First Giants Board Game Review

Players: 2-5

Play Time: 30 minutes (less with lower player counts)

Ages: 8+ (10+ officially)

I usually don’t consider dino themed things “beautiful” but that is exactly how I would describe the dinosaurs in First Giants

Overview
You are paleontologists trying to collect and display the most beautiful fossils in your museum. Players take turns placing their markers at one of the four dig sites to draft cards for their studies, but can only have one marker per site. Cards in the study offer immediate or recurring benefits. When you spend a turn reclaiming the markers, you can either collect amber or pay amber to put a card on display in the museum. Once a card is on display, its benefit is lost, but it is how you score. Fossils on display score for being in sets of different sizes but the same family or the same size but different families. Complete sets score more than partial ones. In addition, the first person to start each type of set gets a bonus “news” token, which can change players as other people make that type of display with even more cards.

Thoughts
First Giants is such a solid little game!  I played it a few times on BGA and enjoyed it, but love it even more in person. I’ve never really been huge on dinosaur themes but some of these games are quickly changing my mind! The watercolor style cards and art are absolutely lovely, the tokens are chunky and the amber is fantastic. The dig sites and personal boards were thoughtfully made to make gameplay as easy as possible, plus the box came with tuck boxes for organization!

Even though we played in about 15-20 minutes, the decisions feel purposeful. Since the benefits of the fossils are lost once you display them, you have to decide how long to wait. You don’t want your opponents to end the game before you complete your sets! For a game that plays so quickly, you still come away feeling satisfied. I found it entertaining to play with a grown up, but can see my almost 8 year old learning it too.

Game gifted by the publisher but all thoughts are always my own.

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Tulikko Board Game Review

Tulikko

Players: 2-4

Play Time: 30 minutes (much less with lower player counts)

Ages: 8+

Gorgeous artwork, a mystical firefox and tile laying meant I absolutely wanted to play as soon as I heard about Tulikko

Overview
Players adopt a Tulikko or other spirit animal, gain its corresponding board, tiles and tokens and then try to be the first to place all of their animal and river tokens. To explore your forest, you slide one of your forest tiles into the central board, taking the tile that comes out the opposite side. Then you place that tile on a corresponding symbol on your board. Placing two tiles of the same color next to each other lets you place an animal token and placing different tiles next to each other lets you place a river. 

Completing arrangements on various goal cards lets you place a couple extra tokens on them. Being the first to play a minimum number of tiles of the same color earns you an aurora tile, which each grants a one time bonus power.

Thoughts
The artwork is beautiful, especially on the iridescent cover. I loved the whimsical style on the trees and boards. The tiles are sturdy, the tokens are chunky and it is all put together with care. I had fun to learning the legend of the Tulikko and I would have loved to learn the lore behind the other spirit animals as well.

Gameplay is faster and simpler than expected. The central board definitely adds a new element over just straight drafting. Since there are only 12 turns, it is impossible to fill your entire board, meaning you have to be strategic as to which objectives you try to complete. Some of the aurora tiles grant pretty powerful rewards, so they’re pretty important to chase.

Our first game was over in about 15 minutes, so we reset and immediately played again. I like that there are a variety of objective cards, adding some variety while keeping it easy to learn. I was even able to teach my 7 year old, who enjoyed it (although we played without aurora tiles for the first game).

Overall, I think it is a lovely, family weight game for when you want something a little lighter or to be able to play multiple games in a night.

Game gifted by the publisher but all thoughts are always my own.

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Dodo Board Game Review

Dodo

Players: 2-4

Play Time: 10 minutes
Ages: 6+

Gameplay
In Dodo, a mama dodo has laid her egg at the top of the mountain. Players cooperatively work to build bridges and dock the boat to catch the egg before it falls off the mountain (keeping it from hatching). You do this by rolling a die and turning over tokens. If they match, you get to add the building materials to your bridges and dock.

Thoughts
Everything about the components of this game screams “play with me!!” The mountain, how you add the bridges, the boat and the amazing wobbly, slow rolling egg are pretty irresistible on the table. I was initially a little skeptical about how sturdy a kids game with so many 3D components could be, but the way things go together, it seems like it will hold up really well.It does take a little while to put together, but play goes fast so you can get in multiple games in a session (especially if you lose). 

This is such a fun cooperative kids game! It is also low stress enough to help my speed-averse kid work though some of that anxiety around “racing” a game. I actually think my 3 year old will be able to play soon.

Game gifted by the publisher but all thoughts are always my own.

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My Book Nook Game Review

My Book Nook: Cozy Word Building Game

Players: 1-5

Play Time: 20 minutes (officially 30)

Ages: 8+

I am doing my best to raise a family of bookworms (and board gamers), so my kids’ library is actually much bigger than our game library. Therefore, it was an immediate “yes” when I had the opportunity to review My Book Nook: Cozy Word Building Game

📚Overview📚
In My Book Nook, you’re trying to build words, decorate your shelves & create the coziest reading nook. On your turn, you can either choose two cards or build a word. Book Nook cards feature a book with a letter and a genre. Decoration cards feature an endgame scoring condition, usually based on the location or number of books of a particular genre. You use the Book Nook cards to build words, which earn you ambiance cards. The ambiance card you get is determined by the length of the word; more letters are worth more points. There are also sometimes bonuses for rarer letters and a penalty for wildcards. Once someone builds four words, everyone gets one more turn, you assign decorations to each word and the game ends.

📚Thoughts📚
I ended up really liking this, as did my teen, who is my usual word game partner! The rules are well written and straightforward. The art is wonderfully thematic. I really enjoyed the array of fun decorations you can get, as well as the cozy ambiance cards (think snacks, slippers, pets, etc.). Plus, who doesn’t want to create an amazing book nook?! 

The length of the game feels perfect for the lighter weight of the game. When I played with two players, it probably took less than 20 minutes. My solo game was even faster. I worried the lack of a wiping mechanism might make the card market feel stale, but it wasn’t a problem at all. I really appreciate the inclusion of a solo mode, since so many word games lack them. Gameplay is very similar to multiplayer, without any additional management. You are just competing with your own score, but it works for a relaxing little word puzzle.

*Game provided, but all thoughts are my own

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Widget's Workshop Game Review

Widget's Workshop

Players: 2-5

Play Time: 20 minutes (officially 30)
Ages: 7+ (Officially 14+)

I bought Widget's Workshop on a whim a few weeks back, never having played a “drop style” game before, and I’m really glad I did!

⚙️Overview⚙️
Players are trying to build the best robots and golems possible. First, all of the transparent gear cards are dropped randomly onto the table. Each has some symbols on the edges corresponding to elements, archetypes and make, plus a body part (leg, arm, body) in the middle. Players take turns using just one finger to pull either one face up card or two face down ones, then adding the part to one of their construct bays. Once a bay has all five parts, you stack the pieces to create your construct, learn its name and score based on how many symbols match for each category (0-30 points). The first one to complete a certain number of constructs gets a bonus, and then everyone compares scores.

⚙️Thoughts⚙️
This is such a clever family weight game! The box says 14, but my 7 year old played easily (even if tempted to cheat by using more than one finger to draw cards). I love how the gears stack to make your little robot/golem, the clear cards are used so creatively! I also love how when the 5 parts are stacked, a name is revealed. I think the names were my son’s favorite part!

Setup is easy and gameplay is quick. It feels very unique in our large collection, so is an excellent addition.

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Carnuta Board Game Review

Carnuta

Players: 2-4

Play Time: 20-30 minutes
Ages: 8+ (Officially 10+)

I’m a sucker for clicky-clacky game components, but that’s not the only reason I enjoy Carnuta

Overview
Players use runes to gain ingredient to create the best potion (score the most points). The game centers around the rune tiles, which have a sun on one side and a moon on the other. On your turn you can draw cards, use runes to play a card, take all of the runes of one type that fit on your board or flip all of the runes on your board to the same side. Playing ingredient cards requires you to flip and/or discard runes. Cards might score you points on their own, or might score you points for each of  a different ingredient or even a set of ingredients. Choosing the best combination of ingredients is how you maximize your points. The game ends when someone has played 11 cards. 

Thoughts
The more I think about Carnuta, the more I think it is elegantly simple and incredibly well designed. The components are beautiful and compelling! The artwork is lovely, the player boards are sturdy, and the slider that keeps track of cards and bonuses is a thoughtful touch that makes the game easier to manage. Similar gameplay probably could have been pulled off without the nice boards and tiles, but it would not have been as smooth and enticing.

The mechanisms around the runes feel unique. Since you often have to flip the runes to play cards, having both day and night cards in your hand is useful, but then you also have to make sure the points on them complement each other. The first play, my oldest doubled my score by going all in on one particular ingredient, but I don’t know that that would work every time, without just the right combination of cards. I've since played more times and find you really have to adapt your strategy depending on the cards available to you near the beginning of the game.

That being said, it still falls on the lighter end of the spectrum. I hope to teach my 7 year old soon. It would also be the perfect weeknight game or game to play among others on a bigger game night.

The only thing I don’t love is the box sleeve. It makes the game so pretty, but not all that functional.

 *game provided, but thoughts are my own

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Water Dragon Board Game Review

 

Water Dragons

Players: 2-4

Play Time: 15 minutes
Ages: 5+

Overview
In Water Dragons, players are racing to get their dragon to its nest first. Each water dragon is made of a head, body and tail, which have to move in order (the tail cannot overtake the body, for example). On your turn, you roll the die and can reroll up to two more times. Then you take the card of the corresponding color to move part of your dragon towards its nest. Sharks shake the dragons, making them pull their tails and heads into the middle, which can be either helpful or detrimental, depending on where the pieces are.

Thoughts
This is such a cute kids racing game that doesn’t feel like 100% luck and has no “mean” aspects! The dragon pieces are irresistible and the components are sturdy. Players have to manage how far ahead they let their head get compared to their tail and body. Being able to reroll a couple of times to choose your card brings in a bit of probability/risk management.

While it is actually my son’s game, I recently taught my almost 4 year old and she really enjoyed it (even if she needed help with strategy). I'm hoping it gets rotated into her games more often now!

*Game provided, but thoughts are my own!

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