Random Boardgame Reviews
My old friends have turned into boardgame nuts over the years. Strap yourself in for a lot of board games.
I visited the US this March, which meant I got to see many old friends! They’ve all turned into boardgame nuts. Hiho and Flexicon both own over 200 boardgames—they even 3D print special accessories for their boardgames! (Edited after Hiho indignantly told me he also has over 200 games). Together with Dangerfork, we gathered for a multi-day boardgame marathon, and I learned quite a variety of games. I’ve compiled my thoughts for the heck of it, and maybe you’ll find a game that entices you. I’m not a board game afficionado like them though so I don’t really know what I’m talking about.
I received feedback that the aliases are confusing, but I can’t help mentioning my friends because I love them. So, I shall try a brief “character” introduction this time.
Dangerfork - my friend and fellow squabbler who I’ve known since we were five. Says he isn’t lactose intolerant but unleashes farts as killer as mine after consuming dairy. He’s currently addicted to Peak.
Flexicon - One of my few gamer girl friends I had growing up. Quick to assist her friends when they’re in a bind and just as quick to murder them (in game). She was shorter than me when she was five.
Hiho - I’ve known him since middle school. If he unleashes a sigh longer than three seconds then you know you’ve successfully tilted him. His taciturn appearance belies the complex whirl of thoughts in his mind.
Bomb Busters
This is a team bomb defusal game that I thought would be like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, but it’s actually co-op Go Fish—except if you point at the wrong wire your team inches closer to exploding. I didn’t understand how the red wire and yellow wire numbers worked our first game and immediately hit the red wire (that’s bad) turn one. Unsurprisingly it was the fastest Bomb Busters loss Hiho ever experienced and he made sure to let me know that. It took us a few tries to sync our brain cells together before we successfully defused level one. I enjoyed this game a lot and would definitely like to play it again. Highly recommended for people looking for a logic-based/deductive reasoning co-op board game!
Camel Up
My friends love this game, but me not so much. This game can be boiled down to horse betting with camels, which might be why they love it so much? I certainly felt a rush when the camel I had bet on in the very beginning actually won the race, but I struggle to get into this sort of game. It’s a lot of RNG, but I can’t deny there is some depth to the gameplay. It’s a good game for casuals who want something simple. You will watch your friends lose their minds as colored camels ride each other to and fro. I don’t particularly want to play this again. Recommended for people who want to experience the thrill of horse betting without actually losing money.
Carcassone: The Castle
This is a two-player version of the beloved Carcassone boardgame that has nearly the same mechanics with an additional way to score points. I did not enjoy it (possibly because Hiho was trouncing me and I’m a sore loser). I have very fond memories of the original Carcassone game, so I’d like to give this version another chance. So far, I think the original is leagues better even if you only have two players, but I shouldn’t be quick to say that since I’ve only played The Castle once. Nevertheless, not recommended because there are superior two-player games.
Clank!
A dungeon crawling deck-building boardgame where you try to find the most treasure and escape before the dragon kills you. We played this as three: Hiho, Dangerfork, and me. The two of them were skulking about the dungeon and looting whatever they could find while I escaped after reaching the bare minimum goal. Despite my swift departure and low point total, I won because they both died before they could get out of the dungeon. That’s what you get for being greedy. 😏 I quite like the game design and mechanics, but for some reason I don’t feel much enthusiasm for this game. We only played it once though, so I’ll hold my tongue for now. Recommended for people who enjoy limit-testing, deck-building, and watching their friends scream as little cubes are pulled out of a bag.
Codenames
This is more of a picture of a gyro than the actual game. I love Codenames and want to play it all the time. I once made my friends play for over two hours until they mutinied. We also played the two-player version, Codenames Duet, and I definitely enraged Dangerfork by giving him baffling clues (What do you mean you don’t understand what carbon 0 means?). I hope this doesn’t make him not want to play with me anymore. Highly recommended if you like word games and espionage-themed games—it’s very fun trying to connect all sorts of words. Despite its simplicity it has high replayability because the board is different every time!
Critter Kitchen
This was my favorite of the board games I’d never played before. The art is cute, the mechanics are relatively straightforward but require thought, and it has enough aspects that you can replay it many times without it getting boring. There is something oddly satisfying about hearing someone cry “That was my mushroom!” as you snipe an ingredient before they can take it. Highly recommended if you like auction-style games (you’re not exactly bidding but you are competing for ingredients) and cooking-themed games. It has expansions but the base version is plenty fun.
Deep Regrets
I really wanted to like this one because of its charming art and theming (who doesn’t like weird sea creatures and going mad?), but it felt lacking. Part of the reason might be because we misunderstood one of the cards and the rulebook/wording was ambiguous at times, but we all agreed that the game was missing something. Although it’s supposed to be a limit-testing game where you push your luck, it didn’t really feel that way. Flexicon expected the game to go fast since there are only supposed to be 6 rounds, but we quickly found ways to fish for a very long time and the “regret” mechanic feels lopsided. Perhaps the game needs more playtesting on our part, but this game feels like it needed more beta testing. There’s also a solo/co-op mode that we didn’t try. For now I’ll give it a not recommended though.
Dorfromantik
This is a co-op game based on a video game that Flexicon played. We were all kind of iffy on it in the beginning, but we got super into it after our second try and ended up playing six rounds. It’s a campaign-style game where you unlock more tiles and mechanics as you reach certain checkpoints, so you have to play multiple times to eventually clear the game (I assume there is an end goal, but I wasn’t looking at the campaign sheet). I could spend a long time grinding out this game. You can play it solo as well, but it’s fun when you have people to bounce ideas off of. At one point Flexicon was just cackling, “Never punished” as she continued to top-deck the tiles we needed. I-I’m not sure this is the sort of game you’re supposed to be gambling on, but if it works it works? Highly recommended for people who like hexagons and puzzle type games.
Fire Tower
This is the type of game where you make alliances and then stab each other in the back (or in this case burn their tower down from the front). I hate these kinds of games because I suck at forming in-game alliances. Dangerfork definitely won because he wisely kept his mouth shut while the rest of us duked it out. Also, why is it called Fire Tower when the game’s goal is to burn everyone else’s tower down? Aren’t fire towers supposed to prevent fires? This feels like a game that would be good for casuals though. Recommended if you like fire, luck-based games, and forming temporary alliances.
Fliptoons
Don’t let the goofy cartoon animals fool you, this game started out as a fun and lighthearted game that quickly spiraled into “whoever gets the tiger wins” despair. And by despair I mean me; I’m in despair because we played this game what felt like dozens of times and I was never in the position to acquire the Tiger that guarantees victory (there is only 1 copy). The existence of that cursed chef hat wearing striped creature absolutely ruined the experience of a potentially fun game. It’s so unbalanced! I’m not kidding when I say whoever had the tiger had a 100% win rate. I don’t recommend the game because of how unbalanced the Tiger is, but maybe if you remove the Tiger it’s playable. I’m never playing this game again.
For Sale
This is a very simple auction game that is themed around real estate. The rounds go by quickly so it’s an excellent casual game. I was surprised by how much fun I had because I don’t usually like things that involve bidding. I found a lot of enjoyment in trying to predict other players’ actions. Highly recommended for people looking for games with short rounds and bidding mechanics.
Heroes of Barcadia
Maybe I shouldn’t have been playing this game as someone who doesn’t drink alcohol because it’s definitely a “get drunk and have a good time” sort of game. It’s a super casual dice rolling game whose goal is clearly to get drunk. One of the issues is that if you run into the boss room early (which we did) the game goes by very fast. I suspect you need to be already tipsy to have maximum fun because it wasn’t particularly thrilling while sober. I’m definitely not the target audience for this game, but I can see the vision. Recommended if you just want to drink alcohol.
Isle of Cats
I didn’t know polyomino games were a thing, but apparently it’s an entire subgenre! Makes sense since board gamers love tiles. It looked complicated at first, but it was actually pretty simple. I absolutely destroyed Hiho and Dangerfork even though I’d never played it before, which might be why I like the game more than not. Things that require visualizing how shapes fit make my head spin though, so this game won’t be on the top of my play-again list, but I did enjoy the puzzle aspect. Hiho informed us that any unsaved cat is doomed for death according to the premise of the game, so you better save as many as you can. Recommended if you like puzzles, cats, and drafting cards.
Nana
This game is a fan favorite (the fans being us). It’s a memory game where you want to collect trios faster than everyone else. The gameplay is simple but you won’t get tired of it unless you hate memory games. Excellent for all ages too! It’s basically competitive concentration meets information control. Highly recommended if you want a quick game!
Potion Explosion
We only played this game twice so maybe I need to give it another try, but I found the gameplay boring. There is a puzzle aspect with the marbles and you certainly have to make smart decisions on which potions to make and when to drink them, but the marbles are annoying and cumbersome, and there doesn’t seem like much variety in viable strategies. Also, the potion cards are cute but hecka annoying to shuffle. For now I’ll say not recommended.
7 Wonders Architects
As the name suggests, this is a spin-off of 7 Wonders. It’s like a simplified version with even more RNG (possibly biased because I’m a loser). I’m a fan of the original so I thought I’d like this, but I felt that the gameplay is too streamlined and there aren’t that many decisions to make compared to the original. Dangerfork and Flexicon really liked it though so maybe I’m just a hater. Recommended if you want a simplified version of 7 Wonders or like card drafting games.
Lord of the Rings Duel
Another 7 Wonders spin-off, but with Lord of the Rings IP. It’s based on 7 Wonders Duel, so it’s a two-player game, and I think this LotR version is way more fun. It fixes some of the qualms I had with 7 Wonders Duel like making science cards feel more worthwhile and balancing the win conditions so all of them are equally important. The game also ties in well to LotR lore and having the Nazgul chasing the hobbits as they scuttle towards Mordor is very clever design (and cute) in my humble opinion. Highly recommended competitive two-player game that involves juggling multiple win conditions.
Sleeping Gods
This is a co-op campaign style game that involves being isekai’d into a magical world on a boat. Hiho and I sank numerous hours into this game outside of board game marathon camp. Our last campaign involved a 2 hour session on one day followed by an 11 hour session the next. If it’s not obvious, I like this game quite a lot and would like to explore the world more. The story and world are charming, and despite the overwhelming number of little pieces the gameplay isn’t actually that complex. Once you learn the combat system and resource management you’ll quickly be immersed in the story and world. There is a lot of reading involved, but the writers did an excellent job making the world interesting and you need to play multiple times if you want to explore everything. I’ve played it as a group of three before, but playing as two was less clunky. Maybe an even number of players is best? I think it’s easier if you have less people though. Highly recommended co-op exploration game for people who enjoy adventure and roleplay. There is an expansion which adds more lore to the world but it didn’t feel as fleshed out. You do need a lot of table space for this one though.
Splendor: Pokemon
This is a Korea only Pokemon version of Splendor, a game that involves resource management and buying cards with said resources. It might be because the cards have Pokemon on them, but I prefer this version over the original. The mechanics are similar to the original, but the gameplay is different so it’s not just a re-skin of Splendor. If you like Splendor, then you’ll like this version too. Recommended if you like drafting type games and Pokemon. It’s only sold in Korea though so it may be hard to find.
End Notes
Dang, we played a lot of board games. Huge thanks to Hiho for hosting the board game marathon and providing most of these pictures. If you’ve read this far, I’d also like to introduce you to a game called The Gang if you don’t know it already. We didn’t play it this time, but it’s a fun co-op game that requires figuring out what poker hands the other players have and ordering yourselves by hand strength without using words. Highly recommend it!
Being back in the US after so long did make me miss living in the vicinity of friends. Imagine the possibilities: weekly board game nights, squabbling in person, and engorging on snacks together. For a moment, I wished I had a permanent residence so I could unleash all of my bugcat and weeb merch. Alas, I’m not quite ready to settle anywhere yet, and who knows if I’d even choose the US now that I’m in the process of getting Taiwanese citizenship.