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Review: Blitzkrieg! & Caesar!

Quinns and Paolo Mori / Sittin’ in a tree / E-N-J-O-Y-I-N-G-D-E-SI-G-N

The man behind Libertalia, Dogs of War, Ethnos and one of the most well-received Pandemic spinoffs is back again with two new releases. Blitzkrieg! and Caesar! are both fabulously quick games, and to do their speediness justice we’ve reviewed them both at the same time. What will we think of next?

When was the last time you had a good summon? It’s been too long, hasn’t it?

In that case, may we recommend the brand-spanking new edition of Summoner Wars, which is also now playable online? It’s got goblins. It’s got magic spells. It’s got plenty of charming fantasy art. And most importantly, it has a swanky, simple little ruleset that’s easy to learn and hard to master.

In fact, we like this game so much we’ve now reviewed it twice. I’m not going to go back and watch our original 2011 review because I would die instantly, but if you want to do so then that is a choice that you can make.

Gird your tabletops! Western Empires is the biggest game we’ve ever reviewed in both length and girth. A 9 player, 12 hour game? What could be bigger than that?

We’ll tell you what else. The combined game of Mega Empires, which you’ll be able to play when Eastern Empires releases in the near future. A game that the United Kingdom Department of Bigness and Sizeitude has gone on record as calling “Too Big”.

Also in the video is our new table from Geeknson! In fact, this exact table is on Kickstarter right now. You’ll find Quinns’ thoughts on that (and gaming tables in general) at the 18:04 mark of this video.

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.

Who’s a fan of Greece’s Pieces?

This week, Matt’s strapped on his cyber-sandals for a jaunt through Lords of Hellas. This is an enormous, Kickstarted “dudes on a map” game of slaying cyber-monsters, building cyber-statues, amassing cyber-hoplites and going on cyber-adventures.

Will this game triumph, like Homer? Or fall out of the sky like a big Icarus idiot?

Have a fantastic weekend, everybody!

At long last, the final instalment of SU&SD’s “Worm Series” is here. Today, what began with Matt’s Silk review now reaches its dramatic conclusion.

In other, less important news of people waiting a long time, after a wait of 30 years the legendary Dune board game is again being made available. But have the years been kind to this game? Is it still a classic? And how long will Quinns be able to go before recommending Jodorowsky’s Dune?

Have a fantastic weekend, everybody.

A long time ago in a forest far, far away…

This week we’re proud to present our review of Root, which is surely the board game industry’s new beau. A grand, inventive game of cat and mouse, as well fox and bird, and – should you buy the Riverfolk expansion – beaver and lizard.

As Quinns says in the review, everybody involved in this production needs to take a bow. But should you buy it? Click play and find out…

If you were looking for one game to rule them all, War of the Ring might be it. This magical game has more than 200 plastic miniatures, 40 pages of rules and a depth that most board games could only dream of.

But what will Matt and Quinns make of it? For one thing, this wouldn’t be the first time that Lord of the Rings was accused of being too long.

Click play, and let their opinions seep into your very bones.

Paul: I can’t remember the last time I angered so many people so quickly. The last time I broke so many promises, stepped on so many toes, turned on so many friends. Maybe I never have before. Maybe a board game has brought out the very worst in me. Maybe my ambition has finally overcome my morality.

Was it worth it? Was all the bloodshed, backstabbing and brutality justified in service to my thirst for cardboard conquest? Would I do it all again? I just might, so take a seat and let me tell you all about Battle for Rokugan.

[We once again welcome SU&SD miniatures correspondent Eric Tonjes for a report from some far-flung warzone. If you’ve not yet caught up on his work for us, do so on the double!]

Eric: A few years ago I had the chance to revisit the grade school I attended as a child. It was a jarring afternoon. The huge hallways were suddenly kind of small. I could see over the bookshelves in the library where I used to get lost. The teachers… several of them were younger than me. I walked in the door feeling nostalgic; I left a bit unsettled.

I found myself remembering that visit as I got ready to open Games Workshop’s new remake of Necromunda. A skirmish game set in the collapsing underbellies of hive cities in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the original Necromunda one-upped the grim darkness of the 41^st millenia by adding gangs, drugs, slavery, abject poverty and child soldiers. To a 15-year-old me, it was a thing of glorious joy. Yet I wondered, would this turn out to be just another narrow-halled school with five-foot bookshelves?

Review: Blitzkrieg! & Caesar!

Review – Summoner Wars 2nd Edition

Review – Western Empires

Review – Undaunted: Normandy

Review: Lords of Hellas

Review: Dune

Review: Root (and the Riverfolk Expansion!)

Review: War of the Ring

Review: Battle for Rokugan

Review: Necromunda: Underhive

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