Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and we just barely got a fifth Wednesday this month. You know what that means: Personal Updates. Today, our writers share personal updates from the past few months. I’ll kick off this post with some of my personal updates.
Kyra’s Updates
Well, this is an awkward time for an update. Nuke-Con 2026 is a couple of days from now. Not only will I be at the board game convention, I’ll be a guest of honor. What? I’ve never been a guest at a convention before. I’m stoked. We’ll see what happens in a couple of days. October’s Game Design Brain Dump is already written and ready to post, so I may have to share some highlights in November’s Game Design Brain Dump. Nuke-Con 2026 should include a ton of playtesting. The Spielmasons (a local board game design group) and I have a dedicated table this year. We’re even putting on an event where convention attendees can take supplies (provided by The Gamecrafter) to design their own games. The Spielmasons and I will be playtesting your designs on Sunday. Woo hoo! If you’re in the Omaha area and you’d like to have me and The Spielmasons playtest a game you designed, stop on by.
I’m still in discussion with a publisher for Spill the Beans. My point of contact has been busy these past couple of months with a KickStarter campaign, which I covered in one of our Geekly News posts, and GenCon. Convention season is dying down. Ironically, Nuke-Con is one of the latest board game conventions of the season, so I should be able to meet with the publisher soon. Fingers crossed.
I haven’t heard back from any of the publishers where I submitted Whirligig Pets. I’m treating this process similar to submitting to literary agents. I’ll craft a follow-up email for Whirligig Pets in the coming days, wait another week or two, and then submit to another board game publisher before Halloween if I don’t hear from this wave of publishers. Board game publishers get busy. Case in point, the publisher with interest in Spill the Beans. I’d like to reengage with the publishers where I sent Whirligig Pets before closing out those submissions as “never responded.”
“Never responded” is a good segue for my writing update. October also marks the three month mark for this round of Crooked as a Dogwood submissions. Most literary agents choose silence. In the next few weeks, I’ll update my submissions to “never responded” and submit to another wave of literary agents. But I’m going to change up a few things. Notably, I’ll rebrand Crooked as a Dogwood as upmarket fiction. Upmarket fiction is a fusion between literary fiction and commercial fiction. If you ask four different publishers what upmarket fiction is, you’ll get four different answers. In short, upmarket fiction is book club fiction.
I always viewed Crooked as a Dogwood making at least one book club fiction, so it may qualify as upmarket fiction. Most writers don’t know that their books are upmarket fiction. I may be one of them. Oops! Upmarket fiction is one of the most sought after genres by literary agents. Before this next wave of literary agent submissions, I’ll give my synopsis a quick pass and spruce up my query letter. It’s always a good idea to revisit these items.
Ber Season has officially begun. With the exception of Nuke-Con most of my focus will be on writing this year’s novel and editing my previous novels. I’m well over 15,000 words, which is a good total for me by the end of September. I’ll ramp up production in the coming weeks and months and easily complete a novel-length work by the end of November. Novel Writing Month. Woo hoo!
Those are all the updates I have for this Fifth Wednesday. It’s a little light because I write Game Design and Writing Brain Dumps once a month. If you want to hear more about my exploits, check out those posts. Let’s see what Season has been doing.
Season’s Updates
As of this post, I’ll have been at my gardening job for a full year. Yay! I’m still loving it and learning a lot. I’ve been trying to cater the flower beds in my work environment to natural pest control. A.K.A. keep the spiders safe. We have a lot of cat-faced spiders and yellow garden spiders. They’re amazing little helpers. 🙂
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned my car before. I have a black 1999 VW New Beetle named Horus. I’ve had Horus for two years now, and he’s been in and out of the shop at least twenty times since I bought him with more tows than I care to admit. He’s my first car, and I didn’t know anything about what to check for in a used car. I got his A/C fixed earlier this month after his most recent attack on my wallet. I’m hoping Horus will behave himself so I can save up for two big things I want to achieve within the next handful of years.
My sister and I are planning on moving in together next spring (hopefully). Recently, I got a pay raise at work and have gotten a lot of overtime, so I’ve been squirreling away an extra hundred bucks a paycheck on top of my usual twenty percent. I also want to buy a dark red Honda Accord within the next five years. I don’t know why, but it has to be red. I will not be swayed. And yes, I already have a name picked out. Let me know if you’d like me to share it, Geekly Gang.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are our writers’ personal updates from these past few months. What’ve you been up to, Geekly Gang? 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. With the holidays around the corner we have plenty of new releases for board games and video games this week. Let’s get to the games.
Personal Demons Launches on KickStarter
A group therapy ritual where 1-4 players summon and seal away their own personal demons. This fast-paced, simultaneous-action drafting-style game has each player populating their own summoning circle in a tableau-style puzzler, aiming to form complete seals and conquer their demons. Hefty and colossal Demons of increasingly larger card sizes can be summoned and sealed once their requirements are met, and each one gives all players unique benefits that can change the way you play the game. Courage cards gained over the course of play grant player-specific abilities, sins are built up and spent as currency to take bonus actions, seals are cracked and replaced as the game progresses. Build an engine, choose your path to victory and score the most over three rounds to show your demons who’s boss.
Thank you, Tettix Games, for the description. Personal Demons combines some well-known and well-loved game mechanisms and looks to combine them in different ways. Note: I have yet to play Personal Demons; this is what I’ve gathered from descriptions, pics, and videos. I like most games that feature simultaneous-action selections. This one mechanism speeds up gameplay. You can have a heady board game that should take well over an hour to complete, add simultaneous-action selection, and that game suddenly takes thirty minutes to play. Tile placement is another of my favorite game mechanisms, and I can’t wait to see what makes Personal Demons a tableau-style puzzle game. Personal Demons offers pledge levels ranging from $44-$93. If you’re interested in Personal Demons, check out its KickStarter page.
Electrify Launches on KickStarter
It is the late 1800’s and scientists have unlocked the power of electricity! Take the role of an innovator and visionary working to supply an industrializing world with this new energy. Build up your industry across five different sectors, creating a revolving engine to produce, upgrade, and transmit energy cubes.
Each round, you will activate one sector of your business, represented by a tile, and take all the actions of that sector. Sector tiles can be upgraded with industry cards, adding more action icons to that sector. Cycling through your sector tiles is important because they become more powerful the longer you wait to use them. Cards with special arrows allow you to chain activations across multiple sectors, creating a dynamic engine that changes and improves with every turn. A combination of strategic engine building and tactical decision-making in response to your own shifting player area will bring you the most success.
Energy cubes transmitted to the grid are consumed to satisfy demand goal cards, earning you Energy Points. By meeting demand goals that require more and cleaner energy, you will earn greater rewards. Test your skills playing solo, or play competitively and claim your place at the forefront of the energy revolution!
Thank you, Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), for the description. Electrify sounds electrifying. I had to. I’ve liked many of John D. Clair’s designs, AEG publishes some fun and accessible games, and Electrify looks like another great one. I like the idea of triggering every action within a sector of one’s business and each sector gaining power for each turn it hasn’t been used. This reminds me of stock market games like Racoon Tycoon (picking the right timing when to cash in on a resource) and a little bit of KeyForge (activate all members of a specific faction; the more of that faction you have, the stronger the action). I don’t know how Electrify plans to combine these elements, but I like both. Electrify offers pledges ranging between $39 and $69. If you’re interested in Electrify, check out its KickStarter page.
Bookwyrm Launches on KickStarter
In this cozy strategy game of beautiful bookshelves, you are a dragon who has hoarded too many books! Featuring 200 punny book cards, your goal is to organize your messy collection on the shelves of your bookcase board, scoring points for matching colors and genres, following trends, and alphabetizing.
However, tantalizing new books arrive at the bookshop every day, tempting you to enhance your shelves with new releases, knickknacks, and treats from the bookshop cafe. Will you build an efficient, glorious bookcase featuring books old and new, or succumb to the clutter?
Thank you, Sword & Rose Press, for the description. First off, I’ve always liked the term Bookwyrm, and I’m glad those book dragons have a game they can play. And I love the theme of organizing books on shelves. I’ve been eyeing A Place for All My Books and have yet to pull the trigger and pick up the title. Add dragons to that concept, and I’m there. I like the artwork. To be fair, it’s difficult to mess up books and dragons, but still, Bookwyrm looks great. Publisher Sword & Rose Press is a newer publisher. Prior to Bookwyrm, they published a couple of books. But hey, that makes them a perfect publisher for a game about putting books on shelves. Pledges range from $50 to $175. If you’re interested in Bookwyrm, check out its KickStarter page.
Pax Musica Launches on GameFound
Born from a passion for music, Pax Musica takes you on a journey through its vibrant history – from the roaring the 1960s to the 2020s. Step into the shoes of a music producer and build your own path to fame.
Hit the auditions and assemble your dream team of future legends. Then crank out bangers across five iconic genres: African-American, EDM, Jazz, Pop, and Rock until the charts don’t just notice you… they surrender.
Manage success and chaos. Play nice… or play very not nice. Your call. Show business is a wild ride: one day you’re a star, the next you’re forgotten. Hire pros to boost your band’s potential, shape trends and stir controlled hype . Crash the afterparties and recruit a delightfully chaotic crew: Paparazzi, Broadcasters, Groupies, Femme Fatales, Fixers, A&Rs, and Bodyguards. Build your empire, wreck your rivals, and look fabulous doing it.
Climb to the top. Play gigs, drop hits, and grow your fortune. Your band is your money machine, your ticket to power, fame, and immortality in the music world.
Thank you, Ion Game Designs, for the description. There’s a lot going on with the board above, but I’m down for it. I haven’t played any game from Ion Game Designs’ Pax series. Each of these games is steeped in history. I like Trekking Through History, how you can play through various eras, and hopefully learn a few things along the way. Pax Musica looks to do the same thing with music through the ages.
Not gonna lie, I am a bit concerned with Pax Musica’s heaviness. Part of what I like about Trekking Through History is that I can teach it to most people, even non-board gamers. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that with Pax Musica. And that’s okay. Only real music nerds need apply to Pax Musica. The production looks great. I like the bits (like the keyboard and jukebox printed on the main board). I can’t wait to dive headfirst into music history. If you’re interested in Pax Musica, check out its GameFound page.
Bilico Launches on GameFound
A game of strategy and dexterity where you have to park cars and build ever-higher buildings without collapsing. Even one breath can be enough to lose the game.
Plays for 2 to 4 players, lasting 20-30 minutes. Each turn, you place your car in one of the free parking spaces, then begin building a building of your choice. Each building has a construction rule: build 2 or 3 floors at a time, or multiples.
If there are no collapses, you earn points; otherwise, you lose them. If you build a building from the ground floor or create extensions, you receive different bonuses. Whoever scores the most points wins.
Bilico is clearly 3D printed, but that makes me wonder: If I back this project, will I receive the 3D model files to print off my own copy in any color? I wouldn’t mind printing off my own copy. We don’t usually cover 3D printed board games on Geekly, but Bilico looks interesting. Most of what we know about the game (so far) is what’s printed above. That’s not a lot of information to go on, but I also wonder if parking your car in a specific space affects where you place building floors or how you must place these floors. Bilico comes with several smaller objects (helicopters with helipads and satellite dishes) for players to place in the buildings. These small components could help balance each tower, allowing players to manipulate each building’s center of gravity. Cool! If you’re interested in Bilico, check out its GameFound page.
Graveyard Keeper 2 Releases
The most inaccurate medieval cemetery sim is back! Restore The Town, manage the graveyard, automate production, lead your undead army into battle and turn the zombie problem into a thriving business! Graveyard Keeper 2 is the grotesque sequel that’s deeper than six feet, and more unhinged than ever!
Thank you, Lazy Bear Games, for the description. I love how goofy Graveyard Keeper 2 sounds. It releases at the perfect time: Spooky Season. Graveyard Keeper 2 takes the core game tenants of farming sims like Stardew Valley and applies them to a graveyard sim. Interesting. The game has received solid reviews. And I have definitely added this game to my Steam wishlist. Graveyard Keeper 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series S/X.
Dressmaker Releases
Become a dressmaker! Choose fabric, cut out patterns, and sew them all together to satisfy (or sabotage!) townsfolk in this cozy crafting game inspired by real dressmaking.
Thank you, Cozy Lives, for the description. And what a perfect name for a study that published Dressmaker. This cozy game reminds me of Tiny Bookshop. This is yet another game I wishlisted on Steam. Players can handpick their fabric, create their own unique designs, and tailor make dresses for customers. Can you make the perfect dress? I am so in. Dressmaker has received great reviews. I would expect nothing less from the developers of the Terra Nil expansion. Cozy Lives might just be an up and coming developer for cozy games.
Silent Hill: Townfall Releases
Returning to an island town to “put things right,” Simon Ordell descends into a world of tense evasion, explosive confrontations, and mind-bending puzzles that slowly surface the truth of St. Amelia.
Thank you, Konami, for the description. We’ll never get Kojima’s P.T.; Silent Hill: Townfall represents the first game in the Silent Hill series to be played from the first-person perspective. It’s received mixed reviews, and still, I’m interested in the change of perspective. Silent Hill: Townfall takes advantage of it, too. Protagonist Simon Ordell carries a CRTV (a portable television) around with him. This would look odd, if not impossible to see, in a game using third-person perspective. I like how the Silent Hill series has made a resurgence of late and how the series reinvents itself. Silent Hill: Townfall is available on PC and PlayStation 5.
Well Dweller Releases
Well Dweller is a dark fairy-tale metroidvania, full of charming characters living in a wretched kingdom. Play as Glimmer, a tiny bird armed with a matchstick, who must burn the wicked queen to save his family.
Thank you, Top Hat Studios, for the description. Developer/designer Kyle Thompson knows how to design metroidvania games. Islets received high praise. Crypt Custodian did as well and moved the gameplay to a top-down point of view. Well Dweller returns to the 2D side-scrolling perspective as Islets and has received universal claim for its world building and design. In short, Well Dweller looks amazing. It’s the latest metroidvania by one of the best designers crafting metroidvanias. If you’re at all interested in this style of game, you should at least wishlist Well Dweller. Well Dweller is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and XBox Series S/X.
Control Resonant Releases
Explore a warped Manhattan on the brink of paranatural annihilation in this thrilling action-adventure RPG. Unleash the extraordinary powers of Dylan Faden as he fights for his humanity and our survival against a reality-bending cosmic threat.
Thank you, Remedy Entertainment, for the description. Control Resonant takes place seven years after the events of the original video game Control, which was itself released seven years ago (2019). Has it been that long? Yikes! Control Resonant follows Dylan Faden, a paranaturally abled “parautilitarian” who first appeared as a supporting character in Control, as he battles an invasion of hostile entities while searching for his estranged sister. You’ve gotta love Control’s commitment to continuity. Control Resonant has received solid reviews, proving this is a worthy sequel to the original. This is another game I may need to play. My To Be Played Pile is suffering this week. Eek! Control Resonant is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Those are all the new releases we have for you this week. Which games sound the most interesting to you? 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 ton of great games that released this week. Let’s talk about some games. Yes!
Onryō: First Seal Launches on KickStarter
Onryō: First Seal is a fast-paced, standalone cooperative tactical game steeped in Japanese folklore. Serving as the prequel to Onryō: Seeking Solace, the story unfolds centuries before the ancient chains are shattered.
From the dark fissures of the underworld, the Onryō has awakened—a terrifying spirit born from ultimate betrayal and driven by absolute vengeance. Sweeping across the land, her wrath stirs ancient Yōkai spirits. If she recruits eight spirits, she will become an unstoppable force of destruction.
As elite ninjas from three distinct clans, players represent the land’s final line of defense. Stepping into the shadows armed only with stealth and pure cooperation, you must enter the corrupted grid, coordinate team movements, and trap the vengeful spirit before time runs out. For an even greater challenge, enter Tatari Mode, where every recruited monster makes the Onryō stronger and triggers unpredictable disruptions to your plans.
Thank you, Lemery Games, for the description. Onryō: First Seal looks great. I like Yōkai as a theme, and Onryō: First Seal pulls off the theme well–from what’ I’ve seen; I have yet to play the game. Onryō: First Seal has a super fast set-up (less than one minute) and low rules overhead (takes about three minutes to learn the basic rules). It’s one of those easy games to learn but difficult to master. Games last thirty minutes or less. Thirty minutes or less. Yikes! Onryō: First Seal sounds like a game I could play multiple times in succession. It’s also a cooperative game. I’m down with those. And from what I’ve seen, Onryō: First Seal plays really well as a solo game experience. I like how the board game community has shifted to offering solo gaming experiences.
Onryō: First Seal is set to retail at $21, but Lemery Games is trying something a little different with this game. You can pick your pledge amount (suggested ranges are from $1-$40) for a deluxe copy of Onryō: First Seal. We’ll have to see if this tactic will work. So far, it looks as if Onryō: First Seal has more than met its goal. If you’re interested in Onryō: First Seal, check out its KickStarter page.
Perennial Launches on KickStarter
Perennial uses polyominos in a new way! On a turn, players draft tiles from the board in one shape (based on the polyomino shape depicted on the card they select for their supply). These square tiles are then disaggregated when placed in the play area. In the placement phase, any of the player’s collected tiles may be reassembled and placed in their garden by using a card in their collection. Assemble your own polyominos into the right configurations to place your wildflowers, wildlife, and garden features to score the most points!
Thank you, Flatout Games, for the description. The creators behind Cascadia, Calico, and Verdant are also behind Perennial. Sign me up. All three are fantastic board games; Perennial looks like it continues that trend. The rules seem easy to learn, but another one of those games that are difficult to master. Yes! Unlike some of the three games I mentioned earlier, Perennial has a short playtime, less than forty-five minutes. I’m also a huge fan of Beth Sobel’s artwork. Sure, she specializes in nature-themed designs, but I love her art. I see her name on the box, and I’m interested in the game. Perennial offers numerous pledge levels. It even includes a $399 pledge level that will get every game publisher Flatout Games has ever done. And Flatout Games has an impressive library of games. If you’re interested in Perennial, check out its KickStarter page.
Yokozuna Launches on KickStarter
Sumo is the national sport of Japan, and Yokozuna is the highest rank a Rikishi can achieve during their career as a Sumo wrestler. During a Sumo match, two Rikishi compete against each other in a fierce display of strength and discipline. Easy to learn, lightning fast to set up and designed to be easy to be brought at social events, yet carefully designed to reflect Sumo culture in a fun and respectful manner. Refined artstyle and graphic design with each card inspired by a modern take on Showa era poster art, with clear and accessible pips and indications to make each card’s use and effects clear and unequivocal.
Thank you, Metamorph Games, for the description. Oh my ghost! Yokozuna looks so cute. We are three for three with games that don’t take long to set up, learn to play, and complete. Games of Yokozuna can take as little as five minutes. What? And I love those Sumo wrestling minis. If we ever get to play Yokozuna, I’ll have to ask Season what she thinks about the game paying homage to the Sumo wrestling tradition. She’ll know more about than me, but I appreciate that Yokozuna has attempted to honor the Sumo culture. Yokozuna‘s remaining pledge levels range from $29-$45. If you’re interested in Yokozuna, check out its KickStarter page.
Primacy Launches on KickStarter
Primacy is a sci-fi strategy game for 2-4 players, set in a city where the line between reality and cyberspace is blurred. Players represent factions vying for control of the city after a mysterious mind-control program turns off, creating a power vacuum. Seek power through battle, intrigue, public relations, and propaganda.
Conquer 3 types of sector throughout the city for different benefits, including income, soldier recruitment, and access to terminals to spread propaganda. Controlling terminals will score victory points, but won’t help you improve your power or position. Balance is key to achieving victory.
Battles are resolved by secretly committing weapon cards to 3 different objectives, and simultaneously revealing. Choose wisely between PR to boost your propaganda, loot for resources, and rep for victory points, and win 2 out of 3 to control new territory.
Each game contains 132 soldiers and cars, 60 control markers, 29 modular hex tiles, 4 3-layer player boards with variable inserts, 8 double-sided faction tiles, a public console board, and tons of cards and credit tokens, all with beautiful illustrations by Calder Moore. The game can be played with symmetrical player boards for an easier teach, or with various combinations of asymmetrical boards and faction powers for additional variability and richness.
Thank you, Spielcraft Games, for the description. I played Primacy in a very early stage of development; the game didn’t even have a theme at the time. In fact, I think the game had the codename Primate City at the time. I always thought the battle box was a good touch. Primacy kept that feature. During battle (if there is a battle), players will secretly select where they want to place their forces. Every battle offers bonuses, so even if you’re overpowered during a combat, there’s a chance you’ll gain a bonus. I like that. Each battle in Primacy plays out differently.
Designer Alex Wolf makes quality games. We’ve covered Spielcraft Games’ last title, Cretaceous Rails more than once. The same care has been given to Primacy. And on a personal note, I like that Alex Wolf has published a game with a rondel. Rondels are his favorite game mechanism. Primacy offers pledge levels that range between $60-$150. If you’re interested in Primacy, check out its KickStarter page.
Kart! Launches on KickStarter
Kart is a downhill racing game of epic proportions. You’re tweens in a neighborhood during summer break, racing the most horrible carts this world has ever seen. Each cart is a glorious combination of whatever you could find in your garage and in the dumpster next door. Who will navigate the pitfalls of the neighborhood best?
Lightly asymmetric, and playable in about an hour.
Thank you, Leder Games, for the description. I’m glad about the “lightly asymmetric” designator above. Leder Games is known for Root, perhaps the most popular asymmetric power board game of the past couple of decades. The publisher has a knack with asymmetric powers, and Kart looks to continue this trend. I should’ve guessed Kart was a a Leder Games title. The company has affinity for four-letter game titles: Root, Fort, Arcs, Ahoy, Oath, and Vast. Kart fits right in on more than one front. Kart offers two pledge levels: $40 and $70. If you’re interested in Kart, check out its KickStarter page.
Bake or Break Launches on KickStarter
A cafe where a team of clumsy staff work together at the various stations of the cafe to prepare the ingredients, decorate the cakes, and fulfill the orders.
At the start of each round discuss your strategy together but cannot elude to the cards you’re playing. Then simultaneous reveal your chosen action cards but as with any kitchen you need to work together and do the tasks in order. Take → Prepare → Decorate → Serve.
Thank you, Game Storybook, for the description. Bake or Break is unique in that it’s was created by a cafe; the game’s mechanisms are meant to simulate the hectic nature of a cafe/bakery. I like this angle. Bake or Break also happens to originate from Japan. The 2026 Tokyo Game Show just took place, so Bake or Break launched just in time for the convention. Bake or Break is yet another easy-to-learn game that doesn’t take too long play. Perfect. I like the artwork and not enough games use the cooking theme. If you’re interested in Bake or Break, check out its KickStarter page.
Marvel’s Wolverine Releases
Marvel’s Wolverine is an action-packed adventure from Insomniac Games, the acclaimed studio behind Marvel’s Spider-Man series. Created in collaboration with Marvel Games, it delivers an all-new original story based on the legendary comic book character.
Thank you, Sony, for the description. Marvel’s Wolverine finally released this week. Yes! I’ve enjoyed every entry of Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man series. I have not yet played Marvel’s Wolverine. From what I’ve seen, Marvel’s Wolverine’s reviews are all over the place. Despite a lukewarm reception, I’m still interested in Marvel’s Wolverine. It’s going to be one of those titles I hope are under the Christmas tree in a few months. Fingers crossed. Marvel’s Wolverine is available on PlayStation 5.
That’s all the Geek News we have for 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 Games throughout the years. Today’s list features the best games from 2003. Unfortunately, 2003 gets sandwiched between two of the better years for board games, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a handful of standouts this year. Almost every year has at least one or two stellar games. We’ll talk about 2003’s board game list soon, but let’s review the ground rules for which games make these lists before we begin.
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.
5: Reiner Knizia’s Amazing Flea Circus (2003)
Amazing Flea Circus is by no means one of Reiner Knizia’s best small card games. I much prefer Don’t L.L.A.M.A., but Amazing Flea Circus still deserves an honorable mention, because few games from this year have seen as many printings and editions. It’s a simple but fun game. Sometimes, that’s all you need. Spoiler Alert: Amazing Flea Circus won’t be the last we hear from Reiner Knizia on this list.
4: Coloretto (2003)
In Coloretto, players collect colorful chameleons. The rules are simple. Either add a card to a row or collect all the cards in a row. A row can only contain three cards, so eventually, players will be forced to claim rows. Players gain points for up to three colors. Each color beyond the first three costs players points. Wild (or Joker) Chameleons count as any color and +2 cards always help.
Coloretto proves you don’t need a complicated rule set for an engaging game. One can see its influence in games like River Valley Glassworks, where one only scores points up to a certain number of colors. Coloretto’s main game mechanisms center around set collection, but set collection works. I wouldn’t be surprised if Coloretto’s success as a set collection didn’t spawn other games that use a similar mechanism. Ticket to Ride (released the next year) also uses a similar system.
3: Yinsh (2003)
We’ve mentioned the GIPF Project series of abstract games on more than one of these past best of year lists. Yinsh is the highest-rated of these games. In fact, Yinsh is still a Top 5-rated abstract game on BoardGameGeek. The board game resembles the cover art (above). Like Othello, discs are dual-colored. Players try to make a chain of five discs in their color by jumping over discs with their rings, flipping over the disc. As soon as a player gains a chain of five discs, they discard one of their discs. The first player to discard three of their rings wins.
Yinsh has a clever, built-in balancing mechanism. Getting rid of a ring means a player gets closer to victory. But you’re making yourself weaker, because you have fewer rings. Brilliant! There’s a reason the GIPF Project is the highest regarded abstract game series. And Yinsh earns its place among the best.
2: Amun-Re (2003)
The top two 2003 games could be flipped. I went back and forth with these two titles. Both are great, but in the end, I chose the 2003 Spiel des Jahres winner as number one. Amun-Re was up for the Spiel as well. I’m telling you, it was close. Amun-Re is yet another Reiner Knizia board game to make one of these lists. It’s like Knizia makes a heap of great board games. In Amun-Re, each pharaoh wants to build the most pyramids. To accomplish this, they must first acquire a province where they can trade and farm. With their profits, they can buy new provinces and building-stones to erect pyramids. For all their actions, players must make clever use of their power cards and always offer appropriate sacrifices to Amun-Re.
Love the theme. Evidently, Reiner Knizia loves an Egyptian-themed game, because Ra also made one of these lists. I believe Amun-Re may be the only pyramid game Knizia ever designed. To be fair, I’ve lost track of every Knizia game. The man has forgotten more about board games than I’ll ever know. But Amun-Re holds another distinction; it’s one of Knizia’s more complex games. The two games on this list may be the polar opposites of what Knizia can do as a designer. Amazing Flea Circus is one of Knizia’s least-complicated games. Amun-Re is one of his most complicated. Both can be a lot of fun. And both came out the same year. Crazy!
1: Alhambra (2003)
In Alhambra, players are acquiring buildings to be placed within their Alhambra complex.
The money in Alhambra comes in four different currencies (of different suits) and is available in the open money market. The 54 buildings of six types become available for purchase in the building market four at a time; one building is available in each of the four different currencies. On a player’s turn, a player may 1) take money from the open money market, 2) purchase a building from the building market and either place it in his Alhambra or reserve, or 3) engage in construction and re-construction projects with buildings that have been placed in the player’s Alhambra or reserve. The game rewards efficiency, as when a player purchases a building from the market for the exact amount of money, the player may take another turn.
I don’t always agree with the Spiel, but I like Alhambra’s combination of set collection (yay, another set collection game), tile laying, and area majority. Alhambra marks the second time Dirk Henn made one of these lists. Wallenstein made the 2002 list. While I like Wallenstein more (in large part because of the cube tower), Alhambra does enough to take the top spot in a weaker year for tabletop games. That may sound harsh, but you haven’t seen 2004’s list. It’s a doozy. Still, I enjoy the heck out of Amen-Re and Alhambra. I struggled with which one to place at number one.
That’s our list of the Top 5 Tabletop Games of 2003. Let us know which game you like best. 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 week of Geek News. The Kansas City Renaissance Fair was fantastic. I had a blast. We have plenty of new releases in board games and video games. We even have some tabletop RPG new releases. What? That’s right. GameFound’s RPG Party returns. I’m so glad they’re making this an annual event. Woot! Without any further ado, let’s talk about some games.
Everdell Journeys Launches on KickStarter
Set out from the hustle and bustle of the big city and see the cozy world of Everdell on your own two paws in Everdell Journeys.
In this card-drafting adventure, you’ll lay down a path of cards featuring the breathtaking landmarks, riveting cities, and new friends you’ll find on the road. Send your traveler along the path of cards to activate them, scoring points and gaining resources. Chart your course wisely and score powerful combos based on the cards in your path, filling your journal with memories to share by the hearth at your journey’s end!
Thank you, Tycoon Games, for the description. My spouse and I love the Everdell series. We have almost everything from the base game and adore Everdell Duo. Tycoon Games has done a good job with its Everdell spin-off games so far. That’s a good sign for Everdell Journeys. While Everdell Duo offered a campaign and co-op variants of the original game, Everdell Journeys uses card-drafting. Yes! According to the publisher, Everdell Journeys takes between thirty minutes to an hour to play. That tracks for a card-drafting game. I like those games’ ability to speed up gameplay. The picture above has me a little concerned about the game’s icons. There’s a lot going on with the symbols at the bottom of “Honeypaw.” Still, Everdell hasn’t missed yet with one of its spin-offs. Everdell Journeys deserves attention.
And we get more than one Everdell spin-off game with this campaign. Each pledge comes with a free copy of Everdell Gather, which is a card game variant of Everdell. I like it when longer games, like Everdell, condense its concepts into a card game that’s easier to get to the table. Games of Everdell Gather take around twenty minutes. Yes, please. And we get two Everdell spin-offs for the price of one. Yes, yes, y’all! Everdell Journeys offers pledges that range between $49 and $699. $50 for two games isn’t bad. If you’re interested in Everdell Journeys, check out its KickStarter page.
Catvale Launches on KickStarter
Each player shapes their cat’s path: will you be the aggressor, stealing prestige and robbing opponents of their dignity? Or perhaps you’ll focus on foraging and construction, fancying up your backyard with luxurious structures? Live off adventure by completing quests, fulfilling ambitions, and dueling for glory, or dominate the market through cunning auctions and hiring the best workers? With multiple paths to victory and high replayability, Catvale offers a delightful mix of strategy, luck, and creativity, where the future of the land rests in the paws of the most cunning and ambitious cat.
Thank you, FU Dice, for the description. I haven’t heard much about Catvale before this week. This game sounds like a winner with my family. My oldest daughter loves cats. Catvale has RPG elements, dice rolling, worker placement, and tile placement. If combined properly, these are some of my favorite board game mechanisms and Catvale could be a killer game. I love the artwork. The components look like good to great quality. FU Dice is a new company. While there’s always a risk with newer board game companies, the people behind FU Dice have a history in the board game design/production space with Glass Cannon Unplugged, who made the Apex Legends, Don’t Starve, and Dying Light board games. The company may be new, but the designer (Lukasz Burdowski) and the people running FU Dice have plenty of experience.
Catvale offers multiple pledge levels, ranging $79 – $499. The highest level offers premium wooden pieces. If you’re interested in Catvale, check out its KickStarter page.
Dice Commandos Infestation Launches on GameFound
The sequel to Dice Commandos, Infestation is a tactical dice puzzle game where you control a team of elite commandos facing an evolving alien threat.
Battle rogue androids, powerful company men and the brooding alien queen. Complete objectives, and fight to survive using dice, weapons, and deadly abilities.
Choose 1 of 6 missions and an enemy faction type to battle against. Each round you will use your commandos to perform 3 actions; move/fight, train, deploy, load-outs and completing objectives. Your commandos are dice that have special abilities and move according to their pip values. You will move your commandos around the map strategically fighting enemies and setting up the conditions to complete your mission objectives.
You must complete you mission objectives before time runs out or before your commando team is defeated by the alien threat!
Thank you, Solo Game of the Month, for the description. And, yes! We have another board game from Solo Game of the Month. I love this company. It offers a lot of game for not a lot of money and still manages to make quality games. As the name implies, Solo Game of the Month produces a lot of great solo games, a growing trend in modern board gaming. Don’t have a dedicated gaming group? Play solo games. We missed the original Dice Commandos when it originally released, but we caught its sequel, Dice Commandos Infestation. The original game paid homage to Predator, and Infestation looks to do the same with Starship Troopers. Oh, yeah! This’ll be fun.
If you’re interested in Dice Commandos Infestation, check out its GameFound page.
Tres Tesoros Launches on GameFound
Tres Tesoros is a fast-paced card game for 2 to 8 players that combines strategy, luck, and treasure hunting.
Players roll a custom D12 dice at the start of their turn to determine how many cards they draw and how many actions they can take. Throughout the game they collect Gem cards, protect them with Shields or Mirrors, and use special action cards to disrupt their opponents and gain an advantage.
The goal is to complete a winning collection of Gems before anyone else. Easy to learn and quick to play, Tres Tesoros offers constant interaction and unexpected twists where a single roll can change the course of the game.
Thank you, Dreamkeepers Games, for the description. Tres Tesoros has a simple premise, and sometimes, that’s all you need. It looks like an easy game to learn and claims to scale well, supporting up to eight players. I haven’t yet played Tres Tesoros, so I don’t have an opinion there. The game flow is roll the die (a twelve-sided die), follow the directions of the die face you rolled by playing gems (cards for points) or attacking your opponents (cards to rid your opponents of points?). Like I said, simple and quick. While I can’t imagine Tres Tesoros’s pledges costing too much, it is on GameFound, so we don’t have an exact dollar amount. If you’re interested in Tres Tesoros, check out its GameFound page.
Sub-Zero Launches on GameFound
As a faction of Arctic animals take over territories and stockpile food to survive the winter. Fight the cold, avoid humans, and escape the polar bears!
In Sub-Zero, you lead a faction of arctic animals chosen from Walrus, Goose, Musk Ox, Bald Eagle, Arctic Fox, and Lemming.
The first player of the turn rolls a set of dice indicating the actions available for that turn, the players in clockwise order choose which dice to use and remove it from the pool available to the others. From the season’s black or white dice set, you can then place your animals on the board, collect food from a territory and lower its value, use your faction’s special action (each faction is different from the others), or spend points to choose a specific action of the dice
From the blue die of the season, reduce the value of a territory by lowering, place a human scientific expedition on a territory, collect food, or send a Polar Bear against the animals of the other factions. The game takes place in 15 rounds divided into 3 seasons: spring, summer, and autumn. At the end of the 3 seasons, the player with the most points (in food) wins!
Thank you, Dawn Town Games, for the description. Pictured above is a screenshot from Board Game Simulator, not the final game components. That being said, Sub-Zero looks good from a production standpoint. Dawn Town Games has a few games under their belt and have a good track-record. Sub-Zero features more dice rolling and worker placement (like some other games this week), but adds a twist of area control/manipulation. That makes sense for a game where you’re trying to survive the elements. Sub-Zero introduces some interesting concepts. I like how players take on the roles of animals and must avoid humans. Nice touch! If you’re interested in Sub-Zero, check out its GameFound page.
Steam & Cheese Launches on GameFound
In a world similar to the one we know, mice became the dominant species. They built houses, roads, and cities, and increasingly developed a taste for fine foods — their appetite for cheese grew immeasurably. The better the cheese, the more valuable it became. So they began importing spices from the Far East by zeppelin. These spices are used to make the cheese even more delicious. But cheese production is no simple undertaking. A large machine factory was built, where the resourceful mice constantly sought to install ever-better machines to increase productivity. Sales representatives from all over flocked to the factory operators to purchase cheese. The merchants’ demands are high, but great wealth is granted to those who satisfy these desires.
In this expert level euro game players place dice in various action boards to choose which action with which strength they want to perform. They get resources depending on the dice color and determine the strength with the dice values. Milk is placed on the player board and needs to be transformed to cheese with different machines (actions). They try to fulfill orders and move on various bonus tracks. The player with the most victory points wins.
Thank you, Skellig Games, for the description. Oh my ghost! Steam & Cheese looks adorable. Steampunk mice making cheese is a fantastic theme mashup. I included the entire description for Steam & Cheese because it’s so good. Skellig Games has produces some phenomenal games, too: Darwin’s Journey, On Mars, Anachrony, Voidfall, and Age of Steam. This is a company with an excellent track record. I don’t know what makes Steam & Cheese an “expert level” euro game, but it does look complicated. Whenever I think of an expert level euro game, I think of a game I can lose on turn one. I hope that isn’t the case with Steam & Cheese. But I don’t yet have a game in my collection like that. I could stand to have a least one.
Steam & Cheese looks so good. I may throw caution to the wind and pick up a copy. If you’re interested in Steam & Cheese, check out its GameFound page.
Vault Zero Launches on GameFound
Vault Zero is a combination deck-builder, engine-builder, and action programming game set in a techno-dystopian future. Players take the role of rebel hackers who are all working to build machines that can hack into Vault Zero, the digital fortress that contains the government’s darkest secrets, and expose those secrets to the public and cause a mass uprising.
Players begin each turn with only one actin available to them, but cards they collect can add action economy in three different ways depending on their color. With a full board players will be triggering effects that trigger effects that trigger effects. Find effects that generate Key cards and get 5 of them in your hand at once to steal a secret from the Vault! Steal your 5th secret, and you’ve won the game!
Thank you, Horse Thief Games, for the description. Oh my ghost! I know I already said that once in this week’s write-up, but look at the games in this week’s stable of board games. They all look so good. Vault Zero adds several other elements I love in games. I don’t have too many deck-builders anymore (culled a handful of months ago), and I love it when an engine gets going. Vault Zero also happens to have a great theme, and look at the table presence the titular vault (pictured above) provides. Vault Zero will be one of those games people will stop to look at during a convention. If you’re interested in Vault Zero, check out its GameFound page.
RPG Party Launches on GameFound
Typically, we don’t cover tabletop RPGs on Geekly because there are so many releases each week, but this week is special. GameFound launched its second annual RPG Party. Woo hoo! 23 TTRPGs get featured on the site for the week, and let me tell you, some of the games sound amazing:
Budapest 1899 by Dragonmount Press (delves in to the occult and folklore of Hungary as it prepares to enter the 20th century)
Lights, Dice, Action!by Regular Wizard Co (a game about creating a TV series or blockbuster movie)
The Long Watch by StudioSquidink (an “uncanny solo RPG” that sees the player join a mysterious and underfunded organisation)
Heroes After Dark by Adam Krafter (where you play as Vespers – heroes who mysteriously trasform into monsters every night to fight evil with evil)
Murder of Crows by Michael Endo Weil (crows investigate the murder of other crows)
Hope Dies Last by Infinite Citadel & Mike Underwood (A triptych of Daggerheart-compatible campaign frames where defiant heroes fight against overwhelming odds)
Hauntedby Jeremy Kerr (a tabletop RPG of supernatural noir investigation)
Trashumanismby Le Destroy (A biopunk TTRPG set in the Trashumanism Universe)
Twisted Lands by 9thPersona (players become Gidim – hunters, scholars, envoys, and problem-solvers navigating a living world of strange ecologies, ancient technology, powerful cities, and choices that leave lasting consequences)
Kraldum by tooth & shore (Go down to the shore below the city. Collect what you can. Survive what lurks there and beat the rising waters to make it home.)
Tales & Twistsby by Jack of all Tracks (Dive into a menagerie of brand new worlds filled with whimsy, adventure and horror with new rules for resistance, dungeon crawling, and the tug of war between resilience and corruption)
GridShock by Paul Vermeren | VX2 (You are a new breed of heroes, fighting to restore hope to a warped world in the grip of villainy)
Myco//Drift by Crimson Adder (players take on the role of genetically altered pilots bonded to skyscraper-sized fungal bio-mechs known as Myco Suits)
Ivory Tower by RiftKid Games (Save your flying city, witness the end of the world, and rule the remaining rubble in this TTRPG about a scheming council of archmages)
The Wine Dark Sea by Abyssal Raven Games (Play as lost star farers trapped in a place of dreaded legend outside the known universe)
Heroes of a Thousand Tales by Adventure_Horizon (Every rule is designed to make you play, feel, and fight like you’re the hero of your own anime series)
Unbounded by Roger “Moishe” Main (Level up through the Ability Trees and learn to harness your Atzmah to create any character concept you can imagine)
Witches of Winter by Violet Blitz (A modern fantasy TTRPG about witchcraft, community, and climate collapse)
Everdoom by Tremor Pings (A shared-authority narrative game for four players who discover the destiny of a legendary hero by telling their fable together)
Winter Bones: An RPG for Doomed Mice by We Be Dangerous Publishing (Become mice. Tiny, fragile creatures battling for survival against the horrors born of the Deep Still. Monsters lurk beneath the frost. Do you have what it takes to evade their clutches?)
Road Warriors: A Stand Up Comedy Odyssey by DGB Games (Road Warriors is a game about playing fledgling stand up comedians on your first tour. The gigs are rough, the audiences are worse and your hit points are based in self esteem. Good Luck!)
What a great round-up of TTRPGs. Which one of the above titles sounds the most interesting to you? Have you playtested any of them? Let us know in the comments. I’m glad GameFound has made RPG Party an annual event. Good luck to all the games listed above. You guys rock!
Halloween: The Game Releases
On Halloween night, 1978, no one is safe from Michael Myers. Become the Boogeyman or fight back against the face of evil itself in Halloween.
Halloween: The Game releases just in time for Spooky Season. I see what you did there. The game has received solid reviews. That’s great to see. Games based on horror franchises can be hit or miss at times. Halloween: The Game can be played as a solo experience or with multiple players. Think a Michael Myers specific Dead by Deadlight, where one player is the killer and the rest attempt to survive their attacks. Halloween: The Game is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
That’s all the geek news we have for 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, and today, we’ll be discussing Marvel United. Yes! We haven’t discussed this board game in quite some time, and it’s time to fix that. Marvel United’s various villains and the way they alter the gameplay are the game’s most intriguing game design elements. In today’s list, we’ll share our picks for the Top 5 Marvel United Villains.
Dishonorable Mention: Gladiator (War of Kings Expansion)
Right off the bat, we’re shaking up things with this list. While a Top 5 Marvel United Villains list is up for debate (everyone has their own taste), Gladiator may just be one of the most universally hated villains in the game. Simply put, he’s unwinnable at heroic mode, unless you use multiple heroes with lots of wild symbols, which limits the number of heroes you can even use to defeat this villain. Most games against Gladiator end with the heroes auto-losing after a couple of turns. No thanks.
While the rest of the War of Kings Expansion adds some nice variety, Gladiator as a villain is plain unfun. Fortunately, he is an antihero. I’d use him as a hero, not a villain.
5: Dark Phoenix (Marvel United Season 2, X-Men, Stretch Goals)
We’ll be seeing a ton of Marvel United Season 2 on this list. Most gamers list it as the best Marvel United Season, and I tend to agree. Marvel United X-Men rules. Unlike our previous entry, Dark Phoenix may be difficult to acquire. Difficult, but not impossible. She’s available in the Season 2 Stretch Goal box. This box includes a heap of fantastic characters. We may see another one on this list from the same box, so the hefty price tag of $80 to $100 may be worth the cost.
Dark Phoenix offers a chaotic and fun fight. She doesn’t go down easy, but at the same time, Dark Phoenix doesn’t feel unfair of a fight (ahem, Gladiator). It also doesn’t hurt that Dark Phoenix is an iconic villain. I love playing against her, reliving moments from the epic Dark Phoenix Saga. And look at that mini. Gorgeous.
4: Legion (Marvel United Season 2, X-Men, Stretch Goals)
It did not take long for us to get to another Marvel United Villain from the Season 2 Stretch Goal box. Legion may be the pinnacle of Marvel United villain design. Like in the comic book, his personality changes. Every two turns brings a new wrinkle and mechanism into the game. Sure. This gimmick functions like an intricate puzzle in miniature game form, but puzzles can be a blast.
I’ve heard rumblings that at least one DC Super Heroes United villain borrows some game design ideas from Legion. I hope that’s true. Legion’s changing personality adds plenty of spice.
3: Doctor Doom (Fantastic Four Expansion)
Doctor Doom is our third representative from Marvel United Season 2 (X-Men). Such a great set. Naturally, Doctor Doom is included in the Fantastic Four Expansion, and he makes this list for more than nostalgia reasons. I swear. Doctor Doom is a “fantastic” Marvel United villain. All jokes aside, I’ve always had tight games against Doctor Doom as a villain. The Marvel United design team made sure to tune his combination of cards so players will always be one turn away from winning or losing each game. Brilliant!
Combination doesn’t begin to describe Doctor Doom’s Threats and Master Plan cards. They work so well together, and every time a new card gets revealed, players will be forced to make tense and meaningful decisions. Doctor Doom is one of those villains you face, and you’ll know which decision caused you to win or lose.
2: Juggernaut (Marvel United X-Men Core Set)
The X-Men set is four out of four on this list. Yowza! See what I mean when I said the Marvel United X-Men was a banger? Juggernaut makes this list–and almost tops it–because he makes a phenomenal introductory Marvel United villain. And he happens to be included in the Marvel United X-Men Core Set. Unless you really want Avengers in your game, I almost always suggest picking up the readily available X-Men Core Set. This makes Juggernaut one of the easiest villains on this list to add to your collection.
Juggernaut makes a great introductory villain because he’s thematic and fun. He charges around the board, headbutting people. Juggernaut behaves like you’d expect Juggernaut to behave. His ruleset is on the simpler side, but he can be challenging. Marvel United found a way to make Juggernaut easy to play and rewarding to defeat. I’ve never had a table dislike Juggernaut, and he just may be one of my most commonly played Marvel United villains.
1: Sinister Six & Assembled Sinister Six (Return of the Sinister Six and Maximum Carnage Expansions)
I’m double-cheating with our top entry. First, the Sinister Six is a supervillain team. Second, I’m picking two expansions here. Return of the Sinister Six was a KickStarter exclusive all the way back in Season 1, but plenty of stories carry this expansion, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Maximum Carnage was released in Season 3, but the modular Sinister Six add-on was only available in the KickStarter exclusive variant of the expansion. I picked up the Maximum Carnage expansion via retail, so I have a method of adding the modular Sinister Six.
Above is a picture of Carnage’s puzzle piece that can be used in the modular Sinister Six. Using the Marvel United wiki, I took images (and real-world measurements) and printed out my own copy of each puzzle piece of a modular villain at my local library. There are some unique cards you won’t find in a retail copy of Maximum Carnage, so you’ll need to print out those as well. Both are easy to find and download.
I love both iterations of Marvel United’s Sinister Six. Featuring the Sinister Six’s founding members, Return of the Sinister Six provided Marvel United’s first supervillain team. Like Legion, The Sinister Six functions like another intricate puzzle. But once you’ve figured out the puzzle, it may be time to move on to the modular Sinister Six. This version of the Sinister Six includes every villain who has ever joined the Sinister Six, so that static puzzle becomes an ever-changing puzzle. The first Sinister Six holds a special place in my heart (and you’ll need them to fill out your roster of every Sinister Six member), but the modular Sinister Six is clearly the best Marvel United villain. Fun, adaptable, and never boring.
Did we get the list right? Let us know who your favorite Marvel United villains are in the comments. Thank you for reading, wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle with another board game design brain dump. I’m still submitting designs to various publishers. I’ve received a couple of rejections. Brotherwise Games gave me a prompt response. I’ve given up on a handful of publishers (like Lucky Duck Games), marking them down as “never responded” in my spreadsheet. Seriously, I wish there was a submission tracker like Duotrope for board games, so designers could share notes on which publishers are more responsive than others. I guess I can do that here. While I don’t particularly care for Brotherwise Games’ submission manager (they use Google Forms and pics), I do like how prompt they were with a response. And that’s another thing the board game community could use, a more standardized online submission manager program like Submittable.
Anyway, I’ve made tweaks to Spill the Beans. My goal is making Spill the Beans more enjoyable at lower player counts, and I think I’ve accomplished this by having players “bust” if they spill too many of the same bean type. Love it! Spill the Beans is still a party game at its core, but I’ve playtested multiple smaller player count games at designer meet-ups and received good feedback. You would think a player may get lucky, pushing their luck by spilling out more beans and not busting, and that does occur, but the game evens out over time. And smaller player count games take little time at all. Spilling out more beans per turn means that the game concludes a lot faster at smaller player counts (a problem the game had before this change). Players are just as likely to run out of beans as they are to fill two jars.
Enough about Spill the Beans, I’ve also been submitting Whirligig Pets to various publishers. I’ve had fewer responses for Whirligig Pets than Spill the Beans. I may be submitting to the wrong publishers. Or I may need to submit games during conventions. Or it could be something else entirely. Again, board games need a submission tracker and submission manager program like Duotrope and Submittable.
I wrote the Monster Chef rulebook. It’s up for review with multiple design groups. I’m getting close to submission with this title. I can’t wait. Monster Chef has plenty of theme and could tie in well with the upcoming season of Delicious in Dungeon (2027). I’m also exploring expansions for this title. Monster Chef is a joy to develop.
The same isn’t always true of Rustbucket Riots. I’m still playtesting this game’s shift from dice placement to bag builder. I like what I’ve seen so far, but balance has become an issue. If I can unknot Rustbucket Riots’ balancing issues, it could proceed to a similar state to Monster Chef.
And we come to two newer designs that don’t even have names–yet–and I may want to help a fellow game designer get one of their title’s published. I won’t name her design here, but I love the game’s quilting theme. One of my new titles doesn’t have a theme. Well, I don’t care for the theme of flowers that it currently has. Too many games use a flower theme, so I may need to shake up a few things. My second title is fallout shelter game includes multi-use tetrominoes and spinners. Oh, yeah. We’re gonna get freaky.
That second title has been on the backburner for over a year. I wanted to get Spill the Beans, Whirligig Pets, and Monster Chef to good states before starting another project. I can’t wait to take the fallout shelter game to conventions. Woo hoo!
That’s all I’ve been working on over the past month. I should have more updates next month. Nuke-Con (in Omaha) is on the horizon. I’ll be attending with Spielmasons. If you’re going, stop by and say hi. Thank 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 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 get things started with what I’ve been playing over the past month.
Kyra’s Board Games
JinxO is a goofy party game in the vein of Sixes. Each player has a dry erase marker and board and try to match other players’ answers to bizarre questions. “Name an animal that looks like it’s drunk.” “Where on your body would you hide a weapon?” If you match with at least one other person, you circle your answer (gain one point). If you match with only one other player, you gain a star (three points). Players also receive points for circling every square in a row or column (kind of like Tic-Tac-Toe), and whoever has the most points wins. Fast, silly, and replayable, JinxO is a great icebreaker game. I can see kicking off a gaming convention with JinxO.
I love Tenby. It packs a lot of “game” into a small box, and Tenby rewards players who pay attention to small details. Look at the game’s cover (above). The number of smiling clouds, seagulls, specific doorways, benches, lampposts, flowers, and chimneys pictured could score points. Tenby has charming artwork, but that artwork serves a purpose. I may need to chain those smiling clouds for more points. And I like how Tenby determines play order. The game uses an action deck. Each card is numbered from 1 to 36 (I think). The higher the number on the action card, the better the action, but the later in the round you’ll be able to take that action. I liked that in Kingdomino; I like it in Tenby. I love building my own cozy streets in the Welsh town, Tenby.
Container is an AllPlay remake of the 2006 board game of the same name. While it does a great job of streamlining the original, there’s a lot going on in Container. When I played it at a convention, it took over thirty minutes for the teach. Just the teach. Yikes! The game box says Container takes 90 minutes. We had a full player count (five), and it took far longer than 90 minutes. But enjoyed my time with Container. AllPlay has a knack for putting highly strategic games into small packages. Container is no different. Make no mistake, Container is a heavy Euro game. I came in second (almost a tie), but I don’t know if deserved that placement. Resources are brutal in this game. I felt like I was underwater most of its runtime. You will take out loans. But you’ll need to time when you take out loans well.
I’d love to try Container at a smaller player count and play with gamers who already know how to play. I’d like to skip the teach.
Kyra’s Video Game
I’ve been getting back into Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and I almost wanted to start over from the beginning. There’s a lot more to Monster Hunter Stories 3 than I remembered. Yikes! I’m not even sure where I was in the story. Anyway, the game is still a joy to play. The art style differs from the core games in the Monster Hunter series. The art fits Monster Hunter Stories 3’s vibe of a bizarre Monster Hunter/Pokémon mashup. Don’t let the cute artwork fool you. Monster Hunter Stories 3 holds a lot of strategy. You need to know when to switch monsters, which attacks work best and where you should target them. This is the biggest reason why I’ve thought about restarting the game. I like the the unexpected strategic depth.
Those are all the games I’ve been playing. Lets see what Skye has been playing.
Skye’s Video Games
Astro’s Playroom doubles as a love letter to classic PlayStation games and a guide to core components of the PlayStation 5. Astro’s Playroom takes you inside your console to not only highlight what it’s capable of but also provide you with references to classic PlayStation titles that will make your heart flutter. Astro’s Playroom nods to various games like Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Ape Escape, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Final Fantasy VII, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Silent Hill 2, God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Ghost of Tsushima, and that’s barely scratching the surface.
Honestly, part of the fun of Astro’s Playroom is going through the various levels to see how many references you can spot. If you get a PlayStation 5 and have been with PlayStation for years, I trying Astro’s Playroom.
I finally got around to playing Death Stranding. I can see why so many folks were impressed with the game. Putting aside the bizarre premise which adds a lot of intrigue, Death Stranding is unique in its mechanics. As the post-apocalyptic deliveryman Sam Porter Bridges, your job is to make deliveries across the ruined United Cities (that’s right, Cities) of America, locate the President’s successor, and reconnect the country in the process. Piece of cake, right? However, you carry all your cargo on your back, and you have to keep your balance on your travels. The whole time.
Death Stranding is the first game I’ve played that’s used this mechanic. Being an open world game, you have to hold various buttons while trudging through rivers and traversing uneven terrain to get to delivery locations. Some will see Death Stranding as a glorified “Walking Simulator” which I understand. It’s certainly an acquired taste, but I’ve managed to enjoy it for the most part. My main complaint about the game concerns its combat. Given the fact Death Stranding centers around delivering cargo, it’s incredibly difficult when you come across an enemy while simultaneously trying to complete an order and have boxes on your back stacked 8 meters high. It gives me the feeling that the combat was added purely for the sake of avoiding the label “Walking Simulator” and nothing else. Still, I look forward to completing Death Stranding.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Season shared with me that she’s mostly played Apex Legends. She may play a new game by next month. So, those are the games our writers have been playing this past month. What’ve you been playing this month? Let us know in the comments. Thank you 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’re still taking a break from headline news, but we had some big losses in the entertainment space this week. We’ll have to share some love for those we lost this past week. Yowza, what a brutal week. But first, let’s talk about new releases for board games and video games. With the holidays on the horizon, we have a lot of great new releases to discuss. Let’s talk about games.
Effervescent Launches on KickStarter
Effervescent features an organic, grid-free tile-laying system where players have infinite freedom of placement. On a turn, a player must position a curved sea creature tile so that its tail touches the head of an existing creature on the table. Instead of packing pieces tightly edge-to-edge, this head-to-tail placement method creates spaces between the tiles. Players place their shimmering colony tokens onto the board by matching their tile placements to a row of three ever-evolving Drift cards. When tiles successfully surround a pocket of open water, an enclosure is formed. Anyone with tokens inside the sealed enclosure scores points based on shared communal Harmony cards.
Thank you, Weird Giraffe Games, for the description. I like Effervescent’s take on tile placement. As you can tell from the picture above, the tiles are oddly shaped. Players also place beads, bubbles, in between each of these tiles. This results in some bizarre tile placement combos. I have yet to play Effervescent, so I can’t speak to how well the rules describe how players can place these odd, raindrop shaped tiles and bubbles. Fingers crossed it isn’t too difficult to learn Effervescent. I’m intrigued. Effervescent offers multiple pledge levels, ranging from $39 to $69. If you choose the highest option, Weird Giraffe Games throws in a copy of Flock Ton of Flamingos and Spelling Beach. I’m loving the theming with this trio. If you’re interested in Effervescent, check out its KickStarter page.
Herobound Launches on GameFound
Herobound is a rethemed update of The Last Stronghold. A cooperative game for 1-2 super heroes who will attempt to push back the forces of evil threatening all parts of the globe. Survive the onslaught to save the world.
We’ve covered plenty of Solo Game of the Month releases because they’re great games (great production and great mechanisms) that feature a solo gaming option or are solo game only experiences. Each entry in the Solo Game of the Month Series also has a low cost of entry. I’m a sucker for superhero-themed board games, so Herobound sounds fantastic. Herobound’s artwork reminds me of Sentinels of the Multiverse. Another win. And Herobound’s GameFound campaign also features a ton of add-ons for other Solo Game of the Month entries. Most are valued at $25. If you’re interested in Herobound, check out its GameFound page.
Opera Magna Launches on GameFound
Opera Magna is the result of a collaboration between two of the most respected names in the Italian board game scene: Tommaso Battista (designer of Barrage and D.E.I.) and Stefano Castelli (creator of Potion Explosion and Chamber of Wonders).
The game is a resource-management Eurogame built around mechanical elegance, delivering a deep and layered gameplay experience within a streamlined playtime.
Set in 15th-century Florence, the game casts players as merchants supplying the grand construction site of the Basilica. At the heart of the experience lies a dynamic market system in which resource values shift with every action, and where managing what you leave to your opponents is just as crucial as choosing what to bring into your own workshop.
Thank you, Ludus Magnus Studio, for the description. Opera Magna looks amazing. We have an overview of the game above, but if you were to zoom in, you’ll find breathtaking artwork. I like the theme. The two co-designers has me excited. A quick search on BoardGameGeek revealed that Opera Magna has a short playtime. I don’t know how Opera Magna manages to stay within an hour playtime, but I’d be down for a medium-weight resource management game about the Basilica. Sign me up. Opera Magna has a pledge cost of about $50. If you’re interested in Opera Magna, check out its GameFound page.
Fox Flip Launches on GameFound
Fox Flip is a quick, easy-to-learn 2-player game of skill, luck, and timely flips. Play timely fox cards to outfox your opponent and win piles of cards!
To start, deal 7 cards to each player. The player opposite the dealer goes first. Alternate turns playing cards of equal or greater value, or by following the Fox card rules.
At some point, someone won’t be able to play. When that happens, you have one chance to stay in the game by flipping the top card of the deck onto the play pile. Flipping a card acts as your turn. If the flipped card satisfies the current rule in play, you survived and normal play resumes starting with the other player. If the flipped card doesn’t satisfy the current rule in play, the other player wins the pile.
Once a pile is won, alternate turns drawing 1 card per turn up to a maximum of 7 cards. Once a player has 7 cards, they must play a card on their next turn, which restarts the play phase.
Continue playing until the deck is empty and all cards have been won.
When all cards have been won, count your cards. 1 card = 1 point. The first player to 100 points wins. A typical game of Fox Flip takes 3-4 rounds.
Thank you, Ticket Booth Games, for the description. I had to throw in a fun, quick card game. Fox Flip fits that bill. It’s a two-player only game, so turns should be lightning fast. Even though Fox Flip takes three or four rounds to play, the game caps out at twenty minutes long. A huge plus. I like the age range for Fox Flip; this is a game you can play with kids. And look at that adorable art. We need more cartoon foxes in board and card games. Fox Flip pledges are $12. That’s a good price for a card game. If you’re interested in Fox Flip, check out its GameFound page.
Cola Wars Launches on GameFound
It’s the 1980s, and you’re in charge of marketing for a startup brand of cola. The game will last up to five years, starting in 1981, and each year ten market share tokens are up for grabs. The market share tokens get bigger as the soda market grows, so they get more valuable as the years go by. You track who’s winning by placing market share tokens on a bar graph in the middle of the table. Whoever has the most market share at the end of the game wins!
Thank you, One More Turn Games, for the description. Honestly, I thought Cola Wars had already launched, and I missed it. I’ve seen marketing for this game for months. Full Disclosure: I’m a huge soft drink, soda, cola fan. I will consider backing Cola Wars. I’ve got to. The pictures above feature a late-stage prototype. Cola Wars already looks so good. The bottles, the bottle caps, and the fun 80s aesthetic. I like how Cola Wars will offer two box sizes, depending on which one you prefer. Most modern board games have near-square shapes, but board games from the 1980s were rectangular shaped. You can pick either one. Yes! I may just pick up the odd-shaped rectangle box for funsies. If you’re interested in Cola Wars, check out its GameFound page.
Jurassic Crisis Launches on GameFound
Jurassic Crisis is a semi-competitive, PvPvE survival board game for 1–4 players, inspired by the video game ARK Survival Evolved. You must survive on an island inhabited by dinosaurs while mastering various mechanics – from resource management and positioning to character development, base building, and dinosaur taming.
Thank you, Sperling Spiel, for the description. We go from a Kyra-themed game in Cola Wars to a Season-themed game in Jurassic Crisis. (Pictured above is the prototype on Tabletop Simulator). Not gonna lie, I’m interested in Jurassic Crisis as well. We don’t have too many pictures of the final product. Jurassic Crisis is on GameFound and this is a preview, so we don’t have a price point for Jurassic Crisis’s pledges, but I’m keeping an eye on this title. It runs a little long for my tastes, but I’ll make an exception for a dinosaur survival game. Yes! If you’re interested in Jurassic Crisis, check its GameFound page.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Releases
Embark on an original story, prequel to the award-winning games: A Plague Tale. As Sophia, journey to the Minotaur’s Island, outsmart deadly foes, unravel ancient secrets, and confront a mythical creature at the heart of a devastating curse.
Truth time. I’ve never played the original A Plague Tale. It’s been in my to be played (TBP) pile for several months, but I haven’t yet had the chance to play it. I don’t believe you need to have played A Plague Tale to understand Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a prequel to the original game. Might be interesting. I love the graphics. The setting of Minotaur’s Island is phenomenal. Automatic wishlist. But I may want to play the original before diving into Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. It’s available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Star Wars: Zero Company Releases
Command an elite squad through a gritty and authentic story in STAR WARS Zero Company, a single-player turn-based tactics game set in the twilight of the Clone Wars.
Star Wars: Zero Company is Respawn’s third Star Wars video game (I think), and it differs from all the rest. Respawn’s previous Star Wars games were Souls-like games. Again, these games are in my TBP. I really need to play more video games. Eek! Star Wars: Zero Company gives their Star Wars games a tactical RPG element. A quick look at the graphic above shows a set-up similar to Baldur’s Gate 3. This has me excited, and Star Wars: Zero Company has received good reviews. Respawn has a great reputation in video game circles; I’m not surprised about Star Wars: Zero Company’s reviews. Star Wars: Zero Company is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Melancholy Happy Trails
It’s been about a year since our last melancholy happy trails post. These segments are where we remember those we lost this past week. And this past week was another tough one. We lost some icons.
Dolly Parton
“You can’t be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” Ah! We lost a great one in Dolly Parton on August 25, 2026. Dolly–can I call her Dolly?–was a fabulous queer advocate. Even though I grew up in the South, I never had the greatest affinity for country music. But Dolly was different. She was unapologetically herself. She took up space. She encouraged others to be themselves. And while she was deeply religious, she was an LGBTQ advocate. Dolly proved one could be both Christian and support LGBTQ rights. And she taught us that a little pink and glitter can go a long way. We’ll always love you, Dolly.
Tim Curry
As Fran-N-Furter (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Tim Curry may have the single greatest entrance in all of cinema. Curry had other iconic roles like Pennywise (It), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Broadway production of Amadeus), King Author (Spamalot), and Wadsworth (Clue). Curry embraced the misfits. He’s another icon who refused to be defined as one thing. Curry was ridiculously talented but never took himself too seriously. Few humans were ever dubbed an “Honorary Muppet.” Curry’s work makes me smile. Don’t dream it. Be it. Rest in peace, Tim.
Peter Cullen
“Autobots, Roll Out!” Peter Cullen’s smooth baritone screamed cool as Optimus Prime. Cullen found ways to make audiences care for his characters: Monterey Jack (Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers), The Predator (Predator), and Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh). Cullen may be best known as Optimus Prime and Eeyore, but he had range. A ton of range. For many (myself included), Cullen’s voice defined childhoods. Over the years, Cullen shook our minds. Rest in peace, Peter.
That’s all the Geek News we have for you this week. We’ll be off next week for Labor Day Weekend; it’s a holiday, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
