First up was Indian Summer. Even though a case can be made that Uwe Rosenberg's Patchwork is nothing more than a side mechanic cast off from his sprawling masterpiece, A Feast For Odin, it still became a huge surprise hit on the two-player game circuit back in 2014.
Well, fast forward three years and the same designer's Indian Summer provides a more elaborate game experience that can be played with anywhere from one to four players. Between the deeper rules, which have you constantly striving for and chaining together special actions, an infinitely more charming theme which appeals to the outdoorsman in me, and considerably more tasteful art design, I dumped Patchwork days after playing this one.
I guess my only niggling issue with the game is its unnecessarily problematic name. I just can't fathom why Uwe didn't call it something more politically correct like New England, Fall Hike or Grab Deez Knutz.
Despite the potential trigger-factor, Indian Summer rates four pips our of six with a big ol' tilt up towards the top of yonder oak tree!
We also got into the new(ish) Ryan Laukat / Red Raven title MegaLand.
This "blink or you'll miss it"quickie plays out like the A.D.D. love child of Incan Gold and Machi Koro. Every player enters into an abstracted dungeon delve to see how far they're willing to push their luck for loot before they're knocked out. Sets of treasure can be traded in for buildings or extra health which, in turn, helps you mitigate risks and earn the coins required to win the game.
Honestly, my only complaint with the game is that, just as it starts getting interesting, it ends. But, then again, you can always house rule the victory conditions!
MegaLand scores four pips outta six with a slight tilt up.
Finally there was the completely goofy programmed action-er Walk the Plank. In a nutshell, there are certainly worse ways to kick start or end a deeper night of gaming.
This one borrows elements from River Dragons and Mayday's own Get Bit. Players table three action cards from a sizable deck of options, trying to feed rival pirates to the kraken whilst keeping their own dudes safe.The more powerful cards have a cool down period to ensure that they're not tabled over and over again.
This might not be the deepest pursuit ever, but the grin-enduring artwork and trash-talk-inspiring game play make it a fine little diversion.
Three pips out of six with a healthy tilt up towards the crow's nest!
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Hey, folks! If you're enjoying these mini-reviews, please consider buying me a Coffee! Full disclosure: I probably won't use the money to by java; I'll probably just use it to buy critical sustenance like mushrooms, nuts and berries!
Well, just mushrooms and berries, actually, 'cuz, like all proper nerds, I'm positively ridden with life-threatening allergies.
