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Harold Cataquet
I really like The Fog of Love (in fact, I backed it on Kickstarter). But, it’s strictly a two player game, and that limits how often it gets to the table (as my normal game group is somewhere between 4 and 6). But if it’s Valentine’s Day, and you are willing to indulge in a bit of role playing, I can’t think of a better game to play. With four, you could draw lots to see which pairs play (and play the game twice), but a game takes between 1 and 2 hours, so this isn’t going to be a quick filler. However, because this game mimics the development of a relationship between two people, it can be as much fun to watch as to play.
Fog of Love is a game that is very easy to set up and play right away. Each player creates his identity – you choose your profession and traits from one set of decks, and your opponent chooses your features from another deck. It is at this point that’ll you’ll know whether this game is going to succeed. When I select the features for my opponent from the set of cards, I could just place them on their side of the board. But I really should be telling a story, and saying why these features attracted me to them. How can you not resist telling your partner (who is a priest) that you were attracted to them by their big nose, funny glasses and counterfeit Rolex. These stories are what makes the game so much fun, so if the players can’t tell a story at this point, stop the game and play Dream Crush (2) instead.
In every round, you turn over a card and are faced with a decision. For example, you have decided to visit La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Unfortunately, you are going at the height of the tourist season. Are you (a) desperate to see La Sagrada Familia’s majesty, (b) eager to meet all the tourists (so many new people to talk to), (c) wanting to stay away from La Sagrada Familia to avoid all the queues and crowded spaces, or (d) willing to make it work if we spend less time in the Gothic Quarter and …
Each player secretly places a token to represent his choice (A, B, C or D). The tokens are revealed (ideally, telling a story of why you reached that decision), and then you follow the instructions on the card. As a result of both player’s decision, you will add tokens to one (or more) of the six personality dimensions in the centre of the board, and adjust your respective happiness levels as a result. To be honest, the points that are awarded as a result of your decisions will seem random at times, so don’t get hung up on the inconsistencies of the scenarios or the point scoring. Instead, just relish the roleplay as you have to reveal to your partner that you have had an affair with their best friend.
Gillian:
Summer is a great time to play board games. After a busy start to the year, it’s been so nice to get back to board games. We’ve been playing Cubitos recently, and as time has gone on I’ve enjoyed it more and more. It’s inherently enjoyable, rolling and accumulating more and more little dice. It’s been great to explore the different maps and animals, it’s so satisfying when everything comes together. Cubitos could be described as a dice-building game where you start with a basic set of dice that you improve upon and remove the basics as you use the dice to race to the finish. It’s such a great game and it’s very cute.
We played my first hidden movement game with Whitehall Mystery, whilst I’m not sure if it’s my genre, it was good to try and see how it works. I know if I played as the hidden mover I would’ve been so stressed. It’s a good introduction as it’s a simplified version of Letters from Whitechapel. Basically there’s one person playing as Jack the Ripper and the others are a team of policemen trying to track him down.
Another game we’ve been playing is Parks. I've been wanting to play it for ages and it hasn’t disappointed me. It’s a lovely light game that’s easy to learn and play. The artwork is delightful and it’s a very relaxing concept. Whilst the game is competitive it never got to an aggressive stage and I don’t think it could (though other people may beg to differ). You’re playing as hikers trying to visit the most parks, take pictures and achieve personal goals to win. There are a limited amount of actions you can take so you have to be strategic. The tokens are amazing and the actions are so satisfying, we really enjoyed ourselves playing this and I would definitely recommend it.
Hannah Blacknell:
FavouriteFoe
July has been a mixed of super-sunny and super-soggy in terms of the weather. Luckily, however, we have been playing some hot games that we think are super cooool! NUNATAK by Kosmos is a brilliant game where we are building an ice temple. With points for being the player with the most pillars supporting higher levels, as well as rewards for amassing symbols and achieving scoring objectives, Nunatak is a seamless blend of area control and set collection.
Our copy of FURNACE just got hotter too! We also cracked into the INTERBELLUM expansion and have been having great fun with the new modules and kit included in the box. Each one is different, and mixing one or more into the base game is making this lightning fast engine building, auction game, even more brilliant! From ways to use coal to increase your bidding power to new management bonuses, INTERBELLUM is firing us up!
Finally, we have been travelling through the searing desert in SAND by Devir Games. This hefty box comes hot on the heels of SALTON SEA and is a pick up and deliver based game with the most unique transportation system I have seen! Giant worms! Part vehicle, part pet, the itinerant traders we play have to tend to and care for our worm in order to encourage them to grow. After all, bigger worms means more storage. And if you can store and transport more, then you can earn more. But you have to target the right ports at the right time to maximise the rewards. SAND is a longer game, but if you like the main mechanic then it’s the perfect excuse to spend the afternoon playing in the shade!
Sam De Smith:
This month, Isle of cats has been top of our play pile. The reason is simple, beyond my general love of polyomino puzzlers: it's excellent as both an all-ages family game and a more complex, heavier weight game with my almost-adult teenager. So it comes on holiday, travels far and wide, as we rescue cats before the island is invaded!
The game integrates 2 of my favourite mechanics, polyominos (tiles) and card drafting. Each turn you draft cards that enable you to rescue cats (coloured tiles of various awkward shapes), get to the island quicker, find treasure (small tiles for filling odd gaps) and learn lessons (end game bonuses). You spend :fish: to keep cards (of which have 20 a turn) and to entice cats aboard your ship, getting rid of rats and filling the rooms as efficiently as possible in family (colour) groups - all before the vile Vesh pirates arrive to wipe the magical cats out!
We love this. It's fast, fun and tactical. Or possibly Catical. My 8yo is utterly smitten, although trying to get our cat Harley to sit in the box was wildly optimistic. In fact after our first party we IMMEDIATELY went and ordered the 5-6 player expansion off Zatu!
