Merlin – Five By review

This review originally appeared in episode 97 of The Five By – you can listen to it here. It’s been a while since I last rambled on about a Feld game, but here we go again, this time with a design collaboration. Published in 2017 by Queen Games with art from Dennis Lohausen, Merlin was…

Calico – Five By Review

This review originally appeared in episode 96 of The Five By – you can listen to it here. It’s time to talk about a new release that’s been bringing colour, joy, and adorable cats to our quarantined selves. That game is of course 2020’s Calico, designed by Kevin Russ, published by Flatout Games, and illustrated…

Azul: Summer Pavilion – Five By Review

Azul: Summer Pavilion is the third installment in Michael Keisling’s Azul series published by Plan B games under their Next Move imprint. The three games are themed around the work of Portuguese artisans working on projects for the royal family. This 2019 game has two to four players working to create the magnificent Summer Pavilion…

The Five By – Mercado Review

This review was recorded and originally released as part of Episode 72 of the Five By. You can follow that link to hear it plus four other reviews of games we’ve been enjoying at our (sadly imaginary) podcast HQ, or continue reading for the non-audio version. Apologies for slight differences between the two– minor edits…

Five By Review – Targi (Episode 47)

Hello Five By listeners (and blog readers), it’s Ruth here, fresh from a day playing a lot of new releases and ready to talk about a game that well, isn’t. First published in 2012, Targi was one of the first specifically two-player games to capture my attention. Previously I preferred playing games with more versatility,…

Hanamikoji (2013) – Review

Designer: Kota Nakayama Artist: Maisherly Publisher: EmperorS4 The Gion neighbourhood of Kyoto is the city’s most famous geisha district, and within this area the street called Hanami-Koji (Flower-viewing Lane) is one of the most popular places. On this street lined with teahouses and restaurants, many geisha and their apprentices can be seen in the evenings…

The Lost Expedition (2017) – Review

Designer: Peer Sylvester Artist: Garen Ewing Publisher: Osprey Games In May of 1925, renowned explorer Percy Fawcett, his son Jack, and Jack’s friend Raleigh Rimall said farewell to their guides at Dead Horse Camp and headed off alone into the dense Amazon forest. Oral tradition amongst the Kalapalos people speaks of meeting the men and…

Into the Drowning Deep – Review

I had seen some chatter on Twitter about this horror thriller from Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant, and upon realizing the monsters involved were mermaids, I just had to get myself a copy. During our recent snow day, I curled up with the newly-arrived book and ended up devouring three-quarters of it in a…

Darkside Detective

The Darkside Detective is a short but extremely well-written, amusing little point & click game featuring the strange cases of Francis McQueen, paranormal detective, and his oblivious partner Officer Dooley. Available on Steam for just $12.99, the game features six cases, each of which only takes maybe 20-30 minutes or so. Thus, I’ve been spacing…

Wizarding World Loot Crate: Dark Arts Review

It’s been a few months since I subscribed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Loot Crate, and last week I received my fourth crate which was themed around the Dark Arts, featuring items reminiscent of the more evil characters and aspects of JK Rowling’s world. Spoilers abound, so scroll down past the Dark Mark…

Stardew Valley Guidebook – Review

Available through FanGamer, this farmer’s almanac from Kari Fry (and ConcernedApe) provides a wealth of information, advice and checklists for budding farmers eager to explore all that life in Stardew Valley has to offer. I’ve been playing the video game a decent amount and so was excited to check out this companion book. I had…

November Loot Crate Reviews

This month I received not one, but two Loot Crates in the mail – the regular crate and the first of their Wizarding World crates which features items related to the world of Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts. Obviously my review posts are full of spoilers, so I’m providing links below to separate posts for…