swap afterward.
Some Bulb cards are special. These include the Broken Bulb, the Bubble Bulb, and the Plug. A player may place a Broken Bulb anywhere in their strand sequence as a temporary placeholder, but it will need to be covered up by the correctly-colored Bulb card in the future before the player is able to score the strand. The Bubble Bulb is essentially a Wild Bulb and can be played in place of any colored Bulb. However, once played it will remind the player to draw and play an Event card immediately. These Event cards may be either good or bad for the active player, so there is risk in playing the wild Bubble Bulbs. Once the first strand is completed per the appropriate Pattern card, the player will need to play a Plug card in order to connect their first strand to their next. Then the player will be able to begin work on their second strand.
Play continues in this fashion of blind play and deduction of held cards until one player successfully completes both of their Pattern cards. Every player will be able to take the same amount of turns, and if there is a tie between players the used Broken and Bubble Bulb cards will be taken into consideration to determine the winner.
Components. This is a card game. There are a lot of cards. The cards are all great quality, and though I have seen reports of flimsy stock or even see-through quality thickness, I have not had this issue (though I believe I have the second edition of the game, so that might be a difference existing between the editions). The art on the cards is very cute and endearing. Each color of bulb is also a different shape so our colorblind friends should have an easier time playing as well. Each card is laid out well and I have no complaints about components at all.
The gameplay is such that I believe players will either love or hate. Not being able to see the cards in your hand can certainly be stressful and frustrating, but it is a very light card game. Get over it. Again, if you have played Hanabi before, you know the feeling. But it changes the game so drastically when you have to remember what’s in your hand at all times, and when players are swapping with you left and right it is definitely easy to forget what’s going on in your hand. Not that I ever had that problem… Okay, it happens all the time, but I just laugh it off.
I do love this little game and am so happy I took a chance on it. Though I am still learning to love Christmas (Halloween is my jam), this game has a ton going for it. In addition to the game I have loosely described in this review Christmas Lights comes with a booklet that has rule sets for 12 different games that can be played with the included components. TWELVE EXTRA GAME MODES. That’s crazy! So when purchasing Christmas Lights people are actually purchasing 13 games in one box, with two of those modes being for Solo players. The variety and replayability here is off the charts and I am excited to play through the other game modes as soon as I can, and I know my wife will be into as well.
That said, having a Christmas-themed game that delights my wife and I equally is certainly something that I can easily recommend. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a cheery 10 / 12 for its portability, variability, cute art, and great game play. If you see it in stores, pick up a copy. I am going out on a limb and saying that you could even play this game when it’s NOT Christmastime and still have a great experience with it. If you are looking for something a little different and like Hanabi but wish for something else, give Christmas Lights a shot. Hopefully you will find it as charming as we both do. Oh, and a little pro tip: pour yourself a mug of chai and grab a gingerbread cookie whilst playing. Not necessary, but it certainly works for us. Happy Holidays, ALL holidays, everyone!
Christmas Lights is a card game for two to six players that has each player attempting to organize their tangle of light strands into some sort of order. However, as the lights aren’t yet on players are working in the dark. Therefore players cannot see the lights they are untangling and will need help from other players along the way.
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 a game shuffle and place out the Event, Pattern, and Bulb card decks into their piles. Deal each player five Bulb cards face-down and two Pattern cards. Each player will also be given a random Character card and player aid card. Whomever is dealt the Santa character will be the first player. The players will consult their Pattern cards and choose one to begin working on initially. The game is now ready to begin!
On a turn a player has the opportunity to take four different actions, in their specific order: Play, Swap, Sale, and Refill. To Play one or more cards, simply choose it/them from hand and place it/them down to begin or continue the strand pictured on the first Pattern card in exact sequence order. Should a player wish to Swap cards with another player, they simply take the swap card from their hand and grab whichever card they please from an opponent’s hand to be placed in their own. Next the player may offer a card from their hand to be sold to other players during the Sale phase. Should another player wish to purchase the card, they spend not money but information to the seller. This information comes in the form of answers to yes/no questions about cards in the active player’s hand. Wait, why, you ask? Because player hands in this game are played facing away from the player, exactly like are played in Hanabi. That’s right, players do not see the cards in their own hands, but rather every other player’s hand. Once some or all of these phases have been played, the active player will need to Refill their hand back up to five cards. It is now the next player’s turn.
Each of these steps will need to be taken in order. Should a player not wish to Swap, for example, they may not hold a Sale and then decide to Swap afterward.
Some Bulb cards are special. These include the Broken Bulb, the Bubble Bulb, and the Plug. A player may place a Broken Bulb anywhere in their strand sequence as a temporary placeholder, but it will need to be covered up by the correctly-colored Bulb card in the future before the player is able to score the strand. The Bubble Bulb is essentially a Wild Bulb and can be played in place of any colored Bulb. However, once played it will remind the player to draw and play an Event card immediately. These Event cards may be either good or bad for the active player, so there is risk in playing the wild Bubble Bulbs. Once the first strand is completed per the appropriate Pattern card, the player will need to play a Plug card in order to connect their first strand to their next. Then the player will be able to begin work on their second strand.
Play continues in this fashion of blind play and deduction of held cards until one player successfully completes both of their Pattern cards. Every player will be able to take the same amount of turns, and if there is a tie between players the used Broken and Bubble Bulb cards will be taken into consideration to determine the winner.
Components. This is a card game. There are a lot of cards. The cards are all great quality, and though I have seen reports of flimsy stock or even see-through quality thickness, I have not had this issue (though I believe I have the second edition of the game, so that might be a difference existing between the editions). The art on the cards is very cute and endearing. Each color of bulb is also a different shape so our colorblind friends should have an easier time playing as well. Each card is laid out well and I have no complaints about components at all.
The gameplay is such that I believe players will either love or hate. Not being able to see the cards in your hand can certainly be stressful and frustrating, but it is a very light card game. Get over it. Again, if you have played Hanabi before, you know the feeling. But it changes the game so drastically when you have to remember what’s in your hand at all times, and when players are swapping with you left and right it is definitely easy to forget what’s going on in your hand. Not that I ever had that problem… Okay, it happens all the time, but I just laugh it off.
I do love this little game and am so happy I took a chance on it. Though I am still learning to love Christmas (Halloween is my jam), this game has a ton going for it. In addition to the game I have loosely described in this review Christmas Lights comes with a booklet that has rule sets for 12 different games that can be played with the included components. TWELVE EXTRA GAME MODES. That’s crazy! So when purchasing Christmas Lights people are actually purchasing 13 games in one box, with two of those modes being for Solo players. The variety and replayability here is off the charts and I am excited to play through the other game modes as soon as I can, and I know my wife will be into as well.
That said, having a Christmas-themed game that delights my wife and I equally is certainly something that I can easily recommend. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a cheery 10 / 12 for its portability, variability, cute art, and great game play. If you see it in stores, pick up a copy. I am going out on a limb and saying that you could even play this game when it’s NOT Christmastime and still have a great experience with it. If you are looking for something a little different and like Hanabi but wish for something else, give Christmas Lights a shot. Hopefully you will find it as charming as we both do. Oh, and a little pro tip: pour yourself a mug of chai and grab a gingerbread cookie whilst playing. Not necessary, but it certainly works for us. Happy Holidays, ALL holidays, everyone!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Quest Kids in Tabletop Games
Mar 26, 2021
Have you heard of The Quest Kids? It’s a YouTube channel featuring six young adventurers as they use powerful “Tolk Gems” to help complete quests and protect the city of Treasure Falls. These kids are always striving for good and understanding, and are not afraid to do what is right in all scenarios. These Quest Kids are ideal role models for young children, and when I heard of board games based on the IP I knew my kids and I would love the games. Was my Faith Tolk Gem pointing me in the right direction, or has it gone dark for me? SPOILER: This game is great!
The Quest Kids is a dungeon crawler style board game for players as young as five years of age. Yes, FIVE! In it, players are acting as one of these Quest Kids, attempting to explore the cave of Tolk the Wise. The Quest Kids will find abilities to enhance their own, treasures to collect, and silly bad guys to scare away within, and the player with the most stars (VP) at the end will win 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 from the publisher online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, place the large game board on the table and populate it with the green, gray, and red Dungeon Tiles according to the rules. Also prepare the card decks and place them appropriately in their spaces on the board. The Treasure Tokens are placed in the Treasure Bag. Each player will receive one Quest Kid Player Mat and matching figurine. In addition each player will receive three starting Health Cards, one Quest Card, and one appropriate starting Ability Card. The game may now begin from the entrance to the cave!
On a turn players will be able to have free movement around the board exploring tiles and resolving them in turns. Green tiles are always good for the players, Gray tiles may have some bad guys but are predominantly good, and Red tiles are littered with those silly bad guys that will need to be scared away. A player will travel to a board location and encounter a Dungeon Tile by flipping it over and collecting the resources shown or attempting to scare away the bad guys. Bad guys can be scared by discarding the printed Ability Cards on their tile. Once discarded, the player collects the tile to their Player Mat for stars at game end.
Sometimes players will encounter a bad guy they do not possess enough Ability Cards to scare away. In these scenarios the player may ask the other players for help. Nonactive players may then offer Ability Cards from their stash in order to help achieve the goal. For every Ability Card donated to the cause the donating Quest Kid will receive one Kind Kid Card. Kind Kid Cards are always great and can be resolved at ANY time during the game. Should a player encounter a bad guy they cannot scare away and other Quest Kids cannot help with Ability Cards, the active player will suffer a loss of one of their Health Cards (worth two stars).
Some tiles or Quest cards will instruct the player to draw one or more treasures from the Treasure Bag. Most treasures are good and provide stars, but some are blobs that eat stars. Each Treasure Token also has two values. The top value is for the normal amount of stars. However, the bottom value is worth more stars if the controlling player matches the Quest Kid printed on the token. Some treasure may be worth just one star unless the Quest Kid is a match, in which case it is then worth three stars, for example.
Turns continue in this fashion until all Dungeon Tiles have been resolved or a stalemate reached. At this point all players count up their stars they have collected from various sources and the player with the most stars is the winner!
Components. This is a kids’ game, can we all agree? THIS kids’ game, however, boasts some of the most interesting and wonderful components I have seen. The board is huge and depicts a magical cave. Super cool. The tiles are easy to read and understand, as with all the iconography. The Quest Kids themselves all have the same abilities (unless the expansion is added – and the review for that is coming soon), so that smaller children are not burdened with having to remember their special abilities. There are these plastic Tolk Gems that can be collected during the game and children absolutely flip for these things. And did you see those colorful and very big minis? I mean, come on! It’s a kids’ game! They LOVE minis! The game also comes with cardboard standees in case your children cannot handle the minis carefully enough.
Here is the deal. I absolutely adore these Quest Kids games. They are absolutely the perfect difficulty for young gamers who are ready to step up from the Candy Lands and Chutes & Ladders. Now, the box suggests 5+ but my 4-year-old did just fine with it, so take that with a grain of salt. Having had him already familiarize himself with The Quest Kids characters in The Quest Kids: Matching Adventure, this was an easier process getting this game to the table for us.
The game gives an exciting dungeon crawl experience for younger children, and it’s honestly something I never really knew I needed in my life until I now have it. It is so simple to teach and play and definitely encourages helping other players, if even just because you receive those Kind Kid cards in return. Anything to create that helpful player atmosphere to prepare them for heavier cooperative games is much appreciated.
Please do not misunderstand me. The Quest Kids is targeting younger players, but I do believe that any aged gamer could appreciate and have a good time with this. It certainly will not fill the void of other dungeon crawlers, but if you need a fix and would like to spend 20-45 minutes playing something to scratch that itch, then pull out your copy of The Quest Kids. It is super-light, colorful, and is a perfect stepping stone to bigger cooperative games. Purple Phoenix Games (with special guest Finley) gives this one a Kind 11/12. Please visit the publisher’s website to pick up your copy, and have a great time introducing your children (or partners, in-laws, grannies, pets, whomever) to cooperative dungeon crawls that will have you leaving the table in a much better mood than when you sat down.
The Quest Kids is a dungeon crawler style board game for players as young as five years of age. Yes, FIVE! In it, players are acting as one of these Quest Kids, attempting to explore the cave of Tolk the Wise. The Quest Kids will find abilities to enhance their own, treasures to collect, and silly bad guys to scare away within, and the player with the most stars (VP) at the end will win 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 from the publisher online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, place the large game board on the table and populate it with the green, gray, and red Dungeon Tiles according to the rules. Also prepare the card decks and place them appropriately in their spaces on the board. The Treasure Tokens are placed in the Treasure Bag. Each player will receive one Quest Kid Player Mat and matching figurine. In addition each player will receive three starting Health Cards, one Quest Card, and one appropriate starting Ability Card. The game may now begin from the entrance to the cave!
On a turn players will be able to have free movement around the board exploring tiles and resolving them in turns. Green tiles are always good for the players, Gray tiles may have some bad guys but are predominantly good, and Red tiles are littered with those silly bad guys that will need to be scared away. A player will travel to a board location and encounter a Dungeon Tile by flipping it over and collecting the resources shown or attempting to scare away the bad guys. Bad guys can be scared by discarding the printed Ability Cards on their tile. Once discarded, the player collects the tile to their Player Mat for stars at game end.
Sometimes players will encounter a bad guy they do not possess enough Ability Cards to scare away. In these scenarios the player may ask the other players for help. Nonactive players may then offer Ability Cards from their stash in order to help achieve the goal. For every Ability Card donated to the cause the donating Quest Kid will receive one Kind Kid Card. Kind Kid Cards are always great and can be resolved at ANY time during the game. Should a player encounter a bad guy they cannot scare away and other Quest Kids cannot help with Ability Cards, the active player will suffer a loss of one of their Health Cards (worth two stars).
Some tiles or Quest cards will instruct the player to draw one or more treasures from the Treasure Bag. Most treasures are good and provide stars, but some are blobs that eat stars. Each Treasure Token also has two values. The top value is for the normal amount of stars. However, the bottom value is worth more stars if the controlling player matches the Quest Kid printed on the token. Some treasure may be worth just one star unless the Quest Kid is a match, in which case it is then worth three stars, for example.
Turns continue in this fashion until all Dungeon Tiles have been resolved or a stalemate reached. At this point all players count up their stars they have collected from various sources and the player with the most stars is the winner!
Components. This is a kids’ game, can we all agree? THIS kids’ game, however, boasts some of the most interesting and wonderful components I have seen. The board is huge and depicts a magical cave. Super cool. The tiles are easy to read and understand, as with all the iconography. The Quest Kids themselves all have the same abilities (unless the expansion is added – and the review for that is coming soon), so that smaller children are not burdened with having to remember their special abilities. There are these plastic Tolk Gems that can be collected during the game and children absolutely flip for these things. And did you see those colorful and very big minis? I mean, come on! It’s a kids’ game! They LOVE minis! The game also comes with cardboard standees in case your children cannot handle the minis carefully enough.
Here is the deal. I absolutely adore these Quest Kids games. They are absolutely the perfect difficulty for young gamers who are ready to step up from the Candy Lands and Chutes & Ladders. Now, the box suggests 5+ but my 4-year-old did just fine with it, so take that with a grain of salt. Having had him already familiarize himself with The Quest Kids characters in The Quest Kids: Matching Adventure, this was an easier process getting this game to the table for us.
The game gives an exciting dungeon crawl experience for younger children, and it’s honestly something I never really knew I needed in my life until I now have it. It is so simple to teach and play and definitely encourages helping other players, if even just because you receive those Kind Kid cards in return. Anything to create that helpful player atmosphere to prepare them for heavier cooperative games is much appreciated.
Please do not misunderstand me. The Quest Kids is targeting younger players, but I do believe that any aged gamer could appreciate and have a good time with this. It certainly will not fill the void of other dungeon crawlers, but if you need a fix and would like to spend 20-45 minutes playing something to scratch that itch, then pull out your copy of The Quest Kids. It is super-light, colorful, and is a perfect stepping stone to bigger cooperative games. Purple Phoenix Games (with special guest Finley) gives this one a Kind 11/12. Please visit the publisher’s website to pick up your copy, and have a great time introducing your children (or partners, in-laws, grannies, pets, whomever) to cooperative dungeon crawls that will have you leaving the table in a much better mood than when you sat down.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Grimm Masquerade in Tabletop Games
Apr 8, 2021
Have you ever been to a proper masquerade? I have not, though I would enjoy it, I think. I would enjoy it even more if I were competing against the other attendees to figure out who is who (and avoid having to do those Victorian square dances). But what if I were actually fairytale folk cavorting around with others trying to gain artifacts that speak to me while refusing any artifacts that may hurt me. Well now you understand my plight and the premise of this game.
The Grimm Masquerade is a hidden role competitive bluffing game for two to five players. In it player take on the roles of well-known fairytale folk attending a magical masquerade thrown by The Beast (I mean, he has a name, right? Not just “The Beast…”). Attendees are tasked with trying to unmask other attendees while earning magical roses in the process. The winner is the player who can earn the most roses at the end of three rounds of bluffing and guessing, unless one player is able to earn 10 roses before the end.
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. Also, this review concentrates on the two-player variant for the game as I played it mostly with my wife. -T
To setup, place the main board showing all the fairytale folk in the middle of the table. Each player will receive two (one if playing multi-player rules) Character cards, all Evidence Markers of their chosen color, and Reference cards. Around the board is placed the remaining Character cards, the Artifact deck, the stack of Broken Mirror tokens, the pile of roses, and the Action Board with two random Action cards revealed on either side. For the two-player game six Artifact cards are revealed in a line and each player will choose one Artifact for each of their two characters they are playing. The unchosen Artifacts will form the discard pile near the Artifact draw pile. Whomever most recently wore a costume will be the lead player and the game may begin!
The game is played in rounds, with each turn of a round consisting of two steps. First, the active player draws an Artifact card and decides to keep it in their face-up tableau of Artifacts for all to see or give the Artifact to another player. Then the active player will draw a second card and either keep or give, whichever is opposite of their first choice. For example, should the first card drawn be kept, the next card would need to be given away. Each character has one Boon suit (which they love), and one Bane suit (which they despise). If at any time a character receives a card to create a matching pair in their tableau they must indicate whether that Artifact is in fact their Bane suit or not. They do this by placing one of their Evidence Markers on the character who owns that suit’s Bane value. However, if the player is actually the character who has that suit as their Bane, they have been unmasked and will play their other character in hopes of winning with them.
Should a player receive a card that would cause a set of three matching suit cards, they must indicate that they have either won the round or that they are not the character that matches that suit’s Boon value. For example, should a player receive their third Treats card they must declare they have won the round (if they happen to be Red Riding Hood), or that they are not indeed Red Riding Hood by placing an Evidence Marker on Red Riding Hood.
After this card play at the beginning of their turn the active player may choose to discard a matching pair of Artifact cards in order to activate an Action available (optional step). The Actions available are on the revealed Action cards on either side of the Action Board (which also shows an always-available Action of Point the Finger). So by discarding a pair of Crowns, for example, a player could utilize the Action card Eavesdrop in order to force the other player(s) to place Evidence Markers on characters they are NOT. This gives the active player more insight into who the other player(s) may actually BE.
Once cards have been drawn and the optional Actions taken, play passes to the next player. Players win the round by collecting three matching Boon Artifact cards or by unmasking all other characters in play. Whichever player wins the round also takes the Rose Trophy depending on which of the three rounds was just completed (value 1 for the first round, 3 for the second, and 5 for the third). At the end of the third round players count up their total roses (unless one player has earned 10 or more at the end of a previous round) and whomever has collected the most is the winner of The Grimm Masquerade!
Components. I have to say, every game I have played by Druid City Games has had amazing components, and this one is certainly no different. All the cardboard pieces, the cards, and the wooden discs are all excellent quality. But what I want to concentrate on here is the perfect choice to employ Mr. Cuddington for the art. Every time I see Mr. Cuddington on the credits for a game I know I am going to love looking at it on the table. They just have amazing style and everything is so detailed and perfectly matched for the setting. This FEELS like a Grimm’s Fairy Tales game for sure, and I love it.
It is definitely no secret that I love this one. I enjoy hidden role games to begin with (The Resistance: Avalon also being one of my favorites), and this setting feels excellently matched to the genre and the execution is wonderful. I really have a great time sussing out who is who and giving those final Artifacts in order to unmask players that are perceived to be leading is so fulfilling. Being able to spend matching cards in order to use Actions is also great design, especially when you can bluff by discarding your Boon cards to throw opponents off your trail. So much deceit in a fun package.
If you have few hidden role games and you want something with a light theme and relatively quick playtime, please do yourself a favor and check out The Grimm Masquerade. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 15 / 18. If you are like us and enjoy games where you control some information and can guess other players’ identities, but also like games where you can still play on even when you have been found out, this one is for you. If only this could support even more players, I could see it unseating Avalon for me. As it is, I may still end up using this one more often than Avalon unless I have a larger group of people at the table. That is a big statement from me as Avalon is a proven winner and has been a staple of my collection for years. But The Grimm Masquerade is that good. Play it and let me know if you agree.
The Grimm Masquerade is a hidden role competitive bluffing game for two to five players. In it player take on the roles of well-known fairytale folk attending a magical masquerade thrown by The Beast (I mean, he has a name, right? Not just “The Beast…”). Attendees are tasked with trying to unmask other attendees while earning magical roses in the process. The winner is the player who can earn the most roses at the end of three rounds of bluffing and guessing, unless one player is able to earn 10 roses before the end.
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. Also, this review concentrates on the two-player variant for the game as I played it mostly with my wife. -T
To setup, place the main board showing all the fairytale folk in the middle of the table. Each player will receive two (one if playing multi-player rules) Character cards, all Evidence Markers of their chosen color, and Reference cards. Around the board is placed the remaining Character cards, the Artifact deck, the stack of Broken Mirror tokens, the pile of roses, and the Action Board with two random Action cards revealed on either side. For the two-player game six Artifact cards are revealed in a line and each player will choose one Artifact for each of their two characters they are playing. The unchosen Artifacts will form the discard pile near the Artifact draw pile. Whomever most recently wore a costume will be the lead player and the game may begin!
The game is played in rounds, with each turn of a round consisting of two steps. First, the active player draws an Artifact card and decides to keep it in their face-up tableau of Artifacts for all to see or give the Artifact to another player. Then the active player will draw a second card and either keep or give, whichever is opposite of their first choice. For example, should the first card drawn be kept, the next card would need to be given away. Each character has one Boon suit (which they love), and one Bane suit (which they despise). If at any time a character receives a card to create a matching pair in their tableau they must indicate whether that Artifact is in fact their Bane suit or not. They do this by placing one of their Evidence Markers on the character who owns that suit’s Bane value. However, if the player is actually the character who has that suit as their Bane, they have been unmasked and will play their other character in hopes of winning with them.
Should a player receive a card that would cause a set of three matching suit cards, they must indicate that they have either won the round or that they are not the character that matches that suit’s Boon value. For example, should a player receive their third Treats card they must declare they have won the round (if they happen to be Red Riding Hood), or that they are not indeed Red Riding Hood by placing an Evidence Marker on Red Riding Hood.
After this card play at the beginning of their turn the active player may choose to discard a matching pair of Artifact cards in order to activate an Action available (optional step). The Actions available are on the revealed Action cards on either side of the Action Board (which also shows an always-available Action of Point the Finger). So by discarding a pair of Crowns, for example, a player could utilize the Action card Eavesdrop in order to force the other player(s) to place Evidence Markers on characters they are NOT. This gives the active player more insight into who the other player(s) may actually BE.
Once cards have been drawn and the optional Actions taken, play passes to the next player. Players win the round by collecting three matching Boon Artifact cards or by unmasking all other characters in play. Whichever player wins the round also takes the Rose Trophy depending on which of the three rounds was just completed (value 1 for the first round, 3 for the second, and 5 for the third). At the end of the third round players count up their total roses (unless one player has earned 10 or more at the end of a previous round) and whomever has collected the most is the winner of The Grimm Masquerade!
Components. I have to say, every game I have played by Druid City Games has had amazing components, and this one is certainly no different. All the cardboard pieces, the cards, and the wooden discs are all excellent quality. But what I want to concentrate on here is the perfect choice to employ Mr. Cuddington for the art. Every time I see Mr. Cuddington on the credits for a game I know I am going to love looking at it on the table. They just have amazing style and everything is so detailed and perfectly matched for the setting. This FEELS like a Grimm’s Fairy Tales game for sure, and I love it.
It is definitely no secret that I love this one. I enjoy hidden role games to begin with (The Resistance: Avalon also being one of my favorites), and this setting feels excellently matched to the genre and the execution is wonderful. I really have a great time sussing out who is who and giving those final Artifacts in order to unmask players that are perceived to be leading is so fulfilling. Being able to spend matching cards in order to use Actions is also great design, especially when you can bluff by discarding your Boon cards to throw opponents off your trail. So much deceit in a fun package.
If you have few hidden role games and you want something with a light theme and relatively quick playtime, please do yourself a favor and check out The Grimm Masquerade. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 15 / 18. If you are like us and enjoy games where you control some information and can guess other players’ identities, but also like games where you can still play on even when you have been found out, this one is for you. If only this could support even more players, I could see it unseating Avalon for me. As it is, I may still end up using this one more often than Avalon unless I have a larger group of people at the table. That is a big statement from me as Avalon is a proven winner and has been a staple of my collection for years. But The Grimm Masquerade is that good. Play it and let me know if you agree.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Barnyard Roundup in Tabletop Games
Apr 12, 2021
I live in Illinois. I can see cornfields from my house. I do not live on a farm, but have visited farms in the past. There is more to Illinois than Chicago and corn. That all said, farming games tickle me so much and I just enjoy playing them. So imagine my interest level when you combine a publisher known for excellent productions, the designer from said publisher, a member of an art studio in my top three favorite board game artists (Kwanchai and The Mico for the others), and a theme that I already enjoy. This is going to be great! Right?
Barnyard Roundup is a silly game of bluffing and hand management set on a farm. In it players are farmhands trying to help Farmer Brown sell the most animals at market. They do this by bluffing their hands in trade deals with other farmhands, thus making no friends in the process. The player with the most points at the end of the game, when all cards from the draw deck have been drawn, will be the winner!
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 place the five Animal Bonus cards in a line with the Set Bonus cards nearby. Shuffle the large deck of animal cards and deal out cards according to the rulebook per the number of players in the game. The Burglar and Excuse Me tokens are sorted and dealt out with the remainders face-down near the other cards. Remove eight cards from the draw deck and decide who will be the start player. The game may now begin!
Barnyard Roundup turns are quite simple: take two or three actions and end the turn. The first action is mandatory and it is Passing Cards to another player. Choose anywhere from one to six cards, place them face-down on the table in front of the player with whom to be traded, and announce the number and type of cards to be traded. For example, a player may say, “This is four chickens.” The targeted player now must decide whether that group actually IS a group of four chickens or if they believe the trader (not traitor) is bluffing. If so the targeted player may say, “That is NOT four chickens.” Once the agree/disagree statement has been made the cards are flipped over to see which player will be adding the cards to their pens. If the targeted player guessed correctly then they will received all the animal cards that were passed to them. That is, unless the cards were actually CROWS. Crows are worth -5 VP at the end of the game (see the photo below) and will be taken into the pen of the defeated player in the trade. In addition to crows (bad) the game includes Copy Cats (good) which can be wild cards to be placed with other animals and they copy the animal in their group. When the trade is resolved the active player may choose to perform the next step, but it is not mandatory.
Players must note that any time a player gains crows that would extend their collection of crows to any multiple of 3 that player must then draw another Action Token (Burglar, Excuse Me, Scarecrow) from the supply. If a Scarecrow is drawn it is immediately revealed and three crows are discarded from that player’s collection. The Excuse Me token may be used during a trade, but before cards are revealed, by a player not involved in the trade. When they announce, “Excuse Me,” they immediately take the place of the targeted player and will decide whether the trade is correct as announced or is a bluff.
Should they wish, the active player may now Play a Burglar Token from their collection in order to target another player and ask for all of their animals of a specific type – “I wish to procure all of your cows” That player must then immediately hand over all their cows, or else may tell the active player to Go Fish. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but I started doing it and it stuck for me.
The third and final step of a turn is simply to Draw Cards and End Your Turn. Draw cards back up to the hand limit of 5 or 6 and end the turn. Play then passes to the next player.
Play continues in this fashion until the last card has been drawn. The game ends immediately and players tally their points per the rulebook to arrive at an ultimate winner!
Components. This game is a bunch of cards and some tokens in a double-wide+ tuckbox. I love the art, and that makes sense as it is illustrated by Lina Cossette, half of Mr. Cuddington. If you don’t know about Mr. Cuddington, please check out their website. The cards are good quality, as are the tokens. But that box. Now, it LOOKS great, and is a fine size. But a tuckbox? I would have preferred a lidded box, or even one of those with the magnetic fold-out lids. But it’s a tuckbox and the opening flap dented upon its first opening. Oy. I could give a chef’s kiss to everything else though.
Now, there’s a reason why I rated this game a 4 and my wife a 6: she beats me every single time we play and I just cannot find the strategy to take her down. Am I just horrible at bluffing games? Does she just dominate me at ALL games? I’m not sure, but this one certainly highlights the fact that she’s just better than me. I can still hear her haunting and taunting me with, “OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME! I’M SOOOOO GOOD AT IT!” Meanwhile I am sitting pretty with a whole flock of crows laughing at me like I am the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Perhaps I am truly brainless as well.
That said, the game is enjoyable. I do like to play bluffing games, but I’m the poor soul who would rather play straight than do ANY sort of bluffing at all. Except when I have lulled my prey into trusting my every declaration. Then pull out the big guns and laugh my way to the bank. Well, I tried that several times and no dice. But I do enjoy playing, and I do keep coming back for more torture. And if that isn’t a sign of a good game, then what is?
All in all the game is quick, light on rules, and features wonderful art style. This is the game I will probably use to introduce my children (or new gamers) to bluffing games as the theme is easily digestible and when you get stuck with the negative points you don’t feel super bad about it. It is easy to pronounce that Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a squawkin’-good 10 / 12. If you are looking for a light introductory game to teach bluffing or to hit that sweet-spot, then I recommend you check out Barnyard Roundup from Druid City Games. I ain’t a-bluffin’ ya.
Barnyard Roundup is a silly game of bluffing and hand management set on a farm. In it players are farmhands trying to help Farmer Brown sell the most animals at market. They do this by bluffing their hands in trade deals with other farmhands, thus making no friends in the process. The player with the most points at the end of the game, when all cards from the draw deck have been drawn, will be the winner!
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 place the five Animal Bonus cards in a line with the Set Bonus cards nearby. Shuffle the large deck of animal cards and deal out cards according to the rulebook per the number of players in the game. The Burglar and Excuse Me tokens are sorted and dealt out with the remainders face-down near the other cards. Remove eight cards from the draw deck and decide who will be the start player. The game may now begin!
Barnyard Roundup turns are quite simple: take two or three actions and end the turn. The first action is mandatory and it is Passing Cards to another player. Choose anywhere from one to six cards, place them face-down on the table in front of the player with whom to be traded, and announce the number and type of cards to be traded. For example, a player may say, “This is four chickens.” The targeted player now must decide whether that group actually IS a group of four chickens or if they believe the trader (not traitor) is bluffing. If so the targeted player may say, “That is NOT four chickens.” Once the agree/disagree statement has been made the cards are flipped over to see which player will be adding the cards to their pens. If the targeted player guessed correctly then they will received all the animal cards that were passed to them. That is, unless the cards were actually CROWS. Crows are worth -5 VP at the end of the game (see the photo below) and will be taken into the pen of the defeated player in the trade. In addition to crows (bad) the game includes Copy Cats (good) which can be wild cards to be placed with other animals and they copy the animal in their group. When the trade is resolved the active player may choose to perform the next step, but it is not mandatory.
Players must note that any time a player gains crows that would extend their collection of crows to any multiple of 3 that player must then draw another Action Token (Burglar, Excuse Me, Scarecrow) from the supply. If a Scarecrow is drawn it is immediately revealed and three crows are discarded from that player’s collection. The Excuse Me token may be used during a trade, but before cards are revealed, by a player not involved in the trade. When they announce, “Excuse Me,” they immediately take the place of the targeted player and will decide whether the trade is correct as announced or is a bluff.
Should they wish, the active player may now Play a Burglar Token from their collection in order to target another player and ask for all of their animals of a specific type – “I wish to procure all of your cows” That player must then immediately hand over all their cows, or else may tell the active player to Go Fish. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but I started doing it and it stuck for me.
The third and final step of a turn is simply to Draw Cards and End Your Turn. Draw cards back up to the hand limit of 5 or 6 and end the turn. Play then passes to the next player.
Play continues in this fashion until the last card has been drawn. The game ends immediately and players tally their points per the rulebook to arrive at an ultimate winner!
Components. This game is a bunch of cards and some tokens in a double-wide+ tuckbox. I love the art, and that makes sense as it is illustrated by Lina Cossette, half of Mr. Cuddington. If you don’t know about Mr. Cuddington, please check out their website. The cards are good quality, as are the tokens. But that box. Now, it LOOKS great, and is a fine size. But a tuckbox? I would have preferred a lidded box, or even one of those with the magnetic fold-out lids. But it’s a tuckbox and the opening flap dented upon its first opening. Oy. I could give a chef’s kiss to everything else though.
Now, there’s a reason why I rated this game a 4 and my wife a 6: she beats me every single time we play and I just cannot find the strategy to take her down. Am I just horrible at bluffing games? Does she just dominate me at ALL games? I’m not sure, but this one certainly highlights the fact that she’s just better than me. I can still hear her haunting and taunting me with, “OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME! I’M SOOOOO GOOD AT IT!” Meanwhile I am sitting pretty with a whole flock of crows laughing at me like I am the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Perhaps I am truly brainless as well.
That said, the game is enjoyable. I do like to play bluffing games, but I’m the poor soul who would rather play straight than do ANY sort of bluffing at all. Except when I have lulled my prey into trusting my every declaration. Then pull out the big guns and laugh my way to the bank. Well, I tried that several times and no dice. But I do enjoy playing, and I do keep coming back for more torture. And if that isn’t a sign of a good game, then what is?
All in all the game is quick, light on rules, and features wonderful art style. This is the game I will probably use to introduce my children (or new gamers) to bluffing games as the theme is easily digestible and when you get stuck with the negative points you don’t feel super bad about it. It is easy to pronounce that Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a squawkin’-good 10 / 12. If you are looking for a light introductory game to teach bluffing or to hit that sweet-spot, then I recommend you check out Barnyard Roundup from Druid City Games. I ain’t a-bluffin’ ya.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Imposter Kings in Tabletop Games
May 1, 2021
If there is one thing that I love about board gaming, it’s strategy. Planning out and executing a long-term plan, only to have your opponents throw a wrench in it, thus forcing you to re-strategize on the spot? That’s my JAM. So when I heard about The Imposter Kings, I knew it was right up my alley. After getting to play it, did it live up to my expectations? Or is it an imposter that doesn’t hold up? Keep reading to find out!
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. -L
The Imposter Kings is a card game for 2-4 players in which players are attempting to gain and maintain control of the throne, accumulating a total of 7 points to win the game. There are some slight rules variations between 2-, 3-, and 4-player games, but the overall gameplay is the same. This review will focus on the 2-player rules. To setup for the game, assemble the deck as described in the rules for your chosen player count. In a 2-player game, the deck is comprised of 18 cards. Each player is given a King card, and one player’s will be the True King. The True King merely determines the first player for the round. Shuffle the deck and deal 8 cards to each player. There will be 2 cards leftover, and those will go into the center of the play area, one face-up and one face-down. This lets the players know which card is not in either players hand, as well as a random unknown card in neither players’ hand. Each player will select a card from their hand to be their Successor, and will place it face-down next to their King, and they will also select one card from their hand to discard face-down. The game is now ready to begin!
On your turn, you will play any card from your hand to the Court (play area) that is of an equal or higher value than the card played previously. The last-played card to the Court is considered to be on the Throne. All cards in Imposter Kings are numbered 1-9, and each card has an associated special ability. Once you play a card to the Court, you may/must use the ability (if optional/mandatory). These special abilities can alter the Court and gameplay by Disgracing cards (flipping them face-down to ‘reset’ the number line), swapping cards with other players, playing a lower-numbered card on top of a higher number etc. The round continues in this fashion, with players alternating, until one player is no longer able to play a card to the Court. That player loses the round, and the winning player receives a number of points, depending on certain aspects. The deck is reshuffled, the True King is passed to the loser of the round, and a new round commences. The first player to reach 7 points is the ultimate winner!
That details the basics of the gameplay, but there are a few special things to keep in mind. Certain cards will force players to play a card to their Antechamber – face-up in front of them. If ever you have a card in your Antechamber at the beginning of a turn, you must play it to the Court, regardless of its value. This can be a good strategic way to trap your opponent into playing a specific card on their next turn! Sometimes a card will need to be Condemned – it is then placed face-down in front of you, and then removed from play on your next turn. Another good way to eat up an opponent’s turn! If you ever get to a point in the round when you are unable to play a card to the Court, you may choose to use your King power – it allows you to flip your King over to Disgrace the card currently on the Throne, and take your Successor into your hand (hopefully giving you a chance to keep playing in the round!). However, there is an Assassin card in the game!! If you have the Assassin, you can reveal it when your opponent decides to use their King – thus assassinating them and immediately winning the round. Lots of tricksy ways to make sure you end up on the Throne!
So all in all, how does The Imposter Kings hold up? Fairly well, actually. For being a simple and relatively fast card game, there is a lot of strategy required for success. You have to decide which cards/powers to use when, while also trying to deduce what your opponent has in their hand. Can you trap them and force the round to end? Or have they kept a dark horse in hand for just this situation? There is a lot more to The Imposter Kings than meets the eye, and that makes it a fun challenge. The first time I played this game, it reminded me of a similar game by ButtonShy titled Hierarchy. The concept and gameplay are similar, but the biggest difference is that The Imposter Kings can be played with 3 and 4 players. That adds another element of strategy/chaos to the game, as there are more cards to deduce, more opportunities for the Court to change between your turns, and just more strategy in general. Hierarchy is strictly a 2-player game, but The Imposter Kings allows you to play with more people. With higher player counts, new and unique cards are added to the starting deck, offering even more abilities and strategic options for play. The gameplay scales with player count, and that keeps it engaging.
Let me touch on components for a minute. This is a retail version of the game, and the production quality is very nice! The game comes in a nice small box, and the deck of cards is sturdy in hand. The artwork is interesting, the text is clear, and the cards are color-coded based on their value. The coloring really helps with quick visual identification of what cards are in play. The game also comes with some reference cards for the various abilities, and those were much appreciated. The rulebook had a couple of areas of ambiguity, but watching the videos on the BGG page for The Imposter Kings helped answer any questions I might have had. All in all, good production quality!
So as you can probably tell from this review, I generally like The Imposter Kings. The gameplay is strategic, engaging, and its 3-4 player variants offer some unique twists that the 2-player just cannot handle. This is a game that I can see myself bringing out when I have newer gamers at my table. The gameplay is simple, yet strategic, and it is not overwhelming to learn or play. It definitely makes players think, and even now I’m thinking about what strategy I might try next game. If you are looking for something relatively simple, yet surprisingly strategic, consider checking out The Imposter Kings. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a royal 8 / 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. 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. -L
The Imposter Kings is a card game for 2-4 players in which players are attempting to gain and maintain control of the throne, accumulating a total of 7 points to win the game. There are some slight rules variations between 2-, 3-, and 4-player games, but the overall gameplay is the same. This review will focus on the 2-player rules. To setup for the game, assemble the deck as described in the rules for your chosen player count. In a 2-player game, the deck is comprised of 18 cards. Each player is given a King card, and one player’s will be the True King. The True King merely determines the first player for the round. Shuffle the deck and deal 8 cards to each player. There will be 2 cards leftover, and those will go into the center of the play area, one face-up and one face-down. This lets the players know which card is not in either players hand, as well as a random unknown card in neither players’ hand. Each player will select a card from their hand to be their Successor, and will place it face-down next to their King, and they will also select one card from their hand to discard face-down. The game is now ready to begin!
On your turn, you will play any card from your hand to the Court (play area) that is of an equal or higher value than the card played previously. The last-played card to the Court is considered to be on the Throne. All cards in Imposter Kings are numbered 1-9, and each card has an associated special ability. Once you play a card to the Court, you may/must use the ability (if optional/mandatory). These special abilities can alter the Court and gameplay by Disgracing cards (flipping them face-down to ‘reset’ the number line), swapping cards with other players, playing a lower-numbered card on top of a higher number etc. The round continues in this fashion, with players alternating, until one player is no longer able to play a card to the Court. That player loses the round, and the winning player receives a number of points, depending on certain aspects. The deck is reshuffled, the True King is passed to the loser of the round, and a new round commences. The first player to reach 7 points is the ultimate winner!
That details the basics of the gameplay, but there are a few special things to keep in mind. Certain cards will force players to play a card to their Antechamber – face-up in front of them. If ever you have a card in your Antechamber at the beginning of a turn, you must play it to the Court, regardless of its value. This can be a good strategic way to trap your opponent into playing a specific card on their next turn! Sometimes a card will need to be Condemned – it is then placed face-down in front of you, and then removed from play on your next turn. Another good way to eat up an opponent’s turn! If you ever get to a point in the round when you are unable to play a card to the Court, you may choose to use your King power – it allows you to flip your King over to Disgrace the card currently on the Throne, and take your Successor into your hand (hopefully giving you a chance to keep playing in the round!). However, there is an Assassin card in the game!! If you have the Assassin, you can reveal it when your opponent decides to use their King – thus assassinating them and immediately winning the round. Lots of tricksy ways to make sure you end up on the Throne!
So all in all, how does The Imposter Kings hold up? Fairly well, actually. For being a simple and relatively fast card game, there is a lot of strategy required for success. You have to decide which cards/powers to use when, while also trying to deduce what your opponent has in their hand. Can you trap them and force the round to end? Or have they kept a dark horse in hand for just this situation? There is a lot more to The Imposter Kings than meets the eye, and that makes it a fun challenge. The first time I played this game, it reminded me of a similar game by ButtonShy titled Hierarchy. The concept and gameplay are similar, but the biggest difference is that The Imposter Kings can be played with 3 and 4 players. That adds another element of strategy/chaos to the game, as there are more cards to deduce, more opportunities for the Court to change between your turns, and just more strategy in general. Hierarchy is strictly a 2-player game, but The Imposter Kings allows you to play with more people. With higher player counts, new and unique cards are added to the starting deck, offering even more abilities and strategic options for play. The gameplay scales with player count, and that keeps it engaging.
Let me touch on components for a minute. This is a retail version of the game, and the production quality is very nice! The game comes in a nice small box, and the deck of cards is sturdy in hand. The artwork is interesting, the text is clear, and the cards are color-coded based on their value. The coloring really helps with quick visual identification of what cards are in play. The game also comes with some reference cards for the various abilities, and those were much appreciated. The rulebook had a couple of areas of ambiguity, but watching the videos on the BGG page for The Imposter Kings helped answer any questions I might have had. All in all, good production quality!
So as you can probably tell from this review, I generally like The Imposter Kings. The gameplay is strategic, engaging, and its 3-4 player variants offer some unique twists that the 2-player just cannot handle. This is a game that I can see myself bringing out when I have newer gamers at my table. The gameplay is simple, yet strategic, and it is not overwhelming to learn or play. It definitely makes players think, and even now I’m thinking about what strategy I might try next game. If you are looking for something relatively simple, yet surprisingly strategic, consider checking out The Imposter Kings. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a royal 8 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Fort in Tabletop Games
Jul 27, 2021
One activity my 5-year-old son will never tire of: building forts. Mostly pillow/blanket-based, but all I am doing is grooming him for an eventual treehouse fort of his own in the backyard someday. What an excellent theme for a game, and when I had a chance to speak with Brooke from Leder Games about reviewing this one, I absolutely jumped for joy for the opportunity. No guessing whether we like a game here at Purple Phoenix Games – we put our ratings right on the first graphic of every review, so you know already that I love Fort. Let’s see why.
Fort is a hand management, deck-building game with a follow mechanic for two to four players. In it, players are assuming the roles of everyday kids trying to build their forts, play with their toys, and eat pizza with their buddies. The winner of the game is they who is able to score the most victory points (VP) at the end of the game, which can end in one of three different fashions.
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, each player chooses a player color and takes all items belonging to them, including the Best Friends cards from the stack. Every other component is then separated by type and cards shuffled. Per the rules, some decks of cards will only have a certain amount on the table, whereas the main deck of kid cards is always used. Each player will draw eight kid cards from the deck to add to their Best Friends and shuffle them. They will also place their score markers on the 0 space of the Victory Track board. Randomly determine the starting player and give them the coveted First Player card, and the game may now begin!
Fort is played in turns, with each turn consisting of five phases (the first phase is skipped on the first turn). The first phase is Cleanup. To Cleanup, the active player takes all kid cards remaining in their Yard and places them in their own discard pile. Next, the active player will Play a kid card from their hand. On each card is a space for up to two actions to be taken: the public action on top and the private action on bottom. The player may complete both, but MUST complete at least one of the actions in its entirety. If using the public action of the card, then other players at the table may also follow the action by discarding one card of the matching suit of the card originally played. However, the leader (active player) may also play additional cards from their hand, of the same suit, in order to boost the effects of the actions. Followers may not. These actions include gaining “stuff” (pizza and toys) to be placed in their Stuff area or backpack, trashing cards in their hands, or gaining VP.
After the players have Played cards, the next phase is Recruit. The active player may choose any kid card that exists in the Park (the space underneath the Victory Track that is always full of kids), another player’s Yard (the space above the player’s main board that they neglected to play with their previous turn), or they may simply draw a kid card blindly from the Park deck. These kids are sent directly to the discard pile to be drawn on a later turn.
Finally, phases four and five end a player’s turn. Phase four is Discard, where the active player will discard all their Best Friends, kid cards they played this turn, and recruited kids. The kid cards leftover that were not used are sent to the player’s Yard above their main boards to possibly be stolen by another player during their Recruit phase. After Discarding, the final phase is Draw, where the active player will draw another hand of five cards to prepare to follow other players and to prepare for the next round. Fort continues in this fashion of each player taking turns and following others’ actions until one player earns 25 VP on the track, any player increases their Fort to level 5, or the Park deck becomes empty. All players will finish their turns so that they all have played an equal amount of turns, and then the players total their scores to crown the winner!
Components. This game has super great components. The little pizza and toys bits are awesome, the double-layered boards are cool, and the art is amazing as well. If it looks familiar in style, it’s because you have seen this art on Root, Oath, and Vast, among others. I love it so much and it is a perfect match for this theme. I really have little negative to say about Fort except that I wish the player colors were different. The orange and yellow are a little close in hue, and the brownish/olive is drab. Everything else, though, *chef’s kiss.
It is probably no surprise why I love this one. Deck-building has long been one of my favorite mechanics, and I have always enjoyed the follow mechanic found in Tiny Epic Galaxies and Villages of Valeria. Mix those up with much more going on and an excellent theme and it’s definitely a big time winner for me. I think what puts me over the edge here is that cards can be used for a couple different actions, and they can be boosted with the right strategies. Get your deck in order to really maximize each turn and the game opens up for you. Several times I have been able to focus my deck and really pound some powerful abilities, but it certainly doesn’t always work out for me, especially when others catch on to what I am doing and hate-draft me into other tactics.
If you are into a fresh new look at deck-building and enjoy more wacky themes, as I do, then I urge you to check out Fort. Officially, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 5 / 6, but even though it probably won’t break into my Top 10, I do think it will come to the table more often than most games in my Top 10. So should I reconsider my Top 10? Hmm. Anyway, Fort is awesome and everyone I have played with seem to agree with me. So grab a copy or two for yourself. Heck, the gift-giving season is fast approaching, and I know these fit very well under trees and other significant symbols of festivities…
Fort is a hand management, deck-building game with a follow mechanic for two to four players. In it, players are assuming the roles of everyday kids trying to build their forts, play with their toys, and eat pizza with their buddies. The winner of the game is they who is able to score the most victory points (VP) at the end of the game, which can end in one of three different fashions.
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, each player chooses a player color and takes all items belonging to them, including the Best Friends cards from the stack. Every other component is then separated by type and cards shuffled. Per the rules, some decks of cards will only have a certain amount on the table, whereas the main deck of kid cards is always used. Each player will draw eight kid cards from the deck to add to their Best Friends and shuffle them. They will also place their score markers on the 0 space of the Victory Track board. Randomly determine the starting player and give them the coveted First Player card, and the game may now begin!
Fort is played in turns, with each turn consisting of five phases (the first phase is skipped on the first turn). The first phase is Cleanup. To Cleanup, the active player takes all kid cards remaining in their Yard and places them in their own discard pile. Next, the active player will Play a kid card from their hand. On each card is a space for up to two actions to be taken: the public action on top and the private action on bottom. The player may complete both, but MUST complete at least one of the actions in its entirety. If using the public action of the card, then other players at the table may also follow the action by discarding one card of the matching suit of the card originally played. However, the leader (active player) may also play additional cards from their hand, of the same suit, in order to boost the effects of the actions. Followers may not. These actions include gaining “stuff” (pizza and toys) to be placed in their Stuff area or backpack, trashing cards in their hands, or gaining VP.
After the players have Played cards, the next phase is Recruit. The active player may choose any kid card that exists in the Park (the space underneath the Victory Track that is always full of kids), another player’s Yard (the space above the player’s main board that they neglected to play with their previous turn), or they may simply draw a kid card blindly from the Park deck. These kids are sent directly to the discard pile to be drawn on a later turn.
Finally, phases four and five end a player’s turn. Phase four is Discard, where the active player will discard all their Best Friends, kid cards they played this turn, and recruited kids. The kid cards leftover that were not used are sent to the player’s Yard above their main boards to possibly be stolen by another player during their Recruit phase. After Discarding, the final phase is Draw, where the active player will draw another hand of five cards to prepare to follow other players and to prepare for the next round. Fort continues in this fashion of each player taking turns and following others’ actions until one player earns 25 VP on the track, any player increases their Fort to level 5, or the Park deck becomes empty. All players will finish their turns so that they all have played an equal amount of turns, and then the players total their scores to crown the winner!
Components. This game has super great components. The little pizza and toys bits are awesome, the double-layered boards are cool, and the art is amazing as well. If it looks familiar in style, it’s because you have seen this art on Root, Oath, and Vast, among others. I love it so much and it is a perfect match for this theme. I really have little negative to say about Fort except that I wish the player colors were different. The orange and yellow are a little close in hue, and the brownish/olive is drab. Everything else, though, *chef’s kiss.
It is probably no surprise why I love this one. Deck-building has long been one of my favorite mechanics, and I have always enjoyed the follow mechanic found in Tiny Epic Galaxies and Villages of Valeria. Mix those up with much more going on and an excellent theme and it’s definitely a big time winner for me. I think what puts me over the edge here is that cards can be used for a couple different actions, and they can be boosted with the right strategies. Get your deck in order to really maximize each turn and the game opens up for you. Several times I have been able to focus my deck and really pound some powerful abilities, but it certainly doesn’t always work out for me, especially when others catch on to what I am doing and hate-draft me into other tactics.
If you are into a fresh new look at deck-building and enjoy more wacky themes, as I do, then I urge you to check out Fort. Officially, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 5 / 6, but even though it probably won’t break into my Top 10, I do think it will come to the table more often than most games in my Top 10. So should I reconsider my Top 10? Hmm. Anyway, Fort is awesome and everyone I have played with seem to agree with me. So grab a copy or two for yourself. Heck, the gift-giving season is fast approaching, and I know these fit very well under trees and other significant symbols of festivities…
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Neon Knights: 2086 in Tabletop Games
Sep 10, 2020
Some of us actually lived through the 1980s. Just barely, but I certainly remember the neon stylizations, the hair, the tight-rolled pants. It’s not a look I ever hope to reincarnate. However, what if the style of the 1980s reappeared in the future? Like in the 2080s? That would be kind of awesome, actually. Or maybe it would be more bodacious or tubular. In any case, some things never go out of style. Things like attacking your fellow racers as they try to pass on the left with their NOS and dangling repair arms. Just me?
Neon Knights 2086 (here forth known as NK) is a car racing game of customization and street battle. The game essentially takes place over three race weeks (rounds) with each week being divided into a preparation period and then the race day itself. The winner of NK is not necessarily the driver who crosses the finish line more often, but rather the driver who wisely invests in upgrades and tempts Lady Luck to be on their side during crucial dice rolls.
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, separate and shuffle each different-backed deck of cards, set them on the board in their places, and display the number of cards equal to the card spaces on the board. Give each player components in their character color, the matching play mat, and starting car parts to be tucked under their mat. Determine the starting player who will construct the first race course out of the provided map chunks and the game may begin!
Again, I will not be explaining every rule in the game as there are just too many to cover, but the game is played over three weeks. During the preparation days leading up to the race on day 7 (Sunday I guess), players will be taking actions to draft upgrades to their cars, or implants into their driver’s BRAIN, getting themselves sponsored so they can make bank come pay day, and also accepting bets on how each driver can earn a little extra on the side come race day.
Each day leading up to the race will allow players to complete one action, and pay day is on Day 5. This is when players will be paid out by their sponsors thus allowing players more spending power at the various upgrade shops. However, Race Day looms ahead and drivers will be making sure they have the best car they can afford because racing is a matter of life or death.
During a race, players will be choosing their initial speed and traveling the course attempting to finish first to gain points, but also to inflict damage on opposing cars and trying to complete their bets they’ve made. Cars will typically travel the number of spaces that the driver has chosen as the speed for the turn, but along the way the cars will be passing over neon lights in the street that are colored according to the suggested speed to overcome them. Go too fast and players will need to roll damage dice to simulate clipping a curb or smashing into a building corner. Go the correct suggested speed or less and pass over the lights no problem and with no damage dice to roll. Of course, car upgrades can assist with this.
When cars end their turn on a space with another car, a battle ensues and damage is calculated. Also, either before or after movement a car can decide to use a weapon on a rival car in range of their weapon to inflict extra damage. After all, a well-damaged car must screech to a halt and possibly use precious resources to repair the damage. Races are flat out bonkers but are the crux of NK. The winner of NK is the player who can amass the most VP at the end of the game and will be able to run a victory lap in the streets.
Components. This game is one of those hefty 12×12 boxes that is packed with goodies. The board is huge. The player components are beautiful and amazing. The player mats are great and laid out really well. The big chunky street map tiles are big and chunky. The colors are perfectly ’80s and perfect for a board game. I have no issues at all with the components. Oh wait, just one little eensy weensy complaint. I wish the font in the rule book was something of the serif variety instead of block all-caps. I felt as if I were being scolded for reading the rules.
All that said, I find Neon Knights 2086 to be a beautiful and relatively quick-playing racing game with the added bonus of car customization akin to that of creating an RPG character (and everyone knows that’s the best part of RPGs). The prep days are super fast to play through because you are basically just taking cards from the offers or drawing cards from the face-down decks to improve your ride, or repairing your car from previous races, and negotiating with sponsors to get those sweet gigs.
The racing, however, is where the game play takes off. It’s here that all the planning and optimizing is put to the test. It’s here where you discover that some of your “upgrades” just ain’t cuttin’ it, and need to be upgraded further. Hopefully a new sweet (and affordable) weapon will come out during the week. Maybe a new sponsor will enter and entice you with tons of money. And then it’s Race Day and you can take your rig out to demolish the competition. Ahh sweet demolition.
This game was a big surprise for me for several reasons. First, I didn’t realize how much I actually enjoyed some of the things from the ’80s. Those colors are just so dang beautiful. That design. So good. But also I just don’t play a lot of car racing games so I was skeptical at first. I’m not a fan of NASCAR so obviously I won’t like any car racing game, right? At least that was my initial thought. Neon Knights 2086 may just have piqued my interest in trying out some other racing titles in the future. For these reasons, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a bruised 8 / 12. If you are aching for a racing game with battles in the streets and customization in the sheets, check out Neon Knights 2086. I am now a believer, and can’t wait to play this one many more times.
Neon Knights 2086 (here forth known as NK) is a car racing game of customization and street battle. The game essentially takes place over three race weeks (rounds) with each week being divided into a preparation period and then the race day itself. The winner of NK is not necessarily the driver who crosses the finish line more often, but rather the driver who wisely invests in upgrades and tempts Lady Luck to be on their side during crucial dice rolls.
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, separate and shuffle each different-backed deck of cards, set them on the board in their places, and display the number of cards equal to the card spaces on the board. Give each player components in their character color, the matching play mat, and starting car parts to be tucked under their mat. Determine the starting player who will construct the first race course out of the provided map chunks and the game may begin!
Again, I will not be explaining every rule in the game as there are just too many to cover, but the game is played over three weeks. During the preparation days leading up to the race on day 7 (Sunday I guess), players will be taking actions to draft upgrades to their cars, or implants into their driver’s BRAIN, getting themselves sponsored so they can make bank come pay day, and also accepting bets on how each driver can earn a little extra on the side come race day.
Each day leading up to the race will allow players to complete one action, and pay day is on Day 5. This is when players will be paid out by their sponsors thus allowing players more spending power at the various upgrade shops. However, Race Day looms ahead and drivers will be making sure they have the best car they can afford because racing is a matter of life or death.
During a race, players will be choosing their initial speed and traveling the course attempting to finish first to gain points, but also to inflict damage on opposing cars and trying to complete their bets they’ve made. Cars will typically travel the number of spaces that the driver has chosen as the speed for the turn, but along the way the cars will be passing over neon lights in the street that are colored according to the suggested speed to overcome them. Go too fast and players will need to roll damage dice to simulate clipping a curb or smashing into a building corner. Go the correct suggested speed or less and pass over the lights no problem and with no damage dice to roll. Of course, car upgrades can assist with this.
When cars end their turn on a space with another car, a battle ensues and damage is calculated. Also, either before or after movement a car can decide to use a weapon on a rival car in range of their weapon to inflict extra damage. After all, a well-damaged car must screech to a halt and possibly use precious resources to repair the damage. Races are flat out bonkers but are the crux of NK. The winner of NK is the player who can amass the most VP at the end of the game and will be able to run a victory lap in the streets.
Components. This game is one of those hefty 12×12 boxes that is packed with goodies. The board is huge. The player components are beautiful and amazing. The player mats are great and laid out really well. The big chunky street map tiles are big and chunky. The colors are perfectly ’80s and perfect for a board game. I have no issues at all with the components. Oh wait, just one little eensy weensy complaint. I wish the font in the rule book was something of the serif variety instead of block all-caps. I felt as if I were being scolded for reading the rules.
All that said, I find Neon Knights 2086 to be a beautiful and relatively quick-playing racing game with the added bonus of car customization akin to that of creating an RPG character (and everyone knows that’s the best part of RPGs). The prep days are super fast to play through because you are basically just taking cards from the offers or drawing cards from the face-down decks to improve your ride, or repairing your car from previous races, and negotiating with sponsors to get those sweet gigs.
The racing, however, is where the game play takes off. It’s here that all the planning and optimizing is put to the test. It’s here where you discover that some of your “upgrades” just ain’t cuttin’ it, and need to be upgraded further. Hopefully a new sweet (and affordable) weapon will come out during the week. Maybe a new sponsor will enter and entice you with tons of money. And then it’s Race Day and you can take your rig out to demolish the competition. Ahh sweet demolition.
This game was a big surprise for me for several reasons. First, I didn’t realize how much I actually enjoyed some of the things from the ’80s. Those colors are just so dang beautiful. That design. So good. But also I just don’t play a lot of car racing games so I was skeptical at first. I’m not a fan of NASCAR so obviously I won’t like any car racing game, right? At least that was my initial thought. Neon Knights 2086 may just have piqued my interest in trying out some other racing titles in the future. For these reasons, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a bruised 8 / 12. If you are aching for a racing game with battles in the streets and customization in the sheets, check out Neon Knights 2086. I am now a believer, and can’t wait to play this one many more times.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Dreams of Tomorrow in Tabletop Games
Sep 17, 2020
Let’s talk about dreams. They can range from simply reliving a stressful day at work, to remembering THAT embarrassing moment from your past, to maybe even discovering that you have superpowers. In your dreams, there are endless possibilities – but what if they meant something more? According to Dreams of Tomorrow, our dreams actually serve a bigger purpose!
Dreams of Tomorrow is game of set collection that utilizes a shifting rondel (I had to look up the definition too) in which players are working to weave a series of dreams into a complete Dream Sequence. Set in the future, players take on the roles of Dream Engineers, who are tasked with creating Dream Sequences to be sent to the past in an effort to save the future. Can you weave the most powerful Dream Sequence to alter the path of your present life, or is the future doomed to fall?
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. -L
To setup the game, place the Collective Consciousness (the rondel) in numerical order within reach of all players. Reveal a number of Dream cards from the Dream deck, based on the number of players, and these cards will create the communal Dreamscape. Each player receives a player card, cubes, and meeple in their chosen color, and sets their resources to the starting numbers, as described in the rulebook. All players begin with their meeples in the first space of the rondel, and in clockwise order, will select and pay for a Dream from the Dreamscape to be placed in their Dream Catcher (waiting area). Once all players have selected a Dream, and adjusted their resources accordingly, the game is ready to begin.
Dreams of Tomorrow is played over a series of rounds in which players will take turns performing 2 actions: Move and Take Action. Movement happens sequentially around the rondel, and players may choose how many spaces to move. To move 1-3 spaces is free, but to move more than 3 spaces will cost a number of resources. When a player decides to end their movement, they will then take the action indicated on the space on which they landed. These actions include: Gaining resources, Catching a Dream, Weaving a Dream, or Activating a Dream Ability. Gaining resources is pretty self-explanatory, and there is one neat thing to note: even if it is not your active turn, most of the rondel spaces have a Shared Effect, which grants an off-turn action to all non-active players. Catching a Dream means that you pay the requisite resources and select a Dream from the Dreamscape. Any caught Dreams go into your Dream Catcher until you are able to perform the Weave a Dream action. When you Weave a Dream, you again pay the requisite resources displayed on the Dream card and move the Dream from your Dream Catcher into your Dream Sequence (play area). To Activate a Dream Ability, you select a Dream card in your tableau, and use the ability printed on it. It is important to note that once Dreams are woven into your Dream Sequence, they will overlap each other, and only one Dream Ability will ever be available for use, so create that sequence wisely! Play continues in turns until one player has woven a Dream Sequence of five Dreams total. The round ends once all players have taken the same number of turns, and then final points are counted. The player with the highest score is the winner!
So all-in-all, how is Dreams of Tomorrow as a whole? I actually was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this game. When reading through the rules, it seemed kind of complicated and I was a bit worried before my first play. Once you actually get playing, however, the game is pretty intuitive and simple to play. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this game is its iconography. With only three resources and four actions, there are only seven icons of which to keep track. It keeps the cards from being cluttered with text, and makes the costs/abilities clear to understand. The iconography of the Dream Abilities, however, can be a liiiittle more complicated, but the game does come with Reference Cards which explain what every single icon means!
Another neat thing I enjoyed about this gameplay is the addition of Shared Effects. Even if you are not the active player, you will always gain some resource on everyone else’s turn. That adds an extra element of strategy because you have to amass your own resources for Dreams, but you have to be careful not to be giving your opponents too much extra help for themselves! Probably my favorite part of Dreams of Tomorrow are the actual Dream Abilities themselves. Performing the regular turn actions are pretty straight-forward, but Dream Abilities are more special and allow you to do even more on your turn. For example, some Dream Abilities allow you to change directions, move extra spaces, or even alter the Collective Consciousness, re-arranging the cards in a way to benefit you and hopefully hinder your opponents. The Dream Abilities are literal game-changers, and they really keep all players on their toes.
Talking about components, this game is of a pretty good quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the player boards are decent, and the meeples and cubes are your standard wooden tokens. I’ve said in reviews before, but I always appreciate when games include Reference Cards for players, and Dreams of Tomorrow certainly delivered on theirs. The cards are clear, concise, and helpful during play. The artwork of this game is very vibrantly colorful and just plain pretty to look at. I found myself getting distracted by admiring the artwork, or catching Dreams based on their artwork, instead of taking their point-values or resources requirements into consideration. Oops. That’s just my bad, but the artwork really helps make the game more immersive.
Overall, I would say that Dreams of Tomorrow is a great little game. Admittedly, the rulebook is kind of daunting and seems a little overly complicated at first, but once you get into an actual game, it flows very quickly and easily. After just one turn, I got exactly what was happening and had no further questions about the gameplay. It really went above and beyond my expectations, and is one that I definitely look forward to bringing out in future game nights. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a dreamy 10 / 12. Check this one out if you haven’t before, it may just be the game of your dreams. (Ha, get it?)
Dreams of Tomorrow is game of set collection that utilizes a shifting rondel (I had to look up the definition too) in which players are working to weave a series of dreams into a complete Dream Sequence. Set in the future, players take on the roles of Dream Engineers, who are tasked with creating Dream Sequences to be sent to the past in an effort to save the future. Can you weave the most powerful Dream Sequence to alter the path of your present life, or is the future doomed to fall?
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. -L
To setup the game, place the Collective Consciousness (the rondel) in numerical order within reach of all players. Reveal a number of Dream cards from the Dream deck, based on the number of players, and these cards will create the communal Dreamscape. Each player receives a player card, cubes, and meeple in their chosen color, and sets their resources to the starting numbers, as described in the rulebook. All players begin with their meeples in the first space of the rondel, and in clockwise order, will select and pay for a Dream from the Dreamscape to be placed in their Dream Catcher (waiting area). Once all players have selected a Dream, and adjusted their resources accordingly, the game is ready to begin.
Dreams of Tomorrow is played over a series of rounds in which players will take turns performing 2 actions: Move and Take Action. Movement happens sequentially around the rondel, and players may choose how many spaces to move. To move 1-3 spaces is free, but to move more than 3 spaces will cost a number of resources. When a player decides to end their movement, they will then take the action indicated on the space on which they landed. These actions include: Gaining resources, Catching a Dream, Weaving a Dream, or Activating a Dream Ability. Gaining resources is pretty self-explanatory, and there is one neat thing to note: even if it is not your active turn, most of the rondel spaces have a Shared Effect, which grants an off-turn action to all non-active players. Catching a Dream means that you pay the requisite resources and select a Dream from the Dreamscape. Any caught Dreams go into your Dream Catcher until you are able to perform the Weave a Dream action. When you Weave a Dream, you again pay the requisite resources displayed on the Dream card and move the Dream from your Dream Catcher into your Dream Sequence (play area). To Activate a Dream Ability, you select a Dream card in your tableau, and use the ability printed on it. It is important to note that once Dreams are woven into your Dream Sequence, they will overlap each other, and only one Dream Ability will ever be available for use, so create that sequence wisely! Play continues in turns until one player has woven a Dream Sequence of five Dreams total. The round ends once all players have taken the same number of turns, and then final points are counted. The player with the highest score is the winner!
So all-in-all, how is Dreams of Tomorrow as a whole? I actually was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this game. When reading through the rules, it seemed kind of complicated and I was a bit worried before my first play. Once you actually get playing, however, the game is pretty intuitive and simple to play. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this game is its iconography. With only three resources and four actions, there are only seven icons of which to keep track. It keeps the cards from being cluttered with text, and makes the costs/abilities clear to understand. The iconography of the Dream Abilities, however, can be a liiiittle more complicated, but the game does come with Reference Cards which explain what every single icon means!
Another neat thing I enjoyed about this gameplay is the addition of Shared Effects. Even if you are not the active player, you will always gain some resource on everyone else’s turn. That adds an extra element of strategy because you have to amass your own resources for Dreams, but you have to be careful not to be giving your opponents too much extra help for themselves! Probably my favorite part of Dreams of Tomorrow are the actual Dream Abilities themselves. Performing the regular turn actions are pretty straight-forward, but Dream Abilities are more special and allow you to do even more on your turn. For example, some Dream Abilities allow you to change directions, move extra spaces, or even alter the Collective Consciousness, re-arranging the cards in a way to benefit you and hopefully hinder your opponents. The Dream Abilities are literal game-changers, and they really keep all players on their toes.
Talking about components, this game is of a pretty good quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the player boards are decent, and the meeples and cubes are your standard wooden tokens. I’ve said in reviews before, but I always appreciate when games include Reference Cards for players, and Dreams of Tomorrow certainly delivered on theirs. The cards are clear, concise, and helpful during play. The artwork of this game is very vibrantly colorful and just plain pretty to look at. I found myself getting distracted by admiring the artwork, or catching Dreams based on their artwork, instead of taking their point-values or resources requirements into consideration. Oops. That’s just my bad, but the artwork really helps make the game more immersive.
Overall, I would say that Dreams of Tomorrow is a great little game. Admittedly, the rulebook is kind of daunting and seems a little overly complicated at first, but once you get into an actual game, it flows very quickly and easily. After just one turn, I got exactly what was happening and had no further questions about the gameplay. It really went above and beyond my expectations, and is one that I definitely look forward to bringing out in future game nights. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a dreamy 10 / 12. Check this one out if you haven’t before, it may just be the game of your dreams. (Ha, get it?)
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Faza in Tabletop Games
Oct 28, 2020
You know those fantasy dreams you have where an alien race comes to Earth and tries to take over the world and terraform it to match their homeland? Just me? Well, this is awkward. Okay, how about the ones where you are a freedom fighter trying to save the world from those aliens and you only have three friends to help you in your impossible mission? That one is better? Okay! Then you are in for a treat with Faza, no matter which dream is yours.
Faza is a sci-fi, grid movement, modular board, purely cooperative board game for one to four players. In this review I will be addressing it from a solo player’s viewpoint. In my plays I have used the full complement of four characters and controlled them all simultaneously.
In Faza, players take on the roles of four Faction Zeta members tasked with saving Earth from the Faza alien race. They will accomplish this by using each character’s skills effectively and efficiently, killing alien drones invading the town tiles, and attacking motherships using the help of turncoat rebel Faza. Only one path to victory lies ahead with several ways to lose. Do you got the GUTS? DO YA??
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 a game of Faza, each player will choose a character to control throughout the game. These characters are medical, political, tactical, or technological in nature, and there are two of each from which players may choose. The map of the town is comprised of 16 tiles, and once randomly setup in a 4×4 grid players will place their color-matched meeples on the appropriate Outpost tiles along with two rebels (purple fazeeples). Each of the three mothership standees will be placed on tiles corresponding to rulebook placement along with three drones and two drones per orthogonally adjacent tiles. The Faza deck is to be shuffled and placed aside, along with the remaining drones and rebels. Each player places out their character action cards in numerical order and the game may now begin in earnest!
On a player’s turn… well, there aren’t any turns in this game. In fact, the game is played over several phases: the Team Phase and the Faza Phase. During the Team Phase players may use several free actions and one action pertaining to each of their four player action cards. Each of these cards offer the player a choice of two actions. Perhaps one side is movement and the other a bazooka. Or one is an airplane while the other is a raygun, for example. As actions are spent cards are twisted 90 degrees to keep track.
During the Team Phase players may play their actions in any order that would benefit the team best. This also includes fighting drones and sending rebels to damage the motherships. However, with every damage to the mothership taken a Faza card is drawn and put into play. These could be real bad news for the heroes, or even reward cards. They can be devastating or not so bad at all. Once players have finished the Team Phase, the action now turns to the Faza.
During the Faza Phase the Mothership Activation Tracker will move to the next mothership in sequence and activate their abilities. The motherships will typically move, do something bad to the terrain or drop more drones or destroy something, and then pass play onto the players again.
Each mothership starts the game with 4 HP and once players send enough rebels and encounter the same number of Faza cards the mothership is downed and less powerful when their ability card is activated. However, players will win once all three motherships have been defeated! On the other hand, players will lose when any one player dies of injuries from unsuccessful battles, the players run out of drones to be placed on the board when needed, all of the Outpost tiles have been terraformed by the Faza motherships, or all rebels have been removed from the board in Hard Mode.
Components. When contacted about reviewing the game I first turned to the website and watched a how to play video by Jon Gets Games. He did a great job explaining the rules clearly and succinctly. Then I happened to get a notification on BGG that Marco Arnaudo posted a video on Faza, so I watched it as well. In his video he complains that though the components are all very nice (which they are for sure) the color palette is not great. I can certainly see why he would say such a thing, but orange is my favorite color, so to see so much of it on a game is a big plus for me. Yes, having the orange drones sitting atop an orange town tile can maybe make for unpleasant color contrast, I happen to find it tolerable and enjoyable. The quality of the components is wonderful and the box has a nice heft to it. No complaints from ME about the components. Did I mention the rebels are an amazing purple color as well? No secret here that we love the color purple! Maybe even more than Oprah!
The gameplay is where it’s at for me. Marco too. We both love this little gem! The ability to sandbox your entire turn and just have one character do one action, then switch over to another character to do one or more actions, then back to the original is just so much fun. Each character has a special ability and four action cards. Even when an injury must be sustained, actions are still available, but at a much lesser potency. That’s a great way to negatively affect the players without having to completely debilitate them. To sustain an injury the player will flip their lowest-numbered action card to the back side, and once all four of their action cards are injured they are dead. D-E-D dead.
As a solo game Faza really delivers the goods. Being able to control two to four characters by oneself and determine the best order to activate abilities and move meeples around is delicious. Having certain tiles offer combat bonuses to matching characters is excellent and a great way to thin the herd of pesky drones. I really cannot say enough great things about the game. If you have never heard of this one, please don’t worry. I really hadn’t either until the designer contacted me about reviewing it. And I am certainly glad he did because this is a marvel of a game. I am looking forward to my next play against the Faza and increasing the difficulty to really bash my confidence on this one.
If you are looking for a game that is relatively quick to play and offers so many great choices, while using a wonderful art style and color palette, I urge you to check out Faza by visiting the website and ordering your copy right away. The Earth needs you to ward off the invaders and you need to play this game of mostly orange with a dash of purple.
Faza is a sci-fi, grid movement, modular board, purely cooperative board game for one to four players. In this review I will be addressing it from a solo player’s viewpoint. In my plays I have used the full complement of four characters and controlled them all simultaneously.
In Faza, players take on the roles of four Faction Zeta members tasked with saving Earth from the Faza alien race. They will accomplish this by using each character’s skills effectively and efficiently, killing alien drones invading the town tiles, and attacking motherships using the help of turncoat rebel Faza. Only one path to victory lies ahead with several ways to lose. Do you got the GUTS? DO YA??
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 a game of Faza, each player will choose a character to control throughout the game. These characters are medical, political, tactical, or technological in nature, and there are two of each from which players may choose. The map of the town is comprised of 16 tiles, and once randomly setup in a 4×4 grid players will place their color-matched meeples on the appropriate Outpost tiles along with two rebels (purple fazeeples). Each of the three mothership standees will be placed on tiles corresponding to rulebook placement along with three drones and two drones per orthogonally adjacent tiles. The Faza deck is to be shuffled and placed aside, along with the remaining drones and rebels. Each player places out their character action cards in numerical order and the game may now begin in earnest!
On a player’s turn… well, there aren’t any turns in this game. In fact, the game is played over several phases: the Team Phase and the Faza Phase. During the Team Phase players may use several free actions and one action pertaining to each of their four player action cards. Each of these cards offer the player a choice of two actions. Perhaps one side is movement and the other a bazooka. Or one is an airplane while the other is a raygun, for example. As actions are spent cards are twisted 90 degrees to keep track.
During the Team Phase players may play their actions in any order that would benefit the team best. This also includes fighting drones and sending rebels to damage the motherships. However, with every damage to the mothership taken a Faza card is drawn and put into play. These could be real bad news for the heroes, or even reward cards. They can be devastating or not so bad at all. Once players have finished the Team Phase, the action now turns to the Faza.
During the Faza Phase the Mothership Activation Tracker will move to the next mothership in sequence and activate their abilities. The motherships will typically move, do something bad to the terrain or drop more drones or destroy something, and then pass play onto the players again.
Each mothership starts the game with 4 HP and once players send enough rebels and encounter the same number of Faza cards the mothership is downed and less powerful when their ability card is activated. However, players will win once all three motherships have been defeated! On the other hand, players will lose when any one player dies of injuries from unsuccessful battles, the players run out of drones to be placed on the board when needed, all of the Outpost tiles have been terraformed by the Faza motherships, or all rebels have been removed from the board in Hard Mode.
Components. When contacted about reviewing the game I first turned to the website and watched a how to play video by Jon Gets Games. He did a great job explaining the rules clearly and succinctly. Then I happened to get a notification on BGG that Marco Arnaudo posted a video on Faza, so I watched it as well. In his video he complains that though the components are all very nice (which they are for sure) the color palette is not great. I can certainly see why he would say such a thing, but orange is my favorite color, so to see so much of it on a game is a big plus for me. Yes, having the orange drones sitting atop an orange town tile can maybe make for unpleasant color contrast, I happen to find it tolerable and enjoyable. The quality of the components is wonderful and the box has a nice heft to it. No complaints from ME about the components. Did I mention the rebels are an amazing purple color as well? No secret here that we love the color purple! Maybe even more than Oprah!
The gameplay is where it’s at for me. Marco too. We both love this little gem! The ability to sandbox your entire turn and just have one character do one action, then switch over to another character to do one or more actions, then back to the original is just so much fun. Each character has a special ability and four action cards. Even when an injury must be sustained, actions are still available, but at a much lesser potency. That’s a great way to negatively affect the players without having to completely debilitate them. To sustain an injury the player will flip their lowest-numbered action card to the back side, and once all four of their action cards are injured they are dead. D-E-D dead.
As a solo game Faza really delivers the goods. Being able to control two to four characters by oneself and determine the best order to activate abilities and move meeples around is delicious. Having certain tiles offer combat bonuses to matching characters is excellent and a great way to thin the herd of pesky drones. I really cannot say enough great things about the game. If you have never heard of this one, please don’t worry. I really hadn’t either until the designer contacted me about reviewing it. And I am certainly glad he did because this is a marvel of a game. I am looking forward to my next play against the Faza and increasing the difficulty to really bash my confidence on this one.
If you are looking for a game that is relatively quick to play and offers so many great choices, while using a wonderful art style and color palette, I urge you to check out Faza by visiting the website and ordering your copy right away. The Earth needs you to ward off the invaders and you need to play this game of mostly orange with a dash of purple.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Talisman: Kingdom Hearts in Tabletop Games
Dec 10, 2020
I do not play video games much anymore. There was a time that I would spend most of my waking hours on my computer trying to LFG in Jeuno or the Valkurm Dunes as a DRG/THF to get those dang 10-20s. I completely understand if you have no idea what I am talking about, but if you did, hello from Limber on Ramuh! The last two sentences refer to my 3 and a half years playing Final Fantasy XI online. It was a glorious game and I made really great friends playing it. This version of Final Fantasy released within months of the very first Kingdom Hearts game. If you are also unfamiliar with the Kingdom Hearts IP, it is a mashup of Final Fantasy and Disney characters. That’s right, medieval style hack ‘n slash with magic fighting fantastical beasts meets Mickey Mouse. I don’t know why, but it worked and it still does. Obviously, combining two universes that I happen to love will automatically endear a high level of affinity from me, but is this implementation of an older board game going to satisfy my need for nostalgia or will it simply be a strange skin over a bad game?
In Talisman Kingdom Hearts (which I will now call simply Talisman for this review) players will be taking on roles of Kingdom Hearts characters to traverse the world with the ultimate goal of reaching the Door to Darkness and sealing it forever. The player who seals the Door ends the game, but it does not necessarily mean they will win this semi-cooperative-but-mostly-competitive roll-and-move 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, follow the instructions in the rulebook. Each player will either be dealt a character at random or may choose from the 11 characters in the box. The gigantic board goes wherever it will fit on the table, and the decks of cards are to be shuffled and stacked nearby. The Object cards will be separated by type and placed face-up near the face-up pile of Keyblade cards. Players will adjust their Stat Dials to match the starting stats printed on their character card and the game is ready to begin!
Talisman is a game played over a series of many very quick turns. Each turn is comprised of two phases: Movement and Encounters. During the Movement phase within the Outer and Middle Regions the active player will roll 1d6 and decide to move clockwise or counter-clockwise that many spaces around the board. Once within the Inner Region players will move one space at a time and no longer need to roll. Once a player lands on a space they will have Encounters while stopping.
Encounters on a space may involve several cards in play. Spaces on the board will have written instructions or merely iconography to instruct players what to do on each space. If drawing an Adventure Card from the deck, the active player may come across enemies to fight, followers to recruit, or even items to help in their journeys.
Combat is pretty slick and easy in the game: the player has a base Strength or Magic stat on their dials to which is added the result of a die roll. Compare this to the enemy’s matching base stat plus their roll. The larger result wins the combat. The player takes the enemy card as a trophy when they win, and loses a Health value when they lose and the enemy typically stays on the board space until defeated.
Play continues in this way (with a few more surprises along the way that I will have you play to discover on your own) of taking turns moving and encountering spaces until one player seals the Door to Darkness. Players are then awarded VP for various numbers of cards, where they end up on the board, stat differentials, and other means. The player with the most VP wins the game!
Components. This is a large box and comes with several different types of components. The first is a monstrously-sized game board that takes up a lot of space. That’s not at all bad, but it is certainly a busy board. There is so much information and artwork on the board, and also may have tokens set upon it to be linked to cards on the table. With over 200 cards in the box along with player character cards, stat dials, and 11 plastic minis you get a lot in the box for your money. I would say that all of the components are of excellent quality and I have no qualms with any of them aside from the very large and very busy main board.
I have some good and bad news here. First the bad. This plays somewhat similarly to a game I happen to have very lukewarm feelings for: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. In both games players are rolling a die and deciding which direction to travel in order to have an encounter on the space. Combat is decided primarily by stats and die rolls with only the Fate tokens in Talisman to assist with a re-roll of one die. Combine that with the frustration of needing to land exactly on a space on the board in order to progress to the next Region inward and players may be volleying themselves back and forth trying to roll just the right number to hop into the Middle or Inner Regions.
That all said, I still do enjoy this game. Yes, I like it because of the art and the theme. I have always said that I prefer my games to have great art and a great theme before I start to care about mechanics and other attributes. This is a case in point. I love the look of the game, the table presence, the Kingdom Hearts IP, and I typically do not gravitate toward roll-and-move games. But, there is enough in Talisman that it keeps me interested in playing more and more. I will eventually be able to play with all of the different characters to experience their own unique special abilities and select a character with whom I most relate. I think I will enjoy that journey.
I can also play this game with my wife pretty readily, and that is a huge positive for me. I know that in time my children will be able to play this game without much arm-twisting as well as we are a huge Disney household. The rules are relatively light, and the rulebook does a great job of breaking everything down. That said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a hybridized and limit broken 9 / 12. If you love the Kingdom Hearts IP, or the Talisman games, or even games to introduce to newer players, then you need to take a look at Talisman Kingdom Hearts. I am still discovering things in the game that I hadn’t noticed on previous plays and that keeps me coming back for more. You won’t feel the brain burn here but you will have a great time having Chip ‘n Dale, Dumbo, and Tinkerbell following you along your adventure.
In Talisman Kingdom Hearts (which I will now call simply Talisman for this review) players will be taking on roles of Kingdom Hearts characters to traverse the world with the ultimate goal of reaching the Door to Darkness and sealing it forever. The player who seals the Door ends the game, but it does not necessarily mean they will win this semi-cooperative-but-mostly-competitive roll-and-move 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, follow the instructions in the rulebook. Each player will either be dealt a character at random or may choose from the 11 characters in the box. The gigantic board goes wherever it will fit on the table, and the decks of cards are to be shuffled and stacked nearby. The Object cards will be separated by type and placed face-up near the face-up pile of Keyblade cards. Players will adjust their Stat Dials to match the starting stats printed on their character card and the game is ready to begin!
Talisman is a game played over a series of many very quick turns. Each turn is comprised of two phases: Movement and Encounters. During the Movement phase within the Outer and Middle Regions the active player will roll 1d6 and decide to move clockwise or counter-clockwise that many spaces around the board. Once within the Inner Region players will move one space at a time and no longer need to roll. Once a player lands on a space they will have Encounters while stopping.
Encounters on a space may involve several cards in play. Spaces on the board will have written instructions or merely iconography to instruct players what to do on each space. If drawing an Adventure Card from the deck, the active player may come across enemies to fight, followers to recruit, or even items to help in their journeys.
Combat is pretty slick and easy in the game: the player has a base Strength or Magic stat on their dials to which is added the result of a die roll. Compare this to the enemy’s matching base stat plus their roll. The larger result wins the combat. The player takes the enemy card as a trophy when they win, and loses a Health value when they lose and the enemy typically stays on the board space until defeated.
Play continues in this way (with a few more surprises along the way that I will have you play to discover on your own) of taking turns moving and encountering spaces until one player seals the Door to Darkness. Players are then awarded VP for various numbers of cards, where they end up on the board, stat differentials, and other means. The player with the most VP wins the game!
Components. This is a large box and comes with several different types of components. The first is a monstrously-sized game board that takes up a lot of space. That’s not at all bad, but it is certainly a busy board. There is so much information and artwork on the board, and also may have tokens set upon it to be linked to cards on the table. With over 200 cards in the box along with player character cards, stat dials, and 11 plastic minis you get a lot in the box for your money. I would say that all of the components are of excellent quality and I have no qualms with any of them aside from the very large and very busy main board.
I have some good and bad news here. First the bad. This plays somewhat similarly to a game I happen to have very lukewarm feelings for: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. In both games players are rolling a die and deciding which direction to travel in order to have an encounter on the space. Combat is decided primarily by stats and die rolls with only the Fate tokens in Talisman to assist with a re-roll of one die. Combine that with the frustration of needing to land exactly on a space on the board in order to progress to the next Region inward and players may be volleying themselves back and forth trying to roll just the right number to hop into the Middle or Inner Regions.
That all said, I still do enjoy this game. Yes, I like it because of the art and the theme. I have always said that I prefer my games to have great art and a great theme before I start to care about mechanics and other attributes. This is a case in point. I love the look of the game, the table presence, the Kingdom Hearts IP, and I typically do not gravitate toward roll-and-move games. But, there is enough in Talisman that it keeps me interested in playing more and more. I will eventually be able to play with all of the different characters to experience their own unique special abilities and select a character with whom I most relate. I think I will enjoy that journey.
I can also play this game with my wife pretty readily, and that is a huge positive for me. I know that in time my children will be able to play this game without much arm-twisting as well as we are a huge Disney household. The rules are relatively light, and the rulebook does a great job of breaking everything down. That said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a hybridized and limit broken 9 / 12. If you love the Kingdom Hearts IP, or the Talisman games, or even games to introduce to newer players, then you need to take a look at Talisman Kingdom Hearts. I am still discovering things in the game that I hadn’t noticed on previous plays and that keeps me coming back for more. You won’t feel the brain burn here but you will have a great time having Chip ‘n Dale, Dumbo, and Tinkerbell following you along your adventure.
