Purple Phoenix Games Posts

June 28, 2025 /

Tell me that box cover doesn’t look straight out of some weird 1940s kids’ book. At first I was a bit too weirded out to even consider playing this one. It’s creepy. But so many reviewers loved it, so I recently bit the bullet and gave it a shot. It’s…

June 22, 2025 /

You know how some people just HAVE to be time travelers? I’m pretty sure that Jacob Fryxelius is a time traveler. Maybe not a full-on Doctor Who, but to publish a game dealing with a virus that takes over the world two years before the outbreak of COVID-19 is really…

June 13, 2025 /

One of the very first games I bought for my collection when I entered the hobby was Mysterium. A murder/mystery game of deduction? I was hooked! However, there were some aspects that I wasn’t too keen on. So when I saw Mysterium Park on the shelf at my FLGS, I…

June 7, 2025 /

You may be able to ascertain from my last name, Lopez, that I am at least some part Hispanic. In fact, I am half Mexican and half most of Europe, with 1% African (which I believe most people share). My Mexican heritage hails from Guanajuato, Mexico, and this location has…

May 28, 2025 /

That’s cool box art, isn’t it? For a game about building buildings, I expect to see some awesome buildings on the box. I am both shamed and embarrassed that it has taken me close to year to get this game reviewed, but I am hoping to invoke the, “Better late…

May 27, 2025 /

As of today’s writing (March 31, 2025) there are currently 1,535 games on BoardGameGeek themed with zombies. The highest ranked game is in at 238 with 12 games in the top 1,000 of all games (of which there are currently 28,194 total titles). All that to say that perhaps we…

May 23, 2025 /

In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection. This review will be looking at the expansion for Tiny Epic Defenders – The Dark War. It introduces a slew of new components to increase variability,…

May 16, 2025 /

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a sucker for a gimmick in games. Sometimes they fall short and really are nothing more than a gimmick, but other times they really are unique and bring something new to the game. So a couple of years ago when I was…

May 10, 2025 /

I’m big on series. I prefer a TV series to a movie because it allows characters to be better fleshed out, and conflicts to be better developed. I suppose that love has translated into my board game tastes as well because I originally reviewed the OG Horrified as a Solo…

May 2, 2025 /

So many of us nerds (and maybe even normies) have a very special place in our hearts for The Lord of the Rings. Be it the books, the movies, or simply just the lore and characters. Personally, when I see something that has The Lord of the Rings emblazoned upon…

April 25, 2025 /

The Fuzzies found its way into my collection by mere happenstance. I had been at my local Walmart, perusing the board game aisle. Nothing was really catching my eye, so I turned to leave. And that’s when I saw it – tucked away, behind other things on the shelf. I…

April 18, 2025 /

You know how you’re just chillin’ at home with your pet sabretooth tiger and then all of a sudden your neighbor decides he wants to boast about the village that he is way more religious than you? Isn’t that just a bummer? Oh, and get this: he also thinks he…

April 11, 2025 /

If you know me or Travis, you know that we’re both big fans of Disney/Pixar. I grew up with the classics, and still enjoy pretty much everything that has premiered in my adulthood. I always hate being asked, “What’s your favorite Disney movie?” because that is SO hard to answer…

April 4, 2025 /

One thing that I love about social media is how it allows people to share their games and experiences with the world. And that’s how Tortilla Slap came onto my radar. Persuing TikTok one day, I saw this game as a ‘challenge,’ and immediately knew that I had to try…

March 28, 2025 /

I have never been a cat person. You will probably never see me with a cat, holding a cat, nor ever owning a cat. I just have only ever really liked one cat, and he has recently passed (RIP Miles). So I have to admit that when I heard that…