Caverna: The Cave Farmers
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher: Mayfair Games (in the US)
Ages: 12+
Players: 1-7
Time: 120 mins
(Review copy provided by Mayfair Games)

Videogaming has its rockstar designers like Sid Meier, John Romero, and Shigeru Miyamoto. Boardgaming has its own list of elite designers and Uwe Rosenberg is among them. Best known for two games, the popular family game, Bohnanza, and his deeper strategy game, Agricola. Agricola is ranked the fourth most popular boardgame at BoardGameGeek.com even though it released seven years ago. Rosenberg has produced a few titles since Agricola, but his newest, Caverna, returns to many of the mechanics and themes of Agricola. While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of gaming seen in Agricola, Caverna is a solid title and may be a better choice for those looking for a title where a player can make mistakes and still be able to bounce back.

more…

Tags: Game Reviews, Unplugged

There are educational activities that are presented as games, and games that are designed to be educational. Far too often, the former makes its way to the marketplace rather than the latter. This results in a negative attitude toward any game marked as “educational.” Thankfully, the series of games entitled “Timeline” contain an entertaining game while also stealthily teaching history.

more…

Tags: Game Reviews, Unplugged

I was able to once again attend GenCon this year.  I was one of 56,000+ people who headed down to Indianapolis to play board, role-playing, and trading card games.
I wrote up my thoughts (as well as quite a few photos) at the site:  www.OpinionatedGamers.com

more…

Tags: Unplugged

As I looked out at the summer rain today, I pondered what to do with my young grade school boys.  Looks like it’s time to break out the bow and arrow and do a bit of indoor archery practice! No, I’m not crazy, but I recently got a hold of some of the kid-friendly bow and arrow toys made by Zing Toys.

more…

Tags: Unplugged

Summertime is upon us, and that means lots of chances for the younger ones to drive their parent’s crazy with so-called “boredom” and other funny business. “Go play outside” is the best play in a parent’s playbook, but what happens when it’s raining outside? This summer, GamerDad Unplugged will try to help fill in those gaps with a few handy ideas. First up – Dominoes!

more…

Tags: Unplugged

Yesterday, we took a look at the WW2 game Memoir ‘44 in an effort to pay our respects to veterans on Memorial day weekend. Today we’ll take a look at a slightly more complex WW2 wargame system, Conflict of Heroes, published by Academy Games.

more…

Tags: Unplugged

June 6th, 2014 marks the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings, better known to many as D-Day. It remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, mounting up huge numbers of casualties on both sides. In honor of those who participated in the event, and to honor all veterans during Memorial day, I felt it appropriate to mention here two of the best and most accessible boardgames focused on World War 2.

It may seem strange to some to honor veterans by reviewing games based around the battles of World War 2, perhaps belittling or lessening the importance and impact of those battles. However, for most wargamers, playing scenarios about famous battles helps one to understand the history of the events. Some might find it to be particularly appropriate, as wargames are a way to preserve in memory the heroic actions and personal sacrifices of the men and women involved.

more…

Tags: Unplugged

Competition to make smaller, faster, lower powered phones has resulted in cell phone chip manufacturers to the cutting edge of technology, now outpacing computer chip manufacturers in technical abilities.  As cell phone capabilities grew, software initially designed for PCs was ported onto the new platform.  However, cell phone technology has now come full circle and consumers can now purchase game consoles and even personal computers powered by the same chips found on popular cutting edge cell phones.  Most of these new “boxes” run on some form of the common Android operating system initially found on phones but is now being used in a wide ranging number of ways.  One of the newest entries to the field of Android powered hardware is the MiiPC box. The MiiPC claims to bring web-based desktop applications (cloud-based computing),  media center capabilities, and serve as a gaming console all for under $100.   To top things off, it also has a flexible and robust set of parental controls to make it family friendly.

more…

Tags: Game Reviews

Yep, once again it is Dr. Seuss’ birthday!  If your kids are anything like mine, they’ve been celebrating his birthday all week long.  March 2nd is officially his birthday, and so the folks who create all Seuss iOS books are putting them all on sale from now until March 6th!  While they are all at least a buck less, a few are on extra discount.  And if you caught last years sale and review of all the Seuss titles, read on to check out some other great kid books available for iOS…

more…

Tags: Uncategorized

One of the most popular exclusive titles on Playstation consoles, the Gran Turismo franchise has long ruled the racing simulation genre on Playstation systems. It could be argued that GranTurismo is the best racing simulation title on any system. To prove the PS3 is not yet out of the picture as it stands in the shadow of the PS4, Sony has released Gran Turismo 6. It is yet another (admittedly small) step forward in technology and gameplay for the series and is a worthy (presumably) final Gran Turismo for the PS3 system. Fans of realistic racing, and even those who favor a bit less realism, will find something to like about this title.

more…

Tags: Game Reviews