Helionox: The Last Sunset Review

Helionox: The Last Sunset is a game by Taran Lewis Kratz, published by Zeroic Games and Mr. B Games. It is for 1-2 players but can be played with up to 4 players using a second copy of the game. In this game, players will travel to the distant future to a world where terrible events plague the solar system due to the dying sun. Each player will take on the role of an Architect of the future as they seek to explore and exploit the worlds of the system to gain the most influence and lead civilization to a new beginning. In the end, the player that can gain the most influence will be declared the winner.

To begin, each player will craft their starting deck consisting of 5 Material Assests and 3 Sentinel Prototypes, as well as 2 randomly selected Specialized faction cards. These 2 random cards will be received as a pair. The player will also receive a random Architect cards which is placed in front of them, not to be added to their starting deck. The player now shuffles their starting deck and places it face down in front of them. They will then draw the top 5 cards to form their starting hand. Next the event deck is created using 8 Events and 1 Catastrophic Event per player. The Event deck is then separated into 3 equal decks called Events I, Events II and Events III. Events I will include no Catastrophic Events. Events II will include half of the Catastrophic Events while Events III will include the other half. The 3 Event decks are placed in order from left to right on the right side of the play area. The Market is now created by separating all the faction cards into 4 different piles based on faction. Each deck is shuffled and placed in it’s appropriate space in the Market. The top card of each of these decks is flipped face up on top of the decks. Prime Assets are placed in a separate pile beside the faction decks. The first player is chosen and play now begins.

The game is played over a series of turns. Each player will take a turn that consists of 3 phases; the Event Phase, the Main Phase and the End Phase. The first phase of a player’s turn is the Event Phase. In this phase, the player will take an Event from the Event deck and place it with it’s inactive side face up at the corresponding location by matching the large symbol on the card. Any inactive Events that were previously placed will now be flipped over to it’s active side. This shuts down the location making it where location bonuses and key access cannot be used. It should be noted that if the Event is a Catastrophic Event, once it becomes active all locations are shut down. Any players that don’t have an Embassy at the location will lose 2 Influence.

The next phase is the Main Phase. In this phase, the player must first remove a Cryo counter from their Architect. If a player’s Architect has no Cryo counters on it, they are able to use it’s Cryo ability. This is done by placing Cryo counters equal to the abilities cost onto the Architect card. The player can also perform several actions, some of which may only be performed once per turn while others may be performed as often as chosen. Once per turn, the player may cycle a card from the Market by placing it on the bottom of it’s faction deck and then revealing a new card. They can also gain a Location bonus from their current Location once per turn. If the player has an Embassy at the Location, they will gain Key access instead of the Location bonus. At any time during their turn the player can play cards from their hand to immediately gain abilities, credits and defense. Credits and defense may be stored and used at any time during the player’s turn. The player can also overcome events as long as they are in the location of the event. They simply pay the defense equal to the Event’s defense cost. The player will then collect Influence tokens equal to the Event’s Influence value. If the player needs help they can call for a Collaboration with another player at the same location as long as they control an Embassy at the location. Both players will gain Influence equal to the amount of Defense they contributed to overcome the event. Each player will then draw 1 card. They can also buy cards or Prime Assets from the market by paying the cards cost. The card is then placed on the top of the player’s deck. A new card is then drawn from the deck to replace it. The player can also travel to new locations by paying 2 credits to move. However if they have an Embassy at the desired location they are traveling to, it will only cost 1 credit. Finally the last action the player can take is to place an Embassy at their current location by paying 2 credits.

The last phase is the End Phase. In this phase, the player takes any cards that they played and places them into their discard pile. Any cards remaining in the player’s hand may either be discarded or kept. The player will then draw 5 new cards and discard down to 5 cards. Play then passes to the next player.

The game continues until the last event is revealed. At the end of that turn, the game ends. Players will then add up their points from Influence tokens, the Influence values of any cards in their deck and the number of Embassies they control. The player with the most Influence is the winner.

COMPONENTS
This game comes with a bunch of cards and some heavy duty cardboard tokens. The cards are very good quality and have that nice linen finish to them. The artwork is rather unique and quite unusual. It has a very interesting SciFi look and feel to it. There are robots, planets and space ships of all different shapes, sizes and colors. The art really draws you into this strange new world. I’m very intrigued with how amazing each card looks. There are also some quick reference cards which are very helpful when playing the game. The tokens are really thick and fit the theme quite well. There are Cryo counters that are used with each player’s Architect. There are Embassy tokens to show when each player controls an Embassy. There are ship tokens to track the player’s location. There are Influence tokens to keep track of each player’s score. There are also shut down tokens that are used to show when a location is unable to be used. About the only thing that the game didn’t come with was tokens for credits. However if you’ve ever played a deck builder before, you realize that you don’t really need this as it’s simply redundant and easy to keep up with each turn. Just looking at the game, it kind of reminds me of Eminent Domain. However many of the images on these cards are a bit rougher than on that game. Still, I rather like the unique designs of these and feel that it brings out the theme a bit more. Overall I think that the cards and tokens are really great and really convey the SciFi theme quite well.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game isn’t very long. It contains only a few actual pictures. There are a couple of pictures that explain the anatomy of each card type and one for showing how the game should be set up. Other than that, there’s really nothing. The rules are actually fairly simple to read and understand. I didn’t see anything that looked difficult at all. Everything is explained fairly well. The book contains a few faqs and examples, as well as a section that explains the terminology of the game. There’s also a section of advanced rules for players already familiar with the game. In this section there’s a way of playing with Missions as well as rules for solo and cooperative play. Seeing as I like to play most deck builders in solo mode as well as with other players, this was a much appreciated addition to the rulebook. The back page has a nice reference that shows faction and other card symbols on it. Overall I think the book does a good job at covering the rules in a concise and simple way.
7 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
I have to say that I rather enjoy this game. I’m sure that doesn’t come as a surprise to many as my love for deck builders is pretty well known. I mean what’s not to like? As a deck builder this follows the same fundamental mechanics that you’ve no doubt seen time and time again; play a card, gain coins or power or whatever, buy new cards, shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, rinse, repeat. While I enjoy that aspect of deck building, this one does veer off into a different realm just a bit. For one thing, there are locations which provide various benefits. When your ship moves to that location, you can take the benefit that it provides. If you’ve already placed an Embassy, you get what is called Key Access. Basically all this does is give you the absolute best ability that the location has to give. However not every location will be available during your turn as events will be placed beside the corresponding location that will shut it down. If you’re really unlucky, then you’ll have to deal with a Catastrophic event that shuts down ALL the locations. That’s a bit of a pain when you already had your strategy already figured out, but those are the breaks. Sometimes you just have to use your Defenses to handle the event so that it can be removed first. This whole moving around to different places, handling these dire situations that come up using your ingenuity make me feel a bit like the Doctor. I just need a T.A.R.D.I.S. instead of a space ship. I feel like it’s these events and locations that really change the dynamics of the game and make it much more than your regular deck builder. It’s more of a strategic puzzle that takes a bit of understanding how to best use the cards in your hand. That’s just the normal game. The solo and cooperative games are even better. In these games, it’s all about making sure that you collect enough Influence before too many Events or Catastrophic Events become Active. Overall this is a great deck builder that I think fans of the mechanic should really enjoy. I also feel that SciFi fans might enjoy it as well. I would definitely recommend this one especially for solo gamers.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
Helionox: The Last Sunset is a deck building game set in a future SciFi style world. The game time isn’t too long. Most game sessions last around 40-45 minutes, depending on the number of players. Solo games tend to be a bit shorter. The artwork is really unique and unusual. I quite like the futuristic designs on the cards as well as the theme. The game adds a bit more to the deck building mechanic which makes the game a bit more fun in my opinion. As either a solo or multiplayer game, this one works well. I especially enjoy the solo aspects of the game and think that this is truly where it shines. Fans of deck building games like Ascension or Eminent Domain should really enjoy this one. This is also one that SciFi fans might enjoy as well. This is a game that I would definitely recommend. Don’t let the sun go down without giving it a try.
8 out of 10

For more information about this and other great games, please check out Zeroic Games or Mr. B Games at their site.

http://zeroicgames.com/

http://www.mrbgames.com/

 

Advertisements

Dairyman Review

Dairyman is a game by Chih-Fan Chen, published by Tasty Minstrel Games. It is for 2-4 players. In this game, players take on the role of a dairyman as they try to fill the orders of the farm owner by producing fresh milk. They’ll also be able to transform that milk into cheese and ice cream to keep it from spoiling. In the end, the player that can produce the most milk and get the most points will be declared the winner.

To begin, a number of backorder tokens and all the freeze tokens are placed in the middle of the play area. The number of backorder tokens used is dependant on the number of players. The remaining tokens are returned to the box. The 3 Barn tiles are placed in the center of the play area. All of the Milk tiles are shuffled together with the white milk side up. A stack is then made near the Barn tiles. The top 3 Milk tiles are placed in a line beneath the Barn tiles. The first player is chosen and they are given the 7 white dice and the 1 yellow die which are known as the Dairy dice. Play now begins.

The game is played with each player taking turns. On a player’s turn, they will roll all the available dice. They must then Lock at least 1 set of 2 or 3 dice with a total of exactly 10, placing it on the #1 Barn tile. The player is allowed to Lock more than 1 set of dice at the same time, however the dice must all be placed on the same Barn tile. If the player has any remaining dice after that, they have the option of rerolling any unlocked dice or stopping. If they choose to reroll, then after rolling they must Lock in at least 1 set of dice in the same way as before. However if after rerolling the player is unable to lock a set of dice, they have failed to Produce Milk and their turn ends immediately. After the reroll, this time the player places the dice on the #2 Barn tile. If the player is able to Lock at least 1 set and they still have dice remaining, once more they can choose to reroll or stop. If they reroll a third time, they must Lock dice on the #3 Barn tile. The player will also gain a freeze token each time they choose to reroll. Even if they fail to Produce Milk, they will still gain the token. The player is able to use a freeze token before a reroll to prevent a die from being rolled. Whenever the player decides to stop rolling, they will then add the total of the dice on the Barn tiles and use them to claim Milk tiles. It should be noted that the player can also use an unlocked yellow die or freeze token to flip their Milk tiles to the other side. They can then use the special ability provided. Once a player finishes claiming tiles or they fail to Produce Milk, their turn ends. They will also be forced to take a backorder token. Backorder tokens allow the player to roll an extra red die on their turn but they must return it to the supply at the end of their turn and they also will lose 5 points at the end of the game if they still have it. The Dairy dice are then passed to the next player and the orders are refilled back up to 3 beneath the Barn tiles.

The game continues with each player taking turns rolling dice and claiming tiles. Once the Milk tiles can not be refilled back up to 3 tiles, then the game ends immediately. Each player must add up the value of all their Milk tokens, deducting -5 points for each backorder token. Players compare their totals and the one with the most points is the winner.

COMPONENTS
This is a small box game that doesn’t come with a lot of pieces. There are several dice included in the box. There are 7 white dice, a yellow die and 4 red dice. These are all pretty much your standard style of dice. Then there are the tiles and tokens. These are all thick cardboard. There are 3 barn tiles to place your dice on and 22 milk tiles that are double sided. There are 5 red backorder tokens that give negative points and 20 white freeze tokens that have little snowflakes on them. That’s it. The artwork on the barn and milk tiles is very minimalistic and there’s nothing elaborate about the designs. The barn tiles have different colored barns on them. The milk tiles have different dairy products on them such as a carton of milk or pitcher of milk on one side, while the flip side has cheese or ice cream cones on them. It’s a very simple looking game. That said it’s kind of nice that the designer felt there was no need to go overboard with the graphic design and make it look gaudy. Even though it’s very simplistic, I kind of like it. The iconography is pretty simple so there shouldn’t be any problems understanding what each one means. Overall I’m pretty good with the look and feel of the game. It’s not bad.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game is a large double sided sheet of thick paper. It’s full color and has several pictures on it including one that shows how the game should look when set up. It’s fairly simple to read through and understand. I didn’t see anything that should pose too much of a problem. Each aspect of the game is explained in fairly good detail. There’s even a section devoted to explaining each of the different icons on the tiles. Overall It’s not bad and shouldn’t take too long to read over. I feel like everything is explained well enough. It does a pretty good job of covering the rules.
8 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
This is a fairly simple game to play. The quick and simple of it is that you roll dice and try to get 2 or 3 dice that add up to 10 to be able to place them on a barn tile. You can then press your luck to try and get more. That’s pretty much it. Well, there is a little bit more than that as you have options of not having to roll some dice and a few special abilities when you use either a die or freeze token to flip a milk token to the other side. Still there’s not a lot more to it than that. Is the theme painted on? Yes, it is. This could have been absolutely anything and the game would have still played pretty much the same. However I have to give credit to the designer as he chose a very unique theme that I’ve not seen in any other games before. Kudos for that. Speaking of the designer, you can most definitely feel his touch on the game. The whole flipping concept that is in this game harkens back to the same concept in Flip City. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just very obvious. I realize that some of what I’m saying here may come across as kind of negative. It’s not though. The game itself is actually kind of fun. I like the simplicity of rolling the dice and trying to make combinations. It’s kind of like Yahtzee or King of Tokyo in that way. Another good thing about this game is that it takes up very little space. You can pretty much take it anywhere and play it. For me I like the game fairly well. It’s a game with a fairly unique theme that is fast and simple to play. Fans of dice rolling games like Yahtzee or King of Tokyo might enjoy this. I would also recommend this to anyone that enjoyed Flip City. Overall it’s a good game that I would recommend giving a try.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
Dairyman is a small dice game with a unique theme. It’s fairly simple and plays rather quickly. Most game sessions last about 15-20 minutes. The artwork is very simplistic but interesting enough. I like the very minimalistic designs. This is a nice filler game that can be played by pretty much anyone. It’s very simple to play and is very easy to teach. The few icons are simple enough to remember and shouldn’t cause any problems. The theme is pretty much pasted on but is still unlike any that I’ve ever seen before. It’s a small box game so it’s pretty easy to carry. It doesn’t take up much room to play so it can be played pretty much anywhere. Fans of the designer’s other game Flip City should really enjoy the flipping aspect of this game. Fans of dice rolling games like Yahtzee or King of Tokyo might enjoy this one. Overall it’s a game of good fun that I rather like. It’s a good family filler game that I would recommend giving a try. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s milking to be done.
8 out of 10

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

 http://playtmg.com

Flip City: Reuse Expansion Review

Flip City: Reuse is an expansion for Flip City by Chih-Fan Chen, published by Tasty Minstrel Games. It is for 1-4 players. This expansion adds two new types of double sided cards to be added to the game.

For more information on Flip City and how to play the game, please follow the link below.

https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2017/08/31/flip-city-review/

 

So what does this expansion add to the game? Well as I mentioned a moment ago, it adds two new types of double sided cards. There is the Plumber Shop/Renewal Agency and the Flea Market/Recycling Bin. Each player adds a Plumber Shop and a Flea Market to their starting deck at the beginning of the game. There are then 10 cards for each set placed in two new piles along with the other cards for the supply. Everything else as far as setup, playing the game and win conditions remains the same.

As I said, there are two card types. Let me explain what each one does. First there’s the Plumber Shop. This allows the player to discard a card from either the top or bottom of all the other player’s decks. When it flips, it becomes the Renewal Agency that gives the player 3 coins to be used only on the Flip cost portion of a card. Next there is the Flea Market. This can be voluntarily be left in the player’s discard pile. It can be flipped over or recycled in the discard pile to give the player an additional coin. When it flips, it becomes the Recycling Bin. This has no effect, but when it’s flip cost is paid to flip it back over it allows the player to flip an additional card that turn.

COMPONENTS
Just like the base game, this expansion contains only cards. There are 14 of each of the two types for a total of 28 cards, along with the rules card. The look and feel of these cards is identical to that of the base game. The same cartoonish style of artwork is present on these as well. The quality and durability is there also and each card has that same finish. If you liked the original game, then you’ll like these too. Overall, these are some great looking cards.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this expansion is a single double sided card. The front of the card tells you how to set up using the new card types and even has a couple of pictures on it. The back side has an explanation of what each new card does and how it works. Oh and there are pictures on the back too. Overall it’s a pretty simple concept that gets the job done in a very minimalistic way. I like it.
8 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
If you enjoyed the original Flip City, then chances are that you’ll like this too. What this expansion does it just gives you more cards to add to your deck and a few more options to take. Much like what the Office cards do for the base game, this just adds more content. There’s nothing majorly game changing or anything like that. However the Plumber Shop does add a bit more player interaction. The rest of the cards just give more money and more ways to get cards flipped. For me this is a little more icing on the cake. It just adds a bit more flavor and things to enjoy. Is it necessary or needed? Well no not really but I like what it adds. Like I said, if you’re a fan of the original game, then you’ll most likely want to add this to your collection. I would recommend it.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
Flip City: Reuse is an expansion for Flip City that adds two new double sided card types to an already great game. The expansion doesn’t really add any additional play time to the game. Most game sessions last around 35-40 minutes. The artwork on the cards is much like that of the original game. The same cartoon like style is prevalent here as well. The expansion does add a bit more player interaction to the game. Fans of Flip City should really enjoy the expansion. It adds more content without changing the dynamics too much. I wouldn’t say it’s a must buy but it will be one that players will enjoy having. I would recommend this expansion. Now flip the lights.
8 out of 10

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

 http://playtmg.com

Go7Gaming Zomb-Base-001 Storage Insert Kit for Zombicide Review

Recently I was given the opportunity to check out a new product from Go7Gaming. That product was the Zomb-Base-001 Storage Insert Kit for Zombicide or Zombicide Rue Morgue. I received it in a flat rate shipping box. Inside I found a bundle of wooden sheets wrapped together in a large ziplock bag with some full color instructions explaining how to put everything together. After removing the sheets from the packaging and reading through the instructions, it was ready to assemble.

Now then, let me explain exactly what this product is and what it does. First off, this is an insert for the game Zombicide but it will also work with Zombicide Rue Morgue. Once it’s been assembled, the insert makes it possible to keep all of the different survior, zombivor and zombie miniatures separated, as well as all of the cards and tokens that come with the game. There’s even room for individual survivors and other extras that you can purchase separately. For me, I’ve added the Toxic City Mall expansion, some extra survivors and zombivors and a few extra zombies. The insert looks really great when it’s finished. It even comes with some tags so that you can label each section for what’s inside. Of course you’ll be able to see a bit more about that a little later. At this time, let’s go ahead and cover what all you get and the basic instruction on how to assemble this insert. We’ll start off by separating out all the different wooden sheets. As you can see, there’s a lot of sheets of wood to be assembled. Each piece is cut so that you can easily punch them out from the main sheet that they’re attached to.

If you’ve ever read one of my reviews for Go7Gaming inserts, you’ll already know that glue is your best friend when building these things. It’s not an absolute necessity as you can use other things like tape, but it’s definitely the best option. With this review I won’t be telling you each time when to add glue to your pieces. Just be aware that if there are 2 pieces being put together, you’ll want to apply glue between them both. With that said, let’s begin the assembling process starting with the tile and miniatures storage tray.

To build the tile and miniatures storage tray, you’ll start by placing the large inner lane divider into the base, followed by the small inner lane divider. Next you’ll connect the two tab end of end splitters to the base. One will also connect to the large inner lane divider and the other one will connect to the small inner lane divider. You’ll then need to attach the two long outer walls to the inner lane dividers on either side. After those are on, you’ll place the short wall onto the base connecting it to the two long outer walls you just attached. Next place the short minis wall onto the base connecting it to the long outer walls. You’ll then place all your dividers in whatever way you see fit. I went with the traditional layout. When you’re finished, it should look something like this.

Next up, well construct the token storage tray. First we’ll connect the center divider to the base. Next attach the long wall to the base and the center divider, repeating the process for the other long wall. You’ll then want to attach the two end walls on either side. Once you’ve gotten that finished, you can add dividers as needed. Once again, I went with the traditional layout. When you’re finished, it should look something like this.

The next thing we’ll assemble is the 2 large miniatures storage trays. First off we’ll connect the center divider to the base. Next we’ll attach the long wall without the tag holes to the base and divider. We will then need to attach the long wall with the tag holes for the other side. We then will need to attach the two end walls, connecting them to the base and the long walls. Once you’re finished, you can assemble the second of these in the exact same way. Afterwards you can place dividers as needed, you can even place a cross divider to split the sections into smaller spaces if desired. I left them open to begin with and didn’t add any dividers until I figured out what I wanted to place in each space. You’ll see more on that in a bit. When you’re finished with these, you should have something that looks kind of like this.

Now we’ll construct the small bit tray. To assemble it you’ll need to attach the long wall to the base, followed by connecting the short wall. You’ll then attach the other long wall followed by the other short wall. When you’re finished, it should look something like this.

Our next project is the two small storage trays. Attach the long side wall to the base, followed by the end wall. Now you’ll attach the other long wall with the tag holes on it, connecting it to the base and the end wall. We’ll then connect the other end wall and connect everything together. After you’re finished you can place a divider into the tray to keep things the right distance apart. I left these open to begin with as well. Later on you’ll see exactly how I placed everything. Once you’ve finished with one, you can build the other one the exact same way. When you’re finished, they should look something like this.

Finally, we’ll construct the small card storage tray. This one’s a little different. You’ll start by taking the inner base and attaching the long side wall to it. You’ll then do this for the other side too. Just be aware that there should be a space below the inner base if you sit it down on the table. You will then connect the short divider wall to the front of the inner base. Next you’ll connect the longer divider wall. This one has the word WOUND etched on it. You’ll see exactly how it looks in just a minute. You’ll then attach the lower base and connect it to the four walls. Afterwards you can place the corresponding dividers inside for Zombie and Equipment cards. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

Now that you’re finished, you just need to wait for everything to dry overnight. Once it has, you can place dividers as you see fit and place the different pieces and parts of the game inside the insert. As I mentioned earlier, I placed both the base Zombicide game and the Toxic City Mall expansion inside this, as well as extra Survivors, Zombivors and extra zombies. I then placed the etched tags as I saw fit into the different trays to identify what was in each one. Of course your setup may look a bit different compared to mine. I took a look at the pictures on the website and placed things where it made the best possible sense for what I have for the game, using the website as a guide. Here’s what I ended up with.

 

MATERIALS
At this point, I would normally explain how the different components of the game look. However since this is an organizer and not a game, I’ll describe the packing and insert instead. Everything came prepackaged in a flat rate shipping box. Everything was placed inside a large zip lock style bag with all the wooden pieces shrink wrapped together. Everything looked very nice and there were no problems with anything. The wooden sheets are nice and thick and are very easy to puch out the different pieces. If you decided to use glue or tape, you’ll need to supply your own as the organizer does not come with any included. Assembling the product was fairly simple, however it did take awhile to finish. Overall the materials look great and everything is strong and durable. I’m very pleased with every aspect of the materials.
9 out of 10

INSTRUCTION
At this time, I would normally be explaining the rulebook of the game. Instead, I’ll cover the instructions that came with the insert. The instructions came on two sheets of double sided paper. There was a detailed process that walks you through each step of assembling the insert. There are plenty of pictures to help you see exactly what piece goes where when assembling. Everything is explained very well and I didn’t find it difficult to figure out at all. Everything is well written and looks good. I even like the joke at the end stating that I’ve now gained a +1 to my Dexterity and a +2 to my Crafting ability. Hilarious! Overall, I’m very pleased with the instructions and found them to be extremely helpful.
9 out of 10

CONSTRUCTION
For this section, I normally would be explaining how the game played and my thoughts and feelings on it. However since this is a product review, I’ll give my thoughts on the assembly process as well as anything that I feel is important to note. Putting the insert together took awhile to complete. There were lots of different trays and such that had to be assembled, as you can tell from the pictures above. I’ve mentioned this several times before but for those not familiar with Go7Gaming’s inserts, they tend to be a bit looser than normal inserts. It’s for that reason that I usually recommend glue or tape to hold everything together with, or both. Once I finished putting everything together I had to check the website to see what pieces went where. The instructions were a bit vague on that aspect of the process. Even with the pictures I was still a bit unsure. That’s why I simply went with what worked for me. Which is probably the best thing to do anyway. The pictures on the website did help and it got me pointed in the right direction anyway. I’ve mentioned several times that I included the Toxic City Mall expansion into this box. The only thing that I had problems with was finding a way to get the large rubble tokens into the box. It actually took me a bit but I finally went with just placing them on top of the rulebooks. I had also left out the large tiles from Toxic City Mall and had placed the survivor cards on top of the original game tiles. I have since went back and placed the large tiles together in the tray. It does lift the lid a little bit, but that’s fine. I now have the survivor ID cards on top of the insert below the rulebooks. Before there was no problem with the lid closing. It all fit down properly. Now there’s a little bit of lift on the lid, but not enough to matter. I’m actually fine with it. The box is quite a bit heavier with the inclusion of the insert. However it does make it a bit more structurally sound too. So there’s that benefit. I’ll say that the trays are great. They make things alot easier to get set up and a lot quicker too. I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get everything I had into this one box, but I did it and I’m happy with the results. I love the tags to tell whats in each tray too. Those are great. I placed all the zombies of like kind together and placed my survivors and zombivors in separate sections of the trays too. I had gotten some of the VIP zombies as well which I placed in the same tray as the Abominations since they were easy to tell apart. I just wanted to keep them separate so they wouldn’t get all mixed up with everything else. The cards are a bit tight with everything I have and I will most likely separate them a bit into one of the other trays, but for now it works. In any event, I’m very happy with the overall look and feel of the insert. It does a great job of keeping everything separated and yet together at the same time. I would highly recommend this to anyone that owns either the base game or the Rue Morgue version. As you can tell, it’s got plenty of room to add other things to the box, so you don’t have to have separate boxes for everything. That’s a big bonus in my book. This is a great insert and I’m thankful that I have it.
9 out of 10

OVERALL
The Go7Gaming Zomb-Base-001 Storage Insert Kit for Zombicide or Zombicide Rue Morgue is a great way to get your game organized. It has enough room for all the pieces of the base game or Rue Morgue, as well as adding one of the smaller expansions and extra zombies or survivors. Assembling everything was fairly easy. I didn’t have too many problems. It just took awhile to complete. The instructions are very thorough and are fairly simple to follow. The insert is really great for keeping everything inside one box. It provides plenty of room for either game and for some extras too. Overall I’m very happy with how nice it looks and how well it fits everything inside the box. I highly recommend this insert. It get’s the job done in style. It’s a definite improvement to my game. You’ll be happy with this and with the amazing service from the people at Go7Gaming. Guaranteed.
9 out of 10

For more information about this and other great products, please check out Go7Gaming at their site.

http://go7gaming.com/

Flip City Review

Flip City is a game by Chih-Fan Chen, published by Tasty Minstrel Games. It is for 1-4 players. In this game, players will be tasked with the job of building and improving their own city. However they’ll have to be careful as too much construction will make the citizens of their town very unhappy. In the end the player that can build the best town and score enough points during their turn will be declared the winner.

To begin, each player will be given a deck of cards consisting of 4 Residential Areas, a Convenience Store, a Factory, an Apartment, a Hospital and a Central Park. Players shuffle their cards together with these named sides of the cards face up. This forms their starting deck. It should be noted that since these cards are double sided, the player should shuffle their cards beneath the table or in a way that they can’t determine what the top card of their deck is. The general supply decks are then formed and placed in the middle of the play area in separate stacks. These stacks consist of 12 Convenience Stores, 10 Offices, 12 Hospitals, 8 Factories and 8 Central Parks. The cards should be placed with these sides face up in the stack. The Office cards are actually used as an expansion and are optional. Any remaining cards should be returned to the box. The first player is chosen and play now begins.

The game is played through a series of turns. Each player will take their turn consisting of two phases; play cards phase and building phase. The first phase is the play cards phase. In this phase, the player will play cards one at a time from the top of their deck onto the table in front of themself. Each time a card is played, the player checks it for any additional rules or effects. Once a card has been played, the player has the option of playing another card from their deck or stopping and moving on to the building phase. Once the player’s deck runs out of cards, they have the option of stopping and moving to the building phase or shuffling their discard pile and creating a new deck. It should be noted that once the deck is shuffled, the player again has the option to stop or play more cards. During the player’s turn, if they receive 3 or more unhappiness from the cards that they played during this phase, the player’s turn ends immediately. Any cards that were played are then placed into the player’s discard pile. It should be noted that during this phase if a player has any cards in their discard pile that have the recycle symbol on them, they’re allowed to use the cards ability to flip it over and gain the effect or resource that it provides. This may be done at any time during this phase.

The next phase is the building phase. In this phase, the player is allowed to take 1 of 3 different actions using the cash that they gained from the previous phase. The 3 actions are buy, flip and develop. To buy, the player simply chooses a card from the supply and pays it’s cost. The card is then placed in the player’s discard pile. To flip, the player chooses a card in their discard pile and pays it’s flip fee. The card is then flipped over to the other side and remains in the player’s discard pile. To develop, the player chooses a card in the supply and then pays the card’s cost and it’s flip fee. The card is then placed in their discard pile with it’s back side up. Once a player has completed their action, they check to see if they have satisfied one of the victory conditions. If not, their turn ends and the cards that they played are placed into their discard pile. Play then passes to the next player in turn order.

The game continues until either a player gains 8 points during their play cards phase or they satisfy the victory condition of the Convenience Store card. If a player fulfills either of these conditions, they win.

COMPONENTS
This game consists of a deck of 86 cards. The artwork on each one is very nice. It has a very cartoonish look and feel to each building. It kind of makes me think of an older version of the SimCity computer game or the card game Machi Koro. I like the design and how there’s plenty of artwork without the text of the card getting in the way. Each of these has a satin like finish to them and is very good quality. I like how easy they shuffle without sticking together. They’re just the right thickness and look great on the table. The iconography isn’t too overwhelming and with a couple of times playing the game, it’s easy to remember what each icon does. Overall I like the look and feel of the cards. They’re very good.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game is a huge double sided paper that folds up small enough to fit inside the box. It’s a little bit thicker than normal paper and has a nice finish to it. There are lots of pictures on both sides of the paper. There’s a great overview of the components with pictures, as well as how each player’s deck should be set up and also how the general supply should look. The back side of the paper actually goes through the different phases of the game and also includes a breakdown of a card. It also explains all the different icons on the cards. I will say though that I kind of wish there had been a reference card with all the card icons on it or a way of being able to reference those icons a little better. It would have helped out in the first couple of games. The rules also have a section devoted to frequently asked questions for a little bit of clarity. The rules also include a solo variant for playing by yourself. I really like that this was included as I do like to play games solo from time to time. Overall I think the rules do a fairly good job of explaining everything. For the most part I’m pleased with the overall look and feel.
8 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
This is a fun game that doesn’t take up a ton of room. With it only being a couple stacks of cards, it’s fairly easy to take with you and play almost anywhere. It’s not a secret that I like deck building games. This one refers to itself as a microdeckbuilder. Not sure what that is, but if it means that it only has a small amount of cards to play with, then I get it. I have to say that I like the idea of flipping the cards to get better buildings to be able to do better stuff with. I like that there are plenty of choices to make such as when to stop playing cards from your deck. It’s a bit more than just I create this many points so I can now fight this card or buy this card. I also like that there’s a negative aspect of the game in the unhappiness of the city residents. If you get too much of that, you’re turn’s over and you discard all that you’ve played. It kind of gives you a push your luck feel in that way. It’s not a difficult game but the icons can take a bit of getting used to, at least for the first few times you play it. It’s definitely a unique take on deck building that I wasn’t sure if I would like or not. However I actually like it. I especially like playing it solo. Solo is more about making sure that the supply doesn’t run out before you’re able to fulfill one of the victory conditions. The thing is that each time you shuffle your deck you have to remove a card from the supply. This not only limits what you can buy but it also puts a timer on the game. This is a great little challenge and it scratches my deck building itch as well as my city building itch. I like it just fine with others but solo is my favorite way to play this. Overall fans of deck building games or card games like Machi Koro might enjoy this one. It’s a great game that is fun for the whole family or for just playing by yourself. I would recommend it.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
Flip City is a microdeckbuilding card game that can be played with the whole family or enjoyed solo. It’s a fairly fast game. Most game sessions last around 35-40 minutes. Solo play is usually a bit faster. The artwork is really fun and light. It makes me think of Machi Koro or the older versions of SimCity on the computer. This is a very unique take on the deck building mechanic that I quite like. It gives plenty of choices without being too complex. The iconography does take a bit of getting used to for the first couple of games. I wish that there had been a reference card to help with this. It’s a fun game to play with others and it’s very portable so that it can be played almost anywhere. However I prefer to play this one solo. It’s a nice challenge without taking up too much time. Plus it scratches my deck building and my city building itches. Overall this is a great card game that I look forward to spending more time with. This is one that I’d recommend, especially for those fans of deck building games or those that enjoy a good solo game. Forget Flip this House, let’s Flip this City!
8 out of 10

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

 http://playtmg.com

Go7Gaming MASM-001 Insert Kit for Masmorra: Dungeons of Arcadia Review

Recently I was given the opportunity to check out a new product from Go7Gaming. That product was the MASM-001 Insert Kit for Masmorra: Dungeons of Arcadia. I received it in a flat rate shipping box. Inside I found a bundle of wooden sheets wrapped together in a large ziplock bag with some full color instructions explaining how to put everything together. After removing the sheets from the packaging and reading through the instructions, it was ready to assemble.

Now then, let me explain exactly what this product is and what it does. First off, this is an insert for the game Masmorra: Dungeons of Arcadia, or simply Masmorra as most people refer to it. Once it’s been assembled, the insert will make it possible to keep all of the many different miniatures, cards and other pieces of the game organized in a nice and neat way. There’s even room for all of the extra add ons and stretch goals that were included with the Kickstarter campaign as either stretch goals or add on purchases. The insert looks amazing and does a great job of fitting everything inside the box. More on that later, for now let’s take a look at everything you get and the basic instruction on how to assemble this insert. We’ll start off by separating out all the different wooden sheets. As you can probably see, there’s quite a lot of sheets. Each piece is cut so that you can easily punch them out from the main sheet that they’re attached to.

If you’ve read any of my reviews for Go7Gaming inserts, you’ll already know what I’m about to say. For new readers, here’s the skinny…you will want to have some glue to attach the various pieces of this kit together with. It’s not completely necessary, as you can use other things like tape or the like. However, to really keep everything together properly, you’ll want to use glue. In this review I won’t be stopping every time to tell you when to use glue. Just know that if there are 2 pieces being joined together, you’ll want to apply glue between them both. With that said, let’s begin the assembling process starting with the token storage tray.

To build the token storage tray, you’ll start by connecting the inner wall to the short outer wall and then connecting these two to the base plate. Next you’ll need to connect the long outer wall to the base and the tabs of the inner wall. Afterwards, you’ll need to connect the short end wall, the short side wall and the long end wall. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

The next thing that you’ll want to build is the player aid storage tray. To build it, you’ll want to attach the long side wall to the base, followed by attaching the two end side tabs on either side. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

Now you’re ready to assemble the hero board storage tray. Make sure that you pop out the middle piece of the base first. What you’ll want to do then is to attach the long wall and the two end side walls to the base. Finally you’ll attach the other long wall to the base connecting everything together. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

The next thing to build is the medium tile storage tray. Simply pop out the middle piece from this base and the two side walls as well. Now you’ll need to attach the end wall to the two side walls that you punched out the pieces from, and onto the base. Finally you’ll add the last end wall to the base and connect it to the side walls. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

Now we’ll tackle the dice storage tray. First off you’ll attach the center divider wall to the base. From there, we’ll add the two end walls that connect to the center divider to the base. Finally we’ll add on the two slotted divider walls to either side, attaching them to the end walls and the base. It won’t hurt if once you’re gotten everything together, you place a divider or two in each of the dice lanes to keep everything at the right distance. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

Our next project is the card storage tray. Simply attach one of the slotted side walls to the curved end wall, connect them to the base. Next attach the other slotted side wall to the base and end wall. Finally attach the other curved end wall to the base and slotted side walls. You may want to place a divider or two to keep the distance correct. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

This time, we’ll have to construct something a little more complicated, the deep miniatures storage tray. You’ll need to prepare the wide and slim rail assemblies for attaching to the supports. These will be placed on the inside of the tray. You’ll need two slim assemblies on either end of both of the side walls, as well as three wide assemblies for the middle of each one. These will need to be attached to the side walls. This will need to be done for both of the side walls. Once that’s completed, you’ll attach the side wall to one of the end walls and attach it to the base. Oh and don’t forget to punch out the handles for the end walls. Now you’ll attach the other side wall to the base, finishing it up by adding the other end wall. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

We’re getting close to the end, so let’s put the small tile storage tray together now. First you’ll need to connect the two center walls to the divider wall. You’ll then connect these pieces to the base. This is a bit tricky. Once that’s done you’ll need to attach the two side walls connecting them to the base and divider wall. Do this for both sides. We’ll now attach the low wall to the base and the side walls. Finally we’ll add the finishing touches to this tray by attaching the two short walls to the front of the two side walls and then connecting the center walls to the center end wall. This will keep the tiles from falling out. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

Finally we’ll assemble the final pieces to make the shallow miniatures storage tray. We’ll start by attaching the two center divider walls to the base. Next we’ll attach the two end walls to the base and the center divider walls. We will then attach the outer divider walls to the base and the two end walls. This will be done for both sides. Finally we connect the two cross divider walls to the assembly going from the end wall through the two center divider walls and attaching on the other end wall for each one. When you’re finished it should look something like this.

At this point, it’s simply a matter of waiting for everything to dry overnight. Once that’s done, you can start putting all the pieces inside. What you’ll end up with will be something kind of like this. Of course I only have the base game and Kickstarter extras. I don’t have the add ons or anything extra apart from those. So you’re finished product may look a little different than mine in terms of where everything is put in the trays. I placed everything where it made sense and it fit relying on the pictures and storage key to help me out as best as possible. This is what I ended up with.

 

MATERIALS
At this point of the review, I would normall give you an inside look at all the different components that come with the game. Since this is an organizer and not an actual game, I’ll describe the packaging and insert itself. Everything came prepackaged in a flat rate shipping box. It was contained inside a large zip lock style bag with all the wooden pieces shrink wrapped together. Everything look very nice and there were no issues. The wooden sheets were nice and thick. Punching out the pieces was very easy. It was a bit challenging to figure out which sheets went with which organizer since there were so many sheets of wood to go through. However after a minute or two of comparision, it became clear. I will say that if you choose to glue or tape, you’ll need to supply your own as the organizer does not come with any included. Assembling the product was not difficult but it did take awhile to finish. Overall I feel that the materials look very good and they are very sturdy too. I’m very pleased with everything.
9 out of 10

INSTRUCTION
In this section, I’d normally cover the rulebook of the game. Instead, I’ll go over the instructions that came with the insert. The instructions came on two sheets of double sided paper. There was a detail processs that walks you through each step of assembly. The instructions had some pictures that help reference the sheets of wood to use as well as showing you how each item should be put together. It wasn’t all that difficult to figure out how everything went together with these instructions. Everything was well written. Overall, I’m very pleased with the instructions and found them to be very helpful.
9 out of 10

CONSTRUCTION
In this section, I would normally be giving you my thoughts and feelings on the gameplay of whatever game it was that I reviewed. Instead, I’ll give you my thoughts and feelings on the assembly process of the insert along with any other tidbits of information that I feel are relevant. So, assembling this insert did take awhile. As you can see, there were a lot of pieces and a lot of trays to be assembled. I will say that if you’re familiar with some of the other organizers from Go7Gaming, then you’ll realize that the pieces are usually a little bit looser than those from other insert companies. It’s for this reason that I recommend using either glue or tape to hold everything together with. If you really want it to last, use glue. That’s all there is to it. Once you’ve gotten everything built and assembled, you’ve got to get it all put into the box. I recommend using the pictures from the website or from this review to place everything in the right place. I had to compare what I had versus what the website showed in the pictures to get everything pretty much where it went. As I mentioned earlier, I only had the base game with the Kickstarter extras and so I didn’t have any add ons like the extra monsters dice set or the adventurers miniature set. The insert does add a significant amount of weight to the box but it seems to increase the stability and strength too. The trays are great and they make setting up the game a lot quicker. Sometimes these types of inserts will cause bulging or other issues when the lid is closed. I didn’t notice anything like that with this one. Everything fits together nicely and looks good when it’s all put together. Overall I’m extremely happy with the look and functionality of the product. I would highly recommend this to anyone that has the base game and especially anyone that has either the Kickstarter version or plans to buy any of the add ons for the game. This is a great product and it is extremely helpful to have.
9 out of 10

OVERALL
The Go7Gaming MASM-001 Insert Kit for Masmorra: Dungeons of Arcadia is a great way to get your game organized. It has enough room for all the pieces of the base game as well as all the Kickstarter extras and the add ons. Assembling everything was too difficult, there are a lot of pieces and sheets of wood so figuring out exactly which ones to use did take a bit. The instructions are detailed and fairly simple to follow. I will say that with as many things that need to be assembled, it does take awhile to complete. In any event, the insert is great and it provides plenty of room for everything. Overall I’m thrilled with how nice it is and how well it fits everything inside the box. I highly recommed this insert. It’s amazing just like the people at Go7Gaming. You will be completely satisfied with both.
9 out of 10

For more information about this and other great products, please check out Go7Gaming at their site.

http://go7gaming.com/

ZooScape Review

ZooScape is a game by Hisashi Hayashi, published by Tasty Minstrel Games. It is for 3-6 players. In this game, players take on the role of zookeepers as they chase down escaped animals. They’ll be trying to round up the most points worth of animals and place them back in their cages without overcrowding them. In the end, the player that can prove they’re the best zookeeper will be declared the winner.

To begin, the Zoo cards are shuffled together. Cards from the Zoo deck are then dealt out to form 5 face down decks. The number of cards that are dealt out to each deck is based on the number of players. In a 4 player game, 10 cards are dealt to each deck. Any remaining cards are returned to the box. The Fish cards are placed in a stack in the center of the play area. Each player is given one First and one Second Zookeeper card. The first player is chosen and they are given the Zoo Manager, Clipboard and Zoo Gate cards. Play now begins.

The game is played over a series of 5 rounds. Each round is divided into 3 phases; splitting the cards, chasing animals and cleanup. The first phase is splitting the cards. In this phase, the Zoo Manager deals out all of the cards from the first of the 5 decks. Each card is dealt out face up into a single line in the middle of the play area. The line is created in the same order as the cards were dealt out. The order can not be changed. The Zoo Manager then splits the line into two groups by sliding the cards over and placing the Zoo Gate between the two groups. It should be noted that each group must have at least 1 card in it. The Zoo Manager then places the Clipboard card into one of the two groups at any point in the line.

The second phase is the chasing animals phase. In this phase, each player will use their Zookeeper card to secretly show which group of cards they would like to have. Each player will take one of their Zookeeper cards and hold it face down in front of themself. They will choose either their first Zookeeper card if they want the cards on the left of the gate, or the second Zookeeper card if they want the cards on the right. Once everyone is ready, the cards are revealed. If a single player is the only one to select one of the groups, that player will then take all of the cards in that group ending their participation in that round. If there were no players to select one of the groups, the cards in that group are placed under the Clipboard card. If more than one player selected the same group, then the group will need to be split again. The Zoo Manager hands the Zoo Manager card to the next player in turn order. If they received the Clipboard card, they will also hand it to the same player along with any cards that were under it. The new Zoo Manager will now split the group into two groups, following the same steps as described earlier. If they were given the Clipboard card, it is placed in the line as well. Like before, any players that haven’t received any cards will secretly select a group using the same technique. This continues until either all players have received a group of cards or the cards can’t be split into two groups of at least 1 card each. In this case, each player that did not receive any cards now receives a Fish card as a consolation prize. It should be noted that when a player receives cards, they are placed face up in front of them in individual groups. Some cards are animal cards and will provide points as long as the cage limit isn’t exceeded. In that case they will score negative points at the end of the game. Hunters also provide negative points. Veterinarians force a player to discard 2 of their animal cards. Wild Animals cause the player to draw a random card from the unused cards in the box adding it to their face up cards. Chameleons become a copy of whichever animal the player has the most of. Once everything has been placed and dealt with, the next phase begins.

The final phase is the cleanup phase. In this phase, the player that has the Clipboard will now receive all the cards that were placed under it from earlier. If there were no cards underneath the Clipboard card, the player receives a Fish card. They also receive the Zoo Manager card making them the Zoo Manager for the next round. If no other player received the Clipboard card, the cards beneath it remain there for the next round and the Zoo Manager card is passed to the next player in turn order, along with the Clipboard card and any cards beneath it. A new round now begins.

The game continues until 5 rounds have been played, using all 5 decks. Players add up their points and the player with the most points is the winner.

COMPONENTS
There are some really beautiful looking cards included with this game. The game comes with 74 Zoo cards which include all the different animals and the Veterinarians. There are also 10 Fish cards and 12 Zookeeper cards, as well as the Zoo Manager, Clipboard and Zoo Gate cards. These look amazing. I love the artistic look of each one. The huge splashes of color highlighting the head of each animal is absolutely gorgeous while the varied people on the cards look like a painting. I especially like all the different animals. I only wish that there had been a bit more variety. As it is there are no great apes like gorillas or orangutans. Neither are there any pandas or koalas. That’s a bit of a disappointment as my family loves them. The cards have a great linen style finish to them which keeps them from sticking together or causing problems while shuffling. I have to say that overall I’m really thrilled with how nice the cards look. I don’t think that most people will have any problem with the overall look and feel of these cards.
8 out of 10

RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game is a huge double sided paper that folds up small enough to fit inside the box. It’s made of thicker material than just your average copy paper. It has some great looking pictures on it, some of which are examples of how the game is played. Every aspect of the game is covered quite well. All the different card types are explained in detail as well. The rules are easy to read and won’t take a long time either. Overall I think that the rules do a good job of conveying what you need to know to play the game in a quick and concise way. I have nothing to really complain about here.
8 out of 10

GAMEPLAY
This is a quick and fun game that is very simple to play. It’s easy enough that even younger players can play fairly easily. The few card icons aren’t that difficult to remember and shouldn’t pose a problem for most players. At it’s heart, it is merely a game of set collection. However it does help if you’re able to read your opponents by looking at what they already have in their zoo and then determining which group of cards they will go for. It helps you to be able to get the most cards at a time if you can do this just right. Although you will find that sometimes, what you want is in the group that you think they’ll go for too. So do you go for it and risk taking less cards if they also pick that group or do you go for what you think is the safe bet and go for the group you think they won’t take. Another thing you have to be aware of is not overloading your cages. Animals like the lions can only have 2 in their cage. If you wind up with 3 of them, well that’s a negative 3 points that you’ll wind up with at the end of the game unless you can get rid of one of them with a Veterinarian card. Overall I like the light fast gameplay of this one and find it to be a great little filler game. I think that fans of set collection games should enjoy this one, especially if they like a little luck thrown in for seasoning. Overall this is a nice little family card game that most players should enjoy. i would recommend it.
8 out of 10

OVERALL
ZooScape is a light weight card game of collecting animals that’s fun for the whole family. It’s not a very long game. Most game sessions can be played in around 20 minutes. The artwork on the cards is really beautiful. I love the artistic designs. However I do wish there had been a bit more animal types in the cards. I think that this is a great game for families. It’s simple enough that even younger players can play fairly easily. The few card icons shouldn’t be a real problem. I think that it’s light enough and fast enough that it makes a great filler game. It’s small enough that it’s pretty portable and can be played almost anywhere. I think that fans of set collection games should really enjoy this one, especially if they like a little bit of luck thrown in. Overall I rather enjoy the game and think it’s good fun for the whole family. I would recommend it. Now get out there and catch those animals.
8 out of 10

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

 http://playtmg.com