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Showing posts from December, 2025

Neotopia: Review

Neotopia: Review Introduction: Neotopia is a pattern building game that has players adding element tokens into three shared regions to create patterns from project cards. Players will also score the largest cluster of elements matching their colour in each region at the end of the game, so having a presence of your element in each section is very important. Game Anatomy: Game Board: The game board is separated into three regions, with one factory between each.  Element Tokens: There are four elements in the game; sustainable energy (red), community (blue), technology (purple) and biofarming (green). These elements will be played into the three shared regions by all players during their turn, however,  no one truly owns any of these elements. Players will instead score points from patterns created that match the cards they hold.  All players represent a particular colour, shown on their character card. They will have to keep their individual colour ...

Mindbug X King of Tokyo: Review

Mindbug X King of Tokyo: Review Information: Mechanics:  Head to Head, Push Your Luck Player Age:  8+  Player Count:  2  Players  Time to Play:  15 - 25  Minutes  Game Designer:   Skaff Elias, Richard Garfield, Marvin Hegen, Christian Kudahl Game Artist:  Denis Martynets Publisher : Nerdlab Games Year Published:  2025 BGG Weight:  2.00 Disclaimer:  A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher. Mindbug is a fast paced head to head game I have reviewed several times; the main review can be found here . The focus of this review is the crossover that no one saw coming. Richard Garfield is the designer of both Mindbug and King of Tokyo, and this iteration of Mindbug X King of Tokyo has the theme of King of Tokyo combined with the mechanisms of Mindbug.  Contents : In the game there are 32 creature cards, four Mindbug cards, and health trackers like normal mindbug sets. ...

Race For the Galaxy: Review

Race for the Galaxy: Review  Information: Mechanics:  Engine-Building, Simultaneous Play Player Age:  12+ Player Count:  2 - 4  Players Time to Play:  30  Minutes  Game Designer:   Thomas Lehmann Game Artist:  Martin Hoffmann, Claus Stephan Publisher : Rio Grande Games Year Published:  2007 BGG Weight:  2.99 Disclaimer:  A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher. Introduction: Race for the Galaxy is an engine-building game where players are trying to use high-scoring cards, or to create an engine that produces and consumes resources to score victory points. The unique hook for this game is that five possible phases can occur each round. However, only the phases that the players secretly select at the start of a round will determine which phases every player will partake in. For example if two players select the develop phase, this phase will only occur once and both of those players will gain a b...

Spirits of Christmas: Review

Spirits of Christmas: Review Information: Mechanics: C ooperative, Rondel, Multi-use Cards Player Age:  12+  Player Count:  1 - 6 Players Time to Play:  30 - 45  Minutes  Game Designer:   John S. Bailey Game Artist:   Emmie Bailey Publisher: Humble Bard Games Year Published:  2025 BGG Weight:   2.00 Disclaimer:   A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher. Introduction : Spirit of Christmas is a cooperative puzzle with limited communication that uses a rondel and a limited action allowance of shillings, after all, what does Scrooge value more than his shillings?  The players are trying to create three chapters linked to the classic tale of the ghosts of past, present and future. Once each chapter has been completed the players have won, run out of shilling along the way and players have lost. Game Anatomy: Shilling Tokens: Shilling tokens are your life-force and the action allowance system. To move acr...

Orbit: Review

Orbit: Review  Information: Mechanics:  Race, Multi-Use Cards,  Player Age:  10+  Player Count:  2 - 4 Players Time to Play:  30 - 60  Minutes  Game Designer:   Reiner Knizia Game Artist:   Vincent Dutrait Publisher:  Bitewing Games Year Published:  2025 BGG Weight:   1.75 Disclaimer:   A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher. Orbit is a racing game with a clear objective; move around space, visit the seven planets, and return to the starting planet. The challenge in Orbit is that the planets are in, well, orbit. As players play cards, planets will move along their designed orbits. Players have to plan the best course in how to visit these planets in the most efficient way possible. This may be hitching a ride on a moving planet, consuming battery power to go further, or gaining perks from space stations along the way.     Game Anatomy: Main Board: The main board contai...