Launchpad

'If I don't get a fuel card next time, so help me....!'

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: About 1 to 3 min

Time to play: About 15-20 minutes

Difficulty: To play 3/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: High (just a deck)
Overall: 9/10

This games holds a special place in our collection, as it was the first game me and the better half played together. I wanted to introduce her to card and board games, but coming from a place of interest but no other knowledge, she was - understandably - cautious of the complexity of some of these types of games.

Then I came across this game. Rockets, the pictures looked very unthreatening, so 'Huh, I'll have a go!'.

We were hooked from the first play.

You play opposing Space projects, trying to get as many of the rockets into space as possible. Each turn you draw cards: rockets (a sort of  blueprints, if you will), fuel and metal (to actually build the things), and the ever present action cards, that will accelerate you construction, sabotage your opponents', etc.

Said rockets need to go through 3 levels of contruction, and you need to draw the right technician to allow the machines to advance to the next stage. As per usual in these games, you are at the mercy of the cards. Tables can turn at the 11th hour, I've seen games change in 2 turns, as someone draws the right fuel card and/or the right tech, and leapfrogs ahead.

Rui's conclusion: A simple, visually pretty and accessible game. Not as strategic as others, but very easy to pick up. A great introductory game, as well as one for the kids. Great fun!

Machi Koro

'NEED TO BUILD AN ORCHARD!!!'

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: About 1 to 3 min

Time to play: About 30 minutes, possibly bit more

Difficulty: To play 3/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: High to Medium (just a deck, but money tokens)
Overall: 8/10

This game came highly recommended as a simple, easy and accessible game. You are trying to develop the Japanese town of Machi Koro. The inhabitants need 4 landmarks, but these are way to expensive. The only choice is to build an infra structure, so the money rolls in, so that the landmarks can be built!

Each card represents a different building or area (Forests, Stadiums, Farms, etc). They will have a cost (that you need to pay), and a number at the top. You then roll a die(s). Whatever number comes out activates that card, and generates money, gets money from another player, etc. Whoever buils the 4 landmarks fastest wins!

Rui's conclusion: A fantastically easy game, perfect for newbies. Non-threatening, instinctive and fun. Very colourful and engaging, kids will love it. Recommended!

Epic Spell Wars Of The Battle Wizards, Duel At Mount Skullzfyre

                             'Die in the fire of my hatred!!!'

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: About 3 min

Time to play: About 30 minutes

Difficulty: To play 4/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: High, just a deck
Overall: 9/10

ESWOTBW,DAMS (even the acronym is huge!) is what Magic The Gathering would be if its creators had watched waaaaay too many early 90s cartoons, and then dropped some serious, serious acid.

You and your opponents are wizards, about to blow each other to smouldering tiny embers. With what, I hear you ask!

Spells.

Lots of Spells.

You'll have a hand of 8 cards, and each spell is made of 3 types of cards, a Source, a Quality and a Delivery. The combinations are nearly endless. You can play 1, 2 or 3 cards, and then, Magic-style, you try and get the opponents' health below 20. Last one standing wins!

There are some strategy elements, if you play more spell parts of the same kind, you'll get bonuses, some spells hurt the opponent, some heal you, some do both. Also always try and say the full name of the spell in a Wizard-y voice!

Rui's Conclusion: Simple to play, silly, strategic, fun and entertaining. A good one for newbs. The alternative art might attract some. A must!

Carcassonne

'Where the hells is this road going to go....?'

Type: Strategy / Board
Players: 2 to about 5

Time to explain to others: About 1 to 3 min

Time to play: About 30 minutes, possibly bit more

Difficulty: To play 3/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: Medium. Loads of board tiles
Overall: 9/10

Carcassonne slipped through my fingers like sand through the hands of a toddler. I had totally forgotten about this lovely and simple Eurogame (Eurogames or German Games are games that focus more on strategy and resource management to get victory points, and not Player v Player conflict). A soul brother to Catan, although even simpler (if that is possible).

In each turn in Carcassonne, you play a tile, and have the possibility to play a person marker (the ever iconic Meeple). Depending on where you play the Meeple, it might become a farmer (in a field), a highwayman (in a road), a knight (in a city), a monk (in a monastery), etc. The game comes into its own because every played tile needs to connect fully with a previous one (roads can't start and end in the ether, cities must be closed by walls, etc).

You only have half a dozen meeples and although you can claim them back once you score an area (city, road.... you get the idea), you are at the mercy of the tiles. If you need to finish a city with a city tile, with a diagonal city wall running from upper left to lower right.... You might be in a lot of trouble, as your meeple knight is now stuck there, in a place where it will still score some point at game's end, but a fraction of what it would if you actually finished the city. There are by now about a dozen expansions with new tiles and new types of meeples, that keep adding to the story. You can still have a lot of fun with the base box though!

Rui's conclusion: Fast, engaging, simple and fun. A good warm-up game, or one for newbies. A hit, and rightly so!

Marrakesh

'I have maaaaany carpets!'

Type: Strategy / Board
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: About 1 min

Time to play: About 20 minutes

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: Medium, some tokens
Overall: 8/10

In the soukhs of Marrakesh, the word comes trough the dusty narrow alleyways: a new caravan is arriving, loaded with gold from the south, silver from the east and metals from the north. They want but one thing, the thing north Africa is famous for above all else.

Carpets.

Ahead of the caravan, they send an agent, that will select the best carpets and give the exclusive rights to trade to the best seller. So the different artisans have but moments to make sure theirs are the best and most visible carpets!

Marrakesh is a lovely simple game I found quite by accident. It breaks down to two simple actions: a) roll a die, move the 'agent' that number of places, and b) lay down a carpet (lovely rectangular pieces of felt) touching the agents' place.

You can (and should!) cover opponents' carpets (to make sure yours are the most visible ones), and if the agent ends up in an opponents' carpet on your movement turn (depends on the dice, remember?), you need to pay that opponent an amount of gold proportional to the area occupied by that opponents' carpets.

When the last carpet is put down, all gold is counted, and every bit of exposed carped of a colour wins 1 extra gold. Whoever has more gold, is the winner!

This is a simple, fun, quick and engaging game. It plays fast, you delight in covering your opponents' work, and a bad decision might cost you the game.

Rui's conclusion: A highly thematic, quick and very simple game.  Highly recommended to young'uns and newbies. Perfect dinner party or games night game!

Smash Up

Ninjas, and Robots and Aliens, Oh My!

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: About 5 min

Time to play: About 30 minutes, possibly bit more

Difficulty: To play 3/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: Medium (Loads of cards)
Overall: 9/10

There is a question on the minds of Humanity for as long as Man has wondered about the Universe. More than survival, taming energy, the transference of information or the quest for a mate, this question has crossed the ages and remains as important today as it always has been.

Which are better, pirates or ninjas?

Smash Up attempts to solve this, by combining them. You start with a couple of dozen half-decks of cards, and you combine any two to play. So, you might end up playing Zombie Robots, or Pirate Aliens, or Steampunk Dinosaurs. Or Wizard Ninjas. Because, you know, who wouldn't?

The game dynamic is simple, each turn you play a character (here called a minion) and a special card (boost your minions, kill the opponents' minions, recover minion from discard pile, etc). Minions are played onto Bases, mission cards, if you will. Each minion has a power number, as does the Base. When the Bases's power is equalled or exceeded , the Base 'breaks', and it is scored. Whoever has more combined minion power on that base gets 1st prize (and an x amount of victory points), the 2nd highest minion power gets 2nd prize (and y amount of victory points, usually smaller than x, but on a few bases, bigger, making things pretty complicated, as everyone wants to get 2nd prize on these bases), and so on. Whoever reaches a pre-determined number of victory points wins.

The game is pretty simple and incredibly silly. All affiliations play differently, and when you combine them, about 70% of the combinations work well, 20% of them get ridiculously powerful, and 10% of them kinda cancel each other out (e.g. Wizard (some cards allow for special cards to be taken back from discard) and Robots (have fewer special cards)).

Rui's conclusion: Fast, fun and silly. For geeks and newbies. Perhaps not a first tier introduction game, but easy enough to get and play well. A perfect match for aggressive players!

Lords of Waterdeep

Every alley has a knife, every palace a cup of poison.

Type: Strategy / Resource management / Board
Players: 1 to about 6

Time to explain to others: About 5 to 10 min

Time to play: About 30 minutes, possibly bit more

Difficulty: To play 3/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: Very Low. Dozens of tokens.
Overall: 9/10

In one of the multitude worlds of the Dungeons and Dragons universes, there is a place. A city of gleaming temples and shady ale-houses. Of slimy alleyways and fetid harbours. Stretching from the sunny Field of Heroes to the murky labyrinthine corridors of the Undermountain.

The city is called Waterdeep.

Lords of Waterdeep is a resource management game. It might look a bit odd at first, but when boiled down to its core, it is actually fairly simple. You are one of the titular Lords of Waterdeep, vying for control of the city. To grow in power and influence (in our case, victory points) you need to complete missions, ranging from assassinations to helping other inhabitants, to fighting invaders, to exterminating pests, to breeding Owlbears (bears with the heads of owls, cuter than it sounds).

Being a son (or daughter) of the nobility, you will of course NOT get your hands dirty. Of course not, perish the thought! You will send your agents, to hire fighters and wizards, to then do the job for you.

This is how the game works. Each turn, you have a number of agents (about 5, as it can increase or decrease). In turns, you will send your agents to different areas of town (Ale-houses, The University, The Temple, etc), and in each place you will hire a number of people (represented by small coloured cubes).

Each mission will require a number of these cubes. When you have the corresponding numbers and colours, you can claim that mission (and its victory points).

The only problem is that, although there are a number of cards that actively impact your opponents (negatively), the main issue of the game is one of the locations on the board. Only one agent can be in any location at any one time. So it is really easy to block the opponents and make it as hard as possible to get those coloured cubes (either by accident or on purpose).

And this is pretty much it. Some other elements add the all important element of randomness, like the lord you play will have a bonus for some missions and not others, and The Builders Guild, that will introduce new and different buildings and locations in every game.

Rui's conclusion: Although heavier than other games, LoW is still simple enough to explain in a few minutes. The resource management is a new dynamic, but one that is straightforward. You don't need to waste too much time on the intricacies if you don't want, just collect the cubes you need! It will please both newbies and veterans. Highly recommended.

Qwirkle

'If only I had a green star... I NEED A GREEN STAR!'

Type: Strategy / Pieces
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: 1 minute

Time to play: About 20 minutes

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: High (it comes with a travel bag (!))
Overall: 9/10

I hadn't yet covered the family of games to which Qwirkle belongs to (because to be honest, I don't own many), the abstract games. For no good reason, I hasten to add, a lot of them are fine and lovely games, and the absence of a narrative universe might even invite proper newbies into the game.

Case and point: my parents. My parents are not huge fans of board games, but they loved Qwirkle. It plays strategic and fast, you end up blocking other players by accident, more than by design, and it it simple and logical.

You have 5 pieces at any time. You play them so that you make a line. That line can be a) a line of same shape in all 6 different colours, or b) All 6 different shapes of the same colour. You cannot repeat either colour or shape in the same line (respectively). You win points for the longest line your piece made. When you make a 6-strong line (a Qwirkle), you get 6 points + 6 bonus.

And this is pretty much it, simplicity being its middle name, if it had one. 

Rui's conclusion: The abstract aspect of it is enticing, you can just relax and just follow the shapes and colours. Really good entry game for young'uns and newbies. A good family game, where everyone could get involved.

T I M (The Impossible Machine)

...and the the ball fall on the cat, the cat runs, hits the switch, letting the balloon go, and...

Type: Card / Strategy
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: 1 minute

Time to play: About 15 minutes

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 4/10
Portability: high

Overall: 8/10

If I mention the name Rube Goldberg, you probably won't recognise it. However, if I describe what a Rube Goldberg device (or machine) does, you'll see what I mean instantly.

You've seen it in movies a thousand times. Someone flips a switch, letting a ball roll, ball hits plank, plank, hits toy car, toy car falls down incline and hits bulb, which breaks.... And so on...

I was surprised to see that TIM is not a popular game. I've found it to be quick, strategic and interesting. You cards represent pieces of a machine, and each piece needs to snap into place, extending the mechanism and synchronizing with the piece on the left of it and on the right of it. Each card has one arrow going in (Input) and one or more arrows going out (Output). Any output needs to agree with the next cards' input, and so on and and on.

Some cards allow you to eliminate existing cards, but without breaking the sequence (you need to provide a new card that will slot into the existing space perfectly, making a link with all inputs and outputs).

After a number of cards (pieces of the machine) are played, it activates and we assume the machine is lumbering away, turning switches, dropping balls, etc. At that point, it is a race against time to put down as many parts as possible before the wave of motion reaches you. The winner is the one with the biggest number of parts played into the machine.

Rui's conclusion: Very similar to 7 Dragons in both simplicity and accessibility, albeit perhaps more strategic. A good, exciting, quick little game. 

Tsuro and Tsuro of the Seas

What paths will your dragon follow....?

Type: Board / Strategy
Players: 2 to 6

Time to explain to others: 1 minute

Time to play: About 15 minutes

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 3/10
Portability: Board, cards and tokens. Medium.

Overall: 8/10

Tsuro is a quick and fun game, that pretends to be an allegory for life (laying the path in front of you, following difficult paths, etc). In reality, it is a quick, fun and dynamic game.

Each player had a dragon token, placed somewhere around the edge of the gaming area. You will then place a tile, displaying paths and your dragon needs to follow that path to its end, being placed on some opposite side of that tile.

And this is effectively it (told you it was easy). The game does take a couple of turns to kick off.

The interesting part begins when you place a tile, and an opponents' dragon is on the edge of the space that will be filled by that tile. In that event you move your dragon and theirs.

Any dragons that are forced to follow a path off the gaming area are eliminated. The last one, wins.

Tsuro of the Seas follows the same dynamic, just in the oceans, with Sea Serpents. And there are a number of dreadful sea monsters, moving randomly around the board, eating you as they go (which makes things more exciting). 

Rui's conclusion: Fast, quick and exciting. A good introductory game. Possibly one amenable to young'uns.

Seven Dragons

Perfect if you're in the market to buy a dragon. Several colours available.

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2 to 4

Time to explain to others: 1 minute

Time to play: About 20-30 minutes

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 4/10

Portability: High
Overall: 8/10

Seven Dragons does to card games what Ticket to Ride does to board games. It is possibly the simplest game you can possibly imagine, but it is done in a really intricate way and with stunning artwork.

The game is effective dominoes. You get a secret card, showing the colour of a particular dragon. You then need to play cards to try and make an unbroken chain of seven images of that colour dragon. Said cards might have one, two, three or four different colour dragons in them.

It is very easy to block an opponents' chain, so a degree of bluffing at the start is of the outmost importance (starting a chain of a different colour, for example). And then, you are at the mercy of the cards, if you are supposed to make a green chain, and all you have are red, blue and yellow dragons, you're not going to have a nice day.

You also have special cards, that allow you to move cards, eliminate cards, etc, providing the ever necessary element of randomness to the game. Also you have two other dragons, the aptly named Rainbow Dragon (all colours at once), and the silver dragon, the first piece of this dragon-y puzzle, whose colour continuously changes as the game evolves, giving you another dragon of your colour....Until your opponent changes him to something else.

Rui's conclusion: Seven Dragons is possibly the best introductory card game I've come across. The instructions even cover introducing the game to toddlers, starting them on the artwork, and then moving up in complexity as they age. Fantastically simple, entertaining, and very pretty!

Magic, the Gathering

What colour will YOU be?

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2

Time to explain to others: 5 to 10 minutes

Time to play: About 20-30 minutes

Difficulty: To play 4/10, Game difficulty 5/10
Portability: High

Overall: 10/10

As hinted at on my last post, here we go.

*deep breath*

Amongst the multitude dimensions, there is a place. In the centre of a storm-battered plain, rolling purple-grey clouds above, there is a huge, dark, dusty temple dedicated to all card games that didn't work. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of niches, each one with the skeletal mummies of games past. A place filled with brilliant but over complicated, or too simple, or badly drawn card games. Or good ones that simply could not reach up to the Leviathan.

I'm talking about Magic The Gathering.

Starting in the mid 90's, this game has managed to live, expand, evolve, and leave all others behind it. And it did all of this in just one way: Simplicity

The first time you pick up a Magic deck, you might feel a bit daunted, but don't! Starter decks are still published CONTINUOUSLY (like they have over the last 20 years). And inside most of them, there are simple rules for you to start playing. (that failing, their website has the same quick intro)

You and your opponent are wizards, fighting each other. Your decks have 3 types of cards, Creatures, Lands and Spells. Creatures fight other creatures (or failing that, the opposing wizard), lands give the resources to 'build' creatures or spells, and spells give the game a measure of unpredictability, boosting or killing creatures, injuring the wizard, defending creatures, etc.

Each card has a text box, filled with instructions. Some of the keywords might take a couple of games to get used to, but even the rookiest of players can start being decent at magic in a couple of games. And seeing your opponent play a card you've never seen, is an excuse to engage in conversation: 'What card is that? What does it do? Can I have a closer look?'

There are 5 factions in Magic (green, white, red, blue and black), each with radically different playing techniques. Finding the one you like is half the fun. And most decks have more than one colour (for balance and optimization), which then create issues with the type and number of lands....

Reams of paper and Terabytes of information are available out there on Magic tactics and deckbuilding. Some might complain about Magic's incessant expansion and how you continuously need to buy new decks and new boosters. All I will say is this: as I only play Magic informally, my investment to date has been modest. 

Rui's conclusion: The game is wonderful, flows fast and is really exciting. If you have 30 minutes to spare, you can do no worse.

Boss Monster

Type: Strategy / Card
Players: 2

Time to explain to others: 2 minutes 

Time to play: About 20 minutes

Difficulty: To play 2/10, Game difficulty 5/10
Portability: High

Overall: 9/10

Boss Monster is the first card game I'm covering, as I draw a deep long breath before I cover the Leviathan that is the card game to end all card games, I mean of course....

But I digress, that is talk for another time.

Boss Monster is a fun and fast cardgame, originally funded by Kickstarter, the haven of everything that is kitch, retro and 80's. Instead of being a hero fighting its way into a dungeon, you are the boss monster at the end, building you neat little dungeon, to try and obliterate any incoming heroes.

Keeping with the 80s look, the cards are pixelated, and the dungeon works linearly, from left to right, like on a 2D scrolling arcade or early ZX Spectrum or really early PC game. There are a handful of rules, that can be explained in a few minutes, and then its Hi-oh, hi-oh, to build our dungeon we go.

Rui's conclusion: Fast, easy and visually compelling. The retro look will attract the 1980-early 90s generation, as well as the more curious kids. Ultimately, really entertaining!

Takenoko

Lovely panda. Also, gardener and garden. And pond.

Type: Strategy
Players: 1 to 4

Time to explain to others: 2 or 3 minutes

Time to play: About an hour

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 3/10
Portability: Board, pieces, tokens, cards. Medium.

Overall: 9/10

The emperor of China gave the emperor of Japan a panda. Not knowing what to do with the beast, but still loving it, the Japanese emperor put it in his garden. The panda then found himself surrounded by yummy bamboo! So it is a race, between the gardener (growing bamboo) and the panda (eating it).

The above gives you the flavour of this cute and cuddly game. It is another good introduction to BG's, as it looks innocent enough. You're playing for points, as you complete 'tasks' (panda must eat 'y' units of bamboo, you must grow 'x' units of bamboo), so there is some rivalry, but you don't have to fight and destroy opponents. That said, there is nothing more frustrating then setting up the panda, so you can eat the variety of bamboo you need, and an opponent does exactly the same, moving the panda to the other side of the garden.

The board grows as you play, so the number of configurations is unpredictable and not necessarily in your favour. Also, it helps if you give the panda a silly, squeaky voice. For no good reason.

Rui's conclusion: Again, a good party game. As simple as Ticket to ride. A good, easy, visually cute game, both for the uninitiated, and as a relief from some hardcore killing game. 

Ticket to Ride

Lining up Europe (gettit?)

Type: Strategy
Players: 1 to 4

Time to explain to others: Under a minute

Time to play: About an hour

Difficulty: To play 1/10, Game difficulty 4/10
Portability: Board, cards and hundreds of pieces. Low.

Overall: 10/10

Ticket to Ride is a spiritual son (or daughter) of Catan. Simple to the point of idiocy but with layers upon layers of strategy. Here is a game with the (unofficial) tagline of: It takes longer to set up the board (2 minutes) than it takes to explain the rules. And it is true.

You play railroad magnates, building trainlines across the globe (about 10 maps are available, US, Europe, India, Africa, etc). You get cards, the cards have colours, combination coloured cards (5 blue, 6 pink, etc) allow you to build segments of railroad between major cities. You get 'ticket' cards that will tell you what lines you need to build, and in a nod to Catan, you get extra points for the longest line.

That's it. 

That's the game.

And herein lies the fun. If you need to build through a town an opponent is also building through, you might scupper his/her plans. The line you had the cards for in now taken by a rival company. Your London to Brighton line now goes through Edinburgh. Lovely. It plays fast and sometimes dirty. And you are at the very mercy of the cards.

Rui's conclusion: A great party game, perhaps the greatest for the non-initiated into board games. Fun, engaging and fast. A must in all BG cabinets!

Settlers Of Catan

The island of Catan. Very hexagonal-y.

Type: Strategy

Time to explain to others: 15 minutes
Time to play: About an hour

Difficulty: Some rules, but simple 2/10
Portability: Many small pieces, not recommended. Low.
                    (There is a dedicated travel edition. High.)

Overall: 9/10

Where to even begin on Catan? The game of games, the saviour. Catan, first published in the late 90s revived a moribund industry, and showed people that board games didn't need to be boring, day long pursuits *coff coff Monopoly coff coff*.

The game is simple, you are Settlers on the resource-rich island of Catan. Each turn, random areas of the island will be activated, and generate their respective resource (stone, wood, bricks, sheep, etc). The player(s) that control that area will collect said resource(s) and use them to expand their control of the island, by building settlements and roads. 

If it sounds boring, it really isn't. You can only build a certain distance away from an adversary's area, so the island runs out of space FAST. You don't get to fight, but it is easy to block someone else's advance. There is also a Thief who adds a measure of randomness to the game, and allows players to delay others (specially the ones further ahead in the game). There is also a measure of bartering as you can trade your resources for someone else's and you both need to agree on the terms. The winner is the first to achieve a certain number of victory points (achieved by building, certain extra cards, and by having the longest road on the island (and you'd be surprised how often this one actually wins the game)).

Rui's conclusion: A fun, party-y game. The absence of active destruction helps the light atmosphere, as does its simplicity. The only limitation is that it has to suffer some adaptation to work with 2 players. Fun, pretty and still kicking after 30 years. A classic and a must have.