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. =-)

Renaissance Man Board Game Review: A unique, pyramid-based strategy game of mastering a trade

Intro

I love strategy games, and I love card games. Rio Grande’s Renaissance Man is a masterful mix of both. The goal is to create a “master.” In order to do so, you must stack 14 supporting workers (from level one of 5, level two of 4, and so on) underneath the final, game-winning master placed at the top of the pyramid. Sounds easy? Not quite. In order to stack a worker, you practically need to align the stars.

Boxcars Board Game Review: Great strategy game with deep-rooted history

Before even mentioning aspects of the game itself, I must mention the incredible historical aspect of Boxcars. When a stray ping pong ball stuck in a shelf in Uncle Bob’s garage, two board-game-loving, inquisitive brothers asked their long-time family friend, Uncle Bob, what the large United States map was with pencil markings all over it. It was a prototype of a Pirate & Traveler/Monopoly hybrid board game with a railroad twist.