Spoiler Alert: June includes both Father’s day AND my birthday. This makes it fairly nightmarish for my family, as I am an impossible hoarder of stuff.

So if you, too, have a board game dragon of a parent to deal with, we’ve got some suggestions to sort you out – and of course some stuff to win too, which if nothing else will keep you (and your sanity) going through the summer holidays!

We’re mixing it up a bit some non-IP content, so there’s something for everyone. PLUS the winner of last month’s Star Trek giveaway too – fun all round!

Marvel Crisis Protocol: X-Men Wave 2

(RRP £34.99-£44.99)

If, like me, you’ve been completely consumed by the retro (and somehow, not so retro) glory of X-Men 97, then the most recent set of releases are an absolute delight, whether you’re a player or painter (or both). It’s a real fan-favourite release wave with each box starring a host of classic characters.

Bishop/Nightcrawler

Bishop is a very tough cookie who brings his future tech and kinetic powers to great effect in game. He’s a pretty straightforward 4 Cost beatstick, but that’s no criticism. R4 5D builder is ok, chucks out incinerate (burn baby burn), which can lead to shenanigans if you pair him up with Shadowcat (as Lockheed does the same thing). What’s interesting is how his absorption works: for each Wild rolled on defence, he turns an opponent’s attack die blank AND gains a power. Yes, he takes a damage if he has more than 8 power, but that’s a small price to pay, especially because you WILL be using his Return with Interest Attack, A2 7D for 5 Power, but can be increased by 1D for each extra power, plus it shoves S and Slows on Wilds. Oh, and it’s whatever damage type you want. That’s a genuinely terrifying attack. As for the sculpt, it’s not bad, a bit tactical rock (well, sentinel part), but does the job.

BAMF! Ah, Kurt. Who doesn’t love Kurt? Well, your opponent won’t, that’s for sure. His builder is interesting, R3 that grants Stun if he’s R2 or more away. Now what’s more interesting is his Brimstone Blitz, just a 5D attack but with an extra die for every time he places – and every time he attacks, he can be placed with 2 in a Puff of Smoke! This can lead to a ridiculous chain of attacks that’s potentially absolutely devastating – and he can move Rx by spending x power also! He is the master of shadow also, immune to R3+ when within R1 of a building which, coupled with Wallcrawler, makes him an absolute must for a X-Men team, even at a Cost of 4. And the sculpt perfectly captures this with him from the smoke, making him a joy to paint also.

Iceman/Shadow Cat

Iceman has one of the most interesting builders in the game, with a Beam 3 that’s only 4D – but grants a power PER attack resolved. Opponent likes to clump up? Not any more. And it grants Slow – and his innate power also grants Slow, or damages anything with Slow. And whilst you’re slow, he’s fast – his ice slide charging him across the battlefield as if he’s Size 5, able to move allies with R2 AND with the added bonus of a move and attack as a single action. Oh, and it goes without saying, a glorious sculpt as well that nails the character.

Shadow Cat comes as a fantastic sculpt phasing through a broken sentinel arm, which really helps sell the character – that, and the ADORABLE Lockheed on her base! Her basic builder is interesting, as it’s only 4 dice but ignores the opponent’s criticals and places her R1 away. Her more deadly Intangible assault does the same but with 7D, R3 and moving her R2 for 3 cost – a very nasty follow-up indeed. Lockheed throws out Incinerate, so great with a list that capitalises on that (why do I ALWAYS come back to Baron Mordo?) and her phase rush power places her within R2 once per turn. With L move, Stealth and the ability to add Defence dice to an ally, she’s a fast, interesting, finesse pick for 3 points.

Professor X/Shadow King

Admit it, you thought Shadow King was in the desert with Storm, didn’t you? No? Oh well. Shadow King is a really interesting beatstick to bring to the table, though 5 cost is going to be a stretch for a lot of lists. Where he excels is at Range – his Astral Fiend can be placed R3 away, and attacks measured from that, giving him double R3 on his basic builder, or R3+R2 on his terrifying Astral Disintegration, which adds attack dice equal to the target’s power for a potential 9 Dice attack. He’s no slouch, either, with 3 Physical and 4 Energy, though that 5 in Psychic is pretty darn tasty. And of course, the model is super-sweet.

Finally, you have the big daddy of them all, Professor X. As you would expect, he gives his X-Men as massive boost, meaning when they spend power on a superpower, they regain 1 Power. He can move enemy characters with his Mental Suggestion, and his basic builder is a 5 dice, R4 causing Root; with the meta evolving away from sorcerers and psychics generally, he’s a very potent choice as a leader. Yes, of course, you’re going to want to keep him in the back field, but he can also chuck out rerolls at R4 to your team, so he’s going to be the lynchpin of a whole lot of lists. Plus, of course, Hover Chair!

DOG PARK

(RRP £49.99)

Now not everyone here is into IP driven products, and some of use are dads to fur babies as well, and the delightful Dog Park is for them!

Dog Park uses familiar set collecting mechanics and species information to achieve points-based objectives: most dogs of one breed, most varied kennel, and so on. Over 4 rounds you bid for dogs in “the park”, bring them to your kennel and then take 2 or more for walkies, giving them sticks, toys, balls and/or treats, and earning new ones as you go round the park. Designed for 2-4 players, it uses an “auto-walker” mechanic – essentially an Automa – at 2 players to keep the experience optimal and ensure that everyone experiences the frustration of bidding wars in full!

In all honesty, it’s not unfamiliar and there are inevitable comparisons to certain Bird and Dragon games. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s very on-theme (and indeed, informative about the differences between Hounds and Gundogs, for example). The art is delightful and like proper millennials you’ll be eagerly collecting your doggos, puppers and booping their nosies. For a dog person that’s a boardgamer, this is a really strong buy. As well as being a very high quality product with lovely wooden tokens, it’s also got one of the best designed box inserts I’ve ever seen, with the different card types embossed into the insert – and look at the little bone token trays! Plus, there’s loads of very affordable mini-expansions (such as European breeds or famous dogs) as well as the more complex New Tricks which adds in a bit more mechanical depth also.

WYRMSPAN

(RRP £54.99)

On the subject of set collecting of rare breeds, if they’re of a more fantastical bent then Wyrmspan might just be the game for them. I need to flag up first of all that this not just a reskin of the wildly-popular Wingspan, though it does share some of the same (pneumatised) bones. And it is a different enough play experience to keep both on your shelf – we most certainly do!

Your aim, as an enthusiastic amateur dracologist, is to carve out a Dragon Sanctuary, entice different breeds of dragons to your Crimson Cavern, Golden Grotto and Amethyst Abyss (wherein the rarest of dragon hatchlings can be found). Dragons can be grouped by size, temperament, food preference, cave type… all for different bonuses both in-game and for end-game scoring. Your meeple explores your cave, opening up new areas from the location deck, and as you do so you also progress through the Dragon Guilds. There are 4 in the base game, but only one is ever in use (common to all players), and each provides different nuances to gameplay through rewards, objectives and bonuses, meaning there’s an added level of replayability.

The gameplay comes from the designer of Apiary with input from the original designer of Wingspan, so it’s a slick but accessible experience. It has a good quick start guide and clear iconography throughout. Also, as you’d expect from Stonemaier, the component quality is great, with everything feeling good in hand: high gsm and plenty of heft to cards and tokens alike. You even get beautiful wooden speckled dragon eggs and cheery little wooden meeples, all of which look fab on the sturdy and very attractive player boards. All in all, an absolute charmer of a game!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

This month, we’re giving you the chance to win a stack of dead-cert favourites from our stack of glory, classic games that we’ve reviewed before HERE and can’t fail to be a winner with your nerdy old man (hey, less of the old!), with Marvel Splendor (REVIEW HERE) and Love Letter: Jabba’s Palace (REVIEW HERE) up for grabs!

And finally, the winner of our Star Trek Giveaway is… John Sullivan!

Congratulations! Get in touch with us at admin@bigcomicpage.com in the next 28 days to claim your prize!

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The Writer of this piece was: Sam Graven
Article Archive: Geeking Out
You can follow Sam on Instagram at @big_geekingout

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