*This is a non-spoiler preview of Legacy: Quest for a Family Treasure by Argyx Games

Puzzles

I have loved games for as long as I remember; I spent many childhood days around a jigsaw puzzle with my grandmother. I still remember the outstanding experience with my first escape room at The Escape Game in Nashville, TN. This started me down a bit of an adult puzzle addiction. If you like puzzles, check out Meeple Mountain’s escape room game content. I won’t even go into my discovery of my first alternate reality game (ARG). Let’s just say it swallowed up my life and time, and I’m lucky I still have a job or a marriage. So when Argyx Games approached Meeple Mountain for a demo of their newest title Legacy: Quest for a Family Treasure, I couldn’t say “Yes!” quickly enough.

[caption id="attachment_22797" align="aligncenter" width="730"] Legacy: Quest for a Family Treasure episode two Hellas 2019 components (computer not included).[/caption]

Argyx Games

Argyx Games is a Parisian game studio and publishing company specializing in ARG-style games that are handcrafted and limited edition. The studio was founded by the two game designers, Mathias Daval and Johanna Pernot. I’ve known them for their “Pocket Investigation” titles,…

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In January 2018, Meeple Mountain pulled together some of our most anticipated releases of 2018 in three categories: brand new, shipping Kickstarters, and reprints. How did they fare?  Did they live up to our excitement or are they destined for our next BGG auction? Let’s find out.

New Games in 2018

Rise of Queensdale

[caption id="attachment_6656" align="aligncenter" width="730"] Photo from the publisher[/caption]

A dice management legacy euro game, to put it lightly MM was intrigued by this title. How did it fare with the team?

David McMillan- if you’ve read my review of the Rise of Queensdale, it will come as no great shock to you that I absolutely adore this game. While I imagine the game would be much more cutthroat at higher player counts, I have found that it’s still very compelling at two. My wife and I are a little over halfway through our campaign and it’s neck and neck!

Yellow & Yangtze

[caption id="attachment_6659" align="aligncenter" width="730"] Yellow & Yangtze - photo from the publisher[/caption]

A sequel to a Knizia classic, Tigris & Euphrates, did Y&Y improve the system or fail to live up to its 20+-year-old sibling?

Ashley Gariepy- Reiner Knizia’s follow-up didn’t disappoint (even though it hasn’t received a lot…

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I am an extroverted person. I am energized by social situations and find myself feeling bored and anxious if I have too much alone time. People who know me well would describe me as social, cheerful, and chatty. However, if we met for the first time that is not likely what you would experience. I struggle with an often gripping shyness.

[caption id="attachment_10296" align="aligncenter" width="648"] Shyness can be gripping and overwhelming.[/caption]

Wait. Shy and extroverted, is that possible? Yes, in fact, these two personality traits have little to do with one another. Introversion describes a desire for quiet, low-stimulation environments; introverts recharge by time spent alone. Shyness, on the other hand, is a fear of negative judgment. Shyness often presents itself as low self-esteem, fear of rejection, or acute self-consciousness; often cripplingly so.

These two aspects of my personality conflict less than you might imagine. I feel no shyness around people I already know, so social gatherings with friends only fuel my extroverted needs. Additionally, I have no issues with social situations with strangers as long as I’m not put on the spot: a large crowded party is great as long as I don’t have to engage with a bunch of unfamiliar faces. When they do conflict is in meeting new people. I’ve moved…

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Dragon Castle, is that the Mahjong game?

I first learned of Dragon Castle while at the 2018 CMON Expo with Justin Gibbons. When I walked in the first day,  I was asked to join a Dragon Castle tournament. At this stage, I had never heard of the game. I was assured it was a beginners tournament and that I would be taught how to play. Alas, I did not win the tournament; didn't even place. However, I did get to play Dragon Castle five times that day. And have many times since. Let's get a bit into gameplay and then I can detail my thoughts a bit more.

Overview

Most people have heard of Mahjong, the tile-game with its roots planted in the 18th century. This classic game, based on draw-and-discard card games, shares common origins with games like Rummy. Brought to the US in the 1920’s and finding a huge boon in recognition following the adaptation of a solitaire game, leveraging Mahjong tiles, into the realm of computer games. It released under various names on both Macintosh and Windows in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The single-player matching game quickly became what most Americans think of when they hear the name Mahjong.

Finding inspiration in solitaire Mahjong, designers Hjalmar Hach, Luca Ricci,…

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CMON showcases their newest offerings each year at the CMON Expo. Held in the heart of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, this Expo is the place where you can demo ‘til you drop, and make a new friend along the way. In this recap, we (Justin Gibbons and Philip Chen) hope to give you a taste of what CMON Expo was like, as well as share about the games we played.

Justin: I find it wildly ironic that not only did I go to my first CMON Expo this year, but that I’m writing this recap. I was the guy who used to be an internet troll about CMON products online. I hadn’t played too many of their games, but I had a bias because I grew up playing crunchy cube-pushing Euros. Then I started actually playing some of their games at other conventions, and I saw that my perceptions were off. I quickly realized they…

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To start, a sonnet:

In Black Sonata, you chase down your love,
you must deduce the traits that she does hold.
She skirts around the city behind fog,
the deck of cards determines what unfolds.

When you believe that you are in her town,
look for her silhouette inside the lens;
you'll either glimpse her beauty, or you'll frown.
When you're correct, things speed up and grow tense.

With every clue, another riddle comes;
is she promiscuous, wed, or with child?
Each candidate adds to the trail of crumbs.
The time's too short, hints won't be all compiled.

You'll track her down and then find out her name
or lose. Who cares? You've just played a great game!

Overview

Black Sonata is a solitaire hidden movement and deduction game. The Dark Lady moves amongst the streets and alleyways of Shakespearean London based on programmed hidden movement, hinted at by a deck of cards. You must chase her about the city, attempting to gain glances and gather clues. With each clue you achieve the mystery unravels itself in a riddle. Can you deduce the dark lady’s true identity and confront her before…

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Outpuzzle your friends, or yourself, in this quirkily-themed strategy game.

You’re gonna throw the most rad get together. Party favors, check. Fun electric doodads, check. Wait, your home circuit can’t support it all! You start purchasing wiring and hastily running electrical; picking up more sweet stuff for the party along the way. Unfortunately, it looks like your neighbors are doing the same, obviously trying to steal your party guests. Good thing you’ve befriended a circuit-chomping mouse to sabotage them!  Oh no, they have furry companions too!

Overview

Circuit Breaker is a quirky circuit-tile placement game for 1-3 players in which you compete to prepare the best hastily scheduled house party on the block. Taking place over four rounds, players use their dice as the currency in the game. Players will work to quickly build their electric network, add sets of appliances to the network based on their secret objective, and try to sabotage their opponent's plans.

Gameplay

To set up, each player starts with a mouse tile of a unique color, a circuit breaker card, six dice,  a secret objective, three appliance cards, and one wire circuit tile. The party favors are set within reach of all players, a starting player is selected, and…

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This article contains no spoilers. Any photographs from actual gameplay are taken only from the Tutorial scenario.

We loved Chronicles of Crime so much that we nominated it for a Diamond Climber award for Best Kickstarter Game, and for Best Coop Game, and it won both of them.

Sherlock is old news, there is a new detective at the helm. With you and your team of investigators hot on the case, London has never been safer...right?

In Chronicles of Crime, you and up to three friends join together to solve crimes around London in this cooperative criminal investigation boardgame. Unlike other titles in the genre, Chronicles of Crime incorporates QR codes, so components are reusable for future cases. Each character can play a different role in each case, and the locations you visit will be host to various events--once an innocent park, now the scene of a murder. Each story arc is made up of multiple scenarios (cases) and is brought to you by a different author. Aside from adaptability based on the game's components, Chronicles of Crime is app-driven, leading you through the story one stage at a time. And when you visit a crime scene, you can experience it as if you are actually there thanks to the integration…

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Jack has spread the word of the Giant's fantastical treasures. Now, his friends have gathered, building a village with the hopes of overpowering the Giant. At the same time, Jack's friends are making visits to the clouds to collect resources from the Giant's estate. But he is on to them and in pursuit!

Overview

Jack's Friends is a family-friendly simultaneous card selection game for 2 to 6 players from Piggy Bank Games and designer Matt Greenleaf. This one vs. many experience pits the Giant against Jack's friends in a game of cat and mouse. With fun, colorful artwork from Lisa Riedl, Jack's Friends is quick to play (about 15 minutes) and even faster to teach.

Gameplay

In Jack's Friends, each player has a hand of matching cards reflecting the four spaces in the center of the board. On each of the game’s ten turns, all players simultaneously select a card from their hand deciding where their character will go. If ever the giant chooses a location that matches that of any of the other…

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What if we reimagine all of the significant historical figures in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as superheroes?

The significant personalities of these fields are our real-life epic heroes. For Jason Jones, creator of STEM: Epic Heroes, this was true. However, in early spring 2015, he realized that this was not the case for his son. While playing a game of the Pokémon CCG, Jones was talking to his son about Alexander Fleming (winner of the Nobel Prize for his discovery of penicillin). During that conversation, Jones said to his son, “He’s one of the giants…one of the epic heroes of science.”  In reply, his son said, “But daddy, scientists aren’t heroes.” You can read the rest of the origin story for STEM: Epic Heroes HERE, but in short this exchange with his son is what set Jones on the mission to create a CCG of STEM Heroes that displayed Scientists, Technologists, Engineers, and Mathematicians as the epic heroes they indeed are.

Overview

STEM: Epic Heroes is a family friendly competitive set collection game with Take That elements. It is a lightweight, fast-paced, game that can be taught quickly to new players. The game is bright, with outstanding art by a team directed by Aaron Hanna and including artists: Maria Poliakova,…

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