The Starmork board game table is currently raising funds for something that seems too good to be true...and I think you probably shouldn't back it.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:02:00 - I Can't Say for Certain This Is A Scam 0:04:55 - The Background and Red Flags 0:09:20 - You Should At Least Know the Situation
The Starmork board game table is currently raising funds for something that seems too good to be true...and I think you probably shouldn't back it.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:02:00 - I Can't Say for Certain This Is A Scam 0:04:55 - The Background and Red Flags 0:09:20 - You Should At Least Know the Situation
Upgrade Your Game At Top Shelf Gamer (Referral Link) bit.ly/3siD0PL
For media inquiries, please email alex@boardgameco.com For Gamefound inquiries, please email me at a.radcliffe@gamefound.comUpcoming Campaigns For October - Wonderlands War Duel, Terrorscape 2, Galactic Cruise & More!!!BoardGameCo2025-10-01 | Thanks to Morph for sponsoring today's video, you can check out their campaign here: tinyurl.com/2fet78h4 -------------------------------------------- BoardGameCo Ko-Fi (Exclusive Content) - ko-fi.com/boardgameco BoardGameCo Patreon (Exclusive Content) - patreon.com/boardgameco Instagram - bit.ly/39GvjNH -------------------------------------------- Channels I Recommend (Not a comprehensive list by any means) Professor Meg - instagram.com/professormeg EZBoardGames - youtube.com/@ezbgames The Board Game Garden - youtube.com/@TheBoardGameGarden Room & Board - youtube.com/@RoomandBoardReviews Thinker Themer - youtube.com/@ThinkerThemer -------------------------------------------- All the upcoming crowdfunding campaigns! Or at least the main ones I know about so far.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:01:52 - BattleForge: Berserker 0:02:00 - B.E.L.O.W.: The Asylum 0:02:25 - Berserk: The Board Game 0:02:42 - Cascadia: Alpine Lakes 0:03:08 - Chronicles of Crime: Beyond Doubt 0:03:30 - Cranio's Expansion Pack 0:03:42 - Cretaceous Rails 0:05:05 - Morph: First Cycle 0:05:32 - Dicey Devices: Mad Ambition 0:05:50 - Druid Path: A Solo Monster-Taming Card Game 0:06:00 - Detectives Vs Criminals 0:06:20 - Dice Throne Vanguard 0:06:30 - Eldertide: A Thousand Lights 0:06:45 - Grifoni - Blades for Hire 0:07:00 - Hellbringer - Bestiary & Forbidden Spells 0:07:15 - Heroes of Might & Magic: The Card Game 0:07:31 - Honor's End 0:07:45 - Ikusa Samurai Swords 40th Anniversary Edition 0:07:45 - John Company & Molly House Reprint 0:08:00 - Joyride: Full Throttle 0:08:15 - Journeys Afar: The Ketsueki 0:08:30 - Legacy of Eastbrook Hills 0:08:46 - Lord of Loot 0:08:52 - Mystic Moon 0:09:03 - Netherwatch 0:09:15 - Obsession 0:09:20 - PRIMAL HEX 0:09:32 - Rolling in Wonderland 0:10:02 - Shadow & Rune: A Tactical Deck-building Game 0:10:25 - Song of Silveranth 0:10:45 - Tenpenny Parks 🎪 Expansions + Collector's Edition 0:11:00 - Terra Mystica 0:11:20 - The Dawn of Pangaea 0:11:50 - The Elder Scrolls: Heroes of Tamriel 0:12:00 - The Table of Adventure 0:12:12 - Threshold 0:12:35 - Tranquility: The Descent 0:12:50 - UPRISING | LEGENDARY BIG BOX & TRUE SOLO MODE 0:13:02 - Vampire: The Masquerade - Palermo Conspiracies 0:13:24 - Vampire Lords 0:13:50 - Wonderland's War Duel 0:14:05 - Picks of the Month
For centuries Earth’s Secret Societies have waged a hidden war vying for control of the world’s territories. But now, a final truce has been agreed: one auction will decide it all. Don’t be fooled, this is no friendly peace. Each society will do everything in their power to sway the balance of the auction in their favour. Those who are successful will be able to harness the already existing industry of their countries for their own enrichment or set the citizens to work on their own nefarious projects! The time has come… Who will control the Earth when the final hammer falls?
The aim of Secret Societies is to gain the most Power by outbidding and outsmarting your opponents to establish your institute as the one most deserving of total governance. Step into the role of a highly unique Secret Society, equipped with various tools and abilities to help give you the edge over the competition. Over 7 Rounds you will gain Income, Bid for Deeds, deploy Agents, start Projects, make Investments, and seek to control the all-important Conferences. Not all lands are created equal! It will be your task to utilise your unique skills and advantages to claim the Deeds that best suit your agenda.
In Conquest For The Capital, 4 asymmetric factions fight to control the capital city and its sorcerous throne. For eons, the human sorcerer-kings have banished you from your homeland. But with the death of the last sorcerer-king, you now return to reclaim these ancient lands. You have only five turns before neighbouring kingdoms intervene—or a new bloodline of sorcerers rises. It’s up to you to lead your faction to supremacy.
Play as one of these 4 factions, the Reckless Orcs, Cunning Elves, Fortifying Dwarves, and Inevitable Undead in a deathmatch against the Humans and each other. With simultaneous turns and hidden movement, you must use your cunning and strategy to be the first to Conquer The Capital!
Set 12 years after Mercurial, Mercurial: Alchemia puts you in the shoes of an aspiring Alchemist in the thriving allied hub of Concordia. During nights, you'll cultivate a personal terrarium brimming with fantastical flora and fauna, harvesting them to unlock their potential for crafting elixirs. During the day, you'll explore the bustling Taliq'ir Bazaar to acquire seeds and eggs to introduce into your growing ecosystem. You’ll also visit Runaliths — colossal crystalline structures — to bestow enchantments on your terrarium. Chance a meeting with rival alchemists and their companion Arcanas, and you may forge collaborations amid competition.
As you brew experimental potions to sell to the Guild, your choice of ingredients used is vital. Their distinct qualities can enhance or negate each other, with your mastery and skill determining whether strides in magical advancement are made or utter failure.
Embark on an alchemical odyssey where your magnum opus awaits or perhaps even discover the fabled Philosopher's stone!
The battle of Moytura has begun. As a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann, spread your influence across the land to succeed in your quest to become High Ruler of Ireland, invoking the powerful deities of the Tuatha Dé Danann to aid you in your cause with their command of water, travel, war, and creation — but the road will not be easy for in your path to legend stand the sinister Fomorians and other mythical beings hungry for battle, not to mention a rival clan with ambitions of their own...
In Moytura, you and your opponent command competing factions of the Tuatha Dé Danann, but you are not the only ones struggling for control of ancient Ireland. Three enemy clans act together as a third opponent faction that competes with the players and scores points. Points are gained by having the most influence across Ancient Ireland at the end of each era. Within each of the eleven regions, the faction with the most or second most units across all the spaces of a region will score the indicated points. After two eras, the faction with the most points wins.
Each round, the two players and the enemy faction each take a turn. On their turn, a player selects a deity tile (possibly spending worship tokens to reach it), then performs that deity's actions. When used, a deity tile resets to the most expensive position in the track. Deity tiles let players expand their influence and battle enemies according to the deity's unique abilities: Ériu expands quickly over land, Bóand expands quickly over water, Morrigan is strongest in battle, and Dagda allows for dynamic expansion. Players can also permanently upgrade each deity tile for themselves at a cost.
On the enemy faction's turn, an activation card is revealed from the deck that expands one of the three clans. Some activation cards are stronger than others, and players must carefully track which clans are most likely to attack and where. Only the player who cleverly outmaneuvers their opponent while carefully keeping the enemy faction in check will be able to secure the victory.
Moytura features seven map set-ups for any combination of clans. The game also includes three special enemy clans that replace 1-3 of the standard Fomorian clans. These special clans introduce more challenging foes with asymmetric abilities: the Ellén Trechends (three-headed beasts) expand in all directions, the Oilliphéist (sea serpents) expand rapidly along the coast, and the Banshees invade targeted regions instead of spreading out from their largest group.
Steel yourself and prepare for a legendary struggle. Rewrite the myths of Ireland, chieftain, and take your place as the true High King!
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:07:00 - What I Like 0:09:00 - What I Don't Like 0:10:45 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:12:03 - Final Thoughts 0:12:50 - Recommendations
In Aqua Garden, you're the owner of an aquarium and want to stock its six tanks with a variety of sea life, but you have a limited amount of funds and only one employee on hand to place the fish in the tanks. Do your best to outshine the other aquariums in town!
During a round, the player farthest back on the perimeter of the shared board takes the next turn, moving as many spaces as they want to an empty space and taking the action of that space. If you stop on an advertising space, you receive funds based on what's currently in your tanks. If you stop on a sea creature space, you take them all, move your single employee 1-3 spaces clockwise on your aquarium board, then place the creatures in one or both tanks adjacent to the employee.
Each tank has only 4 units of oxygen available, so you can't add creatures to a tank that would consume more oxygen than this. You can add one seaweed to each tank to add oxygen. You must also observe other placement restrictions, such as keeping sharks separate and you can pay to purchase creatures, seaweed, and coral from the sea board.
If you've circled the board, you wait for other players to finish, then start a new round, with players moving out in the order that they arrived. After the game ends, players score points for the milestones achieved, funds remaining, order in which they finished, and the sets of creatures they've collected in each tank.
This is the week in review, where we go over videos from the past week, what I've played last week, what's coming up today, some news, and then shove in whatever form of something else that happens to make sense today.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction
News 0:00:15 - Star Wars: Super Teams 0:00:40 - Druids of Edora 0:01:05- Kingdomino on Steam
Videos of the Week 0:01:40 - Starmork & Toyozzo 0:02:40 - Vlog Week 4
Games We Covered 0:03:40 - Disco Heist Laundry Playthrough 0:04:00 - Dino Garden Review 0:04:13 - Timeless Journeys Review 0:04:50 - Azure Review 0:05:15 - Kalpyso Review 0:06:20 - The Witcher Legacy Gameplay 0:07:00 - Lord of Loot, Saurozioc Warriors, Primal Hex & Legends of Shenzou Preview 0:07:23 - Today & Next Week 0:08:55 - Games on the Table
Covering all the games from Gencon takes time. Reading rulebooks, playing the games and then filming them...how well can I do after the first week? Let's find out.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Intro To This Week's Vlog 0:04:15 - Where I Am So Far 0:11:03 - Day 2 0:15:35 - Day 3 0:25:25 - Day 4 0:30:14 - Day 5 0:35:33 - Day 6 0:40:50 - Day 7
Primal Hex is a highly tactical game for 2–4 players. Together with your Warchief and an Advisor, you'll lead your tribe in a battle for control over a paradise-like land, where the soil is fertile and the game is plentiful.
Over the course of four seasons, you'll use ever-changing resources (represented by the roll of 10 dice) to execute strategic orders you've planned in advance. You'll conquer territories, harvest crops, and clash with rival tribes. But remember — only one tribe can claim victory!
For more details, visit the campaign page on Gamefound, where updates will be posted regularly. As a thank-you gift, everyone who follows the campaign before launch will receive a First Player mini added to their pledge. And all backers during the campaign will receive an exclusive mini-expansion, introducing new mechanics and a unique figure to spice up your battles!
Legends of ShenZhou is an immersive and strategic board game inspired by the legendary Chinese text Shan Hai Jing(The Classic of Mountains and Seas). This ancient text, dating back over 2,000 years, is one of the most famous works in Chinese mythology, filled with vivid descriptions of mythical creatures, divine beings, and fantastical landscapes. It serves as both a mythological map and an encyclopedia of strange beasts, gods, and the unknown corners of the world.
Set in a fantastical world drawn directly from the Shan Hai Jing, players embark on an epic journey as iconic characters from Chinese mythology. They will explore the mysterious regions described in the ancient text, from towering mountains to vast seas, encountering the legendary creatures and divine figures that have fascinated readers for millennia. In this game, players must navigate diverse and treacherous maps, using tactical movement to gather skills, earn wealth, and outmaneuver rivals. Along the way, they will encounter legendary creatures from Chinese lore, battle powerful adversaries, and face off against fellow players. Victory comes through strategic decision-making, where players must carefully purchase weapons, shields, mounts, and essential supplies to gain the upper hand in combat.
The ultimate goal of Legends of ShenZhou is to challenge and defeat the divine beasts that guard the path to greatness. Only the most cunning and resourceful players will overcome these mythical foes and claim their place in history as a true legend of Shenzhou.
Become a Witcher and take part in the events that nearly destroyed the School of the Wolf! Track down and hunt those responsible for the Pogrom, avenge your fallen friends, and make sure the legacy of the Witchers is never forgotten!
The Witcher: Legacy is a unique solo or cooperative adventure experience for 1–4 players, set in one epic campaign that spans multiple scenarios. It is a uniquely immersive action-adventure board game, where you will experience a rich narrative, meaningful decisions, and exciting mechanics. A massive Witcher tabletop experience unlike any other. Epic Campaign experience divided into unique, memorable Scenarios. Exceptional blend of modern board game mechanics
Welcome to Saurozoic Warriors Arena, the gladiatorial Dino battling boardgame! Players compete as DINO-GLADIATORS in a brutal contest of brute strength and cunning strategy; the last Dino standing wins!
Saurozoic Warriors Arena The Ultimate Dino-Gladiator Dice Brawl! From Boss Fight Studio and the game designer who brought you HeroQuest, Space Crusade, and more!
Fast battling gladiatorial gameplay:
Smash your opponents with unique powers, activated by push-your-luck dice rolls. Battle earns you glory from the crowd, with each new fan fueling your victory! The arena is built upon an active volcano, eruptions change the game!
Kalypso is a tile-laying survival game where players build floating settlements in a world swallowed by the sea. With Earth’s surface lost beneath rising waters, survivors must salvage what they can to endure storms, overcome scarcity, and adapt to a shifting oceanic landscape.
Each round, players draft tiles and expand their settlement, managing resources, placing structures, and guiding survivors across platforms of rusted metal and driftwood. Strategic placement unlocks new opportunities, while weather events and shared objectives push players to cooperate, or compete, for precious supplies.
Play solo, cooperatively, or competitively. With modular objectives, and escalating difficulty, Kalypso offers a new challenge each time you set sail.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:15:18 - What I Like 0:17:40 - What I Don't Like 0:19:40 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:20:45 - Final Thoughts 0:24:00 - Recommendations
In Timeless Journeys: The Italian Grand Tour you step into the shoes of Europe’s first true tourists. In the 18th and 19th centuries, curious minds crossed Italy in search of art, history, and inspiration, a rite of passage that shaped their legacy. From Turin to Palermo you will explore cities, debate in cafés, and fill your Travel Journals with discoveries that turn fleeting impressions into lasting achievements.
At its heart, the game blends deck building, card chaining, set collection, and route planning. Travel, Friendship, and Inspiration cards let you journey across Italy, meet locals, gather ideas, and commit them to your Journals. Playing cards of the same type reactivates earlier actions in powerful chains, while the shared market of Advanced Action cards expands your strategy.
Your encounters with celebrated travelers such as Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens unlock memorable abilities and new scoring paths. Chart your route, forge connections, and let your legacy unfold in Timeless Journeys: The Italian Grand Tour.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:11:00 - What I Like 0:15:45 - What I Don't Like 0:18:20 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:19:50 - Final Thoughts 0:21:00 - Recommendations
The Lung Mei, or dragon paths, are lines of energy that cover the Earth. They are derived from the Four Auspicious Beasts: the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North. When a path runs in a straight line, that energy builds in power, but these paths can be broken up by barriers such as mountains, which diffuse the energy.
Invoke the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts, carefully channel their energy through the Earth, and triumph in this battle for qi and wisdom that will shape your destiny and intertwine it with the Beasts of legend.
In Azure, players position their stones to gather qi (cards) and wisdom (points) from the realm. They also compete to bring the Auspicious Beasts to their aid. The first player to reach the end of the path of wisdom wins.
Players take turns placing a stone, gathering boons from the space they cover, and gaining the favor of Auspicious Beasts. In order to place a stone in a space, the player must be able to pay the qi cost. The color of the domain (board) tells you the color of qi needed, and the number of boon symbols in the space tells you the amount of qi needed. Through careful management of the qi cards in your hand, you'll be able to grow in power.
The qi cost of any space can be reduced by the bonds provided by your other stones. Each of your stones that is horizontally or vertically in line with the space provides one bond, which is equivalent to one qi in whatever color is needed, unless blocked by a mountain.
Each Auspicious Beast will favor whichever player has the most stones guarding its mountain. The first player to play two stones that guard a Beast's mountain immediately gains the unique favor of the Beast. If at any time the opposing player has more stones guarding that Beast's mountain, they take it from you, gaining its favor while you lose it.
Thanks to the four double-sided boards that can be connected, flipped, and oriented in any way in a 2×2 grid, Azure features over 24,000 different layouts. Azure also includes the Gifted module for experienced players — a variable one-time-use ability that can help turn the tides in your favor.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:08:03 - What I Like 0:10:10 - What I Don't Like 0:11:00 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:11:35 - Final Thoughts 0:12:30 - Recommendations
Dino Garden is a euro-style board game where each player becomes the owner of a thrilling dinosaur park, aiming to create a dinosaur park that is uniquely their own. Dino Garden is a standalone title in the Aqua Garden series, featuring charming wooden tokens and highly strategic gameplay.
Players bring wooden dinosaur tokens from the main board or the wasteland into their personal boards. They must decide where to place each dinosaur, considering limited space in each area, the food chain among species, and environmental features such as volcanoes and lakes.
Within the park, a unique ecosystem unfolds. Herbivorous dinosaurs produce meat as generations pass. Zookeepers rush around the park, delivering this meat to carnivorous dinosaurs. Feeding the carnivores efficiently is the key to victory.
Players must also pay attention to variable setup milestones. By completing randomly generated milestone objectives, you can earn powerful bonus cards to support your strategy.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:08:03 - What I Like 0:10:50 - What I Don't Like 0:13:15 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:13:55 - Final Thoughts 0:15:00 - Recommendations
Travel back in time to the radical 1980s where you'll put together a crew of criminals for the heist of the decade. Play a Crew member to your tableau, move about the city to avoid the cops, gather intel, and then grab the most cash when the window of opportunity opens. After you've stolen your big score, you'll need to cash out and launder that money to win the game.
In Disco Heist Laundry, you control a Kingpin and their gang of thugs aiming to launder the most money and get away with it so that they can retire in infamy. On your turn, you play a Crew card to your tableau, move about the city, and activate any abilities in your tableau to recruit, heist, extort, and escape from the cops. The perfect heist isn't the one with the most money, but instead the one you get away with. This game is your chance to compete with other criminals to recruit the perfect crew for the biggest score, and launder that money so you can retire in the lap of luxury.
This is the week in review, where we go over videos from the past week, what I've played last week, what's coming up today, some news, and then shove in whatever form of something else that happens to make sense today.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction
News 0:00:35 - Hel & Anastyr Sold 0:01:05 - Ludonaute To No Longer Publish Games 0:01:32 - Asmodee Kids 0:03:30 - Arnak Expansion 0:03:40 - Stonemaier New Games 0:04:45 - Terra Mystica from Steamforged Games 0:05:00 - Dinosaur Island Fully Charged 0:05:25 - Seashells 0:05:35 - Marvel Skirmish in New York
Videos of the Week 0:06:00 - Falling Behind 0:07:15 - Games Added 0:03:55 - ATOM Vlog 0:04:20 - Vlog Week 3
Games We Covered 0:08:18 - Making Monsters Prevew 0:08:23 - Lone Wolf: Vengeance of the Kai 0:08:50 - Bloodwork 0:09:30 - Blood Rage: Valhalla 0:10:22 - Spellrift Legends 0:12:05 - Today & Next Week 0:13:20 - Games on the Table
A few days together with publishers, games & friends. Only took me 6 months to post this vlog...
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Hello There! 0:02:30 - We Arrived! 0:03:18 - Zoo Vadis & Hutan 0:04:03 - Moon Colony Bloodbath 0:05:30 - Some of the Featured Games 0:10:45 - Kalypso 0:14:40 - Recapping All The Games Played 0:23:55 - The Featured Games 0:27:35 - The Best Games 0:30:40 - Wrapping Up
An open-world adventure game with Slay the Spire inspired deck-building and Eldritch Horror exploration.
The Void has awakened, tearing open rifts between distant worlds they now seeks to devour. To stop them, the greatest legends of each realm gathered. Spell Rift is a 1–5 player cooperative adventure game where iconic heroes clash against the Void. Build your deck, explore the different worlds, seal Voidrifts, and forge your legend before your world too is consumed.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:04:08 - What I Like 0:06:25 - What I Don't Like 0:09:12 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:10:20 - Final Thoughts 0:11:20 - Recommendations
Bloodwork is a dark fantasy RPG board game with deep character customization, unique enemy AI mechanics, and a rewarding and infinitely replayable campaign. You are a mercenary hired to defend the port town of Westarch from marauders, but you will soon find there are plenty of opportunities for both blood and coin in this shattered world.
COMBAT
The heart of Bloodwork is its combat. Players will use their mercenaries’ unique abilities and equipment to battle enemies with devious and punishing mechanics. Round order is controlled by the enemy AI deck, determining which of the three groups activate and in what order: Mercenaries, Minions or Leader. Players will often activate in the middle of the other two, meaning they will have a chance to plan against the next action the enemies will take, sometimes even interrupting the leader’s strongest attacks.
Should you flee from a massive AOE from a boss, or focus your efforts on knocking his minions into the line of fire? In Bloodwork players are rewarded for leveraging their abilities and using the map terrain to their advantage as they take down the greatest threats Morana has to offer.
Occurring after Ragnarök ends the world, Blood Rage: Valhalla is a standalone sequel that will feature gameplay similar to the original 2015 Blood Rage, with the gameplay differences mirroring the game's new setting of Valhalla.
Valhalla will feature many new, detailed miniatures for players to set against one another in combat.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:01:10 - What Is Blood Rage Valhalla? 0:02:10 - My Thoughts On The Gameplay (In Brief) 0:04:35 - Valhalla Is Mostly...Blood Rage 0:06:25 - The Theme & Sculpts 0:07:00 - The Board 0:09:40 - It's Not A CMON Campaign 0:11:20 - Reviewing the Campaign 0:13:38 - The Pledge Levels 0:20:55 - Should You Back It?
Lone Wolf: Vengeance of the Kai is an asymmetrical 2-player strategy game set in the world of Lone Wolf - the fantasy setting of the epic game book series first launched 40 years ago. It encompasses the storyline of the first 12 books in the series, allowing players to relive the decisive battle between good (Lone Wolf and the Freeland Alliance) and evil (the Darklords of Helgedad and their allies) for the fate of Magnamund, with different outcomes every time.
The game lasts 6 rounds, with each side pursuing different objectives to win. Game rounds consist of 3 phases - the Action Phase, Quest Phase and Refresh Phase.
The Freeland Alliance begins the game with less resources (troops, gold) and must survive long enough for Lone Wolf to succeed at five (5) Quests to recover the power and wisdom of his slaughtered Order (the Kai Lords of Sommerlund) to destroy the Darklords.
The Darklords possess a more powerful army and greater wealth, which they must use to conquer 5 of 9 strategic Freeland capitals before Lone Wolf succeeds at his Quests. If neither side achieves their objective by the end of the 6th game round, the winner is determined by whoever accumulated more Victory Points, which are gained by succeeding at Quests (Freeland Alliance only), controlling strategic capitals or damaging/destroying enemy Leaders. The game has multiple sources of variability - mix of Leaders, starting territories, card draws - that allow for endless re-playability (no 2 games will ever be the same). The game play is tense, with every action a trade-off between advancing your own agenda or hindering your opponent's. Seemingly inconsequential actions taken early in the game often turn out to have major repercussions in later rounds.
Bloodwork is a dark fantasy RPG board game with deep character customization, unique enemy AI mechanics, and a rewarding and infinitely replayable campaign. You are a mercenary hired to defend the port town of Westarch from marauders, but you will soon find there are plenty of opportunities for both blood and coin in this shattered world.
COMBAT
The heart of Bloodwork is its combat. Players will use their mercenaries’ unique abilities and equipment to battle enemies with devious and punishing mechanics. Round order is controlled by the enemy AI deck, determining which of the three groups activate and in what order: Mercenaries, Minions or Leader. Players will often activate in the middle of the other two, meaning they will have a chance to plan against the next action the enemies will take, sometimes even interrupting the leader’s strongest attacks.
Should you flee from a massive AOE from a boss, or focus your efforts on knocking his minions into the line of fire? In Bloodwork players are rewarded for leveraging their abilities and using the map terrain to their advantage as they take down the greatest threats Morana has to offer.
In Making Monsters, players take on the role of mad scientists competing at the Monster Maker Science Fair, where only the most brilliant and bizarre creations will earn prestige and fame.
Each round, players secretly choose how many monster parts to order—hoping to outwit their rivals and gather the right materials. Then, using a push-your-luck bag-building mechanic, players simultaneously draw and assemble monster parts, trying to complete powerful creatures before their lab experiments collapse. Build too cautiously and fall behind, but push too far and your monster might fall apart in spectacular fashion.
Completed monsters grant points and special upgrades when re-animated, and each one adds to a growing tableau of increasingly wild and strategic upgrade and prestige point options. Players can also earn bonuses from their helpful robotic assistant, Lester, and manipulate the science fair for an edge in future rounds.
At the end of the game, the science fair concludes with a Grand Finale: a final simultaneous challenge where each player selects their five favorite monsters from their lab and attempts to build them from their remaining resources. Success earns prestige; failure can cost dearly. It’s a final test of strategy, memory, and risk management as players race to complete their ultimate monster squads before the fair closes.
Not a lot added, more have left in recent videos so we're net positive for right now!
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction & Games That Left
The Games Being Added 0:01:00 - Tekken 0:01:40 - Blood Rage Valhalla 0:03:28 - Jungo 0:03:50 - The Mind: Soulmates 0:04:20 - Tag Team 0:04:40 - Forest Shuffle: Dartmoor 0:05:05 - Peak Team Rangers 0:05:35 - Timber Town 0:06:18 - Waddle 0:07:15 - Math & Wrapping Up
Upgrade Your Game At Top Shelf Gamer (Referral Link) bit.ly/3siD0PL
For media inquiries, please email alex@boardgameco.com For Gamefound inquiries, please email me at a.radcliffe@gamefound.comMy Fourth Year Reviewing Board Games - Going Over My 2023 ReviewsBoardGameCo2025-09-12 | BoardGameCo Ko-Fi (Exclusive Content) - ko-fi.com/boardgameco BoardGameCo Patreon (Exclusive Content) - bit.ly/3sKcAYf Instagram - bit.ly/39GvjNH -------------------------------------------- Channels I Recommend (Not a comprehensive list by any means) Professor Meg - http://bit.ly/3XKR1ol EZBoardGames - bit.ly/4gItI7P The Board Game Garden - bit.ly/495mdEO Room & Board - bit.ly/48ZeurF Thinker Themer - bit.ly/495mis6 --------------------------------------------
Today I'm taking a look at my 2023 reviews, the average, most common, highlights and more!
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:00:34 - Average Rating 0:01:00 - Number of Reviews 0:01:25 - Score Breakdown 0:02:40 - Most Common Score 0:03:30 - Low & High Ratings 0:05:45 - 4.5's Shifted Upwards 0:07:45 - Wrapping Up
5.0 - My absolutely favorite games, I will rarely if ever turn down an opportunity to play these games. 4.5 - Oh my gosh, the absolute best games...but also I'm not always down to play them. For one reason or another these are just shy of perfect. Whether it's mechanics, length, brain burn whatever. 4.0 - This is where a game becomes recommended. Now I may or may not be in the mood, or even own it, especially considering other games. But a 4 is where we cross from good to great.3.5 - Really enjoyed, don't love it, will often lose out to better games, but there's a part of me that wants to own it/play it more. 3.0 - A good game, I enjoy playing it. But also if I never play it again I'm not losing any sleep over that. 2.5 - Wasn't the biggest fan. Wasn't the worst, but didn't feel like the best use of time. Would prefer not to play again but am willing to given the right circumstances. 2.0 - A game I don't want to play again. I'm not saying it isn't good, I'm saying I don't want to play it again regardless of circumstance. 1.5 - I did not like this game, do not want to play it, and think it's a fairly flawed game. 1.0 - I can't imagine rating a game this poorly ever. It would take something so abysmal I probably didn't get to even play it.
5.0 - My absolutely favorite games, I will rarely if ever turn down an opportunity to play these games. 4.5 - Oh my gosh, the absolute best games...but also I'm not always down to play them. For one reason or another these are just shy of perfect. Whether it's mechanics, length, brain burn whatever. 4.0 - This is where a game becomes recommended. Now I may or may not be in the mood, or even own it, especially considering other games. But a 4 is where we cross from good to great. 3.5 - Really enjoyed, don't love it, will often lose out to better games, but there's a part of me that wants to own it/play it more. 3.0 - A good game, I enjoy playing it. But also if I never play it again I'm not losing any sleep over that. 2.5 - Wasn't the biggest fan. Wasn't the worst, but didn't feel like the best use of time. Would prefer not to play again but am willing to given the right circumstances. 2.0 - A game I don't want to play again. I'm not saying it isn't good, I'm saying I don't want to play it again regardless of circumstance. 1.5 - I did not like this game, do not want to play it, and think it's a fairly flawed game. 1.0 - I can't imagine rating a game this poorly ever. It would take something so abysmal I probably didn't get to even play it.
Players collect and discard cards in an attempt to build a set in their hand. The deck consists of cards from A to G with varying number of copies. You win if you start your turn with a completed set on your hand and say "Meow!" If you don't have a set, you may either draw a card from the deck, take a card from an opponent's discard pile, or discard a card from your hand. If you discard an "A" card, each player must pass one of the cards from their hand to the player on their left.
And then in Llama Llama, players pass cards to craft hands around the different scoring conditions. These conditions were chosen by the players secretly at the start of the round—you’ll have to try and guess at what others are going for to score big!
In Timber Town you are a beaver architect, constructing a new town on the riverbank using buildings sent drifting down the river.
Timber Town is a "river drafting" game where players grab tiles from an ever changing board. Players place their tiles in their towns into the same column from which the tile was drafted from in an effort to match the objectives for that game.
Different objectives are used between each game giving over 1000+ satisfying ways to score!
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:05:40 - What I Like 0:08:50 - What I Don't Like 0:10:27 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:11:32 - Final Thoughts 0:12:15 - Recommendations
In Robo Rescue, homesick robots race for home in this turn-based, programmed movement strategy board game.
2047. The human scientists have left. Silence echoes through the deserted Martian Research Facility. Four robots abandoned, embark on an adventure to reunite with their human creator back on Earth. Who will be the first one to repair the rocket engines of their spacecraft and blast off? This competition is fueled by homesickness, ingenuity, and the unwavering bond between robots and their creators.
Each player becomes an engineer, guiding their robot companion through the abandoned facility in search for resources using remote commands. Be the first to repair all 4 of your rocket engines to claim victory and blast off!
Each player’s turn consists of: Movement - Guide your robot with each carefully chosen command. Movement cards become your words, directing your robot to scoot forward, turn left, or take a daring right. Throw in a Blast! to blow up a Container Box, or activate a Levitate to glide over obstacles. Board Actions - Energy cells hidden in the old labs, spare parts scattered among the workbenches, and maybe even some leftover oil to grease those rusty gears. Scavenge for resources needed to repair your rocket engines. Conversions - Convert your collected resources into the essential components needed for your spacecraft.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:05:07 - Am I Keeping This? 0:05:12 - Why or Why Not? 0:06:08 - Similar Games 0:06:19 - Counter Opinion 0:08:00 - Final Thoughts
Geekmon Capture is a fast and fun dexterity game, full of geek references, about capturing little monsters.
During the game, players must use their aiming skills to throw their cubes trying to hit the wild Geekmon cards in a dispute to capture them. Each Geekmon is then captured by the player who managed to land the most cubes on their card.
But stay tuned, as you must not throw your cubes randomly, since by capturing the evolutions of your Geekmon you increase the score of your cards. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score is the winner.
Some plot twists during the game, such as the appearance of luminous Geekmon, critical hits, type advantages and even removing opponents' cubes from the cards (or sometimes even your own) by hitting another cube on it, will make the game exciting from the beginning to the end of the match.
No really...I believe in the title of this video. If you're new to crowdfunding, this video will save you a whole lot of time and expectations.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:01:48 - Previews Are Not Reviews 0:04:15 - Testimonials Are Useless 0:08:13 - Delivery Dates Are Rarely Accurate 0:09:50 - Add Ons, All Ins etc Are A Trap 0:12:18 - Factor In The Hidden Costs 0:13:20 - You're Not Even Getting A Better Price (Usually) 0:15:30 - There's NO Rush...Late Pledges Exist 0:17:38 - A 2nd Edition or Reprint Are Coming... 0:19:45 - There's No Guarantee You Get The Game 0:22:22 - Crowdfunding Is Magical...But Should Only Be A Part Of Your Hobby 0:24:25 - Wrapping Up
Upgrade Your Game At Top Shelf Gamer (Referral Link) bit.ly/3siD0PL
For media inquiries, please email alex@boardgameco.com For Gamefound inquiries, please email me at a.radcliffe@gamefound.comMy Third Year Reviewing Board Games - Going Over My 2022 ReviewsBoardGameCo2025-09-07 | BoardGameCo Ko-Fi (Exclusive Content) - ko-fi.com/boardgameco BoardGameCo Patreon (Exclusive Content) - bit.ly/3sKcAYf Instagram - bit.ly/39GvjNH -------------------------------------------- Channels I Recommend (Not a comprehensive list by any means) Professor Meg - http://bit.ly/3XKR1ol EZBoardGames - bit.ly/4gItI7P The Board Game Garden - bit.ly/495mdEO Room & Board - bit.ly/48ZeurF Thinker Themer - bit.ly/495mis6 --------------------------------------------
Today I'm taking a look at my 2022 reviews, the average, most common, highlights and more!
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:00:22 - Average Review Score 0:00:45 - Quantity of Reviews 0:01:03 - Score Breakdowns & Most Common Score 0:01:30 - The Highs & Lows 0:03:35 - My 5's, Some With Changes and Some Without 0:05:30 - Scores That Changed 0:06:00 - Wrapping Up
5.0 - My absolutely favorite games, I will rarely if ever turn down an opportunity to play these games. 4.5 - Oh my gosh, the absolute best games...but also I'm not always down to play them. For one reason or another these are just shy of perfect. Whether it's mechanics, length, brain burn whatever. 4.0 - This is where a game becomes recommended. Now I may or may not be in the mood, or even own it, especially considering other games. But a 4 is where we cross from good to great.3.5 - Really enjoyed, don't love it, will often lose out to better games, but there's a part of me that wants to own it/play it more. 3.0 - A good game, I enjoy playing it. But also if I never play it again I'm not losing any sleep over that. 2.5 - Wasn't the biggest fan. Wasn't the worst, but didn't feel like the best use of time. Would prefer not to play again but am willing to given the right circumstances. 2.0 - A game I don't want to play again. I'm not saying it isn't good, I'm saying I don't want to play it again regardless of circumstance. 1.5 - I did not like this game, do not want to play it, and think it's a fairly flawed game. 1.0 - I can't imagine rating a game this poorly ever. It would take something so abysmal I probably didn't get to even play it.
In Tokaido, each player is a traveler crossing the "East sea road", one of the most magnificent roads of Japan. While traveling, you will meet people, taste fine meals, collect beautiful items, discover great panoramas, and visit temples and wild places but at the end of the day, when everyone has arrived at the end of the road you'll have to be the most initiated traveler – which means that you'll have to be the one who discovered the most interesting and varied things.
The potential action spaces in Tokaido are laid out on a linear track, with players advancing down this track to take actions. The player who is currently last on the track takes a turn by advancing forward on the track to their desired action and taking that action, so players must choose whether to advance slowly in order to get more turns, or to travel more rapidly to beat other players to their desired action spaces.
The action spaces allow a variety of actions that will score in different, but roughly equal, ways. Some action spaces allow players to collect money, while others offer players a way to spend that money to acquire points. Other action spaces allow players to engage in various set collections that score points for assembling those sets. Some action spaces simply award players points for stopping on them, or give the player a randomly determined action from all of the other types.
All of the actions in Tokaido are very simple, and combined with a unique graphic design, Tokaido offers players a peaceful zen mood in its play.
The Mind: Soulmates uses the same principles of The Mind, with players trying to co-operate without communication to master multiple levels of card play.
In this game, however, in addition to playing numbered cards correctly in ascending order, they must also play all cards face down, revealing them only after all cards have been played. To help them do this, one player takes the role of seer — and the seer knows more than everyone else!
Each round, a specific number of cards are dealt out to players, and the seer is allowed to look at some of these cards in advance of play in order to give the team clues about these numbers on a wipeable board.
After the players have placed all cards face down, the seer checks whether the cards are in the right order, thereby completing the level. If not, the team loses a life, and the seer distributes these same cards again. In addition, the seer gives another hint.
If the team masters all twelve levels, they have won and can now call themselves "soulmates".
In which I go through games leaving my collection this month and why. From games I love to games I haven't played to games I just need to make more space for.
This is a cooperative, story-driven board game set in the SCP Foundation universe.
In this game, players take on the role of the O5 Council, also known as O5 Command, which is the highest authority in the SCP Foundation. The Council is responsible for all operations and decisions within the Foundation. Players must respond to an unknown enemy that has breached the security systems of an SCP site.
As a member of the O5 Council, you will face critical decisions: Should you contain the SCP, secure the world, or destroy it?
Each round consists of three phases, with the ultimate goal of increasing your security level and developing your character to confront powerful SCP entities.
Lunar is a quick-playing, trick-taking game for two or four players in which players combine the phases of the moon and nocturnal animals to form cards played into tricks, which are combined to determine their value within each trick.
Each round consists of twelve tricks played, and at the end of each round, a score is awarded based on the number of tricks and cards acquired. Once one player (or team) reaches 30 points, the game ends, and the side with the most points wins!
The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game is a co-operative card game that plays out over eighteen chapters that lead players through the events of the novel The Fellowship of the Ring. The chapters can be played in any order, but ideally you play them in sequence.
In each chapter, each player takes a different character role — Frodo, Gandalf, Sam, Pippin, Farmer Maggot, etc. — and each character has a condition that must be met in order to pass the chapter and advance in the story. Frodo needs to capture ring cards, for example, while Pippin wants to take as few tricks as possible. As you advance through the chapters, new characters, items, and challenges are introduced to the game.
The deck consists of 37 cards, with one card being set aside as "lost" each hand. Whoever is dealt the One Ring becomes Frodo, then other players choose from the available characters based on their hand. The One Ring is the game's only trump card, but initially rings can't be led until someone plays one off-suit.
In the two-player game, one hand of cards is dealt to a dummy player, with some cards being face up and others face down. This dummy is assigned a character, and one of the human players will play cards for it based on which cards are free to be played.
In the solitaire game, one player plays four hands of face-up cards, with each hand being assigned a character and only a few cards being available at a time. After you play a trick, deal each hand a new card.
There are some truly great games out there....and some of them are not the easiest to table...but sometimes they're worth it all the same.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:00:40 - Special Mentions 0:01:45 - Puerto Rico 0:03:25 - Reichbusters Reloaded 0:04:33 - Rise of Myths: Cthulhu 0:05:20 - Railroad Tiles 0:05:58 - Cyberpunk 2077 0:07:08 - Onward 0:07:52 - Spirit Fire 0:09:05 - Zombicide: White Death 0:10:32 - 20 Strong: Tanglewoods 0:11:25 - Brink 0:12:15 - Avalon: The Riven Veil 0:13:20 - The Dead Keep 0:14:31 - Lands of Evershade 0:15:28 - Circle The Wagons Second Shot 0:16:31 - God of War: The Board Game 0:18:20 - Wrapping Up
Come one, come all to the Silo System, the beating heart of our galaxy, for the race of the decade! We've recruited the best tourists in all the cosmos: travel-hardened explorers who will compete in the ultimate contest. These pilots must race to visit all the planets in the Silo System, surfing upon orbital paths, teleporting between hyper jump portals, and beaming through hyperspace. Enjoy your dream vacation on one of our luxurious planets or lavish space stations as you witness the ultimate interstellar marathon. All the eyes of the galaxy will be watching this decennial event celebrating the unification of our systems under Silo Supremacy.
ORBIT (Orbital Race Between Interstellar Tourists) is a 24th century tactical space race with simple turns, yet challenging possibilities. Players compete to visit all planets of the system, then return to their starting planet first.
On your turn, you play a card, activate its actions in any order, then draw back up to your hand size. Cards allow you to do a combination of things: move your ship, collect energy for bonus movement, advance planets along their orbit, or even reverse the orbital direction of a planet.
Players can enjoy a randomized set-up across two unique game boards. The game also includes a few variants: two-player dual ship mode, four-player partnership mode, and a stationary planet.
ORBIT is the third and concluding game in the Cosmic Silos Trilogy by Reiner Knizia.
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:05:30 - What I Like 0:07:50 - What I Don't Like 0:08:42 - What I Can See Others Not Liking 0:09:25 - Final Thoughts 0:11:34 - Recommendations
The Shadow Veil wants to cover the land with darkness, so your challenge in The Four Doors is to collect the relic from behind each door, then gather everyone at the beacon in order to light it.
On a turn, a player takes up to three actions: drawing a card, moving to an adjacent door, giving a card (or relic) to someone at your door, illuminating a shadow card from your door by discarding a card that bears a lantern of the same color, or finding a relic by discarding four cards of the color matching your door. Each adventurer has a special power that modifies an action or offers a new action.
Each door has a relic behind it, and once you find a relic, the holder can use its power by discarding a card bearing the relic's symbol, sometimes as an action on its own, sometimes not.
To end a player's turn, they draw two cards, then place "shadows" from the deck equal to the shadow level. If a fourth card would be placed on either side of a door, flip the card to its partially closed side; if the door would flip a second time, remove it from play. If the players don't already have this relic, they lose.
Each time players need to shuffle the deck, the shadow level increases — and this level will increase more quickly as the game progresses since some cards, such as spells that provide a one-time effect, are removed from play instead of being discarded. If you have no cards to shuffle or the shadow level tops out, the players lose.
A wondrous land of sweet-toothed critters, Sugarmouth is home to Macaraccoon, the renowned Bakemaster! Ensuring sugary treats for all is no easy task, though, and one fateful day, Macaraccoon announces he is hanging up his apron, to pursue his childhood dream of collecting shiny trash. But before he leaves, he'll find a successor! A fresh batch of wonder has frosted everyone’s minds: who will be the next Bakemaster of Sugarmouth?
Welcome to the world of Macaraccoon, where aspiring pastry chefs bake off to become the most beloved critter in the kitchen. Craft delectable desserts for picky customers with the help of adorable animal chefs to become the smartest cookie in the jar.
Pick transparent ingredient cards from a shared kitchen and layer them to watch your culinary creations come to life. But watch out – other chefs might grab them first! Combine bases, spreads, and toppings on your countertops to fulfill mouthwatering orders. Use your limited space to stack those ingredients just right (pancakes before the chocolate sauce, please)!
Complete orders to earn not just precious sugar, but the most love from the crowd! Cook up a storm with sugar by reaching for far-away ingredients, enlisting the help of seasoned chefs, and even eating it yourself to get the energy to take bonus actions. But remember - only the critter with the most hearts will be crowned Bakemaster!
Macaraccoon serves up fresh challenges with its ever-changing puzzle of ingredients and orders. As new treats appear in the pantry and hungry customers line up with new cravings, you'll need to be quick on your paws! Will you focus on churning out quick sugary orders, or go for show-stopping confections that are sure to rake in tons of love?
With its secret recipe of resource management, set collection, and adorable pastry-making critters, Macaraccoon is a family game that is everyone’s cup of tea, but also has enough bite for serious gamers. Don your aprons and prepare for a magical time filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice!
In which I talk about the latest batch of crowdfunding Games games, brief overviews of the campaigns and whether or not they are games that will hold their values. A whole bunch of links below :)
TimeStamps: 0:00:00 - Starting Soon Music 0:04:50 - Introduction
New Campaigns 0:09:32 - Prestige 0:13:04 - Hanami 0:17:55 - Ascension 15th Anniversary 0:23:00 - Into the FUN FACTORY from AEG 0:27:25 - Assassin's Creed® Animus - The Board Game 0:31:40 - ELDEN RING: Rot & Sorcery 0:40:20 - Storybook Saga 0:41:30 - Ark Nova 0:45:20 - Satchel Quest 0:48:18 - Blood Rage: Valhalla 0:58:20 - Airport Empire 1:01:12 - Photo Tour: North America 1:03:30 - Picks of the Week