For this month’s Geeking Out we have a trifecta of gaming reviews for you, alongside a Geeky Giveaway where you can win a copy of one of the games from this very article! Let’s dive right in:
NINJAGO: DESTINY’S BOUNTY ADVENTURES
TL;DR Oh, this is a LOT of fun!
There have been a wide range of quality in LEGO games over the years, from the famously awful bionical game to the recent gem that is Monkey Palace. I am DELIGHTED that the new Ninjago is a banger. Fair warning, it gets really tricky really quickly, though, and this could be off-putting for younger players.
Over 6 scenarios of increasing difficulty, hidden enemies appear and move along paths. You have to defeat them, upgrading with tasks, tea and comic books. It is surprisingly hard, and even experienced gamers can get overwhelmed quickly. The event deck determines whether enemies spawn, move, or you generate tea/comics (upgrades) – could’ve been a d6 but I like the cards for clarity.
Defeating enemies adds them to your upgrade track, whilst enemies reaching the end of their paths moves them towards their goal number.
The board is 2 double sided tiles for differing player counts (2-4) and the components are great, from neat boxes for organising, vibrant art and of course lego! The fact that building your upgrades is an integral part of the game is hugely enjoyable and genuinely tactical.
We really loved this. My 16yo ND kid was raised on Ninjago and felt it was spot on: “I’ve always adored the franchise of ninjago. I thought this was a very fun game to play. I thought that having the choices and suggestion for playstyle was very ranged and gave multiple choices. It is an easy game to pick up and take minds off of troubles “.
So there you have it! Quite possibly the best LEGO IP game to date, and another brick building delight to go alongside Monkey Palace and Brick Like This. What are you waiting for? Ninja-GO!🥷
TAKE TIME
Take Time uses gorgeous set of cogs and wheels to construct a beautifully complex, cooperative game from Libellud. This is a lush, unusual game where you work silently to place cards sequentially. It has some similarities to games like The Crew, LOTR or even Bridge, trick takers where knowing how your partner thinks is key to success, as you try to make your clock face add up, following the rules of each different hour, all the way to Midnight!
Together you have to secretly play cards totalling no more than 24 per segment of the clock, each increasing in value and subject to the conditions on the wheel. With 4 x 10 chapters to play, the Wallet of Shame for retrying failed chapters at 11 and bonus content at 12, this is a wheel-y gorgeous (#sorrynotsorry) complex thinky puzzle for friends!
It’s exquisite, unconventional and accessible – a real gem of a game!
GUNSEN: THE BATTLE OF TOSHI RENBO
Gunsen, the new L5R game from Officedog Games is a fast and highly thematic mid weight engine builder with a dash of 4X, incorporating some really interesting, brutal combat mechanics. My old chum Drew and I had a demo of this at TTS along with the middle spawn (16) and we all loved it, and then we tried another go with our pal Ron; he loves both the L5R setting and Scythe, which this definitely vibes with – though don’t let that put you off if you’re not a Scythe lover (I’m a bit indifferent to it myself!)
Fundamentally, it’s an engine builder with some 4X elements, set in Rokugan, the feudal fantasy asiatic world of Legend of the 5 Rings, though the magical elements are downplayed in this game, mostly. Each of the great clans is represented, and feels strongly thematically different, though you don’t need to be familiar to enjoy that: Scorpion play sneakily, Lion play aggressively etc, all very intuitive.
Each turn you pick one of the 5 order cards from the central river, which determines your actions. You work down the coloured orders (Influence, Recruit, Expand or Armoury) gaining resources, moving, building and triggering. You win by achieving 7 of the 10 goals, 2 of which you will have clan specific versions, eg Crab are builders, so get one for that. Occupying locations, winning battles, developing Tactics – crucially, you need a range. Building the right engine is key, but you have ways of putting different orders in other columns (one of your limited number of Noble actions).
Entering a hex will trigger what’s there: collecting villages for resources, shrines for improved orders, watchtowers for recruitment, or the city of Toshi Renbo itself as a stronghold. Combat occurs when there is an opposing army, and there’s a fascinating push-pull of Might, Damage and Defence, modified by dice rolls, the loser moving out but not necessarily destroyed: so regrouping and harrying become key also.
This is a really impressive, relatively quick upper mid game. The verdict? A resounding success: if we’d had the time we would’ve played again immediately, and our Scythe fan preferred this to it!
GIVEAWAY TIME!
So, this month you can win yourself a copy of Take Time, thanks to our chums at Asmodee UK.
As ever, check out @big_geekingout on Insta for how to enter, but right here you can bag a bonus entry by commenting below and telling us your favourite Ninja (Lloyd, obvs) OR L5R clan.
Winner will be announced on the ‘gram in a couple AND of course, it’s almost time for…the annual Great Geeky Giveaway, 2026 edition! And oh boy, is it a doozy ;)
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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