Whispering Woods
Publisher: Wonderbow Games
Player Count: 1-4 Players
Game Length: 25-40 Minutes
Complexity 2/5

In this crunchy, abstract, tile-laying game you’ll control the movements of spirit animals across the Whispering Woods in an effort to complete tasks, score points and preserve the forest’s peace and safety.

ON YOUR TURN

At its heart, Whispering Woods is a tile-laying game for players who love heavy planning. As you build your animal paths, you’re always considering the next move, next move after that and quite possibly 3 or 4 moves down the line. It can be very AP-inducing, but the game plays quickly and the payoff is very sweet when all the dominos fall in place.

On the surface, It’s not a complex puzzle. On your turn you draw 2 hex-shaped tiles from a community pool and place them adjacent to other tiles in your forest. Each tile is dual-sided. On one side, you have a color and on the other a pattern. Each player begins with a single animal in their forest and you’ll be tasked with building out patterns for your animal to travel. They can move freely across adjacent tiles as long as they don’t repeat any tiles they’ve already used.

Each pattern is worth a specific number of points equal to the difficulty of completing the pattern. So a 3-tile pattern task, while much easier to accomplish, is worth less than a 4 or 5.

You’ll have the option to choose a side of each tile you select and then place them in the forest. If you choose the pattern side, you bring another of your 4 spirit animals into the forest creating more opportunities to complete patterns in the future.

Once a pattern is complete, you remove that pattern tile for scoring and turn over the final tile of the previous pattern creating a new pattern to fulfill. This is where the game gets a bit more spicy. Players are rewarded for completing multiple patterns on a single turn, so stringing together multiple patterns that cascade together across this bee-hive inspired tile-forest requires a rich layer of planning. Add in multiple spirit animals and big-turns are just a few savvy moves away.

At first, it all seems very chaotic, but the game does a great job clearing showing each tile’s pattern on both sides of the tile. This really gives you an opportunity to look ahead and piece together your forest for maximum output. The game almost immediately slows down allowing you to plan and strategize.

Multi-turn scoring bonuses are limited and when a player completes a specific number of tasks the game ends potentially leaving you with that big turn just out of reach. In a strange way, it’s a bit of a race to the finish line.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

Whispering Woods features a very simple and earthy-production. The cardboard tiles are nice and thick and are stored in a giant, green drawstring bag. The wooden animal figures are simple yet well done. There isn’t a ton of artwork in the game, but it’s very ethereal and enchanting. The production as a whole doesn’t feel over-the-top, but very fitting for the style and theme of the game.

SOLO MODE

Whispering Woods features a campaign-style solo mode where you’re tasked with achieving certain animal and scoring goals all within a limited number of turns. I don’t love the solo mode as much as the base game since it doesn’t always reward the big, combo turns. But… It carries the essence of the game quite well and it plays like a breeze. I’ve found myself pulling this out for a late night solo game on many occasions.

PROS & CONS

I’m really enjoying this abstract puzzle and its rich, think-y nature

Despite the potential for AP, the games play very quickly

Whether you’re fulfilling single or multiple patterns tasks… it’s all very satisfying

Easy setup is a big plus for such a quick-playing game

The deeper planning element might be a hurdle for younger players, but the ruleset certainly isn’t. This could be a solid family game for the right group.

Like any tile-drafting game, the community pool might not have what you need when you need it. This may mean luck, while limited, could hi-jack your game at an inopportune time.

The theme is very loose and not very engaged

Probably not for players who struggle to plan multiple paths or dislike abstract games in general.

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

Players looking for a think-y, abstract game with a low-entry level and big-box style planning are going to be in heaven. Despite the simple ruleset, this is a rich game that requires you to be locked in. Again, while it’s simple enough for younger games, the real satisfaction kicks in when you’re able to see the fruit of your long-term plans.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

Being able to plan and fulfill tasks feels big time. It’s a thrill when you are finally able to knock out that 2 or 3 pattern combo on a single turn.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Whispering Woods hits my wheelhouse on a number of levels. I really enjoy think-y pattern games and the planning and payoff are hugely satisfying. The gameplay and setup all come together quickly making this an attractive candidate for repeat plays.

Players that generally struggle with long-term planning or abstract games didn’t love it as much. I also got feedback that criticized the luck-factor. Yes, the game does have some luck, but you’re always pulling from a pool of 6 tiles and the pursuit or availability of some colors added to the game’s fun. Yes, you won’t always be able to complete every task and the tile you need may not be available. If that bothers you, this might not be your game.

I mentioned above that I don’t love the solo mode, but I keep playing it. I think this is a testament to my enjoyment of the game. Even when I don’t have the player count for a full game, I’m still happy to play the solo game for most of the same reasons I enjoy the general experience.

I really enjoy the brain exercise and the process in this one. It packs a punch without a ton of overhead. I can break it out and have a game going in a couple minutes. When I’m done (likely in 20-40 minutes) I feel like I played something that challenged me, provided some nice choices, led to some serious satisfaction and didn’t overstay its welcome. I feel this is a rare space in board gaming. Again, something that younger gamers can easily grasp and enjoy, but serious games can truly mine the depths of this one for all it’s worth. If you enjoy abstract/pattern games, but seek a richer planning experience, give Whispering Woods a look.

Publisher: Synapses Games
Player Count: 2-4 Players
Game Length: 45 Minutes
Complexity 1.75/5

As architects under Pharaoh Mido, you’re tasked with designing the most impressive pyramid to serve as the eternal resting place for the pharaoh. Prove your worth and earn the title of Vizier and all its power and benefits.

In this family-friendly, open drafting and tile-laying game, players will score points based on the position of certain domino-style tiles. As the pyramids rise, the opportunity to score in unique ways increases. Careful planning, staunch defense and a little luck will be necessary to outshine your opponents and earn the pharaoh’s favor.

ON YOUR TURN

Pyramido takes place over 4 rounds with each round representing a new layer built on your great pyramid project.

The game plays quickly and is centered around drafting domino-style tiles. Each tile features a combination of 2 colors and an assortment of icons specific to that color.

On your turn you draft 1 of 3 available tiles and place it onto your pyramid grid. Players will attempt to connect as many like-colored tiles. Jewel markers placed on color sections will score points based on the number of icons present across that color block (adjacently connected same-color tiles). Players each have 1 jewel marker for each color and HAVE to play 1 when placing a new color tile. Tile icons vary in number on each tile so you’ll obviously want to group as many higher-scoring tiles together as possible.

As the rounds continue, players will be able to use the edge of previous pyramid tile layers to contribute to future round points. In the end, you may score points thanks to a certain color stair-stepping down the entire side of your pyramid.

This might sound simple and fairly casual, but Pyramido is more of a dog fight than you’d expect. After playing 1 of the 3 available tiles, the active player then chooses a new tile from 1 of 2 adjacent, face-up tile stacks. This new tile will help refresh the available tiles for the next player. Everyone’s pyramid is on display, so choosing a tile to limit scoring opportunities for your opponents is half the battle.

Players also have access to a limited number of resurfacing tiles that can change the color and value of any tile at any time. It’s easy to waste these precious resources, so choosing the right moment to use them is critical.

Each round players total up their points. The player with the most points after completing their pyramid is the winner.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

The majority of Pyramido’s artwork sits on the packaging. Tiles are relatively simple, but the icons are well done. The colors feel nice, but this is a game that could provide a few problems for color blind players.

Component-wise, the tiles are plenty thick and the jewel markers each feature wooden, 3-D Egyptian symbols that add a nice flare to the game.

The rulebook is clear and easy to read and understand. You shouldn’t have any problem jumping directly into Pyramido.

PROS & CONS

 Light, friendly game that plays quickly and is great for families

 Fun, simple choices keep you engaged

 Easy to teach and pick-up

 There is a nice level of strategy that challenges your planning and defensive skills

 Both building your pyramid and connecting and scoring multiple layers are each satisfying processes

 Well produced game with quality components and artwork

 Despite being a fun experience that will be different from game to game, I’m not sold on its long-term replayability. This seems like a game where you could build a strategy to maximize your opportunities thus eliminating any new avenues to victory.

 Randomness of the tiles can either be exciting or frustrating if the color tile you’re looking for either never arrives or is held hostage by opponents.

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

There are some similarities to games like Kingdomino. Fans of relatively simple, straightforward tile-laying games are going to find the most enjoyment here. Pyramido is great for families with kids of all ages.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE GAME?

Despite its simple mechanics, Pyramido presents some interesting strategic choices. While seeing your finished pyramid might be the most satisfying, executing a multi-tiered scoring plan definitely elevates the game.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There are certainly some strategic practices in Pyramido that can only be learned with repeat plays. I’d hate to spoil anything here, but I found my score rising dramatically over the course of my first 3 games. Afterwards, I turned my attention to a more aggressive defensive approach, often sacrificing my own scoring opportunities to keep my opponents at bay.

For a simple, family-weight game, there are some nice, strategic choices available here. Planning and speculation are going to be necessary to put yourself in the best position to align your scoring tiles, but the defensive gamesmanship is where swords begin to cross. While it’s absolutely unnecessary to think this deeply about the game to enjoy it, there is an opportunity to even bluff and outfox your opponent just based on the tiles you make available after your turn. A bit of a “game within a game” that reveals itself with repeat plays with the same group of players.

The majority of players are going to enjoy Pyramido because it’s easy to learn, great for families and you get to build a pyramid… There is nothing wrong with that. My kids had a blast going through the actions and playing with the jewel tokens. More aggressive gamers are going to enjoy the ability to outfox their opponent and bring their personal planning and strategy to life.

I’ve really enjoyed the game so far, but I do think there is a small potential for it to wear out its welcome. As I stated above, I worry that optimizing your approach—despite the built-in tile variability—will limit your creativity and make the game very “same-y” over time. I’ll attempt to update my thoughts after 10 or 15 plays, but it’s true we currently love games that are giving us less in return.

With its easy accessibility, quick turns, fun theme and mass appeal, Pyramido is a game that provides a nice challenge that works well as a gateway game for families and casual gamers. Its surprising strategic depth makes it one that will keep the interest of both gamers and non-gamers alike. I have no problem recommending Pyramido for the right crowd.

Publisher: Stonemaier Games and Bezier Games
Player Count: 2-7 Players
Dedicated Solo mode: No
Game Length: 45-60 Minutes
Complexity 2.25/5

What the king wants.. the king gets! As a master builder it’s up to you to provide the Mad King Ludwig with a castle that suits his greatness. But you won’t be working alone. A castle of this magnitude will require two master builders, each working diligently to produce the most monumental monument to the king.

Between Two Castle of Mad King Ludwig is the product of a mash-up between two of the industry’s biggest publishers: Stonemaier Games and Bezier Games. Previously, Stonemier had produced Between Two Cities and Bezier did Castles of Mad King Ludwig, so it made sense to the powers that be to mix the two together and see what happens.

This is a tile drafting game where players are not building just one castle, but two, cooperating with your opponents to the left and right of you at the table. Each tile represents a room in the castle and features their own unique scoring opportunities where placement, and type matter. Bonuses can be earned, but balance is key in this unique setup. Let’s find out if you’re up for the task of the Mad King himself.

ON YOUR TURN

Each player begins the game with a stack of tiles and castle throne room sitting between them and their neighbor. Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig introduces a unique concept I really haven’t seen anywhere else. You’ll be cooperatively working with the opponent on your left and the opponent on your right to build the castle between the two of you.

The game takes place over two rounds, with each round made up of 4 turns. Each turn is played simultaneously where you draft two tiles from your stack, pass the stack onto the next player and play a single tile on each of your castles. Your opponents will do the same adding a total of two tiles to each castle each turn.

Each tile represents a type of room available to be built in the castle. You’ll have the opportunity to build bedrooms, eating areas, gardens and dungeons to name a few. Each tile also features unique symbols and a unique scoring ability that will either depend on the placement in the castle or how it relates to other types of rooms throughout (example: earn 2 points for each utility room in your castle). Tiles will dictate whether they can be played above ground or below. Bonuses can be earned by playing 3 of a kind in your castle which can create expanded scoring opportunities and even a combo or two.

Once the second round has been completed, players score each castle and the lower value of the two you worked on is your final score. The player with the highest score is the ultimate master builder and everyone else ends up in shackles, in one the newly crafted dungeons.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

The artwork here is fairly well done as a whole, but the tiles are pretty small and definitely take away from the impact the art could have had overall on the game. In fact, all my complaints stem from the small size of the tiles. The icons and symbols throughout are really hard to read. This can really be a problem if your play area isn’t ideal, giving you easy access to both of your adjacent castle-building projects.

The tile storage solution is really solid and makes setup and tear down super easy—I love the thought and consideration that went into this.

The rulebook does a good job communicating each tile’s actions. There were only a couple times I had questions about a tile’s scoring requirement, but they are all pretty intuitive and easy to figure out.

PROS & CONS

 Simple gameplay is easy to teach and pick up for new players

 Great storage solution make for an easy setup

 Fun theme and unique gameplay

 Good for both families and gamers

 Effectively managing two castles can be a bit much

 While the scoring is cool in itself, it is a pain to compile at the end of the game

 Gameplay feels a bit dated and dry

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

This is a tile-laying game with a strong puzzle-y element. Players who enjoy abstract games with a stronger theme are going to get the most out of this one.

BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing about this game is the unique, cooperative gameplay. While there is only a single winner, players must work with their neighbors to build the most point-tastic scoring castle.

FINAL THOUGHTS

On the surface, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a fairly simple game. During your turn, you draft two tiles and place those tiles. You continue this over 8 turns and that’s it.

The theme does a good job of selling a bigger idea with more backstory that draws you into this world. The tiles have a lot of personality and setup is a breeze, so there is a lot to like from the get-go. I haven’t had the opportunity to play either of the predecessors to Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, so I’m coming in without any expectations or preconceptions.

The semi-cooperative nature of the game really stood out. I love the idea of working with another player in our own little mini game. While I’m sure there are a few, off the top of my head, I can’t think of another game that works quite like this one does.

I’m also a huge fan of open drafting. I love the pick and pass concept especially in games where the hand or tile stack will come back around. That’s likely not the case here since you’re typically playing 3 or more players and the most you’ll see your original hand again is once. In this case, you’re hoping to leave your neighbor with tiles that will benefit and even compliment  your mutual castle. There aren’t any rules to communicating this, but we typically refrained from making suggestions to our neighbor just to keep things civil.

Each tile features some unique scoring path you’ll need to meet to earn points. This might mean how you align tiles within your castle such as placing them next to a certain tile type or surrounding it with another or how many of a certain type live in your castle at the end of the game. This may have been unique when it was first released, but feels a little standard and dated at this point (5 years later). I’m ok with this concept for a single castle, but it feels a little more chaotic than it should when you’re trying to manage two separate castles. As your castle’s grow there is more to keep track of and it becomes a little much for me. When you collect three tiles of the same type, you’re able to earn a bonus. This is a nice addition to the game, but I likely missed out on a few of these because it’s difficult to keep up with all the tiles you and your partner have played.

My biggest struggle is the size of the icons on each tile. It’s critical to be able to easily identify these for strategy and scoring direction, but the icons are so small it’s often hard to make them out sitting between the two structures. There is a lot the developers wanted to include on each tile (artwork & icons) while facing the limitation of keeping them at a decent size. I understand the challenge, but that doesn’t make the players actions any easier. The tiles are a bit of a mess from a functionality standpoint and that definitely affected my enjoyment of the game.

In the end, I really appreciate what Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig is trying to do. It has that nice polish you get from a Stonemier or Bezier game, but it struggles a bit due to some unfriendly concepts. The scoring at the end, while satisfying to an extent, is so tedious that it really deflates any momentum and good will built up over the course of the game. I LOVE the easy setup and clean up and that may be the game’s saving grace. It’s also highly accessible, being easy to teach and could be a lot of fun for gateway gamers looking for a “think-y challenge”. For me, it ends up feeling a little dated and creates speed bumps that bog down the flow and my enjoyment of the game. It’s a game that I wouldn’t be opposed to pulling off the shelf, but I’ll likely recommend two or three others that fill the same void, but do it just a little bit better.

Kingdomino Origins
Designed by Bruno Cathala
Art by Cyril Bouquet
Published by Blue Orange Games
2-4 Players  |  15 Minutes

In the latest installment of the highly successful Kingdomino series, Blue Orange Games and Bruno Cathala are taking us back to our roots… our caveman ancestor roots. Take charge of a tribe and seek to expand your hunting territory. Introduce fire to the land by harvesting lava from nearby volcanoes, gather natural resources and recruit a caveman crew all by simply placing cardboard domino tiles!

Kingdomino Origins features 3 distinct game modes that provide varying game time and difficulty levels. In a typical game you’ll take turns drafting terrain dominos into your territory, connecting them to similar tiles and scoring points based on their proximity to fire tokens. The game doesn’t have the word “domino” in the title for no reason at all. Kingdomino takes the game of dominos and puts a light hearted spin on the traditional connecting of tiles. Kingdomino has a reputation for a simple rule set and high accessibility that have charmed millions of gamers, but can Origins deliver a fresh experience that earns a place on your shelf? Let’s take a look.

While we could compare or contrast this latest installment to previous versions, I’m going to approach this review attempting to benefit someone completely new to the Kingdomino series.