Overview:
Dice Manor
Coffee Rush
2-4 players (best with 3) // 30 mins // Easy
When I found out that the coffee shop that I go to (Java Abilities) allows people to play games, I not only created a group of games that would be perfect to play in a coffee shop (quick and easy on a small table), but I included a couple coffee / tea themed games as well.
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Rules
Overview (from Ryan and Bethany)
Cosmic Encounter
=> BoardGameGeek PLUS 7 Expansions (in order of release – first three add a player):
=> Incursion // Conflict // Alliance // Storm // Dominion // Eons // Odyssey
=> 2pg Rules Summary (not Len’s though) with Added Reference Card
=> Quick Start Guide (Official Comic Style)
=> Core Game Rulebook (Official) 2018
=> Rulebook (official) 2008 (some say it’s better)
=> Master Alien Selector v7 Spreadsheet (make a copy for yourself) / or BGG Master Aliens Selector v7 Color Coded – List PDF (Helps Choose Aliens)
=> Alien Database (figures someone would do this:)
=> Alien Sheets / Alien Tips (Fandom Wiki)
=> 3D printing planets for the game (an article about doing it – VERY time consuming) / video of them
=> Len’s Alien List v5 Color coded (2 columns per page color coded by alert AND expansion)
=> Play Online (web based)
=> Select an Alien by number (1-238) [repeat if needed]
How to play each Alien (for and against):
=> Base Game
=> Cosmic Incursion
=> Cosmic Alliance
=> Cosmic Conflict
=> Cosmic Dominion
=> Cosmic Storm
=> Cosmic Eons
=> Cosmic Odyssey
Great Overview plus How To Play:
Vantage
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Annotated Rulebook v20
=> Official Player Aid Reference Card
=> Lens 1 page Rules Summary Vantage v2
=> Errata (mistakes on the cards) – see end of this article)
=> RulePop (includes the errata and easy to use storybook entries)
=> Vantage Locations Checklist (v2 with room for journal notes)
=> Log Your Journey (location by location) Thin Columns
=> Vantage Travel Journal (lots of room for journaling along with location number space plus print single sided so spiral bound has alternating blank pages)
=> Video playlist
=> Several videos about things we may be playing wrong (officially recommended)
=> Background Music for Vantage
From the designer: Vantage is primarily designed to reward curiosity, observation, and shared knowledge (either with other players or with yourself from previous plays). It is a rewarding, abundant game, not a punishing game; if you pay attention, use your eyes, and discuss what you see and have seen, the game will reward you. [ie, you ALWAYS succeed when you try something … it’s just that the COST to have done it can be minor or MAJOR:) ]
Tip: Games may be harder with fewer players. However, with 4, 5 or 6 players there is quite a bit of lag before you get your turn again!
It is possible to add in or drop players to a game in progress. To add in . . . just like another escape pod landed on the planet, treat them like additional player in start up, and have them land on the planet and add 2 more black dice to the game.
Overview (queued to summing up the game – if you like it, go back to the beginning for his overview of playing the game)
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Original set of cases:
=> Thames Murders and Other Cases (BGG)
=> Baker Street Irregulars (BGG)
=> Video playlist
Their number 21 game of ALL TIME … queued to the right spot:
Wandering Towers
Roll For It
2-4 players (best with 4) // 30 mins // Easy
Just a small deck of cards and 6 small dice per player, so it’s easy to carry with you and needs very little table space. Try to roll your dice to match the dice shown on one of the three cards before others do. Repeat until one player hits the points needed to win.
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Official Website
=> Rules
=> Lens Rules Summary (v1)
How to Play (with partial playthrough)
Planet Unknown
=> BoardGameGeek
=> GameFound Fullfillment
=> Deluxe Reprint Kickstarter (July 2023) // Original Kickstarter
=> Rules
=> Complete “official” online FAQ // Planet Unknown FAQ
=> Len’s 1 page Rules Summary (v1)
=> Planet Unknown Score Sheet v2
NOTE: several reviewers suggest not using the optional Event Deck for multiplayer games.
Dice Tower Review and Explanation (he gives it an EXCELLENT rating) [original version]:
Red Rising
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Official Website / Official Rules and FAQ
=> Rules (online pop up) / Rulebook
=> Lens v4 Rules Summary
Notes:
- The game designer has recently stated: “a score over 200 is very good, and scores over 300 are incredible!”
- You only get the location bonus for placing a card with the SCOUT action. You do not get the location bonus when placing a card at other times.
- You cannot gain a card without first deploying a card from your hand (LEAD action).
- You can’t discard a card in Red Rising. Also, when you take the Lead action, you deploy a card and then you must either gain the top card of a location or the top card of the deck. When doing this, you always end up with the same number of cards (because you deploy one and gain one)
- Most cards have a core value over 10+, and the only penalty for having >7 cards is -10 points. So focusing on getting as many cards as possible is the way to win.
- Some cards have an end game ability to gain a banished card. You DO get to use the end game ability of that card as well.
- If a card’s end-of-game ability lets you take a card from a location, that card’s end-of-game ability or/and end-game bonus DOES trigger!
- Clarification: “top non-Gold card at a location” means if the very top card is Gold, then the top non-Gold card might be the 2nd or 3rd card in the location.
- If Apollo triggers “end game”, everyone gets one more turn (because Apollo was the first player and does get that extra turn at the end).
- The Apollo house card has you just add a card to a location (ie, you do NOT get the placement bonus)?
- Some gray cards let you choose to set it to another color. It then is gray plus that color.
- A “non-Gold” card includes colorless cards (ie, face down cards).
- When deployed sometimes you get to move another card (from top or from anywhere in a location stack?) => Discussion (with comments from two game designers)
- Official Variant for Multiplayer Games: When choosing one or more opponents to banish, potentially banish, or steal a card from their hand without the immediate ability to regain a card, you may only choose players who have more cards in hand than their starting hand (most starting hands are 5 cards; for House Ceres it’s 6). You can still deploy cards with such abilities, but any abilities related to choosing an opponent won’t trigger. This applies to Aja, Antonia, Arlus, Karnus, Roque, and Tactus.
How to play (with a two player playthrough):
Play Heavenly Games 