Board Games Reviews

We’ve reviewed our fair share of toys over the last number of years, including one of the most iconic construction toys on the entire planet: LEGO. Yet somehow, a new toy has entered the Roffel household that is like no other, that has captured the imagination of my kids, even weeks after we first opened it up. I’m talking about GraviTrax, a marble track STEM toy from Ravensburger, one that has already taken Europe by storm, and is now invading…

Thanks to our friends at Alderac Entertainment Group, we had the excellent opportunity to play Istanbul: The Dice Game, a simplified version of the original game title Istanbul, which removes the worker placement elements and instead uses dice rolls to determine potential actions. While I’ve always been a fan of worker placement games – and Istanbul is an excellent title that can take some time to complete – it’s nice to add games to my collection that take less than…

Unless you have been living under a rock, it is likely that you have heard of a little company called The Escape Game, who are famous for marketing and delivering a wide variety of escape rooms across North America, drawing in millions of fans each year. Groups of friends are enclosed in an area, and given a set amount of time to escape the room. Not only has it provided a fun experience on a Friday night, but has also…

A few weeks ago, Alderac Entertainment sent us a bundle of games to play and review, one of which was a fun and quick 2 player title, Greedy Kingdoms. We posted a “How to Play” article which is up on the site now, but basically, players are racing to collect resources using heroes, in order to build 2 Royal Palaces. The first to build 2 wins! Two player games are sometimes hard to come by, and finding a good 2…

A few weeks ago, we posted our “How to Play” article for Game of Throne: Catan – Brotherhood of the Watch. While I’ve been fairly vocal about my dislike of the base version of Catan, many of the spin off adaptations – most notably to date the Star Trek version – have improved on my main problems with the original. Was Brotherhood of the Watch also able to satisfy my concerns? Let’s dive in! In my opinion, the additions to…

When consuming different forms of media when it is based on something we love, it’s often hard to determine whether the media you are engaging with is actually good, or if you are looking and experiencing it with rose colored glasses. This was the worry I had when Ravesnburger first published Disney’s Villainous, but since the original release – and two stand-alone expansion – I can easily say that Villainous is one of the best games I’ve played within the…

One of the hardest things to do with a family board game is to create something that is entertaining for parents and exhilarating for kids. Many games attempt at striking this good balance, and ultimately fail. The reason is fairly simple: adult minds and children's minds think very differently, and trying to create a game for both is next to impossible. What many publishers and developers have decided to do is create experiences that are tailored to kids, but have enough to keep adults entertained. Enter Treasure X: Quest for Gold, a simplistic treasure ...

When Ravensburger sent me a note asking if we’d like to review Harry Potter Labyrinth, my family and I were incredibly excited. We’ve had a copy of regular Labyrinth for a while now, and while it’s not the deepest game, especially for adults, it was fun to play with the kids.

If you've been playing board games for a significant period of time, the game Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig might sound familiar, even if you have never played before. That's because this 2-7 player game is a mashup of Between Two Cities and Castles of Mad King Ludwig. Elements from both games have been combined to create something entirely new, although incredibly familiar. But will two good games in their own right make one epic game? Let's dive in and take a look!

So few games now-a-days can be taken out and about, played anywhere and everywhere, with little setup and almost no time commitment. Whether travelling on a train, flying through the skies, or simply sitting down with friends around a coffee shop table, having something you can pull out of a backpack or a purse, and play with friends is an extraordinary. Enter TinyNinjas, a card and dice game for two players that can be learned and played within 15 to 20 minutes! How does it hold up? Let's dive in!