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Top 5 Board Games to Travel With
Your friend asks you, as they have time and time before, “You’ll bring the board games, right?” You grimace, imagining the weight and bulk you’ll have to lug onto the train and into their house. But you say, as any board game lover would: “Of course.” Board games are bulky. There’s no doubt about it. Many times, I have driven to a friend’s house, board games stacked in a Krispy Kreme bag in the boot, with another one buckled into the passenger seat because it was too big for the bag. But not all board games have to be big. Today, I’m going to walk you through 5 board games that are small, light and easy to travel with. 1) Hive Pocket This tiny but surprisingly strategic board game was the inspiration for this blog post. Comprised of only 26 hexagons pieces, roughly an inch in diameter, Hive Pocket is a strategy game that can literally fit into your pocket. This tiny 2 player game is almost like a tile placement chess game. To win, you need to totally surround your opponent’s queen, without letting yours get surrounded. Where the full size version of the game weighs 600g, this pocket version weighs only 200g, and can be played anywhere you can find a flat surface. 2) IOTA This tin is just as small as a TicTac box. Honestly, you’d be more likely to lose this game than to struggle travelling with it. In IOTA, you will need to create lines of cards where each line shares the same colour, shape or number. Eventually, the lines will form a grid and it will get more and more difficult to create consistent lines. With its bright colours and simple gameplay, IOTA is a great game to keep in your handbag for whenever your brunch starts to get boring. 3) Orchard If you’re a lover of solo games, you’ll love Orchard. This solitaire tile-laying game consists only of nine cards and a handful of dice, meaning it can fit into a box roughly the size of a deck of cards. In Orchard, your goal is to play your cards overlapping each other in order to gain the most bountiful harvest. If you manage to overlap trees of the same type, you’ll be able to pick more fruit. A wonderful little solitaire game for whenever the mood strikes. 4) Mint Series Games Marketed as “big games in tiny tins”, the Mint Series games are games designed to literally fit inside a mint tin. Each one has a different board game mechanic as its core—worker placement, pick up and deliver, or cooperative—and manages to cram the same experience as a big box game into a tiny package. All these games are light and easy to pick up (both literally and figuratively) and would make either the perfect travel game for a big gamer, or a non-threatening way to introduce new players to the hobby. 5) A Fake Artist Goes to New York Oink Games is a company renowned for their unique games in small and compact boxes. A Fake Artist Goes to New York is one of their more popular games, best described as Pictionary meets Spyfall. In this game, players are attempting to, collectively, one line at a time, draw the secret word on their cards. However, one player receives not the secret word but simply an X, making them a fake artist! Where this player’s job is to blend in, the other players must make their additions to the drawing clear enough so they aren’t falsely accused as the fake, but also not so obvious that the real fake learns the secret word! And there we have it! Our top 5 board games to travel with! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
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How to Get Started with Pokemon TCG
Over the past year, the Pokemon Trading Card Game has seen a massive boom in popularity. Maybe you’ve wanted to jump into the world of the Pokemon TCG but just never known where to start. Today, we’re going to walk you through some products that can help jump start your Pokemon TCG journey—whether you are looking to play or simply collect! If you are looking to play... Theme Decks The best way to jump straight into playing Pokemon is to pick up a theme deck or two. Theme decks are pre-constructed 60 card decks based around a particular Pokemon. Pictured above are the theme decks from the V Battle Decks set, featuring Victini and the ever-beloved Gardevoir. Theme decks also often come with a rules booklet, damage counters, a metallic coin, a deck box and a playmat, so they are the perfect way to get started. Here at Gameology, we sell theme decks in pairs—perfect for you and a friend! We recommend: Victini & Gardevoir V Battle Decks (Pair) POKEMON TCG Venusaur V and Blastoise V Battle Decks Pokemon Battle Academy Board Game Designed with the beginner in mind, the Pokemon Battle Academy Board Game is another great option if you’re looking to start playing this legendary TCG. Containing 3 complete 60-card Pokemon decks, each one with a powerful special Pokemon (Charizard-GX, Raichu-GX, or Mewtwo-GX), it’s like buying 3 theme decks in one box! Where this differs from the individual theme decks is that this box includes tutorial guides for each deck to help you understand the flow of the game and get to know the mechanics. This is the perfect all-in-one gift for a beginner! Trainer’s Toolkit Similar to the Deckbuilder’s Toolkits from Magic: The Gathering, the Trainer’s Toolkit offers all the cards you need to build powerful Pokemon decks yourself! Though still on preorder, this item is a great one to pick up after you’ve gotten a couple theme decks or the Pokemon Battle Academy game and are ready to start building your own decks. In such a small box, you’ll get dozens of Trainer cards, more than 100 Energy cards, 4 booster packs, 65 card sleeves to protect your cards, a Deck Builder’s guide, and more! The Deck Builder’s Guide will be particularly helpful with the choices and questions you might have when building your first deck, like deciding how many Energy cards to put in, or whether to favour big Pokemon or strategic Trainers. If you are looking to collect... Booster Boxes & Single Boosters If you’re looking to start collecting Pokemon cards, you won’t want to bother with theme decks and toolkits, you’ll be looking at buying boosters—whether in a full booster box or individually. Booster boxes contain 36 individual booster packs from a named series—be that Evoloving Skies, Chilling Reign, Battle Styles, Vivid Voltage and so on. These can be wildly expensive but are overall better value than buying 36 booster packs individually. While some collectors opt to open the packs and hunt for the valuable cards, others choose to keep booster boxes sealed in their shrink wrap in order to sell later on, once the series has gone out of print. When you start your journey as a collector, you’ll have to decide where you fall on that spectrum. Much like stocks, TCG collecting can be an investment. Therefore, like you would research the stock market before you buy stocks, you’ll also want to research the Pokemon TCG market. Which sets or series are currently sought after? Which ones will be valuable later on? Which cards are valuable? Which sets are those cards found in? Generally, Pokemon TCG items are cheapest when they are on pre-order or fresh off the pallet. The longer they sit around, the higher the price tends to climb. Be sure to do your research, and you’ll be well on your way to building a Pokemon card collection your younger self could only dream of! Special Boxes Though all the major Pokemon sets release booster boxes and single boosters (along with many, many other items we won’t get around to today!), there are some sets and series that only release in special boxes and collections, like the Calyrex V Box (pair) pictured above. Calyrex (and the upcoming Brilliant Stars) are examples of sets where the booster packs can only be found in special boxes and usually only in small quantities within those boxes. For example, the Calyrex V Box above contains only 4 booster packs and the Evolving Skies Elite Trainer Box below contains only 8 Evolving Skies booster packs. Often more expensive per booster pack than the main sets I talked about in the above section, these special sets are ones to keep an eye on if you’re looking to start collecting Pokemon cards. Accessories And of course, if you’re going to accumulate all these valuable cards, you’ll need a way to store them and keep them free from damage, so as to preserve their resell value later on. There are a few different products people use to store their cards so I’ll give you a brief rundown of the purpose of each: Sleeves These are a minimum for protecting your cards (unless you are keeping your boosters all sealed). They are simply thin pockets of plastic that can protect your cards from accidental fingerprints, light splashes or smudges. We recommend: BCW Inner Sleeves Ultra Pro Pro-Fit Standard Sleeves Binders These booklets can store up to 9 cards per page and are a great way to protect your cards while still being able to admire and flaunt them. You can buy a binder with a pre-set number of pages, or pick up a ring binder and some loose leaf pages for more flexibility. We recommend: Ultra Pro 3” Ring Binder Album & Ultra Pro Platinum Pages Ultra Pro Pokemon Pro Binder Full View Top Loaders & One Touch Cases And for all those super-pricey cards too valuable for a mere binder, you’ll need some form of hard case, whether that’s a top loader or a one-touch case. These are a must if you are looking to get your valuable cards professionally graded as they make sure your cards are kept in tip-top condition. We recommend: BCW Topload Card Holder Black Border BCW One Touch Magnetic Card Holder Buying Guide So in summary, if you’re looking to… Play? Get a pair of theme decks or the Pokemon Battle Academy board game and pick up the Trainer’s Toolkit when it releases! Collect? Do your research and decide which sets or cards or boxes you are looking to buy, try to get in early for the best prices, and make sure to protect your investments! And there we have it! Our tips on how to get started with the Pokemon TCG! Do you have any other tips for newbies to the hobby? Let us know in the comments below!
5 MORE Co-Op Game Recommendations
There’s always a spot in your board game collection for cooperative games. Where their competitive counterparts will leave sore losers salty and unwilling to give games another try, cooperative board games are more likely to keep everyone on the table invested and having fun. And honestly, isn’t that the dream? If you haven’t read Gameology’s previous blog post about our Top 6 Co-Op Board Games, go read that then come back here for five MORE excellent co-op games to add to your collection! 1) Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island Beloved by Gameology’s very own retail manager, Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island, is a marvel of cooperative board gaming. Designed by Ignacy Trzewiczek, the mind behind such wonderful games as Imperial Settlers and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game, Robinson Crusoe is a cooperative survival game that places players as shipwreck survivors on a deserted island. Together, they will have to build a shelter, find food, and protect themselves from the hazards of wildlife and weather. Keep in mind though, this game is complex and very challenging! Our retail manager himself has yet to pass the first scenario and yet he still adores this game. Every scenario is a tight and tricky puzzle, where you and your teammates must juggle responsibilities, while spending your turns wisely. If you’ve played video games like Don’t Starve Together or Raft and your group enjoys a challenge, you’ll likely love the rich complexity of Robinson Crusoe. 2) This War of Mine Adapted from the award-winning video game of the same name, This War of Mine places players as civilians struggling to survive in a city ruined by war. A word of caution—this game is not designed to be light and fun, something you can get out on a weekday night and play casually. Like the video game, it’s designed to be an immersive experience that challenges your perceptions of right and wrong and puts you in the shoes of civilians caught in the perils of war. The core of gameplay is not managing action points or hands of cards—it is the morally-challenging decisions you and your friends will be forced to make, and the survival instinct that fuels your answers. In that sense, This War of Mine feels more like a simulation than a game. If your group enjoys Dead of Winter but is looking for something more intense and serious, The War of Mine provides an experience you will never forget. 3) Burgle Bros In this 1-4 player cooperative game from beloved designer Tim Fowers, players are attempting to pull off a heist of an overly-secure office building! Together with your crew members, you will have to crack multiple safes on multiple floors of the building, all while avoiding vigilant guards and security systems. Each character in this game is unique, and you can play either with their regular abilities, or with their advanced ability, giving the game replayability and making it suitable for experienced gamers or those still new to the scene. With a retro style and aesthetic, Burgle Bros makes you feel like you’re in a classic film. Play some heist music, don your suits and sunglasses, and you can really get into the theme of the game. If you’ve been playing the new Hitman game and want to bring the same spy theme into board gaming, you should definitely pick up Burgle Bros. 4) Aftermath Are you looking for a big campaign game but aren’t quite ready for Gloomhaven yet? Aftermath comes highly recommended from Gameology’s marketing manager, and with good reason. In this 1-4 player cooperative game, players are anthropomorphic critters with quirky personalities, exploring a post-apocalyptic dystopia to build their settlement and provide for their colony. (Now that’s a description!) Like baby Gloomhaven (aka Jaws of the Lion), Aftermath uses a book as its gameboard, meaning setup is as easy as opening the book to the right page and placing your miniatures atop it. No fussing with numbered tiles and complex layouts. The game is played over 20+ missions and each character has its own unique abilities and playstyle. What’s truly amazing about Aftermath though is its theme. Since you are all tiny critters, the vast world you are exploring is not a continent or even a city, it’s just a city block. The monsters are not demons or mega-mechs, but stray cats and angry bugs. It’s like the classic adventuring experience, just sized down. The writing throughout does wonders at immersing you in this unique world. If the theme of Aftermath sounds fascinating to you and your group, or if you’re after a lighter campaign game before you jump into something heavy like Gloomhaven, Aftermath is a fantastic choice. 5) 5-Minute Marvel If your favourite co-op board games fall more in the fast-paced vein of Magic Maze, your best pick will be 5-Minute Marvel. In this Marvel themed version of the popular 5-Minute Dungeon, 2-5 players will have to battle through a gauntlet of Marvel villains and defeat the supervillain at the end, all in five minutes! At the start of the game, everyone will pick their hero from a pool of classic Marvel icons like Captain America and Iron Man. Each hero has a deck of cards, each with different symbols on them (eg: fist, shield, jump). Build the villain deck, start the timer and then go! One by one, you will turn over the top card of the villain deck, which will have a series of symbols on it. Collectively, you must play cards with those symbols in order to beat that villain, which is then discarded to reveal a new one! This continues until you reach the end of the deck and must fight the supervillain (whose symbols are printed on the board itself). This game is an adrenaline rush to play. It is five minutes of organised chaos, of chucking cards into the centre and yelling “SHIELD!” while someone else yells back “We already have a shield!”. Honestly, I think it’s more fun and user-friendly than Magic Maze! With 6 different supervillains to gradually progress through, this game is super easy to get to the table and a must for anyone who loves real time co-op party games. Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for... A challenging deserted island survival game? Robinson Crusoe. An immersive game that will question your morality? This War of Mine. A gateway heist game? Burgle Bros. A light campaign game with a wonderful theme? Aftermath. A quick Marvel themed party game? 5-Minute Marvel. And there we have it! Five MORE great co-op board games! What do you think? Do you have any games you think we should add to our third blog post? (ETA 2022!) Let us know in the comments below!
Top 5 Real Time Board Games!
Board games are relaxing. Board games are something to play on a chill rainy day, where you can really take your time and think out your moves. All of the above is true, however, there exists a genre of board games that blows all of that out of the water. Real time board games. As the name suggests, these are games where you are encouraged to be as quick as possible, usually because you’re up against a timer. What’s great about this genre of games is that it provides a sense of frantic urgency, much like you’d find in a video game, but without sacrificing the tactility and strategy that characterises the medium. So with that, here are five real time board games to get your adrenaline pumping! * 1) Magic Maze You are already likely to be familiar with this wildly popular real time game, but we would be remiss not to mention it! In Magic Maze, a group of adventurers have had their weapons stolen! Their only choice now is to ransack a local shopping mall and get out before time runs out! In this cooperative game, players can control all four of the heroes. However, they can only move each hero in one direction. Perhaps you’re in charge of moving the pawns up, but if you want them to go left, that’s all on another player. Oh, did I forget to mention? This game is played entirely in silence. If you want a player to do something, instead of talking, all you can do is take the large red “attention” pawn and place—or frustratedly bang—it in front of them until they get the message. And oh boy, when that pawn gets placed in front of you and you can’t figure out what your teammates want you to do or which pawn they want you to move? Instant stress! However, it’s a fun kind of stress and frenzy that is truly unique to Magic Maze. If you want a board game where you can silently yell at your friends, you have got to try Magic Maze. 2) We’re Doomed! If your group prefers more of a party game, the perfect real time board game for you is We’re Doomed. In this semi-cooperative game, the world is ending! In only 15 minutes, 4-10 players, acting as leaders of different governments, will have to build a rocket and get off this planet! To win, all you have to do is survive. Simple, right? Well… To build this rocket, players will have to contribute nondescript white tokens known simply as ‘resources’. However, depending on how many resources are contributed over the 15 minutes, your rocket might not...have enough seats. Because here we look at the other commodity in this game: influence. The more influence you have, the more important the world thinks you are and therefore you will be let onto the rocket first, taking up valuable seats. So this game is just contributing resources and gaining influence? Sounds boring. Good thing that’s not all this game has to offer. Those resources that you use to build the rocket? Yeah, instead of putting them towards the rocket in the common pool, you can instead save them up. If you accumulate enough, you can spend them to nuke another player. Just completely take them out of the game. It’s hilarious. We at Gameology played this at our staff Christmas party and it was a resounding hit, even with the few of us that don’t play board games. Our retail manager even got nuked in our last game but that’s a story for another blog post! To summarise, We’re Doomed comes highly recommended from not just me, but the whole Gameology team. 3) Captain Sonar Think of the classic board game, Battleship. Now, just imagine you have to actually, you know, run the ships. Or at least one of them. A submarine to be exact. Captain, Chief Mate, Engineer, Radio Operator—you need them all to keep your sub running and hunt the enemy sub. Maybe it’s not quite like Battleship, hm... In Captain Sonar, 4-8 players will split into two teams, each controlling one submarine. They will sit on opposite sides of the table and assume one of the four command roles. Perhaps you’re the Captain, deciding where your team’s submarine will move. Perhaps you’re the Radio Operator, listening into the other team’s Captain, trying to figure out where they are. Maybe you’re the Engineer, trying to keep the ship from sinking while preparing torpedoes for battle. Or maybe you’re the Chief Mate, charging the various gadgets in your submarine and deploying them as necessary. It’s like team cat-and-mouse, blending hidden movement with the tension and urgency you can only find in a real-time game. This game does have a rather demanding player count but if your gaming group is on the large side, Captain Sonar is ideal with a full eight players! However if this looks a bit too complicated, or you prefer a smaller player count, there is also a simpler 2-4 player version available called Sonar Family. 4) Galaxy Trucker From the designer of Codenames comes Galaxy Trucker, an underrated gem of a real-time game. In this strange space game, you are racing to build a spaceship from frantically scavenged components after which you will have to send them into space and cross your fingers that they survive the onslaught of galactic hazards. Basically, Galaxy Trucker is a real-time tile-laying game. During a round, all players will simultaneously start grabbing tiles from a face down sprawl in the middle of the table, flipping them over and deciding, as quickly as possible, where to put them in their spaceships—or whether they want them at all! You need engines for the ship to fly, but the engines need batteries, and what about cannons and cabins and cargo holds? And then, you move to phase two—actually flying the ship. Here is where you will use your engines and your cannons and your cargo holds to zoom through a series of randomised cards, blasting enemies, picking up goods, and making money. This game first released in 2007 and hence, it has that kind of retro feel to it. The art style might be appealing to some, but to others, it might appear outdated. However, if you’re looking for a real-time game that gives you a sense of progress and personal achievement, Galaxy Trucker with its mechanics of building and improving your own unique ships, scratches that itch nicely. 5) Pendulum From the publishers of board game heavyweights, Wingspan and Scythe (yeah, I bet you‘ve heard of those games before), comes Pendulum, the quietly underappreciated real-time worker placement game. Yes, you heard me right—worker placement. In Pendulum, players are nobles vying to be the next ruler. Much like any other worker placement, you must gain different resources, move up different victory tracks, and expand your provinces. Unlike many of the other games on this list, Pendulum is rich and complex, slightly heavier. The decisions you are making are much the same as a typical Euro game—but you have to make them in real time. In Pendulum, time is treated more like any other resource than something to race against. Like a resource, you must spend your time with care and thought. Yes, there is an element of quick thinking and frantic decisions, but far less than in the other games on this list. However, like Captain Sonar, Pendulum does come with a turn-based variant that is thorough and fleshed out. Some people actually prefer the turn-based variant over the real-time one, depending on what mood they’re in, and it’s wonderful that this game gives you that option, especially when you’re learning the game and the real-time seems a bit overwhelming. With Pendulum, you are getting both an innovative real-time Euro game and a beautiful traditional worker placement, all in one beautiful box. * Buying Guide In summary, if you’re looking for... Something frantic and cooperative? Magic Maze. A party game where you can nuke your friends? We’re Doomed. A team version of Battleship? Captain Sonar. A tile-laying game in space? Galaxy Trucker. A worker placement abstract game? Pendulum. And there we have it! Our top 5 real time board games! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
Top 5 D&D Campaigns & Sourcebooks
So you’ve got all the D&D basics—Player’s Handbook, Essentials Kit, some dice and a miniature or two—but where do you go next? With the myriad of campaigns and sourcebooks available, which ones do you choose? In this blog, we will be covering our top 5 campaigns and sourcebooks for the legendary RPG, Dungeons & Dragons. 1) Eberron Rising from the Last War With a campaign and a setting all in one book, Eberron Rising from the Last War brings a lot to your RPG table. It offers all the info you need to run your own campaign in the steampunk-esque world of Eberron, complete with magic-fueled technology and maps. However, if you don’t want to make your own campaign, it also comes with a premade campaign. If you’re a player, there’s plenty of new content for you too, including the artificer class, 16 new race and subrace options and a new way to flesh out your characters called the group patron that provides a shared background for your whole party. Plus, just look at that alternate art cover! 2) Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes If you love D&D, you probably already have the Monster Manual. If you’re getting tired of the same old monsters from the basic book, prepare to have your mind blown by Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. Adding 120 new monsters and their stat blocks, as well as a new playable race and 11 subraces, it offers value for players and DMs alike—in the same vein as Volo’s Guide to Monsters. With notes on the tricksy relationships between different races and factions in the D&D world, as well as more challenges for high level players, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes is a great sourcebook to expand your D&D games. 3) Tyranny of Dragons Tyranny of Dragons contains 2 campaigns in one book—Hoard of the Dragon Queen (meant for levels 1-7) and The Rise of Tiamat (meant for levels 8-15). Both of these were originally published separately but are now condensed into one glorious bindup. However, that’s not all this book has to offer. While some other campaigns require additional sourcebooks to run, Tyranny of Dragons requires only the basic rules, the book itself and a handful of free downloadable supplements. With its gorgeous limited edition alternate art cover, what’s not to love? 4) Tales from the Yawning Portal In my experiences playing D&D, I have rarely found the time and commitment for a full-length campaign. Life just gets in the way! If you’re like me and want to play some D&D but are strapped for time, Tales from the Yawning Portal is the book for you. Within this book are seven of the most popular dungeons from the long history of Dungeons and Dragons. With each dungeon able to be completed in just a handful of sessions, this is a great book to pick up if your group is short on time, or if you would like extra mini adventures to supplement another adventure! 5) Xanathar’s Guide to Everything Think of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything as an expansion to classic 5E D&D. Much like a board game expansion adds new mechanics and features, Xanathar’s offers up dozens of new ways to customise your characters and worlds. With over 25 new subclasses and racial feats, your characters can be more nuanced and unique than ever before. Even if you’re a DM, this book offers fresh inspiration on things to do within a campaign as well as a new variety of magic items and spells. And there we have it! If your D&D experience ever feels a little bland, pick up one of these books for fresh ideas and inspiration! Do you have any other campaigns or sourcebooks you would recommend? Let us know in the comments below!
Romantic Board Games for Valentine’s Day!
It’s that time of year once again—love is in the air, chocolates are on sale, and we express our endless appreciation of our partners, those patient and steadfast heroes in our everyday lives. Whether you are spending Valentine’s Day with your significant other or just hanging out with your friends, here are some of our top picks for romantic or love-inspired board games! * 1) Fog of Love Pitched as a rom-com as a board game, Fog of Love is a treat as sweet as a box of chocolates. In this 2-player blend of roleplay and strategy, players will be puzzling through the various stages of a budding relationship, hoping to fulfil secret Traits and Destinies that may or may not align with their partner. At the core of this game are the various meters you and your partner will be swaying from one side to another like a pendulum—Gentleness, Sensitivity, Sincerity, etc. Every turn, you will play scene cards, each one often presenting a choice that will sway these meters and your character’s personal happiness in different directions. Will your choices align with your partner’s? Do you want them to? There’s real opportunity to get into the roleplay of it all! When you pack up the game and leave the table, you won’t be leaving with merely a victory or defeat—you’ll be leaving with a story, a story of fireman Raoul and social media manager Gina, star-crossed lovers who fought at IKEA and never really recovered, or accountant Francine and clown Martina, destined to descend into heartbreak from the first glance. However, despite how beautiful and romantic it looks on the outside, this game is more fun to play with people you aren’t romantically involved with. Playing with a real-life partner, there is a chance that your real-life romance might interfere with the fictional one. With platonic friends, it might be easier to roleplay some ridiculous character and have a laugh. Note: There are lots of different box arts to choose from! The game within is all the same, it’s just the box that’s different. 2) Love Letter If you’re looking for a light simple game with a love-inspired theme, look no further than Love Letter. In this simple deduction game, players are attempting to deliver their love letter to the Princess via various people in the royal palace. Players begin the game with one card each, then, on their turn, draw one and then play one. They then use the ability of the card they played to attempt to deduce or eliminate other players. Perhaps you play the Guard, whose ability is to guess the card another player is holding. If you get it right, that player is eliminated from the round. When the deck runs out, check the number on each remaining player’s card. Whoever has the highest has successfully delivered their letter to the princess and receives one favor token. Rounds continue until someone has received enough favor tokens to win the princess’s heart! This gorgeous 2019 edition features revised and diverse artwork from the artist behind Citadels, screen printed tokens and enough cards to play with 6 players! Plus, it all tucks away into a little velvet bag, making it super easy to transport and store. Love Letter is not revolutionary. But at under $20, it is a light deduction game, perfect for a relaxing Valentine’s Day. 3) Marrying Mr. Darcy Perhaps you are planning to spend Valentine’s Day curled up on the couch with a Jane Austen novel or binging the new Netflix period drama, Bridgerton. Could I perhaps tempt you then with a Pride and Prejudice inspired card game? In Marrying Mr. Darcy, players will have to improve and upgrade their heroine to attract a suitor. Throughout the game, players will be drawing cards (aka attending Events) to increase their points in various traits--cunning, wit, beauty, and so on. At the end of the game, you will enter the Proposal phase and attempt to secure the most desirable match using the points you have accumulated throughout the game. Marrying Mr. Darcy is light and frivolous, much like the Regency-era society its fiction is based on. Similar to Fog of Love, you can find much fun in the roleplaying—pop on a British accent, whip out a lace fan, and have your Elizabeth Bennet marry Mr Bingley instead of Mr Darcy! Go nuts! With its lovely pastel artwork and marriage theme, this is the Valentine’s Day choice for a Jane Austen fan. 4) The Fox in the Forest Duet All of the board games I have mentioned so far are competitive. If you’re looking for a cooperative game to play with your partner this Valentine’s, take a look at The Fox in the Forest Duet. Though the original The Fox in the Forest is also 2-player, The Fox in the Forest Duet is unique because it is 2-player AND cooperative. If you have ever played a trick-taking game like bridge, this game will be as familiar to you as a warm cup of milk. Except for the fact that you don’t always want to win every trick. And you can’t discuss the cards in your hand. Herein lies the puzzle. In this game players must work together to move through the forest. If they can collect all twenty-two gems before they leave the forest, they win the game! The Fox in the Forest Duet is just as heartwarming as it looks. That feeling of satisfaction when you figure out what card your partner wants you to play is so very fulfilling, like in any cooperative board game. Plus, just look at that artwork. It looks like it’s straight out of a children’s fairytale book. If your partner is one to be apprehensive about fantasy or sci-fi themed games, The Fox in the Forest Duet should appeal to their tastes nicely. 5) Escape Room: The Game (2 Players) And here’s our wild card—Escape Room: The Game. Think about it: escape rooms are a great bonding experience. You have to work together and work quickly to solve problems and puzzles within a time limit. What better to help strengthen your relationship this Valentine’s Day? Each box contains an introductory game and two 60-minute games, each with a different theme. Here at Gameology, we sell two different boxes—one featuring a prison and an asylum, and the other with a house on the lake and a story about a little girl. If you own the 4 player version of this game, you can use the decoder from that, otherwise, you can download a free companion app to help you with these rooms. These games are praised for bringing the escape room experience to your table with such a small price point. Tactile, immersive and teamwork-focused, if you and your partner enjoy escape rooms or puzzles, these 2 player boxes are a great Valentine’s Day board game to pick up. * And there we have it! Our top picks for board games to play this Valentine’s! What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
Our Most Anticipated Games of 2021!
Every year the catalog of board games grows and grows and 2021 looks to be a great year of new board games. Here are some of the most exciting new games coming to Gameology in 2021. 1) Frosthaven Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion wowed us last year with its easy entry into the Gloomhaven franchise. In 2021, Isaac Childres is bringing us Frosthaven, a new big box, 100-scenario campaign that stands alone from the original Gloomhaven. Adding more to do outside of combat, like mysteries and seasonal events, as well as a crafting system, Frosthaven promises a massive adventure for fans both new and old. 2) Creature Comforts This family weight worker placement game about adorable animals preparing their homes for winter swept Kickstarter in 2020. And for good reason. The sweet theme of building cosy items and the soft colourful artwork are absolutely gorgeous and the light complexity of the worker placement makes it suitable for all ages. Could Creature Comforts be a new gateway board game? We can’t wait to find out! 3) Canvas Another Kickstarter darling of 2020, Canvas places players as painters competing to win awards at an art show. What’s so exciting about this game are the transparent cards that, when layered over each other, form a unique painting! Around the same complexity as Century: Spice Road, we are hoping this will be another beautiful but strategic gateway game to introduce to our friends and family. 4) Philosophia: Floating World It’s no secret that I’m a fan of deck-builders. Philosophia: Floating World is not only a deck-builder, it is also a fully simultaneous sandbox game! Not only does the unique blend of genres have us excited, it’s also set in feudal Japan where you can build beautiful pagodas, fight ancient monsters, or even learn ancient wisdom. 5) Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Though this is a game that was released a couple of years ago, we at Gameology will be receiving our Kickstarter editions, complete with all the stretch goals, in 2021, and we couldn’t be more hyped. Promising a branching narrative that pushes the limits of non-linear storytelling, meaningful character development, and secrets that can take multiple playthroughs to discover, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a whole world in a big box and we can’t wait to dive into it. 6) Renature Beloved by Tom of Shut Up and Sit Down, Renature is a puzzly area majority game...but with dominoes! In Renature, players will place animal dominoes alongside a brook to replant the surrounding land. However, though simple on the surface, we are intrigued by the strategic decisions that arise when deciding where but also when to place each of your dominoes. 7) Welcome To 2nd Edition Welcome To, one of the best roll-and-write games to date (and one of our retail manager’s favourite board games) is getting a second edition in 2021! The original game is beloved for its quick playtime, flexible player count, and lo-fi roll-and-write gameplay and we are so glad to be bringing back this true classic. And there we have it! Our most anticipated board games of 2021! What board game are you most looking forward to in 2021? Anything we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments below!
What to Play Next - Board Game Recommendations
If you’ve come into our Gameology retail store looking for recommendations, one of the first things our staff probably ask you is: “What other games do you like?” I’ve probably asked you (yes, you, reading this) that exact question! However, if you have never been to our retail store before, here’s a blog post full of board game recommendations based on what you already like! * If You Like...Catan You’ll Like...Bohnanza or Little Town If the trading and high level of player interaction is what you and your gaming group love about Catan, you’ll love the card game, Bohnanza. Your aim of the game is to plant large quantities of a specific bean variety (eg: chilli beans) and then harvest them to make the max amount of money. However, the trick of Bohnanza is that every turn, you are dealt two bean cards and, unless you can trade them away, you will be forced to plant them in your fields, harvesting your poor chilli beans before they had a chance to grow up. And here’s where the trading comes in. There’s shouting, undercutting, bribery--made all the more hilarious when you realise you’re arguing over derpy looking beans. If you love board games that, like Catan, get people looking not completely at the board but at their fellow players, Bohnanza will surely be a hit. However, if your love for Catan stems more from the resource generation aspects, you might find more luck with Little Town. This adorably small worker placement game places you as a team of builders and architects, tasked with collecting resources and money to build a town. Each turn, when you place a worker, you gain resources from all the surrounding spaces—similar to how Catan grants you resources depending on the tiles surrounding your settlements. With the resources you gain, you can create buildings. The interesting part is that both you and your opponents can utilise these buildings. Small and light but still strategic, Little Town melds the resource generation of Catan with worker placement, making it a perfect next step. If You Like…Ticket to Ride You’ll Like...Power Grid or Takenoko If you’re looking for a jump in complexity from the humble Ticket to Ride, look no further than Power Grid. In Power Grid, your goal is to supply power to cities—and do it better than your opponents. Will you power your city through free, but low-power green energy? Will you go all out and get uranium power plants? Or will you go the classic route with coal and oil? Each turn, you will bid on power plants for your company, buy the resources you need to run those power plants, and build out your network. There are a lot of more phases in a game of Power Grid than one of Ticket to Ride, but the reason I recommend this game is because you require the same kind of spatial mapping between cities, planning where you want to expand to next. The difference is in this game, you’re routing power, not trains. If you’re starting to get tired of Ticket to Ride and are willing to invest the time to grasp some new mechanics, Power Grid will be an extremely rewarding and strategic experience. Maybe Power Grid sounds like a bit too much right now, but you still want something offering fresh mechanics. Here, I will recommend Takenoko. At its core, Takenoko is a cute game about growing bamboo. Each turn, you will have a set amount of action points to spend on performing a variety of actions—be that irrigating a piece of land, growing a certain colour of bamboo, or even moving the panda to a plot of land and eating the bamboo! In Takenoko, what’s similar to Ticket to Ride are the goal cards you get throughout the game. Where in Ticket to Ride, your goal might be to connect London and Paris, here, your goal might be to have the panda eat four pieces of pink bamboo. Though this game has a different feel to Ticket to Ride, it offers a small jump in complexity while retaining a light-hearted theme that will appeal to kids. If You Like…Codenames You’ll Like...Concept or Mysterium Park Codenames is such a good board game because of how neutral it is. You can play it with people of all ages and it’s fit for all occasions and moods—whether that’s Christmas with the whole family or a simple weeknight. If you’re looking for a game similarly easy to get to the table, Concept is what I would recommend. Put simply, it is charades as a board game. Each turn, a team of two players choose a word from a secret card that the other players need to guess. Then, they start placing small cubes on the variety of icons on the board. Perhaps the word they need to guess is coffee. They might place a cube on the icon signifying food or drink and then another on the icon featuring the colour brown. Like Codenames, Concept has the same opportunities for clever clue-giving and subsequent fun discussions, bundled in a simple and inoffensive package, making it the perfect recommendation. If your group wants something a little more thematic though, your perfect next game is Mysterium Park—the newly released mini version of classic thematic co-op game, Mysterium. Where Mysterium can be tedious to set up and explain, Mysterium Park simplifies that with a setup quite similar to Codenames. In Mysterium Park, the fairground’s director has mysteriously disappeared. A ghost now haunts the park and a group of psychics are called in to help investigate its cryptic visions. Using only beautiful but strange illustrations (similar to those in Dixit), the ghost must communicate with the psychics and help them rule out potential suspects and locations, until they have narrowed it down to the true killer. Like both Codenames and Concept, Mysterium Park will have your group in deep discussion over cryptic clues. With its beautiful artwork and similar playstyle to Codenames, Mysterium Park is definitely one to put on the wishlist if you love Codenames. If You Like…Secret Hitler You’ll Like...Spyfall 2 or Human Punishment Social Deduction 2.0 For a social deduction game that’s a little lighter and shorter than Secret Hitler, try Spyfall 2. In Spyfall 2, a variety of location cards will be laid out in the centre of the table. A location will secretly be chosen and everyone will be dealt a card with that location on it and the job they have in this location. All except one person, whose card will simply read: “Spy”. This player will have no idea where everyone else is. Then the questions start. Players must ask each other any questions they can think of—from “What are we wearing today?” to “Why is the sky blue?”—trying to suss out who the spy is. Spyfall 2 is a brilliant next step from Secret Hitler because it encourages creativity and cunning in both the questions you ask and who you ask. There’s also a nice opportunity to roleplay your character—whether that’s a lion tamer at the zoo or a bouncer at the jazz club. Perhaps you want your social deduction more complex. For that, the perfect game for you is Human Punishment Social Deduction 2.0 (ignore its mouthful of a title). Rated 7.9 on BoardGameGeek at the time of writing, this is a social deduction game that goes beyond being a simple party game. It’s described as being more of a social experiment than a simple board game. Unlike many social deduction games where your role is fixed, in Human Punishment, your allegiances can change many times throughout the game. However, instead of there simply being a binary of good guys and bad guys, Human Punishment features Humans, Machines, Outlaws, the Legion and the Fallen, all of which have interactions and alliances far more complex than simply “I don’t like them, they should die”. A rich and tense experience, Human Punishment is the game to get if you want more from Secret Hitler. If You Like…Risk You’ll Like...Small World or Small World of Warcraft Now, this might be cheating a little bit since technically, Small World and Small World of Warcraft are the same game. But I think it’s such a great recommendation after Risk that I had to put both versions in. Honestly, I don’t love Risk. The randomness of the dice rolls, the boringness of your units, it all feels a little outdated for me. However, Small World changes all that by giving you more consistent combat but, more importantly, wild, fun and wacky units to play with. In both Small World and Small World of Warcraft, you are trying to claim as much land as possible to earn the most coins. But if you want to take over the land, you’ll need units. In Small World, units are a randomised combination of a race and a trait. Perhaps you have Stout Amazons one game, but the next you’ll have Mystic Amazons. Each trait and race has their own power that, when combined, make for hilarious results. Even more interesting though, is that you aren’t stuck with the same units all game. Over the course of the game, you can acquire new units, putting your previous armies in decline. Don’t be scared though: if you love the satisfaction of claiming your opponent’s land and killing their units in Risk, you still get that with Small World, but with much more variety and fun. If you love the World of Warcraft theme, Small World of Warcraft is the obvious choice, but even if you aren’t a WoW fan, it might be worth getting this version because of the refined rules and mechanics that come with the newer version. However, even with the original version, you are getting a quick, competitive area control game that scratches the same itch as the classic Risk. And there we have it! Our board game recommendations based on what you already like! I hope this helps you and your gaming group find the perfect next game to play. Do you have any more recommendations to add to our list? Leave them in the comments below!
Cancer Council Victoria Donation Terms & Conditions + FAQ
GAMEOLOGY IS FUNDRAISING FOR CANCER COUNCIL VICTORIA TO HELP STOP CANCER. Late last year we asked our community to nominate a charity that we could collectively help support. We heard many touching stories, that genuinely made us appreciate you all. The terrible impact Cancer has on families everyday is obvious. Being based in Victoria, we are raising funds for the Cancer Council Victoria. While we love the idea of bringing fun and joy into everyone's home, this is a different opportunity to help our community. Thanks in part to the work done by the Cancer Council, 7 in 10 of those diagnosed with cancer will survive five years after diagnosis, but there’s still so much work to be done. Cancer Council needs our support more than ever this year. Every dollar raised gives hope for a cancer free future. By supporting the Cancer Council you are helping to fund life-saving cancer treatments, prevention programs, and support services that ensure no one has to face cancer alone. https://fundraising.cancervic.org.au/fundraisers/gameology/gameology-cancer-council-fundraiser How do I make my donation? At checkout simply select the dropdown menu next to the Cancer Council logo and it will be added to your order total. What if the amount I want to pay isn't reflected in the pre-selected donation amounts? If you would like to donate an amount outside of the listed donation amounts you can visit our direct Cancer Council donation page at https://fundraising.cancervic.org.au/fundraisers/gameology/gameology-cancer-council-fundraiser and select a custom amount to donate. How much is Gameology contributing? Gameology will be matching all donations up to a final total of $2000 How long are you accepting donations for? We will be receiving donations up until the 12.02.2021 I need a tax receipt for my Charitable Donation - Can you provide me one? Yes we can - Please get in contact with our support staff directly via our contact us page or any of our social media platforms
The Gameology Quick Guide to Sleeving Your Games
Sleeves. Those little plastic thingies that protect your cards. With such a huge variety of brands and sizes and thicknesses, where do you begin? If you’re looking to start sleeving your games, this is the guide for you. The Purpose of Sleeves So...why do we sleeve games? Well, the obvious answer is to protect the cards. But what does that really mean? Cards, especially those that are shuffled or handled frequently, can soon show wear and tear, often so slowly you don’t realise until it’s too late. Frayed edges, oily fingerprints, water damage, bent corners. All these are what players try to prevent with card sleeves. If you are a TCG player or collector, this is particularly important as it ensures your valuable and highly sought-after cards are protected because at this point, they’re basically investments. Even for board gamers, sleeving is important. Sometimes board games go out of print or are just incredibly expensive or difficult to replace. Sure, if a copy of UNO gets messed up, it’s easy and cheap to replace. But your Kickstarter edition board games with exclusive promo cards? I don’t even want to imagine the horror. Of course, sleeving is not for everyone. Some people enjoy seeing the history and age of the cards as they play them, the same way that people enjoy seeing well-worn books. It speaks of the enjoyment and time surrounding the game. However, if you are someone that wants to start sleeving your games, read on. Check Size and Quantity The first thing you need to do is determine the size/s of the cards in the board game you want to sleeve and also how many cards there are. This can be done easily with websites like Sleeve Your Games, or by printing out a size chart from sleeve companies like Mayday Games (https://www.maydaygames.com/products/mayday-games-sleeve-finder) or Board Game Sleeves (https://www.boardgamesleeves.com/). Some games even have the sleeves you need listed on the back of the box, usually in some kind of colour code for a specific brand. If you come along to our retail store and bring a card from the game, we can even help you size it in-store. Usually the card size will have a name like Standard American, Mini European or Yucatan. Sleeve companies can be inconsistent with what dimensions they write on their sleeve packaging, but in general, all cards of a certain size (eg: Mini Euro) will fit sleeves labelled as that size, despite minor differences in measurements. If you can’t seem to find the correct size and its name, try checking the cards against other games in your collection or online. If the cards are the same size as another game, particularly a popular one like Dixit, Catan or Magic: The Gathering, that can help you on your search. Determine Budget After you’ve got your sleeve sizes and quantities (eg: I need 150 sleeves in European size), the next step is determining how much you want to spend on sleeving your game. Sleeves can range from dirt cheap to even more expensive than a big board game! Some things you might want to consider when allocating your budget are: How important is the game to you? Is it a game near and dear to your heart? Was it the first board game you ever bought? Was it expensive? How much are the cards handled during play? Is it a deck-building game with lots of shuffling? Or do the cards simply sit on the table in a tableau? Do they get passed between players often? Is it important if a card gets damaged? Will it reveal information that is meant to be hidden? Will it throw off the balance of the game if you removed a single card? Here are some personal examples to help you contextualise these questions: Dominion - Despite the fact that this is my favourite board game, it involves a lot of shuffling and I have invested a considerable amount of money into it and five expansions, I have not sleeved Dominion. Why? Because there are so many cards that even with the cheapest sleeves, it would cost well over the price of a new copy of the base game. Since the cards that get ruined fastest are the base game cards, I would prefer to buy a new base game with that money instead of buying sleeves. Nemesis - This was the first game I sleeved, mostly because it was very expensive. I cannot fathom the idea of having to buy a brand new copy of Nemesis, so I would prefer to spend an extra bit of money now, instead of well over $200 later. Plus, the cards are mostly black so wear and tear would be extremely obvious. Villagers - This is a medium-weight card game. I think it’s a pretty good game, but it’s nowhere near a favourite. Why did I sleeve it? Because the cards are white. I feel a lot safer now bringing it to my friend’s house and eating snacks while playing because I am no longer worried about snack smudges. Assess Your Options There are so many sleeve brands it can be incredibly overwhelming. When I first started working at Gameology, I was overwhelmed too. What I have compiled here is a quick list of some of the brands we sell, divided into categories with estimate prices to help you make your choice. Tier 1: Inner Sleeves These include: Ultra Pro Pro-Fit sleeves KMC Perfect BCW Inner Sleeves Often priced: up to $6 per 100 sleeves Very thin and ultra-fitted to the card, these only come in standard size (like MTG and Pokemon) and are designed to go on trading cards before placing them inside a larger “outer” sleeve. Where most sleeves leave 0.5-1mm of plastic around the card to cushion it, inner sleeves fit tight, leaving the top edge of the card basically exposed. Recommended for double sleeving and for standard size cards that don’t get much play. Tier 2: Thin Sleeves These include: Mayday Standard (usually their 100 packs) Sleeve Kings Ultra Pro Board Game Sleeves Lite Often priced: up to $10 per 100 sleeves Thicker and more comfortably sized than inner sleeves, the benefits of these sleeves are that they protect, without adding too much bulk to the cards. They come in a wide variety of sizes and are much cheaper than their thicker variants. Recommended for games with lots of cards or games where the box does not allow much room. Tier 3: Thick Sleeves These include: TCG Outer sleeves (like Ultra Pro Deck Protectors and KMC Hyper Mats) Mayday Premium Dragon Shield Arcane Tinmen Board Game Sleeves (both the regular and non-glare variants) Fantasy Flight Gamegenic Ultra Pro Board Game Sleeves Often priced: up to $20 per 100 sleeves Unlike the thin sleeves, these will add considerable bulk to your cards. Decks can double in size when sleeved with thick sleeves. However, if you are looking for ultimate protection, these are the way to go—though they will cost you. Recommended for games where you want max protection. * And there you go—a quick guide to start sleeving your games. Do you have any other sleeving tips or insights? Be sure to leave them in the comments below!
