Tag: board game

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Game Reviews

Blooming Sea

Reiner Knizia has designed many excellent games. A considerable number of his designs combine simple rules with one small idea that makes the gameplay much more interesting than it might initially appear. “Blooming Sea”, published in Poland by Red Square Games, is no exception.

This time, our task is to restore a coral reef. By placing tiles, we will connect corals into increasingly large groups and create habitats for the fish swimming among them. Beneath the calm and colorful theme, however, lies an engaging competition for points and space on a shared board.

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Game Reviews

Nemi: The Strawberry Festival

Nemi is a small Italian town in the hills near Rome, overlooking a lake of the same name. It is best known for its wild strawberries and the Strawberry Festival, which has been held there since 1922. During the event, the streets fill with flowers, music, and market stalls, while women dressed in traditional costumes, known as Fragolare, hand out fruit to visitors.

This colorful festival became the theme of Nemi: The Strawberry Festival, a game designed by Valeria Cavasin and Edoardo Elbenstein and published by Fiammingo Games. As participants in the preparations, we will gather fruit and other ingredients, make strawberry desserts, and decorate the town. The player who contributes the most to the event’s success will receive the Golden Strawberry.

We received a pre-release copy of the game for testing. How did this sweet trip to sunny Italy turn out?

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Game Reviews

Disney Villainous: Unstoppable!

If you know the classic Disney Villainous, then Villainous: Unstoppable! from Ravensburger is a completely different game. It is neither another expansion nor a simplified edition of the original game, but rather a standalone title inspired by Villainous, aimed primarily at families and younger players. The biggest change here is the level of complexity.

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Game Reviews

Pacific

Pacific is a game by Donald X. Vaccarino, best known as the designer of Dominion, which already suggests a straightforward game that still leaves players room for various strategic moves. This time, players invest in tourism, industry, transport, and nature, while the game gives them space for some light business-minded scheming, wrapping the whole thing in a neat card-and-board puzzle for 2–5 players. Let’s take a closer look at what it is all about.

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Game Reviews

Rebirth

After a series of catastrophes, the world begins to rebuild in harmony with nature. In Rebirth, we take on the roles of clan leaders striving to gain control over the lands of Scotland or Ireland. This tile-laying board game designed by Reiner Knizia is intended for 2–4 players and offers two fully developed versions of play on a double-sided board.

Both variants share the same core system, yet differ in key scoring elements and additional mechanisms. As a result, the box delivers two distinct takes on the same design, each emphasizing slightly different aspects of competition.

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Game Reviews

White Castle: Duel

White Castle: Duel from Portal Games is a compact two-player strategy game built upon the core ideas of its larger predecessor, The White Castle. This time, however, the experience is tailored exclusively for head-to-head play, with a streamlined structure and a brisk tempo. While the inspiration is unmistakable, several elements have been redesigned to suit the duel-focused format. So—how well does it work? Let’s take a look.

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