This succinct little tableau-building, action programming game does something brilliant in its simplicity and simple in its brilliance. A game of Faraway will not take long, and it will not melt your brain, but each game will leave you feeling like you’ve just scratched a little bit more off it, that you understand the nuances just a fraction more, and that your next game will be that fabled, perfect game.

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Although Kutná Hora is an economic euro game, the game isn’t about money. It’s about working the market. It’s about reading your opponents, being ready to take advantage of an opportunity, and being clever. The real resources in this game are your actions, your timing, and your opponents. This game is both cleverly clever and subtly clever that at the end of the game will leave you feeling very satisfied with the experience (even if you didn’t win).

Players are trying to develop the renaissance city of Kutná Hora, accomplished by digging mines, purchasing writs, plots of land, and constructing buildings, but most importantly, Kutná Hora is about increasing the prosperity of the city.

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Scholars of the South Tigris has a lot going on.  It’s the most complicated game yet published by Garphil Games and in short, it’s bloody brilliant.  

In a nutshell, the game is about translating documents; you are trying to run a path through various translators to end up with an Arabic version of your scroll.  Along the way you’ll hire translators to the library, you’ll add more, and a greater variety of dice to your bag, and you’ll do some action programming as well as doing some colour mixing.

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Not to be grandiose in the introduction to this review, but, can we start by agreeing that the point of board gaming is to have a fun and engaging interaction with others?  Good.  Now, as a parent*, if I can do this with my kids, well that is fantastic.  That is to say, I too can have fun.  And not ‘vicarious fun’ through my children’s enjoyment, but to have an actual fun and engaging interaction with them.  Well, if you are a parent reading this, I think we can agree that is priceless.

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The Polyhedron Collider Cast is back with another episode packed with tabletop gaming chatter. 

In this episode, we tread the rain-soaked streets of the Blade Runner RPG, blow up dissident planets in Star Wars Rebellion, and explore the best Dungeons & Dragons adventures. But this is not before we take an in-depth look at the historical economic game Kutná Hora: The City of Silver from CGE and argue about zoo builder Ark Nova (aka Terraforming Zoos).

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Roll some dice, place dice in action slots, perform actions and end the round. Repeat until the game’s end is triggered. That’s 80% of this game. It’s simple to teach, to learn and to play.  This makes Ahoy very accessible, even though it is quite heavily asymmetric. 

The other 20% of the game is the reason why Ahoy was shortlisted for the Polyhedron Collider Game of the Year.

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The Polyhedron Collider Cast is back with another episode packed with tabletop gaming chatter. 

In this episode, our hosts, Steve, Andy, Sid, and Rory, bring us breaking news that's set to change the game – literally. We're talking about a new sponsorship deal with Kienda that's as exciting for the listeners as it is for the podcast. With a special QR code discount for board game purchases, it's a win-win for everyone involved.

But that's just the beginning. The episode takes a playful turn with discussions ranging from selling body parts for board games (yes, you read that right) to the possibility of wearing sponsored pyjamas. 

The meat of the episode, however, lies in the thoughtful and in-depth discussions of two board games that have captured the hosts' attention: 'Expeditions' and 'Scholars of the South Tigris.' 

We'll also be answering listener questions, including a trip down memory lane as we attempt to recall the very first games we played with each other. Expect a blend of nostalgia, confusion, and the usual banter as we try to piece together our gaming origins.

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Tiwanaku may look like a pretty Zen, meditative game.  It’s a game about striking a balance with Mother Earth as you explore the landscape and plant crops.  It has soft, pastel colours, and the simple “topography-line-art” puts me in mind of sand rake art.  Tiwanaku even sounds quiet not itself - but if you were to watch people play it, there would be lots of soft mutterings and long protracted moments of silence as players stare intently at the board.    

In short, Tiwanaku is quite a deep, thinky game.

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