Stringamajig Game Review

French fashion designer best known for his signature high-heeled stiletto shoes, Christian Louboutin, said, “I am very bad at drawing. Seriously. I can draw shoes. That’s about it.” Drawing is an art form and a talent a few have made into a career. Not to toot my own horn, but I have drawn a damn good stick-person (which no one is willing to pay for). In this game, your artistic skill – present or not – will be tested as you attempt to use a bit of uncooperative string to illustrate a simple word. This is a game full of creativity and hilarity. An artist you need not be, but you best bring your patience. Continue reading

Dungeon Drop Game Review

Exploring dungeons takes time and work. You have to get your party in order, gear up, and then make sure everyone is set to arrive at the dungeon’s precipice at the same time. It’s a lot like trying to get the kids up, fed, and out to school. Huh… Anyway, in this game, you can put aside all that prepping nonsense and jump right into dungeons deep. Deal a few cards and drop some cubes. BOOM! Instant dungeon! But like all raids into dark places full of nasty beasts, you’ll have to have your wits about you and some luck to spend! Continue reading

Letter Jam Game Review

English novelist and essayist, journalist and critic, George Orwell (whose real name is Eric Arthur Blair – fun fact), said: “Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers.” In this game, players will work together to put together a series of clues – both seen and unseen – to help each player solve their word puzzle. It’s a game that takes communication and teamwork, guessing and deduction, and, most importantly, is specific to each player’s vocabulary skills! Continue reading

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades Game Review (prepublished version)

One of the United States’ most respected former basketball coaches, Dick Motta, said “War is the only game in which it doesn’t pay to have the home-court advantage.” In this game of war, where the soldiers the players will command are literally thrown and tossed into the warzone, there is no advantage to be gained. Victory is simply a matter of luck and good timing. Continue reading

Grab Your Pitchforks and Torches! Game Review

French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, André Paul Guillaume Gide, said: “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.” Not the case in this game! The castle overlooking the village is now occupied by evil. Monsters roam the grounds behind the castle’s tall walls and livestock is going missing at night. Rumors are circulating and fear is growing among the people. Having enough, the local peasantry is taking matters into their own hands. Grabbing pitchforks and torches, they march to the castle’s gates, but will they be ready for what they encounter? Continue reading

Slide Quest Game Review

American Christian minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said, “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” If it hurts you to think – to furrow your brow and concentrate critically – then I have a game here you should avoid. This is a puzzler – a quest – to navigate as a team through treacherous terrain and dangerous turns. Only the bravest and most emotionally stable need to apply to play this video game inspired tabletop challenge. Continue reading

Big Bad Fables Game Review (prepublished version)

American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor, and film producer Walt Disney said, “All cartoon characters and fables must be an exaggeration and caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable.” Stories capture our imagination and serve to not only entertain, but to teach. Embedded in the stories we were told as children are lessons to learn. Danger and hope lurk in our nursery rhymes and fables. There are monsters and heroes. In this game, the Big Bad Wolf is out-and-about, but safety can be had if a sturdy house is built. Continue reading

Shuffle Grand Prix Game Review

Former American professional stock car racing driver, Jeff Gordon, said, “I think fear is what keeps us from going over the edge. I mean, as a race car driver, I don’t think what makes a good race car driver is a fearless person. I think it’s somebody comfortable being behind the wheel of something that’s somewhat out of control.” In this game, control is an illusion. You can equip your vehicle for speed, throw down traps to slow down your opponent, and even sabotage an engine or two. In the end, what will win the race is random lucky outcomes and close calls. Continue reading

Crimes in History: H. H. Holmes’ Murder Castle Review (prepublished version)

American serial killer, Dr. Henry Howard Holmes (better known as  H. H. Holmes), said, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.” So good was Holmes at killing that he constructed a building full of traps and prisons right in the middle of a street in Chicago, known now as the “Murder Castle.” You and a few other unlucky souls find yourself lost in the sprawling labyrinth designed to torture and confuse. If you hope to survive, you must find evidence and escape, but time is short! Continue reading

Fences Game Review

If you own livestock, you need two things right from the start: space and means to enclose said space. In this game, players will take on the responsibility of building their farmland, filling it with as much livestock as they can, and then closing it with fences to ensure the livestock doesn’t run amok. But there is only so much land to go around, and that makes claiming it just as important as building it. Continue reading

Darwin’s Choice Game Review

English naturalist, geologist and biologist, Charles Darwin, said about his theory on the survival of the fittest, “I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.” In this game, players will introduce new and wonderous animal species, mutating them to adapt to shifting climates in hopes of keeping them alive for as long as possible. What players will quickly learn that no matter how strong an animal might be, it will not be able to survive unless it has the capability of changing. Continue reading

Rune Game Review

You are a mighty Grand Master of the Runes. You know their secrets and their power. With the help of your lesser Rune Masters, you collect and focus energy to summon a creature from another world to do your bidding. But there is treachery among your ranks. Another Grand Master assisting in the ritual is working against you. The ceremony will continue, but who the creature serves will not be known until the ritual is complete. Continue reading