Double Feature: Parade & Incan Gold

Incan Gold

Quinns: You know double-yolk eggs? Those rarest of treasures that whisper “It’s all going to be ok” up from the pan? Well, today you get a double-review! Enclosed within the brittle shell of this article are not one, but TWO of the greatest card games we’ve ever played, full of fatty fun and caloric goodness.

Please ensure your credit card is secured in your official SU&SD fast-draw holster before continuing. We’re serious. These games are very, very good.

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Clutching at Bannisters: A Heartfelt Review of Fantasy Football

Clutching at Bannisters: A Heartfelt Review of Fantasy Football

[Following in the tradition of Brendan’s Rooky Errors or Leigh’s Month as an Assassin, it’s time for another article on an unusual corner of gaming. This time, the ancient tradition of Fantasy Football.]

Gav: It’s 6:45 on a Friday night, I’ve just got off a flight from Cologne to London and I’m attempting to tether the internet from my phone to my really old, really rubbish and currently really unresponsive laptop. This would be annoying enough if I wasn’t also attempting to manoeuvre through some horrendous London traffic in a beaten-up old jallopy. I know even using your phone (no less a phone AND a laptop) whilst driving is reckless and stupid but there’s an excuse for my idiocy: it’s the evening of my NFL Fantasy Draft.

Before I lose you, let me just say I know how you’re feeling, but stick with me as I explain why game fans will find a fantasy football league interesting.

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How to Play Skull!

How to Play Skull

If you ask us what our favourite game is, it changes with the weather. If it’s a sunny day, Cosmic Encounter. If it’s wet and windswept, Consulting Detective. If it’s a sleepy autumn night, Memoir ’44. And so on, forever and ever, until we get tired and go to sleep.

But if you ask our team which game they’ve played the most, you’ll only get one answer: Skull*. Arguably the best bluffing game ever made, and a glittering showcase of just how much game you can get out of a minimum of rules.

If you’re still not sold, check out Matt’s review and a recipe! Skull with Fresh Pizza.

*Though Quinns’ Netrunner habit and Paul’s Carcassonne addiction do offer some competition.

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Review: Mexica

Review: Mexica

March 25, 2016 Reviews Mexica, New to Games? Quinns and Matt want you to come on holiday with them! Come along to the ancient city of Tenochtitlan. Don’t worry, it’ll be demolished again once we’re done with it. Mexica was a bit of a surprise for us. We hadn’t heard anything about it, but this … Read more

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Podcast #39: Dancin’, Brawlin’ and Burglin’

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Paul, Matt and guest star Jonathan Ying come to us LIVE from GDC 2016 discuss the hottest new board games! And by “hottest” we mean “weirdest” (and by “new” we mean “old”). Designer Tim Fowers stopped by our lounge to demo his games to us, the sneaktacular co-op Burgle Bros and deck-building word-builder Paperback. Fantasy … Read more

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Arena Rex

Rome, 1253 AUC: This is not the world you know. The Republic and the Empire thrive. Arenas dot the landscape. Warriors from lands both known and unknown perform upon the sands for the chance at freedom, riches, and eternal glory. Many choose this life, some are condemned to it — they will face men, beasts, and creatures of myth, all for the favor of the crowd.

Arena Rex is a game of gladiatorial combat. Battles of 3 to 6 combatants per side are recommended, and take approximately 30 to 40 minutes to play. Simple, intuitive rules offer myriad tactical possibilities. Maneuver and arena terrain play key roles in the game along with a fatigue-based activation system that twists a traditional round structure in new and exciting ways.

Arena Rex is a miniatures line that features high quality 35mm gladiators, and encompasses not just classic styles, but much of the ancient world. Gladiators train together in ludi; the classic styles of Ludus Magnus compete with more exotic fighters from farther afield. Anachronisms are present and intentional — the ability to combine the best aspects of disparate things is just as important as unity of purpose, and this is reflected in Arena Rex not just aesthetically, but mechanically. Players can choose gladiators freely, whether for their look, their playstyle, or because of unique benefits and synergies within a given ludus.

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Games News! 21/03/16

Ra

Quinns: My god! We just got back from running our board game lounge at the annual Game Developer’s Conference and it looks like someone left the news spigot flowing for the entire time.

Our biggest story is that Ra, one of Reiner Knizia’s old and therefore good games, is coming back in a pretty new print run! In a rare example of SU&SD being ahead of the curve (rather than about two months behind it) our entire team has actually played the original 1999 auction game and is in agreement that it’s well worth your money.

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How to play Galaxy Trucker!

How to Play Galaxy Trucker!

These “How to Play” videos are giving us a great chance to dust off some of our all-time favourite boxes. Of course we were going to do Galaxy Trucker. We’ll climb back into its rickety cabs any chance we get.

If you want to see more of this absolutely hilarious game your next port of call should be our Let’s Play, which we swear to god was not “rigged” despite what you might have read. The game is just that ridiculous.

After that, you should just buy the darn thing. It looks like the Anniversary Edition in this video has now sold out, but the base game is ready and waiting for you.

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Review: Arena Rex

Arena Rex

[We were so happy with Eric Tonjes’ work introducing us to miniatures games with his reviews of Infinity, Dropzone Commander, Warmachine, Malifaux and the Batman Miniatures Game that when we heard about a new, very special minis game we had to get him back.]

Eric: I’ve spent the last few months working those pectorals and drenching myself in olive oil. Why? So that I can now sit shirtless at my computer for a proper review of Arena Rex.

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Review: Patchwork

Patchwork

Paul: True story: I got in trouble for sewing once when I was six years old. I wasn’t supposed to be sewing because, apparently, sewing is not a thing that a man does. That seems a little strange since I have definitely met some tailors who were men and whose helpful craft meant I wasn’t instead stumbling naked through life. Anyway, being thus steered from sewing surely explains why I’m not as good as I should be at Patchwork.

And it’s such a shame because I want to be better at it. I’m sure I could. I’m certain I’m on the verge of some sort of needlework breakthrough, of a real understanding of petite, precise Patchwork. I cannot stop now. I must master this splendid, splendid challenge. This flat, unassuming and apparently drab affair is so much more than it seems. Do not underestimate its prosaic presentation.

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