Years ago, when we were just starting to buy board games, a representative from Snakes & Lattes recommended two games to us: Card of the Dead and Hanabi. One is a game about fighting zombies in the apocalypse, while the other is a game about sequencing fireworks. Naturally, we chose the zombie game, because how could a game about fireworks top zombies? Well, Card of the Dead turned out to be a dud that collected dust on our shelf until we eventually gave it away.
Meanwhile, Hanabi became a runaway smash hit, selling a ton of copies for R&R Games and even winning the prestigious Speil des Jahres award for game of the year. Recognizing that we blew it, I always wondered what would have been had we chosen Hanabi on that fateful day. After a few recent plays with this fireworks-based game, we probably would have been a lot happier.
I hate wearing watches. Haven’t worn one since I was like 8 years old. Can’t stand the handcuff-like feeling that comes with wearing one. The ability to tell time has never been enough of a selling point to overcome that barrier. But could I make an exception for one made by my favourite tech company? One that has the potential to do way more than tell the time? If the Apple Watch can’t do it, I don’t know what will.
Give it to the King is a very fitting, if overly literal name for this board game. In it, you and your fellow players are messengers racing to the throne in order to give your message to the king. This is done by rolling a die and moving characters along path until one person reaches the throne. The game isn’t as simple and dull as it sounds, but not by much.
During times when Robin Hood isn’t running amok, the Sheriff of Nottingham is manning border patrol for Nottinghamshire. Each day, merchants will bring their bags of goods that they intend on selling at their shops, and it’s the Sheriff’s duty to keep contraband out. However, with the right offer, he might let a few slide, open a rival merchant’s bag, or even split contraband with another merchant. As a merchant of Nottinghamshire, can you successfully make it across the border with the most valuable goods?
Richard Garfield’s King of Tokyo took the world by storm with its action-packed twist on the Yahtzee-style of dice game. I continue to enjoy it as a fast and simple game that I can play with a casual audience, though it was never a great choice if you were in the mood for something with more strategic depth. This concern was partially addressed with the Power Up and Halloween expansions, though King of New York is Garfield and Iello’s first attempt at making a hardcore version of King of Tokyo. Is this sequel able to add some teeth to the original without losing the accessibility and fast pace that defined the original?
In Third Person 