The Spirit 16

It’s a Summer of Gaming Goodness!
Tabletop
#16
SUMMER 2022
Boardgaming, Powered by Passion!
s T o o C h ea p ?”
“Are G am e d
ier I nter v iew e
Jamey St e g m a g
Uw e R o se n be r
he De sig n ers :
T
—1— Tabletop SPIRIT #16 — Summer 2022
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Across the Board...

Hello! How are YOU doin’?
With the terrible scenes of horror and suffering
#16
appearing daily from events in Ukraine, it’s clear that
most other matters feel insignificant, and that makes it
Games reviewed
tough to stay positive and upbeat about things. Even the this issue...
otherwise welcome news of COVID restrictions being
eased here in the UK (and face-to-face boardgaming Ark Nova 64
clearly benefits from this whether or not you agree Brian Boru 68
with the changes), feels a bit... well, flat, really... Caesar! 72
Add to this several personal issues and uphill struggles of my Dinosaur World 76
own which are ongoing, albeit mostly sorted now (thankfully),
Golazo 80
and it feels like a challenging year already. Collectively —that’s
Guy Allen, Simon Neale and myself— we decided to hold this Gutenberg 84
issue over a little longer than usual while we had a bit of a Merchants of Dunhuang 88
rejig and ‘a sort-out’ so to speak. We’ve redistributed some of Tinners’ Trail 90
the workload as well, and hope you appreciate at least some
The Way of the Bear 94
of the changes we’re making!
Tabletop SPIRIT will be remaining FREE now and
for the foreseeable future, but we would REALLY
love you to subscribe of course, and to support Snapshot Reviews
us on Patreon if you appreciate the work we do
(just click the banner below!). We’d like you to
Cartaventura: Lhasa 96
consider joining our team as well if you’ve got a
burning desire to talk about games! The Adventures of
Robin Hood 97
The biggest change we hope you’ll notice is we’re trying to
Biss 20 97
cover even more games by expanding our Spirited Snapshots
section. So enjoy the read, and tell us what YOU think! Hit the Silk! 97
Into the Blue 98
Alex Bardy
Help keep SPIRIT free, Kingdomino: Origins 98
support our Patreon!
Regulars
Kodama: The Tree Spirits 99
Mariposas 99
Nokosu Dice 99
50 — Tabletop Love Letter 96 — Spirited Snapshots Mini Rogue (and Expansion) 100
Howard Bishop finds Welcome To... a Our revamped Snapshots section is
pleasant change of scene. Or not. jam-packed with even more game Point Salad 100
57 — Still Board? reviews! Spy Connection 101
Another tasty selection of boardgame 104 — Second Thoughts Snapshot: Wildlife
puzzles for the delectation of your Guy Allen rounds up some thoughts Photographer of the Year 101
mind! and opinions on games we covered
last issue. Tabannusi: Builders of Ur 102
60 — The World of RPGs
Alex Bardy goes looking for trouble 108 — Solved! Word on the Street 101
in the darkest corners of a cyberpunk Solutions to all our puzzles can be
future... found here!
www.tabletopspirit.com
spiritmag@outlook.com
Tabletop SPIRIT #16 — Summer 2022
Editor & Layout: Alex Bardy
Features Editor: Guy Allen
PR / Reviews Editor: Simon Neale
Are Boardgames Too Cheap?
10
With huge thanks to our additional contributors
A simple question, but we’d love to for their help and support:
hear your own thoughts and opinions Marcos Avlonitis, Howard Bishop, Robin Bott,
on this potentially controversial topic... Martin Griffiths, Jamie Hargreaves, John
Humphries, Chris Kingsnorth, Jim Marshall, Simon
Mike Nudd, Stephen Owen, Pevans, Smallboat,
Dan Thurot, Simon Weinberg, and Paul Willcox.
An Interview with Jamey Submissions Guidelines

Stegmaier We always welcome reader submissions,
but please download our guidelines HERE
24
We talk to one of the most active for more information and advice about
publishers working in boardgames submitting material for the magazine.
today...
© 2022 Tabletop SPIRIT and Alex Bardy
All rights reserved. Products, logos and titles appearing
in this publication are copyrighted or trademarked by
So You Wanna Playtest Your their respective owners. No part of this magazine may
20
be used or reproduced in whole or part without the
Game? written permission of the editor.
All contributions remain the property of the
As the organiser of Protospiel UK, respective creators. Opinions expressed in this
Chris Kingsnorth knows a fair bit about magazine may not reflect those of the editor.
playtesting your own games. Tabletop SPIRIT is a FREE quarterly publication, and
does NOT carry any sponsored content.
Disclaimer: Although Tabletop SPIRIT magazine does
accept review copies of games (without prejudice),
we are an independent magazine, so any subsequent
Let’s Go Crowdfunding... review will be purely the opinion of the individual
reviewer.
FlickFleet
As one half of Eurydice Games,
34
Paul Willcox knows a bit about
creating Kickstarter campaigns...
Navigating the North Sea

and West Kingdoms
53 Garphill Games have had phenomenal

success with their games, so Guy Allen
went exploring...
4 — AireCon Report 33 — Pioneer Rails EXCLUSIVE! Cover by Simon Neale, Dinosaur World
AireCon is a Yorkshire-based event that In a TSM exclusive, Simon Milburn
spoke to Guy Allen about their forth- Full page backgrounds on pgs 60-63 taken
prides itself on inclusivity for all. Alex
from the Blade Runner RPG from Free League
Bardy has been a regular for several coming ‘flip & write’ title!
Publishing
years, now.
Images for Brian Boru on pgs 68-71 all by Dan
40 — The Joy of Crowdfunding Thurot and used with permission.
14 — The Designers: Paul Willcox provides some great tips
Wherever possible, individual photos and images
Uwe Rosenberg for prospective KS backers. have been credited to those individuals who
Paul Willcox is a fan of Uwe Rosenberg own the copyright, and permission given to use
games, and likes stacking things, too... 42 — My 2021 KS Diary! them. Many of the accreditations will also have
hyperlinks assoicated with them - please click on
Marcos Avlonitis from Paper Boat these to see more of that contributor’s work.
27 — Confessions of a Games gives us a great lok at what Many of the game and box cover images are courtesy
Superbacker happens behind the scenes of a KS of the publishers and www.boardgamegeek.com
campaign... Other images/logos designed and provided by
Proud to be a Kickstarter Superbacker,
Alex Bardy or the individual contributors, unless
Mike Nudd has some advice for those
otherwise stated.
still dipping a toe into crowdfunding...

March, 2022
11th-13th
Harrogate is a popular Yorkshire spa town, and holds the medieval
city of Ripon within its borders. On this particular weekend, it was
also holding AireCon 2022, at the Harrogate Convention Centre, an
inclusive boardgames event that you should consider attending if you
get the chance. Alex Bardy was there...
Well, it’s been a long time coming, 2 years Unlike previous years, this is the first time I’ve
actually, and alongside many other regular gone along with my partner (not so much of a
attendees I suspect, I was really keen to see how gamer), and the first time I chose to stay over
AireCon would shape up this year. Would it be in Harrogate instead of travelling back and
a tad quieter than usual, as gamers tentatively forth each day from York (approx. 45-50 mins
step out of their Covid-proof comfort zone, each way). This proved to be Good Decision
or would it prove another crazy, crammed to #2. Good Decision #1 was choosing to attend
overflowing fight for any space at all as gamers in the first place, but that tends to be a no-
descend en masse to the first major post- brainer nowadays, given I’m a huge fan of this
Covid restricted face-to-face UK boardgaming convention anyways, but I digress…
convention of the year?
Friday 11th March, 2022
Well, I needn’t have worried because once
We arrived quite late in the morning on Friday,
again (just like every other AireCon event I have
and my immediate concern was to offload the
previously attended), the organisers seem to
games I was selling at the Bring’n’Buy (BnB)
have got it spot on with regards to attendee
stall – the space given to this has become
numbers, events and competitions, things to see
successively larger as its popularity with
and do, etc. There’s clearly a delicate balance to
attendees has increased, so I was surprised they
be struck between exhibitor vs gaming space,
hadn’t moved it to an even bigger room this time
and AireCon always favours the latter, giving
round. I’ve previously suggested this aspect
probably 70%+ of the available space over to
of AireCon has a hall of its own and given the
‘open gaming’ aka “grab a table and play games
amount of games on offer again this year, I stand
on it!”
by that – there were LOADS!
Tabletop SPIRIT #16 — Summer 2022 —4—

After making a couple of early purchases at
the BnB (which you’ll no doubt hear about in
due course) and following my usual pattern of
scoping out what goes where, etc. we played
a quick game of Kodama, then took a wander
around the main retail hall to see what else
was going on…
One thing that is ever-present at AireCon
is the number of independent designers,
developers, and start-ups, etc. showing
off their latest game designs and trying
to get attendees to play(test) them – as
a game designer myself, it’s an aspect
I’ve always really appreciated. It’s nice
to know that some things don’t change,
and I took the opportunity to partake
in a demo game of Damask –a pattern-
matching textile game that I actually
playtested in its early stages way back
when– and it was refreshing to see how far
this had moved beyond the original base
design!
I also spoke at length with a couple of
designers, including Ellie Dix (The Dark
Imp), and the lads behind Counter Attack
and Football Fortunes – two very different
boardgames based on the classic game of
English football...
We wrapped up the evening relatively early,
went for an evening meal and both of us
retired to bed quite early, tiredness probably
overcoming all else.
Saturday 12th March, 2022

Saturday saw another relatively late start to
the day for us, but having wandered over to the
convention centre, we weren’t at all surprised
as to how busy it was, and chose to check out
the BnB again, just to see what may have arrived
since the previous morning. ‘Plenty’ is the one-
word answer to that!
One of the many strengths of a local convention
like AireCon is that there are always friends and
fellow gamers / colleagues that you’re likely
to bump into, and given most attendees are
genuinely warm and welcoming anyway, it’s not
difficult to find other people to play with – we’re
all there to celebrate and enjoy playing games,
after all. On that note, it didn’t take long before
we were approached by another couple to join
them in a couple of games – we enjoyed playing
Century: Spice Road and Codenames: Duet with
them, which led us neatly onto lunch.

We returned from lunch just in time for our
pre-booked Deckchairs on the Titanic game
(yes, it was that busy!), and given we missed
out on playing this at UKGE last year, finally
got a feel for this one on the over-sized demo
board, although my partner did wipe the deck
with me (ahem), which immediately suggests
there’s something intrinsically wrong with this
one… [Scratch that – it’s one of these games
where you’re literally always planning ahead,
and she completely outfoxed me!]
Following my chat with the designers on the
previous day, I did also get a chance to try
Counter Attack (the aforementioned football
game from yesterday’s diary), and much as
I enjoyed the density and complexity of the
design and its close approximation to a real
footy game, I probably spent a lot of time
extolling the virtues of Golazo to the chap
I was playing with – Golazo is faster and
quicker, but considerably more prone to
the luck of the dice! I have reviewed that
elsewhere in this issue (page 80).
We also had the opportunity to try one
of the new narrative adventure games
from Hachette UK – Cartaventura: Lhasa
is a compact, smart, and solid card game
which owes its legacy to those ‘Choose
Your Own Adventure’ books of long ago,
albeit designed and built with a deck of 70
beautiful, uniquely illustrative cards (the first
handful of which guide you through how to
play the game – very clever!)
Sunday 13th March, 2022

I was on my lonesome Sunday, and took the
opportunity to throw myself into as many
games as possible in the short amount of time
left (many stalls and attendees start packing
up and heading off around 3-4pm) and spent
the morning on the Hachette stand, playing
such classic 2-player games as Quantik,
Pylos, and Quarto – all of which are physically
gorgeous tactical games with wooden pieces
that wouldn’t look out of place decorating
anyone’s lounge. Quarto happens to be one of
my all-time favourite 2-player games, as well,
but that’s by the by. I also took the opportunity
to play Ganymede with a young family (and in
some instances, taught it as well) – another
aspect of AireCon that I always enjoy: it appeals
to a very broad spectrum of game players, as
well as having a section dedicated to younger
children and their families.

Having spent some of my time
extolling the virtues of Golazo to
the Counter Attack and Football
Fortunes crew the previous day, I had
promised to bring the game along
today (I had packed it!), and spent an
hour or so playing a couple of games
with one of their demonstrators (Sam)
– thank you for indulging me young
man, and glad you liked it!
Next stop was the visually appealing
Carrooka stand – I had caught sight
of these pretty circle-shaped wooden
boards throughout the weekend (they
spin and rotate too), but this was the
first time I had the chance to sit down
with the designers to check out the
games themselves. Carrooka have
created two dexterity-style games (of
Snooker and Pool wherein players are
flicking an oversized white acrylic disc
to hit wooden coloured discs down
the ‘pockets’ – the discs represent the
different balls required in each game,
and the boards are all handcrafted.
They’re not cheap to buy, but they do
take up a lot less space than the real-
size equivalent tables would!

As things had started to quieten down a little, Just before leaving, I had to make a quick dash
I opted to go and see what was going on at back to the Bring’n’Buy room just to ‘check
the Stuff by Bez stall – Bez is one of the ever- out’ and see which of my games hadn’t sold;
present, always friendly and cheerful faces at mercifully there were only a few titles left, so I
every AireCon I’ve ever attended, and I spent was chuffed to have significantly less to return
a bit of time catching up and playing a couple home with! Thank you, AireCon.
of games with her using the incredibly versatile
ELL deck – my major claim to fame this year was Summary
beating her at a 2-player game of Wibbell, but I can’t deny that AireCon has become one of
I’m convinced she was going easy on me… lol my favourite conventions over the years, and as
well as having a great atmosphere and all-round
Finally, with the end of the day not too far off,
friendly vibe that seemingly pervades every inch
I wandered over to the PSC Games demo stand,
of space, also attracts a lot of diverse gamers
where they were demonstrating a couple of
and game-playing local families. The staff and
quickfire short ‘wargames’, namely Paolo Mori’s
organisers are amazing, the stalls varied, and
Blitzkrieg! and Caesar! – these are both dubbed
the many new (and established) indy designers
as 20-minute wargames, and if my first play of
showing off their latest designs is always an
Caesar! is anything to go by, I have to agree: it
encouraging sight. AireCon feels like a truly
took just under 15 minutes from start to finish,
welcoming and inclusive games event, and as
and I did enjoy the pleasant mix of nuanced
such, deserves every credit and support you
strategic play as districts succumbed to various
can give them – keep your eyes peeled for next
influence counters played by each player in
year’s dates!
successive turns. I’ll be reviewing this in due
course (page 72), but want to play a lot more For information on next year’s event, click here:
games first, which shouldn’t be too hard given https://www.airecon.co.uk/
how easy the game is to grasp.

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Board ga m es
Are
Too C he ap?
by Guy Allen
In a world in which Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is an ever-present

aspect in the boardgaming community, especially for those new to the
hobby, Guy Allen asks a potentially controversial question...
“Are boardgames too cheap?” Well that is hour comes to little over £1. Compare this to the
a provocative way to start an article, and I cinema (starting at £6), big city theatre (£30+),
suspect it may raise a few eyebrows. After all, a or even a ticket to a professional sports event (at
number of podcasts I have listened to recently least £20) and board games compare very well.
suggest the opposite, with recent Kickstarters
The Brass example is relatively extreme, but
that have all-in pledges of $400 being beyond
the value can be even better than this, given
the reach of most ordinary people. And I
the publishing model in the gaming world.
know there has been a recent Twitter storm
Publishers have to commit to a set print run,
following a claim that games are becoming
often without knowing what the demand for
too ‘gentrified’, whatever that means.
the game will be. Which means good games
that don’t sell well, maybe because they have
Let us start by putting that first one to bed. No
missed the promotional buzz or are maybe rated
one talks about cars being out of reach because
a 7.5 rather than an 8, can be bought absurdly
not everyone can afford a Ferrari, so why should
cheaply. I recently bought a brand-new Stefan
we apply the same expectations of board
Feld for £6, City of Spies for the same price, and
games? Just in the same way you can buy a very
Magnastorm for £12, all from online retailers.
good car for a fraction of the price of a Ferrari,
None of these are in the BGG top 100. I’ve
so you can buy and play some excellent games
played all 3, they are all good, enjoyable games,
even if they don’t come with heaps of plastic
and will get to my table again.
minis.
But despite these examples of value, this is not
When people assess the cost or value of
the core thrust of my argument that games are
games they often quote their cost per hour,
too cheap. Rather it is where they are made.
and generally games come out well in this
In the West we have outsourced much of our
comparison. Even a relatively expensive game,
manufacturing to China, however this is not all
such as Brass: Birmingham, which might cost
we have outsourced. We have also outsourced
£60 can come out relatively cheaply. Play it 4
our pollution and our concern for human rights.
times with 4 people and the cost per person per
Tabletop SPIRIT #16 — Summer 2022 — 10 —

Isn’t there a huge, unpleasant irony in that we stronger that regime will become, and the longer
complain about China’s record on greenhouse it will stay in place.
gasses when it is our own pursuit of cheaper
Sourcing production in China is not unique to the
consumer goods that drives their consumption?
games industry of course, and our industry is but
Add into that the environmental impact of
a small pin prick in the mass of consumer goods
shipping what is often boxes full of air and it feels
it produces; indeed my arguments could be
like the prices we pay do not reflect the true cost
targeted at a whole host of other goods. But we
of what our games are doing to the planet.
are a games magazine after all and it does feel
It is not just protecting the environment we to me our hobby strives to be more inclusive and
have passed on responsibility for, we have also liberal than the wider world, with concerns often
outsourced our responsibility for human rights. raised about themes, representation in games,
This starts with workers’ rights in factories. Sure and their environmental impact, so why shouldn’t
I have watched the Kickstarter videos of games we face up to concerns in this area as well?
in production, and it may well be the case that
Of course, a reasonable claim is that we can’t
conditions in the main factories are not too bad,
do anything about it, and to be fair any action
albeit not up to western standards. But what
will take a long time to have an impact. It is also
about the conditions in their sub-suppliers?
true that driving change will require altering our
Like Environmental protection, safeguarding habits and accepting some ‘pain’ of our own, but
workers’ rights costs money, whether it is to start with, you might consider “How can I do
adequate pay, annual leave, or health and safety anything if the majority of available games are all
and job protection. It is one of the reasons the made in China?”
West can’t match the prices of China, something
I spoke to some smaller games designers to get
we will investigate in a little more detail below.
their views, and it is clear that while the desire
There are also concerns with the actions of is there to source locally, the journey won’t be
the regime, against the population as a whole easy. Even products labelled as ‘made in the
or against religious and ethnic minorities. You US’, etc. are often only assembled there, with
can add to this the worries about the growing the actual components coming from Southeast
influence of China outside their own national Asia. Typically, manufacturers cite that paper
borders. This perhaps represents a political and plastic needs to come from China and
opinion of course, but there is little doubt the even when using local printers, they may well
more money we pour into the country the be using paper and card that originated from
— 11 — Tabletop SPIRIT #16 — Summer 2022

the other side of the world. But China doesn’t Snapshot: Wildlife Photographer is a much
have the monopoly on paper and card, in fact smaller game than the US game I referred to
they produce less than a third of paper pulp earlier, so no doubt the concerns expressed
worldwide; the West produces about 35%. In would have applied equally to that game
the short term it might prove more expensive being produced in the UK given its increased
to source paper locally, but over time increased production complexity. It is clear to me that
local demand would hopefully benefit local Indie designers cannot be expected to be
production, bringing costs down. in the vanguard of sourcing locally. Larger
Turning to plastics, in a previous life many years manufacturers however can make a difference
ago I used to source plastic injection mouldings and in doing so could also increase the capacity
(the process used for most miniatures in and capability of local suppliers, providing the
games) for a major car manufacturer, and we incentive for smaller companies to jump on
wouldn’t have dreamed of using a supplier board in the future.
outside of Europe due to concerns over quality. And perhaps there are signs that this is
But over time the quality from China improved happening. Whilst the Plastic Soldier Company is
remarkably, and now it’s felt that a locally made not a huge manufacturer, they do have a bigger
game —as well as being more expensive— would presence than Paper Boat Games. And they
likely be of a lower quality. This is a trend that have recently ordered their reprint of Caesar!:
could be reversed however; sure, as an example Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! (reviewed on page
we may have lost some of the tool-making 72 of this issue!) from Ludofact USA, primarily
skills we had back in the 80’s, but just as China to avoid the shipping hold ups currently being
improved its quality of produce, so can the West. experienced in getting games from China. It is
telling though that there have been issues with
the quality of some of the components, forcing
Can we produce more games locally? PSC to make replacement parts available.
As mentioned, I talked to a couple of small
publishers to get a feel of the reality of the
situation. One US-based designer and publisher
(who wished to remain anonymous) would have
preferred to have his game made in the US, and
researched and got quotes to that end. But he
found the cost would have trebled and been of a
poorer quality. So whilst he would have liked to
avoid sourcing in China, he believes that as a small
indie publisher his choice was between sourcing
in China and not producing his game at all.
The box of Snapshot: Wildlife Photographer,
a game from another small publisher —Paper
Boat Games— proudly proclaims the game to
be made in the UK. I asked the founder Marcos
how much was made in the UK; it turns out all
the printing and boxes were made locally, the
meeple came from Poland and the dice were
bought from a UK source, but originated from
China, perhaps highlighting the challenge that
exists in sourcing locally. He felt that printing in
the UK represented a 100% price increase on
that element, but that was offset significantly
by the reduced shipping costs. He did feel that
capacity in the UK is limited however, meaning
a larger print run would not produce the savings
one might have expected. Additionally, while he
did not feel the quality was impacted, printing
locally did reduce the number of options
available to him.

Conclusions? Of course if we start to move along the path
So if I have made the case that games are too of things being produced locally, we will have
cheap, or at least we should seek to not support to accept that prices may rise. This may mean
unethical regimes, what can we as gamers do you’ll be able to afford fewer of the gaming
about it? After all, as consumers we do not have hotness each year, but there are still plenty of
a consolidated voice and are a disparate group. great games around that you can usually get for
But whilst the following suggestions may not great prices.
have an immediate impact, the more often and For many gamers the cheapest source of
louder we speak out, the more quickly things games is our own collection. Many of us have
can change. shelves of shame full of games we haven’t even
To start with we need to let publishers know opened yet, or favourite games that we just
this matter is on our minds. During Kickstarter haven’t played often or recently enough. If you
campaigns and at conventions we should make are anything like me, you’ll also have loads of
a point of asking where publishers are planning expansions that have never been played; why
to produce their games. I am not saying refuse not get those to the table and explore the depths
to buy or back a game, but the more of us ask of your most beloved games? And in any case,
this question the more publishers will realise how often do you buy a new game, excited by
it’s a growing concern. This is exactly how the all the glitz and potential, only to find that it is
focus on climate change has grown, and as a no better than those you already have? Maybe
consequence we now have electric cars and we should buy less, pay more for what we do
games are often no longer shrink wrapped. buy, and play more of what we already have and
love?
We could also make a conscious effort to
support companies that are making games We don’t need to withdraw entirely from the new
locally, even if they seem a little more expensive. game frenzy, and if you see me at UK Games
Earlier in this article I talked about how games Expo or Essen this year, I am very likely to have
can provide excellent value… even if the price of a bag of newly purchased swag with me. But just
Brass: Birmingham doubled, it will still stack up
cutting down a little could make a difference.
well in the value stakes when compared to other Buying just 20% fewer games that are made in
forms of entertainment. China each year would send a clear and loud
signal that something needs to change.

the designers:
UWE
ROSENBERG
by Paul Willcox
Next up in our Designers series is Uwe Rosenberg, and in this issue
Paul Willcox tells us why he likes so many of his titles, and why they
seem to encourage him to... stack things?
Opening the Box

My gaming friends tell me that I am a fan of Uwe
Rosenberg’s games. I was not totally aware of
this. Yes, several of his large games do adorn
my games shelf. Yes, I have played and enjoyed
many more. Yes, apparently, I periodically
vocalise my frustration at “not having bought X
when it was in the shops”. Yes, I did once buy
the ‘animeeples’ to go with Agricola. Yes, I did
paint white spots on my brown cow meeples
Then, in 2007, the gaming world changed.
to differentiate them from the wood tokens
Agricola (it’s about farming) exploded on
in Caverna. Yes, I do get slightly giddy at the
to the scene and suddenly Rosenberg was a
prospect of a first play at one of his games.
games night staple. Only then did I discover that
Okay, I admit it…. I’m a fan! Bohnanza was by the same creator. I mean,
if I had come up with Bohnanza I’d probably
have stopped there! The success of Agricola
Uwe Rosenberg is certainly prolific. When I first was soon followed by more: heavy economic,
started seriously gaming, he had an established worker-placement, engine building games, all
classic under his belt, Bohnanza, published in in heavy boxes: Le Havre (too complex for me
1997. This evergreen card-trading, set-building at the time), At the Gates of Loyang (it’s about
classic was followed nearly annually by solid, vegetables), Merkator (it’s about travelling
clever games that still get played now: Klunker, around and collecting goods), and Ora et Labora
Mamma Mia, Sole Mio and, one of the few games (I should have got a copy when it was in the
my wife has insisted we sell, Babel (it’s a very shops!) soon followed. Glass Road (which I
aggressive two-player game which is not to bought the German edition of, not realising how
everyone’s taste!). These games were all very much text was involved!), Patchwork (okay, not
different and had little in common, apart from a hit with me) and Fields of Arle soon joined this
their designer. impressive roster.

Highlights of Uwe’s productivity
in recent years –in which
the designer has hit ‘peak
Rosenberg’—included Nusfjord
(it’s about fishing), Reykholt
(it’s about growing vegetables…
in Iceland), Hallertau (it’s
about farming… sort of) and,
my personal highlight, A Feast
For Odin (it’s about Vikings and
their love of Tetris!). He’s also
released a load of games I’ve
not heard of (I don’t stalk the
man) and some I’ve no interest
in, because I can sometimes be
discerning. Of his games I do
like though, I really like them…
I would never turn down the
opportunity to play them (apart
from Nusfjord, maybe… it
thematically bothers me there
is no penalty for not being able
to feed the village Elders), but I
have no idea why I like them so
much.
I’ve so far spent 3 hours with
writer’s block trying to work this
out. I’ve not got very far, but
here are the key elements of his
games that I do enjoy:
Theme — The games of Mr

Rosenberg’s I enjoy the most
(Agricola, Caverna, Fields of
Arle, Reykholt and Hallertau…
even Bohnanza at a stretch) all
have farming at their heart. I
did not grow up on a farm but Uwe Rosenberg’s Agricola
spent swathes of my holiday
time at my grandparents who
were involved in farming. Thus,
I have no illusions about the
apparent gentle, bucolic, rural
setting of these games. smell of fresh bread, watching my grandfather use
Farming is hard. Weather is brutal. Lambs die. a scythe, all these memories come back when I lift
Blight happens. Rain doesn’t come. That anything the lid from those sturdy boxes…
grows at all is miraculous. Nature red in tooth
and claw. And yet… the settings of these games
Components (aka revealing the booty within)
feel familiar and comfortable… apart from the
— I am an inveterate fiddler and stacker of
humanised beans of Bohnanza: they just scare
pieces. Rosenberg’s games provide me with an
me a little! The processes within these games
abundance of the tools necessary for my trade.
remind me of times spent in barns, around spools
The animeeples led to us inadvertently creating
of bailing twine, of riddling (not what you think!) for
a game eerily like Meeple Circus years before its
onions, the pungency of the pig pens, the evil eyes
publication. My sheep stacks were legendary. This
of the goats, the necessity of reproduction, the

behaviour carried on with the wooden vegetables Mechanics – at heart I am a Eurogamer. This
and beyond. In fact, stacking Viking meeples is not to say that I am a pure maths engine
on top of the start player moose in A Feast For adherent; I do like and enjoy theme, just not at
Odin (it’s a moose… how can you not love that?) the expense of simplicity, and I tire of games
became such a distraction, the activity was where rules are added to a specific situation
banned at our table. rather than in general. But above all I like
mechanics and theme to mesh. I want my in-
Each of these games comes with an amazing
game options to make sense in a real-world
array of beautiful and tactile components. Wood
situation. Rosenberg’s big games are all worker-
is always shaped and coloured appropriately.
placement games. You start with very little, and,
There is more cardboard in each of them than you
by careful action selection and card use, you turn
would need to carpet a small room in a very odd
that stuff into more stuff, which usually allows
way. The cardboard is always chunky and sturdy.
you more options for your workers so that they
Cards are… well… unexciting, but there are often
can grow even more, possibly different stuff… or
a lot of them! The artwork is always beautiful,
look after animaIs… or kill them if you’re short of
appropriate, and helps the thematic flow of
food. Starvation is an ever-present risk. I find this
the game; the use of rock tokens and a moving
strangely reassuring – it reminds me of what my
building in Hallertau is awesome (the house
focus is… get food!
can’t move and thus can’t increase your scoring
opportunities if rocks are in the way – as someone I also love the elegant simplicity of animal
who remembers a summer spent lugging large breeding; “you have two sheep… well now you
stones out of a soon-to-be vegetable patch, this have a third one,” in Agricola and Caverna.
hit a personal chord with me!).
A Feast For Odin took this a step further: “you
Artwork even features a few easter eggs – one of have a sheep… turn over the counter… now she’s
the room tiles in Agricola has Bohnanza spread a lot bigger… next round she’s back to normal
out on a table! Best of all is the challenge of size… but you have another sheep!”
how to get all this copious, beautiful stuff back
It just makes sense. Similarly, I plant a wheat and
in the box when you’ve finished. Every time the
the field will eventually return 3 wheat tokens
lid comes off, I am stunned at the quantity and
to me in Agricola. As someone who remembers
quality of the stuff inside.
A Feast For Odin

the glorious feeling of plunging their arms
elbow-deep in paper sacks of corn seed,
these simple economics again just make
sense. I’ve no experience of growing
pumpkins though. In Agricola orange,
wooden pumpkin-shaped pieces indicate
the generically named ‘Vegetable’. I wish
they’d gone for parsnips personally; they’d
make an interesting stacking challenge.
Uwe uses cards in interesting ways. In
Agricola and A Feast For Odin they are
used to add skills and equipment to your
farm/village. The latter also equips you
with Weapons cards, which help you in
your hunting expeditions and pillaging.
In Caverna you have Dwelling tiles that
serve a similar function. Hallertau uses
a stable board to dynamically use cards
which I initially found bewildering and
then, suddenly, it made perfect thematic
sense… once I realised it was also the round
counter.
There is usually a ‘get out of jail free’ card
in Uwe’s games. If you have really messed
up in Agricola then your farming family
can collect Begging cards in lieu of food.
A Feast For Odin (above)

and Glass Road (below)

In Hallertau, if you are short of goods, you can of options for my first Viking-placement (I think
spend jewellery instead. Similarly, in Caverna, there are 61 options)… and I had ABSOLUTELY
rubies allow you to make up missing required NO IDEA what to do! I love this feeling. I quickly
items. These similarities embody something else move from a sensation of panic and near vertigo
I like about these games... They have evolved to a thought of ‘what happens if I do this?’ These
from each other. Caverna is a development games allow some gaming trial and error, and I
of Agricola (the not underground part of the enjoy this. I often play with the same people, so
game is very similar). If you are familiar with these can be shared learning experiences. We
Caverna then A Feast For Odin makes some care more about improving our own situation
sense. Hallertau, Nusfjord and Reykholt also than screwing over each other (although there are
feel similar mechanically, although what you are opportunities to do this if you are vigilant during
achieving is rather different. Ora et Labora (I your worker placement).
should have got a copy when it was in the shops!) Also, their sandbox nature allows different routes
and Glass Road both use a rondel, which was a to victory in these games, which is almost always
popular mechanism at the time, and works well in the player with the most victory points after X
both these games! rounds. This always feels comforting and familiar.
The key element of all these designs is that stuff I understand that others may find the open nature
is upgraded from a basic thing into a better thing. of this style of game intimidating and daunting. I
Using cards/buildings allows you to produce other myself had a chilling moment playing Reykholt
stuff or process raw stuff in to made stuff. All for a when I realised how few action spaces there were
payment of some kind. that would allow me to harvest my lettuces – it
was briefly terrifying, and forced me to think of
Sandbox – I had a sandpit as a child. Apart from
other ways of obtaining lettuces. Did I even need
the occasional earwig it was strangely devoid of
lettuces? I have mushrooms. Will they do? This is
life. But I greatly enjoyed playing in it, especially
the sort of challenge and thinking that I enjoy and,
adding a little bit of water to dampen the sand so
perhaps, partly why I enjoy gaming in general.
that it could be shaped, even built with.
I am aware that the ‘sandbox’ nature of
Rosenberg’s games may seem daunting. Even 2-Player versions – Okay, I have to admit I
after reading the rules for A Feast For Odin and haven’t played most of them but there are
setting it up I saw before me a dizzying range some reportedly excellent two-player versions
of some of Uwe’s
‘bigger’ games;
notably Agricola:
All Creatures Big
and Small as well
as Caverna: Cave vs
Cave. As my usual
2-player partner is
my wife, who had a
more urban, industrial
upbringing, we have
not experienced these
games together, but
I am assured they
are excellent and
I’d likely enjoy them
greatly, if that helps.
In fact, I once read
that Rosenberg first
designs his games as
solo experiences and
adds the multi-player
Rosenberg’s Glass Road experience to them
afterwards...

Therefore, given his magnificence, I can only recognised set of endeavours and –at least
assume that the solo-versions of these games are before the Industrial Revolution— the only means
fantastic. However, I am not a solo gamer: I have of survival for the many. Its universality makes
genuinely tried, but just don’t really ‘get’ it. farming an easily communicable, and therefore
comfortable, theme.
Closing the box
So, in conclusion, I think there is a lot to like in Paul the Ploughman’s Recommendations
Uwe Rosenberg’s games. I enjoy the settings/ I think every gamer should experience Agricola
themes of his games. The mechanics nearly at least once (arguably the family version without
always make sense within that setting. Cards and all the potentially swingy cards) even if only to
other pieces interact well to provide a range of discover that these games are not for them.
human choices that are logical and identifiable. Personally, I adore A Feast For Odin and its
Above all though, I find them calming. Not many almost overwhelming range of options. I even like
designers achieve this and it’s likely none are the uncharacteristic illogicality of the tetris-like
aiming for it. But Uwe’s games feel comfortable, element of the Viking treasure storage. It makes
grounded and realistic, and I find this calming. no sense to me but becomes a sort of ‘mini-game’
– can I perfectly fill the storage shed without
I remember in my university days reading, and
needing an extra one? Bohnanza remains a
nearly enjoying, William Langland’s Piers the
favourite of mine and often hits the table when
Plowman. It is an odd, yet important piece of
a mid-length game for up to 7 is required. This is
middle English literature. Upon reflection, I
partly due to us owning a German-language copy
realised that I read it as if William was Piers; a
and having nicknames for the different varieties of
sort of fourteenth-century ‘everyman’. The verse
beans (hence the ‘Blaue-Bohne’ we know as the
is structured as a series of Piers’ dreams in which
Cowboy Bean, etc). And we still regularly debate
he encounters figures who make him consider the
the maths of when to invest in that third field…
moral values of the time, against a background of
spiritual upheaval. In a strange way, playing Uwe Ahh… the stuff of memories!
Rosenberg’s games reminds me of reading this;
the realisation that agriculture is a universally
As theme and setting are such a strong element

in all of Uwe Rosenberg’s games, here is a list of
these to help you choose an appropriate game:
If you like farming – Agricola

If you like farming and partially living underground – Caverna
If you are interested in fishing — Nusfjord
If you like vegetable farming – Reykholt, At the Gates of Loyang
If you like farming and are not ethically conflicted about whaling and
hunting or pillaging – A Feast For Odin
If you are not scared of humanised beans – Bohnanza
If you are interested in the cultivation of hops – Hallertau
If you are interested in the production of glass – Glass Road
If you are interested in the economy of medieval monasticism… and
farming – Ora et Labora
(I really should have got a copy of that last one when it was in the shops!)

o You Wanna...
S
P l a yt e st
u r G a m e?
Yo Guy Allen talks to
Chris Kingsnorth
It is often said that in there

is a book in everyone, and
the same is probably true of
gamers in that there is a new
game idea in every player.
But what if you want to make
that new game a reality?
Well often the difference
between a good game design
and a bad one is the amount
and effectiveness of the
playtesting undertaken before
publication. But just how do
you go about that? Luckily,
we have Chris Kingsnorth on
hand to help bring you some
answers...
in Nottingham. I started playing hobby games
Chris, perhaps you would like to start by about 10 years ago, and I was inspired to design
introducing yourself? games after visiting the Playtest Zone at the
UK Games Expo (UKGE) in 2017. Most people
Thanks Guy! I’m a paediatric doctor by
probably know me as organiser of the first UK
training, but recently started working as a game
Protospiel in 2019, or co-host of the 10 Minute
designer and developer at Stone Sword Games
Design Chat Podcast.

Protospiel sounds interesting, tell us a bit with full art and near-final components. We love
more about that? to see games wherever they are in the design
lifecycle; clip art and PowerPoint-designed cards
Protospiels are tabletop game playtesting events
are just fine! You’ll never know if that game in
dedicated to gathering detailed feedback from
your head works unless you get people playing
fellow designers and experienced playtesters.
it, so make a prototype, however basic, and bring
These events started in the US back in 2001 and
it to the table.
were the brainchild of Stephen Glenn, Dominic
Crapuchettes and Mike Petty. Protospiel events
are an invaluable source of professional-level
Aside of Protospiel, where else can someone
playtesting feedback from game designers
get people to playtest their game?
and tabletop enthusiasts, as well as a fantastic
opportunity to meet and collaborate with others There are two main ways of playtesting games;
who share a passion for tabletop game design. digitally or in-person. Since the pandemic,
a huge number of online
playtesting groups have been
established, often using
platforms such as TableTop
Simulator (TTS) to test games
online. One of the larger
online communities is Break
My Game, who are active
worldwide and have a busy
Discord server where they
organise playtests suitable
for various timezones.
When it comes to in-person
playtesting, there are lots
of options; many cities will
have a local tabletop design
group who meet regularly.
Organisations such as Playtest
UK hold organised playtesting events in multiple
And can anyone attend or is it by invite only?
cities and at UKGE.
Are there any obligations placed on those that
attend?
Everyone is welcome; attendees must buy a When you take your game for playtesting, how
ticket but Protospiel is a not-for profit initiative, should you set up and prepare?
so all money made by the events is donated Going into a playtest, you should have an idea
to charity. The ethos of Protospiel is that of of what you want to get out of the session; it’s
reciprocal playtesting; nobody owns table space often helpful to let the playtesters know your
and everybody plays everyone else’s games. aims. Are you testing a new player count? Do you
It’s an ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ want to know if a certain card is overpowered?
approach to playtesting: if four other attendees Maybe you just want to see if an idea has legs.
play your game, you would be expected to try If playtesters know what you’re looking for from
your best to play each of their designs in return. the start, they can focus on that aspect when
providing feedback.
How well developed does have a game before Having paper and a pen to take notes is helpful.
you can start playtesting it? Does it need to At Protospiel, we provide signs that designers
be professionally printed or will clip art and can fill in detailing the player count, expected
Powerpoint do? duration and brief description of a game;
this helps set expectations at the start of the
You’ll see games in various stages of ‘roughness’
playtest.
at Protospiels; some designers may bring a
game they thought up on the way to the event Unless you are specifically trying to work out if
scribbled on the back of an envelope, or you players can set up your game from the rulebook
might find games that are close to production, alone, lay out your game in advance of the

playtest. Not only will this attract attention, but it How much playtesting do you need to do? 20
will prevent players getting bored while you set times, 30 times?
up in front of them. Remember; you don’t have
I’ve heard this question asked a lot, and the
to playtest your game from the very beginning.
answer is as many times as it needs to be!
You could set up a game and test it from part-
Some games may be smaller, or simpler, or just
way through, and if you’re looking at something
work better from the get-go and thus need less
particular in the game don’t be afraid to stack
testing, but others are hulking behemoths of
the deck to ensure things come out that you
interwoven mechanics. You’ll know your game
want to test.
is ready when you are receiving consistently
good feedback, you’re not needing to make
huge changes to the way the game plays, and
I have read about blind playtesting, but I am
playtesters are asking to play again (or when
not exactly sure what it is. Can you explain it?.
they can buy your game!).
Blind playtesting refers to testing of a game
without the designer present. In the strictest
sense, this means that you send it to a group Apparently Reiner Knizia has a playtest group
with whom you have no contact during the 25 strong. Few of us have the benefit of such a
setup or playing of your game. It not only tests dedicated group, how do you persuade people
the game itself, but also the rules, as you’re not to play your rough prototype?
there to clarify if something is unclear. Usually,
Lucky Dr Knizia! Getting involved in events like
blind playtesting is used when a game is almost
Protospiel where rough prototypes are expected
finished; when a design is fairly new, designers
is helpful, because the playtesters attending
often choose to guide playthroughs and be on
won’t be put off by hand-drawn, hastily put
hand to answer any questions that arise there
together prototypes. A little bit of clipart can
and then.

go a long way to making your prototype more Any final tips or advice that you can give to
visually appealing, and if that fails, offering to designers about playtesting their games?
buy playtesters pizza almost always works!
Have fun! It’s easy to see playtesting as a
laborious and unpleasant task, and sometimes
it can be, but it is also one of the most vital
I guess you have to be pretty resilient if you
and rewarding parts of game design. Finding
want to get your game tested.
a reliable group of playtesters can make a big
No-one likes to be told that something they difference to the experience, and your games
have made needs fixing. Playtesting your game will be all the better for it.
for the first time can feel like dropping your
child off for their first day at playschool; you
love them and you really hope that others will Chris, thank you so much for your time, any
too. As a game designer, you need to be able to final thoughts you would like to share with
take criticism, and framing negative feedback us? What are you working on or testing at the
as an opportunity to make your game better moment, for example?
can take the edge off; the only bad playtest is
Thanks for having me! I’m currently working at
no playtest at all. My top tip is never to argue
Stone Sword Games in Nottingham and we’ve got
with a playtester who offers negative feedback;
a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline, including
don’t explain why you think they are wrong, or
a new game by Henry Audubon, the designer
try to convince them otherwise; just accept it,
of Parks. We’ll be at UKGE and Essen, so come
thank them, and move on. At the end of the day,
and say hello! As for Protospiel Nottingham,
it’s up to you whether you take their feedback
I’ll be hosting the next event some time in
on board and actually change the game.
November 2022; readers can visit https://
protospielnottingham.co.uk/ or follow us on
Twitter for updates.

An Interview with
Jamey
St e g m a i e r by Simon Weinberg
In this issue, Simon Weinberg fired a few questions off to Jamey
Stegmaier, who kindly revealed a little more about the whys and
wherefores of publishing other people’s designs with Stonemaier
Games...
Hi Jamey, Thanks very much for agreeing to do with backers during the project, and it was from
an interview for us. I’d like to start by asking sharing excitement with backers and listening
you a little bit about your background - what to their ideas that I continually improved and
led you to go from enjoying games to designing customized the components in Viticulture.
them, and then into not only forming your own I wanted to make something beautiful, and
publishing company but deciding to kickstart that became part of our core philosophy for all
your first design? products.
Hi, thanks for these great questions! I’ve
been designing games for fun since I was a
After your first success, what happened next?
child, and after seeing some games succeed
on Kickstarter (paired with my fascination First I focused on finishing, making, and fulfilling
with entrepreneurship and crowdfunding), I Viticulture on schedule. During the slower
decided to design a game specifically to launch periods of that process, I designed another
on Kickstarter. I had no idea it would end up game —Euphoria— and started preparing a
resulting in a company or a career, but I’m Kickstarter for it.
grateful it did!
You have a very loyal fan base, why do you

Where did the high quality component and think that is and how did you create it?
rulebook values come from, the sort that we It’s interesting, as loyalty isn’t something I seek
associate with Viticulture? There must have from the people who follow Stonemaier Games.
been some tough decisions in there? Rather, I want to remain accountable to our
The Viticulture Kickstarter campaign in 2012 fans for every single product we make, and I’m
was a wild ride. I had so many conversations honored by those who continue to return to us

for expansions and new games. I can’t speak I love the amazing artwork in Scythe and the
for those who follow us, but I know how hard I funny little stories on the encounter cards. Can
try to foster community—we’re not just creating you tell us a bit more about how these came
products and pushing them out to people. about?
We foster communities on a variety of forums
I’ve seen so many games where you draw an
(Facebook groups, YouTube, the Stonemaier
encounter/event and have no control over the
Games blog, Instagram, etc), actively engage
outcome; I wanted a system in Scythe where
in those communities, and try to offer value
you stumbled upon something and could make
to people through conversation, content, and
a fully informed choice. Jakub Rozalski was
products. It’s all about bringing joy to tabletops
busy creating a ton of illustrations for the Scythe
worldwide.
world, and encounters seemed like a great way
to feature some of that art. So one by one, I’d
I recently realised that you worked with Uwe look at each illustration and imagine the types
Rosenberg on one of the Viticulture expansions. of things you could do if you stumbled upon that
How did that come about? situation, and the end result are the 3 choices
you see on every card.
In 2015 I received a BGG message from Uwe—a
designer I immensely admire—saying that he
played Viticulture / Tuscany and really enjoyed Wingspan was, I believe, the first game you
it. I thought it was a hoax at first, but it was published that you didn’t design. It’s been a
really him! After chatting a bit, I mentioned to huge success for you. I’d love to know more
him that if he ever wanted to design a few promo about how it fell into your inbox and what
cards for Viticulture, I would gladly publish inspired you to publish it and the games that
them. Three days later he sent me 80 new followed from other designers?
visitor cards. I revised and developed them a bit,
It’s hard to believe, but in the chronology of
cutting out some cards that I didn’t think would
Stonemaier Games, Wingspan is actually the
work for Viticulture, and the final result is the
fourth game we published that wasn’t designed
Moor Visitors expansion.
by me. Before it came Between Two Cities,
My Little Scythe, and Between Two Castles.

In general, we opened submissions to other Lockdown has been tough for many people
designers because I realized my own limitations, but there has been a boom in gaming and
both in terms of time and design. Wingspan puzzles. How do you run a gaming company
specifically was submitted to us by Elizabeth during a pandemic?
Hargrave, and she showed us the game at Gen
For Stonemaier Games, pretty much the
Con 2016. I appreciated her ability to design a
same way I always have: I work from home,
vast array of cards for which the mechanisms
conventions aren’t a part of our marketing
matched the theme of each card, and it was
strategy, and most of the connections we make
clear that she was open to feedback and to
with the community and with sales (direct
working hard to make the game as great as
and through retailers) don’t require any in-
possible.
person contact for me. The hardest part was
playtesting, but I learned to playtest by myself
and lean on blind playtesters around the world
What other highlights do you have from
who had safe bubbles. I talk about this topic
the games that you have published since
Wingspan? more in detail here: https://stonemaiergames.
com/the-current-impact-of-the-coronavirus-
Since Wingspan we’ve published Tapestry (the on-stonemaier-games/
civ game I’ve always wanted to exist), Pendulum
(a simultaneous-play engine-building game;
it’s the first game we discovered at the annual I’m sure you must have some games set to
Design Day we host in St. Louis that we decided come out in 2022 and 2023. We’d love to hear
to publish), Red Rising (our first game with a about them!
large IP and a passion project of mine given
how much I love the novel series), and Rolling Indeed, you can see some secret projects in
Realms (a game I designed purely as a print- the works on our progress chart here: https://
and-play game to connect with people during stonemaiergames.com/e-newsletter/ and
the pandemic, and it’s become much more than I look forward to sharing information about
that and will continue to do so due to the ‘living’ them in our e-newsletter and website when
nature of it). each respective game is close to arriving at our
fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, Australia,
and the UK.

Con fe ssi on s
of a
pe rb a ck er
Su by Mike Nudd
Crowdfunding hasn’t taken very long to become big business for both
established and indie developers, and boardgaming in particular has
embraced the platform. Here, Mike Nudd offers some background
information and sage advice for anyone still finding their way around...
There can be no question that crowdfunding
has fundamentally changed the board game Crowdfunding Explained
industry. Before Kickstarter was founded in The Kickstarter brand is well known these days,
2009, the number of successful board game but for any readers not familiar with the practice
publishing companies was relatively small, of crowdfunding, the principle is simply this: a
and the industry was tracking perhaps several creator will announce a creative project and will
hundred new product releases every year. invite people to submit monetary funds to them in
Thanks to the advent of crowdfunding, over advance to finance their project. If a certain agreed
the last 13 years the number of publishing finance threshold is reached, then the creator
companies and game products for sale has commits to completing the project, providing their
grown exponentially. The new release list for backers with any rewards promised to them in
2021 included well over 2,000 brand new titles, return for their support.
a substantial number of which originated from Crowdfunding is a great model for small companies
crowdfunding campaigns. and first-time creators that wouldn’t otherwise
have the money to get their product made. Game
Crowdfunding has also changed the way that the
design, development, editing and layout all require
market consumes their product. 20 years ago,
specialist skills that have associated costs. Artwork
if I wanted a new game, it would require an in-
is also a significant cost for any tabletop project, and
person trip to my local game store. Now, through
every piece must be purchased in advance before
crowdfunding I can pledge money directly to the
it can be printed. Manufacturing, shipping, and
publisher, ask them questions, and even influence
distribution also require significant budgets. Rather
how the game I want to play will turn out. The only
than saving or seeking commercial finance, a shrewd
caveat being I might need to wait 12-24 months for
games publisher can put together a business plan
the game to arrive before I can play it!
that considers all these costs, and then they can

go find an audience who will pledge the money been very few projects listed which were intentional
needed to cover them. Crowdfunding platforms are scams from the outset, but there is very little to
also an effective way of directly connecting with the protect backers if something goes awry. Platforms
audience for your project, potentially cutting out such as Kickstarter are not pre-order systems, and
many layers of marketing, distribution and retail that each time you pledge, you are effectively gambling
would otherwise eat into your project’s margins. on the final outcome.
www.kickstarter.com is the most well known
and most successful crowdfunding platform, but Why Become a Backer?
there are others – e.g., IndieGoGo, GoFundMe, If crowdfunding is such a gamble, then why would
GameFound. Notably, crowdfunding is not an activity anyone willingly part with their hard-earned cash?
specific to tabletop gaming – in fact, people create Why not wait until the promised game is already in
campaigns for all kinds of other things such as production and on the shelves of your local game
technological gadgets, health aids, music albums, retailer?
community events. Tabletop games receive a
prominent level of attention however as the hobby is One reason for backing a tabletop project is simply
responsible for some of the greatest crowdfunding for the first access to the final product. Most game
successes. According to www.crowdcrux.com, for publishers will ship the final copies of their game in
the year 2020, board games raised a combined total advance to their backers before they sell the rest
of over $234 million on Kickstarter, with multiple through normal retail distribution chains, and some
projects raising over $1 million each. The highest even promise to hold back the retail copies for a
grossing project for the period was Frosthaven, small interval to increase the backer’s privilege.
Isaac Childres’ sequel to his hit game Gloomhaven, Another reason for backing is so that you can join
which attracted 83,186 backers who collectively the community of fellow backers, discuss, and share
pledged nearly $13 million to see the project in your anticipation for the final product. In many
realised. cases, the publisher will engage the backers for
Crowdfunding is not foolproof however, and not opinions about final artwork or component choices,
every project gets realised in the manner the creator or even allow some influence over the game’s core
originally intended. In some cases, the project content. Only backers can comment on the creator’s
takes longer than expected, but is still eventually updates.
realised. In other cases, the creator gets their sums
wrong or misses out a vital cost and has to go cap- A further motivation can be access to exclusive
in-hand back to their backers for the extra funds. content which is only available through the
In worst-case scenarios, the creator simply stops crowdfunding campaign. Publishers incentivise
communicating and delivers nothing. There have people to back early to unlock exclusive promos or

expansions which will not be
included in the retail edition
of the game. Some campaigns
also include an ‘early bird’
discount to the price of the
game. In more extreme cases,
the entire project may be a
crowdfunding exclusive, with
no plans for the game to ever
be available at retail – backing
then becomes your only
opportunity to own the final
product (excluding subsequent
second-hand sales). Recent
examples of this approach
include Time of Legends: Joan
of Arc from Mythic Games,
and Batman: Gotham City
Chronicles from Monolith
Games.
Inversely, a reason not to
crowdfund a game is to support
your local games retailer. If
they rely on your business,
then giving funds directly to a
publisher who will ship your
game directly to you isn’t going Only 4 items on this list have been failures, with
to help them – they would prefer you to wait for no hope of final reward. Two of these were role-
the game to enter retail. (A compromise may be to playing projects which while still not entirely dead
encourage the retailer to back the game project on today, thanks to the seeming incompetence of the
behalf of you and any other local players who might creators they are not likely to bear fruit any time
want it!) soon. Another was a board game by a friend of mine,
who because of their own mismanagement, had a
nervous breakdown and swiftly exited the industry.
Mike the Superbacker The last was the reprint of Solaris by Flying Lemur
I backed my first tabletop game project on Games, who it seems may have knowingly run off
Kickstarter in 2011, and over the years I’ve followed with the money without trying very hard to make
and backed many projects. I appreciate that not anything. There are certainly more industry horror
everyone has the disposable income to engage as stories out there, but I seem to have avoided most of
regularly as I do, but I hope the insights from my them - a less than 2% failure rate overall seems like
activities may be interesting. a pretty good hit rate to me!
At the time of writing, I count that to date I More tellingly, 40 of these products once received
have pledged towards 247 successful tabletop have either been sold on or are sitting on my to-sell
gaming publisher projects, which include various pile as not worthy enough to keep in my collection.
board games or expansions, role-playing games, 13 more have still yet to be played, so their final
miniatures, or other accessories. This count does fate remains undecided. Separately, Kickstarter tells
not include other campaigns relating to gaming me that I also backed another 39 projects which
community activities, or sponsoring reviewers or were either cancelled by the creator, or I pulled out
podcasters. 24 of my counted projects I only backed before the campaign’s final deadline. If I look at
at the £1 just to follow them. both trends, most of these were earlier in my backer
history – as time has passed, I have clearly become
Of this list, I am waiting for the fulfilment of 46
more discerning over what I choose to pledge for.
items, many of which were unexpectedly delayed
due to the various difficulties publishers have faced Backer regret over neglected campaigns and fear
with manufacturing and shipping, mainly thanks to of missing out (FOMO!) is quite real too. Despite
the global COVID crisis. not originally backing some projects, I have

nevertheless picked up around 20 more either as obvious. Campaign pages which are littered with
a late backer, as a retail buyer, or through second- errors or mistakes, or which don’t give me enough
hand markets. A notable example of this was information, will be a hard no. No rulebook and no
Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy – the first gameplay tutorial also make me wonder what the
edition was one of my favourite games, but at the creators are trying to hide. Any publisher known for
time I couldn’t really justify shelling out for a whole fulfilment or customer service issues will get a wide
new copy of what was essentially the same game berth.
with a few minor rules and cosmetic changes.
What will engage me is a game with an appealing
Later, after its release, I was lucky enough to pick
theme that suits my tastes as a gamer. If the rules
it up second hand for a fair price, including all the
are available, and the campaign clearly explains
Kickstarter exclusive content.
what content I am getting, what the potential
You may think that this sounds like a lot of games, stretch goals are, and what the postage and tax
and you’d be absolutely right! I’ll freely admit I am costs are, then you’ve got at least my interest, if not
a collector of games as much as I am a player. Part my support.
of my reasoning is research: as I also do freelance
work as a game designer and developer, it’s
important to me to have games that may be similar
Looking Closely at the Content
to the one I am working on at my fingertips. I also The majority of the highest grossing tabletop game
see board games –particularly large adventure or projects on Kickstarter are also some of the ‘biggest’
miniatures-based games—as an investment that games in terms of the sheer volume of content and
will release their value slowly over time, and which the amount of shelf space they take up. Games such
I can pass onto new generations of my family in due as Kingdom Death Monster, Zombicide and Dark
course. Souls are heavily focused on three-dimensional
plastic miniatures, and much of the box space is
simply for accommodating these components. When
What to Back and What Not to Back looking at a new campaign that includes a lot of
When I look at a crowdfunding campaign, on any miniatures, it’s easy to feel that you’re getting value
platform, there are a few things that I consider: for money, particularly if the backer price is pitched
much lower than the projected retail price. However,
Is the core product itself worthy of my attention?
‘more’ does not necessarily translate into better
What is the theme of the game, and how strong quality – it is important not to overlook how the
and compelling is it? How innovative are the game game works and what the miniatures are for.
mechanics? How closely does this compare to other
My first foray into a miniatures-based board game
existing games in the market and in my collection?
was Sedition Wars: The Battle for Alabaster by
How much replay value can I expect from my
CMON and Mike McVey, and while the component
investment? Are the rules available to download,
quality was mostly excellent (excluding some dark
and are there any decent gameplay videos?
printing of the map boards), the first edition ruleset
How credible are the project creators? was almost incomprehensible. The backlash from
Has the publisher run any prior crowdfunding the game’s audience was significant, and the game
campaigns, and if so, how did they go? Has the title was quickly relegated to history, with copies of
publisher backed any other projects? Is the game the core set being dumped to bargain bins across
from a designer of note? Is the campaign endorsed the UK and USA. Thanks to the ongoing efforts
by reputable names within the industry? Is the between Mike’s team and the many devoted fans
campaign page clearly laid out and free of mistakes? of the game, the game was slowly iterated into
something more playable and more balanced.
What incentives are there to back now, rather than Although now long out of print and no longer
buy later? supported by the publisher, version 4.1 of the
How attractive does the backer price look (including ruleset is still available on BoardGameGeek (and
shipping) vs. the estimated RRP? Will the game elsewhere) to anyone who might still be interested.
even go to retail? Does the offered content feel like One more recent project I chose not to pledge
substantial value for money? Is there any campaign- for in the end was the board game adaptation of
exclusive content that I will miss out on if I don’t the Horizon Zero Dawn computer game. The
pledge now? How clearly are the stretch goals miniatures for the game were impressive, and there
defined, and how achievable do they look? were plenty of them, but the gameplay information
With these topics in mind, red flags become shared during the campaign didn’t impress me,

and the reviews for the publishers previous Dark comments I saw them again the same year at Essen
Souls and Resident Evil projects were mixed. The Spiel, but the game was fundamentally unchanged.
eventual reception of Horizon Zero Dawn – The I was disappointed as I love the new film franchise
Board Game also seems to have been mixed. The but thought the rules and the player experience
game has garnered a not-unreasonable rating of 7.1 was terrible. I wrote up my thoughts in a post on
on BoardGameGeek, but I have seen many copies of BGG, but the publisher never engaged with me. To
the game change hands on secondary sales groups date the game still hasn’t made it to Kickstarter,
on social media since its release. and since it hasn’t been at any shows recently, I can
only assume the publisher either lost the license or
For a more cautionary tale, I also declined to back chose not to continue the project. Perhaps that’s for
the updated reprint of Cleopatra and the Society the best!
of Architects by Mojito Studios. This was the
publisher’s first ever crowdfunded product, and
while the visual presentation was clearly ‘blingy’,
The Danger of Crowdfunding Fatigue
the game itself didn’t look different enough from Although I clearly have a prolific history of backing
the excellent Days of Wonder edition to justify the crowdfunding projects (and not just Kickstarter, a
exorbitant pledge cost of the new premium set. fair few now on Gamefound too) my stats show that
One only must look at the reviews online, or the I’m clearly backing less games than I used to.
comments on BGG to see that the project was Part of this is just sheer pragmatism - despite
plagued with extended delays in fulfilment, and then what I said about collecting and treating games
had numerous, recurring problems with damaged as investments, there is only so much time for
or poor-quality components. I am extremely glad to playing games, and only so much space on my
have dodged a bullet there. shelf! Beyond that, my curiosity is now piqued less
In 2017 I had the pleasure of attending the GenCon often than before – many new games offer awfully
games conversation in the USA during its 50th familiar themes and mechanics, and therefore
Anniversary. While at the show I had the opportunity any investment is difficult to justify. At Essen Spiel
to playtest a version of the upcoming Planet of every year I play several previews of games going
the Apes miniatures game, due to be crowdfunded to crowdfunding, and while they are nice enough,
on Kickstarter and eventually published by French they’re not at the level necessary to make me want
company WYSIWY Games. After giving them to back them.

While I expect that many of these games will still projects it is not always clear that the publishers
find their audience, I certainly don’t envy the task understand the rules correctly.
of publishers now, who must fight to find their
A recent example of this was the Kickstarter
audience with the hundreds of other tabletop
campaign for Weather Machine designed by Vital
projects which are launched on the most popular
Lacerda and published by Eagle-Gryphon Games.
crowdfunding platforms every month. Finding ways
The base game pledge included EU VAT, but backers
to stand out and differentiate is becoming harder,
in the UK were expected to pledge the same
and I’m sure that people like me becoming more
amount, and then pay more for UK VAT separately.
discerning isn’t helping.
It was logical to infer that UK backers shouldn’t be
There has been repeated talk in the tabletop games paying VAT twice, but the publisher initially refused
industry of crowdfunding being a bubble that might to acknowledge this, and only offered a solution in
burst at any time, but I’m not sure that will ever be the final days of the campaign before it closed.
true. Instead, I expect that the most resonant and
Due to the global shipping crisis, delivery prices
the highest quality games will continue to thrive and
have now increased significantly. Some years ago, it
rise to the top, and that the publishers canny enough
was common to see standard international shipping
to make the right games will reap the rewards. I do
included in your backer pledge amount, but now
however expect the market’s tolerance for ‘just ok’
creators more commonly advise that each backer
games will diminish, and that could mean trouble
will individually pay for shipping to their locale
for some smaller publishers who need to churn out
through the pledge manager at a later stage. If
product just to make ends meet.
you see a game project you like, but the campaign
does not give you a realistic idea of how much your
Hidden or Unexpected Costs shipping should be, this is definitely something
One thing I’d ask potential backers to look out for to query with the publisher first before pledging.
–and for potential creators to make clear– is what For some crowdfunded games being offered by
the true costs are for delivering the final product to publishers based in the USA, the shipping amount
your doorstep. In the early days of Kickstarter there is almost equal to the value of the game itself,
was a lot of hand-waving over what taxes were being meaning you’re likely better off waiting until the
paid as part of your pledge. With recent changes to game hits retail.
EU VAT rules and the advent of Brexit, publishers are
now being forced to play by the rules, and in some

Dranda Games decided to use our 2022 UK Games Expo Preview
[CLICK HERE to download it!] to announce one of their upcoming games,
Pioneer Rails, so we thought it worth discovering a bit more about it
from Simon Milburn, one of the founders of the publisher.
Guy Allen: Simon, why don’t you tell us about It all sounds very thematic...
Pioneer Rails? Yes! Adding to the theme you will also build railways
Simon: It’s a ‘flip and write’ game designed by towards Mines to get gold, Banks where you can
seasoned designers Matthew Dunstan and Jeffrey store the gold for extra points and Towns that give
D. Allers. You represent a railroad owner who has bonus abilities. It’s all been brought to life by the
seen an opportunity to expand their empire across amazing art and graphic design skills of Javier
new lands of the frontier, and you’ll be using the Inkgolem (Caverna, Cooper Island, and Skymines).
suit of poker cards (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and
Spades) to extend your tracks from 4 stations and
I understand the designers have some pedigree?
their value (10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace) to
build a poker hand at the same time. They do! The game is designed by Matthew
Dunstan (Chocolate Factory, Elysium, Voyages)
The game uses a novel system to ‘activate’ features
and Jeffrey D. Allers (New York Slice, Citrus,
with railroad tracks. You have to surround a feature
New Amsterdam). They’ve designed more games
with a certain number of tracks to score it at the
between them than I’ve had hot meals!
end of the game.
Sounds great, when is it launching?

Sounds a bit like Railroad Ink. What distinguishes
Pioneer Rails from those games? Well we are announcing it here and in your UK
Games Expo Preview! You’ll also be able to play
Pioneer Rails is a step up in complexity and strategy
the game at the UK Games Expo and Essen, and
from Railroad Ink. There are multiple paths to
we’ll bring it to Kickstarter towards the end of 2022,
victory, variable goals, and variable maps too.
with fulfilment planned for the first half of 2023. If
readers want to stay up to date they can sign up to
What is your target market? our newsletter:
People that like roll and writes, such as Welcome
To…, Voyages (also co-designed by Matthew), and https://www.drandagames.co.uk/newsletter
also route-building games like Ticket to Ride will
all find a lot to like in Pioneer Rails. Additionally, it
has elements that will appeal to fans of logic puzzles
and poker.

Let ’s Go
d fu nd ing...
Crow
FlickFleet
by Paul Willcox
We’ve already looked at crowdfunding from a backer’s POV elsewhere
in this issue, but what’s it like on the other side, as a creator? And
what happens when you fundamentally disagree with some of the
latest Kickstarter developments? Paul Willcox gives his view, as one
half of the team that brought FlickFleet into the world...
Love it or loathe it, it’s impossible to deny that target goals of £20,500. Subsequent KS campaigns
crowdfunding, and Kickstarter in particular, has have been increasingly successful.
had a profound impact on board and tabletop
We have run these four campaigns to fund the
gaming. Along with the adoption of the platform
manufacture of FlickFleet and its 3 expansions.
as essentially a preorder tool (which reduces
risks massively for publishers) it has also FlickFleet is a 2-player space battle dexterity game
altered our language - once I thought ‘stretch in which ships (laser-cut from 5mm thick acrylic) are
goals’ sounded dangerously close to exercise; flicked around the tabletop and dice are launched
‘pledge manager’ was something to do with US from the ships to inflict damage. Ships have a card
College fraternities and FOMO… meant nothing ‘dashboard’ which uses wooden components to
to me at all! Many gamers have strong views indicate damage or system-readiness. The game
about this, as well as concerns for the future started back in 2017 and quickly came to fruition.
health of the hobby. I too have opinions about Jackson and I decided that the only cost-effective
these matters, both as a backer and a creator. way to manufacture FlickFleet was to do it
ourselves using laser-cut 5mm acrylic for the
My Creator Experience spaceships. So, Jackson set up Eurydice Games and
I soon came onboard as a co-director. We initially
I have co-run 4 successful Kickstarter campaigns
needed to crowdfund to be able to purchase a laser-
with my friend and co-director of Eurydice Games,
cutter - and this brought us to Kickstarter. Over the
Jackson Pope. The first was in December 2018
course of our 4 campaigns we have learned much.
and the most recent was in 2021. In total we have
received £76,101 in pledges against our combined Here are my top ten observations as a KS Creator...

What did we learn? Yet you need these reviews up front to generate
buzz for your game to ensure it gets funded. We
1 - Length... Our first campaign (in which we funded initially struggled with this. As time has gone on,
only in the last few minutes) was an emotional we have sidestepped the issue by hoping that fans
drain. It lasted 4 weeks. 4 tense, nerve-wracking, return to pledge for the expansions. Buzz within
weeks. We reduced the second campaign to 21 days Kickstarter (generated by the rapidity of you hitting
and now run 2-week campaigns. We had initially your funding goal) can bring many new potential
underestimated how time consuming it would be backers.
answering questions and responding to comments.
As we fit Eurydice Games around our work and home 4 - Marketing and mailing lists... We know our
lives, 2 weeks feels more manageable. main strength is not in marketing. However, we
have a ‘good quality’ mailing list (nearly everyone
2 - Stretch goals... Backers do seem to like them! included has bought at least one item from Eurydice
We have hit on a system that has worked well for Games) that we are hoping to grow further. We have
us. We offer a range of additional material (usually spent resources working out how to use Facebook
ships or scenery) and, when the appropriate excess ads and our presence on twitter as marketing tools.
funding threshold has been reached, we ask backers We’re doing okay but still find this a challenging area
to vote on which item they’d prefer to receive as for us. It doesn’t matter how good your Kickstarter
that stretch goal. This goes down well and fans do page looks if no one knows it’s there!
seem to enjoy teasing each other in the comments.
(This did lead to the creation of the Option 13 Space 5 - Comments... We decided early on that one of
Station when we offered backers 12 options and us would answer comments and questions on the
forgot to remove the 13th slot. Of course, they Kickstarter page. We think this limits the risks of
voted for Option 13!) duplicating information and of potentially answering
the same question differently. It is important to
3 - Reviews... There is something of a catch-22 always be polite and professional, no matter what
about reviews. Creators may need the funding the question. We always try to be prompt and clear
raised by Kickstarter to enable them to make copies in our responses. When something goes wrong… let
of their game to send to reviewers.

backers know! Our laser cutter caught fire last year take a few days. If it’s rejected you get a cursory
before all the components were cut. We let backers explanation of why, so that you can change it and
know that there would be a delay of several months resubmit it. This can feel arduous if the reason is a
and all the responses were positive and supportive. little vague — if you have any questions or queries,
Engaging the game’s fanbase has directly led to you need to send an email — and you’ll often receive
the creation of some amazing content: our last a very generic response. I’m aware that they do
campaign, Box of Flicks 2, contained some of this, have a games team at Kickstarter, but we have never
and they were all ideas Jack and I would probably knowingly had direct contact with any of them.
never have come up with just by ourselves.
8 – It’s not free! Before you receive the pledged
6 - Price ranges... FlickFleet exists in 2 forms: funds, Kickstarter take a percentage for their
standard and deluxe versions. The latter features services. Kickstarter’s fee is 5% of the total,
laser etched ship names and detailing. The standard and then a fee (3-5%) for Stripe processing (the
version is plain laser cut acrylic. We were surprised payment platform they use). You can then use a
how popular the more expensive deluxe version pledge manager system to make sure you have
has consistently proven to be, and also made sure all the backer’s information correctly linked to the
that the original game is available in each of the items they’ve pledged for… and that they’ve paid for
expansion Kickstarter campaigns: we don’t want to them. We’ve used the Gamefound pledge manager
deter potential fans of the game by making the game —which has been free apart from Stripe and PayPal
itself impossible to obtain. Another benefit of the fees— and it’s worked well for us.
deluxe version is that they’re all numbered, have a
handwritten message and can include a handwritten 9 - Followers and conversion rates... Kickstarter
dedication. One of the highlights has been writing tells you how many different people have looked
some very bizarre things inside the box lids! at your campaign and how many of them have
‘followed’ your project, i.e. have asked to be told
7 - Kickstarter as a platform can be… less than when it is nearing the end. Then, it tells you how
perfect... To launch a Kickstarter campaign many of these followers have converted into an
you have to create a page using a slightly clunky actual pledge. This conversion rate often peaks in
interface. There are set fields and a little bit of the last couple of days after Kickstarter sends out a
guidance about what to put in them. When you’re reminder to followers - ours have ended up around
happy you submit your page for approval. This can 15-18%. Kickstarter also tells you how followers

have arrived at your page. You can
create a list of platform-specific links
to attach to things such as Tweets,
Facebook ads, mailing list emails, etc.
and can then check how well these
are performing so you can then tweak
your messaging. One element we were
not expecting is how many followers and backers
don’t come from external sources but actually
found FlickFleet by browsing through games on The future?
Kickstarter. We will shortly be crowdfunding FlickFleet: Xeno
Wars. This will be a standalone 2-player game that,
10 - Fulfilment... As we hand-make FlickFleet when incorporated with the original FlickFleet,
in our homes, we do not use any sort of fulfillment can support 4 players (5 if you also have the Box
service. These are companies who provide a of Flicks 2 expansion). Blind playtesting is nearly
range of services from entirely making your game, complete; graphic design is ongoing and box art has
crating and shipping pallets of your game overseas, been commissioned. Review copies will be sent out
to simply posting out your game. We do all this in the next few weeks.
ourselves. Manufacturing and assembling is a huge A few months ago, Kickstarter issued a press release
job. Packaging and shipping is also a large task. This stating that, long-term, they intend to shift their
is the part that usually concerns me the most as I business model towards utilising blockchain and
dread making mistakes during this stage! We have something that sounds a little bit like a crypto-
had a few missing components but have yet to ship currency or, at worst, an NFT. Despite much probing,
an entirely incorrect package to anyone! little information was forthcoming from Kickstarter
We maintain a detailed master shipping spreadsheet about how this would benefit backers or creators.
which I consult during packaging, and then during Cynically, many saw it as a tech-jargon based
labelling…. and again just to be safe. The biggest attempt to attract new investment. Who knows.
error we’ve actually made was ordering a roll of Jack and I feel quite strongly that blockchain is not
bubble wrap so large it wouldn’t fit through my front an environmentally sound way to progress. We are
door! Oops! particularly concerned that no tangible benefits of
doing this have been forthcoming.

Others in the gaming hobby
obviously felt the same: some
reviewers will no longer review
games bound for Kickstarter; some
backers have said they are done
with the platform.
Therefore, Jack and I have decided
that FlickFleet: Xeno Wars will be
crowdfunded via the Gamefound
platform.
What’s Gamefound?
This is a relatively new platform
designed purely for board games.
To date it has only been used by
some big companies with high-
profile products, but is about to 3 - Gamefound encourages you to create and
open up to smaller publishers. However, it does release a pre-campaign page whenever you
work a little differently to Kickstarter... want. This gives your campaign time to generate
interest. They have suggested making frequent,
1 - We have a named adviser to work with. They regular updates to this, so that potential backers
are situated in the UK and correspond directly with feel involved and that they are getting to know the
us. We like this. Jack had a good chat with them creators. They have also suggested using incentives
about how to set up our campaign and they were to drive this engagement in addition to stretch goals
able to answer all his queries. during the campaign. This makes sense, but is new
to us.
2 - As Gamefound only crowdfund games, users of
the platform are just looking to back games! This There are risks as well. This platform is new to small
means their conversion rate should be much higher publishers and it may be easy to get overlooked
than Kickstarter’s. when the hype train arrives for a huge FOMO-driven
mini-fest (although this is also true of Kickstarter).
Of most concern to us is that
a high percentage of our
backers found FlickFleet
via Kickstarter itself. Will a
similar audience exist within a
less well-known, more niche,
platform?
Ethically and environmentally,
this is a change we are happy
to make. We hope FlickFleet:
Xeno Wars is a huge success
(not least because the cost of
our materials has increased
16% since our last campaign
last year… and shipping has
increased even more) and
that we enjoy the process of
trying a different platform.
A modest success would
suffice. Either way, I will be
laser-cutting alien space ships
for the foreseeable future!

The Joy of Crowdfunding
Paul Willcox’s Top Ten for KS Backers
To date I have backed 30 boardgames on Kickstarter - the only crowdfunding platform I
have direct experience of. Of these, I am still waiting for 6 to be delivered, although they are
still all on schedule. This seems to be the biggest gripe: paying for something, then having to
wait often 1-2 years to receive your purchase. To be fair, this is a particular challenge for
new creators as they may have underestimated printing time, shipping issues, etc. COVID and
a global shortage of shipping containers (remember The Evergreen?) have exacerbated the
situation in recent years, and supply chains have still not yet recovered. The games I’ve backed
have ranged from small wallet-sized card games to large 5-player standard sized games. Only
one game was a genuine disappointment: it featured a definite dominant strategy that the
designers had not spotted. This was subsequently ‘fixed’ by an expansion, but the damage was
done for me by then. The remaining 23 either met or succeeded my expectations.
Here are the top 10 issues I now consider before backing a Kickstarter project:
1 - Be honest about opportunities to play - Due to the people I play games with regularly I
tend to back games that match their tastes as well as my own… which, predictably, overlap
significantly. There’s no point backing a game that, deep down, you know is not going to get
played. This is especially hard when a game is only a slight development or reiteration of one
you already have. Is it different enough?
2- Be honest about storage space - For me this is moderately limited, thus those huge,
plastic-heavy ‘lifestyle’ games (the ones that require their own bookcase to store) just are not
going to get backed by me, no matter how good they are. Similarly, games with more minis
than play don’t appeal to me.
3 - Be patient - expect delays - Most projects take at least a year to fulfill, often much
longer. On top of this, delays do happen. In these post-COVID/Brexit times, shipping is a
nightmare, so having components coming from around the world in need of assembly is a
logistical challenge. As long as publishers are open and honest about delays, I’m fine with this:
it’s a nice surprise when the game does finally arrive!
4- Restrain your FOMO - This was not an abbreviation I was aware of before I dipped my
toe into crowdfunding waters. Initially, I was swept along by the temptation of more stretch
goals (additional content provided with your pledge when a certain excess funding level has
been hit) but now I am more sanguine about them. Some companies use them tactically to
offer upgraded components: thicker card, box insert, screen printed bits. I don’t mind these,
but suspect most of them are pre-baked into the costings anyway. Others use stretch goals
to offer more, and more, and yet more, plastic or resin miniatures. These are often beautiful
(or at least the 3D render is!) and sometimes massive. However, as I am not a mini-painter,
these hold no allure for me as they rarely actually add anything to my enjoyment (and
sometimes can be less useful than a card or wood piece). Some of the projects I’ve backed have
mini expansions as stretch goals. I increasingly find these rather frustrating. It takes a while
for us to play the base game enough to want to mix it up and add these expansions.

Paul Willcox’s Top Ten for KS Backers
When we have, they have rarely warranted the effort or, even worse, have highlighted an
issue in the base game.
5 - Reviews - I do tend to research my potential purchases quite thoroughly. My

Kickstarter success rate is actually slightly better than games acquired by other means. Most
crowdfunding pages these days feature copious reviews, and there is usually much information
about how the game plays, potential issues etc. However, I know some people are sceptical
about these reviews; after all, they received the game for free and are often trying to build
traffic for their review channel, etc. Fair enough. Personally, I prefer to watch playthroughs,
and have found a handful of reviewers whose tastes roughly align with my own, which has
given me a reasonable framework to make judgements with.
6- New creators - I am happy to take a risk on first time creators/backers; something many
are unwilling to do. I see this as being closer to the origins of crowdfunding: a way to help
people realise their ideas, even their dreams. I tend to enjoy these campaigns the most as you
feel closer to the creator and you ache and celebrate with them as their funding goal edges
closer… or not. You can see creators learning how to improve and refine on what they are
doing… it’s learning in action. It is this sense of supporting and helping someone that I enjoy.
7- Isn’t it just a pre-order system? - My enjoyment from supporting newer creators is why I
tend to shy away from the larger companies who do use crowdfunding as a pre-order system.
I know this makes sense for them financially, but I do find it cynical at best. I also don’t tend
to back campaigns for re-releases of games I already own, even if it’s a new edition with
better, upgraded components or slightly altered rules – this actually annoys me… but that’s a
discussion for another day!).
8- Comments - Taking a bit of time to read the comments and, most importantly, the
responses to them, on a games Kickstarter page can be useful. This is often where you can
sense if someone really is out of their depth and hasn’t done their homework. There are
even creators who, when they’ve made a mistake, dig their heels in and refuse to change.
This can be a red flag for a project; how will they cope when something else goes wrong?
How reasonable, excited, even professional are the tone of the responses? Do they make you
feel confident in the creator and their ability to produce the game? Can you tell if they’ve
playtested adequately and blindly? (I remember a tempting campaign that I didn’t back
when it became apparent that only the creator and immediate friends had ever played the
game; no one else had even read the rules!).
9- The rules - This is now a hard rule for me: if I can’t read the rulebook, I’m not pledging.
I can forgive the absence of playthrough videos –they are expensive to create, and a new
creator may not already have hordes of fans generating this content for free—but I have to
see what they’ve done with the rules.
10 - Postage and packaging - Shipping is expensive at present. That said, some companies
use EU or UK fulfilment companies to soften the blow. This is appreciated for large projects
but is not always viable for smaller, indie producers. I like where campaigns are open and
honest about the shipping costs rather than just adding it on at the end. There have been
campaigns recently where the UK seems to be an expensive afterthought. The cost of shipping
isn’t the publisher’s fault however, despite many people in the comments seeming to think it
is. If the product will later hit retail, I will wait until then if the shipping cost is unpalatable.

M y 2 0 2 1 K S
Di a r y! by Marcos Avlonitis,
Paper Boat Games
Back in Tabletop SPIRIT #14, Marcus Avlonitis was kind enough to

give us an insight into some of the behind-the-scenes organisation
required for a first-time exhibitor at UK Games Expo. A short while after
UKGE, Paper Boat Games decided to use Kickstarter for their Snapshot:
Wildlife Photographer game. We followed his progress...
6th August, 2021 do as well if they start in mid-October/
November.
A week after UKGE and Richard, Martin
and I are still riding high from the positive
reception! We agree the time is right to 14th August
forge ahead and launch a Kickstarter campaign
to fund Snapshot. Richard starts writing the Kickstarter
campaign page.
There are so many questions… How much do we
need to raise? What’s the best launch date?
How much will Snapshot cost? More research 16th August
is needed!
We get some production quotes back and they
vary wildly. Chinese manufacturers are very
12th August cheap but we would need to arrange shipping.
We lay out a timeline of all the things we
need to do and the time each will take. As 17th August
a result, we decide on a launch date of 28th
September… any earlier and we won’t have We get quotes for shipping but costs have
things ready. increased so much that we would lose the
price advantage of printing in China in the first
We contemplate pushing it back, but the place!
advice is that Kickstarter campaigns don’t

A still from the Snapshot: WIldlife
Photographer Kickstarter launch video...
Printing in Germany is an option but the As for the solo mode, Martin had already
manufacturer we contacted has been hit by designed a first draft and Richard has been
paper shortages and can’t accept new business working on his own interpretation, so we can
until April 2023! use these as our basis for finalising the solo
version.
UK manufacture seems the only option. We
had always wanted to print in the UK if
possible, and this seals the deal. 24th August
Development begins in earnest for the solo
20th August mode. Each of us has our own approach, so it
will take time to come to an agreement.
I speak to Rob Butler (Butler Printing Ltd) who
printed our demo copies for UKGE and he’s
confident they can print our game in time for 28th August
Christmas. This is great news as we can now
offer Christmas delivery (in the UK anyway). I finish a first draft of the launch video
script, but we’re not happy with it. Martin
starts a re-write. It’s a month to launch day
22nd August and I feel like time is slipping away!
I talk to Rob again and finalise the product
design. We had received a lot of feedback 30th August
that the box was too big for the scale of game
so we discuss a smaller box. Turns out it will Martin and I meet with fulfilment companies.
reduce costs a good deal, too, which is a plus. Prices vary, as does scale. In the end, we take
a chance on an established retail company who
are branching out into fulfilment.
23rd August
We agree on three optional add-ons for the 2nd September
campaign:
We discuss the final designs for the solo
1. A neoprene play-mat mode. In the end, we prioritise a streamlined
design and go with a card-based AI system.
2. An expansion to add a 5th player
One benefit is that it uses so few cards we
3. A solo mode can include it with the expansion pack, without
adding any extra cost to the backer.

Development of the 5th player expansion is 12th September
much simpler – a few play-tests and we’re
done. I get quotes for the play-mat. We decide
to go with Patriot Games in the UK. They’re
more expensive than China but are highly
3rd September recommended, and would be able to deliver for
Christmas.
We discuss our marketing plan. We decide
to pay for some targeted marketing with
Tabletop Gaming magazine but mainly we will
use Facebook ads. 13th September
Martin arranges for some influencers and
reviewers to cover Snapshot for free. Nice
5th September work!
We set the target amount for our Kickstarter
quite low at £2000. It should be enough to pay
for 100 games. Fingers crossed we make it! 18th September
We aren’t sure if we will hit any stretch goals, Filming day! I ended up having to throw myself
but we put in a couple of low ones just in case. into bushes and fall out of a tree… but despite
grazes, bruises and a spider in my ear, we had
a great time!
7th September
The filming day for our launch video is 21st September
approaching… but we’re still not happy with the
script! Richard and I have a frantic phone call Editing begins on the launch video…
and re-write it over the phone. Bouncing ideas
off each other makes the process much easier.
22nd September
I film a ‘how-to-play’ video for Snapshot. Now
8th September I need to edit that too!
Some final tweaks from Martin, and the script
is ready.

23rd September 29th September
Martin and Richard finalise a re-write of our Obsession has set in... I’m checking the
rule book. It’s much better, but I have no time campaign every few minutes.
to do the layout and graphics so it will have
to wait. Luckily, our old rule book is still good Lots of work left to do. I still haven’t finished
enough for now. the how-to-play, expansion and solo videos…
24th September 30th September

The sample play-mat has arrived and looks Questions and comments keep pouring in… We
great! I was very sceptical about the idea, but did not anticipate how much time it would take
now I really want one! to answer them all.
One common question is for overseas delivery.
We will have to get these from our fulfilment
25 th
September partner promptly.
Richard and Martin finish the Kickstarter
page. I begin adding graphics to it.
On a whim, Richard added a £100 reward tier,
but we don’t expect anyone to go for it.
Richard and Martin are also keen to include
donations to animal-centric charities in our
campaign. However, Kickstarter does not allow
donations so we decide to just donate anyway,
out of our own money. It feels right to make
the gesture, given it ties in with our theme.
Richard researches suitable charities.
26th September
Editing for the launch video is just about done.
Creating the animated graphics is taking ages
though.
28th September – Launch Day!

It begins!!! Luckily, I booked the day off work
and spend the morning adding the final touches
to the page. We press launch, and away it
goes…
Update 1:
We’re fully funded!! In less than 5 hours
we received all the money we needed… I’m
completely blown away! A lot of gleeful
messages pass between the three of us.
Update 2:
The money keeps coming in! We realise that
we will probably achieve all our stretch goals
in the next few days… we will need some more
soon!
Update 3:
We’ve already sold two of the £100-tier
rewards! That’s a real surprise.

3rd October 8th October
The money is coming in slower now. We discuss More people are interested in the solo mode
new stretch goals, and I have an idea for than expected! I need to hurry up and edit the
adding a first player marker but I’ll need to how-to-play video quickly.
get quotes first.
9th October
4 th
October
Record low amount of pledges today.
I film a how-to-play video for the solo mode
and an overview video of the play-mat. Hard
finding time to edit, though. 10th October
We need more backer interaction to generate
5 th
October interest in the campaign. One of our stretch
goals was new-and-improved dice so letting
We’ve seen a big drop in pledges. A bit backers choose the colour might help.
demoralising after our good start.
11th October
6 th
October
I finally finish the solo-mode video!
We announce three new stretch goals: an
insert for the box, a ‘Raccoon’ expansion, and
German translation. 12th October
These will all add to our costs, but I think We launch the poll to choose the dice colour.
they’re worth it. We can only find two options in the country
that match the quantity, size and quality we
need. Nevertheless, both look good – I’m not
7th October sure which one I prefer!
After announcing the new stretch goals, we’ve
recorded our second-best day of pledges!
13th October
We’ve seen a definite up-tick in pledges since
launching our poll. Looks like it worked.
14th October
The quote comes in for a first-player meeple in
the shape of a red panda. It adds a fair bit of
cost to the game… but after seeing a mock-up

of the piece, we feel it’s so cute and adds so 23rd October
much fun to the game that it’s worth it. We
set this as our final ‘big finish’ stretch goal. We announce the red panda meeple stretch
goal and people seem genuinely excited… us
In other news, I’m making headway on included!
finalising the files for printing. Fingers crossed
we will be able to get them to Butler Printing
soon after the campaign ends and get the 24th October
games produced!
Wow… I’ve just noticed that all the £100-tier
rewards have been taken! I can’t believe it!
In other news, we should hit £9000 very soon
but the £10,000 red panda stretch goal seems
out of reach, sadly.
15th October
We’ve seen a bumper week in terms of
pledges, probably due in large part to Richard
and Martin posting on Facebook like crazy!
16th October
FINALLY! I’ve finished the how-to-play video!
Massive load off my mind with this done…
17th October
At last, we have prices for shipping… but
before we can post them, we need to work out
VAT rates, import costs and packaging fees
for different regions…
18th October
Our donations to animal charities seem to
be going down well. It’s nice to see backers
appreciate this given that it’s not directly
linked to their pledges or rewards.
19th October
The dice poll closes and it’s very close… orange
edges out blue by a few percent!
20th October
Got the shipping figures sorted at long last. I
will put them in a graphic and upload soon.

26th October 28th October – Last Day
Last 48 hours of the campaign… here we go! We watch the final minutes tick by and the
Since yesterday, we started seeing an increase last-minute pledges trickle in. And when it
in pledges which seems to be consistent with finally ends, it’s hard to believe it’s over!
what people have told us about Kickstarter – a
surge at the beginning and end with a lull in We are absolutely exhausted and quite
the middle. emotional… This process took so much more
out of us and required so much more effort
Richard sends out one last update calling on and commitment than we ever expected. But it
backers to spread the word. Fingers crossed feels worth it.
we can get it over the line.
Publishing a game has been a passion for all of
us for so long and to see this reflected in the
27th October trust and support the backers have given us is
truly humbling.
We hit £10,000! I can’t believe it! £10,000
feels so surreal… None of us expected to raise For now, we’ll have a (very short) rest and
that much money. then get back to work finishing the new rule
book, submitting the print files and launching
My mum calls me up to congratulate us which is the pledge manage system so backers can
a lovely boost. Thanks, Mum! order their games.
There’s so much left to do… but for now we
can enjoy the success!

making it
personal
A love letter to Welcome To... wherein our intrepid epistolarian
has finally left for pastures new c/o Howard Bishop...
Department Of Palaeontology
Miskatonic University
Church Street
Arkham, USA
Monday 7th May 1951
My dear Henry,
I hope this letter finds you and the family well.
I have news that will probably not surprise you. I have finally decided to move out
of this wretched place. You know I don’t generally have truck with supernatural
mumbo jumbo and things that go bump in the night, but I just can’t take the
sense of dread that I feel when I walk through the front door any longer.
It’s a bit embarrassing to have to tell you that I have put a deposit down on a
new “average” suburban home, like normal people do. The development is called
Rokehampton, but it might as well be Dullsville. I can see why people talk about
the American Dream; it’s such a boring place that nodding off on the couch and
having visions of somewhere exciting is about the only thing worth doing.
This new estate has three streets, all equally bland, differentiated only by their
length and the dreariness of the inhabitants. Apparently, there was a competition
between several players in the industry to submit the most pleasing set of plans. If
this was the winner, I’d hate to have to live in the one that came last.
My new place is number 7, 2nd Street. It has a bit of a plot at the back, and they
have at least put in a small park between us and 1st Street. My neighbour to the
right is a stockbroker, a tedious fellow by the name of Rogers, who has a pool in
his yard. On the other side is number 7b. It’s a house they shoehorned in at the
last minute and doesn’t really seem to fit. The owner is a chap called Norman
Bates and he’s already planning to put a fence up around his property. I wanted
to object, but the real estate man said that it will increase the privacy and
therefore the value of the whole subdivision.

I can’t help thinking that my life is over, but I will throw myself into my work
and try to finish my novel. At least the new place is convenient for Arkham and
the coast, so perhaps not all is lost.
As always, my love to Elizabeth and the boys.
All my best,
Nicholas
As an architect in Welcome To..., you want to build the

best new town in the United States of the 1950s.
Welcome To... plays like a roll-and-write dice game in

which you mark results on a score-sheet... but without
dice.
Instead, you flip cards from three piles to make three

different action sets with both a house number and a
corresponding action from which everyone chooses one.
You use the number to fill in a house on your street in
numerical order. Then you take the action to increase
the point value of estates you build, or score points at
the end for building parks and pools. Players also have
the option of taking actions to alter or duplicate their
house numbers. And everyone is racing to be the first to
complete public goals.
There’s lots to do and many paths to becoming the best

suburban architect in Welcome To...!

THE NORTH SEA TRILOGY
Shipwrights of the North Sea
• Townsfolk
Explorers of the North Sea
• Rocks of Ruin
Raiders of the North Sea
• Hall of Heroes
• Fields of Fame
Runesaga is the Add On to play North Sea as a linked
campaign
THE WEST KINGDOM TRILOGY

Architects of the West Kingdom
• Age of Artisans
• Works of Wonder
Paladins of the West Kingdom
• City of Crowns
Viscounts of the West Kingdom
• Gates of Gold
• Keeper of Keys
Tomesaga is the Add On to play West Kingdom as a
linked campaign
THE SOUTH TIGRIS TRILOGY

Wayfarers of the South Tigris
Scholars of the South Tigris
Inventors of the South Tigris

Na vig at in g t he
North S ea a nd
es t K in gd o m s
W
by Guy Allen
As a fan of the North Sea and West Kingdom games trilogies from
Garphill Games, Guy Allen wanted to offer some wayfaring advice...
Over the last few years, the Kickstarters from an upside to this use of consistent iconography
Garphill Games have been amongst the most in that it really helps those that have previously
consistently successful projects, especially the played one of the games when they try another
North Sea and West Kingdom trilogies. But from the trilogies.
despite their popularity (four of them are in the
I’d also like to commend Garphill Games on the
BGG top 100) the number of games, expansions
size of the boxes, which are smaller than those
and associated campaign releases have left many
used for the Ticket to Ride games, although
people confused as to what is what. So grab your
some do complain they are too small. Sure, for
oar or mount your steed as we try and guide you
some of the games it does mean packing them
through these hugely popular games.
away can be a bit of a challenge, especially with
expansions, but it does result in a lot of game in a
A Quick Introduction tightly packed box. There are big boxes available
There are currently two distinct trilogies, the for a couple of them for those that like a little
North Sea and the West Kingdom, and not more flexibility
surprisingly each have 3 games. Both trilogies What follows is a brief run through of the games;
have a campaign module that ties the 3 games I have played them all at least once, owned 5 of
together and all of the games have at least one them and still have 2 in my collection, plus one
expansion, some of them two. Each of the 6 as an app. While I do give opinions on some of
games are stand alone and don’t require any them you shouldn’t treat my comments as a fully-
knowledge of the others in the series, however fledged review... in fact we have reviewed most of
all of the games have artwork by the Mico and it them in Tabletop SPIRIT and have linked to the
is perhaps the resulting similarity of design that relevant issues below if you want to read about
leads to some of the confusion. However there is any of those in more detail.

The North Sea Trilogy feed your tribe. There is no direct conflict, but
The first trilogy is the North Sea series, you are competing for resources and control
Shipwrights, Explorers and Raiders and is
of the various islands as they appear. While
not surprisingly a series of Viking themed this isn’t a particularly complex game, I really
games. This trilogy is easily recognised by enjoy it and often bring it out as a next step to
Carcassonne for newish players. The Viking
their predominantly blue boxes. The Runesaga
expansion allows the three games to be played boats, meeples and animals are all really cute
as a simple campaign with carry over results and the table presence really brings people
from each play. into the game. Explorers has one expansion,
Rocks of Ruin, which adds a few more options.
With experienced gamers I would always use
1). Shipwrights of the North Sea it, but the base game is fine as it is with less
experienced gamers. I have played Explorers
The first of the games and the lowest rated on more than 20 times and because of its utility
BGG at 3062 (the rest are all in the top 1000), with new players I don’t ever see it leaving my
this is a card management game where you are collection.
building ships ready for voyage. A common view
is that without the expansion, Townsfolk, the
game isn’t really complete and indeed the 2nd 3). Raiders of the North Sea
edition now comes with this expansion included.
Raiders is a worker placement game with a
I have only played Shipwrights once and it felt
really restrictive and dependent on the cards you twist, and probably the most appealing of this
draw. I would have happily played it again but trilogy to hobby gamers, and currently sits in
the friend who owned it sold it the next day. the BGG Top 100. Play starts at a shared home
territory and on your turn you get to place
your one worker and then remove a different
2). Explorers of the North Sea one, which you will use next turn, taking the
actions or collecting the resources associated
Explorers is a tile laying game where you get with both spaces. Eventually you’ll build up
to move your Vikings in their boats, discovering the requirements necessary to go and raid far
and settling new lands, or collecting livestock to off lands, but again there is no direct conflict

between the players. There are two expansions, The West Kingdom Trilogy
Hall of Heroes and Fields of Fame which add
further spaces and options; I have only played The second trilogy is set in medieval mid-Europe
with these once so can’t offer further comment, in the era of knights and cathedral building and
but regular players seem to like them. With comes in primarily red boxes. The games in this
only 4 plays of the game so far I am happy still trilogy are linked by the Tomesaga campaign
exploring the base game. expansion.
There is also an app version of Raiders (just the

base game) which plays well. Just to add to the 1). Architects of the West Kingdom
confusion, Garphill also re-implemented this
Architects also resides in the BGG Top 100, and
game as Raiders of Scythia, a standalone game
is another worker placement game, also with
outside of the trilogy.
a twist, well a couple of them really. The first is
Reviewed in SPIRIT #1 that most spaces are not exclusive, for example
if you place a fourth of your workers on the
forest space you will collect 4 wood.
This leads to the second twist, in
that if you feel that one of your
opponents is getting too rich,
perhaps on the proceeds of
wood for example, you can
capture their workers and
hold them to ransom. This
is not as aggressive as it
seems, more a mechanism
for slowing rampant
resource collection. I
really enjoy Architects, it
plays quickly even with
5 players, with very little
downtime, and whilst
the teach is a little long,

I have successfully introduced it to new players. it described as a rondel but I don’t think that is
There is currently one expansion available, Age quite right, it is simply a map that happens to be
of Artisans, which adds a 6th player as well as round.
enhancing the gameplay, and there is a further
Viscounts is a deck builder, but then you use
yet to be published expansion called Works of
your deck to programme your moves, adding a
Wonder, due out later this year.
card to a row of three, each of which will activate
Reviewed in SPIRIT #4 on your turn. Throw in a bit of area control and
resource management and there is a lot going
on here, which makes it a bit of a beast to teach;
2). Paladins of the West Kingdom
in the end it left my collection as it was simply
Paladins is perhaps the most brain burny of the too hard work to teach and play. I did enjoy it,
6 games, and the highest ranked, with a lot going and it is pretty innovative, but as I looked at my
on and plenty of paths to victory, all of them games to select for a night’s play, the burden
being interlinked. You are nominally building of teaching it felt too heavy which means it
your town and defences against marauders generally stayed on the shelf.
from the East, but only in a very abstract nature.
There are two expansions coming for Viscounts
Whilst the previous game, Architects, can be
in 2022, Gates of Gold and Keeper of Keys, both
done and dusted in 75 minutes even with 5
again via Kickstarter, and due to ship in October.
players, my experience of 3 player games of
Paladins is that they take almost 3 hours, and
in the end whilst I enjoyed the plays, it was too But wait, that’s not all. Starting with Wayfarers
long for what it was, which is why I moved it on. of the South Tigris in 2022, Garphill are bringing
Paladins also has an expansion, City of Crowns, their trilogical magic to yet another cardinal of
about which I am afraid I know nothing! the compass. The full trilogy is already planned,
Reviewed in SPIRIT #8 with Scholars and Inventors of the South Tigris
both to follow Wayfarers in due course. No
doubt there will be an Eastern Trilogy, but where
3). Viscounts of the West Kingdom or when that will be set is a mystery for now...
The final game in the West Kingdom trilogy,
Viscounts, has an unusual round board with a
tiered plastic castle as its centrepiece. I’ve seen

BISHOP BOTT HARGREAVES & SMALLBOAT
Here’s a couple of puzzles especially for those of you wishing to exercise your
braincells beyond the gaming table...
You can click here to see the complete solution of both puzzles at the back of
the magazine (pg 108).
MEEPLETASTIC CHALLENGE
We’ve got a slightly different take on things this time — can you identify in which
games you’ll find these lovely li’l meeples...?
SMALLBOAT’S
CRYPTIC
CROSSWORD
This crossword
puzzle contains
a number of
themed words
that all relate to a
particular board
game. The answers
to the clues in bold
are all connected
to a particular
game.
Across Down
2 Make a home with Google’s assistance (4)
1 Dark warmonger who stays out late (9)
3 Jonny May or George North come first in game (4)
2 Tailors chaos, taking it out on The Sun (5)
6 Bet paypacket on first places for Red Rum (5)
4 Benefit for men in true shambles (9)
10 Un-illegal redistribution of rail (9)
5 One who dives into ponds or retreats into iceberg (5)
11 Plastic only recycled close to bin (5)
6 Improvises with legendary flautist in this
12 Disturb inefficient housing for generator (7)
puzzling theme (8)
13 Festival at the beginning of November, from
7 Best view of a Bond film (9)
Japan maybe? (7)
8 Lasted a long time, like an athletics track (3,2)
14 What could make aquarium life generally anoxic,
at first? (4) 9 Irrational tip-off for a little garden visitor (5)
16 Liverpool FC’s team, without wingers, witnessed 15 Savannah, an informant from Germany, with
legendary crossing (3,3) network infiltration (9)
18 Sheepish female found in sewer (3) 17 One wades into debt from buying expensive
cutlery? (9)
21 New Zealander bypassing the entrance to
furniture store (3) 19/20 Gave bizarre health resort to games designer (9,8)
22 Something charged after wild cat as a 24 Date with a womaniser and rapper (5)
manoeuvre... (6) 25 What you’ve done to make a politician get cross? (5)
23 ...but one is unlikely to see this in the Himalayas (4) 26 Evasive manoeuvres that cricketers try to avoid (5)
25 Fought about small silver saw (7) 28 German car makes zero sound (5)
27 Grungy trio in delivery vehicle flooded by terrible
rain (7)
29 Characters from Croatia rarely like The Crown (5)
30 Term of affection for each deck I dealt out (9)
31 Avoid fairground car with a broken rear end (5)
32 Instrumental break in ‘Me & My Shadow’ (4)
33 Spice is likely to have fans in Peterborough (4)

PANDEMINO PUZZLE
In this puzzle you need to arrange 20 Meeples such that there
are 2 in every row, 2 in every column, and 2 in every polyomino
shape.
However, due to social distancing rules, no Meeple can be

placed next to another orthogonally or diagonally, and 4 have
already found their place. Where can the remaining 16 go?
If you prefer, we have an interactive PDF version of this puzzle

available here: https://tinyurl.com/TSM-pandemino

GOING
CYBER_DARK
Well, this is a tad embarrassing... on the back of the news that a
Blade Runner RPG is finally on the cards, Alex Bardy decided to take
a look at a couple of forthcoming ‘gumshoe cyberfuture’-style dark
science fiction RPGs that have been catching his eye, most of them
from indy publishers. Alas, we’ve since discovered the two that really
caught his eye are both due to get some form of secondary release
through Free League Publishing later this year, which is kind of poetic,
but they did also get extensive coverage last time. Oops! Sorry, punks!
You’ll recall that I gave a lot of space over to the
doom-laden, death-metal stylee MÖRK BORG
dark fantasy RPG way back in issue #11, and
while I am and always will be a massive fan
of that minimalistic system, you can imagine
how pumped I was upon discovering they were
working on a sci-fi version of the same... And it
looks simply AWESOME!
CY_BORG (2021)
Designed by Christian Sahlén & Johan Nohr
“Welcome to the world of 20X3, it’s going to

be a blast!” they said. Little did I know at the
time that this is a world full of liars, punks,
degenerates, and reckless capitalist scum,
and everyone is only out for themselves...
Described as a nano-infested doomsday RPG
about cybernetic misfits and punks raging
against a relentless corporate hell, CY_BORG
was originally launched via Kickstarter at the
tail end of last year. It’s the latest project /
design from Johan Nohr –who is a hugely
talented creative genius imho– and my god
this is another kickass, brilliant production,
well worth chasing down anywhere you can!

In CY_BORG players will take on the role of
assorted miscreants in a dark, neon future, their
main goal being survival against the greedy,
corrupt industrial forces of a mangled, corporate
machine — and it all happens in the grinding
dystopia of Cy, the one, final, only megacity that
matters. We’re assured there will be aliens, too,
and nanomancers, but that’s just rumour from
the evangelical zeitgeist...
CY_BORG isn’t just a punch to the face in
terms of setting and design, but it is another
elegant, minimalist RPG system that brings
a long sought after remedial headbutt to the
nose for those still craving the dark, twisted,
and utterly miserable as their OSR tonic (Old
School Rules) of choice...
It should be landing RSN (Real Soon Now), too!

Death in Space does provide several good
opportunities for limited space exploration,
Death in Space (2022) but the real core of the game has players
surviving hand-to-mouth from one ropey
Designed by Christian Sahlén & Johan Nohr encounter to the next. Everything in this game
is driven by your next big (or little) job, and it
Hot on the heels of CY_BORG is Death is literally all about contracts and reputation...
Space, a similarly dark but somewhat
in Space, The design and structure of the rules is a
more conventional sci-fi RPG in that your bit reminiscent of OSR games (Old School
spacecraft or space station is effectively your Rules), and actually uses similar mechanics
home, and any opportunist contract that to those found in CY_BORG
CY_BORG,, namely that
comes your way is pretty much your only most skill checks are a single dice roll to try
means of continued survival. and get 12 or more for success [roll a single
You’ll recall that we covered a sci-fi RPG 1D20 + relevant ability].
called Those Dark Places way back in One thing to keep in mind is the need to use
Tabletop SPIRIT #11,
#11, and this feels like an a variety traditional RPG dice and lots of
even darker version of that, albeit also set tables: 1D4 for main abilities, 1D6 for lots of
against a background of corporate greed, things, 1D20 for most other things, and then
but in a universe being gradually suffocated 1D8, 1D10 and 1D12 for some of the more
by an all-consuming Void. Most of the action obscure tables. This might be a headache for
here takes place in the fractured, war-ridden some, while others will no doubt see it as an
Tenebris system: a rag-tag bunch of planets, opportunity to spoil themselves with a brand
moons, old waystations, abandoned mining new dice set. Each to their own, I guess...
outposts, and assorted space wreckage
You can find out a lot more about Death in
harking back to a golden age of space
Space direct from their website, which is still
mining and exploration. There are nightmare
taking pre-orders:
creatures from the Void and mutant drones
to deal with too, of course, just in case you www.deathinspace.com
thought it might all sound just a tad too easy.

Ark Nova
Designed by
REVIEW
e
Mathias Wigg
publisher
uerland Spiele, 2021

Fe
REVIEWED by
1-4 players
90-150 mins
Mike Nudd (approx)
For me, Ark Nova was the one that got away. Offered for sale in
limited quantities at Essen last October, I was completely unaware of
the online pre-order until it was too late, and when I got to the show,
the available English copies went from ‘please wait’ to ‘sold out’
in nanoseconds. In the aftermath of the show reports and reviews
started to drop – the hype was apparently real. Some people called
it a ‘Terraforming Mars killer’, and in January Tom Vasel even named
Ark Nova his number 1 game of all time. In fact, the hype for the game
was so strong it was difficult to find available copies, and Feuerland
were struggling to keep up with the demand. After Zatu failed to fulfil
my pre-order, I ended up finding a solitary English language copy at
Amazon.de. Finally, it was mine, and at last I had the opportunity to
see what all the fuss was about!
What is it?
Ark Nova is a competitive action selection and tableau-building game for
1-4 players themed around building and managing a zoo. Each player has
their own zoo to develop, and player interaction comes from the players
drawing and drafting from a shared deck of Zoo cards.
Players track two scores during the game: Appeal and Conservation, and
the markers used to track these scores start at opposite ends of the scoring
track and move towards each other as points are gained. The end of the
game is triggered when the scoring markers of the leading player pass each
other on the track. Final scores are determined with players subtracting the
final value of their conservation from their final appeal – therefore it is quite
common for players to end up with a negative score (and in fact a positive
score at all is a significant achievement). Players also track a third value
called reputation, which unlocks more game bonuses as your reputation
score increases.

There are over two hundred Zoo cards in total, and regarding the number of existing animal, continent
in my experience it’s rare to see more than half of or science icons in your zoo, or the types of terrain
the deck in a single game, leading to a lot of variety that must be next to the available enclosure you
between games. The game also comes with eight select to house it in.
double-sided zoo boards, and while it is suggested
The Sponsors action lets you play a sponsors Zoo
inexperienced players start with the identical ‘A’
card from your hand into your tableau. Sponsors
boards, more experienced players are encouraged
cards either have an ongoing game effect that will
to try the other 12 boards, which have asymmetric
benefit you, or they will have an end game scoring
layouts and unique player powers. The bonus tiles,
effect that is triggered at the end of the game, or both.
final scoring cards and base conservation project
cards are also all drawn from a wider pool, all adding The Cards action lets you draw more cards from
to the variety and encouraging repeated play. the deck, and at level 5 you may instead ’snap
up’ one card from the card display. Upgrading the
card increases the number of cards you can draw
How does it play? and allows you to snap at lower action levels.
The key mechanic of the game involves the use of Upgrading also unlocks the higher portion of the
action cards. Each player is given the same set of Reputation track, which is otherwise inaccessible
five action cards, and they must place these cards to players.
under their player board in positions marked from 1
The Association action is linked to the Association
to 5, moving from left to right. In each player’s turn
board which is placed next to the main game board.
they must select one action card to execute, where
The board depicts a number of actions which are
the strength of the action is determined by the
linked to specific levels of the Association action.
card’s current position – i.e., a level 5 action is much
These actions can enhance your basic actions along
stronger than a level 1 action. After completing your
with achieving conservation points from achieving
action, the selected action card is moved to position
certain conditions or by buying a conservation point.
one, and all other action cards are moved one space
Note that since every Association action requires
to the right.
you to place an Association worker, and you only
The action cards are double-sided, and there are start the game with one worker, it is helpful to trigger
certain opportunities to upgrade each card to its game bonuses that will give you additional workers
reverse side, where it becomes better than its to support these actions.
starting side. The game then becomes
an efficiency puzzle, where you are
trying to order your actions in the correct
sequence to yield the maximum benefit
in the game, and you are trying to flip
them over as quickly as possible. During
the game you can also earn ‘X tokens’
which can be spent to boost the strength
of your action on a 1-for-1 basis.
The Build action allows you to place
enclosures, kiosks and pavilions onto
your zoo board. You must build out
adjacently from where you started, and
if you cover up a bonus symbol you can
immediately gain the depicted bonus.
There are obstacles that you must build
around, introducing a spatial puzzle
element to the game.
The Animals action allows you to play
animal Zoo cards from your hand into
your tableau. Each animal has a money
cost, and it needs an available enclosure
of a size indicated by the number in the
top-left-hand corner of the card. Animals
may also have other requirements

The round structure of Ark Nova is dynamic in that How does it look?
players will continue to take actions one at a time, Ark Nova is presented with a clean, modern, and
moving clockwise around the table, until someone functional aesthetic, which is friendly on the eye, if
triggers a break, signalling the end of the round. a little unexciting. All the cards use photographs for
The main game board includes a break track, and their artwork, and in the case of the Animal cards
when any player chooses the Cards action, or uses the picture is of the animal named on the card.
the Sponsors action to generate money, the coffee
cup on the break track is moved towards the end The iconography is clear and well thought-out, and
of the track. When the cup gets to the end of the a glossary document is provided as a reference.
track, a break is triggered. At this point all players More complex Zoo cards are numbered, and the
check their hand size, the lowest two cards in the corresponding numbered entry in the glossary
display are removed from play, the Association provides a clear explanation.
Board is reset, and all players claim their income – All the tokens – including the enclosures, and the
an amount of money equal to your current Appeal money - are provided on thick punch card. The
score, plus any bonuses from Sponsors or unlocked break token, score trackers, association workers
cube spaces on your zoo board. and player cubes are all painted wood. The zoo
When the end of the game is triggered, that player boards and the Association board use very thin card
finishes their turn, and then each other player gets compared to the thicker main game board which is
to complete one final turn. Afterwards, players a minor complaint. The overall component quality
reveal and resolve their final scoring cards, and is good, although the simple square grey money
any end game scoring that may be triggered by the tokens are disappointing in their appearance – I
Sponsors cards they played. The player with the am likely to ‘bling’ my own copy of the game with
highest final total (subtracting their Conservation alternatives.
rating from their Appeal rating) is declared the The game box does not have an insert, but as a nice
winner. touch the publisher has included two token storage
trays with lids which fit snugly in the bottom of the

box, which can be removed and placed on the table any details about what animals are paired, or
for ease of setup. what the outcomes might be. Ark Nova may be a
superb logic puzzle, but it lacks a certain degree of
The rulebook is easy to follow, and game information
emotional investment that animal lovers might find
is clearly laid out. A first game is likely to need quite
disappointing.
a bit of rules checking, but everything is easy to find,
and the noted glossary also helps keep things clear. Returning to potential issues with card draw, in
my first two games of Ark Nova I really struggled
to develop any synergies between my cards in the
My impressions? first few rounds, which led to me lagging behind the
It is easy to see why comparisons between Ark players who benefited from a better starting hand.
Nova and Terraforming Mars are being made. In Looking online (and again drawing comparisons
both games players are taking cards from a central with Terraforming Mars) a sizeable number of
supply and are building their own individual tableaus players are recommending that the starting cards
which offer in-game and end-game bonuses. You are in Ark Nova are drafted. I tried this starting card
also notionally ‘building something’ in both games, draft for my third game of Ark Nova and it made
albeit in a somewhat abstracted manner. Both quite a notable, positive difference to everyone’s
games are also similar in the way that dependency experience. I’m likely to only play this way in the
on card draw leads to a certain ‘luck of the draw’ in future.
terms of how well your cards combo together - there
will inevitably be times where some players will find
better synergies than others. Conclusions
As a medium-heavy Euro board game, Ark Nova
Ark Nova is different in that each player is building excels at offering lots of meaty decisions, with many
independently on their own board, leading to inter-dependent moving parts. It is easy to see why
minimal direct player interaction – some animal people are talking about the game, and why it has
cards have interactive powers which negatively moved quickly into many top ten lists. If you like
impact another player in a minor way when you complex puzzles, and don’t mind the variability of
play them, but the only serious way you can impact the card draw and the low level of player interaction,
another player’s strategy is to take a card from then this game is going to be for you.
the display that they might want. Or perhaps you
Stepping back slightly, Ark Nova isn’t innovating
could be the one to trigger the break before your
as much as elegantly combining a variety of
opponents are ready for it.
mechanisms that we’ve seen in other games before.
The mechanisms in Ark Nova are also much The spatial building puzzle recalls the polyomino
more delicate and less forgiving. As your money games of Uwe Rosenberg. The action selection with
income is only refreshed at the end of a break, it variable strength was also used in Civilization:
is crucial for you to play at least one animal into A New Dawn by James Kniffen. Combining the
an enclosure before the break is triggered. Also, scores of two different tracks that move in opposite
since the Association action is dependent on directions has been seen before in Rajas of the
available workers, you don’t want to find yourself in Ganges by Inka and Markus Brand. If you are
a situation where the Association card is in a high seeking originality in your next game purchase, then
position, but you don’t have enough free workers left you may need to look elsewhere.
to exploit it. Ark Nova is a constant balancing act
For me personally Ark Nova is a worthy purchase
where you are trying to ensure maximum efficiency
that deserves more play, and it has a safe space in
from every action – this can lead to a rollercoaster of
my collection for the foreseeable future, on the basis
highs and lows, rejoicing when you get things exactly
that in every future game we draft the starting cards.
right, and cursing when you make a mistake!
And although I like Ark Nova, in closing I would
While the zoo-keeping theme in Ark Nova is clearly
say that a board game that properly does justice to
strong and permeates the entire game, there is still
the zoo management theme has yet to be made – I
a level of abstraction. Every enclosure you fill with
want to be invested and care about the animals in
an animal is flipped over or filled with cubes, but the
my zoo, and Ark Nova doesn’t make me feel that
game doesn’t really have a memory to tell you which
way. Zooloretto, New York Zoo and Zoo-ography
animal belongs in which enclosure after the fact, so
by comparison also fall short of these expectations.
there’s no upkeep or consideration of an animal’s
Hopefully, someday a designer and publisher will
welfare after it is played. Breeding programs are
rise to that challenge!
alluded to by some Sponsor cards, but there aren’t

Brian Boru
Designed by
REVIEW
r
Peer Sylveste
publisher
s, 2021
Osprey Game
REVIEWED by
3-5 players
60-90 mins
s
Martin Griffith (approx)
Brian Boru united Ireland under his kingship in the 11th century,
bringing together feuding provinces and beating off Viking invasion
attempts. If Peer Sylvester’s game named after him is anything to go
by, he did it not with overt displays of strength but through cunning
and good timing, knowing that the loser of a battle can still end up
winning the war.
Brian won’t bore you

The mechanical pitch for the game is ‘trick-taking meets area control’,
but things are a bit more cunning and subtle than that. Over the course of
four hands (three in a 3 player game), the players will play out a series of
tricks, with the winner of each getting to claim a town on the colourful map
of Ireland. But each ‘loser’ of a trick will get to take a secondary action,
allowing them to indirectly influence affairs by contributing to the church,
wooing a potential suitor or contributing to Ireland’s defence against the
Vikings.
The church, Vikings and marriages are represented by separate tracks on the
periphery of the board, with rewards at the end of a hand for the player who
contributed most to each of them. However, the winning player must also
remove all their contributions and start from scratch in the next hand, while
the second-place player gets a smaller reward but gets to leave most of their
tokens in place. Cunning may ultimately prevail over brute strength; you
certainly don’t want to overcommit to one battle at the expense of several
others.

Area majority Crucially, the leader of each trick gets to decide
The core area majority objective of the game is its which town will be contested and they must play a
most familiar feature. Ireland is divided into eight card that matches the town’s colour. Unlike most
traditional provinces, each containing between 3 trick-takers, there’s no requirement for the other
and 10 towns, some connected to each other by players to follow suit, but the trick will be won by
roads. At the end of the game the player with the the highest card played in the lead suit as there are
most towns in each province will score a number of no trumps, but ‘wild’ cards always count as the lead
points, with the larger regions awarding more than suit. The winning player will claim the nominated
the smaller. There’s nothing for second place, but town but winning with a high card means also having
there is a reward for having at least one town in as to pay a coin or two, while winning with a low card
many regions as possible, ranging up to 10 points for comes with an additional reward alongside the town
presence in all eight. All told, about half the points in gained. One tactic can be to choose a town no one
the game come from these endgame resolutions, so is particularly interested in claiming and lead low,
you can’t afford to neglect the map. hoping to win it with an added bonus.
A clever feature is that each region requires a certain Conversely, the secondary actions on the losing
number of towns to be occupied in order for it to cards in a trick (either because they are too low or
score at all, so you won’t get points for a solitary the wrong suit) get stronger the higher the card’s
town in an otherwise neglected region. But neither value, giving the cardplay a perplexing feeling of
do you want to have to do all the work to ‘activate’ a wanting to win tricks with low cards and lose them
region on your own - far better to narrowly control a with high cards. The suits of each card correspond
region that other players have been contesting too. to their secondary actions: red cards let you claim
Once again, pick your battles! Viking tokens, yellow move you up the marriage
track, blue allow you to gain influence with the
Two additional features of the towns give the map its Church. Finally, every card has an alternative
geographical texture. One is the connecting roads, secondary action of gaining some money and
which allow players to spread influence from one optionally buying a town that’s connected to one of
town to the next using a secondary action. The other your existing ones by road.
is that each town has a colour – red, yellow or blue –
corresponding to the suits of the cards that drive the Each trick is a little dance of whether you want to
action selection, which I’ll move on to now. lose or win, and if you lose, which colour to do it in.
The brute force route of cashing in your high cards
to win lots of tricks and towns will see you quickly
Trick-taking and drafting run short of money, which is the tightest resource
The deck of large and lushly-illustrated cards in the game. But you want to make sure your losing
contains seven in each of the three coloured suits cards correspond to the side areas you are keen
as well as four white ‘wild’ cards, with the colours to compete in, remembering that winning by a fine
evenly spaced through a single run of numbers from margin, or coming second, is far better than coming
1 up to 25. first by a mile.

There would be plenty to think about here even if Vikings, marriage and the church
the cards were distributed randomly at the start So what do the side areas of Vikings, church and
of a hand. But in fact they are dealt out and then marriage grant you that would make losing tricks
drafted in a ‘pick two, pass the rest’ process. appealing? Pleasingly they’re not disconnected
Here’s where you need to assess your goals for the ‘mini-games’ as in some modern Euros but rather
hand and make sure you have the tools to achieve they all play back into the main contest on the map.
them, whether that be winning tricks or losing
them gracefully. Together with the removal of the At the start of each hand, a potential marriage
obligation to follow suit, this makes Brian Boru feel partner will be revealed (nice to see both men and
much less like a ‘trick-taking game’ and much more women represented here), offering victory points
like one that uses trick-taking as a clever action and/or a town in a given region. The player furthest
selection mechanism in a bigger game. up the marriage track will claim the marriage and its

benefits while second place will get an escalating they allow you to jockey for position in one of the
reward based on how far up the track they had many majority contests both on and off the map.
moved. Some colours may seem stronger than others, but
once the groupthink moves that way, it will become
The biggest contributor to the church area gets two
easier to win the other areas, balancing things out
benefits: they can build a monastery in one of their
again. The same goes for whether higher or lower
towns, making it count double in the area majority
cards are more favoured in the draft, and to what
contest; and they get to lead the first trick of the
extent players aim to lose tricks rather than win
next hand. Second place just gets 1VP but also only
them.
loses one of their church influence instead of all of it.
My games so far have seen a lot of interest in the
Finally, the Vikings are the most involved subsystem
Viking area, because no one wants to come last and
and have been the most hotly-contested in my
lose a town. That has meant that the Viking tokens
games. At the start of each hand, a randomised
are often depleted, meaning no raid happens, and
number of Viking tokens are made available for
Estrid’s end game favour hasn’t proved decisive. I
players to claim. If they’re not all taken by the end
suspect other styles are possible though and I enjoy
of the hand, then the player who has fewest will
games where the players have a lot of freedom in
have one of their towns raided, going over to Viking
how they approach the game. I was also pleased to
control. As well as choosing which town is raided,
see that Brian Boru is marketed as a 3-5-player
the winner gains a ‘renown’ token and scores a
game only. No doubt it would be possible to contrive
point for each renown they have. Then, as for the
solo or 2-player modes, but it shows the designer
church track, second place exchanges one Viking
and publisher knows where the strengths of this
token for an instant point. The way renown is scored
interactive game lie.
incentivises a player who has won the Viking track
once to keep doing it, but the fact that they have to The subtlety and sneakiness of the game mean that
return all their Viking tokens when they do makes it will reward regular, thoughtful play rather than
that tough to pull off. give up its secrets easily. The initial teaching can be
a bit of a burden, and the game won’t come into its
The secondary actions on the cards which
own until the players understand the implications of
correspond to each of these areas are simple: you
the different areas and internalise the end-of-hand
just get either two or three of the corresponding
resolution of the various tracks. As a result, it’s not a
influence type. Winning a trick with a low card also
game to force to the table just any time; be cunning,
sometimes comes with influence in the matching
pick your moment and your group wisely, and Brian
area. So when drafting cards, you aim to make
Boru may become your king too.
sure you have enough icons matching the tracks
you intend to challenge for, though you may end
up winning tricks with some cards you’d drafted to
lose with!
Summing up
Towns gained through marriage, monasteries
established through favour with the Church, and
towns lost to Viking invasion provide the players
with some sneaky tools to supplement towns
won directly through tricks. This can make all the
difference when handing out the big area majority
points at the end of the game. And one final twist is
that the marriage available in the last hand is Estrid,
Princess of Denmark, who allows you to claim any
Viking-controlled towns as your own. Victory will go
to the player who has best balanced the different
areas, but they feel well integrated with each other
and with the main map rather than like ‘point salad’
subgames.
I’ve been impressed by the way none of the
decisions in the game feel obvious. You never score
points directly from your action choices, instead

Caesar!
Designed by
REVIEW
Paolo Mori
publisher
022
PSC Games, 2
REVIEWED by
1-2 players
15-30 mins
Alex Bardy (approx)
When PSC Games released Blitzkrieg! World War in 20 Minutes a

few years back, it passed me by – I’d never seen or heard of it until
Caesar! Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! (the full title) turned up at AireCon
earlier this year, and that’s a shame because on the evidence of this, I
suspect I would probably really like Blitzkrieg! too. Getting any half-
decent wargame to the table is quite a feat most of the time, because
they tend to be long, involved, and pretty intense. Caesar! on the
other hand is a genuine blast of fresh air — it’s quick, simple, and
a lot of fun, too. What’s more, I can get two whole games done and
dusted within the space of an hour. That’s pretty cool in whatever
context you choose to frame it, and that’s also why I like this so much
— most prospective opponents are genuinely shocked when I tell
them this wargame won’t take more than half an hour, and as a direct
result, they’re often more than willing to give it a go. I’ve got this to
the table so many times, and yet one go is all you really need to fully
appreciate what’s been done with this design.
What is it?
Caesar! is a clever area control wargame between Caesar and Pompey in
which players take it in turns to place assorted military influence tokens
(drawn randomly from a bag) onto designated border spaces in an effort to
exert control over the provinces which span those borders. When an area
is completely surrounded by tokens, the side with the most influence takes
control of that province (unless tied), and places one of their Control Markers
onto that province – the first player to place all 12 of their Control Markers
onto the board wins the game! And as you’d probably expect from the title,
this game plays very fast.

How does it play? Now, the Senate tokens are particularly valuable
Each player starts the game with just two random because they allow additional Control Markers to
influence tokens drawn from their own cloth bag and be placed on a space, but only if that player also
hidden behind a small screen, but both players have captures the province, and therein lies another
the same pool of influence markers inside those rather clever ‘sting in the tail’: the player who placed
bags, and each token represents either Swords, the last influence token around a province is the one
Shields, Ships, or ‘Wild’ (any of the others). Tokens that gets the bonus token, and that’s not necessarily
have a line in the middle which should sit directly the player who actually wins control of the province.
over the border they’re placed upon, and a number Like I said, crunchy decisions!
on either side representing the influence value of
that token in each of the provinces that token spans: Worth noting?
A 4/2 token, for example, represents 4 influence in Included in the base game are a couple of
one area, 2 in the other, etc. ‘expansions’ and what seems like a comprehensive
As mentioned, players start with just two influence solo mode, although I haven’t tried the latter myself,
tokens to choose from initially, and as each token so I cannot 100% vouch for it.
is placed a replacement is immediately drawn from The ‘expansions’ are in fact just a couple of
the bag, and thus play continues between players additional bonus tokens that subtly tweak the
until one or the other successfully places all of his gameplay: the Poison bonus allows a player to
Control Markers. Gaining control of any two adjacent hinder their opponent by forcing them to discard one
provinces also allows a player to place an additional of their influence tokens, but can lead to a player
Control Marker on the border space between those losing the game if they have no tokens left behind
provinces, so trying to complete ‘chains’ of control their screen at any point; the Centurion bonus on the
becomes particularly valuable – it’s all about getting other hand, allows a player to exchange one of the
rid of those Markers, remember!
Of course, it’s not entirely that
simple because at the start of
the game the board is seeded
with random bonus tokens on
every single province, thereby
making each one worth fighting
for and immediately placing
additional value behind every
placement decision. Players are
also constrained by the limited
options they have with just two
influence tokens to choose from
at the start, but for what seems
a pretty straightforward set-
up, Caesar! rapidly transforms
into a game full of big, crunchy
decisions, and that’s another
massive positive for me.
So what kind of bonuses are
players fighting over? Well,
in the basic game, there are
Wealth, Tactics, Might, and
Senate tokens to fight over
– Wealth allows additional
influence tokens to be drawn
thereafter (widening player
choice), Tactics gives that player
an additional turn / placement
immediately, and Might allows
the player to ‘flip’ any influence
or control marker on the board!

influence tokens behind their screen with one of the very competitive, ‘crunchy’ 2-player game. It’s also
three unique, uber-strong ‘Centurion’ tokens. a ‘wargame’ I’ve managed to get to the table many
times with comparatively little effort, and that in
My opinion of these? I have now played dozens
itself is quite the achievement...
of games of Caesar! and have yet to be tempted,
frankly, because neither of these ‘expansions’ A quick look at some of Paolo Mori’s earlier designs
strikes me as particularly worth bothering with, to be includes games like Vasco da Gama, Libertalia, the
honest. Still, at least they are there and available for Pocket Battles series of card-based wargames, as
those wishing to mix things up a little. well as Ethnos and Pandemic: Fall of Rome — and
those last two just happen to be a couple of my
favourite games, so it’s no surprise that I really liked
And finally? this one, too. Caesar! Seize Rome in 20 Minutes! is
In case you haven’t already guessed, I like Caesar!, clearly a positive development of several previous
and while I can’t hand-on-heart sit here and claim wargame efforts, and I for one really do appreciate
it’s a brilliant and breathtaking recreation of the what he’s done here. Now just tell me where I can
real battle for Rome between Caesar and Pompey, get my hands on a copy of Blitzkrieg! too…
etc. it is nonetheless a lot of fun, and makes for a

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rld
Dinosaur Wo
Designed by
McGregor
REVIEW
e w is , D av id
Brian L uri
& Marissa Mis
publisher
ndasaurus Games, 2021

Pa
REVIEWED by
2-4 players
60-120 mins
Simon Neale (approx)
Preserved in Amber
With a first player token showing a pre-historic insect preserved
in amber, you are never in doubt as to the aim of this game: create
dinosaurs from recovered DNA and use them to populate your park to
attract visitors, gain income and victory points. But beware, the more
lucrative dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex tend to put the tasty
visitors touring your park in Jeeples (Jeep Meeples) on their supper
menu. I speak from experience here and having had a park famous
for its high death rate it is not a winning strategy!
I backed the Kickstarter at the basic pledge level and I am really impressed
with the quality of the components. The large hex tiles, boards and cards are
all of decent thickness and the artwork is colourful. The dice are chunky and
the plastic dinosaurs are different in design and printing and colour coded
to indicate how much they value a tasty visitor treat. My only concern is with
the Boredom Tokens which are so small as to be nearly useless. I followed
advice and replaced mine with a set of 5mm dice which perform the function
far more efficiently and are easy to handle. After watching a preview video
where dice were used in a pre-production copy, I am surprised that the final
version of the game included the tiny cardboard tokens when all the rest of
the production was of such high quality.
Parks and Tiles

Dinosaur World takes up a lot of table space, starting with the three main
boards of available tiles: Dino Paddock Island (with a selection of Dinosaur
paddocks), Attraction Island (with Shops, Restaurants, Security etc.) and
Special Building Island (with tiles that improve your Actions, generate VPs
etc).

The scoreboard tracks your income and victory pass and once all players have passed, then the
points. Player boards keep a track of the levels of Private actions are performed.
DNA (which are used to “build” dinosaurs), Threat
The Public actions are based around the Islands
level (due to the number and type of Dinosaurs in
and you either take a DNA dice (incrementing your
your park) and Security (how much of the Threat can
DNA) or take a Dino Paddock, Attraction or Special
be offset before visitor deaths occur). Each player
Building Tile and add it to your park. The placement
starts with some DNA, their own Dino Paddock, and
of these tiles is what will underpin your game
a Special Building — these are placed next to the
strategy as when you get to perform a Jeeple Tour
player board and are added to when additional tiles
you need to move from one tile to the next and the
are purchased, thereby creating your park. When you
costs and benefits of those tiles need to be in the
are familiar with the game, I recommend using the
right order. For example if you have a tile that will
suggested tile draft and not the sets of starting tiles.
cost a lot of Excitement to activate then you need
to ensure that you will have generated the required
Build, build, build! level of Excitement from other tiles before reaching
Building and operating a dinosaur park is not a it. Visitors to your park become easily bored and
simple business and you need the right type of if your tour takes them to a Paddock or Attraction
workers to assist you whether they are Scientists that they have visited in a previous round then that
(help with DNA), Administrators (help with building location will become increasingly boring to them
Paddocks), Security Workers (help to improve and require even more Excitement to activate it.
Security), Park Rangers (help with escorting visitors So planning is essential and keeping those visitors
around your Park) or Seasonal Workers with no excited paramount.
additional benefit. Each round starts with players The Private Actions are based on your player board
in turn order recruiting workers by choosing one of and you refine DNA (convert between the types
the different sets of workers. A set of DNA dice are of DNA), Get Cash, improve Security, Improve the
rolled and these indicate which type of DNA you can range of the Jeeple or make Dinosaurs (spend
get by taking the dice. DNA to “build” a dinosaur). In this phase you can
Now it’s time to send those workers you have just assign the workers you have not used for Public
recruited off to work in typical worker placement actions to Private actions and balance the creation
fashion, although there are no restrictions over the of dinosaurs in your Paddocks with increasing
number of workers at each location. There are two your Security in order to avoid the impact of higher
phases to the actions: Public (which are performed Threat level and the dinosaurs snacking on your
in player order) and Private (which are performed visitors. The cost in DNA increases with each
simultaneously by all players). Once a player doesn’t dinosaur you “build” in a particular Paddock along
want to perform any more Public actions then they with the Threat.

Have Visitors, will tour Security, Income, Meeples, DNA etc. and the order
Once all players have completed their Private in which you get them can really help drive your
actions its time to open the park gates and welcome strategy in the game.
visitors. This is done by driving them around your The amount of Excitement that your tour generated
park in your Jeeple from tile to tile activating those will determine how much income your receive, after
that you have the requirements for (by way of which your Excitement is reset to zero for the next
placing meeples on the tile) and/or have sufficient round. If you decided to give some of your workers a
Excitement to overcome any Boredom on the tile. rest by not using them then they are so grateful that
Once the tile has been actioned and any benefits they will stay with you, unlike those that you have
gained (usually Excitement and victory points) then used which will return to the supply.
the Boredom level for that tile is incremented. This
If your Threat level exceeds your Security then your
is where replacing the tiny cardboard tokens with
Park is unsafe and you gain the number of Death
small dice makes the gameplay so much easier.
Tokens equal to the excess.
Touring the park is most exciting when you get to
see some dinosaurs and each time the Jeeple stops
and activates a Paddock there is a risk that the Around the Park
dinosaurs may well decide that it is time for their Dinosaur World is played over five rounds after
lunch! A dice is rolled for each Paddock and can three of which you add a new park entrance at
result in a death occurring even with a herbivore, but least three spaces away from the original Welcome
the risk increases with the carnivores. Death tokens Center, by flipping over and moving the Welcome
gained in this way cannot be offset by increasing Center tile to become the Park Entrance. Future
Security and despite showing the world that you Jeeple tours will start from the Park Entrance and
have a really “exciting” park, the tokens will come in this way the game allows different routes for the
back to bite you in the final scoring. Jeeple tours avoiding those tiles that visitors may
have become bored with in the earlier rounds. This
aspect of the game adds even more emphasis on
Clean up the park... careful planning with the placement of tiles when
With the tours complete the Jeeps return to building your park as you will need to access your
the Welcome Centre tile and Bonus tokens are best attractions from both sides of your park.
activated. Each player gets to choose one Bonus
I like the simple catch up mechanism that turn order
Token at the start of the game and can get more
for the next round is decided in reverse victory point
during the game. These tokens can give a boost to

order. This has worked well in the
games I have played as getting
first choice of the workers and
DNA dice can be particularly
valuable. Additional victory points
are available for achieving public
objectives (such as having certain
dinosaur or building types in your
park). These victory points reduce
each time the objective is claimed
by a player.
At the end of the game players
score 1 victory point for every 5
coins and then the Death Tokens
are counted. The player with
the minimum number of Death
Tokens discards all of their tokens
and the other players discard
the same number. Then any
remaining Death Tokens incur a
victory point penalty depending
upon the number of them. The
player with the most victory
points wins the game with ties
decided by remaining DNA.
Gameasaurus
It is clear that the designers took
inspiration from Jurassic Park for
this game. They’ve also added a
pinch of humour into the game,
such as the Triceratops Ring Toss
Attraction tile where visitors can
toss rings onto the horns of a
triceratops. workers, types of tiles and types of dinosaurs. All in
all the game rewards careful planning and execution
After the initial learning game, Dinosaur World has of a strategy. That said you have to be somewhat
been coming in at around the 2-hr mark with four flexible and react to the tiles that become available
players. There is a lot to think about but the actions on your turn, maybe adjusting your strategy to suit
are straightforward, and once you get to know how them.
they interlink moves become reasonably quick.
Being able to do the Private actions simultaneously When you have finished playing, there is an
really helps speed the game along and keeps entertaining challenge of trying to get all the
everyone involved. There is little interaction components back in the box! With the quality and
between players apart from competition over the size of the components, its a challenge I am willing
selection of workers, DNA dice and some of the tiles, to accept.
where going early in the round gives a significant I have not played Dinosaur Island, the previous
benefit. version of this game, so I am unable to compare the
The key to the game is how you build your park by gameplay experience. However I am pleased that
placing the tiles. The Attraction tiles give a benefit I backed this Kickstarter as I have enjoyed all my
early in the game and the Special Buildings become plays of the game, even the one where my dinosaurs
more useful as the game progresses and can ate most of the visitors! So if you fancy opening
boost victory point generation. It comes down to your own Dinosaur World then give it a try as it is
a question of balance with Security versus Threat, readily available at most retail outlets.
the types of workers, when to use or hold back your

Golazo
Designed by
REVIEW
Mark Wright
publisher
lazo Games Ltd, 2021

Go
REVIEWED by
1-2 players
15-45 mins
Alex Bardy (approx)
A good few years ago, I designed a card-based football game with

very specific restrictions: the entire thing had to fit inside an alto mint
tin – it was for one of those BGG competitions where designers are
challenged to put something together with predetermined limitations,
like designing a game using only 18 cards, etc. Anyway, while I loved
Minty’s Bootiful Football Game to bits and it hit the nail on the
head thematically (search “Minty” on BGG if you’d like to check it
out), I think Golazo is the first time I’ve come across something I’m
genuinely jealous of – this is the kind of football game Minty’s could
have been if it used a board, even sharing the rather clever mechanic
of having events driving the timer forward… In layman’s terms,
thematically and physically, Golazo is mint, if you’ll excuse the pun,
and while there is a significant luck element throughout the game –
which I’ll get to in due course—I do believe it’s all still in keeping with
the idea of making this a quick, fun rendition of ‘the beautiful game’.
Moreover, Golazo can be played start to finish in about 20-25mins,
which is surely something to be applauded?
Basking in its love of the game, the box and majority of contents are stark
and simple, and largely green – indeed, nigh-on everything in this game is
a true footballer’s green colour –and chalky white— immediately bringing
forth a distinct and comforting warmth to proceedings: “You’re in safe hands,
here,” it says. And as for the game mechanics… well, that’s what knocks my
socks off – beautifully simple, hugely thematic, and other than the luck of the
dice (which I will get to, I promise), it’s all very solid and well put together.

How does it play? direction, one space per move; they can dribble
The board is split into 104 square spaces (13 x 8), one space if they have the ball, but then can’t move
and players can move in any direction on the board again until the ball is passed; or they can pass,
once the game is underway, although they do all moving the ball in a straight line in any direction,
have assigned starting spaces, so there has had to which also counts as just one move (and that’s the
be some sacrifice in terms of player agency with tactical thrust of this game in a nutshell). The other
starting formats, etc. so you won’t be pitting your thing players can do is take the ball off an opposing
4-3-3 formation against someone else’s 5-3-2 line- player, but this obviously won’t apply at kick-off, and
up here, I’m afraid – Subbuteo, this ain’t... in fact costs 2 moves, but we’ll get to that.
Kick-off is resolved by a simple rolling of dice (as With kick-off sorted, the game devolves into a
is almost everything else in the game) – whoever straight dice-rolling fest using the special Golazo
rolls the highest should start, but we usually let that dice, which have a ‘G’ in place of a 6. Whichever
person decide whether they want to or not. Kick-off player rolls the highest number plays first (if tied,
is as simple as rolling a dice and taking that many players just roll again) – if either player rolls a ‘G’,
moves with your players – players can move in any this effectively freezes the game and that player
draws an Action card, which is resolved depending

on whether the player is considered the attacker roll of the dice, and makes you lean heavily towards
or defender (in possession of the ball or not, placing your players in good tactical positions to
basically). This also moves the timer forward, so perform tackles when the opportunity arises – you
each half lasts however long it takes to roll 5 x ‘G’s need to be adjacent to the player with the ball in
and draw 5 x Action cards – I told you this game is order to tackle them. And if you’re not a fan of this
quick! Incidentally, in the Action deck are also 6 x seemingly hard and fast rule, the designers have
Powercards which can be kept and used later in the helpfully provided an optional slide tackle rule
game, or as directed on the card. which allows you to gamble and attempt a tackle
move anyway, even if you didn’t win the initiative at
As mentioned above, each pip on the dice effectively
the dice roll – it comes at the risk of forfeiting your
counts as one move, but if you’re not in possession
moves or having a player sent off, though…
of the ball at the start of a turn and do not win that
dice roll (I call it initiative), you can’t take the ball Of course, any football game is all about scoring
off an opposing player with a tackle move (which goals, and this is where this game really shines, and
costs 2 moves, remember). This is clearly a tad the way we play it makes it even better, but I’ll get
problematic, but in practice does give value to every to that. Having won a string of dice rolls and got your

players into position, there are only three main ways player tightly grips onto their Shoot card, only
of scoring a goal: get a player with the ball into one of revealing it if the shot is saved… not only does this
the 6 spaces in your opponent’s penalty area to take a massively add to the tension of the game for the
shot, take a long shot from the single long shot space attacker, but it’s particularly satisfying when you’ve
outside your opponent’s area (which can be tactically thrown down 3 Save cards against a long shot and
blocked by either team sitting a player on there, then cruelly dashed your opponent’s hopes and
incidentally), or cross the ball from one of the 8 cross dreams with a final, dramatic top corner save! Of
spaces on either side of the opponent’s goal. course, this does work both ways, and the feeling
of ecstasy and joy at a successful shot is quite
Shots are resolved using Shoot cards against Save
remarkable to witness, albeit devastating if you’re
cards and there are 6 of each. The Shoot cards
the defending player in the final minutes of the
depict shots into the four corners of the goal or
game. As simple as this slight change of process
into the top or bottom central spaces of the goal –
may seem, it’s what makes Golazo ‘pop’ for us – this
likewise, the Save cards represent saves in matching
game is already a healthy blend of luck, chance and
goal spaces. Shots from the penalty area are
tactical play, but with the added drama and tension
resolved with the attacker choosing one Shoot card
our home-grown shoot rules bring, every game thus
and the defender choosing two Save cards – if any
far has been a fun and engaging experience.
Save cards match the Shoot card, the shot is saved.
Similarly, from the long shot space, it’s the same
process, but it’s one Shoot card versus four Save Summary
cards. If the goalkeeper saves, they get to make Naysayers will probably balk at the considerable
a clearance or pass out of the area – again, this is amount of dice rolling involved in this game, but
where tactics and player positioning can be key, trust me when I say that in practice Golazo flows
adding a bit of tactical nuance to the game. really well, and even if you’re at the receiving end
You can also score when you have a player in one of of a series of poor dice rolls, you can still get your
the cross spaces either side of the opponent’s goal, players into good tactical positions for the inevitable
but for these to succeed you also need at least one turning of the tide, so to speak. Clearly, many games
player in a numbered penalty area space (1-6) and will owe a lot to the luck of the dice, but the way
to roll that number with one of the dice indicated on games are played out gives meaning and substance
that cross space – the closer to the byline you get to every dice roll, to every tactical move and pass on
with the ball, the more dice you get to roll. Clearly, the board, and to every shot on goal; love it or hate
the more players you have in the box in numbered it, that’s where I think this game excels, bringing the
spaces, the more chances you have of a successful pain and joy of a football match to fans of the game.
header into the net. In summary, Golazo evokes a genuine feeling of
playing a footy match, and the way we resolve shots
This is the fun bit… adds all the luck and drama of those last-ditch
efforts on goal that we see so often in the real thing.
We’ve found a much more entertaining way to
It doesn’t take 90 minutes, either, which is probably
resolve shots which really adds to the drama of the
a huge bonus for everybody! This is a great game,
game, in that we have the defending player reveal
unreservedly recommended.
their Save cards one at a time while the attacking

Gutenberg
Designed by
REVIEW
ch &
Katarzyna Cio
niewski
Wojciech Wiś
publisher
Granna, 2021
REVIEWED by
1-4 players
60-120 mins
Mike Nudd (approx)
As part of my preparation for the Essen Spiel game fair every year
I short-list some new releases in advance that pique my interest.
However, with so many new games released every year its easily
possible for great titles to slip under the radar. Every year I hope to
come across some nice surprises – things that aren’t on my list but
are nevertheless worthy of attention. It’s actually one of my favourite
things about going to games conventions – without being there you
would never have made these kinds of discoveries.
My approach to Spiel 2021 wasn’t really any different, and the game
Gutenberg by Granna turned out to be one those nice surprises. I don’t
recall seeing anything about the game before the show, and while it might
have been on some peoples’ ‘hot lists’, they clearly weren’t lists that I’d paid
much attention to before my trip.
Walking by the Granna stand, I was initially drawn in by the crowd constantly
hovering around their booth that had gathered to watch games of their new
title, Gutenberg. My curiosity was engaged further once I saw the game on
the table; the wooden typeface characters were lovely, and the arrangement
of spinning gears on the player board seemed quite novel. Although I
returned to that booth several times over the course of the show, I never
managed to get my timing right to catch a demo of the game. It was being
sold at a great price though, and when the Granna rep mentioned they were
offering promos with every copy, I couldn’t resist taking a chance on it. On
the ferry home from Germany, we managed to get Gutenberg out for a first
play, and I was able to make an early judgement on my whimsical purchase.

What is it? How does it play?
Gutenberg is a competitive strategy board game for The right-hand portion of the player board has three
one to four players themed around the early stages spindles for placing up to three gears that are drawn
of the mechanical printing press. In Gutenberg each from the display on the board. Each spindle area
player manages their own print shop, taking print is segmented into three parts, corresponding to
orders from the central board, and then fulfilling the three sectors on each gear. One spindle area is
them using the other elements that they also gather marked with a shaded crescent, indicating that for
from the board. the gear in that position, the sector aligned to that
crescent is deemed to be active. Each round the
The key mechanic of the game focuses on bidding
gears are spun around by one sector, so their active
for turn order, while collecting gears that turn and
portions are constantly changing. Some gears have
offer game bonuses depending on their position
special abilities in all three sectors, while others
requires careful timing and offers and interesting
have one blank sector, making the timing of their use
twist. There are enough different components
even more important.
provided to support a variety of play between
games. In particular, the eight patronage cards each Each game round begins by spinning these gears
game are randomly chosen from a larger deck of (although players initially start with none) and
cards, and each player is also dealt two character then players progress to a planning step, where
tiles at random to choose from which provide they secretly bid for initiative. Each player is given
special powers and a degree of asymmetry during a separate little initiative board that they place
the game. behind a screen, and then they place their available
initiative markers (black cubes) on the board in
As players compete over the shared resources and
secret. Once all players have placed their markers
actions spaces on the central board, I would say
the screens are removed so everyone can see.
that Gutenberg is probably a more interesting game
at higher player counts. An automata module is This bid is undoubtedly the most crucial and
provided in the box however to facilitate solo games, agonising part of the game because: a) initiative
or to add an extra player to a game with two or three order for each execution step on the board is
players. determined separately, and b) the order of each step

is determined beforehand simultaneously during resources – only inks are spent when you fulfil a new
this planning phase. Ties of equal initiative are order (the tokens are returned to the bag).
broken in favour of the table player order, starting
At the end of the sixth game round the game ends,
with the current first player, and that first player
and final scores are tallied. Players score for their
advantage is mitigated by giving each other player
completed print orders, their patronage cards, for
in table order more initiative tokens than the player
any specialties raised to level IV or higher, and
before them.
money scores 1 point for every 3 guilders. The
Play then progresses to executing the actions on the player with the highest total is declared the winner,
board. Interestingly, while it is possible to commit with any ties broken by the fewest types, and then
zero initiative cubes to a planned action, it means the fewest remaining inks.
that the player cannot take that action at all. Since
the range of initiative cubes each round is fixed from
7 cubes (first player) to 10 cubes (fourth player) and
How does it look?
there are five action categories, there are not many The game box for Gutenburg is the standard square
cubes to go around. size suitable for Kallax storage, and inside there are
some nice pre-assembled tuck-boxes for storing the
Print orders are made up of two components – a game components. The artwork on both the box and
printing card and a refinement card. When a player the components inside is of an acceptable quality
claims a new order, they freely choose one of each but is not exceptional. The game board itself is quite
type of card from the available display and put plain, depicting a workshop table with spaces to
them together in a pair to one side of their player place all the components, but the publisher clearly
board to form the new print order. The printing part had fun with the score tracker around the edge,
of the order shows a mandatory requirement – a depicting some of the numbers as printing types in
combination of type letter tokens that the player must reverse.
possess to complete the order. The refinement part
of the order shows optional additional requirements The order, specialty, patronage and automate cards
which the player can fulfil for bonus points – you can are all the same narrow rectangular shape of a size
add the correct combination of inks, the correct level I have not seen before (which may make it difficult
of expertise, or both for an extra points bonus. Since for people to sleeve them). The card stock is good,
the order cards are not replaced during the round and the illustrations are clear, if a little plain. The
(only between rounds), players wanting more choice gears, ink tokens and money are punched from thick
will want to bid their cubes to go first. cardboard, and the player disks, gear cylinders, player
markers and initiative cubes are all painted wooden
Each round the board is populated randomly with components. The standout game components are the
new print order cards (drawn from the printing and type letters, which are 3-dimensional wooden pieces
refinement decks respectively), ink tokens (drawn which could actually be used as real types (with real
blindly from a bag of mixed colours), speciality cards ink if one was so inclined).
and gear shapes. Once player initiatives have been
determined, players then pick one of each resource While all the game elements are of good quality
in the player order determined for each step. production, the overall visual impression could be
more striking. The overall palette of the game is a
The final step of each planning round is slightly lot of brown and beige – something which could be
different – each player can choose one of the fixed a turn-off for players looking for a more colourful
rewards shown on the left-hand side of the board experience. My only other negative observation was
(either draw 1 bonus order, draw 2 bonus inks that the wooden cylinders used as gear axles were
from the bag, take 3 money, or advance 1 specialty slightly too big to fit the holes in the player boards
an additional step) or if they fulfil the printed and needed a bit of brute force to be fixed in place.
requirements on an available patronage card then
they can claim that card, which will score 8 points at The rulebook itself is clearly laid out and in our first
the end of the game. Patronage cards are a limited game we didn’t have any difficulty in following the
supply that are not replaced during the game. correct game sequence, or in missing any rules.
After the first round there was minimal need to refer
Additionally, at any time any player can purchase to the document. However, I cannot speak about
an additional type letter by paying a cost equal to the game’s automata or solo mode, which I haven’t
the number of types you already own, plus one. tried yet. The rulebook also includes a few additional
Types are not spent when orders are fulfilled, but pages which detail the biographies of the historic
each letter can only be used to fulfil one order each figures used for the player character tiles, which is a
round. Specialties and gears are also permanent nice touch.

My impressions? are just trying to optimise the resources you are
I found Gutenberg to be a nice light-to-medium collecting in a manner which allows you to score the
weight game that offered enough interesting most points.
decisions without the game feeling too long or
overstaying its welcome. Although the box says Conclusions
this is in the ‘Granna Expert’ range, I feel this is a Based on my experience with Gutenberg so far,
game that could easily be picked up by novice or I have no regrets over my impulse purchase at
inexperienced gamers. Essen, and I am glad I picked it up while I had the
The turning gears turned out to be a bit of a gimmick opportunity. While I generally prefer heavier and
which the theme doesn’t really demand, but more complex games, Gutenberg is the perfect kind
nevertheless supports well enough. The real ‘meat’ of game to take to conventions –easy to teach, but
of the game lies in the bidding for initiative: trying enough interesting decisions to keep your attention
to deduce what your opponents are going to do in for an hour or two.
the next round can be crucial, and as there are so If you are the kind of player that only plays party
few initiative cubes to go around, every single one of games, or extremely complex table-hogging games
them counts. that consume an entire afternoon, then Gutenberg
This compartmentalised action order is an clearly isn’t going to be for you. However, if you’re
interesting approach to a resource-collection looking for a new lightweight euro-style game where
style game which I have rarely seen before – the the theme is more than just skin-deep, this game is
closest thing I can think of is the way player actions definitely one for you to check out.
are determined in Age of Thieves (designed by And while the initial print run of Granna may
Sławomir Stępień and published by Galakta in have had very limited distribution, earlier in 2022
2016). It feels like a game design space that could Portal Games said they would be partnering with
be explored a little more in future games. Granna to print and distribute the game for a more
Initiative and turning gears aside, the rest of general release internationally and in several other
Gutenberg is very straightforward – effectively you languages.

ants of Du nhuang
Merch
Designed by
REVIEW
la
Gabriele Bubo
publisher
es, 2020
Mandoo Gam
REVIEWED by
1-4 players
90-150 mins
es
John Humphri (approx)
Dunhuang is a city in north-west China situated on the edge of the

Gobi Desert. Formerly a garrison town on the Old Silk Road, it is now
better known as a tourist destination due to the nearby Magoa Caves
system of over 400 grottos.It is also an important production centre
for the Chinese film and television industries. As with all towns and
cities along the Silk Road, Dunhuang was also a trading centre and it
is upon that aspect of its history that this game is based.
At first glance, Merchants of Dunhuang appears to be very similar to

numerous other trading games and it many respects it is. Closer inspection
however, will reveal enough differences to make it worth playing.
How does it play?

The 16 characters appear on 8 double-sided tiles which are placed in a
circle, either side uppermost. I don’t know who sat down and counted it but
according to the rulebook, this allows for almost 400,000 different set up
combinations. The Goods cards are shuffled and one dealt face up, above
each of the tiles. Each player is then dealt three Goods cards of which they
keep one, the other two being removed from the game. Depending upon the
number of players, certain Goods cards are also removed before any dealing
takes place. Players receive a quantity of coins again dependent on the
number of players.
A starting player is chosen who places the delightful little camel meeple on
any one of the Character tiles. The object of the game is to move the camel
from tile to tile, collect the Goods card on which it stops and gather sets of
goods to earn Majority tokens — which are all important at the end of game
scoring.

The camel moves clockwise and on your turn you Gold card, five Glass cards and ten Silk cards in the
can move it to the next tile for free but if you wish to deck. These quantities will determine your strategy.
move further, a coin cost is involved. Having arrived When collecting a Goods card you need to decide
at your destination, take the Goods card from that carefully whether to place it in your shop or keep it
tile and either keep it in your hand or place it in your in your hand because only one Character tile allows
virtual shop on the table in front of you. If upon you to transfer cards between your hand and your
choosing the latter you have the same number or shop and vice versa.
more cards of that particular good than any of the
If nobody has won before the cards run out, a final
other players, take the Majority token for that good
scoring takes place. You score 2 points for each
and put it in your shop. You now have a decision to
Majority token and 1 point for each Prestige token
make, either action the bonus on the Character tile
in your possession. This is where the cards in your
or take three coins from the supply. The bonuses,
hand come in to play. Should you have more or an
of course, vary with the character and include
equal number of a particular Good card than anyone
discarding a Goods card from you hand and taking
else, keep one of those cards and discard the rest,
three Prestige tokens; taking two Goods cards from
then score the face value of the cards remaining in
the deck, keeping one and discarding the other and
your hand. However, beware as you cannot have
exchanging Goods cards with an opponent. Next,
more cards in your hand than Majority tokens in your
check to see if you are in a winning position. If you
shop, so discard all excess cards. Needless to say
have four Majority tokens in your shop and at least
the player with the most points is the winner.
four different Goods cards in your hand, you are
the immediate winner. If that is not the case, fill all
empty spaces with new Goods card from the deck Strategies?
and carry on playing. Due to the distribution of the Goods cards, the
obvious strategy is to place the lower numbered
Why is this different? ones in your shop which gives less chance of the
Majority tokens being taken from you. Ideally, try
One of the areas where this game differs is with the
to get the #1 card (gold) as that cannot be stolen,
Goods cards. There are ten types of goods with each
and never acquire the first #2 card (silver) because
card having a specific number. For example Gold
if you lose it you can’t get it back — remember, it is
is #1, Glass is #5 and Silk is #10. However, these
only the Majority tokens that score 2 points each. By
numbers do not only refer to a points value but also
retaining the higher numbered cards in your hand
indicate the number of cards of that good in the
you have a better chance of a decent hand score at
deck. So using the above as examples there is one
the end of the game.
Pay careful attention to the bonuses. Although
these are identified by symbols on each
Character tile, you may need to refer to the rule
book for clarification. The majority of bonuses
involve gaining extra or exchanging Goods cards
which can help to put you in a winning position,
because remember that the game can end at any
time. Although you can see what goods the other
players have in their shops, unless you watch
and remember which Goods cards they take and
retain in their hands, this could be your blind
spot. Is it worth collecting Prestige tokens which
only have a value if the game runs its full course
or would 3 coins be better which will give you
more flexibility when moving the camel? While
the decisions to be made are not brain burners,
they are enough to keep ones interest in the
outcome.
The publisher, Mandoo Games, claims to
specialise in family-friendly games and I think
they’ve certainly delivered with Merchants of
Dunhuang.

l
Tinners’ Trai
Designed by
REVIEW
e
Martin Wallac
publisher
es, 2021
Alley Cat Gam
REVIEWED by
1-5 players
60-90 mins
Guy Allen (approx)
If you watched the recent version of Poldark from the BBC and
fancied running some tin mines in Cornwall then Tinners’ Trail is the
game for you. Although it must be said that it doesn’t feature hunky
male torsos or ginger-haired love interests, it does put you in a fine
thematic setting of early 19th century Cornwall.
This is another reborn Martin Wallace game (see our So You Wanna
Revive a Classic? interview last issue) set in a similar time period as
the Brass games. It might be this that makes Tinners’ Trail feel like
a lighter version of Brass to me, but in truth both games share very
few gameplay mechanics.
Production
Alley Cat Games (ACG) have done a great job with this production but it is
not without its missteps. As usual for ACG, the game was published via
Kickstarter, and those that splashed a few extra pounds were rewarded with
two mini expansions. These are available in retail though, so no FOMO here!
Solo rules and components are also included.
The board and the components look great, the illustrated map of Cornwall is
particularly attractive, though I really wish they had put some town names
on just to up the thematic immersion. I played with a couple of friends who
come from that area and they found that omission particularly disappointing.
While the resources are cubes, they work well to represent tin and copper;
one of the stretch goals was to increase the size of these cubes and
unfortunately this makes the regions on the map too crowded. Ironically the
game would have better served with smaller cubes (or a bigger board, if this
was affordable). The cards are good quality but it is not readily obvious which
are the face up sides, meaning you might accidentally reveal the cards in

your hand. In truth this is not a disaster, the hidden The outcome of all this mining is that at the end of
information is not key to this game. I wouldn’t want each of the 4 rounds you will have tin and copper to
the above comments to leave you with a negative sell at pre-set market prices. Once you‘ve converted
feeling, this is a fine, attractive production, which your ore to cash, you can then choose to spend
fills the game box without too much wasted space. some or all of it on victory points. This is the second
crunchy decision point in the game, inevitably the
cash/points conversion rate is much better in the
Gameplay first turn than it is in the last, but you will probably
Tinners’ Trail features auctions, resource allocation want to save some money to fund your actions in the
and card play, but the thing that’ll cause you to following round.
scratch your head as you consider your options is
the action time track. Here you select an action
which will cost you 1 to 3 time points; choose the Is it fun to play?
more expensive option and your opponents get I’ve mentioned that Tinners’ Trail reminds me of
to play a number of turns until it is your go again. Brass, but it doesn’t have any of the brain pain that
Actions are short and quick so this doesn’t create a those titles bring to me. I love Brass: Birmingham,
great deal of down time, but it will be frustrating (in but I know when I start a game that my brain is
a good gaming way) if you choose a 3 point action going to hurt by the end of it; this is not a concern
and you have to watch your opponents take those with Tinners’ Trail. It is fun, which isn’t an adjective
other options you were after. Sure it is not a unique I would normally apply to a Wallace game much
mechanism, but it works well here. as I normally enjoy them. The auctions are not a
pivot point in the game but provide a nice level of
You secure a region to mine in by winning an
social bluff and engagement, and there are plenty or
auction; as you bid you may or may not know just
‘aargh, I wanted that’ moments.
how rich in resources that mine will be. While some
may shudder at the implied randomness there is I do have a significant concern however. The market
opportunity to mitigate the luck; additionally of prices of tin and copper are set at the beginning of
course you do not need to bid high for tiles where each of the 4 rounds by rolling a three dice, making
the benefit is unknown to you. In my plays I have the price that round pretty random. In one play, the
only had to bid for 1 hidden mine per game, out of a price in round 3 was low so I kept most of my ore
total of 6 available to me. unmined on the board. As we entered the 4th and
final round I was 80 points behind but we could
all see I had a lot of ore coming off the board this
round. We all watched the dice roll carefully; a high
roll and I was obviously going to win; a low role and
I wasn’t. To have a strategic multi-hour game turn
on a couple of dice rolls was a bit disappointing for
everyone. It is true that historically the price of these
resources fluctuated wildly so this approach may be
thematic, but I’d have preferred a market that was
influenced more by the quantities being sold each
turn. A good space for a house rule but I haven’t
come up with one yet!
Expansions
As mentioned, the deluxe KS comes with two mini
expansions: Emigration and Arsenic. The former
doesn’t increase complexity significantly and adds
some alternative action spaces for your miners
once their mines are exhausted. I really like this
expansion as it opens up the gameplay without
making it too loose. I wouldn’t call it essential, but
since I have it I wouldn’t play the game without it,
including with new players.
Arsenic introduces a new resource which can
deliver big benefits early on but at the price of losing

action points throughout the game. This does add to introduce to relative novice players than, say,
some complexity however and is probably only Brass, but still provides seasoned gamers a decent
worth adding in once players are comfortable with strategic challenge. Tinners’ Trail is a game I am
the base game. happy to recommend, and I suspect it will stay in my
collection for some time.
Solo There is something else that excites me about
David Digby (who we interviewed last issue) has Tinners’ Trail — it is perhaps the deepest strategy
designed an Automa for the game, similar to that game that Alley Cat Games have produced so far,
found in Scythe, as well as an innovative approach and it is encouraging that they are moving in this
to auctions for solo players. To be honest I am not direction. They produce well made products at a
much of a solo player so probably not the best to decent price, and they have similarly pitched games
comment, but it works well enough and allows you coming up. This Spring, for example, Eternal
to play the full game as if against a real opponent. Palace will be delivered to backers, and later in
the year they’ll bring the 20th Anniversary edition of
Amun Re to Kickstarter as well. Also, while still in
Final thoughts? development, Autobahn shows promise as well; it is
I am a little concerned some of my comments may encouraging to see a reliable publisher moving into
come across as a little negative, so I want to make more strategic games. We look forward to seeing
it clear that I really like this game: it is easy to get what they come up with.
to the table, has a great table presence, and is a
really nice production. It’s a much easier game

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Way of the Bear
The
Designed by
ire Largey
REVIEW
ri tt in , G re g o
Frank C
aucho
& Sebastien P
publisher
es, 2018
Mandoo Gam
REVIEWED by
2-4 players
45-60 mins
es
John Humphri (approx)
I consider myself to be a reasonably literate individual, but had not

come across the word ‘stele’ until I read the rules for The Way of the
Bear. A dictionary definition states that a stele is ‘an upright slab or
pillar usually with a sculptured design or inscription’. However, as the
steles in this game are all in the shape of bears, I would have simply
referred to them as statues. Anyway, enough lexicography for today,
what is the back story for this game?
Apparently this all takes place before the invention of the human race. Four
clans of bears help the king to reign over north-east Asia and it is now time
for the old monarch to choose his heir. Each clan sends their princes out into
the wide world to erect statues and gain knowledge of religion, education,
commerce and military. A new journey is about to begin so who will be the
next king?
How does it play?

On their turn, players place a bear statue/stele on the game board, pick up
the knowledge token and put it on their player board, paying the cost by
adding a bear to one or more of the temple tracks. The winner being the first
one to acquire two of each of the four types of knowledge token, three of
each in a two player game.
The main board, which is in three parts only two of which are used in the two
and three player games, shows a maze of pathways and four temple tracks.
At the beginning of the game, knowledge tokens are placed randomly, face
up on the intersections of the pathways and it is these that players need to
collect. Each bear is in one of four colours which refer solely to the temple
tracks.

Although you begin with
a small supply of statues,
these are quickly used
up so on your turn you
can gain more by either
taking two bears from the
temple tracks or three
from the bag.
Alternatively you can
use your turn to place
a statue on the board
and this is where tactics
come in to play. Statues
must be placed adjacent
to at least one other
statue but must not be
adjacent to one of the
same colour. Adjacent in
this game means linked
by a pathway. Also you
need to ensure that you
have sufficient little
bears in your supply to
pay the cost. The cost is
to place a statue on each
temple track of the same
colour as the adjacent
statues. Thus if you place
a statue adjacent to a
black one and a blue collect their eight or twelve tokens, however if more
one, you will have to place a black bear on the black than one player completes this task on the same
temple track and a blue one on the blue track. You turn, the seals are totalled to find the winner and
must not collect more knowledge tokens than you each card that you have retained unplayed is worth
need; ie two of each type with three or four players a seal. This brings another decision to be made. Play
and three in a two player game. When deciding the card or retain it in case the game ends in a tie?
to place a statue, you need to ask yourself a few It is important therefore to keep a close eye on how
questions. Do I need that token? Is it adjacent to your opponents are progressing to see if a tied game
other statues as per the rules? Can I afford it? As is likely, so far we have not had one, with all seven
the game progresses, you will find it increasingly games ending with just one player being the first to
difficult to meet all of these demands as the number collect the required number of tokens.
of tokens decrease and bears appear in the most
inconvenient places.
Bags of luck?
The player who places the last statue on a temple Of course when playing this game, everyone suffers
track can take one bear from the bag before all the from the same frustrations experienced with all
statues on that track are returned to the bag. When games that centre around randomly drawing items
you collect the required number of a knowledge from a bag. However, this luck factor is partly
token on your player board, you can take a Seal card compensated by the fact that you can have up to ten
of which there are two types. Some cards allow you bears in your supply at the end of your turn.
to make minor changes to the rules such as letting
you pay the cost of placing a statue with bears of
any colour when you play the card. Other cards give In summary?
you the extra action as shown on the card which This is an ideal game for all the family. Not too
could be to take a statue of your choice from one of taxing for the younger members but containing
the temples. These cards can also have an end of enough to keep the Mums and Dads involved. And
game value. Normally the winner is the first player to who doesn’t like teddy bears?

Spir i t e d
p s h o t s . . .
S na
In this issue of Spirited Snapshots, we feature short reviews of
games from man of our regular contributors, including Guy Allen, Alex
Bardy, Martin Griffiths, Stephen Owen, Simon Weinberg and regular
Snapshotter, Simon Neale.
Cartaventura: Lhasa and mixing an assortment of card types working on any practical level – I’d play this
in there, too (Object, Map, Action, and with 2 players at most, both sharing in the
Designed by Thomas Dupont &
Urgent cards)… well, that’s just showing decision-making process, but it’s clearly
Amaud Ladagnous
off, really! What’s more, there’s an element designed primarily as a solo experience.
Published by BLAM! / Hachette of legacy play in here too, because some In that context and as a pleasant narrative
Boardgames UK. 2021 cards are designed to remain flipped over adventure, I’d happily recommend it, and it
1-2 players, 35-45mins once discovered, changing the options in comes in a compact little box, too!
successive games. Whoa!
Cartaventura is a new series of Alex Bardy
immersive narrative card games which Despite the suggestion that up to six
takes the basic premise of a Choose Your players can play this game, I can’t see that
Own Adventure-style book and adapt it to
an alternative media. It’s smart, clever and
bold, and the beautiful card art throughout
(by Guillaume Bernon and Jeanne Landart)
is pretty cool too, so on that basis alone
they’ve done very well.
Each adventure has some form of
historical background, and this particular
one (Cartaventura: Lhasa) asks
you to try and follow in the footsteps of
Alexandra David-Neel, the first European
woman to visit the forbidden city of Lhasa
in Tibet. Others in the series include
Cartaventura: Vinland (about Erik the
Red), and Cartaventura: Oklahoma
(Bass Reeves, the first black sheriff), with
more scheduled for later this year.
Squeezing a complete narrative adventure
into a box of 70 cards may seem quite
the feat, but having five different endings

Biss 20
Designed by Lena & Günter
Burkhardt
Published by Drei Magier Spiele, 2020
2-8 players, 20mins
I can remember a game called Fizz Buzz
at school where a group of you take turns in
counting up in sequence and if the number
is divisible by 5 you say “fizz” and if by 7
you say “buzz”. Biss 20 takes that idea and
turns it into a fast playing party game.
With Biss 20 players take turns as they
count from 1 to 20. The game starts with
a simple challenge of just changing 2
numbers around (e.g. 4 and 11 - so when
you should say “4” you instead say “11”
The Adventures of and vice versa). Another challenge is Hit the Silk!
added each round when a specific number Published by Escape Plan
Robin Hood is reached (e.g. rub your chin instead of Board Games, 2021
Designed by Michael Menzel
saying “14”). Any mistakes or a delay of 3-6 players, 30mins
Published by KOSMOS, 2021 more than 3 seconds results in losing a
crystal from the limited supply based on the This is the second game offering from
2-4 players, 60mins Escape Plan Board Games, and like the
number of players. Complete a set number
A Spoiler free Snapshot review. of challenges and you have won, run out of first, Stop the Train, it’s a light partial
crystals and you have lost. hidden identity game. All players are part of
This game can best be described as an
a gang that have escaped a heist with their
‘advent calendar’-style game as the board This game must be played with the right ill-gotten gain and have hijacked a small
has inserts that can be removed/flipped group of people but when it is, the game plane to make their getaway. Unfortunately,
during gameplay, making significant is an absolute blast. I have had a lot of fun the pilot bailed out, taking a parachute with
changes to the board which can be easily with this game over Christmas and at other him. And don’t you just know it, now there
reset for a future game. Players take on family gatherings. I would not recommend are not enough ‘chutes to go round, and the
the roles from Robin Hood and cooperate playing a second game after the first plane is losing altitude fast!
to work their way through a series of though... as unless you have a perfect
memory you will mix up what you should be The game is card-driven, and you might
adventures, steadily increasing in difficulty.
saying between the two games! have some loot, a gun or a precious
The gameplay is controlled by a book that
parachute in hand. At certain altitudes
loosely follows the adventures of Robin Simon Neale everyone votes to abandon the plane. If
Hood and sets the players an end goal for
those that jump have enough loot between
each scenario. When a character’s disk is
them to pay off the mob then they win. The
drawn from a bag they get to perform their
game plays at a fast clip and provides just
actions which involve moving their character
enough jeopardy to bring the great theme to
across the board and then actioning the
life. Easy to teach, done and dusted within
new location. When the evil Prince John
30 minutes, and creates plenty of fun and
takes his action, his henchmen move to
laughter. Recommended.
thwart the players by various means from
attacking them to making their path more Guy Allen
treacherous.
I can easily see the similarities to Legends
of Andor (a previous Michael Menzel
design) and even though this game is
simpler to play it provides a tremendous
sense of impending doom. I am playing
through the adventures with my family and
after an easy first adventure which made us
over confident, some of the other scenarios
have gone to the last disk pull from the bag!
The story arc is not deep but provides a
sense of continuity to the game ands keeps
us returning to Sherwood Forest.
Simon Neale

Into The Blue
Designed by Reiner Knizia
Published by Funnyfox, 2021
2-5 players, 20mins
Reiner Knizia literally wrote the book on
dice games (Dice Games Properly Explained,
published in 1999) and has continued to
experiment with them in the subsequent
years. Into the Blue is yet another that
follows the Yahtzee structure of an initial
roll plus up to two re-rolls of chosen dice,
but here the results drive a simple area
majority game.
The board is divided into six sections
corresponding to the faces of the six dice
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and treasure) and depicting
ever deeper areas of the sea players are
attempting to ‘dive’ into to place influence.
For a roll to be valid, you need to end up
with a sequence that includes 1. As long as
that’s achieved, you choose one value in Origins takes the original and gives it a lick
that sequence and place as many of your of paint for new players. In the original, you
shells on that level as dice showing that earned points for building your 5x5 tableaux
number. For example 1-2-3-3-5-5 would let of domino tiles and maximising your score
you place two shells on level 3 but none on based on matching the terrain types on your
level 5 as the 4 is missing. dominoes and having all-important crown
Kingdomino: Origins
The shells are used to contest majorities symbols –which act as multipliers– on
Designed by Bruno Cathala
at each level, with the point rewards those tiles.
increasing with depth. And a perfect Published by Blue Orange
Substituting crowns for fire icons,
1-2-3-4-5-treasure sequence awards you Games, 2021 Kingdomino: Origins takes us back to
one of five ‘treasure chests’ which have a 2-4 players, 20-30mins prehistoric times — you need to bring fire
hidden point value and can’t be stolen. to your tribe, and the addition of special
Kingdomino has a special place in my
It’s simple, quick and fun, with attractive heart mainly because I believe it was one ‘volcano’ terrain allows you to effectively
production, though not perfect usability of Kendall Johns’ favourite games and ‘spew lava’ out of those spaces and place
as the shells and scoring tokens are a bit he loved writing about it in earlier issues. additional fire icons on your tableaux, thus
fiddly. So far it’s been a big hit with my Kendall was the former editor of Tabletop maximising the points you earn from those
outrageously lucky six-year-old daughter, SPIRIT, and sadly died In June 2020. terrain types. That’s the basic game (called
but I wouldn’t hesitate to bring it out at a Discovery mode).
The original Kingdomino is a great family
games night either. The Totem rules add pretty wooden
‘gateway game’ and won the prestigious
Martin Griffiths Spiel des Jahres in 2017. Kingdomino: resources like fish, stone (or flint),
mammoths and mushrooms to various
terrain tiles, awarding extra points to
players who collect the most of each
resource by the end of the game. Finally, the
Tribe rules add specialised cavemen and
warriors that can be recruited (using the
above-mentioned resources) to potentially
earn additional points depending where
they’re located in relation to specific
resources and/or other warriors.
In practice, we usually played the Totem
rules, because Tribe mode got fiddly, and
Discovery mode felt too prone to good
fortune. All three modes are included in the
box, and this is a great way to experience
Kingdomino a second-time round,
especially if you missed it the first time.
Alex Bardy

Kodama: The Tree Spirits Nokosu Dice
Designed by Daniel Solis Designed by Yosuke Matsumoto
Published by Action Phase Published by Engames, 2016
Games, 2017 2-5 players, 30-60mins
2-5 players, 30-60mins A standard card game (follow suit, if unable
The original Kodama: The Tree Spirits to, trump or discard) except for one unique
came in a large box, but this version is property: dice. These are used as cards,
barely the size of a thick paperback. It is determine the trump suit and also indicate
a table hog, however –especially with 5 the trick number each player is trying to
players— as each player is tasked with achieve. For 4 players there are 40 cards
growing their own unique spiritual tree (0-7 in 5 colours) and 25 dice in the same
in a very practical, visual manner, by colours, together with a bag and several
arranging branch cards alongside other cards showing zero tricks. Each player
branch cards to create wild, exotic bonsai- receives 10 cards and then takes and rolls
style masterpieces. Truth be told, each Mariposas two dice from the bag as their own. Another
player’s base trunk card starts at the edge Designed by Elizabeth Hargrave 13 dice are removed from the bag and
of the table, so you obviously can’t place placed on the table. The dice are picked
any branches that would cause your tree Published by AEG. 2020 singly until each player has three. The
to fall off the table, but that won’t stop 2-5 players, 60mins remaining die determines the trump suit.
some players creating some very lopsided Players move their Monarch butterflies Trumps come in 3 levels: the highest is the
wonders, because the longer your branches across North America by playing movement die ‘left behind’, let’s say it’s the 4 Blue;
and the more contiguous features you can cards from their hand. As they travel the then, it’ll be all the 4’s, and finally, the
collect on them, the more points you get. butterflies will pick up flowers which will remaining Blue cards/dice.
The game is played across three seasons aid their progress and spawn generations
Before play starts any player my declare
of four rounds each, and players take turns of offspring with the older generations
zero tricks, in which case they remove one
to select and place a branch onto their dying off. Victory Points are achieved
of the 5 dice in front of them. 14 standard
tree, earning points every time they do. The with collecting sets of flowers and the
tricks are then played using cards and dice.
four available branch cards are constantly positioning of your butterflies at the end of
The last die in front of you is not used but
refreshed, so there’s a rotating display of each of the three seasons.
determines the number of tricks you are
four to choose from for each player. The game is simple to explain and plays attempting to make. Scoring is 1 per trick
After every season, players must also play quickly with most of my games finishing and bonus points are awarded for achieving
a Kodama card (one of four that are dealt in under an hour. The iconography is either your trick target or zero tricks. A full
randomly to each player at the start of the easy to understand and the quality of the game is four deals.
game) – these give bonus points depending components high. The board can become
So quite a clever card/dice game – we aren’t
on the specific wording on the card. In cluttered which makes identifying specific
sure just how clever, yet! It’s definitely a 7+
this way, players can build towards these cities and flowers tricky when multiple
though.
bonuses throughout the game, until the final butterflies land on them. So when planning
branch is placed and scores totted up. where to move your butterflies you may Stephen Owen
have to move other butterflies in order to
My main grumble here is the thin, flimsy
check what city/flower is hidden beneath
scoreboard, and the tiny chits used to keep
them.
track of players scores: it’s a faff. That said,
it’s a visually satisfying game, one that is I enjoy the game play and I can see that it
sure to catch the eye of anyone walking past will appeal mostly to families looking for a
the table, and actually rather fun, too. light game with an easy ruleset.
Alex Bardy Simon Neale

Mini Rogue Point Salad
(and Depths of Damnation Designed by Molly Johnson, Robert
expansion pack) Melvin & Shawn Stankewich
Designed by Paolo Di Stefano
Published by AEG, 2019
& Gabriel Gendron
2-6 players, 25mins
Published by Nuts! Publishing, 2021 In this card game the cards are doubled
1-2 players, 40-50mins sided with one side showing a salad
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Mini vegetable (e.g. pepper, lettuce, tomato) and
Rogue, but have to say I was pleasantly the other side a way to score victory points
surprised. At first glance it feels like a (e.g. 5 points for each set of a carrot and
randomised solo dungeon crawl, but having a tomato). On your turn you select either
now played it several times with different 2 vegetables (from the 6 available in the
characters (and even with the Depths of central tableau) or 1 victory point card (from
Damnation expansion), I do really like it. the 3 in the tableau). You place the chosen
The gameplay is relatively easy, it can be card(s) face up in front of you as you build
played solo in less than 45 mins, and has your own collection. The aim of the game is
a casual feel that I found very refreshing. to balance your cards with the victory points
There are also two dungeon-style scenarios they generate.
to play through, which is a nice bonus. The game is fast playing and there is
It’s compact, too, the whole box is quite a lot of tactical decisions over which
smaller than a standard paperback book That said, the core game and structure felt cards to take in order to avoid leaving your
(with the expansion pack inside it!) — an solid, and I enjoyed playing it a lot. opponents with the cards that they would
impressive feat! Alas, the footprint of the The Depths of Damnation expansion adds like. You also need to decide when to take
game isn’t quite so small, but it does take some welcome additional characters, a victory point card as that declares to
up less space than a standard-ish family bosses and room cards (monsters, items, the table which vegetables you need and
boardgame. etc) but I think the designers really missed those that you want to avoid (as some give
It’s a self-confessed passion project from an opportunity here: including so many Lore negative points). If you can combo your
the designers (hopefully like most games), cards felt like a waste (they’re hardly used), victory point cards then you can really get
and I had no problems sharing and enjoying and more rooms (and items!) would’ve been some high scores. I enjoy this game which
a lot more welcome imho. has gone down well with both my family and
their vision – Mini Rogue is a pretty fast my gaming group.
dungeon crawl with enough randomness That all said, I like this, and have no qualms
and dice-rolling to make it feel like you about recommending it. The quality of the Simon Neale
have a modicum of control. If I have any pieces and tiles was also impressive.
complaints, there are way too many icons,
very few equipment/item cards (2!), and the NB: There is a Campaign Mode included, too,
Player Aid could’ve been more helpful as an but I haven’t tried this yet.
extended iconography listing – I referred to Alex Bardy
the rules a lot at the start.

Word on the Street
Designed by Jack Degnan
Spy Connection Snapshot: Wildlife Published by Out of the
Designed by Matthew Dunstan Photographer of the Year Box Publishing, 2021
& Brett J. Gilbert Designed by Marcos Avlonitis,
2-10 players (in teams), 20mins
Richard Caves & Martin Daine
Published by Pegasus Spiele, 2021 This is a great addition to any collection as
2-4 players, 30-60mins Published by Paper Boat Games, 2021 it is a simple to explain and play party game
Like Ticket to Ride, Brett Gilbert and 2-4 players, 15-45mins for 2 teams, with the higher player counts
Matthew Dunstan’s Spy Connection Snapshot is an intriguing little push your giving a more fun experience. The board
involves building a network on a map (of luck set collection game by first time depicts the consonants of the alphabet,
Europe) to complete mission cards showing designer (Marcos Avlonitis), in which you missing out the more awkward ones. On
cities that must be linked. Unlike Ticket play an aspiring wildlife photographer a team’s turn they take a clue card (e.g.
to Ride, players must keep dismantling trying to get your pictures published in a something found in a tank) and then have
and reassembling their networks because magazine. The cards are very appealing, 30 seconds in which to decide on a single
they are given a very limited stock of ‘trains’ depicting the target animals and the word answer and move those letters that
(‘agents’ here). box cover is even made up to look like a are in their word towards their side of the
magazine, nicely tying in to the game’s board. In this way a kind of tug of war
Cleverly, those same agents are also used happens and the first team to pull 8 letters
to mark off the visited cities on your ‘tickets’ theme. This production quality continues
and to pay and acquire new destination throughout, making the game an attractive off their side of the board (3 letter moves
package overall, especially with families. from the central starting position) wins the
cards. The challenge is to work on multiple game.
missions at the same time for efficiency, but It plays well too. The push your luck comes
not overcommit and leave yourself with too in deciding how many cards to draw (in To adjust the difficulty in the game, there
few agents to get around the map. other words, what animals to research) and are two types of clue cards: simple and
how you allocate your dice and mitigating more challenging, so that you can always
The interaction is mild - you can’t align the game to the players. I am not a fan
completely block routes like you can in research tokens in the taking of pictures.
of word games but this is more of a spelling
Ticket to Ride, only make them more I will say it played very well at 3, less so at game and the real challenge is coming up
expensive. There’s also some competition 5 (for which you need the Flora expansion). with words with multiple occurrences of
for the missions through an open draft. The At the higher player count it simply went on letters so that you can move them off your
game ends once someone has completed too long. side of the board. I have really enjoyed
7 missions, though that doesn’t guarantee playing this game and it usually results in
You can find Marcos’ Kickstarter diary
victory as the missions are worth variable requests for repeat plays.
elsewhere in this issue, on page 42.
points depending on their difficulty.
Guy Allen Simon Neale
There are some parallels with Joe Huber’s
recent Caravan, which also makes use
of transitory networks and has a similar
feeling of wanting to work on several things
at once without slowing your movement to
a crawl. Two games, one with the beginner
rules and one with the advanced (in which
you draft your starting mission and pay
extra to acquire missions, making the agent
economy even tighter), took only about an
hour altogether, including learning.
Martin Griffiths

Tabannusi: Builders of Ur
Designed by David Spada
& Daniele Tascini
Published by Board & Dice, 2021
1-4 players, 120mins
Tabannusi is the latest in the ‘T’ series
of games from Board & Dice. The basic
premise here is to score points in 5 different
regions of the board, each of which is
associated with a dice number AND a
colour. At the beginning of the game dice
are rolled and placed on a boat next to each
of the regions. On your turn you will choose
a die from that region. The number on the
die determines which region you will travel
to next round. You then choose 2 actions.
In three of the regions, 3 of the 4 actions
are the same: either irrigate the land and multiplying your completed buildings by and certain objectives. Some players
build a garden on it; clear a building site on your position on the associated track. will however be put off by the fact that
which you then put an ownership marker; you benefit less when building your own
or convert a group of adjacent cleared Besides these three building areas, there is
buildings than when others build for you.
lands into a building. All these actions cost also a harbour area where placing markers
resources which are the dice you have taken on boats gives you long-term abilities, and Tabannusi is in my opinion better than
from areas, and further resources can be a scoring area which gives you points for both the previous ‘T’ games, and overall, I
obtained by building on bonus spaces. achieving certain objectives. would say do try before you buy. I haven’t
All in all, I find the game original and yet tried the solo mode included, but I
Creating a building rewards other players
captivating. You have to plan ahead, suspect it will be well-implemented.
who have cleared land or built gardens
with a boost on a track (which is used for manage your resources, watch the timing Simon Weinberg
scoring). When all the dice have been taken of the scoring of regions, and best of all
from an area, that area is then scored by you have to manage your scoring columns

YOUR
ADVERT
HERE!

Here is where some
of our contributors
and readers offer
their opinions on
games reviewed
in the last issue.
Compiled and edited by

Guy Allen
300: EARTH & WATER

Originally reviewed by Guy Allen
300: Earth & Water looks and feels like a

beginners wargame, and I recall the rules being
quite clear and colourfully written (compared to
the usual thesis-style b&w ones in many others).
– Alex Bardy
300 is a light asymmetric ‘wargame’ with cards

to add some flavour. It has just enough crunch to
elevate it from an abstract game with a historical
veneer. Not sure how many different strategies
there are, but it’s fairly easy to teach and pick up
so it’s one you could roll out occasionally with DUNE: IMPERIUM
different opponents to keep the challenge. Originally reviewed by Alex Bardy
– Howard Bishop
I still enjoy Dune: Imperium, and am still

I’ve played (and enjoyed) 300, a light asymmetric exploring a limited selection of alternative
wargame based on the Persian invasion of strategies, but have come to a couple of
Greece with the Persians having numbers on conclusions, all of which make it feel a tad
their side but the Greeks having quality; the ‘swingy’: water (for spice) is hard to come by,
simple mechanisms bring this out nicely. It’s trashing cards and thinning your deck isn’t easy,
quick, fun and well-balanced - I’ve seen both moving up on those Faction tracks is imperative,
sides win. and some of the Intrigue and Imperium Deck
cards are very strong indeed.
– Jim Marshall
– Alex Bardy

Hmmm… while very cool (and an amazing
theme), this didn’t grab me as much as it seems
Despite not really bringing out the theme of
to grab others. Not sure why though.
Dune, this resource management/deck building/
worker placement game plays well. The – Robin Bott
Intrigue cards vary wildly in their power and
effectiveness with some feeling a little over-
powered. There are limited opportunities to Haven’t played Under Falling Skies, yet, but
thin your card deck out, so only buy cards that by golly I would like to just as soon as I get the
you really want in your deck. With more plays chance. Loved this review.
I’m finding that there are limited options for – Alex Bardy
strategies, so I think it’s table time is coming to
an end.
– Simon Neale
DINNER IN PARIS
Originally reviewed by Guy Allen
I’ve played Dune: Imperium several times and
it has been very enjoyable. I like the mixture of
game mechanics and the tension as you use Dinner in Paris is a nice area control game with
different strategies to try to get the requisite lovely bits. Only played with 4 players. Would
number of VPs ahead of everyone else. The be interested to see the dynamics of a 3 player
combat provides a nice diversion which you can game with a square board.
elect to ignore or aim for depending on the cards – Howard Bishop
you have. My one small criticism is that after 4
games I have concluded that you have to take
a reasonable number of Intrigue cards or you
won’t win. I think the main theming comes from
the character cards.
– Simon Weinberg
I’ve only played Dune: Imperium solo so far,

and it’s had me enviously eyeing the combat
phase and the possibilities it might offer if I
had friends (the phase has a bit of an Arctic
Scavengers vibe). Overall I’m enjoying this
take on deckbuilding worker placement though.
Theme is a really weird one in that game. To me
it feels like the Dune theme massively elevates
the game, despite not really being there at all…!
– Robin Bott
UNDER FALLING SKIES

Originally reviewed by Simon Weinberg
Under Falling Skies is a lovely solo game with a

great campaign mode complemented by graphic
novel-style panels that are revealed as you play.
If you’re looking to get into the world of solo
games, it’s a solid choice, but be warned; it’s
unexpectedly table-hogging...
– Chris Kingsnorth

MIJNLIEFF SO CLOVER!
Originally reviewed by Guy Allen Originally reviewed by Martin Griffiths
So Clover! continues to be our party game of

I’m not clever enough to know whether Mijnlieff
choice for 4-6 players. Sometimes you really have
can be ‘solved’, and I’m not enough of a fan of
to rack your brains for a clue and sometimes you
abstract games to really care.
just have to go with a stab in the dark clue; but
– Howard Bishop the game system allows for some flexibility and
it’s always fun to hear people trying to figure out
what you meant.
– Simon Weinberg
UKIYO
Originally reviewed by Paul Willcox
I do like Ukiyo but don’t think it has too much

longevity, and the randomness of the cards you
get crossed with the scoring makes every game
a lucky-go-round. Not great, but a nice li’l filler
imho.
– Alex Bardy
A very small filler! I’ve lost the game twice as

it’s so small!
– Paul Willcox
Ukiyo is very sweet, if a little chaotic.

ROCKETMEN
– Howard Bishop Originally reviewed by Guy Allen
Aha! - a game I’ve actually played. I’ve only

THE CREW: MISSION DEEP SEA played Rocketmen solitaire so far but found it
Originally reviewed by Martin Griffiths entertaining and challenging - definitely not as
dry as it first appeared. I still have to face the
‘Hard’ AI though. And, having learnt the game,
I enjoyed The Crew: Mission Deep Sea as I’m really looking forward
well, it is a clever, fun trick-taking co-op to playing against human
card game (not many of those about!) opponents.
in which the players co-operate with
– Pevans
very limited communication to achieve
randomly selected goals. The limited
communication is key, meaning players Rocketmen is at the
have to think for themselves within the lighter end of the Wallace
group context. I’ve had too many co-op spectrum, but the
game experiences where one player tightness of the economy
with experience of the game tries to tell has his fingerprints all
everyone else what to do, which is not over it. Quite enjoyable,
fun at all. The Crew avoids this (as does although it might be a bit
The Grizzled, but that’s another story…) dry for the casual gamer,
– Jim Marshall and a bit too random for
pro-Eurogamers.
– Howard Bishop

Tabletop SPIRIT is an online
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February, May, August,
and November.
Boardgames, Powered by Passion!
Letters and other items are always welcome and

any letters to the Editor may be published unless
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For longer articles and reviews, please contact

the Editor first to prevent duplication:
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To whom all other requests and queries
(including advertising) should also be sent.
Written submissions should ideally be in a We believe boardgames

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photos / artwork supplied in any popular imagepeople together, in a social
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environment free of any
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The next issue (Autumn 2022) will be race, or creed.
published in early August, 2022...
We are proud to bring
Issue #17 Deadline: Diversity, Friendship,
10th July, 2022 Kindness, and Inclusivity
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Contributors and readers come from many lands, Respect.
although the majority are from the US or UK.
Yes, we do have different ways of spelling, etc.
As we receive, so we publish...

SOLVED!
SMALLBOAT ’S
CRYPTIC
CROSSWORD
SOLUTION

MEEPLETASTIC!
SOLUTION
Meepletastic! Answers —
1. Carcassonne 9. Scythe
2. Architects of the West Kingdom 10. Little Town
3. Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done 11. Streets
4. Tinner’s Trail 12. Root
5. Pillars of the Earth 13. Forum Trajanum
6. Snowblind 14. Obsession
7. Explorers of the North Sea 15. Colosseum
8. Sub Terra

PANDEMINO
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Opening the Box

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Theme — The games of Mr

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A Feast For Odin (above)

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As theme and setting are such a strong element

If you like farming – Agricola

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24th September 30th September

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