March 2024

Welcome board game fans!   This month we report back on our trip to Bad Moon Cafe in London where we enjoyed a game of Century: A New World.   Also, to celebrate the release of the latest installemnt in the Dune film franchise, we a look at some Dune based board games.  Enjoy!

Review:

Century: A New World

Emerson Matsuuchi

2-4 Players

50 minutes

Played @ Bad Moon Cafe,  London

What draws us to the board gaming hobby?  For me, board gaming let’s me engage my imagination, exercise my brain and at the same time enjoy a good laugh with friends in a social setting.   Like all good hobbies, board games have a way of grabbing your focus away from your daily troubles and reducing stress by providing an escape from the humdrum of everyday life. The very best games provide just enough intrigue for you to want to play again.

Ever on the hunt to brighten our collection with new board game experiences to bring you,  in February the My board Game Library  team took a trip into London’s Bad Moon Cafe.  The venue has an industrial look with a large, well lit space and an energetic vibe.  Be preprared to share the space with War Hammer enbthusiasts and MTG fans, but the Cafe is spacious enough for gamers from all walks to gather and enjoy the hobby together.  It is worth noting that the cafe is dog friendly and is also well set up for anyone with  mobility issues, being on a level ground floor throughout. (Booking ahead is advised as the venue is popular, especially on weekends)

As we were with a friend who is new to board gaming, we decided not to venture too far into uncharted waters and ended up selecting Century - A New World as we had previsouly played and enjoyed the other titles in the Century tilogy.  

All the familiar mechanics are present:  you’ll be collecting cubes, upgrading them and trading them for cards that give you points.   However, in New World, the action is moved to the main board where you will place workers to carry out the actions you need.  Players can oust opponent’s workers by paying extra for an effect though eventually you will have all your workers out.  When this happens you are forced to rest (miss a turn) to bring everyone back to base, which frees up those spaces for the other players and makes “timing your rests” a big part of the strategy.

The game is easy to explain and you don’t have to be familiar with the other titles in the series to enjoy it.  We ended up playing two games in quick succession so it is safe to say the game went down a treat with our guest.

Emerson Matsuuchi designed all three Century titles to be playable either as stand alone games or as expansions to each other, so once you feel you’ve mastered each game you can combine them for further challenging variations.

(Century: A New World is available to buy from our online shop.  Century: Spice Road  and Century: Eastern Wonders are available to rent from our library or from our online shop.)

Exploring the Dunes

A short guide to board games based on Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi world.

First published in 1965, “Dune” is Sci-Fi epic set in a vast interstellar empire known as the Imperium.  The action takes place on the desert planet Arrakis, the only known source of  “the spice” Melange (a substance vital for extending human life and mental abilities and without which interstellar space travel would not be possible).

The multifaceted space opera with its intricate exotic worlds, political intrigue, sociopolitical commentary, romance and tragedy has been reproduced as a two-part movie by acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve, the seocnd part just released in Cinema’s this week.  

Here is a list of our top board games that pay tribute to the Dune universe:

1. Dune: Imperium

Drawing inspiration from the 2021 Dune film adaptation, this deck-building and worker placement strategy game has players step into the roles of Great House leaders, competing for control of Dune's pivotal planet.  The game tops our list as it is easy to pick up, offers a decent strategic play and is ideal for those eager to immerse themselves in the world of Dune.

2. Dune Imperium - Uprising

The excellent sequel to Dune Imperium, is a stand-alone sequel to Dune Imperium game.  This version is slightly more complex than the original and supports up to 6 players but otherwise retains (and even improves on) the mechanisms of the original.  Uprising delivers a solid game experience for fans of deck-building / worker-placement strategy.

3. Dune

(Classic version,1979  reprinted in 2019)

Players represent the political factions vying to collect spice while navigating battles, betrayals, and alliances in this complex, assymetrical strategy game.  Even with revised rules the game requires a substantial time commitment to learn and to play as well as a high player count (best at 5 or 6 players) but it does rewards players with a deep and immersive experience true to the lore of the books.  Note: This game features a fair deal of back-stabbing and betrayal mechanics which may not be to everyone’s taste.

4 .Dune: Betrayal

For fans of TV series “The Traitors”, this one is for you.   Dune: Betrayal is a social deduction-style card game that is easy to learn and aligns well with the theme of feuding House factions from Frank Herbert’s book.  Players will gather information and bluff their way to victory by scoring the most points for their side. This is achieved by helping your allies and harming your enemies, but first you’ll have to figure out which is which!  The quick play time keeps the game fun even if you guess wrong and get betrayed!

Whether you're a seasoned strategist or a newcomer to the world of Dune, the franchise has spawned several games that offer diverse experiences to explore the rich and intricate universe of Dune.

(Dune Imperium is available to rent or buy from our online shop.)