misterdaniel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
misterdaniel) wrote2025-01-19 10:01 am
misterdaniel) wrote2025-01-19 10:01 am
Game Reviews: Survive the Island, MLEM and Inori
Diary of a Games Demonstrator
So at the weekend I did games demos at the ReRoll Board Game cafe in Leicester. Lovely venue, very friendly staff, great decor, good games selection and tasty foods.
I was given three games to demo so I thought I would do some brief reviews.
1. Survive The Island (aka 'What If Forbidden Island Was PvP not Co-op'). In Survive The Island, you need to get as many of your treasure hunters off the island and to safety before they are either eaten by sharks, sea monsters or consumed by volcanoes. Where the island sinks is in the hands of the players so its very common to find your person who thought they were safely inland suddenly floating in shark-infested waters.
Stats: 2-5 players and I agree with the box that it is for 8+ and plays in around 45 minutes.
Review:This is a 'family game' for a family that can have a good laugh at the catalogue of misfortunes befalling their team and others. It played well with my family, was well-paced and did not outstay its welcome. Plus you can build a different island every time. If you have a chance to play I recommend it. Also it has a 3.5 minute 'How to Play' video that is extremely well put together in both teaching the game and building hype. Recommended
2. MLEM: Space Agency (aka ' Why You Don't Put Cats In Charge Of A Space Programme'). In MLEM, the players choose a cat astronaut (catastronaut?) to put aboard a rocket and then dice are rolled to see how far out of the solar system they can travel, ideally without crashing. Spoilers: Cats crash space rockets with alarming regularity. The dice use a 'push your luck'-style mechanic which is great for that whole "Yeah, but maybe we can make it just a little furt... nope we crashed" energy.
Stats: 2-5 players and also good for 8+ and plays in 45 minutes
Review:Another 'family game' as tested on my family and well-received. The art is cutesy and the core game plays well. The game also comes with a wealth of add-ons, bonus rules and features to add further complexity which I have yet to test but which may increase the games longevity. I will happily play this game with anyone. Recommended
3. Inori Inori is a 'worker placement game' where you place your meeples upon the great tree and try to earn the favour of the spirits. Compared to the previous two, the gap between 'game' and 'theme' was bigger. Thankfully the game itself is very solid and once I started to get the hang of it there were a wealth of options available.
Stats: 2-4 players with a 30-45 minute play time. Box suggests 10+ age and I would agree.
Review:Another recommend but you definitely need to play with someone who has played it at least once as - for me at least - it needs easing into. However, the art is beautiful and when it gets going the game is very engaging. I will be interested to see how it plays with the family.
OVERVIEW: When I was demoing, MLEM was by far the easiest to pitch as a concept and to pick up in terms of showing people how a typical turn plays.
So at the weekend I did games demos at the ReRoll Board Game cafe in Leicester. Lovely venue, very friendly staff, great decor, good games selection and tasty foods.
I was given three games to demo so I thought I would do some brief reviews.
1. Survive The Island (aka 'What If Forbidden Island Was PvP not Co-op'). In Survive The Island, you need to get as many of your treasure hunters off the island and to safety before they are either eaten by sharks, sea monsters or consumed by volcanoes. Where the island sinks is in the hands of the players so its very common to find your person who thought they were safely inland suddenly floating in shark-infested waters.
Stats: 2-5 players and I agree with the box that it is for 8+ and plays in around 45 minutes.
Review:This is a 'family game' for a family that can have a good laugh at the catalogue of misfortunes befalling their team and others. It played well with my family, was well-paced and did not outstay its welcome. Plus you can build a different island every time. If you have a chance to play I recommend it. Also it has a 3.5 minute 'How to Play' video that is extremely well put together in both teaching the game and building hype. Recommended
2. MLEM: Space Agency (aka ' Why You Don't Put Cats In Charge Of A Space Programme'). In MLEM, the players choose a cat astronaut (catastronaut?) to put aboard a rocket and then dice are rolled to see how far out of the solar system they can travel, ideally without crashing. Spoilers: Cats crash space rockets with alarming regularity. The dice use a 'push your luck'-style mechanic which is great for that whole "Yeah, but maybe we can make it just a little furt... nope we crashed" energy.
Stats: 2-5 players and also good for 8+ and plays in 45 minutes
Review:Another 'family game' as tested on my family and well-received. The art is cutesy and the core game plays well. The game also comes with a wealth of add-ons, bonus rules and features to add further complexity which I have yet to test but which may increase the games longevity. I will happily play this game with anyone. Recommended
3. Inori Inori is a 'worker placement game' where you place your meeples upon the great tree and try to earn the favour of the spirits. Compared to the previous two, the gap between 'game' and 'theme' was bigger. Thankfully the game itself is very solid and once I started to get the hang of it there were a wealth of options available.
Stats: 2-4 players with a 30-45 minute play time. Box suggests 10+ age and I would agree.
Review:Another recommend but you definitely need to play with someone who has played it at least once as - for me at least - it needs easing into. However, the art is beautiful and when it gets going the game is very engaging. I will be interested to see how it plays with the family.
OVERVIEW: When I was demoing, MLEM was by far the easiest to pitch as a concept and to pick up in terms of showing people how a typical turn plays.