Boards & Dice Reviews

Box is sturdy with handy dividers and ample card sleeves included.
I managed to sleeve the entire Frontiers base game and almost all of the original Star Realms base game.
Easily houses both Frontiers as well as the original base game, with a bit more room for other expansions.
The 3 bonus promotion cards are interesting, though a perhaps a bit too powerful.
The artwork/printing is of good quality.
No real complaints here, especially at a reduced price.

this is the ultra rare blue eyes you want.

This is a cool deck, came ahead of schedule as well.

The artwork is amazing. I think of all the D&D books, this one, Curse of Strahd, and the DM guide are some of the best art for me personally. Really a valuable addition to your lore collection.

The books are really pretty and the covers aren't over metallic. The DM screen is different than a normal screen and the box that holds them is sturdy and aesthetically pleasing. Mine was late by a couple of days due to some minor issues on the part of Raru's suppliers which was not Raru's fault, nor can it be helped sometimes. The Raru team did everything in their power to get the set to me as quickly as possible and kept me updated and were super friendly, it was totally worth the wait. Just be sure to order this at least a month ahead of when you want it. Amazing product and amazing team, would 100% recommend!!

These have a deep inner reflection in them. A rich colour, good pearling, without losing that sense of depth. These may be my favourite chessex dice so far. Again, you can't beat chessex.

These are slightly more rich and colourful than the photos suggest online. There is a beautiful chromatic lustre shift in the glitter in and on the dice. It's exquisite. Again, you can't beat chessex casting and quality. These are beautiful.

These are slightly more bright than the photos suggest online. They have an ice like quality to them. Again, you can't beat chessex casting and quality. These are beautiful.

We decided to take a chance on Dominion half a year ago. We wanted to expose our 7-year old daughter to more interesting games than the traditional fare. We did not want her to get frustrated with traditional board games as we did growing up.

We eventually got around to trying the Dominion base game alone and soon we were playing it every day of the holiday! It had enough basic ideas that she could grasp key ideas and do the basic addition required. Soon she was kicking our butts!

We decided that we need to try one of the expansions and the Big Box (at this great price) gave us the opportunity to do that. And all I can say is "Flipping Wow!" To get the option of playing the brilliant base game and then to expand the experience with the Intrigue expansion? Yes, yes and yes again.

Simple, fabulous, worth it. If you divide the cost of the game by the number of times it is played, this will beat the traditional board games by a large factor.

Love Letter is a classic game that can be played fully for around 20 minutes or you and some friends can grab the 16 card deck and have a quick one-shot round. It's portable and has high replay value, even if it may not look that way.

The Adventure time set offers unique art design for each of the characters, non-repeating art on all except the Guard cards. There's also two new rules that can make winning more fun. These rules effect the Hero cards and the Companion cards.

It's important to not this is the box version, there is no carry bag included.

This is my introduction to the munchkin series, while it doesn't contain the board or characters that come with the delux edition, this is a great game to play.

Take note that you should carefully go through the rules, it's a double sided A3 page worth. While they aren't too complicated it will take a few games to remember them.

Kick down the door, cast your spells and curses and 10 points to Gryfindor!

I just can't survive and I can't have fun with this. I can understand the this might be nice for glutton for punishment type gamers but it just is not for me.

If you ever wanted a boardgame that has it all - Then this is IT!

This game may be quite Pricey, BUT...
If ever you wanted to live out your dreams of going into space, conquering planets, building fleets and/or trading with other alien races: then this game is for YOU!

WARNING! This game takes easily 6-8 hours to play, maybe more with 6 players so take a day off, have food & drinks ready and maybe take a break every 2 hours or so.
If you cannot concentrate for a few hours or don't want to play games that take this long, then this game might not be for you (but you will be missing out on a Great game).

The box is massive and has a ton of good quality components (I suggest sleeving your cards immediately when you receive the game so they can last longer - You definitely DON'T want to buy this game again!) and the tray is compact and well presented with space for each component. If you like you can even paint each (100+) miniature (I'm painting mine!) to make your game look even better!

Learning the rules can be a pain & it took me a whole day to go through the rulebook and 3x youtube videos to see how it's played. The rulebook is well written and will answer most questions and clarify most problems you may encounter during the course of a game. If you don't like learning rules before playing or reading them, then have a bookworm/studious type of friend do it and let him/her teach you as you play. Believe me: THIS GAME IS COMPLICATED! But I can promise you, learning this game's rules is worth it! And once you know the rules, You will have a blast!

In TI4 You pick one of 17 space-faring factions, each with different looks & abilities, some with no technology and some with a starting technology or two.
TI4 is a 3-6 player game in which you build your own map according to the amount of players and your home-planets depend on the race you pick.
You mostly use cards and tokens for your actions in a turn, space ship figurines to move around on the map and roll a dice or more when fighting another player for territory.

There is a planet in the middle of your map/galaxy called Megatol Rex that needs to be conquered that will allow you to rule over the galaxy if you play your cards right. And once it's conquered it will add a new political mechanic that will be implemented from then on, adding even more interesting things that happen each turn during the course of the game. New laws may be implemented that can affect the entire galaxy and change how other players might change their game-play to a new direction (e.g. a peaceful player suddenly starting to conquer new planets from other players)
Each planet you own has its own card, description & flavour text.

In this game there are certain objectives that need to be obtained, public objectives such as conquering 4 planets of the same kind and maximum 3 secret objectives that you only reveal to others when you have completed it. These objectives will give you victory points and the first to obtain 10 or 14 (depending on your choice at the beginning of the game) victory points will win the game.

The way you play is entirely up to you - You can trade with others, upgrade your technology & your ships, conquer as many planets as you like, fight with as many other players as you like or make as many alliances as you like.
This game may however suddenly change at any moment as your favourite ally & trading partner may turn against you without warning, simply so s/he can accomplish a secret objective you don't know about!

Every turn certain strategy cards (of which there are 8) are picked by players and then implemented in a specific order (they determine the play order or initiative of each player depending on what you pick) as an action during a round.
Each of these strategy cards will allow the player who plays them a specific (Primary) action and after that other players may also pay for and act upon the secondary action of that strategy card. Even the timing of when these cards are played is important and can mean victory or defeat as I have discovered in my very 1st game (luckily I won that time)
There are also actions you can take that are not using these strategy cards, such as taking over an adjacent system and its planets. So it is VERY important to know when to do what and that makes the game so enjoyable, to see your plan come to ruin (or glorious fruition) when another player made a move just 1 turn too soon or just 1 turn too late for you to act upon.

So far I have played this game with 3 players and it was incredible. You can't concentrate only on what you're doing, you MUST keep an eye on what other players are doing in their own turns too or you might get into a LOT of trouble or miss a great opportunity. And combat can be excruciatingly tense as you see 1 little heroic defender beat 4 attackers trying to take over a planet.

You can even bargain with other players and make a temporary truce, asking them not to attack this turn if you do this or that for them and vice versa. You can literally do ANYTHING you feel like in this game. And the freedom of choice makes this game different and enjoyable EVERY time (especially when playing with different players too).

Recommended?
Maybe not for people who are new to the boardgame genre (due to it being very complicated and taking a long time to play), rather let them play Forbidden Island, Ticket to Ride or Pandemic - but for people who love boardgames?

Definitely!!!
Absolutely!
Without Question!

Fast to learn, easy to play, with high replayability and a fast pace, Star Realms is a great little game. For such a simple game, it has a surprisingly complex play curve: at the end of each game, you can look back and identify the early, mid, and late game, but identifying those points in the middle of the game takes practice and often careful timing.

Colony Wars seems a little more swingy than the original game, with both very rewarding cheap ships and very powerful bases, which means that luck has a slightly greater effect. In some ways this is actually a GOOD thing, though; it makes it easier for new players to feel they're catching up to more experienced players.

Caveat: make sure you get sleeves because you'll shuffle a LOT.

Ingenious is one of my favourite games and I'm glad it has finally been reprinted! :D

Mine came through with much more purple blended in than the image shows. Still, it is a lovely set of dice!

This is the first game of this type that our group played. and so far we're pretty happy. The theme of being 1950s suburbs planners in the US of A might put some people off, but it's different and provides a change of pace. The components within the box are colorful, theme appropriate and well made, so it's a great one to have.

The roll-and-write mechanics mean it's perfect for a gaming group of any size as everyone moves simultaneously. It functions like an ever evolving puzzle, as each reveal of cards has a different potential resolution. While a competitive game, it's not aggressive or confrontational, so it helps keep a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. We found our play-time was twice as long as suggested on the box, but we were four players who'd never tried this before and needed to make frequent references to the rules.

In summary: something different thematically, works for groups of all sizes, play experience cerebral but relaxed, this game is perfect for those who prefer their games light on confrontation and aggression.

I had been eyeing these for ages and i am so glad I got them. They are really beautiful and i cant wait to use them.

These are so gorgeous I am so happy with them the richness of the colour is just lovely, So glad I ordered these.

I wasn't expecting the best quality or the prettiest model, but in all honesty i'm impressed, i will definitely buy more minis from Raru.

Super game, having loads of fun with 2 and 4 player campaigns.

The Rolling Solo video have been super helpful running through gameplay and understanding certain dynamics. Quick start guide is very clear and a easy read before starting the game.

Rolling Solo Playlist
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhisxhOnrjU&list=PLOF3i9E9lfiZIdS0h7dh4fwWIYU5DAt2c

What a great game. Good quality components and lots of stuff (thick glossy cards, high gloss player boards, well designed and printed rule books, appendices and automa manual, containers provided for play pieces). I am seriously impressed. The game is easy to learn from the rules (and if not there are plenty of run throughs on line - Watch it played is a good one). My 10 and 12 year old picked up the game quickly and both thoroughly enjoy it - so has added another option for family boardgames. At the same time it has enough depth and complexity in the strategy to entertain the more experienced gamers too. It is with out doubt my favourite 'engine builder' board game ... but also has so much learning opportunity in regard to the details on the bird cards (although worth noting all N American birds) and their habitats. Will be great if future expansion does Southern African birds too!

My only gripe was the box was slightly dented in the delivery process which thankfully has not affected any components or game play at all.

Received this book so well wrapped and protected. Absolute mint condition. Really impressed.

This game is a ton of fun, has the familiar feel of deckbuilding much like a game called Dominion but has some innovative mechanics that support the games basic theme ... You are the last survivors being attacked (in a post apocolyptic world) by creatures (Nemesis) bent on destroying the only remaning city (Gravehold) that is standing in their way of world domination.
This is a fully co-operative game experience that really does an excellent job in this genre of tabletop gaming.
I have played about 20 times so far at different player counts (except for solo) and the games scales well at all those player counts.
There is plenty of rayplayability in the base set. Like dominion, you use a random selection of cards (in this game 9) out of 27 possible cards in total. There are 4 nemesis to attack but since you play with different cards each time, each game experience will be different. Add to that, the fact that you play a characters that has a unique abilty which adds even more variety.
Another aspect that the designers have got right is that the game does not have player eliminitaion. A character does not die in this game so a player is not left out the game while the rest continue to the game end. A player who has been attacked to a point where his health is down to zero becomes "exhausted" and continues the game with some limited actions.

Note to experienced gamers: Tabletop boardgames are a big passtime for my gamegroup. We play lots of games and farely often so we are experienced gamers. Aeons end is a strategy game and if you have played strategy games often then you will be able to master this game quite quickly. It didnt take my group long to figure out how to beat each nemesis with our win ratio in the 20 games being 14 wins to 6 losses. Aeons end also has an increased difficulty mode (which we have not played at all yet) which is great for when you feel that you can easily beat the four Nemesis in the base set.
Experienced gamers might want to consider an expansion set with more Nemesis (most come with 2 more) early on. I bought the expansion Outer dark after owning the base set for just one month but we have not opened it up yet.

Final Thoughts: I have rates this a 5 star game. It is well designed, cleverly thought out, especially the AI design and mechanics of the Nemesis. Its mechanics also encourage learners to work together and strategise in order to win. I highly recommend to those who enjoy co-op games, deckbuilding and mild strategy. The game is not a "brain burn" so to speak but has strategy depth that mitigates getting easily bored especially for gamers who like a challenge.

You will NOT like this game if:
- you are competitive
- dont like co-op games
- don't like deck building
- don't prefer fantasy themed games

Played the game wih friends once and I just had to have it! Also buying from Raru was a great experience. Tracking info for the parcel was acurate and detailed. And it came sooo quickly! Thank you!