Thrilla in Manila

Fellow Meeple Mountaineer Andrew Holmes recently published a review covering Unmatched: The Witcher - Realms Fall and Steel & Silver, and his opening comment mentioned that we at Meeple Mountain differ on our opinions of the Unmatched franchise. But that makes sense as different reviewers covering differently themed sets are going to land differently on their thoughts.

(The correct opinion is that Unmatched is awesome)

However, Andrew is right that Unmatched is a great system because of its simplicity, quick pace, and heavily contrasting roster of fighters. And like him, I’m the ideal demographic, but for different reasons. The original game, Star Wars: Epic Duels, was played dozens upon dozens of times by my friends in middle school and me. We even found custom heroes online and printed them out, and though they were wildly unbalanced, it was a blast nonetheless.

Fans of Unmatched will recognize Bruce Lee as a highly sought-after expansion, being the first single-character pack and, at times, running upwards of $250 on the secondary market. Fortunately for those patient enough, Bruce Lee has returned in both an affordable and memorable set, going toe-to-toe with the famous boxer Muhammad Ali. I wasn’t alive during their height of fame, but their quotes, stories, and larger-than-life personas live on through pop…

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As a longtime manager and commissioner of fantasy football leagues for American football, I approach the process of drafting and curating a team throughout the season much like a chef might approach a new recipe. From the jump, I feel like I know the flavors of each ingredient, but I never know exactly how it'll turn out until all the pieces are working together at the end. Sometimes it pans out and you have a delightful scone in your hands, and other times you're left with a gelatinous mess. I was curious to see if Huddle: The Fantasy Football Game could replicate that feeling of accomplishment.

Huddle: The Fantasy Football Game: Take a Chance on Me

Just like traditional fantasy football, Huddle includes a preseason draft, a season of head-to-head matchups, and then a championship game between the two best teams to determine the ultimate winner. Matchups are quick enough that the other Managers aren't left out if they aren't in the title game, otherwise they can play consolation games to determine places 3-6 for a full table.

During the Draft, Managers get 20 poker chips to bid on players in one-minute rounds. Players are represented through decks of cards, one each for Quarterback (QB), Wide Receiver (WR), Running Back (RB), Tight End (TE), Kicker (K), and Defense/Special Teams…

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Full disclosure: I know nothing about the world of velodrome racing (aka indoor cycling); other than they ride bicycles, really fast, at angles that would make a mountain goat sweat. But the brightly colored artwork for Spokes, the new release from Radical 8 Games, drew me in. And while you might not be able to judge the game by its cover, you can guarantee that it will get my attention.

I don’t know anything more about the sport after several plays of Spokes, but I can tell you that I had a lot of fun. Let me tell you about it!

The track is calling. Are you ready?

In Spokes, 1-6 players speed around an oval track, trying to be the first to complete 3 laps. You accomplish this by moving along routes, composed of colored bars (spokes), initially placed randomly on the track. Move as far as you can on a single color, before ending your turn.

Each player has a personal board that guides and restricts your movement for a turn. On your turn, you move the spoke marker cube on your player board one, two, or three places clockwise.

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