Covenant Designer: German Millan Publisher: Devir Players: 1-4 Age: 14+ Time: 100 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Heavy games…require effort. They command our attention and patience as we attempt to digest the rules. They demand our time … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/23/doug-g-review-of-covenant/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
To give you a chance to rest during the long read, you can answer trivia questions after each diary...in the style of the respective game, of course.In this first part I'll talk about:▪️ Scope — geography trivia with a cool gadget to show the solution▪️ Quiziko — if you just wait, random wrong answers go away▪️ Fake Check — half the statements are facts, half are fakesLet's start...•••Scope — with Arno SteinwenderIn 2018, a few months before my first visit to Spielwarenmesse, the annual toy and
As we prepare to ring out the gaming year of 2025, it’s obvious which title dominated the Game of the Year awards. Tomas Holek’s SETI, published by CGE, swept through the awards like E.T. on a flying bicycle. It recently … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/22/seti-adds-portugals-jogo-do-ano-to-its-win-total/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
I recently lifted my rating of Forest Shuffle to a 9. It’s now at 40+ plays and it continues to be requested on BGA on a lot of game nights. I’m noting this here because we tried out Forest Shuffle: … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/22/alison-brennan-game-snapshots-2025-part-32/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
by Felix Sonne Dice Duelo is a semi-abstract, two-player dice-placement game set in the Wild West. You are playing as a gambler-duelist — it's the Wild West, what do you expect? — who will duel to the death on a poker table...with dice.The premise of the game is that each duelist's revolver has six bullets, which are their dice. They take turns loading their bullets, one by one into the cylinders, then they "shoot" their opponent by forming a poker combination on the game board. The catch? You w
Splendor Kids Designer: Marc André, Catherine André Publisher: Space Cowboys Players: 2-4 Age: 6+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4q9AO9S Played with review copy provided by publisher Play travelers that deliver food across the kingdom. Splendor is a game … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/21/two-different-takes-on-splendor-splendor-kids-and-splendor-silk-road-expansion/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Marvel Skirmish in New York Designer: Matthias Cramer Publisher: Lookout Games Players: 2 Age: 10+ Time: 30 mins Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher Old friends and enemies meet in the streets of New York, and … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/20/dale-yu-review-of-marvel-skirmish-in-new-york/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
A PUB punter has been left stunned after spotting an Oscar-nominated actor alongside his huge popstar girlfriend in a London boozer. The pair...
They are:• Lunar City, which focuses on attracting civilian settlers to the Moon.• Undermoon, which introduces an advanced excavation system, allowing players to dig tunnels beneath their existing structures.• Zenith Works, which permits players to collaborate with a powerful construction conglomerate to build shared infrastructure.▪️ On December 12, 2025, Gigamic released Qomet, a two-player game from Fabrice Puleo that joins other "Q" titles in the publisher's abstract strategy series such as
That added a meaningful strategic constraint.At the same time, I simplified the bonus scoring by allowing bonus cards to be claimed directly when forming certain combinations (such as pairs or color triples), eliminating the need for separate point cards.In other words, the theme didn't just make the game more beautiful; it improved the mechanisms of play.Tweaking the FansI researched Japanese folding fans, the "Sensu", and focused on three traditional types (without worrying too much about hist
Tulikko Designer: Jerome SOleil and Nicolas Melet Publisher: Studio H Players: 2-4 Age: 8+ Time: 20 mins Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher Legend has it that Tulikko, the fire fox, lives hidden among the animal … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/19/dale-yu-review-of-tulikko/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Since 2019, I’ve been a devoted fan (and playtester) for the Unmatched: Battle of Legends game system – and been part of epic face-offs between so many different heroes in so many diverse locations. (There are – if you’ve acquired … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/18/unmatched-float-like-a-butterfly-sting-like-a-pizza-scarfing-ninja-turtle/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Take Time Designers: Alexi Piovesan, Julien Prothiere Publisher: Libellud Players: 2-4 Age: 10+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/48MVKOv Played with review copy provided by publisher Take Time is a cooperative game where players either win or lose together. … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/18/dale-yu-review-of-take-time/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
If you've never played Nine Tiles before, you can jump right into Extreme — but if you're a Nine Tiles veteran, this game gives you a brand-new challenge.One of many licensed versions of Nine Tiles in JapanThe Role of Oink GamesQ: How did Oink Games shape the final version?Pellin: Oink Games has been fantastic to work with. They understand our vision and refine it, while keeping the essence of the game intact. They helped adjust the game's balance, redesigned the tiles, and ensured everything fi
Coloro Designer: Ralf zur Linde Publisher: Steffen Spiele Players: 2 Age: 8+ Time: 15 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4oPgM3i Played with review copy provided by publisher Coloro is a simple yet captivating collecting game. Your task? Gather the most origami … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/17/dale-yu-review-of-coloro/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
Kilia Designer: Lars Ehresmann Publisher: Huch! Players: 2-4 Age: 14+ Time: 60 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Kiel, Germany — the lively port city on the Baltic Sea — is the starting point for a project of … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/16/dale-yu-review-of-kilia/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
I’m not going to bury the lede here – I’m enjoying the heck out of playing Galactic Cruise as a solo game. And since I started with a sly newspaper/journalism reference in the first sentence of this post, I’ll keep … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/15/rocket-man-galactic-cruise-solo/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026 — just like their EXIT game line — and to celebrate the Brands and Schmidt will release Noch X-mal!, a 1-6 player game with the same gameplay as the original release — using colored and numbered dice, cross out columns and colored areas on your personal player sheet — but adds new areas in which to score as well as "an innovative pass track".▪️ After 2023's For One: Kniffel and 2024's Kniffel 7, Reiner Knizia has another dicey offering in this game line f
After 306 new games for the year, doing the rules/video for Speakeasy (the imminent #307) broke me. That’s it. No more. I couldn’t watch it in one sitting, my mind kept wandering, rule after rule after icon after icon after … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/12/15/alison-brennan-game-snapshots-2025-part-31/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>
The ability to make interesting decisions in an ever-expanding game of strategy using minimal components without sacrificing any of the fun or depth, while also delivering a game with great table presence, was the challenge I wanted to try.My name is Augusto Correia Rocha, and I am the designer of Asteria, a Brazilian game developed by Glyptodon Studio and published in Brazil by MeepleBR.OriginsI started the project in 2017, making my own prototype to present to friends and local board game conv