Splendor Board Game Review

People who are not into the hobby of board gaming usually think of Monopoly or Scrabble when they hear the word "board games". Apart from the popularity of those games, they can also be seen being sold in most toy stores. Board games have more diversity than what can normally be seen in your usual Toys' R Us. Games come in different themes and sizes. But they can sometimes remain undiscovered since they can only be purchased in specialty or hobby stores.

Good thing then, that we are in the modern age of board gaming. Most enthusiasts consider this age as the renaissance  of board games, and more games are getting the exposure that they deserve. 

An example of a game that has been getting great exposure is Splendor!

It has won numerous board game awards in 2014 when it was first released.

In Splendor, you take on the role of a gem merchant during the Renaissance. You collect gems in the form of chips. Gems are used to acquire mines, transportation, and other upgrades in the form of cards. Objective of the game is to earn prestige points from development cards or visiting nobles. The game ends when a player reaches 15 prestige points. And that's about it. Sounds simple enough? It is!

On a player's turn. He can only do 3 things:

1. Choose and take gems (chips) - 2 options

• Take 3 chips of different colors
• Take 2 chips of the same color (only if there are at least 4 chips in that color)

Note: Any player can only have 10 chips at a time, excess chips need to be returned to the pool such that the player is left with 10.

2. Reserve a development card - Simply take the face up card and place it in your hand. You can also take a gold token/chip. The gold chip is considered a joker and can be used in future rounds to be any colored gem. A player can only reserve up to three cards.

3. Buy a development card - A player can purchase a card by paying for its cost indicated on the card. A player can also pay for a card that was previously reserved.

As a player purchases mines and development cards, he will be able to obtain bonuses from the cards which will build up his prestige points. At the end of the turn, a noble can visit the player that meets the noble's requirements. This is indicated by the number of each type of gem a player needs to own as a development card. Each noble is worth 3 prestige points.

Players take turns choosing one action until one player reaches 15 prestige points. This signifies the end of the round, and the remaining players can complete their turns. The player with the highest prestige point at the end of the game wins!

A game of Splendor can take about 30-45 minutes. Of course the game may last longer due to deep analysis and decision making of some of the players.

The components of this game are of high quality. The cards feel like they can withstand a lot of wear. The printed images although simple, look elegant. The chips are good quality poker chips. The plastic tray inside the box can contain all of the chips, cards, and noble tiles in different sections. The space for the cards even allows for room if you have plans of sleeving the cards.

The theme on the game doesn't really stand out. The game can have any theme pasted on and it would still work. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, since non-gamers may be intimidated if the game is heavy on fantasy or sci-fi elements.

This is a good entry point game for non gamers to try out board gaming. I introduced this to a couple of non gamer family and friends and they were able to pick up the gameplay and enjoy the game right away.

In conclusion, Splendor is deserving of all the awards it won when it was first released. Any gaming library should have a copy of this gem of a game. You can easily take it out of your shelf, teach your guests how to play in 5 minutes or less, and have an impromptu gaming night session.

Easy to play doesn't mean it is light on strategy or decision making. Great games try to present you with a tough decision every turn. And Splendor manages to do that very well.

So, if you haven't played this game yet, I highly recommend you give it a try. I won't be surprised if you ask to play again after the first game. And again, and again, and again, until you can no longer play since you have to go home some time.

Epic Card Game

Kids in the 90's may have heard of a popular card game called Magic the Gathering. I am a 90's kid myself and the trading card game hobby was a big part of my life growing up. It had the hook of collecting rare cards with value and of course the strategic element of its gameplay was very deep and engaging.

You devote a part of your personality whenever you create your own deck. There is a feeling of ownership not just in a sense that you "own" the cards, but as if you gave the deck a part of you. The deck was a reflection of yourself. At least that was before the internet became a thing, whereas now, you can just google a decklist and create an exact copy of an already tested championship deck. That was when the card game lost some of its magic to me. People started to care more about winning rather than just having fun.

And then, there was the price of the cards. The trading card game is not cheap. It could be, if you just wanted to play and always lose. But if you want to be somewhat competitive, you had to spend your hard earned cash. It suddenly felt like, players who can spend more, win more. Add to that, the difficulty of finding the cards. Some cards are just hard to get, and eventually, the thrill of buying booster pack after booster pack loses its appeal. At least, that was my story. I went on hiatus from playing the game.

I still miss it though. Tinkering with cards, trying to create a killer combo, out-thinking your opponent. I still had that strategy game itch that I wanted to scratch. I just didn't want to put in the effort and the resources to hunt around for cards just to build my dream deck.

Enter EPIC CARD GAME:

In Epic, cards are not randomized. So when you buy a starter box, you have access to ALL the cards!

Yes, ALL the cards, spending huge amounts of money just to get that rare card will no longer hinder me from creating my custom deck!

Gameplay is fast and Epic! Every turn you have 1 gold or resource to spend, and all cards only cost either 1 or 0. So turn 1 can already be a tense moment for your opponent.

There are only 2 types of cards in Epic. Champions that can stay in play to fight and defend for you. And Events that deliver powerful game altering effects.

I have barely scratched the surface of the strategy in this game, but it definitely relieves me of that trading card game itch that I've wanted to scratch for a long time.

Thank you White Wizard games for creating this fun game!

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Review

In 2012, Fantasy Flight released a tactical miniatures game called Star Wars: X-wing miniature game.

Now, I am passionate about all things Star Wars but for some reason, I didn't rush to get this game when it was sold in hobby shops all over town. I mean, the models of the starfighters looked extremely cool and the details on the ships looked amazing, but I felt like learning the rules of gameplay would be a chore. I imagined having to read and learn thick pages of rulebooks just to play the game.

Fast forward to 4 years later and I decided to take a leap of faith and purchase the game. I was prepared to play this complicated game. Or so I thought!

This game is by no means complicated! It is so easy to grasp the rules, I started playing in a few minutes! The game has a quick start guide and a more "advanced" guide to make it easier for players to learn the basics. The game has some advanced moves and rules for the ships but it it easy enough to follow once you have got the basics down.

I've created a quick video to show the basic gameplay of this fantastic game:

So as you can see, gameplay is fast and easy.

If you like Star Wars or if you just like great tactical or strategic games, I highly recommend you give Star Wars: X-Wing Miniature game a try!