Cyclades was one of my favorite new games in 2010, but it has not made it to the gaming table too often since then for various reasons. Perhaps the mix of expansion modules contained within Cyclades: Hades can bring it back a little more often? Three new additions and one optional rules modification flesh out the mythology of the game. Players can use as many of these as they wish, perhaps adding one at a time to get used to them, although adding everything is probably the way to go. READ MORE
Wizards of the Coast (a subsidiary of Hasbro since 1999) is best known for their collectible card game phenomenon Magic: the Gathering, now approaching its 20th anniversary, but they are also the current publishers of the nearly 40-year-old Dungeons & Dragons RPG (since WotC purchased TSR in 1997). In the past, they have branched off into more traditional board games, previously under their Avalon Hill brand name (such as RoboRally, Vegas Showdown and others), although that brand has been essentially retired for some time now. READ MORE
In Greater Than Games’s Sentinels of the Multiverse, not only did many of the heroes (and villains) bear a resemblance to popular comic book characters, but the environments did as well. The base set gave us The Wraith, a female Batman equivalent without the childhood trauma, but the only urban city environment, Megalopolis, felt more like Superman’s (or in the case of Sentinels, Legacy’s) Metropolis than the game’s Gotham City. That particular location, Rook City (dubbed “Crook City” by some graffiti on the back of its cards), would be found in— and serve as the title for— the first expansion for Sentinels. It is every bit as dark and dangerous as its inspiration, and it is not alone in that respect. READ MORE
Previously in GU, I discussed Power Grid, a game that I respect but hate playing. For me, the game simply requires too much work; every move has to be carefully evaluated to the point of encouraging analysis paralysis, and the return in fun for the effort invested is just not there. If someone could take the basic mechanics of Power Grid and streamline it a bit, I’d probably like that game very much. Amazingly, this is exactly what Power Grid designer Friedemann Friese has done with Power Grid: The First Sparks. READ MORE
Last year I covered Factory Fun, a puzzle-style game that forced players to connect pieces drawn from a central pool. Mondo, designed by Michael Schacht ( Zooloretto, Web of Power/China) and published by Z-Man Games, takes that same style of gameplay and removes the round-based structure and math to create a simpler, more frantic experience. Mondo is also incredibly quick to play, with a full three-round game taking less than half an hour. READ MORE
