An Overview of Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization 

“Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization” is a strategic board game that transports gamers back to the dawn of civilization—or, as a substitute, uncivilization. In contrast to traditional civilization-building games, Age of Dust takes a funny and chaotic approach to early human history. Players take on the role of tribe leaders, guiding their people through the trials and tribulations of prehistoric life. 

The game aims to collect resources, expand the tribe, and ultimately defeat one’s rivals. Nevertheless, it remains a challenging game because it introduces many elements of chance and caprice. This irregularity is one feature that distinguishes “Age of Dirt” from other action games that are better suited to the market. 

Game Mechanics and Play 

At its core, “Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization” revolves around resource control and worker placement. Gamers begin with a small tribe and should assign their workers numerous duties while looking, accumulating, and exploring. The game board is divided into exceptional regions, offering particular sources and challenges. 

One of the game’s standout features is the “cup of fate.” while assigning workers to obligations; players need to region them in a cup that is shaken and poured out. This mechanic provides a detail of randomness, as not all people will land in which they may be meant. Some may be misplaced or eaten by wild animals, reflecting the precarious nature of prehistoric lifestyles. 

Additionally, players can ship their people to the “idle hands” region, where they can perform actions such as stealing resources from other players or inflicting mischief. This aspect of the game introduces a layer of interplay and strategy, as gamers have to decide whether to focus on building their own tribe or sabotaging their fighters. 

Themes and Aesthetics 

Thematically, “Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization” is a breath of fresh air within the strategy style. The game’s humor is evident in its artwork and card descriptions, which can be full of playful and regularly absurd references to prehistoric life. The game’s whimsical nature is similarly more desirable because of its colourful and targeted additives, from the illustrated recreation board to the quirky worker meeples. 

Despite its lighthearted technique, the game does not shy away from providing players with significant picks and strategic intensity. Balancing helpful resource acquisition, worker placement, and interaction with other gamers requires careful planning and flexibility. This combo of humor and approach makes “Age of Dirt” a game that both seasoned game enthusiasts and novices may enjoy. 

The Community and Reception 

Considering that its launch, “Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization,” has garnered a devoted following. Players respect the game’s specific take on the civilization-constructing genre, as well as its enticing mechanics and replayability. Online forums and board game communities are full of memories of memorable moments and unexpected twists, highlighting the game’s capacity to create lasting experiences. 

Critics have also praised the game for its innovative layout and thematic consistency. Thanks to its unpredictable elements and interactive gameplay, they regularly point out the game’s capacity to keep gamers on their feet. The combination of method, humor, and risk makes “Age of Dirt” a standout name within the global of board games. 

Why Buy Board Games Like Age of Dirt? 

In modern society, board games are a perfect opportunity for face-to-face contact and, thus, interpersonal communication. Games like “Age of Dirt: A Recreation of Uncivilization” allow people to leave behind technologies and engage with friends and family. The tactile nature of board games, mixed with their strategic and frequently competitive factors, makes them a timeless form of amusement. 

Furthermore, board games can be an excellent manner to expand crucial thinking and hassle-solving abilities. “Age of dirt,” with its aid management and strategic planning, encourages players to think in advance and adapt to converting situations. The game’s humor and unpredictability additionally educate gamers to expect the surprising and discover pleasure in the adventure, not just the destination. 

Final Thoughts 

“Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization” is a fascinating and entertaining addition to the world of board games. Its combination of humor, strategy, and unpredictability sets it apart from conventional civilization-building video games. Whether you’re a pro gamer or new to the hobby, “Age of Dirt” guarantees hours of fun and memorable stories. 

If you’re searching to buy board games that offer both intensity and amusement, “Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization” needs to be at the pinnacle of your list. When it comes to buying board games, look no further than BoardGamesNMore. As an excellent platform to shop for board games at low-cost fees, BoardGamesNMore offers a wide choice of titles to healthy each flavor and preference. Dive into the whimsical international of the “Age of Dirt” and discover the fun of uncivilization nowadays! 

I recently had the opportunity to play Heat: Pedal to the Metal, and I must say, it was an exhilarating experience that took board gaming to a whole new level. This game, designed for speed enthusiasts and strategy lovers alike, combines the thrill of high-speed racing with the intricate planning of a strategic board game, creating an adrenaline-pumping adventure that had me hooked from the start.

Gameplay (5/5): The gameplay of Heat: Pedal to the Metal is nothing short of fantastic. The mechanics are easy to grasp, making it accessible for players of all skill levels. Yet, beneath the surface simplicity lies a depth of strategy that keeps the game engaging and exciting. Players get to assemble their racing team, manage resources, and make crucial decisions to outmaneuver opponents. The element of chance is present but doesn’t dominate the gameplay, allowing for strategic planning and clever tactics to shine.

Components and Artwork (4.5/5): The components of the game are of high quality, from the detailed miniature cars to the well-designed game board and cards. The artwork is vibrant and dynamic, capturing the essence of high-speed racing. The only minor downside is that some of the smaller components could be more durable, but this is a small issue in an otherwise visually appealing game.

Replayability (5/5): One of the standout features of Heat: Pedal to the Metal is its replayability. The game offers multiple paths to victory, encouraging players to explore different strategies and team combinations. Each playthrough feels fresh and exciting, ensuring that you’ll keep coming back to the game table for more.

Theme and Immersion (5/5): The game does an exceptional job of immersing players in the world of professional racing. The theme is woven seamlessly into every aspect of the game, from the team building mechanics to the nail-biting race sequences. The sense of immersion is further enhanced by the thematic events and challenges that players encounter throughout the game, making every decision feel impactful and exciting.

Overall (4.8/5): Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a triumph in board game design. Its seamless blend of strategy, speed, and excitement creates an experience that is both accessible to newcomers and deeply satisfying for seasoned gamers. Whether you’re a racing enthusiast or simply someone who appreciates a well-crafted board game, Heat: Pedal to the Metal is a must-have addition to your collection. Get ready for a thrilling ride that will keep you coming back for more, pedal to the metal!

To purchase the game at BoardGamesNMore Click the link here

Other Similar Games

Flamme Rouge and Expansions (Click here)

Hansa Teutonica Big Box is an absolute gem in the world of board games. It combines strategic depth, player interaction, and a captivating theme to create an experience that will keep you coming back for more. This review will explore the various aspects that make this game truly exceptional.

First and foremost, the strategic depth of Hansa Teutonica Big Box is unparalleled. The game provides players with multiple paths to victory, allowing for diverse and dynamic gameplay. Every decision feels significant, from expanding your network of trade routes to maximizing your influence in key cities. The wide range of strategies ensures that each playthrough is unique and engaging.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this game is the level of player interaction it offers. The competition for control of cities and trade routes creates a thrilling environment where every move has the potential to impact other players’ strategies. The tension and tactical maneuvering that arise from these interactions make for intense and memorable gaming sessions.

The Big Box edition of Hansa Teutonica truly enhances the game with its expanded content. The additional modules, such as the East Expansion, Britannia Expansion, and the Emperor’s Favour, add new dimensions and options to explore. These modules provide even more strategic depth and replayability, ensuring that the game stays fresh and engaging even after numerous plays.

The production quality of the components is outstanding. The game board is beautifully designed, showcasing the intricate network of trade routes and cities. The wooden meeples and tokens have a satisfying weight and feel, adding to the overall immersive experience. The rulebook is well-structured and easy to understand, making it accessible to both experienced gamers and newcomers to the hobby.

The only minor drawback of Hansa Teutonica Big Box is that it may feel overwhelming to beginners due to its complexity. The game requires a certain level of strategic thinking and planning, which might take some time to grasp fully. However, the rulebook does an excellent job of explaining the mechanics, and after a couple of rounds, players will find themselves fully immersed in the gameplay.

In conclusion, Hansa Teutonica Big Box is a masterpiece of strategy and depth. Its engaging gameplay, high level of player interaction, and superb production quality make it a must-have for any board game enthusiast. Whether you are a seasoned gamer or new to the hobby, this game offers an unforgettable experience that will keep you engaged for hours on end. Prepare yourself for a journey of cunning and ambition in the trading cities of medieval Europe with Hansa Teutonica Big Box.

Gameplay: In Frostpunk Board Game, players take turns building and expanding their city, dealing with harsh weather conditions, and facing unexpected events. Players must manage their city’s resources and make strategic decisions to ensure their citizens’ survival. The game features a unique resource system, where players must gather, store, and distribute resources to keep their city running.

Challenges: The game is filled with challenging situations that players must overcome to survive. From harsh weather conditions that affect resource gathering to unexpected events that test the players’ decision-making skills, the game offers a continuous sense of danger and urgency. Players must balance the needs of their citizens with the resources available to them, ensuring that they make the right decisions at the right time.

Replayability: Frostpunk Board Game features a high degree of replayability, with various game modes and different events that change with each playthrough. The game also has a unique resource system that provides a different experience each time, making it a highly engaging experience for players.

Conclusion: Frostpunk Board Game is a well-designed and challenging survival strategy game that offers players a unique and engaging experience. The game’s challenging situations, resource management, and decision-making elements make it an entertaining experience for players of all ages and skill levels. Whether you are a fan of the original game or a newcomer to the series, Frostpunk Board Game is a must-try for fans of strategy games and dystopian worlds.

Checkout our events at BoardGamesNMore

https://www.agtviajesyturismo.com/index.php?route=extension/module/events/events

Playing Time : 60-120min

Designer : Adam Kwapiński

Artist : Zbigniew Umgelter, Aleksander Zawada

Publisher : Board&Dice

BGG Link : https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/322588/origins-first-builders

Primary Mechanics :

• Tile Placement
• Worker Placement with Dice Workers

Before we start, some background…

Hi there ! Since this is my first ever gaming blogpost, I feel I needed to do a little bit of intro before I get rolling here. So long story short, Vinay asked me a few weeks back if I would be interested to write on the board game blog for his website. I pondered on that idea something like 1.635 seconds before answering…you guessed right…positively!  Coming a long way with board games in general, I think of myself as an active gaming community contributor for a wide variety of game styles, themes and mechanics on both solo and multiplayer games. I comment a lot on gaming forums, Facebook Pages and BGG, usually to share my experiences on what I have been playing but also quite a bit on guiding  players to make the right purchases based on their tastes and experience. I also provide support and sometimes training sessions live during gaming events and online for some of the heavier games, especially for historical wargames. I also enjoy taking pictures of the intriguing, inspiring or simply beautiful game designs that hit the tables. I may come back one day with a little more details about my personal gaming experience and habits which possibly started when I discovered brick and mortar institution LeValet d’Cœur. It was around 1983…

Now back to today’s topic, my experience with the recent release called Origins: First Builders by designer Adam Kwapiński. For the record, I have played the game 3 times with 2P, once with 4 players and tried the basic solo training mode once at the time of this write-up.

Game Overview

So it would appear that Aliens came to Earth in a distant past and helped our ancestors building the foundation of new prosperous societies using alien resources and technology. In Origins: First Builders, you will personify an Archon, head of a group of Freemen to race against others and build the most prestigious empire there is. Using you Archon personae and some of your most reliable leaders, you will, over a period of time gather resources, build your city around your temple and agora, increase your influence and gain stellar abilities from the water, earth and mountain temples aligned with the influential zodiac signs.

As your empires’ civilization grows, you will increase the knowledge of your leaders, promote some of them on seats of power giving your archon additional abilities or use them to lead the people to greater potential in your capital. You’ll have the ability to develop the land in the most effective way and also compete in a test of arms to gain additional prestige over your competitors. Meanwhile, you must not neglect to raise your influence in the temples which can also become significant to the eyes of the advanced aliens. They will help you thrive, but in order to do so, you’ll have to prove your worthiness by managing wisdom as a currency, along with stone, food and gold as a wild resource. At the end of the game, the player whose capital and archon’s influence has built the most prestigious civilization, wins.

As I opened the box and browsed through the clearly-designed rules booklet, my first impression of the game was, as it is often the case, which is not always good, but also not always bad, to compare it to some extent with other dice placement games like Coimbra and a bit of Teotihuacan in some way as well. Now that being said, I will not make further comparisons as Origins branches off to a completely direction from there apart that you play dice as workers called Freemen sitting in holders and their value increasing as they age and become wiser.

The Game material is rather nice and sturdy with thick nicely illustrated board, thick cardboard tokens & city tiles, and a slew of dice in 5 different colored shades. I have to say that the plastic parts, which include the dice holder and the 5 circular motherships appear a tad lame against the overall game material presentation. The imprinted dice are not visible enough and I would recommend using a dark sharpie to dot the dice pips in black. I have seen this and approve as the result is rather adequate and fixes this issue. Also, the resource tokens are in my opinion sub-par, reminding me of the older civilization game called Nations for those who know it. I often refer to this kind of token quality as bland German design, as we see in too many of Stefan Feld’s collection of games from Alea-Ravensberger game series if you are familiar with these.

Key Actions & Mechanics

Each turn, the players will have a choice over 5 Player actions:

• Visit a site with your Archon or Freemen
• Grow your population using food
• Close a district using an active Freemen
• Build a tower using gold
• Pass

As implied earlier, Origins: First Builders clearly borrow some of the mechanics we see in other games but integrates them in a unique and effective manner. There are 5 primary actions which are intuitive to use. When you VISIT an encounter site with an alien mothership, you will need to decide which Freemen will lead the action and activate 1, 2 or three actions depending on the color match and its value. If the dice is of lower value than the mothership’s, you will have to spend wisdom to activate it. If the color matches, you get to do an additional setup-variable action. And if you Freeman is very wise (e.g. value of 6), you get to do all basic actions at that location. Therefore proper planning can seriously pay off and is a key aspect of the game’s basic engine. If you are short of wisdom to spend, you can then send your initially colorless Archon and avoid paying entirely, once per round. Pacing yourself is one of the nice system in this game. After a player visit a site, its cost is increased by 1, affecting every player to visit the same locations afterwards… unless it was at 6, after which returns to 1. Will I be helping someone then…?  This aspect works really well as it is neatly and tightly stitched together.

From visiting mothership locations, they will grant the ability to gather resources, develop your city by BUILDing tiles and triggering some potentially strong effects in one of the 5 colored spheres while attempting to meet the alien city landscaping objectives. You can also gain military fame over your competitors by taking the lead in the arena and trigger more special actions, recruit new Freemen or speakers (additional but temporary workers) or increase influence in some of the 3 temples.  To acquire a new Freemen, you will need to have GROW your population first and have an available dice tray. Each of these areas of potential influence growth have their own unique behaviors and will influence you decisions as the game evolves.

CLOSING a district implies committing a Freemen to a set of 4 city tiles in a square pattern, triggering city tiles of the same color once more and potentially increasing your end game scoring bonuses. The Freemen’s value in that district will be multiplied by the tower level of the same color in your city. Since at the end of each game round when every player has PASSsed, the Freemen on alien mothership locations will return and increase their value up to 6 after which they may have to use a seat of power. The game will force you to think when is best to close a district or to some extent let go and have this Freemen taking a seat of Power, giving your Archon a colored capability to trigger when he visits sites later. Another very nice implementation in this game.

Building and growing your city in Origins: First Builders is one of the key & fun element of the game

So I mentioned Gold is a will resource but it is also required to increase your tower levels for end game scoring multiplier bonuses. Again, convenient but think carefully when spending it as a wild, you may end up one short at one time! If you play lots of Euros, you’ll know what it feels to be short by one of…

The Arena brings a few useful advantages including in-game scoring triggers when declaring a fight while being ahead of some of the other players, winning the first player token for the next round, and winning power tokens which can be used to play twice in a row here and there, which is often a key advantage in worker player games where acting early means paying less. Remember that one resource short statement above?

As for the temple’s influence, they will prove the leader of each a unique ability which, if aligned with your strategy can be quite powerful. Not that they can be stolen and that increasing in all temples pays-off but keep in mind you’ll score the two lowest of the three. Another well designed system.

Replay Value

The game’s variable setup makes Origins: First Builders replay value pretty high. The colored motherships will not always trigger the same combination of special actions.  The objective scoring patterns for city tiles drawn at setup will also impact the market’s availability as well as dictate the scarcity of the tower tokens limiting the amount of potential end game bonuses players can score. The pool of available Freemen (dice) recruits and their color and their value and will also influence player’s decision differently every time. And for every game, the temples unique ability will use 3 of the available 12 zodiac signs.

Ease of Play / Mental Toll

One thing I really appreciate after 5 plays of Origins is the ease of getting it back to the table even after 2 full weeks of playing other games. I look at the game and I do not need to go back at the rulebook after the second game, other than for setup at specific player counts. Otherwise, there are not many subtleties other than looking at the 3 Temple Powers and watching the available 5 city tile market and their bonuses. From there, there are not really any hidden or counter-intuitive mechanics in this game. I would rate this as a pure Mid-Weight Euro game, so around 2.75-3.00 on the BGG weight scale (reported 3.36 which I find a bit high).

Easy to Forget rules

• Increasing the Mothership visited right away after putting down your dice or archon – easy to lose track on these and it does affect the game quite a bit!
• Closing a District will trigger the district tiles of the same color as the dice once more
• Scoring points on the coliseum when triggering  a fight
• Moving a Freemen to a district is an turn action which can be performed regardless of its value unlike moving a value 6 Freemen returning at round end to a seat of Power if available

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Game is what is consider a straight medium weight game, quite intuitive to play and easy to great back into after a single play. I suspect I would not have much grief to get it back on the table in 6 months or more and should be good to go with a very light rules refresher.
• It’s a worker placement where you are not blocked to perform an action just by the presence of another worker.
• Many ways to score big and you cannot do everything in the game, which is a plus.
• Game is not overly long.
• Game comes with out-of-the-box lightweight solo system available, just to test your abilities and game mechanics.
• Game also comes with a more involving David Turczy developed AI called UFOBot to measure yourself against a tougher human-like opponent which can be downloaded and printed from here  (I have not tried it at the time of writing this review).
• Wife loved it (definitely a plus for me) !

Cons:

• Some of the material bit and design is a tad sub-bar for such a modern game released in 2022.
• The theme is a bit dry and does not transpire much throughout the game.
• Many combos leading-decisions are usually available each round. Therefore the game could lead some players to do a little bit of AP (Analysis Paralysis) for some of the action related decisions. Mostly due to the fact your worker value will influence the cost to trigger an action (for yourself later and others) but also provide the ability to perform one or more additional actions based on its value and color.

Conclusion

Sometimes, I want to play a deep & complex worker placement game, but there are these occasions when you would need or feel for a slightly lighter and shorter game to put on the table. Origins: First Builders is great for these occasions while still providing opportunity to play for meaningful decisions, plan for the optimal choices while having to account for your opponent’s position in the game. You’ll chase for available crew of Freemen, maintain city layout advantage, watch for neighbors available Freemen and those in the market up for grabs, push your advancement at the coliseum, maintain your edge at temples of power and grab the limited and expensive but valuable tower levels needed to pull the win. Yes, I will play this game again.

Our opinion about this game-a small summary.

Designed by: Alexander Pfister, Arno Steinwender Players: 1-4 Published by: Nanox Games, Capstone Games, dlp games Year Published: 2020

What is this game about?

CloudAge is a strategy game with a mix of engine-building, a slight deck-building, and resource management. I find there is a small element of luck involved when drawing project cards, especially if you get bigger points cards in your hands, high chance of scoring high victory points.

Goal of the game is to have the most  victory points, which is scored on along the border of the production board. Victory points are earned by doing actions on the main board, building project cards and accomplishing mission cards.

Description by the publisher: Fifteen years ago, the mysterious secret society “Cloud” set fire to countless oil production sites and burned down large forests to destabilize the world. The resulting environmental catastrophe had disastrous effects on the entire planet.

 So, in your attempt to have a better life, you fly/ travel above the dried-out lands in your airships, looking to create a better landscape. In attempt for searching for lands, you visit cities, send out drones to collect resources, and battle Cloud militia.

Now that I have played the game three times, it is very easy, fast and fun. But it took me three trials to like this game!!

Our first attempt:

Rules were initially hard to understand, we had to listen and re listen to Youtube by Gamingrules few times to understand. Click here to view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E30u2ZUY62s

In CloudAge , there are three scenarios and campaign/story modes to play.

First time we  played, it was two player (two adults): we took  scenario one:  it was hard to understand and follow. The appeal or desire to continue playing the game slowly died.

However, 2nd try was with four player (two adults and two kids ages 11 and 13) with secenario two-I would say , it was an amazing game!! Real cool ideas and new strategies. Thinky and fun with slight luck based game. Icons are easy to understand once you play one time, a bit of language skills needed to understand the description.

Our third time playing with 4 players, rules became much more easier, very fast, set-up was very easy. Players were quick to plan and anticipate their plan of actions for each phases easily. We have not tried the solo mode.

What are the steps or actions to do when playing:

There are four types of board in the set-up:1. Main game board (4 boards for 4players) 2. Production board (green in colour with zig-zag border). 3. Player boards( 4 different colours, with upgrades for movement, combat and growth) and Action board (yellow).

There are three phases: Production-Movement-Action

Production phase: Green area on the player board. Move your energy tracker on the green colored board.

How do you do it:

All players can do this phase simultaneously, however, it is better for the first few times that you play, you do it in turn order, to give a better learning of this phase. By the time we were playing the third time, we were able to do it simultaneously.

1. You pay an energy (moving your energy level on your player board to one less), and get the rewards (water tokens with or without victory points).Your energy level tracker moves forward when you built certain project cards.

2. Then, draw two cards (from the cards with airships pic); lower number is for the energy level, higher number for the movement of your airship in the Movement phase). These are your initial cards from the begining of your game ranging from 0-3. You can grow your deck and make it better throughout the game during the Action Phase.

Movement Phase: Blue area on the player board. This is done in turn order; you can only end your move only in cloud covering city hexagon where it is either empty or no airship; but another player token cube can be in the same hexagon. You can not land again in the same location later. You can fly over the hexagon with airship of another player.

How do you do it?

You move your airship with the higher  number of moves drawn with the cards. Each time you have landed in a city with cloud hexagon shape, you place a player token to say that is a location you have landed.  You can not land your airship on the space where is no cloud.  You may need extra moves into certain hexagon with ressources.

When you land your airship in one of the hexagon shaped cloud area, you can choose to combat to gain either ressources or victory points or special cards (project cards that give you some bonuses when you build them).

You can not land if there is another airship in the same hexagon. You can land there is a player token place in it.

Action Phase: Yellow area on your player board. First player starts

You can choose one of the three actions to do:

1.Upgrade (your movements, your combat, your greenery ) and/or build a project card(as you long as you have the cost). First player gets two upgrades to do, the other players get only one upgrade

2. This is a unique idea-the cards in the plastic with clouds. Basically, as you fly above, clouds cover and hide the field, so you have to figure what is underneath . You look at the reference card to guesimate and predict the item you are searching for. First player decides which ressource he or she wants and places his/her token on it; the others do theirs in turn order. The first player looks the card with clouds and tries to determine which ressources are hidden under that cloud. Only one ressource per player(even first player). First player takes the card out of the plastic and adds it to their deck (cards used for energy and movement). The other players get their predicted ressource plus an upgrade or a discard options depending on the ressource chosen as well.

3 Your green tiles. During set-up, each player is given two green tiles.

First player gets to place two green tiles (if fully green) on the board, adjacent to their land or airship. They get the associated rewards . The other players only get to upgrade once .

So, to summarize, on your turn as a first player: you do the production phase(other players can do at the same time as well), then during the movement phase, you move first. You fly your airship to one of the hexagon shaped city (covered by cloud). Your number of moves depends on the card you picked during your production phase. Depending where you land, you collect rewards if you win the combat. Then during action phase, as the first player, you decide which one of the 3 actions you want to take. The other players have no say on this. Game ends when all player tokens are off the player board. One last round after that and scoring begins.

This is a board game, that took me a few trials (three) to understand and to enjoy playing. Now that I haved played few times, it has become easier to set-up and play.

But there are few questions that arise:

1. None of the players were able to reach the highest level of energy level on the production board. Is this even possible? Are we missing something?
2. The immediate actions on the project cards are only one time effect or at every time we do that specific phase?
3. The highest victory points so far was in the 50,s(  played 3 times ). What is the highest score you have scored?

Some questions to ponder until next game play…..

Lastly, I would like to say a big thanks to Gaming Rules!!

The game setup is very straight forward. Each player gets their own player board. Players receive starter birds and random bonus cards. The game is made up of 4 rounds with each round having randomized goals picked during the start of the game. Each round consists of multiple turns defined by the number of action cubes for each player (Round 1 each have 8 cubes). At the end of each subsequent round completion all players lose an action cube to record their round goal progress.

During a player turn, they have 4 actions available to them. These actions are as follows:

• Play a bird from your hand
• Gain food and activate forest bird powers
• Lay eggs and activate grassland bird powers
• Draw bird cards and activate wetland bird powers

The activated bird powers behave as an engine building mechanism. All bird cards in an action activate during the later 3 actions. At the end of 4 rounds all scores are calculated and the player with the most points wins the game.

The game rules are simple. About a single round into the game all the rules have been sorted out. The base game comes with about 170 different bird cards. The pool of bird powers for the number of cards available seems to be a bit low. Additional powers would have added some more dynamics to the game.

The components are great. It comes with a dice tower that can be built and stored as built in the game box, which is always best to avoid wear and tear of breaking it down after each game. The bird house dice tower makes the game look great on the table. However its not a necessary element to the game. The varied colored eggs are a great too, the color have no consequence to the game play either. In my opinion, the eggs look like Cadbury mini eggs…looks edible!!

There are two sets of rounds goals available which varies the difficulty of the game.

Overall a great game for simple or mid-ranged gamer. Try it and comment below on what elements you liked about the game and what you didn’t. Thanks for reading.

If interested in the game checkout the link here

Update: A new European bird expansion has been announced for the game adding more bird cards and few additional rules. To checkout the expansion, click here.

It is an easy to learn cooperative game for kids, for 1-5 players. We played this game as a family for the first time at GEN CON, 2019 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. No fighting about who is going to lose or who is going to win. All of us working together to conquer the monsters to win.  A great introduction to playing a cooperative game, nothing like chess or monopoly, trying to outsmart everyone. In my opinion, an easy starter cooperative horror game for kids. A great way for kids to play with their friends and build social skills. Nothing horrific about this game if you have played Ouija –spirit board game! There is still suspense and thrill as you pull the next card but the actions are simple.

There is still suspense and thrill as you pull the next card but the actions are simple.

As I started playing, I was waiting for the challenging task to do or unexpected move to do, well, it never really happened! It was not like Arkham Horror, or Betrayal at House on the Hill or like Dead of Winters, it is way so simpler and has easy quick mechanics. Very easy game to get kids to engage, has high player interaction, little downtime and fast game. You can make the game harder by picking more monsters, so the game can be graded easy to difficult level as needed.

 No one can do everything but everyone can do something.   ~ unknown