Review – Azul: Summer Pavilion

Big Bins Are The Best, Summer loving, do not let them escape through the windows

February 5, 2020 Reviews Somebody help us, they’ve only gone and made more. Azul: Summer Pavilion is the latest (and perhaps greatest) in the Azul expanded universe, and reviewing its wonderfully smooth and bevelled edges has driven Matt insane. Watch, in abject horror, as he talks at length with our latest Bintern, Big Bin Barry.

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GAMES NEWS! 03/02/20

selling out to big cats, Martian Chutzpah, BBQ Beans and Gravy Stretch Goal, Trading marshmallow for sheep, Mathscience

Tom: See Ava, I told you that a board game camping trip would be a valuable team-building exercise for the two of us – isn’t this wonderful? The great outdoors, a roaring fire –

Ava: This isn’t anything to do with camping or board games. We’re just sitting in an underpass throwing dice into an empty KFC bucket.

Tom: Look, it might not be ‘fun’ or ‘a game’ but I’ve got to playtest Bargain Bucket Quest before it hits Kickstarter. Fancy a s’moredgame?

Ava: That’s just a marshmallow wedged between two Catan hexes.

Tom: Fine, if you’re going to smash my dreams one-by-one, then at least have the decency to do so whilst telling me about the latest board game news!

Ava: First up is the news that Castles of Tuscany is a thing that exists. This is a follow up to Stefan Feld’s Castles of Burgundy, but we have yet to see how similar it is, or how different it is, or just about anything about how it is. It’s coming soon from Alea, and I’ve rarely been so excited by simply the NAME of a thing.

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Podcast #102: Frankenstein’s Goat Dilemma

Bad Meat Suburbs, Goat Of The Year, Frankenstein's Little Monsters

Back once again like a renegade podcast, the Shut Up & Sit Down podcast is back in action and ready to wrestle with your ears and your brain. Let’s not bury the lede – we’ve got a formal introduction to make this week, with the official addition of Mr Tom Brewster to the team. He’s … Read more

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Review – Marvel Champions: The Card Game

gambit-level cardplay, a ton of tiny tangoes, a mean scheme machine

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s yet another collectable card game from Fantasy Flight, launched from the giant collectable game cannon that sits on top of their headquarters.

After being blown away by Arkham Horror: The Card Game and stunned by Keyforge, what will our team make of Marvel Champions: The Card Game? Will this  game make it a hat trick? Or will it bring with it the sequel fatigue of Marvel movies? Click play, and find out.

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GAMES NEWS! 27/01/20

BEEZ WITH A Z, SWEET LIZARD TETRIS, BOADGAMESMNEWNS KAKAOARKOAKE, the cosmic frog will have its revenge

Ava: Tom, Tom, bring me a mug of hot lemon and ginger, a feather boa and five microphones.

Tom: Oh no.

Ava: That’s right! It’s time for BOADGAMESMNEWNS KAKAOAROAKE

Tom: Those aren’t real words!

Ava: When you flick at a fox and you write in a box

Tom: THAT’S SO-NO-RA!

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Review – A War of Whispers

Storkspace, Whspspwpspsp, I've always loved the lannisters

Greetings, Warfans! If you love military sabotage and/or ASMR, then we’ve got some fairly mixed news for you. A War of Whispers features almost nobody speaking very, very quietly – but might be the Game of Thrones Game that Matt has always dreamed of. This is a simple, small box that does a great deal with very little – and is one of the most immediately exciting designs we’ve seen in years. Enjoy!

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GAMES NEWS! 20/01/20

Disappearing up our own Derridarses, Roll-and-Barthes, Components with a conscience, Hang on no that's a bit too rude

Ava: Sit down, esteemed guests, grab a stool and join us for the launch of the Literary Review of Games News. The place to go for the wittiest, smuggiest, and dare I say the most Lacanian dissection of play this side of Freud’s own daycare centre.

Tom: Brace yourselves for some nuanced analysis, enlightening discourse and an intellectual rigour that hasn’t been seen since my failure to get into art school.

Ava: I mean we’re just going to name drop a bunch of fancy theorists, talk in a haughty voice and smoke French cigarettes, right?

Tom: Don’t tell them that! The important thing is that we’ll feel superior.

Ava: We will. Let’s get to the news, dear friend.

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Podcast #101: Donkeys Behind Enemy Lines

Donkeys in the DMZ, psychic shops, Don't mention the CIA, please stop asking about the money

Ringing in the new year with a podcast recorded *checks notes* … last year, Matt and Quinns are coming right at you from PAX Unplugged, with a plethora of exciting games to chat about. If you’d rather watch this episode and pretend you were there, we’ve got you covered with a lovely “YouTube Video“. It’ll … Read more

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Review – Undaunted: Normandy

the boy shop, the final bun, and one badass baghat

Do you like GUNS? Do you like CARDS? Do you like GRIEF?

If the answer to any of those questions is “Kind of?”, you’ve got to check out Undaunted: Normandy. Not only is it the greatest World War 2 game to come out in forever, it’s deliciously cheap.

What else is there to say? Except, of course, that we could not be more excited for Undaunted: North Africa later this year.

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GAMES NEWS! 13/01/20

here's jomnhy, excuse me i don't think limbs work like that, the brewsterdome, bring your own blood

Ava: Welcome… to the Newsdome! And welcome our latest challenger, Tom Brewster, despoiler of news.

Tom: I WILL RIDE THE CARDBOARD CHARIOT OF NEWS INTO THE SUN.

Ava: Okay Tom, calm down a second, this is just what we call a riff.

Tom: TWO NEWS ENTER! ONE NEWS LEAVE!

Ava: *pinches nose* That’s not how this works! Not to mention I’m definitely Tina Turner in this situation. Let’s just write about some games.

Tom: MEDIOCRE.

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