Publisher: Seajay Games
Player Count: 3-5 Players
Game Length: 120 Minutes
Kickstarter: September 30-October 30

Click here to see the Kickstarter campaign

Era of Atlantis is a worker placement and area-control board game by Seajay Games set in a distant mythical-scifi past.

The unique twist about this game is that you control two nations at the same time and share each one with another player! The lesser valued one at game end determines your score.

You are playing a secret society seeking to expand the two powerful nations you control during the mythical antediluvian age, 12000 years ago. This includes legendary civilizations such as Atlantis, Lemuria and Hyperborea.

Cooperate and compete with your rivals to become the most successful one before the Era of Atlantis ends either in glory or in cataclysm!

In Era of Atlantis, you are a secret society seeking to expand the powerful nations you control during the mythical antediluvian age, 12000 years ago. You have two of these under your control and share each one with a rival. You also have a secondary goal trying to bring “light” or “darkness” to the world. Working with and against your rivals you must prove to be the most powerful secret society in the world before the Era of Atlantis ends either in glory or in cataclysm.

This is an area-control and worker placement game with a unique twist. You control two nations with the lower-valued one counting for your score at game end. This means you will usually try to balance the two. You also share control of each one with another player, who has the same interest in the success of that nation as you do. Switching control of a nation is also possible, but difficult.

There are ways to score a few additional points for yourself only, such as with your remaining mystical energy or by fulfilling secret objectives.

The game is played over a variable number of rounds, with each player taking a turn per round. There are two main ways to gain new areas for your nation: militarily or politically. You can also expand your abilities by constructing buildings or acquiring powerful special actions. A nation will grow more successfully the better its two controlling players can cooperate.

Era of Atlantis is the successor game to Galactic Era and plays in the same universe (chronologically the prelude). There is also a campaign game mode where you can play both games together.

Publisher: Tettix Games
Player Count: 2-6 Players
Game Length: 15-30 Minutes
Complexity 1.75/5

Competitors gather yearly at a secret location unbeknownst to the common man to participate in the Global Abomination Association’s monstrosity creation contest. Why do they do this? It’s simply: to create the most hideous abomination the world has ever seen! Muuuhahahaha!

Hideous Abomination is a fast-paced, family-friendly, tile-laying and set collection game full of bizarre creatures, underhanded interaction and Frankenstinian achievements and awards.

I had the opportunity to review the game’s first edition a couple of years ago and I was truly curious to see what upgrades, changes and enhancements have been made. You’re welcome to read my original review HERE, but I’ll cover all aspects below for players new to the game as well as those looking to see if this new edition demands a place in your collection.

ON YOUR TURN

I was originally drawn to Judson Cowan’s Hideous Abomination thanks to the silly theme and strange artwork. Cowan’s providing double duty here serving as both the design and illustrator. The game features a monstrous 190 card deck featuring tons of different illustrated monster styles broken down into heads, hands, tails and various other limbs and structures. While this might seem disgusting… it is, but in a cartoony, humorous and family-friendly sort of way.

Light on rules, Hideous Abomination provides easy access to a game that can be introduced in less time than it takes to read this entire review.

In Hideous Abomination, you’re constructing your own unique creature out of spare monster parts and earning end game awards for a variety of things such as having the most attached eyeballs or fingers.

On your turn you roll the monster dice and do 1 of a series of actions ultimately ending with the opportunity to add a spare part tile card to your creature (or possibly an opponent’s).

The primary die roll actions mainly revolve around gaining new monster parts. This can be accomplished by drawing from a community pool or from the tile deck.

Additionally, you might roll the opportunity to dig through the discarded tile deck or steal a part from an opponent. There are limitations on what you can and can’t steal, but this can definitely cause trouble for your opponents. The final die action is to draw an award card.

Award cards introduce new end-game scoring objectives throughout the game. Each game starts with 3 grand prize scoring objectives, but it’s not crazy to have 7, 8 or 9 new awards to pursue before the end of the game. These awards are awarded to the player with the most of something. The most hands, heads or ears for example.

Stolen body parts can lead to embarrassing holes in your creation that you’ll want to repair. Having a part stolen earns you bolts to help anchor down other parts to keep them from being swiped later on.

The game ends when the first player has closed off all open part tiles protruding from their monster. Now, these tiles can be played on your monster, but it might be more fun to play them on an opponent’s to mess with their hideous plans. Either way, once a creature is complete, players add up awards and any additional points and a grotesque champion is crowned.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE 2ND EDITION?

For the most part, Hideous Abomination looks very similar to the 1st edition. A new monster die has been added, but the main changes have to do with the game’s actions.

The biggest game changer is how end-game awards are revealed. Previously, you randomly chose a number of awards to go along with the standard grand prize awards. Here new awards are revealed throughout the game challenging you to pivot and adjust your plans. I think this makes the steal action a bit more relevant here than in the previous edition. Quick upgrades might be necessary to earn those last few award points and this may mean stealing from an opponent. While this might seem mean, we’re stitching random body parts together to form an abomination… so checking your moral compass at the door is sorta mandatory. Overall, this new addition forces you to be aware of your opponents progress and results in more player interaction.

The stealing action now provides bolts to the victim to minimize future thievery. This is a nice change to the eyeball and piles of bolts used previously. While it stinks to lose a critical monster part, the bolts are a fine consolation providing security and peace-of-mind towards other valued parts.

The potential for an increased number of end-game awards also increases the time spent on end-game scoring. This was a small issue in the previous version and can possibly expand here. While this can be annoying, it certainly isn’t a deal breaker and, in some cases, provided nice suspense when determining a winner. There are simplified rules that ignore awards and give victory to the first player to complete their abomination as well as an even more simplified version where you just draw tile cards blindly from the deck.

Lastly, the box has been reshaped from the previous cube to a flatter, more traditional shape. I do kinda miss the previous cube – it was certainly unique, but I can see the new shape finding a more comfortable place on your gaming shelf.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

The silly and strange monsters created by designer and illustrator Judson Cowan are the heart and soul of the game. There are 190 different illustrated monster parts and they all carry unique personalities. Stitching these random parts together to form your own abomination is a visual delight for both young and old.

Component-wise, there isn’t a whole lot in the game besides the creature and award decks. The cardboard bolts do a fine job anchoring down your tiles and the cards aren’t too thin. The monster die is a uniquely crafted die that rolls a bit funny, but adds to the aura of the game.

The rulebook is a breeze to read and digest guaranteeing quick on-boarding to your first play.

PROS & CONS

 This is a quick game that appeals to both gamers and families with kiddos

 Easy rules and an easy to read rulebook make learning a breeze

 The creative monsters provide a lot of personality

 The number of different monster cards along with the numerous end-game awards encourage lots of replay-ability.

 Plenty of opportunity for a bit of “take that” player interaction

 Seeing your completed abomination is equally hilarious and satisfying

 Small box game fits on any shelf

 End-game scoring can take a minute

 Stealing monster parts from your opponent could be upsetting for younger gamers

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

Players looking for a simple game with endless replay-ability and an incredibly fun theme are going to find the most enjoyment here. Hideous Abomination is great for families and kiddos.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing about the game is seeing your completed hideous abomination. Every monster is going to be unique making it fully your own—pursue your own monstrous style. The wonderfully silly artwork brings every monster to life—telling its own story.

FINAL THOUGHTS

On the surface, Hideous Abomination is a simple tile-laying, set collection game. It’s easy to teach, quick to play and works for gamers of all ages. What elevates Hideous is the wonderfully creative, whimsical and engaging monster illustrations. Suddenly I’m motivated to see what kind of strange creature I can build this time around. Scoring based on the number of fingers my monster has? How many tails I’m able to attach? Pure genius!

The added interaction is just enough to keep everyone on their toes between short winded turns while the finished product is truly satisfying whether you win or lose. The dice rolling element adds variation to the turns, but never really creates a true, luck-based advantage.

The 2nd Edition does a good job upping the interaction as well as providing added surprises throughout the game by randomly revealing end-game scoring awards. I wouldn’t say it’s 100% necessary to upgrade from the first editions, but it does tighten things up and creates a more enjoyable experience overall.

My 7-year-old daughter LOVES Hideous Abomination. With a library of hundreds of games at her disposal, she regularly drags Hideous Abomination to the table. Sometimes it’s to engage in a battle… Other times it’s just to sort through the tiles to find the right combination of monster parts. So I’m probably biased for that reason alone, but Hideous Abomination is a delightful game for our family that’s full of fun and delicious monster surprises. I whole-heartedly recommend this one!

Publisher: Greenest Games
Player Count: 1-4 Players
Game Length: 40-80 Minutes
Complexity 2.25/5

Set in a futuristic world of bizarre characters, cyborgs and robots, criminals are still going to seek to bring trouble to the common people. Hijacking a plane is their latest pursuit of anarchy, but the police were able to surround the plane and keep it on the runway. Now it’s your turn. As a hostage negotiator, it’s your job to seek the release of the hostages and even challenge these criminals to surrender before the swat team goes in guns blazing.

In this semi-cooperative, dice placement and set collection game you’ll be using your limited turns to gather resources, gain passenger cards and engage the hijackers as you seek the most points through a variety of different means. Are you going to work together with your fellow hostage negotiators to gain more time or are you going to move fast and save who you can before it’s too late? Check out the review below to find out if Hijacked brings is the right pressure cooker for your board game table.

ON YOUR TURN

With only a limited number of turns available until the police breach the plane, you’ll need to use your dice efficiently to save hostages, break down the hijackers and most importantly, score the most points.

Armed with only 2 dice per turn, players will roll them and place them to activate a variety of locations around the board to build their winning approach.

Resources such as crypto, medicine, intel and food can be gathered and used to meet passenger needs or bribe hijackers.

While I understand the reasoning behind the actions, I wouldn’t necessarily call the game very thematic from a mechanical approach. Visiting the passenger card section requires you to play a certain value to reveal the passenger card and the passengers adjacent. This represents connecting with that passenger and the nearby passengers. You can then gain that passenger card if you can pay a necessary resource and if your trust level is high enough (more on that in a minute). If you choose not to grab the passenger, you can discard them for a single point. Afterwards you can take an additional action which might be reserving one of the newly revealed adjacent cards by placing a dice on the card and hoping your opponents don’t roll a higher number.

You might choose to build trust with the passengers. This mini game is community driven since all players can contribute. Taking this action allows you to play a push-your-luck cube drawing game where you hope to pull the right color out of a bag. You can choose to stop, but winners go big… or fail hard. Drawing green cubes builds up your trust allowing you access to more passengers while drawing red cubes can even end up costing you points.

I mentioned this is a semi-cooperative game. Aside from the trust section, players can also delay the police by working to match one another’s point total at the exact same moment. This is a tricky task, but if achieved, everyone receives a rewards and the police are pushed back giving everyone an extra turn. The bigger challenge isn’t getting everyone on the same page to pursue this, it’s actually getting everyone on the exact same point total which can often feel a little out of reach.

Aside from gathering an extra dice for a future turn (if it’s available), players can reserve their very own hijacker and talk them down over a series of turns. Each hijacker provides a unique set scoring objective, so when persuaded to leave the plane, that player has access to those end game scoring points.

There are some corporate objectives available, but the primary scoring objectives come from gathering sets of passengers to earn passenger and pilot tokens. When a player has been able to negotiate the release of 3 passengers and 1 pilot, the end game is triggered. That is unless the police have breached the plane prior ending the game immediately.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

Artwork from Macedonian illustrator Mihajlo Dimitrievski (The Mico), while not his best, brings a lot of personality and flavor to the game. Each passenger card features a uniquely illustrated character. The hijackers look pretty hardcore and give the game an edge. The fully-illustrated board falls a little flat for me. The composition seems half-baked and could have been presented in.a more dynamic way.

Components are pretty standard with an assortment of wooden tokens, meeples, playing cards and dice.

The rulebook can get you through the game, but it is a little confusing and often feels a little backwards. Be sure to read through it in it’s entirety before attempting to grasp any concepts.

PROS & CONS

 I love the unique theme… it immediately drew me to the game

 The artwork is solid and has a lot of personality

 The semi-cooperative nature, while minimal, does provide some thematic interaction presented a unique way.

 Once you get a good grasp of the rules, turns move by quickly without much downtime

 Actions feel disjointed from the theme. While the designer did their best to bridge the gap, I never really felt like I was saving passengers or negotiating with terrorists.

 Even though I appreciate the semi-cooperative element, it ultimately falls flat. Over the course of multiple games it was nearly impossible to bring all the players together at the same time to trigger the co-op bonus.

 My biggest con is that I often felt like there weren’t any actions available worth taking. Yeah, I could grab another resources or discard a passenger card for a point, but it often felt very programmed. I wanted more demanding and beneficial choices.

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

If you dig the theme and you’re looking for a brisk euro that isn’t going to press you too hard, Hijacked might be in your lane. The unique theme and solid artwork will certainly stir up some interest as well.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The idea behind the game is very intriguing. This is a theme that is waiting for the right game. Hostage Negotiator from Van Ryder Games is the only other hostage negotiation game that I can think of and it didn’t quite hit it out of the park.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I went in really wanting to love Hijacked. After a couple stumbles with the rules, we were able to get on track and experience the game as it was intended. Visually, the game is solid, and that along with the engaging theme, sets an intriguing stage.

Overall, the game plays at a nice, brisk pace and different objectives (saving passengers and pilots, building leverage and convincing the terrorists to give up their life of crime) seem motivating. It was the lack of consistently engaging choices that left me a bit empty.

The variable setup is intended to provide new game experiences, but when you’re just rolling dice, it doesn’t necessarily matter. With limited choices and only 2 die per turn, I often felt I didn’t have anything to do. This is unfortunate, because the looming S.W.A.T. breach that ends the game doesn’t give you a lot of time to waste. This led to players often passing on the passenger set collection challenge and just dumping cards for a minimal score… While I guess something is better than nothing, it was incredibly disappointing settling for a minimal score.

Resource management is loose and you’re at the mercy of the passenger deck to help you match up the right cards with the right resources. I honestly just wasn’t that interested in freeing passengers mainly because building card sets doesn’t feel like freeing passengers. The same could apply to talking down the terrorists. It all felt overly simplified and disconnected.

The game ends quickly enough and even if you achieve the end-game triggering objectives, it leaves you a bit unsatisfied. I feel like there might be something cool going on, but the game really needs to be tightened up. Perhaps it would benefit from some additional play tests. Unfortunately, Hijacked just didn’t engage me like I was hoping it would and while it might be good for a couple plays, it’s not something I can recommend.

Publisher: Dirty Rascal Games
Player Count: 2-4 Players
Solo mode: No
Game Length: 90 Minutes
Complexity 2.25/5

The natural instinct to gather and store food for winter is as old as time… But times have changed and these woodland creatures are more sophisticated today. They’re not just looking to survive, but to thrive. The critters in these woods are looking to use the fruits of their gathering labors to complete delicious recipes to keep them satisfied all winter long. Taking on the role of 1 of 6 unique forest critters, you’ll use your special abilities to gather the most food, fulfill the best recipes, and of course, score the most points in this worker placement, deck-building adventure.

Visit the Survival of the Fattest Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dirtyrascalgames/survival-of-the-fattest

I had the opportunity to play a prototype of Survival of the Fattest and the thing that immediately stood out was the fantastic artwork. We affectionately referred to the game as Everdell Junior since artist (and designer) Lee Smith’s work here is on par with that other popular nature/animal-themed, worker placement game. While all crowd-funded games are a bit of a work in progress, this felt pretty polished.

The mechanics are relatively simple. It’s a deck-builder and worker placement game with limited opportunities. With only 12 turns in the entire game, it was clear that making each turn count was essential. There is also an additional bit of card drafting and tableau building thrown in to keep things interesting. Let’s briefly look at how the game plays in a little more detail and finish it up with my personal thoughts:

ON YOUR TURN

Each player’s woodland creature comes equipped with an asymmetrical deck of cards and their own unique animal ability.

After drawing a hand of cards, players have the opportunity to visit 1 of 6 different places throughout the forest. You might visit the market where you can complete or grab recipes to reserve. The trading post lets you blindly grab a food card or trade one of yours in for something more desirable. If you have plenty of food on hand you might want to tuck it away by visiting your private stash. The final 3 spots allow you to forage for food. The kicker is players aren’t allowed to visit the same spot twice in a row and you always feel the need to be in multiple locations at once.

Along with their own unique ability, each animal’s deck comes with 3 unique trick cards. These trick cards allow you to perform a special action prior to choosing a spot that turn. These “tricks” may gain you additional food or even limit your opponents that turn. Paired with your players ability, these trick cards can potentially provide strategic direction and unique game experiences.

Much of the game’s interaction comes from the 3 separate foraging spots in the forest. As with any location on the board, multiple players can be at the same spot at the same time. When visiting a foraging location, players commit a certain number of foraging cards (played from their current hand). Food cards from that location equal to the number of foraging cards will be revealed at the end of the round. If multiple players are in attendance, food cards equal to all players’ contributed foraging cards will be revealed and the player with the most cards will be first in a food card draft. The draft will continue until all food cards are selected. Along with a variety of food, you’ll have to watch out for traps that appear that can bog down your deck and lead to negative points.

The game takes place over 3 seasons, with 4 turns each season. After a season is completed, players have the opportunity to fulfill reserved recipes. Each recipe requires a different set and number of ingredients. Each player only has a limited number of reserve spots so they must be efficient in fulfilling their recipes. Additionally, players have the opportunity to fulfill a recipe while visiting the market—baring they have the necessary ingredients in hand. Fulfilling a recipe directly from the market allows you to activate the recipe’s bonus action earning you one-time or ongoing benefits. These are a great way to maximize your turns.

At the end of the game players add up points earned through their fulfilled recipes. The player with the most points is the winner.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

As I mentioned before, Lee Smith is obviously a talented artist. The illustration work is very strong and commercially appealing. While there is a natural link to the work of Andrew Bosley in Everdell, the artwork here definitely has its own style and spin. Artwork on the cards really draws you into this woodland world and the food cards are good enough to eat.

We received animal minis as well as cardboard figures to use in the game. The miniatures are really well done and reflect the artwork nicely. I look forward to seeing the final version.

The only place I didn’t feel the same quality was on portions of the game board. Not that it doesn’t look great—it’s just not as great as some of the card art.

PROS & CONS

The artwork is fantastic.

The character mini’s look incredibly promising and add a lot of fun.

Great rulebook… super easy to understand and teach.

I enjoyed the dual action recipe cards that provide a special bonus when purchased directly from the market. Taking advantage of this creates some fun combos and really multiplies your opportunities.

The foraging drafts create some fun interactive moments in the game.

The asymmetrical player abilities are pretty strong. Each one really forces you to adjust and play to those strengths. They really do produce some unique gameplay experiences.

The game plays a little differently at each player count and 2 players didn’t really work for me. I believe this can be fixed with some minor rule tweaks.

While I really enjoyed the asymmetrical player abilities, I still didn’t feel like they were all equally balanced. Some were definitely stronger and some played much better at different player counts.

I know this sometimes resolves with additional plays, but I still felt the game ran a little long. Upkeep during the reset phases and some card actions definitely contributed to this.

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

If you’re looking for something similar to Everdell with a new spin—this is definitely for you. The characters and the forest world they live in are a lot of fun. The actions are simple and straightforward, but the choices can be challenging.

BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing about the game is how the board tightens up and decisions become more critical as the game progresses. This really took me by surprise my first game since I expected something loose and a little more kid friendly. Food resources become scarce and the best recipes go fast. I really enjoyed how the game ramps up.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

Survival of the Fattest shouldn’t have any trouble reaching its funding goal. The artwork is enchanting and will appeal to a large audience. The gameplay is simple and familiar and should play well to families with budding gamers. For me, this feels like a slightly more mature strategy game trapped in a kid’s body. Despite the kid-friendly art, The amount of card text and some of the game’s decisions will be a little too complex for a young audience. I was actually surprised at some of the challenging decisions later on in the game where options were scarce and each turn means more. I’d probably recommend this for kids 10+ who have a decent exposure to hobby-style board games.

The game says 2-4 players, but I wouldn’t recommend it at 2. At 2 the board feels too loose and I’d really like to see some rule modifications to keep things more challenging. Turns, interaction and decisions were all more satisfying when we went from 2 to even 3 players.

I was pleasantly surprised by how strongly different each character is in the game. As I played through the characters I noticed I had to really adjust my play to maximize my animal’s special abilities and trick cards. While all the actions are the same, I found each character really commanded their own strategy and forced you into their world to be successful.

I had a few minor issues here and there, but overall this is a good game for families with older children (or kid’s at heart in general). The artwork is brilliant and will easily draw the kids in while the gameplay and surprising challenging decisions will keep adults satisfied. The different characters will keep the game fresh while the simple rule set provides an accessible experience. There is certainly plenty of replay ability with the unique characters.

Survival of Fattest looks and sounds like a fun, family game… and it is. I think the special, hidden bonus is there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. The gameplay and strategy isn’t overwhelming, but it certainly adds to what is really a well-rounded game. I look forward to seeing this in its final form.

Glorious Wrestling Alliance: Ultrabrawl
Publisher: Tinkerbot Games
Player Count: 2-4 Players
Solo mode: No
Game Length: 15–30 Minutes
Complexity 2/5

Originally published as an Indie comic from writer and artist John Hicks, the Glorious Wrestling Alliance has built a cult following for its silly, yet engaging portrayal of the world of professional wrestling. With a roster featuring normal wrestlers like Miranda Fury and Death Machine to the downright strange in Great Carp (who has a carp for a head) and Gravy Train (who really shines during turkey dinners), the story centers around the ups and downs of this WWE-inspired world.

Glorious Wrestling Alliance: Ultrabrawl is a card game of hand management and dice rolling where players jump in the ring to compete for the crown as one of GWA’s notorious wrestlers. Over a series of grueling rounds, players will seek to wear down their opponent by stringing together a series of wrestling moves. Play one-on-one or a 4-player tag team match. Careful timing and a bit of luck will both be key to putting yourself in a position to finish off your opponent and go for the pin!

ON YOUR TURN

A match begins by selecting one of the game’s 6 wrestlers. Each wrestler not only comes with their own unique wrestling ability, they couldn’t be more different if they tried. Miranda Fury gives off a slight Captain Marvel vibe. Death Machine likely parked his Harley outside the arena and features a face only a mother could love (equipped with the word “KILL” tattooed across his forehead). Then you’ve got the real crazy ones like Mask De Chicken who has a human body paired with a menacing chicken head and Gravy Train whose upper torso is a giant bowl of literal gravy.

Players draw a hand of 6 wrestling move cards and prepare to face-off. During a turn, you can build a wrestling combo from your hand of up to 3 wrestling moves. In order to pull them off, each move must be chained to the next card through a system of matching colors. These colors always correlate with symbols for color blind players.

Each card features its own unique move and instructions on how to pull it off. Many also provide an opportunity for your opponent to respond by seeking a reversal or denying the move altogether. Successful moves inflict damage on your opponent and begin to wear them down. Many cards will provide a certain number of dice for an opponent’s defense and success or failure depends on their ability to roll a number higher than their current damage rating.

The play arena features 2 community cards wrestlers can tie into their combo when the mood hits. The first is the ability to taunt your opponent—it wouldn’t be much of a pro wrestling match without that. Players who taunt receive momentum tokens. These momentum tokens can be spent to activate certain move cards or their own special ability. The second option is to move in for the pin. This requires you to have worn down your opponent with some serious damage, but still allows them to potentially kick out and stay alive for the time being.

Play goes back and forth until someone successfully produces a pin or submission.

TAG TEAM MATCH

Participating in a 4-player tag team is similar to a standard match, but limits the number of turns a wrestler can be active before wearing out. Pins and submissions play out similarly, but the tag team match introduces “Break Up” cards that allow your tag partner to jump in if you’re facing a pin.

UNSANCTIONED MATCHES

GWA: Ultrabrawl also features a number of match types that go well beyond your typical wrestling match. Compete is 3 or 4-player free for all where only one wrestler leaves victorious. Introduce a little culture with Death Machine’s Poetry Rules Match where players must perform a haiku before you can pin or submit your opponent. The Insurance-Voiding Deathmatch allows players to bring the thunder by grabbing a weapon during the match and taking it to your opponent.

ARTWORK

Fans of the comic book are going to appreciate the comfortable, cartoony style of creator Josh Hicks. It’s not flashy, but it feels right. The iconography, design and type are all clear and easy to follow.

PROS & CONS

GWA really embraces the pro-wrestling theme

I enjoyed the process of wearing down your opponent and choosing when to try more challenging moves

I feel there is a good balance between luck and strategy

GWA is quick to learn, teach, play and it’s portable

The GWA world is charming, silly and fun

 Anytime you’re drawing cards you’re prone to luck and this can lead to a few flat turns

 While the wrestlers asymmetrical powers set them apart, there were quite a few games where I never used them at all

 Anyone foreign to GWA or wrestling in general probably won’t enjoy it as much

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THE GAME?

Pro-wrestling fans are going to get the most out of this one. The flow of the game feels like a wrestling match from wearing down your opponent to choosing when to execute the right move at the right time. The actual moves range from standard wrestling actions to the bizarre and crazy you’d expect from a pro-wrestling battle.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing is the system of wearing down your opponent. As you successfully execute attacks on your opponent, they receive “damage” cards making it more and more challenging to defend and counter. This plays a big role in the combos you try to execute and when you should go in for the kill.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Going in, I had no previous knowledge of the world of GWA and I was a little concerned I’d be outside the intended audience. This is the case with a lot of IPs where you’re missing the joke, failing to really appreciate the characters or you just down right don’t get it. Researching GWA helped give me more appreciation for Josh Hicks and his comic book wrestlers, but at the end of the day, an understanding of the characters isn’t critical to enjoying it.

GWA isn’t just a card game for fans of the comic, it’s for fans of wrestling in general. Be it WWE, AEW, WCW or ROH, if you like wrestling you’re going to at least appreciate what Ultrabrawl brings to the table.

I was most impressed with how the game walked alongside an actual wrestling match: Two gladiators showboating their skills and their mouths, trading blows one after the other, wearing themselves down and then miraculously digging deep for a mighty comeback while on the brink of defeat. GWA forces you to play the “wrestling game” by wearing down your opponent. Only when the time is right can you risk it all and go for the pin. You can try for the pin early, but you likely haven’t given the audience a proper show and will only end up with an empty move.

The theme is light and the cards are silly and seem to fit really well within the overall production. It’s quick to learn, fast to play and its fairly mobile – meaning you can take this one with you.

Introducing the dice meant that each attempt to attack your opponent may be met with some resistance or fail all together. Of course, there are varying stages of risk and it’s up to you to strike at the right time.

Chaining moves together didn’t seem that challenging until I drew a card I really wanted to play. In these cases you’re often forced to choose between playing a full 3 moves or limiting your charge with 1 or 2 higher powered attacks.

GWA isn’t for everyone. It may be a little too silly for some and it may be a little too simple for others. But, fans looking for a casual wrestling-themed game for 2-4 players are going to appreciate the pro-wresting style moves and the process of wearing down your opponent. It feels like wrestling… pro-wrestling with the taunts and chair throwing. It brings an equal amount of luck and strategy and there are turns where you piece together a promising combo, the dice roll your way and you feel like you accomplished something pretty sweet. This was a pleasant surprise for me and I’m glad I had the opportunity to play it.

Checkout the Kickstarter campaign at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joshhicks/glorious-wrestling-alliance-ultrabrawl

Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Player Count: 1-4 Players
Solo mode: Yes
Game Length: 90-150 Minutes
Complexity 3.25/5

Break out the pirate puns and stretch your sea legs in Dead Reckoning, a pirate adventure of exploration, infamy, cannons and naval warfare!

Dead Reckoning from AEG and acclaimed designer/illustrator duo John D. Clair and Ian O’Tool comes the second printing of this pirate adventure exclusively to Kickstarter.

If you’re here reading this you’ve probably heard of Dead Reckoning, but perhaps you missed the Kickstarter the first time around and you’re trying to determine if you don’t want to miss the boat again.

If you’re still in the dark I’ll briefly breakdown the game’s theme and actions to set the mood to get you up to speed: Given the reigns of a pirate vessel and salty crew, your goal is to discover, pillage and control as much of the local islands as possible… but be on the lookout, you’re not the only pirates in these waters and pirates are typically up to no good.

At its heart, Dead Reckoning is a deck builder with a unique twist. Instead of purchasing new cards or culling weaker ones, players use a card crafting system that upgrades each crew member in individual ways.

As the captain, you’ll use this motley band of shipmates to travel the seas at your discretion. The canvas is yours to paint. Perhaps you’ll focus on educating your crew to become valuable commodities or maybe you’ll focus on upgrading your ships arsenal and go looking for a fight. Maybe you’ll just be content to explore the unknown islands and seek to expand your empire as a peaceful pirate… Peaceful Pirate!? Avast ye matey! There’s only room for raiders and marauders in this pirate adventure!

Any good pirate knows the only true victor has the spoils and the way to win Dead Reckoning is by escaping with the most treasure. Pirates earn gold through a variety of activities such as leveraging local island folk to produce goods and booty. Earn additional coin by having your name written in the island’s ledger or pursue objectives that not only serve as a countdown for the game, but offer additional keys to victory.

Of course we can’t forget Dead Reckoning’s unique combat system where victory and rewards are all up for grabs… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Dead Reckoning offers a fanatic experience with some truly exciting mechanics and components. Here specifically I’m going to focus on the 3 very best aspects of the game and why each should get you excited to grab your own copy of Dead Reckoning.

A UNIQUE CARD CRAFTING SYSTEM

Made popular by the game Mystic Vale, John D. Clair’s card crafting system puts a spin on the traditional deck building game. You’re not simply trying to add more value to your hand through market purchases or new card achievements while simultaneously trying to cull the weaker cards. In Dead Reckoning, you are playing with the same hand of 12 sailor cards the entire game. The card crafting system allows you to upgrade and advance your individual cards in some pretty exciting ways. The card crafting system incorporates transparent cards that can be stacked on one another to create more effective and powerful triggers. Each card character comes with a base ability, but why have a regular crew-mate when you could have a super pirate! There are 2 ways to take advantage of these upgrades.

The first way to upgrade your crew deck is by purchasing upgradable cards available at each island stop. These provide a slew of abilities and they get better the further out to sea you travel. Once purchased, players can slide the upgraded action into one of their available crew cards, increasing that card’s actions and power. Each crew card can only be upgraded 3 times and each upgrade corresponds to 1 of 3 spots. This limitation might seem like a big deal, but the real challenge is pairing the proper upgrade actions with the correct crew card creating a multiple action character that harmonizes with your plans and strategy.

Additionally, each turn, unplayed cards can be leveled up. These level up options increase a particular crew member’s abilities or expands them. Each crew member can be leveled up 4 times. Certain level up’s almost feel essential such as upgrading the bosun so he can add abilities to your ship or the buccaneer so you can more easily shift the control of an island. It’s incredibly tough to choose which crew members are more valuable because they all have such important and essential tasks. By leveling up specific cards you’re basically committing to a strategy and I love the value each level up adds.

I wasn’t sold on this idea going into the game, but literally seeing the value of a card increase creates a huge sense of satisfaction. It may not be realistic or always in your best interest to create a super-pirate, but it’s a lot of fun to try.

MANY PATHS TO PIRATE GLORY

Early on in my plays it was tough to see the implications of my choices. I was doing (in my mind) cool things and whatever happened happened and I was ok with that because I was mesmerized by the games production and mechanics. I understood Dead Reckoning was a 4X game, but I didn’t realize the depth and breadth of the game’s choices.

As I got more plays under my belt, I begin to see the different routes you could take whether it be in upgrading your deck, building your on board engine or seeking specific goals. To be fair, a good player will find ways to merge these pursuits, but I fell in love with the personas you could pursue. Will I attain my fortune by building a ship bent on destruction and creating fear in my opponents? Maybe I’ll work to gain control of islands and solidify that island’s dominance by establishing defense.

This all works on a macro level. If you want to be the terror of the seven seas you may want to upgrade and level up your gunner and captain. Area control advocates will educate their buccaneer and purser. Upgrading and leveling up the crew isn’t the only way to achieve your goals, but it’s a start and one you’ll want to be intentional about.

I’ve talked about your engine, but there are multiple ways to pursue that as well. We’ve already talked about the benefit of card synergy, but you can also build an engine through area control on the board. By creating a network of island’s you control, you can potentially refuel your ship for movement or attack simply by chaining the right islands together. It’s not easy to do, but it’s a lot of fun to pursue.

I often hear “I’ve done everything I can do in a game.” This typically means it’s time to move on to the next board game challenge. I can’t imagine anyone becoming exhausted from Dead Reckoning because they’ve done everything they can do. While this isn’t TI4 or Gloomhaven, there are so many new adventures to pursue, combinations to discover and thrilling battles to be had… replayability is through the roof.

BATTING WITH THE CUBE TOWER

I’ve talked about the engaging card crafting system and the multiple paths to victory. They are both fully realized through careful planning and execution. It’s ironic that the most exciting aspect of the game is a game of chance.

The combat system places opponents at the whim of a cube tower. I’ve never seen a cube tower before and it sounded gimmicky… but let me tell you – It’s AWESOME!

During a battle, opposing pirates will count the number of available cannons they have that turn and gather an equal number of cubes from their supply. Both captain’s cubes are then dropped from the mast of a 3-D cardboard pirate ship, down a ramp on the deck and ultimately sending the cubes out to sea. The sea, in this case, consists of a grid of various benefits and rewards. As the cubes settle across the grid, players tally the outcome and a winner is declared.

The incentive that draws ships to battle is very real here. Even if you’re on the losing end, you’re almost guaranteed to come away with some type of rewards—be it treasure, goods or inflicting damage on your opponent. The cube drop can easily make a winner of an insufficiently armed vessel as well.

That’s not to say the cube tower is completely devoid of strategic opportunity. Pirates may have a card that allows them to move cubes to adjacent grid spaces. An exploding shot grid spot allows you to re-drop that particular cube accompanied by an additional cube. Of course there are more ways to produce additional hits or multiple your winnings. It all equates to a high stakes, tension filled, blast of a moment each time 2 ships engage in combat.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Dead Reckoning has been one of the most immersive and engaging board game experiences I’ve had in recent memory. The production is amazing. The components and artwork bring to life this tropical paradise ripe for pirates in a completely new way. But, it’s the collective merging of the game’s flavorful mechanics that create fun moments at each turn. It is a game that will require some time, but one you will make time for. In my last play, a certain pirate decided to keep certain end game goal achievements a secret JUST BECAUSE he didn’t want the game to end. That’s what we’re dealing with here.

As I write this, Dead Reckoning is back on Kickstarter for it’s second printing. The Kickstarter is a decent investment and probably not one for the casual gamer. For those willing to take leap, you’ll find a well mapped out game that provides tons of value, replayablity and fun behind each turn. It’s a foregone conclusion that it will sit atop mine and many other year end top 10 lists before it’s all said and done.

Visit the link below to back Dead Reckoning on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alderac/dead-reckoning-letters-of-marque-from-aeg?ref=discovery&term=dead%20reckoning

Published by Ameba Games
2-4 Players  |  20-30 Minutes

In Grab Your Breakfast, you’re matching cards and gathering sets of bountiful, breakfast tiles in an effort to score the most points and build a well-balanced morning feast.

HOW DOES IT PLAY?

In this simple and fast-paced game players will be working to match breakfast items in their hand with those in the center play area. Each item comes with a set requirement and points earned when that set is achieved.

To begin, each player receives 2 hand cards, each consisting of one of the game’s breakfast items. A double-stacked, 5×5 grid of breakfast item tiles are placed in the center of the table.

The goal is to gain sets by matching one of your hand cards with an available tile from the grid. Available cards are cards with an open edge to the left or right of the play area. A good comparison would be Mahjong since this rule of available tiles applies to either stack of the double-stacked grid.

There are additional rules allowing players to exchange 1 of their 2 hand cards or forcing them to draw a certain breakfast item if both of their hand cards are the same. Once matched, the player discards their used hand card and draws another.

Each breakfast items has a predetermined set total. You may be required to collect 3 pancakes earning you 4 points or 2 pieces of toast earning you 2. Any set still incomplete by the end of the game is worth -1 point per card. Bonus items, such as jam or milk earn bonus points if paired with specific, complete sets.

Play continues until the entire grid has been drafted. Players receive points equal to their sets in addition to earning 2 point for every “well balanced meal” of 4 unique sets.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Grab Your Breakfast certainly has a charming presentation. Each breakfast item card is brightly drawn with a silly face giving each one it’s own pleasant personality.

The game plays with that same pleasant tone. Its very causal and simple making it a solid choice for families with younger kids.

I mentioned it above, but the way tiles are matched has a mahjong type feel. There is a good amount of luck involved since you’re at the mercy of hand cards you draw. Players can approach the game more aggressively, carefully managing their hand and planning their tactics, but I don’t believe that’s in the spirit of the game. Grab Your Breakfast seeks to be a pleasant, fun, experience for everyone. On occasion, I got that Point Salad vibe from the game for those who’ve the opportunity to play Point Said. It’s not quite as think-y, but equally gentle.

My only criticisms are minor: the hand cards and breakfast cards have a very similar looking back and can be hard to distinguish if they get mixed up. The other issues was in a 4-player game, we ended up in a bit of standoff at the end jockeying to avoid the last card and the negative point attached to it.

My 2-player game didn’t provide too much tension since most breakfast items cards were readily available on the grid. My 4-player game, on the other hand, definitely upped the tension and forced you to have a little more serious approach.

Independently produced by Ameba, Grab Your Breakfast is a comfortable, simple, yet effective matching and set collecting game. It’s really accessible with its simple setup, easy rules, portability and quick game play. The presentation will draw you in and I can see this being a hit with fans of Point Salad or more family-style set collection games. As I write this, it’s been successfully funded on Kickstarter. If Grab Your Breakfast sounds like a game that will grab you—visit the link below and support the project!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ameba/grab-your-breakfast

Published by Zoracle Games
Designed by Zach Turner
2-4 Players  |  30-90 Minutes

By 846 A.D., the exploits of legendary viking, Ragnar Lodbrok had become world renowned. Upon his death, a feud broke out between the nordic clans as to who would take over the vacancy in leadership. The worthy heir is up to you as you take on the role of rune casters from competing clans. With the help of acolytes, each caster carries the spells to determine the fortune and future of their clan.

BloodRunes is a competitive, card-playing, puzzle game where players attempt to build patterns in an effort to achieve spell cards. Players will need to balance their hand by conjuring both offense and defensive spells if they hope to gain the necessary blood fortunes that will lead your clan to dominance. Are you worthy to take the mantle of kinship among the clans or is this a journey best left uncharted? Let’s take a look at Bloodrunes…

ON YOUR TURN

During a turn, players will work to manipulate the game’s central casting board to achieve personal objectives through a variety of actions. These objectives typically occur in the form of spell cards that can be achieved by playing runes on the central casting board to match specific patterns. This seems simple enough, but there are plenty of challenges you’ll face along the way including limited actions, rune needs and intrusive opponents.

Players begin the game with a handful of rune cards and a single spell card. Each player starts with 3 actions represented by acolytes on their personal board. These actions allow players to draw additional runes and spell cards from a central market. As the game progresses, more acolytes can be gained earning additional actions each turn.

In addition to drawing available runes and spell cards, actions you can choose on a turn are selecting or refreshing the rune and spell card market, playing a rune in one of the 5 spaces on the central board or playing an achieved spell card.

The spell cards are where you’re going to do the most damage. Each spell card requires a specific pattern to activate. This pattern will be 2 to 5 specific rune symbols. The catch is each pattern has a top, bottom, left and right and must be oriented in relation to which side of the board the player is sitting in that game. This means the board will look completely different to each competing player.

Spell cards can be both offense and defensive focused. Spell cards may allow you to steal both opponent acolytes and blood runes—protection cards (or ward cards) can be spun to protect you from individual players or the table as a whole. The more powerful the spell, the more challenging the pattern is to achieve. Players might also have a hex card that discards or steals another player’s active ward card.

The goal of the game is to gain 6 blood fortune. These can be gained by achieving certain spell cards or flat out stealing them from your opponents. It can get pretty nasty,  so you really have to read your opponents and determine what level of defense you need to partner with your offensive game to both protect your resources and pursue additional goals.

While achieving a spell card pattern directly relates to where you’re sitting at the table, many of the spell card actions defend or attack players at specific seats at the table as well. Careful planning and timing are critical to making the most of your hand.

COMPLEXITY

While there is a decent amount of strategic depth to BloodRunes, the learning curve isn’t steep and can be picked up quickly. The rules, cards and concepts of the game are fairly intuitive making the entire game very accessible. I was able to successfully teach both my 7 and 9 year old kids in about 10 minutes. There were a few questions throughout, but nothing (apart from their own indecisiveness) that really bogged down the flow of the game.

COMPONENTS AND ARTWORK

My review copy was a prototype and I’m assured there are still some things in flux. The final edition will contain a neoprene mat in place of the central casting board. Much of the artwork is temporary and the designer does promise a fairly portable box size. It’s difficult to judge the art and components since a fair amount will be changing.

I will say, based on what I had available, the symbolism is clear and successfully communicates most of what it needs to.

My primary criticism may be addressed on the final copy of the game, but I’d really like to see the theme more played up in the game’s graphic design. The designer and I have had conversations regarding this and I’m confident he’ll produce a final product that’s visually appealing.

Components as a whole are fine, but I do look forward to seeing the final product.

MY THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed the abstract puzzle BloodRunes brings to the table. I think there is a nice twist here on the standard set/pattern collection game and there is a TON of player interaction.

While the mechanics of the game are fairly straightforward, the strategy requires a good amount of planning and resolve to execute. This means the accessibility is there for more casual players, but the depth is in place to please more serious gamers.

There is a nice push and pull when it comes to drawing and playing cards throughout the game. While your spell cards are face up for all players to see, there is still an element of not wanting to “show your hand.” I found patience and planning to really pay off as you gather runes to meet patterns and seek to find the perfect time and order to play your spell cards. Of course, it’s easy to get distracted by a new spell or rune card that just surfaced. These can really derail your plans since you only have a limited number of actions per turn. It always felt like I was 1 or 2 actions short of accomplishing my goals each turn—which is a sign of a good game!

I think it’s fair to say BloodRunes is also a bit of a mean game. In fact, there is a bit of player paranoia floating around the board through the game. At any time, another player may steal a hard fought acolyte or blood rune from your collection. This requires players to carefully defend themselves as well as take advantage of opportunities to pillage another player’s stash. That might not be for everyone, but I really loved the aggressive interaction present in each play. Now you could play it straight and just target rune stones when they appear minus the interaction, but a) that’s not as fun and b) you’ll have a hard time winning the game against more aggressive players.

I mentioned the strategic depth and planning, but the game still brings plenty of uncertainty and luck. You’re often a bit at the mercy of the rune and spell deck cards available. I found myself on the wrong end of the spell deck a couple games. My opponents were able to upgrade their acolytes (additional turns) while I sat at only 3 actions for what felt like forever. This seems like an obvious advantage to my opponents, but while they were busy upgrading their actions, I was planning attacks and gaining valuable blood runes. It all balanced out later in the game and my lead didn’t last, but it does prove that the luck can potentially be strategically mitigated.

FINAL TAKE

Again, I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this one! I think it’s a satisfying, competitive puzzle that’s going to require patience and planning. When your careful planning pays off—it feels great. The game is super accessible, being quick to teach and quick to set up. Now It can be pretty nasty, so if you don’t like negative player interaction, this might not be for you. But, if you embrace that competitive spirit, there is plenty to reward you here.

The game length can vary quite a bit depending on the player’s style of play so you really do need to plan to play between the recommended 30-90 minutes.

Everyone who played BloodRunes really enjoyed the abstract puzzle and cutthroat race to the finish line. Fans of abstract puzzle games will appreciate the unique approach here. I LOVED that each player had to achieve their patterns from the perspective of their seat at the table. While it provided a little freedom knowing that someone couldn’t “steal” my pattern—they could play a rune on top of it or even use it for their own advantage. You just have to be constantly aware of your opponent’s spell cards and their objectives. You can easily end up helping an opponent while trying to help yourself.

I really hope fans of more strategic, abstract games will take a closer look at this one. I’m glad I did and I really enjoyed it.

Visit BloodRunes at: www.zachturner.me/bloodrunes

Published by UH OH! Games
Designed by Michael Riley | Art by Giovanni Spadaro
2-8 Players | 30 Minutes

Word games have certainly solidified their niche in the gaming world over the years. You’re likely to find a copy of Scrabble, Boggle or Bananagrams in nearly anyone’s home. More recently we’ve seen the success of games like Letter Jam, Paperback and Letter Press seek to enter the ranks by bringing more modern twists. Word Explosion is the latest entry seeking to put a new spin on the age-old study of orthography by infusing a party-like approach by challenging players with quick card play and an ever-shifting landscape forcing you to stay on your toes . Let’s take a look at how it plays and will be a great fit in your gaming library.

Word Explosion is a game where you string together letters both alphabetically and by spelling words in an almost UNO like fashion to whittle down your hand of cards. Rest assured there is more going on here than a generic game of UNO, but I think the comparison is fair because just when you got your process in place someone throws out a Wild Draw 4 and completely uproots your plans.

I’m not much of a speller. I rely on spell checkers to keep me from looking like an idiot most days. I’m up for a game of Bananagrams on occasion, but I use it as an opportunity to boost my wife’s ego. She is the word game savant with her quick-thinking, word-conjuring magic. So I invited her to participate. I fully expected to be annihilated, but I also expected to get a genuine impression from a bonafide word-crafting ringer.

HOW DOES IT PLAY?

Each player begins the game with a hand of 10 cards. The game’s 120 card deck features an assortment of letter characters you’ll attempt to string together in various ways in an effort to be the first to completely discard your hand. On any given turn, players will have the opportunity to play a letter card matching the previous letter card played, play the next letter in the alphabet or spell a word with your hand that starts with the previously played letter.

Pretty standard stuff, huh?

Word Explosion is not your standard word-playing game.

In addition to the game’s letter cards, there are a number of action cards bent on wrecking this safe, casual word-playing experience.

There are a number of different action cards that change the flow of the game, but the one that got the biggest reaction was the ability to reverse gameplay. This isn’t just going from clockwise to counter-clockwise, but you’re also required to play the alphabet in reverse and spell words backwards. An S now follows a T and words must END with the previously played card instead of beginning. This might seem fairly pedestrian, but if you’ve ever tried to recite the alphabet backwards you know this can be a mind altering experience. Go ahead and try it right now… I’ll wait. Thankfully the game provides a simple reference sheet with the English language alphabet. Almost absurdly silly to include in most cases, this “reference” card from pre-school will be your saving grace.

The Time Bomb cards seek to drive home the “explosive” nature of the game. These panic-inducing cards allow you to choose a player (likely your arch nemesis at the table) and force them to complete their next 3 turns within 15 seconds each or draw 3 additional cards. In our games, this was accompanied by everyone at the table audibly counting down the 15 seconds in unison… nothing like putting the pressure on you.

Additional cards might force a player to discard their hand and redraw 8 new cards or swap their hand with another’s. Thankfully there are some blank cards that serve as wild cards as well as “NUH-UH” cards that can deny another player’s attempt to dump on you with one of their own action cards.

Finally, there are the UH-OH! cards. These cards allow you to force a player to draw the top card from the deck and spell a word (forwards or backwards depending on the current setting)… and if they can’t they draw more cards.

Again, play continues until one play has completely exhausted their entire hand.

COMPONENTS & ARTWORK

The extent of Word Explosion’s components is a deck of 120 cards. My copy was a prototype (albeit a fairly complete looking production) so I can’t speak to the final quality, but the cards were a good quality and I had zero complaints.

The artwork is minimal. The action cards have cartoony individuals and your typical letter card has a cartoony explosion in the background. The artwork is light-hearted and silly and brings just the right amount of broad appeal to a game like this.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON THE GAME

As you can see, Word Explosion is a word-game that delights in putting non-spellers in the pressure cooker and baking them alive… But for my word-game-loving-wife… this is her element. She absolutely adored the quick play and interesting, unexpected twists that force you think on your feet.

In all truth, Word Explosion is more of a party game than Spelling Bee. I really appreciated that you don’t have to be a brilliant wordsmith to play Word Explosion. While being able to drop 5 or 6 letter words at any moment is incredibly beneficial, you’ll often find yourself with a fighting chance of spelling simple 3-letter words. In fact, the game is really geared toward playing shorter words. It’s the action cards that serve as your ace in the hole. Carefully timing these cards can give you the leverage and momentum you need to send you on to victory.

Because of the nature of the cards, there is quite a bit of take-that going on throughout the game and some of it can be pretty mean at times. Just like dropping a Wild Draw 4 on someone in a game of UNO who only has 1 card left to play… dealing with those mini-disappointments can be hard. I certainly realize this doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I stand by my motto of “if you can dish it out then you should be able to take it”… and I love dishing it out. The take-that element works to even the playing field and keep that spelling savant from running away with things… I found that refreshing. While I may never stand a chance at winning a game of Scrabble or Bananagrams, I still had a chance when it came to Word Explosion.

Overall, I do think Word Explosion is a success, bringing a new gamification to a simple letter-playing, word-spelling card game. It’s the action cards and their unpredictability that keeps you both on your toes and potentially in the game. I really enjoyed the twist where you’re forced to play cards in reverse. This seems simple, but it really messes with your reality and challenges you to constantly be engaged.

Yes, I did hate the Time Bomb forcing me to think outside of my comfort zone… but I loved playing the card and watching my opponents squirm for the next 3 rounds.

The game can go by quickly. We definitely had games go longer than 30 minutes, but that was mainly on the play group. So the 30 minute play time is pretty accurate.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Word Explosion is something the entire family can get into. Identifying the letters and spelling short words works great for the younger crowd, where quick-thinking and out-foxing your opponent with the action cards plays to any age group. Word Explosion isn’t going to turn me into a word-game lover, but it does provide plenty of twists and wrinkles to be a crowd pleaser. Going in, I expected my wife to love it (and she did), but I was surprisingly impressed. Once I was able to identify the strategy behind the cards, I always felt I had a chance. This is an easy win for the word-game loving crowd, but also one that brings a lot of fun and appeal to players of all types.

Designed by Scott Courlander | Art by Weirdsgn
Published by Scorelander Games
2 Players  |  30-40 Minutes

Peering out from the dugout, you take a long look at your opponent, carefully analyzing their strengths and strategizing your next move. Life isn’t easy for a baseball manager… always on the hot seat… working to get the most from your team. It’s crunch time and you’ve made your decision. Flashing a few quick signs to the player on third, you finally reach into your deck and play the best hitter available for the situation. It’s an uncharacteristic move at this point in the later innings and it may backfire, but Bat Flip isn’t your typical baseball game.

In this 2-player, card-driven, baseball-themed, strategy game, you take on the role of a manager with a unique team make-up. In Bat Flip one team just isn’t enough! You’ll choose 2 teams, combining their different strengths to build your winning deck. Each team features their own strengths and weaknesses and it’s up to you to build the perfect combo to defeat your opponent. Bat Flip combines the thrill of the ball diamond in a compact 3-inning game. Swing for the fences, swipe a bag or two and play defense as you carefully seek to out-maneuver and outscore your opponent to victory.