Gameblog

Category: More about games

  • Domaine

    There’s a new Finnish review of Domaine posted on my website. Domaine is a reworking of Teuber’s earlier Löwenherz (and published under that name in Germany). I’ve tried both and I think Domaine is an excellent work and much better game than it’s predecessor. The game’s about medieval lords, fighting over the lands while the…

  • Age of Steam

    I wrote a review of Age of Steam (in Finnish). Age of Steam is probably my favourite heavier game right now. As the name betrays, it’s about the golden age of steam engines, the most romantic and glorified period of rail transport. A slightly boring theme, perhaps, as laying railway tracks across the map of…

  • Cults Across America

    I wrote a review of Cults Across America (in Finnish). Cults Across America is a light wargame with a Cthulhu theme. Players lead cults, trying to conquer USA. The theme is fun, which is typical for a design this American. First thing you’ll notice: the game’s ugly. The thin cardboard board looks very amateurish and…

  • Feudo

    I wrote a review of Feudo (in Finnish) after just a single game. That always means the game sucks so bad, I don’t want to play it again. However, as my opinion seems to be in a minority, I thought writing a review might be a good idea. Or then I’m just fishing for GeekGold…

  • Dawn Under

    Another review on my Finnish site: Dawn Under or Dicke Luft in der Gruft. Dawn Under is a delightful game of putting vampires to rest before the dawn. The thick, double-layered board has sixty graves covered with headstones made of thick cardboard. Each headstone has one of six colours in it’s bottom. Players must find…

  • Die Sieben Siegel

    I reviewed Die Sieben Siegel (in Finnish). Die Sieben Siegel (The Seven Seals) is a trick-taking game (one of these days I should write an introductory article on trick-taking games, in Finnish). In the Card Games classified index it would probably be in the exact bidding group (Spades is not in that group, but is…

  • Karibik and TransAmerica

    I got a nice packet yesterday. Inside I found two games from Winning Moves, Karibik and TransAmerica and some Kosmos two-player games (Lost Cities and Balloon Cup). What all these games have in common? They are all coming out in Finnish next year and I’m working on the translations. You know how much I like…

  • Four Dragons or Dia de los Muertos

    I wrote a review of Four Dragons (and Dia de los Muertos). It’s the first review I’ve written with my new game review content management system I built to make writing reviews easier. As you might already know, Four Dragons is a reincarnation of Frank Branham’s self-published Dia de los Muertos. The rules have been…

  • Fresh Fish

    I was wondering what to grab this month from Lautapelit.fi. I had little idea, until I reached F in the list of games and noticed they had Fresh Fish. When it came out (from Plenary), I wanted to get it, but at the time Safe Haven didn’t have it and ordering from USA was (and…

  • Games and artificial intelligence

    Yesterday I watched a bit of a documentary about Garry Kasparov and how he lost a match to IBM’s Deep Blue. As the story goes, Deep Blue pulled an untypical move in the second game, causing Kasparov to lose. After that, he lost his concentration and failed to win the match. Kasparov, naturally, accused IBM…