… Play Nice (please)
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
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):
An interesting word play game combined with an adventure game
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Kickstarter
=> Rulebook (final)
Example with Tutorial:
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
Note: See the end of this article for notes about how to use the Dragon Tile.
How To Play in 1 Minute (Rules Girl):
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Original Rules / 2nd Edition Rules
=> Castle Panic Made Easy v1-3 (Len’s 2page Rule Summary with options for younger players)
=> Official FAQ
NOTE: It is highly recommended to always include the Wizard’s Tower expansion when playing (I have it). Next, it is suggested that the Crowns & Quests (I have it) is the next best expansion to use!
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):
2-4 players all on the same team try to find the four treasures and escape from the island before it is completely flooded (or someone drowns:) It is easy to learn and takes only about 30 minutes to play.
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Official Rules
Here are a couple videos about the game:
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Rules (4 page PDF)
=> Player Boards (full page jpg)
Here is an overview of the game:
Another game that I found I would put into the Settlers of Catan category … a little bit of strategy, a little bit of luck. However Terraforming Mars does it one better … it is almost like a cooperative game but with a “winner” at the end! And instead of DICE (as in Settlers of Catan) there are lots of cards. Each card gives you points or item production or such. It should take about the same amount of time to play as Catan. I also have all the expansions and one of them (Prelude) actually shortens the length of the game (without wrecking it in any way).
=> BoardGameGeek
=> Rules
=> Symbols and Play Guide
=> Len’s Cheatsheet v1
=> Len’s 1 page Rules Summary v1 (includes Prelude expansion).
Also includes Phase 5 Solar as per Fryxgames note in Venus Next rulebook:
The Solar Phase will be used by other expansions as well.
Questions? Clarification Needed? Search inside this=> FAQ (87 pages)
Board Game Co and christened Terraforming Mars as the #1 best game of all time (video is queued to the right spot):
I put together a summary of the rules (including a couple house rules) and updated it with info on playing with the Prelude, Colonies and Turmoil expansions:
In the Madison Area? Why not drop by and play a game? Just EMail me or use the CONTACT page to send me a message!
Yes, this is my favorite thing (well, one of them:)
=> My Favorite Thing
Need Help Choosing a Game? Once you are viewing a game, there will be a list of all the games in alphabetical order in the right panel (very nice way to scan the games, though you also can just type in a name in the search box).
That right side panel also has a cool selection list that is just like this:
Plus here are just SOME of the games here at our house (alpha order) with a quick summary about each game (how many players, estimated time to play and complexity rating):
