Euro – Page 2 – Stately Play

Cardboard Critique: Kingdomino

August 23, 2017 David Neumann 6

Tabletop • Seven-plus years ago, I would have been glued to news of the Spiel des Jahres–the Oscars of gaming–researching each game, buying them if available in the US, voting in polls about which games deserved to win and more. Yes, I was one of those people that, today, I can’t stand. Still, in its heyday the list of SdJ winners contained a bevy of fantastic games: Scotland Yard, El Grande, Carcassonne, Codenames, Hanabi, and Dominion just to name a few. Today, I keep an eye on the SdJ, but most of the nominated games are simple, family-style games that just don’t excite me anymore. That was definitely the case with this year’s winner, Kingdomino, until I got a chance to actually get it on the table at Gen Con. It’s not going to knock Through the Ages or Twilight Struggle out of my top ten, but as a quick and light filler, Kingdomino hits the spot.

Lords of Waterdeep going 64-bit and coming to PC/Mac

August 16, 2017 David Neumann 15

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • With all the negative news surrounding Playdek these days, it’s sometimes hard to remember they’re still one of the best digital board game developers out there. That’s going to become obvious later this month when the all-new version of Lords of Waterdeep hits the App Store, Google Play, and Steam.

Terra Mystica lands on Steam for PC/Mac

June 9, 2017 David Neumann 3

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • When Terra Mystica was released for iOS and Android back in April, I had hoped to get a review up about a week or so after release. Surely, one week would be enough time to get a few games in and form an opinion. You would think so, but then Race for the Galaxy happened and the rest is history. Luckily for me, this week I can give Terra Mystica a go on my Mac instead of my iPad, meaning I can play it without RftG softly whispering my name.

Think of the trees: digital version of Terra Mystica only weeks away

February 24, 2017 David Neumann 4

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • If you’ve played the physical version of Terra Mystica, you’re aware that the game comes complete with enough chunky wooden pieces to heat a small home through an extremely bitter winter. Every building you can plop on the board is made of wood with the small individual houses all the way up to massive strongholds and temples. That’s just the wood, there’s also about 30 pounds of cardboard in the box to account for the 14 different factions, each one playing completely differently than the others. Each time a copy is purchased, there’s a copse in Germany that sheds a tear. Lucky for Gaea, there’s a digital version on the way and it’s coming sooner than we thought.

Board game Evolution taking longer than actual evolution to arrive on App Store

February 20, 2017 David Neumann 2

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • One of the highlights of last year’s Gen Con was seeing North Star Games‘ fantastic take-that euro game, Evolution, in digital form and looking like it was near ready for release. Turns out, the version we saw wasn’t fit to survive and, dare I say, is still evolving. That’s the word from inside North Star’s digital group, and it sounds like it might be a while before Evolution actually climbs from the primordial code-soup and onto our tablets.

Terra Mystica Coming to Mobile in 2017

October 28, 2016 David Neumann 0

Of all the games I’ve tried to teach over the years, none has generated more blank stares than Terra Mystica. A heavy euro, the game features a confusing magic system, tons of different races to play each with their own special abilities, and enough wooden pieces to deforest a small nation. While complicated, once it clicks it’s a fantastic game.