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3 Azul Board Games Compared

5 years ago, Next Move Games published a unique tile-laying game that made huge waves in the board game industry – Azul.

The game includes colorful and chunky tiles made of bakelite and it quickly jumped to the top of Hot Games lists all over the world. Because of its immediate success, it was very hard to find a copy of the game for months.

Due to the game’s popularity, it was quickly followed by 2 additional Azul games in 2018 and 2019–each delivering familiar elements mixed with novelty. And today we’re reviewing and comparing each of these sequel games:

* Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra
* Azul: Summer Pavilion

February 25, 2022 Trent 1 Comment 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Azul, colorful, luck, Next Move Games, strategy, tile-laying, tiles

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Cape May, the “Queen of the Seaside Resorts”

Cape May, the “Queen of the Seaside Resorts”, is located on the Southeastern tip of New Jersey and is one of the oldest seaside resorts in America.

Founded in 1692 it boasts a beautiful collection of Victorian homes, churches and quaint shops.

In Cape May the board game, players travel the streets of this historic town, developing properties, avoiding catastrophes and spotting birds all the while earning prestige.

The player with the most prestige at the end of the game wins.

December 18, 2021 Dane Trimble 2 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, city buidling, solo, strategy, Thunderworks Games

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Way Back In Time – Kingdomino Origins

Before the dragons came… Before the great duel took place… Before the age of giants began… Before her imperial majesty took her reign… And before the kingdom itself came: The Origin.

In Kingdomino Origins, from Blue Orange Games, players are prehistoric tribal leaders advancing their civilizations and creating the most powerful kingdom in the land. They do this by adding terrain dominos to their kingdom to earn them the most points.

Since the namesake is Kingdomino, players familiar with the original Kingdomino game will find a lot of similarities. Yet in Kingdomino Origins, there are 3 different modes of play!

December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Blue Orange Games, domino, luck, strategy, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Plague Inc.: The Board Game Review

Way back in 2009, our then 6-year old son, Caleb got us rolling in reviewing board games with his video review of Pandemic.

He shared how to play the game and what he enjoyed about working together to save the world from deadly viruses.

Fast-forward 12 years and the tides have turned.

Now we’re infecting the world with viruses and competing to be the most lethal in Plague Inc.: The Board Game!

That’s right, the popular mobile app game, Plague Inc., first released in 2012 by Ndemic Creations, is now available as a board game available from Asmodee.

I know it sounds odd while we’re struggling around the world facing a real global pandemic, but to be honest, we’ve had a very fun time playing Plague Inc.: the Board Game. And we’re happy to share why.

October 30, 2021October 30, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Asmodee, luck, solo, strategy, them

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Santorini in New York?

Santorini has been a favorite 2-player board game in our family ever since we first played the reimplemented game by Roxley Games 4 years ago.

It’s an abstract strategy game with variable player powers where each player tries to get one of their pawns (workers) to the 3rd level of a building. The game components are absolutely fantastic and look just like the recognizable, blue-topped buildings on the Greek isle of Santorini.

So we were quite surprised when Roxley Games published Santorini: New York in 2020.

I mean, what do Santorini and New York have to do with each other?

It was a real head-scratcher.

Of course, that also didn’t stop us in the slightest from wanting to play it right away!

If you’re just as curious about how the awesome Santorini could morph into a new game set in New York City as we were, then you’ve come to the right place—read on!

October 23, 2021 Trent 4 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, abstract, luck, Roxley Games, strategy, variable set up

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Land vs Sea Board Game Review

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.”

So starts the poem used to teach about Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas.

It’s hard not to think about sailing and searching out lands when you’re playing the clever tile-laying, puzzle game Land vs. Sea by designer Jon-Paul Jacques and publisher Good Games Publishing.

Players work to create completed land masses or completed seas depending on the roles they’ve taken. The player or team who does this the best by the time the final tile is played will be the winner!

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, Good Games Publishing, luck, strategy, theme, tile-laying

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Queenz Board Game Review

I’ve never been someone who loves bees.

I still have vivid memories of being stung by a bee when I was little and swelling up like crazy. So it’s hard for me to understand the desire of some people to become beekeepers.

It’s a good thing I don’t have to like bees to enjoy Queenz by Rio Grand Games.

It’s a fun set-collection and tile-laying board game where the players are beekeepers planting orchids to attract bees and produce the tastiest honey.

And it’s a great addition to a family board game collection.

October 5, 2021October 11, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, luck, Rio Grande Games, strategy, tile-laying

Articles Board Games Card Games Cooperative Games Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews Kid Games Party Games

SaltCon 2021 End of Summer Fun

“Back in the Game”

That was the bold statement on the winning t-shirt design for SaltCon End of Summer 2021. And it couldn’t have been more appropriate!

It was awesome to be back at SaltCon this past weekend playing game after game for a couple of days straight.

SaltCon is the big board game convention in Utah, USA and it’s packed with gaming goodness. The event is typically held for 4 days in March each year, so I was sad when it was announced last Fall that the March event would be canceled. But, the news a few months ago that they’d hold an “End of Summer” SaltCon for 3 days at the end of July got me excited again.

Let’s dive in!

August 3, 2021September 2, 2021 Trent 0 Comments card, convention, deck-building, dice, family board games, luck, party, strategy, Top 10 lists

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

World’s Fair 1893 board game review

One of my favorite memories as a teenager was when our family went to Canada for Expo 86. It was a World’s Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I thought it was so cool.

The theme of Expo 86 was “Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch” and it was a spectacle.

Perhaps it was because of my experience going to a World’s Fair that I was drawn to the board game World’s Fair 1893 when it was published a few years ago.

I first played the game at SaltCon a while back and enjoyed playing it. Then earlier this year, Renegade Game Studios announced a new version of the game. They sent us a copy and we’re excited to tell you all about it.