Choose a Game to Explore
Marry the Monster
You are a duke trying to build up your lands where the monstrous fachan is rampaging. But he is just lonely. Your cunning plan is to make a false bride for him just behind your rivals’ buildings. The love-struck monster will crash through the other dukes’ lands, destroying them, while you continue to build up yours!
Marry the Monster is a game for 3 to 5 players in which each player scores points by building structures and having them remain until your next turn without being destroyed by the monster. Turns are taken by playing cards, and there is no upkeep phase – play simply continues until there is a winner.
30-45 minutes playtime
3-5 players
Ages 14+
Genre: Building/Tactical
All of us had fun playing Marry the Monster. We liked the simple rules and allowed the strategy of the game to come through in the movement and card play.
We also liked how the variability of the cards and movement of the fachan allows for enough variability to make Marry the Monster a game you would want to play back-to-back.
In Episode 187: Alma Mater, our friends at Blue Peg, Pink Peg chat about one of our upcoming games to be released in the Monster Invasion: Marry the Monster.
In this game, the monster is a Fachan from Scottish mythology who has one of everything. Players are Dukes in the kingdom trying to get the Fachan married off in order to stop it from wreaking havoc in the Kingdom and more importantly on their land.
Learn more about the game in this funny and informative podcast! Go to their webpage and jump to minute 45.
I played this with my kids and we all came out really enjoying it!
Dicetower Judgement: Approved!
Potions & Profits
In Potions and Profits, you are a Wizard representing one of many pharmaceutical corporations looking for new Potions to invest in. Competing Wizards will try to outbid you for Potions as you balance both your Stock Value and your Public Relations. The most profitable Potions tend to be the least ethical but that doesn’t matter so long as your investors are happy and not too many protesters are kicking down your door.
Become the most profitable corporation you can by either monopolizing one type of Potion or by simply having the best pharmaceutical line around. It’s just business, magical or otherwise.
15-30 minutes playtime
3-6 players
Ages 8+
Genre: Bidding, Bluffing, Auction
"Overall it's a good game that's going to get to my table, which is saying a lot because I have a lot of games!"
This is a small tabletop game that's light and quick.People who will like it are those who like to socialize while bidding and trying to outsmart the people they are working against. It’s also for number crunching wizards and those who enjoy playing in a fantasy trope.
I love games that put a lot of theme onto easy to play mechanics. There’s a trend in board games to only assign the most creative themes to the crazy innovative (or crazy expensive) games, but Potions & Profits is nice for just sitting around the table and having some fun. It mixes several different mechanics together well enough that they don’t really get in the way of each other, and none of them mix in a way that’s confusing. The fantasy theme is also pretty fun and there’s a darkly comedic edge to the whole thing that reminds me quite a bit of Red Dragon Inn.
Invasion of the Brood
In the year 2025, the telepathic monster Broodmaster Magnalux has established a base on Earth’s moon. As the human player, you must alert humanity to the threat, and rally armies, navies, and air forces against the alien menace. As the Broodmaster player, you must subvert the Earth, using your mind control to gradually take control of Earth’s most vital defenses.
Invasion of the Brood is a two player strategy game, in which the two sides have greatly different strategies, abilities, and even turn structures. Will humanity pull together to stop this alien invasion, or will the sinister Broodmaster take over the world? You decide!
45 minutes playtime
2 players
Ages 14+
Genre: Strategy
Invasion of the Brood is the classic sci-fi story of Earth being invaded. It is set in our current time, so there are no special weapons technology to learn to play. The rulebook gives good instructions and examples to get everyone up to speed quickly and easily. The board, pieces, and rules are easy to use.
Invasion of the Brood is a good one-on-one strategy game that is balanced to give both sides a chance at winning or losing the game. The number of options a player can choose from give the game the ability to be played multiple times, back-to-back, without it feeling like it is predetermined what is going to happen.
The games we played were close, the world hanging in the balance of a few moments and the outcome of a single turn. The closeness of the outcomes was strong enough to pull us back to attempt another game, with a slight change in our choices. Or, to attempt something completely different.
I recommend Invasion of the Brood for players who like: One-on-one strategy, Sci-fi themes (especially invasion themed sci-fi), Faster paced strategy games.
The theme has a lot of nice touches like airstrikes and navel interceptions. There are a lot of strategic options for each faction. Every country is in a different spot, has different military capabilities, and requires different sacrifices to persuade each other nation to join them. All of the rules are logical, and therefore easy to remember. It's a fantastic concept for a two-player game. The factions are very asymmetrical, but each is so overpowered that it's "balanced."
This is a 2-player asymmetric war game, and while it appears that the Brood is designed to win, it turns out the game is well balanced and can go either way. The most interesting part is that the humans start with a single nation who “knows” what’s going on, and you get to decide whether or not (and how) you are going to “awaken” another nation to the reality of aliens on the moon. But it comes with a cost!
Go to 38:47 for the full review.
Evacuate
Evacuate is a community deck-building game where players use social deduction to outwit the other players and reach the Evacuation Transport with the most Survivors.
It’s too late! The Nomia plague has spread throughout the space station. The last Evacuation Transport beacon has been activated. There is only one escape transport left and you must lead your people from a shelter to claim it before the others get there first.
You don’t want to rush because you don’t know what is around the next corner, but you also don’t want to be at the back because the slowest always seem to get picked off. The only safe spot is in the middle of the survivors. Evacuate is a community deck-building game where players use social deduction to outwit the other players and reach the Evacuation Transport with the most Survivors.
15 - 30 minutes playtime
2 to 6 Players
Ages 14+
Color Blind Friendly
Extremely interesting idea and it plays out well in a short time span that allows repeated plays with different species move decks so you can experience new methods to victory each time.