Reviews

  • Review: Russian Railroads

    ByiMisut Hours
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    Players represent railroad tycoons tasked with constructing the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as two additional lines. Beyond laying tracks, they will purchase new locomotives, drive industrialization forward, and hire workers and engineers. All of this serves the noble goal of amassing the greatest number of victory points: the true measure of a player’s skill in railroad construction.

    This is the premise of Russian Railroads, one of the games of the year, designed by Helmut Ohley and Leonhard “Lonny” Orgler, famous for designing numerous 18xx games, with Poseidon perhaps being their other best-known creation within this genre. The publisher that first brought it to market was Hans im Glück in 2013. Martin Hoffmann and Claus Stephan are responsible for the artwork, whose illustrations we have already enjoyed in numerous games. A few examples include Lancaster, Artus, and Race for the Galaxy.

  • Review: Kingdom Builder

    ByiMisut Hours
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    The goal of the game is to amass as many gold nuggets as possible while building your kingdom, which requires strategic decisions about where to place your settlements. The criteria for earning those coveted nuggets during final scoring will be defined by three Kingdom Builder cards.

    Straight to the point: this is Kingdom Builder, designed by the acclaimed Donald X. Vaccarino, creator of one of the milestone titles that revolutionized the modern gaming landscape: Dominion. It was published in 2011 by Queen Games, featuring artwork by Oliver Schlemmer, one of the publisher’s regular artists who also illustrated titles like Fresco, Escape: The Curse of the Temple, and the second edition of Wallenstein. This design was awarded the prestigious Spiel des Jahres in 2012.

  • Review: The Castles of Burgundy

    ByiMisut Hours
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    When you discover a new designer, usually because you have tried one of their great games, you tend to go through a phase of euphoria where you get the urge to find out about everything they have published to date. We check BGG, look up rankings, read and reread reviews, until we fall right back into board game consumerism. And this, my friends, is exactly what happened to me with the beloved Stefan Feld. When my collection was still in its infancy, the community hype skyrocketed after the presentation in Nuremberg of the now-famous Bora Bora. Shortly after, I decided that this game had to be mine. And so it was. After being delighted with the mechanics and gameplay feel, the “Feldian” fervor took over me. And that is how my collection welcomed what is, to this day, the highest-ranking game on the BGG overall list: The Castles of Burgundy. The Loire Valley during the 15th Century. As influential princes, players dedicate their efforts to careful building and trading to make their domains stand out.

    This is how The Castles of Burgundy is presented to us. As we have already mentioned, it was designed by Stefan Feld, designer of other great games such as In the Year of the Dragon, Bora Bora, or Trajan. The illustrations are done by Julien Delval and Harald Lieske. The game was published by the Ravensburger – Alea tandem in 2011.

  • Review: Lewis & Clark

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    On April 30, 1803, the United States of America purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon for 15 million dollars. Thomas Jefferson decided to send two adventurers—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark—to explore this immense terra incognita. The Lewis and Clark expedition (which lasted from 1804 to 1806) was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States.

    This is the premise behind Lewis & Clark, the debut design by Cédrick Chaboussit. First published in 2013 by Ludonaute, it was an absolute hit at the last Essen fair—so much so that finding a copy right now is practically impossible. The artwork is by Vincent Dutrait, who has also illustrated well-known titles such as Augustus, Mundus Novus, and Tikal II.