Let's Review the board game "What's on the Menu?"

 

We recently added a new game to our board game collection that is quickly climbing up the ladder to join the rest of our go-to favorites when we have a game night. Our new game is called What's On The Menu & it is a culinary themed game. It is created & sold by Boiling Point Games. The rulebook is very straight forward with plenty of diagrams showing exactly what needs to be done, and it is very simple and quick to learn. The goal of the game is to compete with one another to become the newest head chef of a restaurant. This game can be played with two to six players ages 12+ & each game will take anywhere from 25-60 minutes. 

Every player is given a menu which will be laid out in front of them & over the course of the game, you'll be collecting menu cards and curating a menu of your choice to have the best food & the most stars. But, watch out! Your fellow competitors will have chances along the way to steal your food ideas, cause you a loss of stars or even force you to ditch a dish. Every dish has a star rating from 0-3 & some of the cards have bonus for pairing certain foods together. You will of course want to aim for having all three star food dishes on your menu, but the luck of the cards and how competitive the other players are might prevent you from that. 

The game lasts for fifteen rounds which each consist of two phases. The first is the Prep stage which is where you will collect the menu cards along with action cards which are used to gain perks for yourself or sabotage others. The second stage is the plating phase, which of course is when you will add items to your menu. At the end of the fifteenth round, everyone will tally up how many points they've collected to determine the winner. 

The art work on the cards are fun to look at & see what might come up next. Some of the dishes are delicious traditional dishes like chicken fried steak or cannolis, while others are nasty one star dishes like hot dog pie. It also comes with two well made wooden markers which will show where you are on the round tracker & who has the first player marker, plus there is an actual chefs hat for the winner to wear. 

We've been playing this with four to five players and sometimes it takes everyone a moment to think about how they want to lay out their menu or sabotage others so our games have been lasting closer to the one hour mark or slightly longer if we are joking around. However, it doesn't feel like that much times passes because you will be having too much fun to pay attention to the clock. Whether you are just starting into a board game collection journey, or are a pro already this is a fun game to check out either way. You can pick this game up on their shopify page for $39.99. 

⭐ Does this sound like a game you would enjoy playing?

If you want to find more great board games like What's On The Menu? head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Boiling Point Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Let's review Aquatica from Arcane Wonders!

 

I love a good board game that is not only visually pleasing but something we can play together as a family when we want to. So, when I was offered the chance to receive a review copy of the game Aquatica from publisher Arcane Wonders, I couldn't say no! This ocean themed game can be played solo, or up to four players at once with games taking place between 30-60 minutes. The recommended age for this game is 14+ however, that is just a suggestion & as I usually say, younger children should be able to play just fine especially if they are already part of a gaming family. My eleven year old son plays this game without any issues. 

During this game you will play as one of eight Sea-Kings competing to explore the ocean depths in search of resources for your clan. Along the way you'll be earning money, new characters for your deck, location cards and victory points of course. When you are brand new to the board game it suggests in the rule book that you play with Sea-kings numbered 1-4 when playing with a group of four people. I honestly would skip out on Sea-King number one and move onto Sea-king five instead. Why? He has a slight disadvantage that the player who receives him might not enjoy, but as you learn how to play the game you could come back to him without any issues. Out of the first four Sea-Kings, the first Sea-king doesn't really do as much as the others & the card requires you to discard him after using his power while the other three Sea-kings numbered 2-4 are allowed to stay in the other players decks to be re-used again. As you learn the game & are comfortable with the rules you can randomly assign Sea-Kings or let players chose who they'd like to play as. There are other sea-kings who are discarded after using their power, however most have a decent power to use. 

The playing cards in this game are beautifully detailed, I love the location cards & looking at all the small details that went into each card. I also love the little manta ray playing chips! They are so cute. During the course of the game each player will get their own playing deck which matches one of the four player symbols along with a set of manta rays that also match that symbol. Everyone starts off with the same characters in their deck of cards & the same perks on the manta rays backs so that it is an even playing field. The only difference at the start of the game will be the power/ability on your Sea-king card as each has their own set of abilities they are able to do. Along the way you will be able to add additional crew to your deck which will in turn help you collect location cards. 

There are also special goal bonuses you can aim for that will give you extra victory points at the end. For example one of the goals could be collect & place three location cards onto your mat, then the first player to reach that would place their manta ray in the goal area & collect the first victory point slot. The other players will also receive a chance to complete the same goal, however the end game victory points they earn will decrease as the completed player count increases. Meaning, the first to complete it would get ten victory points, while the fourth player to complete it may only receive four victory points so it helps to be the first! The rule book will let you know what requirements need to be met to trigger the end of the game & how to calculate victory points to find out who the winner is. Once you get the hang of the game & the luck of the location cards placed out during the first round games can go by rather quickly. Setting up the board game & then putting it away again at the end is also quite simple. This board game can be purchased on the Arcane Wonders website for $49.99 plus you'll find dozens of other fantastic board games worthy of adding to any board game collection. 

✴ What do you think of the ocean theme of this board game? 

If you want to find more great board games like Aquatica head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Cuteness alert - Super Kawaii Pets the card game!

 

Today I have a short & sweet review to share with you about a cute kid friendly game called Super Kawaii Pets. This is a quick and easy animal themed card game sold by Arcane Wonders for $14.99 up to four players can play at one time and games last twenty minutes or less, it is recommended for ages 8+. 

The goal of the game is quite simple, you need to adopt (draw) sad animals that are looking for a loving home. After you draw a sad animal card, you need to collect the help cards that match that animals needs which could be a vet visit, food, or some love from a human. Once their requirements have been meet you can flip them over to their happy side! You will also try to match some of your animals to location cards. The first player to reach a combination of ten happy animal cards activates the end of the game, everyone will take one last turn then count their victory points to see who the winner is. 

This game & it's rules are simple and easy to learn, it is a great game for families especially families with younger children wanting to get into the world of card games and board games. Seeing as how it is geared towards younger children it is also nice that rounds can go fairly quickly and doesn't have any complicated steps. The game box is also small so this would make a easy one to take along on trips to play in a hotel room or out camping. 

If you want to find more great board games like Super Kawaii Pets head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Trekking Through History Review!

 

Back in May, I wrote a review for a board game called Trekking the World from Underdog Games. Today I will be covering another great board game from Underdog Games called Trekking Through History. This family friendly game is not only fun to play, but it is also a great way to learn about some historical moments or people of the past that you may not have heard of before. 

This game is designed to be played with one to four players over the course of thirty to sixty minutes, it is recommended for ages 10+ & can be purchased for $49.99 from the Underdog website. The game features visually pleasing artwork on the game cards, we enjoy viewing each of them as they are played out onto the game board. I also like how the individual player pieces look, the colors are vibrant & bold. 

Over the course of the game your goal is to collect "Treks" of your adventures through time, you want to start out with the earliest date possible on your turn, then collect later years as you take turns. If it isn't possible to pick a card that is at a later date than the previous card, then you can either visit a ancestor which acts as a "blank card" and can be any date, or you start a new trek. 

Each time you select a new date in history to add to your Trek, it cost hours of your time which are tracked using the large clock shown in the photos above. Once you reach 12 o clock, you are done for that round so you'll want to use "time gems" to lower the cost of the cards which will allow you to gain more cards for your trek before the round is over. Certain cards also give bonuses like extra time gems, and tokens which are placed onto a player mat that grants bonus experience. 

After three game rounds, the game is completed & you will tally up your score based off of how long each of your Treks are. This is a fun & easy to play fast paced game that is wonderful for an assortment of ages. We think this makes a great addition to our board game collection & have played it several times already, we look forward to playing it more and seeing more cards we haven't played with yet. 

If you want to find more great board games like Trekking the World head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Underdog Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Dubious Board Game Review!

 

We recently received a fun board game by Arcane Wonders called Dubious. This game not only allows you to test out your detective & deduction skills, but it will test your skills of story telling as well. This game can be played with anywhere from three to six players over the course of half an hour. You can pick this game up on the Arcane Wonders website for $44.99.

Every player will be given a random occupation & a random secret, from there you will come up with a character and answer five questions about your character. The ultimate goal is to try & get about 50-60% of the players you are playing with to guess either your occupation or secret. However, you do not want every player to guess as you will get no points for making your secrets too obvious. Over the course of the time, five questions will be asked that will help each player figure out what the rest of the players are. So your goal when answering questions is to come up with fun answers that only semi give away either your occupation or your secret without coming right out with it. Get adventurous as you want with your character! This game has been a lot of fun to play & we've been using different accents and just being silly while playing which makes it an even better time. 

While listening to others answers you will be trying to match up their subtle hints with what you think their occupation & secret might be. You are lucky enough to be able to remove two occupations & two secrets from the list right off the bat, as each player is given two of each at the start and they get to choose which two they'd like to use then the other two can just be crossed off your list helping you narrow down the list of possibilities. This game is perfect for family game nights, or a night with friends, you are sure to have a few laughs and a wonderful time together. 

If you want to find more great board games like Planetfall head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Wingspan Fan Art Pack Review!

 

Back in February, I posted a review for a visually pleasing avian inspired board game called Wingspan from Stonemaier Games. Today I will be telling you about a pretty neat pack you can purchase to give the game a little extra flare. Stonemaier held a Wingspan fan art challenge where fans from all over the world could submit art work of the birds on the wingspan cards. Out of everyone who submitted something, two hundred and fifty-five were selected to become cards for the fan art pack. 

The cards are mechanically identical to their counterpart cards in not only the base board game but the Europe, Oceania & Asia expansion packs as well. So all the cards will still play the same, they just look different. I haven't looked through all of them yet as I want to view them during play, but from the stack I have looked through I love the wide assortment of art styles & even the different mediums they used when drawing out their design. I pictured two of my favorite so far in the image above, One is adorable as can be and the other is whimsical. You can pick up the Wingspan Fan Art Pack on the Stonemaier website for $25. At the bottom of the card you'll find the name of the artist who draw the photo for that card.

I think this is a great way for them to show love to the fans & it is a fun way to support everyone who submitted and had their artwork picked for this fan pack. It would be neat to see something like this for more card based games.

If you want to find more great board games like Wingspan head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Stonemaier Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Trekking the World - Board Game Review!

 

It is always a pleasure to find a board game that is not only fun & family friendly, but also matches your interests. My family & I love exploring new places together and we love board game nights, so we were very excited for the chance to receive a copy of Trekking the World from Underdog Games. This board game has a travel theme, you will be traveling the world collecting souvenirs and touring popular tourist spots like the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and more. This game is for two to five players to play over the course of thirty to sixty minutes and it is designed for ages ten and up. It can be purchased for $49.99 on their website or you can purchase it on Amazon.

The game has a simple set up, you'll be able to unpack and place out everything in less than five minutes, then you'll be on your way to exploring. Not only is it easy to set up, but the rules are pretty simple as well and you'll learn how to play this rather quickly. 

Each player starts off at an unoccupied airport of their choice, from there they will use playing cards to move along the board while collecting small colored cubes which are the "souvenirs". Players will need to move along open paths on the board, if another player is blocking the path you want to take, then you'll need to find another way around or figure out a different game plan for your turn. You will earn bonus points for collecting groups of souvenirs, when you have one of each color it counts as a group and gives you points. There is a secondary set of bonus points for the player who has the most of each souvenir color & yes it can be stolen if someone passes you for that color. 

To help you move along the board, every player will start off with three playing cards in their hand. The cards can be used in two different ways, each one has a number & a picture on it. The number is what is used to move across the board & you have to play the exact number you want to move - no more and no less. You can play one or more cards to move along the board, for example if you were at the Eiffel Tower and want to move to the pyramid of Giza that would be four moves so you would need two cards with a value of two, or a single card with a value of four in order to complete your trip. The photos are what you'll need to complete a "tour" of a destination, you'll need to match the photos on the destinations show card & you need to be on that location to tour it and claim it's card. 

Easy Peasy! So basic run down, collect cards, move along the board snagging cubes and working on collecting destination cards. The game ends once one player collects five destination cards or five region bonus tokens are claimed. This game can move along pretty quickly & it is a lot of fun to play. I really enjoy the graphics on the board & on the cards, plus your player mat is shaped like a suit case and it is where you'll stash your souvenir cubes (How cute is that?). I've heard of a lot of the destinations featured in this game, but there are also quite a few I've never heard of before so I like that I was able to learn about some new must see destinations thanks to Trekking the World. Along with this game, Underdog games has several other similar games such as Trekking Through History, Trekking the National Parks and more. 

Does this sound like a board game you would enjoy playing? What is your favorite feature of this game?

If you want to find more great board games like Trekking the World head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Underdog Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Four Gardens - Board Game Review!

Along with the game play itself, board games that have beautiful game pieces tend to draw me in when I am searching for new games for my family & I to play. I was recently asked by Arcane Wonders if I wanted to receive a review copy of a game called Four Gardens. Once I looked over the game description, it felt like it would be a good game to fit in with the type of games we typically like to play. Over the course of the game, you will work towards the goal of building beautiful gardens to gain points and win the game. This game is for 2-4 players ages 10+ and it is played over the course of 45 minutes. Four Gardens makes a great game to play together as a family & an easier starter game for younger kids wanting to get into board games with their friends and parents. 

The garden cards in this game are quite lovely, I like looking at all of the different garden pieces. During the game you will be able to build one of several gardens, based off the color that is on the garden card you select. Each garden can only have a certain amount of cards in them & this will also be shown on the cards to help prevent you from having too many cards or duplicates in your garden. Every garden color has a different number of pieces that may be played, for example the red garden only allows two cards. The end of the game is determined by how many people are playing, the guide book will show you how many garden pieces need to be completed for your number of players to trigger the end of the game. 

This game can be pretty fast paced if everyone pre-plans out their next moves, it is a lot of fun to race to see who finishes the game first & who is able to collect the most points. You'll collect game pieces, play cards, build gardens and gain bonus tiles that allow you different rewards in the game. We enjoy playing this together, it is quick to set up and easy to put away which is always a big plus especially when everything fits back into the box properly. 

I like the game pieces that are included in this box & the large pagoda tower that is used to determine which game pieces you will collect during your turn. This game normally cost $39.99 but is currently on sale for $34.99 on the Arcane Wonders website. Along with this game they have a great collection of family friendly board games. 

If you want to find more great board games like Planetfall head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Libertalia Winds of Galecrest Board Game Review!

If you've ever found a board game that you wanted to add to your collection, then learned it is no longer in print, it can be a bummer! Libertalia is a board game that originally released in 2012 & has since been added to the "Out of Print" category. However one Libertalia enthusiast loved sharing that game with his online followers & after many comments about fans wishing it was still in print, he reached out to the original publisher, then the designer. He was able to get the rights & work along side the original designer to create a newer updated version of the game. The man who was able to accomplish that is Jamey Stonemaier who owns & runs Stonemaier Games. The newest version of this game is called Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest. It is recommended for ages 14+, however this is a fairly easy game to understand & if you are a family that plays board games together kids under the recommended age shouldn't have an issue playing this. You can play this as a solo player with it's own set of rules or you can play with up to six people total, games last 45-60 minutes. 

When you pick up this game box it is quite hefty which may lead some to believe the game is too complex, but the game only gets the weight from the high-quality materials the game pieces are made from & the fact that there are seven character card stacks. One of the stacks is for a solo game & the other six are for the players. I love the little loot tiles that come with this game, they are fun to shake around in the loot bag and I appreciate that they aren't flimsy pieces of cardboard. I also really like the art on the character cards, there are forty different characters & each one is unique. All of the character cards have a pirate theme to them & are all animals, one of my favorites is the Gunner which is an adorable pirate sloth! 

This game is played over the course of three rounds & each round has a different number of turns. The first round will consist of four turns, the second round has five turns and the final round will have six turns. You will also start each round with a different number of character cards to play, this may vary from the other competing players depending on which cards you play each round. To start off the game, one person will shuffle their character deck & select six random character cards. The other players will pull out the same character cards from their deck & this will be the hand you will play with during the first round. Everyone will be on the same playing field, but what will set you apart is the order you play your cards in and how much reputation you have on the board. 

Once per turn, you will select one character card to play & at the end of your turn if your card is still on the board it can be moved to your ship. Every character card has it's own ability that will be used to play the game, some cards allow you to add additional character cards to your ship without playing them, some remove other players characters from the game & more. The order of who goes each turn is determined by the number at the top of the character cards, it starts from the lowest number to the highest in how they are placed out onto the board. So what happens if there is a tied number? There is a reputation track that helps determine the winner during a tie, the lower reputation will be placed out first. At the start of the second & third rounds, you will do the same character card selection mentioned above and add them to any cards you have left over from the previous round. 

Your main goal is to collect characters in your ship who will help add doubloons to your treasure chest, you will also want to collect loot that helps add doubloons as well. At the end of the game the winner is the pirate who was able to find & collect the most doubloons. It can be a pretty fast paced & also cut throat game as you work to build your loot while also stopping your competitors in their tracks. It can be a lot of fun to see how everyone plays out their cards, even when someone plays a card that boots one of your characters, it is still all fun and games. We enjoy playing this together, it is an easy game to set up, game play is fun + quick and it is fast to put away as well. This has made a wonderful addition to our growing board game collection.

Does this sound like a board game you would enjoy playing? What is your favorite feature of this game?

If you want to find more great board games like Libertalia head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Stone Maier Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

The Court of Miracles Board Game Review!

 

Having board games that are easy to set up & quick to play is a must in our house. We love playing board games, but sometimes one of us is busy or doesn't want to play something too long so having a fun, quick & easy game to play is our go to. I recently received a copy of a game called "The Court of Miracles" and it fits that category perfectly. The game itself takes less than five minutes to put together & depending on how well you strategize your movements, this game can go by pretty quickly. It is also easy to learn & there isn't a lot of rules to remember. The Court of Miracles is recommended for ages 10+ & it is set up for two to five players. The box states it generally takes forty minutes a game, however as I mentioned if you have a clear game plan & everyone else does as well a games can be shorter than that. This game retails for $40 on the Lucky Duck Website. 

Each player gets their own factions of "beggars" looking to earn the most coin in order to conquer neighborhoods by placing out all six of their Renwon tokens onto the board. You'll start the game with four player tokens + four rouge tokens along with a plot card and a set amount of coins. The game is set in 16th century Paris, the deck of plot cards feature a wide range of characters from Jesters to Knights. Plot cards can help push a game into your favor & they can also help you stop a competitor in their tracks. The rouge tokens have a face side which features a number & picture that each represent a score, these scores will be used to fight in duels on the board. 

We've had a lot of fun playing this game together as a family. I think it would also make a fun game for a game night with friends as it would be easy to teach so you aren't wasting time explaining a wide range of rules. Everything in this game is pretty straight forward, collect items you need to get your Renown pieces onto the board and battle to take control of each neighborhood onto the board. The first person to put all six of their Renown pieces onto the board is the winner. 

Does this sound like a board game you would enjoy playing? What is your favorite feature of this game?

If you want to find more great board games like The Court of Miracles head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Lucky Duck Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.