I Need This Board Game...

# of Players:  1-5 Playtime:  2-3 Hours Core Mechanic: Action Selection Theme:  Space Type:  Euro Weight:  Heavy Year:  2016 Rating: 9* This is an amazing game, both mechanically and thematically. Of all the games that were released in 2016, this one was at the top of my list of the games I wanted to play the most. I really didn’t even know much about the game play but it was rising up the ranks quickly, was well-reviewed, and the theme was so interesting.  It definitely had a lot of hype to live up to and I am glad to say that it met all my expectations when I eventually got to play it. You and your opponents are corporations and will be taking actions to increase the temperature, oxygen, and ocean global parameters of Mars until it reaches habitable conditions.  Once all three parameters have been met, the game ends and the player with the most victory points is the winner, which comes from your Terraform Rating (po...

# of Players:  2-5 Playtime: 30-60 Minutes Core Mechanic:  Dexterity Theme:  Circus Type: Family Weight: Light Year:  2017 Rating: 8* This was a game I passed over at SHUX '17. There were a lot of games up for demo, but this did not look appealing at all each time I walked by. I should have paid closer attention. After seeing the video playthrough on Shut Up and Sit Down, I knew I had to try out this circus-themed dexterity game. Immediately after the first play I knew it was a hit - longer than most party games with an ounce of depth and strategy and filled with tense, laugh-out-loud moments. Meeple Circus is a dexterity game played over three rounds. Each round players will be gaining more circus performer meeples to add to their act and stacking them up to score points based on certain scoring criteria. In the first two rounds, called the rehearsal rounds, all the players play simultaneously while in the final round, each player will ...

For the review of the tabletop version, see here: Review #3: Puerto Rico Price:  Free Rating: 7* For the longest time I have been wanting a version of Puerto Rico for Android. I eventually stumbled upon this app, which is heavily, heavily inspired by Puerto Rico. It satisfies the itch and the production is good, but some of the small surface changes is enough to throw me off and now that there are websites where it can be played online, I prefer to play it there. Still, Puerto Rico is one of my Top 10 Games of All-Time and it's hard to argue against a digital version when it is free! Perhaps in order to avoid accusations of plagiarism, most of the plantation and building names have been changed, as well as some of the roles. To me, this was very disorienting at first. In addition, the doubloon values have been multiplied by 5, so a building that cost $2 in Puerto Rico costs $10 in Isla Rica - also confusing. The components also do not match the physical game. ...

For a brief recap of how I came up with my list, refer back to my previous post: 2018 Top 100 Games of All-Time - #100-91 Here we go with #60-51! Halfway there! #60 - Kingdomino I was actually surprised at how much I liked this simple tile-placement game and look forward to more strategy in the Queendomino sequel/spinoff. However, this game still packs enough punch and depth for an easy to learn gateway game that I wouldn't hesitate to play it considering how quick the game can be finished. #59 - Mr. Jack Pocket I was amazed at the depth that this pocket version of Mr. Jack had, to the point where I enjoy it more than the original but also probably due to the fact that there is a mobile app and I have been able to get many more plays of it. Still, a two-player cat-and-mouse game on a miniature board worked surprisingly well. #58 - San Juan The Puerto Rico experience in card form, this is a quick alternative when there isn't time for Puerto Rico or Ra...

# of Players: 2-5 Playtime: 30-60 Minutes Core Mechanic: Network Building/Set Collection Theme:  Trains Type: Family Euro Weight: Light Year:  2004 Rating: 7.5* When I first played Catan, I thought everyone should play Catan. Then I eventually discovered heavier games, like Agricola and Power Grid, and at the time never wanted to go back to the simplicity of Catan. I began a campaign of pushing heavy games and disregarding lighter, gateway ones. However, as I have played more games, I have come around to gateway games and understand and appreciate their position in the industry. Ticket to Ride is one such game, and although I might prefer heavier train games like Steam, this game is no slouch either. This game is part set collection and part network building, all themed around trains. At the start of the game you are given three Destination Tickets, of which you need to keep at least two. If you are able to connect two cities shown on a Destinatio...

These new mini-reviews for expansions for already reviewed games will not be rated. Instead, I will provide a short description of what the expansions add to their respective games and offer brief thoughts on whether these are worth it. I also will not be adding it to any collection and will leave it to the reader's discretion. First up is Through the Seasons, a mini-expansion for Agricola. I don't actually have this expansion as it was given away as a promo before I even knew Agricola existed. However, I did print it out and tried a couple games with it as I was looking new ways to spice up Agricola. Through the Seasons comes with a new mini-board depicting each of the four seasons. Each season comes with a new action that can be taken and also tweaks some of the existing actions. At the start of the game, a random season is selected for the first round and the seasons are subsequently rotated through each of the following rounds. The actions and tweaks are thematic fo...

# of Players: 1-4 Playtime: 30-60 Minutes Core Mechanic:  Hand Management/Push Your Luck Theme:  Medieval Type: Card Weight: Medium Year:  2015 Rating: 8* I was originally drawn to this game because of the Klemens Franz art, which is typical of almost all games he does the art for, but was very put off by the name. It's so tongue-in-cheek that I never gave the game a second thought until I tumbled upon one of Rahdo's lists where he mentioned that the campaign expansion, Longsdale in Revolt, completely revolutionized the game for him. The small form factor was appealing to me, so I decided to check this game out and was particularly interested in the campaign. It is a fun mix between an engine-builder and a push-your-luck game, but I think I was swept into the hype of the campaign and left thinking it was not as amazing as some were making it out to be. I will explain the base game before moving onto the two campaign expansions. As is typical wit...