Starry Night Sky (Saturday Review)

The sun had set, but we still had a few hours before the main event. Our telescopes were set up and we had a flask of hot chocolate and a few biscuits ready to see us through the night. Our thick coats and thick socks were going to keep us warm and cosy. We were hopeful that tonight we would be able to discover new constellations. It was really exciting. Luckily, there were no clouds, so we stood a good chance to see the wonderful Starry Night Sky by Emma Larkins from Buffalo Games.

Warm and Cozy

The game is as lovely and cosy as the introduction. You move your telescope across the sky, discover new stars and complete constellations. You can also complete additional goals to score extra points during the game. There are also secret end-game objectives, called Myth cards, for even more points.

While there is a race to find new constellations and get extra points, everything you do indirectly helps the other players. As soon as a constellation has been completely mapped, players can skip it to speed across the night sky and reach other, new locations that are further away.

Not only that, while trying to reach the constellations shown on your end-game objectives, you are likely to complete those of other players. So there is a lot of indirect positive player interaction in Starry Night Sky which makes it feel quite cosy and friendly.

That’s no surprise, because the game is clearly aimed at families. The components of this route-building, set collection and objective-fulfilling kind of game are lovely. There are plastic miniature telescopes that are your player pawns and gorgeous plastic gem stars that you collect and place on the star chart. You keep these in a wonderful cloth drawstring bag. The game board is really thick and heavy and so is the card stock. The box comes with a wonderful insert that keeps everything safe and in place.

The only slight criticism I have is the amount of air in the box. That is down to the size of the board, which really couldn’t be any smaller. It’s an issue intrinsic to many games that come with game boards. It’s the game boards that decide the size of the box and that decides how much air there is. So, there is nothing that could have been done about it.

a close-up of one of the telescope miniature player token and the gem star tokens
the components in Starry Night Sky are gorgeous

Not Long Until Dawn

What surprised me when I played Starry Night Sky is how slowly it starts and how soon everything speeds up. The game is over much more quickly than you expect. You think you have a few more turns to complete the constellations that you need to complete your end-game objectives, but suddenly someone triggers the last round. Now there is no more time.

I guess it does wonderfully emulate a real stargazing night. It takes a while to set everything up. Your eyes need to properly acclimatize to the darkness. You have to wait until the constellation you hope to see rises above the horizon. Then you need to adjust your telescope and as you look through it, you realize how fast the stars move across the sky. Within minutes your window of opportunity is gone. It won’t be long until dawn comes.

That change of pace in Starry Night Sky is what I think gives the game the spice it needs. Otherwise it would have soon felt too slow and especially younger players would risk getting bored. However, as it is, you take your time and suddenly realize you’re at the wrong end of the sky. You desperately dash across to the other side to fulfil at least one more objective.

In fact, the whole game is really tightly designed. The first time you play, you think you can easily finish your end-game objectives. Three Myth cards seem like nothing. Yet, you soon realize it’s quite a hard goal. Then you play Starry Night Sky again, believing that you can finish all three this time round, but despite making changes to your strategy, it’s still a tall order. It’s definitely not impossible, but it’s just the right number.

three Myth cards from Starry Night Sky which give you end-game points
three Myth cards from Starry Night Sky which give you end-game points

Falling Stars

One thing I did find strange was that the star map in the game has completely made-up constellations. I assume that was done to be more appealing to younger players. So while Strong Thread and Persuasive Tortoise might make children giggle, I do think an opportunity was missed to teach them about our night sky. I appreciate that the constellations vary with seasons and what hemisphere you’re in and that the game is based on star formations made up of between two and four stars. However, it would still have been nice to see Ursa Major, Orion, Lyra or any of the others in the game, even if only the main two to four stars from them had been used for the gameplay.

However, this and the air are my only niggles and neither of them had any effect on the enjoyment of the game. I’ve played it a few times now and even left it with our neighbours to play with their young daughter, who played it many times more. Every time it was really fun to try and complete your constellations and watch other players help you at the same time.

The rules seem a little bit complicated at first, but as you play, it is really clear and starts to flow very quickly. I think we only had to refer back to the rulebook once during a game.

So if you want a beautiful game with glittering components that appeals to all the family, then Starry Night Sky is definitely one to add to your list. It has plenty of variety and plays in well under an hour. So even younger players who may have a shorter attention span will be able to get all the way through. It is a really wonderful game that I will always be happy to play – whether it is dark outside or not.

Useful Links

Videos

Transparency Facts

I feel that this review reflects my own, independent and honest opinion, but the facts below allow you to decide whether you think that I was influenced in any way.

  • I was sent a free review copy of this game by the publisher.
  • At the time of writing, neither the designers, nor the publisher, nor anyone linked to the game supported me financially or by payment in kind.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Sound Effects: bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2024 BBC

Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com
License code: FACYGOWWLEPY0SM1

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this review:

Bad Trevor (Saturday Review) – Tabletop Games Blog

Release Date: 2024Players: 3-5
Designer: Mark HurdleLength: 15-30 minutes
Artist: Steve PenfoldAge: 10+
Publisher: Fist Bump GamesComplexity: 1.5 / 5
Plastic (by weight): < 1%Air (by volume): < 10%

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Fero City: a bustling metropolis that has become a battleground. There was little time to evacuate the millions of inhabitants before a horde of supervillains descended and started pulverizing iconic landmarks. Most people fled, but many had no chance. Now you have to get them out of there before it’s too late and before the arrival of the worst supervillain of them all: Bad Trevor by Mark Hurdle from Fist Bump Games.

The rulebook’s introduction sets the scene and the amazing graphic novel-style illustrations bring the story to life. An epic battle is about to ensue and innocent civilians are about to be caught up in the chaos. So the bar is set high and everyone around the table rightly expects a monumental gameplay experience.

Simple Gameplay

The basic gameplay is quite simple. A deck of 52 cards is evenly dealt out to the three to five players around the table. The deck has a mix of civilian cards, which you’re trying to collect pairs of, hero cards, which provide benefits, and villain cards, which have a negative effect. The aim of the game is to be the first to get rid of all of your cards.

On your turn, you choose three cards from your hand and place them face down in front of another player. The idea is that you’re attacking them with your cards and hence they are called attack cards. The opponent chooses one of the three cards and the other two go back into your hand. If the other player takes a villain card, something bad happens to them, such as having to miss a turn. If they take a hero card, they will gain some sort of benefit. If it is a civilian card, it goes into their hand and nothing happens right away.

So far, so simple.

Civilian cards add a little twist. At the beginning of your turn, if you have a matching pair, you can play it to either reverse the player order or request a specific civilian card, all of which have a name, from another player. If they have the card, you take it. If they don’t have it, then you end your turn immediately. You can keep playing pairs as long as you have any, but you don’t have to play them if you don’t want to.

Pass The Bad Trevor

There are also a couple of special cards. Bad Trevor, the namesake of this game, can never be discarded. So any hero card effects that allow you to discard cards don’t apply to them. The only way to get rid of this card is to play it as one of the three cards in front of an opponent and hope that they draw it. If that happens, the other player also has to take the other two attack cards. So make sure you never draw Bad Trevor.

The other special card is Kamikaze Kevin. This card serves two functions: whoever gets it in their starting hand places it face-up in the middle of the table and starts the game. So you have one less card than the others. The second function is that anyone can take Kamikaze Kevin and place it on top of one of the three attack cards and shout “Take that Bad Trevor!” Whoever does this has to be sure that the card they put Kevin on top of is Bad Trevor.

The face-down card gets revealed and if it is indeed Bad Trevor, the person who played Kamikaze Kevin wins. If it’s not, the player who put the attack cards down wins instead. So effectively, Kamikaze Kevin is a nuclear attack that will end the game one way or the other there and then. It’s a high-risk-high-reward strategy.

That’s it though. Very simple rules and a lot of the gameplay experience comes from the card flavour text and the player interaction.

Kamikaze Kevin and Captain Granite
Kamikaze Kevin and Captain Granite

Basic Bad Trevor

That’s where Bad Trevor falls down for me. While it is great for people who like games with a lot of luck and very little strategy, where the people around the table make the game exciting through their interactions with each other, there really is practically no player agency.

The benefits of hero cards and the negative effects of villains are not particularly spectacular. There are no cards that you can play from your hand to protect yourself from attacks. There is no combo potential where one hero card can be combined with another card to make it stronger. It feels a bit bland. I just draw one of the three attack cards and do what it says. It’s all quite mechanical. There is no excitement, except maybe for the attacker when the opponent decides which card to take. Even that lasts only a few seconds, unless the opponent really can’t decide.

The most action comes from civilian cards. If you can manage to get a lot of matching pairs, you can quickly get a win. So keeping an eye on what cards other players draw is important. You need to know what civilians are where and then play one of your pairs to demand a civilian that gives you another pair and then hopefully keep going until your hand is empty.

Great Potential

That’s a real shame, because I think Bad Trevor could have been so much more. As I say, it’s perfectly fine and will be fun for the right group of people, but for me, it needed more. The setting is great and the illustrations really suit the game. They might not be to everyone’s taste, but they definitely capture an epic graphic novel style. The names and flavour text of cards are generally all right, but sometimes did make me cringe a bit.

I know, I’m probably just a boring old bloke who needs to loosen up and enjoy the fun. Yet, I somehow was really looking forward to an epic card battler where the opponent parries with a card from their hand, after which the attacker follows suit with an even more epic attack and it goes back and forth until one player gives in or has run out of cards and is down and out.

If I look at other card games like it, I have to think of Star Realms. That game is also quite simple, but there is more strategic and tactical thinking. You want to put up shields, try and trigger combos and build up to an epic turn where you wipe out your opponents.

In Bad Trevor, the antics of the heroes and villains are almost neither here nor there. Focus on saving the civilians and you will win the game. The rest is just fireworks and theatrics. I’m really sorry, but the game just doesn’t live up to its own expectations for me – but maybe I’m just missing the point.

Useful Links

Videos

Transparency Facts

I feel that this review reflects my own, independent and honest opinion, but the facts below allow you to decide whether you think that I was influenced in any way.

  • I was sent a free review copy of this game by the publisher.
  • At the time of writing, neither the designers, nor the publisher, nor anyone linked to the game supported me financially or by payment in kind.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Music: “Valor” by AShamaluevMusic.
Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com

Epic Intro 2018 by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3002-epic-intro-2018
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this review:

The Plot Thickens: Sci-Fi Edition (Saturday Review)

Space – the final frontier. These are the adventures of space pirate Oliver, who is on a mission to catch bounty hunter Boba on the star Alpha Centauri. Bob knows where their towel is – at all times. Meanwhile, in an underwater base, crime lord Jabba has built their shrink ray using the data chip that Boba had stolen. And so, The Plot Thickens: Sci-Fi Edition by Mike Callahan, Brigette Indelicato and Thomas Rochelle from Bright Eye Games.

Words Make Stories

I know, it’s a bit of an odd introduction, but it gives you a good idea of how this story-telling game works. Now, like any game, The Plot Thickens needs to be played with the right group. Making up a story based on prompt cards and incorporating words other players have played while trying to keep all the threads going, is definitely not for everyone – but play it with the right group of people and you’re onto a real winner.

I decided to try the science-fiction edition of The Plot Thickens, because this genre’s tropes are more familiar to me. That’s why it’s no surprise that during my first game, I heavily drew on Star Trek, Star Wars and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. However, there are also romance and detective editions, if you prefer either of those.

Let me come out with it straight away. Even though I love writing, especially creative writing, I just didn’t get on with The Plot Thickens. It’s a lot harder for me to come up with ideas on the spot and verbally, even when I work from prompt cards, than it is for me to write them down. I was really surprised by that, but I felt that you have to have a certain skill for telling stories out loud that I don’t seem to have.

However, that doesn’t mean The Plot Thickens is a bad game. I played it with someone who loves the stories games tell. They are very good at narrating what’s happening and creating a rich tapestry of threads and tales. Even the most abstract games give them enough inspiration to come up with mad ideas that are funny and entertaining to listen to. It’s these kinds of players that this game is perfect for.

Connect The Threads

So when we played The Plot Thickens with them, they groaned at my feeble attempt to use well-known science-fiction tropes and quote almost verbatim from 1980s science-fiction TV series and films. Mind you, if you can’t think of anything new, then falling back on what you know is fair. However, when it was their turn, they played their prompt cards with aplomb and spun a yarn that could have been the basis for the next science-fiction feature film. Not only were they really getting into the game, they also drew us in as well. They showed how well The Plot Thickens works.

They took it to the next level when in chapter two of the game they seamlessly incorporated words played by the other people around the table to weave the various storylines together. In their telling, our characters met each other, helped each other and generally behaved as you would imagine them to behave in a science-fiction setting. It was truly infectious.

Not wanting to be outdone, everyone else tried to follow suit. We were becoming inspired and started to put our self-consciousness aside. The story was becoming more and more complex. New locations and items entered the stage and created new twists and turns, culminating in chapter three which became a little chaotic, but still a lot of fun.

So, yes, if you have enough people with the right attitude in the group, The Plot Thickens is a lot of fun. The creativity we all have in us comes out, even if it can sometimes feel a little awkward. I reckon losing our inhibitions is what the game tries to encourage and it does happen when you’re with the right people.

players draw new cards and can choose between places, things and characters
players draw new cards and can choose between places, things and characters

Everybody Wins

Apart from the way the game encourages storytelling, what I love even more about it is that there is no winner. The game ends after a pre-agreed number of rounds, which the game calls chapters. Everyone plays as many of their cards as they want and then passes to the next person. They can then draw up to five cards again when it’s their turn. There is enough variety and the words are well-known for their genre that it shouldn’t be too hard to make up a story.

When the game ends, the so-called “main character” has the role of completing the story and tying up loose ends. Another player, the so-called “author”, then chooses a suitable title. These two players are selected depending on how many of the other players’ words were used. You could say that these two players are the winner and runner-up, but the rulebook never declares that. So while The Plot Thickens is technically competitive, it’s really cooperative. It’s more about encouraging everyone to try and weave a rich tapestry of plot lines. It’s not there to decide who played the game best.

So if you love story-telling and are the one who narrates what happens in the board games you play with your friends or family, then The Plot Thickens will be up your street. You can decide to do three quick rounds, just to ease people in, or you can write more chapters to create a long novel. The choice is yours. Either way, make sure you are ready to play cards and remember what’s going on to create the next blockbuster hit.

Useful Links

Videos

Transparency Facts

I feel that this review reflects my own, independent and honest opinion, but the facts below allow you to decide whether you think that I was influenced in any way.

  • I was sent a free review copy of this game by the publisher.
  • At the time of writing, neither the designers, nor the publisher, nor anyone linked to the game supported me financially or by payment in kind.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music
License code: SUI7NKUQ7PK6VGGO

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this review:

Game Definitions – a game is a game is a game (Topic Discussion)

It is sometimes nice to discuss semantics. It can get a bit abstract and more often than not rather nuanced, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. So while we all might be talking about the same thing in broad strokes, we are likely to have slightly different definitions in our heads. Therefore I want to look at how to define the term “board game” in this article and see where it takes me.

Definitions

Of course, defining what makes a game versus an activity versus a sport versus whatever else, is not easy. Some might define a game as an activity usually involving skill, knowledge or chance, where you follow a set of rules to try to win against one or more opponents or to solve a puzzle. Board games fit into that definition quite nicely, I think. When it comes to winning against an opponent, you could easily define the game itself as a possible opponent, thereby allowing for corporative games to still meet the requirements.

Even so, the definition can get people’s heckles up. For some, certain games are mere activities, using that term in a derogatory sense. Personally, I can see why some games are seen as activities, but I would never use that term in a negative way. Activities or not, games of all types will be fun for different types of people, while at the same time not being suitable for everyone. Some people just don’t like games or activities, which is absolutely fine.

I think there is room for a whole article just to discuss how best to define what most of us understand to be board games. It’s very hard to cover it well, without excluding games that might sit on the fringes, but are just as much a game as any other. There is even an overlap with sports, of course. I mean, chess is seen as a competitive sport, even though it’s much closer to being a traditional board game. So trying to draw a line of any sort is going to be nigh on impossible.

Physical vs Digital

There is also an ongoing discussion whether digital board games are still board games. It’s similar to the view that board games are a form of art. Of course, there is such a thing as digital art. However, seeing the Mona Lisa in person is nothing like looking at a photo. A physical piece of art becomes something different when it is copied and reproduced in a different medium, including digitally. Many would argue it is no longer art, even though derivatives of art can become pieces of art in their own right, of course.

Similarly, playing board games online is a very different experience. Depending on the platform, certain things are lost and others are added. Not having to deal with setting up the game or putting it away or not having to worry about dealing with income at the end of your turn is nice when you play online. At the same time, you no longer have any tactility and you can’t look your opponents in the eye. Sure, there is video chat, but it’s still not the same.

So you could easily argue that a board game is no longer a board game when it is played digitally. I mean, the clue is in the term. There is no physical board, so it’s no longer a board game. It’s become a computer or video game. That in itself isn’t a problem. There is nothing wrong with playing online. However, people will argue playing games online loses so much that what you play is no longer a board game.

Personally, I disagree with that. In a way, some board games are only properly playable online. Their physical counterparts are too much of a pain. However, I do agree that the online experience is very different.

Oliver Kinne playing a prototype of Circulari
Oliver Kinne playing a prototype of Circulari

Prototypes, Reprints and 2nd Editions

Of course, you could apply the same argument to how a board game changes from its prototype stage to its first release, its reprint and second edition. You could say for example that Brass is not the same as Brass: Lancashire. You could say that the first edition of Die Macher is a different board game from its latest release. They are all board games, but they’ve gone through changes and iterations that make them something different – to a bigger or smaller degree.

I can wholeheartedly subscribe to that view. In fact, I think many publishers follow that view as well. While some games are released as second editions, many are re-released under a different name and sometimes a different setting. While some rules tweaks can improve how easy a game is to learn and smooth the flow of the game, keeping the core of the game the same, they can also create something completely different and almost new.

I do like Terra Mystica, but I prefer the setting and gameplay of Gaia Project. I have never played Brass, not even Brass: Lancashire, but I feel Brass: Birmingham is always going to be my favourite. It’s almost surprising that not more games evolve over time and get re-released with better rules. It’s therefore nice to see that Tapestry is constantly updated and factions are balanced out.

What About You?

I don’t think I’ve really properly explored the topic, but I think I’ve covered the main points. So I wonder what you think. Do you feel that online board games are not board games? Or do you think a game is a game, however you play it? As always, please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. I think there is a lot to cover, so the more people contribute, the better the discussion will be.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Music: bensound.com
License code: DV1LYSKUQFEWBOIN

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this topic discussion article:

Digital Advantage – online gameplay experience versus in person (Topic Discussion)

Since the pandemic, many of us have started to explore the world of online board gaming. Even before we went into lockdown, there have been digital platforms allowing us to play games remotely. For me, these were really important, because it allowed my game group to carry on when we were all told to stay at home. Now that my friends have moved away, they continue to help us play together. Yet, in this article, I don’t want to look at these platforms themselves, but focus on how the digital gameplay experience differs from meeting in person.

Actually, let me clarify this further. When I say I want to focus on the gameplay experience, I don’t mean how it’s nice to see people in person and hold actual components in your hand. Instead, I want to look at how online platforms take away some of the heavy lifting that we otherwise have to do ourselves when we play face-to-face.

Click and Play

Some online board game implementations make you move pieces around the board, draw cards and otherwise do everything you would normally do – except it’s on-screen. So rather than manipulating things with your hands, you have to get to grips with what mouse-clicks do what or how to trigger things with your keyboard. These platforms often don’t even enforce rules.

Steam, Yucata and Board Game Arena are different and there are others like them. These systems make things a lot easier for players. You simply click and play. Sure, sometimes the user interface is a bit confusing and you curse that you can’t do what you should be able to, but generally speaking, not having to painfully drag tokens across your tiny laptop screen is a bonus.

These systems also enforce rules. So while you might have your own interpretation of how something should be interpreted, the digital platform is the final arbiter in the situation and that’s that. No discussion. No arguments. If the system is buggy, then there is nothing you can do. All players have to abide by what the computer decides.

There is also no need for the usual end-of-turn or end-of-round housekeeping that can be time-consuming, boring and sometimes even confusing when playing in person. The system does it for you. You get your income, discard down your hand, draw new objectives, move the round tracker forward and everything else happens automatically.

Overall, I think that’s a good thing. There are no longer situations where someone forgot to take the bonus resources on their turn a whole round later and the pleading and crying that would ensue in a face-to-face game. Nobody forgets to move their score marker up. It’s often even possible to undo your turn, which is often impossible in a physical game.

We Don’t Need Rules Where We’re Going

In fact, these platforms also often show you your options on your turn. You don’t have to work out if you have enough resources to play a card. You can see where you can move your player token to. It’s easy to look at cards. It’s all there right in front of you right at your fingertips.

Unfortunately, by removing players from the boring bits of board games, they also allow us to be lazy and not even bother learning the rules. You can easily just randomly click on things and see what happens. While that’s all right for some games, more often than not you should have a slightly deeper understanding of the rules to actually understand what’s happening. I’ve heard people play a new-to-them game online, not knowing the rules, but still winning just by clicking around. Maybe that’s a good thing and uncovers bad game design, but it’s also a reflection of how we learn board games.

While many of us do learn games as we play them, we have to have a basic understanding of the rules first. Unlike video games that literally teach themselves, board games don’t usually work like that. So when you play a board game online and expect to just pick it up, you’ll be disappointed.

At the same time, some online board games do have tutorials built in. Those are great and allow you to learn the rules without having to read long and often badly laid out rulebooks. I’ve not tried it yet, but I do think that you could play a game in person after learning the rules from a digital tutorial. All you need to do is read about the setup and end-of-round housekeeping.

Online Only

Having played various games on various digital platforms now, I’m at a point where I know that I will never play certain games in person – ever. They are just so much easier to play online. Not only is it all set up for you in an instant, without having to get everything out of the box, shuffle cards and remember where everything goes and what starting resource everyone gets, but there is also no time-consuming putting away afterwards. During the game, you don’t have to follow the 10-step end-of-round clean-up procedure to ensure everyone has the resources they deserve and pays their debts. It all just happens automatically, is wonderfully animated and often with a lovely soundtrack to boot.

At the same time, there are also a number of games that just don’t work online, unless you know them well. Some physical games are really well designed and give players everything they need to know on player aids or their player board. The real estate on a screen often doesn’t allow for these. It either takes several clicks to find the quick guide you so desperately need or things happen automatically, so you’re not actually sure what’s going on. So until you’ve played these games plenty of times in person, leave their digital version alone.

So, whichever way you look at it, online platforms have clear benefits, but also clear disadvantages. Being able to continue game nights when your group is apart is obviously a bonus too, but I do love it when we do meet up in person and get to see each other face-to-face, rare as it may be.

the digital version of Carcassonne
the digital version of Carcassonne

How About You?

Now I wonder how you feel about online board gaming. Do you feel that some games are just easier and maybe even more enjoyable to play digitally? Are there any games that you just wouldn’t play in person? Are there any games that just don’t work online? As always, please share your thoughts in the comments below and let us know how you compare online and in person.

Useful Links

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Dreamsphere 1 by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/196-dreamsphere-1
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this topic discussion article:

Cosmoctopus (Saturday Review) – Tabletop Games Blog

Welcome, everyone. It is wonderful to see so many of you here today. The hour is near and the gaze of the Great Inky One is upon us. We have to be strong and stay true to the cause. It is time to show our dedication, fellow followers. It is time to hail the mighty Cosmoctopus by Henry Audubon from Lucky Duck Games.

Yes. Here we are. It is Cthulhu in all but name – and gameplay. Even though the setting is sinister and the game pretends to turn us all into evil cultists by the end, it is actually quite family-friendly. While the tentacles in the game are disembodied purple moulded plastic limbs, they still belong to an octopus, a celestial one, mind, but an octopus nonetheless. So there are no weird deformities protruding from the place where humans have lips. In fact, the Cosmoctopus‘s head is rather cute. So even though the link to H. P. Lovecraft‘s universe is there, it is very tenuous. Don’t panic!

Cosmoctopus’s Garden

As you read the rules, you realize that it’s basically an action-selection deck-building game with a heavy dose of resource management. The rules are quite simple. On your turn, move Cosmoctopus one space along the Inky Realm grid, which can be set up in different configurations of randomly shuffled tiles, and carry out the action on the space you landed on. You can then play a card, paying the required resources, of course.

So the first order of the day is to get resources. These are readily available from Inky Realm spaces, but the problem is, Cosmoctopus can only move one space, unless you pay extra. Every time you move it closer to where you want it to be, the next player takes it in the opposite direction, undoing your plan. The fact that everyone plays on the same grid and uses the same octopus means there is a constant push and pull until someone relents and spends resources to get to the action space they need.

There is even more direct competition. You want to be the first player with eight tentacles on your summoning grid. You can get these when you play certain cards or collect 13 of one type of resource, but neither is easy. Cards that provide you with Cosmpoctopus limbs aren’t cheap and collecting 13 resources of one kind is hard when at the end of your turn you always have to discard down to 8 of each type. So you have to gain enough resources in one turn to be able to claim a Forbidden Knowledge tile that gives you two tentacles. The best way to get that many resources is by building up your tableau and try and get combos – and I think that’s where Cosmoctopus really shines.

the purple plastic tentacle miniatures
the purple plastic tentacle miniatures in Cosmoctopus are a lovely touch

Deep, Unfathomable Depths

Many of the cards you can play give you permanent benefits, either as resource discounts or by giving you additional resources when you gain anything. Play it right and stack your bonus cards well and you can get 5 or more resources in one turn easily and get two tentacles by claiming a Forbidden Knowledge tile. If you combine that with cards that allow you to play additional ones afterwards or that give you extra Cosmoctopus movement actions, you can pull off massive turns.

It is really fascinating to see how the game develops. The first time you play it, you get an inkling of what’s possible. You start to see what you can do better next time. When you come to play Cosmoctopus again, you really start to lean into getting your tableau built up and choosing cards that will give you massive combos. However, the early game is still quite gentle and turns are quick. As the game progresses and players have oiled their tableau engine, turns will start to take longer.

It’s easily possible to move Cosmoctopus one space, get a bunch of resources, claim Forbidden Knowledge to gain two tentacles, then play a card that allows you to move Cosmoctopus again, which gives you the resources you need to complete one of your objective cards, which allows you to claim another tentacle and move Cosmoctopus another space to get the resources you need to play a second card, because the first card you played gave you that bonus and after about five to ten minutes of resolving all of the combo effects your turn is finally over and you rotate the octopus head to face the next player and indicate that your turn is over.

the purple Cosmoctopus head miniature
if Cosmoctopus looks at you, it’s your turn

Lovely Touches

Oh, yes, that’s one of the many lovely touches in Cosmoctopus. Whoever the head is looking at is whose turn it is. That means, when you’re done, you need to rotate it to face the next player. It’s a neat mechanism to ensure players actively confirm when they’re done and there should be no need for anyone to ask if it’s their turn.

Generally speaking, the game is really well made. The head and tentacles are lovely moulded plastic. The tentacles come in different shapes as well, to keep it interesting. The cardboard components and card stock are really thick and durable. The wooden resource tokens are chunky and very functional. With the Inky Realm, people’s summoning grid tiles and everything else set up on the table, Cosmoctopus looks really interesting and enticing.

The illustrations are clean, yet inviting. The card names and text add just enough flavour to keep your favourite board game cultist happy as well. At the same time, anyone who loves tableau builders with massive combo potential is also well catered for. Even the game length is about right. It does feel a little long for what it is, but it doesn’t actually outstay its welcome. There is a bit of a lull in proceedings about two-thirds through, but most of the time you are kept busy working out what to do on your turn and actively watching what others are up to.

I was really pleasantly surprised when I played Cosmoctopus. I really didn’t expect such a deep and engrossing experience from what’s basically a tableau builder. The game has really converted me to the cause. It’s like the Tardis – a giant game in a small box. It’s out of this world!

Useful Links

Videos

Transparency Facts

I feel that this review reflects my own, independent and honest opinion, but the facts below allow you to decide whether you think that I was influenced in any way.

  • The publisher gave me a discount to purchase this game for review.
  • At the time of writing, neither the designers, nor the publisher, nor anyone linked to the game supported me financially or by payment in kind.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Lost Place Atmospheres 001 by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7664-lost-place-atmospheres-001
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this review:

Flamecraft (Saturday Review) – Tabletop Games Blog

Release Date: 2022Players: 1-5
Designer: Manny VegaLength: 60-75 minutes
Artist: Sandara TangAge: 10+
Publisher: Lucky Duck GamesComplexity: 2.0 / 5
Plastic (by weight): < 10%Air (by volume): 50%

Once upon a time in a magical village where artisan dragons worked at the butcher’s to sell meat, the ironmonger to make metalware or in enchanting shops to bake bread, it was your role, as a Flamekeeper, to find the perfect shop for each dragon. You would visit these shops to gain items or enchant the shops to grow your reputation. Only the best Flamekeeper could become master of the Flamecraft by Manny Vega from Lucky Duck Games.

Happy Dragons

The game doesn’t only have a wonderful setting, but its whole presentation is simply enchanting. As you roll out the neoprene mat, which makes up the shared game board, place the starter shops along with their corresponding starter dragons along the edge and complete the rest of the setup, you immediately feel transported into a fantasy version of a quaint chocolate-box English village. Flamecraft‘s appearance lures you into a wonderfully idyllic small town where everyone knows each other by name. Everyone just goes about their daily business and works happily alongside one another.

To be honest, the gameplay pretty much matches that expectation. The game is a very friendly version of action selection. You place your dragon in any of the shops. If other dragons are already there, you have to give each of them one of your resources. So there is no blocking of other players, unless you’ve completely run out of items to give out. Even then there are plenty of shops for you to visit. It’s impossible to not have anywhere to go. Already it’s clear that this is a very friendly game, even though Flamecraft is definitely competitive. So while you are giving other players some of your resources, you do want to make sure you don’t give them anything that would give them too much of a benefit.

The next level of positive player interaction comes when you enchant a shop. It’s basically a way of upgrading the shop by paying certain resources and gaining victory points as a reward. So while you get the benefit of enchanting the shop, everyone gains the additional resources when they visit it. Again, it’s about ensuring you get the bigger benefit out of it.

one of Flamecraft's shops with a number of artisan dragons
one of Flamecraft’s shops with a number of artisan dragons

Hate Drafting

Yet, not everything is hunky-dory in the Flamecraft village. There are two card rows where you get additional dragons or spell cards to enchant shops. Given that a lot of the information in the game is public knowledge, it is possible to hate-draft here. If you can see someone working towards a specific spell, you can try and stop them by using it first. If someone might benefit from a specific dragon, you could get it for yourself before they get a chance.

Mind you, it’s not quite as simple as that. You can’t just take a spell. You do have to have the required resources for it. So unless two players are competing for the same spell, it’s impossible to stop someone from getting the card they need. It’s more of a race to collect what you need before someone else.

Similarly, there are so many dragons of the same type available that it is unlikely that you will be able to take one that another player desperately needs. Even if you take the last one from the offer row, the one that replaces it could easily be of the same type.

So, even though there is the potential for negative player interaction, it is really very limited. Flamecraft definitely does all it can to be a fiercely competitive game where players have to help each other along the way. Everyone races to get the most points, but everyone is forced to give other players some of their resources at some point in the game.

Yet, it’s not a multi-player solitaire game. Even though nobody can really stop you from doing what you need to do, you are still encouraged to compete and not allow someone to get their points without any work.

one of the spell cards surrounded by heart-shaped victory point markers
spells allow you to enchant a shop in Flamecraft and gain heart victory points

Lovely Flamecraft

It’s really lovely to see a game promoting positive player interaction. It’s rare in our hobby to see players being forced to share their resources with others. Competitive games so often are very cut-throat. Unless they are multi-player solitaire, competitive games encourage everyone to negatively affect the other players’ game. So Flamecraft is a really lovely exception.

It’s a really great family game as well. It’s not only relatively easy to learn, but its cartoon-style presentation and fantasy setting with cute dragons in a world where everyone is friendly to each other really appeal to younger players. They also learn that they sometimes have to share with others to get what they want. The level of competitiveness is just right and doesn’t lead to tamper tantrums – neither from the younger nor the older people around the table.

S0 if you’re looking for a game for all the family, where younger players are enthralled by the lovely artwork and older players are entertained by the gameplay, then Flamecraft is definitely worth a look. If you add the little plastic dragon miniatures as well, you will elevate the enjoyment for the kids even further. Mind you, even I love moving my little red dragon through the village from shop to shop. It’s the perfect game for a fun afternoon when you want something a little lighter. In fact, I would even go as far as saying that Flamecraft is on fire!

Useful Links

Videos

Transparency Facts

I feel that this review reflects my own, independent and honest opinion, but the facts below allow you to decide whether you think that I was influenced in any way.

  • I played a friend’s copy of the game.
  • At the time of writing, neither the designers, nor the publisher, nor anyone linked to the game supported me financially or by payment in kind.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Sound Effects: bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2024 BBC

Music (CC BY 4.0): Evacuation by Sascha Ende

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this review:

Fatal Attractions – my fascination with historical games (Topic Discussion)

Historical simulation games, conflict simulation games or war games – call them what you will. There is certainly a huge following of this genre and there is an endless list of these games already on the market, with many more coming out each year. Many people are put off by the idea of replaying a real conflict from history, but of course, these types of games don’t necessarily have to be about war, nor do they have to be set in history. In this article, I want to look at this genre of game and try and work out what it is that seems to attract me to it.

It will depend on who you speak to, but in my view, the genre of what is often simply called “war games” includes abstract games like chess, classic hobby games such as Risk, traditional war games including Squad Leader, anything from the COIN genre of games, political simulations like Twilight Struggle, Die Macher or the amazing Votes for Women, all the way to games set in a fantasy world, such as Root. I know, most purists will probably be outraged that I include such a wide range of games. However, I do want to include them all as part of my article.

Two-Player Historical Conflict War Game Simulations

I think many of us will have played an abstract two-player game, such as chess. As abstract games, they don’t actually simulate a war, let alone a historic one. However, they are conflict simulation games, in that they are not only competitive, but they actively pit two players against each other. Your goal as a player is to defeat the opponent. It’s very direct and almost personal. Beating your opponent tends to be quite satisfying, because it is you against another person. Most abstract games allow you to plan ahead, sometimes many turns in advance, sometimes only one. So when you win, it’s down to your planning and not because someone else helped you. When you lose, it’s your own fault. It’s very black and white.

When you put some clothes onto a two-player game to move away from being purely abstract to something more realistic, things change. In a game with a setting that somehow appeals to you, the stakes are often raised. You’re more invested. There are more emotions involved. For example, many of us will feel weird winning on the side of whatever is considered the “baddy”.

It doesn’t have to be a historical battle either. So while many of us won’t enjoy playing as the Germans in World War II, the same can be true for a science-fiction setting. While everyone wants to be part of Star WarsRebellion, not many relish being on the side of the Empire. Mind you, it can be fun being evil in a game, but you get the idea. There is an emotional attachment.

the silken game board cloth and the small wooden game tokens (photo courtesy of Lemery Games)
the silken game board cloth and the small wooden game tokens (photo courtesy of Lemery Games)

Multi-Player Games

When you introduce more players and allow three or more players in a conflict simulation game, the dynamic changes again. These games can be one versus many or team versus team. There is potential for temporary alliances that break up and reform with different partners. In some games, it can be vitally important that you choose the right ally at the right time. The conflict itself plays a minor part, because unless you work together, you have no hope of winning. Yet, you also want to ensure you’re the last player standing.

It isn’t even necessarily about simulating a war or conflict, real or fictional. There are many political so-called war games and that’s where it becomes about taste. Many people shy away from “playing war”, even if it is some sort of fictional war fought in a galaxy far, far away. These people still have a lot of choice. I already mentioned Twilight Struggle, which might still be a bit too close to home. However, games like Die Macher or Hegemony could be more to their taste. You’re still fighting over political power, but nobody dies and there is no brutality.

So there is definitely a wide choice to cater for a wide range of preferences. Whether you like a straight-up two-player war game, prefer a multi-player game about politics in Germany or want to take an all-powerful ring to a volcano and banish all evil from Middle Earth, there should be a game for you. I must say, that’s really good to see. Our hobby has certainly come a long way.

Personal Conflict

The question remains though. I still need to understand what these types of games offer to me and make them so appealing. So let’s start at the beginning…

I know that chess has a special place in my heart, because playing against my elder brother when we were younger, I always lost. So I practised and read some chess theory books. Eventually, the match to end all matches was arranged and with some flair and lots of nerves, I finally managed to beat my brother, which was a wonderful moment that I will never forget. My brother subsequently retired from the game, but I have been playing on and off throughout my life.

So I definitely like chess, but it wasn’t until I rediscovered the board game hobby that I eventually came across other two-player conflict simulation games. These were less abstract, but just as exciting. I think the key for me is that these games require a mix of strategy and tactics. I love it when both sides have the same starting position and the same abilities. That’s when it’s really down to how well you play and not due to some fluke of choosing the faction with the overpowered abilities. When you pit your wits against another player’s, it’s really exciting.

Mind you, I never care too much about the setting of a game. Whether it’s Britain in Saxon times, Germany against the Allies in World War II, like beautifully distilled in General Orders: World War II or a conflict in some far-flung future, when it’s a two-player game it’s all about the mechanisms that allow you to formulate your strategy and adapt it to the situation by choosing the appropriate tactics.

the main game board from General Orders with blue and yellow wooden discs on them
the hex map in General Orders is small, but perfectly formed

Attractive History

Saying that, there are exceptions. I often find that games about Germany’s modern past attract me as well, especially games set any time after I was born. I’ve not yet played Die Macher, but I can’t wait to try it. I enjoy Twilight Struggle and the text on the game’s cards that remind you of what went on. I guess it’s about the actual history for me in those types of games. I was never any good at history in school, so playing a game about events that happened during my lifetime or just before is very interesting. You sort of fill in the gaps in your knowledge as you play. You are reminded of what you were once taught and it all starts to make a lot more sense when seen in context.

I think that’s actually a very important point. Many historical conflict simulations or other war games are able to bring history to life. After playing Votes for Women, I not only learned a bit more about the United States’ geography, but was also able to link what happened in the States to events that took place in the United Kingdom. I appreciate of course that games are rarely a good tool to teach history in detail, but when a game makes you want to learn more about events from the past, it can only be a good thing.

That is definitely another facet of these types of games that attracts me to them. When I can see that a game can teach me at least some small snippets of history and make me want to find out more, while also keeping me enthralled and engaged for a number of hours, I am always intrigued.

How About You?

Now it’s your turn to share your thoughts. Do you like war games or do you shy away from them? Do you even find them distasteful? Are there other historical simulation games that appeal to you? What else do you think of these types of games? Maybe you think recent history should always be left alone. Maybe you don’t mind when a war game is set in some fictional future. As always, please share your thoughts in the comments below. Let’s get a conversation started.

Useful Links

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Music (CC BY 4.0): World Of War (instrumental) by Sascha Ende

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this topic discussion article:

General Orders: World War II (Saturday Review)

The mountains provided great vantage points for both sides. We could easily see what the enemy was doing, but so could they. Providing air support was going to be impossible because of the terrain, but we were still considering paradrops to get troops far into the enemy’s territory. It would all come down to tactics, because we had only been given General Orders: World War II by Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson from Osprey Games.

Generally Undaunted

Maybe my introduction is a little misleading. General Orders, as I will call the game for short, is not an historic simulation. As the rulebook says at the back, “whilst actions and settings are historically based, […] the core mechanic of worker placement is an obvious abstraction from the choices available to generals at the time.” To be honest, when you play General Orders it feels much more like an abstract two-player strategy game. So while the setting is a natural fit for the goals players have and the types of actions they can take, the game engine would work just as well in a fantasy setting or in some other historical or fictional confrontation.

In that sense, the game reminds me very much of Undaunted: Normandy, another game by the same designer duo. Both, General Orders and Undaunted give players a set of mechanisms that are pretty easy to learn and understand and that allow for varied and interesting gameplay with huge depth that can be applied to a wide range of settings and scenarios.

However, both game engines function quite differently, of course. While Undaunted is very much a deck-building card-driven type of game, General Orders is all about action selection. While each scenario in the Undaunted series can take an hour or two to play, General Orders is hugely streamlined and easily plays in half an hour. Yet, both games execute what they do to perfection.

You can see how the designers wanted to create something that was as simple to learn as Undaunted, but would fit into a much tighter, faster game experience where every decision mattered. If that is indeed what they were trying to do, they have certainly achieved it.

Action Selection Area Control

In General Orders, you place your hexagonal commander tokens onto action spots either on the map or on a separate board. With these actions, you can drop some of your troops behind enemy lines or fire your cannon to pummel an opponent’s positions. You can also advance your troop discs towards the opponent’s headquarters and then reinforce them to strengthen your control on the map that is divided into hex spaces, some of which are joined into one area. Of course, while it would be great to march into the opponent’s base and end the game, it’s more likely that you get bogged down in the centre of the board, vying for control of special spaces that enhance certain actions.

Actions also allow you to draw cards, which give you one-off benefits. These allow you to defend yourself, increase your attack strength or otherwise enhance your actions. These cards can be crucial for victory or when you need to reroll dice during conflict resolution. Oh yes, conflict resolution is a simple matter of rolling dice and removing discs until only one player is left in the contested hex.

In fact, the whole game is really simple. Players take turns placing one of their commander tokens, carrying out the relevant actions, resolving conflicts or playing cards. Yet, every decision absolutely counts. Players have only four commander tokens, meaning four actions per round and the game ends after the fourth round at the latest. That’s sixteen actions in total, which is just enough to ensure General Orders is over as it reaches its climax. If anything, it feels like it’s over sooner than you’d like it to. So the game definitely doesn’t outstay its welcome.

some of the action cards from General Orders
action cards can be crucial in General Orders

Tight, Tighter, Tightest

That’s what excites me most about General Orders: how tight it all is. It starts peacefully enough, but soon you and your enemy crowd the map and lay claim to the central hexes. You have little skirmishes until eventually, the big guns lay waste to your enemy’s position. However, before you get a chance to take advantage of a gap in your enemy’s lines, you are yourself at risk of being overrun. So you reinforce your troops and block off the attack the best you can, when suddenly the game is over and whoever has control of the most point spaces wins.

It is really impressive. When you first play General Orders, it’s easy to assume the game will be over too quickly before any meaningful actions can take place. Equally, you might expect the game to last ages and end in a drawn-out quagmire of minimal gains and hardly any movement. Yet, you’d be wrong on both counts.

The game is so tightly designed that you will always get to a point where both players are ready to claim victory, when one gets enough of an advantage to be able to win, only for the other player to take back control and clinch the crucial hexes on their last turn. General Orders ends at exactly the right moment, there is no doubt about that.

In fact, given that each game will take around 30 minutes to play, except maybe your first one, you can easily play two or three in one night. So if anyone thinks luck wasn’t on their side, then you can go for a best of three without any problems.

Luck Mitigation

Yet, I really don’t think luck is ever the deciding factor in General Orders. Yes, there are dice rolls that decide who wins a conflict. Players draw cards from a shuffled deck, so it is possible that you just don’t get the cards you need. However, there is never anything stopping you from drawing more cards to even out the luck of the draw. You can also reinforce your troops to make dice rolls almost pointless, because of the sheer force you have present.

Of course, you do have to consider whether taking actions to draw more cards or reinforce your troops is the right decision. It may well be better to simply force yourself deeper into the enemy’s territory and fight them on several fronts, creating chaos and mayhem in the process. It really is up to you to choose how you want to play General Orders and what tactics you prefer. You can trust your luck to dice or cards just as well as you can to cleverly outmanoeuvring your opponent on the battlefield. You can also block off an action space that is vitally important to your opponent by placing your own token there. However, that action may be wasteful to you.

That’s what makes the game so wonderfully exciting. Literally, every time you place your commander token you need to make a hugely important decision. Get it wrong once and you might be able to recover. Get it wrong twice and unless your opponent is asleep at the wheel, you will really struggle. Yet, if you have the right cards, you can still turn it all around.

there is another board in General Orders for actions such as drawing cards
there is another board in General Orders for actions such as drawing cards

General Standing Orders

General Orders is such a delicious game. The action selection engine and tight action economy make for an amazingly deep and exhilarating experience. While the game comes with two maps, one will definitely keep you enthralled for many, many games. However, if you want to buzz around the sky with planes, you definitely can. I found playing just the mountain map enough for my purposes, but of course, the choice is yours.

One last thing is the size of the box. It’s pretty small, but perfectly formed. It’s the same size as Village Rails and is filled with a deck of cards, wooden troop and commander tokens, the thick main game board and the equally thick support board and the tiny rulebook. The game doesn’t take up much room on the table and is easy to teach and quick to learn. It’s the perfect game you can take with you almost anywhere.

So, I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I’d like to give you some General Orders.

Useful Links

Videos

Transparency Facts

I feel that this review reflects my own, independent and honest opinion, but the facts below allow you to decide whether you think that I was influenced in any way.

  • I played a friend’s copy of the game.
  • At the time of writing, neither the designers, nor the publisher, nor anyone linked to the game supported me financially or by payment in kind.

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Sound Effects: bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2024 BBC

Music: “Heroes” by AShamaluevMusic.
Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com

Music: “Hope” by AShamaluevMusic.
Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com

Music: “Valiant” by AShamaluevMusic.
Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this review:

Repeatable Replay – the importance of replayability of board games (Topic Discussion)

I keep hearing people talk about replayability in board games. I’ve talked about the topic a few times in the past. I’ve also clarified the difference between variability and replayability. However, as the topic keeps popping up from time to time, I thought I’d share some more of my thoughts. After all, I think replayability is an important criterion when it comes to buying board games.

Let me temper this a little though. Of course, replayability isn’t the only factor when deciding which board game to add to your collection. Price, complexity, play time, component quality, theme or setting and even artwork all play their part. Yet, replayability does play an important part, at least in my view.

Also, while variability and replayability are related, they are very different things. So just because a game has hundreds of different starting setup combinations, doesn’t mean it’s endlessly replayable. Games with the same setup can be much more replayable than some games with multiple factions, maps or other variations.

Now, with that out of the way, let me start by setting out why I think the topic of replayability keeps coming up in our industry.

Replayability and Art

One argument says that the board game hobby is unique in putting so much emphasis on replayability. It is often felt that people use replayability as the main or most important metric to decide whether a board game is worth their money. The suggestion is that, as a form of art, board games should be judged in the same way as books, films, music or even paintings, sculptures or similar. After all, reviews of other forms of art never mention “replayability”. There is no star or tomato rating for how often you can watch a film before it gets boring.

Other forms of art are judged on how well they were crafted. A book’s writing can be formulaic or revolutionary. It can be engrossing or very hard to understand. A film can have amazing effects with a clever storyline and interesting character arcs. Paintings can be realistic or abstract. They can easily convey their meaning or they have a different meaning to different admirers. Whatever it is, there is never any mention of “replayability” or its equivalent.

So it is quite right to ask why board game reviews often talk about replayability. Board games are just another form of art that should be judged in an equivalent fashion. At least that’s how the argument goes.

Product Reviews

So while the experience of seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time or watching a film is definitely not about “replayability”, when I buy a painting and hang it on my wall or buy a film on DVD, if you remember what these ancient discs are, then I do think about “replayability”. Now, the piece of art has become a product.

I certainly wouldn’t expect an art critic to tell me how often it is worth going to see the Mona Lisa or a film critic to tell me how many times I can rewatch a movie and still discover something new or have a different experience. However, when these forms of art are looked at as products, the situation is different.

Now I want to know that I won’t get bored of seeing the same painting on my wall every day. I want to know if the DVD will still work after I watched the film for the hundredth time. “Replayability” is suddenly really important.

I think that’s where the argument that board games are another form of art and should therefore be evaluated in a similar way splits off in a different direction. I agree that board games as art should not worry about replayability. Yet, when they are seen as products, then replayability and component quality, which often equates to durability, do matter.

a pocket watch on a chain opened up in someone's hand (Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash)
keeping time (Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash)

Replayability in Reviews

I must say, I don’t often talk in detail about replayability in my reviews, even though I do mention when I think a game is likely to keep you entertained for a long time to come. Some games are great for playing multiple times back to back, maybe even several days in a row. Other games you want to play once, then leave for a week or two, but then you can’t wait to play it again.

Sometimes the game experience is the same every time, which is especially true for many card games, but that doesn’t mean the game is boring. It can still be very replayable. Other games are different every time, not necessarily because of their inherent variability in setup or faction selection, but because of the players’ choices and decisions.

Either way, the reason why I think replayability is so important is because games cost money and even if they were free, nobody likes our modern throw-away society. We want things to last and replayability is one of the key metrics here, apart from the durability of components, of course. Games you only ever want to play once have their place, but even legacy games usually last several scenarios, meaning they’re also replayable, even if that’s in a slightly different sense.

Reviewer’s Fickleness

Of course, as a reviewer, I rarely get the chance to play games more than maybe half a dozen times, often much less. I am always onto the next game that’s waiting to be played and written about. There are some games I do play repeatedly and I do sometimes cover these games in a sort of re-review or what I call my “Takeback” reviews.

However, even so, I do critically evaluate whether I think a game is likely to get boring after a few plays or will continue to feel fresh and exciting even after many, many plays. After all, my reviews are here to give you an impression of how a game feels, so that you can decide if you want to add it to your collection or not. I think letting you know when I think a game is going to last you a long time, because it’s replayable, is important. It’s one of the factors you will take into consideration when you decide whether you want to spend money on a game.

How About You?

Maybe I’m wrong though. Maybe you don’t care if a game is replayable. Your criteria for choosing games might be very different. So let me know in the comments below how important you think replayability is for board games. Do you think it’s overrated? Do you like to move from game to game a lot? Or do you prefer to play the same game over and over again? I’d love to hear what you think.

Useful Links

Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)

Music: “Around” by AShamaluevMusic.
Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com

Playlist

These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this topic discussion article: