Review - Imperial Knights: Renegade

Published by Games Workshop
Designed by secretive grots in a dungeon somewhere
For 2 players, aged 14 to adult

How do you review Imperial Knights: Renegade?

It's not a rhetorical question. I genuinely don't know.

I don't even know where to start.

I mean, I'm not even sure how to describe the game.

The whole thing is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a contradiction wrapped in... er... shrink wrap, I guess.

The game is at once too expensive and excellent value; massive in scale yet ridiculously small in scope.

It is arguably one of Games Workshop's most exciting board game releases in the last few years, and unquestionably the dullest.

And what you think of it... what I think of it... is entirely down to perception.

Review - Pentago

Designed by Tomas Floden
Published by Mindtwister AB
For 2 players, aged 8 to adult

I'm not a competitive person.

In fact, I bet I'm less competitive than you.

I'm probably the most least competitive person ever, and if you don't agree then we'll have to settle it with an arm wrestle.

I like to win, obviously.

Everybody likes to win.

Although, having said that, I am reminded of that joke about how there are certain activities where it's better to come second.

But anyway...

Review - Gears of War: The Board Game

Designed by Corey Konieczka
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
For 1 to 4 players, aged 13 to adult

Often, on sites such as BoardGameGeek, you hear boardgamers talking about games that "fired" other games.

"Hear about Thunderstone Advance? Totally fired Dominion."

"Tried Battles of Westeros? Fired BattleLore."

"Got a copy of Kingdom Death: Monster? Fired everything..."

Generally speaking, a game fires another game when it has a central mechanism, or a particular style of play, that it does better than an older game. These are the latest iterations in the constant evolution of games design, and they usually stand on the shoulders of giants, taking great games and giving them extra swagger.

Now, there are some people who see enough difference between two games to want them both, but I understand why a lot of people feel the need to fire older games from their collection. It's not necessarily a "cult of the new" thing; it's just practical. There is only so much time and space in the world, after all.

Recently, I reviewed a game called Fireteam Zero. If you read that review, you will know I am a huge fan. You will also know I mentioned it features a similar card system to the one found in another excellent game, Gears of War. (Or rather, Gears of War: The Board Game, to differentiate it from Gear of War: The Video Game, or Gears of War: The Action Figure, or Gears of War: The Meccano Set.)

Review - Dungeon Command

Published by Wizards of the Coast
Designed by Chris Dupuis, Peter Lee, et al
For 2 players, aged 12 to adult

It feels like forever since I last updated my blog. It's certainly been longer than it should have been. Definitely longer than I intended it to be.

You see, despite all evidence to the contrary, I am a real person, with a real life, and real commitments.

I have a hundred things I need to do, hundreds more I want to do, and an incredibly small amount of time to do it all.

I am a novelist. I write books for young adults. But because the necessity to feed my family is a constant burden, I spend more time working as a freelance writer for other people than I do working on my own books. In fact, most of my time is spent making money in this fashion, because apparently Monopoly money isn't legal tender.

Review - Deathwatch: Overkill

Designed by the Patriarch

Published by the Cult of Games Workshop
For 2 players (up to 12 if you want to split the marines)

So, here we are again.

Games Workshop have released another board game, giving me another chance to talk about my fondness for the 40K universe, and the company's style of streamlined, muscular games with strong narratives.

But, you've heard me do that before, and I'm a bit worried all of my reviews are starting to sound the same; so this time, I'm going to do something a bit different. I'm going to review Deathwatch: Overkill for the people who enjoy tabletop wargames, particularly Warhammer 40,000.

Here goes...