Geekly News: June 29, 2025, Fantastic Four Final Trailer

Published on June 29, 2025June 27, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang. Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. I wrote this post a day or two early because my birthday is this weekend. Yay! I’m leveling up another year. But before I eat my body weight in key lime pie and beef stroganoff, we have some Geek News to cover, starting with the final Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer. I know. I know. We’ve covered every Fantastic Four trailer. Somehow, I keep missing some of the Superman trailers. I’m equally excited for both films.

Marvel Releases Fantastic Four: First Steps Final Trailer

The MCU released the final trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps. I appreciate that we didn’t get too many new spoilers with this trailer, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some peppered in. We may venture into spoiler territory.

The trailer begins with the Fantastic Four at the Ted Gilbert Show when an alarm on their watches sounds. The scenes before this moment give us the longest looks we’ve seen of Marvel’s first family using their powers: Mr. Fantastic stretching, Invisible Woman throwing up a force field and manipulating objects, The Human Torch flying past a Coppertone billboard of himself and setting it on fire, and a bystander wanting The Thing to say, It’s Clobbering Time.

I love the running gag of everyone trying to coax The Thing into saying, “It’s Clobbering Time.” This is a trope used in certain Fantastic Four comics, where The Thing may have said Clobbering Time once, or it was used for a television show (in First Steps, it’s a cartoon), and I can’t wait to see the payoff because, undoubtedly, he will say Clobbering Time, perhaps in the scene where Johnny carries The Thing (with a beard–look at his rock beard, that’s awesome).

A few more moments stick out. We get a better look at Shalla-Bal. I’ve talked about how I didn’t like the CGI for this Silver Surfer, and I’m glad to see an improvement with this trailer. We get an extended look at Galactus, but not a straight-on look at the titan. The Fantastic Four fly into a black hole, and it’s implied that Sue may be pregnant with Franklin at the time. Flying into a black hole while Sue is pregnant with Franklin could supercharge Franklin’s powers. Someone in the crowd by the Fantastic Four carries a sign that reads, Earth Believed In You, which implies that the Fantastic Four have already failed in some way.

And there are those three massive devices. One is by the Eiffel Tower. I’m unsure where the other two in the distance are from Paris. Could this be what Reed was working on with his massive blackboard? We’ll have to find out. I’ll paraphrase one of the top comments on this trailer. The marketing team is doing a great job by holding back three things: 1) Galactus’s face, 2) The Thing saying, “Clobbering Time,” and 3) Johnny saying, “Flame On.” I agree. It’s best to see and hear these things when Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th.

Grail Games Launches The Pixel Series on KickStarter

Grail Games returns with a trio of retro-art board games. Even though Aliens Attack!, Ohio Bob, and Harvest Valley use the same 8-bit art style, they couldn’t be more different in gameplay. Aliens Attack! is a tower defense game, Ohio Bob offers a fun adventure, and Harvest Valley is a farming sim. All three games are smaller, easier to store and transportable.

The Pixel Series even features some board game designing giants like Bruno Faidutti and Hisashi Hayashi. You can back this project and receive individual games for $10 or the entire set for $26.You can even throw in a fourth game in the series, Level 10, which is a reprinting of Okey Dokey.

I like Level 10’s retheme of guiding Izzy through a video game level without the character perishing. If you’re interested in Grail Game’s Pixel Series, check out their KickStarter page.

Mesopotamia by Meeple Pug Launches on GameFound

Even though it isn’t the Mesopotamian Royal Game of Ur, the board game Mesopotamia does include knucklebone game pieces, which were game pieces in the classic board game. Meeple Pug’s Mesopotamia puts players in the role of civilization leaders in this stunning 4X game (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate). Mesopotamia foregoes a tech tree for research tiles that make each player’s civilization unique.

I love Mesopotamia’s customizable player boards. This gaming component could spark a series of games with a similar component. Mesopotamia’s gameplay encourages trading, exploration, and combat. Those knucklebone game pieces come in handy when attacking one of your opponents. Mesopotamia’s game pieces are top-notch. This is a gorgeous game, and that’s before considering the prelaunch Hanging Gardens Miniature.

That miniature looks amazing, and Mesopotamia has plenty of other detailed miniatures. I like the addition of note one, but three solo-player modes: exploration, siege, and castle defense. Mesopotamia offers a lot of gameplay options. It launches early next week, so we don’t yet know how much this campaign costs. If you’re interested in Mesopotamia, follow its GameFound page.

Modern Classic Board Game Colosseum Receives a Glow-Up on GameFound

Yes! If you’ve ever been interested in the Wolfgang Kramer and Markus Lubke design Colosseum, The Grand Spectacle may be the edition to add to your collection. Ian O’Toole is one of the best board game graphic designers/artists working today, and Colosseum: The Grand Spectacle is a feast for the eyes.

I’ve always liked Colosseum’s take on the roll/spin and move game mechanism, which is often maligned and hated in the board game community. Colosseum does it right; take some of the chance out of rolling dice. I also agree with the Dice Tower’s Tom Vasel. Colosseum works at 5-players, which is rare in a game of this type.

If you’ve ever wanted to run your own Colosseum, you should check out Fantasia Games’ reprint of this modern board game classic. Colosseum: The Grand Spectacle has a variety of pledges, ranging from $80-140.

Death Stranding 2’s Mysterious Update

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was released this past week and topped video game sales. In case you haven’t played the original, the first Death Stranding is on sale for most systems. Modern video games have updates during their first week, so Death Stranding 2 adding one a day after its release doesn’t raise any eyebrows. Oddly, we know nothing about this Death Stranding 2 update. The update offers no information about what it’s patching. The Death Stranding 2 team offers no clues. No one seems to know what this patch does. Hopefully, it fixes some of the game’s audio issues. Perhaps Hideo Kojima likes keeping this update a mystery.

Tamagotchi Plaza Releases on the Nintendo Switch 2

Tamagotchi Plaza, a shop simulator, was released for the original Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. It looks adorable. I have fond memories of Tamagotchi, and I’m happy if Tamagotchi Plaza popularizes the pet raising sim to a new generation of gamers. Tamagotchi Plaza looks interesting–I may check out this title at some point–but Tamagotchi Plaza continues a disturbing trend for Nintendo Switch 2. If you already own a game for the original Switch, you can play it on the Switch 2 for a small Switch 2 upgrade fee.

While the upgrade fee isn’t the same price as a full-fledged game, it comes off as a shameless cash grab. Why should I have to pay an additional $10 for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when I already own the game? Yes. $10 isn’t that much, but if you convert each one of your original Switch titles to the Switch 2, that adds up quickly. And this practice will embolden other console producers to do the same. We already got a Horizon: Zero Dawn remaster for the PlayStation 5 when it was released on the previous console.

Tamagotchi Plaza is a new game, and players would have to buy the Switch 2 upgrade for a game they just bought if they were to pick up a Switch 2 later this year. Okay. I get it. You could play the original version of Tamagotchi Plaza, but the Switch 2 version adds new shop types. Why would you want to play the Switch version if you were to upgrade to a Switch 2 after it becomes available again? I’m concerned about this business model for the video game community. But, hey, many of us–myself included–have purchased Skyrim eleven times. How’s this any different?

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

Geekly News: June 22, 2025

Published on June 22, 2025June 21, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. We have a couple of MCU updates and new board games to talk about. This week had an extra topic or two than last week’s. Yay! Since the MCU news is juicier, we’ll begin with the latest from Avengers: Doomsday.

Wolverine Will Be in Avengers: Doomsday

A couple of reports/rumors about the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday surfaced this past week, suggesting that Wolverine will return in some capacity during the massive group film. Early this past week, veteran stunt double Daniel Stevens stated that he’s working on Avengers: Doomsday. Stevens is Hugh Jackman’s stunt double for his role as Wolverine. This admission doesn’t confirm Wolverine will be in Avengers: Doomsday because Stevens has worked as a stunt double for multiple characters during Avengers movies, but the second report may seal the deal.

YouTuber UnBox PHD specializes in drone footage of Hollywood films. They’re the ones who broke that Wolverine would don his blue and yellow suit in Deadpool and Wolverine months before the movie’s release. UnBox PHD took drone images of a classic Wolverine movie scene’s recreation. Marvel asked UnBox PHD to take down the images, and in return, they all but confirmed Wolverine will be in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. It’s yet to be seen in what capacity Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will be involved. Fingers crossed for more updates.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Mephisto to Make Appearance in Ironheart

Sacha Baron Cohen as the MCU’s Mephisto, who is a Marvel variant of the Devil, was leaked several years prior. Cohen’s Mephisto had been rumored as far back as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He cropped up again in Agatha All Along. Just about any Marvel film or series that features a magical element has been rumored or teased Cohen’s Mephisto. Ironheart combines magic and technology. The show’s central theme will be magic versus tech; this conflict interested me in our MCU Preview earlier this year. During that same preview, I mentioned that The Hood would be Ironheart’s main antagonist. While I still believe The Hood will be Ironheart’s focal enemy, he’s a younger character, about the same age as Riri Williams, so it makes sense if someone bigger is pulling the strings.

Marvel leaked Ironheart’s schedule this past week. Next week, we’ll see the first three episodes, and the week after that, the second set of three Ironheart episodes will release. If Ironheart uses The Hood as a mid-boss, someone who’s working for a larger and bigger bad, narratively speaking, it makes sense for the bigger bad to show their face during the fifth and penultimate episode. The Hood may be failing to convert Riri to the dark side, so the one behind The Hood will need to get personal. Notice how the “M” in Karma is suspiciously highlighted in red. A red M for Mephisto? It could be. We won’t have to wait long to see if one of Marvel’s most dastardly enemies graces the screen. I love the Cohen casting of Mephisto.

If we do get Cohen’s Mephisto in Ironheart, I don’t think he’ll be in full makeup, or if he is, we’ll only catch a glimpse. This appearance will most likely introduce the character and sow the seeds for future MCU stories. Could Mephisto make an appearance in Doctor Strange 3 or Midnight Sons, or even VisionQuest? All of those projects make sense.

Paperback Adventures: Volume 2 Launches on GameFound

Paperback Adventures combines a roguelike deck-building game with a word game. Paperback Adventures (first volume) was a solo game only, but Volume 2 offers a 4-player simultaneous co-op game mode as well. The modular system allows for more variety with the more character boxes you have. Even though Geekly has yet to play this game, Paperback Adventures was a hit with several well-known board game reviewers, specifically Shut Up & Sit Down and The Dice Tower.

I like any modular game with a well-thought-out storage system, and Paperback Adventures: Volume 2 appears to have that in spades. The game’s Big Box, which may be an add-on (no word on the Paperback Adventures: Volume 2’s price point yet), has space for everything included in the game. Yes! I don’t know how many times I’ve had larger modular games with ridiculous storage.

Paperback Adventures: Volume 2 takes the original Paperback (which I have played on Steam, and it’s excellent) and adds a layer of adventure with small RPG elements to it. I never picked up a hard copy version of Paperback (and I missed the first wave of Paperback Adventures), but I may have to back Paperback Adventures: Volume 2 when it launches on GameFound next week.

Cozy Cat Cafe Launches on KickStarter

Run your own cat cafe. Arrange furniture. Recruit cats. Attract customers. Cozy Cat Cafe has coziness in its title. Player turns don’t appear to take long. You’ll have a handful of options, but Cozy Cat Cafe ups the ante if you’ve recruited the right cats. Certain cats can pull off special cat tricks (cards).

I don’t know what “Biscuit Boost” does, but I must play it at least once. Want to know more about Cozy Cat Cafe? Fortunately, Stami Games has a quick Instagram video, providing a quick overview. I like a couple of Cozy Cat Cafe’s game mechanisms. Players construct patterns to attract customers, but the customer cards can be altered on one’s turn if you think one of your opponents can attract a customer. Neat! The other game mechanism I like is the double-sided tiles. You can construct a basic piece of furniture, or you can upgrade it for a posh version. Me-ow!

Cozy Cat Cafe has adorable art that fits its theme. If you’re interested in Cozy Cat Cafe, the core box runs about $54 (plus shipping). The deluxe version is $81. There are several other options (some with signed copies of the game). Check out Cozy Cat Cafe on KickStarter.

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

Marvel United Rise Of The Black Panther Review

Tabletop Game Review: Marvel United, Rise of the Black Panther

Published on June 21, 2025March 24, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Has it been long enough since we’ve covered a Marvel United expansion? It’s been one month? Eh, why not cover one of the final expansions from the original release, Rise of the Black Panther? Like I said in our last expansion review, Geekly won’t be covering every Marvel United expansion, but we will review the ones worth your time or the ones we believe people will most likely purchase. In short, you may want to consider these expansions.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. In Marvel United, take on the roles of iconic Marvel heroes who work together to stop the master plan of a powerful villain controlled by the game. 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 mastermind before they complete their evil plot. Can you save the world from impending doom? Let’s find out with Rise of the Black Panther.

Wait. Before we leap into the fray, we should look at Rise of the Black Panther’s fine print.

Marvel United Box Close Up Board Game Review

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Andrea Chiarvesio and Eric M. Lang
Publisher: CMON Global Limited and Spin Master Ltd.
Date Released: 2021
Number of Players: 1-4
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
Variable Player Powers

Game Setup

We already covered the Game Setup and Game Flow in our 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’s setup can change depending on which Villain and Heroes you choose to play. Each game consists of six locations. Typically, core sets have eight locations. Since Rise of the Black Panther is an expansion, it only has six. 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.

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. After all these effects are resolved, the heroes get their turn.

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.

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.

Marvel United Three Mission Cards Board Game Review

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

Rise of the Black Panther has some stellar heroes in its ranks. The Challenge Card uses some interesting game elements that I haven’t seen Marvel United use before or since. Killmonger can be a tricky villain and one of my favorites to defeat. It’s an accomplishment to defeat Killmonger. But Rise of the Black Panther’s Locations may be the biggest reason why Geekly’s covering this specific expansion. We’ll start with Locations.

Jabari Village and Warrior Falls have solid “End of Turn” abilities. One gives you a Wild token while the other allows you to deal one damage at that Location. Not bad. But it doesn’t hold a candle to the remaining four Locations. Golden City lets players move to any other Location at the end of their turn. This gives players extra movement. I love that. That gives me one less resource to manage and I can focus on Heroics and Attack. Royal Palace allows players to search their deck for a card and place that card at the top of their deck. Fantastic! This would be a strong ability in most card games with decks. But the Great Mound and Shuri’s Lab puts Rise of the Black Panther Locations over the top.

Great Mound is one of the only ways to manipulate Crisis Tokens in the original Marvel United release. Full stop. If you have a villain who has pesky Crisis Token abilities (one of those is Killmonger included in Rise of the Black Panther) and you only have the original Marvel United release, Great Mound is a must. Its “End of Turn” ability allows players to discard a card from their hand to the bottom of their deck to remove 1 Crisis Token anywhere. Shuri’s Lab creates a great tandem of Location abilities. Its “End of Turn” ability grants players the ability to draw up to their maximum hand size, negating any ill effects from the Great Mound and giving players a way to heal. I like Enter the Spider-Verse’s Locations a lot, but they pale in comparison to Rise of the Black Panther’s.

As mentioned in previous Marvel United reviews, Challenge cards provide optional rules to spice up the core gameplay. Rise of the Black Panther’s “Endangered Locations” is a simple and engaging rule twist. During Setup, Each Hero is linked to a different Location by using the included Endangered Location tokens. During play, each time Overflow is triggered in a Location, the Hero with its matching token takes 1 damage. This makes each Location mean something to certain players. This Challenge card could influence players to keep one Location clear of tokens over another Location. I love it because it raises the stakes and adds a dash of strategy and something else for players to navigate.

We’ll get to the heroes in a bit, but let’s talk about one of the MCU’s better villains, Killmonger. Killmonger also happens to be an intriguing villain in Marvel United. He wins when four or more Locations have 3 or more Crisis Tokens, and he adds Crisis Tokens in various ways. His Overflow and BAM! abilities replace Civilian/Thug Tokens with Crisis Tokens, which will make clearing missions (in order to make Killmonger vulnerable to damage) more difficult. The “Weapon Smuggling” Threat card has a similar action. And his Master Plan deck adds plenty of Civilian/Thug tokens, which can trigger Overflows, while his “Overthrow” ability can convert multiple Civilian tokens into Crisis Tokens. In short, Killmonger can turn the tide of battle in short order.

Furthermore, Killmonger has plenty of ways of dealing additional damage to Heroes, which can cause players to race toward Shuri’s Lab for some heals. Killmonger has one of the higher potential damage outputs of Marvel United’s original set. As I said prior, beating Killmonger is an accomplishment.

Rise of the Black Panther’s Heroes are darn good and should be up for the task of defeating Killmonger. Black Panther tends to focus on giving himself bonus actions, but his Movement is so good that he’s a good choice for teams choosing specialists (All Attack or All Heroics), and the other two Heroes in this expansion happen to be specialists. Winter Soldier is one of the better pure damage dealers from Marvel United’s original set. His deck tends to be the most self-centered of the Rise of the Black Panther heroes. He gives himself Attack tokens. This can also make Winter Soldier the easiest Hero to play. Of the Rise of the Black Panther heroes, Shuri is easily my favorite.

Shuri has a stunning five cards with Wild symbols on the bottom. This gives her and her teammates options whenever they take their turns. The remainder of her deck centers around Heroics. Winter Soldier is the fighter; Shuri is the helping hand. And Shuri’s one special effect “Young Genius” certainly lends a helping hand. She gives one Hero (she can target herself) a wild token and the player may draw cards until they have 3 cards. Not only does she hand out an extra wild token, but Shuri heals a Hero up to their full health. This is huge. I don’t know how many times Shuri’s ability saved my party’s bacon. She is Rise of the Black Panther’s standout Hero.

Too Long, Didn’t Read

Rise of the Black Panther has some of the original Marvel United set’s best Locations. Its Challenge card adds a simple but compelling wrinkle to gameplay. Killmonger is a worthy adversary. The Heroes provide variety, but Shuri can turn the tide of battle.

Tabletop Game Review: We’re Doomed!

Published on June 16, 2025March 16, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Earth is doomed. The leaders of the world’s most powerful nations have created a scenario where humans need to escape in a rocket ship before the planet implodes. You play the role of one of the world’s leaders. That’s the premise of today’s tabletop game review, We’re Doomed!.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Geekly hasn’t had a new board game review in quite some time. Today’s game is a silly party game with a quirky theme. Played in a real-time 15 minutes (the game includes a 15-minute hourglass), We’re Doomed! tasks players with generating enough resources to build a rocket ship big enough for all the players at the table or if you have the most influence and there’s only seating for one player, you become the only one to board the rocket ship. The choice is yours. Work together or backstab the other players.

Before we go any further, let’s prepare this rocket for takeoff and discuss We’re Doomed!’s details.

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Mike Horton
Publisher: Breaking Games; Magellan
Date Released: 2019
Number of Players: 4-10
Age Range: 12 and up
Setup Time: Less than a minute
Play Time: 15 minutes (timed)

Game Mechanisms

Party Game
Card Game
Negotiation
Player Elimination
Variable Player Powers

Game Setup

We’re Doomed! has a minimal setup. Each player receives one Leader card that they display for others to see. Form piles of influence and resource tokens so every player can access them. The hourglass is set up so that all the sand is on the bottom (before it gets flipped), and the first player token rests on top of the hourglass.

Randomly select one player to go first, or someone could flip over the hourglass and claim the first-player token for themselves. You have 15 minutes before time runs out. Go!

Game Flow

We’re Doomed! is played in rounds until time runs out. Each round is split into two phases: Actions and Contribution. The action phase is played in turn order, starting with the first player. Unless the rules (which can evolve) say otherwise, each player has access to the same five actions: Produce, Indoctrinate, Propagandize, Invade, and Nuke. The first four actions revolve around gaining resources, which can be used to build seats on the rocket ship or gain influence, denoting who’s first to board the ship. The first two (Produce and Indoctrinate) allow players to take resources or influence from the supply. The second set of two (Propagandize and Invade) lets players steal those tokens from other players. The Nuke action allows players to spend resources to eliminate a player.

Each nation’s leader has a bonus for one of these five actions. For example, whenever the Democracy “Invades” they steal 2 Resources from another player for free instead of having to spend an influence token. The Theocracy gets a bonus Influence whenever they “Indoctrinate,” and the Technocracy gains an additional resource whenever they “Produce.”

After each player chooses one of the five actions, play moves to the Contribution Phase. In this phase, players simultaneously choose how many of their resources they donate to the Project, building a bigger rocket ship. The player who donates the most for the round gains the first player token (and will begin the Action phase next round), earns an influence token from the supply, and draws an event card.

There are two types of event cards: ones read aloud and ones read privately. Follow the rules on the card (reading aloud if you are told to read aloud) and after the event is resolved, the new round begins. Keep going until time runs out.

Review

If you’re anything like me, seeing the “player elimination” game mechanism waved a red flag, but remember, We’re Doomed! is a real-time game that lasts exactly 15 minutes. I don’t mind player elimination as a game mechanism if the game is short. And the idea that you can nuke another player is fun and thematic. We’re Doomed! is a fun and thematic game.

Given the proper gaming group, that’d be gamers who don’t mind backstabbing, negotiating, and loose alliances, We’re Doomed! can be a hit. Quick and tense turns are a feature. We didn’t mention this in the game flow, but there is an additional rule where players can claim another player is taking too long (or stalling). If this happens, everyone takes a vote, counting to three, and votes thumbs up or down to eliminate the player. This makes sense because time is of the essence in We’re Doomed. A similar voting system is used whenever there’s a tie during an event card.

Speaking of the event cards, they can swing the game wildly, making We’re Doomed! a fragile game. Fragile in the sense that the wrong combination of event cards can break the game in an unintended manner. During one playthrough, the first event negated influence. The player who became “The Executor” dictated the sequence of who boarded the rocket ship. Then, the very next event “Too Big To Fail” gave one player (I was voted to be that player) six resources at the beginning of the round if they had no resources. Since I was the Technocracy, that meant that I produced nine resources each round. I could’ve eliminated players (spend 8 resources) and nuke them all or donate all the resources, rescuing everyone. I chose to do the latter. Even though we played a five-player game, we had enough resources for ten.

Typically, I don’t care for games that can be this fragile, but We’re Doomed! isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s great for some dumb—and I mean dumb—fun. As I said before, with the proper gaming group, We’re Doomed! can be a hit. But with the wrong gaming group, it can be doomed to fail. We’re Doomed! isn’t a game for everyone. Heck. I must be in the right headspace for the game to land, but when it does land, it’s good for a laugh. One of my favorite chuckles came from someone drawing the “Trickle Down Economics” event card that reads, take six resources from The Project. You may choose to keep the resources or distribute them with any number of players. The person who drew the card asked, why wouldn’t I just pocket the resources? This card’s effect doesn’t seem right. Another player responded that’s why the card name is “Trickle Down Economics.” That sounds like Reagan. We’re Doomed!’s strength is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Verdict

While not for everyone, We’re Doomed! can be a bunch of fun with the right gaming group. The game takes no more than 15 minutes (timed with an hourglass). Your gaming group must like backstabbing, negotiating, and loose alliances…and like games that don’t take themselves too seriously.

Top 5 Tabletop Games from 1994

Published on June 14, 2025June 14, 2025 by Kyra3 Comments

Magic: The Gathering dominated 1993 and in 1994, dozens of new collectible card games hit the market. Even though 1994 produced more than one collectible card game on its list, we still have one honorable mention collectible card game, Illuminati: New World Order. I always loved Illuminati’s sense of humor; it’s a shame that neither the original game (released in the early 1980s) nor the CCG made the cut. That just shows these lists’ competition.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Back with another Top 5 Tabletop Games. We’ll talk about the board games that this year’s 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: Star Trek Customizable Card Game (1994)**

Illuminati: New World Order’s lack of staying power contributed to its absence from this list. The Star Trek Customizable Card Game doesn’t have that issue. I never knew The Star Trek Customizable Card Game stayed in print for over a decade. The game may have gone out of print in 2007, but a group of dedicated fans still play. Peter Ludwig was crowned the 2023 Star Trek Customizable Card Game World Champion.

The Star Trek Customizable Card Game pitted players against each other to assemble a team, a ship, and equipment to complete missions. The first player to complete 100 points worth of missions/objectives wins. The 1^st Edition, which ran from 1994-2001, only had the option of a two-player game, just like Magic. 2002 saw the Star Trek Customizable Card Game’s second edition. This version allowed for more players to join in the fun.

On a personal note, I knew one of the original designers of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game. Rest in peace, Rollie.

**4: I’m the Boss! (1994)**

I struggled with placing the 2-4 ranked games on this list. Honestly, you can shuffle these games in any order, and I wouldn’t fight you. The first game we’ll cover comes from a familiar face, Sid Sackson. We haven’t seen Sackson on one of these lists in a while, but he was productive during this period. I’m the Boss! is a negotiation game where players compete and cooperate to put together profitable business deals. Gameplaywise, I’m the Boss! splits the difference between luck and skill. One must be able to negotiate and needle their way into the best deals.

Not going to lie, I’m not the best at I’m the Boss! But if you like games where you can pull the wool over someone else’s eyes and rob them blind through a one-way deal. I’m the Boss! can give you those moments. Sackson has a knack for business games. His most famous creation was Acquire, which featured on our Top Tabletop Games from the Early Sixties. (Check out the link here.)

**3: Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (1994)**

Richard Garfield wasn’t done with collectible card games after 1993. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, which was originally published as Jyhad (changed to distance the game’s name from the Islamic term jihad), puts players in the role of Methuselah (ancient) vampires, controlling lesser vampires to complete machinations and wrest control of the Camarilla, the society of vampires featured in the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. Garfield wanted to show the versatility of collectible card games as a genre, and he succeeded in doing so with Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.

Magic games are quick. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle games can take up to two hours. Magic forces players to play lands from their deck to cast spells. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle allows players, who are Methuselah vampires, to spend their blood points to play cards, but be careful, your blood points are also your life and if you run out, you lose. Magic has players draw one card at the beginning of a player’s turn (you can have cards that allow you to draw more). Vampire allows players to draw cards as soon as they play cards. Magic started as a two-player game. Vampire was always a 2-5-player game. The two games couldn’t be more different.

Despite their differences, or maybe because of them, both games found a wide audience. Depending on how one views it, Vampire is the second longest-running CCG, only to Magic, if you include the five or so years when the game was transformed into a living card game. Or Pokémon, which (Spoiler Alert) will make a future list, takes the second spot, and Vampire takes the spot for the third longest-running CCG. Either way, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle has staying power.

**2: Manhattan (1994)**

Manhattan received the 1994 Spiel des Jahres award, so I gave it the nod over the previous two games. The concept is simple. Players construct and control Manhattan skyscrapers that will award points. Manhattan benefits from 3-D components. When you’re constructing skyscrapers, they will stretch vertically. This gives Manhattan table presence.

Manhattan may have a game concept based on a New York City borough, but it took Mayfair Games two years to make the game accessible to the United States. Manhattan was designed by Andreas Seyfarth. At the time, Seyfarth was an unknown game designer, but eventually, he’d add several more board game gems: Puerto Rico, San Juan, and Thurn and Taxis (which he codesigned with his Karen). This may not be the last time we’ll see Andreas Seyfarth’s name on one of these lists.

Despite earning the Spiel des Jahres, Manhattan has received mixed reviews. Previous critics have questioned the game’s components and scalability. Others claim that the game’s mechanisms are dated and too abstract, chaotic, and luck-driven. But still, others insist that Manhattan has broad appeal and praise the game’s engagement and accessibility. What does this tell us? Gamers can’t agree on anything, and one likes what one likes. If you like the idea of building skyscrapers, you may want to give Manhattan a try.

**1: RoboRally (1994)**

I promised that Richard Garfield would make this list again, and he claims the second number-one spot in consecutive years. Richard Garfield started a tabletop revolution with Magic: The Gathering in 1993 and kept busy in 1994. RoboRally is a robot demolition derby. Players attempt to guide their robots through a dangerous widget factory filled with moving gears, course-altering conveyor belts, metal-melting laser beams, bottomless pits, crushers, and more obstacles.

I say that players attempt to guide their robots because RoboRally is notorious for how chaotic the races get. The more players, the more mayhem ensues. The box reads that RoboRally plays for up to two hours. That’s generous. It may play longer than that, but RoboRally is another modern classic and shows Garfield, like the game type he invented (the collectible card game), is no one-trick pony. Richard Garfield has one of the most diverse board game catalogs and isn’t afraid to take chances.

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: June 1, 2025, Hulk Joins Spider-Man Brand New Day Cast

Published on June 1, 2025May 27, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. I’m away on a second trip (another Protospiel, this time in Minnesota), so today’s Geekly News will be brief like last week’s. It will also be MCU-heavy because of news and trailers that drop earlier this week. Without further ado, let’s get to this week’s geek news.

Hulk Returns in Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Industry insider Nexus Point News reported on Memorial Day that Mark Ruffalo is set to return as Jade Jaws in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Since Brand New Day will likely be a multiverse film (our Geekly News post last week confirmed as much), we won’t know which version of the Hulk Ruffalo will portray. Nexus Point News even suggested that Ruffalo could portray more than one version of the Green Goliath.

Fans have stated that they prefer a more savage Hulk. The Russos (who helm this leg of the MCU) could oblige and revert Hulk to his savage self. This could work to set up a World War Hulk project that the MCU has teased for years but hasn’t produced because of copyright issues.

A second industry insider, Alex Perez, shared that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will contain the biggest stunt sequence in the MCU. This stunt sequence will mostly include practical effects and will take a month to shoot. Typically, the MCU adds the Hulk through motion capture, but this doesn’t exclude a potential battle between the Hulk and Spider-Man. Brand New Day could shoot the practical effects and add Hulk later. Regardless of who will be involved in this stunt sequence, it bodes well that the MCU will use mostly practical effects. The scene’s scale also hints that this battle could occur in New York City, which would include a lot of coordination and blocking of city blocks. Spider-Man: Brand New Day sounds exciting. Director Destin Daniel Cretton has a history of brilliant stunt sequences. I loved Cretton’s practical effects in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

I still have my fingers crossed for a Spider-Man and Hulk battle. We’ve seen Spider-Man and the Hulk side-by-side in the MCU, but they haven’t had many interactions. It would be fun to see the two spar.

This news also muddies the waters of who will be Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s villain. Will it be an alternate version of Hulk? Is someone pulling the strings? If so, who? Let us know who you think will be Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s villain or villains.

New Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer

There isn’t much to cover with the latest Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer. Essentially, the third trailer is a recut of the second trailer with a few shots added for good measure. First off, I like how Fantastic Four: First Steps is marketing itself. During the fourth game of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, ESPN incorporated the spot as a game sponsor. The trailer proceeds to show its events as something that happened in the past (specifically the 60s) and runs with it. I also like Fantastic Four: First Steps’ choice of not showing too much before the movie releases. Too many trailers spoil the movie’s plot.

Our first new shot is a new angle of Shalla-Bal asking if the Fantastic Four are the protectors of this world.

She looks about the same as she did in the first two trailers. The second new shot we get is a good look at Marvel One, the Fantastic Four’s spaceship, and the ship that transported Marvel’s first family to Earth-616’s timeline during Thunderbolts* end credits. Oops! I guess that was a spoiler.

H.E.R.B.I.E. does more than cook. He’s flying up toward Marvel One, possibly conducting some final calibrations before liftoff. The third trailer’s third new shot is an extended look at the Fantastic Four’s classic vehicle, the Fantasticar.

I did omit a couple of longer shots of the Fantastic Four before they presumably climb into the Fantasticar, and a recut, an extended shot, of the same scene we saw of Galactus’s shadow over New York City.

In the bottom left, you can see Galactus’s hand as if he’s reaching out to claim this world. Awesome stuff. Those were the only differences I spotted between the second and third Fantastic Four: First Steps trailers. Did you spot any others? Let us know in the comments.

Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos Launches on KickStarter

Even though Iconiq Studios is a relatively new board game company, they have experience bringing popular intellectual properties (like They Live, SAW, and Evil Dead 2) to the tabletop space. Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos looks promising. This board game adaptation of the popular video game series features many Tomb Raider hallmarks: exploring, some combat, puzzle solving, and researching unique artifacts. Throw in some crafting, and Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos offers a lot of options for tabletop gamers.

Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos features plenty of detailed miniatures. An Adventure Book provides a story-driven game, but gamers can ditch the story for some chaotic tomb raiding fun. I like the fact that the game offers various player counts (1-6). Explore four unique locations with Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos. If you’re interested in an epic Tomb Raider board game, check out Tomb Raider: The Crypt of Chronos’s KickStarter page.

The Battle of the Divas Set To Launch on GameFound

While we don’t know much about The Battle of the Divas’ gameplay (because it hasn’t yet launched on GameFound), publisher Salt and Pepper has a history of making stellar games with interesting themes. Resist! is a modern solo-game classic. The Battle of the Divas could do the same for a two-player-only game. Take the stage against your opponent and become the best diva.

Players will perform classic arias at iconic venues like The Met and La Scala. I like the artwork. I don’t know how the keyboard element works, but it has me intrigued. If The Battle of the Divas strikes the right chord, check out the game’s page on GameFound.

That’s all the Geekly News we have for this week. I’m on the road again this weekend. If you’re at Protospiel: Twin Cities feel free to say hi. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tabletop Game Review: Marvel United, Tales of Asgard

Published on May 24, 2025March 24, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

We haven’t covered a Marvel United expansion in a couple of months. It’s about time we returned to the series. Geekly won’t be covering every Marvel United expansion, but we will review the ones worth your time or the ones we believe people will most likely purchase. So, you could consider the Marvel United expansions we cover as ones you may want on your radar.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. In Marvel United, players act as iconic Marvel heroes who work together to stop the master plan of a powerful villain controlled by the game. 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 dastardly plan. Can you save the day in time? Tales of Asgard casts players as Marvel versions of Nordic mythology.

Hark, brave do-gooder. Before we doth continue further, thou must first indulge Tales of Asgard’s finest of prints.

The Fiddly Bits

Game Mechanisms

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

Game Setup

Marvel United’s setup can change depending on which Villain and Heroes you choose to play. Each game consists of six locations. Typically, core sets have eight locations. Since Tales of Asgard is an expansion, it only has six. 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.

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.

Game Flow

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

In the comics and the MCU’s first phase, Thor is a part of the core three Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. We’re mostly covering the Tales of Asgard expansion because plenty of people will want to have Thor as part of their heroic line-up, especially since the original core box contains Cap and Iron Man. That said, I think the gameplay highlights for Tales of Asgard are its villain, Loki, and oddly enough the Challenge card. Let’s begin with this unique Challenge.

The Traitor Challenge is a hint of what would come in the X-Men Marvel United set. Each player gets 1 Allegiance card, 1 Suspicion Token, and a Wild Token. Three Allegiance cards show “Loyal,” while one is a “Traitor.” The Traitor card must be in play and shuffled with enough Loyal cards to hand out to every other player. Naturally, there’s a three-player minimum with this challenge. If you play a two-player game, it’s obvious who the traitor is. Players may choose to play a Hero card facedown (gaining no benefit from it) to discard their Suspicion Token. This matters because once 2 Missions are complete, all Loyal Heroes still with a Suspicion Token take damage until they’re KO’d. This leads to players who are loyal wanting to discard their Suspicion Token. A player who doesn’t care to do that may be the traitor.

Another thing that happens after 2 missions are complete is that the players guess who the Traitor is. If correct, each Loyal Hero gains 1 Wild Token. The Traitor’s hero is removed from play and now plays as the Villain, drawing 2 Master Plan cards and playing 1 each turn. This is the hint of X-Men Marvel United. Marvel United’s next set allows players to assume a villainous role. The Traitor Challenge is a precursor to this playstyle, and it still works even with future sets. If you enjoy the idea of one player being the Traitor, this challenge is perfect. And it works well with Tales of Asgard’s villain. Loki often assumes the visage of others, so the Traitor Challenge is thematic.

Loki’s a great villain whether you choose to play with the Traitor Challenge or not. Loki is a bit faster than the villains found in the original core set. That makes sense. He’ll hop around the map, making it difficult to deal damage after he’s vulnerable. He also has an “Illusion” Threat Card that makes dealing damage to Loki (while he’s at that location) impossible. While not as powerful as some villains (who have Threat Cards that make their villains impervious to damage for the card existing at all on the board), this, combined with Loki’s movement, makes him a challenge.

The “Master Trickster” and “Frost Giant” Threats are standard fare. Effective but nothing too special. The “Frost Giant” has more health (5) than most Henchmen, so they can be a chore to dispatch. Loki’s Master Plan deck features a lot of “Each Hero alone in their Location” or “Each Hero not alone in their Location” takes 1 damage, and if the previous statement is untrue, draw another Master Plan card and add it facedown in the Storyline. Both actions can prove fatal because Loki likes running out of cards in his deck by placing Master Plan cards facedown and dealing damage to Heroes whittles a player’s hand and feeds into Loki trying to speed up the clock.

Loki’s Overflow ability can also get annoying. If 1 or more Tokens can’t be added to a Location, Loki gains 1 additional Health (may go above his starting value). While Loki has below-average health for a main villain, his Overflow ability gives him more survivability. Loki surviving an extra round could mean that he may run out of cards and win.

I mentioned that Loki has a lot of movement. Fortunately, the Locations included in the Tales of Asgard expansion sport a lot of movement for their “End of Turn” abilities. “Heimdall’s Observatory,” “Throne Room,” and “Bifrost Bridge” have some form of mass movement. That’ll help when trying to catch up with Loki. The “Odin’s Vault” and “Valhalla” Locations have card draw which can be helpful, while “Asgardian Palace” has an underwhelming “You may add up to 2 Civilian and/or 2 Thug Tokens to any Location.” “Asgardian Palace” can help if you’re facing a Villain who doesn’t place enough Tokens, but most Marvel United villains place ample Tokens, and other Locations allow players to add a Token and clear a token in one action.

I waited long enough. Here are the Heroes. Surprisingly, Valkyrie is the most balanced character of the bunch. She has a fair amount of Heroics and plenty of movement with her “Warsong” special abilities. The other two Heroes from the base Tales of Asgard expansion, Thor and Korg, focus on Attack. While this makes sense, they do come off as one-note characters. Thor has a little more Heroics and Movement, while Korg allows players to target multiple enemies at once. Both Heroes are situational, but I’d give Thor the nod as a more universal character.

But Thor doesn’t quite claim the top spot as a Hero. If you happen to get the Kickstarter exclusive of Tales of Asgard, you’ll also get Beta Ray Bill. Bill is almost identical to Thor, but I prefer his “Stormbreaker” ability to Thor’s “Mjolnir.” I know, that’s sacrilege. Mjolnir beats Stormbreaker. But “Stormbreaker” gives players more choice with where they assign damage and grants more card draw. Both of those edge out Thor’s “Mjolnir.” Even without the Kickstarter exclusive, Tales of Asgard has some solid Heroes.

Too Long Didn’t Read

The Kickstarter version of Tales of Asgard includes one of the better characters in this expansion, Beta Ray Bill, but Thor and Bill are close enough to each other and serve a similar purpose. The Traitor Challenge Card shows where Marvel United will go in the future, while Loki serves as an interesting villain.

Five Underused Board Game Mechanisms

Many rondel games do allow players to pay for additional movement around the rondel, but making a complete trip around the rondel (to claim the same action) is usually cost-prohibitive. I hope you really want that action because it’ll cost you half your victory points or in-game currency to claim it again. I always thought of the rondel mechanism as one of those game designer’s game mechanisms. I enjoy rondels. I also thought they showed up in thousands of games because the circles I play games with love talking about the latest game that uses a rondel. I agree with them. Game designers need to increase the number of games that use rondels. Double the number of games. Triple them!

Games that use this mechanism

Planet Unknown, Wonderland’s War, Unconscious Mind, Merchants of the Dark Road, and New York Zoo

Closing Thoughts

We shortened this list from the 10 Common Board Game Mechanisms list a month ago. Ten may have been too many mechanisms. While some of these mechanisms make sense that they wouldn’t show up in too many games, I’m looking at you, Crayon Rail System, others like the Mancala game mechanism should be in a lot more games. I’m shocked that with the tabletop game industry’s current climate that the Mancala mechanism doesn’t have at least 500 games to its name.

Like the game mechanisms that made the most popular list, we’ll be handing out board game designers a questionnaire to get their thoughts on each game mechanism. This may still be a month or two away from happening, but we’ll let you know when this series is ready. Until then, let us know of any board game mechanisms you think should be in more games. I hope you found something useful in the post. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 5 Tabletop Games from 1993

Published on May 17, 2025May 17, 2025 by Kyra4 Comments

1993 is another solid year for tabletop games. This year’s releases saw one massive title and a handful of titles for an older audience. As we dive deeper into the nineties, we’ll have a large pool of tabletop game titles with which to choose.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Back with another Top 5 Tabletop Games. We’ll talk about the board games that this year’s 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: 13 Dead End Drive (1993)**

13 Dead End Drive is the only board game on this list that could be considered a child’s game. We’re getting to the adult-themed games soon enough. 13 Dead End Drive has a murder theme. The death of a wealthy old woman triggers a feud over her will. Players use traps located on the board (the mansion), to kill characters controlled by other players to claim the estate.

Players are dealt all the “Character cards” which correspond to matching pawns on the board. Since there are 12 characters, players will control more than one character. Players don’t show which characters they were dealt. Matching “Portrait cards” determine who is the current favorite for the inheritance. The third type of cards are “Trap cards” which are used to spring traps and eliminate characters.

During each turn, a player rolls two dice and moves two pawns, one pawn for each die. It is legal for players to move a pawn that isn’t theirs, especially if the move places a pawn on a Trap space. Characters must end their turn on a Trap space by exact count, and a player must play a matching Trap card for the Trap to take effect. Players win by being the last character standing, escaping the Mansion while one’s character’s Portrait is displayed, or having the final character’s Portrait displayed when the Detective reaches the front door (at the end of 10 rounds).

Despite, the macabre premise, 13 Dead End Drive uses humor and goofy characters to make the game approachable. The game also marks an interesting twist to a murder-themed board game. While games like Clue (or Cluedo) has players trying to figure out who committed a murder, 13 Dead End Drive empowers players by committing a dozen murders.

No. Seriously, this is a game geared toward a younger audience.

**4: Europa Universalis (1993)**

Europa Universalis is a monster of a board game. The official playing time listed on the game box is six hours, but the game can last for weeks. Board Game Geek estimates the playing time to be 15 days. Europa Universalis is a geopolitical strategy game set from 1492 to 1792. Players take control of European powers during this period. Each country has unique events, objectives, and special rules, for example, Russia’s military power is limited until the arrival of Peter the Great, and England has access to powerful privateers.

Europa Universalis has plenty of freedom of choice. It offers control over economics, military, maintenance (yes, you’ll have to maintain your country), discoveries, and colonial investment. But this leads to a major drawback, the game has a lot of calculation and management during the game for income, price changes, maintenance (of your regions), and the purchasing of military resources. Europa Universalis may work better as a video game. Fortunately, Swedish video game developer Paradox Development Studio (along with the help of the board game’s designer Philippe Thibaut) adapted Europa Universalis into a video game in 2000. This long-running video game challenges Civilization as the top civilization simulator.

**3: Call My Bluff (Liar’s Dice) (1993)**

Call My Bluff (Liar’s Dice) has an odd history. The Liar’s Dice class of games has existed since the 15^th century (originally named Dudo from the Incan Empire). A variant of Liar’s Dice was published by Milton Bradley six years prior in 1987. Call My Bluff is a remake of the original Liar’s Dice, which was then in the public domain. Richard Borg earned the 1993 Spiel des Jahres (the German Board Game of the Year) for his adaptation of this classic game.

Five dice are used per player with dice cups used for concealment. In each round, every player rolls a “hand” of dice under their cup and looks at their hand while keeping it concealed from the other players. The first player begins bidding, announcing any face value and the minimum number of dice that the player believes are showing that value, under all of the cups in the game. Ones are often wild, always counting as the face of the current bid.

Turns rotate in clockwise order. Each player has two choices. They can make a higher bid or challenge the previous bid, typically with a call of “liar,” hence the name Liar’s Dice. Once a bid is challenged, all dice are revealed. If the bid is valid (at least as many of the face value and any wild aces as the player’s bid), the bidder wins. Otherwise, the challenger wins. The player who loses a round loses one of their dice. The last player with dice at the end of the game wins. Call My Bluff’s simplicity and entertainment value earned it the Spiel des Jahres. If the rules sound familiar, the video game series Red Dead Redemption includes a version of Call My Bluff.

**2: We the People (1993)**

We the People simulates the American Revolution. I’m sensing a simulation theme with 1993 board games. Published by Avalon Hill and designed by Mark Herman, We the People was the first wargame to use cards as the primary means of controlling the pace and tempo of play; the card play introduces a strong element of fog of war through hidden card information.

One player controls the British, while the other plays as the Continentals/Americans. The map has a web of cities and towns connected by lines along which armies can move. We the People marks one of the first times a designer used a point-to-point movement system, which has become standard with a lot of games. Tens of thousands of modern board games use a point-to-point movement system, and not just war games. The cooperative game about stopping a global pandemic, aptly named Pandemic, may be the most famous game to use a point-to-point movement similar to the one Mark Herman pioneered.

We the People has inspired other war games like Richard Borg’s Command and Colors series. Yes, this is the same Richard Borg who designed the previous game on this list Call My Bluff. But We the People may have influenced GMT Games the most. GMT has produced numerous games implementing Herman’s card-driven combat. Their games include The Napoleonic Wars, Here I Stand, Virgin Queen, and Twilight Struggle, which remains one of the highest-ranked board games on Board Game Geek.

**1: Magic: The Gathering (1993)**

Magic: The Gathering takes the top spot. No other game that was released during 1993 could’ve taken this spot from the granddaddy of all collectible card games. Magic: The Gathering beget a flurry of collectible card games in the following decade: Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Legend of the Five Rings, and World of Warcraft (eventually rebranded as Hearthstone) to name a few. Magic: The Gathering’s designer Richard Garfield even made a few more collectible card games to add to his tally like Netrunner, BattleTech, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, and the original Star Wars Trading Card Game.

Not going to lie. I played most of these collectible card games at one point or another. Magic: The Gathering has stood the test of time. Sure, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! have endured, but they were released years after Magic. Magic has outlived most of the games it inspired.

The greatest testament to Magic: The Gathering topping this list is that most people read Magic: The Gathering and nodded yes. Magic is the right answer. Magic is the only answer for top tabletop game for 1993.

Did we get the list right, for the most part? Let us know which games you’d add in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: May 11 2025, World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees

Published on May 11, 2025May 9, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Mother’s Day, Geekly Gang. We wish all the mothers out there a great day. Since today is Mother’s Day, we may go a little light on Geekly News. We may have some events we’ll have to do today.

World Video Game Hall of Fame inducts Defender, Tamagotchi, GoldenEye 007, and Quake

The World Video Game Hall of Fame inducted four games this past week. All four video games are worthy additions. Defender raised the bar on difficulty in video games. The game might be too difficult for some people; I remember avoiding Defender while in the arcade. GoldenEye 007 was one of the best multiplayer first-person shooters. I would lose even while playing Odd Job. I’m sensing a pattern with these games. I stink at them. 🤪Quake ushered in a new generation of graphics, while Tamagotchi marked the first pet simulator. This list is impressive.

But so are the video games that didn’t quite make the cut. The World Video Game Hall of Fame competition was fierce. Finalist games included Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Frogger, Golden Tee, Harvest Moon, Mattel Football, and NBA 2K. Some of these games should enter the hall next year.

Bumfuzzled Set to Launch Early Next Week on Gamefound

We’re doing something a little different today. Bumfuzzled is a set of wooden puzzles that feature unusual piece shapes. It should launch some time next Tuesday (May 13, 2025), and I’m excited for these. The puzzles look amazing. And look at the piece shapes.

If you’re tired of the same old puzzles, give Bumfuzzled a try in a few days.

Allplay Announces Another Round of Kickstarter Games

Allplay produces a lot of great games of various shapes and sizes. I mentioned Allplay as one of the board game companies that produces stocking stuffer games. Allplay also releases waves of these games on Kickstarter, and they just announced another nine games for a future Kickstarter campaign. Nine games! Wow! Seven of these nine games will be of the small box variety (great stocking stuffers). As of writing this post, there are no details about when these games will ship, but Allplay tends to ship bundles like these within a year. We only know of four games for sure: Alibis, High Rise, Wordsy, and Piñatas.

All of these games look promising. Alibis is designed by Don’t Mess With Cthulhu’s Yusuke Sato. Sato has done a great job with social deduction in the past, and Alibis appears to be a cooperative deduction game. Interesting. Allplay is reprinting two fantastic Gil Hova designs Wordsy (which is a well-regarded word game) and High Rise (a strategic city-building game with a touch of corruption). The final game is a new design by Reiner Knizia, Piñatas. Piñatas is another trick-taking game by the board game legend. I’ve been playing a lot of Knizia’s most recent trick-taking game, Don’t LLAMA. It’s a good bet that Piñatas will be excellent.

We’re keeping today’s Geek News brief. Happy Mother’s Day again. Thank you for reading, and whether you’re a mother or not, wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.