Fast forward with me into a future when tourists can hop aboard a Falcon X and visit the moon. Perhaps you have come to the moon to check out the Tycho crater, which you have seen from afar, or the Sea of Tranquility that Neil Armstrong walked upon decades ago. Like him, all of us astro-tourists are jumping and leaping around each other weightlessly. Well, here we are and now we are all vying to get as close to the most coveted craters.

[caption id="attachment_280458" align="alignnone" width="768"] The game box and board partially opened. It's so neat![/caption]

Space flight has been achieved! Which crater shall we visit?

The objective of the game is to score the most points by securing the most advantageous spots on the single-lane raceway made of up craters. Winning points are calculated by multiplying the number on the token with the value on the crater space.

Game play is simple; after each player has chosen their token color, the game begins with the youngest player's starting roll. Players place and move their tokens on the board by matching them with the number on the dice roll. Each astronaut's initial move begins on any of the available red starting craters. In consecutive moves astronaut tokens that match the…

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This is Not A Game

Since we are a board gaming family, it has been on my mind that my kids should learn some classic fundamental games that have withstood the test of time. I wanted to teach critical thinking skills and strategies in game play, and there came a point in my parenting journey that I decided to teach my kids to play chess. But how? It does not stand out as bright and colorful. What is the point in moving the pieces around like so?

If you have kids, you know that theme is everything. You could make kids try really difficult things by putting their favorite character on a box. But how do you get children's buy-in to a "theme-less" abstract strategy game? You reel them in by building up their affection for the chess pieces. You weave a story together that is silly and cute and sometimes ridiculous so that the kids play with the game pieces, very much like they would play with their make-believe toys. That is what Story Time Chess has set out to do with a lot of success.

This is not my first attempt at trying to teach my kids chess. I have an older child who learnt how to…

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Overview

The highlight of most tourists' evenings in Taiwan must be visiting the local night market. The cacophony of sounds, the smells inundating your olfactory senses,  the spectacular  display of neon light signages vying for your visual attention against the night sky, followed up by the explosion of tastes in your mouth, is like no other experience. So, I was very excited when I heard that Taiwan Boardgame Design were prototyping a game called Taiwan Night Market.

Let me be honest upfront. As a board game, Taiwan Night Market is not close to the real thing. Well, maybe if they added a Scratch & Sniff portion on the game board in the future… In the meantime, the game is more like a teleportation machine for the mind. We are back at the market but now, the players are not tourists anymore. We are  ambitious vendors making our fortune by bidding for the best locations and selling the right sort of food for patrons' palates!

[caption id="attachment_273592" align="alignnone" width="768"] Taiwan Night Market board game all set up.[/caption]

Set UP

Each player receives 12 player markers which they use to indicate their positions when bidding and on stall locations on the board. They also receive money in decreasing amounts determined according to the…

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Overview

We’re trapped! In this survival game, each of our hands have been strapped down to a table and fingers are being cut off every round. In a weirdly dystopian paradigm, we are trying to cut each other’s fingers off in order to survive… Will you survive the math?

WARNING: The contents of the game and the following review have quite graphic descriptions afflicting body parts. If you are squeamish, you might just want to skip on. That said, my eight year old quite enjoyed the grim humor.

[caption id="attachment_271647" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Player 1 ready to play with all their fingers in the game.[/caption]

Setup

In this macabre game, players use number cards in their hand and the number on the die roll to formulate math equations. The answer determines which fingers get chopped off. The object of the game is to be the last player who keeps their finger!

Each player receives 2 cards at the start of the game. They use one hand to hold the cards and the other hand is placed palm down on the table. Beginning at the thumb, each finger is numbered one through five.

The 5 deadly number cards are laid across the table in view of all players. These represent the deadly number…

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Overview

The throne of Moody Bear Kingdom has been empty for years. Only the one with the most power will be able to claim the kingdom’s throne. Will the player with the most gems rule or will the Dark Night Villain come to consume everything?

Moody Bear Kingdom is a quick Traitor card game for three to five players. Players work together to seek these elusive gems before the Villain’s henchman, the Dark Swallow, shows up.

Set Up

[caption id="attachment_270005" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Red Volcano team needs to collect 3 Lava Gems. The Iceberg team needs to collect 3 Snow Diamonds. They can use the Mace of Light to stop the Dark Swallow from ending the game.[/caption]

The game features two types of item cards, Lava Gem cards and Snow Diamond cards. The object of the game is for teams to get all three of their Gem cards before the Dark Swallow makes its appearance. 

Also in the deck are three character cards which work in combinations of two or three, to determine special actions. Certain double card combos allow players to exchange cards, spy at another player's hand, rearrange the first three cards in the draw deck, or steal a card. And a three card combo allows players to demand…

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[caption id="attachment_265151" align="alignnone" width="768"] Ready to take on a whole weekend of board games![/caption]

In the lead up in September and all through October, it seemed all I saw, read and heard amongst the board gamers on social media was, Essen, Essen, Essen. Even though Essen Spiel ran in 2021, because many countries still had travel restrictions in place, coverage seemed a little muted. But 2022, oh my! This was the year of Revenge Travelling. The Singapore board gaming community is a tight knit group, so I knew plenty of folk who would be headed East and everyone was asking if I would join them. 

Alas, my pocket was poorer after we had purchased a new home. There was no time, no money and no childcare to make a glorious week of board gaming come true. So throughout the month, I boiled at the board game gods for their impeccable timing whilst I blew out my renovation budget, under a cloud of dust and the sounds of children running through the half-finished hallway.

[caption id="attachment_265150" align="alignnone" width="1024"] All the designers and the teams behind the games hosted at the Asian Board Game Festival.[/caption]

So when I got wind of the 2022 Asian…

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In Heists in Hyperspace, each player takes on the role of a Captain, leading a crew of mercenaries, mining through a galactic bazaar to get useful resources and execute as many heists before the vaults close up again.

Set Up

The game is setup like so:

[caption id="attachment_260429" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Setup for a 3 player game. Our daughter's choice of meeple, Captain Kwazii, a daredevil cat pirate from Octonauts was an apt character for such a game.[/caption]

Each round of the game is played through five columns of Encounters. Encounter Cards on the top row are placed face down and cards on the bottom row have additional resources that are determined by the different scenario cards.

There are two types of encounters. Bazaar Encounters enable Captains to gain Resource tokens to exchange for treasures during their heists. Vault Encounters also enable players to gain resources, but they are more perilous because of the dangers that lurk ahead. Within these Vaults, Captains may hire mercenaries to join their crew or use their resource tokens to gain treasures.

[caption id="attachment_260360" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Encounters in the Hyperspace Bazaar.[/caption]

The first two rounds are made up of three columns of Bazaar Encounters and two columns of Vault…

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Overview

Before the frosty fingers of November arrive, there is an ever changing assortment of feathers flitting from branch to branch. As the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' arrives, it is time to help these birds of passage make their way to warmer climes through the East Asian-Australian Flyway that spans from Russia in the North, through Asia to Australia in the South.

SET UP

The game revolves around informative Bird cards which indicate their habitat, fun facts on the species, their conservation status. Most importantly for the game, the start and end locations of their migratory journey from North to South. These bird cards award points for completed flyway routes. Shuffle these cards and place 3 cards face-up on the roosting area on the Bird Board. Then place the Start and End location markers as indicated on the bird card.

Along their journey, these birds are thwarted by poachers, forest fires, and other natural and man-made threats represented by Fowl Play and Birdtastrophe cards. The two decks are shuffled separately and stacked in alternating fashion depending on the number of players.

Fortunately for our feathered friends, players can rally support by playing Wing It cards and gathering public support to save them. Shuffle all the Wing It…

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Introduction

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important and celebrated festivals in Chinese culture all around the world. The most familiar fable that explains this delightful gathering suggests that a sacrificial wife drank an elixir of eternal life to keep it out of the hands of a treacherous bandit. The gods were so impressed by her virtue, she was granted eternal life in the moon. Unfortunately, her loving husband was left behind on earth so, every September, he would commemorate her by making a cake and gazing at her face in the moon. 

There are quite a number of variations to this story, as are a whole bunch of other fables that explain a rabbit as well as the old man on the moon. But, the idea is, come September, we sit around drinking tea and eating moon cakes—that have been cut in quarters to be shared—and enjoy the night sky on a cool evening.  So while we are at it, why don’t we play a quick game with our food?

[caption id="attachment_257970" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Picky customers with different requests. Each fulfilled order is worth 1 Festive Point.[/caption]

Game Overview

As apprentice bakers, will you bake a single-flavored mooncake or go for a Half-n-Half? Some Matcha with some Red…

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Introduction

The Kingdom of Summer and the Winter Empire have been guided by the one and only wizard, Merlin but it’s soon time for him to pass the wand to the next generation. Do our young apprentices have the chops for wizarding?

Set Up

The game is an easy set up like so:

[caption id="attachment_253991" align="alignnone" width="1024"] I suggest laying out the cards in some organized manner for fast searches.[/caption]

You will need the two decks of cards, Character cards and Item cards, found in the box, the game board, as well as the Kids Chronicle app, which can be downloaded on the App Store or the Google Play store.

In the app, players select which adventure they will attempt. The game board has two sides, The Kingdom of Summer on one side and The Winter Empire on the other. Follow the app instructions for which side of the game board that your merry adventurers will be playing on.

Both decks of cards should be placed within easy reach of all players so that they may search through them freely throughout the game.

[caption id="attachment_253990" align="alignnone" width="1024"] But some mess is also acceptable if the kids are raiding through them all.[/caption]

There are…

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Introduction

In this cooperative, deck building campaign game of six adventures of increasing difficulty, players take on the role of iconic Toys Story characters, to overcome a series of dangers and hazards, and bring about a Happily Ever After Ending for all.

Setup

The game is set up like so:

[caption id="attachment_250165" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The setup for a 3 player game.[/caption]

Buy Toy Story: Obstacles and Adventure on Amazon

The rule book does an excellent job of making it clear how to set up the game and walks players step-by-step through the game play. So, this will just be a quick overview of how to prepare the first game.

We will start with the Adventure Track on the top left corner of the board and the Token at the start space. Shuffle the square Danger cards and set them on the designated space. Then prepare the Hazard cards; set aside the "Escape from Sid" card and place it face down on the board so that it will be right at the bottom of the Hazard deck. Shuffle the remaining Hazard cards and place them on top. Then, reveal the top card face-up in the space below the Hazard deck.

Each player takes on the role…

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This article is reproduced with permission by Ly-ann and was originally published on the Origame website, a Singaporean tabletop designer and publisher.

Since moving back to Singapore and as a game-schooling advocate, I have thought long and hard about what games gain the most traction in the local “mainstream” market. Part of that conversation revolves around how games can teach our kids about the culture they have been born into. As my six and seven year old grow more aware of their Asian identity, it's important for me that they see representations of our Asian-ness in all the different facets of their lives, including the games that we play. To that end, I sought to discover what makes a modern Asian board game and came up with a framework to evaluate those games.

For this exercise, we will put aside production location as a factor, since most board games are manufactured by the world’s factory, China. Instead, Xeo Lye* from Capital Gains Studio, feels that “Asian board games combine the theme, mechanics, and a reflection of Asian habits, culture, and religion into game design”. In fact he would go so far as to say that “Asian published games designed by non-Asian designers and…

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[caption id="attachment_250422" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Set up for a 2 player game.[/caption]

In this newest title by Ameba Games, Lim Ming Liang set out to create a game to introduce kids to a simple set collecting mechanic. During his own game sessions, Ming noticed that the kids were left out when the big gun titles were brought out so he created this game for game loving parents and friends looking for an easy filler. 

Set Up

Shuffle the 50 breakfast item table cards and lay them in a 5 by 5 square array. Then stack the remaining 25 cards on top of the first array. Shuffle the hand cards and deal 2 to each player. Lay the rest down in a face down pile. You’re ready to start!

[caption id="attachment_250421" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Matching a Toast hand card with a Toast breakfast tile from the rightmost column.[/caption]

Game Play

The objective of the game is to gain the most points by collecting as many sets of breakfast items and their bonus accompaniments.

However you choose to start, players take one action per turn. They may choose to match one hand card with 1 breakfast tile or exchange their hand for another 2 cards if there are…

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