GamesReviews written by WadeMonnig
The Monster Box is also a near-perfect entry point for anyone interested in King of Tokyo. The base game is a battle of Stars and Scars, with players attempting to either eliminate all the other monsters by reducing their health to zero or earning twenty stars. You do so by rolling six dice with faces that include Paws (Damage to other monsters), Hearts (That give you back Health), Energy (the currency you use to buy evolution cards that give you variable powers), and numerical faces of 1, 2 and 3. Roll at least three of any number and you earn that many stars. You get three rolls per turn, so “It's like Yahtzee with monsters” will almost inevitably come up when teaching the game.
Will I be keeping Blue Moon City in my collection? Not this version. Hopefully my copy finds a home with someone with either better hallway vision or more patience for sorting out which of the bland colors the tiles are supposed to be representing.
Yes, KONY/KOT Power-up did it's job. It brought King of New York back to the table. While long overdue and short of everything it should be, it does finally bring (most) of the Monsters to New York.
Ares Expedition, despite it's confusing name (Yes, this is a hill I'm willing to die upon and, Yes, I do know how to read....thankyouverymuch), provides a great Terraforming Mars experience. The “If you have the resources to boost a track, you must boost that track” requirement sidesteps the drawn out TM experience where players try to tweak their engine to Nth degree. It plays in a shorter time the more players you add, so you'll never hesitate at adding additional players. I'm more than happy to follow the rabbit down this Terraforming Mars wormhole.
Keep it 100 managed to take my least favorite type of trivia questions and turn them into a party game that I enjoy. Put an extra emphasis on the word party in that sentence. The stakes are low and casual. If you guess wrong when you slide a card into the number line, you rarely feel “bad” about it. It was a guess. The whole game is about guessing. Oh, by the way, Keep it 100 is, according to my kids, slang for “Keep it real.” Care to guess what percentage of people writing this review knew that?
Is this expansion going to change your opinion of Wingspan? If you were hoping for more player interaction, I assure you no throats are being cut and no one is getting shivved in a clown car. But it does make Wingspan more palatable for the “Intermediate +” gamer who found it pleasant but nothing extraordinary. Overall, it improves and balances Wingspan in ways that players will appreciate. The overall egg strategy has been sufficiently nerfed and the additional changes to the game boards means your “engine” is up and running faster. This also makes it more appealing to beginner players, so go ahead and add this in your teaching games. If you are a fan of the game, like my wife, Oceania is the wind beneath your wings you were hoping for.
TBH is a hilarious game that really rewards you if you lean into it. At the same time, the improvisation skills required are virtually nil, so it's low stress when the spotlight is on you to be the Dilemma Boss. It is timed well, with the game wrapping up just about the time it starts to wear thin and the question cards are just off-center enough to be thought provoking and funny.
Maybe I should read the Red Rising series, It might be like this game and be about rising above obstacles and still having a good time.
Both maps are extremely satisfying. Italy really surprised me because it has (somewhat) subverted the “Keep Drawing Route Cards” turns that usually end every game of Ticket To Ride. At the same time, it also feels the most “TTR” of the two maps, with plenty in common with the traditional U.S. Or Europe map. The Japan map flourishes when everyone plays it “straight” but weakens when a player/players tries to “game” the bullet train system. Both of these in one expansion is a great way to ride the rails once again in Ticket To Ride.
Color me bewitched, bothered and betrayed.