Jump Drive (Rio Grande Games)

The jump drive is the latest technological breakthrough in space technology. With this invention, we now have the ability to travel to new worlds, develop new technologies, and build our own space empire! Jump Drive is a game for 2-4 players, age 13+. It takes approximately 30 minutes to play and retails for $25.

Setup
1. In the middle of the table, place Survey Team cards equal to the number of players.
2. If your first game, give each player a preset hand of five cards, labeled A, B, C, and D. Then, shuffle the remaining cards to form a draw pile. If not your first game, shuffle all the cards together, give each player seven cards, and have them choose two to discard to form a hand of five.
3. Put the Victory Point (VP) chips and Explore markers nearby.

Game Play - A game typically lasts six or seven rounds. Each round, players simultaneously place cards face down or place place Explore markers. The cards are then revealed and paid for, thus adding the card to your empire. Each player may do the following:
1. Place one Development (diamond) card. Discard one fewer card than the black number in the diamond to pay for it.
2. Place one World (black outlined circle or red outlined circle). You pay for the black outlined cards the same way as you pay for Development cards, and you conquer red outlined cards. Either way, you draw one card after placing these cards.
3. Place one Development and one World card. Pay the full cost for these cards, and do not draw a card.
4. If you choose not to place any cards, you may take an Explore marker and draw some extra cards according to the rules on the marker.
5. Check to see if anyone has a minimum of 50 VP. If not, draw as many cards as your income and begin the next round.

Review
I love the game universe of Race for the Galaxy and the dice version Roll for the Galaxy. As someone who loves space and science fiction, there is just something satisfying in these games. The fun that comes from building your own unique space empire each game brings joy to my nerdy soul. However, not everyone wants to commit that time and energy to learning the game and the many expansions. This is where Jump Drive comes in! Jump Drive is set in the same universe and offers a quicker and simpler game play than Race and Roll. With each game lasting around 30 minutes, you have a chance to introduce people to this excellent universe and hopefully eventually get to teach them the two games that inspired this one. Alternatively, you also have a quick game that scratches the same itches that Race and Roll both do and can offering a satisfying experience if you don't have time for the other two. Highly recommended!

Tiffin (Rio Grande Games)

There are a ton of overused board game themes in the hobby today - Vikings, Zombies, Cthulhu, and even recently the planet Mars. It seems like finding a unique theme grows harder by the day. Therefore, when I heard about the game Tiffin, I was intrigued. a tiffin is a meal in India that is home-cooked, sold, and transported at a rate of nearly a quarter of a million per day. Tiffin is a game for 2-4 players, age 14+. It takes 30-60 minutes to play and retails for $40.

Setup
1. Have each player pick a color and their 20 cubes (Tiffins) of the corresponding color.
2. Give each player a Player Reference card, a Shortcut card, and a Flat Tire card.
3. Place the Score Track in the center and have each player place a cube next to it.
4. Place the Competitor Track card face up next to the Score Track and a Competitor cube on space 0.
5. Sort the Tiffin Tracking cards in ascending order in a face-up pile with the 0 card on top.
6. Shuffle the ten Route cards, flipping them as you shuffle. Then, deal three of the cards under the Score Track and put the other seven next to the three to form a draw deck.
7. Lastly, shuffle the 45 Delivery cards. Deal four to each player. Then, turn six face up in a line under the Route cards, placing the remaining cards next to this line of cards to form a draw deck.

Game Play - On your turn, you take one of three actions:
1. Place a Tiffin on the leftmost open tiffin square of an un-started Route card.
2. Draft two Delivery cards from the draft pool, draw deck, or one from each.
3. Play a Delivery card from your hand to an active Route card, which will add cubes to the route progress. (Note: Delivery card color must match Route card color, except for grey, which is wild.) When you complete a Route card, you get a Delivery Fee, and the player who contributed the most to the route receives a Route Fee. (Note: Both fees are victory points.)

The Competitor also has a turn. Some Delivery cards have a Competitor symbol on, which will move his cube one space on the card. Once it reaches the space, which equals the number of players will perform a series of actions for the Competitor, which will cause him to add cubes to different Routes.

The game ends when there are no more Route cards left in the draw deck to replace a second Route. Most points wins!

Review
At its core, Tiffin is a game of area control. You want route cards to be completed, but you want to have the majority of cubes on that card so that you score the route fee. (Ideally, you want to be the one who receives both the delivery and route fee.) What I really like about this game is that delivery cards don't just let you place cubes to the route, they also have powers depending on their rank. The component quality is of high quality, i.e., thick cardboard, good feel of cards and cubes. The game is also easy to grasp and teach, with the biggest thing to explain being the special ability cards, which can help you claim a route and/or prevent your opponent from claiming it. The game's biggest strength can also be considered its greatest weakness. Since the boards are double-sided, you don't know what color routes are going to show up. This creates variability from game to game, but also can really penalize someone who collected a lot of one color, only for it to not show up near as much as other colors. I applaud the theme for being original, but unfortunately, it wasn't one I could sink my teeth into. That's not to say it's not a good game with solid game play value, it just wasn't for me.

This game was provided to me for free by Rio Grande Games in exchange for an honest review.

For Crown and Kingdom (Rio Grande Games)

Abstract strategy games are really hit or miss for me. Sometimes, they play really well and can be really fun. Other times, I start to lose my sanity after a while and question if the game will ever end. The game I am reviewing today made me feel both of those sentiments, but before I get to my review, let me tell you about the game. The game is called For Crown and Kingdom by Rio Grande Games. It plays 2-4 players, ages 14+. It takes between 30 and 60 minutes to play (depending on the player count) and retails for $40.

Setup
1. Before your first play, apply character stickers to the round discs with a male and female symbole of the same color on each disc.
2. Place the six Region Tiles in the center to form a circle. If playing with two players, there should be six large regions. If playing with three players, there should be three large and six small regions. If playing with four players, there should be twelve small regions.
3. Give each player their five Character Discs, 6 (9 or 12) Support Tokens depending on number of players, and two coins.
4. The starting player places one of his Character Discs in any region, and then the next player does the same. This continues clockwise until all players have placed all their Character Discs on the board.

Game Play - The game takes place over several rounds with step one being optional and steps two and three being required.
1. Purchase a Bribe - On your turn, there are any number of different bribes you can perform to alter a character's movement or actions.
2. Move a Character - Select one of your characters on the board. Count the number of Character Discs in that region (including your own character) and move the Character Disc that number of regions clockwise.
3. Use that Character's Ability. - Each of you different characters have a specific ability associated with them. For example, the Duke adds a support token to a region if you have a majority of characters in that region. The Thief steals coins from other players. The ability of Scholar (by far the coolest character) changes depending on what region it lands in.

The game ends when one player has a Support Token in every region.

Review
I have very mixed feelings about this game. For starters, my wife was not a huge fan of this game. That alone caused this game to sit on my shelf longer than I am proud to admit before I got around to reviewing it. That comment aside, let me tell you what I liked and disliked about the game. For starters, I love the rondel and deciding which piece you want to move based on where the piece will land. I also liked the bribing section, which gave you little ways to break the rules and not be tied down to certain moves if you had the coins to spend. I also like the components of the game. The solid wooden discs and the board which adjusts depending on the number of players is very solid design.

As for what I didn't like, a minor issue was the theme. It felt a little pasted on there, but its abstract strategy, so probably any theme would have felt this way. It was at least a solid theme and more fun moving a Merchant to a region than moving generic disc four to a region. The other thing I didn't like about this game was higher player count. As a two-player game, this game is a solid 7 or 8 stars out of 10. There are enough tactical decisions you can plan and execute in a two-player game that you feel some semblance of control. When you move up to three players, my rating would drop to about a five. I'd play it if asked, but I wouldn't suggest it. At four players, count me out! It feels much too random and the game turns into a much longer game than I am willing to play. With all that said, if you like abstract strategy games and are looking for one that shines with two players, this one is worth checking out!

This game was provided to me for free by Rio Grande Games in exchange for an honest review.