I was drawn to Brooke’s work through the Valka Kickstarter and loved his weird, desaturated art in that game – after following his Instagram I found that he is a person of many talents and passions.

I asked Brooke about his inspirations in his art, and Valka, and he says that his inspirations are varied. He credits ‘Fire and Ice’ an animated film by Bakshi and Frazetta as one of his favourite films when he was growing up.

I studied art after high school and draw a lot of inspiration from old
artists, particularly Albrecht Dürer, Goya and Pieter Bruegel the
Elder

Brooke credits Brian Froud and his book ‘Goblins of Labyrinth’ (from the movie ‘Labyrinth’) as one of his biggest influence, as well as:

artists like Russ Nicholson, Les Edwards, Ian
Miller, Gary Ward and Paul Bonner (from fantasy works in White Dwarf, DnD and Fighting Fantasy)

In relation to the development of Valka, Brooke states that his biggest challenge was play-testing to get the game as good as it possibly could be.

I’m not very patient and struggle with
rule-books, so that side of it took a lot of help from John DeCampos
from Terrible Games. Apart from that, I think it all went pretty well.

I asked Brooke about whether he has any other designs in the pipeline, and while he does have a few that he is working on, he’s not quite ready to discuss them at the moment. In the last few years, Brooke has also released a Tarot deck and more recently a Divination Oracle. I also mentioned Brooke as a polymath – so it would be remiss of me to not mention his music career which he releases music under several names, but primarily Saint Jude.

In his down time Brooke tends towards fantasy and adventure games with a “healthy dose of creativity” – games like Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40,000 and playing Dungeon Mayhem and Stardew Valley with his kids.

I was drawn to Brooke’s work through his authentic disposition on his Instagram page, and thought that people might like to know a bit more about one of our own Australian creators. Be sure to check out and support Brooke where possible, most of his stuff you can find on captainbstudios.com

The post Australian Boardgame Creators – Brooke Penrose appeared first on Next Player.

Micro Macro Crime City is a little different when it comes to calling it a ‘game’, is it really a game or is it more of an activity? Do I care? After playing it, not really. I hear ‘x is not a game, it’s an experience’ but isn’t that what this hobby is about?

Micro Macro Crime City drew me in because it is a cooperative game which doesn’t rely on skill or understanding of the rules to play, meaning that the whole family can get involved. In the base game there are 16 cases which you have to solve on a map. The map is a kitchen table sized wimmelbilder map ala Where’s Wally (Waldo in case of US) depicting a cutesy city where anthripomorphic animals go about their days….and CRIMES!

The really cool thing about the map is that the city depicts the past, present and future. You can track a criminal from where they committed a crime through to where they stashed the loot all in the one map.

Each case starts with a synopsis read by the ‘lead investigator’ which starts the detective work. Once the initial clue is found and confirmed on the back of the first card by coordinates, the lead then moves on to the next card and so forth until the case has been totally solved. Quick, fun play is the result with players (literally) climbing over one another to try to find the next clues.

We played 4 cases in a row and probably could have kept going on our first play. I haven’t played some of the later cases but they do very much increase in difficulty, with the first case taking ~10mins and the 4th taking around 20mins total. If you really wanted to, I can see that this would be a game that you could pull out several times over a gaming weekend and solve all the cases in that time.

Community Opinion

Micro Macro Crime City is currently ranked 205 of all games on BGG with a rating of 7.6.

Overall

I have really been loving this experience. In addition to the cases there is so much to see on the map and it is just such a great fun time with the family. The thing that sets it apart from other family games is that there are no advantages for age or experience and that anyone playing has just as much chance at finding clues as anyone else. If you are looking for a filler, a game to spend a rainy weekend on, or something to introduce new players to, I would highly recommend Micro Macro Crime City.

You can pick up Micro Macro at Amazon or your local boardgame shop – I picked mine up from Games Empire.

The post Micro Macro Crime City Review appeared first on Next Player.

Let’s start off here, there is never too much Azul and that is confirmed by this new release of the (few year old) classic. I was drawn to Azul: Queen’s Garden primarily because I loved the original Azul and hadn’t had a chance to play any of the other releases as yet. In addition, I was offered a review copy by VR Games Australia, so I jumped at the chance.

Azul: Queen’s Garden is described by the publisher as:

In Azul: Queen’s Garden, players are tasked with arranging a magnificent garden for the King’s lovely wife by arranging beautiful plants, trees, and ornamental features.

Using an innovative drafting mechanism, the signature of the Azul series, players must carefully select colorful tiles to decorate their garden. Only the most incredible garden designers will flourish and win the Queen’s blessing.

Looks

I absolutely loved the acrylic tiles of the original Azul and that is no different here, the art may not be as great (pictures rather than patterns) but the feel of them is brilliant, a little bit of heft and weight goes a long way when trying to impress me with game components.

In comparison to the original, the player boards aren’t thick, however this doesn’t really impact play at all. The one detraction was that the scoring board/track seems a little unnecessary and takes up valuable table space. This probably could have been included on the player boards, or on a smaller reference sheet, but not a massive issue.

Stumbling Blocks

I’ve heard a few reviews that have said that the rules are a bit confusing, or that scoring is strange, but I really didn’t see an issue with it. I think that one of the issues here might be that people are comparing this game to the original and not as a stand alone game. The community does get it wrong sometimes though with this being rate higher on difficulty than something like Arboretum which I found exponentially harder to teach. Are the rules in Azul: Queen’s Garden a little more complex, yes, but they are definitely not outside the scope of what you would expect in modern boardgames.

Who would enjoy it

I played this with my wife and two children (12, 9) and found that it was a great expereience. As with any more complex game, the kids might drift off a bit when others are making decisions but I have found scoring pretty tight on all of the games. I really find though (much like the original for me) that Queen’s Garden really shines at 2 players. There is enough of that mid level take-that action, along with being a relatively quick game that it could be played after dinner without too much brain drain.

Community Opinion

Azul: Queen’s Garden is currently ranked 1216 on Boardgamegeek for all games and 19 for Abstract games

Overall

Despite it’s increased difficulty over the original, I really enjoyed Queen’s Garden for the family and as a two player game. There is something about those tiles that will get me every time and the Azul games always seem pretty chilled out, not too much or too little interaction and not overly competitive. If you are looking for a game for two players or for family with older children (10+) then I would definitely recommend Azul: Queen’s Garden

The post How much Azul is too much? Azul: Queens Garden Review appeared first on Next Player.

No listing on Boardgamegeek

Boardgamegeek is essentially the standard of any game out there. If a boardgame Kickstarter does not have any presence on BGG then it is a good sign that the publishers haven’t thought the project through or that they are not up to date with the industry. There doesn’t have to be a massive amount of content on a page, but the presence of a page for the game and designer is a bare minimum with hopefully some content such as a rule book or designer’s diary is always a bonus.

Ignorant to risks

“We’ve done this before” or “we have been working on this game for years..” are hardly comforting words when it comes to big projects. Recently we have seen CMON (one of the biggest Kickstarter creators) run into issues with shipping and postage and they are a huuge company with incredible expertise. Sure, you may have worked on it, or done it before, but what is the plan should the project fail for some reason or another?

‘Only’ Tabletopia or online availability to reviewers

This isn’t to say that you need to have an incredible prototype, but that you probably need something physical to take to conventions, game nights and provide to reviewers. If a creator is only providing online copies there is a far greater chance that they are able to control the consensus of what people think about the game.

Only Previews

There are some content creators who will provide a preview for a game for payment – these previews will (usually) not have an opinion but rather highlight gameplay, theme or components, essentially an advertisement for the game. It’s my opinion that you should avoid campaigns that rely only onn these previews as their pre/during Kickstarter content. Look for campaigns that have p/reviews from several outlets.

Weird funding goals/Backer Numbers

I’m pretty sure is was the case for Overturn that the funding goal was met initially by a few backers who all backed for several thousand dollars each. People want to see something fund quickly, it allows us to easily gauge the popularity and potential success of a product, but beware when something funds too quickly. A good gauge is often divide the funding goal by backer numbers and if this equates to around about the pledge for a single game then you are safe. For example a $20 000 funding goal with 200 backers for a $100 game is reasonable whereas $20 000 goal with 16 backers is not.

Solo add-ons

Somewhere during the campaign there is all of a sudden a Solo Add On announced, this is usually in response to interest from the solo community and potentially a way to drag more backers in. y general feeling is that if a game starts to add player counts during the campaign then it probably won’t play great at those new player counts.

Those are some of my reasons to avoid a Kickstarter, what are some of yours?

The post When to avoid a Kickstarter appeared first on Next Player.

This post will coincide with the commencement of the Cytress Kickstarter, which you can find here.

I was approached by Sean Lee, designer of Cytress to preview the game for him and I said yes for 2 reasons – 1. It is an Australian design and I love to support local, 2. I have tried to play Cyberpunk 2077 on my PS4 and it hasn’t worked so far.

From the rules:

Cytress is an action-selection, engine-building game set in a post-modern cyberpunk world. Over multiple rounds, players will send their crew to complete missions for factions, earning abilities that build their lifepath; while vying for control of the surface world, and trying to escape to the floating city of Stratos.

My Impressions

While it has quite a bit of setup – Stratos doesn’t build itself – it is definitely worth it and I am really loving this game. The ability to customise your character, which is essentially the efficiency engine you are building, is great. You choose the missions that you will be going on and the skills that you will become most proficient which translates to benefits down the track in terms of resource generation or discount.
As is typical of the mechanism, as the game goes on your engine will continue to provide more and more benefits with the later turns a flurry of activity while trying to make your in-tubes into Stratos.

I only had a chance to play at 2 player which is great in itself, but almost all of the components have a flip side for higher player counts meaning that the development team have thought through the balancing of the game at all player counts. A solo mode, where you will be pitted against an AI, has also been developed for Cytress which I am also looking forward to giving a try.

The art direction is fantastic with a muted neon tone to the whole game in addition to well thought out player boards which allows for a minimum of table clutter but a maximum amount of information. I know I ‘only’ received a prototype copy of the game, but if the care and attention to detail is the same for the finished product you will be looking at something really special.

Who would Cytress suit?

If you have a strong interest in cyberpunk/futurism, then I definitely think that this is a must back for you. But really anyone looking for a mid weight, thematic game where multiple routes to victory are possible should definitely check this one out.

I would highly recommend checking out the Kickstarter which is live now – Cytress Kickstarter.

The post Cytress Kickstarter First Impressions appeared first on Next Player.

The new to Gaming

Cockroach Poker – This is a great little game for the family. Lots of bluffing and silliness to go with it. Play it with a group who loves to banter and have lots of talk at the table otherwise it will descend into a bit of a boring affair. The aim is to make sure that your opponents have 4 of one type of card in front of them, first to have 4 is the loser.

Dutch Blitz – If you think of this as solitaire, but you are playing on the same piles competitively, then you will get the hang of what this game is about. There are quiet periods which then burst into chaos with cards going everywhere at once. This one is becoming one of my favourite family weight fillers and one that can be taken out when there is 10 minutes to spare.

The Kids

Zombie Kidz Evolution – I recommend this one all the time. Quick and cooperative gameplay with a hint of legacy, so it isn’t always the same game over and over. Probably around 15-20 minutes per game, so people aren’t ‘stuck’ at the table for longer than they want to be.

The Chess Player

Go – I just got into this one and it is great fun as a strategy game. Easier to learn than Chess and with countless ways to get good, there is a reason why this game has lasted for literally thousands of years. There is also something aesthetically pleasing about just placing those little black and white stones.

Just Chilling

You want something that you can quietly sit and play without too much strategy and deep thinking? Then I would be recommending Land vs Sea – a great tile laying, area building game. Primarily 2-player, with the ability to add a third or play in teams, this one has you trying to complete areas of your land or sea to score points. Reminiscent of Carcassone at times, which I would definitely recommend if you have more than 2 players wanting to chill.

A little more strategy

This is the hardest category. You don’t want to bring something that takes hours and excludes a bunch of people, but players of heavier games probably want something that will give them a bit of a challenge.

Hadrian’s Wall – A brilliant roll and write from Garphill Games, easy to set up and get played. Not a massive amount of interaction but great fun to see what you can do with your city/wall. For a bit of an alternative theme I would also recommend Fleet – The Dice Game.

The Soloist

You want something that you can play alone, but won’t take up a whole table? Then I would highly recommend Orchard – a great little puzzly card game of 9 cards or check out something a bit longer and strategy based like Star Realms – a game with a ton of content and also can be played multiplayer as well if the feeling takes you.

So what boardgames will you be playing at Christmas this year?

The post Boardgames at Christmas with the family appeared first on Next Player.

This is a living document, so I will update it as I find more!

Game Platforms

Boardgame Arena – is probably one of the most used of the platforms for playing games. There are games that are ‘Premium’ however you can still play them if a paid subscriber starts the game.

Tabletop Simulator – this is a paid Steam app which has a bunch of games available. Maybe it is just me, but I find the usability lacking and have avoided it myself.

Tabletopia – This one is a little bit of a mix between Tabletop Simulator and Boardgame Arena. Can be a little frustrating when the game doesn’t have rules built in and you find yourself stumbling through moves/scoring.

Yucata – heaps of Euro style games on here as well as a few others. I haven’t really used this one but it looks to have some games that you can’t find anywhere else.

Single Games

Android Netrunner – A ‘dead’ LCG which is anything but dead online.

Dominion – the classic deckbuilder is here for you to play.

Go – Easy to master, hard to learn, or the other way? You can play Go here for free, as well as learn how to play.

Keyforge – the every-deck-is-unique duelling game is here for you to play!

The post Free boardgames online! appeared first on Next Player.

So when Orchard by was originally suggested, I turned my nose up at it like any good mid to mid-heavy weight Euro player should. Pah! 9 cards, what am I to do with 9 cards! The other thing that I don’t really like are puzzles, just don’t get them. For instance, I love the theme of the Zelda games, but my ability to solve puzzles is almost nil, so these games end up a dreary misery for me. I play with a Rubix cube and somehow it ends up more jumbled than when I started (that’s if I don’t pull the stickers off to cheat)

So, I purchased a copy of Orchard, and it’s tiny, like small deck box tiny. Components are pretty standard, except for the dope plastic cards (They smell the same as Chip Theory Games, if that’s like, your thing).

I guess one of the arguments could be that with 9 cards there could be a high degree of ‘sameness’ between games – well have I got news for you! The game comes with 18 cards, 9 of which you will use in a single game. This means there are…(insert maths here)…tons.. of unique combinations of 9 cards from the 18 provided. So when it comes to replayability, this game is going to have tons (also, I don’t see people having the replayability conversation about games like Solitaire).

If I’m totally honest I started out in the hobby to make sure that I engaged with other people about a passion or hobby and to push myself a bit when it comes to social interaction. That didn’t happen so much in the end, with Covid getting in the way, but I did find a real love for solo gaming.

I can get a game of Orchard done in around 5 minutes (great for the stats geek!) and the second game is ready and waiting for you to go again. I love the fact that I can sit in front of the TV and experiment with placements and maximising points, while never actually taking the focus too much off either thing. When I asked for a game that I could play and just chill, I have to admit that I didn’t think that Orchard would hit the spot, but I sure was wrong.

The post Orchard – a lesson in humility appeared first on Next Player.

Following on from the piece on how counterfeits impact the hobby, today we are looking at what can be done about the problem.

This time I also spoke to Kevin Chu, a consumer with an interest in tracking counterfeit products, in addition to industry professionals.

What are companies doing?

As you can imagine there is a fine line for companies, do they spend the money to chase the counterfeiters or do they continue to focus on their work and hope that counterfeits don’t have a significant impact on their bottom lines.

Ted Alspach from Bezier Games notes the following about their approach to combatting counterfeits:

Surprisingly, it is noted by several industry professionals that producing unique components does not seem to have a significant impact on counterfeiting, with these products still getting produced.

So what else can publishers and designers do? Jonathon Fryxelius from Fryx games reports:

We have reported many sellers on eBay and Amazon because they’re selling counterfeits

This is something that Pandasaurus and Steve Jackson Games also state – that reporting counterfeit sellers is a way that companies can start to approach the problem. However, as several interviewees mentioned, the issue is that the seller is the end point with a production and distribution chain behind them which is where the problem begins.

Unfortunately, these producers and manufacturers are a lot harder to track down and stop than their selling counterparts and there are other ways to ensure only legitimate copies are sold, but this process tends to be expensive and time consuming.

We’ve started using Amazon’s Transparency program, which places a unique QR code on every game that Amazon might sell. Amazon won’t sell any games without these if you’ve registered them with them. This costs us money both to procure from amazon and also to print on the boxes – Ted Alspach

The Consumer Advocate

When I started to look at writing this article I saw a few people on Australian sales Facebook pages asking if they had accidentally bought a fake copy. Kevin Chu was someone who stood out as an advocate for consumers and someone who was knowledgeable in the area. I would often see Kevin responding and updating a post on games that had been counterfeited and had been ‘spotted’ in Australia.

Kevin got into the game of tracking down counterfeits when he inadvertently bought some himself and was alerted by his gaming group.

I started looking into various counterfeit games, different sellers, different channels and even finding networks that sells them from China. I do this as an interest and also for public awareness. Been in contact with several publishers over this and from their help we manage to quash many counterfeit sellers both in eBay and other eCommerce channels.

One of the issues that I have noticed is that there seem to be a lot of pop-up games stores around in shopping centres or online. Kevin also recognises this and states that counterfeits in these stores may not reflect ill will by the seller, but moreso inexperience from their acquisitions teams. It is apparently common for these stores to get their stock from a “network of distributors” which often makes it hard to track down where the games are actually coming from.

Unfortunately, as Kevin puts it, the process of tracking these people down is often like fighting the Hydra – when one head is removed three others take it’s place.

As a positive to all of this, though, is the fact that Kevin believes that fake copies have never entered the hobby through legitimate board game distributors in Australia which speaks highly of the teams that acquire new stock from overseas.

What can you do as a consumer?

• Firstly, skip any stores that only stock games that are easily reproducable – these particularly include games that are just cards in a box – party games I am looking at you.
• Try not to engage in the race to the bottom – a cheaper game is an attractive prospect, but sometimes this means that you are buying a fake version of the game. This race to the bottom also pushes legitimate stores out as they are unable to compete;
• Be loyal to sellers – find the stores that work for you and sing their praises. This strengthens buying power of local sellers
• Do not buy from eBay – this is where a lot of illegitimate sellers hang out. Ali Barba, Wish etc are also very high on the list of sellers to avoid.
• Report, report, report – if you feel that you have purchased a game that is a counterfeit, report it to the store and if you are unsatisfied with their response, speak to the publisher.
• Stay informed – places like Boardgamegeek and Reddit will often have posts about fake copies in the market. Keep an eye on these posts to see what you might come across in the ‘wild’

The post What can we do about counterfeit board games appeared first on Next Player.

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.