Chomp Review

Chomp is a game by Clarence Simpson, published by Allplay. It is for 1-4 players. In this game, players will be creating herds of dinosaurs while making sure that they have access to the proper food sources. The player that can properly corral and feed their dino herds, earning the most points, will be declared the winner.

To begin, 9 cards are randomly selected per player and shuffled together with the goal side up to form the deck. Any remaining cards are returned to the box. Each player is given a random starting card from the deck with the land side up. The deck is placed in the middle of the play area and 3 cards are then laid out in a row with the goal side up. Beneath that row, 3 more cards are laid out in a row with the land side up. The egg and extinct dino tokens are placed near the deck. The starting player is chosen and play now begins.

The game is played over a series of turns with each player taking a turn. On a player’s turn they will take one of the 6 cards and then replace it from the deck. Once a card is taken, it may not be flipped over. If a goal card is taken, it is placed near the player where everyone can see it. This card will be used to score at the end of the game. A new goal card is placed in the empty space from the deck. If a land card is taken, it is placed in front of the player following the land placement rules. A new land card is placed in it’s place by flipping over the top card of the deck and putting it into the empty land space. After placing the card, play passes to the next player in turn order.

When placing a land card, there are a few rules about placement. The card must be placed so that it overlaps or is adjacent to another card that is already in the player’s land. The card may over lap 1/4, 1/2 or even the whole card. The card may be rotated to fit in as the player chooses. However a card may not overlap part of a large carnivore or herbivore. It must cover it completely, or not at all. Once a card has been placed, it may not be moved on a later turn. Also cards may not be tucked under other cards and diagonal is never considered to be adjacent.

One last thing should be noted, some cards contain special elements like eggs and nests, herds and mountain ranges. When a player places a card containing an egg into their land, they are able to place an egg token on an empty nest in their land. However if the nest is covered up later, the player loses the egg token on it. Herds happen when one or more adjacent dinos of the exact same type are connected. These dinos will eat or go extinct together. That means if one eats, they all eat. If one goes extinct, they all do. If one is adjacent to something, they all are adjacent to that same thing. Mountain ranges separate different card sections. If a mountain is between card sections, then it negates the adjacency of those sections for the purposes of forming herds, scoring, feeding and extinction.

After the end of the eighth round, the game ends. Game end feeding and scoring will now occur. First each player will determine which of their dinos go extinct by following 3 steps in order. If a dino or dino herd goes extinct, an extinct token is placed on them. First the player checks to see is any dinos are adjacent to tar pits. If so, they go extinct. Next the carnivores eat. If a carnivore herd is adjacent to meat, they are considered fed. If not fed, they will eat any adjacent herbivore herds of the same size or smaller than them. The herbivore herd is then considered extinct and a extinct token is placed on them. If a carnivore is neither adjacent to meat or to a herbivore herd that they can eat, then the carnivore herd goes extinct with an extinct token placed on them. Finally the herbivores must eat. If they are adjacent to plants then they are considered fed. If they aren’t then they can’t eat and they go extinct with an extinct token placed on them. It should be noted that plants, meat and herbivores can feed multiple herds as long as they are adjacent to them. After all this has been completed, players score every living dino, every egg token in a nest, and every goal card the the player has in front of them. Each player then adds up their points and the player with the most points is the winner.

COMPONENTS
This is a small box game so there aren’t a ton of components to it. The box contains a stack of large square double sided cards, some cardboard tokens and a dry erase score sheet and marker. That’s it. The cards are really nice and thicker than normal playing cards. On top of that they are completely square instead of normal rectangular playing cards. The colors are really vibrant on these and the artwork is really cool. There are 2 types of tokens that come with the game; extinct dino tokens and egg tokens. These are really thick cardboard and are really quite durable. They’re pretty big as far as most tokens go too. I was actually surprised at the size. The designs are really cool too. The dino tokens look like dino skeletons and the eggs are big spotted eggs. The final pieces are the score sheet and marker. These work pretty good, however I know how these markers tend to do so I’m just waiting on it to stop writing on the score sheet. The sheet is actually this thick piece that has like a glossy finish on it that can be written on using the dry erase marker. Don’t know if other dry erase markers will work on it, but will probably have to try that later and see. I’ll be honest, I don’t normally like anything that uses dry erase markers. They tend to dry out or just stop working. I get what the designers were doing here but I really would have preferred a score pad with recycled paper or something. I mean it works for now, but I don’t know for how long. Overall though I would say that I like the components. I think for the most part everything is well designed and looks great, even the dry erase score sheet. This is a nice looking game.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game is quite small and is quick and easy to read. Surprisingly it has a number of nice pictures and examples of gameplay on it. I especially like the scoring example and explanations of the card elements with pictures. On top of the rulebook, there is a card with Solo Rules on it. This card includes the setup, rules and end game chart for determining your rank. I was ecstatic about this. I love having solo rules with a multiplayer game and the way this was done was great. I was thankful to have this durable card to set on the table so that if I needed to look at the rulebook at some point during the game, I didn’t have to bother my solo rules. I could just flip through the book as needed. Nothing much else to say about the rules. They’re well designed and look great. Very happy with all of this.
9 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
My daughter and I LOVE playing Kingdomino. We love being able to take a tile and place it into our kingdom so that we can expand our own little land. In a lot of ways, this game gave me that same feeling but in a little bit bigger way. Let me explain. Kingdomino restricted me to a small little kingdom but this game lets me make my dino land as large as I want it to be, filling it with all types of dinos and land features. I can choose to expand my land or take a card adding new ways to score points. It’s my choice. That’s one reason why I simply love this. It is such a simple game to play but has plenty of strategy to it as well. This is a small box game but it feels like the game is so much bigger than what’s in the box. It’s a great game that’s family friendly and one that can be learned in just a few minutes. I like that the game doesn’t take a long time to play either. That makes this an awesome game for a lunch break or as a filler for the start of any game night. I also really like that there’s a solo mode for the game as well. For me that’s like an added bonus. So not only is this a great multiplayer game, but it also has a really nice, beat your own score kind of challenge. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Needless to say, I really enjoy this one a lot. As I’ve already mentioned I really enjoy Kingdomino and this game takes the aspects of that game that I love so much and it improves on it. I think that fans of tile laying games like Kingdomino should really enjoy this one, especially if they’re looking for something with more of a challenge. This is definitely one game that I would highly recommend. You simply can’t go wrong with this one.
9 out of 10

OVERALL
Chomp is a small box card game with a big box feel. The game doesn’t take a long time to play. Most game sessions take around 20 minutes to play. The components are really great and I love the overall look and feel of the game. The rulebook is quite nice as well and is quick and easy to read through. The game itself is a lot of fun. It’s simple enough to play but has some great strategy to it as well. It’s family friendly and one that has a nice beat your own score challenge for playing solo. This is one game with a lot of upside and not really any down sides to it. Fans of tile layers like Kingdomino should really enjoy this one, especially if they’re looking for more of a challenge. This is definitely one small box game that won’t be leaving my collection. This is a game that I would highly recommend. It’s Dino-Mite!
9 out of 10

For more information about this and other great games, please check out Allplay at their site.

https://www.allplay.com/board-games/

Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom Contest Results!

Congratulations to the winner of the Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom Contest, provided by Nerdlab Games – Danelle Cathey!

She will be receiving a prototype copy of Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom with the 3 card sneak peek pack for 4 player mode, graciously provide by the folks at Nerdlab Games!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and thanks to Nerdlab Games for providing the prize!

Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom Contest!

In case you missed it, YOU can WIN a prototype copy of Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom with the 3 card sneak peek pack for 4 player mode. I’m giving away a set just like the one I have to 1 lucky person! Simply click on the link below and send me your name and address to be entered in the drawing! That’s it! Contest will run until May 3rd. Good Luck!

Battlefruit Kingdom Contest

Winner will be announced on Monday, May 6th!

Preview Review of Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom

Recently I was given the opportunity to check out an upcoming new game that is currently available to back on Gamefound. I received a prototype copy of the game. These are my thoughts and opinions on the presented materials. Enjoy!

Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom is a game by Christian Kudahl, Marvin Hegen, Richard Garfield and Skaff Elias, published by Nerdlab Games. It is a standalone game for 2 players but can also be mixed with any of the other Mindbug sets. In this game, players will be summoning wild hybrid fruit creatures to battle against their opponent’s creatures. Of course they will have to be careful when summoning a creature too powerful or their opponent might use the power of their Mindbug to take control of it, turning it against them. Players will have to be very strategic on when and what creatures they summon. The player that can overcome their opponent in this tactical duel will be declared the winner.

To begin, each player is given 2 matching Mindbugs which are placed face up in front of themself. The 48 creature cards are shuffled together. Each player is then dealt 10 random cards face down to create their draw pile. Each player will then draw 5 cards from their own draw pile to create their starting hand. Players will then take 3 cards from the unused stack of cards and place them face down in front of themself to represent their 3 life points. It is recommended to turn these sideways so as not get them confused with the draw pile. The starting player is chosen by each player drawing a card from the unused stack, highest card becomes the starting player. Play now begins.

The game is played with players alternating taking turns. Each turn a player must take 1 of 2 actions or lose the game. Those actions are to play a card or to attack with a single creature. To play a card, the player simply chooses one of the cards in their hand and places it face up on the table. The player then draws a card from their draw pile to bring their hand back to 5. The opponent will then choose whether to spend a Mindbug or refuse. If they choose to refuse or if they don’t have any Mindbugs left to use, then the original player will move the creature card into their play area and resolve it’s play effects, if there are any to resolve. The player then ends their turn and the opponent takes a turn. However if the opponent chose to spend a Mindbug, then they will immediately get to play that card instead, losing one of their Mindbugs. The Mindbug should be turned facedown to show it has been used. The opponent will then move the creature card into their play area, resolving any play effects that it has. The original player’s turn is now over and the opponent immediately gets another turn to either play a card or attack with a creature.

The other action a player can take is to attack with a creature. The attacking player will choose a single creature in their play area to attack with. The opponent will then choose a creature to block the attack with. If they choose not to block or they don’t have any creatures to block with, then they will lose 1 life point. Discarding one of their life point cards. If they chose to block, then the creature with the lower power is defeated and sent to that player’s discard pile. If both creatures have the same power, then both creatures are defeated and sent to their respective player’s discard piles.

The game continues until one of the player’s life points is reduced to zero or they are unable to perform one of the 2 actions. Once this happens, the game is over and the other player is the winner.

One last thing of note, creature cards will usually have keywords or triggers and abilities. These provide special abilities that can trigger when the creature comes into play, when it attacks or even when it’s defeated. Certain keywords allow the creature to attack twice, exhaust instead of being defeated or even become unblockable by any creature except those with the same keyword. This game provides a new keyword and new trigger. The Fast keyword allows the creature to attack or activate it’s action effect as soon as it comes into play. The Harvest trigger introduces a substance called “octonite” that when the trigger it activated it removes 1 of these substances. Once the last “octonite” is removed the Harvest effect is immediately activated.

COMPONENTS
What I received in the mail for this game was a prototype copy of the game and an add on pack for the 4 player mode of the game with 3 sneak peek cards in it. The cards are really vibrant and full of color. The finish is really nice on the cards and they are easy to shuffle. I really enjoy the artwork and find the somewhat humorous fruit hybrid creature to be lots of fun. The text on the cards is very easy to read and is just the right size, even for these old eyes. The game also comes with a couple of reference cards with all the abilities and keywords so I didn’t have to keep looking back at the rules sheet. After a couple of times playing the game, you start to learn what each keyword means. There are also some round tokens with little orange gems on them, which are the octonoite tokens. These are nice and are very visible once you place them on the cards. I’ve seen that the production copies will be coming with life trackers, player aid cards and octonite tokens. I think that will add a lot of production value to the game. Just based on what I got in the package and what’s here, I think everything is well designed and looks really good. If this is a preview of how good the actual game is going to look then I’m positive that players will really enjoy the finished product.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
There was no rulebook included with the prototype. I had to go online and download the rules from the website, along with the new rules for the Battlefruit Kingdom set. Since these were not included I will not rate them. I’ll simply say that the rules that I read weren’t difficult to understand and they only took a few minutes to read over. I was able to jump into playing the game pretty quickly which was pretty nice. Still would have been nice to have had something in the package, even if it had only been a printed sheet of paper.
7 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
This is a fairly simple and fun game to play, but it has a ton of strategy to it. You start with trying to figure out which card to play that helps you out but doesn’t make it where you’re opponent wants to steal it with their Mindbug. However sometimes that’s exactly what you want. You want them to use those Mindbugs so that you can play those more powerful creatures later….or do you? You see it’s these questions that you’ll find yourself thinking about every turn. On top of that, you have to figure out when the best time to use your Mindbugs is. Do you let them play this mediocre creature in hopes of stealing a bigger more power creature, or do you go for the smaller and faster creatures they play? As you can see, there’s a lot to think about and a whole bunch of strategy to this game. So much so that you might experience a bit of analysis paralysis. Hopefully not though, because nobody enjoys that. Still, there’s so much depth to this game and it’s really just a simple, quick playing card game. This is very easy to learn and it’s a lot of fun. In my opinion if a player can play UNO, then they can easily learn to play this game. It can be played in about the same amount of time too. The only issues that I see are learning the keywords and triggers and the fact that this can only be played with 2 players. That said, this can be combined with one of the other Mindbug sets, like Battlefruit Galaxy, to be able to play with 4 players. Honestly I enjoyed playing this one. I think players that enjoy dueling card games like Magic the Gathering, Yu-gi-oh or any of those other CCGs out there, will really enjoy this one. I think players that enjoy those old Garbage Pail Kids trading cards and other cards with that odd kind of humor, will also enjoy the look and feel of the game. Overall this is a game that I would recommend. It’s family friendly and a fun fast card game that is easy to play. I really like it.
9 out of 10

OVERALL
Mindbug: Battlefruit Kingdom is a quick and simple card game with a funky, fruity and fun theme. The game doesn’t take very long. Most game sessions last around 15-30 minutes. The cards are really great. I especially like the artwork and designs for these. There was no rulebook included with this prototype but what I found online looked really good and easy to understand. The game itself is fast and a lot of fun. It’s family friendly and can go from a 2 player game to a 2 vs 2 player game if you add another set like the Battlefruit Galaxy set. I the game is simple enough that new players can jump in fairly easily without having a ton of stuff to learn. It’s a game that I think fans of fast playing card games should enjoy, especially if they like dueling games like Magic the Gathering or any of those other CCGs out there. This is one that I would recommend and I think it will appeal to a very broad audience. I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what the final game looks like.
8 out of 10

For more information about this and other games, please check out Nerdlab Games at their site.

https://nerdlab-games.com/

You can also check out the Gamefound campaign for this game and back your own copy by clicking the link below.

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/marvin-hegen/mindbug-battlefruits?ref=homepage-featured_3

Battlefruit Kingdom Contest

You can also WIN your own prototype copy with the 3 card sneak peek pack for 4 player mode, because I’m giving away a set just like the one I have to 1 lucky person! Simply click on the link above and send me your name and address to be entered in the drawing! That’s it! Contest will run until May 3rd. Good Luck!

The Scripture Pack and The Christians Who Curse Sometimes Pack expansions review

The Scripture Captions Pack and Christians Who Curse Sometimes Pack are caption card pack expansions for the Christian Meme Game by Dakota and Jaclyn Yates. Each of these expansions adds 50 new themed caption cards for the base game.

For more information on the base game, please check out the link

below.https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/the-christian-meme-game-review/

In this review I will be covering these 2 caption card expansion packs for the game. As I mentioned earlier, each pack contains 50 new caption cards. The Scripture Pack contains caption cards that focus on Biblical scriptures and the conviction and encouragement they bring to our lives, while the Christians Who Curse Sometimes Pack contains cards that are a little more adult oriented or as the box says NSFK (Not Safe For Karens or players under 18). Either or both of these packs may be added into the game for more variety or they may be used by themselves along with the photo cards from the base game.

COMPONENTS
As mentioned above each pack contains 50 caption cards that fit the theme. The Scripture pack has funny captions based on scriptures and encouragement. The Christians Who Curse Sometimes pack has captions a little more on the edgy side, no real curse words but topics a little more on the adult side. Each of the cards are the same size and quality of the caption cards from the base game and add a lot more variety to the core game. The captions really fit the theme of each pack quite well, as you’ll be able to tell from the pictures. The cards in these packs, like those in the other caption packs, are pretty funny. The Scripture pack is family friendly and clean. The Christians Who Curse Sometimes, while not vulgar or offensive like what you’d find in Cards Against Humanity or even What Do You Meme, they can be a bit more suggestive or innuendo based. These I would not recommend to use with children. The 18 and above rating is pretty appropriate. With adults, I don’t really think that most people will find it offensive. I guess it’s just more in what you find offensive. While I don’t know exactly how much I will use these, as most of the time I play this game with my kids or with family, I’m still glad to have them for the right crowd. Overall the quality and look of each of these cards is great and they add a lot to the core game.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK These caption card packs have no rulebook included in the tuckbox, so there’s nothing to review here. ———–

GAMEPLAY
These card packs don’t add any new photos but what they do add is a lot more laughs and fun. As I’ve mentioned before, these types of games can get old and redundant very quickly and very easily, especially if you play it a lot. These packs add 50 more cards per pack and they extend the life of the game quite a bit. I think they’re an absolute great addition to an already fun game. Players that are looking to add more Bible based captions and theming to the game, will thoroughly enjoy the Scripture pack. Of the two packs, this is my personal choice. It’s family friendly and would be great to use in a youth night or church game night. Since we are homeschoolers, this is a great addition to our Bible class and gives a bit of fun to what can be a very heavy reading subject. Honestly of all the caption packs that I’ve tried, this is by far my favorite pack. As for the Christians Who Curse Sometimes pack, this one is at the bottom of my list and I would not call it family friendly, especially not for younger kids. While not outright vulgar or obscene, it does get a bit close to the line on some of the cards. Adults shouldn’t have a problem with this pack but I wouldn’t advise playing it with Grandma, you might learn something about her you didn’t want to know. At the very least, you might get embarrassed. In other words, only play this pack with the right group of same minded adults. I will advise that this pack isn’t for everyone, but it’s fun with the right group. If you enjoy the core game and are looking to add more humorous content to an already packed game, then by all means pick up one or both of these packs, especially if the theme suits you. If however you’re breaking the game out once every couple of months, then you’ll probably want to wait before adding these. For me and my family, I’m thankful to have both packs, but a little more so the Scripture one, as I’m really only able to play the other pack with my brother and his wife. Overall I would highly recommend the Scripture pack but would say the Christians Who Curse Sometimes pack is more of a pass for our group. Your mileage may vary. The Scripture pack I’d give a 9 and the Curse pack a 7. Averaging that gives us this combined rating.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
The Scripture Pack and Christians Who Curse Sometimes Pack are caption pack expansions for the Christian Meme Game that adds 50 caption cards each to the game. The captions in both packs are all very funny and the cards are the same quality and size as the core game. These only add caption cards to the game so if players are wanting more photo cards, they’ll need to grab one of the photo packs. Players that already enjoy the game or that are looking for more captions, especially of a specific variety, will enjoy the laughter that these cards bring. The Scripture pack focuses more on Bible scriptures, while the Christians Who Curse Sometimes pack is more adult oriented humor and not kid friendly. Again I will add this caveat, this last pack is not for children and should be played only with like minded adults. While not really vulgar or offensive, it does have more adult concepts and humor. If either of these themes sound like fun to you, then I would suggest picking up the corresponding card pack for the core game. I absolutely love the Scripture pack and will be using it a bunch. I would absolutely recommend it. The other pack will most likely only come out when the kids are at grandparents and the couples are having game night. I would not recommend it as highly as any of the other caption packs. It’s a little bit more edgy than I’d feel comfortable playing in mixed company. The Scripture pack I’d give a 9 and the Curse pack a 7. Averaging that gives us this combined rating.
8 out of 10

For more information about these expansions or the core game, please check out the game’s site.

https://thechristianmemegame.com

The Christian Meme Game: The Great British Pack and The Dating and Relationship Pack expansions review

The Great British Pack and The Dating And Relationship Pack are caption card pack expansions for the Christian Meme Game by Dakota and Jaclyn Yates in collaboration with SALT. Each of these expansions adds 50 new themed caption cards for the base game.

For more information on the base game, please check out the link below.

https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/the-christian-meme-game-review/

In this review I will be covering these 2 caption card expansion packs for the game. As I mentioned earlier, each pack contains 50 new caption cards. The Great British Pack contains caption cards with a British theme to them, while the Dating And Relationship Pack contains cards in line with love and dating for Christians. Either or both of these packs may be added into the game for more variety or they may be used by themselves along with the photo cards from the base game.

COMPONENTS
As mentioned above each pack contains 50 caption cards that fit the theme. The Great British pack has funny captions of British things and ideas and the Dating and Relationship pack has captions about love and dating in a Christian environment. Each of the cards are the same size and quality of the caption cards from the base game and add a lot more funny captions for variety. The cards are pretty funny, clean and family friendly. That’s one thing that I really admire and enjoy about these. Overall I think the quality and look of each of these cards is great and they add lots of variety.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK                                                                                                                                              These photo packs have no rulebook included in the tuckbox, so there’s nothing to review here.                                                                                                                                          ——– 

GAMEPLAY
So I’d never heard of SALT before, other than the stuff you put on your french fries. Apparently it’s a Christian dating app that helped created these 2 caption packs. Honestly I think they did a great job. While the caption card packs don’t add any new photos, they do add a lot of new funny caption cards to the game. One thing that can quickly make these types of games less fun is having read all the captions several times. I seem to find that after playing a game like this 5 or 6 times, you start reusing the same captions and it stops being as funny and fun to play. Each of these caption packs adds more caption cards so that you don’t get bored with reading the same captions. The core game already contains 360 caption cards, which is quite a lot actually. With an extra 50 cards per pack, you don’t have to worry about this getting boring or repetitive anytime soon. The cards in both packs are really great. Personally I really enjoy British TV shows especially comedies. For that reason I found the British pack to be quite hilarious. I think based on who you play the game with will more likely determine which pack is better for you. I found that teens and young adults seem to enjoy the Dating pack more so as it falls in line with their own lives more often. If you’re like me and enjoy British humor or like jokes about dating and relationships then you may want to pick up both packs. If you already enjoy the game, then I’d recommend getting both packs. They definitely add a lot or more quality humor in specific ways. If however you’re good with what’s already in the game or you’re just starting out with it, you may want to give them a wait. Either way, I’m glad to have both of these as they really do add a lot more content. I would absolutely recommend them both. If I had to choose just one though, I’d probably pick the Dating and Relationship pack, as it would be one that everyone could understand the humor. Of course I still really enjoy the British pack too so I wouldn’t want to give either up. I think they’re both great additions to a great game.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
The Great British Pack and The Dating and Relationship Pack are caption pack expansions for the Christian Meme Game that adds 50 caption cards each to the game. The captions in both packs are all very funny and the cards are the same quality and size as the core game. These only add caption cards to the game so if players are wanting more photo cards, they’ll need to grab one of the photo packs. Players that already enjoy the game or that are looking for more captions, especially of a specific variety, will enjoy the laughter that these cards bring. The British pack capitalizes on humor found in the British culture while the Dating pack turns it’s humor onto love and relationships. If either of these themes sound like fun, then I would suggest picking up the corresponding card pack. Personally I love both packs and will be using them both randomly during our game sessions. I would absolutely recommend both of these card packs for the game.
8 out of 10

For more information about these expansions or the core game, please check out the game’s site.

https://thechristianmemegame.com

The Christian Meme Game: The Animal Pack and More Memes Pack expansions review

The Animal Pack and the More Memes Pack are photo pack expansions for the Christian Meme Game by Dakota and Jaclyn Yates. Each of these expansions adds 50 new themed photo cards for the base game.

For more information on the base game, please check out the link below.

https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/the-christian-meme-game-review/

In this review I will be covering the 2 photo expansion packs for the game. As I mentioned earlier, each pack contains 50 new photo cards. The Animal Pack contains pictures of animals in various situations. The More Memes Pack contains pictures of various memes not included in the original game. Either or both of these packs may be added into the game for more variety or they may be used by themselves along with the caption cards from the base game.

COMPONENTS
As mentioned above each pack contains 50 photo cards that fit the theme. The Animal pack has animal cards and the More Memes pack has more memes. Each of the cards are the same size and quality of the photo cards from the base game and add a lot more photos for variety. The pictures are pretty hilarious, clean and family friendly. Seeing as how many of these types of games are not clean or family friendly, it’s nice that the base game and these packs are. Overall I think the quality and look of each of these cards is great.
8 out of 10

Rulebook                                                                                                                                              These photo packs have no rulebook included in the tuckbox, so there’s nothing to review here.                                                                                                                                          ——– 

GAMEPLAY
While these photo packs don’t add a lot, as far as gameplay goes, they do add a lot of life to the game. One thing that I found kind of boring about other games of this type is that after playing it 5 or 6 times, you get to recognizing the pictures and it sort of stops being fun after awhile. Each of these photo packs adds more photos so you don’t tired of the game. The core game already contains 75 photo cards so with an extra 50 per pack, you don’t have to worry about this getting stale anytime soon. The pictures in both packs are really great but I’ve found that younger players really tend to enjoy the animals photos more and teens and young adults enjoy the memes more. I guess based on who you’re going to be playing it with more would determine which pack is better for you. If you’ve got kids in both age groups then you may want to pick up both packs. If you already enjoy the game, then I’d recommend getting these extra packs. If you’re fine with what’s already in the game or you’re just starting out with it, you may want to give it a wait. Either way, I’m glad to have these as my kids do fit both age groups and enjoy both packs. Definitely would recommend them both. If I had to choose just one though, I’d pick the animal pack. Of course that’s simply because my family and I love zoos and so that makes these cards even more appealing to us.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
The Animal Pack and the More Memes Pack are photo pack expansions for the Christian Meme Game that add 50 photo cards each to the game. The pictures that are included in both packs are lots of fun and the quality is the same as the core game. These only add photo cards to the game so players that are happy with the 75 that were included with the core game or new players may not find these as important. However players that already enjoy the game or that are looking for more photos to laugh at will most definitely want to add these both to their collection. For me and my family we really love them both but the animal pack is just a bit better for us. I would recommend picking up both photo packs.
8 out of 10

For more information about these expansions or the core game, please check out the game’s site.

https://thechristianmemegame.com

The Christian Meme Game Review

The Christian Meme Game is a game by Dakota and Jaclyn Yates. It is for 3-20 players. In this game, players will compete against their opponents to create the funniest Christian memes. The player that can come up with the funniest memes to win 5 rounds will be declared the winner.

To begin, the caption cards are shuffled together as best as possible. Each player then draws 7 caption cards to create their starting hand. One player is chosen as the starting judge and play now begins.

The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round starts with the judge choosing a meme photo card from the stack. The judge then places their chosen card on the photo stand where all players can see the photo. The remaining players will then choose one of their caption cards that they think matches the best with the judges chosen photo card. Once the players have chosen their card, they will hand it to the judge who will then shuffle all the chosen caption cards that they were given. Once shuffled the judge reads the caption cards aloud one at a time and chooses their favorite card based on their personal opinion. The chosen card wins the round and the player that played that card is given the photo card as their reward. Each player that played a caption card will then draw a new caption card to bring their hand size back up to 7. The role of judge is passed to the next player in turn order and a new round begins.

The game continues until one player wins 5 rounds. The player that does that is the winner.

COMPONENTS
This game comes with a box full of cards. I’m not joking, there’s simply no room in the box for anything else. Every inch of the game box is full of cards. Normally I’d say that’s a great thing, but the lack of room makes it tricky putting the lid back on the box. When I opened the box this morning I found one of the cards bent beyond belief as it had slid out just a bit when the lid was put back on the last time. Thankfully it was only one of the extra cards showing off the expansions for sale. Still I’d have felt better with just a pinch more room for safety. Also if you get any of the expansions, there’s no room to place those in the box so you have to keep them in their original package or either dump everything into a large shoe box. For me personally, I’ll be putting everything into one of those cheap cardboard boxes that you can get at any local hobby store. Speaking of the cards, they come in 2 sizes; the larger meme photo cards and the regular sized caption cards. The core game box has 360 caption cards and 75 photo cards, plus a plastic photo stand that is easily put together to hold the photo cards. The cards are really great quality and have a really nice finish to them, making them easy to shuffle. The captions are really funny and everything here is family friendly and family safe. The designs on these are great and I really get a kick out of reading the hilarious captions. The photo cards for the most part are great as well. Most of the photos look to be simply begging for a hilarious caption to be placed with it. However there are a handful of cards that look like the editors got to close to the picture or blew up the picture to big and so a good portion of the picture is cut off. In some cases that’s not a big problem but in others it’s like I could do without that picture. One other thing is that if you’re familiar with the game What Do You Meme, then you’ll most likely recognize several of the photos. I think some photos were used from that and some of the cut ones look like they were trimmed up or cropped versions of those photos. That’s not a bad thing for the most part but it is a bit annoying on some pictures. I know that sounds like some big time negatives but overall the game is really great looking and it’s a much better looking game than What Do You Meme or any of those other meme games. While there are a few errors here, overall I’m happy with the look and feel of the game.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this games consists of 1 of the large photo cards. As you can tell, there aren’t a whole lot of rules for the game so it’s not like much is needed. I like that everything is concise and condensed and easy to deal with. Putting the rules on a card is good because the cardstock is a lot better quality and more durable than a paper rulebook would have been. Seeing as how it’s easy to have a card slide off the top of the stack and get bent up, I can only imagine what would have happened with a paper rulebook or sheet. The bad thing is that the back of the card is the same as all the other cards so it’s very easy to get lost in with the other cards. Honestly I would have simply left it blank or maybe just had the rules on both sides. In any event, it’s not like it takes much to remember how to play the game. It’s pretty simple so honestly just watching it played or playing it 1 time and you’ll have no need for the rules after that. Overall I think the rules card is a nice idea that looks good and easily gets the job done. I’m pleased.
8 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
Over the past couple of years, my family and I have really enjoyed playing our copy of What Do You Meme. However there are quite a few cards in that game that are highly inappropriate. Needless to say, we had to pull cards from the box and get rid of them. Enter The Christian Meme Game! All the fun memes without any of the mess. It’s not a hard game to play, in fact it’s very simple. Basically the judge picks a photo card and then all the other players play a card from their hand which they think is the best fit for the photo or just what they think will make the judge laugh the most. We implemented a house rule that we found really great. Instead of the judge going through all the pictures and taking a lot of time, we simply have them draw the top 2 cards and choose their photo card from those 2. It keeps the game moving without too much down time. Another thing is that the players place all their chosen caption cards face down in front of the judge and they take them and shuffle them so that they don’t know which card belongs to which player. Honestly my family and I really enjoy this one. It’s a lot of fun and it makes us laugh. With there being so many cards included with the game, it’s not like you’ll run out of content either. Even after several playthroughs, it still feels fresh and fun to us. The game is not only family friendly but it’s church friendly as well. This would be a great game to bring to a youth night at church or any family functions. The more players you have, the more opportunities for laughter. The caption cards have a great church/Christian theme that made us laugh. I can’t tell you at the amount of cards that had captions that echoed some of my thoughts. It made it even funnier to me. Needless to say, this is a great party style game that Christian families and church groups would really enjoy playing. If you’ve ever thought that you could make better memes than the ones you’ve seen online or you just enjoy silly things, then this game would be right up your alley. It’s especially good if you’re looking for something that you can play with a large group of people. This is definitely a game that I would recommend.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
The Christian Meme Game is party game with a Christian/church theme. The game doesn’t take a long time to play. Depending on the number of players this can be played in about 30 – 60 minutes. With 4 or 5 players it’s pretty quick to play while more players adds more time. The cards are great quality and there’s simply a ton of them so you won’t get bored anytime soon. I do wish some of the photo cards weren’t cropped the way they were as some seem too close up. The rules are on a photo card and are quick and simple to read. However I feel there should have been a different back on the card as it’s very easy to get lost in with the other cards. The game itself is a load of fun and will leave you laughing. It’s a great party game that plays great with just a few people but is even more fun with more people. It’s family and church friendly so this is one that would be great for those groups. Fans of What Do You Meme that didn’t like the more adult tone and theme should really find this one to be much more to their liking. My family and I have had a blast with this one and we’re not tired of playing it yet. This is one that I definitely would recommend. Just be careful that you’re not the next one to get Memed.
8 out of 10

For more information about this great games, please check it out at the game’s site.

https://thechristianmemegame.com

Furnace Review

Furnace is a game by Ivan Lashin, published by Arcane Wonders. It is for 2-4 players. In this game, players will take on the role of 19th century capitalists as they build up their industrial empire while trying to make as much money as possible. They’ll need to purchase companies, extract resources and process them in order to earn possible coin they can. The player that can work out the best and most efficient way to combine all these together, thereby earning them the most money, will be declared the winner.

To begin, each player takes a random Start-up card and a random Capitalist card. It is recommended for the first few games to play without the Capitalist cards. The players will then choose a colored player token and will receive a set of Capital discs of the same color that match their chosen colored player token. If the player receives the Capitalist card that gives it’s owner an additional disc, then that player will receive the neutral colored disc as well. Each player will then gain the resources at the top of their Start-up card. The Round counter is placed in the middle of the play area, setting it to “1”. The Company deck is shuffled together and placed on the round counter with the upgraded side face up. The coal cubes, iron bars, oil drums, multiplication tokens, upgrade tokens and money tokens are all placed within reach. The first player is chosen and is given the 1st player token. Play now begins.
The game is played over 4 rounds. Each round is divided into 2 phases; the Auction phase and the Production phase. The first phase is the Auction phase. At the beginning of each round, the 1st player will take the Company deck randomly cut the cards and then shuffle them. They will then deal out a row of cards, based on the number of players, with the basic side up. In a 4 player game, that number is 8 cards. Once these have been dealt out, the 1st player places the deck back on the round counter. This then begins the Auction phase. At this point, players will then take turns bidding on the cards with their Capital discs, starting with the 1st player and continuing in turn order. The only rules being that a player can’t place 2 of their Capital discs on the same card and they can’t place a disc with the same value as another player’s disc on the same card. Bidding continues until each player has placed all their Capital discs. Once this is complete, players will begin to resolve each of the cards in the auction one by one starting from the left most card and moving to the right. If a card has no discs on it, it is returned to the box. If a card has at least one disc, then the player with the highest bid receives the card and places it face up in front of themself with the basic side up. Any other players that had a disc on the card will receive the compensation listed on the top of the card. There are 2 possible compensation effects; extraction and processing. When extracting, the player gains the resource listed multiplied by the value of their disc. If processing, then the player may resolve the effect listed on the card as many times as the value of their disc. Once all cards from the auction row have been resolved, each player will then take their discs back and proceed to the next phase, the Production phase.

The second phase is the Production phase. In this phase, the players will resolve their Company cards, allowing them to gain and/or process resources. This may all be done simultaneously by all players, however for the first few games it is recommended to do this one player at a time to help keep any mistakes from being made. Each Company card must be resolved one at a time and can only be activated once per Production phase. It is recommended to either line up all the player’s Company cards side by side and either slide them up a little when a card has been used or either turn it 90 degrees to show it’s been resolved. If a card has it’s basic side up, then the player may only resolve those basic actions that are fully colored. If a card has it’s upgraded side up, then the player may resolve both the basic and additional effects of the card, as both are colored. Effects are always resolved from the top of the card to the bottom. Once the player moves to another card, they may not return to go back to a previous card to use any effects that were not resolved. It should be noted that a player’s Start-up card is resolved the same way as the Company cards are from top to bottom. Start-up cards can not be upgraded. Once all players have finished with their Production phase, the round ends. If it is the end of round 4, then the game ends and players proceed to scoring. If not, then the 1st player token is passed to the next player in turn order and a new round begins. The round counter is advanced one space.

The game continues until the end of round 4, once this happens scoring occurs. Each player adds up all of their money that they’ve received and the player with the most money is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most cards wins.

COMPONENTS
The game doesn’t come with a ton of components but it does have a multitude of wooden bits included in the box. There’s a small deck of cards that include the Capitalists and all the Company cards, which include the single sided Start Up Companies. The cards look great and have period authentic looking designs and artwork. The finish on them is more of some kind of almost linen finish, but not quite. I really like this but it does make it a little harder to shuffle the cards and they tend to grip ahold of each other. The iconography takes a little bit of time to understand, but after a time or two it becomes second nature. There are several cardboard pieces that include the first player token, colored player tokens, multiplication tokens, upgrade tokens, money tokens and the round counter. The first player token is a large crest or seal while the player tokens have this 19th century look to them with everything from a pocket watch and a wallet to gloves and a top hat. I love these the most! They really compliment the theme. The money has a bit of that same thematic feel as well, but personally I think the game is begging for actual metal coins. Might be something that I’ll have to upgrade. The round counter has this great piece of artwork on it and is fairly big and easy to read as you rotate the dial down the side of the larger piece. The other tokens are your standard game style pieces but all of them are great quality. Apart from the artwork of the game, the other star is these brightly colored wooden pieces. These include the Capital discs, coal cubes, iron bars, oil drums, and the 6 sided die. These are all great. The Capital discs vary in size with the larger number being larger than the smaller numbers. They come in 4 different colors and are black, white, yellow and orange. There’s also a neutral disc that’s like a tan or off white color. The coal cubes are small black blocks. The iron bars are bluish gray and look like gold bars. The oil drums are yellow like the Capital disc and are hexagonal cylinders. One other thing, the Capital discs match the same color as the cardboard player tokens. The other wooden bit is the die. This like the Capital discs has screen printed numbers on it. So far everything seems well done and none of the numbers have started rubbing off yet. Hopefully it stays that way. Needless to say, I really love the artwork and the wooden bits of this game. They really bring out the theme and there’s just something nice and high quality about wooden pieces. Inside the box there’s a nice plastic organizer that really does a good job of separating all the pieces for quick setup. One last thing I’d like to mention is that the actual game box also has that same linen like feel as the cards. It’s an extra added little piece of quality that gives it a different feel than your normal game boxes. Overall I really enjoy the look and the feel of everything included in the box, as well as the box itself. I think the company did a great job on the production of this game.

9 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game while large in size, is only a few pages long. It has a ton of pictures and examples of gameplay throughout. The first page is nothing more than pictures of the components and a basic explanation of a card’s anatomy. The next page explains a little more about extraction and processing and it gives the set up for the game. The next two and a half pages are the actual rules of the game. The last half page contains rule variants and explains the differences of a 2 player game. That’s pretty much it, apart from the outline of a building on the back cover. There’s nothing difficult to understand and it only takes a few minutes to read through. The variant rules provide ways of making the game a little more difficult for experienced players which is a pretty cool idea. I do wish there had been some rules for solo play as well. I think this has plenty of potential for a fun solo game as well. The 2 player rules does make the game a little bit different but it still keeps the spirit of the game alive. Overall I didn’t see anything out of place or wrong with the rulebook in any way. I really appreciate the examples and all the great pictures. They really help show you the rules, along with telling them to you. I’m quite pleased and think the designer did a great job here. Well done!

9 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
This is a really simple and easy game to play but it has lots of strategy to it as well. Basically you start by determining which cards you really want and which ones you simply want the compensation for. You will then try to strategically place your discs so that you can maximize the number of resources you gain and/or the resources you process. As I said, there’s quite a lot of strategy here. You’ll find yourself not only playing against the players but also the cards. Some times you’ll find yourself placing a disc in hopes of someone bidding higher than you on it, because you want the compensation reward, only to wind up winning the card instead. I can’t tell you at the times that’s happened to me. It’s like they knew what I was going for, or at least that’s what it felt like. Still receiving a decent card that you can use later in the production phase isn’t bad either. Once you’ve finished all the bidding you move to the production phase and then you have to figure out which cards you want to use first to maximize your output. After all, it’s all about the money. The more money that you can make each round, the better your chance of winning. Once more I’ll say, there’s quite a lot of strategy here. With only 4 rounds to play, things move pretty quickly so you really have to make every choice count. As an engine building game, this is really good. I know it’ll sound cheesy but this isn’t the little engine that could…it’s the little engine that did. The mechanics of this game are so silky smooth and fun to play. Each choice you make will affect what other choices you can make afterwards. Upgrading your cards provides even more options and choices to make. I’m completely thrilled with how much I’ve enjoyed playing this game. I’ve not played a whole lot of engine building games but this one seriously takes the top spot for me. I think the fact that it can be played in less than an hour is huge. I think anyone that enjoys engine building games will love this one. I honestly think this is a great introductory game to the mechanic but that it has enough strategy to it for veteran players as well. This is definitely one that I would recommend for anyone looking to introduce the mechanics to their family or friends. The theme is family friendly and overall it’s just a great game. Top notch!

9 out of 10

OVERALL
Furnace is a engine building game with a 19th century theme. The game doesn’t take a long time to play. Most game sessions last around 30 minutes to an hour. The components are very nice. I especially like the multitude of wooden bits that are included. They are great. The rulebook is very well designed and doesn’t take very long to read. The game itself is a simple game to play but has plenty of strategy to it. It’s family friendly and a great introductory game that highlights the engine building mechanic really nicely. The game moves along at a fairly quick pace since it only lasts 4 rounds. For me this is the top of my list when it comes to engine building games. Fans of games like Steam Works, Fields of Green and Race for the Galaxy should really enjoy this one. This is one that I would definitely recommend. Overall it’s a very solid game that is a lot of fun and you don’t even need a top hat and cane to play.

9 out of 10

For more information about this and other great games, please check out Arcane Wonders at their site.

https://www.arcanewonders.com

Camping Fluxx Review

Camping Fluxx is a game by Andrew Looney, published by Looney Labs. It is for 1-6 players. In this game, players will be playing cards to affect and even change different aspects of this outdoor camping based game. Along the way, players will need to collect the correct items or locations as they try to complete the current goal. In the end, the player that can best navigate these always changing rules will be declared the winner.

To begin, the Basic Rules card is placed in the center of the play area. The deck is then shuffled and each player is dealt 3 cards to form their starting hand. The rest of the deck is then placed face down beside the Basic Rules card. The first player is chosen and play now begins.

The game is played over several rounds. Each round players will take a turn. On a player’s turn, they will perform 3 actions. First they will draw a number of cards as dictated by any rules that are in play. Once they’ve drawn the correct number of cards, they will then play a number of cards as instructed by any rules in play. Both drawing and playing cards require at least 1 card be drawn and 1 card be played. There are 3 types of cards that can be played; New Rules, Goals, Keepers and Action cards. New Rules change the way the game is played and take effect as soon as they are played. These are placed beside any previous rules unless they override the basic rules of draw 1 and play 1. If this is the case, the new rule cards is placed so that it overlaps the part of the Basic Rule that it is replacing. Goal cards are placed in the middle of the play area and establish the requirements for a player to win the game. If there is another Goal card already face up on the table, it is discarded and replaced by the new card. Keepers are placed face up in front of the player that played it. These are the cards needed for a player to win. Action cards are one time use cards. To play one of these, the player reads it aloud and then does whatever the card says. The card is then placed in the discard pile. Once a player has played the correct number of cards, they will then be forced to discard a number of cards if their hand has more than the current hand limit rule in play. At the beginning of the game, there is no hand limit. Only when a new rule is played that limits the cards a player may keep in their hand, will players need to worry about this. Once a player has completed all 3 actions, play passes to the next player in turn order.

One other thing to be aware of are the Creeper cards. These are cards that aren’t in a lot of versions of Fluxx. These cards are treated just like Keepers and are placed in front of the player in the same area. As soon as a player draws a Creeper card, it is placed in their Keeper area and may not be held in their hand. The player then draws a new card. Drawing a Creeper card does not count as a play. These cards will hinder a player from winning the game and most times should be gotten rid of at the first chance that a player can dispose of them or move them off to another player. However there are times that a goal will actually call for one of these so it’s something to be aware of.

The game continues until a player meets the conditions of the current Goal. The player that does this is the winner, even if this happens on another player’s turn.

COMPONENTS
This game consists of a box of 100 cards. Each card is high quality and is just the right size and thickness. The finish on each one is very good and makes it easy to shuffle together when in the deck. The artwork for the game is very nicely done and resembles any of the newer versions of Fluxx that have been released in the last year or so. Thematically, the designs fit perfectly. Some of the cards, like the new rule cards have icons. Compared to those in previous versions of Fluxx, these are quite a bit larger and easier to understand. The text on the cards also seem to be a bit larger and easier to read. I’m very happy with the overall look and feel of the game and think the cards are great quality.
9 out of 10

RULEBOOK
For this game, the rulebook consists of a large double sided sheet of colored paper that is multi-folded. While large, it fits nicely into the box when folded. Just like many of the other Fluxx titles, this rulebook has some nice looking pictures on it. On the front page, there are pictures of a sample game in progress, as well as specific pictures for each type of card and how to set up the game. On the back of the page there are some other notes and some examples of play. There are also rules for playing the game solo. This is one thing that I’m super happy to finally have. I love Fluxx and having the ability to grab a version and play by myself is an awesome addition to an already fun game. The rules themself are actually very simple and easy to understand. Overall the rulebook looks good and is well written. I’m really thrilled with how great everything looks.
9 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
My family and I really enjoy playing Fluxx. We’ve played several different versions of the game and have enjoyed each one that we’ve tried, some more so than others. Honestly this one is really good. I’m especially glad to see the Creepers back in the game. If you had to pick a version to add Creepers to, this would be one of them as this versions simply lends itself to it really perfectly. I mean, who doesn’t hate mosquitos and rain when you’re camping? I wouldn’t have minded another one or two but I’m thankful to have those two. I like that some of the goals even include these as a victory condition. I like that even when you get something bad, you can still find the good in it. Another thing to note is that some of the goals require certain keepers to not be in play anywhere on the table. That’s another neat new aspect that sort of add a new dimension to the game. In my opinion, this is a fun game that will appeal to all ages and experience. In case you’d not figured it out, this version centers around camping and hiking as well as other outdoor activities. Some of the actions fall in line with that theme but most would easily work with any version of Fluxx. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, especially hiking and camping so this version is right in my wheel house. This is definitely a game that the whole family can enjoy. Players that have never had a chance to play Fluxx would even enjoy this one. The simple basics of the game is that you simply try to play the right cards at the right time so that you can have the right Keepers on the field to meet the requirements for the current Goal, or simply changing the Goal to meet what you have either in your hand or already on the field. As you can see, there’s a lot of chaotic fun to be had as the game is always changing. The rules change, the Goal changes and you just never know who will win. Fans of games like Munchkin or other hand management games of that nature should really enjoy this one. For Fluxx players that enjoy the camping theme or anyone looking for a simple and easy to play card game, this is a great game to pick up. This is a really great looking version in the Fluxx franchise that I would highly recommend.
9 out of 10

OVERALL
Camping Fluxx is a family friendly game of ever changing rules and goals with an outdoor camping theme. It’s a great little card game that doesn’t take a long time to play. Most game sessions last around 15-20 minutes. The cards are great quality and the artwork is great. The rulebook is well written and easy to understand, I especially am thankful for the solo rules that add hours and hours more fun to an already great game. The game is family friendly and is one that can be played with both kids and adults alike. Fans of any of the other Fluxx games should enjoy this version as well. I’m a big fan of this version and love the theme. This is one that I would highly recommend, especially if the theme is something that interests you. Bug spray and citronella candles are not required.
9 out of 10

For more information about Fluxx and other great games, please check out Looney Labs at their site.

http://looneylabs.com