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ARCTIC SCAVENGERS- Better than DOMINION

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MB Updated December 02, 2019
 
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ARCTIC SCAVENGERS card game
There Will Be Games

 As the title suggests, I like ARCTIC SCAVENGERS a lot.

 And with the themeless DOMINION winning the SDJ this week, I feel like I should champion what I think is the better game.

Why is it the better game? Because it is the more complete game and it has a exciting looseness and a sense of surprise that was all but developed out of DOMINION. Yes, it does use the deckbuilding and card drafting mechanics from DOMINION. But it is also its own game because the designer, Richard Gabhart, managed to (ahem) scavenge the core mechanics from DOMINION and create what is very much his own game with a pretty original an interesting setting. And there's actual interaction beyond listening to someone announce what actions they're taking for the round. The game is extremely good, and should not be dismissed as a simple "clone".

DOMINION is a great mechanic, no doubt. But a mechanic alone is not enough. and after months of play it became apparent that the SDJ winner lacks any sense of actual meaning-  it feels like a tech demo. DOMINION may have a greater variety of card combinations and variety due to the large number of cards, but ARCTIC SCAVENGERS is simply more fun, more meaningful, and actually has more possibility for expansion than its predecessor.


ARCTIC SCAVENGERS card game
Michael Barnes (He/Him)
Senior Board Game Reviews Editor

Sometime in the early 1980s, MichaelBarnes’ parents thought it would be a good idea to buy him a board game to keep him busy with some friends during one of those high-pressure, “free” timeshare vacations. It turned out to be a terrible idea, because the game was TSR’s Dungeon! - and the rest, as they say, is history. Michael has been involved with writing professionally about games since 2002, when he busked for store credit writing for Boulder Games’ newsletter. He has written for a number of international hobby gaming periodicals and popular Web sites. From 2004-2008, he was the co-owner of Atlanta Game Factory, a brick-and-mortar retail store. He is currently the co-founder of FortressAT.com and Nohighscores.com as well as the Editor-in-Chief of Miniature Market’s Review Corner feature. He is married with two childen and when he’s not playing some kind of game he enjoys stockpiling trivial information about music, comics and film.

Articles by Michael

ARCTIC SCAVENGERS card game
Michael Barnes
Senior Board Game Reviews Editor

Articles by Michael

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