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At Gameology, we are doing everything possible to keep delivering during the coronavirus pandemic and get your games into your hands. With our business adapting to the challenges the current pandemic presents, our standard practices of delivery have been impacted. Unfortunately, Australia Post are experiencing significant delivery delays due to limited flights, hygiene and social distancing requirements (such as one person unloading a loose load trailer which halves productivity) and an increase in parcel volumes as more people shop online. We are committed to continuing to work hard to make sure we are sending out orders from our warehouse on time as we always have and understand the current delays are causing frustration. We have been advised by Australia Post that they are continuing to make rapid improvements to adapt to this situation and better both their communication and delivery methods. We ask that you please be patient during these times, as while Gameology is getting your orders out on time and is always willing to chase up an order that seems to be taking longer than expected we are finding that there are cases where we can only wait for Australia Post to perform their service under these tough circumstances. From The Gameology Team
Some of the best times I have had playing board games was sitting down as a kid with my family and a game of Monopoly but as time has moved on board games have evolved so we have put together our list of absolute classics for any family board game night. Let us know what games your family absolutely loves down below and help others get inspired for their family gaming sessions this Easter 🐰 1) Magic Maze Easily the loudest game with no talking allowed, Magic Maze is a chaotic flurry of team coordination with no communication. In Magic Maze players must guide 4 adventurers in a mystical maze seeking specific treasure and the exit before time runs out. Since players are able to see the entire map as they traverse the multitude of randomly placed rooms there should be no issue, right? The challenge in Magic Maze is in the movement of characters and team coordination. Each player at the beginning of the game is given a movement card, displaying a direction (N, S, E, or W), and/or an interaction ability which allows for movement through special obstacles. These cards allow players to move any of the 4 adventurers in the specific direction that is shown on their card. The only way to communicate in Magic Maze is through a special wooden token that can only be used to (gently) knock against the table. Thus combining these mechanics with no verbal communication makes the game a hot mess of silent irritation as players strive to gain the attention of others and direct their focus to specific characters. Check out Magic Maze here 2) Telestrations There’s not too much to say about Telestrations, it is a game of just reckless hilarity. The core concept of the game is adequately summarised in its tag line: “The telephone game sketched out”. In Telestrations, players will first gain a word to draw. Once drawn out on their sketchbooks, the players will pass their sketches to their neighbouring player who will then guess the word based on the previous players drawing. They will write the word and pass it to the next player, who will in turn draw the word and the cycle will continue until each sketch has made it around the table. The fun in Telestrations isn’t made by the amazing drawings people can create but the awful ones, with awful guesses. The joy when you find out your humble pigeon drawing has been misinterpreted as a duck and then further misinterpreted as a car and eventually ending in a final guess of “Boulder” is funner than it should be. Check out Telestrations here 3) Dixit A beautiful game with cards depicting abstract and artful images, Dixit allows players to weave their own narratives into this humble and simple card game. In Dixit, players sequentially gain the role of the ‘Story Teller,” and must describe a short tale in the form of a sentence, (this tale may be as abstract as they like) to describe one card in their hand. After hearing the tale, all players secretly place a card in the centre that is somehow related to the Story, the Story Teller shuffles these cards before revealing them to hide the owners’ identity. The players must then try and guess which of the revealed cards belong to the Story Teller. Players collect points if there cards are incorrectly chosen by other players or if they correctly guess the Story Tellers card. If all or no players guess the Story Teller’s card, all players receive 2 points and the Story Teller is awarded none. Otherwise, 3 is scored for both the Story Teller and correct players. This strange scoring method is the hook in Dixit. Story Tellers must craft an intricate narrative that is imaginative, abstract and obscure enough to deter most players but still be undemanding enough to lure one or two crafty individuals. Check out Dixit here 4) Queendomino Queendomino puts players in place of Royals looking to expand their kingdom in this game of tile drafting. Queendomino utilises the same concept as its predecessor: Kingdomino, in that players draft tiles to connect to their castle and kingdom by matching a drafted tile’s side to one previously placed. The placement of tiles to matching ones provide points that grow exponentially with every connecting tile. Unlike Kingdomino, Queendomino introduces new mechanics and levels of complexity, through its addition of knights to tax your lands, buildings to promote prosperity and dragons to torment your enemies. By having the most knights on the board, players may also win the Queen’s favour and by doing so acquire buildings at a discount but watch out because players may also bribe the dragon that lives nearby with their taxes to scorch opposing players lands and take away buildings. Queendomino is a fierce game where players must keep track of their actions, turn order, and most importantly tiles to stay ahead of other kingdoms and the dragon. Check out Queendomino 5) Munchkin Get ready for some door kicking, dragon slaying, feeble help-asking renegade fun in Munchkin. In Munchkin, players assume the roles of adventurers parading from room to room seeking loot and fighting monsters to gain levels. First player to slay enough monsters to upgrade themselves to level 10 wins the game. Munchkin is played in a series of rounds until a player wins. In these rounds, players kick open doors to reveal monsters, curses or special abilities, then rummage around the empty room for loot. Players may also look for more monsters to fight during this phase but make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew, if players encounter a monster with a high enough level they may just take all that gear you’ve been hoarding. When encountering powerful monsters, players may choose to ask for help from other players, in exchange for a share in the acquired treasures after the battle. Asking for assistance will occur many times in this game, the trick is to not give your opponents too many opportunities to save you or else you may make them too powerful. Check out The entire Munchkin Range here 6) BANG Ever wanna shoot your family? Same, so saddle up, pick a role, and join in for some wild western fun. In Bang, players take the roles of wild western sheriff and their deputies, the bandits they pursue, or ignore all the rules and be the solo renegade. The goal? Try to eliminate each other before your team is wiped out. At the beginning of the game, players will be given secret roles, these roles will remain secret even from their fellow allies, so half the fun is trying to discern who is on your team and who is the snake trying to blend in. Throughout the games, players will gain new upgrades to increase their guns’ range, increase their health, and much more. As well as these upgrades, players will garner bullets, these are more precious in gold but be careful not to shoot your friends. There are 4 different roles in Bang, all with completely different objectives. Sheriffs, must eliminate the renegade and bandits, the deputies share this goal and must protect the Sheriff at all costs. The bandits must eliminate the Sheriff regardless of who is in the way (bandits still get rewards for eliminating other bandits). Finally, the renegade wants to be the new Sheriff, and so seeks to be the last man standing. These roles and how players must employ teamwork and social deception is the key to winning. Check out Bang here 7) Word Slam A very simple word association game, there is not much to say, actually you cant say anything in this team, communication game. In Word Slam players are split into teams, a player on that team is designated the Storyteller who has a secret word, and must use a series of the provided 105 explanatory cards to weave a narrative that will lead your teammates to that secret word. Each of the explanatory cards has a random verb, adjective, noun or preposition. The game is played simultaneously for each team and thus teams must race by placing as many cards down as they can until their team can guess the secret word wins. Word Slam is as simple as it is fun, a great game for families who love to compete and yell simultaneously. Check out Word Slam here Players Choice Thanks to Kayne for this epic review of not 1 but 3 games - You are a champion! 8) Takenoko ‘Takenoko’, I simple and beautiful game about growing a Bamboo garden for the emporer to visit, the most impressive gardener is the winner! Which sounds easy, until a particularly hungry Panda comes in to eat all your hard work! With hidden objectives, easy rules and amazing components, Takenoko is a must have and my pick for #1 family boardgame. 2-4 players, about 45-60 minutes to play. 9) Machikoro ‘Machi Koro’, Build your town, throw some dice and steal other players money, all for the sake of being the first to build your 4 amazing landmarks. Machi Koro Is perfect for any family gane night, incredible simple, fast and fun for young and old alike! Machi Koro is alot of fun packed into a wonderfully colourful box. 2-4 players, roughly 30 minutes per game. 10) Ticket To Ride ’Ticket to ride, there is a reason this game is so popular, one of the highest selling games, ticket to ride will have you building train routes across countries all while trying to hinder the other players from doing the same. Ticket to ride is accesable to most ages and has excellent, easy rules with great replay value. Definetly a must have for all Family orientated boardgame collections. 2-5 players anywhere from 45-90 minutes realistically. 11) Your Choice! That's right we are once again reserving this slot for the people! Write your review of your favourite family game not on this list in a comment either down below or over on Facebook for your chance to be immortalised in the Grand Gameology Compendium for the rest of time. Board Games, now more than ever, are an amazing way to spend quality time with your partners or family, so grab a game or 2 and get rolling!
At Gameology we are all about giving customers the best bang for their buck and there is no better feeling than buying a game that you are able to keep coming back to and replaying for years. There are so many games we can think of that have multiple play sessions with friends burned into our memories that we can't stop coming back to but for now, we had to limit it to 8 to get you started. 1) One Night Ultimate Werewolf A game of mystery and social deception, One Night Ultimate Werewolf pits werewolves against helpless villagers. Players assume the roles of these villagers or werewolves. To win, Team Werewolf must remain undetected and ensure none of their fellow conspirators are caught. As for the villagers, they must ensure they accuse the correct person of lycanthropy. This may seem to be simple enough goal but the complexity lies in the incredible variety of roles players can choose for both werewolf and villager teams. Each role allows for a unique ability to confuse villagers, reveal identities or just simply cause chaos for both teams. One Night is an incredibly quick party game, only taking a maximum of 20 minutes, but with the large variety of different roles and combinations, this is a game with immense replayability and that’s not even considering all the expansions that add even more roles, mechanics and teams. Check out One Night Ultimate Werewolf Here 2) Smash Up Smash Up Mixing Dinosaurs with Zombies or Star Trek Characters with fairies, what's your winning combo? In Smash Up players choose 2 decks from an ever-growing line up of popular fictional themes, and ‘shufflebuilds’ them together to create a winning combination. Each faction is unique in specialty and abilities so choose carefully. Once chosen players will summon minions, play actions or apply upgrades and downgrades until they are finally able to destroy Base cards. The player with the most crushing power gains the most victory points. Smash Up’s diverse range of factions from popular fiction make every game and deck unique, so you never have to play the same way twice. Check out Smash Up here 3) FLUXX Fluxx is a quick party game for 2 to 6 players, in Fluxx there are only 2 rules, pick up and play a card. To win in Fluxx, players must skew the win conditions in their favor. Each card played alters the win condition and if a player already has achieved the specified goal, they win. This constantly changing dynamic makes Fluxx competitive and constantly changing game, and as such, ensures the game will never be played the same twice. Check out FLUXX 4) Scythe A Stonemeier gem, Scythe is asymmetrical tile domination game for 1-5 players (1-7 with expansions) with some of the greatest art to have ever graced a board game. Set in a fictional 1920s Eastern European ground war, players will each take control of a nation’s army, workers, key figure and Giant Battle Mechs. Players must gather resources, build their armies and infrastructure, and strive to control the coveted Factory Tile in the centre of the map. Though technically a domination game, domination is merely a means to an end, as to win in Scythe players must balance their popularity and economy, and try to accomplish 6 of the 10 objectives in the game Check out Scythe here 5) Crokinole A game of dexterity, Crokinole is a beautiful combination of precise skill and wild, erratic, sometimes even destructive flicking, In Crokinole, players will either duel or face-off teams of 2, flicking their small wooden tokens gracefully across the board towards the centre. In pursuit of the centre hole, players will also be trying to knock opposing pieces out of play to deny points being awarded. The satisfying sound of a wooden token knocking a piece out of play after floating silently over the board cannot be properly expressed in this post, and the added glee from seeing the opponents aguish cannot be properly expressed in words. As a dexterity game, the game will alter depending on the pieces present and the strategies players must come up with in response. Check out Crokinole 6) VOLT Smash, grab, shoot, and destroy in this Robot Wars board game adaptation. Volt pits players against each other in this gladiator style, fighting board game. In Volt, players are given the option to add or remove complexity. For players new to the game, there is an easy-start option whereby players will be able to play the game with only its core mechanics. In this mode, players will race around a number of completely unique maps collecting victory points to score. To hinder other players, robots are able to shoot and ram into the opposition, and if enough damage is dealt the damaged robot is eliminated. In its more complex form, for experienced players, Robots can acquire upgrades and in so doing, adds new and game-changing mechanics. In this mode, players will have to factor in opponent's shields, new weapons, and upgrades. Do you have what it takes to destroy the competition? Check out Volt here 7) Race for the Galaxy Playing mega, galactic civilizations, players must attempt to bring planets and their advancements into their monopoly. In this card game of strategic hand management, players will attempt to gain resource-rich planets, technologies, and social developments to further build their empire and score points. Planets themselves provide game-ending victory points, resources harvested from planets vary in rarity and thus value and provide players with bonus points. Finally, the technologies and social developments give players new abilities and bonuses from their turns. These different aspects of the game by themselves create an interesting game but the real jewel of Race for the Galaxy is in its simultaneous phase and turn order. In Race for the Galaxy players secretly choose which of the 7 game phases they would like activated for that turn, and in doing so opens that phase for all other players. By finding the balance between what you need but simultaneously denying a phase for other players is the goal to synergising your strategy and thus achieving your victory. Check out Race for the Galaxy here 8) Players Pick I enjoyed so much last week reading everyone's reviews of their favorite 2 player games I thought it would be a good idea to bring it back and Shout out to Navin Gulavita for his review of Star Wars Rebellion in our best 2 players game selection it has me excited to give it a go myself. Just like last week to get yourself featured in the Gameology library from now until the end of time just leave a comment down below or over on the Facebook post here: and give us a review of your favorite high replay value game. 2021 Update 9) Quest Quest is a quick, modern, and dark twist on the already highly re-playable "The Resistance: Avalon". Players can no longer vote to approve teams and making this a much quicker and more elegant game.For those who are not familiar, in The Resistance: Avalon, players are dealt secret roles and are placed in 2 teams, Merlin's Followers and the Minions of Mordred. Merlin and his followers must discern who among them is evil and Mordred's Minions must discern who holds the role of Merlin and sabotage quests. Each round, players vote on who must go on quests to help the realm. In The Resistance: Avalon in a group of experienced players, the voting is a great way to extrapolate information and do mini bluffs, but if any players aren't incredibly knowledgeable in the game it always had the ability to throw a kink into the game or else be non-essential. In 2020 we have all know how important it is to make everything essential! Quest streamlines the game, making fast fun and undeniably re-playable. 10) Galaxy Trucker 2nd Edition This may be a little sneaky putting this game in the 2021 Update seeing as the original came out in 2007 but look at that art and wonderful vibrant colours. Admittedly this edition doesn't change anything substantial in terms of rules and mechanics but with such a fun game why fix something that's not broken? For the uninitiated, in Galaxy Trucker, players build their trucks in real time, scrounging together garbage provided to them by the loving corporations. Once built and assembled, players must race through a circuit encountering a multitude of events ranging from space pirates to new planets rife with precious resources. All the while trying to keep their Galaxy Truck together. In this game players will laugh and cry as pieces of your ships are slowly torn away from meteorites and blast cannons and you all desperately try to keep your craft afloat. Each time you play you'll think of better ways to assemble your ship and hold on to your dear credits. 11) Calico Unlike the other games on this list Calico is not one of the quickest games but that's not to say it isn't incredibly re-playable. In Calico players will be assembling bits and pieces into a luxurious quilt. The quilt will score based on aesthetic appeal. But more than that, depending on how you arrange your quilt pieces, you can attract CATS to your quilt. Each cat is picky about how they like their quilt arrange and how many pieces but depending on how much effort you choose to put into your quilt you will be happily rewarded with some high point kitties! Calico keeps you playing with fun modular objective tiles that change the way you play depending on how you've chosen to arrange your starting tiles. Thus making it so no two games are the same!
One of the most common questions we get here at Gameology is can you recommend me a game for just 2 players?Whether it be yourself and your partner, housemate, sibling or friend these games are all designed to bring the most out of the 2 player experience.So without further ado (and in no particular order) please check out Gameologys top 8 recommendations for the best 2 play board game experiences.Also, let us know what we might have missed out in a comment below, we are always looking for more recommendations for games to play ourselves and would love to hear from you ✌ 1) War of the Ring War of the Ring is an incredibly heavy and strategic war game, with multiple ways to win and countless strategies. War of the Ring is easily one of the best area control and tactical world domination games. One player controls the vast armies of Mordor, trying to search for the Ring of Power and corrupt its holder or, dominate and overrun the cities of Free People of Middle Earth. The other player controls the many races and armies of the Free People of Middle Earth, as well as the Fellowship of the Ring. This player must strive to get Frodo to Mount Doom before he and the rest of the Fellowship s corrupted. Failing that, the player must also defeat the armies of Mordor to claim victory. The War of the Ring is a complex war game, with various avenues to victory for both sides. The complexity is only increased with the addition of diplomacy and corruption mechanics which ensures plenty of replay value. Check out War of the Ring here 2) Boss Monster A play on the conventional story of dungeon crawling adventurers fighting monsters and getting loot, Boss Monster puts players in command of the actual Boss Monster and their dungeon. In this game, players compete to see who can make the most enticing but also the most dangerous dungeons to lure and defeat aspiring “good guys.” By managing the balance between enticing enough rooms brimmed with loot (GLORIOUS LOOT), and the strength of the monsters that dwell in these rooms, players will try to lure adventurers and hopefully defeat them before they can reach the final room and defeat their Boss Monster. Check out Boss Monster here 3) Dominion Dominion is a brilliant deck and engine building game where players must gain, discard, remove, and buy cards to create the most effective deck to purchase victory points. When there no more victory points to buy, the player with the most wins. The concept and thematics of this game are relatively simple, but the complexity of card abilities and the countless combinations that can be made, make the game incredibly competitive and satisfying. Though made for up to 4 players, this game plays best at a fast pace with 2 players. Check out Dominion here 4) 7 Wonders Duel In 7 Wonders Duel players will compete to build the better civilisation while simultaneously sabotage their opponents. In this civilisation building, combo denying, card drafting game, players will progress through three ages (rounds). To win, players will will garner new technologies to advance their society, draft military units to conquer their opponent, or even build prestigious buildings to garner enough victory points to steal victory. Maintaining a balance of these different aspects and assuring the opponent is unable to, is key to building your society and wonders. Check out 7 Wonders Duel here 5) Tatsu Tatsu is a game of dueling dragon armies. Utilising 3 different kinds of dragons, players attempt to outmaneuver their opponents and destroy opposing forces before they can recoup their numbers. Tatsu is a strategic chess-like game for 2 players, incorporating dice and different token abilities. Takes around 30 minutes to play. Check out Tatsu here 6) Keyforge Keyforge is a simple two-player game of collecting resources to forge keys and win the game. Simple in concept, Keyforge is a unique take on trading card games as the decks you gather are not manually built or traded but are bought premade and unalterable. Each deck is made completely unique, with a new collection of cards, and a new randomly generated title. The incredible variation in decks allow for ridiculously powerful decks but also ridiculously bad decks, the luck factor may seem intimidating but honestly it only adds to the fun. The cards themselves are playful, colourful and full of special abilities that range from the mundane to the game-changing. Check out the entire range of Keyforge here 7) Arkham Horror A cooperative adventure game, Arkham Horror has players take the role of paranormal investigators traveling the streets of Arkham in the midst of the roaring twenties. One of the 8 ancient ones is chosen and it’s up to players to stop them from entering their small world. By fighting monsters, creating allies, and acquiring a multitude of skills, weapons and items, players will advance through the games’ compelling narrative, closing the portals to dark dimensions that threaten to tear their small town apart. Check out Arkham Horror here 8) Star Wars Rebellion Shout out to NavinGulavita for his review of Star WarsRebellion This game is essentially the original trilogy of Star Wars contained in a box. From hero and villain led missions, strategic decisions, mass productions of troopers and vehicles, epic ground+space battles, planetary conquest there is very little that is not in this game. The Galactic Empire is searching the galaxy one planet at a time to find and destroy the secret rebel base whilst the Rebel Alliance are trying to survive long enough and achieve objectives to bring sympathy and support to the cause. If you are a fan of Star Wars, strong theming, clever game mechanics, war and area control gaming, then this is the game for you!
Gameology is still currently operating as normal out of our warehouse however we are taking all necessary precautions and following all current advice from the government to keep both our customers and staff members safe. The following FAQ should help in clearing up some of the common questions we have been receiving from customers. 🅕🅐🅠 𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰?Yes our showroom is still open to the public however we are taking precautions for both the safety of our patrons as well as our staff by providing all needed cleaning and disinfectant materials to our staff and only allowing a certain amount of customers in the store at any given time. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺, 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?Yes you certainly can. We are handling all click and collect orders as per usual. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁?Yes absolutely, we are still posting out all national delivery items ordered through Gameology.com.au. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁?Currently we are still posting out all international orders as per normal and are not aware of any delays in delivery, but will be proactive in information customers if we hear of any delays in delivery times. If there are any other questions that you have in regards to your order please contact our customer service staff either via Facebook chat or here: https://www.gameology.com.au/pages/contact-us
This is a 31 hour only offer with 5% off TCG, 12% off everything else and more special deals announced throughout the duration of the sale. This discount is of course ON TOP OF our already AMAZING prices! The sale will run from 12th Nov 5:00 pm to 13th Nov 11:59 pm AEDT and will be online AND in store! Special Deals Special deals will be announced nearly every 3 hours (Tuesday 6PM and 9PM; Wednesday 12AM, 6AM, 9AM, 12PM, 3PM, 6PM and 9PM). They'll be available for 15-30 minutes only, so keep an eye on our Facebook page! Details The discount at checkout will not apply to gift cards and TCG products, however the listed price of TCG items will be reduced by 5% for the duration of the sale. The discount does not apply to shipping. There will be no double discounting e.g price match + further discount. All sale decisions will lie with management. Questions Q: Why is there no discount on my TCG items? A: There is! Due to a system limitation we can't apply 2 discounts simultaneously at checkout, so we've just reduced the price of TCG items by 5% for the sale period. It may take a few minutes for the updated prices to apply after the sale start at 5PM. Q: Can I have multiple orders shipped together? A: Yes, please do the following: Make all of your orders as pick up orders Contact us and request that we ship the orders together (providing all order numbers) We will send our details to you for a combined shipping payment. Once our staff verify your payment, we will ship the orders together. If you accidentally paid your shipping on any one of your orders and request to combine an order afterwards, please understand we can not process the request on that particular order due to the amount of orders we are processing. Please check carefully when selecting the shipping method before check out! If you have any other questions, please check with our customer service team.
Get ready for Gameology’s next big sale! If you haven't been before, you haven't lived. Check out the video above to see last sale's madness! We are bringing back the BBQ, board games, and beats this September due to overwhelming demand. This revised edition will bring a bigger range and even better prices! There will be a surprise appearance... Our team here at Gameology invite you to join us for this ONE DAY ONLY event. Don’t forget to click attending and invite your friends. More details will be released soon.
Spy games have always been popular, but add an element of raunchiness and innuendo and you’ll have Codenames: Deep Undercover 2.0. A spin-off to the award-winning Codenames game, Deep Undercover targets the Cards Against Humanity crowd who like their games 18+. This is certainly not a game for family nights! For best results you'll want 4-8 players, but alternative instructions for 2-3 players are included. Oonce players get the hang of it they’ll find it very easy to follow! How to play! Teams (red and blue) each have one spymaster and at least one operative. The two spymasters sit together on one side opposite their operatives on the other. 25 cards representing agents, innocent bystanders and the deadly assassin are arranged in a grid. Their identities are hidden behind vulgar codenames; some a player might be unfamiliar with making Urban Dictionary a very helpful tool. A key card - seen only by the spymasters - shows the identity hidden behind each card. The operatives must contact all of their own spies whilst avoiding the opposing spies, innocent bystanders and the deadly assassin. With each turn, a spymaster gives a one word clue (relating to one or many of their own spies) and the number of spies the clue relates to. They must employ their best poker faces too: not even an ounce of emotion must be betrayed as their operative tries to figure out which card to pick based on the clue given. The game concludes when a team successfully gathers all their spies, however it may also end if one of the operatives accidentally pick the code name of the assassin – making their opponent the winning team. Operatives may take their sweet time in guessing, but if the spymasters want to heighten the pressure they may use an hourglass to limit the time. Some players might find Deep Undercover 2.0 a bit lacking, for one round can be wrapped up within a 30-minute timeframe. This doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t give it a try though. As short as one round might be, by the end of the session participants will find themselves spent – from the amount of analyzing and thinking mind you! Will you flourish or flunk as an operative; as your spymaster gives you clues to correctly figure out who the salaciously-named spies of your team are? Will you mistakenly aid the opposing team to complete their own by selecting their codenames? Will you pick unwitting bystanders? Or will you bring about your team’s defeat by choosing the assassin? The words and clues given may belong to the gutter, but the mind power and command over (dirty) words required certainly doesn’t!
Are you looking for some games that play well with children, but with enough meat on the bones to play with a group of adults? Maybe you’re looking for some games that don’t take all night to play. Here are some great games that we love to play. They are not ranked in any order, just randomly listed. King of Tokyo 2-6 players, 8+, 30 minutes. This is a dice rolling game that uses the Yahtzee mechanic. Each player has a scoring card which tallies both their health and victory points. The aim of the game is to collect either 20 VP or reduce everyone else’s health to zero. This means that the game has player elimination, but since it plays in 20 minutes, it is not much of a wait. When it is your turn, you roll the dice and keep health, lightning bolts (which count as money to purchase cards to power up your turns), claws (which attack the other players), sets of numbers which count as VP or any combination you wish. To attack other players with your dice rolls, you hit the players who are in opposition to you. If you are in Tokyo, you hit all other players not in Tokyo and if you are out of Tokyo, you hit the player(s) in Tokyo. This is a fun tactile game with excellent components as the dice are large and heavy, adding to the fun of rolling dice. It only takes a round or 2 to fully understand the game and you can adjust the game to the group you are with. For example, with children, you may not want to claw each other too often, while with a group of adults, it can get ugly very quickly. Potion Explosion Potion Explosion is a 2 to 4-player game that plays in 30 minutes. It uses a specially designed tray (dispenser) to hold 5 rows of marbles of different colours. The aim is to make the most potions by collecting the ingredient’s required to make each one. To do this, you take a marble from the tray, which may trigger an ‘explosion’ or multiple ‘explosions’. An explosion is caused by 2 or more marbles of the same colour hitting each other. Once you have caused an explosion, and removed those marbles from the tray, you can add them to the 2 potions you are producing. When you complete a potion, it gets turned over and you can use that potion to help complete more potions by activating their special 1 time use ability, which ranges from stealing an opponent’s supply to taking one of each colour from the bottom of the dispenser. A completed potion gives you several points, depending on the level of difficulty. Collect sets of the same potions to earn skill points, triggering the end of the game. Final scoring is then completed by adding up the total of your completed potions. The game has good quality and aesthetically pleasing components. The 2nd edition has the improved marble dispenser. This is a great game to play as a family as there are not many opportunities to “get” each other. It really is fun to pull out the marbles and place them on your potion card. Easy enough for kids to understand as it is all visually laid out before you. It also plays well with a group of adults seeking a fun quick strategic game. One Night Ultimate Werewolf Do you like the idea of playing half a game with your eyes closed while listening to an app and keeping secrets from your fellow players? Someone in your group is a werewolf. Find out who it is before it’s too late! You reside in a village, each night a werewolf comes in and attacks. As a group you need to find out who the werewolf is before the morning, or it’s over. Each player receives one player card in secret. There will be 1 or 2 players vs the rest. Each player has an action they will get to do in secret that will help or hinder everyone find the Werewolf. The app directs you all the way through, from closing your eyes, to opening your eyes and completing your personal job for the village, to opening your eyes and then the countdown clock. Once everyone has completed their action, you have a certain amount of time to talk to each other to figure out who did what and discover the Werewolf. This game is addictive as you try to figure out the best time to reveal what you did, without telling everyone too much. Kids easily understand the game after a couple of plays. It is fun seeing how they develop their strategies to play. Adults may be sneakier, but this may be their undoing. All this aside, it plays in 10 minutes at most, but be prepared for it to take longer as one game will never be enough. Easy for anyone to play, this game is also fun to sit back and watch. A great game for a large group as is it for 3- 10 players. Ticket to Ride While this game has been around for a long time, it still plays well. A great train theme that works for kids and adults. It can be played by 2-5 people and takes between 30- 60 minutes to play and is suitable from 8+. Each player takes control of a coloured set of small train carriages. The aim is to get the most victory points by completing tickets. The tickets give you 2 destinations on the large board, which you aim to connect. You do this by drawing coloured train cards from 1 of the 5 draw piles on your turn which every player can see. These colours corresponded with small track sections on the board, ranging from requiring 1 coloured train card to 6 of the same colours. When you have the desired cards in your hand, for your turn, you can reveal the cards and then place your train carriages on the selected tracks. This also gives you victory points. The strategy comes into this game at whatever level you like. If you are playing with children, take it easy and don’t block the tracks they require. If you are after a more difficult game, try collecting as many destination cards as you want and completing them. All players new to hobby games find this a great game to learn about victory points, collecting and drawing cards and strategy. Catan This is one of the Euro games that started it all back in 1995. While being a simple game to play, it also requires lots of strategy. Catan is played with a board of hexagonal tiles, cards and dice as well as each player having a wooden token set consisting of their roads, settlements and cities. The board is set up randomly with all the hexes laid out face down, each one representing a different resource. Each hex is then assigned a number between 2 and 12 (not 7 as that deploys a robber). The hexes are then turned over and each player in turn order, places out a settlement and a connected road, then in reverse order players place out a city and a road and collect some starting resources. Each player is a settler that tries to grow their towns by harvesting resources (brick, grain, sheep, timber and ore) from their areas and by trading them with opponents. The resources are then used to build roads, settlements or cities. Each settlement and city is worth victory points, 1 and 2 respectively. The victor will require 10 victory points to win. If you have the longest road you even get an extra 2 victory points. A fun element of this game is the trading of resources. While you might need the trade, do you want to give your opponent just what they need? The game plays in 1-2 hours and is for 3-4 players, however there are expansions to increase this to 6 if needed. While there is an element of luck in the game, depending on which dice are rolled, it can be mitigated by ensuring you have settlements on as many numbers as possible and making good trades. Sushi Go Party If you are after a fast paced, fun, easy game that will satisfy your hunger for a card drafting game, Sushi Go is it. A small game with a small tin, lots of cards and some soy bottles to count your score on a victory point track. Each player is dealt several cards depending on the player count. You then select and place face down on the table one of the desired sushi dishes that you would like to collect on your tableau, while placing the remaining cards from your pile face down on the table. After a short amount of time, all players simultaneously turn over then cards and if you have selected Miso call out Miso. If 2 or more players have turned over miso they get discarded. All the sets you collect gain you victory points in different ways depending on the dish, some may even give you zero. You then pass your hand of cards to the next player and all pick a card from your new hand. This continues until all the cards are used. Points are tallied for all cards except the desserts (you don’t enjoy them until the end of the game). There are 3 rounds in total, the cards are passed in the opposite direction for the second round. A great little game for 2-8 players that plays in 20 minutes and is fun for all ages and gamers. Azul In this beautiful set collection game, you are tiling the walls of a building in Portugal. The aim of the game is to fill as many squares on your player board with tiles of certain colours to give you the most victory points. Each player has their own player board which displays the desired layout of tiles required. In turn, each player collects a design of tile from the suppliers and places them on their player board. This is randomly drawn from a cloth bag before each round. Each supplier has different quantities of patterns. This is where the strategy comes in. Do you take maybe 1 of the tiles you desire, while leaving the others in the pool for your opponents to collect? The tiles you don’t take on your turn are pushed into the middle for selecting. Every time you select a tile, you take all that tile whether you need them or not, so don’t get greedy or you may pay a price. When all the tiles have been removed from the market, each player looks at their player board to see if they can use the tiles on their wall. The rounds continue until one player fills a row with one of each colour. A great abstract strategy game easily played by children 8+. The game plays in 30 to 45 minutes and with 2-4 players. The 2-player game can be a lot quicker. Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle If your family enjoys Harry Potter, this is the game to try. In this co-op game, all the players are on the same team trying to complete their goal. It starts out with an easier game to teach the rules and how to play, then slowly get harder as you venture through the campaign. There a 7 books (boxes) inside that you get to open as you progress through the adventure, each giving you new villains and abilities. The game comes with a main player board and 4 individual player boards to help you manage the game. The idea is that you need to defeat villains by using your player’s ability, (Harry, Hermione, Neville or Ron) and by using the cards you collect when spending your money. Your deck will grow as the game plays out. So how do you find the card you need to win? While the recommended age is 11+, this game is easy to play as a family with younger kids while teaching the deck building genre, with a theme they are sure to love. It is for 2-4 players, but it can be played solo once the rules are understood. It is played in around 30-60 minutes depending on the player count. One you finish the campaign it can be played again, or you can buy an expansion to change the game more. Carcassonne This game has been around since 2000 and is considered another of the big games that helped shape the board game hobby to what it is today. Ever heard of a “meeple” (my people)? This is where it came from. Whilst it is a very simple game it can involve a lot of strategy, depending on your game level. The idea of the game is to collect the most victory points by adding tiles to a city or road and deciding where to place your meeples to guard them. The stacks of tiles have different pictures of towns and roads on them and are placed face down. Each player on their turn reveals a tile and decides where to place it on the table. Do you need to extend a road, finish one or take on others for control of a large city? Each player has a limited number of meeples, so use them wisely. The game continues until all the tiles have been played. It is fun to watch as the table presence grows, from the starting tile to a massive city and countryside expanding before your eyes. Carcassonne is for 2-5 players, plays in 30- 45 minutes and is from 8 years and up. The game comes with 2 mini expansions, The River and The Abbott. If you enjoy this game, there are plenty of expansions that are available that may add a theme you love even more. Flamme Rouge Time for a race game? Well get on your bikes and get pedalling. Flamme Rouge is the name given to the red flag that hangs at the start of the last kilometre of a stage. This fun game uses cards and a track which simulates the final section of a bike race. Each player gets a small deck of cards for each of their 2 specialised riders. The cards numbers ranging from 2 to 9 depending on if it is your sprinter or Rouleur. A track is selected and built on the table following the cards that are provided for different track layouts. Once completed, each player selects a colour and collects the 2 bike miniatures. In turn order each player places their riders on the track behind the start line. When everyone is ready, all players simultaneously draw 4 cards from 1 pile and selects 1, places it faces down, then draws 4 cards from their other pile and selects 1 card. When all players have chosen, the leading bike’s card is revealed and moved accordingly. This happens for all bikes in race position order. The rounds continue until 1 rider has crossed the finished line. Beware though, when you are leading a peloton, you take a fatigue card (2) because its tiring in the lead. Finish the round exactly 1 space behind the bike in front, great, you can slipstream onto the back of the pack. There are also hills to slow you down and speed you up, so play your cards wisely. This can be played by 2-4 players, takes 30-45 minutes as is great for ages 8+. Again, don’t let that fool you, it is a strategic game where playing the right cards may just get you to the end first. There are also expansions that can add 2 more players and change the track layout. This is a fun and realistic bike racing game. Written by Robert and Patrick from the Board Game Basics Podcast. To hear more of our thoughts on these games or others please listen to our family podcast. https://boardgamebasics.podbean.com/
Welcome to the dark and dirty city of Gloomhaven. It takes all types to keep this city prospering and safe. Most are out for themselves. Will you help the city or help yourself to the riches that surround you and the city of Gloomhaven? From the ocean to the mountains you will travel. Safely? Who knows? It might depend on the company you keep. Gloomhaven is a game for 1-4 players and takes around 2-3 hours to play. There is no mistaking the size of this box. It is huge and is packed top to bottom with cards, room tiles, miniatures, standees, the scenario book, a board map and cardboard tokens of every kind. If you're after value for money, this is it. The game can be played as a single scenario with a group of friends or solo by playing multiple characters. However, it really shines when played as a full campaign with the same group of players. You start in the city of Gloomhaven and equip your character with available items for sale. While in the city take a city event card, what decision you make affects what you may get or lose in the encounter. After finishing in the city, the group travels along the road to the next scenario. Whilst travelling, a road event occurs. Draw the card. Who do you meet? What will you do? Every decision you make has an outcome. Once completed, move into the scenario. Read the story, get your scenario goal and look at your personal quest for the scenario and start playing. Each character has a player board that gives you a back story, the number of cards you can hold, how many hit points you start with and your turn options. Everyone has different abilities and their own role to play in defeating the monsters. The scenario continues round by round until the goal is completed or the adventurers all die. Experience is collected during the game and tallied on your characters playing sheet. At this point you can return to Gloomhaven, spend your money and move to another scenario in the same way. The game continues like this through the book of 100 scenarios. If you seek a strategic adventure game, it is hard to go past Gloomhaven. Written by Robert and Patrick Doolan of Board Game Basics Podcast. To hear more of our thoughts on Gloomhaven listen to Episode #19https://boardgamebasics.podbean.com/
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