As you can see from the picture below the attention to detail is phenomenal with the team able to get details down to 0.2mm. But..the biggest selling point for me is that the tins are made just right so that they will fit in a standard size insert for Ticket to Ride!

If you are serious about your train games whether it be Ticket to Ride, Irish Gauge or 18xx, you definitely owe it to yourself to check these out. Also, if you have an 18xx lover in your life who is hard to buy for, then this is the Kickstarter for you, what else can you buy them? A spreadsheet?

Do yourself a favour and check out The Dragon’s Tomb review on the trains!

*Little Plastic Train Company makes no promises about improving gaming outcomes.

The post Little Plastic Train Kickstarter appeared first on Next Player.

Gloomhaven is still the Number 1 boardgame on Boardgamegeek.com and with more interest in things to do at home, the question “Should I buy Gloomhaven?” needs to be addressed. You can see my thoughts on Gloomhaven here.

Should I buy Gloomhaven – Yes

You have a consistent group to play with – This is the big one for me. If you have a group that loves to play the recent hotness or loves to vary their play then Gloomhaven is going to be a major drag. With around 90 scenarios this will take some play groups a year of consistent play to get through it. If you want to immerse yourself in the narrative and development of characters, then go for it..As long as your group is on the same page as you.

You love immersive narratives – If you love big stories with unique fantasy characters then Gloomhaven wiill definitely suit you. Classes of characters you have never seen before, exciting adventures and an intuitive play system all form a big part of the game.

Should I buy Gloomhaven – No

Set up time and space is low – Even with a good storage solution, Gloomhaven can be a real bear to set up. You need the right map tiles, the right enemies and then your own personal cards and figures. For me, it has often taken around 20-30 minutes to set up a game. The game is a table hog too, so you will often want to set up a game and leave it there for another scenario, if space is light then it may not be the game for you. In which case maybe check out Jaws of the Lion.

You don’t like bookkeeping – Gloomhaven makes you keep track of what is happening game to game, if you don’t like this then it may not be the game for you or you will need to rely on other measures such as a campaign tracking app.

You like many and varied games – This is the one that has kept my Gloomhaven campaign stalled at about the 20 sessions played. The people that I play with like different types of games, they like to test new things out and the ability to just commit to one game for an extended period is just not possible. Your mileage may vary, as we are all different, but I tend to feel this way about a lot of campaign type games which require my longer term attention.

Overall

Ultimately, my thoughts are that if you like the look of Gloomhaven, then the more introductory Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is probably the best choice to get into the game, then step up (potentially) to Frosthaven when it releases at retail in the next few years. Jaws Of the Lion has a simpler setup (with maps in a book, rather than tiles) and is essentially the same game in a smaller package.

The post Should I buy Gloomhaven? appeared first on Next Player.

There have been so many great releases (and new to me) this year and there seems to be no end in sight. Christmas is a time of getting together with the family. While we don’t get the cold weather that forces us inside, the weather is often too hot to be outside, so we have that going for us at least. I have tried to put together a bit of a list for what sort of boardgames I would recommend for a family with a wide range of interests and ages. You can always check out my list from last year as well to get some more ideas.

This year has been the year of the Roll (or Flip) and Writes. These games are often quite simple with a lot of strategy, meaning that they can appeal to the new to games and the serious gamer. Play a card or roll a dice and then add this to your own personal grid or map. These games are small setup and space (because who wants to move the pudding) and often played pretty quickly (under half hour). The picks of these would be games like Welcome To and Cartographers.

You are sick of playing Catan and have decided that it’s time to move on, not only that but some of the family have worked out the maths of the game and have decided to use this to their advantage. There are a couple here that I think fit:

• Orleans –  a bit more complex than Catan, but pretty easy to explain to the new player. Still lots of building, but no trading.
• Carcassone – tile laying, the ability to out maneuver others, but readily accessible to younger players as well.
• Clans of Caledonia – you are still jostling for space but with the added element of working with an economy that is constantly fluctuating

If you are looking for chilled out strategy there are a few really good choices. With rich food, alcohol and noise Christmas isn’t always the best time to be trying out something with deep rule set or difficult decisions. There have been some great games that have been released over the years that fit this including Wingspan or the iterations of Azul and Sagrada are all great options.

If you are looking for something that is great, interactive fun you really can’t go past this year’s big winner – Just One. This game can be calm or raucous and allows players to come and go across the course of the game, if you wish. With a simple rule set, this is one that is really going to shine at the holiday period.

So with these games I think that there is a great range of experiences to have with the family. What else have I missed, and what would you recommend to take with you on the Christmas break?

The post Games for the Holiday period 2019 appeared first on Next Player.

Kingdomino won one of the most prestigious awards for board games, the Spiel des Jahres in 2017 – but is it that good? Yes, and no. 

The game revolves around the claiming and placing of tiles in a 5×5 block that scores the most points by having the most contiguous land types. 

This is a simple and short game, so I’m going to keep the review the same, so here are the positives: 

• It is played in 15-20 minutes, meaning that it is a fantastic filler game; 
• Game play is accessible to a massive range of ages, from probably about 5 and up. 
• Allows a great entrance point to gaming in general. 

As for the negatives if you have a group of avid gamers this one is probably going to be far too light but that’s OK. The Spiel is often awarded to a game that is not only well designed, but also accessible for a range of players, and Kingdomino definitely hits the spot for that. 

In my opinion Kingdomino is not a great game but it definitely hits all the marks that it needs to for the Spiel des Jahres. Once you know how to play, the game can easily be played in 10 minutes as a warm up for more in depth games which is where this game shines. 

What else you might like

• Quacks of Quedlingburg – good family fun with a simple rule set. Longer game which may lose the interest of younger players. 
• Deep Sea Adventure – Push you luck family game that is played in about 10-15 minutes. 
• Patchwork – family game which is a tile laying treasure (awesome app version as well if you want to check it out) 

The post Kingdomino review appeared first on Next Player.

Often a game will release expansions or 2nd editions of rulebooks in order to fix anything that was lacking in the base game, but not the folks at Funtails.

In reviewing the already solid 2010 release of Glen More, the team decided that there were a few things that would be changed, so they went about that and more. The team outline what they were aiming for, which was three-fold – keep the original ‘soul’ of the game, fix what needed to be fixed and then work out would need to be added. From the success of the KS it looks like they have hit all the right notes.

The ‘Chronicles’ come in with 9 new gameplay elements that can be combined in any way to add to replayability.

Check out the Kickstarter here

The post Kickstarter of the Week: Glen More II: Chronicles appeared first on Next Player.

It is no secret that I am a massive fan of Hive and take it with me wherever I can, so when another game in a cloth bag came across my desk I thought that it would tickle my fancy, but did it?

The Stars Align follows a pretty simple premise, draw a card then place your wooden stars in the constellation shown on the board (which is the bag). The next player takes their turn and so forth until there is no room to place the constellation that is picked up.

This is when the second phase of play kicks in, the night phase. This is where things get interesting and far more competitive as you are now allowed to flip your opponents stars in order to make your constellations. This adds an element of take-that (albeit light) and also a further element of strategy, as you must work out what it going to be best in future turns and hope that your opponent will not flip you right back.

This game is one like Santorini, where it can be learned very quickly, but the way it plays allows multiple strategies and play that will never be the same.

As to the components, the bag and tiny wooden stars are fantastic (being double sided means you don’t have to sort them at the start of the game). The only drawback for me is the constellation cards that may get damaged of they travel around in the bag with the rest of the game, this isn’t a major detraction, but just something to be aware of.

At strict 2-player, this game has been fantastic for everyone in the family in various constellations (get it)..The kids love playing the adults, but the rules are simple enough that the kids can easily set up a game and play with no parental supervision at all. The after work crash is also a big issue for me, I find that I want to play a game at night, but that I can’t do it after a big day – The Stars Align is the perfect antidote to that, it can be set up super quickly and you can be playing before you even realise your exhaustion.

I am told that the retail release for The Stars Align should be happening this very week, and if you are a fan of abstract games with great strategy that can be played by anyone, then I would highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself.

The post The Stars Align review appeared first on Next Player.

Traditionally an American sale, Australians are now starting to get the benefits from Black Friday sales. These are great sales to get a good deal, stock up on Christmas presents or even grab some games to introduce new players to the hobby come family gathering time.

Amazon.com.au – This is the first real year in which Amazon has been around in Australia and it looks like they are gearing up for a big one. Traditionally, Amazon tend to have some really great deals across their whole range, so make sure to check them out on Friday and Saturday of this week in particular.

Oz Gameshop – They have been dropping discounts all week already, so make sure that you check them out. I picked up a new copy of Great Western Trail for less than $60 from these guys at one stage, so deals are to be had!

Mighty Ape – Another great store to deal with, with some fantastic customer service, make sure to check them out. They will often sell out quickly of the sale items that they have, so make sure that you check them out early!

Book Depository – a bit of a dark horse when it comes to games, but they have had a few great deals recently. They will often sell some Fantasy Flight games, as well as a few others.

If you have any more sales that you have seen (and want to share) feel free to drop them in the comments below. We will add to this list as sales are advertised.

The post Black Friday Board Game deals appeared first on Next Player.

Unfortunately, this website doesn’t allow for international travel just yet, so attendance at Essen this year is off the cards but that doesn’t stop us from talking about the releases that we are looking forward to. With over 800 titles being released, it is definitely a mammoth task to keep ahead of the games, but we have tried to give most of the games the once over. So here are the games that I am looking forward to:

Welcome to Dino World – From Alley Cat games and in demo format only. This takes a few of my favourite things – Roll and Write and Dinosaurs and adds then together. Look out for our review of this game very soon.

Great Western Trail – Rails to the North – This game has been near the top of my list for a long time now and the expansion that adds more actions, an expanded player board and extra station master tiles can only bring more to the experience. I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on this and helping to get those cattle to further cities and develop the country. Check out our Great Western Trail review here.

Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr – I’m adding this one to my list because the theme just seems so unique and some cool mechanics to go with it. The idea is that you need to put together the pieces of a patients life through the game, a theme that I don’t think that I have seen before.

Gorus Maximus – a cool trick-taking game from Inside Up with great art from Kwanchai Moriya. We previously spoke to Conor, the designer of GM, so we are very much looking forward to the success of this great looking game.

Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra – The original Azul was one of my favourite games of the last year and a great introduction to modern gaming for people who had never experienced it before. I am hoping that Sintra takes after Azul in it’s ease of access and relaxed gameplay, although curiously I have no real interest in Reef, maybe it’s something about the components looking like kids toys.

Architects of the West Kingdom – I’m a big fan of fellow Antipodean Shem Phillips and Garphill Games, along with the art of The Mico. This one focuses more on city building in the Carolingian empire, rather than Vikings, so is a great diversion from the recent North Sea Trilogy.

Pandemic: Fall of Rome – What can I say, I’m a sucker for some more Pandemic. This time the game isn’t about a virus but rather about keeping the Roman Empire healthy in the face of ongoing incursions.

After all of that, what are the releases that you are most looking forward to from Essen this year? Have you ever attended the Spiel?

The post The Essen Anticipation List 2018! appeared first on Next Player.

A little while back we spoke with Jamie Noble-Frier, an illustrator also known as The Noble Artist, who was working on his own game to launch on Kickstarter (here is the link to the campaign). Well the day has come and the game will go live this week on the 18th of September to the uproarious applause of all gathered! 

The game

Here is a blurb from Jamie about Hero Master: An Epic Game of Epic Fails

The Process

The post Hero Master: An Epic Game of Epic Fails appeared first on Next Player.

Unfortunately, if we are recommending several games in a week, that means that we lose focus and can skip over some of the important details of each game, so we are going to aim at providing a single recommendation per week from now on, that we have knowledge of, know a bit about the creators and know that the resulting quality of the project will be high.

So without further ado, our Kickstarter of the Week is:

The Fantasy Trip – released and re-developed by Steve Jackson Games this is one of the original RPGs from the late 1970s. Steve has aimed to make roleplaying fun by ensuring that character development was easy and that game play was simple and tactical. The base package comes with several books and mini-games and you can even buy a PDF version. I have it under good authority that Steve himself has been throwing himself into this project and as such it should be fantastic.

Role playing games, after popular culture attention like Stranger Things, are due their moment in the sun again. The board game golden age should definitely help this as well, as we see more and more people coming to this hobby from different backgrounds and using the hobby as a great way to engage with family and friends. The Fantasy Trip is a great starting point to this for the new player, as it is made in the classic style and with an easy and intuitive system to work with.

The post Kickstarter of the week 27th July appeared first on Next Player.