Gameology Blog - Gamer's Hub Online
✏️𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑻𝑶𝑷 5 𝑹𝑷𝑮 𝑩𝑶𝑨𝑹𝑫𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑺✏️
We have our RPGs and we have our board games. Sometimes they come together in such a perfect way, where you can get the best of both worlds! With the increase in popularity of both board games and RPGs it’s only natural that the popularity of RPG board games also increase. Here I’ll cover our top 5 RPG board games! 1) Gloomhaven Gloomhaven is already a classic. It packs a huge campaign and story into its box. The box itself is massive, but you definitely feel like you get so much more out of it! This massive dungeon crawler has you adventuring across the land as mercenaries. It will have you leveling up your character by building their deck and making it through encounters. You will not only go through dungeons, but you will be having encounters in cities and on the road. Just like you would in an RPG! Combat encounters feature tactical combat on hex-grid maps, with monsters governed by their own deck of action cards. If you’re already into board games and RPGs, Gloomhaven is the perfect mix of both! It is designed to be played over multiple sessions and characters will have their own personal quests and upon achieving these goals, have the option to retire and new characters can be unlocked! 2) Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients This game has it all, horror themes, Eldritch monster AND it’s set in a western-themed underworld. What more do we need? In Shadow and Brimstone: City of the Ancients players will be working together as brave adventurers who will travel deep into the mine in search of the dark stone. They will end up in heated battles with monsters, demons and even creatures from beyond space! Each encounter is unique and can range from a simple collection mission to entering other worlds and having all out battle. Players will be able to head to head to the local town to have their characters rest or even upgrade their character or their equipment! This system is easy to learn and the game can be adapted into making it more customisable for you and your fellow players! Though it has a heavy horror theme, it is still fun while keeping within the theme! 3) Dark Souls: The Board Game Praise the sun! In this exploration game, players are working together to go into dangerous and challenging locations where an abundance of monsters and treasure are waiting. Every new location you go to there are new and unique dangers for you to encounter. The game provides a variety of different yet still constantly challenging levels for you but is accessible to play for heavy gamers or for board game newcomers. You will need to think strategically and be aware of your players' stamina to be successful on your missions. Those who love a challenge will relish the opportunity to play through this game. Bringing the difficulty and satisfaction from the video game, to this RPG style board game. 4) Mansions of Madness Board Game This high fantasy Lovecraftian edition by Fantasy Flight, is a great introduction to RPG style board games! It features individual campaigns that players can choose from and then investigate. In Mansions of Madness players are investigators who will be working together to try to figure out the horrible mystery before the end of the world triggers. Whether a cult is trying to summon Cthulhu or a fellow investigator has sent a cryptic message, it’s up to you to figure it out! The immersive app guides you through the game, revealing what’s in a draw, or where the angry mob has moved to while you search for all the answers you need. It will take survival and quick thinking to get through these campaigns! 5) The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth For those who love RPGs, board games and Tolkien’s epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, then aren’t you in for a treat! This game brings you all of these, bundled up neatly in an epic adventure! Players will take their place in an adventuring party as one of the iconic characters such as Bilbo, Aragon or Legolas, along with some fresh faces. Players will work cooperatively, making courageous choices and fight against the evil gathering that’s threatening the land. Players build their decks to balance the amount of successes possible to draw during tests they must take. Your fellowship will travel across the world completing quests and battling monsters generated by the companion app. With this classic adventure theme and easy to maintain characters and campaigns, what’s not to love when it comes to this RGP board game? Plus who didn’t secretly want to be, or be in a party with Legolas? Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for…An intense adventure? GloomhavenAn Eldritch Western adventure? Shadows of Brimstone: City of the AncientsA challenging cooperative game? Dark Souls: The Board GameA classic Eldritch investigation? Mansions of MadnessA Lord of the Rings themed adventure? The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth And there we have it! Our top 5 RPG board games! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
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🧣𝓣𝓸𝓹 5 𝓰𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝔂 𝓸𝓷 𝓪 𝓬𝓸𝔃𝔂 𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽🧣
If you’re anything like me, when it’s especially cold in the evening, the last thing you’re going to want to do is to go out. But staying home, while warm, can really make you feel as if you’ve done nothing at all. Sometimes you just need that little something in the evening to help you through your winter nights. Here I’ll cover my top 5 games to make your winter night at home a cozy one! 1) Cartographers Cartographers is a super cute game about, you guessed it, drawing maps. For those like me, who are definitely not gifted artistically, do not worry, you’re not actually going to need to draw. As a cartographer, you are tasked by the Queen to map the territory of the Northern Lands so she can set up to reclaim them. Players compete to earn the most reputation stars by the time four seasons have passed. Each season, players draw on their map sheets (or as we like to do, colour them in) and earn reputation by carrying out the queen's edicts before the season is over. But watch out for ambushes as these can cause you to lose reputation! This game is a mix of relaxing map making and strategically trying to fill in your map to get the highest reputation! 2) Railroad Ink This is another roll and write, and this another super cute game. You’re going to be putting roads and railway tracks down dictated by the roll of the dice, so it can be pretty random (is this how the city council planned our roads?) In Railroad Ink players roll the route (which are railway tracks or highway roads) dice and must then draw these tracks or roads onto their boards. Players score points for having long interconnected roads or tracks, connecting the entry points to their homeland as well as having routes through the center of their boards. Make sure you don’t leave routes leading to nothing though as you will lose points! Not only that, there are a bunch of different editions that have come out and they can all be played together! Compete to get the highest points and end up the best road and railway track planner! 3) Welcome To... After you’ve had your fix of plotting maps or planning roads and railway tracks, maybe you’re up for planning a suburb in the 1950s? Welcome To… is a quick roll and write (what can we say, roll and writes are great!) which plays for about 25 minutes. It’s super easy to learn and it also has simple and cute artwork. In Welcome To… players will have 3 options to choose from every round to build their houses and use that effect to create their fenced housing estates, parks and pools. Points are also awarded for certain estate sizes! During this game you’re trying to figure out which option you can take each turn to ensure you get the most points within the game's own limitations. It is, however, pretty relaxing to play and perfect for a cozy winter night whether with 2 people or with more! 4) Fort Have you ever been a kid in a playground? The likely answer to this question is usually “what?” In Fort you’re now a kid again! It is a mini card drafting game with the cute theme of playing with your friends in the playground. In Fort you will be playing with the kids in the playground! Every round, if you don’t play with all of your friends, they can be taken by the other players to play with them instead. Think trying to convince friends on the playground to come play with you instead because Jenny has ignored them all recess. With this cute theme, you’ll be playing with your friends, getting toys and pizza in your backpack and earning victory points! Once all the kids have gone from the playground, the game ends and the player with the most victory points wins! A super cute game to play when you're wrapped up nice and snug on a winter night! 5) Parks When you can’t go outside because it’s too cold, why not bring the outside in? With beautifully illustrated art of 59 US national parks, it’s hard not to get sucked into the feel of the game. In Parks, you and the other players are all hiking up nature trails taking pictures of all the parks you choose to visit along the way! Each park earns you points, but also costs resources to go to! Resources that you can get along the trail, but also can be harder to come by, as with most hikes, you’re only able to go one way along the track. You can’t backtrack at all! With the stunning artwork and cute hiker meeples, you and your friends can have a cute little hike inside the privacy and comfort of your own warm house! Visiting the best parks and taking beautiful pictures will earn you points and you’ll be the best hiker! Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for... Relaxed map making? Cartographers. Road and railway track planning? Railroad Ink. Neighbourhood planning in the 1950s? Welcome To... A cute drafting game with a cute theme? Fort. A nice hike in a national park? Parks. And there we have it! Our top 5 games for cozy winter nights! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
👧Tᴏᴘ ʙᴏᴀʀᴅ ɢᴀᴍᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ👦
Whether you’re a board gamer yourself trying to get your young children started in the hobby early, you’re wanting to find a nice gift you can get for a youngster or you’re looking for something that you can all play together, board games for young children might be the best way to go. Here I’ll be covering some top board games that will be great for youngsters and why! 1) Spot It Animals The original Spot It game has been modified into a simplified version for a younger audience! Making it easier to play and learn, this is a great little game to play with kids to get them thinking. Each card has 6 colourful animals of different sizes on it. Between any two cards there is always one animal match! You can use this game to help young children learn the different animals or even have them make the animal sounds when they’re making their matches! Spot It Animals is for ages 6 and up, however it can easily be simplified for younger children as young as 3 or 4! 2) Hugos Hodgepodge Hempels Sofa Hugo’s house is full of so much junk! In Hempels Sofa, the players try to help him reach the objects they are looking for. To do this, they need to keep track of things, have a good memory, and not step on each other's stuff. The first player to pick up four objects wins. This is a great children’s game that offers the players excitement and surprises every step (literally) of the way! Utilizing both dexterity and memory, it is a great way to have your tots learn how to think with strategy! Hugos Hodgepodge Hempels Sofa is designed for ages 5+! 3) Rhino Hero SuperBattle Rhino Hero Super battle is a 3D stacking game where players are tasked to build, and climb a skyscraper, but not only that, there is also fierce battles to be had between our four superheroes, our main hero Rhino Hero, Giraffe Boy, Big E, and of course my personal favourite Batguin (so cute, oh my gosh!). This game is simple, fun and easy to learn and people of all ages, big kids and little kids, can get some fun out of it. Each turn you will get your options for building and moving and you will need to figure out what you can or should do. Helping again with dexterity, strategic thinking and memory to play this game. Rhino Hero SuperBattle is designed for ages 5 and up! 4) The Little Orchard This is a cooperative memory game for children! This game is great at helping children to develop team spirit and working together! Helping with the recognition of naming colours and symbols and also their fine motor skills! Another point into their dexterity! The players of this game have to pick up all the cherries before the crow can come and steal them all from the tree. Players will have to use their memory and deduction skills to win against the sneaky crow! The Little Orchard is designed for ages 3 and up! 5) My Very First Games My First Orchard This is another version of the previous game, The Little Orchard, however it has been further simplified for a younger audience. The fruit pieces are larger but players are still encouraged to work together to harvest all the fruit before the crow gets them. Our sneaky crow friend is back! This cooperative game again is designed to help children develop social skills and understanding of game rules. It should help children develop colour recognition and to teach them counting by ones. Not only that but the super cute pieces can also double as a pretend set of solid wooden fruit! My Very First Games My First Orchard is designed for ages 2 and up! 6) Dragon Rapid Fire - The Fire Crystals Board Game In this cute little racing game, players move their dragon figures to collect fire crystals on their way to the volcano! On a turn a player will roll the die, which may change which way a player is allowed to walk and make the player have to walk down a different path. This may mean the player takes longer to get to the volcano, but in the end, the player with the most fire crystals will be the winner! Who doesn’t like to collect all the little shinies? This can also be a great learning tool for counting for younger kids! In this game, players will be forced to think strategically, but also will be required to start making on the spot decisions of what to do. Maybe the path they were going to take is now one they’re not able to go down? This game encourages a slight competitiveness and how to win and lose gracefully! Dragon Rapid Fire - The Fire Crystals is designed for ages 3 and up! Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for... A memory focused card game? Spot It Animals. Strategy, dexterity and memory in a game? Hugos Hodgepodge Hempels Sofa. A more hands on building strategy game? Rhino Hero SuperBattle. A cooperative recognition and social development game? The Little Orchard or My Very First Games My First Orchard. A little competitive counting game with cute dragons? Dragon Rapid Fire - The Fire Crystals Board Game. And there we have it! Our top board games to play with small children! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
🐉𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚🐉
Dungeons and Dragons has been around for a while, you’ve probably heard of it, but if you’re new to playing it, or role playing games in general, it can be a bit overwhelming. Sometimes you’re just not too sure where to start and if you’re already a player, you might not know what to do to be further immersed in the experience.Here, I’ll run through a few accessories to include in your game that might help you immerse yourself into your game, or help immerse your players.1) A good DM screenLet’s face it, even some of the most skilled dungeon masters/game masters need to double, sometimes triple check rules. If you’re the dungeon master, you’re going to want to have a relevant dungeon master's screen to assist you. A DM screen with the relevant information for your campaign is going to save you time and let you focus more on the game, rather than on searching up rules. Whether your campaign focuses on surviving in the wilderness, having your players crew a ship on their way to a new world or being afflicted by conditions in and outside of combat, you’re going to want to make your DM screen your friend. Plus there are some really beautifully illustrated screens that who can really pass up?2) D&D Adventure GridA simple gridded map can really help wonders when organising yourself and others in a combat scenario. Putting your players or yourself into the battlefield, a terrain map such as an Adventure grid will allow you to easily see how far you are from foes or obstacles and you can really get a sense of how close - or how far - you are from everything else. An adventure grid can be the beginning of getting your players, or yourself immersed further into the game, from here, you can really start branching out to things such as Warlock Tiles which can be built up to be the dungeon or tavern you need it to be!3) Miniatures/StandeesA miniature can really make you feel like you are really part of the game and you are contributing, which can sometimes be what someone really needs to get themselves into the roleplay. Whether it’s a specific miniature, painted or a standee, it can put a personal touch to whatever scenario you’re going for. Miniatures can also be used to show spell effects and give the game that little bit more of that “wow” factor. I can say from personal experience, when the spell effects do come out, my players always get excited and focus more on the game...Plus it always makes you feel like a boss when you grab it out and show everyone is grouped in an AOE (of healing of course…) 4) Reference CardsWhat can I say about reference cards? Much like your DM screen, these can be used as quick reference for DMs and players throughout your sessions. During your session planning, you might come across one that inspires you for your next combat encounter. You might find a spell that you want to incorporate somewhere, maybe you’ll give it to a player if you think it works for them? Maybe you’ll give it to the BBEG? But for whichever, you’ll be able to reference it quickly if you need to. Having these reference cards at hand will help cut down on time spent trying to figure out how a spell will work, or if a certain class can learn the spell. They can help you track monster stats and abilities during a game. You can even reference magical items, making it easier to plan and giving you more time to enjoy playing! Have you struggled to plan out NPCs? Yeah, there’s reference cards for that too! 5) NotebookWhether we’re talking DnD, Vampire the Masquerade or literally any RPG, you’re going to want to keep some notes. This will help you remember what you have been doing, where you’re up to in a place such as a dungeon and what information your character has gathered over time or about other characters and creatures. You will be able to play with your mind in the game and be able to reference any information you need at any time. If you’re running the game, your notebook will help you keep all your information together in one place. All your monster or NPC stats all in one place, town layouts and campaign plot points all referenced at your fingertips. I advise also using sticky tabs and having separate parts of your notebook for easy planning and reference too! Buying GuideIn summary, if you’re looking for…Relevant campaign information at your fingertips? A good DM screenEasy ability to see characters on a map? An adventure grid or terrain tilesPhysical representations of characters? Miniatures or standeesEasy references for items, NPCs and Monsters? Item, monster and NPC reference cardsQuick and easy access to campaign information? A notebookAnd there we have it! Our top 5 helpful accessories to help you and your players fully immerse yourselves into your role playing game! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
🐱𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟱 𝗖𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀!🐱
Cats. You love them, you hate them, you can’t control them, but you can’t deny that they’re adorably wiggly fluffballs that bring a smile to your face. If you’ve clicked on this blog post, you either love cats, own cats, or all of the above! If you already know in your heart that you’re destined to become a crazy cat person, why not solidify that reputation with some cat themed board games? 1) Isle of Cats A polyomino tile laying and drafting game where players try to fill their boat with cats! Despite the light complexity and colourful artwork, this game has a surprising amount of lore! In Isle of Cats, you take on the role of noble citizens from Squalls End, venturing out to the titular Isle of Cats to rescue them before the evil Lord Vesh arrives. Each cat colour is called a ‘family’ (how adorable!) and you are trying to fit as many cats on your boat as possible while trying to keep families together. With the option to play both the full game and a simpler, family version, Isle of Cats has something for every cat-loving board gamer out there! NOTE: We are currently out of stock of this game but will be getting more later on in the year so be sure to sign up for restock notifications if you’re interested! 2) Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Similar to the classic card game, Snap, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (hereafter simply ‘Taco Cat’) is a fast-paced and hilarious card game that anyone can pick up and play! Gameplay is easy: Players will all read off the mantra “taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza” while going around the table playing cards to a centre pile. As soon as the card in the centre matches the word currently said in the mantra, everyone must slap the centre card! It’s a game that can be played with both kids and adults alike, with a similar vibe to the ever-popular ‘Spot It’. Though cats are not the centrepiece of this game, we just had to give it a mention due to its cheap price, cute artwork and oodles of fun! 3) Magical Kitties Save the Day A beginner-friendly RPG designed for cat-lovers and board gamers of all ages! In Magical Kitties Save the Day, you play as magical kitties using their powers to solve their humans’ problems! Gameplay takes the form of a simplified version of the classic roleplaying experience—you make decisions, and you roll dice to see how your choices pan out. Instead of Strength or Dexterity like in D&D, your attributes are Cute, Cunning and Fierce! Older players can act as the Game Master for kids as young as six years old so that everyone can get involved, even with no prior tabletop RPG experience. With the cat theme making it light and not at all intimidating, this is the game that could spark a love of roleplaying for years to come. 4) Scram From the creators of Unstable Unicorns comes a new cat in the ring—Scram! I seriously can’t get over this artwork! The cats are so fat! But in terms of gameplay, this is a lovely light card game, pulling in the stealing cards mechanic from Unstable Unicorns and combining it with classic set collection. Your goal is to collect as many cats as you can from the pet store while watching out for sneaky cat burglars! And better yet, this game is under $20! If you’re a cat-loving board gamer (or you just love those adorable fat cats!), you really can’t go wrong with this small and portable card game! 5) Calico This gorgeously designed tile laying game combines quilt making and cat attracting in an aesthetically pleasing package! In Calico, players are trying to sew the cosiest and prettiest quilt in order to attract the most cats! Creating groups of colours will allow you to add buttons to your quilt, while creating patterns that the cats like will cause them to come over and sleep on your quilt! If you’re a fan of games like Sagrada and Azul, Calico will likely fill the same pretty puzzley space in your heart—now with cats! NOTE: We are currently out of stock of this game but will be getting more later on in the year so be sure to sign up for restock notifications if you’re interested! Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for... A polyomino tile laying game? Isle of Cats. A fast-paced card game similar to Snap? Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. A beginner-friendly tabletop RPG? Magical Kitties Save the Day. An adorable and simple card game with fat cats? Scram. A gorgeous puzzley tile laying game that’s worth the wait? Calico. And there we have it! Some cardboard cats to add to your cat-lection! What do you think? Did we miss any other cute cat titles? Let us know in the comments below!
The Paints Post - How to get started with mini painting
You see glorious photos of painted miniatures. The intricate details. The shading. The fine motor skills required! It’s a whole wide world and you just want to dive right in but there’s so much to learn, so much to buy! As someone who only recently started painting miniatures earlier this year, in this blog post, I’ll be covering some of the awesome paint sets we sell at Gameology as well as some other useful things to pick up on your painting journey! The world of mini painting might look scary on the outside, but today I’ll be showing you how it’s actually quite welcoming and beginner-friendly! ~ PAINT SETS Now, why start with a paint set, when you can buy individual paints? Well, for me, in my case, I was (and still am) so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of individual paints available that I couldn’t figure out which paints were best to form a core collection. Paint sets are great because not only do they remove the stress of deciding which colours you need, they’re also often great value for money! Warhammer 40k Paint + Tools This was the first paint set I ever bought and I think it’s pretty damn solid. Despite the fact it’s designed for Warhammer models, I used it to paint my D&D miniatures! Citadel is widely regarded as one of the top miniature paint brands in the world and with this $60-$70 set, you get thirteen of their top quality paints, plus a starter brush, a mouldline remover and a pair of clippers. You get your red, yellow, blue primary colours, as well as a black, a white, and a medium fleshy colour (standard for any beginner paint kit), but what makes this kit special, and the reason why I still use it despite having bought many other paints, are all the remaining eight paints. The remaining eight paints in the set are gorgeous metallics (Leadbelcher is like my bread and butter for metals), perfect for any machinery or weaponry, a dark brown wash that works with almost any base colour, a glowing neon green Technical paint great for glowing weapons or magic effects, and (best of all) a textured grainy grey that makes painting bases a breeze! Such a great starter kit! Wizkids Basic Starter Case Since you’re following along with me as I walk down memory lane, this paint set was the second one I bought (after buying the Warhammer one above). The variety of the 40 colours is great—there’s something light and dark in almost every colour, along with a great variety of browns (which I did not think I needed so many of until I tried out this kit!). The dropper bottles make dispensing tiny volumes of paint onto a palette so easy and the case is sturdy, lined with foam, has a carry handle, and also fits my brushes! Plus, the paints are made by Vallejo, so you know they’re great quality! While there aren’t as many specialty paints as the Warhammer set, in terms of colour range for regular paints, this set is amazing. There’s also an Intermediate level case with more specialised colours that I’ve got on my wishlist! D&D Nolzurs Marvelous Pigments Adventurer’s Paint Set If you’re not quite sure miniature painting is for you and don’t want to invest a huge amount of money upfront, the D&D Nolzurs Marvelous Pigments Adventurer’s Paint Set, clocking in at around $40, is perfect for you. Not only do you get a great starter variety of 10 paints in dropper bottles, you also get a starter brush and a free exclusive Minsc & Boo miniature! Unlike all the other kits mentioned so far, it even includes a grey paint-on primer! A great kit for testing the waters of miniature painting. D&D Paint Night Kit (PREORDER) Though these kits are still on pre-order (check the listing for ETA), these Night Paint Kits are ramping up to be a great option for beginner painters. For under $40, you get a pretty big and highly detailed miniature, all the top quality Vallejo paints you need to paint it, as well as two brushes and a QR code linking you to a step-by-step tutorial! I mean, what more can you ask for? These kits are available with 4 different miniatures: Red Slaad, Death Tyrant, Dire Troll, and Boneclaw. Scale 75 Scalecolor Artist Scalecolor Luxury Box THIS. Now THIS is a paint set. If you’ve got $500 to drop on miniature paints, this is the ultimate paint kit—and we’ve only got one left in stock! I mean....just look at that box! With the gold detailing and black wooden finish, it looks like the kind of thing you’d store wads of cash or gold bars in! In this $500 luxury paint kit, not only do you get 48 Scalecolor Artist paints, you get acrylic thinner and acrylic retarder, a watercolour brush pen, two Kolinsky paint brushes, and a wet palette with 50 refill sheets! Truly, I can’t think of a more luxurious set to paint my monsters with. ~ OTHER USEFUL THINGS While paints are important, they are not the only thing a miniature painter needs! Below, I’ve listed two awesome products that I think deserve an honourable mention as they are core parts of my painting collection! Note I have not included brushes here because all of the paint sets listed above come with their own brushes! Citadel Spray Primer (IN STORE ONLY) I use the Chaos Black spray on every miniature I paint and honestly, this stuff is the silent miracle of my painting endeavours. Not only does it ensure the paint adheres properly to the miniature, it hides all my mistakes! The benefit of having a black primer is that any spots missed in hard-to-reach places, like armpits or underneath hanging cloaks, are no drama because the black appears like an intentional shadow rather than a missed spot. However, if you prefer more vibrant colours, or if you are very experienced, we also offer this spray in Corax White. Unfortunately, due to shipping restrictions, we are only offering these spray paints in store - make sure to call or email before you come down to check if we have any in stock! Citadel Painting Handle My partner swears by this thing when painting miniatures. Ergonomically shaped and comfortable to hold, this painting handle makes manoeuvring miniatures a breeze. You can easily hold the miniature at any angle and the clamp holds on tightly so you won’t need to worry about accidentally dropping it! We offer these handles both in a regular size (for miniatures with bases from 25-40mm diameter) and in an XL size (for bases from 50-105mm diameter). ~ And there’s our list of some of our best paint sets (as well as some bonus honourable mentions)! What did you think? Are you inspired to paint? I know I am! Which of these sets are your favourite? How did your painting journey start? What are you painting next? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Gameology's Top 5 Deck Building Games!
Deck builders are a classic in board gaming. Chances are you’ve probably played one without knowing! In fact, the very first board game I played (beyond Monopoly/Cluedo/Scrabble) was the number 1 deck builder on this list! If you don’t know what a deck building game is, essentially it is a game where you start with a deck of cards, through which you can perform actions and gain points. This deck usually starts out rather trash, but over the course of the game, you can acquire new cards from a common market to help you improve your future turns. As deck building is now one of my favourite board game mechanics, today I will run down five awesome deck builders to add to your collection. Now, before we get into it, I have to preface this list by saying I am incredibly picky with my deck builders. To me, the puzzle and challenge of a deck-building game is in balancing the contents of your entire deck. I like deck builders where cards are gained to your discard pile and you must wait for your deck to cycle before you can reap the benefits of your new cards. No immediate gratification—just the steady satisfaction of careful planning. With that out of the way, let’s get into my list of my top 5 deck builders! 1) Dominion This is the queen of the deck builders—the matriarch if you will. Despite the fact it was released back in 2008, I’d still proudly call it the best deck-builder because the mechanics are just perfection. The “story” of Dominion is that you are the ruler of a kingdom (your deck) and you are trying to improve it with treasure and power (cards) from a central market to claim the most land (Victory Points). The theme comes through in the abilities of some cards, but overall, it’s not going to make sense. You’ll be saying things like “I Remodel my Swindler into a Laboratory” or “I use my Cellar to discard 3 Estates.” Dominion was actually the first board game I played beyond the family classics like Monopoly, Cluedo and Scrabble and hence it has a special place in my heart. But beyond sentimental attachment, it is mechanically so crisp and elegant. The way that you are always concerned with the balance of your deck—treasure that lets you buy cards vs victory cards that are essentially dead cards, but will win you the game. The endless permutations of card combinations and synergies depending on what you select to form the fixed market at the start of the game. The fact that a card that is complete garbage in one game could be the centrepiece of your strategy the next. I could go on, honestly. The one caveat of Dominion is that it becomes rather slow anywhere above 2 players. At 2 players, it is perfect—at 3 or higher, I would check out one of the other fabulous deck builders on this list. If you’re looking to pick up Dominion, I would recommend the Big Box as it contains the base game, the Intrigue expansion, and extra base cards to play with up to 6 players (but please don’t actually do that, the extra cards are just nice to have as spares)! 2) Clank! If you’re a board gamer that needs theme in their games, where pure mechanics make you lose interest immediately, the deck builder you’ll want is Clank! The tagline of “A Deck-Building Adventure” is totally accurate - in Clank, you take on the role of adventurers, trying to explore a dragon’s underground lair and procure valuable artifacts. Your deck is what allows you to move, attack and purchase new powerful cards, so like in Dominion, you’ll want to constantly weigh up the balance of your deck’s different elements (Skill, Boots, Swords). However, Clank’s best mechanic, and from where it derives its name, is noise. When you generate “Clank” (noise), either through cards or random events, you put one or more of your coloured cubes into a bag. When the dragon attacks, a certain amount of cubes are randomly drawn from the bag, each one of your colour representing a point of damage on your adventurer. Do you take all the speedy, powerful cards that give you tons of Clank and rush for the most valuable artifact? Or do you play it slow and careful, strategically removing all your Clank-giving cards and aiming to pick up items at the shop? What’s awesome about Clank in terms of its deck building is that your deck is serving a purpose beyond just earning abstract victory points. Your deck is what lets you move around the map and get the items you’re after. And because this goal might change over the course of the game, so too shall your deck. If you’re looking for deck-building with a purpose that doesn’t sacrifice the core of the genre, Clank is the game for you! Alternatively, if you’re looking for something slightly more complex with a modular board and a few more mechanics, you could also check out Clank in Space! 3) Undaunted: North Africa Like Clank, Undaunted: North Africa is a deck builder with a strong theme and sense of purpose that doesn’t sacrifice what makes deck builders good. I’ll be honest, war themes are not for me, but even so, this game is great. World War II is such a popular historical board game theme and setting. However, where there are so many board games covering D-Day or the Pacific Ocean Theatre, there aren’t very many surrounding the North African campaign. In Undaunted: North Africa, two players go head-to-head as either the Italians or the Long Range Desert Group, a British reconnaissance group. But even if, like me, you don’t love historical themes, one reason to love Undaunted is its elegant, asymmetric and surprisingly human gameplay. Your deck is comprised of cards, each naming a different unit you have deployed on the board. By playing the card corresponding to the unit, you get to move around and perform actions on the main board. Each time a unit on the board takes damage, you lose a copy of that card from your deck, hence reducing the frequency with which you can use that unit! Where this game’s first iteration (Undaunted: Normandy) was much more symmetrical in play, North Africa adds asymmetry without being overwhelming. In fact, I find it ends up being more forgiving to players of varying skill level while also supporting the theme by highlighting the differences between the Italians and the LDRG. Oh and did I mention this game is scenario based? There are 11 different scenarios to choose from, each infinitely replayable, and playing them through in order forms a kind of campaign! Truly, Undaunted: North Africa is an underrated gem. 4) Fort Now, Fort is the only game on this list I have not personally played, but it is beloved by our retail manager and comes highly recommended from him! Where some deck-builders like Dominion, suffer at more than 2 players, and some like Undaunted: North Africa are designed for just 2 players, 3 players and up is where Fort shines. In Fort, players are adorable kids trying to build a fort, collect pizza and toys, and gain friends! Like more traditional deck-builders, your goal is to earn points, but what’s unique about Fort is how it thematically incorporates interactivity into a genre that can sometimes tend to be quite solitaire-like. Your deck forms your little circle of friends, which grows ever larger as the game progresses. However, whenever you play a card, while you’ll receive the biggest bonus, your opponents will get to piggyback off that card (provided they have friends/cards interested in what your friend/card is doing!). And even cooler, the friends (cards) you don’t play with on a turn end up in your Yard, where other players can “invite them to play” (add them to their decks) effectively pinching them from you! With a charming theme and beautiful artwork by Kyle Ferrin (the artist behind Root), if you’re looking for a deck-builder that retains a traditional card-based, victory-point setup but adds a huge helping of interactive fun, you should definitely give Fort a try! 5) Star Realms This teeny tiny little deck box, despite its size, is packed with a fun and well-designed deck-building battle! In Star Realms, two players go head-to-head in a space battle, pitting their ships against each other in the hopes of knocking out their opponent’s health before their own health drops to zero! Fast-paced and easy to pick up, it’s perfect as either a filler game or an introduction to deck-builders! In my board gaming group, when the majority of us would be playing some huge table-hogging game on the main table, the remaining two of us could play Star Realms on the end of the kitchen bench, squeezed beside the spices and takeout, without any issue! One of the awesome mechanics in Star Realms are the faction bonuses. Many cards will give you an extra bonus when played alongside cards of the same faction, incentivising you to specialise and build your strategy around certain factions. If you don’t quite know yet if deck-builders are your thing, or if you just like head-to-head card battles, Star Realms is so small and cheap, you might as well give it a try! However, if you want to play with up to 4 players, free for all or cooperative, you can also check out the standalone expansion Star Realms Frontiers! Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for... A masterpiece of pure deck-building mechanics best at 2 players? Dominion (preferably the Dominion Big Box!) An adventure where your deck serves a purpose beyond points? Clank! (Or Clank in Space!) A 2 player only game with a WWII theme? Undaunted: North Africa. A deck-builder great at 3-4 players with adorable artwork and theming? Fort. Something small, simple and head-to-head? Star Realms (or Star Realms Frontiers for more content!) And there we have it! Five awesome deck-builders that show off the best of their genre. Do you have any favourites in the deck-building genre? Are you, like me, very picky with how you like your deck-builders? Let us know in the comments below!
A Quick Guide to Escape Room Games!
Escape rooms are awesome cooperative team-building experiences—for friends, families and even workplaces! With escape room board games, you can bring all the puzzly cooperation to the comfort of your living room! But with so many different brands out there, how do you know where to start? Which escape room game is best for you and your group? With this quick guide to escape room games, we’ll give you a quick rundown of some of our most popular brands/series! Unlock! Unlock escape room games are less escape room and more timed adventure full of puzzles! The free Unlock app is essential to play and acts as a timer, investigation tool, hint provider, and immersive soundtrack! What’s unique about Unlock is that the whole escape room is essentially a deck of cards (plus the occasional leaflet here and there)! Yet somehow, every different adventure (as they are officially called) manages to capture its theme in innovative new mechanics! Without spoiling anything - the app provides a lot of fun new ways to utilise what at first appears to be a simple deck of cards! Plus, because most of the investigation and discovery is done through simply looking through the cards for clues and interacting via the app, none of the components are damaged in the process of playing meaning that you can pass the game onto a friend or resell it once you have played through all the adventures! In regards to theme, the Unlock stories tend towards the fantastical and fictional, rather than the gritty and realistic—often drawing inspiration from fiction like Alice in Wonderland or Jurassic Park. The Unlock games are offered in either a three adventure box or a single adventure box. Gameology recommends: Unlock Exotic Adventures (three adventure box) -https://www.gameology.com.au/collections/unlock/products/unlock-exotic-adventures Unlock The Adventures of Oz (single adventure box) -https://www.gameology.com.au/products/unlock-the-adventures-of-oz Exit The Exit games are another hugely popular escape room game created by husband and wife, Inka and Markus Brand. Where Exit differs from Unlock is in its tactility. Where Unlock relies on just a deck of cards and an app, Exit is an experience full of ripping, cutting, scribbling, and overall destroying. In order to solve the puzzles, components must be destroyed—there’s no way around it. However, this is what gives Exit such thrilling tangibility. If you’ve ever played a legacy board game and felt the joy of permanently altering the board with a sticker or tearing up a character sheet, that’s the feeling you get from an Exit game. Unfortunately, this glorious permanence of the Exit puzzles mean that these games are not replayable or resellable in any way. Once it’s been played through once—into the recycling bin it goes. Additionally, the themes found in the Exit games are a lot more realistic and horror/thriller based, compared to the more fantastical Unlock stories. However, with their relatively cheap price point of around $20 each box/room plus a good variety of difficulties, it’ll give you and your friends an awesome escape room experience for a fraction of the price of a real life room! Gameology recommends: Exit The Enchanted Forest (Level 2 Difficulty) - https://www.gameology.com.au/collections/exit-the-game/products/exit-the-game-the-enchanted-forest Exit Theft on the Mississippi (Level 4 Difficulty) - https://www.gameology.com.au/collections/exit-the-game/products/exit-the-game-the-theft-on-the-mississippi Escape Room: The Game If you want something closest to a traditional escape room experience, you’ll want to check out Escape Room: The Game! In terms of experience, what makes Escape Room: The Game unique is the Chrono Decoder (included in the 4 player base game). This battery operated device comes with a variety of plastic keys that you physically insert into the device in order to enter codes and eventually escape the room! The device also helps you decode puzzles and acts as an atmospheric timer to add to the pressure. However if you don’t have this device, the app acts as the Chrono Decoder! Though some components must be written on or destroyed throughout the game, you can download, print and repack the game following instructions on the official website should you wish to resell it or pass it onto a friend in the future! The Escape Room games are available in either 3-5 player (3-4 rooms) or 2 player (2 room) versions and there are also expansions that offer new exciting rooms to explore and escape from! If you are looking to play with kids (10 and up) there is even a Family Edition! Gameology recommends: Escape Room: The Game (3-5 player base game) - https://www.gameology.com.au/collections/escape-room-the-game/products/escape-room-the-game-4-room-plus-chrono-decoder Escape Room: The Game Family Edition - https://www.gameology.com.au/products/escape-room-the-game-family-edition-jungle Adventure Games Quite different from the other games on this list, the Adventure Games are more like point and click adventure video games as board games—much slower paced. Though the Adventure Games come from the same publisher as Exit, these story-driven experiences are less about solving puzzles under a time limit, and more about discovering an interesting story. Each box contains one story, divided into three chapters, with each chapter requiring about 75 minutes to complete. The Adventure Games do not require the destruction of any components, so the game is resellable! Additionally, unlike every other game on this list, since there are multiple branching paths and endings, you yourself can play the game multiple times! If escape rooms are a little too high stress for you, but you’re still after a cooperative team-building experience, the Adventure Games will be perfect for you! Gameology recommends: Adventure Games Volcano Island - https://www.gameology.com.au/products/adventure-games-volcano-island Adventure Games The Dungeon - https://www.gameology.com.au/products/adventure-games-the-dungeon Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for something... App-driven and resellable with a variety of thematic mechanics? Unlock. Highly immersive and tactile that lets you rip up cards? Exit. Classic and code-driven with a fun decoding device? Escape Room: The Game. Fully replayable and focused on story and discovery more than speed? Adventure Games. Hopefully this helps you figure out the best escape room game for you and your gaming group! If you’ve played any of these escape room games, which one is your favourite? Have any recommendations for fellow escape room lovers? Let us know in the comments below!
What are Pop! Vinyls?
You’re walking through a pop culture store, browsing through the Gameology website, and you see them—Pop Vinyls. Those little figurines with their massively oversized heads and their strangely dead eyes. There seems to be one for every pop culture character imaginable. Are they bobbleheads? Do they talk? Are they action figures you can play-battle with? Today, we’ll run you through the basics of Pop Vinyls and why you should pick them up! But seriously...what are they? Essentially, Pop Vinyls are static figurines made of—you guessed it—vinyl. Created by the company Funko, they were originally a line of bobbleheads (so your initial impression wasn’t far off!) and eventually progressed into the anime-style vinyl figurines around the start of the 2010s. Standing about four inches tall, they won the hearts of fans worldwide by releasing licensed figures of characters from beloved franchises like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Why would you want them? Well, there’s a couple reasons! 1. They make great gifts! Your friend’s birthday is coming up and you have no idea what to get! The only thing you know with certainty is that they like (insert anything from pop culture here). The easy solution? Get them a Pop Vinyl of a character from their pop culture phenomenon of choice! 2. Nostalgic and fun decorations! I have friends who buy Pop Vinyls the same way people buy Swarovski swans and porcelain dolls—as decoration! I have friends who display them on their board game shelf, Gameology’s own general manager has a handful watching over his desk, and an in-law has piles of them in their original boxes covering his wall! Plus, there’s nostalgia value to them. You’re buying a physical representation of a character you love or relate to, a reminder of a story that had a pivotal impact on your life! It’s similar to buying a plush or a poster of something from a pop culture series you love! 3. Great to collect! Similar to TCG, any Pop Vinyls that are hard to find quickly become highly sought after. Any Pop Vinyls part of limited edition runs or exclusive to certain regions or events can sell for 50 times their purchase price years down the track! Also, there are so many different variations and poses made of just one character—you could spend years tracking down every variation of them! Pop Vinyls at Gameology Looking to pick up some Pop Vinyls of your own? Here are some of the biggest Pop Vinyl collections we sell at Gameology! Pokemon Pop Vinyls It’s no secret that we at Gameology love Pokemon! Therefore, it’s obvious that our biggest collection of Pop Vinyls are from Pokemon! Not only do we have an enormous Pikachu Pop Vinyl that stands 18 inches in height, we also have some Limited Edition flocked Pop Vinyls of Eevee, Charmander and Pichu that were previously exclusive to certain conventions! Pop Vinyl Board Games Since we are Australia’s largest gaming warehouse, of course we would have the Pop Vinyl themed board games! These Funkoverse board games are not only fun and light strategy games with different character abilities and synergies, they also contain Pop Vinyls that you can’t buy anywhere else! It’s the perfect blend of collector’s item and board game! Protecting your Pop Vinyls But of course, if you’re buying these cute little figures as a collector, you’re going to want some way to protect them! Most collectors generally store the Pop Vinyls in their original packaging, but for figures that don’t come with their own individual storage case (like the ones from the Funkoverse board games) or ones where you’ve lost or misplaced the original packaging, we recommend these perfectly sized plastic boxes! One point that these cases have over original Pop packaging is that they are clear on all sides! You can admire every facet of your Pop Vinyl without worrying about potential damage! * And here concludes our brief overview of Pop Vinyls at Gameology! We hope this helped you unravel the mystery of these bobblehead lookalikes and perhaps gave you some good gift ideas—either for yourself or for your loved ones! If you have any other Pop Vinyls to suggest to us, let us know in the comments!
Top 5 Special Edition Board Games!
So, you’ve bought all the expansions for your favourite game. You’ve got Folded Space inserts, premium sleeves, custom 3D printed tokens—but it’s not enough. You need something special, something designed with the collector like you in mind. A board game you can show off to your friends with its premium components and variety of expansions. If that’s you, then today’s your lucky day! Here are our top 5 picks for special edition board games to add to your trophy wall! 1) Ticket to Ride Europe 15th Anniversary Edition (PREORDER) You probably already own (and love!) the classic Ticket to Ride Europe. If you’re a fan of the train-laying, route-building family game night staple, you might want to check out the absolutely stunning 15th Anniversary edition looking to hit Gameology shelves this June! This 15th Anniversary edition not only includes all the destination cards from both the original Ticket to Ride Europe—it also includes the cards from the Europa 1912 expansion! But most importantly—and this is the reason that will make you want to buy this edition—the trains are finely detailed, unique to each player colour, and come with their own storage tins! This item is still on preorder, but we are expecting to receive it by the end of June 2021 and couldn’t be more excited! If you haven’t picked up Ticket to Ride Europe yet, here’s your chance to get a stunning definitive edition! 2) Catan 25th Anniversary Catan is the board game that gets many people into the hobby. It’s the ultimate gateway game, the beginning of many of our board game obsessions. If your copy of Catan is starting to get worn out from many years of play, why not upgrade to the brand new 25th Anniversary edition? In this edition, you get the base game of Catan, supporting 3-4 players, as well as the extension that allows for up to 6 players! Additionally, you get the Helpers of Catan Scenario, exclusive iridescent dice and wooden pieces, as well as a helpful little tray to sort and store the resource cards! Also, for those of you who like to sleeve your games, this edition comes with 180 clear sleeves! If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to pick up Catan, this might be a sign from the universe! 3) Suburbia Collector’s Edition Considered one of the best Sim-City style city-building board games, Suburbia is a classic tile-placement game with a fresh urban theme. In this game, players will expand their boroughs with new tiles—from humble Community Parks to grand Casinos—attempting to be the borough with the highest population come game end. This Collector’s Edition comes in an extremely chonky box with so many tiles and luxurious plastic GameTrayz that the punchboards don’t even fit inside until you punch out all the tiles! Like many other special editions on this list, this comes with all released Suburbia expansions--plus an expansion called Nightlife that is exclusive to the Collector’s Edition! The GameTrayz included help keep all the expansions neatly organised and even provide nice trays to hold components during gameplay! It even has a cardboard skyscraper to dispense tiles! Some big games take up a lot of shelf space but don’t hit the table often (looking at you, Gloomhaven/Rising Sun/Eclipse/etc). Suburbia, despite its huge box, is light in complexity while still offering a satisfying strategic experience in under 90 minutes! A light game with all the production value and grandeur of a big box title, Suburbia Collector’s Edition is definitely one to pick up if you like tile placement games! 4) Smiths of Winterforge Collector’s Edition In this underrated light worker placement game, players take on the role of dwarven guild tasked with constructing armor, weapons and jewelry! People love this game for its unique and innovative crafting system. Players must buy required components for a specific blueprint, take those components to the forge, and then roll dice until the crafting is complete! In this Collector’s Edition, you get the ever-luxurious metal coins (an instant win for special edition games in my books!), as well as components for up to 6 players! If you enjoy solo board gaming, there’s also a solo mode included. If that wasn’t enough, the Collector’s Edition includes 4 modular Alleyway expansions! If you want to give this underrated title a try, you better get in quick—we’ve only got 4 left at the time of writing this! 5) Brass Birmingham Deluxe Beloved by several of our Gameology staff, Brass Birmingham is a deeply strategic economic game set in the Industrial Revolution. The game takes place over two eras—the canal era and the rail era. What’s wonderful about this game is the level of interactivity. You are able to use other people’s resources and mooch off their networks! Sure, your opponent gets benefits for “selling” their product to you but it can also be devastating if that was a resource that was critical for their plans. It’s a game in which you must constantly weigh your pros and cons and outwit the other entrepreneurs at the table! In this deluxe edition, the player mats are a hefty 2mm thick compared to 1mm in the retail version and the chit board used for the punch-out tokens is black on the inside, giving the whole game a luxurious feel. The game also comes with a vac tray insert to keep everything organised. But perhaps the best thing in the box are the iron clays—basically weighted poker chips that replace the cardboard coins! These small but mighty changes come at such a negligible increase in price over the retail version that there’s no reason not to pick up the deluxe version if you’ve been eyeing up this critically acclaimed game! And there we have it! Our top 5 special edition board games! What do you think? What are the prized collector’s editions in your collection? Let us know in the comments below!
