It was pretty obvious before Gen Con that one of the biggest games there was going to be Ace of Spades from Devir Games. This is a solo or two player boss battling poker card game. Why was it obvious, a fun horror western theme. You beat monsters with poker hands, Balatro style. And Devir is a popular company. Turns out that you could pre-order it as well, which I did and it came during Gen Con for me. Which means, it was maybe easier to get online than at Gen Con. But is Ace of Spades worth the hype?

How To Play Ace of Spades

Like I said this game is a boss battling game. Each round you face off against a different boss and it doesn’t give you breaks. To beat a boss you need to play out poker hands. Each hand must have five cards played, when solo, from a hand of eight cards. Each hand is going to do an amount of damage, and face cards and aces increase the damage.

When you defeat a boss, you get a special power from them. Some powers are one time, but every third boss is going to give you ongoing power. An example of a power would be that all your hearts count as diamonds for a hand. Or for an ongoing ability that every time you play a straight it deals more damage, or when you play a queen it does more damage.

Eventually you reach the main boss and if you defeat him you win. Or I should say, that’s what could happen. If you lose at any point in time to a boss, aka you can’t beat them in a certain number of hands, you lose the game and need to restart.

Hands and Discards

One element of this game to keep track of is how hands and discards work. Each boss you need to defeat in a certain number of hands. Also you gain a specific number of discards per boss. So if you have a bad hand, you can discard cards from it and redraw up.

But discard also does something else. In this game you don’t reshuffle until you’ve beat a villain, that every third bad guy. Or you can use a discard to shuffle your played and discard cards back into the deck. This element is important when facing off against bosses with more health because you run through the deck faster. But it uses up an ability to set-up your deck.

What Doesn’t Work

There are two things that I think people might not like about this. Firstly is the you lose to a boss you lose the game. I could see house ruling it, if you don’t want to reshuffle, that you lose a life and can continue and you get one life. But, that said, it is very easy to say, well, I lost and just reset the boss deck and reshuffle the playing cards. That is a minimal difference in time.

The other is the luck in the game. Now, there are things that you do to help with the luck. But if you don’t like a bit of luck, you may find that it doesn’t work for you. It is luck in what you draw. And that is compounded, though becomes strategic in another way, by the fact you must play five card hands. So even if you play three of a kind you might be breaking up a future hand.

What Works

This is a really easy to learn game. I sat down and was up and running within a few minutes. It is all about playing poker hands and even if you don’t know poker they give you that poker hand information right on the game board.

It is also a quick game. I plan on streaming it soon, but I’d expect to get through a few runs to see if I can win. And that should probably be a hour or less to get through with three runs. Mainly because each run is pretty fast even if you get a ways.

Next, I like the powers you can get in the game. All of theme feel great to use. But none of them seem like they are game breaking. In fact, while the game gives you four cards for each level, they are all pretty similar. It is a deck of cards, so often times it is just for a suit that it makes it better. But there is this great tension of only using the power when you need it as things get harder and harder to take on.

The components in the game are nice as well. The deck of cards is great. And the dashboard you use is really nice. Like I said it has poker hands on there and how much damage they do, and reminders for how much damage face cards and aces do. Plus it is set-up so you can keep track of the enemies health on there as well as how many hands you have left and how many discards/reshuffles you have left.

Who is Ace of Spades For?

Now, I will caveat this by saying, I think it’ll work well with two. I have only played Ace of Spades solo. But it is a strong solo game, so I think this is a good game for someone who enjoys Balatro and board games. It is not as complex as Balatro but it makes it easier to play. Much like Slay the Spire is easier to play and scaled down numbers as a board game. So for the solo gamer in your life, this is probably a good game.

Final Thoughts and Grade on Ace of Spades

There is a lot that I like about the game. It is easy to get to the table, it is easy to learn and it is easy to play. Now I saw it is easy to play, I mean it isn’t fiddly. This is a tough game. And they give you ways to make it tougher and easier. I expect when I stream it that I’ll demonstrate it on normal and easy. In easy you don’t need to play a hand of five cards, it can be less.

Overall, I think this is a very good game and a very good solo game. It’s what I want from a solo game. The challenge is interesting, the tension is there and it isn’t a table hog. My one complaint might be that I wish there was more variety in the characters you go up against. Each level is pretty similar. I didn’t mention it but villains have something that they are strong against. Like spades, or queens, for example. That is a fun twist.

I wish that they had created more variety in that. For example, maybe a boss that is strong against spades but then is weak against queens or something interesting like that, so it might feel like more of a puzzle as you play it out. And not so much more of a puzzle, but more variety in what you face off against. And the same could be said for the abilities. Still that is a minor complaint and is ripe for expansion packs.

Have you tried Ace of Spades?

My Grade: A-
Gamer Grade: B+
Casual Grade: B-
Strategy (out of 10): 6
Luck (out of 10): 7

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How to Play Garden Rush

Garden Rush is a race to forty points. Each player is building out their own garden of vegetables and then harvesting those vegetables for points. The game is over when a player has passed 40 points and players have taken an even number of turns, or until tiles run out.

Turns

On your turn you take one tile from a center row. If you place it in the column that it was taken from, you put it on the two side, that means it can be used for scoring twice. Or if it’s not you place it on the one side. If you cover a bonus spot, then you take that bonus, we’ll talk more about bonuses in a little bit.

Or on your turn you harvest one of the sections of veggies. Each type of vegetable has a specific pattern in which it will score, and three versions of that pattern. When you harvest a veggie you score a single point for each vegetable in that pattern. And you flip the veggies that show two veggies to show one, and remove the ones that show a single veggie.

Bonuses

Now, what I described above is the vast majority of the game. But there are bonuses printed onto each garden as well. Each bonus is going to provide something different. One bonus will water a veggie flipping it’s side. That can be used to turn an opponents veggie to a one, or your veggie back to a two. Another lets you take an additional tile after your first one and yet another harvest a group of veggies on a turn you placed veggies. The final one let’s you move veggies around.

Scoring

One thing about scoring is that there are specific spots on the scoring track that give you a bonus as well. This bonus spot, if you land exactly on it, is going to let you use one of the bonuses printed on your or your opponents garden. But there is a specific rule around that, that bonus needs to be visible in order for it to be used. So if you and your opponent both have the bonus harvest covered up, you cannot use that ability.

Bonus Module

There is a module that I assume comes with the game. It is something that is easy to add in, so I don’t know why it wouldn’t. The module is more tools that you add to your game. These are tools that aren’t printed on your board, but they show-up in that center row with the vegetables. You place the tools on your board like a vegetable and they block spots. But difference between them an a vegetable is that they do not come off your board.

What Doesn’t Work

I find that I don’t have much issue with the game. I think that the biggest negative might be the module with the bonus tiles. Now, I like the bonus tiles, there are just a lot of them. And they flood that center row at certain points in every game. That means that sometimes you take a move that isn’t that great for you. Now, it is an issue for your opponent as well, but the moves don’t feel like a positive move forward.

What Works

Firstly, I like the simplicity of the turns. You either play a tile or you harvest vegetables. And I think that is what I want in a two player game basically always. Because of that simplicity of each turn, I find that the games go very quickly. Even on BGA, Garden Rush is a fast game to play if both players are on at all at the same time. It is worth noting I play asynchronously.

Another element that I like is how the different vegetables score. They score in different shape patterns and it is a fun puzzle to figure out how you can have the tomatoes go between the carrots as they both work on diagonals. Or can you get lettuce and corn to interlock to best use your garden as you fill it out. It’s not a complex puzzle, but it’s something that is fun to optimize as you play. As well as optimizing the placement of veggies so you get to use them twice.

The powers on the board and in the module are fun as well. The ones in the module really change up the game. And the one on the board, you tend to activate them when you activate them, but you can create some very good turns doing that. And I appreciate how all of them work.

Speaking of the module, it is fun as well because they fill up your garden. That is some of the reason why they can be a negative in that middle row to take from. But you need to plan where you take them from so you don’t mess with your vegetable scoring. I think that the module is a very good add to the game after you play a couple of times.

Who Is Garden Rush For?

Garden Rush is a great game for couples who want a pretty easy game to learn and play and play in an evening. Set-up is fast, game play is fast, and you feel like you are doing something. It is also good for people who maybe don’t love board games as much. I think that the game, especially without the module, is easy to understand and learn how to play the game. But with the module, it adds in that extra challenge that is going to keep more seasoned game players engaged.

Final Thoughts on Garden Rush

I enjoy Garden Rush quite well. I don’t think it is the favorite of the two player games that I’ve learned this year on BGA, though. Zenith still holds that top spot. But the game is very enjoyable to play. And I think it works well because it has just enough strategy to it. With or without the module of the extra tools there is a good amount going on with it. And each turn I want to optimize how I place out my veggies to use them twice.

And I like how there are bonuses that you can get on the scoring track. I know that I am not the best at using them. In fact, that is one area that I need to get better at when I play Garden Rush. But when you can use them, you can combo into some very good turns. And it is possible to combo scoring a section of the garden, use the place an extra veggie ability, cover up your place an extra veggie, so place another tile which could cover up a another bonus and chain into a powerful turn. And I like that a lot in a game.

My Score: B+
Gamer Score: B
Casual Score: B
Luck Level: 4
Strategy Level: 6

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How To Play Toy Battle

Toy Battle is an area control game where you seek to beat your opponent by either gaining dominance in an areas and points for that, or by reaching your opponents base. That is pretty standard, I feel for a game like this.

The actions are very simple for your turn. You either draw two troops to add to your troops in hand. Or you play out a troop. Most troops are going to give you an ability on them as well. When you play out a troop it needs to be adjacent to your base or connect to it by other troops. You play your troop either in an empty spot that meets those criteria or on top of an opponents troop that has a smaller value than your troop. You go back and forth taking turns until one person hits one of the win conditions for the game.

What Doesn’t Work

It’s not a major negative for the game, but this game feels like things that have been done before. I said League of Legends, and I really get that feel. And the toy theme works, but it’s a theme that I’ve seen done before. Mainly it feels like it’s a familiar idea with the lane battler and does it do enough to stand out from other games like that.

What Works

I like the speed of the game. Some games drag out when you play them on BGA. But Toy Battle hasn’t thus far. It helps that it’s a two player game, but even with that you need responsive players. And maybe I’ve just been lucky with responsive players, but the game moves quickly. I think the two options for your turn really help make this game accessible for a lot of players. And the two player limit also makes it go very quickly.

I enjoy how each toy has a different power. I think the lowest number has no power, but otherwise they do. Some of them let you break the game in terms of where you place out another character. Or they might let you pull back a troop who has a power you want to use again. While they are not complex, it adds in some fun strategy to the game that way. And I think it’s an area where the game could expand in the future, give another set of troops for players to swap into the game.

And the two ways that you win work. I’ve lost to someone reaching my base. And I’ve won by just controlling enough areas. Each of them seem doable in any game. And you need to consider the troops you are drawing, or the paths your opponent is building to determine your strategy. While the game isn’t super tense when you play it on BGA, I think with the two win conditions it would be a lot more tense in person.

Who is Toy Battle For?

I think this is for people who want that high interaction and strategy in a game. It is about outthinking your opponent and utilizing the abilities to the best of your ability. But it’s kind of like Root, in some ways, or Critters at War. It is going to give you that tense war element of a game, really, but it has a cute theme on top of it. So, I think this is for people who want that interaction and area control and maybe have a partner or friend they game with often who doesn’t like that as much, but this theme just might work.

My Grade for Toy Battle

So, I compare Toy Battle to a lot of things. And as I was writing about it, I realized, I enjoy this game pretty well. Right now it’s just a pre-order, but I might grab this game when it comes out. Because, for me, it takes some things about lane battling that I enjoy and gives me a nice area control element with it as well. And it works well for two players. Often times area control at two players isn’t that interesting, but here it’s good.

And the powers and abilities of the troops that you place out is another big selling point. You need to figure out your strategy and break up your opponents. And sometimes that means playing out a troop just for it’s ability so that you can mess with something. And I feel like as I play more, the more I can mine the depths of different strategies with the troops.

That said, there are a couple of things that keep me from just gushing over the game as a two player game like I did Zenith on BGA. I think that’s because the game feels a bit more familiar than some. Now, it’s better than Gold’n’Crash where that game was too long for a two player game. This one gets the timing right, but as I play it more, I want to see if I feel like playing the game or if it just makes me want to play other two player games.

My Grade: B
Strategy: B+
Luck: C-

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How To Play Lord of the Rings Duel

The game is a two player back and forth drafting game. One person takes on the forces of Sauron and the other the Fellowship. But that’s mainly in name only. The game generally revolves around resource collection and then using those resources to procure other cards or fortresses.

As you play there are three end game triggers that you need to watch out for. If the Nazgul catch the Fellowship, they get the ring and win. If the Fellowship makes it to Mount Doom, they get the ring and win. Or if someone, either side, rallies all six different factions they win. And if either side has a presence in all the locations on the board they win.

That’s the basics of the game, I’m going to get into some of the differences between Lord of the Rings Duel and 7 Wonders Duel next.

What’s Different Between 7 Wonders Duel and Lord of the Rings Duel?

There are a few differences worth noting between the games. While the core loop of drafting cards remains the same between the two. It does vary in a number of different ways. Including a central board.

The Central Board

Let’s start with that central board. This is an area control battle between the players. It kind of takes the place of the combat track. But it’s also it’s own separate thing. There are a number, I believe 7, of locations on the map. If a player either gets troops or towers in all the locations they can win the game. But you battle with your troops, moving them around the board and trading them with your opponent one for one.

And the red combat cards are how you get more troops onto the board. And the purple cards that offer scoring in 7 Wonders Duel, now a lot of them are manipulating where you have troops on the board to help you push for that end game.

Factions

The game also has factions. These are going to be familiar to science cards. You collect them and when you get enough you can win the game. But that’s something that is blockable because you can see if a player is going after that. And there are six factions and two cards of each which might not all be in there.

But there is an additional benefit to factions. If you get two of the same faction you pull two tokens from that faction deck. You select one and that is going to be the one that you use. For some of them it’s a benefit for the whole game. For others Ents and Wizards which are only in the third chapter, you get a one time effect.

Fortresses

Another change to the game is the fortresses. These are basically replacements for the wonders in 7 Wonders and 7 Wonders Duel. So it’s kind of the same thing, a high cost for something but then it gives you a bonus.

The difference in Lord of the Rings Duel is that these are a shared pool. Three are available in chapter one and at the end of each chapter they are replenished. So you fight directly over who gets which one. And that can matter a fair amount. It’s a good way to push to gain that sixth faction with the powers of some of them. Or other win conditions as well.

What Doesn’t Work?

I think for me there is one element that I feel like doesn’t work super well. And I am sure it was done for a good reason. But that’s that I want more in the box. Just one little bit more variety. A bit more variety in the cards maybe? Or it might just be that I miss the final scoring of 7 Wonders Duel. Here there are the three different ways to win or it’s majority on that map. If you figure out that you can’t hit one of the other win objectives, you need to spend on that map in the third chapter.

Now scoring would be a large change to the game. And I get why they didn’t want to add it in. But I’d love to see a little bit of scoring in the game to end it otherwise. Or at least have you look at two or three different things. Like the majority on the map, majority in the factions and furthest to the ring goal. That’d be great for me, I think. And most of the time you should end up with a winner. And it gives players multiple things to push for in that final chapter.

What Works?

Much like 7 Wonders Duel, the card drafting works so well. It’s a great push and pull between the players. And I think the Lord of the Rings Duel even makes it better. Because you have the shared pool of fortresses you are now sometimes skipping a round drafting. It feels like a bit more control than I remember with 7 Wonders Duel, though I’m sure it’s minor at best. But I often sat there in the game counting cards and pushing to get exactly what I needed to buy a fortress to guarantee I got a card I wanted.

I also like the shared nature of the fortresses. Often time you want to fight over them and you look to see what your opponent might need. There was one time where I needed either Wizards faction card or the feather (Eagles) from the Hobbit tokens to win the game. My opponent smartly took the one that let me pull a card from the discard for the age, which did have a wizard. But then accidentally gave me the way to feather token. So you need to pay attention to a lot with the fortresses.

The game is also still really fast. Even with the added element of the area control board to watch, you get through a game in maybe 30 minutes. With learning the game and playing three times in an evening, we started at 7:30 and were done by 9:15 or so. And that’s nice for a two player game to get in a few plays in a single evening. If it was going to take much longer than that, it’d feel like more work than intended.

Who Is This For?

I think the Lord of the Rings Duel is for people who maybe aren’t drawn to the 7 Wonders Duel theme but are interested in the game itself. Lord of the Rings is obviously going to be a more popular them. And I think that as a game too, it’s easy enough to play that it’s that great play it with the Lord of the Rings fan in your life. Give it to them for a holiday or birthday, teach them to play and let them go forth from there.

But if you already really love 7 Wonders Duel and the theme doesn’t do it for you. I don’t know that you need this game. I think that they do enough different that I plan on keeping both. But that is a me thing and I’m not sure that everyone would agree with that sentiment.

Final Thoughts on Lord of the Rings Duel

I really enjoy this game. I do have that one negative. And I expect that an expansion might tweak that end game slightly. Though who knows if there is going to be an expansion to this game. If it does well I’m sure that they’ll make another one. But I also can tell that the game was very carefully curated to create a box that has everything you need for a consistently close and fun game.

I think that the tightness of the game and the closely curated card set also is one of the reasons that I do want an expansion. I think that you’ll get to know the cards very well very quickly. And depending what you see in the first chapter that might start to really focus players in on certain strategies in the future chapters. But there are ways without adding cards you can add more variability. Different and more fortresses or different and more faction tokens easily add in more variety.

My Grade: A
Gamers Grade: B+
Casual Grade: B+

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Thanks For Listening

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Comments or Questions

What did you think of the first episode of Ms Marvel. Did it match your expectations or exceed them? Or maybe was it a disappointment. What do you think we’re going to find out about her powers and her family in the show?

You can let me know all of those things down in the comment section below. Or tweet them to me @TheScando or by using #10MinMarvel. And let me know what team you would want for the Thunderbolts.

Thank you again for listening, and I’ll see you next time.

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The Game – Paper Dungeons

So, after 12 solo plays, technically 13 because I learned the game solo, so I still enjoy it? Or more so, what are the highlights of the game. With Monday’s stream I talk about how it might lose luster. But Paper Dungeons really hasn’t that much for me. I do want more for it and more from it. But I still love the game.

Now, there are a number of things that I do like. Firstly, I like that you have a special power and a special goal that only you are going for. Might it something that gives you potions for killing certain numbers of monsters or just give you an extra gem to start, or two levels. But some of them give you negative points. And the goals means that you focus on something that is unique to you.

I also like that going through the dungeon matters as much as it does. I think it’d be easy to create a game like this one where it is about leveling up your character and the dungeon is an afterthought. But in Paper Dungeons, it really matters that you go through the dungeon well. If you move three a time, assuming feet are rolled, that is basically always two free actions sometimes three. And what you get in the dungeon makes more sense than some others in the genre I’ve played.

Finally, but not the only thing, I do think the game works well as a solo roll and write. But I like the fact that in multiplayer, players have things to fight over. In solo play, they give you that feel by taking away your gems. Now the milestones you fight over less, it’s just to see how fast you can get it. But it is good to see them try and do that interaction in the solo version.

The Drink

Again Summit Brewing from St. Paul for my drinks. Though, technically I broke into one of them, had the other after the stream. The one I drank on stream was a session IPA. Session beers tend to be lower in alcohol than your standard beer. That’s why most of the time you see them pop-up more in the warmer seasons. It wasn’t a warm day, but still an enjoyable beer.

Upcoming Streams

Next week no stream on Monday at least that I’m planning. But Monday is a holiday and I’ll be coming back from seeing family. Wednesday won’t start a new campaign game as I realized I won’t have time to learn the new game. But on Wednesday I’ll play some smaller game, or maybe chat on a topic, and then I’ll end up with talking about what game I am ending up playing.

There is still time to vote on what game I will be playing.

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How To Play Air, Land & Sea

Air, Land & Sea is a lane battling game. Basically, two players fight over three theaters of war, air, land, and sea. Players take turns playing down cards that influence how much power they have at the given theaters of war. Cards range from 1 to 6 for each theater. It would be easy to know what the other player has except for the fact you only play with 6 cards each.

The strategy comes into the game around when to play cards. With the exception of the 6, each card has a power that goes along with it. Those manipulate where you can play cards or how cards can be played. And each theater can only have it’s own cards unless something allows you to break the rules with that. Or if you play a card face down, then it is worth two points but doesn’t have any power associated with it.

After a round, you score the battles. Who wins each theater gets 6 points and the first person to 12 wins. However, you can pull out of a theater if you don’t think you can win. The sooner you do that the fewer points your opponent gets. If no one reaches twelve, then the theaters adjust their adjacency to each other and you battle again.

What Doesn’t Work?

The aesthetic of the game is just okay. It is a game that takes itself seriously with how it looks, and that is kind of a negative. This is a very light game, one that is meant to be thinky but light in terms of game play. The artwork doesn’t feel nearly as light as the speed the game plays at. And I think the theme and aesthetic will be off putting to some people.

I also feel like the powers on the cards are not always that interesting. They do cool things, but not that game changing in what they do, at least what is what it feels like. The powers are good, and they add a lot of interest to the game, but with six cards for each player and six not in play, it’s fairly lucky what cards and powers will be in play. I feel like even taking it up to seven cards each and four not in play, you would feel like you could strategize more.

What Works?

The speed the game plays at works really well. This is a fast game and a quick game. I am generally interested in what you are doing and need to know what your powers are. And that is one nice thing about the easier powers, it doesn’t take much time to wrap my head around what your strategy for playing that card is going to be.

I also very much like the pull back mechanic. The fact I can drop troops out of a theater of war and give you fewer points, that is by far the most interesting thing to consider in the game. Mainly because, the longer you wait before you pull back, the more points you are giving your opponent. So, even if you think it might be close in a battle early game, it might make sense to pull back.

Who Is This For?

Firstly, I think it is for people who like that war and battling theme. Because the game definitely leans into the theme with the artwork. I think that if you don’t at least appreciate the theme there are going to be other lane battling games or lane tug of war games that will work better for you.

But I do think that the game difficulty level makes it very accessible. I could see playing Air, Land & Sea with a non-gamer and them being able to understand most of what is going on quickly. And since it’s a fast game anyways, if you need to play a learning game, you can and it won’t be bad to then shuffle up and play it again.

Final Thoughts on Air, Land & Sea

Air, Land & Sea is going to be leaving my collection. Now that doesn’t sound all that positive, and I will say, it is a mixed bag for me. Mainly because I compare it against Hanamikoji which has that same push and pull to it. Air, Land & Sea adds in powers, which seems intriguing, but Hanamikoji’s four actions are much more interesting in terms of a decision making space.

I think a lot of it comes down to that for me, the theme is just okay. I am not that interested in games with a war theme unless you add in something supernatural or fantasy to it. Just a straight up war themed game is not that interesting to me. So with the game leaning so heavily into it and just it not popping on the table aesthetically, I don’t know what I need it. I won’t play it over a number of other two player games.

That isn’t to say that the game won’t be for you. This is a game that I know a lot of people like. For me, I just have other games that I prefer and will want to play instead of it.

My Grade: B-
Gamer Grade: C+
Casual Grade: B

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How To Play Patchwork Doodle

In Patchwork Doodle, you goal is to make as big a square as you can. To do this, you all fill in shapes on your board, a starting shape, and then six more per round. At the end of each round you score the largest square you have. If in round two you have a 6 by 6 square, that is 36 points. But if you have a 6 by 6 square and two more rows of six, that’d be 38 points. At the end, most points win, with empty spots being worth negative one point each.

Plus you use special powers. There are three, kind of four, in the game. When using a shape, you can use either one to the left or right. You can fill in a single spot. You cut off part of a shape to split it into two, with a single cut, and put in either of those shapes instead. And I say kind of four, because the fourth, lets you use one of those other ones again.

What Doesn’t Work

There are two probably negatives to this game. Though one of them I am just speculating about at this point. I’ll talk about that one first. I think that Patchwork Doodle might have limited staying power. While the game is fun thus far, I wonder about the variability of the game. It reminds me of Second Chance, which isn’t a bad thing, because I liked Second Chance, you can see my review here. But as time and plays have gone by, I am less interested in playing it again. The game is playing similar each time. Patchwork Doodle might do the same.

And the bigger thing is that they have colored pencils. And colored pencils work well for the game, but the ones in the box suck. They really aren’t usable, they are too light and you need to work to fill in the spots on your quilt. We pulled out other colored pencils, but don’t use the ones in there. It is like Second Chance in that doodling is part of the fun of this game, another peaceful roll and write.

What Works

Patchwork Doodle teaches very simply and quickly. It glanced at the rules and that was it. I could teach my parents and wife in a few minutes. And they got what was going in the game. The powers maybe need a bit more in terms of teaching, but they are still easy. It’s really the left or right shape one that takes a tiny bit more teaching.

The strategy of the game is pretty fun as well. Yes, it is luck based, but it’s less lucky than Second Chance. You get to make choices when you pick how to use the powers. Especially the ability to cut the pieces down. That allows you to fit in pieces later. And while missing a piece/shape doesn’t knock you out of the game, it does certainly hurt your chances of winning.

Some people might not like this, but I liked it, that the game is generally quite close. The starting shapes are different, and that’ll change up how well you can score, but if you are paying attention to making a square, you do well. But it isn’t so thinky that you need to spend a lot of time figuring out that ideal move. When a simple game punishes people for not playing ideal, that’s not fun, but if it’s too complex a game that it forces scores close, not always fun either. This is a right balance.

The rolling and limited number of cards, six of the eight, actually works for me as well. It works in that it gives you something to pull for. You want to know what number is rolled because you want certain shapes to be landed upon. When a game makes you want something, that’s a good thing. It keeps you invested in the game because you want that one perfect shape to get added to your quilt.

Who Is Patchwork Doodle For?

I keep on talking about family, but I think that’s really what this game is for. Patchwork Doodle works well with people who are familiar with games, but aren’t gamers. They maybe have played games like Five Crowns, Phase 10, or Ticket to Ride. I likely won’t pull this out with gamer friends, but for a nice fast game between stuff, it works. But this is one for playing with those casual gamers in your life.

This game isn’t heavy and it isn’t going to be my favorite roll and write game, but that’s okay. To me, this is that same spot as Second Chance, it just offers that little bit more that I think makes it interesting. So if you are a gamer and you want something that is easy enough for family but interesting you, I like this one.

Patchwork Final Thoughts

This is a fun game, I think that it’ll stick around in my collection for a while. In fact, it might, though I doubt it, bump Second Chance off of the shelf. I personally don’t know that I need both, but my wife might want to keep Second Chance as a very easy game to pull off the shelf. Patchwork Doodle as fits the bill, it just has that tiny bit more going on.

I really wish that the pencils had been any good. But with the size of this game, I’m probably going to laminate six sheets and just play off of that. But generally speaking, I think this is one that a lot of people will enjoy, but unless played in a casual setting, that a lot of people won’t love.

My Grade: B
Casual Grade: A
Gamer Grade: C-

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Downforce

Downforce is a racing and bidding game where players are bidding for ownership of cars, and then betting on those cars, or any of the cars to win the race. The game has three different points as the cars move along the track where players bet.

Cars move around the track as players play down cards in turn order. Each card will have the cars moving some amount, and it might not just be your car that moves. A card might move the blue, green, and red cars, 4, 2, and 1 spaces respectively in that order. The trick is that the track can bottle neck in some places, and cars can’t go through other cars, so the order cars moves matters, either to block some cars or to get them through.

The winner is the player who has the most money at the end of the race. You lose money for how much you paid for your cars. You get money if they place and for your bets. We had people in the negatives in the first game and in the second game someone had $28 million. So massive range in scores.

What Doesn’t Work?

I like this game, let’s start with that, but I think out of the base box there is one thing that doesn’t work too well. And that is the car powers. The car powers are cool and something to keep track of. So players forgot them. But the issue I have with them is less remembering them more so the fact that there are six of them and six cars. That means that every power is going to get used. I want more powers, I want there to be eight to ten in the base box. If you use all, you can wait to bid on your favorite power. With ten, there would be question to which would show up.

What Works

This is a very light and fast game. I know there are bigger ones out there, but I like that this is a racing game that wants to feel like a race. A lot of racing games give you moments of adrenaline rush but this one, everything that happens matters and is fun to play around with. So I could see pulling this out, auctioning off the cars and then doing a few races, almost NASCAR style, see who wins the most money but also who does best overall in the races in an evening.

I also really like the card play in this game. The fact that you do every movement on the cards is great. And they have to go in a certain order makes it a puzzle. There are cards that only move one car 5, or the special card that allows for a movement of 8. But then there are cards that move all six cars from six spots down to one spot. So you can create traffic jams if the order is right.

I also really like the powers in the game. I just said that they didn’t work for me, but really, it is just the number of them that doesn’t work. What I want is more of them. So I will probably get the expansions, if they add them, but also for the added in tracks. But something that makes you feel unique is great.

Who Is Downforce For?

Honestly, this is a game for everyone. The game play is simple and fast. People who don’t get gaming will likely get this. The trickiest thing to understand is that you don’t only think about your own cars. In fact, I rarely bid on my own cars. But even when you are done racing, you still care about all the cars on the board. So this is just a great game in my opinion for families, or as a filler for gamers.

In fact, I think the idea of turning it into a cup, or series, is great for gamers. Add some more to the game, play on all the tracks and just enjoy it. It falls into that category of with Formula D and Pitchcar where since they are racing games, might as well do them a bunch. But Downforce is the most accessible of all of them because Formula D adds in more to keep track of Pitchcar is dexterity.

Final Thoughts

This is such a fun game and I had such a fun time playing it. I am going to be getting the expansions, I just want more maps and more fun for this game. I don’t think you need more maps, but I want to do a 6 race series just because that’s going to be fun. And really, my negative item for this game is barely a negative. It’s just, like I said, I want more. I wouldn’t even mind if the different color cars had a special ability, so a car ability and a driver ability or something like that, though, that might make the game more complex than it should be.

Last thing I’ll say is that Downforce isn’t so much a racing game as a betting game. Or maybe more it’s equal racing and bidding. And the bidding, especially early on is just luck. But maybe there is more than luck to what you are doing.

My Grade: A
Gamer Grade: C
Casual Grade: B+

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Pros

• Proven game
• Proven company
• More content not complexity

Cons

• Limited Kickstarter exclusivity

The Page

Mythic games is a proven company and they know how to make a good Kickstarter page. I have a few games by them, Riechbusters and Super Fantasy Brawl thus far, and eventually Hel: The Last Saga and Time of Legends: Joan of Arc will be coming in. They also put out Solomon Kane which is fulfilling now which I would love to back sometime. I hope that Mythic Games will do a 1.5 version of that, and they tend to be pretty good about offering their games again on Kickstarter.

But back to the page itself. I think it’s a solid page. They do a great job of laying out what all the levels are, but unfortunately what the original game was, that part is a bit hidden. It feels like the page is made for the second time backers, which I think is the case. But if I were a new backer or someone who didn’t know about the game, it is obvious that this is an expansion, but how does the game work. Thankfully, there is a ton of content on it, but it’s not as easy or obvious to find. The fans of the game are going to find this page and you don’t need to sell them on backing, just make it obvious what they need to back. The new people, they need to make it more obvious what the game is.

The Game

Now, I’ll be talking more about the game itself in a post later today. Super Fantasy Brawl in a nutshell is an arena battle game where you are trying to knock down your opponents characters for points or complete objectives. The first person to five points wins. You do all of this through three activations per turn which can be basic actions or card actions. Ideally you want to use only card actions because they are better.

The expansion, what does it add. It adds in more characters that you can play. I really have liked my three play throughs of the base game, which all happened yesterday. And I think with the 12 characters that I have in my original game, that is a lot. However, would it be fun to have more? I think so. These looks interesting and unique characters, which is something that the original has as well. It could have been just standard fantasy characters, but Mythic did a good job of creating really interesting groups of three characters.

Back or Brick

So, I won’t leave any suspense, this is a Back for me. I think that these new characters are going to be great for this game. This is one of those games that I can imagine doing a tournament for, and I know that Mythic has already done that. But more characters, more things going on, and it’s not that expensive for 9 new heroes and all their cards plus a few other things. The only thing I wish that they’d offered was an at cost or just shipping cost only improvement for their horribly done storage solution for the big box from the original Kickstarter.

How about for you, is this game a back or a brick?

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