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Tranquility: The Ascent (Saturday Review)

14. Februar 2026 um 12:43

The air thins with each step, and talking becomes almost impossible without a rest. The mountain is relentless, and so are those intent on beating it. Reaching the peak requires patience and knowing which route to take and what to leave behind. No one climbs alone, and no one fails alone either. The summit awaits and promises unmatched Tranquility: The Ascent by James Emmerson from Lucky Duck Games with art by Tristam Rossin.

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Take A Number / X Nimmt

Take A Number is an advanced version of the classic game from Wolfgang Kramer, Take 5, also known as 6 Nimmt and Category 5. My copy is a gift from Allen, and it is a 2-in-1 version containing Take 5 too. It is recommended that you play Take 5 before Take A Number, which makes sense, because the game mechanism in Take 5 is a subset of Take A Number. 

The Vibe (Saturday Review)

07. Februar 2026 um 12:43

Staring at the art in front of them, next to a number of words, the group was trying to figure out which noun fit the paintings best. Someone read out a single word and explained their theory. Suddenly, everyone wanted to share their own opinion, some confident, some cautious. I listened to what everyone had to say. Only I knew which word was the right answer. After all, I had chosen it, based on The Vibe by Jacob Jaskov from Uloomi.

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Eternitium (Saturday Review)

31. Januar 2026 um 12:43

We were looking for a very special gem, a gem that, according to rumours, promised eternity. Nobody knew exactly where it could be found - or rather, when, because this gem was lost in time. We opened portals like doors in a chronological corridor, using our technology to help us speed up our search, but to no avail - we are always a heartbeat too late. We were in a battle, chasing each other through ancient eras, sabotaging each other's signals, and stealing minutes. Yet, at last, I knew I had done it. The clock had finally aligned. I reached out, my hands shaking, and finally won the gem of Eternitium by Thomas Carlier from Haumea Games with art by Baptiste Perez.

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Frank’s Zoo (Saturday Review)

24. Januar 2026 um 12:43

On a lovely sunny summer's day, we decided to go out together as a family. We wanted to see mice, shrimp, hedgehogs, fish, foxes, seals, lions, polar bears, crocodiles, elephants and orcas, but we wanted to avoid mosquitoes. So we all went to Frank's Zoo by Frank Nestel from Heidelbär Games with art by Doris Matthäus.

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The Bloody Inn v1

23. Januar 2026 um 03:57

They ate him! Can you believe that? They ate him!

Survive the night with your The Bloody Inn rules summary!

If there’s one thing that attracts me to a new game it’s a distinctive theme. Based on the true story of L’Auberge rouge (The Red Inn), where in 1831 the inn’s owners were guillotined for multiple murders, not to mention other dark deeds, The Bloody Inn is a great game that mixes dark humour with European gothic.

Definitely not the same old themes here then! Players are family members competing to make the most francs by hosting guests at the inn – though it’s far more profitable to just murder the guests and bury them somewhere in the yard. And you will have to bury them, because leaving bodies around is a sure way to get nabbed by any police that show up at the inn, though you can always bribe the local gravedigger to get rid of the evidence at the last minute.

There’s a lot going on here for a card game, but thankfully the cards fulfill multiple roles. You’ll discard cards to pay for accomplices, all of which have particular specialisations – bribing other characters, murdering guests, building annexes to bury the corpses under, and burying the corpses. But you’ll have to keep paying them to keep using them (though a couple of peasants will work for free, they’re discarded at the end of each round). To juggle this bunch of actions efficiently you’ll need to plan ahead, because you only get a stingy two actions per round. And this is where the real challenge kicks, in, because getting the cards to help you do those actions cheaply and actually doing the actions, is a tricky balancing act. On top of that, there are only so many francs you can accumulate before you’ll have to pass a turn and launder some of it into 10-franc cheques.

The Bloody Inn is one of those games where you always forget the rules each time you play it, so this rules summary should prove very handy for picking it up again quickly. But it’s always an entertaining game and its dark theme is played completely for laughs, like a 1970s comedy horror film. It’s all enhanced even further by the addition of The Carnies expansion which adds three modules to the game, including a bunch of disreputable folk from a travelling carnival.

This Game is Killer: Alien on Board (Saturday Review)

10. Januar 2026 um 12:43

After realising that they had not only inadvertently brought an alien lifeform onto their freighter, but that the alien was a vicious and terrifying predator, the crew had only one choice. Armed with whatever they could find on their commercial vessel, they started sweeping the ship one section at a time. Yet, their fear and terror led to rash decisions, which meant a crew member got sucked out into the vacuum, and another was blown up by a hastily made explosive device. To the crew, it was life and death, but to the alien, it was all a game, and This Game is Killer: Alien on Board by Ivan Turner from Smirk & Dagger Games with art by Grafit Studio.

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Wyrmspan (Saturday Review)

20. Dezember 2025 um 12:43

Lantern lifted, I stepped into the Crimson Cavern where a Tawny Steppe Wyvern crouched over a cache of meat and a single gleaming amethyst. It watched me calmly, dust motes swirling around its tawny wings. In the Golden Grotto, a Bellicose Firevern crackled with heat, sparks skittering across piles of scorched stone as it let out a low rumble. Finally, in the Amethyst Abyss, a Subterranean Basilisk hatchling blinked up at me, tiny and glittering, nestled among crystal shards. Once they got accustomed to me, the three dragons allowed me to go about my dracologist business and measure their Wyrmspan by Connie Vogelmann from Stonemaier Games with art by Clémentine Campardou.

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Yokai Septet (Saturday Review)

13. Dezember 2025 um 12:43

Long ago, spirits and demons stirred in the land of the rising sun, wreaking havoc upon crops, rivers, and villages, unseen and unstoppable. As an Onmyoji, a practitioner of ancient cosmology, you learned to capture these restless entities, restoring balance where others faltered. Yet word came that your own village suffered, and another Onmyoji had been called to intervene, an affront to your duty and skill. With careful calculation and swift action, you must outwit your rival, claiming mastery over chaos. You must ensnare the seven spirits, the Yokai Septet by Muneyuki Yokouchi from Ninja Star Games with art by U.

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Umami (Saturday Review)

29. November 2025 um 12:43

Under the glow of the moon, the forest stalls sizzled and steamed. Ramen bowls, takoyaki, and miso soup filled the air with rich, savoury aromas. Woodland chefs scurried between stoves, each eager to cook the most delicious dishes, only to be outdone by competitors who stole their patrons right from under their noses. The question is whether you have what it takes to serve up the best culinary creations that burst with Umami by Don Eskridge from Heidelbär Games with art by Ikuko Nakai.

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