My Top 10 Boardgames Published in 2020

 

Here's a look at my 10 favorite games published in 2020.

(Or else made available in North America so late in 2019 that there was no way to really play them before the calendar flipped.)

#10

THE PRINCESS BRIDE ADVENTURE BOOK GAME (designed by Ryan Miller, published by Ravensburger)

There are MANY games on The Princess Bride out there, and they pretty much all suck.

But not this one.

The Adventure Book Game has players cooperate to make their way through chapter after chapter in an actual book that doubles as a collection of gaming boards. It's clever, it's funny, it's exciting—but it's also way too easy. So houserule the number of cards each player gets at the beginning, and have fun storming the castle!

#9

THE CASTLES OF TUSCANY (designed by Stefan Feld, published by alea)
When I first played this simple tile-laying game by Feld (usually known for sprawling designs where each piece is linked to three others), I wasn't sure I liked it at all; I thought it might end up on the trade pile after a couple more plays. But the more I experience it, the more hidden gems I manage to mine from its surpristing depths.

It's too bad the game requires such a big box (are you kidding me with that humongous scoring track?) and I was hoping for more cleverness in the interplay between red and green victory points, but The Castles of Tuscany has earned a place in my collection. And that's a difficult badge to earn.

#8

THE CREW (designed by Thomas Sing, published by Kosmos)

A cooperative trick-taking game.

When you first hear about it, it sounds absurd. After you've played a couple of hands of it, it feels so natural—so obvious— that you wonder why nobody thought of it before.

The pasted-on theme has players as crew members of a space mission, but suffice it to say that the tasks required of the players at every step are increasingly creative and challenging. 

I would have worn out my copy already if the pandemic didn't make it difficult for groups of gamers to get together.

#7

APOCALYPSE ROAD (designed by Carla & Jeff Horger, published by GMT Games)

As entry number three in the ever-growing Thunderverse, Apocalypse Road provides a violent and exciting answer to the question, "What would happen if you played Thunder Alley with guns?"

It's a post-apocalyptic racing game where you score points for completing laps and for taking out opposing cars. Although some pugnacious gamers will lament its simple combat system, Apocalypse Road delivers plenty of action in what turns out to be, surprisingly, the easiest entry point into the series (after Thunder Alley and Grand Prix).

You can read my full review here.

#6

BACK TO THE FUTURE: BACK IN TIME (designed by Prospero Hall, published by Funko Games)
This one looked like a shameless cash grab (ab)using one of the most beloved intellectual properties of the '80s—and a movie very close to my heart.

Turns out it's one of the best coop games I've every played, with strong mechanics that nevertheless espouse the themes and plotlines built into the movie like you wouldn't believe. And tough, too!

Add to that a rulebook designed to look like the Tales From Space comic book, and I can't imagine any fan not being in boardgame heaven.

#5

CLINIC: DELUXE EDITION (designed by Alban Viard, published by AVStudio Games and Mercury Games)
I was already a fan of Viard's Tramways but had never had a chance to try Clinic. The new edition afforded me that opportunity, and the game's a hoot!

Expand your clinic, hire doctors and staff, admit a steady stream of patients—but make sure you have enough parking spaces for all of their cars (neither one of those bastards takes the bus). Untreated patients worsen, doctors get exhausted, but hey, at least the orderlies keep the place clean.

A nice brain-burner that looks a lot more complicated than it actually is.

#4

MARACAIBO (designed by Alexander Pfister, published by Game's Up and Capstone Games)

Pfister completely mesmerized me with Great Western Trails, which ended up as my top pick for 2016. In 2020 we got the not-quite-as-good-but-still-excellent Maracaibo, in which players sail around the Caribbean in the 17th century, and stop in various locations to execute one out of many possible actions. The distance travelled is up to you, but your mileage will affect your gameplay options. Trade, settle, fulfill quests, fight for Spain! (or France, if you're so inclined—hell, even England has something to offer), all the while exploring the untamed jungle.

Maracaibo can also be played in campaign mode, where a story unfolds and each game affects what happens in the next. Lots of fun.

(Unlike one of my disappointments of the year—see below.)

#3

VERSAILLES 1919 (designed by Mark Herman & Geoff Engelstein, published by GMT Games)

As leader of one of the four major nations tasked with writing the Treaty of Versailles, your job is to clean up the mess that was WWI and try to tilt the balance in your favor, without upsetting the whole damn thing.

Versailles 1919 presents a much lighter diplomatic system than the one used in Churchill, and yet it retains much of that game's tension and historical flavor. Use your influence to leave your mark on world-spanning issues, learn to yield when the battle would be too costly, and manage local uprisings the best you can—unless, of course, they create more serious problems for your opponents than for you.

You can read my full review here.

#2

COOPER ISLAND (designed by Andreas "ode." Odendahl, published by Frosted Games and Capstone Games)

On a shared island, players do their best to develop their home area through judicious worker placement and the lost art of timing things just right. Since production is determined by height (when you stack a forest three tiles high, that hex produces a wood cube worth 3), building literally on top of your previous actions will yield the most profitable results. But things are tight! Only two basic workers to start with, and you must find a way to unlock new and potentially better ones. 

Cooper Island pretty much flew under the radar and that's a real shame.

#1

ON MARS (designed by Vital Lacerda, published by Eagle-Gryphon Games)

It's the near future and humans are building a colony on the red planet. Can you make the most out of this competitive-but-you-still-have-to-work-together endeavor? It won't be easy, but it's also going to be hard.

Vital Lacerda is known for heavy designs, and On Mars certainly fits the bill. Multiple systems interlock into a waltz of moves and counter-moves, both on the planet's surface and in orbit. The brilliant shuttle mechanic introduces an unusual timer: when it travels from one area of activity to the other, do you stay put and bet on your having sufficient things to do until it returns, or does it make sense to hop aboard to access the other side's actions?

I love it to pieces.

DISAPPOINTMENTS
I define "disappointments" as games I expected a lot from, and which failed to deliver.

While 2019 had not produced any such letdowns, 2020 sure made up for it.

A Pfister design that feels way too constrained and limited in what players can do, Expedition to Newdale makes you wonder how it could come from the same guy who thought up Maracaibo, my #4 pick for this year. The production system is clever, but frankly, the actions are terribly boring.

Where the first Undaunted (Normandy) was a happy surprise, North Africa came along and tried to "improve" on the system by taking four steps backwards. (Namely, Bolstering is now ruined as a decision point because you must do it or else start permanently losing units.) I'll stick to the original, thank you very much. 

This one sounded promising enough that I backed it on Kickstarter. Turns out the design is okay but nothing to write home about, while the minis included in the "deluxe edition" arrived deformed and serve no purpose in the game; worse, they actually get in the way.

STRAGGLERS
Let's end on a high note with three games that would have made the list had I encountered them back when they were published.

A brilliant "push your luck" game that doubles as a bag-builder, with a cool theme—witches brewing potions—on top. I mean, what's not to like here?

When this first came out, I thought I wouldn't enjoy it. I was dead wrong.

You had me at "the trial of Louis Riel," but the game is also clever and highly replayable. The mechanics—somewhat reminiscent of Twilight Struggle—weave a convincing and captivating simulation of a court of law. Hell, Jason Matthews (the very designer of TS) loved it so much that he's tweaking the system to fit a game on the trial of Aaron Burr.

It's not perfect, but the system used here is fast, fun, and makes brigade-level ACW battles playable within an acceptable time frame. I'm looking forward to playing the other games in the series (currently Shiloh 1862 and Cedar Mountain 1862). 

And it's by far the best Worthington Games title I've played.

# # #

Flash Review — Flamme Rouge

Player count: 2-4
Age: 8+
Playtime: 30-45 min
Works well with just 2: Yes, but the more players, the better (solo and 6 players possible with the 1st expansion)
Solo quality: Pretty good!

A quick & easy cycling game set in 1930’s France.

Carefully manage card decks for you team of two riders, take advantage of the evolving terrain, and make sure you slipstream as often as possible!

Flamme Rouge offers a variety of circuits, with ups and downs (literally!) that force you to manage the fatigue of your riders. The more time you spend at the front of the pack, the more fatigue cards you’ll shuffle into your rider’s deck and end up having to play. But hide within the pack for too long, and you won’t be able to break away from the peloton before it’s too late…

The game is so simple that whenever I explain the rules, new players go, “That’s it?” And then, when the game is over, they immediately want to play another race.

Most easily forgotten rule: You can move “over” other riders! No lane is ever blocked. You just can’t stop your movement on an occupied space.

# # #

Flash Review — Patchwork

Player count: 2
Age: 8+
Playtime: 15-30 min

A game about putting together a quilt.
(I’m not kidding, and it’s brilliant.)

Move the shared worker around the play area, grab a piece within his range that matches what you need in terms of size and shape, pay the cost (in buttons!) and incorporate that piece into your quilt.

After years of giving us heavy titles such as Agricola, Fields of Arle or A Feast for Odin (all great games, by the way), designer Uwe Rosenberg went back to his roots and came up with a simple, clever and fun game that’s amazingly deep for a 15-to-30-minute experience.

Patchwork was originally published in 2014, and has since then spawned a whole series of variations. Some differ in look only (such as the Christmas Edition) while others feature altered gameplay (like Patchwork Express, if 15 minutes really is too long for you, or Patchwork Doodle, where you write on the board).

I say stick to the original gem of a design, and you’ll find yourself jonesing for buttons again and again.

Most easily forgotten rule: The first player to build a 7x7 square on his board gets the 7-button bonus tile.

# # #

Flash Review — Memoir '44

Player count: 2
Age: 8+
Playtime: 30-60 min

A fun, fast and simple WWII tactical game where units are activated with cards and combat resolved with special dice.
Play the Americans and recreate the D-Day invasion, or hold your ground in Berlin as the Germans—and no matter what you do, guard those objectives!

Originally published in 2004 (for the 60th anniversary of D-Day), Memoir ‘44 keeps getting reprinted, and for good reason. It’s a scenario-based system that’s both light on rules and high on fun. Play a card, move the relevant units on the board, and open fire! The components are gorgeous, the rulebook is organized like a dream, and the base game comes with 16 scenarios (with more online, free of charge). Endless expansions provide new soldiers, tanks and artillery pieces, along with a wide variety of terrains and obstacles, with new adventures and skirmishes on top.
Tons of fun, all playable in under 60 minutes.

Most easily forgotten rule: If a unit is engaged (adjacent to an enemy unit), it cannot shoot at a unit further away.


And if you like that game, you can try other titles in the ever-growing Commands & Colors series:

• Ancients (antiquity battles—with chariots!)
• Napoleonics (early 19th century European warfare)
• Medieval (conquests in the Middle Ages)
• Battle Cry (American Civil War engagements)
• Tricorne (battles of the American revolution)
• The Great War (WWI action)
• Samurai Battles (Japanese feudal warfare)
• Red Alert (space fleet combat)
• Battlelore (fantasy armies—bring out the Dwarves!)

# # #

Flash Review — The Crew

 

Player count: 2 to 5

Works well with just 2: No (it involes a dummy hand, not fun)

Age: 10+ 

Playtime: 20 min (but not really—see below)

Everyone's played trick-taking games before: first player lays a card on the table, and each opponent must follow suit if at all possible. Highest card of the suit led takes the trick and starts the next one.

But have you ever tried a cooperative trick-taking game?

In The Crew, each space mission takes the form of a task (or a series of tasks) to be accomplished within a round lf play. One player must win the trick containing the blue 6; the tricks containing the yellow 2 and the red 7 must be won in that order; one player can't win tricks at all; or one trick must be won with the play of a 1 (the lowest card in the deck); and so on.

Players can only share information through the placement of a communications token, which indicates whether the card they're showing is their highest, lowest, or only card in that color.

The Crew is pure genius, and it feels so natural once you start playing it that it boggles the mind that nobody thought of it before. No wonder it won a whole slew of awards.

Be careful with that 20-minute playtime, though. Each mission will take a few minutes and you can stop whenever you feel like it. But if you want to go the distance, The Crew offers a list of 50 missions, or enough to keep you busy for two to three hours.

Most easily forgotten rule: A communicated card is still part of your hand; you can (and sometimes must!) play it.




# # #

Flash Review — Brass: Lancashire

Player count: 2 to 4

Works well with just 2: Yes!

Age: 14+ 

Playtime: 60-120 min

A game of business development and railroad construction during the industrial revolution in England.
Build a solid network and make good use of those built by your opponents, carefully manage your resources, and for God’s sake, only get a loan when the time is right.

This is one of Martin Wallace’s masterpieces, with an intuitive economic engine and original game mechanics that require you to—gasp—share resources with your opponents. You might not like it at first, but if you manage to time your actions just right, you’ll be able to get that second shipyard built in Liverpool, and score the big points by game end.

For me, Brass: Lancashire is absolutely a Top 10 game, with its sister game Brass: Birmingham not far behind. And this new edition is a real beauty.

Most easily forgotten rule: A network connection is required for consuming coal, but NOT for iron.




# # #

Boardgame review — Apocalypse Road

A Bullet by Any Other Name

Designers: Carla & Jeff Horger

Player count: 2-10

Publisher: GMT Games

In the not-too-distant future, everything has gone to hell in a handbasket, yet people use whatever time, energy and money they have left to organize huge car races where ramming and shooting are not only permitted, but rewarded.

Long story short: we finally have Thunder Alley with guns.

A bit of backstory.
Ever since Thunder Alley (the first title in the series) came out, I’ve been teaching the game to a wide variety of players, in personal gaming events and at conventions. I even ran a year-long season at work! And while everyone enjoyed themselves, at least one person—it never failed—asked me at the end of the race, “Is there a version of this game with guns?” People just wanted to zoom around the track while shooting up the competition. And now they can.

The third entry in the ever-growing Thunderverse (after Thunder Alley and Grand Prix), Apocalypse Road is played on a large racetrack that can accommodate up to 10 players. Each track features tight curves, bottlenecks, a rough section through which no lane change is allowed, and an even rougher Jump area where cars risk getting more damaged than usual.

Britain's very own Andover Autodrome

Players control a stable of 10 cars each, four or five of which are active on the track at any given time, depending on the number of players involved. Each car sports its own speed rating (between 4 and 8) and one weapon type (out of three) facing forward, backward, or mounted on a turret. On his turn, a player gets to play a Race card and drive one of his hitherto unmoved cars: the number of spaces moved is arrived at by adding the automobile’s speed to the card’s value.

A sample of Race cards

Movement cards come in five types, most of them simulating the effects of drafting. Lead movement pulls the column of vehicles behind the active car; both Solo movement and Pursuit movement push the column of vehicles ahead of the active car (with subtle differences between the two); Line movement takes vehicles in front of and behind the active car along for the ride; Overtake movement allows the active car to switch places with vehicles it encounters; and Ramming movement causes a collision when the active car catches up with a juicy target.

Combat is fast and simple, and an active car can shoot at an opponent before or after its move. The player declares an adjacent target in the active vehicle’s arc of fire and flips the top card of the Combat deck. If the targeting number shown there is equal to or greater than the car’s defense number, the target is hit and incurs as many damage markers as displayed above the weapon that just fired.

A smattering of Combat cards

Any automobile that accrues six damage markers is removed from the race and replaced with a fresh car from the same team. No more cars available? That player finishes the race with whatever vehicles remain on the track. (No worries: when that happens, the race is almost over anyway.)

Once all cars have been activated—they’re flipped over to signal they have moved—the round is over. Players are left with one or two movement cards, which they can either retain or discard, according to what they perceive might be useful to them once the action starts up again. Everyone then draws back up to six cards, the 1^st Player marker goes to the player with the most damaged cars (give the kid a break), and a new round gets underway.

Vehicles keep going around the track with no specific number of laps to complete. A player scores one point for each of his cars that completes a lap, and one point for each enemy car he destroys, taking them from a pool of point markers in the color of his team. As soon as one player reaches 15 points, the game ends immediately and that player wins.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Twelve pages of rule are all that’s needed to fire up Apocalypse Road, and that’s even counting the page about Thunder Alley and Grand Prix integration: you can play either of the three games on any track in the whole system, with minimal adjustments.

The game mechanics are straightforward and effective, and can easily be taught in about 10 minutes. (Five, if your pupils have already played one of the previous games in the series.) Movement represents the biggest chunk of rules to chew, with combat a short-and-sweet dessert. Maybe too much so for some people—keep in mind this is no Car Wars clone, but rather an exciting racing game with a layer of weaponry thrown on top.

Some of the rules are not all that clear (do you need a targeting check for a collision attack?) and one or two others are missing (how do you handle the dotted spaces on the Essendarium track?), but overall you’ll find what you need in there, with plenty of examples to drive the points home.

The Countdown Clock rule is the only one that feels out of place. It requires every round to end with the removal of one VP marker from each team’s pool of yet-to-be-won VPs (to speed up the game), and it’s stuck to the back of the rulebook, under Winning, instead of being part of the End-of-Turn Sequence on page 4. It’s also missing from the turn sequence printed on the tracks themselves, and is sure to become Apocalypse Road’s most easily forgotten rule.

FUN FACTOR

I’ve been expecting Apocalypse Road for a long time: my fellow racers and I started wishing for a mounted-weapon version of Thunder Alley back in 2014, when that first game was published.

And I must say that Apocalypse Road did not disappoint in the slightest.

The game is still very much a racing game, in that the surest and fastest way to score points is to have your vehicles complete a lap as fast (and as often) as you can. But the addition of gunplay gives rise to some interesting side tactics and epic twists, especially since you never know how much damage you’ll deal the car you’re attacking. Will you barely dent a fender, blast the car to smoking bits, or else miss entirely? I was once robbed of a victory—one space away from claiming my last point!—when my daughter Héloïse rear-ended another car in a Hail Mary collision attack… which destroyed the target and gave her the last point she needed to win.

Some of the fastest Race cards sport a burst icon that requires flipping the top card of the Movement Event deck to see what manner of misfortune has been unleashed. Most of the time it will affect the active card: after all, you know you’re pushing your vehicle to its limits when you race it that fast. But some events will target other cars—or even give you an unexpected boost! It’s great fun and adds just the right amount of tension to a crazy move that drags a dozen roaring cars clear across half the track.

The Jump section of each racetrack adds another fun wrinkle. It’s a really rough patch of road where you don’t want to leave your cars for too long, because many of the Movement Events target vehicles specifically in that chunk of spaces. The last thing you want is for your star racer to end up with a busted transmission.

There’s also a crossover in the center of the figure-8 track called the Essendarium, and while it looks super exciting, it turns out to be somewhat of a letdown. The only thing that happens when cars meet at the crossing is that they each get one damage marker. That’s it. No spectacular collision, no special rule for pushing cars back in the loop they just came out of, nothing of the sort. It’s not a big deal, but it feels like a missed opportunity. House rules will abound here, no doubt about it.

WAR PRODUCTION

Apocalypse Road ships with four large, mounted racetracks. Whereas the tracks in the series’ two preceding titles were fine but a little drab, the new tracks look exciting, dangerous and strangely inviting. The game is also equipped with three card decks (Race, Combat and Movement Events), 10 teams of 10 cars, players boards for everyone and an assortment of markers to track points, damage, and a few unfortunate situations vehicles will encounter throughout the race (such as spinning out or running out of ammo). 

Now as much as I love Apocalypse Road, I have to point out a few production shortcomings that I feel might curtail the game’s mass appeal. Some of those problems might stop casual players from giving Apocalypse Road a shot, and that would be a real shame.
 

• Car tokens flip the wrong way, on the short edge instead of the long one. Flipping cars on the long edge is how it’s done in both Thunder Alley and Grand Prix, and it is indeed the natural way every new player will flip cars.
• Some of the teams have their car colors too close to each other. Especially the two green teams, where confusion on the track becomes inevitable.

Number 67 belongs to the green team on the right

• The car fronts have a light background, while the car backs have a dark background: that’s how you can tell which cars have moved and which have yet to act. In Thunder Alley, the two sides were very distinct. In Grand Prix, unfortunately, the dark side was just a somewhat darker shade of tan; anything less than ideal lighting made identifying the flipped cars a daunting proposition. Unfortunately, GMT went back to that same shade for Apocalypse Road, and it’s making things more difficult than they need to be. The really strange thing is that the 1^st Player marker, which you flip back and forth between turns to indicate what side of the cars will stand for “not yet moved,” has a truly dark side, which is not at all like the dark color selected for the cars.

Light/dark sides in Apocalypse Road and in Thunder Alley

Cars and 1st Player marker in Apocalypse Road

• The player mats themselves are designed in such a way that two of the three vital bits of information—weapon type and firing arc—don’t jump out at you the way they should. You have to read the words “machine gun front” or “auto cannon turret” when icons would do a better job. That’s actually what they did on the Combat cards: you have a big image of a machine gun accompanied by the words “machine gun.” So why not also use those weapon images on the team mats, along with something like a triangle to indicate front and rear firing arcs, and a circle for a turret? This becomes especially troublesome when you’re trying to read team mats on the other side of the table, because you want some information about firing arcs for cars you’re getting close to. 

Original car layout

I did a quick test in Photoshop, and I like the results so much I’m considering altering my copy to make it look like this on all team mats:

    

• The game setup requires piles of victory point markers to be stacked next to each other at the bottom of the racetrack: you’re supposed to take one marker from your pile each time you score a point, and everyone can easily see the number of points everyone has left to claim. With 10 opponents, that’s 150 markers, and the piles quickly become a mess. So why not use that space instead for a score track, and give one marker to each team? The Countdown Clock rule, which requires every round to end with the removal of one VP marker from each team’s pool, could be an End Game marker that starts at 15 and moves down the score track. Whichever team reaches the End Game marker wins.
  
  

Stacks of VP markers, ripe for the picking

Granted, some of the issues highlighted above fade in the background after a few games. But this is precisely the point: with Apocalypse Road, GMT has an opportunity to hook non-wargamers right off the bat. I want Eurogamers and party gamers to give Apocalypse Road a shot and discover that it’s simple to play and lots of fun.

PARTING SHOTS

What surprised me the most about Apocalypse Road is its simplicity. It’s easier to play than either of the other games in the series, even with the added combat system. The biggest hurdle lies in learning how the different movement types work—exactly like in Thunder Alley or Grand Prix. Beyond that? Just take a shot whenever you think is best, either before or after you move each car.

The game plays well at any player count, and that’s saying something. Naturally, the more, the merrier! With only two or three players, 10 to 15 cars end up on the track and combat becomes less frequent. The sweet spot seems to be around 4 to 8 players, with a nice mix of vehicular mayhem and room to breathe. Gather nine or 10 opponents around the table, and the starting grid gets loaded with 40 (!) automobiles armed to the gills; yet, somehow, it still works. Just be prepared for a little more chaos and a plethora of targets to choose from.

The rules suggest playing to 12 points for a shorter game, which I never found necessary. Even the Countdown Clock rule was discarded after just one play, because when cars start moving around in unison, teams rack up points really fast. The game time indicated on the box (60-90 minutes) is spot on, and a race typically ends with players feeling they could have gone for another half hour of vengeance and reprisals.

Apocalypse Road stands as the best entry point in the series, and if GMT clarifies the graphic design for an eventual second printing, the game will go on to become a staple in many gaming groups. I know I made sure to sleeve the cards in my copy.

 

ADDENDUM: COMPARISON TO THUNDER ALLEY

This is for veterans who’d like a compact, bullet-point (ha!) list of differences between Apocalypse Road and Thunder Alley.

• Each team is comprised of eight cars.
• Each car sports its own weapon type and firing arc, as well as speed rating.
• Movement types: AR adds Overtake (similar to Working the Pack in TA) and Ram (for collision attacks).
• Cars displaced laterally into a lane that doesn’t exist move one space forward and not back (à la Grand Prix).
• Number of spaces moved is determined by adding the active car’s speed rating to the value of the Race card played.
• High-value Race cards trigger a Movement Event, which is likely to affect the active car.
• Pushing cars ahead always costs 1 movement point and is termed “conditional linking.” Because of that, Solo movement is more powerful in AR: it allows the active vehicle to push an entire column of cars for 1 MP per space, while leaving it free to veer away at any time.
• No “colored” damage from movement.
• Combat! Shoot your active car’s weapon at an adjacent vehicle, before or after movement. Alternatively, ram the bastards.
• No pit stops.
• Each track features a Jump section, a sort of “danger zone” where cars are more susceptible to Movement Events.
• No fixed number of laps: the game is won on points. Score one point for each of your cars that completes a lap, and each of your opponent’s cars that you blow off the racetrack.
• AR seats up to 10 players, or 40 cars on the track at once.

 

# # #

Flash Review — Fort

 

Player count: 2 to 4
Works well with just 2: Yes!
Age: 10+
Playtime: 20-40 min

A cute deck-building game where each player is a kid who uses toys to build the best fort in the neighborhood—with the help of his or her friends!

Recruit all the friends you need, stash secrets in your treehouse, and make sure everyone on your team has all the pizza and toys they need.

Fort sticks to its “players are kids” theme all the way through. From individual scoring cards (revealed at the end) being called “made-up rules,” to making the trophy awarded to the player who finishes his fort first into a “macaroni sculpture,” the game really feels like you’re trying to wrangle a bunch of hyperactive kids into a winning fort-building team. Components also look like they were drawn by (talented) kids. But keep an eye on your most valuable friends, because opponents might snatch them away while they’re playing in the yard…

Most easily forgotten rule: You can only play ONE card to follow a leader’s action.

# # #

Flash Review — Jaws

Player count: 2 to 4
Works well with just 2: Yes!
Age: 12+
Playtime: 60 min

A semi-coop game set on and around Amity Island, where three players try to rid the waters of a deadly foe, and a fourth opponent plays a very hungry shark.
I know, it looks like a cheap money-grab attached to an old intellectual property. But it’s not!

The game is divided in two acts. The first act happens on the island itself, with Brody, Hooper and Quint running around to try and get people out of the water, while the shark enjoys its all-you-can-eat buffet. The second act takes place on the open water, where humans do their best to kill the shark before the beast can sink their rinky-dink boat. Each role plays very differently from the others, and the split in two acts gives the game a nice narrative arc.

Thematically sound and mechanically exciting—boardgames like this help restore the struggling reputation of movie tie-ins.

Most easily forgotten rule: On the boat, “adjacent” means “touching the white line.”

# # #

Flash Review — Barrage

Player count: 1 to 4
Works well with just 2: Yes!
Solo quality: Acceptable
Age: 14+
Playtime: 60-120 min

Barrage is an advanced Eurogame where each player tries to build the most profitable hydroelectricity empire.
You will need to erect damns, conduits and power plants, and take advantage of the landscape to make sure water flows your way. Steal your opponents’ sources of water if need be!

Barrage is one of those heavy games that scare people away with their rulebooks, but seduce them back to the table with their stunning looks.
The construction wheel is a stroke of genius: instead of spending resources to build a structure, you “invest” them in the wheel, and those resources will come back to you once the wheel has performed a full rotation.
Plan your needs accordingly.

Most easily forgotten rule: Conduits can be used by all players (for a cost if it’s not yours).

# # #

Flash Review — Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Player count: 1 to 4
Works well with just 2: Yes!
Solo quality: Excellent
Age: 14+
Playtime: 60-120 min

Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a cooperative (or solo!) game of investigation and exploration in the disturbing world of H.P. Lovecraft.
Pick an investigator, build a deck, and join your friends in a harrowing tale of mystery, action and horror. Just don't step into that weird portal at the end of the hall...

AH:TCG is built on (replayable) scenarios that feature ever-changing game mechanics and astounding artwork. I mean, this is one of the most beautiful games in my collection. The imagery keeps me up at night, but it's done with the skill of a Renaissance Dutch master.

Most easily forgotten rule: Successfully evaded enemies are exhausted and will not attack you during the Enemy Phase.

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Flash Review — Back to the Future: Back in Time

Player count: 2 to 4
Works well with just 2: Yes!
Age: 10+
Playtime: 50 min

Back to the Future: Back in Time is a cooperative game that mirrors the events portrayed in the first movie: get Lorraine and George to fall in love, make sure the Delorean is prepared and ready for the trip home, and of course keep Biff away from it all (while navigating the mischief sowed around town by his gang of ne'er-do-wells)—all before lightning strikes the clock tower!

One of the best coop games I've played, with beautiful artwork, nice components, and a rulebook designed to look like a Tales From Space comic book. I mean, come on!

Most easily forgotten rule: Biff cannot be escorted around the board. That only works for George and Lorraine.

WARNING: There's a ton of BTTF games out there and not all of them are worth the cardboard they're printed on. Make sure you get the right one!

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