October 2023

Welcome board game fans!   This month’s newsletter will help you prepare for Halloween with some of our favourite atmospheric games with a spooky theme.  We also bring you two game reviews from our recently played list: Dorf Romantik and Aeon’s End.  

Lastly a big thanks to everyone who supported our charity drive and congratulations to the lucky winner of a 100% off voucher from our shop, we look forward to bringing you more exciting competitions in the new year.

Happly Halloween Gaming

Let us help you host a Halloween-themed board game night with a few games that we think will work great for getting into the spooky spirit.

Betrayal at Baldur's Gate

This game is a twist on the popular Betrayal at House on the Hill (which is also an excellent choice by the way).  Players explore a haunted town, encountering eerie events and eventually facing a betrayal scenario.  It's filled with thematic elements, including ghosts, monsters, and a genuine sense of suspense.

Mysterium

In Mysterium, players work together to solve a murder mystery with the help of a ghost's who gives cryptic clues. The game has a very eerie and atmospheric feel, making it perfect for a Halloween setting.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

For something lighter, this social deduction game is all about identifying the werewolves among the players. The theme of supernatural creatures and the tension of trying to figure out who's who makes it a great choice - let the accusations fly!

Dead of Winter

This game is set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. Players must work together to survive, but there's a possibility of a betrayer in the midst. Here too the theme is once of survival against the odds amidst the constant threat of the undead.

Zombicide: Black Plague

More Zombies! This edition of the popular Zombicide series transports players to a dark, medieval fantasy world infested with zombies. The setting is eerie and grim, with hordes of undead roaming through towns and dungeons. Players take on the roles of heroes, battling zombies and completing quests. The game's thematic elements and cooperative gameplay make it an excellent choice for those seeking a spooky and action-packed adventure.

Elder Sign

Set in the macabre Lovecraftian universe this game involves players working together as investigators in a museum filled with supernatural horrors. The rich thematic elements mand the sense of impending doom and constant struggle against cosmic forces add a thrilling and eerie dimension to the game, making it a great addition to your Halloween game night lineup.

Exit: The Game series

Ok this isn’t a single game,but the Exit series offers a variety of escape room-style experiences. Many of the games have eerie themes, such as escaping a creepy Abandoned Cabin or solving the mystery of the Haunted RollerCoaster.

Speaking of Exit games…

The new Exit Advent Calendar is now in stock!

The Exit Advent Calendar Series has players working together to solve a daily puzzle that will bring you one step closer each day to save Christmas from the latest calamity to befall the season.   Now in its third installment the Exit Advent Calendars are great fun for the destive season, mixing escape-room style puzzle solving with an exciting adveture story.

In Exit The Game Advent Calendar : The Silent Storm, you are one of Santa’s toy makers, and suddenly find yourself locked in the workshop during a storm…can you escape and find Santa in time to save Christmas (again!) ?

Exit The Game Advent Calendar :  The Silent Storm is available to purchase from our online shop.

Review:

Aeon’s End

Jenny Iglesias, Nick Little (I), Kevin Riley

1-4 Players

60 minutes

Aeon's End is a cooperative deckbuilding game with a clever mechanism whereby players never shuffle their deck.  Each turn player’s line up the cards they would like to cast on their next turn but turn order is variable so careful planning and teamwork will be needed.  

The goal of the game is to succesfully defend Gravehold (the last human city) from powerful monsters bent on eradicating all human life.  The base box contains several different player mats each giving players a unique ability as well as several Nemesis cards to battle against (of increasing difficulty) so this game scores high  on replayability.   The games are also relatively quick, taking 45 minutes to an hour to play (though allow time for ytour group to be debating possible strategies, particularly on your first couple of games).  

Aeon’s End takes the deck building genre in a new direction and makes for exciting game play.   There are a number of expansions available to add more variety and new challenges once you’ve mastered the base game.   Highly Recommended!

(Aeon’s End is available to buy from our online shop or rent from our rental library.)

Review:

Dorf Romantik : The Board Game

Michael Palm, Lukas Zach

1-6 Players

45 minutes

Dorfromantik: The Board Game sees up to six players work together to lay hexagonal tiles to create a beautiful landscape and complete tasks to earn points.  

The game is unique in that there is no winning or losing but instead the goal is to each time build a more beautiful (and higher scoring) landscape than the last game.  In this way the players advance along a campaign, unlocking new tiles to place, new tasks to complete and new ways to score points.    Between games players “unlock” achievents that set targets for the next game.  

Each game starts off slow and cautios but as the game progresses and the players reap the rewards of their carefully places tiles the pace quickens and the excitement grows as the points start pouring in -- hopefully there will be enough to unlock the next achievement the players have been aiming for!

Every time we have played this game with a new group the overwhelming response was along the lines of “let’s go again” and “we can do even  better!” and therein lies the genius of this game :  Dorf Romantik is easy to play and teach and will apply to young and old alike (and elderly too!)  and has everyone rooting to do better next time.

It is a charming, relaxing game and makes a really pleasant break from the heavier strategy or intense competition that we normally bring to the table.  Playing a game or two of Dorf Romantik has me feeling refreshed and invigorated… just as if I’d been on holiday to a charming country village!

(Dorf Romantik The Board Game is available to buy from our online shop or rent from our rental library.)