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Games Reviews and related articles
This page is an index to my reviews of board games and other articles I've written about games and related topics. Click on the link for the index or use the search feature to find what you're looking for.
These articles were written for a variety of magazines, including Flagship, Gamers Alliance Report, Games & Puzzles, Games Games Games and Games International, as well as my own 'zine, To Win Just Once. I add more pieces as time allows (and when I can locate them in the case of older articles!).
The oldest pieces are only web pages; more recent articles are both web pages and PDF documents (click the icon for the PDF version), while some are PDF only. You will need Adobe Reader to view PDF documents. If you don't have it, you can get it from Adobe by clicking on the button
on the right.
Articles and reviews are also published in my magazine, To Win Just Once.
Reviews
Reviews are listed alphabetically by (the first significant word in) the game's title, showing publisher, designer, country of publication and my rating.
Wherever possible, I give the original publisher (and country) of each game as well as the publisher of any English language version. Links to the publisher and game's designer (the term I prefer to inventor or author) are provided where possible.
The rating is my own, highly personal and subjective score for each game, where 1 is something I never want to play again and 10 is a brilliant game.
Index to title: numbers A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1812 – the Invasion of Canada (Gathering 2012) | Academy Games | Beau Beckett and Jeph Stahl | USA | 7* |
1825 Unit 3  |
Tresham Games | Francis Tresham | UK | 7 |
| 20th Century (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Czech Games Edition | Vladimir Suchy | Czech Republic | 9* |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| A | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Abaddon (Gathering 2012) | Toy Vault | Richard Borg | USA | 5* |
| Africana (Gathering 2012) | Abacusspiele | Michael Schacht | Germany | 7* |
| Z-Man Games Games | USA | |||
| After the Flood (PDF) | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 8 |
| Age of Industry (PDF) | Treefrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 8 |
| Age of Steam | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 10 |
| Agricola |
Lookout | Uwe Rosenberg | Germany | 10 |
| Z-Man Games | USA | |||
| Airlines Europe (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Abacus | Alan R Moon | Germany | 7 |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Amazonas |
Kosmos | Stefan Dorra | Germany | 8 |
| Mayfair | USA | |||
| Ambush (PDF) | Victory | John Butterfield & Eric Lee Smith | USA | 8 |
| Amun-Re |
Rio Grande Games | Reiner Knizia | USA | 9 |
| Hans im Glück | Germany | |||
| Ankh-Morpork (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Treefrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 8* |
| Antike |
Eggertspiele | Mac Gerdts | Germany | 8 |
| Anyways (Games Expo 2012) | Ragnar Brothers | Ragnar Brothers | UK | 7* |
| Article 27 (Spiel '12 report) | Stronghold Games |
Dan Baden |
USA | 7* |
| Artus (Gathering 2011 PDF) | alea | Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling | Germany | 5* |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Ausreisser, Der |
FX Schmid | Pierre Jacquot | Germany | 8 |
| Automobile (PDF) | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 9 |
| B | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Bean Trader |
Rio Grande Games | Uwe Rosenberg | USA | 8 |
| (Bohn Hansa) | Amigo | Germany | ||
| Big Cheese | Cheapass | James Ernest | USA | 9 |
| Blindside | Hangman | Alan D Ernstein | USA | 6 |
| Brass |
Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 7 |
| Breaking Away | Fiendish | John Harrington | UK | 8 |
| Brief History of the World, A | Ragnar Brothers | Ragnar Brothers | UK | 9 |
| Burgen von Burgund, Die (Gathering 2011 PDF) | alea | Stefan Feld | Germany | 8* |
| C | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Canal Mania |
Ragnar Brothers | Ragnar Brothers | UK | 9 |
| Capone | Amigo | See The Mob | ||
| Carat | Queen | Dirk Henn | Germany | 5 |
| Castles of Burgundy, The | Rio Grande Games | see Die Burgen von Burgund | ||
| Caylus |
Ystari | William Attia | France | 10 |
| Check the Ripper | ASS | Alex Randolph | Germany | 2 |
| Chinatown | Rio Grande Games | Karsten Hartwig | USA | 7 |
| alea | Germany | |||
| (Sid Meier's) Civilization: (the Board Game) (PDF, .3 Mb) | Fantasy Flight Games | Kevin Wilson | USA | 7* |
| Commands & Colors: Napoleonics
|
GMT | Richard Borg | USA | 8 |
| Confucius (PDF) | Surprised Stare | Alan Paull | UK | 8 |
| Copycat (Spiel '12 report) | Rio Grande Games | Friedemann Friese | USA | 7* |
| Cults Across America | Atlas | Jeff Tidball | USA | 6 |
| D | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Devil Bunny Needs a Ham | Cheapass | James Ernest | USA | 5 |
| Dominant Species (Gathering 2011 PDF) | GMT | Chad Jensen | USA | 7* |
| Dreizehnte Holzwurm | Queen | Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling | Germany | 7 |
| Dschungel | Adlung | Bernhard Naegele | Germany | 3 |
| E | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Eclipse (Gathering 2012) | Lautapelit | Touko Tahkokallio | Finland | 8* |
| El Grande | Rio Grande Games | Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich | USA | 10 |
| Hans im Glück | Germany | |||
| Enemy in Sight |
Avalon Hill | Neal Schlaffer | USA | 6 |
| F | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Flash Point: Fire Rescue (Gathering 2012) | Indie Boards and Cards | Kevin Lanzing | USA | 8* |
| Falsche FuFFziger | 2F | Friedemann Friese | Germany | 9 |
| Feudo |
Zugames | Mario Papini | Italy | 4 |
| Few Acres of Snow, A (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Treefrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 9* |
| Fifth Avenue |
Rio Grande Games | Wilko Manz | USA | 4 |
| alea | Germany | |||
| Fire & Axe | Asmodée | See Viking Fury | ||
| Foppen | 2F | Friedemann Friese | Germany | 5 |
| Formula Motor Racing | Gibsons | Reiner Knizia | UK | 9 |
| GMT | USA | |||
| Fremde Federn (Spiel '12 report) | 2F | see Copycat |
||
| Fürsten von Florenz | alea | See Princes of Florence | ||
| G | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Galopp Royale | Goldsieber | Klaus Teuber | Germany | 9 |
| Ginkgopolis (Spiel '12 report) | Pearl Games |
Xavier Georges |
Belgium | 9* |
| Z-Man Games | USA | |||
| Glory to Rome |
Cambridge Games Factory | Carl Chudyk and Erek Slater | USA | 9 |
| Go West |
Phalanx | Leo Colovini | Netherlands | 6 |
| Gothic Game | Tolmayax | Robert Wynne-Simmons & Nigel Andrews | UK | 7 |
| H | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Hamburgum |
Eggertspiele | Mac Gerdts | Germany | 9 |
| Hansa Teutonica (PDF) | Argentum | Andreas Steding | Germany | 7 |
| Z-Man Games | USA | |||
| Hawaii (Gathering 2012) | Hans im Glück | Greg Daigle | Germany | 7* |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Helvetia (Gathering 2012) | Kosmos | Matthias Cramer | Germany | 9* |
| Hermagor |
Mind the Move | Emanuele Ornella | Italy | 9 |
| Rio Grande | USA | |||
| High Frontier (PDF) | Sierra Madre | Phil Eklund | USA | 9 |
| Homesteaders (Spring 2010 PDF) | Tasty Minstrel | Alex Rockwell | USA | 9* |
| Hornochsen | Amigo | Wolfgang Kramer | Germany | 4 |
| I | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Ice Cream |
Face 2 Face | Joe Huber | USA | 4 |
| Industria |
Queen Games | Michael Schacht | Germany | 10 |
| Intrige | FX Schmid | Stefan Dorra | Germany | 9 |
| Iron Sky (Spiel '12 report) | Revision Games |
Juha Salmijärvi |
Finland | 6* |
| J | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Jet Set (PDF) | Wattsalpoag | Kris Gould | USA | 9 |
| Just Wait | Hangman | Alan D Ernstein | USA | 7 |
| K | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Kalesia (Spiel '12 report) | dV Giochi | Kong Chan | Italy | 7* |
| Key West (PDF) | Spiel Idée | Martin Schlegel | Germany | 7 |
| Keyflower (first impressions: Spiel '12 report) |
R&D Games | Richard Breese and Sebastian Bleasdale | UK | 9 |
| Keythedral |
R&D Games | Richard Breese | UK | 10 |
| Keywood | R&D Games | Richard Breese | UK | 10 |
| King of the Elves | Rio Grande Games | Alan R Moon | USA | 9 |
| (König der Elfen) | Amigo | Germany | ||
|
Kingdom of Solomon |
Minion Games | Philip duBarry | USA | 8 |
| Konzern | Fanfor | Valentin Hermann | Germany | 6 |
| Kosmonauts (Spiel '12 report) | Mesa Board Games |
Nadezhda Penkrat and Yury Yamshchikov |
Portugal | 7* |
| Krieg & Frieden | TM | Gerard Mulder | Germany | 5 |
| L | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| La Città | Rio Grande Games | Gerd Fenchel | USA | 9 |
| Kosmos | Germany | |||
| La Loire (Spiel '12 report) | Mind the Move | Emanuele Ornella | Italy | 7* |
| Last Train to Wensleydale (PDF) | Treefrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 7 |
| Last Will (Gathering 2012) | Czech Games Edition | Vladimir Suchy | Czech Republic | 8* |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Le Havre (PDF) | Lookout | Uwe Rosenberg | Germany | 8 |
| Letters from Whitechapel (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Nexus | Gabriele Mari & Gianluca Santopietro | Italy | 7* |
| Liberté | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 10 |
| Linie 1 | Goldsieber | Stefan Dorra | Germany | 8 |
| Lords of Creation | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 7 |
| Lords of Waterdeep (Gathering 2012) | Wizards of the Coast | Peter Lee and Rodney Thompson | USA | 8* |
| Louis XIV |
Rio Grande Games | Rüdiger Dorn | USA | 9 |
| alea | Germany | |||
| M | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Maharaja | Avalon Hill | Craig Sandercock | USA | 7 |
| Mamma Mia! | Rio Grande Games | Uwe Rosenberg | USA | 7 |
| Abacus | Germany | |||
| Manhattan Project, The (Gathering 2012) | Minion Games | Brandon Tibbetts | USA | 8* |
| Media Mogul |
JKLM | Richard Huzzey | UK | 6 |
| Medieval Mastery (Games Expo 2012) | Chaos Publishing | Miles Ratcliffe | UK | 7* |
| Metallurgie |
Argentum | Maik Hennebach | Germany | 7 |
| Mob, The | Gibsons | unknown | UK | 7 |
| (Capone) | Amigo | Germany | ||
| Monastery (PDF) | Ragnar Brothers | Ragnar Brothers | UK | 7 |
| Mordred | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 9 |
| N | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Naval War |
Avalon Hill | Neil Zimmerer and Craig Taylor | USA | 7 |
| Navegador (PDF) | PD-Verlag | Mac Gerdts | Germany | 8 |
| Neuland |
Eggertspiele | Tobias Stapelfeldt and Peter Eggert | Germany | 8 |
| New England Railways | Winsome | Martin Wallace | USA | 10 |
| O | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Old Town |
Clicker | Stephan Riedel | Germany | 8 |
| Olympos (PDF) | Ystari | Philippe Keyaerts | France | 9 |
| On the Underground |
JKLM | Sebastian Bleasdale | UK | 9 |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Ora & Labora (PDF, .5 Mb) | Lookout | Uwe Rosenberg | Germany | 9* |
| Z-Man Games | USA | |||
| Origo |
Parker | Wolfgang Kramer | Germany | 8 |
| P | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Palaces of Carrara (Spiel '12 report) | Hans im Glück |
Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling |
Germany | 7* |
| Z-Man Games | USA | |||
| Pantheon (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Hans im Glück | Michael Tummelhofer | Germany | 6* |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Pastiche (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Gryphon | Sean MacDonald | USA | 6* |
| Pax Porfiriana (Spiel '12 report) | Sierra Madre Games | Phil Eklund and Matt Eklund | USA | 9 |
| Peloponnes (PDF) | Iron Games | Bernd Eisenstein | Germany | 8 |
| Pergamon (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Eggertspiele | Stefan Dorra & Ralf zur Linde | Germany | 8* |
| Gryphon | USA | |||
| Perikles |
Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 8 |
| Phoenicia |
JKLM | Tom Lehmann | UK | 10 |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Pillars of the Earth |
Mayfair | Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler | USA | 9 |
| (Die Säulen der Erde) | Kosmos | Germany | ||
| Princes of Florence | Rio Grande Games | Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich | USA | 10 |
| (Die Fürsten von Florenz) | alea | Germany | ||
| Princes of the Renaissance |
Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 9 |
| Puerto Rico | alea | Andreas Seyfarth | Germany | 10 |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| R | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Ragami (Spiel '12 report) | Mesa Board Games | Gil d'Orey | Portugal | 7 |
| Really Nasty Horse Racing Game | Upstarts! | unknown | UK | 8 |
| Rome & Carthage (Spiel '12 report) | Grosso Modo Editions | Jean-René Vernes | France | 5* |
| S | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Salvo! | 3W | Michael Smith | USA | 4 |
| Samurai Sword (Spiel '12 report) | dV Giochi |
Emiliano Sciarra |
Italy | 8* |
| Sandwich (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Le Joueur | Christophe Raimbault | France | 8 |
| Säulen der Erde, Die | Kosmos | See The Pillars of the Earth | ||
| Scepter of Zavandor |
Z-Man Games | Jens Drögemüller | USA | 10 |
| (Das Zepter von Zavandor) | Lookout | Germany | ||
| Secret de Monte Cristo, Le (Gathering 2011 PDF) | Filosofia | Charles Chevallier & Arnaud Urbon | France | 5* |
| Secret of Monte Cristo, The | Z-Man Games | USA | ||
| Settlers of Catan | Mayfair | Klaus Teuber | USA | 10 |
| (Die Siedler von Catan) | Kosmos | Germany | ||
| Shadows over Camelot |
Days of Wonder | Bruno Cathala and Serge Laget | USA | 9 |
| Shadows over Camelot – the card game (Spiel '12 report) | Days of Wonder |
Bruno Cathala and Serge Laget |
USA | 4* |
| Sheepdogs of Pendleton Hill (Spiel '12 report) | Stratamax | Max Michael | USA | 7* |
| Skallywaggs |
Bent Castle Workshops | Ben Crenshaw | USA | 8 |
| Snowdonia (Spiel '12 report) | Surprised Stare Games | Tony Boydell | UK | 9* |
| Space Beans | Rio Grande Games | Uwe Rosenberg | USA | 5 |
| Amigo | Germany | |||
| Special Delivery | Kevingston | Kevin Rolph | UK | 4 |
| Struggle of Empires |
Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 10 |
| Sun, Sea and Sand (PDF) | Cwali | Corné van Moorsel | Netherlands | 7 |
| T | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Tales of the Arabian Nights (PDF) | West End | Eric Goldberg | USA | 10 |
| Z-Man Games | Eric Goldberg et al | |||
| Tempus |
Various | Martin Wallace | UK | 8 |
| Test of Fire (Games Expo 2012) | Mayfair | Martin Wallace | USA | 5* |
| Through the Ages (Spring 2010 PDF) | Czech Games Edition | Vlaada Chvatil | Czech Republic | 10* |
| Eagle | USA | |||
| Thunderstone Advance (Games Expo 2012) | AEG |
Edward Bolme, Mike Elliott, Mark Wootton |
USA | 6* |
| Thurn & Taxis |
Hans im Glück | Karen and Andreas Seyfarth | Germany | 9 |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Ticket to Ride |
Days of Wonder | Alan R Moon | USA | 8 |
| Tinners' Trail (PDF) | Warfrog | Martin Wallace | UK | 8 |
| Tulipmania 1637 (PDF) | JKLM | Scott Nicholson | UK | 7 |
| TV Wars | Avalon Hill | Bob Nash | USA | 6 |
| Tweeet (Spiel '12 report) | Cwali | Corné van Moorsel | Netherlands | 7* |
| U | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Ubongo |
Kosmos | Grzegorz Rejchtman | Germany | 4 |
| University Games | USA | |||
| Upon a Salty Ocean (PDF, .5 Mb) | Giochix Edizioni | Marco Pranza | Italy | 8 |
| V | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Vanuatu (PDF, 1 Mb) | Krok Nik Douil | Alain Epron | France | 9 |
| Velo City (PDF) | Abacus | Kevin G Nunn | Germany | 6 |
| Viking Fury |
Ragnar Brothers | Ragnar Brothers | UK | 8 |
| Vikings are Coming!, The | ASS | Alex Randolph | Germany | 2 |
| Village (Gathering 2012) | Eggertspiele | Inka and Markus Brand | Germany | 8 |
| Tasty Minstrel Games | USA | |||
| Vinhos (PDF) | What's Your Game? | Vital Lacerda | Italy | 7 |
| W | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| We Will Wok You (Spiel '12 report) | Pegasus Spiele | Sebastian Bleasdale | Germany | 6* |
| West Riding | Winsome | Han Heidema | USA | 9 |
| Wildlife |
Uberplay | Wolfgang Kramer | USA | 9 |
| Clementoni | Germany | |||
| Workshop of the World (PDF) | Ragnar Brothers | Ragnar Brothers | UK | 6 |
| Y | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Yedo (Spiel '12 report) | Eggertspiele |
Thomas Vande Ginste and Wolf Plancke |
Germany | 8 |
| Yspahan |
Ystari | Sébastien Pauchon | France | 9 |
| Rio Grande Games | USA | |||
| Z | Top | |||
| Title | Publisher | Designer | Country | Rating (1-10) |
| Zepter von Zavandor, Das | Lookout | See The Scepter of Zavandor | ||
| Zong Shi (Gathering 2012) | Gryphon Games | Kevin G Nunn | USA | 7* |
|
* provisional rating based on initial play |
||||
Index to title: numbers A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Articles
Articles are listed in reverse chronological order: most recent first, oldest last.
Spiel '12 – Version 2 of Pevans's report on new games from the 2012 Spiel games fair in Essen: PDF version of Spiel '12 report (3.3 Mb)
Memoir '44 at the Expo (PDF .4 Mb) – Pevans plays in the tournament at the 2012 event
UK Games Expo 2012 (PDF Report of UK Games Expo 2012, 1.4 Mb) – Pevans reports on the new games in Birmingham
The Gathering of Friends 2012 (Gathering 2012 PDF, 3.2 Mb) – Pevans gives his first impressions of the new (to him) games he played at the annual get-together
British Toy Fair 2012 – the games on show at the London Olympia event: PDF version of Toy Fair 2012 report (600 Kb)
Spiel '11 - new games from the annual games fair (version 2): PDF version of Spiel 11 report (6.8 Mb)
EuropeMasters 2011 - Pevans reports from the European Board Games Championship
Gathering of Friends 2011 (PDF, 2.5 Mb) - Pevans plays new games in Niagara Falls
Toy Fair 2011 (PDF) - this year's new games at the London show
Spiel '10 (PDF 3.6 Mb) - new games from the annual games fair (version 2)
UK Games Expo 2010 (PDF) - Pevans went to the Bimingham show
Spring Round-up 2010: Homesteaders and Through the Ages
Toy Fair 2010 (PDF) - this year's new games at the London show and the Spring Fair
Spiel '09 (PDF 1.6 Mb) - new games from the annual games fair (version 3)
Blasts from the Past: 1 Tales of the Arabian Nights (PDF); 2 Ambush (PDF)
UK Games Expo 2009 (PDF) - Pevans went to the Bimingham show
Toy Fair 2009 (PDF) - this year's new games at the London show
Spiel '08 (PDF) - what Pevans saw at the 2008 Spiel games fair
EuropeMasters 2008 (PDF) - Pevans was at the European Board Games Championship
SpielChamps 2008 (PDF) - The UK Board Games Championship at Manorcon
UK Games Expo 2008 (PDF) - Pevans went to the Bimingham show
Toy Fair 2008 (PDF) - this year's new games at the London show
Spiel '07 - a report from the 2007 Spiel games fair: PDF version
Toy Fair 2007 – a report of the new games on show at the UK’s annual showcase.
Spiel '06 - a report from the 2006 Spiel games fair: PDF version
Toy Fair 2006 – a report of the new games on show at the UK’s annual showcase.
Spiel '05 - a report from the 2005 Spiel games fair.
Toy Fair 2005 - a report of the new games on show at the UK's annual showcase.
Spiel '04 - a report from the 2004 Spiel games fair.
Toy Fair 2004 - a report of the new games on show at the UK's annual showcase.
Toy Fair 2003 - a report of the new games on show at the UK's annual showcase.
Spiel '02 - a report from the 2002 Spiel games fair.
Toy Fair 2002 - a report of the new games on show at the UK's annual showcase.
Spiel '01 - a report from the 2001 Spiel games fair.
Toy Fair 2001 - a report of the new games on show at the UK's annual showcase.
UKBCGC 2000 - a report from the UK's Board and Card Games Championship.
Toy Fair 2000 - a report of the new games on show at the UK's annual showcase.
TV Wars - The Pevans Option - alternative rules for this game that remove much of the luck element and reduce the playing time.