Tabletop Game Reviews

Aeon’s End

App: 7/10 Technically competent if lacking presentation

AuZtralia

First Impressions: An interesting and tense puzzle with unique mechanics.

First Impressions

Bärenpark

First Impressions: A very light but quick and satisfying tile layer.

First Impressions

Carnegie

First Impressions: A unique, if dry, economic engine-builder.

First Impressions

Chronicles of Frost

Update: 9/10, quick, satisfying, and hits all the right notes.

~~8/10~~, An enjoyable game of strong mechanisms; appeals to my tastes.

Core Worlds

Update: 8/10, a bit too long, hard to get back to after a long time away.

~~9/10~~ A deck-building game greater than the sum of its parts.

Darwin’s Journey

First Impressions: Fun, complex combos, but lacking in surprises.

First Impressions

DinoGenics

Update: 8/10, great with the expansion; it improves multiple aspects of the game.

7/10 (Base game) Good, though the theme does most of the work

Expansion First Impressions

Fabled Lands
Volume 1, The War-torn Kingdom

7/10 Enjoyable and unique but not without drawbacks.

Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga

8/10, solid, streamlined, thematic

Formosa Tea

First Impressions: A surprisingly deep worker-placement game that’s all about timing.

First Impressions

Glen More II: Chronicles

First Impressions: Easy and satisfying mechanisms.

First Impressions

Kanban EV

First Impressions: A deep and engaging puzzle with less usability than the previous version.

First Impressions

Lords of Waterdeep

App: 9/10 Top-notch worker placement, a steal on sale.

Lost Ruins of Arnak

First Impressions: A fun hybrid worker-placement and deck-building game of exploration.

First Impressions

Magic: The Gathering Arena

8/10 Generous for free players but a heavy barrier for new players

Maracaibo

First Impressions: A fun tableau-building game with tight resource management but a bit long.

First Impressions

Merchant of Venus (second edition)

7/10 A classic pick-up-and-deliver game that runs long

Merchants of the Dark Road

First Impressions: A fun and immersive pick-up-and-deliver game that could have used more streamlining.

First Impressions

Mosaic: A Story of Civilization

First Impressions: Some neat ideas, suffering from rough edges.

First Impressions

Nusfjord

First Impressions: Streamlined and fast with interesting combinations of ideas.

First Impressions

Parks

First Impressions: Some interesting resource management with a pleasant theme.

First Impressions

Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles (episodes 1 & 2)

First Impressions: Fun if slightly bloated games with deep strategies.

First Impressions:
Ep 1
Ep 2

Railways of Nippon

First Impressions: A neat, light economic train game, but it might lack replay-ability.

First Impressions

Runebound 3rd Edition

5/10, a mixed bag

Scythe

Original: 7/10, solid but flawed
Review

App: 8/10 A solid adaptation and an easy recommendation
App Review

SpaceCorp 2025-2300AD

First Impressions (era 1 and 2 only): Interesting mechanics but very random.

First Impressions

The Castles of Burgundy

8/10 A classic strategy game of satisfying mechanisms

Tokaido

App: 9/10 A personal favorite, but others can expect caveats

Unsettled

8/10 A unique coop puzzle with endless possibilities

Vindication

10/10 A perfect blend of theme and strategy

Viticulture

App: 4/10 A messy attempt that lacks any polish

Yedo

Update: 9/10, the new version has so many improvements and a really fun coop mode.

8/10 (original) A thematic Euro with a unique combination of mechanisms.

Yokohama

First Impressions: A fun worker-movement game with tight resource management.

First Impressions

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