This War of Mine

This War of Mine is Excellent (see the exciting overview just under the list of links and the calmly passionate look at the game below that). But it is more than just a game. Actually, it is more an EXPERIENCE than a game… kind of a hybrid. It is designed to help you (the player) feel, experience and understand what it might be like to be living (trying to stay alive) in a city that has been devastated by a war. Shops are closed (if the building is even left standing). There are looters. There are homeless. There are hobos. There are snipers! Just trying to find water to drink can be a harrowing experience. The game is hard. Really hard. Online comments have asked how to make it easier. The answer is, please don’t… it is MEANT to be hard, just like life is for those living in the situations in the game (as in real life).

Designing and developing the game was a task of love. They did not sit in a conference room trying to make up things that might happen. They poured over real life diaries, documents, journals, books, photos, videos from people who actually were living in the situation depicted by this game. And that realism shows. The game comes with a logbook with nearly 2,000 log entries that you read throughout the game… and NOT in any specific order! Which log entry you read next is determined by your choices of what you want to do, as well as a roll of the dice and drawing of a card.

Here are some links, followed by an interesting overview of the game. After that is the calmly passionate look at the game and then some tips followed by a complete playthrough of the game if you want to see how it works (and is put together… including how to set up the game)

=> My Website / This War of Ours

=> Board Game Geek
=> Kickstarter (2016)
=> Official Site: Core Game
=> Official Site – expansion: Tales from the Ruined City
=> Official Site – expansion: Days of the Siege
=> This War of Mine Journal
=> Pseudo Rulebook (FAQ’s etc)

=> Video Playlist

Review:

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Doomlings

Doomlings is a fairly quick game played with a unique card system (over 100 different cards). It is just going into manufacturing now and should be delivered in December.

I liked it so much that I created a website for it … which now has over 150 articles!

And the game designers even sent me a prototype of the game! So we can play it now! Anytime we want! I’m ready for a game of Doomlings!

More info about Doomlings? Just visit my website (use the Quick Guide links to get a taste for the game)

=> BoardGameGeek
=> Kickstarter
=> Rules
=> My Own Doomlings Website

=> Video Playlist

And let’s kick of the videos with one of my favorite game reviews of all time:

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Canvas

Board Game Geek (for all three editions plus Big Box):

  1. Canvas (original)
  2. Canvas Reflections / Deluxe (first expansion)
  3. Canvas Finishing Touches / Deluxe (second expansion – doesn’t look like it added much)
  4. Big Box (just a master link list system?)

Official Website=> RoadToInfamy.com
Rules=>
 Canvas / Reflections / Finishing Touches

Len’s 1 page rules summaries:
Canvas // Canvas Reflections // Canvas Finishing Touches and Big Box

=> Video Playlist

Tabletop Tolson (Kim Tolson) looks at all three … in three videos … first the original Canvas:

How To Play Canvas:

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Ares Expedition (Terraforming Mars Card Game)

Comments from BGG: Buy Race for the Galaxy instead of its cheap imitation Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (which had an outsourced design team). Ares Expedition is what happens when you get the idea of mixing two great games, Terraforming Mars and Race for the Galaxy, and somehow leave out the good bits and are left wishing you were playing either of the parent games instead.

=> BoardGameGeek

=> Video Playlist

Overview:

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Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra

This is the sequel to the original, and by most accounts a much better game!

=> Board Game Geek
=> Azul Stained Glass Sintra Rules
=> Azul – Stained Glass of Sintra Summary Sheet

=> Video Playlist

Here is Kim Tolson (she has great game summaries) comparing the first three Azul games (I queued it up to where she talks about Stained Glass of Sintra (which was her #1 Azul game) you can go back to watch from the beginning if you want):

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Tsuro (very fast easy to learn game)

This is a game that you can setup and play in ten minutes or less.  And have lots of fun the whole time. Short but sweet. A casual glance at the game makes it look like everything is just random and you just see who is lucky. However, that is not the case. Yes, you can play it fast and more or less randomly … yet you also can spend just an extra 20 seconds and see some strategies to which tile you place and how you place it! There are definitely many strategies involved with Tsuro! Many!

=> BoardGameGeek
=> Tsuro 1pg Rules
=> Phase by Phase Cards (important – I use them all the time) v4

=> Video Playlist

Note: See the end of this article for notes about how to use the Dragon Tile.

How To Play in 1 Minute (Rules Girl):

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Castle Panic

=> BoardGameGeek
=> Original Rules / 2nd Edition Rules
=> Castle Panic Made Easy v1-3 (Len’s 2page Rule Summary with options for younger players)
=> Official FAQ

=> Video Playlist

You can add more types of monsters yourself (on your printer)=> Set 1 / Set 2 / Set 3

This is a quick cooperative game where all players try to hold off the attacking orcs :) The game play is interesting. The game was so popular that they now make a DELUXE fancy version of the game (with miniatures).

Watch Will Wheaton (yes, he was Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation) explain it and play it with three guests (a comedian, an actress and a voice actor) … here is the condensed version (you can watch their FULL game video at the bottom of this page):

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