What is this game about? Aerion is a dice game set in Shadi Torbey's Oniverse series. In this game, you are racing against the clock to build six airships before you run out of cards to build them with. Each ship requires a blueprint, a material, and a crew member to be completed—and each of these components can be found in one of the six decks of cards that act as both your timer and your resources. At the start of your turn, you'll roll six dice and see what combinations you get to work with. Each deck requires a different combination of dice in order for a card to be acquired from it, such as two of a kind, a full house, or a straight. However, the dice aren't always with you, so you'll often have to reroll them. Sometimes, you might adjust your roll using one of your limited pixie tokens or a book card that allows extra rerolls. But much of the time you'll have to gain a reroll by discarding a resource card from your market row. And if you run out of cards entirely before all six ships are built, you lose the game! Like its siblings in the Oniverse series, Aerion comes with a number of expansions right in the box, which allows you to vary gameplay by adding different challenges and special abilities. Once you are comfortable with the base game, I recommend always playing with at least one expansion. How does it play solo? Aerion is technically a game for 1–2 players, but really, it's a solo game. Yay! Overall Thoughts I am happy to report that Aerion, like other games in the Oniverse, is quick, challenging, and a lot of fun. Although it is a dice game and much of what happens will come down to luck, there are also a lot of interesting decisions to make. Which cards can be sacrificed for a reroll? Which dice will you keep and which will you roll again in search of that winning combination? Is it time to use a pixie or a book card to try to influence that roll, or is it smarter to save it for later? Trying to plan as well as you can in the face of uncertainty is highly enjoyable, and it becomes even moreso when you add in the game's expansions. Also, this might be a weird thing to note, but because the cards are divided into a few separate decks and then stay that way the whole time, Aerion is super easy to set up and take down. While an annoying set up is not a dealbreaker for me, it is amazing how refreshing I found the ease of setup and takedown in Aerion. My concerns about Aerion are minor. The first is that it's a dice game—sometimes you will just have terrible luck. This is such a short game, however, that it's no big deal for me. The other concern I have is that Aerion's symbology can be a little frustrating. Although in most cases the symbols make sense and tell you useful information (like what types of cards are in a given deck, so you know where to hunt), a few of the cards contain too much info. So much so that I occasionally confused myself and had to think back through what combinations of cards I was actually going for. This isn't a game-crippling problem, but it is an irritant, especially during the first few plays (or if you are a little distracted while playing). Do I recommend it? Yes. Aerion is fun, engaging, is easy to learn, teach, and set up, and generally makes for a very enjoyable solo gaming break. Overall rating: 4 stars Rating scale: 5 stars - I love it! 4 stars - I really like it. 3 stars - I like it. 2 stars - It's okay. 1 star - Meh.
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Full Disclosure: I received a review copy of Nights of Fire from Mighty Boards. What is this game about? Nights of Fire is a follow-up to Days of Ire, a game about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. While Days of Ire focuses on a week that was ultimately victorious for the Hungarians and that resulted in Soviet withdrawal from Budapest, Nights of Fire focuses on the Soviets' revenge. Not long after their ignominious departure, the Soviets returned with the full force of their army, and there was no way for the Hungarians to win in terms of military strength. This means that Nights of Fire is not about achieving victory in combat—instead, it is a battle for moral victory, in which the Soviets try to save face and suppress the Hungarians before things get too messy, while the Revolutionaries stall the Soviet forces and help civilians escape in order to humiliate their invaders on the international stage. While Days of Ire had a Pandemic-like feel to it, Nights of Fire is more of a light war game in which opposing forces vie for control of various districts in the city. Both sides use cards to control their forces and "pay for" in-game actions. How does it play solo? Nights of Fire can pit two Hungarian players against one Soviet player, or it can be played solo against an AI deck named for General Konev, who commanded the invading forces. Whenever you draw cards from the Konev deck, expect Soviet forces to mobilize and carry out brutal attacks. You'll be using your own cards for action points, which can pay for an array of in-game actions from saving civilians to disabling tanks. You'll also need to move your dwindling supply of fighters around the board and use them to best effect before they are inevitably killed. Overall Thoughts Nights of Fire is not a bad game, but I don't like it as much as Days of Ire. While DoI was not perfect, I did love the way that its historical theme fully saturated the game, right down to the images on the board and cards. Nights of Fire has more generic imagery and lacks a lot of that historical flavor, which was disappointing. That said, I like that Nights of Fire made some bold choices in terms of its victory conditions. It really does create the feeling of fighting a losing battle, desperately scraping together every resource you have to keep going for just a little bit longer. The Soviet forces are relentless, and no matter how many tanks you disable, they will only refresh during the next turn to come after you all over again. This makes Nights of Fire feel very different from other games I've played. The gameplay aspects that make Nights of Fire different, however, are not entirely good. Given that the game is about a nasty slog towards inevitable defeat (even if you win!), it can stretch a couple of turns too long. This is especially true because as your forces and resources run low, you can do less and less each turn, and find yourself doing more of the same actions repetitively just to survive. As a historical point about being stuck in a losing battle, this makes sense. But in terms of playing a game, it kills a bit of the fun. Do I recommend it? Nights of Fire isn't a bad game, especially if you love this time period or are looking for a game that feels like a hybrid between a Euro and a war game. But you're not missing an essential gaming experience if you give it a pass. Overall Rating: 3 stars 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars .— I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Days of Ire from Mighty Boards. What is this game about? Days of Ire is a board game set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It specifically focuses on the week when the Hungarians successfully, if temporarily, managed to push the Soviet armies out of Budapest. This is an asymmetrical game in which one side represents the Soviets—who attempt to overrun the revolutionaries and throw challenges at them in the form of event cards—and the other side represents the Hungarian revolutionaries, who attempt to hold the Soviets back and resolve event cards at various locations. If enough units are taken out, the game can end in a decisive victory for either side. But the game more frequently ends after a certain number of turns (reflecting the actual number of days this conflict historically took). If the Soviets have managed to keep enough event cards on the board, they win. If the Hungarians have managed to clean up enough event cards and clear the board, then they are the victorious side. Mechanically, Days of Ire is like a mashup between Twilight Struggle and Pandemic. To advance their ultimate goals, the Soviet side must play cards—based on real historical events—that sometimes benefit the Hungarians. Meanwhile, the fight to either put events on the board or to clear them up creates a Pandemic-like rush for the revolutionaries as they race to extinguish fires the Soviets have started. To resolve events, the Hungarians must gather cards with enough required resource symbols, which can be a challenge. Throughout the game, both sides are also battling for public support, resulting in constant tension beyond just combat. How does it play solo? Days of Ire can be played as a one-vs.-many game, where up to three players can challenge another human player who controls the Soviet forces. However, there is also a solo-specific deck that allows a single player to battle the Soviets alone. The Zhukov deck, named for a Russian general, puts cards out on the board that affect support levels and morale. It also causes events to be added to various locations on the board. Additionally, there are rules that cover the actions of the SPA, which will send militia units and especially-dangerous snipers against the revolutionaries. Overall Thoughts Days of Ire is a good game, but I admit I was hoping for it to be great. The theme is extremely compelling—the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 is a tragic and tragically understudied event, and that historical backdrop is woven into every aspect of the game. The locations on the board, illustrated with authentic photographs from the time, are actual key locations. The event cards, also featuring contemporary photographs, are actual events that I found myself looking up and learning more about. When it comes to historical games, you can't ask for much more from a theme. Gameplay wise, Days of Ire is perfectly good, but not as high-octane as I might have liked. So many of the game's mechanisms feel very familiar, without adding enough that felt new and fresh in terms of gameplay. The solo deck largely worked well, but sometimes the Soviet cards were swingy enough to cause drastic changes in board state, which was frustrating at times. During the Soviet turn, you resolve four event cards, which means things can change a lot between Revolutionary turns and there is very little you can do about it. Also, the need to constantly put out fires all around the city of Budapest created a challenge, but not as much tension as I wanted from a game about such an intense few days. Overall, Days of Ire is a good game, but I am a lot more in love with the theme than I am with the actual gameplay. Do I recommend it? If you are particularly interested in this period in history, or if you love Pandemic but want to try it with a more historical twist, then Days of Ire might be a match. But I don't consider it a must-buy. Overall Rating: 3.5 stars 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. Full Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of the Stronghold edition of Coffee Roaster, but I had already owned the original Japanese edition for several years. What is this game about? Coffee Roaster is exactly what it sounds like—a game about trying to roast coffee beans and brew that perfect cup of coffee. This is a bag builder in which you pull out coffee beans, try to get their roast values to the right level, remove bad beans whenever possible, and use flavor tokens to manipulate the contents of your bag and to get special powers. You're allowed to take the number of turns you think you need, but be careful. Your beans roast more with each turn, and it's your judgment that will prevent you from overdoing it and spoiling the roast! At the end of the game, you'll perform a "cup test," where you pull tokens from your bag and use them to calculate your score. Because there are several different types of bean in the game, you will have new and challenging parameters to work with every time you play. How does it play solo? Coffee Roaster is for solo players only. Woohoo! Overall Thoughts Coffee Roaster is a game that I've had a lot of fun with over the years. It's quick and easy to play multiple times in a row, which makes it a perfect light work night or chill afternoon sort of game. The variety among the beans gives you a good range of different experiences, and the challenge of keeping mental notes about what is still in your bag is a satisfying one. However, Coffee Roaster is not perfect. On some turns, if you pull all beans and no flavor tokens, all you do is change the value of the beans and put them back in the bag—no decisions involved. Or, if you pull a flavor token you don't need or can't use, it feels like a wasted pull. While staying aware of what's in your bag overall can be great fun, Coffee Roaster also has a lot of turns that feel repetitive or like you didn't get to do enough. Fortunately, the game is lightning fast and still a ton of fun. I'd just enjoy the chance to make a few more decisions turn to turn. I also think the newly reprinted edition of Coffee Roaster, while gorgeous, is a little overpriced at $44.99. I personally feel that Coffee Roaster is more of a $25-30 game. Do I recommend it? Yes, Coffee Roaster is a fun game. Just don't pay full price for it. Overall rating: 3.5 stars Rating scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars .— I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. Full disclosure: The Dice Tower passed a review copy of this game on for me to review. What is this game about? Mini DiverCity is a small-box, cooperative card game about attempting to save the oceans from evil corporations. On each turn, corporations will build hotels on your beautiful beach and/or send animals closer to extinction. On your own turn, you'll be shutting those hotels down and working to save those animals. If you can save enough species, you win the game. If all hotels are built or if too many creatures go extinct, then you lose. There is a catch, however—you can't actually see the cards in your hand, and you are often playing your cards blind. The cards each depict a species of animal, and there is a limited number of cards for each species. In a lot of cases, you'll need to burn a card you can't see to shut down a hotel, or you'll play a card to help save an animal species without knowing who you're about to help. Your fellow players can see your hand, but to tell you what you have, they'll have to use a "Walkie Talkie" action to share the intel. This results in some tension and often some laughs, since sometimes you just have to play a card and hope for the best. How does it play solo? Although it is a cooperative game where only the other players can see your cards, Mini DiverCity does have an official solo mode. A solo player will control two divers and keep their cards facedown, but can use the Walkie Talkie action to reveal a diver's hand, just as in the cooperative game. Overall Thoughts Overall, Mini DiverCity is an okay game. It's probably best as an introductory game, or one to enjoy with younger players. I think students in my game club would probably get a kick out of it, and it's a quick game to set up and play if you're just looking to pass time between other, larger games. I would probably not say no to it on game night, but Mini DiverCity also a game I would never request myself. As a solo game, I honestly don't see the point of Mini DiverCity. Its Hanabi-like mechanism in which you can't see your own hand is obviously going to be more entertaining in a group setting, which makes the solo variant more hollow in comparison right out of the gate. On top of that, Mini DiverCity is an extremely light game, so much so that I wouldn't choose it for solo play because there isn't enough meat on its bones without the social experience of playing it with a group. This is especially true because there are already so many great small-box solo games out there. I would go for any of the Oniverse Games, for Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden, for Sprawlopolis, or for any number of other small, quick solo games before I'd go for this one. Do I recommend it? Nah. Maybe if you have newer or younger gamers to play with, and you love the eco-conscious theme. But for solo, there are way better choices out there. Overall Rating: 2 stars Rating Scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. Full disclosure: Chip Theory Games sent me a review copy of Cloudspire. What is this game about? Cloudspire, the latest release from Chip Theory Games, is one of the more unique games in my collection. It is a tower defense/MOBA mashup brought to the tabletop, and I've never played anything else quite like it. As is typical for a Chip Theory release, Cloudspire is all about neoprene and hefty poker chips. But this time, we aren't just talking a nice neoprene playmat. Cloudspire's board is a bit different every time, can be adjusted mid-game, and is entirely made out of neoprene pieces that can be fit together in various ways. At each end of the play area is a player's fortress, and the object of the game is to either destroy the enemy fortress or, if more than one player is in fighting shape at the end of the game, to have the strongest fortress still standing. Play takes place in a series of waves, so Cloudspire does have a built-in timer. You'll also be able to choose one of four (five with an expansion) factions that have different strengths and that play quite differently from each other. Each player's army is made up of multiple fighters and structures that can be deployed. All of them will require "source," a precious in-game currency that you can earn as you play, so you'll need to budget carefully. "Spires," after which Cloudspire is named, are defense towers that automatically attack enemy units that come into range. "Minions" are soldiers from your chosen faction that move automatically towards the enemy tower. Once they are sent out into the world, they cannot be called back, and you can only hinder their movement by cleverly blocking them. Finally, you'll have heroes, your most powerful fighters whose movements and attacks you directly control. By strategically choosing the right minions at the right time, choosing good spots for spires, and using the powers and limitations of each type of unit, you can give yourself the best possible chance at success. You'll also be able to purchase upgrades for your fortress and your forces over time, which gives you an extra layer of strategic decisions. How does it play solo? Cloudspire is generally meant to be a competitive game for 2–4 players, but it does come with a solo mode. In fact, it comes with an entire book of solo scenarios that are meant to be played in order and that are designed to help you master the play style of each faction in the game. There is also an endless mode for solo if you just want to fight wave after wave of enemies. And if you'd rather work in tandem with another player (or play two-handed), there is a book of cooperative scenarios—although I won't be commenting on those, because I have not played them yet. Overall Thoughts I mostly adore Cloudspire, but I also have some issues with it that leave me frustrated. I will start by saying that I love the choices involved—I have spent many happy hours deciding how to spend my source, what to buy from the market, what upgrades to add to my spires, and what units to deploy. On top of that, you get to choose how to deploy units. Do you send your minions out separately so they can unleash more attacks? Or do you send them out "stacked," so that one minion acts as a meat shield for others and helps you advance further up the path to an enemy fortress? The array of options is impressive, and I love trying them in different combinations and feeling like I am slowly mastering each faction in the game. There's something very satisfying about being able to consider several options and make what you think are clever decisions about what to do. It is not, however, easy to get to that point in Cloudspire--this game has a serious learning curve. The overall concept of Cloudspire is simple—get strong, pick soldiers, destroy the enemy fortress, protect your fortress. But there is so much going on within that premise that the game loses a lot of accessibility. I would not, under any circumstances, bring Cloudspire to game night and expect to easily teach it and get it running. Cloudspire is very much about "the little things," and there are tons of abilities to keep track of, rules about which structures can be built when, and other little limitations you need to keep in mind as you play. On top of that, because each faction is so different, each player will have a unique experience of the game that is awesome for me as a solo player, but not something I ever want to deal with as a game teacher. When it comes to solo (I have up to this point neglected the co-op scenarios), I am grateful for the book of solo scenarios and pleased with the puzzles on offer. But I also feel a bit limited by the campaign format. Each scenario within the solo campaign has a specific setup, and there are only so many scenarios for each faction. Unlike Hoplomachus, one of my all-time favorites, you cannot expect to just pick a faction, pick an enemy, and go to town. Solo in Cloudspire is much more on the rails, and I like that less. That said, the decisions that Cloudspire offers you are incredibly addictive, and this is a game I can't stop thinking about. Despite its frustrations, Cloudspire is brushing up against greatness. Solving the puzzle of each solo scenario is good fun—and you will probably get a ton of replay value out of the campaign if you are a perfectionist who wants to hit every objective. It will take a while to get through the solo campaign. I have spent hours playing Cloudspire and I am not done yet. Do I recommend it? Maybe. Cloudspire is a very good game, and it's unlike any gaming experience I have had to date. It rewards multiple plays and it is satisfying to build mastery. At the same time, Cloudspire is very expensive—the base price is $129.95, before shipping. If you are content to pay that price for a solo campaign, it might be good for you. If you have a game group that will be super dedicated to playing this game and learning its intricacies, it might be good for you. This one has its imperfections, but it really is something special. Overall Rating: 4 stars Rating Scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. Full disclosure: I did a Kickstarter Preview of Unbroken back when the campaign was live. I backed it with my own money. What is this game about? Unbroken is a game about what happens after a dungeon crawl gone wrong. You wake up in the dungeon, alone, and all of your friends are dead. Your stuff has been looted. You have nothing, and you must escape—and hopefully take revenge on the boss monster who wrecked your party. You will face four monsters in a game of Unbroken, and you will have a limited amount of time to spend before each encounter. During that time, you'll explore, gather resources, build weapons, and potentially scout ahead to see what monster you will face (something I highly recommend). How will you budget your time? Many of your actions are paid for with effort—so how much effort are you willing to expend? Should you grab another resource, or should you choose to rest? There is also a bit of push-your-luck involved in the lead up to a monster fight. If you choose to confront the monster before you run out of time, then you are the one who has a slight tempo advantage in the ensuing battle. If you dawdle for too long, the monster will ambush you instead, which may make it a bit more challenging to beat it. Except for the fourth and final monster, the bosses can also be avoided—but if you choose to sneak on by without defeating them, you also give up rewards that could be tremendously useful down the line. Not only are your in-game choices interesting as you scavenge for resources, but there are several monsters you could encounter at each stage, as well as several different characters to choose from. Every character has unique special abilities, you can pick up different skills, and you will roll for different combinations of boss monsters every time you play, which means the game will have quite a bit of variety. How does it play solo? Unbroken is specifically designed for solo play. A true solitaire! Overall Thoughts Let's get the tough part of this conversation out of the way first: Unbroken is a very good game. It is also a highly problematic game, specifically because of the way the publisher handled (and is continuing to handle) fulfillment of the Kickstarter campaign. I'm not going to detail the situation here, but it is very bad—bad enough that I will probably not back another Golden Bell game, and I don't feel comfortable encouraging anyone else to do so. Artem Safarov, the designer, is a great guy, but I don't know if he has control over what happens to his game anymore. That said, I did receive my copy of Unbroken, and I really like it. The most natural game to compare it to is One Deck Dungeon, and I like Unbroken better. I like the agency of the choices I have. I enjoy scouting and preparing for encounters with boss monsters. It's satisfying to choose between encounter cards, to decide what resources to trade, to decide what time to spend. I feel like the choices I make have a big impact on the outcome of my game, and there is enough variety among the choices that I can make different ones every time. I also love choosing and trying out different skills for my characters, and the strategies that those skills subtly push me towards. Unbroken is also the perfect length for a small box game. It's quick enough to play more than once in a single sitting, or to take out if I want to get a quick game in but don't have much time. Setup is speedy, takedown is easy, and the game between is brisk and never seems to wear out its welcome. Unbroken is definitely going to enter my regular rotation of work night games. My one real complaint about Unbroken is that the game can be very swingy. Monsters attack differently depending on the dice you roll for them, but it runs a bit deeper than that. Because each monster is chosen randomly when it's time to encounter them, you can spend a lot of time arming yourself to confront one monster... only to find that the next one has a different fighting style and very different weaknesses. It's definitely possible to overcommit in the wrong direction and get smashed later in the game, depending on which monsters you encounter. That said, it is still possible to scout and to mitigate bad circumstances to an extent. Do I recommend it? Yes—if this game had a different publisher. Overall Rating: 4 stars 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. What is this game about? Fantastic Factories is an entry-level engine building/dice placement game in which players build buildings for their factories and race to produce goods. The winner is determined by who has the most victory points, and both goods and the prestige values on buildings are worth VP. The end of the game is triggered when someone has either built 10 buildings or produced 12 goods. On a given turn, each player has a chance to draft from two market rows. You can either take a blueprint card for free, giving yourself a chance to build it later, or you can sacrifice a card with a matching symbol to hire a contractor and gain an immediate one-time bonus. After the market phase, players can perform their turns simultaneously. During play, everyone rolls four dice and then assigns those dice as "workers" based on their value. Dice can be used to draw more blueprints, gain resources, or power cards that have already been built. Ideally, you will be able to build up a nice tableau that allows you to fire off pretty impressive combos on your turn. To place new building cards in your tableau, you will need to pay the resource cost for that building, which will be one card from your hand with a matching symbol (yes, you pay for cards with other cards!) plus some combination of resources. Once everyone has done all that they can do, it's back to the market phase! How does it play solo? Fantastic Factories does come with a relatively simple solo variant. While your own turn will basically proceed as normal, the AI acts as a timer and has a very streamlined turn. As a solo player, you will roll four white dice included in the game. On the AI turn, you roll five colored dice—one for each type of building, plus a green die that determines the AI's build action. Based on the result of the green die, the AI will either add a building card to its tableau, or add a building and then clear one of the market rows. Each die color determines whether the AI will produce a good—and the more buildings of a given color the AI has, the more goods it is likely to produce for that building type. You can adjust the difficulty of the AI by starting the game with more or fewer buildings already in its tableau. Overall Thoughts There is no question that Fantastic Factories is very well put-together. The components are quality. The rulebook is clear and nicely laid out. It's possible to set off some pretty cool chain reactions and feel clever, especially if the dice are in your favor. For me, the dice in this game are a mixed bag. Fantastic Factories is partially about buying and building the right cards, but it's also a game about handling your die rolls, however they turn out. One thing I appreciate about the game is that there is always something to do with your dice, even if it's just gain another resource or blueprint card. Later on, when you've built your engine a bit, you will be better able to mitigate an unlucky roll by using cards or contractors. Still, I had a few too many turns that were boring because my dice didn't give me much to do, especially in the early game when I was trying to rev up. My main issue with Fantastic Factories, however, is that is well-constructed, but ultimately forgettable. I felt some satisfaction in getting good combos going, but rarely full-on excitement. In an engine-building game like Splendor, which I love to teach my students, or in Gizmos, which I have played a few times and would readily play again, I find myself watching the market like a hawk, just dying to get my hands on the next perfect card for my tableau. But I didn't get that thrill from Fantastic Factories, even though the game is slick and there is nothing mechanically wrong with it. It just doesn't offer enough that is fresh and new. Do I recommend it? While it isn't for me, I do think this game has an audience. If you love engine builders or are absolutely dying for one that can be played solo, then Fantastic Factories might be a great match for you. Overall Rating: 3 stars 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. Full Disclosure: A prototype copy of Warp's Edge was provided to me so that I could produce this preview. I have since returned the prototype to Renegade Games. What is Warp's Edge about? Warp's Edge is designed by Scott Almes and is the latest entry in the Solo Heroes series from Renegade Games. It's a bag-building game in which you are a lone pilot fighting against a horde of enemies in space. Each time you go through the entire contents of your bag, you complete a "Warp" and are transported back to the beginning of the battle, having gotten stronger and learned some new tricks. You win the game if you defeat a big boss before the end of your warp. You lose the game if you either lose all of your ship's health or fail to win within a limited number of warps. What I like about Warp's Edge Warp's Edge is a quality solo game and I'm looking forward to more time with it. The decisions you make in the game truly matter, and they are interesting--even the way in which you kill an enemy minion affects the reward you get, and thus the contents of your bag. While you can't control what comes out of the back in a random draw, you can do a lot to influence the bag's contents. When you are scrambling for every resource in an attempt to beat the big boss, you'll be second guessing a few choices you made in earlier rounds! Variability in this game is also tremendous, as it should be in a solo game. Every ship is different and will lend itself to different strategies, and the same can be said for the bosses. Your token pool will also differ slightly from game to game. Each ship has a special configuration of special action tokens, including one that is entirely unique to that ship. Possible Concerns about Warp's Edge I do not have any serious concerns about Warp's Edge, but I might have a few quibbles. Some of the power tokens seemed more awesome than others, and I also felt that way about the skill cards. Also, while there was already a lot of variety in the game box, I hope this is a game that will see continued support, because I'll want more! Should I back it? I really like this game and immediately requested a copy for full review once the game is published. If you like bag building, making the most use of special abilities, and getting into Playthrough Video: Full Disclosure: A preview copy of the Fair Youth expansion was provided to me by Sideroom Games so that I could produce this preview. What is Black Sonata: The Fair Youth about? I previewed the base game for Black Sonata in Summer 2018, and I have been a fan ever since. Black Sonata is a solo hidden movement and deduction game in which you pursue the Dark Lady, a mysterious woman mentioned in several of Shakespeare's sonnets. The original game is excellent, and I am delighted to see it get an expansion: The Fair Youth. It's actually a collection of mini-expansions, which can be enjoyed individually or all tossed together into a single game. One of the expansions offers you a set of more challenging Dark Ladies, but you can also hunt down the Fair Youth (another mysterious person from Shakespeare's work), try to catch the Dark Lady at a rendezvous point that was meaningful to the two of you, or compete with rival poets even as you continue your search. There are also new ways to track the Dark Lady's movement for players who would like to leave themselves some hints. What I like about The Fair Youth The Fair Youth does exactly what a good expansion should do--it adds variety and challenge in a way that perfectly complements a game that is already great. Each of the expansion modules adds something challenging and interesting to gameplay. I particularly like having more challenging Dark Ladies, but searching for the Fair Youth or trying to cut the Dark Lady off at a rendezvous point can be thrilling. I am truly impressed at the way John Keane has managed to create a game system that does solo hidden movement and deduction so well... and then adds even more layers. Possible Concerns about The Fair Youth Although all of the mini expansions are technically mix and match, I prefer not to play with more than one or two at a time. This is not really a problem, in my opinion, and may change when I play the final copy enough times for a formal review. Should I back it? I certainly intend to. At $12 plus shipping, the price is right. This campaign will also give you a chance to pick up the base game, which I absolutely recommend. Preview Video |
AuthorMy name is Liz Davidson, and I play solo board games. A lot of solo board games... Archives
August 2021
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