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Micro Reviews of Board Games From a Non-Competetive Perspective

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mouser:
Today's micro-review is of my favorite new 2-player card game, which can be had for as little as $10-$12: Star Realms.



Star Realms is actually a "deck-builder", which means that over time each player buys and adds cards to their own personal deck which is continuously re-used (Dominion is one of the more popular "deck builders").

I can't think of a better introduction to deck building -- it's a fun, quick game with simple rules but plenty of strategy.

The theme is Sci Fi and the art is wonderful.

Really fantastic little game, could not recommend it more highly.

The creators of Star Realms look like they are using the same engine to make a similar card game set in fantasty theme, currently kickstarting here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1172937197/epic-card-game?ref=nav_search

TaoPhoenix:

Collectible Card Games are a tricky subject to review!

Can you give us more of the mechanics details? For example, in the classic Magic the Gathering, the raw mechanic went something like

Creatures Attack (Plus Modifiers) + Spells, try to defeat the opponent first.

MtG eventually sprawled into a monolith that eventually took turns I didn't agree with, with the whole "your cards are only good for about two years before we declare them 'too old to use'. "

So what's the appealing part of this new game? Is it just reliving the glory days of MtG of 1993 with a SciFi spin?

mouser:
well i never played magic the gathering, though i have watched some of it being played -- and from watching i know it can get quite complicated.
there has been a rebellion against the "collectible" aspect of card games, as seen in magic the gathering, and most new deck builders do not follow this path.
instead there are fixed card sets that everyone can by for affordable prices and there aren't these super rare expensive cards, etc.

star realms seems to be the core boiled down essence of a deck builder, lean and mean and easy to learn and play.

here's a review that talks more about how to play it and why it's good:
http://www.nohighscores.com/2014/05/22/cracked-lcd-star-realms-in-review/

mouser:
Here's a new board (card) game mini-review, for Boss Monster:



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/131835/boss-monster-dungeon-building-card-game

Lately i've played a bunch of a card game called Boss Monster (i've only played two-player).  It feels a little bit like Star Realms -- the images and cards are fun to look at and read.
Each player builds a dungeon and tries to kill heroes that visit them.
It plays really fast and fun, with a good amount of solitaire feel but also plenty of take-that and press your luck elements.

There's a lot of luck but a ton of strategy.  Most of all it's *FUN* as heck.

I would say however that while the basic rules are simple, there are a fair number of non-obvious specific card rules and interactions on cards that can be confusing -- this isn't a game for young kids who aren't quite sophisticated in terms of planning out multiple interactions.

Really great game, highly recommended (there are expansions too).

Edvard:
Just wondering, based on your reviews of Settlers of Catan and Heroscape, if the two could be blended; combine the fast-action gameplay of Heroscape with the simpler map and social aspects of Settlers?  For the record, I never played either, so...

Also, while looking for piecepack, I ran across this:
http://theboardgamedesigner.com
Heard of it?

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