Board Games

  • Review: Praga Caput Regni

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    Charles IV has been crowned King of Bohemia and ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From his castle in Prague, he oversees the construction of new fortifications, a bridge across the Vltava River, a university, and a cathedral rising behind the castle walls themselves. Prague is already one of the largest cities in Europe. King Charles will turn it into the capital of an empire. Players take on the role of wealthy citizens organizing various construction projects in medieval Prague. By increasing their wealth and contributing to the construction, they will gain royal favor. Participants choose between six actions that are always available, but constantly shifting in their costs and benefits. The most skillful players will discover synergies between carefully planned actions and the rewards of building civic projects. At the end of the game, the winner will be the player who has managed to impress King Charles the most.

    This is the premise behind Praga Caput Regni, designed by Vladimír Suchý (Last Will, Underwater Cities, League of Six). The game was published in 2020 by Delicious Games in an English and German edition. Art is handled by Milan Vavroň (Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar, Mage Knight, Lost Ruins of Arnak).

  • Review: Beyond the Sun

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    The First Thermonuclear War was unkind to Earth. Over the last two centuries, civil unrest and climate change continued to devastate all regions of the world. Crop yields were plummeting, resources were depleting, and poverty and crime were rampant. Humanity was facing extinction. The solution seemed clear: leave Earth and find a new home among the stars. Faced with the prospect of annihilation, the remaining factions on Earth united. On New Year’s Eve 2240, the Scientific Exchange Treaty was signed at the former site of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The world’s resources were poured into space research, and all discoveries were shared on a global network. For the first time in history, humanity acted as one. In just six short years, engineers at the Nishida-Ostergaard Corporation, under the leadership of Dr. Edmund Saito, developed a technology that was shared with the rest of the world. Humanity had finally entered the space age. Shortly after this key discovery, other factions also researched primitive terraforming techniques, radiation-resistant crops, asteroid mining, and other essential components for human survival outside the solar system. Countless expeditions were launched toward exoplanets each month. Now that a solution has been found, the ambition for power and control stirs within each faction once again…

    This is the premise of Beyond the Sun, a debut design by Dennis K. Chan. The game was published in 2020 by Rio Grande Games in an English edition. The illustrations are handled by Franz Vohwinkel (Puerto Rico, Targi, Tichu, 6 nimmt!).

  • Review: New York Zoo

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    In New York Zoo, your task is to build a zoo: construct enclosures for wildlife, introduce new species, and help them breed. It is a straightforward, easy-to-learn game because on your turn you only have two options: place a new enclosure tile in your zoo or acquire new animals to populate your enclosures. However, you must make sure to time your actions well, as your goal is to breed as many animals in your zoo as possible!

    This is the premise of New York Zoo, designed by Uwe Rosenberg (Agricola, Patchwork, Le Havre). The game was published in 2020 by Feuerland Spiele in a German edition. Felix Wermke (Tiny Epic Pirates) handled the artwork.

  • Review: Bus

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    Citizens are busy traveling back and forth between home, work, and the pub. Your mission will be to develop a bus route that allows you to pick up as many passengers as possible and take them wherever they want to go. To achieve this, you will expand your bus line, contribute to the strategic development of the city, attract new passengers, and invest in more and more buses. However, you will also need to reach the pick-up points before rival companies do. Sometimes unexpected events occur: time stands still, and transport demands change completely overnight. Even so, you cannot let this happen too often, as continuous space-time distortion might shatter and collapse the universe.

    This is the premise behind Bus, a design by Jeroen Doumen and Joris Wiersinga (Antiquity, Food Chain Magnate). The game was first published in 1999 by Splotter Spellen in a German edition. In 2019, a 20th-anniversary edition was released by Capstone Games. Artwork for the original version was created by Tamara Jannink (Roads & Boats), while the reprint features illustrations by Daan van Paridon and Thijs van Paridon (The Estates, Wildcatters).

  • Review: It’s a Wonderful World

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    Dear citizens of the 5 Empires! Today is a great day to rejoice, as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the end of the Great Wars. What a joy to live in a world where every decision made by our wise and charismatic leaders is aimed at the happiness of the entire population! We know it is so! And so we want it to be!

    This is how It’s a Wonderful World is presented to us, a design by Frédéric Guérard (Ilôs, GrandBois, Clash of Rage). The game was published in 2019 by La Boîte de Jeu in a French and English edition (the latter co-published with Lucky Duck Games). The illustrations are handled by Anthony Wolff (King of Tokyo, Zombie 15′, Top Fantasy).

  • Review: Watergate

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    In June 1972, five men were arrested at the Watergate building in Washington. Newspaper reporters launched a deep investigation that uncovered one of the greatest scandals in U.S. history, culminating in Richard Nixon’s resignation as President.

    This is the premise behind Watergate, a design by Matthias Cramer (Glen More, Lancaster, Kraftwagen). The game was published in 2019 by Frosted Games in German and English editions. The illustrations and graphic design were handled by Klemens Franz (Orleans, Agricola, Oh My Goods!) alongside Alfred Viktor Schulz.