Shut Up & Sit Down

Review – Batman: Gotham City Chronicles

mr. riddles, the jokerman, batman's carmobile

It’s time for the second review of Chronicles month, and oh boy, have we got a chronicle for you.

With a price point of $130, Batman: Gotham City Chronicles is the second most expensive game we’ve ever reviewed. If there’s a bat-thing you love, you’re bound to find it sequestered in one (one!) of this game’s many, many boxes.

But could some boxes of fictitious bats ever be worth that much money? Click play, let us tell you what we think.

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GAMES NEWS! 03/06/19

ink stains, joy smells, math clouds, popes clash, train days

Ava: Welcome back to our weekly dive into the pages of the Shut Up & Sit Down Chronicle. Only the hottest news makes the pages of your most finger-smudging paper, guaranteed.

Quinns: In hindsight, I really don’t know why chose that as our promise.

Ava: It’s only natural to want to leave a mark.

Quinns: Groan.

Ava: This week we’re taking a deeper dive than usual into the opinions section, as well as some of those grubby adverts in the back.

Which is to say, today’s news is mostly think-pieces and kickstarters, and we think that’s okay.

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Review: Underwater Cities

Pimp my Symbiotic City Dome, vanilla churn, a goodie fountain

Kylie: In Vladimír Suchý’s heavy management game Underwater Cities, players are competing to build the ultimate deep sea nation. But is it actually better, down where it’s wetter? Are there no troubles when life is the bubbles? Can we really trust a crustacean that sings? I guess we should find out.

Each player is given a personal city map which you’ll fill with a scattering of white and red biodomes, which will connect to a flourishing network of factories and laboratories. Ideally, this network will score you points, as well as act as an engine that’ll occasionally spew out resources such as credits, biomatter, and kelp. Lots of kelp.

Apparently when we colonise the seas, the only thing available to eat will be kelp. I’ve never tried kelp. Have you tried kelp? They tell me it’s the kale of the sea, but I’m pretty sure that’s a lie.

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Podcast #96: Dipping With The Druids

cowboys vs. angels, lu bu vs. king arthur, batman vs. your free time

Just who are druids? What are they doing? And is it safe to “dip” with them? We can’t be sure, but we can tell you that the following games are discussed in this podcast: tableau-builder Res Arcana (02:38), cuboid contest Dice Throne (11:50), hidden role game Insider (20:10), cult hit Three Kingdoms Redux (26:56), new expansion Isle of Skye: Druids (37:21) and the staggering in scale Batman: Gotham City Chronicles (42:47). At last, we close out the podcast with a tempting question from our mailbag (55:54). If we could force board game fans the world over play one thing, what would we choose? Thanks to our fabulous community, podcast transcripts are available here, and are usually completed within a week of the podcast’s release.

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GAMES NEWS! 27/05/19

What happens in il castillo, stays in il castillo, (until revealed during scoring)

Ava: Welcome all, to the Chronicles of Newsia. It’s chronicles month this Majune at Shut Up and Sit Down, and we’re here to bring you the newest, most ancient tales bound in the thickest volumes of web-based e-vellum. Inside this dusty tome you’ll find tales of winners, losers, sickness, war, dragons, castles, birds and Belgium.

Sit down, young acolyte, and let me tell you the okay news.

Quinns: Wow. I think this is going to be SU&SD’s best Chronicles Month *ever*.

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Review: Chronicles of Crime & the Noir Expansion

follow the money, enter the holocupboard, accuse the boy

Oh boy, have we got an exciting announcement! Today marks the start of Chronicles Month on Shut Up & Sit Down, where we’ll be celebrating all things chronicled (as well as the general art of chronicling).

To kick off proceedings, we’re reviewing Chronicles of Crime together with the brand-new Noir expansion. Is it a better crime-busting game than Consulting Detective? Or a better disposable game than Unlock? Did Matt write this whole review just to play with noir grading? Click play, and follow the money.

Have a lovely weekend, everybody.

164 Comments

GAMES NEWS! 20/05/19

a very good "boring game" joke, no really you gotta see this joke

Ava: Hello lovely news-lovers. It’s another Monday, and I’m a bit worn out. I’ve had a wobbly weekend of overwhelm.

Board games can be a playful, joyful anchor when the seas of your mind are rough, a set of routines and actions you can fall into that pulls you together, brings you back in touch with the people you care about. I’m so grateful to games and the people that make them and the friends that play them. That’s why I keep coming back to dig through the newsiest jungles of the internet, bringing you select morsels of upcoming play possibilities.

Here’s the news.

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SU&SD Play… Fireball Island!

snake duty, the creepiest tiger, a children's game

We’re back with another gem from our Twitch channel! This week we want to show you have to have responsible fun with Restoration Games’ Fireball Island.

Warning: This game contains choking hazards, fireballs, bees, snakes, rockfalls and a vengeful god. Do not operate while under the influence. Or was that “Only operate while under the influence”? We can’t remember.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

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Podcast #95: The Danish Crisis

A Small Ham, A Terrible Roundabout, Quintin's Simulated Subconscious

In this special episode of our award-winning podcast, Matt and Quinns talk about their trip to Danish board game convention Fastaval. Games discussed include the superb Hansa Teutonica (02:56), the as-yet unannounced Deep Blue (12:02), the also-unannounced Auto (15:50), Flamme Rouge’s unnamed campaign expansion (24:05), That’s Not Lemonade (35:43) and Mid-Life Crisis (45:23). Finally, we close with a discussion of Fastaval itself, and what makes it so magical (59:18). Is it the terrifying, viking-like cleaning crew? Is it the black tie award ceremony? Is it the unparalleled gender equality, or the world-class roleplaying games? It’s all of these things, and more. Huge thanks to the organisers for choosing us as this year’s guests of honour.

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GAMES NEWS! 13/05/19

poor orbiting commenters, almost bruce willis, one tickled trout

Ava: After a week playing the fun game ‘moving all the objects I own from one building to another and then slowly finding new places for them to sit’, I’m mostly on my own for this week’s Games News. I’m cosily nested in an incredibly tall house on a slightly different hill in my gorgeous little valley. The sky is blue, the trees are green, the garden is gravelly and the game table is flat.

What a perfect time to roast up some news.

Kickstarting its way into orbit this week is Space Race, a follow up to a card game of the same name that looks to take up a little more of your table. The art direction is the star here, all blueprints and sharply inked illustrations. Players will build rival agencies sending astronauts into the void with a some literal and metaphorical engine building and what looks like a bit of orbital area control.

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