Spirit Island (2017) (Coop & Solo)
Many articles and reviews have been mentioning Spirit Island as a great game, including these from Polygon: 5 Best Coop Games and 5 Best Solo Games
=> BoardGameGeek (8.4 rating – but also a quite hard rating (over 4.0) for difficulty)
IMPORTANT searchable FAQ system => Home Page => Commonly Misplayed Rules
Tips from Kim Tolson:
Just take your time and play with the basic spirits (easy ones) and you’ll be able to handle the game just fine! Then you can move on to playing with those more complex, challenging spirits:)
I think it’s easier with two players. Louis agrees. There’s a lot of coordination needed and when you have just two people, it’s easier to plan and communicate.
Many of my favorite reviewers have videos on Spirit Island including Kim Tolson, Rahdo, Meeple University, Jon Gets Games, Gaming Rules (Paul Grogan), Before You Play (Monique & Naveen) and One Stop Co-op Shop. So you can pick which of their video’s you’d like to watch!
Actually … Monique says it is her favorite Coop Game! Here is the video for that (queued up to the right spot):
Pandemic Legacy
The Legacy games are a narrative story version of Pandemic that currently (July 2021) are the second most popular game of all time per Board Game Geek! It is relatively important to play through the 12 or more games in one Legacy Season with the same team of people, since the game can draw you in as a team! It seems you play 12 games in sequence, but if you fail in a game you need to play it over again (with two extra bonuses). So in the end your team may play about 18 games (more or less).
Board Game Geek:
- Season One (likely the best Pandemic game of all)
- Season Two
- Season Zero (final Season)
=> Rules
Watch Kim Tolson talk about the three Legacy Seasons to get a feel for what the game(s) are like:
Pandemic: Hot Zone Europe
Got this when it was released on August 27 2021.
How To Play:
ISS Vanguard
Yes … I now have a copy of this game! I like this game so much that I have written nearly 600 articles about it on my website:
=> My ISS Vanguard
=> BoardGameGeek
Comparing Prototype 2 with the Final game:
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)
Review:
There is one video that I highly recommend watching. I set up an entire webpage just for that video! It is an excellent overview of the game complete and I include a full transcript of everything in the video as well as photos and screenshots from the video – here is the link to that page:
=======> A Calmly Passionate Review (with transcript)
and for future reference … here is the video in that review:
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
And let’s kick of the videos with one of my favorite game reviews of all time:
Canvas
Board Game Geek (for all three editions plus Big Box):
- Canvas (original)
- Canvas Reflections / Deluxe (first expansion)
- Canvas Finishing Touches / Deluxe (second expansion – doesn’t look like it added much)
- 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
Tabletop Tolson (Kim Tolson) looks at all three … in three videos … first the original Canvas:
How To Play Canvas:
