Mountains out of Molehills board game review

I love it when a board game gets a catchy title.

And that’s exactly what I thought when I heard about Mountains out of Molehills by The Op. My mind immediately started thinking about the possibilities.

Then I saw the box art, the cute mole characters, and the sweet looking 3D game space where the game box is actually part of the game play area and I totally wanted to play it!

The big question was if the game play would live up to what visually looked like such a fun family board game.

We’re happy to report that it does!

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Marvel Dice Throne dice game review

Who would win between Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel?

Or between Black Panther and Black Widow?

Or between Loki, Mile Morales Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and Thor in a free-for-all match?

Well, in Marvel Dice Throne, by The Op and Roxley Games, you’ll get to find out.

And as you might guess, who comes out on top will change from one play to the next. That’s what makes this dice-rolling, dice manipulating, and card playing game a hoot. With a high amount of luck and some card management, almost anything could happen to turn the tide of fortune.

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Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest board game review

The original Libertalia board game was published 10 years ago (2012) and now there’s a new ship on the seas (or in the sky – as is the case with the new theme).

Stonemaier Games recently released this revised and expanded edition of Libertalia with new artwork, 40 characters per player, a reputation system, deluxe loot tokens, and a solo mode.

We owned the original Libertalia and sold it a few years ago in one of our game purges. Now that we’ve played the new Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, will it meet the fate of the original and find another home? Or will it find a permanent spot in our game closet?

Let’s dive in and see…

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Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game review

In 2017, Guerrilla Games developed and Sony published a Playstation 4 video game that’s set in a world overrun by machines. As of February 2022, the video game has sold over 20 million copies–making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.

Because of its huge success, Steamforged Games brought the game to life in board game form in 2020.

In Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game, players band together to form a hunting party to take down the rampant machines.

Over the course of multiple encounters, players will level up their hunters with new skills and upgrade their equipment to become even stronger before they face the final encounter against the Sawtooth.

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Everdell Board Game Review

“Within the charming valley of Everdell, beneath the boughs of towering trees, among meandering streams and mossy hollows, a civilization of forest critters is thriving and expanding. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host—you have a busy year ahead of yourself. Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?

Prepare to be enchanted by the wondrous world of Everdell. Once you are here, you might never, ever, want to leave.”

Such is the intro text to the board game Everdell by Starling Games.

The big question is, is it true – Once you enter and play, will you ever want to leave?

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SaltCon 2022 Recap – 22 Games Played

I had a fantastic first weekend of March because I was hanging out and playing tons of games with my friends at SaltCon Spring 2022!

I look forward to this 4-day gaming event with much anticipation every year. And it was especially great this year because the air was finally clearing around the Covid pandemic. Which means we could see the smiling faces of the 1,700 or so people who came out to play all sorts of games.

This year I was able to attend 3 full days of the event and played 22 different board games, card games, and dice games!

It was a lot of fun and I’m ready to share my thoughts on each of the games I played.

(Consider it like a bunch of mini-reviews.)

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Neoville Board Game Review

Frank Lloyd Wright has been my favorite architect as long as I can remember. His modern organic architecture has been an inspiration to many of today’s prominent architects. Falling Water, a house designed by Frank in 1935, exemplifies his philosophy of organic architecture with the harmonious union of art and nature.

Blue Orange Games new release, Neoville, picks right up on this theme of bio-architecture as players take on the role of an architect creating a new kind of city where the buildings conform to their surrounding and nature is the star.

Create giant stone edifices, fluid water buildings, tall tree towers or mighty clay high-rises bringing harmony to your city and prestige to you.

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Galaxy Trucker 2022 board game review

We had a CB radio in our van when I was a kid and I remember talking to long-haul truckers via that radio during long trips with our family. Chatting over the radio while riding was a fun way to get a very small glimpse inside the cab of truckers.

I can only imagine the stories we’d get if we were to tap into truckers in space.

Because if they’re anything like what happens during a game of Galaxy Trucker, then we’d be in for quite the tale!

In the game, players frantically build their ships and then take them on a flight to gather goods, face space pirates, encounter meteor swarms, and more.

Strap in and check it out!

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Jamaica Board Game Review

Setting: Jamaica, 1675.

After a long career in piracy, Captain Henry Morgan skillfully gets appointed to be Governor of Jamaica, with the explicit order to cleanse the Caribbean of pirates and buccaneers. Instead, he invites all of his former “colleagues” to join him in his retirement, to enjoy the fruits of their looting with impunity. Each year, in remembrance of the “good old days,” Morgan organizes the Great Challenge, a race around the island, and at its end, the Captain with the most gold is declared Grand Winner.

And with that, in the board game Jamaica you and your friends are set to race around the island of Jamaica, capturing treasure, battling your opponents, and trying to be the first one back to Port Royal!

Do you have what it takes to make it at sea?

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Bellum Magica Board Game Review

Running a castle, plundering neighboring villages and defending yourself from other competing overlords is hard work. You can’t possibly be expected to do it all yourself. You need good, reliable help.

That’s where Evil Creature Inc. comes in.

We take the hassle out of finding your worker needs. We have Evil Creatures and Most Evil Creatures that can do the heavy lifting for you. You just provide the meat and glyphs and they’ll do the rest!

In Bellum Magica, by Blue Orange Games, players take on the role of evil overlords trying to conquer and plunder the human countryside. To do this they need to hire Evil and Most Evil Creatures to provide resources and swords to the cause. The first player to loot their 10th treasure chest ends the game, and the overlord with the most treasure wins.

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