Board Game Quest News, Tips, Tricks, Ideas

We review Smug Owls, a word based party game designed by Runaway Parade Games. In Smug Owls, players are coming up with snappy answers to questions in the hopes of scoring the most points .

Back in 2020, publisher Gale Force 9 released a fun combat game called Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps. Ultra wordy title aside, I really enjoyed this game even with some ambiguous rules that needed clarification. But as a coop game that tries to recreate the experience from the movie, it succeeds in spades.

We review Overboss: Deul, a two palyer game from Brotherwise Games. Overboss: Duel takes the tile laying game play from Overboss and converts it to a two-player experience.

At Gen Con this year, veteran family game publisher HABA Games released its newest offering Capt’n Pepe: Treasure Ahoy. While the game comes in the standard Haba box, what’s instead is anything but.

We review the Resident Evil board game from Steamforged Games. Resident Evil is a adaptation of the classic video game and brings this horror experience to your tabletop.

We review Sushi Go Spin Some for Dim Sum, a family weight game published by Gamewright Games. In Sushi Go Spin Some for Dim Sum, players are drafting sushi tiles hoping to score the most points.

November is here and on rolls the gaming. The elves here at BGQ are currently working on our holiday gift guide, so keep an eye out for that coming up in the coming weeks. In the mean time, on to the campaigns!

We review Fozzy Football, a dexterity board game that combines american football and shuffleboard. In Fozzy Football, players are trying to score the most points by sliding a puck across the table.

We review Veiled Fate, a hidden role game published by IV Studios. In Veiled Fate, players are trying to advance the cause of their secret demigod among all others.

We review Sunny Day Sardines, a card drafting and set collection game published by 25th Century Games. In Sunny Day Sardines, players are drafting fish cards trying to fill orders as quickly as possible.

Many board gamers are shallow. All they care about is how things look. It’s not what’s on the inside that matters (unless you’re talking components and then we’re back to high snobbery with supreme deluxe big box editions).

October is just about over with only a couple of days left. In fact, tomorrow is Halloween, so hopefully you have your costume all ready and some scary themed board games to play. In the mean time, let’s get on to the campaigns!

We review Horrified: Greek Monsters, the third iteration in the Horrified series from Ravensburger. Horrified: Greek Monsters adds some new twists to the already popular Horrified gameplay.

We review Scope U-Boot, a 2-player hidden movement, asymmetrical game pits an Allied convoy against a German wolf pack both trying to sink their opponent’s vessels and claim victory.

“Mom! Dad keeps putting almonds on my chocolate!” my tree nut-allergic son whined.

We review The Princes of Florence, a tile laying and auction game published by WizKids Games. In The Princes of Florence, players are competing to earn the most victory points over the game's seven rounds.

October is almost in the books and the campaigns roll on. Hopefully, you find something this week that catches your eye. And if you are a fan of the engine-building game Flamecraft, the be sure to enter our giveaway for a Flamecraft promo card!

We review Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone, a great looking skirmish game published by Monster Fight Club. In Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone, players fighting on the streets of Night city.

We review Forbidden Jungle the fourth game in the Forbidden series from Gamewright Games. Forbidden Jungle tasks players to work together to try and escape the jungle.

We review SiliconVania, a tile laying and auction game published by WizKids Games. In SiliconVania, Each player is an applicant for the City Planner position for Transylvania and the player that turns the city into the world's newest tech haven wins the job (and the game).

We review Disney Lorcana, a new trading card game published by Ravensburger. In Lorcana, players are racing to take their deck and be the first to 20 lore points.

October marches on and so do the Kickstarter campaigns. This week we’ve got a solid batch of campaigns for you to check out from small travel games to euro games. And if you are a fan of the engine building game Flamecraft, the be sure to enter our giveaway for a Flamecraft promo card!

We review Splito, a quick playing card game published by 25th Century Games. In Splito, you are building tableaus with each of your neighbors trying to score the most points.

As noted in our mid-year roundup article, I’ve been having a lot of fun playing Battletech recently. I got hooked on it when I tried out the old video game, which sent me spiraling down the rabbit hole. Since then, I’ve grabbed a ton of Inner Sphere mechs, and have often played games of both Classic Battletech and Alpha Strike when I’m looking for a quicker game. My kids, who are too young to play, have actually been demanding to try, so I even came up with basic rules that my five year olds can handle that I’ve called My ‘lil Battletech (spoiler alert, they love it).

We review Lord of the Rings Adventure to Mount Doom, a cooperative dice rolling board game published by Kosmos. In Lord of the Rings Adventure to Mount Doom, you are trying to help the fellowship destroy the ring by using dice results each round.

We reivew Spy X Family, a card game based on the tv show of the same name. Spy X Family is a Love Letter style game where players are secretly trying to get the three main cards in their hand.

If you haven’t played it before, Flamecraft is a fun little worker placement and set collection game that will have you using dragons to compete for victory points. It’s a light game that’s pretty accessible to just about any type of gamer.

We review the Snap Ship Tactics Starter Set, published by Snap Ships. In Snap Ship Tactics, players build their own customizable ship and then battle in a 1v1 duel and we tell you what it's like.

Warhammer 40K: Introductory Set is an excellent gateway game for new players to follow detailed easy to follow instructions to build, paint, and play to learn basic rules of the Leviathan 10th Edition rule set.

We review Battle Bosses, a light skirmish game published by Kess Co. In Battle Bosses, players have a giant boss miniature that they are using to try and take down their opponent.

Welcome to this week’s batch of Kickstarter campaigns to check out. With the annual Essen game fair in the books, there should be a lot of new games coming down the pipeline in a few months. But until then, we’ve got you covered. Speaking of games, be on the lookout for a new contest this week where we’ll be giving away a sweet promo card for a popular game!

Party guests dressed to the nines circulate around the dinner table. Meaningful glances are traded, rowdy children are scolded, and a spunky corgi winds its way through guest’s feet threatening to upend the decorative plant in the corner. As the photographer for the evening, you puzzle through each of the guest’s requests to plan the group photo at the end of the night. Some only want to be seen near certain people, others only like the lighting in specific spots in the room. Can you please them all before the camera clicks and everyone says “Cheese”?

We review Robotech: Reconstruction, a board game published by Strange Machine Games. Set in the Reconstruction Era of Robotech, you are competing against three other factions to be the first to achieve your unique objective.

October is here and with it comes one of the biggest gaming conventions of the year. The annual Essen Spiel is happening this week in Germany, so be on the lookout for tons of new releases getting ready to hit the pipeline.

We review The Night Hunter, a murdy mystery board game published by University Games. In The Night Hunter, players must work together to figure out who the killer is.

As an avid reader, I was pretty excited to find out about a puzzly, book-themed board game released from Foxmind Games. While there are certainly some great literature-themed games out there (Hardback and Ex Libris) come to mind, most are too difficult for me to play with my young ones.

We review Shapers of Gaia, a world building, resource management game with some engine building elements. Published by WizKids Games, Shapers of Gaia tasks you with rebuilding the world after an apocalypse.

We review Fika, a two player card game published by 25th Century Games. In Fika, players are trying to earn the most points to win a best two out of three round structure.

September is just about in the books and what a busy month it’s been. However, things won’t be slowing down in October as next week is also the annual Essen gaming convention. Are you ready for the deluge of new releases to come from that show? In the meantime, we’ve got a large batch of crowdfunding campaigns for you to check out. Enjoy!

We review Tetrarchia, a small footprint war game published by Draco Ideas. In this cooperative board game, the players are trying to defend rome from the barbairn invasions.

We review Imperial Miners, a quick playing card game published by Portal Games. In Imperial Miners, players are building out their engine over the course of 10 rounds, trying to earn the most points.

We review Mega Man Adventures, a cooperative board game published by Kess Co. In Mega Man Adventures, players are working together to complete the stages of the level and beat the final boss.

At Gen Con this year, the BGQ team met with family game publisher Foxmind Games to see what was new from them this year. One of their more popular lines is Sport Dice, a quick-playing filler game that tries to capture the spirit of various sports.

We review Illimat, a trick taking card game with a storied history. Designed to look like a relic from the past, Illimat takes some familiar game play and breaths some new life into it.

We review Age of Steam, a classic train game designed by Martin Wallace. In Age of Steam, players are trying to earn the most victory points by increasing the value of their railroad empires.

The month rolls on and this week we have a bit of a light week for everyone. Some weeks, there just aren’t a ton of campaings that seem intriguing. Hopefully you still find something that catches your eye.

If you are a gamer of a certain vintage, at some point in your gaming life, you got the scoop on silicone muffin cups as a great way to hold game components. I have a set of 20 or so, in five different colors, and while I have used them to bake muffins, mostly they serve as impromptu game-piece holders.

I’ve been slowly digging my way through the pile of games I got from Gen Con to review this year, and lucky for my kids, a good number of them were family games. They love gaming with me so I’m always looking for something new to introduce them to. After meeting with family game publisher Foxmind, we had a delicious-looking game to try out.

The use of AI art in board games has been a hot topic lately, and for good reason. Its use in commercial work is in both a morally and legally grey area (to be generous). Recently, Kickstarter announced that they weren’t banning products using AI art on their platform, but are requiring creators to disclose when they are being used.

We review Oros, a worker placement and tile laying game published by Lucky Duck Games. In Oros, players are trying to earn the most knowledge points over the course of the game.

We review Hamlet: The Village Building Game from Mighty Boards. In Hamlet, players are building out a communal village with the hope of scoring the most points.

We review Fantasy Realms, a combo card playing board game published by WizKids Games. In Fantasy Realms, players are trying to create the highest scoring hand over the course of the game.

September rolls on and this week we have a number of promising-looking campaigns for you to check out. There is quite a diverse group here so hopefully something catches your eye

Maximum Apocalypse Wasted Wilds is a post apocalyptic board game published by Rock Manor Games. In Maximum Apocalypse Wasted Wilds, players are trying to survive in a post apocalyptic wasteland.

We review Ultimate Treehouse, a gateway level game published by Fat Brain Toy Company. In Ultimate Treehouse, players are tryin to earn the most points over the course of the game by building their treehouse.

Last year our reviewer Jacob posted his thoughts of the card-driven war game The Shores of Tripoli. It’s a light war game that claims a 45-60 minute playtime. It also has asymmetrical victory conditions and card-driven gameplay in the vein of Twilight Struggle or Watergate. If you are a fan of those types of games, you should definitely check this one out.

We review Numbsters, a wallet sized game published by Button Shy games. Numbsters is a solo hand management game that will be sure to be a brain burner for those that like thinky games.

September has arrived and summer is just about in the books. We are back inside more often now, so time for more gaming! We also will be having a new board game giveaway this week, so keep an eye out for that one. On to the campaigns.

We review Miller Zoo, a cooperative board game published by Randolph Publishing. In Miller Zoo, players are working together to solve the needs of all the animals in the zoo.

We review Frostpunk: The Board Game, a city building board game published by Glass Canon Unplugged. In Frostpunk: The Board Game, players are trying to guide their group of survivors in a frozen wasteland.

We review The Ming Voyages, a two player war game published by Surprised Stare Games. In The Ming Voyages, the emperor is facing off agains the overlord in a game of treasure and conquest.

We review Teeter Tower, a stacking board game published by Gamewright Games. In Teeter Tower, players are working together to create stacks of dice and cards.

We review Monster Pit, a defense board game published by Elzra Games. In Monster Pit, players are working to stop the monster from destroying the citadel.

We review Expeditions, a new engine building game published by Stonemaier Games. Set in the same world as the hit board game Scythe, Expeditions tasks players with being the first to gain a specific amount of glory.

August is just about in the books and, as summer winds down, it’s a great time to come back in doors for some gaming. This week we have a nice batch of new Kickstarter campaigns for you to check out. Hopefully, you find something here that catches your eye. Enjoy!

Note: This preview uses pre-release components and rules. What you see here may be different from the final, published game. 

One of the great joys of being a parent is crushing my kids at any tabletop game we play. OK, no really, but we do enjoy playing games together. And they are finally getting to the age where we can move past the mindless roll and move or memory games. So when Big Discoveries offered to send over a copy of their latest game to check out, I jumped at the chance. One look at the box and I knew I would have no trouble getting it to the table with my kids.

We review Royal Bastards, a political satire area control game published by Flamestryke Games. Royal Bastards has players competing as bastards vying for royal approval to claim the crown of the land.

We review Deal with the Devil, a hidden identity and economic game published by CGE. Deal with the Devil is a board game for exactly 4 players as the devil will be trying to collect souls while other players try to make the most prosperous kingdom.

Summer is coming to a close and the campaigns have slowed down a bit. Much like in January, August is another slower month of the year. But don’t worry, we found a few hidden gems for you to check out. Enjoy!

We review Motor City, a roll and write board game published by 25th Century Games. In Motor City, players are making muscle cards in a factory.

We review Get On Board, a flip and write board game published by IELLO. In Get On Board, players are trying to make bus line routes to get people where they need to go.

We review Dark Souls: The Board Game – Painted World of Ariamis from Steamforged Games. This is the second attempt by Steamforged Games to fix the Dark Souls board game and we let you know how it well it works.

August rolls on and so do the Kickstarter campaigns. We’ve got a few new games for you to check out this week, so hopefully you find something that catches your eye. And speaking of games, if you missed it last week we posted our Gen Con wrap-up, be sure to check out the best games of the convention.

We review Tussie Mussie, a 18-card game published by Button Shy Games. In Tussie Mussie, players are trying to score the most points by arranging the flowers that are given to them.

We review Marvel Dagger, a cooperative "Save the world" type board game published by Fantasy Flight Games. In Marvel Dagger, players are working together to stop one of the game's four villains.

Gen Con 2023 is in the books and what a convention it was. Over 70,000 attendees descended upon Indianapolis for the annual “Best Four Days of Gaming”. A large portion of the BGQ crew was on site for the convention and we’ve pulled out some of our highlights of the show.

We review Moku Tower, a dexterity board game published by Mokumo. In Moku Tower, players are trying to quickly stack rocks of wood into a single tower.

At Gen Con this year, the biggest hype came from the Ravensburger booth. Each day, massive lines would queue up to get the first crack at buying the pre-release of Disney Lorcana. It’s a collectible card game (CCG) in the same vein as Magic: The Gathering or Pokémon. After some madness the first day (which involved people getting hurt), Gen Con wisely set up a queueing system starting at 6pm the night before (kudos to those dedicated fans that waited in line 14 hours to buy a game). While there was absolutely no way I’d wait in that kind of line, I did still get a chance to check out Lorcana.

Gen Con is in the books and what a convention it was. The attendance numbers haven’t been released yet, but I’m guessing it might be record breaking numbers. The BGQ crew is busily working on our convention recap, so keep an eye out for that this week. In the meantime, on to the campaigns!