Tammany Hall Game Review: A nuanced, cutthroat game of winner-takes-all

Best (i.e., Worst) Moment

I felt squarely in control of the game. I had been mayor twice already, was in the lead, and was feeling pretty good about myself. Queue the great fall from grace. A simultaneous, multi-faceted attack from my opponents (yes, we’re still friends…mostly) came during the 3rd term. I did my best but never quite recovered from the onslaught of double slanders, Chief of Police arrests, and Council President lock-ups. Why do I include this in my game review as the best moment? Well, I happen to like the people I was playing with and, with a little time and snacking, I was happy for them. Yes, my sweet wife, who ended up winning, was the catalyst for my downfall. =-)

Barenpark Family Game Review: Fit pieces (like outhouses!) together to build the best bear park

Intro

Barenpark is a light puzzle strategy game that is perfect for adults, kids, families, gamers, and even non-gamers (I prefer to call them soon-to-be-gamers!). We’ve had a blast with every one of these groups. Call it an expanded filler game perfect to play a couple of standalone games or slip in between some heavy strategy games.

Caverna Board Game Review: As close to perfection as they come!

Not often does a game skyrocket as quickly to the top 5 of my all-time favorite games as did Caverna after playing it a grand total of…one time! I’ve since played many times, and I am in love.

Caverna has the perfect amount of variations to win. Do you focus heavily on planting and harvesting crops along with breeding animals out in the open? Do you concentrate your valuable (and limited) actions to dig deep underground, creating caverns, ore mines, and even a rare ruby mine? Do you invest heavily in weaponry to reap the awesome loot that comes from high-level weapons? Do you horde rubies to instantly turn them into valuable goods? Or do you plan a coordinated, balanced strategy to maximize your return on investment? I’ve seen every one of these tactics win.

Lords of Vegas Board Game Review: Freaking awesome game of power plays and takeovers

Lords of Vegas has been our latest “rage” game (what I call those games that completely take over all other games for a certain amount of time and that I lay in bed devising new strategies to play better next time). It is an incredibly dynamic game of strategy, mind-games, muscle-flexing, scheming, and of course, luck! The uber-conservative will not win nor will the extremely aggressive. You need to find the right balance of each (which changes each game depending on who you play with and how the game plays out!) to pull off the elusive win.

El Caballero Board Game Review: “A refined strategy game…” Huh?

While I chuckled at the sub-title calling El Caballero “a refined strategy game,” (what makes a strategy game refined?), I really enjoyed this game. It reminded me a lot of Carcassonne but with more elements, more trade-offs, and more strategy. Basically, you play as explorers following Columbus as he discovers new islands. The Caballeros are your “minions” that you have at your disposal to assist in taking over territory, purchasing ships, or building Castillos. You have both a supply and a court which houses “activated” Caballeros. Disperse them wisely to take ownership of land or sea. While definitely not the most important element of the game, keep a close eye on the gold and fish tiles which increase the value of your area control.