June Staff Picks!
- Name of Game: Disney Villainous
- Publisher: Ravensburger
- Year Published: 2018
- Type of Game: Asymmetrical, card management
- Play Time: 30-50 mins
- Rule Complexity: medium
- Number of Players: 2-6
- Bits: AWESOME! The cards are beautiful, the minis of each villain are sturdy and great.
- Rating: 4 Meeples
If you’re a Disney buff at all, this game is definitely up your alley! In Disney Villainous, you play as a Disney villain from a range of different animated movies. The play style of this game is asymmetrical, which means that each villain has it’s own win condition. First villain to complete their win condition wins, but other villains can play the heroes to your villain stopping you from gaining resources. Another great feature to this game is that each new “expansion” is a 3 person starter set! I love this game, and tend to play it with a Disney soundtrack in the background. -Dani Kennedy
- Name of Game: Fantastic Beast Perilous Pursuit
- Publisher: USAopoly
- Year Published: 2018
- Type of Game: Co-Op, Dice management
- Play Time: 45-60 min
- Rule Complexity: Easy – Medium (gets progressively more difficult)
- Number of Players: 2-4
- Bits: Good, the boards and bits are nice and the dice are great quality
- Rating: 4 Meeples
I like this game because it is Co-Op and you really have to work together in later stages to win. You are trying to get all the Fantastic Beasts back in Newt’s magic suitcase by rolling dice and assigning them to different actions . You can lend other players dice if you meet certain criteria. The dice themselves are really nice and the personal character boards all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Each beast has their own way of fighting back/running away and you have to change up your strategy a bit for each one. There is a surplus of beasts to choose from so there is a lot of replay-ability. I feel this is a must have for any Harry Potter fan, or Co-Op game fans in general. -Nichole Davis
- Name of Game: Dungeon Mayhem
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Year Published: 2018
- Type of Game: Competitive Deck Based Battle Royale
- Play Time: 15 Minutes, more players will make play slightly longer
- Rule Complexity: Easy, might need to keep the rulebook handy for playing the first time
- Number of Players: 2-4 for the base game, 2-12 with all the expansions
- Expansions: Battle for Baldur’s Gate and Monster Madness both also stand alone games.
- Bits: Average, all cardboard. The awesome art is by Kyle Ferrin, and unique on most cards.
- Rating: 4.5 Meeples
Bring on the chaos! In Dungeon Mayhem you compete directly against all the other players in a bid to be the last person standing. There are 4 decks to play, each based on a D&D class with a completely different style of play. The Paladin’s defensive capabilities are probably my favorite if I’m actually trying to win, but the wizard’s is pretty fun if I’m feeling a more chaotic play-style. The Barbarian is brutal with her attacks and the Rogue is quite the thief! It’s easy to pick a favorite deck and stick to it, so I would recommend deciding decks randomly for maximum replay. Make sure to set your life total to 10 on your tracking card, and then fight! Last one standing wins! I felt that it was slightly clunky to learn, but after the first game it was all smooth sailing. Remembering to draw cards at the right time and keeping track of the different symbols just took a little practice. I’ve played with kids as young as 8 with little difficulty and lots of silly fun, I’d imagine as long as they can do a little bit of reading most children could easily take part. Overall I think of Dungeon Mayhem as a great party or quick family game. As long as you don’t mind the strong competitive aspect it’s fun for all ages, offers plenty of replayability and of course the best part; sassy table talk. –Reena Asquith
- Name of Game: Fastrack
- Publisher: Blue Orange
- Year Published: 2018
- Type of Game: Dexterity Game
- Play Time: Varying under 30 mins
- Rule Complexity: Easy
- Number of Players: 2 Players
- Bits: Wood track, 10 wooden pucks, and drawstring pouch
- Rating: 5 Meeples
FastTrack is a fast action puck slinging game powered by your fingers. It allows its players to hone in on their eye coordination and fine motor skills. The goal is to fire all 5 of your pucks through the slot to the other side of the track before your opponent. The bits are a graphically pleasing wood board and pucks, painted red, black, and white, with some exposed wood. It has a beautiful minimalistic design reminiscent of a race-car track. I like how competitive and heart racing this game has the potential to become. The game is suggested for players 5-9 years old, however the hand eye coordination element makes this a good drinking game for those of us over the age of 21. There is nothing I dislike about this game. –Maddie Schenck
