Tabletop Games

Timeline: Horror Tabletop Games

Published on October 21, 2025June 16, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Game Design Brain Dump: October 10, 2025

Published on October 10, 2025October 15, 2025 by Kyra3 Comments

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Last week, we began a series called–for the time being–Writing Brain Dump, and this week is the time to roll out Game Design Brain Dump. The title is a work in progress. Let’s hope I can express my board game design process with this series. Fingers crossed for a cogent thought or two. Strap in for a Board Game Design Brain Dump.

Rustbucket Riots Origins

I’m going a different route from last week’s writing brain dump. Recently, I attended a panel about board game design at Nuke-Con (Omaha’s board game convention) and figured we could begin with what prompted me to begin designing Rustbucket Riots.

I knew Mega Man: The Board Game by Jasco Games wasn’t the best when I purchased it at a severe discount. Honestly, I wanted the bits. Jasco Games did an amazing job with Mega Man’s miniatures and the look of the game. But good luck finishing a game of Mega Man in under 10 hours. Each robot stage plays like five games of Munchkin played back-to-back, with every other player doing their best to prevent you from completing the stage. And you need to complete multiple boss stages. 10 hours may be too few hours to complete this game. You may need to dedicate a table to preserve your month-long game of Mega Man.

I hope I won’t get copyright claimed for any images. Eek! I began with a simple dice chucker of a game. Players would roll standard six-sided dice (I don’t recall the exact number, but it was likely around four or five) and then place the dice on their player boards. Each space on the player board would grant different abilities, with the final four slots variable for powers obtained by defeating robot bosses. Players could place multiple dice in a single space to combine the rolled result. A six may be played with a single die showing a six or with a two and a four or any other combination of six.

I chose dice chucking because rolling dice and placing them with predetermined spaces made for quick turns. Quick turns lead to a game that one can finish within ten hours. This game worked well. Heck, I even tried it as a real-time game, and it worked extremely well. Games lasted less than 15 minutes. I even saw this Mega Man variant as a game that could be played in tournaments of speed runs. Now that I think about it, I may revisit this variant in the future and give it a reskin. Sorry, the ADHD took the wheel for a second.

For some reason, I abandoned the above game concept and went in a different direction. I love Cretaceous Rails. Unlike Jasco’s Mega Man, there isn’t much I’d change with this title. Cretaceous Rails makes this list because I wanted to try using one of its core game mechanisms: dual action selection. I even asked Cretaceous Rails’ designer, Ann Journey, if it’d be okay if I borrowed this game mechanism before trying the next Mega Man remix iteration. The result was a game I nicknamed Rondelande.

Oh my goodness. This game wasn’t just a different direction from my first Mega Man remix; it was different in every possible way. I didn’t keep any of Rondelande’s hardcopy versions. I only have the digital files, and it’s difficult to recreate what the game looked like without a physical copy. But I’ll try my best.

That’s a lot of color going on. Those are supposed to be three rondels (a circular game mechanism with pie wedges representing which actions one may take) stacked on top of one another. Each turn, players would place their gear tokens on one of the hexagon-shaped spaces and take the actions indicated. But before placing gears, players could play up to two cards (depicting one of the actions run, slide, jump, shoot, or climb) underneath the spaces on the outer edge. Players would then be able to take all the actions, including actions on cards, during their turn.

Note: The trapezoid spaces had different actions like draw cards or oil cans (that functioned as wild actions) or even rotating one of the top two rondels, so the action selection could vary.

Rondelande was a lot of fun. It ventured far from what I had originally intended to make. That’s the ADHD brain taking the wheel again. Unfortunately, Rondelande was a space hog. The image above is at least a twentieth of the size of the original game. Despite its size, Rondelande may have been a great game if I had stuck with it. I liked how players could build up the board as they went, benefiting themselves for a turn, but also allowing an opponent to take the same action in a future turn. Players could even refresh (take back their gear tokens) or choose not to refresh for a turn to prevent someone from taking an action their token is currently occupying. Rondelande was great. But something felt off. I wanted interlocking gears for the board because it made sense for a robot theme. I had chosen rondels because they were easier to build. And then I found gears that would work.

I found a file that could work for interlocking gears. Yay! As an aside, I was working on making this file work while producing my Mega Man variant and Rondelande, so a lot of what we’re about to discuss happened concurrently with the previous two games.

At first, I was using a lot of memory foam. Rondelande’s rondels were comprised of foam. I’d print out the digital files (of that rainbow nightmare above) onto full sheet labels and then sticker them over the foam and cut them out. I tried the same concept with the gear pictured above. And it worked…for like one playthrough of the game. Foam likes to shred under friction. Who knew? So, I put the interlocking gears aside until I found a set of wooden gears on Amazon.

Yes! I was in business. I could continue with Rustbucket Riots. The picture above is a modern version of the game; the first version still used foam for its board (the gears haven’t changed too much). I still have a version of the first game and will include a picture of it in a future post. Rustbucket Riots combines multiple ideas. I brought back dice chucking from Mega Man, only this time, I used specialty dice that included run, slide, climb, shoot, and jump. And I always thought Tzolk’in’s gears didn’t move enough. I could fix two issues I saw in other games. Jasco’s Mega Man took too long, and Tzolk’in (Tzolk’in is an amazing game that earns its spot in BGG; I’m nitpicking) could have gears that frequently turn.

The name Rustbucket Riots came swiftly. Originally, I wanted to make a better Mega Man board game, but I couldn’t copy Mega Man exactly. So, I wondered if I could make the player characters villainous. The Boss Robots attempt to free themselves from an oppressive corporocracy and the humans using them as cheap labor, while the players assume the role of corporate robots tasked with bringing the rogue robots under control. Even though the Boss Robots would view what’s happening as a revolution, we’re playing this game from the viewpoint of corporate robots, and they’d see it as riots. Throw in a slur, and you get Rustbucket Riots.

I think that’s everything up to the idea of Rustbucket Riots materialized. We’ll cover early iterations of the game in the next board game design brain dump. If you’ve made it this far through my rambling, you’re awesome. You know it. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tabletop Game Review: Marvel United: X-Men Core Set

Published on September 20, 2025September 18, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

We’ve discussed many Marvel United expansions from the game’s initial set; it’s time to talk about Marvel United: X-Men. This version of Marvel United adds team play and a one versus many option, where one player controls the villain while the others play the heroes. This increases gameplay options and allows for a fifth player to join in on the fun.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. In Marvel United: X-Men, players act as iconic X-Men heroes who work together to stop the master plan of a powerful villain controlled by the game and in some cases another player. Each villain has a unique master plan, cards that trigger various effects, and threats that make clearing locations difficult. Heroes clear missions, making the villain vulnerable, and finally take on the big bad villain before they complete their master plan. Can you save the day in time? Marvel United: X-Men adds Marvel’s merry mutants to the fray.

Before we get any further, we’ll take a side quest and discuss Marvel United: X-Men’s less heroic details.

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Andrea Chiarvesio, Eric M. Lang, and Francesco Rugerfred Sedda
Publisher: CMON Global Limited and Spin Master Ltd.
Date Released: 2021
Number of Players: 1-5
Age Range: 8 and up
Setup Time: 5-10 minutes
Play Time: 30-40 minutes

Game Mechanisms

Cooperative Play
Hand Management
Modular Board
Solo / Solitaire Game
Team-Based Game
Variable Player Powers

Game Setup

We already covered the Game Setup and Game Flow in our original Marvel United review (here’s a link to that review), so we’ll go over the basics in the following two sections. Let’s cover an abbreviated review of the game setup and rules.

Marvel United: X-Men’s setup can change depending on which Villain(s) and Heroes you choose to play. Each game consists of six locations. Eight locations are included because Marvel United: X-Men is a core set. You may choose your locations or shuffle them and choose six at random. Each Location card has spaces at the top for civilians and thugs and a rectangle with a block of text that will state “End of Turn” at the top of the box.

Place civilian/thug tokens on their matching spaces. Shuffle the Villain’s Threat deck and deal out each Threat face-up so that it covers the rectangle at the bottom of each location. You must clear this threat before gaining the “End of Turn” effect printed on a Location. Place health tokens where signified on threat cards and on the Villain dashboard. Place the three mission cards (Defeat Thugs, Rescue Civilians, and Clear Threats) face up under the villain dashboard where the text reads “Unlocked.”

Each player shuffles their hero decks and then draws three cards to form their hands. Shuffle the Villain’s Master Plan deck. Leave the Master Plan deck face down. This will be the villain’s draw pile.

Players place their miniatures on one of the six location cards, usually the centralmost location for each player (easy access). Then, they place the villain on the location card opposing the heroes. If one player chooses to play as the villain, hand the Super Villain cards to them, and the Heroes gain access to Super Hero cards. These new card times can be played if the game state triggers their use (for example, “You play a Master Plan card” or “Any Hero has 4 or more cards in their hand at the end of the Hero Turn.” Timing is key.

Game Flow

The villain(s) play first. Draw the top card of their master plan deck. The villain moves the number of spaces indicated. Resolve any BAM! Effects and these effects will be printed on a space within the villain’s dashboard. Then, place the civilian/thug tokens (if any) indicated at the bottom of the card. If a player has taken the role of the villain, they get a hand of cards and can choose which card they play. The heroes get their turn after all the villain’s effects are resolved.

Heroes pick who goes first, and hero turns will continue around the table clockwise. At the beginning of each game, Heroes will get three turns before the villain receives another turn. During their turn, heroes play one card from their hand.

Marvel United Sample Hero Turns Gacha Game Review

Resolve actions and the symbols printed at the bottom of the hero’s card in any order. The symbols at the bottom of a hero’s card will be shared with the next player, but any printed action will not be shared. Heroes will use these actions to complete missions. The game begins with three missions in play: Defeat Thugs, Rescue Civilians, and Clear Threats. Each mission card will have spaces for the tokens they require to complete. As soon as these spaces are filled, the card is discarded, and the mission is considered complete. Mission cards can be completed in any order.

After the heroes complete the first mission, the villain panics and will act (play a card) every two hero cards instead of every three hero cards. After the heroes complete the second mission, the villain becomes vulnerable to damage. The heroes can complete the third mission, but it isn’t necessary. If the heroes do complete the third mission, each hero immediately draws 1 card, increasing each player’s hand size by one.

Play continues back and forth until either the villain wins (by completing their unique master plan or anyone, heroes or villains, runs out of cards) or the heroes win by dealing enough damage to the villain after the villain becomes vulnerable to damage.

Review

Marvel United: X-Men features many new game concepts for the United game system. Having one player take on the role of the villain is the most obvious. I like that Spin Master and CMON games include a chart that allows gamers to play villains from the previous set. Since X-Men characters have a knack for flip-flopping their allegiance, it makes sense that Marvel United: X-Men began the trend of purple miniatures (anti-heroes who can be played as heroes or villains). This feature is crucial to the game design, as I forgot it began with Marvel United’s second wave (X-Men). Marvel United: X-Men also adds a team element with its Blue and Gold Team expansions. That doesn’t factor in too much with the core set. We’ll talk more about the X-Men Blue and Gold Teams in the future.

Power creep is a real thing in Marvel United: X-Men. In the original set, players were lucky if they had three unique abilities and anything more than three cards in their deck with special abilities. Marvel United: X-Men heroes have a minimum of four cards in their deck with special abilities and at least two unique special effects, but there are plenty of heroes with way more than four special ability cards. Marvel United: X-Men also includes plenty of powers that deal with crisis tokens. The original set had a few ways to deal with crisis tokens; most of the methods came in the form of Location “End of Turn” abilities. I like the inclusion of heroes with crisis token abilities. The heroes in Marvel United’s second way had plenty of new ways to affect the game state.

Beginning with the anti-heroes (the purple miniatures who can be heroes or villains), let’s get into specific heroes you can find in the Marvel United: X-Men Core Set. Mystique features few Heroics but plenty of Move and Attack. Her two special abilities (two copies of each card) allow her to prevent new tokens (Thugs or Civilians) from being added by the next Master Plan card, and she can redirect damage from herself to Henchmen or Thugs. This plays into Mystique’s ability as an infiltrator. Typically, Marvel United: X-Men does a good job of showing each anti-hero as their heroic and villainous selves. Magneto is the other anti-hero included in the Core Set. Like Mystique, he has little Heroics but can zoom around the board and deal copious amounts of damage. I like Magneto’s ability to convert symbols into Wild symbols. This makes him versatile.

Perhaps because of the increased number of powers within hero decks, Marvel United: X-Men does an even better job of capturing its heroes. Wolverine begins the game with a healing factor. Cyclops uses Leadership, while Beast also has a regenerating factor (not as persistent as Wolverines) and he specializes in heroics and movement. So far, far thematic, but I really like Storm, Jean Grey, and Professor X. Storm can reposition the entire team, Jean Grey can manipulate the Storyline with Telekinesis, and Professor X may be the most powerful hero in the X-Men Core Set. He’s surprisingly mobile with a penchant for heroics. He can also use Telepathy to manipulate the Storyline, give tokens with Leadership, turn symbols into Wilds, and even turn Thugs into Civilians.

In short, the heroes of Marvel United: X-Men have more personality than the previous set. Professor X may be overly powerful. Half of the cards in his deck possess special abilities, and two of the other six cards feature wild symbols. The villains in the X-Men Core Set provide plenty of twists for gameplay, but that’s to be expected from Marvel United villains. The villains have always represented this game’s most intriguing design space. Sabretooth hunts heroes, while Juggernaut charges from one location to the next, damaging everyone in his way. Magneto is especially difficult to stop. He can nullify all Hero effects and hand out crisis tokens to heroes, damaging them for each crisis token the hero possesses. But Mystique may be the most interesting villain from this lot. She targets Senator Kelly, and the heroes lose if she carries out her assassination.

Marvel United: X-Men’s Locations have varied “End of Turn” abilities. Token draw, healing, moving to another location, rescuing a Civilian, and dealing damage to a Thug/Henchman are standard fare by this point, but Marvel United: X-Men’s Locations gives these mechanisms a few twists. But my favorite “End of Turn” ability may be Sentinel Space Station’s. You may discard 1 card from your hand to the bottom of your deck to swap a card from your hand with one of your face-up cards in the Storyline. This ability is a hint of what one can expect in other Marvel United: X-Men expansions. The Marvel United: X-Men Core Set does enough to show what the second United wave of games offers. It does a great job of building on a solid foundation.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

Marvel United: X-Men adds numerous wrinkles to the United Series’ gameplay. A player can take the role of the villain, team play is possible, and antihero characters can be either heroes or villains. The heroes within Marvel United’s second wave have more personality, while the villains remain stellar. Mystique’s mission of assassinating Senator Kelly is fantastic.

Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: September 14, 2025, Two Captain Americas at Once

Published on September 14, 2025September 13, 2025 by Kyra1 Comment

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Today’s another good day for Geek News over the past week. We begin with some quotes from Marvel CEO Kevin Feige and the latest gossip from Marvel Studios and the MCU.

Two Captain Americas in the MCU

Marvel CEO Kevin Feige opted for a Marvel HQ sit-down instead of a massive Comic-Con Announcement this year. During this sit-down, Feige answered several reporters’ questions. One of his most notable responses was Eventually, we will have to recast Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The way Feige phrased his response made it sound as if the recast of the MCU’s original Avengers would occur years into the future, but one industry insider (a relatively new one named James Mack WL) believes a Tony Stark and Steve Rogers recast could occur much sooner than we think. According to this source, they believe the MCU will commit to two Captain Americas (a new Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson) post Avengers: Secret Wars.

There’s a lot to unpack here. Feige has stated that he believes this year’s Captain America: Brave New World flopped because it didn’t feature Steve Rogers (or Chris Evans). This could sound like a knock against Anthony Mackie. Honestly, Mackie was by no means the main reason why Captain America: Brave New World underperformed. I don’t think Feige even meant to imply that. He may have been lamenting his letting Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans go prematurely from the MCU. Downey leaped at the opportunity to rejoin the MCU, and Chris Evans might not be too far behind.

But what does this mean for the Captain America character? The comics have had two simultaneous Captain Americas, and it worked. Having a second Cap shouldn’t detract from Mackie’s Sam Wilson. Heck, it could be interesting to see two heroes compete for the throne of best Cap. My guess is that Mackie and another actor could portray the Star Spangled Hero. The MCU could recast Steve Rogers while Mackie’s still in the Sam Wilson role, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a different actor portray the character opposite Mackie’s Sam Wilson, because Mackie’s Sam has such a long history with Evans’s Steve. My guess is that Evans could return to the Steve Rogers role.

No matter who portrays Steve Rogers, we should be seeing the character return to the MCU. And sooner than we think.

Robo Rescue Lifts Off on KickStarter

Years after humans left a Martian Research Facility, four abandoned robots embark on an adventure to reunite with their human creators on Earth. Robo Rescue puts gamers in the roles of one of these robots. Program and move your robot pal, collect resources with board actions (in an ever-changing warehouse), convert resources to essential parts, and repair all rocket engines, so you can return home.

Robo Rescue uses a unique programmable movement mechanism. Its ever-changing board looks amazing and should facilitate multiple play-throughs. The pictures we see above are from Robo Rescue’s prototype. The final product should look even better. Pledges range from $56 to $99. If you’re interested in Robo Rescue, check out its KickStarter page.

Zairoo Launches on KickStarter

Tabletop roleplaying game Zairoo showcases a Pan-African Fantasy world. Five vibrant kingdoms rise from the ruins of a cataclysmic past. In this alternate 17th-18th century, where African and New Afrikan Myths come alive, players step into a land where science, spirituality, and the supernatural intertwine.

I learned about Zairoo several months ago and have been waiting for its release. The game looks amazing. The concept has me intrigued. Zairoo blends classic African and New Afrikan myths. It offers a fantasy world seldom and desperately needed to be explored. Pledges range from $20 to $300 (many of the larger pledges include charitable donations). If Zairoo interests you, check out its KickStarter page.

Gamusinos Skitters onto GameFound

In Gamusinos, players take on the role of unique animals, trying to find their way to a sanctuary. Players attempt to score the most points by playing experts for their animal, but you’ll also need to discover which hunter freed the animals to prevent them from taking the precious chamois.

Gamusinos features adorable art and hidden roles. Can you deduce which animal is which? If Gamusinos sounds interesting, check out its GameFound page.

Snorkeling Launches on GameFound

Featuring stunning art, Snorkeling pits gamers against each other in an underwater, fast-paced, card-shedding game. During a turn in Snorkeling, players can play as many cards as they want from their hand that are exactly one value (numerically) higher than the top card of the center pile and the same color as the top card in the center. Then, you may strike your rivals by placing a card exactly one value lower than the top card in their personal pile, forcing them closer to the dreaded surface.

A round ends when one player receives a 0 value “Beach” card in front of them. Everyone scores points based on the card on top of their pile. The first to reach 12 points wins the game. Snorkeling has a simple concept and should be easy for gamers new to the hobby. We don’t yet know much about Snorkeling’s price point–although I can’t see it being too much–but if you’re interested in Snorkeling, check out its GameFound page.

No More Dead: New York Shambles Onto GameFound

No More Dead: New York puts players in the driver’s seat to either lead the rebirth of civilization or watch its downfall. Blending area control, resource management, and tactical decision-making, No More Dead: New York has players traverse NYC’s iconic neighborhoods in their vans, strategically deploy their team to gather resources, or conquer and restore key locations by eliminating threats.

No More Dead: New York offers plenty of replay value. Each survivor has their own unique capabilities. Can you build the perfect team to survive the Zombie Apocalypse? If you’re interested in No More Dead: New York, check out its GameFound page.

Borderlands 4 Released

The next installment in Gearbox and 2K’s fan-favorite co-op looter shooter Borderlands launched this past week. Borderlands 4 is the largest and most important video game launch from this past week, so we’ll break down all we know about the crossplay capabilities, because let’s face it, you’re going to want to play a co-op looter shooter like Borderlands 4 with friends.

Borderlands 4 was released on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S and will be released on the Nintendo Switch 2 early next month. Borderlands 4 will support crossplay, but this gets a little tricky. If you and your friend are on Xbox and PC, you can play together easily, provided you both have free Gearbox Shift accounts. Unfortunately, neither cross-save nor cross-progression will be available on day one. But there’s hope these will be added at a future date. In classic Sony PlayStation fashion, Borderlands 4 may not support crossplay on PlayStation 5 on day one, but like cross-save and cross-progression, players may gain this capability in the future.

The future looks bright. Borderlands 4 has received above-average reviews. We may have to open the Kairos Vault. See you soon.

Those are all the new releases we had for video games and board games from the previous week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tabletop Game Review: Roll Camera!: The Filmmaking Board Game

Published on September 13, 2025June 9, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Get ready to make a cinematic masterpiece by rolling dice and placing them in Roll Camera!. Players work for a struggling film production company. The company’s on the verge of bankruptcy and one successful film can turn around the company’s fortunes. It’s up to you to make the best movie you possibly can before time—and money—run out. We’ll get into Roll Camera! in just a bit, but let’s cover some of Roll Camera!’s details.

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Malachi Ray Rempen
Publisher: Keen Bean Studio
Date Released: 2021
Number of Players: 1-6
Age Range: 10 and up
Setup Time: 5-10 minutes
Play Time: 45-90 minutes

Game Mechanisms

Cooperative Game
Dice Placement
Events
Open Drafting
Pattern Building
Set Collection
Solo/Solitaire Game
Variable Player Powers

Game Setup

Roll Camera! doesn’t have the best rulebook; it’s a little cluttered. I’ll mention this again in the review section. Fortunately, the game board is easy to navigate, and the company (Keen Bean Studio) produced How-to-play and Turn-by-Turn Walkthrough videos. These videos help a lot. I’ll do my best to convey the information contained within the rulebook.

1) Place the main game board in the middle of the table.

2) Choose or randomly assign one player board to each player. You may use either side. Give each player the Player Aid card that corresponds to their player board.

3) Shuffle the top and bottom script cards separately, then randomly select five of each to form two Script decks. Place each deck face-up in the corresponding spots on the board. Return the remaining Script cards to the box; they will not be needed.

4) Shuffle the Problem deck and then place it in its space above the board (the space marked with a red triangle and exclamation point).

5) Shuffle the Idea deck and then place it in its space below the board (the space marked with a yellow lightbulb).

6) Shuffle the Scene deck and then place it on the topmost Storyboard space on the board with the “sketch” side up. Draw two Scenes from the top of this deck and place them in the two empty Storyboard slots below the Scene deck.

7) Deal each player three Idea cards. Even though Roll Camera! is a cooperative game, keep these cards hidden. You will always have three Idea cards in your hand.

8) Mix up the Set Piece titles and place them face-up in two even stacks on their designated grey spaces on the main board, above the Set.

9) Adjust the Budget and Schedule dials according to the difficulty setting and number of players. The Difficulty settings are printed on the reverse side of the dials.

10) Place the pink Quality marker on the START space on the Quality track.

11) Place the “Blocked” tokens next to the Problem deck within reach. 12) Choose someone to be the starting player, giving them the six Crew dice and the Budget/Schedule dials.

Game Flow

Player turns in Roll Camera! consists of five simple steps:

1) Draw a Problem Card
2) Roll the Crew dice
3) Assign the Crew dice and take actions
4) Clear the Crew dice
5) Advance the Schedule and pass the dials

1) Draw a Problem Card

Draw one card from the Problem deck and put it in the slot immediately to the right of the Problem deck.

The Problem Queue has three slots. New Problems are added to the leftmost slot. Any existing Problems are pushed to the right. Problems never move back to the left, even if others are resolved to create a gap in the left or middle space.

If the Problem queue is filled with three problems, you don’t need to draw another one at the start of the next turn. However, you also cannot take actions, play Idea cards or gain bonuses that require drawing a Problem card if the queue is full.

2) Roll the Crew dice

Roll the Crew dice, which determine what cast and crew you’ll have available this turn.

Usually, you’ll roll all six Crew dice, but it is possible that some Crew dice have been “locked in” onto a Set Piece during a previous player’s turn. If so, you’ll roll fewer dice. At any point, you may choose to re-roll and reassign dice that were locked in on a previous turn.

Each Crew die has six faces: Camera, Light, Sound, Actors, Art Department, and Visual Effects (or VFX, whose symbols are white to denote that it’s considered a “Wild” die face).

3) Assign the Crew dice and take actions

Take as many actions as you have dice to assign for available spaces. You can use the blue action spaces on the main board, on Set Pieces (tiles), and on your player board. You cannot use the actions on another player’s board, nor can you use an action again if its space(s) are already filled with dice.

Actions will require specific dice. Refer to the following pictures, keeping in mind that the VFX die face is wild and can be used as any die face.

You don’t have to use all the Crew dice on your turn if you can’t or don’t want to; however, the next player will still re-roll any unused dice on their turn.

Locking In Dice)
You may also choose to “Lock in” any of the dice you place if you aren’t able to complete an action’s requirements. Another player could then complete those requirements on a future turn.

If you do this, the next player will roll fewer dice.

4) Clear the Crew dice

Once you’ve taken all the actions you want, clear the dice, leaving any locked-in dice on their spaces, and hand the dice to the next player.

5) Advance the Schedule and pass the dials

Turn the Schedule dial to lower your remaining time by one and hand the dials to the player to your left. Your turn is over; it’s now the next player’s turn, and they begin with Step 1).

Ending the Game

Play continues as above until players finish five scenes in the Editing Rooms and the movie is in one of the white sections on the Quality track. It is possible to create a “So Bad, It’s Good” movie. The game can also end if you run out of time on the dial. If this happens, you don’t get to finish your movie. Sad times.

Review

I’ll begin by reiterating that Roll Camera!’s rulebook is—at best—confusing. Thank goodness there are multiple videos explaining how to play the game. I recommend watching the rules video at least before attempting to play the game or even reading the rules as written.

The cluttered rulebook runs counter to Roll Camera!’s game board. One could almost figure out how to play by the symbols on the board. That’s the mark of great graphic design. I’m shocked this didn’t carry over to the rulebook. I get it. Writing a rulebook is my least favorite part of designing and developing a board game, but Roll Camera!’s rulebook is borderline unreadable.

That’s a lot of text for a few images. Yikes!

There are a lot of individual mechanisms contained within Roll Camera!’s gameplay, but they all work together toward a cohesive whole. Player boards (with their unique abilities) make sense for player roles. Production design can improve the movie’s quality by expending an art department die face, the editor can move scenes around after they’re shot to meet requirements set by the script, and the producer can cut corners, generating money and an extra problem. Since the player abilities are tied neatly within Roll Camera!’s theme, it makes the abilities intuitive.

The requirements for placing dice are similar to those used in numerous dice placement games (like Alien Frontiers). That’s a strength. Similar symbols added with me learning how to play Roll Camera!. The Set Pieces made for an interesting puzzle the group must solve. Do we build a Set Piece with more blue, but specific blue spaces (like only actors can be placed on a space), or do we go for limited spaces with which to place dice, but when we do place dice on those spaces, you gain a bonus (like more money or more time)? These may seem like small choices, but these small choices add up to plenty of variables.

Roll Camera! even includes bad die roll mitigation. A player may choose the “Get Intern” action, setting a die to any die face but gaining a problem. Ah! The dangers of hiring interns. Roll Camera! uses its theme with most—if not every—design decision.

The most interesting action a player can choose during a turn may be “Production Meeting.” Players (including the active player) donate one idea card each to the active player. The active player will then choose which idea card to play, which one to save for later (you can replace another saved idea card if needed), and which idea card to discard. This is an interesting way to keep players engaged even when it’s not their turn as the active player. I may have to steal this game mechanism for a future game. Lol. Technically, the active player could play more than one idea card in a single turn. Saved idea cards can be played by placing dice on the spaces above their save space. The concept that you can play one die at a penalty versus playing an idea card for no penalty if you place two dice is brilliant.

Idea and problem cards uphold the theme. I don’t know how many times I chuckled when an editing-specific problem occurred while I played as the Editor or a directing-specific problem happened during the Director’s turn. Roll Camera! does what it sets out to do. It takes the world of cinematography and applies it to a fast-paced dice placement game.

I don’t even mind when my team and I fail, and we make a “So Bad, It’s Good” movie. In fact, those may be the best games of Roll Camera!.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

Dreadful rulebook aside (watch the how-to-play video instead), Roll Camera! takes the world of movies and turns it into a fast-paced dice placement game. Roll Camera! incorporates a lot of mechanisms, but each one works to form a cohesive whole that captures the essence of the game’s theme. Roll Camera! may be one of the few games I don’t mind losing. Heck! I like making a movie that’s “So Bad, It’s Good.”

Top 5 Tabletop Games from 1997

Published on September 8, 2025September 12, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

1997 was another stellar year for tabletop games. There were so many games to choose from that we have an honorable mention for the first time in a couple of yearly lists. Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with another Top 5 Tabletop Games throughout the years; today’s list is the top five board games of 1997. We’ll talk about 1997’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.

**Honorable Mention: Mississippi Queen (1997)**

Yep. 1997’s winner of the Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year) just misses our list. Mississippi Queen puts gamers in the role of a paddlewheeler captain in a race down the Mississippi River in 1871. Mississippi Queen won numerous awards, not just the Spiel, and it’s a stellar game, but the other games that made this list have had longer staying power. Still, Mississippi Queen is a satisfying racing game.

**5: Tigris and Euphrates (1997)**

The incomparable Reiner Knizia makes another one of these lists with Tigris and Euphrates. Many gamers may balk at this game being this low. Tigris and Euphrates is often dubbed a “gamer’s game.” It centers on a clash between neighboring dynasties along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Funny, both of the first games we’re talking about are named after famous rivers. Anyway, Tigris and Euphrates offers tactical and strategic objectives, where immediate (tactical) goals are more realistic at larger but smaller player counts allow for long-term planning.

Tigris and Euphrates features drawing tiles from a bag. Players may redraw tiles if they don’t like the ones they drew by spending an action point (players have two action points per turn). After drawing tiles, players will place tiles and leaders onto the board, creating and expanding regions and kingdoms. During the game, players collect points in each of the four tile colors, prompting players to balance the tile types they play. Tigris and Euphrates has a lot more conflict than most German games during this time. It’s a classic.

**4: For Sale (1997)**

For Sale is a fast-paced auction card game about real estate. It’s played in two phases. During the first phase, players bid for several buildings. After all the properties are purchased, the second phase begins, and players sell their buildings for the highest profit. For Sale is one of those easy-to-teach, easy-to-learn, and difficult-to-master card games.

In short, For Sale may be the opposite of Tigris and Euphrates. Both are stellar games, but I’m giving For Sale the slight nod for its accessibility.

**3: GIPF (1997)**

GIPF is the first abstract strategy game to make one of these lists in several posts. GIPF was recommended for the Spiel des Jahres in 1998. It has plenty of accolades, but GIPF makes this list because it began a series of abstract strategy board games by designer Kris Burm named the GIPF Project. TZAAR, ZERTZ, DVONN, YINSH, PUNCT, LYNGK, and MATRX GIPF are great games that use various game mechanisms. But we’re talking about GIPF, the game of pushing.

GIPF takes a board that looks like it could belong in Chinese Checkers. Players introduce a new piece (disc) on the hexagonal game board and push their piece in a straight line. GIPF involves no luck. It’s a straight-up brain burner, and it reintroduced the gaming community to abstract strategy games akin to Go or Othello.

**2: Bohnanza (1997)**

Uwe Rosenberg makes his first appearance on one of these lists with Bohnanza. The game’s title is a pun on the German word Bohne (for bean) and the English word bonanza (for an exceptionally large and rich mineral deposit). Players plant bean cards and then harvest them to earn coins. Each player begins with a random hand of bean cards, and each card has a number on it corresponding to the number of that type of beans in the deck. Modern card game darling, Flip 7, may have borrowed that idea from Bohnanza. Cards with fewer copies in the deck are more difficult to collect, but players don’t need as many copies of the cards to harvest (or make a set).

Bohnanza features trading and can get political. Get ready to make your case. More so than any other game on this list—so far—I’ve seen Bohnanza played in game shops and board game cafés.

**1: Twilight Imperium (1997)**

Twilight Imperium is a board game space opera. Twilight Imperium is the closest thing to a board game version of Star Wars. Twilight Imperium is a classic 4X board game: explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. You choose how your civilization will settle the cosmos. Twilight Imperium is not for the faint of heart. Games run a minimum of five hours. This is one of the reasons why I’ve only observed games of Twilight Imperium. There’s a lot going on, but if you want to control every move of an intergalactic kingdom, few games do as good a job of capturing that vibe as Twilight Imperium.

You can even dive into Twilight Imperium’s world with its novel series published by Aconyte Books or play the tabletop role-playing game spinoff. Twilight Imperium is a game that some board gamers play exclusively. And there may be a good reason for that. As recently as last year (2024), Nerdist and Polygon dubbed Twilight Imperium as one of the greatest board games ever made. Twilight Imperium easily tops our 1997 list of tabletop games.

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.

Geekly News: September 7, 2025, New Releases

Published on September 7, 2025September 7, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! We don’t have much for geek news this week. Hopefully, we’ll have more headlines in the coming weeks. Instead of a bombshell or two, let’s get right into board game and video game new releases.

The Game Makers Returns to KickStarter

What board game fan hasn’t dreamt of making their own games? The Game Makers puts you in the shoes of a board game company, producing the most and best games you possibly can, and it returns to KickStarter this past week. Only this time, The Game Makers ditches the puns on popular board games and includes hundreds of real-world board games for you to create.

The Game Masters’ central action selection system is amazing. Players take snappy simultaneous turns by moving their forklifts along the four available options for production. This feature allows for games of less than 90 minutes, even when a game includes six players.

I’m also a big fan of dual-purpose cards. The Game Makers has these in spades. The Game Makers pledges range between $149-199, so it’s a little on the pricy side, but the game is well worth the cost. If you’re interested in running your own board game company, check out The Game Makers’ KickStarter page.

Endearment Commences on KickStarter

If you’re a huge Jane Austen and board game fan, Endearment is for you. Endearment allows gamers to become one of Austen’s beloved heroines and recreate many of her classic works in this swoonworthy game for one to four romantics.

Endearment is produced by Dux Somnium Games, which had other hits like Botany, La Fleur, and Artistry. Endearment continues the board game company’s flair for the dramatic. Dux Somnium Games has a reputation for high-quality components and easy-to-learn rules. While I don’t know the specifics for Endearment’s ruleset, I’ve ascertained it’s a scenario-based game (with scenarios based on Austen’s work), and that should add some replay ability for Endearment.

I’m intrigued by Endearment. The components look amazing, and Dux Somnium Games has a knack for capturing a theme. That’ll be much needed for Austen fans. Endearment pledges range from $49 to $329, with plenty of options in between those two price points. If you’re wanting to get your romantic gaming on, check out Endearment’s KickStarter page.

Terrorscape 2 Returns to GameFound

Terrorscape 2 channels Dead by Daylight in this team-based asymmetric horror game. Players take on the role of survivors or the killer in this epic game of cat and mouse.

Terrorscape 2 features a 3D mansion, high-quality miniatures, and variable setups for plenty of replays. Since Terrorscape 2 is launching on GameFound, we don’t know much about its pledge levels, but it will launch on September 9, 2025 and if you’re interested in Terrorscape 2, check out its GameFound page.

Lost Games Launches a Four-Game Package on GameFound

Lost Games joins the latest trend of board game companies offering their entire annual catalogue in a single campaign. Wishland has received rave reviews, and it makes up half of the four games on offer in Lost Games’ four-game GameFound package. That’s a great sign. Lost Games’ other three games have also received favorable reviews. I love the idea of a board game company releasing all of its games in a single campaign.

And Lost Games offers a lot of value with its three or four-game bundle. Dreamwood, Medieval Realms, and Wishland: The Card Game are available with a $39 pledge (that’s three games for about $13 apiece), while gamers can include the Wishland Big Box (with all the expansions) for a pledge of $120. Sure, $80 is a lot for one game, but this is a game with at least three expansions, and you still get the previous three games at the same price. If you’re interested in Lost Games’ three or four-game bundle, check out its GameFound page.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Releases

Hollow Knight fans rejoice. The long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong sequel released this past week. Hollow Knight: Silksong won Unity Awards’ “Most Anticipated Game” in 2021 and 2024. So, fans have been waiting for half a decade, and Hollow Knight: Silksong looks like it delivers.

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s protagonist Hornet leaps through the air with ease. Hornet offers more gameplay options than their predecessor. They can flip over huge enemies like a gymnast and pull off insane acrobatic feats, and Hornet will need all of their tricks to make it through Hollow Knight: Silksong’s punishing platforming levels. Fortunately, healing receives an overhaul in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Instead of a slow drip heal like the Knight, Hornet can instantly heal three health nodes and can do so on the move. But beware. Hornet has a silk meter, and healing three nodes of health immediately empties the bar.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is available on multiple platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. There are so many options. Hopefully, one of our writers will get enough hours in-game for an upcoming review.

Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots Releases

The long-running golf video game series Everybody’s Golf/Hot Shots received its first new release in almost ten years, combining the game’s original title (Everybody’s Golf) and North American (Hot Shots Golf) title, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots. Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots features over 10 golf courses and 25 golfers who (like in former entries) can be unlocked as playable characters.

Honestly, I haven’t played Everybody’s Golf for more than a session or two since the original PlayStation Portable. The series offers a lot of varied and goofy play. From what I can remember, Everybody’s Golf has plenty of depth in play, too. Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots received some backlash for its use of AI-generated images. But according to a GameRant article, Bandai explained AI-generated images were limited to “leaf and tree textures” on the golf courses. Background tree textures can be tedious to recreate, and using AI-generated images to create tree textures is understandable. Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. I wonder if Switch 2 will get a release date later. Fingers crossed.

That’s all we have for Geek News this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News; August 24, 2025,

Published on August 24, 2025August 23, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. We don’t have much in the way of major headlines this week, but as usual, we’ll break down the board game and video game new releases. Let’s start with board games.

Storybook Saga Opens on GameFound

We’ve been covering every Solo Game of the Month release on GameFound ever since January of this year, because these games, even if they don’t look like ones I’d be interested in, are designed by established board game designers, and this company never fails to deliver. This month’s game, Storybook Saga, continues this tradition. Per usual (for GameFound), we don’t have an idea of pledge costs or Storybook Saga’s game mechanisms. But it looks amazing.

Players assemble a team of classic storybook characters and attempt to survive scenarios. Each card will be tarot-sized–you don’t see much of that. the art looks stunning. Storybook Saga is yet another Solo Game of the Month title that uses top-notch components. And even though we don’t know how the game is played, you know Storybook Saga will be a solo game, and the pledge should land in a reasonable price range. My guess would be $20-35. If you’re interested in Storybook Saga, check out its GameFound page.

Reiner Knizia’s Hanami Launches on KickStarter

As Hanami’s subtitle says, Hanami is an update to the Reiner Knizia classic board game Samurai, and when I say Samurai is a classic board game, believe it. The game still holds an impressive 7.5 rating BoardGameGeek. Yeah. 7.5 on BGG means the game is great.

Hanami celebrates a different side of Japanese culture, but one that’s still steeped in Samurai tradition. Who doesn’t love sakura blossoms? Hanami offers a lot of free add-ons for a standard pledge of $40. If you’re interested in Hanami, check out its KickStarter page.

Restless Spirits Emerges on KickStarter

Restless Spirits puts players in the role of a spirit guide, trying to collect magical totems and release spirits. Restless Spirits’ rules are easy to pick up. Choose a spirit guide, attract spirits to your board, find and play matching totems, use spirit abilities to gain an advantage, and release the most spirits. This game gets really combo-tastic.

Restless Spirits is another game that features tarot-sized cards. I’m always down for that. The art looks amazing, but my favorite feature for Restless Spirits is its story mode. Tales of the Spirit Realm is a collection of 12 short folktales about the Spirits in the game. Before playing, draw a Tale card (either at random or in order), turn to the associated page in the Tales booklet, and read the story. Each Tale has an accompanying gameplay modifier, so you get to learn more about the specific spirit you’re playing, which comes with a fun gameplay twist.

Restless Spirits offers a couple of pledge levels. The standard edition costs about $47 (the prices are in Pounds), while the deluxe version that adds some extra swag runs about $74. If you’re interested in Restless Spirits, check out its KickStarter page.

Herdling Video Game Releases

This past week was a big one for indie video game releases. Herdling is a brand new adventure from Okomotive, who also created the atmospheric and acclaimed FAR games and Firewatch.

Herdling looks stunning. If it follows previous Okomotive releases, Herdling should have more of a focus on immersing gamers in the world it’s crafting. I never thought herding livestock would appeal to me, but Herdling has me second-guessing that opinion. Herdling released on PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation5, Xbox.

Discounty Lands on Steam

Newcomer developer Crinkle Cut Games released its first video game, Discounty, on Steam. Discounty takes some concepts of games like Stardew Valley and applies them to a discount supermarket. You’ll be managing a local supermarket and getting caught up in small-town drama. Organize and plan your shop’s layout and strike lucrative trade deals as you expand your business empire.

Discounty scratches that resource management itch that I often get. The quirky town looks fun and inviting. And at the time of writing this post, there’s a bundle for Tiny Book Shop (which we covered in a previous Geekly News post and is an amazing video game) and Discounty. If you’re interested in Discounty, check out its Steam store page.

Sword of the Sea Sails onto Systems

I’ve always liked developer Giant Squid’s aesthetic. Giant Squid are the ones behind Abzû and The Pathless, but their art director also worked on Journey and Flower. You can see those influences in Sword of the Sea. Players control a Wraith, who explores abandoned and desolate worlds, hoping to bring life back to them. The Wraith explores the world with a hoversword, which is part snowboard, skateboard, and hoverboard. Needless to say, this world is stunning.

Sword of the Sea plays like an eco-fantasy. In a world as desolate as the one made by the Once-ler in The Lorax, Sword of the Sea has players soar through barren lands, seeding them with life in an art style reminiscent of Journey or Flower. Sword of the Sea’s premise has me intrigued. Giant Squid delivers the graphics we know them for, and that makes for a title on my short list of 2025 video games that I need to try. Sword of the Sea is available on PC and Playstation5.

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.

Top 5 Tabletop Games from 1996

Published on August 23, 2025August 23, 2025 by Kyra1 Comment

1996 was a weaker year for board games than the past handful of years, but a banner year for collectible card games. As a result, we’re lifting the CCG embargo for the 1996 list. There will be more than one CCG entry for the top 5 tabletop games from 1996, and it’s a doozy of a collectible card game. Woo hoo!

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with another Top 5 Tabletop Games. We’ll talk about 1996’s board game list soon, but let’s recap the ground rules for which games make these lists before we start.

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: Mythos Collectible Card Game (1996)**

We begin this list with an interesting collectible card game, Mythos. Based on the Cthulhu Mythos stories of horror author H.P. Lovecraft, Mythos is also an adaptation of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. Mythos combines elements of some traditional card games like Rummy and borrows other concepts from previous CCGs. While the game is playable by two players, the intent is for Mythos to be played by a larger number of players. The main objective of Mythos is to collect points by completing adventures. Adventures are cards that include keywords derived from different card names and types. Once the required cards are in the player’s story deck or on the table, the player can play the adventure and receive its points.

Mythos differs from many collectible card games because of its lack of a combat focus. This is a CCG that attempts to tell a story. Unfortunately, Mythos faltered after its initial release. Later expansions, most notably the non-collectible Standard Game Set, confused consumers and forced the publisher Chaosium to discontinue Mythos only one year after the game’s original release. Still, Mythos shows what collectible card games can achieve. It earned its distinction as one of Pyramid magazine’s The Millennium’s Best Card Games.

**4: Mad Gab (1996)**

Lately, we haven’t included too many mass-market board games in these lists. Mad Gab bucks this trend. It does so, not just because 1996 was a weaker year for board games like I mentioned, but because it was a cultural cornerstone. Mad Gab uses puzzles known as mondegreens (misheard words that could mean something else) and contain small words that, when put together, make a word or a phrase. For example, “These If Hill Wore” when pronounced quickly sounds like “The Civil War.” Mad Gab had two levels, easy and hard. The faster players solve the puzzles, the more points they score.

Mad Gab uses phonetics. It tests players’ ability to process sounds based on simpler English-written sounds into a meaningful word or phrase. Players must read the words aloud. Reading the phrases silently won’t allow someone to decode the puzzles’ meaning because the sounds need to be decoded.

**3: Kill Doctor Lucky (1996)**

We covered Mystery of the Abbey on our last week, and that game revamped Cluedo (or Clue for the United States). Kill Doctor Lucky flips the idea of Clue on its head. Kill Doctor Lucky features a sprawling mansion filled with a variety of dangerous weapons. Cluedo begins after the murder has been committed, and players compete to solve it; Kill Doctor Lucky ends with the murder, and players attempt to kill the titular character, Doctor Lucky.

Players must find a secluded room before slaying Doctor Lucky. You can even gain extra points if you pair a weapon with a specific room. For example, if you kill Doctor Lucky in the wine cellar with a trowel, you’ll gain extra points, alluding to Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado.” As soon as I heard that Clue: The Movie could receive a remake, I wondered why Hollywood didn’t choose to go with a Kill Doctor Lucky movie. Why not lean into the silliness?

**2: Netrunner (1996)**

We have yet another Richard Garfield collectible card games that make one of these lists. Garfield has a knack for stretching the boundaries of collectible card games. That makes sense. He did create this form of game. Like Mythos, Netrunner doesn’t have a focus on combat. It takes place in the Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing game universe (which is also the basis for Cyberpunk 2077) and pits players against each other in asymmetric roles. One player assumes the role of a runner, who tries to break through and steal hidden plans (hacking) of the mega-corporations (the Corp) that run the world. The other player assumes the role of the Corp and attempts to catch the runner.

Beyond its focus on non-combat, Netrunner was unique because most collectible card games are framed as a battle between peers. Netrunner has two very different sides facing off against each other. While the collectible card game only ran for a few years, in 2012, Fantasy Flight Games adapted Netrunner into Android: Netrunner, which is a living card game that ran until 2019. Netrunner has a long and storied history. Its fans are fierce. But it doesn’t claim our top spot on this list. A different collectible card game has that honor.

**1: Pokémon Trading Card Game (1996)**

Pokémon had to claim the top spot for 1996. It’s the second-longest-running collectible card game in history. When Pokémon first released, it sold out so fast that all the trading card manufacturers in the world postponed their other orders (like baseball, football, and basketball cards) to fill the demand for new Pokémon cards. Releasing later the same year as Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow (the original Pokémon video games on the Game Boy) helped catapult Pokémon to legendary status.

Play alternates between players who take several actions during their turn, including playing Basic Pokémon, evolving Pokémon, attaching an Energy card, playing Trainer cards, and using Pokémon abilities and attacks. The first Pokémon Trading Card Game sets played like simplified Magic: The Gathering decks. This helped Pokémon and built a pipeline for Magic. Wizards of the Coast, the producer of Magic: The Gathering, didn’t mind because the Pokémon Company licensed the Pokémon Trading Card Game to Wizards of the Coast, who published eight expansion sets between 1998 and 2003, after which the licensing transferred back to The Pokémon Company. The Pokémon Trading Card Game is one of the few games of this type from the original trading card boom that has stayed in continuous production. I haven’t played Pokémon in years, but I have fond memories. This game’s legacy demands that it takes our top spot.

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.

Tabletop Game Review: Flip 7

Published on August 16, 2025May 5, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Flip 7 takes the premise of Blackjack and extends it to party game proportions. Flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. While the game choices are simple (hit or stay), the ramifications of your actions aren’t. Are you the type of player to play it safe and bank points before you bust, or will you risk it all for the bonus by flipping over seven unique cards in a row? Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’ll review Flip 7 in a moment, but before we draw our first card, let’s discuss Flip 7’s fine print.

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Eric Olsen
Publisher: The Op Games; KOSMOS
Date Released: 2024
Number of Players: 3-18
Age Range: 6 and up
Setup Time: Nominal
Play Time: 10-20 minutes

Game Mechanisms

Card Game
Party Game
Push Your Luck

Game Setup

Shuffle the deck and choose a player to be the Dealer for the round.

In turn order, the Dealer deals one card face up to each player, including themselves. If an Action card is drawn, resolve it immediately (more on Action cards in the Game Flow section). Once any Action cards are resolved, continue dealing until everyone has been dealt a card. Not everyone will have a Number card (a card with a number). Some players may have multiple cards because of other Action cards.

Game Flow

The Dealer now offers each player in turn the option to “Hit” (deal them another card) or “Stay” (exit the round and bank their points). If you Hit, put the Number cards in a single row with Score Modifier cards.

Flip 7 features a special deck of cards. It’s Number cards range from 0 to 12. There are copies of each card equal to the card’s value. For example, there are 12 copies of the 12 Number card and 5 copies of the 5 Number card. Zero is the only exception; there’s only one copy of the 0 Number card. Flip 7’s deck also contains Score Modifier cards (Times 2 which doubles your point value and the rest adding a flat number to your score). Flip 7 also has three Action cards: Freeze, Flip Three, and Second Chance. Second Chance allows you to ignore one bust (drawing the same Number card). Flip Three allows the player to choose a player (even themselves) to draw three cards in a row. Freeze cards are given to a player to force them to stay for the round (they will not be able to draw more cards).

Remember: Players bust (don’t receive points and are eliminated from the round) if they draw two of the same Number card.

The round continues until one of two criteria are met. 1) There are no active players because all players have busted or chosen to stay. 2) One player can Flip 7 number cards, ending the round immediately.

At the end of each round, players score points. Add the value of all your Number cards. Adjust your score with any Score Modifier cards. If you Flip 7 Number cards during the round, score an additional 15 points.

When starting the next round, set all cards from the previous round aside. Do not shuffle them back into the deck. Pass the remaining cards in the deck to the left, that player becomes the new Dealer. When the deck runs out, shuffle all discards to form a new deck. If you need to reshuffle mid-round, leave all cards in front of the players where they are.

At the end of the round when at least one player reaches 200 points, the player with the most points wins.

Review

Flip 7 has taken the tabletop gaming community by storm. I can see why. It has a simple premise (party game Blackjack) and easy-to-understand choices each turn and round. Flip 7 is necessary for the tabletop community. In practice, Flip 7 is the game I can play with my grandma and my four-year-old niece. It’s the most gateway of gateway games.

Since this is the case, I’ve played Flip 7 a ton over the past several months. Seriously, Flip 7 was released during the holiday season (December 2024), I’m writing this in early May (we write many of our reviews weeks, if not months, in advance), and I’ve played this game with 10 different game groups and over 150 times. That’s about 30 times every month. I’ve almost played Flip 7 once every day. One of those months was February, so I’ve definitely played Flip 7 once every day. Frankly, I’m sick of playing Flip 7. It’s a good filler game, but I haven’t seen a game with this much crossover appeal.

And that’s a strength for Flip 7. It’s one of the few games I can get everyone on board playing. That’s why it’s necessary for the tabletop community and for tabletop gaming. But does it convince non-gamers to try other games that aren’t Flip 7? I’m unsure.

But I do like the inclusion of Action cards. There are three copies of each Action card. Freeze seems mean, but it could be pivotal in stopping someone who had an easy rise to the top of the scoring track; it’s a decent catch-up game mechanism of sorts but this can devolve into targeting the leader (like Munchkin). Players can only hold onto one Second Chance. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a player forced to give a second copy of Second Chance to an opponent. Those cards have a way of finding the same player. But Flip Three has the most strategic value. During the early game, you may want to target yourself. Later in the game, you’ll want to choose someone else and force them to bust. Is this enough strategy? Probably not for many tabletop gamers.

I can see that people who can count cards have an advantage in Flip 7, but that takes the fun out of the game. While the rules don’t forbid someone from looking at the discard, it goes against the soul of Flip 7. The Number cards value equaling the number of copies in the deck is clever, and the game doesn’t overstay its welcome—unless you’ve played it over 150 times in a handful of months.

Flip 7’s box says 3+ players. Its entry on BoardGameGeek lists it as 3-99 players. The rulebook suggests that if you have more than a dozen players, use a second copy of Flip 7. While this may be technically true, the game plays best at 5-6 players. Flip 7 would overstay its welcome if you included over a dozen players. It would take forever for twelve people to determine whether they should hit or stay. There isn’t much else to Flip 7, but I’d be bored if I had to wait for eleven other people to make that simple choice. And forget 98 other people. I’d walk away from the table.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

While not my first or second choice of filler game, Flip 7 has enough crossover appeal to appease the masses. It doesn’t have enough strategy for hardcore tabletop gamers, but Flip 7 is the kind of game I can get my grandma or four-year-old niece to play. Therefore, Flip 7 is a good game to keep on hand for non-gamers.