Dicing with depth...

Players:  1-4 Ages:  13+ Time to play:  30-45 minutes Sagrada is described as a "dice drafting and windows crafting" game and was designed by Daryl Andrews and Adrian Ademescu.  It was released in 2017 by Floodgate games.  The object of the game is to construct a stained glass window using brightly coloured dice.  Each player has to contend with various placement rules and of course the other players who may take the dice required from the communal dice drafting pool.  Skill tokens can also be acquired and spent by each player to enable them to use special tools which can help players meet their objectives. It's not very often that you come across a game with such a unique and iconic design, and one which jumps out at you from the shelf when you look at it, but Sagrada is one of those games. The box art is really something.  So vibrant and full of colour, you get drawn towards it like a moth to a flame, and when you open the box every com...

Players:  2 Ages:  8+ Time to play:  15-30 minutes Board gaming can be tough sometimes, with so many similar games on the market it can be difficult to find something new and interesting, something which sparks that sense of excitement.  I must confess that I was in a bit of a lull, biding my time with the familiar and quite frankly just making do. So imagine my glee when I was presented with "patchwork" which is based on the heady and testosterone filled world of patchwork quilt making.   As soon as I saw it, I threw my knitting needles into the air and screamed with delight. Finally! I thought... a game I can get my teeth into. Today I'll be reviewing Patchwork - a tile laying strategy game for two players designed by Uwe Rosenberg and released in 2014. Patchwork is a curious game that sees you purchasing different shaped patches of fabric to create a quilt by filling the squares on a grid that you have in front of you in a kind of Tetris s...

Players:  2-10 Ages:  8+ Time to play:  30 minutes How much fun can you have with a pad a pencil and a couple of pigs?  A question we've all asked ourselves at some point or another..  luckily for all of us, the answer lies below, as today I'll be reviewing the classic game "pass the pigs" It's worth noting that me and pass the pigs go way back.  When I wasn't getting collared for pitching pennies against my school playground wall, I was playing pass the pigs with my mates whilst our names were being called on the school register.  I've seen it all, the highs and the lows, I've basked in the glory of a leaning jowler and held my head in my hands when I've lost it all on a single throw.  I was a broken man... well... a broken 12 year old - which is probably worse. It's fair to say that it'll be difficult for me to stay objective during this review, but I'll do my best not to get misty eyed.  I've got a lot of fond memories...

Players:  2-6 Ages:  8+ Time to play:  15-30 minutes I'm very pleased today to be reviewing one of my favourite games, Perudo.  It's a dice game which is based on the popular south american game "dudo".  This game was huge in the early 90's after being introduced to the country by chocolate heir Cosmo Fry after holidaying in South America. With Cosmo's backing and numerous contacts, the game quickly gained popularity with the elite of the day.  Celebrity endorsements soon rolled in from people such as Sting, Richard Branson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry (who described the game as being the second most addictive thing ever to come out of South America). Although initially, only deluxe versions were available via Harrods, a cheaper mass produced set soon became available for general distribution for the great unwashed (like myself). Perudo, Dudo and other such games belong to a family of games collectively known as liars dice, which you may alr...

Players:  2-4 Ages:  10+ Time to play:  60 minutes Time to go back, to a much simpler time... in fact a much, much simpler time.  When all we had to worry about was feeding ourselves and protecting ourselves from a menagerie of predatory animals.  It might sound like a night out in your local town, but I'm actually talking about the neolithic era, which saw the dawn of agriculture, human technological advancements such as tool making and the beginning of permanent communities. "Stone Age"designed by Bernd Brunnhofer is a worker placement game for 2 to 4 players which was released in 2008.  In this game you play the leader of your own tribe competing against other tribes for resources in the neolithic era.  You need to gather resources in order purchase huts to house your growing population and also spend time collecting technologies in the form of civilisation cards. Along the way you'll be making decisions on where to send your workers...