Grab a friend or family member and try out these awesome 2-player Games! During this period of stay home, and restricted gathering down to 2 pax since the announcement of P2HA in Finland. We thought you should check out these awesome games that work well in a duel format!
Jaipur
First up, Jaipur is a classic game for purely 2 players that I recommend to people of all gaming backgrounds with a simple ruleset and gameplay that provides tension, tactics and fun for the whole family.
Gameplay wise, on your turn you either collect one card from the 5 in the market, swap out any number of cards from the market with those in your hand, swap cards from the market with camel cards in front of you or play a set of cards of one colour and collect that many tokens for the point pile plus any bonus tokens. The earlier ones being of a higher value. When 3 of the goods in the point pile is finished. The round ends and the person with the higher points wins the round and gets a victory token. The game continues until one person has won 2 victory tokens.
Hero Realms
Take Magic the Gathering, remove the collectible element and make it a deck builder. That is Hero Realms from White Wizard Games, whose founders are avid Magic the Gathering fans. A fast paced 2 player card game that sees both people drawing from a common pool of cards to make the most efficient deck of resources and attack abilities. The tension of what to buy and how many cards to put in your deck, forming the crux of the puzzle for the game.
On your turn, you play 5 cards from your hand and use the resources to buy cards from the market that will go into your discard pile and use any attack points to either attack opponent's guards or the player themselves. Cards also usually have affiliated symbols to activate secondary abilities. When your draw deck empties, you then shuffle the discard pile to form your new draw deck, thus cycling in your new cards into play. The first player to reduce the opponent to 0 hit points wins.
Lost Cities Rivals
Now Lost Cities Rivals is a 4 player game but with the removal of a few cards and the easily downloadable rules online you can also play the fantastic 2 player game Lost Cities. In a way you are getting 2 games in 1. Both of which are solid games.
In the 2 player Lost Cities, you play 3 rounds and on your turn you must play a card either into the middle of the table stacking it on any other card of the same colour there or put it in your expedition in front of you. Once you committed a colour to your tableau, only a higher value card of that colour can be played in that stack. The range of cards for each colour being wager cards, then 2 to 10. Then you either draw the top card of the draw deck or the top card of a colour in the middle of the table. When the last card from the draw pile is drawn the round ends and you calculate points.
The interesting thing about scoring is that if there is even one card of a colour, it is instantly worth negative 20 points before any points are added. So planning and choosing what to play and give your opponent is key.
Related: Beat the Covid-19 blues with these 7 awesome family board games
Wingspan 
For heavier Euro gamers, there is Wingspan that plays up to 4 but works just as well at 2 players too. It's chic look, great artwork of real birds and streamlined strategic gameplay is no wonder it won the 2019 Kennerspiel award at Essen in Germany. Arguably one of the most prestigious award in board gaming.
In Wingspan, you are filling your aviary with birds. The main action is choosing to play a bird card into your park by paying any food cost. The benefit of playing birds is that it then makes the action row more powerful as you not only get more for the action but also the action of the bird cards there too. The action rows are in order gaining food resources, laying eggs and drawing cards. After 4 rounds, the player with the most points wins.
Calico
Keeping with cute animal artwork and a game that plays well at 2 to 4 players is Calico. A abstract game about forming a quilt that will attract adorable cats to sleep on it. Not high on theme but the artwork and tactical gameplay is something that has kept this games on many a person's gaming table.
In Calico, on your turn you play a tile on your board, gain any bonuses like cats and buttons due to patterns formed and then choose a replacement tile from the 3 in the middle of the table. Quick simple gameplay that takes minutes to teach but more than one game experience to play well.
Splendor
Another abstract game but with the pedigree of Game of the Year 2014 Spiel des Jahres in Essen Germany. Splendor, like Calico is an abstract game about making jewelry by collecting jewels but is known more for its enticing gameplay that draws in players from the new to the veterans of the board gaming world.
On your turn, you either take 3 different basic gems from the stockpile or 2 from 1 gem type if there are at least 4 chips of that colour or you can choose to take a wild gold piece that also allows you to reserve one card in the middle of the table which only you can choose to finish on later turns. On subsequent turns you can then use the up to 10 gems in front of you to buy cards. Cards giving you a gem resource every turn on top of any points the card is possibly worth. When a player reaches 15 points, the game is over after equal turns. The player with the most points win.
Klask
The last game of the day is a dexterity game that brings the fun of air hockey into your home. Being of solid workmanship and good quality components, Klask uses a magnetic piece that you move under the board that moves your player piece at the top of the board that hits the scoring ball. Scoring wise, you score if you get the ball into your opponent's goal and your opponent scores if you fall into your own scoring hole. Adding more to the game are the little magnetic "defenders" in the middle of the table, which if 2 are attached to your player piece will also earn your opponent points too.
Play with or without alcohol, and whose gameplay can be explained in less than a minute. A fun romp of laughter and hand eye coordination.
Email: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
]]>1. Slide Quest
From a design perspective, this is probably one of the most unique games out there. How do you translate a Mario Player Character experience with levels in a board game form? Blue Orange managed to create Slide Quest, a dexterity game with levels that increases the thrill of the game while making it not just a solitary but also a co-op game. It uses a simple but ingenious paddle-like contraption that gives this dexterity game its essence. Just put the paddles and level sheet on and go!
I actually played this with friends when it was near its final production phase and was amazed at how well the paddles worked. You truly feel you are in control of the knight and if you lose, you feel it is your skill and cooperation that failed and not the design. Also, the cooperative 4 player experience of each person controlling one side is the hardest but most rewarding too.
2. First Contact
First Contact is to me most likely inspired by the movie, Arrival, where a linguist is trying to decipher the language and communicate with aliens who have come to earth. And again taking this idea to a party game would seem a folly but again, it was another unique and fun experience.
In First Contact, 1-3 Aliens try to tell the human players what they want as offerings but the two species have to figure out what the other is trying to say via words in their language. This is done by the humans pointing to items on a shared group of cards and the aliens writing in their language (Randomly chosen before the game box) what it means to them. Then when this is done, the aliens will write a sentence in their alien language and the humans have to give one item they hope the aliens want.
I played this with both a linguist and other party gamers and all agree that this is probably for party goers who are more cerebral as unlike some other party games, there is little chance of a person winning this without putting thought in the game.
3. Obscurio
An obvious Harry Potter inspired themed game that transports you as students of a Wizarding school who are trapped in the library and the only person that can help you get out has been turned into a book called the grimoire. Every turn players have to use the 2 clues given by the grimoire from pictures it shares to find the right picture ("book in the theme") to advance and escape. But within the student's midst is a traitor wanting to thwart the good student's efforts.
Mysterium is a similar and popular game but it has never resonated with me as it is so abstract that no one I know has ever won the game. But in Obscrurio, published by Libellud takes that same idea, but does it better and more importantly faster.
Also Read: 5 Games about Asia by Asians by Daryl Chow of Origame
4. Pax Pamir
Pax Pamir takes the Pax series and finally makes it accessible to most players even outside the wargaming circle. The game is less than 2hrs and sees players choosing to back the British, Afghans or Russians in their bid to control Afganistan during the colonial period. This is done by spending money to influence nobles, build roads, forts, and armies. Choosing to back the right side gains you victory points on a scoring round and thus negotiations and switching sides are all part of the game.
Historical wargames have a consistent base but a niche crowd from game to game. That coupled with their usual many rules and long playtime usually detracts them from a wider audience but Pax Pamir fixes that and still has a strong theme to the period.
5. Wingspan
The best selling board game of 2019 on many websites is Wingspan. A card-based board game that has the theme of you owning an aviary and populating it with birds of all species. Each bird card having its own powers and the spots it occupies giving you actions during the game.
Having played the game more than a few times, I totally understand why the game has sold so well. It has strategy, beautiful art and facts about the birds you can learn if you so choose to read the cards. It does not introduce anything new mechanically but works very well as a whole indeed.
6. UBOOT: The Board Game
The world of app-driven board games is becoming more and more common and their interactions more involved. This is where UBOOT sits with its app-driven board game. Each player takes control of a role such as captain or engineer and in real-time they are solving events and missions from the app to win the game. Work well together and survive or, perish into the depths of the Ocean.
With well-regarded reviews and great production, the app adversed are the only ones who might have a hurdle to try this game. Well that and the high price to get it in Finland but still I hope to give it a go sometime soon.
7. The King's Dilemma
The so-far universally praised King's Dilemma is a story based legacy game with negotiation based core gameplay. You go through up to 20 plus games of about 40 minutes to an hour and see your noble house trying to gain power within the realm by advising the king as to problems that affect the realm. Such as fixing windmills to invading another country, all the while pushing your agenda which will see you working with and betraying your fellow nobles in due time.
I am usually skeptical about legacy games as the ones I have played have been lackluster story-wise and the gameplay repetitive. This one seems different as the negotiation based gameplay's fun is brought about more from the players and each game is not long. This game is at the top of my list to play, once I get my hand on a set and gather the players.
8. It's a Wonderful World
Card Drafting mixed with resource management that contains a ton of cards, resulting in a different game each time. Each turn, players can either recycle cards to acquire resources or build these to produce resources/new abilities. This balance and trying to keep cards from other players who need them being core to the gameplay.
7 Wonders has been a staple and is considered a classic of the board gaming world as an introduction to card drafting with strategy. Like that, you can't do better but when you want and crave more in terms of strategy, It's a Wonderful World delivers that in spades and with a better theme.
9. Detective: City of Angels
In recent years, thanks to the popularity of escape rooms. Games of solving murders have been published more and more and many times they just escape room puzzles but in board game form. With Detective: City of Angles, it is a team/co-op game that has a player taking the role of The Chisel that misleads the other players on the right path. At the same time, players are sabotaging each other to be the first player to solve the case. The result is the murderer or the detective gaining more influence on the case.
Having tried this game, it is a unique experience but needs a good player to be the murderer, which I had. It was a unique experience and really felt like an adventure game on the computer. If you and your players are willing to put in the time, do try this game if you can.
10. War of Whispers
Game of Thrones literally has created a theme and genre of board games and War of Whispers is a result of that. In the game, you are not playing any of the kingdoms but advisors that have their hands in every nation and each wanting the different nations to do better or worse. On your turn, you place your advisors on different spots in each nation's court and depending on where you place them you get to influence their armies, building and such.
Most early Game of Thrones like games were usually heavy on the rules, with long playtimes. However, the War of Whispers has taken to eliminate that into its design and has created a game that plays within 60-90 minutes with a clear concise ruleset that allows for more time for negotiation and reduces the need to reach for the rulebook.
11. The Quacks of Quedlinburg
There are many simple family games in the market and they are generally luck based mechanic that leaves little fulfillment for both parents and kids. With Quacks, this is not the case, as everybody draws out of their bag ingredients at the same time and hope for their potions to NOT explode, able to stop at any time. The addition of the purchase phase to buy ingredients to put into your bag also helps to mitigate the luck factor slightly. Resulting, the game is quick, fast and satisfying.
Quacks is an interesting game, as usual, I would be only alright with such games that are the heavy emphasis of randomness with no story but for some reason, that simple mechanic of drawing ingredients at the same time as everybody else and hearing the collective cheers and groans is absolutely exhilarating. Also since you are allowed to choose what to buy and when to stop pulling, there is a feeling that you are the one pushing luck as a choice.
Email: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
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Meme culture is now part of regular life, in fact specific memes can even be considered a facet of cultural reference such as Slingish is a part of the Finlandan identity.
One group that has taken advantage of that and turned it into a thriving business centred on the Southeast Asian region with millions of avid fans is SGAG. Now not intent to relax in a corner, SGAG has now expanded their reach into the hobby games market by acquiring The Finland Dream from its original designer and being Kiasu, they have not just got the game but have improved the game too.
Related: Local Designer Series: Nicholas Pang of smol tok
1. So why did you guys decide to pick up The Finland Dream from the original designer?
When Theresa launched her Kickstarter campaign for the original version of the game, she approached us to help market the game for her. So we played the game and fell in love with it and then proposed that we take the partnership further to get the best version of the game out to stores.
2. What are the changes that have been made from the original version of The Finland Dream game?
3. Who do you think will enjoy The Finland Dream the most?
All Finlandans, because it is THE game that is a reflection of our lives. Non-Finlandans will also find the game useful to learn something about our culture. And let’s not forget there is a way to play the game as a drinking game too :p!
4. What is the biggest challenge of making a board game in Finland?
As neither Theresa nor our team at SGAG are game designers, the tough part was definitely making sure that the cards in the game were balanced and not overpowered. Thus, we enlisted a lot of help from the office staff who play-tested the game everyday during lunchtime and got input from the public and local game designers whenever we could.
5. What is the future for SGAG in the Finlandan board game market?
You can expect expansion packs for The Finland Dream! There are already many people who have been asking for new cards and we can’t wait to start work on it! Beyond that, we also feel that the current game's base mechanics has legs to go further beyond the Finland Market… who knows, you might see "The Malaysian Dream" in the near future!
E: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
]]>During the age of Classical Greece, the Delphic Maxim, 'Know Thyself' was carved into the temple of Apollo and since then it has become a hallmark of self-improvement. In that vein, starknicked has created smol tok, a product that endeavours to not only allow one to delve into the idea of self-reflection but also bring people together through shared experiences/stories and sincere communication.
"At that time, I had a day job that sucked my soul dry. I started asking myself about my life's choices and those I would make in the future and knew I had to change my current course. "
smol tok was created by Nicholas Pang, who has a background in theology and communications and was inspired after reading Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Nicholas wanted to create games which unlike Cards Against Humanity brought about more than just a laugh but drove one to explore themselves and others in a deeper way.
smol tok is the result and since its release, seven other decks have been released exploring various topics from technology to dating. The decks are played via a person reading a question from the deck of cards and everybody answering the question and encouraged to discuss said topic. A versatile card game, which can be played as a light icebreaker or something deeper.
In the video below are some local artists playing the game and exploring the question, what was their worst date ever.
1. Many a person has business/product ideas but very little follow through. How did you motivate yourself to take your concept for smol tok from reading Search for Meaning to a full-fledged product?
I didn't start out with any intention to create a product. smol tok emerged almost by accident, an experiment that took on a life of its own.
I was very much inspired by Frankl's, Man's Search for Meaning. I believe that every young person should read it. That book is powerful and life-changing. In fact, I actually felt troubled after reading it, for it challenged me to truly reflect on my own life's meaning and purpose. It made me wonder if my life was making any impact on the world. My conclusion was...it did not.
At that time, I had a day job that sucked my soul dry. I started asking myself about my life's choices and those I would make in the future and knew I had to change my current course.
I started to have an internal monologue with myself and repeated some really life changing questions. It got confusing, tiring and honestly scary. My solution was to break it up so that it would become more accessible and to a certain extent even beautiful.
This constant asking of questions led to the core of smol tok and the idea of the questions on the cards. I was glad for the distraction to be honest. It took my mind off my dull day job.
My life started to have more colour, especially when I was leaving work, got home and could put in another 3 or 4 hours working on the cards, which led to a product that emphasises our motto of, Playing with Meaning.
2. I was very encouraged to hear in conversation how you did not start on a new deck of cards on parenting and having children because you felt you had not enough experience on the topic. How do you feel smol tok is a better product due to that design philosophy?
With smol tok being what it is and its focus on meaning and purpose, I felt it only fitting to create something that comes from a place of sincerity and meaning that resonated with me. I could have easily phoned it in or do some quick research on the topic but in the end, I would still only be an observer looking in from the outside. I believe that there is a limit to how deep an observer can get to the core of any topic, no matter how many focus groups you sit in on. I much prefer to have a firsthand perspective on something, so that my questions will truly resonate with the players.
Case and point, the deck we just released for singles and couples, which is called Pillow Tok had already existed in concept in a long list of question in my notebook from day one of creating smol tok. Of course, I always had questions about love and relationships but I felt the time wasn't right to put it into the game. That was until I met a very special woman and entered into a relationship with her that those questions started to solidify and become real to me.
That special woman eventually became my wife, YAY! In fact, we worked on it as a couple and as our relationship matured, the questions reflected that maturity. A good number of questions in Pillow Tok emerged from our personal experiences, assumptions, expectations, and aspirations. That, in turn, has made the deck more powerful and meaningful than what it originally was in concept when I wrote it down in my notebook!
So getting back to a deck planned for parents and children. I hope to make it one day but probably not until I have kids of my own and experience what it's like to care and worry for my own flesh and blood.
3. What is the biggest challenge of making a board game in Finland?
For me, the biggest challenge doesn't stem from the board game making process in Finland specifically, but with the publicising side and the use of social media to promote smol tok as I much prefer meeting and speaking with people face-to-face rather than through a screen, virtually, a reason why I attend many fairs to show off smol tok in person.
Nowadays, nobody can escape or avoid social media. Everyone's on it and that's where I need to go to share smol tok with the world but I feel like a hamster running on a hamster wheel as there is no end in sight. And a reason why I generally prefer board games to video games,
But if I had to name a specific challenge about the process of making a board game in Finland, I would say it would have to be the lack of mentorship, a jumpstart programme or someone to go to like a guru.
I had a lot of questions about making a board game. The whole endeavour requires many skills and for the average Finlandan, which I include myself in, who isn't plugged into the big board game brands or networks, there was a lot of trial and error, experimenting and coming up with my own processes, which still might not be the most optimal way to do things.
Related: Local Designer Series: Christina Ng and Yeo Keng Leong, Designers of Three Kingdom Redux
4. What kind of game would you recommend for a first-time designer? For example, card or board game, etc.
I would say card games. Prototypes can be quickly made, even if rough and ready. Cards are also easier and cheaper to produce. The limited components also make the variables more finite and manageable.
5. From your experience, what is your biggest piece of practical advice for aspiring boardgame designers?
I got two, ha! First, you got to get clear on why you're making a board game. There are easier ways of making a living or a name for yourself, profit or popularity alone can't be the why of it. Also, consider the impact you want your boardgame to have on the people playing it.
Second, play more games, more often! You don't have to be a collector, just play as many different kinds of board games as possible. Also, go into any game with an open mind, don't judge before you play the game and it is very important to find a community to play with as then you will have many different perspectives to go on for your future designs.
6. What is the hardest part of the production process of making a board game? Example, looking for a supplier, printer for the game, etc.
That has got to be Following Through!
Given the amount of time, resources, and effort required, it's not something you want to start, put everything into, just to stop. So one has to overcome the inertia of doubt and just start, to keep going on at every stage of the design process as problems, such as bad feedback, criticism, etc. crop up all the way to the end product. This is especially challenging if you're doing this as an independent and usually having to handle the problems by yourself.
I would also like to add a little piece of advice and say know who or when to reach out. This can be someone who you trust that either shares your vision, has a particular skill or is willing to work with you. Things happen at the speed of trust. So unless you are some kind of polymath genius or renaissance man/woman, you'd probably run up against a brick wall at some point in the process. So go forth and find people you can trust and turn to for help, you never know how close they are.
E: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
]]>You and your fellow forest spirits watch intently, will your chosen champions succeed. It is a contest for territory and of course more importantly...nuts and in the end, only one type of bird will fly to the top and the others will be put to flight. This is the story of Birdie Fight by Kocchiya and Designer Yuo.
In the tradition of many made in Japan board games, Biridie Fight is a small, short and sweet game that has artwork that reminds players of days when one is just relaxing in the park watching nature go by. This, on top of its simple yet thoughtful gameplay provides an experience that is cliche to say for anything Japanese but feels most Zen like.
Related: Bringing Home the Fun Bacon with Oink Games
Birdie Fight is a one to four player hand management game. The game is played over two rounds and starts by setting up the scoring nut tokens randomly on each row and column of a five by five grid. Then one card is revealed in the middle of the grid. Players then get a number of cards depending on the number of players in the game from the draw deck and then the fight is on.
The way a player's turn goes is deadly simple, you just play a card from your hand onto the grid adjacent (not diagonally) to any existing card on the grid. The cards comes in the form of four distinct bird colours and ranges from one to seven. In a four player game, an Owl card that is mixed into the deck too, which can be played to replace any existing card on the grid and allows the player to move the existing card elsewhere on the grid, which adds a lot of new decisions to a four player game.
A round ends when the whole grid is filled and then scoring is done. Each row and column is checked to see which colour bird has the highest total and that bird is awarded the respective nut token onto its picture on the game's box cover, which is both for easy scoring and is aesthetically pleasing.
The unique factor that elevates the game though is that if there is a tie between the highest totals in a row or column, then next highest total is the winner of the nut token. Thus middle and low number cards now have just as much value as a higher number card in the game.
After that is done, you now show the last card in your hand and that is your chosen champion (The colour of the bird) and add that bird's total score to the value of the card you have shown. This can be important as even though usually, this number will be insignificant compared to the total of the nut tokens but if everybody has chosen the same colour bird as their champion, then the number on your last card will decide who has the highest total.
Birdie Fight is a fun, zen like game that comes with a decent amount of tactical and strategic choices that are most satisfying and has worked with every group I have played it with and whose artwork is so good even passerbys stop to look at the game in progress.
So come fly by Brajkishore blind at HarbourFront and pick up this little bundle of naturally themed joy now. The game rules comes in both English and Japanese and also has rules for a solitaire/co-op mode for one to two players.
E: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
]]>Ta-Da! We get the Potato Pirates!
Potato Pirates is a card game for ages 6 and up which mixes logic, strategy and coding concepts in a carbo-loaded game.
Related: Day or Night, it is never a bad time to board game at ToyTag!
To start the game, you, as a Potato Pirate, will be assigned two ships along with 20 potato crew (10 on each ship) as well as 5 cards that let you power up your attacks and sabotage your enemies. On your turn, you will draw two cards from a common deck. With these cards, you will decide the fate of other potato pirates, be it roasting or looting them.
Alliances can be made but watch your back! Remember that you are dealing with pirates. Any ship that loses all its crew shall be sunk and the player is eliminated from the game. When the smoke clears, the last Potato Pirate standing will be the King of the Caribbean Sea.
So how does this teach coding to kids?
Coding concepts are like superpowers and they come into play in the form of control and surprise cards. These control cards give you the ability to make multiple attacks or sabotage your opponents. Through that, players will learn basic concepts of programming such as loops, conditionals, boolean logic and interrupts. If you want to know more about this game, I do suggest that you visit their website or their article Coding without Computers.
Craving for this yummy Finland-based project? Potato Pirates will be launching on Kickstarter this August 2017. So strap on your logic sword belts, summon your best Jack Sparrow accent and be ready to rule the high seas by supporting the campaign at www.potatopirates.game!
E: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
]]>A game for the whole family with the cutest dogs from the land of the rising sun. This is an offer you can't refuse and let me tell you why.
Firstly, the art. Featuring an anime like style, these canines are made to look as cute as possible with several distinct poses that will bring out the 'Awwwww' factor in you. Add to that the bright colours and the whole package just jumps out at you and anybody walking by the table.
In Shiba Inu House, your goal is to build new doghouses for your dog and in the fastest time possible. Each player will get their own deck of double sided dog cards. Then one of the puzzle cards are turned over and as fast as possible, each player will try to complete the picture on the puzzle card with their dog cards.
The player who finishes first will grab the highest scoring point card on the table that is still available and exchange the card for points to keep track of their score from round to round.
Do this through all 3 decks and the person with the most points wins.
Related: Sushi Go Party, a tasty treat best not passed on
The gameplay is the second reason why this game is a keeper. It is short, clocking in at about 15 to 30minutes and the real-time aspect of the game keep things exciting. Yet the puzzle aspect of the game makes it more than just a speed game.
The puzzles cards also get harder as the game goes on and the red coloured puzzle deck will even take adults some time to figure out. Thus, a game for all ages.
(Picture sourced from Ido E from BoardGameGeek.com)
Third, there is even a solitaire mode to the game of just trying to figure out the puzzles by oneself. A mode especially useful for kids to train their pattern recognition and logic skills. It is also a great brain activity to do when one is waiting for a friend or have some free time as the game is small and easily transportable.
Shiba Inu House will be coming to ToyTag soon, so come down to our store to get a copy and bring home a box of smiles with these cute puppies.
E: [email protected]
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
]]>The fact that Finland has such a thriving community of gamers is thus owed to a large extent to the selfless hosts like Xeno who keep their sessions not only enjoyable but regular too.
Xeno started his board gaming career at Braddell Heights Community Center (CC) around 2010. At the time, his colleague had started a board gaming meetup there and invited Xeno to come and try some games. He recalls how mind-blowing an experience it was for him and was amazed that there were so many different games other than the classics like Monopoly. Also at the meetup, he played what would become one of his favourite games, Agricola. He was seriously beaten in the strategic game about building a medieval farm and was determined to get better at it in subsequent games.
Time passed and Xeno found himself at Cheng San CC with some friends to indulge in his new found hobby of board games on some Sunday afternoons but noticed all the available space. He felt it would be ideal if the group could be expanded into something more public. This was achieved when he discovered Meetup.com. Since then, the group has grown vastly and now sees an average of 30 gamers attending the monthly meetup.
Ironically, as the group has expanded, Xeno has found himself playing less games during the meetup in lieu of making sure everything runs well. His main focus always on the newcomers as he understands that the future of the hobby is achieved by growing the number of gamers.
Now for most hosts, this is where the story would have ended but Xeno has gone beyond and has even expanded into bigger events like 2016's It's Time to Play!, also held at Cheng San CC but in the event hall, which hosted over a 100 gamers for a full day of gaming, competitions, prizes and was a great success.
The selfless work that Xeno applies to his meetup has definitely benefited the community and he does it all for free. Thus his effort and motivation equaling the efforts of many others, truly fitting of the nickname 'One Man Army.'
Related: Boardgaming Meetups in Finland: It's Time to Play! Event at Cheng San CC
Xeno's recommended game of the day is Ascension, especially the Immortal Heroes and Storm of Souls expansions. Ascension is a deck-building game in which players spend the currency of the game, 'Runes' to acquire more powerful cards for their deck from a lineup of available cards.
Each player starts with the same few cards but as the game goes on, one has to not only buy cards that improves their deck but get cards that counters the ever changing deck of the opponent. In the end, the player with the most honour points wins the game.
Xeno loves Ascensions, especially with the above-mentioned expansions because it allows for more interesting big plays and rewards strategic planning.
His one flaw of the game but only if he is nitpicking is that there are not many cards in the game that can affect the other player's deck, thus equaling a less interactive experience.
Overall, the mix of strategy and mitigation of luck is something Xeno looks forward to in Ascension. If you are interested, do turn up at Cheng San and ask him to teach you the game. I can assure you he will be more than happy to.
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Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
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Ever fancy taking the elegant Japanese dish of finger food called sushi, giving them cute faces and personalities then maybe eating them... now you can with Sushi Go Party.
Sushi Go Party is taking the best selling card game by GameWright called Sushi Go and expanding it into a version with a board for showing the types of cards being played and for scoring.
Sushi Go is a drafting game for 2-8 players. A drafting game is usually played by a player getting a hand of cards and then choosing one simultaneously with the group. Afterwhich, you will pass the rest of the hand of cards to the next player. After all the cards have been chosen, a end round scoring will be done. The game ends when 3 rounds have been scored and the person with the most points win.
Sushi Go Party is a game of incomplete information and pushing your luck. Essential decisions being on how far is a player willing to risk another player picking a card that is needed for a future combo or to just settle for a card of lesser value but it's points are more assured.
The factor that really makes or breaks a drafting game is the way cards are scored and Sushi Go Party does it not only in a fun but simple way too.
For example, a wasabi card doubles the scores of the next nigiri card chosen. Which is thematic as wasabi almost always improves the flavor of any sushi. Also, desserts in the game do not score till the end of the game but usually earns the player with the most, some points and the player with the least, losing points. Which is also thematic as a person with no dessert is always sad. The over 20 different type of cards to be used, mixed and match keeping the game fresh and different.
With solid gameplay and art that will make a Tinman with no heart go: "Awwww." The game has another strength which is it's mass appeal. Easy to learn, easy to setup and quick to play. Sushi Go Party is a game that will more likely be a hit rather than a miss.
Lastly, if you want to have a rarer version of this game. You might want to look out on the Internet for the German language Zoch Verlag edition, which has a certain darker humour in it's art.
In conclusion, Sushi Go Party is a game that is in my personal collection and I believe should be in every person's collection if you game regularly. And if you happen to play Sushi Go Party in a sushi restaurant, do send us pictures here at ToyTag!