Finspan Is About Placing Fish

Finspan has some similarities to Wyrmspan and Wingspan, but is much easier with short turns and less thinking.  It's for ages 10 to adult for up to 5 players.  It even has a solo version.  There are 4 rounds (weeks) with a common objective for each.  Each player scores whatever bonus points they get for those objectives at the end of each round.  There is no race to be first.  Basically there are 3 columns in which to dive for fish cards, eggs and converting eggs to young fish.  These are all resources necessary for placing your fish cards in the water.  If you have three young fish on a space or card, it becomes a school which scores you 6 points at the end of the game.

I like the artwork in this game.  It's pretty and there are a LOT of different fish with interesting facts about them.  Each players gets 6 turns per round and play generally goes pretty fast.  The game takes about an hour to play once everyone knows how and understands the game.  There are handy reference cards that explain what all the icons mean.  Similar to Wyrmspan, there are benefits you can get when you play a fish or some, when you dive and activate the benefit, or end game points.  

It's a fun game and there's really nothing that I don't like about it.  Let me know when you would like to come over to play it.

MLEM Space Agency Is Fun!

MLEM Space Agency is fun dice rolling game because the theme consists of putting your cat into space and choosing when it wants to get off on either a planet, a moon, or go all the way to deep space.  It's for 2-5 players, ages 8 and up.  It only takes about an hour.

I like this game because: 

• *I like cats so like the theme.
• *Everyone plays together at the same time so it's a good game for 5 players.
• *It's a combination of co-op and individual competition.
• *Scoring is fairly simple.
• *It's good for all ages.
• *It's a lot of luck with some strategy.
• *It's plays differently than any other game I've played.

The farther you go into space, the higher the point values are.  Each person gets three secret missions (places to land) and players all take turns being the commander of the rocket.  There are bonus points along the way for the commander which are pure luck depending on the dice roll.  The commander rolls the dice and moves the rocket along the path into space.  The number of dice varies because it is determined by the tile that describes the benefits that commander gets for the trip.  

There are four 5-pt bonus cats for the first player who gets cats on 4 moons, on 4 different planets, 3 cats on any one planet and who is the first to get to deep space twice.  Landing on moons give points in the form of cat treats as soon as you land but landing on planets doesn't give points until the end of the game which depend on what player landed first or which has the most cats on that planet to earn the first place spot.

The strategy is to decide which cat bonuses you want to go for and which 3 secret missions to keep out of a choice of 4.  Also, cats have different abilities so you must decide which cat gets to go on each trip.  One cat has a parachute, one can get off a space ahead or a space behind, on gives the rocket a head start, one allows the commander to use a 1 if he needs a 1 to move, one causes the commander to lose a die once the cat gets off, 3 of the cats double your points for arriving at deep space, or landing on a moon or planet.

If the rocket is unable to move any further, it is a crash and any cats on the rocket have to go back to their starting pad unless they have a parachute, in which case they can safely land on the moon or planet that the rocket is across from.  When one player has used up all his/her cats, the game ends and end game points are awarded before final scoring.

So, who wants to come and play this with me?

Castle Break is Exciting

Castle Break is a fun, exciting game of both luck and strategy.  It doesn't have a lot of rules so is quick to learn and easy to teach.  Basically, the point of the game is to be the first to release the dragon that is trapped inside the castle by completing quests to get 6 coins that you forge into keys to unlock the 3 gates to the tower to release the dragon.  Players can do two different actions per turn from any of these choices:  get a quest, use a power card, roll and move, barter for a card from an opponent, swap a card with themselves, forge their keys, complete a quest.

Quests involve taking certain items to specific rooms in the castle.  The three types of cards are trade goods, weapons and power.  Power cards give special powers such as ways of moving faster, ways to stop or slow down opponents.  

PROS:

Love the artwork on the game board.

Like the combination of strategy and luck.  You always feel like you at least have a chance when you are behind.

Lots of options of things to do on a turn.

If you don't like a quest, you can exchange it for a different one.

Game is up to 4 players and only takes about an hour for ages 10 and up.

Under $20.

CONS:

The game doesn't come with a dragon!  The one I have was made by a friend on his 3D printer.

Quacks Is a Fun Push Your Luck Game

Quacks is a fairly easy game to play but the first time, there is a lot of reading involved.  After that, you get to know the different ingredients so don't have to read all that much.  This game is mostly luck of the draw with just a little strategy.  You do not want your potion to explode so have to know when to quit pulling ingredients from your bag.  The object is to make the most points before the game ends.  There are 9 rounds every game.  

On a turn, you all play at the same time, pulling out ingredients from your bag one at a time and placing them in your pot.  You can pull as many as you want; however, if you get more than 7 white chips (cherry bombs), your potion explodes and you must choose between scoring the points based on how far along you got, or buy more ingredients.  You can't do both like you would normally be able to do.

Then you score points, everyone buys ingredients, the red rubies are taken, the rats are placed (the ones behind get a bit of a head start according to how many rat tails are between them and the lead person on the scoreboard.  The second round card is flipped which provides some kind of benefit for all players.  All ingredients used are returned to the bags and players draw all at once again.

As the game continues on, your bag gets more and more ingredients according to what you buy.  Each round, players can buy up to two different ingredients based on how far along they got.

PROS:

Fun, easy to play, the only choice each round is what ingredients you want to buy.

Up to 4 players and takes about an hour. 

Cute theme.  Players are all quacks trying to come up with the best potion.

Don't need to wait for your turn since everyone plays at the same time.

The strategy is building up a stable bag of ingredients, increasing odds of choosing colored chips early.

Get red rubies to be able to move your starting point ahead.

CONS:

Mostly a game of luck of the draw.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig is Unique

I love playing Castles of Mad King Ludwig because it is unlike any other I've ever played!  The whole theme is laying to form a castle of many different rooms and sizes.  First off, the master builder gets to place the different room tiles on the market.  He/she decides what each room tile will cost.  If other players purchase any, the master builder gets the money.  So, as the master builder you must decide if you want money or want to keep the other players from getting certain rooms and pricing them high so they can't afford to buy them.  Other players buy what they want and then the master builder buys but that money goes to the bank.

Each tile has doors that much be connected to the other tiles in order to place the room.  There are some downstairs rooms that require stairs first before they can be placed.  There are 3 common objectives that the King favors.  These change from one game to the next.  It could be certain room types, sizes, or area, etc.  When a room is completed (all the doors connecting to another room, hall or stair), that player gets a special bonus depending on the type of room.  In addition, each player gets two secret objective cards and can get another for each utility room they place into their castle.

I also really like the scoreboard in this game because it's so pretty!  Swan tokens move down the river for scoring.  This game involves lots of decisions--what rooms to buy, where to place them, how much money to save or spend and how to price the rooms when you are the master builder.  Game ends when there are not enough cards to refill the market. 

Player with most points wins.  I like this game a lot because enjoy building games and also castles!  I also have an extension for this with swans, secret passages and moats that make the game a bit more challenging but give more opportunities for points and getting more money.  Either way is fun!

This game is based on the real King Ludwig.