Whatever happened to block games? Fifteen years ago, Hammer of the Scots was crushing all other starter wargames with woad-stained wood. Then, after a few more releases, it all went quiet. It's all the more mysterious because they're still around, and they're still awesome. Julius Caesar is a fascinating exercise in ancient armies. And it's not alone: carrying the banner into the future is the Holdfast series from Worthington Games. The march began with World War 2 title Holdfast: Russia. It had all the block game staples. The pieces were chunky bits of wood you could...
Time is something the medieval mages of Ars Magica have in plenty. They have no need of wealth or work. A specialist class of peasantry, called Grogs, cater for their basic needs. Their magic can bend time and potions extend their lifespans to hundreds of years. Ironic, then, that Ars Magica is one of the most time-consuming role-playing games around. It also happens to be one of the best. Originally published in 1987, over time ideas from Ars made their way into countless other games. Its house system, whereby Magi belong to specialist groups, was the...
You'd have thought there was only so much Lovecraft that gamers could stomach. Yet, year after, year release schedules continue to put a lie to that presumption. Arkham Horror: The Card Game, though, promises to be different. At night, in dreams, eldritch horrors whispered in my ear that it was new and exciting. At dawn, zombie-like, I staggered out under their baleful influence to secure and play a copy. It promises to be a Living Card Game, and it both is and isn't. You do build a deck from the selection of cards in the box....
All through the colossal space battle at the end of Rogue One, I found it hard to concentrate. Seeing all those huge ships, the swarms of fighters, the epic scale, my brain kept turning back to Star Wars: Armada. That was especially true for the moment the Hammerhead Corvette came on the screen. I knew there was a new model for it coming for the game. And once the scene played out, I knew I had to have it. The trouble is, it isn't an it, but a them. It comes in a two-pack whether you...
Saltlands – Sail Through the Desert! is a recently published boardgame from Antler Games for 1 to 6 players and set in a Mad Max-style future.