Guest Panelist: Curt Covert from Smirk & Dagger Games

We talk about Tower of Madness, Hex Hex, Nut So Fast, Before There Were Stars, and Koi.

The Mind

Designed by: Wolfgang Warsch

Published By: Pandasaurus Games (2018)

Players: 2 – 4

Ages: 8 +

Time: 20 min

Unearthed by: Celeste

The Mind is a card game, where in each of the rounds (called levels), all players receive a hand of cards equal to the number of the level (one card at level 1, two cards at level 2, etc.). The players are cooperating, to try to lay the cards down in a single stack in ascending numerical order.  

The players cannot communicate in any way about what cards they have, so there is a lot of focused, quiet concentration with many pregnant pauses. Whenever you feel the time is right, you play your lowest card. If no one holds a lower one, then the game continues, but if another player did have a lower card they must stop the game and discard a life!

The group has a communal amount of lives equal to the number of players. Completing a level may earn you additional lives or power-ups.

If the players lose all their lives, they lose. If the group completes all 12 levels, they win!

The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31

Designed by: Joe Van Wetering

Published By: Project Raygun (2017), an imprint of USAopoly

Players: 4 – 8

Ages: 17 +

Time: 1 – 2 hrs

Unearthed by: Ed

Another bleak, desolate Antarctic winter is dawning when a group of NSF researchers manning the claustrophobic, isolated U.S. Outpost 31 comes into contact with a hostile extraterrestrial lifeform. Bent on assimilating Earth’s native species, this being infiltrates the facility — creating a perfect imitation of one of the Outpost 31 crew. The staff begins a frantic sweep of the base to purge this alien infection before escaping to warn McMurdo Station that somewhere, out there in the frigid darkness, something horrible awaits!

In this hidden identity game, you will relive John Carpenter’s sci-fi cult classic, The Thing, in a race to discover which team member has been infected (and duplicated!) by this heinous lifeform. Play as one of twelve characters, leading a series of investigations through the facility, while using supplies and equipment to clear the building. The tension mounts and paranoia ensues as you question who you can trust in the ultimate race to save humanity!

Sagrada

Designed by: Adrian Adamescu & Daryl Andrews

Published By: Floodgate Games (2017)

Players: 1 to 4

Ages: 13 and up

Time: 30 to 45 min

Unearthed by: Joe

You’re trying to score lotsa points, creating a beautiful stained glass cathedral window. If you’re stuck, the game allows you to go off the beaten track to sweeten your options. You get a template, with a score of very cute, very fun, very efficient little indented boxes to ensconce your dice into specific patterns. You get a little extra fun with hidden personal goals . . . I was surreptitiously scooping up lots of the red dice. Since my template only actually required me to end up with a total of 2 red dice out of the 20, I was gleeful about my prospects. And win or lose, that’s a big part of why I play games.