 Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Gearworks from Piecekeeper games. What is this game about? Gearworks is a light, fast card placement game in which you are tinkerers scrambling to get the parts you need to build steampunky contraptions. Ultimately, the player who builds the best contraptions will earn the most points and the win. At the beginning of each round, players will receive secret contraption cards that help them decide which machine parts to go for. If they can end the round with one or both of the parts displayed on the card, they can build the contraption and earn victory points. To stake a claim to parts they need, players will need to carefully deploy the gear cards in their hands. The play area for a game of Gearworks consists of a grid where you can place cards in rows and columns, following particular placement rules. Being the player who most recently played a card to a given row and column gives you dominance over those parts of the grid, and the possibility of winning the parts associated with that row and column at the end of the round. In addition to playing cards and vying for parts, players can earn and spend special tokens called Sparks. Sparks allow players to reenter the game after they have passed, to play a card in their hand on top of a card already placed in the grid, to draw extra contraption cards, and to otherwise manipulate the game to their advantage. While all players automatically receive starting sparks, you can also gain them by discarding gear cards or by "tinkering," which means placing a card on the grid in a space where it equals either the sum of or difference between cards with which it shares a row or a column. How does it play solo? Gearworks comes with an automated solo opponent called The Leviathan that plays according to automated rules. Rather than respond to what the player is doing, the Leviathan will act based on cards drawn from the contraption and gear decks. Based on the locations and values The Leviathan draws, it will attempt to make a legal placement somewhere in the grid.  Playmat not included, but it really does help. Overall Thoughts
Gearworks is a quick and clever game that I really appreciated. There are a lot of fun, strategic things to do with the cards in your hand, and you'l find yourself constantly checking the board state. Constantly vying for dominance over specific rows and columns is both exhilarating and frustrating, and there are a lot of opportunities to fake your opponents out if you are willing to conceal what you want or even pass and then pay sparks to reenter the round at the last minute. You also have the option of coming on strong right from the beginning of a round and fighting aggressively for the parts you want. However, my positive feelings about Gearworks come with an enormous caveat. Multiplayer Gearworks is slick and fun. Solo Gearworks, however, is clunky and disappointing. The Leviathan works, but it is not only extremely annoying to run (PieceKeeper provided a flowchart on BGG that is mind-bogglingly complex for such an ostensibly simple game and bot), but also can't give you the excitement of strategically scrapping for control of a row or column, or the quiet pleasure of faking out your friends. I know it feels like the right thing to provide a solo mode for as many games as possible these days, but in the case of Gearworks, the solo mode loses too much of what makes the game fun with other people. Do I recommend it? For multiplayer, yes. Gearworks is inexpensive, fun, and a game I'd like to try with my students. For solo? Do not recommend. Overall Rating: 3 stars Overall Rating: 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 Sidekick Saga from its designer and publisher, Richard T. Saunders. What is this game about? Sidekick Saga is a superhero-themed game in which the heroes have all disappeared—and you are the sidekicks they've left behind. You'll be working to find your missing mentors, while also trying to keep criminals in the city at bay. The goal of any game of Sidekick Saga is to take out the main bad guy of the scenario. But to do that, you'll need to work your way up through the less potent enemies who are protecting their boss. Each scenario offers a different configuration of enemies to deal with, and you'll all be battling each other at various locations across the city. During the game, you deal with a "bad news" card that helps time your game, then move from location to location, choose whether to spend your turn as a hero or as your "regular" self, combat enemies, use hacking to take bad guys out of commission, collect leads, and draw cards from the location decks to acquire useful abilities and tools. The game is a "green legacy" that introduces new rules, keywords, and characters over the course of multiple scenarios, but if you wanted to, you could reset and play the story again. Sidekick Saga also comes with a skirmish mode that offers challenges outside of the main storyline. How does it play solo? Sidekick Saga is a cooperative game, so it's a simple matter to solo it by playing two-handed and running two sidekicks.  Overall Thoughts
Sidekick Saga is a functional game, but I wasn't feeling it. There are several things that it does well. One of these is the introduction of new mechanisms over time—the scenario books are printed as comic book "issues" that reveal a bit more story and a few new tricks each game. The power upgrades and access to new characters are well timed, and the inclusion of a skirmish mode outside of the storyline is thoughtful. I also like that hacking is an element of combat to help you trip up enemies you can't outright defeat—it allows you to spend your turn taking them out of commission, but it's only temporary, and it keeps you from going after more immediate threats. That said, Sidekick Saga is a personal dream, not a polished product from a major publisher—and you can tell. I feel bad saying it, because what is Kickstarter if not a place for people to turn dreams into realities? But the rulebook needs an editor, the graphic design is chaotic and sometimes sloppy (there can be 3 different fonts on a single card), and there are aspects of the game that could have been smoothed out with more playtesting. The gameplay works well enough, but it isn't as zippy and fun as I would want from a game with this theme—typically a turn is spent digging through location decks, and not feeling like a burgeoning superhero at all. There are also aspects of the game, such as the "Suspect of Interest," which represents how much enemy attention you're drawing, that you are required to pay attention to, but that make you work more than they add to the drama of the game. And in a market that is full of very strong superhero games, it's not possible for even a pretty good game to get traction. Sentinels of the Multiverse and Marvel Champions are both absolutely fantastic games. I enjoy Marvel Legendary, there is a DC deckbuilding game that I hear is decent, and I am very excited to see what the Sadlers have done with their upcoming superhero game, Hour of Need. (The art alone for that one is stunning so far.) In a world where gamers are spoiled for choice, a game that works isn't quite enough anymore. Do I recommend it? No, not unless you are absolutely jonesing for another superhero game. However, elements of this design show promise and I would be willing to try the next game published by this designer. Overall rating: 2.5 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.  What is this game about? Pendragon: The Fall of Roman Britain is a COIN game set during the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., when the Romans still occupied Britain, but their power there was starting to wane. In the game, four factions each pursue different goals—the Dux, or Roman military, wants to maintain control over Britain, as well as increase Roman prestige in the area. The Civitates are their frenemies—Roman-British civilians who are also interested in stability and control, but who want to wrest power from the grabby Dux faction. Early in the game, the Dux can spend the Civitates' money, while the Civitates benefit from the support of Dux military forces. But both factions are careening towards fragmentation, when they split from each other and change the face of the game. Their common enemies are two factions of barbarian raiders—the Scotti from the west, who are looking for a tidy profit, and the Saxons from the east, who are initially only in it for the money but who develop an interest in a more permanent settlement post-fragmentation. Because Pendragon is a COIN game, the action always starts with an event card—one event card is active per round, and each faction in the game has a chance to act in the order printed on the card. But there's a catch: Only two factions get to take a turn per event card. Factions also cannot act two rounds in a row, which means that players will need to make important decisions about tempo. Everyone is able to see both the current event card and the upcoming one, and sometimes it is in a player's best interests to pass during one round, giving up a chance to take a turn because they want a crack at the event card that's currently on deck. Once a player decides to take a turn, there are even more interesting choices involved. If you choose to take the event printed on the card, then the second player for the round gets to take a full action. If you take a full action, the second player for the round might get to play the event card themselves. But if you take a limited action, you also limit what the second player for the round can do—by hobbling yourself, you also put a damper on your opponent. Your faction also has its own set of actions to take. You might want to move units, build, or fight, and all of these will cost you precious resources. The result of all this is a big, messy conflict that mirrors all the interesting parts of the decline of Rome's power in Britain. Every so often, an Epoch card will emerge from the event deck, which triggers a special round during which players check for victory conditions. If any faction is meeting its victory conditions during an Epoch round, then the player of that faction wins. Otherwise, play continues. If no clear winner emerges by the final Epoch round, then players tally points based on their individual faction goals to determine the winner. How does it play solo? Pendragon comes with a bot for each faction, so you can play one faction yourself and use bots for the other three. These bots are flowcharts that ask you to check the board state and then make the most logical choice for the faction that is taking a turn. In Pendragon, I think it's best to start by controlling both the Dux and Civitates factions before fragmentation, then take over whichever faction is weakest after fragmentation (this encourages you to give equal love and attention to each faction during the early part of the game). The Scotti and Saxons have simpler bots to run, which will make your first solo games go more smoothly.  The board is so big I usually leave it sideways. Overall Thoughts
As a simulation of Roman history, Pendragon is fantastic. From the fascinating designer notes and bibliography to the actual gameplay, where tensions between factions play out in ways that mirror historical events, this game is steeped in its setting. It's obvious that Morgane Gouyon-Rety knows her stuff. And when you play her game, you'll come out knowing a bit more, too. As a game, Pendragon is full of delightful choices. How closely should the Dux and Civitates work together, knowing full well that a split is on the horizon? When is the right moment for invading barbarians to try to settle down in the land they've pillaged? When is the event on a card really worth taking, as opposed to taking a normal action? And is it safe to go for it and take a big turn, knowing full well that another faction might take advantage and do something irritating to hurt you? Resources are precious, which means that every decision, from splurging to pay for road maintenance to engaging in battle, can have serious consequences. This game does not reward careless decision making, and even the best laid plans can be torn apart by some bad die rolls during conflict. Pendragon also represents an interesting development of the COIN system. COIN (COunterINsurgency) games typically focus on specific conflicts between powerful governments and insurgents within a limited period of time. Pendragon covers centuries, and to fit its theme, it dispenses with common elements in other COIN games, such as guerilla fighters. I liked most of the tweaks made to the system, and I think the design decisions were well made for Pendragon's setting. That said, Pendragon is a heavy game within an already-heavy system. It is the most complex COIN game I have played, and while every aspect of the game makes sense and is explained in the rulebook, there is a lot going on, especially when moving through all the stages of a battle. It is not a casual game for a lazy afternoon--Pendragon is a rewarding but very consuming experience, even if you choose to play only a short game. (There are several scenarios of varying lengths.) I adore playing this game, but I also know that it won't make it to my table as often as I would like. I also think that it is easier to play some factions than others. When soloing as the Scotti, it seems easier to roll over the Dux and Civitates than it does to play as the Romans who are trying to squash those pesky barbarians. I intend to keep testing this theory over time. Do I recommend it? If you want a deep game that is both excellent to play and excellent as a historical simulation, then Pendragon is a great choice. But be ready to invest a lot of time and effort into learning it, particularly if you do not have experience with COIN games. (I personally would recommend starting with a different game in the series, but perhaps you wish to live dangerously.) 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: Lucky Duck Games provided me with a review copy of Mutants. What is this game about? Mutants is a tactical card-battling game in which each player has a team of mutants ready to fight it out in the arena. The main point of the game is to score the most victory points before the end of five rounds. This feat is primarily achieved by performing well on the dominance track. In Mutants, there is a constant battle for "king of the hill," as players gain power and try to force their enemies to lose it. If one player can get into the "fury" space on the dominance track, while forcing opponents into the "dread" space, then they have a chance at more victory points every single turn. As players cycle through their decks, they also thin those decks by "freezing" mutants. Frozen mutants are removed from play, but they are also worth victory points at the end of the game. All players start with the same set of basic mutants, but can access more powerful mutants based on either a draft or on deck construction that takes place before the actual battle. On each turn, players have a choice between three actions. They can deploy a mutant, which means putting it into their active mutant space and using its activation power. They can breed a mutant, which means discarding two cards with genes that match an advanced mutant, and then bringing that more powerful card immediately into play. Or they can discard only one card to "incubate" an advanced mutant, which allows them to put it on top of their deck next round (but they have a no-action turn during the current one). There are also some fun spatial elements to gameplay that take place on the player board. Mutants start out in the "active mutant" slot, but players must slide the previous active mutant to the left or to the right each turn. Mutants are eventually slid off of the player board altogether, which can activate further special powers. Most mutants have a power that is triggered when they become active mutant, and if they can leave the board without being knocked down, they have a second power that is triggered when they leave the board. How does it play solo? Mutants comes with several solo bosses who have their own decks and special powers. The base game includes two solo bosses, with three more available across the expansions. While in the multiplayer game everyone is vying for victory points, in solo, you use the same mechanisms to reduce the boss's life total instead. When the boss is kicking your butt on the dominance track, you aren't punished, but they can gain life back and undo all of your hard work. If you can get the boss down to zero life in five rounds, you win!  The board with mutant slots and advanced mutants to choose from. Overall Thoughts
Mutants was a very pleasant surprise for me. I hadn't even heard of the game until Razoupaf told me about it, and wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a quick, snappy card battle with some very light deck construction. I particularly like the way the dominance track creates a constant struggle, with both you and the solo boss scrambling to get to the top and push each other down. Depending on what cards come out, you can go from top of the world to rock bottom, then have to find a way to scramble back up again. I also like that Mutants is fast but still full of decisions. What advanced mutants should be the core of the deck I construct? Can I afford to incubate, which will give me a better card later, but do nothing to hurt the boss this turn? What tactical plays can I make with my cards to keep the boss from slipping ahead of me on the dominance track? Which card should I freeze—a weaker one that is worth fewer points, or a more powerful one that will knock a few extra points off of the boss's life total? Even deciding whether to slide a card to the left or to the right can be an important choice, based on what cards are in play and which areas on your player board might be attacked. For all of these choices, Mutants is still a light card game. The cards you have access to during any given game are limited, and the powers are fun but not overwhelming. In some ways this is a little disappointing, because you aren't going to manage deep deck construction or deck building the way you might with a chunkier game. But if you want a fun skirmish that doesn't take all night, then Mutants may be a good choice. I will say that I'm not convinced that Mutants is a great pick for solo-only play. The two bosses in the base box are not enough, and one of them, Jack Ice, is so difficult to beat with cards from the base box that I haven't figured out how to do it yet. (If you have, let me know in the comments what advanced mutants you were using!) To get the fullest possible solo experience, you'll need to purchase both of the expansions in addition to the base game, for a total of five bosses. At list price, that will come out to about $90 total—a steep price for a solo game that is very fun, but not one for the ages. If you are planning to play Mutants both alone and with friends, though, I think you'll get your money's worth. Do I recommend it? Yes, if you plan to play both alone and with others. Mutants is mechanically excellent, but I'm not convinced it's a great value for solo. 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 received a review copy of Field Commander: Alexander from Dan Verssen Games What is this game about? Field Commander: Alexander is an entry-level war game in which you take on the role of Alexander the Great during some of his most famous battles. The game comes with four boards, one for Granicus, one for Issus, one for the Siege of Tyre, and one for Gaugamela. You can either choose one of these scenarios and play it, or you can link them all together as one big campaign in which you try to establish Alexander's prominent place in history. As you move Alexander's army, you'll have a lot of choices to make. Resources are incredibly tight, and you'll find that you never have enough gold—yet you are always tempted to spend more of it. A large army makes it easier to win battles, but can also make it more expensive to move. A small army makes it easier to take damage when making a scouting roll, and will of course make battles a bit more harrowing. Each time you conquer a pivotal area, you will choose whether to raze it for a large amount of gold now, or govern it for a smaller amount of gold during each remaining turn. And you can also spend your gold and glory to build temples, build cities, gain insights (special powers during the game), acquire advisors, and gain access to more and better battle plans. While in some situations you will have to battle opposing armies, there are also times when you have a choice between fighting and intimidation. You'll also have to choose whether to accept and fulfill prophecies. Prophecies can have annoying conditions when you just want to get on with it and win a campaign—but they are also the key to leveling Alexander up over the course of a game. He is fairly weak and can die easily early on, but over the course of his life, he becomes extremely powerful. This is particularly important in battle, because if Alexander can defeat the enemy leader, he ends the entire fight immediately. However, once he chooses to attack an enemy leader, they are locked in combat until the battle is over, which is a high-risk situation early on when Alexander isn't powered up yet. Your biggest choice may simply be when to end your turn. While your enemies only get one chance to carry out orders each round, you can complete your conquest turn as many times as you wish—it's up to you when to stop. If you push hard, you have a better chance to end with a higher score because you are rewarded for finishing faster. But the harder you push, the more beat up your army might get, and the less gold you'll have to keep funding your continued movements. At the end of the game, you'll determine how many victory points you've earned based on how long it took you to complete the scenario, and on how many cities you built. If you're playing a larger campaign, you're playing for immortality points, so you'll also want to make choices that benefit Alexander in the long run. How does it play solo? Field Commander: Alexander is a solitaire-only game. Yay!  Overall Thoughts
Field Commander: Alexander is a very enjoyable game, and one that is highly accessible to new wargamers. If you're looking to move chits around a map and have them get into a few fights, but you've never done it before, then I think this game is a great choice. Setup instructions for each scenario, as well as turn order and any other specific information you might need, is printed directly on the game board. Although there are many choices to make in Field Commander: Alexander, they mostly boil down to how much money you have. The game is very economically tight, and trying to make decisions for the long run when you have immediate needs gives the game a lot of interest, particularly when you are playing the long campaign, which rewards you more for your long term investments. Deciding how far to spend down and how hard to push yourself is the heart of the game, and it provides a lot of tension and drama. The bells and whistles are fun, too—selecting advisors and battle plans is great fun, and also makes battles something more than just die rolling. A well chosen and correctly executed battle plan can be tremendously satisfying. However, Field Commander: Alexander has its limits. For all of the fun choices it offers, the game is very linear. You'll do roughly the same things in the same order every time, which can make you feel like you've "solved" the game after you've played it enough. Although enemy orders and operations can be a pain, the enemies remain relatively static. The pressure to move quickly in the quest for maximum victory points also takes a little of the fun out of the game, because you don't pause and fully enjoy all of the game's options. Outside of the campaign, your highest scores are likely to be the ones you hit when you were pushing your army hard and getting lucky, not fretting over all of the smaller choices like building or picking up extra advisors or fulfilling prophecies. Things are a bit better when you are campaigning and going for "Immortality Points" instead of VP, but even then you will end up puzzling out the best course of action over time. Do I recommend it? If you are a new wargamer or very interested in Alexander the Great, then yes, you will have a good time with Field Commander: Alexander. I have enjoyed my time with it, but don't feel that it is a permanent "keeper" in my collection. 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: I received a review copy of Movie Empire from The Dice Tower. What is this game about? Movie Empire is a worker placement game about becoming the best movie producer, as indicated by getting the most victory points. Throughout the game, you'll choose scripts, acquire and arrange the right cards to bring those scripts to life, add stars, and produce movies—ideally trendy ones—in various world markets. You'll also vie for the favor of your boss, Mr. Grumpy, whose feelings about you determine your budget and your ability to have more than one film in production at a time. During each turn of the game, you'll receive your budgeted money from Mr. Grumpy (better hope he likes you), then place your workers in various spaces on the board. Your ultimate goal is to turn your scripts into movies you can produce. To get points for your scripts, you'll need the right combination of production cards of various colors. But if none of the cards you need for your script are available on the market, you can take other actions that include sucking up to Mr. Grumpy, getting more money, or drawing from the deck of production cards. Interestingly, while meeting all of the requirements of a script can earn you big points, you only need one blue production card to actually produce your film, which may lead you to go for fewer but faster points instead. In addition to getting points for scripts, you can also get points for producing movies that are "trendy" in a given round, so you might be tempted to rush your action movie to market in a bid for a quick score. In the multiplayer game, you can also choose to play with "Black Dossiers" which add a pretty vicious "take that" element to the game. How does it play solo? Movie Empire comes with a solo opponent called Archibald Leech, who plays with a combination of his own decks of cards and with the main player board. He comes with a deck of cards that will determine his actions, as well as a logical set of priorities if he can't do what is specified on his AI card. He also has a built-in catchup mechanism—he uses only two workers if he is ahead of you, but three if he is behind.  Overall Thoughts
Movie Empire had some good ideas in it, but it did not impress me overall. It is clear that the people who made it love movies, and they put a lot of work into the aesthetic of the game—the art is pretty cool (especially if you love watching inappropriate cartoons aimed at adults), and several of the boards even have alternate art on the back. And I liked that enough thought was put into Archibald to make solo mode an actual challenge. But in the end, this game is bloated. There are so many ideas floating around in it, including multiple game modes that you can add and remove, that the game doesn't quite flow. There are a lot of actions you could take, but they don't feel sharp or satisfying. Instead, it feels like Movie Empire was stitched together from every decent idea its design team had, without any of the careful paring down that might have made it into a stronger game. There are also a few technical problems that inhibited my experience of playing Movie Empire. The first is the rulebook, which is at times unclear. It reads like work from an author who knows exactly what he intends, but doesn't always step back from the work enough to make those intentions accessible to others. There is also a bit too much resource squeeze when it comes to the production cards. I mentioned above that you can produce a movie as long as you have a single blue production card. However, you also cannot produce a movie without one. That means that if one is not out on the market (or if your opponent gets it first), you may find yourself stuck and unable to get your movies made and on the market. That level of chokeout, in my opinion, takes a game from "competitive" to "not fun." Do I recommend it? No. Movie Empire has ideas with potential, but it does not come together to form a compelling whole. 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 was okay. 1 star — Meh.  Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Atlantis Rising from Elf Creek Games. What is this game about? Atlantis Rising is a cooperative worker placement game in which Atlantis is sinking, and you are trying to escape. To get away, you will need to salvage resources, build components, and ultimately activate a power core that will allow your people to flee their drowning homeland. The resources you need stretch out from the island's center like the spokes of a wheel. In the mountains, you can get precious ore, but you'll need to go to the forges to process it into Atlanteum, your society's most impressive metallurgical development. Other parts of your island offer gold, crystals, spaces to recruit more workers, and a library where you can discover helpful skills and artifacts to aid you. Each turn, players will place their leaders and workers on tiles they hope will yield good results. To get resources, you'll need to roll a die and hit a certain minimum number to succeed—and the spaces with the highest success rate are furthest from the island's center. This reality is the main tension in the game, because after you place your workers, but before they can take actions, you must suffer misfortunes by overturning cards that will cause various parts of your island to sink. If a worker is at the edge of the forest and the forest sinks, then that worker returns home empty-handed. However, works placed nearer the island's center may still fail because they don't get the die rolls they need. And the clock is ticking. There are, however, ways to modify your die rolls. You'll be able to acquire "mystic energy" throughout the game that will allow you to add to your roll's total. Various cards from the library will be able to help you. And each player's leader has a special ability that should be used to the greatest possible effect during the game. As you build components leading up to the activation of the power core, you'll get additional bonuses and even new action spaces to exploit. But to win, you'll need to make the most of everything you get. How does it play solo? Atlantis Rising has a dedicated solo mode, but is also a cooperative game. That means that a solo player has choices when deciding how to play. In a purely single-player game, you'll have access to more workers at the beginning of the game, as well as to a special worker called the Automaton that takes no actions of its own, but does contribute to die rolls in areas where it is placed. You'll also have a special leader called "The Hologram," which rotates through special powers available in the multiplayer game and lends you a different one each turn. In a two player game, you control two sets of workers yourself and have access to the Hologram, but not the Automaton. It's also possible to just play a three (or more?)-player game by yourself, controlling three different sets of workers but without the Hologram.  The playmat is not included with the base game. Overall Thoughts
Atlantis Rising is an excellent game, and I was really impressed with it. Its production values are stellar with or without the deluxe components, and everything works well together, from the components, to the art, to the clean and clear layout of the rulebook. Normally I don't pay much attention to art or components, because gameplay is king, but the quality of Atlantis Rising is exceptional enough to grab even my attention. Most importantly, the production values in Atlantis Rising support riveting gameplay. The entire game is tense and dramatic, as you hope for high rolls and wring your hands over the most recent chunk of your island to sink into the sea. You'll be thinking pretty hard about which workers to place where, how to use your leader powers, and how to make the most of cards you got from the library. There's a lot to think about and a lot to do in this game, and events will turn out differently each time you play. If you hate submitting yourself to a roll of the dice, however, Atlantis Rising might really frustrate you. You need good die rolls to get the resources you need, and you might not get them, especially early on. That means you can lose actions, or even have multiple stages of your plan go awry after you didn't get the right resources. While most of my games of Atlantis Rising have been delightful nail biters, particularly unlucky games can be very frustrating. If you don't like this kind of gameplay, Atlantis Rising is not your kind of game. However, I found that with the various player powers and opportunities to adjust my die rolls, the game was great fun for me overall. I'd also like to note that, while I appreciate that Atlantis Rising has a dedicated solo mode, I actually do not recommend it over multi-handed play with two or three leaders. Two-player games are great because you have two sets of workers plus the hologram, while three-player games are also enjoyable and more like the "standard" game. I found that pure solo eliminated the fun of having different leaders cooperate by lending their powers to each other and by combining their resources to build components and, ultimately, the power core. Do I recommend it? Yes, I definitely recommend Atlantis Rising. It's exciting, fun, and immersive as a solo game, and I'm looking forward to playing it with my group when it's safe to have game day again. Overall Rating: 4.5 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 received a review copy of Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear from Academy Games. What is this game about? Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear is an entry-level hex and counter game set on the Eastern Front during WWII. It can be played two-player or solo, and it pits the Russians and Germans against each other in a number of scenarios. These scenarios increase in complexity over time, and can eventually feature hidden enemies, epic tank battles, and more. Each mission has a different objective, but common themes include destroying enemy units and controlling key locations on the map. The tension in Conflict of Heroes comes from the limited actions that units are able to take. Each player can take only one action per turn, and after that action, they must roll a "spent check." For a simple action, like moving, you don't have to roll a very high value, so you are more likely to pass a check and be able to activate that unit again during the round. If you attack, your odds of a unit being spent are a lot higher. But because you're rolling a die, you never quite know what is going to happen, and that can lead to serious excitement. A spent unit is also sometimes still able to perform an action—if that is how a player chooses to use their CAPs, or Command Action Points, which they have a limited number of each turn. (CAPs can also be used to modify die rolls.) Play continues until both sides pass, but with both spent checks and CAPs in play, you'll need to keep a close eye on your opponent and try not to leave yourself vulnerable to one last devastating attack. How does it play solo? To play Conflict of Heroes solo, you need a separate expansion called Conflict of Heroes: Eastern Front. The expansion comes with a set of solo missions to play, and with a deck of cards that drives the enemy AI. Each card operates like a mini flowchart—draw a card, move down the list of options on it, and execute the first one that it is possible for the enemy to carry out. From this simple system, a full-on firefight will emerge. In addition to the cleverness of the AI system, solo missions also include a mission tracker that puts a timer on your game. Some AI cards will cause the timer to advance, and those advancements will trigger some—but not necessarily all—of the special events on your mission tracker. You never quite know when a mission will come to an end, which makes the firefighting feel all the more desperate.  Overall Thoughts
Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear features one of the coolest AI opponents I have ever encountered. I love the card system—not only is it easy to use, but it is challenging. In this game, the AI will make use of cover, flank you, and generally make smart decisions. The designers have also created ways for the enemy to have hidden units by placing "rumored" enemies on the board that may or may not be real. I am truly delighted by what this system has to offer. If you're looking for an introduction to war games and want a good place to start, then Awakening the Bear might be a particularly good choice for you. The rulebook is long, but clear and full of excellent examples. The AI is also streamlined, and not as intimidating as some of the flow charts you may encounter later in your wargaming journey. I have one main issue with this game, which is that there are only limited solo missions in the Eastern Front box. The missions you get are entertaining, but they won't last forever, and too many of them force you to play as the Germans (I don't refuse to play Nazis in board games, but it's not exactly my favorite). It is possible to get the Firefight Generator expansion if you need more, but I really dig the official missions. There is some good news on that front, however—several more free missions were released to keep us all entertained during quarantine. I am really looking forward to trying these! One thing you should note when playing the third edition of Awakening the Bear is that your Eastern Front expansion is entirely compatible with the second printing, but has different hex numbers than 3rd ed. and makes a few references to 2nd ed. rules. This isn't a huge deal, but you will encounter some minor discrepancies when playing, so don't panic. The other thing I want to note about Awakening the Bear is not exactly a criticism, but more of an observation. If you were to take the mechanisms from Awakening the Bear and apply them to fantasy battles, battles in space, or pretty much any other conflict scenario, it wouldn't make much of a difference. I sometimes wish that weren't the case, because if I'm going to play a game where I am either the Russians or the Germans during WWII, I'd like there to be a bit more weight to my actions. This is the kind of game you play for some simple, tactical fun, not for historical depth. That said, Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear is a hell of a good time, and I really enjoy playing it. Do I recommend it? Definitely. Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear is a solo classic for a reason. It's also highly accessible for those who are new to war games and want to get their feet wet. 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.  Full disclosure: I received a review copy of Squire for Hire from Letiman Games. What is this game about? Squire for Hire is a tile-laying microgame in which each player takes on the role of a squire maintaining an adventurer's inventory. This inventory, or "bag," is essentially a set of cards that players overlap strategically throughout the game. Each player gets a starting card for their "bag," and the rest form a deck of story cards, with the top two cards flipped over and placed to either side. (All of the cards are double-sided, with a story event on one side and a grid full of items on the other.) For each story card, players can choose to complete its requirements either by having enough of the right item type (weapon, magic, etc.) or by "paying" an item from their bag, i.e. covering it up with a new card. If they choose to fulfill a story card, the player will then get to choose one of two inventory cards as a reward and add it to their "bag." If a player cannot or doesn't want to meet the requirements of a story card, they are free to skip it, flipping it over into one of the inventory card piles as a potential reward for the following turn. This simple game structure quickly becomes an enjoyable spatial puzzle as players hoard as many items as possible, keep an eye on their specific scoring bonuses, and attempt to cover up junk items that will subtract points from their final score. Some items grant bonuses when adjacent to each other, but partial overlaps aren't allowed—to place a card, one complete item on that card has to overlap a card that is already in your bag. How does it play solo? Solo players can work through the story deck on their own, and only need to meet a scoring threshold.  Overall Thoughts
Squire for Hire is a charming game that is compact, quick to play, and enjoyable. If you're looking for a true microgame, I think that Squire for Hire fits the bill. Its footprint while in the box is so small you could slide it into a shirt pocket, and even on the table it only requires a small amount of space. The amount of time it takes to blaze through a game of Squire for Hire also makes it an ideal lunch break game. In addition to its portability and speed, Squire for Hire is also an enjoyable game. The adorable animal art is delightful and makes the game more fun to play. And Squire for Hire is legitimately a fun spatial puzzle, with just enough choices to keep you engaged. I liked taking stock of my options each turn, choosing whether to fulfill the requirements of a story card, which reward to take, and what to prioritize when placing new cards in my bag. However, Squire for Hire is not a perfect game. The ruleset as initially printed is all crammed onto the inside of the box, which on the one hand is brilliant—small footprint! But on the other, it ends up feeling like crucial information has been left out, especially for solo players. (Squire for Hire is being reprinted, and it looks like this issue will be fixed in the new edition.) There are also some small pacing issues in the game, particularly if you draw too many unfortunate story cards in a row. If you have to keep passing on events that emerge from the deck, you aren't adding to your bag either to score more points or to prepare for story cards to come, a pattern that can leave you feeling a little stuck. Overall, though, Squire for Hire is a charming microgame. It's not going to unseat Sprawlopolis or Orchard for me, but it's a welcome addition to my repertoire of small, quick games. Do I recommend it? If you love microgames, yes. Squire for Hire is quick, fun, and inexpensive—a pledge for the second core set was only $9. 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: Zafty Games provided me with a review copy of Crystallo. What is this game about? Crystallo is an abstract solitaire card game divided into two parts. In the first, you rescue six mythical creatures by drawing and placing your cards in ways that activate orbs required to free them. In the second, you will trap the evil Black Dragon who captured those creatures in the first place. To do it, you will have a hand of cards that you arrange using the same orb-activating principles. If you run out of cards in the first part of the game, you lose. If you fail to arrange your cards successfully when going up against the Black Dragon, you also lose. Each card you draw in Crystallo will contain a different combination of orbs and crystals. The orbs will be different colors, depending on which sort of creature they are able to set free. The crystals can be one of three possible colors, as well as one of three possible shapes. To activate an orb, you will need to surround it with one of the accepted combinations of crystals—all the same shape or color, or all different shapes and colors. Beyond that, you have a lot of freedom when it comes to card placement—cards can be adjacent to each other, they can overlap, and they can be placed horizontally or vertically. Orbs will be your priority in this game, but there are also treasures to distract you. If you collect sets of different types of treasures, you will get a cool bonus. But at what cost? How does it play solo? Crystallo is a solo game. Woohoo!  Overall Thoughts
Overall, Crystallo is a charming solo puzzle that I enjoy. It is not necessarily one for the ages, but it's a nice quick game to add to the work night rotation. First, the good. Crystallo is a fun puzzle, and one that takes a bit of getting used to. It's not uncommon to have to play it a few times before getting past the first part of the game and getting a chance to confront the Black Dragon. There are fun decisions to make when it comes to how to place each card, which treasure sets to pursue, and which cards it is safe to cover up as you attempt to activate the correct orbs. I also liked that the game takes place in two phases, especially because the second phase plays with the mechanisms of the first in fun ways. While the first phase of the game is very tactical because you draw and place one card at a time, the second phase uses the same placement concepts you've learned, but allows you to see and arrange the cards in advance. It's a fun way to push skills that you've already developed in earlier turns of the game. However, Crystallo is not a perfect game. Once you grow accustomed to how it works, you'll find that you usually win, and that the puzzle is no longer quite as satisfying. It might be fun to pull the game back out after I've let it cool off for a while, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I also have some quibbles with the components. Crystallo comes in a bag that initially looks luxurious, but is made of a fuzzy fabric that is wearing quickly. My tuck box and cards have also been very quick to show wear. The symbols on the cards themselves are pleasingly colorful, and the crystals you place to activate the orbs are enticingly shiny, which somehow makes the production seem both striking and a little underdone. Crystallo is also in competition with other small-box games, and there are some tremendous ones on the market these days. My favorite small game is still Sprawlopolis, but I am also very fond of Orchard, as well as other solo games that made a splash on the print-and-play circuit such as Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden. Crystallo is good fun, but it isn't best in class. Not only does the gameplay wear out a little too quickly, but Crystallo is not as efficient as a small box or backpack game. Its packaging is compact, but once you get it out, the game is a huge table hog, which is a real threat to its portability. Do I recommend it? If you're looking for another solo game in a small package for your rotation, then yes. Crystallo might be for you. This is especially true if you like PnP games, because you can download and build this one yourself. 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. |
AuthorMy name is Liz Davidson, and I play solo board games. A lot of solo board games... Archives
August 2021
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