Tag: 11plus

November 13, 2022 /

I absolutely love it when designers and publishers contact me about reviewing their work. Yes, it provides a sense of accomplishment that a little group of reviewers who spend very little money on this endeavor can be recognized enough for their efforts for someone to seek out, but also because…

September 10, 2021 /

I have often wondered how cartography actually works. How was it that people with primitive tools were able to grasp the lay of the land and sea? And are we complete in our mapping of Earth or are there more secrets we have yet to discover? Thankfully, in Cartographers we…

August 17, 2021 /

When it comes to games, bigger doesn’t necessarily always mean better. You get monstrous games with hundreds of components, and people go crazy for it. But does a game really need all that to really be a success? Uh-Oh! is a minimalistic party game that aims to challenge that way…

June 15, 2021 /

Growing up, I lived on a cul-de-sac and the neighborhood was full of kids around my age. So if the weather was nice outside, chances were that we were all out together playing kickball, capture the flag, or some other fun games. In the summer however, our favorite activities were…

April 26, 2021 /

I like to think of myself as a somewhat intelligent person. I can occasionally ‘win’ a game of Jeopardy while watching on tv…..ok, so maybe it’s just during Kids Week, but that’s gotta count for something, right?! Anyway, word games and trivia have always entertained me. So when I heard…

February 5, 2021 /

Ahh good ol’ NES. How I miss thee. My very first video game console, and still I remember it fondly. Somewhat recently a revival of 8-bit art has flown around various mediums and board games were also infused with this love of the pixelated art style. But how well can…

December 17, 2020 /

Paradox of Morality. That’s a super cool name for a game. What do you think of when you read it? I immediately thought of questionable choices that could mean life or death, or having to choose between two ugly outcomes, or questioning one’s own value systems. This is a great…

December 1, 2020 /

YES! A Scooby-Doo game! AND it’s an escape room style game? I am so fired up to play this! This was my line of thinking as I received this game in the mail. Scooby-Doo is one of my favorite cartoon shows from my youth, and name a better episode than…

August 20, 2020 /

Playing games is so much fun, sometimes I wish I could play two games at the same time! Enter Ninja: Silent But Deadly. From the people who brought us Pretense, Button Shy Games delivers again with another meta-game card game that lasts the entire game night. So don’t get too…

June 23, 2020 /

Roll and write games have been surging in popularity recently among many gamers, but Purple Phoenix Games never really got too into them. The game industry has many wonderful entries now, and finding a great one may be somewhat daunting. Are we recommending Roar and Write! from Galactic Raptor Games?…

May 19, 2020 /

We recently invested in a really great pork loin and were able to get like three excellent meals out of it (if you want recipes, that’s a different blog). I know pork loin and ham aren’t the same, but I do enjoy them immensely. That’s why when I heard about…

December 12, 2019 /

The Kids Table series from Purple Phoenix Games seeks to lightly explore games that are focused toward children and families. We will do our best to give some good insight, but not bog your down with the millions of rules… Monkey Around (2017) Peaceable Kingdom Like, a ton of players…

September 24, 2019 /

Have you ever invented something that already exists? I have. I invented the mechanism that is used in fast food joints where you can fill up the cups with just enough ice and pop (yes, it’s POP) per size of cup. So it only fills up enough ice and pop…

July 18, 2019 /

I remember when I joined a cult. Wait, I have not yet done that. I have joined fraternities and other organizations, though, where there are specific ritualistic initiations and periods of testing and awakening just prior. These trials have included written tests, symbolic experiences with the brethren, and sometimes just silly stuff…

February 4, 2019 /

Are there still city planners? They go by a different name nowadays right? Civil engineers? Am I thinking of the wrong thing? In any case, you get to be one of those people in Welcome To…, which has one of the strangest titles for a game, especially when you look…