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…
Tag: drafting
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…
I don’t know about you, but I love a good trip to the beach. I like to lounge in the warm sand, play games and sports on the shoreline, and swim in the wavy water. Admittedly, I do have some irrational fears about the beach – shark attacks, stepping on…
Aaaaand next from my GenCon AEG haul is Waffle Time! As someone who exclusively ate 2 Eggo waffles for breakfast every day of my entire junior high and high school career, it’s safe to say that I was extremely excited for this game. So I hope you’re hungry, because this…
And for the next installment from my AEG GenCon 2023 experience is Point City. I guess you could call it a sequel to the popular Point Salad, also from AEG. But this new iteration is unique and different enough to stand strong on its own. Keep reading to see if…
I love a gimmick. Something out of the ordinary is right up my alley. Something else right up my alley is the opportunity to preview games in an attempt to draw attention to the game and publisher. Oh, I also like sea creatures. Bundle that all together and we have…
I know I say it every time we do a Valeria game, but I never get tired of this game universe. There’s a sense of familiarity, having played other Valeria games, but a unique difference to each and every one. So when Guild Academies of Valeria showed up at my…
As you know, we at Purple Phoenix Games are big fans of the Valeria-verse from Daily Magic Games. So imagine how hard I fangirled when they reached out to us, asking if we would be interested in previewing their newest game in the Valeria family. Once I was able to…
When it comes to games, there are several things that draw me in. For starters, artwork. If a game has artwork that immediately draws me in, I am sold. And obviously, theme of a game is a major element as well. So when Grand Gamers Guild reached out to me…
Sardines, man. I’m going to be honest – I didn’t expect any designer or publisher to choose sardines as a game theme. I suppose I can name a fair amount of games using a food-based theme, but individual ingredients? I’m not so sure. Perhaps this is because I have never…
We haven’t had a Golden Feather winner in quite some time, but Cascadia has done it! This tile-laying, token-drafting spatial puzzle impressed both Travis and me from our very first play. The artwork alone makes it fun to have on the table, and the strategy offered within is what takes…
I have come to many conclusions as I age. One. I actually will NOT stay young and spry forever. Two. People definitely can change over time. Three. I would be okay at creating planets if creating planets was EXACTLY like playing the game Planet. As I unfortunately wasn’t around to…
Y’all have a favorite sport? Or couple of sports? What about a least favorite sport? My favorites are hands-down baseball and football (Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears, respectively). My least favorite sport? Soccer. However, when I was asked to preview Soccer Duel from FireStorm Labs, I just had to say…
With the ever-stable popularity of the Harry Potter universe, we tend to see offshoots of similarly-themed games pop up all around us. We have reviewed several of these “magic folk showing off to one another to see who is the best” games: Apotheca, WizBang!, Studies in Sorcery, etc. What you…