Casual Games

Quartex is an abstract tile-laying game by CSE Games in which players try to complete the shapes located on the corners of the tiles. Boring, right? Wrong! We found this game to be quite engaging.

Mine, by KTP Games, is not about mining, as some may presume. Instead, it is an abstract dice game in which players try to roll certain combinations of dice to gain ownership of game cards ("That card is MINE!"). It's not much to look at, but is there a fun game here?

R&R Games announces five new party games, Steve Jackson Games is set to release Hipster Dice, and Mars Needs Mechanics has been released for iOS.

A lot of the Kickstarter games this month have very strong themes and really embrace them, both through their mechanics and the artwork. There’s also a fairly good mix of card games, board games and dice games being offered, with a nice range of mechanics from bluffing to worker placement to resource management.

Tasty Minstrel Games debuts Harbour as print and play, USAopoly posts a list of their new games, and Scott King previews Tahiti.

Fantasy Flight has announced a fast paced dice game for later this year, Smart Play Games has released a new card game and Boardgaming.com previews oddball Aeronauts.

Zombie Dice is getting a new expansion, Hyperbole Games releases print and play Wizard Poker and the New Yorker publishes a profile on Settlers of Catan designer Klaus Teuber.

If there's anything that TV shows like BattleBots have taught us, it's that the best possible use of robots is to watch them fight each other to the death. Sure, robots can come in handy for many productive uses, as well, but they're not nearly as entertaining. Stak Bots, by UK publisher DogEared Games, is a small Kickstarter-funded card game that pits stacks of robots against each other to use their unique attack abilities to gain victory.

This month, Kickstarter has a couple of interesting two-player games and several board games with fun looking themes. Microgames are still being pitched and Game Salute is seeking funding for two separate campaigns.

Asmodee will be releasing Continental Express this month, Days of Wonder will be selling a 10^th Anniversary Edition of Ticket to Ride and more games from Z-Man Games.