arsenicknife

[arsenicknife]

Bloodborne: The Board Game (REVIEW)

Bloodborne: The Board Game (REVIEW)

Welcome home, good hunter. In Bloodborne: The Board Game, one to four players are tasked with the unenviable job of ridding the plague-ridden streets of Yharnam of its beastly curse. Armed with their trick weapons, the hunters scour the alleys and buildings of this decrepit town, overrun and hopeless, as they seek to survive the horrors of the hunt. Will they uncover the truth of the deadly…

View On WordPress

#bloodborne #board games #CMON #review

[arsenicknife]

Two Games More Fun Than Ghost of Tsushima (Opinion)

Two Games More Fun Than Ghost of Tsushima (Opinion)

Let’s get this out of the way: Ghost of Tsushimais a fun, well made, exceptionally produced game deserving of most of the praise it has received. One thing I’ve noticed that many reviews either neglect to mention entirely or simply gloss over is the length-to-gameplay ratio, by which I mean how much time you’re putting into it versus how much gameplay you’re getting. Make no mistake, I am not…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Sea of Clouds (REVIEW)

As the captain of a flying pirate ship, your job is simple: pillage and plunder the various floating islands amidst the sea of clouds. Uncover ancient relics, recruit pirates, and find all the best rum to hoard for yourself. But keep an eye out, as rival captains are seeking to steal your treasure right from under your nose – so board their ships and rob them before they have the chance!

In Sea…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Photosynthesis (REVIEW)

Get ready for the most exciting game of 2017: Photosynthesis! The game in which you simulate the act of planting and growing trees! It features all of the most enticing aspects of horticulture, like buying seeds, catching rays from the sun, growing trees, and eventually harvesting them for those sweet victory points! Experience the game that makes Ameritrash fans scream “Wow, this makes Blood…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Viral (REVIEW)

You are one of several deadly viruses inhabiting the human body. It is your job to infect and mutate, attempting to shutdown and cause critical failures in the most vital organs. But you’re not alone – other viruses are seeking to be the most deadly, all while those pesky doctors and the ever-vigilant immune system work to thwart your efforts. Attack your opponents and fight back against a cure…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Downforce (REVIEW)

Rob Daviau is a name synonymous with the term “legacy” in the board game industry. He’s the pioneer behind an entire genre of games – that is, the Legacy system – wherein a game is treated as a living, growing, dynamic piece of entertainment. Over the course of several sessions, the game changes based on player interaction: new mechanisms are introduced, old cards/components are literally torn up…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Ethnos (REVIEW)

I’ve always been told not to judge a book by its cover, but does anyone actually listen to that advice? At first glance, Ethnos is a drab, stark-looking game filled with a dozen generic high fantasy races, a map of muted colors and uninspired names, and tiny, fickle plastic pieces that have no thematic connection to anything that you’re doing. The cover depicts the aforementioned races locked in…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia (REVIEW)

BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia (REVIEW)

There’s always a lighthouse, there’s always a man, there’s always a city. And in this case, there’s always a game. Loosely based on the hit sequel to 2007’s BioShock, the board game adaptation of BioShock Infinite takes some liberties with its electronic source material. Set in the same world, at the same time, while the game put players in control of protagonist Booker DeWitt on a mission to…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Adrenaline (REVIEW)

First-person shooters are one of the most popular video game genres on the market, and they have been for decades now. From Doom to Counter-Strike to Halo to Call of Duty, for better or worse they have left an indelible mark on the medium and on our culture. Whether it’s the feeling of immersion – that, as the player, you are witnessing the events of the game through the eyes of your character –…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Escape From the Aliens in Outer Space (REVIEW)

Escape From the Aliens in Outer Space (REVIEW)

What do you get when you combine the premise of the film Alien with the gameplay mechanisms of Battleship? A really weird mash-up is what. But, if you also answered Escape From the Aliens in Outer Space, then you’d be right. Although you don’t get any credit because of course that was the answer. It’s in the title. It’s what this review is going to be about.

Running from terrifying aliens,…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

The Networks (REVIEW)

Are you an armchair Television executive? Have you ever thought that you could do a better job at running a Television network than the suits currently in charge? Well, you’re probably wrong, but now’s your chance to find out. Stripped down to its most basic principles, in The Networks, you will be controlling one of five TV networks vying for control over the hottest shows, hippest stars, and…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Takenoko (REVIEW)

Have you ever cultivated your own bamboo garden only to have a pesky panda come and eat your entire harvest? If so, then this game might trigger some Vietnam-style flashbacks for you and I’d advise you to stay clear. Otherwise, for the rest of us, Takenoko is a 2-4 player set collection game with a modular board consisting of hexagonal tiles, a hungry panda, and a persistent gardener. The word…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Three for Three: Santorini, Onitama, and Ice Cool (REVIEW)

Three for Three: Santorini, Onitama, and Ice Cool (REVIEW)

There are a lot of board games that require a significant investment of time, upwards of an hour on the low end, and sometimes even that’s being generous. If your gaming group is full of talkers, you could easily add 30 minutes to anything you play. But sometimes you just want a game to kill some time while you’re waiting around. If you have a busy life and can only spare a short while to play…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

T.I.M.E. Stories: Lumen Fidei (REVIEW)

T.I.M.E. Stories: Lumen Fidei (REVIEW)

The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS about some characters and settings but does not go into extensive detail about such. These games are best left discovered by the players. If you are worried at all about the smallest of spoilers, do not read any further.

In the fifth expansion and sixth scenario of T.I.M.E. Stories, the Consortium is sending the agents back to 15th century Spain during…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Dark Souls: The Board Game (REVIEW)

Dark Souls: The Board Game (REVIEW)

One of the hottest Kickstarter success stories arose last year when UK board game publisher Steamforged Games announced that they had acquired the license to make the Dark Souls board game that most fans didn’t know they wanted. Within 3 minutes of the Kickstarter campaign launching, the game reached its initial goal of $72,000, and over the course of its run, would earn well over $5 million,…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (REVIEW)

Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game (REVIEW)

There was a time, not too long ago, when board games based on existing intellectual properties were an immediate pass. They were often seen as cheap or uninspired cash grabs, attempts by the large-scale board game manufacturers to leech off the success of the property upon which their game would be based. Look no further than the innumerable iterations of IP-based Monopoly, Risk, and what have…

View On WordPress

[arsenicknife]

Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem (REVIEW)

Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem (REVIEW)

“On the fringe, blood and bullets are the rule of law and if you’re a man with convictions, violence is inevitable.”

This quote from John Teller, the titular club’s founding member, is among the first words printed within the rulebook of Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem, a 3 to 4 player area control/resource acquisition game based on the now-finished hit TV show. It’s an appropriate mantra for…

View On WordPress