 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.  Look at all that sprawling neoprene... 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.
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 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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