Prelude to 'Project 8x8 & 48'

I recently posed a question with the Abstract Nation on Facebook asking what were three games players preferred on a common 8x8 checkerboard.

Not surprisingly there was a lot of commonality in answers and IMHO a few gems missed.

It was at that point the idea of a series of reviews for the blog began to take form.

I thought it would be simple enough to come up with maybe 10 games that would fit a framework which developed as I delved into what games to include.

The parametres became games you can play on an 8x8 checkerboard with the added constraint you have only two sets of 24 pieces – basically you buy two matching common check sets – becoming finally the ‘8x8 & 48 Project’.

What the ‘Project’ really comes down to is being a gaming system of which there of course are many – most notably a common deck of cards with which you can play a myriad of games; Icehouse Pyramids with which dozen more games can play, and a Decktet deck for which there have again been many games designed.

But the ‘Project’ then took on something of a life of its own as they say. 

The list of games I want to include seems to grow near daily – with the final number still a mystery to me. I hope viewers will ‘follow’ this humble blog to find out.

The plan – roughly at least – is to post three reviews one week, two the next, then repeat until I reach some undefined number of ‘Project’ games.

It will be some work to write them, but hey I think it’ll be fun too.

Let’s see how it develops – together!

Take a game room tour

 

Welcome to a very amateur visit to my game room.

I do not as a rule make videos -- as I am sure you will agree if you watch -- but I thought I'd give it a try.

As you can see it took three vids to allow me to upload.

Most of the games are abstract strategy games.

There are many other more group oriented games in a game room of another member of a small group I game with.

Interestingly, my all-time favourite game is crokinole and you can barely see the board here -- well main board I own a few (too many according to my better half).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Game on!

A coffee time wizard war

There are a raft full of games where two players assume the role of a wizard – perhaps most notably Magic: the Gathering.

But if you are limited for time, another option to consider is Bahamut Dispute.

Bahamut Dispute is a small footprint card battler from designers Aya Taguchi, and Shun Taguchi with art from Amelicart that the tiny box states plays in 10-minutes, and that is giving you a minute or two cushion in most games.

The website at jelly2intl.com explains “as the most powerful wizard in your kingdom, you must get your hands on Baleful Bahamut, a legendary dragon, before your arch-rival can use it to destroy your home! Utilize various spells to interrupt your rival's summoning ritual while working to complete it yourself.”

The legendary dragon is hidden among the small deck of cards – 16 in total. Successfully summoning him will lead to an immediate victory on the following turn.

However, both players have access to spells and actions, drawing one, and playing up to two of them on their turn -- although the variety is limited in such a thin deck.

Some cards summon creatures, other thwart opponent moves, all the sort of things you’d expect from a spellcaster battle.

The art here is ok, a sort of cartoonish-feel, but certainly not awe inspiring.

Play is quick – this is a coffee break-style offering for sure – which holds some interest but again the thin deck limits the likelihood one will be reaching for this one often.

Nothing not to like in Northwest

When you see Northwest on a shelf, you will note a rather plain, yet surprisingly attractive forest scene, unassuming yet likely to draw you in.

If you were wise enough to buy this one from designer Rick Hou and Brickhouse Games you are in for a treat.

It starts as you crack the box open and find a wooden board. No not high quality oak, buy nicely done with a dark stain.

You will also note the board is recessed to allow 64 cubes to be neatly, and board bump securely – a definite nice touch.

The recesses are for the 64 cubes in the game, which are also wood. These are chunky cubes with nice art, so when randomly spread across the board would have a visual winner – the sort of board which begs to be out on the coffee table to entice visitors to ask about it.

From the good looks the question of course is does play match.

Well, Northwest is a 2-to-4-player tableau-building game which will remind of Azul in as much as you gather pieces and set them on your own board in patterns to collect points at game’s end. Yes comparing a game to Azul is a big deal since Azul is a top game for many – us included – but Northwest has a similar ‘feel’.

Each turn, the player drafts a cube from the board by moving the shared ‘exploration token’ onto the cube and adding it to their tableau. The previously captured cube sets the next player's available move – this is the biggest drawback to Northwest, a near constant having to ask just what cube the previous player took, because casual gaming you just aren’t watching that closely.

• Bees/Honey: next player must move in the L-Shape think the knight move from Chess.
• Mushrooms: next player must move into a space in any of the eight surrounding spaces  - like a chess king.
• Ferns: next player moves one orthogonal space.
• Maples: next player moves one diagonal space.
• Bigfoot: next player may move into any space in the same column or row.

Each of the cube types score victory points in a unique way. For example, a mushroom just scores one point no matter its tableau position. Other cubes need to meet certain criteria to score. The bigfoot scores best at five points, so you want the elusive beast.

“This is ultimately a drafting game where the strategy lies in when and what you draft. Game play lasts anywhere between 20 to 40 minutes. The wood and paper components lend the game a natural feel, and we've received numerous positive comments on the quality and tactile nature of the cubes. While the design may seem simple, it possesses a quiet elegance in its table presence,” said designer Hou via email.

A handy player aid for each participant keeps the movement patterns and score conditions close at hand.

“Ultimately, I wanted to create a game with broad and long-lasting appeal. I wanted something that people could easily learn and bring to the table regularly with family and friends, while still providing meaningful choices. I am a mechanics-first designer, so I started imagining different abstract mechanics that would provide a fun and strategic interplay among players, accommodating up to four. The theme came later. We live in the Pacific Northwest and are regularly inspired by the beauty of this place and the creativity and kindness of the people here. We've been fortunate to be part of a community of passionate designers, publishers, and distributors who support one another. For my first game, I'm glad to honor the Pacific Northwest and share a piece of what we love with those both in and outside of the region,” explained Hou.

“Like any good drafting game, it provides immediate tension between what you want for yourself versus what you leave behind for others. But the drafting in Northwest is achieved through two spatial puzzles - one on the main board and one on your personal board. Players share the same hiker pawn as the primary method of collecting what they want. Then they will decide how to best position the collected item on their personal board to optimize their score.”

Now Guilder Adam didn’t like being forced into a move by the previous player, but the mechanic works, and feels a bit like Quarto where you hand your opponent a piece and they must deal with it.

It is interesting that when you move you of course want something which builds your tableau in a positive way, but you need to at least consider if a move in a particular direction aids, or hinders the next player too.

This game is super easy rules wise, and looks so good, it’s a near must-have in my books, although to be fair Guilder Adam thought it too much a filler game to love it deeply, and Guilder Trevor was somewhere betwixt Adam and yours truly.

Of note Northwest is an abstract strategy game in as much as you know exactly what’s in play and who is doing what. That appeals to many and has the added bonus that it plays admirably as an abstract strategy offering with three or four players as well as two, which was sort of a goal for the designer.

“Most abstract games are presented as 1-on-1 competition. I wanted to design something that can easily accommodate a group of 3 or 4. I wanted to introduce a game play where each player's decision directly impacts the options available to the next player during the play, except not through combat. I also wanted to tone down the "meanness" by presenting multiple ways around obstacles players throw at each other,” said Hou.

Still one that really bares a closer look for most. Find it via www.brickhouse.games/northwest

 

CCG with a mini-battles feel back on Kickstarter

Genesis: Battle of Champions is a tactical, collectible card game that has been available in game stores since 2017.  Originally created by Assad Quraishi, it is one my game group reviewed a year ago.

But, the game is back on KS and as a Canadian design I wanted to give it a push so below is the review.

And, the Kickstarter link: 

There are games reviews which are super simple to write – those games you love, or the rare one that are flops – the two ends of the spectrum being contusive to appropriate verbiage.

Then there are games that when it comes to writing a review you stare at the computer screen and struggle for just where to go.

Welcome to Genesis: Battle of Champions a game with something of a checkered history.

According to Board Game Geek the collectible card game was created in 2017.

“When Assad successfully managed to launch his game in a few select stores in Ontario during 2017, he had ambitious goals. He wanted Genesis: Battle of Champions to offer fans of collectible card games the same satisfying experience of collecting cards and building unique decks to play with, while also incorporating the physical and tactical board experience found in Chess,” explained Jason Malott President at Edge of Exile Entertainment Inc, the new manufacturer of Genesis
In April of 2023 a sudden and unexpected announcement that Haunted Castle Gaming - the original manufacturers of Genesis: Battle of Champions - were immediately shutting down operations, and would be ceasing to produce products for Genesis: Battle of Champions, seemed like it would be the death of the game.

In the end, in May 2023, the people behind a brand new company that would effectively resurrect Genesis: Battle of Champions.

The game’s rebirth is now among a wave of CCG/TCG games trying to woo players, and there are reasons this game – Canadian created as a bonus is worth a long look . . . but.

And the but here is a big one, so we’ll get back to that in a bit.

Malott noted a taste of chess here, and I suppose you can make that leap. It is likely more comparable in terms of mechanics – the placement of cards to a 5x6 grid, and their movement on that grid to the fine Onitama, or The Duke/Centurion from Catalyst Games.

You also get the feel of a miniature game – think Aisteia from Corvus Belli, which is a definite positive.

In a game reminding of a mini battle -- you have a champion and it summons allies to its side -- you can imagine creatures are a must, and since you draw a single card per turn run short on them and you are likely in trouble.

“Our unique element of summoning creatures onto a grid is undeniably the best element of our game. We constantly hear feedback from our players that Genesis: Battle of Champions is the game that they had wished other games could have been in the past. Several companies have tried to introduce tactical game play into their other games, but we believe that our game's design will always remain steps above any of our competition thanks to the unique game play our system offers player,” said Malott.

Interestingly, you start with a finite pool of ‘aura’ the resource used so summon creatures or play spells. Initially it was expected that it being finite mean a core need to manage the pool well, but games seem to end before you need to ration the resource.

Malott also noted, “our game employs a unique points based system in which every card in the game has been rated on a power scale, and that rating is printed on every single card. Build your 50 card deck while using up to a maximum of 250 "Chi" (the name used for the points in our power ranking system) without any limits on how many copies of your favorite cards that you can include in your deck! Most of our competitors in the industry utilize a rule that restricts players to only including a maximum of four copies of any card in their deck, so with Genesis, the deck-building options are far more diverse.”

Onto the art here – with the caveat art is very much subjective to individual tastes – is excellent fantasy style with Genesis.

At this point it seems like a winner – and certainly the foundation of a CCG about that average exists with Genesis.

The ‘but’ arises when you go online to learn to play -- there’s no rule book in a starter deck just a little ‘cheat card’.

The very basic game rules are nicely encapsulated in videos at genesisbattleofchampions.com but there are key words not on the cheat card ‘decay’ for example and then it’s onto the cellphone to try and find what it does.

Creatures and spells are effective only in some squares of a 3x3 grid around the creature of caster, easily seen on the card – but wait at least one card in a starter sheet –Dhuma Ejitr -- where the grid is missing. Back online trying to find the answer.

Then the champion Suttir card has it doing one point damage on one line and three on another. More confusion. More online searching and mounting frustration.

And therein lies the problem here, a game with so much going for it in terms of foundational game ideas, ends up creating a sour taste because of the glitches we had to go searching answers to.

We are carrying on with the original vision and goals for the game that Assad began with.

To offer a game that provides a more fun play experience than our competitors, while remaining at a more affordable financial point of entry for new players. It is our objective to provide an extremely fun collectible card game that everyone can afford to play and enjoy for years to come.

It is difficult not to recommend at least a couple of pre-constructed starter decks to try this one, but beware, you will face some frustrating moments in learning this one.

Wander ice caves and find rubies amid bears & penguins

The concept of Print’ n Play games really is outstanding.

A player can buy some files usually at quite a reasonable cost – yes many PnP games are even free – save on shipping and taxes, and have the fun of printing and preparing the game for play.

However, I admit that personally I want simplicity in a PnP build.

That means a solid Roll ‘n Write where the printing is a rules sheet and an 8x10 game sheet, or a card game easily cut out and sleeved. Start adding chits and bits and custom dice and it better be something quite special for me to take it on.

Thankfully, The Ice Caves from designer Jurgen Spreutels and publisher Simployt Games is one of those card and rule set games.

Making this one even more desirable is the files are currently (as of July 23, 2025), still available for free download at boardgamegeek.com.

From the designer; “in this game, Penguins and Ice Bears meet for the very first time to hunt red Rubies, because, you know, they’ve totally never crossed paths before thanks to the whole North Pole vs South Pole thing.

“But don’t overthink it. They meet, and frankly, I have no idea how it happened either. Also, the Penguins have a bit of a thing for blowing up parts of the caves, because what’s a good game without a little destruction, right?”

So you see from that description this one is silly fun, but hey we’re talking a game that plays generally in less than 30 minutes, and can play two-to-four, so it’s one worth the effort to create.

Now, with polar bears and penguins and what might be termed a ‘cute’ theme I would have expected a bit more of that ‘cuteness’ or ‘humour’ to show up in the card art. Spreutels also does the art, and while the ice caves idea comes through in the bluish colouration, I wanted more bears and birds.

The rules print on only two pages, so The Ices Caves is one you can get to the table and teach quickly, which is always a plus.

You lay out 12 cards and then manoeuvre to find gems and get them out of the ‘caves’. It’s not particularly deep, but there’s enough fun to be had to get your printer going.

An asymmetric challenge in only 18-cards

 

Asymmetrical games offer what is still a rather unique game experience.

While a number of games which fit the mechanic of players having unequal forces have come out over the years, in broader terms it remains a rather small segment of the gaming experience.

In the case of King and Peasant from designer Poon Jon, artist Chia Pek Fann, and publisher nPips Games we find a new offering that fits, and it’s just a bit different from most.

This one is an asymmetrical two-player – everyone I know is two players I believe -- 18-card microgame.

When a game is only 18 cards you never know just what to expect. Some rise to the level of ‘very good’, while others fail often from the simple fact there is not enough variety in such a small package.

King and Peasant overcomes the scant card deck by giving players cards which have a dual purpose effectively almost doubling the deck to 36 cards. It’s not the first small card game to go that route, but here it works nicely adding some depth to card play.

In this game one plays the king and the other the peasants – and of course when you think about how decidedly different the king and peasants were in Medieval times it’s rather easy to see where an asymmetric approach makes perfect sense.

The peasants are unhappy with the king – not surprisingly and have employed an assassin, so the peasant wins when the King draws the assassin from the deck.

The King has found out about the plot, and must try to protect himself, winning when the deck is out of cards or when the assassin is discarded.

The art here is nice, perhaps a better word is functional, so it won’t attract players.

But the rules are well-done, and as you might expect with only 18 cards, the game plays quickly – 15 minutes will do it, maybe a tad quicker as you become familiar with game play.

In the end it’s the differing goals which make this one interesting, and well worth a look as a coffee break, or ‘brews’ game.

Check it out at npipsgames.com

 

Tiny box battler a fine coffee time filler

There are hundreds of small box filler games out there theses days, and Charge & Spark is among them.

From designers Akiyama Koryo, and Kozu Yusei, with art from Saito Minori this one is a quick play duelling game for two players.

The set-up reminds of a fencing duel, each player starting at different ends of a ‘pathway’. Using cards you move your token hopefully toward the centre – such efforts can be thwarted by certain cards – to get the win.

You can also win by reducing the opponent’s health to zero.

Card actions do require ‘energy’ and you have a limited supply that once used you will need to spend turns replenishing.

Finding that balance of offence, defence and resource management is the key here.

In this game, players select a card to play for the turn and reveal them simultaneously.

The cards one has access to are limited here so you can get a descent handle on what they may have in-hand by keeping in mind what has been played – so memory plays a part.

The art here reminds of early generation video games – an acquired taste to be sure. In my case the art adds little to the game.

Game play though is surprisingly solid here, and so quick it is one you will want to be playing a best three-of-five, or four-of-seven, over an expended coffee or brew.

This is one that wins out for its portability, and quick play with some solid decisions to make.

Find this one via jelly2games.com or www.musokastudio.com 

My top-10 favs -- at least as of July 2025

With what is sort of the re-launch of this blog which frankly got lost amid real life for years, I thought perhaps it was a good time to offer up my top-10 favourite games – a list which admittedly is rather fluid depending on day and mood.

But, here goes:

#10 Pandemic – My first co-operative experience – at least that I remember so fondly – it had to make list as it set the group I play with on a path to really enjoying the co-op game experience.

#9 – Gin Rummy – Another fondly remembered from youngest days with dad. Super simple and yet a fine way to waste a summer afternoon.

#8 Azul – This was not a game I had expected to like but boy do I. Sure it’s largely playing solitaire as a group, but the chunky pieces, ease of ruleset to learn, and enjoyable – albeit not super deep – game.

#7 Tak – To come from a fantasy book and be so simple and yet so deep is frankly amazing. Far better than I expected when it arrived. A total gem.

#6 Dominion – The first ‘deckbuilder’ I played that wasn’t a  trading card game (Magic: the Gathering). Feel in love with it and the mechanic and it remains easily me fav or the genre.

#5 – Lines of Action – This one gets high marks for being a game you can play with a common checker set – and it is a better game too. By Canadian designer Claude Soucie – great its fellow Canuck, this one is super simple to learn but offers lot of strategy to learn as well.

# 4 Yinsh – The entire gipf series from designer Kris Burm is outstanding, but theis one is simply a cut above. Ove the mechanics especially that as you get closer to a win you give your opponent an added chance.

#3 Kings Cribbage / Cribbage – Have loved cribbage for years. Then the better half and I discovered Kings Cribbage – think crib and scrabble combined. It’s our favourite hubby/wife game now – although peg crib is still enjoyed too.

#2 Hive – I balked at buying this one initially because I thought it was ‘kiddish’ with the coloured bugs, but when I finally acquired it I found the modern equivalent to chess. Outstanding game made better with each added bug – ladybug, mosquito, pillbug – and love the carbon set on black & white.

#1 Crokinole – This one is easily my all-time favourite. I remember it fondly from my youth playing – and usually losing to my dad. It is a joy ‘flicking’ the pieces, and is a game where with practice you can also get better.

A 'sweet' new take on dominoes

This week we perhaps should premise that this game with the comment if you like tile-laying / domino-like games then just plan on buying Cubed one day.

If such games are not your cup a tea then maybe this Jordan Marton designed offering is not for you.

What we have in Cubed is a new approach to the classic game of dominoes.

The pieces are six sided with varying colour patterns. Pieces are also bevelled so that when it comes to placing into the table you are required to match not only colours, but heights within the play area.

The height element takes a game to fully grasp but becomes straight forward with some play time.

The aforementioned colours are sort of a range of pastels, which you may like, or not. The response at the Meeple Guild table was frankly a bit mixed on that.

However, they are colours chosen for a reason – being friendly to those who are colour blind so kudos to Marton for that choice.

“The colour palette uses some of my favourite colours blended into a beautiful gradient that reminds me of a nice morning sunrise,” said the designer via email. “I wanted to use colours that blended together well, while also having a different enough range to allow game play for most people. I found that using this sunrise palette was the perfect balance.

“It took dozens and dozens of testing and tweaking to find the perfect combination of hues to be 99 percent colour blind friendly while still holding true to that sunrise gradient. We are very proud of that achievement. 

“The only caveat was for some folks who struggle with monochromatic deficiencies in their vision. They will struggle to see everything unfortunately due to the number of colours required in the game. There are simply too many shades in the game which may make it difficult to play.

Canadian designed

Cubed offers a solid level of strategic game play using volumetric tri-coloured hexagon pieces where players much match colours and heights with each placement. Initially that seems a bit challenging, but very quickly becomes well-understood.

Get rid of all your pieces first to win the game.

Canadian designer Marton explained the game had a rather interesting ‘birth’ in terms of the general idea.

“This might sound strange, but the idea came to me in the shower, more specifically while staring at my shower tiled floor which are arranged in small hexagons,” he explained via email.

“Now hexagon domino games are nothing new. There’s hundreds (maybe more) variations out there from matching simply colours or themes like animals - but there isn’t many out there that have you match heights as well.

“Seeing my tiled floor had me thinking of interesting architecture and materials that could be used to combine into a fun game. Seeing concrete art concepts like these images helped solidify I was on the right path.

“I was really trying to create something that could be truly aesthetically pleasing, almost like a sculpture you’d want to display on your coffee table or even on your wall – but also that could be a clever playable game as well. I really try to apply this concept to all of our Happy Robot games as I don’t really see these two concepts applied in most games out there.  

There are a couple of variant rules you can mix in, and after an initial learning phase the additional rules are likely going to be just normal game mode for most because they add a dash of spice without undue complexity.

Interestingly, games tend to be very close affairs, which is generally a positive.

So what does the designer think gamers will experience with Cubed?

“They can expect a very satisfying game that’s both casual and fun,” he said. “There’s some interesting thought involved that promotes friendly competition, while keeping the stakes light and fun. 

“I love it for a starter game (on those pre kid game nights) or even in the solo mode. The tactile feel is addicting, and playing is oh so satisfying.

“As a designer I love how the game can trick you when you think you can make a play, only to discover your game piece is a flipped or mirror version of the available play space. The cleverness is in the simplicity of the design. What you think is possible may be your brain playing tricks on you.”

Overall, this is a fine game – coffee with the neighbours and Cubed would be great --and it plays two-to-four so well that too is a bonus – one certainly worth checking out.

Check it out at www.happyrobot.ca

Heirloom potential with beautiful components and compelling play

 

NOTE: This was written back in March 2025, but with  sort of re-launch on my blog, I wanted this one posted here as it's easily one of best new games played seven months into year.

When it comes to abstract strategy games of course this Meeple Guilder (our little gaming crew), is immediately interested in anything new.

It’s a case where a game which pits two payers against each other without the luck of dice being rolled, or cards flipped, is the best of what board games have to offer.

That does not mean all abstract strategy games are created equal. There are elites games; Chess, Hive, Tak, Arimaa and others, although the top tier list is admittedly far shorter than the subpar, bland, or just bad ones.

The fun is exploring new offerings to see where they fit on the mental list.

That brings us to Nimbus from designer Aiden Zelandonii and publisher Neural Forge (neuralforge.com.au).

When this one arrived from Australia the box was rather plain, and it was larger than expected – not always a good thing storage wise.

But, inside, Nimbus was just WOW!

The game board is lovely wood – always a plus.

The pieces are chunky pyramids with the tips in pastel colours. Now the colours might be an issue for the colourblind, or in certain lighting, but they are also marked with symbols of the four ‘elements’ each piece can convert too, so differentiating them is not difficult.

Combined this is a showpiece game – the kind you want on the coffee or end table or office desk just to draw attention and create conversation. There are many abstract strategy games which fit the showpiece/heirloom tag; many chess sets, Cathedral, Terrace, Abalone, Entrapment, Coerceo, Bladder (in a quirky way), Camelot, and Citadel to name a few, and Nimbus jumps onto this list in a flash.

Nimbus is a strikingly gorgeous game.

Oh, and the large box is actually wonderful as it is foam core loaded with recessed spots for each piece and the board for safe storage and transport to a coffee shop for a game meet up.

But, how does Nimbus play?

Well this is not a game where you will be good at it with just a play or two. While there are only four different kinds of ‘piece’ – actually each can evolve in any; nature/fire/water and lightning – but they are not familiar movements, so they take some getting used too. There are even metal guides to help understand the piece movement.

Nimbus has a learning curve –one that is rather steep.

“Players can expect a tactical experience which shares a lot of similarities with chess but with the added dimension that pieces can change the way they move throughout the game,” said designer Aiden Zelandonii via email. “Imagine if your rook became a bishop. Nimbus can also be a bit mind bending initially due to running on a triangular grid, our brains are much more accustomed to processing square or hexagonal grids.”

At first look it was a tad surprising given the elemental theme of Nimbus that a rock-paper-scissors capture was not incorporated, but Zelandonii said that may come one day.

“You are right that a trump system comes naturally to the style of pieces,” he said, adding “the first version of Nimbus did use one however, it turned out to be a terrible game.”

But work continues.

“There is definitely a way to make a good game using Nimbus pieces and a trump system and we are looking into new games along these lines so we can expand Nimbus to not just being a single game, but a game system,” said Zelandonii. “If anyone reading this has a great idea, we'd be happy to hear it.”

It also struck me early on that the board seemed ‘small or tight’ for the game.

“We actually never tried a larger board,” said Zelandonii. “As the movement modes where developed their range was increased from what they were to fit the size of the board so we never felt the need to go larger.

“Additionally, from a product design point of view the current board size pushes the limits of the equipment we had on hand to start manufacturing games.”

As it stands Zelandonii likes the game as it stands – and it is outstanding in spite of our questions.

The designer said, “Nimbus was born from asking myself the question ‘Can I come up with an idea for a game that is just pieces and a board that also looks good like a fancy chess set’.

“I was then thinking about aesthetics I like and Egyptian came to mind. That led to the tetrahedral pieces and the design just flowed from there.

“In contrast to most of my other designs, I didn't set out with much of a goal other than to make a good game that looked pretty and had few components.”

And in the end the elemental nature is what the designer likes best.

“The best element, in my opinion is lightening,” he said. “It has the same range as fire and although it has gaps in its coverage and is grid locked like bishops in chess, the difficulty in blocking it outweighs that for me.

“The interesting thing I've found after seeing so many people play is that everyone gravitates to different elements more or disagrees about which is strongest.”

It is interesting how pieces are at times more limited by position. Water is far ranging, but often not in the direction you want, as an example.

That is where wise piece adaptation is critical.

“The ability to change the movement mode of your pieces throughout the game is easily the most unique aspect of Nimbus and this provides a much more dynamic gaming experience than similar games, as changing the mode of a single piece can completely change the threat structure of a board state,” said Zelandonii.

Nimbus rules also offer up four different start positions, and that creates some added play variation too with a game that out of the box quickly feels as deep if not more so that chess which says a lot about how highly we regard this one.


Nimbus is a showpiece on looks, and play wise is one where you will want a bestie to play this one as often as possible to get the most out of this one – a game that should become a classic.

I’d peg Nimbus as the best abstract strategy game since the 2017 release of Tak in terms of overall play. It actually looks better than Tak, but Tak is easier to grasp and explore but both rate top marks.