GamesReviews written by WadeMonnig
I, personally, really like what Tea Garden does. It has aggressive deck building, a great variety of paths to victory, and I relish how the secondary actions become your primary focus later in the game. However, the multi-player solitaire nature (where you finish a turn, extremely impressed with yourself, but the other players never react because they are working on their own turn) and the pure transactional nature of the gameplay means I would only recommend it to a specific subset of players. If you enjoy mentally chewing on a moderately heavy challenge, this game is the crumpets that goes with your Tea.
“You gotta check this out.” should be CMYK's tag line. From Hot Streak to Magical Athlete to Figment, I've used this phrase more times than I care to admit when introducing them. Figment takes about 30 seconds to teach and requires zero boardgame knowledge to learn and enjoy. It also has that “Let's play it again” appeal as soon as you finish a game...because, you always think you can/will do better this time.
Jump Drive plays at light speed and does a great job of making it feel like you have built a empire in less than 30 (or 15 or 10) minutes. It doesn't last long enough to be considered a true engine builder, instead it feels like a combo creator. It comes across like the original Twilight Zone television series in how much it can pack into a short amount of time. If you are of the younger crowd, just swap out Love, Death, and Robots for the above Twilight Zone reference...and you probably won't be near as bothered by the “Galactic Influencers” card as I was (Damn Influencers! Get off my lawn with your A.I. instatoks and “I can't leave Twixxer because the Dow is over 50,000!”).
PDX takes a bit too long to get off the ground, stays in the air for longer than needed, serves a scarce amount of actions during the flight, and lacks leg room for storing the resources. While providing a serviceable gaming experience, it lacks the smooth, seamless flight I was hoping for.
The Vibe falls into a interesting category. It's a game that I think everyone should experience. But, at the same time, it's not one I'm going to bring out at every opportunity. Repeat plays with the same gaming group gives diminishing returns but the insight into how an individual or a full group perceives art is fascinating. It swings from deep thoughts about how to convey Privilege in a series of portraits to the adolescent humor of selecting an image of a villager urinating in a corner to convey “Relief.”
Fluxx has gone to the dogs...but in a way that all puppy fans will appreciate. Looney Labs aren't trying to teach an old Fluxx new tricks, everything here is consistent with what you have experienced in other Fluxx releases but with the shiny coat of a freshly groomed purebred...or mutt, whichever you prefer. Dog Fluxx does double duty as a filler: once in the board game sense and again when you see a rendering of the canine that fills you with fond memories of a favorite pet.
Beautiful Artwork doesn't make for an entertaining experience. Even as a 18 card micro-game, Smitten 2 lacks any sort of draw beyond “Well, we finally beat it.” Every power on the cards is actively trying to lead you to lose, and it smothers any feeling of joy with decisions like “Well, if I do this, it's the least likely action that will cause us lose.”
Can you play well with others? Will you be able to lose with style? Are you able to take charge when the timing is right? Sure, it sounds like a kindergarten report card but it all influences your success in 3 witches. For a small card game with an equally small price, 3 witches comes up big.
Despite being almost exclusively about cube pushing, I've really enjoyed my return to Euphoria.
I can't hear the name Fruit Fight without picturing John Belushi screaming it across a college cafeteria. So, you'll have to forgive me when I say “This game is a H-I-T. Hit.” What I don't expect you to forgive me for is me saying “Fruit Fight is a fast, frenetic filler of flinging food that fully fits into a fun filled family-friendly foray into...CMYK's Magenta line.” (Kind of ran out of alliteration steam and/or desire at the end there).