Wingspan Game Review: My first 10 out of 10…ever

Best Moment

Lady Luck was not on my side this game when I was forced to sacrifice birds with valuable actions (normally my favorite) for birds with one-time actions and lower point values. Everyone thought I would be blown out of the water based on what they could see on my board, but I had managed to collect and complete four secret bonus cards for a huge amount of points. The player adding up the scores laughed several times as she calculated scores before announcing me as the winner…by one point!

Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig Board Game Review

Intro

A word to the OCD out there: if you play this extraordinary game, you will need to accept inefficiencies as they come. You will not be able to exploit every tile to the fullest extent. It’s impossible. But that’s also the fun of it! Trying to nail that balance between tile types, tile position, tile bonuses, and collaborating with your co-builder gives this game one of the highest replay values out there. It may just take a couple of rounds to squelch the OCD monster. =-)

Suburbia Game Review: A masterful, hand-wringing game of city development

Intro

This is an ingenious game. It is masterfully architected and balanced. It’s perfect for those who enjoy business-focused games (like me!) with some urban planning, a healthy dose of economy, and a touch of luck. You’ll love how much real-world sense it makes and how quickly the winds of chance can shift strategic direction. A timid leader prone to analysis paralysis won’t win nor will the blowhard, move-it-or-lose-it leader. Find a rational, balanced approach to succeed in Suburbia (and life for that matter!).

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.