Polyhedron Collider: Review

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Your spaceship is heading for disaster. It’s been caught in the gravity well of a star and the engines have decided to conk out at the worst possible time. The only solution is to divert power from all the other systems in the ship and jump start the engines. The problem is that the ship is very close to the sun and systems are starting to get damaged from the rapidly increasing heat levels.

In Solar Storm your job, is to race around the ship, rapidly fixing the ship’s failing systems, while at the same time attempting to kickstart the engines and get out of there before it all gets hotter than the inside of a McDonald’s apple pie.

I have something bordering on a fetish for pattern matching dice drafting games, and Sagrada from Floodgate Games is a really excellent example of a game that scratches that itch.

You and up to three fellow players (expandable to a total of 6 players) will compete to make the most beautiful stained glass window from the very finest colours and shades of glass. When we say glass, we’re not talking about a scene involving a winnebago in the middle of the desert, we mean dice with the shades represented by the various numbers on the die faces.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell A Board Game of English Magic Review

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell a Board Game of English Magic is somewhat of an enigma, a puzzle, not simply in terms of what you, as players, do in the game itself to thwart the Gentleman with the Thistle Down Hair, but rather, given its ...pedigree...how it ballsed it all up so magnificently.

It is said here at Polyhedron Collider that I’m a bit adverse to random chance. It’s mostly true, probably because I say it. However, it’s not an entirely blanket statement as there are a few exceptions to this rule. Whilst it’s true that I’m hugely repulsed by games that place your victory or outcome in the lap of those infernal cubes of chance, being able to react to said result or proactively tip the balance in your favour is something I do enjoy. It all comes down to that ever-popular meaningful decision that we love so much.

Bosk: noun

a small wood or thicket, especially of bushes.

According to Urbandictionary.com it can also mean good, great, or enjoyable. (don’t look into Urban Dictionary to much here as it gets a little...spicy). So, is Bosk bosk? And if Bosk is bosk, how bosk is it? And, if a squirrel jumps out of a tree in Bosk and lands on your pile of leaves how bosking annoying is it?

Too Many Bones - Cover - Chip Theory Games

Ordinarily, the name of a game gives a clue as to the content, theme or idea behind it. It seems that Chip Theory Games beg to differ and named their game, Too Many Bones, based on Moon Logic and a vague idea. For the game is not about, as you might expect, skeletons, pirates, the undead or even the exploits of an enthusiastic grave-digger with hoarding tendencies who is running out of storage space.

Imperial Settlers Empire of the North Review First Thoughts

Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North is a stand-alone, spin-off game set in the “Imperial Settlers Universe”, and although it still hits all the major beats you’d expect from an Imperial Settlers game it has a different...rhythm.

It’s like a new, collaborative song from a well known band, you instantly know its them but its different enough to make you second guess what you are hearing. Kind of like when Ed Sheeran did a song with Justin Beeber. Except Empires of the North isn’t utter bollocks, in fact, it’s rather good.

There’s a point whilst analysing a game’s design when you realise you’ve seen through the surface information and begun to understand what the game’s designer was trying to do. You’ve opened a window into the designers mind, and can rationalise every design decision and look back at the path that led them to this point. It doesn’t make a game any better but gives you an understanding of why.

Dwarf is such a game. A two to three player worker placement game about dwarves (or is it dwarfs I can never remember), doing what dwarfs/dwarves do; mining, smelting, forging and defending against dragons. Dwarfs are renowned for their greed so the winner is the player who has the most resources in two of the three categories; steel, gold and forged items.

Dice Hospital Community Care Expansion Kickstarter Review

When I joined Polyhedron Collider I caused one major upset. For a long time the highest accolade that could bestowed upon a game was the coveted “Three For Thee” award, where each of the three members of Polyhedron Collider, with their varied tastes on the hobby, had all purchased the same game.

Dice Hospital was a Three For Three game.

But, now there are four of us. Making that award slightly less prestigious yet simultaneously making the new, “Four For Four” award something akin to a platinum trophy.

Dice Hospital is a Platinum Game. So when the opportunity presented itself to play the new Expansion, Community Care, Caezar nearly lost an arm in our collective rush to get it.

"Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Rory J. Somers opened the Undo box and started playing... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey came in the form of a few decks of cards. And so Dr. Somers finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home."

News Collider - Board Game News Kickstarter Guidelines, Dragonmeet Tickets On Sale, Ticket To Ride TV Show, US China Trade Ware Suspended

A short but important News Collider this week where we collectively breathe a sigh of relief regarding the US/China Trade War, raise an eyebrow over the updated Kickstarter guidelines for creators and scratch our heads in puzzlement at what exactly a Ticket To Ride Reality TV show looks like.

Kickstarter Highlights Dwellings of Eldervale, Eternal Adversary, Middara, On the Underground, Roll PLayer, Super Fantasy Brawl, Secret Spy Agency

== Disclaimer ==

Polyhedron Collider and the members thereof can accept no responsibility for the balance of your, the reader’s, bank account or credit card activity in relation to Kickstarter and the campaigns and projects mentioned below.

The views and opinions expressed on the aforementioned campaigns and projects are expressly our own and are based on either on demonstrations of the games or what has simply made one or more of the Polyhedron Collider Crew say something along the lines of: “Oh, hewo”

Fair warning to you, dear reader, it's a bumper week for great kickstarters:

When I found out that there was a new Stonemaier game on the near horizon, I’m not ashamed to admit that a bit of wee came out. I then found out what it was all about. “Not designed by Jamey”…okay… “card based”…oh. And so my enthusiasm fell apart. I was then, as we say on the podcast, greyscaled uninterested. However, Stonemaier’s reputation kept me with half an eye on the ball here. After all, I was pleasantly surprised by Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, so perhaps the metaphorical lightning would strike twice.

It was Forrest Gump who famously said “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get”. Which is clearly nonsense as the list of contents is on the box. And even if it’s not, there’s a contents sheet inside. Anyone who buys a box of chocolates at random is obviously either blind or a Grade-1 moron. I raise the possibility of unknown or potentially unpleasant content as we at Polyhedron Collider regularly are sent pre-production, pre-kickstarter or prototype games to assess, review, cast judgement upon and playtest ahead of any proposed release. This process does yield some genuinely good games, some games that have a great idea, but need a bit of improvement plus a spit and polish and then there are the games that, like an albino Vampire, should never see the light of day. Thankfully the games in the latter category are, like the coffee cream in the box of Terry’s All Gold, relatively few and far between because most designers don’t want to release turds rolled in glitter.

News Collider Board Game News Dungeon and Dragons Comics Acquisitions Incorporated Kinderspiel Winner Osprey RPGs GenCon Trademark

The News Ferrets have returned from their week-long news-pilgrimage with a bountiful array of news morsels for you to enjoy.

They return asking questions like "Where IS the home of Tabletop gaming?", "Should we join the Acquisition Incorporated franchise? Do they have medical insurance" and "Should we be Arthurian Knights or Cavemen first?"

Kickstarter Highlights Boardgame Hot Top Picks Trouble in Templetown, Endeavor Age of Expansion, Isle of Cats, Die Macher

As always, we at Collider Towers have our collective fingers pressed to the pulse of Kickstarter Board Games. We are on the very bleeding edge of what is hot and that is why we can tell you about amazing current Kickstarters but also campaigns that begin in the very near future that we think you'll want to keep your eye on.

This week we look to defend the body from infection in Trouble in Templetown, explore new ways to win with the expansion for the rather excellent Endeavor. There's polyomino cats in Isle of Cats and a reprint for the very first game entered into the BGG database.

Congratulations! You escaped the computer that was stuck in “Kill All Humans” mode. You managed to build an escape shuttle and now you’re headed back to Earth. Time to put your feet up (especially easy in zero-gravity, you don’t need a footstool or anything), sure there’s an asteroid field between you and home but the autopilot can deal wi...I beg your pardon, did you just say “malfunctioning sensors”.

Ah crap!

News Collider Board Game Dice and Doughnuts Unpaid Staff, Origins Awards, Metal Gear Solid Dungeons and Dragons Essentials Kit

This week's News Collider, bringing you the best in board game news we start with a story about the owner of a board game cafe who was taken to court for not paying his staff, we have a sneaky peak at what Wizards of the Coast are bringing us with their new Essentials Kit, Metal Gear Solid board game pre-orders and some highlights from the Origins Game Fair Awards.

Kickstarter Highlights - Dig Your Way Out, Jurassic World Miniatures Game Escape the Dark Sector Storymasters Tales Weirding Woods Two Robots

You visit the Polyhedron Collider website looking for some game recommendations and you know that not only do those chaps have excellent taste in boardgames they are also on the very bleeding edge of what is cool in board gaming.

After reading the weekly Kickstarter highlights do you:

Back all of the games mentioned
Back all of the games except that really dodgy looking one.
Make your own, careful, considered and informed choice.
Stuff it all and go balls deep for the T-Rex mini that you are absolutely sure you'll get...one day.

Elder Scrolls Call to Arms Table Top Board Game Skyrim Chris Birch Interview

Towards the end of last month Modiphius announced they would be launching a new tabletop skirmish game in partnership with Bethesda Games Studio, and that game was Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms. The announcement came with images of a Dragonborn miniature which would then be on a limited sale during the UK Games Expo.

To say I was very excited about this news is an understatement.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with the founder of Modiphius, Chris Birch to find out a little bit more about the game during the expo.

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