I fell out of love with mobile gaming ages ago. What once was a platform full of potential has degraded into a free-to-play money grab for the likes of Farmville, Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans. For those of you that like those kinds of games, that’s great. However, the types of games and the business models that drive them no longer appeal to my gaming sensibilities. At this point, my final vestige of mobile gaming comes from digital adaptations of analog board games.
Things aren’t looking good for you and your fellow colony members. Supplies are running low. The bitterly cold weather puts everyone at risk of catching frostbite. Tensions are running high, as you’re never sure of who your real allies are. Oh yeah, and there are zombies everywhere. Welcome to Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game.
Marvel’s ragtag group of intergalactic heroes finally make their presence felt in Legendary: Guardians of the Galaxy. Inside this small box expansion, you’ll get the five protagonists from the movie, two new villain groups, two new masterminds, and the introduction of the most dramatically new gameplay mechanics since the game’s inception. They may be the stars of 2014’s biggest movie, but can they also hold their weight as an expansion for Marvel’s deck-building game?
I need to go to Japan someday. My love of video games and anime were my introduction to the Land of the Rising Sun, though I’ve grown to become fascinated with almost every facet of the country. Didn’t realize it until just now, but Japan also is a thematic hot bed for board games. I only chose three for this list, though there are a ton of great games that use Japan as a backdrop. Let’s hop on a plane and check out this month’s Japan-themed Board Game Night Playlist!
Ticket to Ride was my introduction to the genre of German-style board games, which you may also know as designer board games or Eurogames. There are a number of factors that differentiate Eurogames from traditional western games like Monopoly or Risk, such as the general lack of player elimination and an emphasis on strategy over luck. In particular, the thing that differentiates Eurogames to me is the concept of resource management. For instance, in Ticket to Ride, you’re tasked with managing your tickets, route cards and the unclaimed routes on the board in a way that gets you the most points. Some of my favourite games of this style besides the aforementioned include Power Grid, Last Will and Tokaido.
In general, I’ve grown pretty fond of this style of game. I like the fact that these games generally keep everyone involved throughout and how interesting it can be to manage your resources within the confines of each game’s economic system. When those economic systems are paired up with a great theme that makes sense with the actions you’re performing, the results can be spectacular. On the other hand, when the theme isn’t there and the core mechanics aren’t enjoyable enough on their own, these games devolve into the chore of managing spreadsheets.
Toronto’s spring convention returns with the 2015 edition of Comicon. Last year’s show was quite the success for me, so I’m looking forward to heading back to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this Saturday to partake in the festivities.
King of Tokyo is spectacular at being an accessible and strategically-light dice game that virtually anyone can play and enjoy. However, that focus on casual play makes it a tougher sell for seasoned gamers looking for something deeper. King of Tokyo: Power Up aims to address that with a set of new cards that change how the game is played. Also, it comes with a Kung-Fu panda, and who doesn’t like pandas?
Slavery in the 1800s is a sore spot of North American history. However, it was also a time when the tides turned thanks to the efforts of brave individuals who risked everything to abolish slavery. Freedom: The Underground Railroad is a co-operative board game in which players take on the role of the abolitionists trying to usher slaves out of the plantations and into the safety of Canadian soil while trying to drum up support for the Abolistionist movement. Of course, doing those won’t be easy, as Slave Catchers will try and intercept slaves before they get to Canada, while opposing people or events will stifle your progress in other ways.
Tackling this in any form is tricky due to the nature of the subject matter. Thankfully, Academy Games took great care in presenting the subject with respect and historical accuracy in mind. Oh yeah, it also turns out to be a great and challenging board game, too.
Every board game has a limit in terms of how many players it supports. At a certain point, a game isn’t going to work at all if there are too many or not enough players present. Player count isn’t a binary thing either, as games oftentimes degrade to a certain degree before they completely fall apart. Over the last few years, many of the games I’ve played struggle with supporting two players. I’m fine with games that don’t work well in pairs, though I find it alarming and disingenuous how many games in the marketplace claim that they support two players when they really shouldn’t.
In Third Person 