Kyle Kyra (they/them) writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They live in a sleepy Nebraska town. Yes, corn lives outside their back door. They hold a BFA in creative writing from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and their work has appeared in Menacing Hedge, Spank the Carp, Danse Macabre, The Door is a Jar, The Collidescope, and other journals and anthologies.
Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another board game design brain dump. I’m trying to get back on track with these, and since I’m rusty at writing a game design brain dump, I’ll be jumping topics a bit with today’s post. We’ll begin with Monster Chef. Yes! I’ve kicked around Dungeon Chef and Dungeon Gourmet for this card game, but I Monster Chef fits. Plus, I love this simple logo for Monster Chef.
So Cute! Anyway, several game design brain dumps ago, I mentioned a card-drafting game based on the anime, Delicious in Dungeon. Monster Chef is that game. I just cut the card-drafting aspect of the game, and that led me to board game development. If board game design is like writing a story, board game development is editing that story. So, today’s game design brain dump leans into a very important aspect of design: development.
Sure, some people make a living editing and don’t write as much original material. The same can be said of board game developers. Plenty of developers can make a living (or at least some extra spending cash) by developing other designers’ work. But like writing, a board game’s first developer will be its designer. No matter how much I’d love to hand off Monster Chef to a developer and move on to my next game, I need to find a happy place for Monster Chef. And like writing, often game designers need to “kill their darlings.”
I love card-drafting games. Heck, Monster Chef began as Food Court Hustle, which had an interesting–to me at least–twist of dual-purpose cards. Players would play a card for one effect and discard a different card for another effect, before passing their hands to the next player. With Monster Chef, I took the concept further by allowing players to draw cards into the hands they inherited from other players, giving players more control over the chaos caused by card-drafting. Despite all these factors to “solve” my perceived problem with the card-drafting games, I learned card-drafting was holding back Monster Chef. Card-drafting breeds upheaval. Monster Chef needed stability.
The game wanted to use hand management (players don’t change hands and keep the ones they have dealt to them) instead of card-drafting (in this case, closed card-drafting). Players would often forget to pass their hands after their turns. The physical act of drafting cards meant that players couldn’t preplan their following turns, which slowed gameplay. Some of the choices felt as if they lacked consequences because you didn’t know what your hand would eventually look like, so one wouldn’t care what remained in their hands. And Monster Chef had plenty of other random elements (like not knowing which recipes would get drawn for the display). Hand management affords more control.
With hand management, I added card draw to the Monster Chef’s design space. The game has a faster run time. Players can cycle through the draw decks (dungeon floors) more quickly. And I was able to get rid of the cards few players used, except in edge cases. I may have eliminated most edge cases, which are mechanisms that either have limited viability or can only be used in specific situations. All of Monster Chef’s main actions have obvious usefulness. It depends on how and when players use these actions. That makes for a better game.
I’ll definitely come up with a card-drafting game in the future. I love these types of games. But I must “kill that darling.” Doing so made Monster Chef a better game.
Here’s where I bounce. I’m giving a brief update on the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game module I’m writing for Comic-Con: Nebraska (CCN). I didn’t need to create my own module. Just trying out a few things. Running the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game at last month’s Aftershock event got me thinking that the game could be geared for true RPG beginners. Some of my players had never played a tabletop role-playing game before, or they had played once or twice. While the Marvel Rivals Timestream Adventure is great for a one-shot to introduce new players to the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game, it could do more to welcome truly new role-playing game players.
I was reminded of Legend of the Five Rings. When I ran a game for younger players (who had never played an RPG before) with that game, I resurrected the Rokugan Tournaments (like an Olympic Games for samurai) mentioned in the game’s lore. I had players participate in non-combat events, learning how checks worked in a pseudo-video game tutorial manner, and of course, something fishy was going on with the tournament. Once players discovered the threat, a battle occurred, but this only happened after players knew their characters and how the game worked. I want to do the same for the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game.
So, I chose Mojo and his Mojoverse. X-Men ’97 Season Two will begin releasing soon, so gamers may be familiar with Mojo by the middle of August (in time for CCN). Players will participate in Mojo’s reality TV show-like events (similar to the Legend of the Five Rings tournament), and I can tailor the game to a two-hour window. Perfect for a Comic-Con. If I get players for the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game at CCN, most likely, they will have limited (if any) experience with tabletop role-playing games. Who knows? A quick session with a tutorial may get more potential players interested in the game.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress. Hopefully, I will have finished the module before CCN. I’ll also be working for Extra Life, so if you’re in the area, stop by and say hello.
That’s all I have for today’s game design brain dump. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today, our writers share what they’ve been playing over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been playing. because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll start things off by sharing what I’ve been playing over the past month.
Kyra’s Board Games
We played the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game during the May Aftershock event. It went well, well enough for me to consider writing a simple module (for beginners). Hopefully, the module will be tested and ready by Comic-Con Nebraska in mid-August. I like there’s another purpose for my Marvel United minis. I’ve totally used them during this four-hour event. Four hours? Phew! The simple module I’m planning for Comic-Con Nebraska should last only two hours. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by.
We’ve covered Flamecraft a handful of times in the past (here’s our review of the original Flamecraft). Flamecraft Duals is a completely different game, and somehow, it manages to capture the original’s charm and vibe. For the most part, the dragon abilities follow the original game’s abilities. Toast dragons allow players to play another dragon; potion dragons swap dragons. Where it makes sense for a dragon to have a similar power, Flamecraft Duals gives the dragon that power. I love how Flamecraft Duals’s quick setup and look. Whether you own the standard or deluxe version of the game, it looks amazing on the table. And I love tokens.
Flamecraft will always be one of my go-to starter games, but Flamecraft Duals is easier to get to the table, it doesn’t take as long to play, and the game plays more like an abstract puzzle than the sometimes cutthroat original. I’ve found myself playing a lot more Flamecraft Duals. I have no regrets.
I’ve played a ton of solo Vantage. This board game may look ostentatious for a solo experience, but believe me, I prefer playing Vantage with fewer players. Vantage’s solo version plays no differently from the multiplayer version. This allows me to keep the rules fresh in my head for whenever I play the game with others. Speaking of playing Vantage with others, this board game reminded me of how much fun role-playing games can be. Players begin the game at various locations. They work together to accomplish a goal (mission). While I’ve heard the phrase “RPG in a box” to describe multiple board games in the past, Vantage may have come the closest.
During our multiplayer plays of Vantage, I served as the narrator, meaning I kept the box in order (something one player will need to do even if they decide to play), and I read all the storybook entries. Yes! Vantage has multiple storybooks for each action one can take at a Location card. Vantage can be fun. But I will advise that a smaller player counter is best. Turns can last three to five minutes. That’s not too long for a three-to-four player game, but if Vantage sees a max player count of six, players could wait a good twenty minutes or more for their turns. Every gamer at the table must be engaged in the story, and it doesn’t hurt if the players at the table love playing tabletop RPGs.
Kyra’s Video Games
I mentioned playing Balatroduring October 2025’s Whatcha Playing. I’ve played the game on and off for the past several months, and just finished a run this past month. Woo hoo! Better late than never. Balatro is an excellent roguelite card battler. It takes a while to find the right combination of deck, joker, and chip abilities to finish a run. That or I’m just bad at the game. Balatro may have too many variables for winning to be a frequent occurrence. That makes finally winning a Balatro run all the more satisfying. I may not log onto the game for a while. Gotta soak in the winning vibes.
Honestly, I haven’t played too many video games this past month. I’ve been keeping up with my dailies in Honkai: Starrail and Apex Legends, but outside of that, I’ve been playing predominantly board games. Perhaps Skye has some cool video games they’ve been playing.
Skye’s Board Game
In Planet, players create a planet of their own that meets certain biome criteria to earn points, claim species, and ultimately win. While it’s a simple concept, it works especially well when paired with its tactile “game board,” which is a dodecahedron you place biome tiles. The biggest joy of Planet for me was the interactive game pieces, but I’ll admit that they weren’t perfect. Sometimes the tiles could slip off the planet’s faces if nudged incorrectly, which could be frustrating at times, but I suppose that is expected when creating a game like this. Overall, I’d say Planet was a calm and enjoyable experience.
On Tour is another simplistic concept with straightforward mechanics made into a fun yet devastating experience. How it works is that you’re a band going on tour either in the United States or Europe (in the base game). You write numbers on your board by rolling two d10’s to create a route, which you follow by counting from the smallest numbered location to the highest numbered location you can. In the end, you’ll hopefully end up with a long continuous route that gets you a lot of points, but it never works out for me. I’mma be real, I suck at On Tour. At this point, part of the fun for me is finding out new ways I’m going to screw myself over with my terrible sense of foresight.
Similar to Planet, Cascadia is a game that focuses on building ecosystems for the sake of earning points. The main difference is that Cascadia places a larger emphasis on biodiversity. While you can still earn points in Cascadia by manipulating your biomes well, you primarily earn points by picking the best animals to place on which biome tiles. Not to mention, each animal in Cascadia earns you points in its own unique way. When I played Cascadia last, I merely played the base game, but there are several expansions and alternative play methods which can really spice up the experience for seasoned players.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s all our writers have for what they’ve been playing over the past month. Let us know what you’ve been playing in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and I’m getting excited for the upcoming Supergirl film. How about you? Let’s get ready for the DCU’s next entry at the end of the month, shall we? We know Lobo will feature in the movie. Supergirl and Lobo cross paths often enough, but I wouldn’t consider Lobo a Supergirl villain. Who are Supergirl’s top villains? Kara Zor-El and Kal-El share a lot of enemies. We’ll do our best to avoid a Top 5 Supergirl Villain list that looks too much like a Top 5 Superman Villain list. Besides, Geekly already did a list for Superman.So, who made the list of Top 5 Supergirl Villains?
Honorable Mention: Anti-Monitor
Anti-Monitor made his debut during the DC Comics Crossover Event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Famously, Superman held a deceased Supergirl in his arms. DC Comics made it clear that no character was safe. Heck, Supergirl would stay dead and buried for a couple of decades. No one ever stays dead for long in comics, but Supergirl was one of the ones that stuck around longer than fans expected. And yet, Anti-Monitor doesn’t quite make this list. We’re using the same logic as the Top 5 Superman Villains list. Darkseid took a lower spot on Supes’s list because he’s more of a universal threat. Anti-Monitor is that and then some. And while Doomsday went on to become a thorn in Superman’s side decades after Superman’s death, Supergirl has seldom encountered Anti-Monitor. He still gets a mention. How could he not? Even though he seldom graces the pages of Supergirl comics, Anti-Monitor was at the heart of one of DC Comics’–and Supergirl’s–iconic moments.
5: Reign
Reign only knows her name, the fact that she’s a Worldkiller, has incredible combat skills (especially swords), and Krypton has something to do with her past. This is a good set-up. Reign holds Kryptonians–and Supergirl in particular–in contempt. Reign may be one of the newer villains on this list, but she plays well against Kara Zor-El. The two have clashed a handful of times over the past decade and a half after Reign’s introduction. Reign made such an impression that she featured on the Supergirl CW show. Is it a matter of time before we see Reign on the big screen?
4: Bizarro Girl
Bizarro didn’t quite make our Superman’s Top 5 Villain List, but that was largely because he was the opposite of Superman. Supergirl has a Bizarro version, too. But Bizarro Girl differs from the original Bizarro. Bizarro Girl is a reflection of Kara Zor-El. I hope to see Bizarro Girl in the upcoming Supergirl movie–she works well in stories about self-acceptance–but I’m also okay waiting. Supergirl suffers from the loss of Krypton. Unlike her cousin, Supergirl witnessed Krypton’s downfall. Similarly, Bizarro Girl wasn’t present when the Godship (insectoid world-eaters) attacked Bizarro World. With her people believing she abandoned them, Bizarro Girl went into isolation. Her journey mirrors Supergirl’s. And it’s always fun to have some Bizarro comedy thrown in for good measure.
3: Silver Banshee
I knew Silver Banshee would make this list but had no idea where she fits. Three. The middle? Does that sound good? Silver Banshee has a couple of things going against her on this list: she started as a Superman villain, and she often flips sides and fights alongside Supergirl. Despite beginning as a Superman villain, Silver Banshee quickly became an iconic Supergirl villain. And even though she may be picking up Kara Zor-El’s laundry at the moment (Is Silver Banshee still a friendly?), she’s had several iconic fights against Supergirl in the past. One can’t tell Supergirl’s story without Silver Banshee, but she just misses out on the top two spots because she goes the way of Catwoman. Is she friend or foe? Who knows. But Silver Banshee is a classic Supergirl character.
2: H’el
While H’el could work–and occasionally serves–as a Superman villain, he works best as a Supergirl villain. This Kryptonian clone wants to reconstitute Krypton at Earth’s expense. We’ve seen this storyline work with Superman and General Zod, but H’el’s relationship with Kara Zor-El works even better. Superman views Earth as home. Supergirl still views Krypton as home. H’el’s pitch of a New Krypton tempts Supergirl into betraying her adoptive homeland. It also doesn’t hurt that Supergirl’s first encounter with H’el was him rescuing her. The two have a bond, and Supergirl can’t fully see him as a villain, which makes H’el that much more of an effective Supergirl villain. H’el’s like a toxic boyfriend. Supergirl defends him while he’s ripping the Superman family a new one. Eventually, H’el finds that one line Supergirl can’t ignore, and she springs into action.
1: Reactron
Reactron controls radiation. That makes him a formidable foe. But Reactron can manipulate radiation in any form, including kryptonite. That makes Reactron deadly to Supergirl. In fact, when Supergirl got hit with Scarecrow’s fear toxin, Reactron was who she saw. I don’t think we need more of a case for Reactron being atop a top Supergirl villains list than that, but let’s continue. Unlike some other villains on this list, Reactron was created to be a Supergirl villain. He destroyed New Krypton and kidnapped Kara Zor-El’s mother. Oh, and he killed Kara’s father, Zor-El. No wonder Reactron haunts Supergirl’s nightmares.
I can’t wait to see who the DCU casts as Reactron and how the film series plans to use him. Looking through this list of villains, Supergirl’s rogues are varied. The DCU has a blank canvas for this character. Supergirl has plenty of source material. I can’t wait to see some engaging Supergirl stories. If I had to guess, Supergirl won’t include Reactron. Maybe, he’ll get a mention. Reactron demands plenty of screen time.
That’s our list for the Top 5 Supergirl Villains. Who would you add or take away? Would you shuffle the order? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. We have a few new releases for board games and video games. We’ll get to them soon, but first, let’s discuss this week’s developing news. Dungeons & Dragons abandons its old model for a subscription model. Books may be a thing of the past. That may sound like some Fahrenheit 451-level postapocalyptic nonsense, but Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks has all but said the core D&D books will be nothing but a collector’s item. Most–if not all–future Dungeons & Dragons updates and content will only be available through D&D Beyond and a subscription. Buckle up, tabletop role-playing game players, because we may have entered an era where gamers won’t own anything. They’ll rent it through subscriptions. Because we all love subscriptions, especially CEOs like Chris Cocks.
Dungeons & Dragons Is Now a Subscription Service
That headline goes a little hard, but only a little. As of late April 2026 (last month), Wizards of the Coast Developers (primarily for Magic: Arena) formed a union with demands that must have been met by the beginning of this month, May 1, 2026. The union asked for 1) recognition by management, 2) no further layoffs (like what happened to D&D Sigil), 3) protection against AI-generated products, and 4) fair wages and remote work opportunities. Evidently, Hasbro was forcing its Magic: Arena employees to sleep at their desks; no home for you.
The deadline has passed without management agreeing to anything, so the employees (only for Magic: Arena) have signed a secret ballot through the Communications Workers of America Union (CWA) to unionize. Wizards of the Coast insists it’s progressive, but rejects a workers’ union. Does this make them evil? Not necessarily. They want to make money. Dungeons & Dragons employees are watching this situation carefully because they may be next. Heck, this already happened to them with D&D Sigil. And D&D employees are next. With Sigil gone, Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has pivoted to making D&D Beyond its cash cow. WotC had intended D&D Sigil to be THE way gamers interacted with the game. With enough buy-in from consumers with D&D Beyond, it became an easier sell with customers.
As I said in the opening, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks expects Dungeons & Dragons core books to be a thing of the past or, at best, coffee table books for collectors. Like the cancelled D&D Sigil, Cocks wants players to play Dungeons & Dragons exclusively on D&D Beyond through a subscription model, which means you don’t own any of the content. You’re renting the content. While the app/website is free to use with limitations, paying $2.99/month for a Hero Tier subscription expands the number of characters you can build and provides early access to digital versions of the books. The $5.99/month Master Tier also “allows” the subscriber to add homebrew content to the system and share their books with players. Paid users will now get access to a Subscriber Content Library that expands every week.
These D&D weekly drops have already begun. These D&D “drops” are only available on D&D Beyond. Let me take a moment and mention the term “drop.” Drop is a live-service video game term. Hasbro/WotC aren’t trying to hide their inspiration. From what I’ve read of this early content, the D&D Beyond drops sound like they could’ve been generated using AI, which brings us back to the proposed Magic: Arena union. This union may need to be extended to all WotC employees. If D&D Beyond expects to have weekly “drops,” larger first-of-the-month “drops,” and themed content every couple of months like the upcoming Ravenloft “drops,” D&D Beyond employees could be overworked (which could also explain less-than-inspired “drops” so far on the platform) or you’ll need to use AI-generated tools.
Coincidentally, there’s a chat option with D&D Beyond that will alter future D&D “drops.” Sounds like it could be a chatbot. I don’t know. I could just be ranting. At this point, I am just ranting. Typically, subscription services better serve companies, not the consumers. Subscriptions breed obligations; I need to use my subscription, or else I’m wasting it. Sometimes, consumers forget when they have subscriptions. That’s why Rocket Money exists. It flags subscriptions you’re not using. And the advent of TTRPG subscriptions will mean fewer TTRPG players will try other games. Again, subscribers will feel the need to play the games they are subscribed to. Fewer TTRPG players will venture beyond D&D to games like Dungeon Crawl Classics or Pathfinder or Draw Steel or even World of Darkness.
TTRPGs with a subscription model are on the rise. The new TTRPG based on the popular Dungeon Crawler Carl series–this will make the DCC acronym confusing because Dungeon Crawl Classics already exists–offers a Season Pass. What? If D&D is successful with its subscription model, other TTRPGs will follow. Again, I don’t blame these companies for doing this. The subscription model works for monthly income. So many players are subscribed; multiply that number by their subscription cost, and you receive a steady income.
But I like owning content. If players cancel their D&D Beyond subscription, they lose everything in their account. All of those characters you could save on the cloud are gone. And unions are a good thing. Perhaps if the D&D Beyond team had more time, benefits, and money, they could’ve come up with better content than what the site has available so far. To be fair, they could be waiting to drop meatier content (that will only be available on D&D Beyond) during next month’s Ravenloft release. There must be a medium where all parties win. The companies, employees, and gamers alike.
Earthborne Trailblazer Launches on KickStarter
Earthborne Trailblazer is an open-world, co-operative board game set in the wilderness of the far future. You and up to 4 friends take on the role of Rangers who have long acted as the sworn protectors of a small mountain valley nestled high in the Rocky Mountains. Now, you are striking out beyond the bounds of your Valley, seeking out new trails and new peoples and bringing the aid of the Rangers far out into the world.
Earthborne Trailblazer looks amazing. That makes sense because publisher Earthborne Games specializes in breathtaking board games. I also like how the company is committed to environmental sustainability. Getting back to Earthborne Trailblazer, each turn begins with an event card. These cards can represent the weather, progress the narrative, or cause crises. Each player then takes a turn, where they 1) Prepare, 2) Explore, and 3) Travel. Pretty standard actions for a cooperative game set in a fantasy-like world. I like how the event cards can evolve the world around you and/or progress the story. Pledges range from $80 to $270. If you’re interested in Earthborne Trailblazer, check out its KickStarter page.
The Last Meow: Kraken’s Vengeance Launches on KickStarter
The final showdown is upon us…The Last Meow. The Kraken has risen once more for vengeance, but this time, the cannons are loaded, and the crew is ready. The Last Meow is a three-lane, round-based strategy game where two players clash in an epic test of power, wits, and survival. Each round, both players draw from their own decks and secretly place three cards onto the board before revealing everything at once and resolving the chaos lane by lane. Can you obliterate your opponent’s nine health before they do the same to you?
I like The Last Meow’s look. The game’s concept sounds interesting. I wonder if this is a take on the Schotten Totten or Battleline three-lane combat system. Those games are well-received. Cards range from defense, action, power, and healing. We don’t have much information on how long The Last Meow will take to play, but two-player games don’t tend to take that long, and the game looks adorable. Pledges range from $45 to $139. If you’re interested in The Last Meow, check out its KickStarter page.
Cryptkins: On the Loose! Launches on KickStarter
Can you corral the chaotic creatures slipping into our world? In Cryptkins: On the Loose!–the first board game set in the world of Cryptkins–each player takes on the role of an everyday kid, each bringing their own unique ability to the team. Will you figure out how to handle each Cryptkin’s unpredictable twist before they wreak havoc?
Cryptkins: On the Loose! sounds like a hoot. Players will research the cryptkins, seeing how each one will behave. They may act unpredictably at first, but over time, you can learn their patterns so you can better capture them. On a turn, players may take two of any of these actions: move, use movement card ability, play an action card, trade cards (with another player, use your character ability, or capture.
I’ve looked a few times and wasn’t able to see if Cryptkins: On the Loose! is a competitive or cooperative game. It’s clearly aimed at kids and families. Most of the page is dedicated to how adorable each Cryptkin is and how you can collect each cryptkin vinyl figure, which serve as game pieces for Cryptkins: On the Loose! I also saw plush figures for sale as well as additional vinyl figures to purchase. Extra bits (not used for playing a game) have become a trend for board game KickStarter campaigns. I’m tempted to pick up the Hippocamp and the Jackalope. Pledges range from $40 to $195. If you’re interested in Cryptkins: On the Loose!, check out its KickStarter page.
Menu del dia Launches on GameFound
Menú del Día is a solo or two-player cooperative game where you must survive the rush of the service and help your restaurant progress day after day. The game features a short campaign where new scenarios and game modes are gradually unlocked. In each round, both problems and customers appear in equal measure, increasing the challenge. During your turn, you can serve customers, collect payments, solve issues, load the dishwasher, make coffee, and retrieve ingredients—all in order to complete the objective of each scenario.
Thank you for the description, Caravan Games. We didn’t have as many board game publishers provide descriptions this week. Anyway, I like Menu del dia’s menu. I’m a sucker for food-themed games. While I don’t know how the game plays exactly, it looks as if it has an easy-to-learn ruleset, adds enough variety to keep gameplay fresh, and may have a descent amount of strategy. With card games like this, what players draw during their turns will affect gameplay. The artwork looks great, and I can’t wait to check out the game after it launches. If you’re interested in Menu del dia, check out its GameFound page.
Dribble ‘n’ Dice Launches on GameFound
Dribble’n’Dice is a tactical football board game for two players. Each coach controls a team of eleven players and tries to outplay the opponent through positioning, timing and smart decisions. Players move across the pitch, pass, tackle and shoot, while dice and action cards create tension and risk. The game focuses on space control, tactical choices and momentum.
I grew up playing soccer–or football–and haven’t played in years. Dribble ‘n’ Dice has me interested in the sport again. I may find a rec league. Right. I was talking about Dribble ‘n’ Dice. The game looks cute. I get a strong Electronic Football (American Rules) meets 1st and Goal with the figurines and action card/dice system. I’m watching this campaign. Dribble ‘n’ Dice looks to merge tactical goodness with a game that can get people into the beautiful game. If you’re interested in Dribble ‘n’ Dice, check out its GameFound page.
Stonemachia Releases
Fight, Zefiro! Arm yourself with the power of chess and explore Medhelan, a land haunted by the Plague of Angels, in a dark action-adventure with soulslike elements. Will you be able to return to Heaven?
Make no mistake. Chess inspired Stonemachia. The image above (of a knight in Chess) is not just for show. Stonemachia combines the gameplay of a Souls-like video game with Chess pieces. The game features beautiful visuals. The idea sounds fun, but according to early reviews, the game has plenty of bugs and technical hiccups. From what I’ve heard, Stonemachia shows plenty of promise. It’ll be one of those games where, if it sounds interesting enough, it may be worth a play. Stonemachia’s world is one worth exploring. This isn’t a generic dark fantasy kingdom. You’ll visit twisted recreations of Italian cathedrals, plazas, bridges, and castles that feel at home in a nightmare.
Stonemachia is one of those titles I’m adding to my various wishlists and waiting for a sale. If you want to try the game for yourself, many platforms offer Stonemachia demos. The game looks amazing. Stonemachia is available on PC.
Yerba Buena Releases
Dive into a surreal 1970s gameworld and save San Francisco from a sinister threat. Play as Barb, and use the Oscillator to capture and reapply the physical traits of objects to solve mind-bending environmental platforming puzzles.
In layperson’s terms, Yerba Buena uses a copy-and-paste game mechanism. Simply copy the desired trait or movement vector of objects around you, and apply them elsewhere to solve mind-bending environmental puzzles. I haven’t been as excited for a quirky puzzle game like Yerba Buena since Katamari Damacy.
Player character Barb lives as an NPC in an abandoned game world. She yearns to become the main character she always wanted to be. I love Yerba Buena’s premise. While I was writing this post, I hadn’t yet tried the Yerba Buena demo. That’s right. We have another video game that offers a demo. I like this trend. Yerba Buena may not be for everyone, but it may scratch a very peculiar itch. And I love it when studios, like Focus Entertainment and Mad About Pandas, take a risk. Yerba Buena is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Mina the Hollower Releases
Take control of Mina, a renowned Hollower hurtled into a desperate mission to rescue a cursed island. Whip foes, burrow through the ground, and explore a pixel-perfect world in Mina the Hollower, a brand new game from the developers who brought you Shovel Knight!
Oh. That’s right. Yacht Club Games (Shovel Knight’s publisher) returns with Mina the Hollower. Even though Mina the Hollower is set in a different world, the game shares Shovel Knight’s sensibilities. Expect to find bizarre NPCs, exotic locales, and a soundtrack that’ll get stuck in your head for hours. Seriously, I clicked on Mina the Hollower’s Steam page, and I had to mute the video that played. No. Not again. But it was too late, I started humming the game’s main theme.
I have yet to play Mina the Hollower, and unlike other video games on this list, it doesn’t offer a free demo. But who are we kidding? If you enjoy Shovel Knight, you owe it to yourself to keep Mina the Hollower on your radar. Mina the Hollower is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series S/X.
That’s all the geek news we have for you this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Top 5 Tabletop Game List throughout the years. 2001 is the year in board games we’re covering today. While 2001 saw a lot of great games, I don’t see as many of them played as much today. And yet, 2001 in board games set industry standards and even introduced one of the most interesting game mechanisms. We’ll get to the games in a bit, but first, let’s review our list’s criteria.
1: Cultural relevance plays as much of a factor as overall quality. A game might make a list that doesn’t hold up to others of its type, but you must admit the game is everywhere.
2: Only one game from a franchise makes the list. This will become more of an issue the closer we get to games with expansions.
3: Longevity plays a role, too. A game doesn’t have to fly off the shelves today, but it had to have some widespread appeal for a decent time.
Honorable Mention: San Marco (2001)
Alan R. Moon almost makes one of these lists again—he won’t need to wait long for another entry—and while San Marco helped popularize area control and card drafting as game mechanisms, it’s since been overshadowed. San Marco won a handful of awards, but it just missed out on our list.
5: Zombies!!! (2001)
We begin 2001’s Top 5 Board List with Zombies!!!. This design by Todd Breitenstein still has its defenders today, but many Zombies!!! Fans have moved on to another game that will most likely make one of these lists: Zombiecide or Dead of Winter. You can’t deny Zombies!!!’s influence on the board game industry. It proved a miniature or standee-heavy game could make bank, solidified zombies as a board game theme (Zombies!!! was one of the first zombie games), and its use of tiles as terrain has been duplicated for decades.
Zombies!!! cornered the market for zombie board games for well over a decade. It shocked me that no other board game attempted to claim Zombies!!! throne until 2012.
4: Serengeti (2001)
Serengeti has the opposite problem of Zombies!!!. While Zombies!!! makes this list for its cultural relevance and lacks a standout game mechanism, Serengeti offers a fantastic twist for an auction and payout mechanism and often gets forgotten, in part, because it got rethemed as Don (a gangster game). Both games made the list, but just barely.
Players bid for African art (sensitivity may be the reason the game got rethemed) with the local currency “Hongo.” Players may not bid a number whose “ones” digit matches the number on any card they previously won. The payout mechanism is that players owning a card whose number matches the “one” digit gain a share of the bid. Serengeti has this nice push-pull of wanting to acquire lots, but it matters when you obtain the lot, because you stand to gain a kickback every time someone else gains a similar lot. It’s no wonder Serengeti won several awards as the best card game of 2001.
3: Evo (2001)
I struggled figuring out where I should place the next three games. You could invert the rankings of all three of the next three games, and I’d agree with you. Regardless, I had to put these games in some order, and we begin with Evo. You control the survival and evolution of dinosaur species named Dinos. Guide their migrations, perfect genes to develop and mutate your Dinos, and push out other creatures to become the “dominant species.”
Another board game would be released over a decade later, Dominant Species, which owes a lot to Evo. But Evo is more streamlined than Dominant Species. I’ve heard people talk about Evo, and that’s another vote for it to climb higher on this list. Evo was nominated for a lot of awards, won a couple, and is highly regarded. Why didn’t it land higher on this list?
2: Zendo (2001)
Zendo has the innovative game mechanism I mentioned at the beginning. Zendo is a game of inductive logic where one player, the Moderator, creates a secret rule (like a structure must consist of at least two pyramids) that the rest of the players figure out by building and studying configurations of the game pieces. The first player to correctly guess the hidden rule wins.
Zendo uses Looney Pyramids and was originally released as part of a group of games that could be played with Looney Pyramids in 2001. Zendo was later released as a standalone game in July 2003 and promptly won multiple awards, including the 2005 Mensa Select. Zendo makes its players think creatively. Its bizarre game components make it stand out.
1: TransAmerica (2001)
TransAmerica is yet another board game on this list to win multiple awards. TransAmerica was even nominated for the 2002 Spiel des Jahres (German game of the Year)—I still don’t yet know how the Spiel des Jahres committee determines when a game is eligible—and just barely missed. Like Zendo, TransAmerica earned the 2003 Mensa Select. But TransAmerica takes the top spot on this list because it combines accolades with cultural relevance. Train games were nothing new, but TransAmerica streamlined train board game mechanisms. Something we’ll see with a future number one game.
Each player has a set of five cities strung across the United States that need to be connected by rail. Players begin by placing their station on an intersection on the map, then take turns placing one or two rails each turn on the lines of the map. Initially, players can only be adjacent to their station or on a line that touches their station, but once one’s network connects with another player’s, one can place their rails anywhere along the combined network. I love how TransAmerica rewards players who know when to connect their networks with another player’s. Can you take advantage of others’ rails more than they can benefit from yours? TransAmerica boasts a short play time, perfect for players new to the hobby.
Did we get the list mostly correct? Let us know which games you’d add in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and today, our writers share what they’ve been listening to over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been listening to as well, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been listening to over the past month.
Kyra’s Tunes
Every once in a while, I slip into an Imogen Heap phase. This past month was one of those months. “Hide and Seek” and “Headlock” (from her best-known album, Speak for Yourself) serve as warm handshakes into Imogen Heap’s boundary-pushing electronic sound. There’s a reason why Imogen Heap is the favorite artist of many people’s favorite artists. Heap may be one of the most influential electronic artists few people know. But many of you may know a segment of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek.” It was sampled in Jason Derulo’s song “Whatcha Say.” Heap is the robotic voice. She has an uncanny way of giving autotune and voice modulators feel.
I love how Imogen Heap explores sound. Fun fact: the “rain” one hears during “Hide and Seek” is actually Heap cooking bacon. I’m a huge fan of artists who use unique musical instruments. I said something similar about Fiona Apple several months ago. And just like Apple, Heap’s lyrics elevate her sonic landscapes. I love the line in “Hide and Seek:” “The dust has only just begun to form crop circles in the carpet. Sinking. Feeling.” I love her imagery. Like I said, there’s a good chance Imogen Heap is your favorite artists’ favorite artist. I’m only discussing “Hide and Seek” because you should discover Heap’s discography. She may not be as prolific as she once was, but Heap continues to explore. You should discover her music.
We lost Jeff Buckley far too soon. While his entire Grace album is worth a listen, his heavenly voice renders what may be the definitive version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” I’ve been listening to Buckley on repeat as much as I’ve been listening to Heap this past month. Both have haunting vocals and brilliant lyrics. Heap plants her flag firmly in music’s future. Buckley has a classic sound. The aforementioned “Hallelujah” has a soul quality. I dare you to hear this song and not have an emotional response. You won’t be able to do it. I love Buckley’s voice.
The Sundays fit with the other two artists I’ve mentioned. I don’t know why. It’s a vibe. I wouldn’t mind creating a playlist with all three of these artists included. Anyway, to give some folks context, The Sundays were The Cranberries before The Cranberries. In fact, when they first hit the UK music scene, The Cranberries were accused of copying The Sundays’ sound. The Sundays’ Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (album art pictured above) is one of the greatest dream pop albums. The Sundays had two follow-up albums, Blind and Static & Silence, and all three were massive hits. And then, The Sundays disappeared.
Principal songwriters Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin got married, had kids, and retreated from the public. The couple still writes music. They’ve hinted at a return for decades. Sadly, The Sundays may be a victim of their own success. Wheeler and Gavurin seldom view their new work as worthy as their older material. I hope The Sundays return, but even if they don’t, we have three superb albums. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic is perhaps their best album. “Here’s Where the Story Ends” lives rent-free in my head. The band’s cover of The Rolling Stones “Wild Horses” is the definitive version of that song. Seriously, when future artists cover “Wild Horses,” they play The Sundays’ version. And “Summertime” from The Sundays’ third (and currently final) album is their biggest hit.
I don’t accuse The Cranberries of copying The Sundays. But if you like The Cranberries, you owe it to yourself to check out The Sundays.
That’s all the music I’ve been listening to over the past month. Let’s check in with Season.
Season’s Tunes
Whenever I listen to a love song, I like to imagine many scenarios in which the song would be relevant beyond romantic love, such as familial love, friendships, love for pets, etc. “The Rose” can definitely slot into any of those categories. I also frequently forget Bette Midler is a singer before an actress.
I love the imagery in “The Rose.” It describes painful love, such as “Some say love, it is a river/That drowns the tender reed.” I’ve never heard that metaphor before, and Bette Midler sings it beautifully. It discusses people’s longing for love, but they don’t always know how to give and receive love. I’m definitely one of those people. I’ve gotten mixed feedback from people in the past. I’ve yet to watch the musical drama The Rose that features the song. That’s next on my list.
I’m outing myself as an avid watcher of music/dance and cosplay content on Instagram. On the dance side of things, there are a lot of people dancing to BTS’s “SWIM” and “Hooligan.” I came across both songs at nauseam, bit the bullet, and watched the music videos for each.
“SWIM” is pretty straightforward. They’re literally singing about swimming in the ocean with romantic undertones. I’m guessing the romantic undertones are fan service since a lot of women are into BTS. After some research, the consensus is that “SWIM” is about persevering through life, but BTS hasn’t actually confirmed this. If it is about persevering through life, it comes across as a loose meaning in “SWIM.” I’d recommend “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel if you’re looking for something with a more nuanced take on perseverance to scratch that itch.
“Hooligan” was less thuggish and more middle-aged dudes trying to relive the glory days. If BTS came out with “Hooligan” closer to when they debuted, it would have given their band a rougher persona. The oldest member is thirty-five. The knife-sharpening sounds and the punk-inspired outfits made “Hooligan” gimmicky at best. I giggled the entire time watching the “Hooligan” music video, and I’m not ashamed.
Verdict: Eh. They were songs. Most of BTS’s English songs (that I’ve heard) have surface-level meaning. “Dynamite” doesn’t have much meaning beyond the surface, but it’s cute and fun. “SWIM” and “Hooligan” are trying to be serious, but it doesn’t land. English isn’t their first language, but they’ve been producing songs in English for around five years now. I was hoping to listen to a bit more nuance in this still prolific K-Pop band I get serenaded with every time I open Instagram.
Trigger warning: Explicit content
Speaking of Instagram, I discover lesser-known artists there, too. “DIET” by Mad Tsai is a sex song. However, it’s got interesting visuals with the lyrics, and is about men. Just men. I don’t think I’ve heard a sex song about men that has as colorful imagery as a heterosexual sex song. I need to expand my music repertoire. The music video for “DIET” dropped recently, and it’s goofy, but not in the same way as “Hooligan.” It shows grown men playing spin the bottle and having pillow fights. There’s a makeout session or two, but it isn’t meant to be taken seriously.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Looks like Skye is taking off this week. We’ll have to see what she’s been listening to next month. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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