Does the third game in the Horrified series, set in ancient Greek mythology live up to the standards set by its older siblings? Check out our review of Horrified: Greek Monsters.

Horrified is a family-weight cooperative game that burst onto the scene back in 2019 to much acclaim, both cementing its place in my collection and establishing design group Prospero Hall as the go-to producers of IP-based games that hold up to gamer scrutiny. In Horrified, players work together to defeat a varied number of movie monsters intent on terrorizing the most unlucky town ever. Horrified: American Monsters, the standalone sequel, swaps out Universal movie monsters for American cryptids. Horrified: Greek Monsters (HGM for short) takes the monster-hunting, town-defending romp to the world of ancient Greek mythology, with such villains as Medusa, Cerberus, the Minotaur, and other mythological entities.

[caption id="attachment_307843" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] What's in the box?[/caption]

Let’s Do That Again

Gameplay for the previous two Horrified games features a pickup and deliver mechanic with the primary variance being the specific conditions required for each monster. (For more on general gameplay, see our review of the original game.)  HGM takes the same approach. If you’ve ever played either the original or American-cryptid based sequel, you will…

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Pampero - Justin Bell

Pampero is the new heavy Euro designed by Julián Pombo, who served as the co-designer of Mercado de Lisboa along with Vital Lacerda (Kanban EV, Inventions: Evolution of Ideas, Vinhos: Deluxe Edition). While Pampero is interesting, it plays like a game just shy of something that would hit my table repeatedly.

Players are investors working to build out the energy network of Uruguay by building wind farms and electrical towers across a massive, beautiful playspace graphically designed by Ian O’Toole. Across a short series of turns (18, give or take), players manage a hand of cards to take actions while doing a bunch of Eurogame-y things like boost income tracks, fulfill public contracts, and race other players to have the most of certain icons before each of the game’s three scoring rounds. Pampero looks great, has a ridiculous number of high-end components, provides a fantastic player aid that answered all of my in-game questions, and plays much faster than I would have guessed (an hour and 45 minutes with four players).

But some of the upgraded action cards are strictly better than other cards in the same market, and some of the basic action cards were not used at all during my game, including…

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Over the 10-ish years that I’ve been in the hobby, I’ve purchased a lot of games. Starting out as a new gamer, I bought games almost indiscriminately. As the years have passed though, I’ve become a lot more selective. Here are some often-heard selling points that may appeal to others, but don’t really stick for me.

Board Game Designer

One mistake that I have made in the past is assuming that if I like one game by a particular game designer, I will like all of their games. Sadly, I have found that this is not the case. Even though many designers tend to stick to a recognizable design ethos—Stefan Feld and Uwe Rosenberg come to mind—I’ve found that even the designers of my favorite Top 10 level games don’t have a consistent hit rate with me. I absolutely adore Corey Koniezcka’s Star Wars: Rebellion, but neither 3000 Scoundrels nor The Initiative really hit for me. Sleeping Gods is an absolute masterpiece, but Ryan Laukat’s Above and Below just didn’t land. While there are designers that I own multiple of their designs, like Matt Leacock’s Pandemic and Daybreak, my ears no longer perk up and take notice of an upcoming game simply because a designer’s name is attached to it.

[mm-productlinking…

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I’ve played a lot of games in the 10 or so years that I’ve been in the hobby, and have a pretty good read on what I like and don’t like. Here are six games that I shouldn’t like, but I do.  

One of the best things I’ve discovered about the modern board game hobby is its sheer variety. I believe that there is a game for everyone, no matter your preferred tastes, interests, or desired complexity. Over the years, I’ve found some elements that I just do not like…except for these six games. Here are my Top 6 Games I Shouldn’t Like

Power Grid – Math

I’ve never been a big math guy. Sure, I did okay in high school algebra and for some reason still remember the quadratic equation, but math—particularly mental math—has never been a strength. That proves to be a liability in a lot of modern hobby games where the difference between winning and losing may come down to my ability to determine which move gets me six points versus five.

[caption id="attachment_301014" align="alignnone" width="681"] Between Two Cities + Five Tribes = 7 Wonders?[/caption]

Power Grid is a medium-heavy economic game about paying money for power plants via auction, paying money…

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Monikers: Monikers-er - Andrew Lynch

Monikers is a great party game if you’ve got a group that isn’t afraid of getting silly. Monikers-er cranks things up, with a collection of obscure, seemingly impossible cards. All your new favorites are here: Mukbong, Washington Crossing the Delaware, Reiner Knizia. It’s the Monikers set for those who like their word selections eclectic, which I certainly do. The final endorsement: I’d rather play Monikers with just these cards than mix in the base set.

Ease of entry?:
★★★★★ - No sweat
Would I play it again?:
★★★★★ - Will definitely play it again

Read more articles from Andrew Lynch.

Faraway - Andy Matthews

Faraway is a game about journeys—traveling through a magical land called Alula. Over the course of 8 rounds players will play cards in front of themselves in order to arrange resources and scoring conditions for end of game scoring. The catch is that you lay down cards from left to right, but score from right to left after first flipping all the cards face down. This means you have to constantly be thinking in two directions—setting yourself up with difficult scoring cards on the left side, while giving yourself things TO…

The post Quick Peaks – Monikers: Monikers-er, Faraway, Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West, Wyrmspan, Western Legends: Showdown appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Explore, adventure, and boss battle your way through the fantasy world of Atios through a robust but accessible campaign.

Kinfire 101

Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall is a campaign game set in the fictional world of Atios. This fantasy world is unique to the game, though both the subtitle and the use of the plural ‘chronicles’ leads me to believe that future games set in this universe may yet be on the horizon. Kinfire Chronicles accommodates 1-4 players. (I will note that all of my plays were solo.) The basic storyline is that you are Seekers, heroes recruited to go on various quests, wielding a special lantern filled with a magical substance known as ‘kinfire.’ Throughout the game you’ll be exploring towns and countryside, adventuring through various encounters, and fighting baddies in “boss battler” style, divided into distinct scenarios which each take a manageable 45-60 minutes.

The ongoing narrative in Kinfire Chronicles is handled primarily through various decks of cards, specific to the scenario. While the adventure and exploration provides a rich backstory and narrative, the primary focus of a scenario is the boss battle. Players will play cards on their turn from their own personal deck to deal either melee or ranged damage, as well as potentially helping other players on their turn by playing a 'boost' card that…

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Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done - Bob Pazehoski, Jr.

I’ve had my eye on Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done for a long time, so I was pretty excited to get it to the table. The game mechanism of a rondel governed by mancala-style movement is swift and responsive: take an action according to the number of tokens, then redistribute the tokens. The available action points are always in flux, creating tension between preparation and execution in the face of shifting opportunities.

There seem to be two ways to play Crusaders: with kindness and not. It’s easy enough to mind your business and chase your goals with minimal intrusion by others at the table. But it’s also easy to wait in the wings to snipe what another player has started, thwarting their hopes and dashing their dreams. The ideal is probably somewhere between. The colors pop, the components are exceedingly sturdy, the gameplay is quick, and the bit of engine-building can be quite satisfying. I won’t call it the most exciting game ever, but I would say it’s very good and definitely begs further play. 

Ease of entry?:
★★★★☆ - The odd bump or two
Would I play it again?:
★★★★★ - Will definitely play it again

Watch our review of Crusaders:…

The post First Take Friday – Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done, Targi, Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall, Tribes of the Wind appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Join me as I look at some premium gaming upgrades that can take your table from basic to breathtaking.

War of the Ring is one of my all-time favorite games. Set in the massive world of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, its scale is as grand as its gameplay. Between the map that spans two standard sized game-boards and the slew of plastic miniatures of various characters and factions, War of the Ring is the epitome of table presence. But what if you could amplify that aesthetic appeal even higher, and turn that visual dial up to eleven?

[caption id="attachment_283768" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Gondor's Fabled White Tree[/caption]

Evil Toymaker Studio aims to do just that. They graciously offered for review a full set of their available line of War of the Ring component upgrades. Well, upgrades is a loose term here, as I would consider these particular offerings straight add-ons. Instead of replacing existing components, they provide new 3D elements that exist primarily to enhance the gameplay experience.

[caption id="attachment_283770" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Mountains, Both the Snowy and the Scary Kind.[/caption]

The full set of War of the Ring upgrades include mountainous terrain that fits perfectly atop the printed landscape, stronghold pieces that sit majestically in their…

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Frosthaven is one of the most anticipated games of 2023, sequel to the absurdly successful Gloomhaven and its little sibling Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. With over 100 scenarios in the Frosthaven campaign, branching pathways and hundreds of secrets to discover, reviewing this iceberg of a game requires more than just a single person.

Happily, Meeple Mountain is up to the task and today David McMillan, Jesse Fletcher, Will Hare and Andrew Holmes discuss their separate and combined experiences venturing to the frozen outpost of Frosthaven. Before we get onto discussing the game itself though, we’ll just introduce our previous experiences with the series and how we’re each playing through Frosthaven.

David: My first experience with a Gloomhaven was a brief, single excursion on my back porch one warm spring evening a few years back with Jesse, our friend Andrew Plassard (who’d brought along the first edition of the game), and my wife. If I recall correctly, the campaign for the game’s second printing was ongoing on Kickstarter at the time.

While that experience didn’t convince me to pull the trigger on it, it certainly put the thought into my head that, someday, I wanted to…

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Wayfarers of the South Tigris - David McMillan

I always get excited when I see a new Shem Phillips game appear. And I especially get excited when that game is one of his <name> of the <compass direction><modifier> series. So, I was ultra-excited to finally get to sit down and play Wayfarers of the South Tigris this past weekend. And, let me tell you, it’s everything I’d hoped it would be and more.

Wayfarers is a tableau builder featuring a smattering of worker placement, a pinch of set collection, and a whole heap of card comboing. With artwork by The Mico, Wayfarers wasn’t just a feast for this gamer’s soul, but a feast for the eyes as well. I can’t wait to get it to the table again… and again… and again…

Ease of entry?:
★★★★☆ - The odd bump or two
Would I play it again?:
★★★★★ - Will definitely play it again

Read more articles from David McMillan.

Moesteiro - Bob Pazehoski, Jr.

In Moesteiro, players take up the task of building a Renaissance-era monastery in Portugal. The primary mechanism is a dice queue of sorts. Players draft from their own pool of dice to place them as workers for each of the game’s…

The post First Take Friday – Wayfarers of the South Tigris, Moesteiro, Hoplomachus: Remastered, Isle of Cats, Frosthaven appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Western Legends - David Wood

Howdy partners!  Looking to have fun robbing banks, playing poker, and rustling cattle?  Well Western Legends is the game for you.  In this “sandbox”, old west themed game, players take on the role of some of history’s most famous, and infamous, legends – Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, Doc Holiday, Kit Carson, and others – each with a special ability.  On their turn, players take 3 actions, and those actions will determine whether they become wanted outlaws or a marshal sworn to uphold the law.  Either way players choose to go will give them opportunities to accumulate Legendary Points.  The player with the most LPs at the end of the game wins.

The choices open to players offer many different possibilities for earning LPs:  mining for gold, fighting bandits, arresting outlaws, and even robbing other players.  Turns go quickly, although at higher player counts there is going to be a bit more down time.  In a 2-player game, players must contend with the non-player character, the Man in Black, a nod to the cyborg from the movie WestWorld.. Western Legends allows players to immerse themselves into their roles and is a hoot to play.  So, saddle up and get ready for a rip-roaring time.

Ease of entry?:
★★★★★ -…

The post First Take Friday – Western Legends, Rumble Nation, Amsterdam, Star Wars: the Deckbuilding Game, Extravaganza appeared first on Meeple Mountain.

Imperium: Classics (and its sibling Imperium: Legends) are deck-building civilization-building games with highly asymmetric factions. Read on to see if Imperium constructs a mighty empire, or becomes lost to the annals of time in our review of the Imperium series.

(Note: Imperium: Classics and Imperium: Legends are two versions of the same game, but each with different sets of factions. I will henceforth refer to both collectively as Imperium unless otherwise specified.)

Imperium is a combination deck-building, civilization-building game coming from the design combo of Nigel Buckle and David Turczi. If the name David Turczi sounds familiar to you, it’s because he’s well-known for both his complex Euro games like Anachrony, his work on the “T” series (Tekhenu, Tawantinsuyu, etc.) as well as his prolific work in designing solo modes for dozens of other games like Kanban EV, So You’ve Been Eaten, Mosaic: A Story of Civilization, Tiletum and many more.

Although my excitement was high for a seemingly oddball combo of a civ game mixed with a deck-building game, I have to admit that based on Turczi’s design track record, I was more than a little trepidatious going into my first play of Imperium. Ultimately, my love for civilization games, deck-building, and player asymmetry overruled my concerns about complexity. Speaking of complexity, here’s…

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Strike - Justin Bell

Dumb fun, courtesy of dice, dexterity and an arena? Yes, please!

Strike (sometimes known as Strike Dice Game) hit its tenth anniversary this year, and until recently, I had never played it. But on a recent game night, we played it three times in about 20 minutes total, and all I did was laugh.

Strike has rules, but they are brief: chuck a die into a small plastic dice arena, and if it matches any other dice currently in the arena, take them all into your supply. If anyone rolls an X, that die is a strike and is removed from the game. If anyone rolls a die in the arena and all of the dice show the same face, it empties the arena, forcing the next player to roll all of their dice to build a new arena supply (and, usually, hosing them out of a decent number of their own dice). This is a game I’ll play again and again, at least at somebody else’s house!

Ease of entry?:
★★★★★ - No sweat
Would I play it again?:
★★★★☆ - Would like to play it again

Read more articles from Justin Bell.

John Company: Second Edition - Andrew…

The post First Take Friday – Strike, John Company: Second Edition, Flashback: Zombie Kidz, Applejack, Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar appeared first on Meeple Mountain.