Rumble Nation Designer: 与儀新一 (Shinichi Yogi) Publisher: Hobby Japan / Asmodee USA Players: 2-4 Ages: 10+ Time: 20-40 minutes Rumble Nation was a highly anticipated SPIEL 2019 game for me; I had been introduced to the original release (then called … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/15/dale-yu-review-of-rumble-nation-2025/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
First, every player got 4 mana (later called energy), then every player was allowed to summon units at the same time: spend X mana to summon units with a total cost of X.In the move phase, all players could move their units simultaneously: for each unit you wanted to move, you had to write down its starting coordinate and the coordinate where you wanted it to move to, e.g., D3-D4. If units would end on the same square, the strongest unit would defeat the weaker unit. In case of a tie, both units
Fliptown Designers: Steven Aramini Publisher: Write Stuff Games Players: 1-4 Age: 12+ Time: 30-45 minutes Summary: I backed Fliptown when it was on Kickstarter and finally brought it to game day, and it was really fun. Fliptown is a unique … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/14/fliptown/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Keep playing rounds until someone hits a point threshold and wins.Having just played Ethnos again recently, the matching of color or style resonates with me — as does the gambling aspect of trying to push for a larger play before the round suddenly ends.▪️ To Ts you with another new game, Tulip is a 2-6 player card game from Quentin Lammerant and Les Tontons Joueurs that does what you might expect: Let you gamble on selling tulips for a good price.Each player starts with a hand of four cards fro
Do you like lasagna? I imagine most people do. If I asked you what your favorite lasagna is, would you base it on the one that has the most flavorful cheese on top, or maybe with the best cooked noodles? … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/13/2024-designer-of-the-year-award/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
by David Thompson Line of Fire: Burnt Moon is a standalone game inspired by the Undaunted series, adapting the core deck-building gameplay to quick, elegant lane-battling.In Line of Fire: Burnt Moon, a group of black-hat hackers known as POSIWID plots to hijack the moon Io and hold the entire Jovian power grid to ransom. Standing in their way are the ultra-corporate Lunar Frontier Authority (LFA), the constructors of the lunar energy facilities. Both sides have engaged a fleet of ROV – advanced
A Message From the Stars Designer: Clarence Simpson Publisher: allplay Players: 2-8 Age: 11+ Time: 45 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4kdMCFs Played with review copy provided by publisher In A Message From The Stars, a team of scientists seeks to … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/12/dale-yu-review-of-a-message-from-the-stars/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
<p>by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1?bloggerid=17" >W. Eric Martin</a></p> <div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8812848"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/gjoB0BWI1ZZAz2Ekb3atGw__small/img/FdPSN6c44fCHYMDUrG9rCEIMLXY=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8812848.jpg" border=0></a></div>U.S. publisher <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/3/rio-grande-games" >Rio Grande Games</a> has two new titles on its 2025 release schedule from two designers with which it's had a long relationship.<br/><br/>▪️ <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/443547/gadget-builder" ><b><i>Gadget Builder</i></b></a> is a 2-5 player card game from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/150/thomas-lehmann" >Tom Lehmann</a> that falls into the Crazy Eights/Mau Mau category, with players trying to match color or number with their cards in order to empty their hand first:<br/><font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i>The twist is that you can use cards from a fifth suit to build various gadgets that persist from hand to hand and help you get rid of your cards. Which gadgets do you build? When do you use them?<br/><br/><center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8812849"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/4KiqWYno-aCmNs73dWORDA__small/img/nMpC6UtjC4b4t2M4aK5wnXbf4cw=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8812849.jpg" border=0></a></div></center><br/>You can use only one gadget per turn, and to go out, you must have no cards in hand and no unused gadgets. If you empty your hand but haven't used all of your gadgets, you draw one card for each unused gadget, so don't build it unless you're going to use it!</i></div></div></font><br/>I'll publish a detailed preview of <i>Gadget Builder</i> from Lehmann when the game is closer to release.<br/><br/><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8933164"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/86zMN4I6VDyktcpEUSsZLg__small/img/y8gWnvuKIiGDTphTcKGhSczD7_Y=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic8933164.png" border=0></a></div>▪️ <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/448189/pacific" ><b><i>Pacific</i></b></a>, from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/10525/donald-x-vaccarino" >Donald X. Vaccarino</a>, is also for 2-5 players, and it brings to mind his 2011 game <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108044/nefarious" ><i>Nefarious</i></a> in that players all choose their action simultaneously, but first you collectively determine which actions are available. Here's the setting and a gameplay overview:<br/><font color=#2121A4><div class='quote'><div class='quotebody'><i><i>We journey now to the Pacific Ocean. From California to Japan, the peaceful sea is ringed by rumbling mountains. Animals, some of them tourists, fill every conceivable niche; boats dot the waves; and businesses and industries thrive on the coasts. It is this world that you will exploit, or make friends with, or perhaps just pass through.</i><br/><br/>Your goal in <i>Pacific</i> is to earn more money than anyone else, whether through fishing, hotels, factory work, or business. The game lasts ten rounds, and at the start of each round, each player reveals one card from their hand at the same time. Next, all players reveal which one of the revealed cards they want to use, then they simultaneously use their chosen card.<br/><br/>Each player has their own playing board with five areas on it in a circle: Japan, California, Peru, Polynesia, and Coral Sea. To use a card, you carry out the text in the box, then "run" the 1-2 areas listed on it.<br/><br/>Most cards have text like "[area]:[symbols]", such as "California: (hotel)" or "Each area: (fish)" or "An empty area: (boat)(boat)", so you'll place the appropriate token(s) in the named area(s). The card might have other text as well instructing you to move tokens, swap one token for another, "run" an area, etc.<br/><br/>To "run" an area, you take an action with each token in it: hotels earn you money, boats earn you money based on fish in the area, fish move clockwise to the next area, and factories let you remove tokens for money. Special tokens have unique abilities, and you can carry out these actions in whatever order you wish.<br/><br/>After ten turns, whoever has the most money wins.</i></div></div></font>
Eric Martin ▪️ Star Trek: Captain's Chair debuted in January 2025 from designers Nigel Buckle and Dávid Turczi and publisher WizKids, and now that trio — along with co-designer Adam Turczi — have announced two new titles for release in December 2025: Star Trek: Captain's Chair – To Boldly Go and Star Trek: Captain's Chair – Second Contact.To Boldly Go is like the original Captain's Chair: a 1-2 player game that includes six captains from the Star Trek universe, each with an asymmetric deck of ca
Zenith Designers: Gregory Grard, Mathieu Roussel Publisher: PlayPunk Players: 2 or 4 Age: 10+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/44KxnyW Played with review copy provided by publisher In the far-off future, the solar system is inhabited by 3 races: … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/11/dale-yu-review-of-zenith/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
The game is more fun when players want each other to collapse, so we simplified the theme to just five people piling onto a raft with treasure.Q: Why was the original title "Burial"?Mashiu: The game originally involved covering marks, which reminded me of burying artifacts, but looking back, it was an odd choice given how lighthearted the gameplay is! (laughs)Refining the Components and DesignQ: How did you design the five meeple figures?Jun: I wanted them to vary in size and weight, so we teste
Square One Designers: Jan Soukal and Patrik Chleboun Publisher: boardcubator Players: 1-4 Age: 9+ Time: 30-60 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/43owCsV Played with review copy provided by publisher Square One is an engine-building strategy game, similar to its predecessor Project … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/10/dale-yu-review-of-square-one/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2025 (Part 13) Carrying on from the last article, Mistwind (which I write up below) became a 3-bathroomer as well. Everyone started with one air-whale and most bought the extra two, making turns more and … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/09/alison-brennan-game-snapshots-2025-part-13/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Four cards are revealed from The Market in two lots, then everyone decides what they want to bid for one of those lots...or for something else, namely another player's as-yet-unrevealed bid.The Market at workThe value of your bid is the sum of your cards' potential, and whoever reveals the largest bid can swap their bid for one of The Market lots or another player's bid...or they can return their bid to hand, which seems like they wasted everyone's time while revealing the contents of their hand
Each suit will include 13 actions that have the biggest impact on reducing the harmful carbon emissions that cause climate change.
Well, fellow Heroscapers (and those who are fascinated by my obsession with this crazy miniatures combat system), it’s time once again to recap Renegade Games virtual “convention” (RenegadeCon) and the new information they revealed about the next wave of armies … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/07/heroscape-embers-of-war/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
The Mandalorian: Clan of Two expansion Designer: Corey Konieczka and Josh Beppler Publisher: Unexpected Games Players: 1-4 Age: 12+ Time: 30-60 minutes Amazon affiliate link (base game): https://amzn.to/43Hvxhc Amazon affiliate link (expansion): https://amzn.to/43JnFuw Played with review copy provided by publisher … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/06/dale-yu-first-impressions-of-the-mandalorian-clan-of-two-expansion/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Remember, you don't need a ticket to ride if you steal the train!(Full disclosure: The raiders DID buy tickets to different destinations so as to not draw undue attention.)Last, but certainly not least:HOW Do You Play the Game?In the solo and two-player modes, the raiders player must burn bridges, cut telegraph lines, damage track, eliminate CSA units (as possible and necessary), and reach Union forces in Bridgeport with the stolen train in order to win. That's a tall task! The Confederates, eit
Tacta Designer: Jason Tremblay Publisher: The Op Games Players: 1-6 Age: 6+ Time: 5-15 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3Fmk8dr Played with review copy provided by publisher It’s all connected! In this sneakily strategic card game, players flip, twist, and turn … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/06/05/dale-yu-review-of-tacta/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Catacombs, with even better treasures awaiting in the deepest areas...if you can escape!▪️ Rose Gauntlet Entertainment is crowdfunding a second printing of co-owner Isaac Vega's 2024 title Wild Gardens, with the new Foraging Club expansion adding four new playable characters, eight unique game-changing player abilities, and a new game mode.▪️ Another company crowdfunding new expansions is Bézier Games, which has Maglev Maps: Volume 2, a six-pack of expansion packs for Ted Alspach's 2021 title Ma