Matthew Smail 442 posts 41 comments

When I first played it on — I think the Xbox One — Thea: The Awakening rapidly became one of my favorite games. I played it so much, for so long, that I think I saw just about everything that it had to offer, and when Thea 2: The Shattering…

With an eight year gap since Orcs Must Die 2, fans of the series could have been forgiven for thinking that Orcs Must Die 3 would never come. As it happens, this third iteration will be the first time I’ve dipped my toe in the series — all…

I’ve been a fan of North Star Games’ Evolution games for a few years now, and Evolution: Climate was the first game I played upon introduction to my current, most prolific gaming group. Our reviewer Sara found Evolution to be a success on…

There’s always a balance to be struck in civilisation building games. Designers, I am sure, must feel a huge pull to try and cram every aspect of ancient life — from technological development and warfare to farming and animal husbandry —…

Everdell is a game of worker placement, resource collection and tableau building in a woodland realm populated by numerous species of animal, and now featuring up to three expansion sets.

While I am always willing to tackle a pre-production board game with an open mind, I will admit to being sceptical when games turn up with little or no fanfare. I don’t know why, but board game news travels fast usually — and with…

Dr Reiner Knizia is without doubt one of the most prolific and talented board game designers that has ever lived. Perhaps one of the best things about the sheer number of games Knizia has produced is that his back catalogue is just as good…

For anyone who follows my writing, you would be forgiven for thinking that Imagine Earth should be right up my street. Attractive, clever and rammed with content, this global-scale economic and environmental strategy simulator tasks players…

Known for the iteratively popular big box games The City of Kings and The Isle of Cats, designer Frank West and his team at The City of Games decided to try their hand at something a little more portable. Vadoran Gardens comes in perhaps…

If you look at the back catalogue of Inka and Markus Brand, the couple behind games as diverse and award-winning as Rajas of the Ganges, Village and several games in the Exit series, then you’d be forgiven for wondering how on Earth they…