As trashy as Jersey Shore gets, it doesn’t hold a candle to the Greek gods. Zeus, for instance, slept with anyone and anything, and ended up having more babies than a kindergarten. Seriously, once you hit double digits, maybe it’s time to consider a vasectomy? I mean I’m six months into having my first child, and I’m already thinking about it. Anyway, believe it or not this is a review for Santorini, a 2-4 player abstract board game designed by Dr Gordon Hamilton, and published by Roxley and Spin Master.
For this review, it was only played with 2 players as recommended by the rule book.
game? It was released to some acclaim and then fell off the face of the Earth. Now, under the watchful eyes of Czech Games Edition, they’ve thrown this board game into a Lazarus pit, and resurrected Tash-Kalar at a price point so good looking that I’d like to take it out to dinner.
Given the Commonwealth Games are 100km away, you’d forgive me for mistaking Jump Drive for a board game about the determination and drive required to become a professional long jumper. Instead, what I found was a baby board game; essentially My First Race for the Galaxy. A 20 minute engine builder for 2-4 players, designed by Tom Lehmann and published by Rio Grande Games.
Red 7 is a 2-4 player card game designed by Carl Chudyk and Chris Cieslik and published by Asmadi Games. It’s a card game that’s seen Talladega Nights one too many times, as the rules are simple: if you’re not first you’re last. If at the end of your turn you’re not winning, you’re eliminated, with the winner being the last player still standing.
If you’re like me and thought all board games are abstract, well, you’re both right and wrong. The term abstract game is now a genre term that reasonably means the game contains minimal luck, usually two players, and little to no theme. Think of Chess and Checkers as prime examples of abstracts, or more recently Azul. A 2-4 player abstract game designed by Michael Kiesling and published by Plan B games.
Suburbia is the second of four board games to feature in Roll to Review’s Critical Hit January, so let’s get the verdict out of the way. Suburbia is great, and I highly recommend it. That’s my opinion, but be aware it’s more biased than usual. I have an affinity for these types of build and manage games. In the two and a half months since my wife gave birth, I’ve spent exactly thirteen hours playing video games. That’s wrong. I’ve spent thirteen hours playing a single video game: Planet Coaster. Keep this in the back of your mind as you read, and remember, never have kids.
I can’t swim. I mean, I can swim but I’m really bad at it. In high school I was nicknamed ‘the drowning rat,’ and that was before the school got involved. They had a mandatory swim class which I excused myself from every chance I could – probably explains why I’m so bad. At the end of the semester they awarded certificates based on how well you performed. The best swimmers receiving a Shark certificate, then dolphin, then manta ray, turtle, and so forth. For me, they gave me a Starfish certificate. Let that sink in for a second; starfish don’t even swim! Given all of this, would someone tell me, why the hell I bought a board game based entirely in the ocean?
Two years ago, I went to Japan. It’s an amazing place, but perhaps the greatest thing about the country is the food. Every restaurant we went to was fantastic. Which is why I have a problem with Hanamikoji. I’m meant to be the owner of a Japanese restaurant, but throughout our trip, nowhere did we find a place that served overcooked chicken, cold baked beans, and Vegemite toast.
There were many secrets during the Cold War, there had to be. One of the most interesting was what was found years later in a hidden bunker somewhere on the outskirts of Berlin. A bunker, where they were trying to make the best game ever. Mechanics from great games like Cockroach Poker, Mascarade, and Love Letter had been unethically mixed together. Their components strewn across the floor. Above them in a glass container on a table, was the culmination of their research: Secrets.