BG'Boos - BattleoftheSexes!

🦦⚔️🦔 Can’t Stop (1980) by TeamAlper 🦔 . Sid Sackson’s classic, Can’t Stop, has been frequenting our table with the new @playte_games version. This timeless push-your-luck game remains one of my all-time favorites, combining simplicity with excruciating tension. . The goal is simple: roll four dice, set your 2 pairs combination, sum pips on each pair and climb on that number, and decide whether to push your luck or hold your position. The first mountaineer who climbs three peaks wins the game! But be careful, you can only advance on three lines each round, and if you cannot advance on the three you chose, you’re busted. And you know what, you’ll find all table chanting “Can’t Stop!” . What I love about Can’t Stop is its universal appeal. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or a casual player, the game’s easy-to-learn rules and fast-paced action provide endless fun. . The @playte_games version retains the classic’s charm while bringing a modern touch that makes it perfect for today’s gaming sessions. I loved the implemented mountaineering theme, where three chosen lines are marked by axes and player position by tents. It’s also very portable, and yes, the board is in fact the box, and it works perfectly. Such a delight! . Overall, this updated version of Can’t Stop is a must-have for any board game collection. It’s a fantastic way to introduce new players to the joys of board gaming or to relive the excitement with fellow enthusiasts during any trips. Highly recommend giving it a try! . #CantStop #CantStopBoardGame #SidSackson #BoardGames #Classics #PushYourLuck @playte_games

✒ Unstable Unicorns: Diamond Edition (2024) 🦦⚔🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . Calling all Unicorn lovers! 🦄❤ The latest version of Unstable Unicorns has arrived, and it’s packed with surprises. We’ve had a blast exploring the new cards and mechanics. This review is #sponsored by @weareunstablegames /@teeturtle and reflects our honest opinions. . The artwork is absolutely stunning, featuring cute and funny unicorn drawings. The holographic diamond unicorn cards are eye-catching and definitely the focus of attention on the table. Our only gripe about the cards is that we wish the font could’ve been a little larger, especially for family purposes. . The new D4 dice introduce more randomness since they dictate whether you’ll take, steal, or lose a diamond unicorn. But it’s totally forgivable since the game plays fast and keeps everyone engaged. . Additionally, the new Diamond Unicorn cards make the game faster and more interactive. Why? You can think of Diamond Unicorns as combos, making each turn potentially stronger. It can be a bit frustrating when the dice force you to let your unicorns go, but that’s life, I guess! . You can find the new version of Unstable Unicorns: Diamond Edition exclusively at Target until January 2025. . Have you played Unstable Unicorns before? Let us know! . #UnstableUnicorns #UnstableUnicornsDiamondEdition #cardgames #paidteeturtlepartner

🦦⚔️🦔 Skymines (2022) by TeamAlper 🦔 . Let’s remember our favorite Pfister game, Skymines, the revamped version of Mombasa! . As a longtime fan of Mombasa, I had mixed feelings due to its problematic colonization theme, making it hard to introduce to friends. Skymines offers a fresh theme, replacing the old one with a futuristic space setting and includes the hard-to-find cooked books mini-expansion, a new map, and fantastic automa called Luna. . Initially, I was skeptical about the hyper-space corporations and crypto-mining theme, but it’s definitely better than the original colonization context. The gameplay changes, like always available mini-expansion tiles and easier diamond business (Hellium-3), make the game smoother without losing its challenge. Luna, the automa, adds great value to solo or 2P sessions, despite minor annoyances with random majorities. . Overall, Skymines provides excellent value with its expansion, new modules, and a delightful automa. Highly recommend it! . #skymines #mombasa #alexanderpfister #boardgames #scifi @alexxpfister @deepprintgames

✒ Unstable Unicorns: Diamond Edition (2024) 🦦⚔🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . Unstable Unicorns is back with an all-new version, and we couldn’t be more excited! 🦄✨ Get ready for more strategic fun and magical chaos. The review is #sponsored by @weareunstablegames and @teeturtle and reflects our honest opinions. . Unstable Unicorn is among the most popular card duel games in the board game market. Played at 2-8 players, Unstable Unicorns offers a fun time for both gamers and non-gamers. Why? Because it’s simple (can be taught in 3 minutes) and highly interactive (featuring many take-that mechanisms). It’s a great medium for solving family problems with distant relatives! . Turns are very straightforward: roll the sparkle-core D4 dice and resolve the corresponding Diamond Unicorn action, draw a card, and play a card. That’s it. The first player with 7 unicorns in their stable (play area) wins the game. Sweet! . The biggest novelty in the Diamond Edition is the four “Diamond Unicorns” and the D4 dice. Diamond Unicorns are indestructible unicorns with special powers. They are not shuffled into the deck but are instead at different stables or vaults (table center). And what do they do? They allow players to draw three cards, steal a card, force opponents to discard two cards, or recycle cards from the discard pile. Yes, Diamond Unicorns do pretty cool stuff. . You can find the new version of Unstable Unicorns: Diamond Edition exclusively at Target until January 2025. . Stay tuned for a closer look at the new features! Have you played Unstable Unicorns before? Let us know! . #UnstableUnicorns #UnstableUnicornsDiamondEdition #cardgames

✒️ Manila (2005) 🦦⚔️🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . Disclaimer: This review is based on one session of Manila. Still, I feel confident in saying that Manila is one of the hidden gems (at least in 2024). It’s a simple economic game with bidding, worker placement, commodity speculation, bluffing, and push-your-luck. This light-hearted economic game is perfect for those who enjoy economic games but are looking for something quick and fun. Why? Let me explain. . In Manila, the winner is the player with the most wealth. To achieve this, players 1) auction to become the harbor master and manipulate shipments, 2) gamble on the success and failure of shipments, and 3) even commit piracy. When a shipment successfully reaches the port, it not only rewards those who gambled on it but also increases in value as stock. What determines a shipment’s success? The initial positions of the shipments, die rolls, and pirates. It’s simpler than it sounds! . Unsurprisingly, Franz-Benno Delonge is the designer of Manila - many of you might know him from his other game, Container, which is one of the most notable economic games on the market. What makes Manila interesting is the critical role of the “harbor master.” Harbor masters go first, choosing which goods to ship and their starting positions. Additionally, only harbor masters can purchase goods stocks each round. This creates a fundamental tension: evaluating the expected value of the harbor master role. While crucial for winning, overestimating and overspending on the harbor master role can cost you the game. . I can imagine many modern boardgamers might overlook this game because of its simplicity or the seemingly overemphasized harbor master role. However, players need to successfully navigate the game state and group dynamics to win in Manila. This game requires players to read each other’s intentions, understand what others value, and bid appropriately for the harbor master role at crucial moments. . Have you ever played Manila? Let us know in the comments! . #Manila #ManilaBoardGame #AuctionGames #Container #economicgames

🖋️ The King is Dead: Second Edition (2020) 🦦⚔️🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . The king is gone. The kingdom is fractured. The new ruler will emerge from the faction that controls the most realms. However, if three out of eight realms descend into chaos, the French will invade, favoring the most diplomatic players. Who will come out on top? The shrewdest political strategist, of course! . The excitement is off the charts! We love the King is Dead so much that we gifted a couple of copies to friends. It’s quick to teach, easy to play, elegant, fast, and captivating. It ticks all our boxes! . With its unique realm scoring, asynchronous card play, and faction-building mechanics, The King is Dead is always welcomed on our table. Peer Sylvester, huzzah! 👑 . Have you played the King is Dead? Let us know! . #TheKingisDead #TheKingisDeadSecondEdition #TheKingisDeadBoardgame #boardgames #areacontrol

✒️ Ankh: Gods of Egypt (2021) 🦦⚔️🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . Ankh is the spiritual successor to Kemet, where players compete in ancient Egypt to win the most victory points. It has some interesting ideas and smooth gameplay, but it feels a bit too long for what it is. Let me explain why. . First, the pros. Ankh introduces a unique twist on area control with adjustable areas. Throughout the game, players can change the borders of areas. This is a fantastic idea that I’d love to see in more games. It allows you to create areas that benefit you with monument majorities and force other players to waste their actions by moving. Great stuff! . Ankh also has customized asymmetric powers like Kemet. Each power is strong and game-changing, which I loved. I also appreciate the special units that are only rewarded to the first players who advance on the Ankh track. Good stuff! . However, there’s the player merger. At some point, the game dictates that the two players with the lowest points merge. While the idea is interesting, the execution was just okay. The merged players rolling back to the lowest point created a dynamic where the player with the lowest points felt guilty about their play. For some reason, we felt this was just okay, but it might be unique to our session. . Overall, I love the innovative ideas, but they weren’t as fun to explore in practice. . #AnkhGodsofEgypt #EricLang #AreaControl #KemetBoardGame @cmongames

✒️ Dogs of War (2016) 🦦⚔️🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . We finally got to play this highly sought-after grail game! In Dogs of War, players act as opportunistic warlords who influence the outcome of battles between six rival houses. The overproduced worker miniatures are fantastic (I definitely claim the one with the big pink hat!). . The game's core mechanisms are worker placement, tug-of-war, and stock management. On your turn, you choose a side in one of the three ongoing battles and place your mercenary captain. Along with the captain, you play a soldier card whose value contributes to the strength of the side you support. Depending on where you place your captain, you can also gain additional soldiers, money, or victory points. . After everyone has placed their captains, we evaluate the battles. Dogs of War rewards both majority control and opportunistic moves. How? The player with the most captains on the winning side earns the pre-determined reward. Additionally, everyone on the winning side gains victory points equal to the number of captains on the losing side. The winning house's stock value also increases. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game (with total stock value being crucial) wins. . Tactic cards provide flexibility, but reading other players carefully is essential to winning. Have you played Dogs of War before? Let us know! . #DogsofWar #DogsofWarBoardGame #WorkerPlacement #TugOfWar #StockGames @coolminiornot

✒️ Rumble Nation (2022) 🦦⚔️🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . Oh man, Rumble Nation is a standout in its genre. It captures the essence of area control and keeps it simple but adds a unique twist with an exciting tradeoff. Rumble Nation shines with its tense dice allocation, fascinating action programming, and unique cascading mechanism. What does this mean? Let me explain… . In Rumble Nation, you roll three dice on your turn. Then, you sum up two of them to choose the region where you want to assign your soldiers; the remaining die determines how many soldiers you can place. This alone makes for a decent game, but the real fun lies in the score evaluation. . When all players have placed their soldiers, we proceed to score evaluation. Each region, from 2 to 12, is evaluated. The player with the most soldiers gets the region’s value, while the player with the second most soldiers receives half the points. What makes scoring interesting is the cascading effect. The player with the most soldiers reinforces each adjacent region with two extra soldiers. With cascading in mind, this score programming leads to situations where one soldier is reinforced by eight more. This requires good planning and smart responses to other players’ strategies. All this fun in just 20-30 minutes! Terrific stuff! . I wish it were more widely available in the US. I played with @david.lloyd.deguzman ’s copy, but I can’t wait to get my own soon! Have you played Rumble Nation before? Let us know! . #RumbleNation #RumbleNationBoardgame #AreaControl #programminggames

✒ Rats of Wistar (2023) 🦦⚔🦔 by TeamAmy 🦦 . Players take on the role of rats that escaped from a research lab who is trying to explore a farm and build a lair to eventually lead their colony to a better life. The most successful player will become the head of the newly freed rat colony and win the game! To win points, you must dig rooms for your lair, build beds, invite guest mice into your home, build inventions to help your colony, and solve missions in the farmhouse. Bonus points if you find the precious cheese that’s stored in the basement! . There are multiple paths to victory in the game, and they seem pretty balanced upon first play. However, probably the most interesting (and maybe most lucrative) part of the game were the invention cards. These cards contain special abilities, victory points, mission requirements, and more- and they feature awesome artwork. Exploring the invention cards is probably what I would come back to play this game for, although the other elements of the game were fun too, especially the dynamic action selection wheel. . TeamAmy is actually kind of a rat lover, so it’s no surprise this theme was kind of a hit. But it was actually cohesive and interesting, and not too long or heavy! Will definitely play this again. . #ratsofwistar #ratsofwistargame #boardgames #tabletopgames #eurogames @capstone_games

✒️ Huang (2024) 🦦⚔️🦔 by TeamAlper 🦔 . Played Huang three times now, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a Knizia masterpiece—a brilliant reimagining of Yellow & Yatzhe. I was hesitant at first to back it, but the revised aesthetics and stunning miniatures completely won me over! Huang might just be the most thematic abstract area control game I've ever seen. . In this dynamic game, players act as noble dynasties, deploying their leaders to cities, constructing districts, and controlling Pagodas to earn VP. The fierce battles over strategic regions lead to constant farmer riots, coups, or wars. And since these conflicts are inevitable, no one shies away from attacking. . My only quibbles are the lack of a compact storage solution and the color-blind unfriendly color palette. . Otherwise, Huang is fantastic. It wraps up in an hour, with everyone eagerly awaiting their turn. Huang might be my top game of 2024. Highly recommended! . #HuangBoardGame #YellowandYatzhe #TigrisandEuphrates #ReinerKnizia #Boardgames @phalanxgames

✒ La Granja (2014) 🦦⚔🦔 by TeamAmy 🦦 . Round up all your donkeys, build your farms, and get those goods to the market! Our good friend @david.lloyd.deguzman introduced this game to us recently. La Granja has everything I want in a eurogame: resource production, contract fulfillment, and donkeys. . Just kidding, this game has a lot to offer actually! The Siesta turn-order track is dynamic and competitive, but my favorite feature of this game is the multi-use cards. Each card has four possible uses: a market barrow contract, a field expansion (good for resource production), a farm extension (more resource production, plus bonus action), and helpers (special abilities for engine building). Since players can choose only one part of the card to use, there is so much variation in player strategies- this makes La Granja really interesting imo. Next time I’ll talk about the competitive market element, where most of the player interaction takes place in this game. In sum it’s brutal and kind of awesome, but I won’t go into detail here! . The only gripe TeamAlper and I had was the length of the game- there are 6 rounds but the last round felt a bit repetitive and unnecessary. If it was a touch shorter, this would be one of my favorite games of the month! . #lagranja #lagranjagame #boardgames #tabletopgames #eurogames @999games