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This weekend is going to be great; games on Friday night and Sunday!I’m hoping to get one or two of the new ones I’ve got on the table. Possibly Fire & Axe. Can’t wait.

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So, you’ve given an overview of the game.. could you explain your turn in more detail?

Sure. Each player gets 4 tiles of their color and a starting hand of 4 Battle cards. The Battle cards are (initially) chosen by the players in a similar fashion to Fairy Tale; you start with 5 cards, select one to keep, then pass the remaining cards to your left. This continues until all players have 4 cards they have chosen. Not only does this allow you to ‘build’ your own starting hand (thus ensuring it isn’t horrible), it also can give you something of an idea of what your opponents’ have, which is good information.

So on your first turn, you have your Battle cards and tiles to place. You also get 3 RUs to start the game. That’s your money. They are pretty scarce throughout the game, so you have to be cautious about how you use them. Resource management certainly plays a part here.

You get a play aid, which indicates that all of your technologies - Weapons, Shields, Engines and Comms - are at 0. This means you get no bonuses to begin with. Shucks. These techs aren’t complicated tech trees; they rise in a linear fashion, with the higher the tech, the bigger the bonus. The techs mostly do exactly what they sound like the do; Weapons gives you a bonus to your hand when you’re the attacker in Battle. Shields give you a bonus if you’re the defender. Engines let you place extra tiles on the board on your turn, Comms let you draw extra battle cards. The cost of each tech is the same as its level. So if I want to raise my Engines to level 3, not only do I have to have the preceding level, but it will cost me 3 RUs for that level. In order to keep them balanced (as Engines is really an attractive option), Weapons and Shields each give a bigger bonus that Engines or Comms. So while Comms gives you 3 extra cards for level 3, Weapons and Shields will each give you a bonus of 4 for their level 3s, respectively. Get too far behind on those and you could get blown up, but good.

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I haven’t written about Supernova much lately. It’s likely due to the fact that I haven’t played it much either. This, however, is because the prototype is off getting all fancified. And by ‘fancified’, I mean done up right and proper by Mike Doyle. I feel simultaneously excited, nervous and scared about it, kind of like how many feel just before opening the door when set up on a blind date. That being said, I know it’s going to turn out fantastically. Mike puts so much time and effort into the details of his creations, I simply can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

On with the Questions and Answers!

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This review was originally posted to the Boardgame Geek here.

For some reason, I really enjoy Stefan Dorra’s designs. I’m not sure why, but they just seem to work for me. Tonga Bonga is a racing game of bribery that in my opinion, hasn’t really gotten the attention it deserves. So… why do I like it so much? Read on.
My reviews all (will) cover several things: an overview of the game, the components and their quality, the ruleset and its clarity, the fun factor, value for the buck, and the lowdown.

Overview

Tonga Bonga is a game of boat racing to various islands in the South Pacific. Everyone is trying to make the most money by delivering goods to 4 of the 6 islands on the board and then racing back to Tonga Bonga for a bonus. To do this, you must bribe your opponents by offering up cash for them to place their workers (dice) on your boat. You then need to roll the dice well… or poorly, depending on your objectives. By rolling well, you can claim the money that your opponent’s are bribing you with. However, if you roll poorly, they don’t go very far. So really, both options are good for you.

Favre4MVP has outlined the rules very well here.

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This review was originally posted to the Boardgame Geek here.

Bizarrely, this is my first review on the ‘Geek. I’m approaching 75 games in my collection and for whatever reason, Combo King has inspired me to write a review.

My reviews all (will) cover several things: an overview of the game, the components and their quality, the ruleset and its clarity, the fun factor, value for the buck, and the lowdown.

Overview

Combo King is a dice-rolling game where all players try to get rid of the cards in their hand (4-5 per player, depending on # of players) by successfully completing the required roll as described on each card. Players get chips when successfully completing a combo. Players may use the chips to roll again during a turn, take extra turns, force other players to draw cards, or discard a card. It is simple, fun, and fast-paced.

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So… roles in the hotel. I must say, even after only one playing, I quite like the roles. I played a 2 player game with Morgan, both of us playing 2 hands. Some thoughts:

• Some of the roles weren’t powerful enough. The Chambermaid was all but useless and wasn’t even played.
  • The Chambermaid allows a player to move guests up on an elevator. This is a good plan in theory but in practice, it doesn’t really do all that much for you. This has been changed completely. Now, the Chambermaid allows you to increase the Concierge by up to 2 points and use up to 3 points from the Concierge with no action cost.
  • The Hotel Owner allowed you to play a card twice that isn’t higher than a 3. This has been amended to a 4. Although this breaks the whole ‘no sum higher than 7′ rule, it just wasn’t that great as it isn’t even worth the same as a good draw of a 7. But by making it an 8…
    
  • I added a new role called the Doorman, which allows you to draw 3 guests out of the bag and immediately place them on an elevator of your choice.
• I liked that the roles aren’t really exceptionally powerful. They aren’t intended to be; they shouldn’t make nor break the game. The meat and potatoes is still in your hand management and choices with respect to where you place your bellhops. In fact, using the roles is costly, which is exactly what I wanted. By making them slightly costly, it balances out their potential use as a constant ‘take-that’ style of play.
• I really liked having guests start in the lobby. This adds some interest to which elevator you leave there, as the cheapest elevator can certainly bring guests to almost any of the floors quickly. It also give another way for people to get slightly easier/quicker points, enabling them to come back from a deficit easier. I’m going to change one rule due to this addition; 24 guests always must be in play on the floors or on the elevators; more is allowed, due to the Doorman. The guests waiting in the lobby are not counted toward this total.

All in all, I’m quite happy about these modifications. I’m looking forward to playing it again this weekend.