It's New Game Friday! David Wiley (Cardboard Clash) is here to tell us about the new games.
Here’s what is new this week:
- Orchard
- Raging Bulls
- Word Chain
This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Orchard: A 9-Card Solitaire Game
To harvest fruit (score points) by playing cards so that the fruit trees overlap other trees in the Orchard that bear the same fruit.
A delightful, puzzly little game with nine cards and a handful of dice. Don’t worry, they never get rolled. Instead you have a really interesting spatial puzzle where you try and layer several of the same type of tree onto the same spot in order to get a higher value of fruit at those locations. Like Sprawlopolis and Circle the Wagons, I’m just as bad at this game...but I’ve always had a ton of fun with it. Definitely the easiest PNP build from the folks at Side Room Games, and a ton of fun to play in a really short span of time. Highly recommend this one for anyone who likes a quick-playing puzzle that is a little unique.
Raging Bulls
Whoever thought it was a good idea to put a load of bulls together in one field? Well, yours is not to reason why. It is, however, your job to keep them apart and avoid brawling bulls.
To do this you’ll need to isolate them from each other by building fences.
Fortunately, some fence posts have already been put up around the field perimeter. Unfortunately, you only have a limited number of fence rails and mallets to work with…
Ever wanted to make some funky fences around a property? You’re in luck, as this isn’t a game about having a beautiful, symmetric fence line. In fact, you’d be likely to lose if you tried. Dice are rolled to determine the two points (posts) you draw a line through with the intent of taking each bull and having it isolated from the other bulls. Sound interesting? It certainly is. Those familiar with games like 30 Rails will find some comfort here, but it has some really interesting twists. Bonus: the game comes with a Straight Hedge you can cut out perfectly (and laminate) to use for drawing perfectly straight lines as you play.
Word Chain
Players have to say a word that links the previously said word, according to the rules shown on the cards drawn.
I feel like I could just write the lyrics to “Bicycle Race” from Queen here: You say coke, I say cain, you say John, I say Wayne…
In all reality, that’s a similar concept going on here but with parameters dictated by the cards (such as “Is a 7 letter word, no plurals”) on what you are trying to come up with. You start with any 2-syllable word and it all goes from there. Want to find out what your friends think? This will have them digging deep at times for correlations. Parameters in here are fun, such as at least 3 letters, no more than 4 syllables, and has to tie in with both Link criteria for the round. Think you’ve got a fast wit? This one might make your brain do some real mental gymnastics. This is one of those rare games where it might be as much fun to be the person listening to the players coming up with things as it is to actually play it.
Check out the new games here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Game of the Week: Legends of Dsyx Collection
Description from Dragonvault, one of 12 games in the collection: You are Citan the Gold, Dragon guardian of Merchants and Bankers. There isn’t a coin of gold, silver, tin or jade in all of Dsyx that hasn’t been touched by your subtle hands. You had a busy day of treasure counting planned. Until the blasted heroes showed up looking to take it from you.
Looking for variety in your roll-and-write gaming collection? This series of 12 games has you covered. With a delightful fantasy setting, and with each game being extremely unique in what it tasks you to accomplish, you’ll be sure to get a lot of mileage out of these titles. Not sure where to begin? I recommend Dragonvault, which is a lot more fun than a single page solitaire roll-and-write should be. For instance, here you are a dragon protecting his treasure horde from heroes. Your score is based on how much treasure remains when the game ends. Lockpicks, another title, has you playing a thief and picking the locks to 12 treasure chests in a press-your-luck sort of setting. Check out the collection, you’re sure to find at least a gem or two in there to suit your personal preference in gaming tastes.
Check out Game of the Week here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/game-of-the-week
Also, reminder of our New Heroes Scholarship - intended to recognize a standout member of the board game community who is among an underrepresented group.
For full details, including how to enter/nominate someone, check out our page at: https://www.pnparcade.com/pages/new-heroes-game-industry-scholarship
See you next week with more information on our newest print and play games!