NMBR 9 board game review

NMBR 9 is a board game where you must place down multicoloured numbers on top of each other to score points in what sounds like the board game equivalent of a maths teacher’s fever dream.

In every turn of NMBR 9 a card is flipped from a shared deck showing a number from 1 to 9 and then everyone must take a corresponding number tile and choose where to place it down to create your own pile in front of you. However, to get points you must stack numbers on top of other ones but this is harder than it sounds, as you can’t place a number over an empty space in your stack and it must cover at least two other number tiles. At the end of the game each number on level 2 is worth its value, every number on level 3 is worth twice its value and so on.

 

The first thing you notice about this game is its sleek looks, like an Apple computer was forcibly shoved into a box before being painted into a selection of pleasing colours. This is only increased when you have finished the game and you get to see your

hard work pay off in something that looks like a creation of a child that has acquired the power to vomit perfectly geometrically in all the colours of the rainbow.

As you get into the game, it provides just the amount of brain burning action to keep it interesting while not becoming like chess where you have to plan out the entire game before you’ve even laid out the pieces. This is because only one card is revealed at a time, so you only need to think about this one tile and where you should put it and not have to worry about the rest of the game.

However, a small gripe I have with NMBR 9 is the scoring system which requires you to all get out your calculators and have to struggle (slightly embarrassingly) to remember what 3x7 was. This is a shame as once you’ve played one round you immediately want to play again and the wait for that last player to finish rechecking all their point values is about as bad as a queue for the loo when you

really, really need a pee.

But this is practically countered by the sense of mastery you get after a few games. You will soon find out all the hidden strategies lurking just beneath the surface like a professional athlete who is at the top of their game and improving all the time. Soon you will be turning 20-point games in to 80-point masterpieces like making record breaking jump or javelin throw (it almost makes me forget my complete lack of skill in any sport whatsoever).

Overall, I would say NMBR 9 is a great and satisfying game: it is easy to teach, fun to play and rewarding to learn. So if you have the spare cash lying around, this is definitely a worthy and great addition to anyone’s collection.

Chameleon Board game Review

In this party boardgame, you must use your general trivia knowledge to either hide in plain site as the chameleon or root out the colour changing lizard by cleverly choosing words in a funny battle of wits between the whole table and the singular phony hiding in your midst.

In each round of chameleon everyone is dealt a card which tells you either that you are the chameleon or the secret phrase for that round. Then everyone says a word describing the phrase (so if the phrase was buffalo you might say hairy) with the chameleon trying to pretend they know what is going on. After that has happened, everyone votes on who they think didn’t know the phrase and was therefore the chameleon, with the camouflaged lizard winning if the blame is pinned on someone else.  However, even if the chameleon is caught, they can still win by guessing
what the secret phrase was, using the what everyone else said as clues. This means you must choose words that are specific enough to show you aren’t the chameleon but vague enough to stop the chameleon from using it to figure out the phrase.

First off, this game is extremely fun. The feeling you get when you manage to think of a great word to describe the phrase is phenomenal, and it gets even better if someone else understands what you meant. Add to that the chaotic fun that you get after the round has ended as the chameleon celebrates slipping through everyone else’s fingers or as you laugh at your friend who thought the best word to describe cake is ‘camel’.

A point of note is that the Chameleon is a British game, so the references on some of the topic cards (which are used to determine the secret phrase) may be lost on people from other countries. However, because there are so many topic cards, you can just flick through them until you find one to your liking, making this problem easily avoidable.

Is Chameleon a good family game?

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t suggest this game to a family with young children, as a big part of the fun derived from this game is coming up with creative and clever word choices to subtly hint at the secret phrase, which is actually quite tricky. If full grown adults struggle at this part of the game, then younger children will find this nearly impossible, especially when there are pop culture references involved.

Is Chameleon a good party game then?

This question however, is a resounding yes. The quick nature of each round lets players drop in and out quickly without much disruption as people go of to get drinks or want to join in. Also, its fairly simple rules make it quick to teach, so you can get into the fun straight away. The raucous fun of the conversations after the round ends fits in perfectly with the party setting as well.

Overall, while the Chameleon boardgame may not be great for families, it is definitely worth picking up if you are in need of a game to play during your next social gathering for a great time.

Six of Crows book review

Six of Crows is a teen fiction novel, following six criminals trying to infiltrate the secure fortress of the Ice Palace, in a mash up between a fantasy and heist book that delivers. Unfortunately, I must warn all you bird lovers out there, this book does not include any crows (I know, I was disappointed too).

My favourite part of this book is the characters, they are by far some of the most interesting that you will find (apart from the Minions in Despicable Me, who are truly masterpieces of our era). I think my favourite character would have to be the protagonist Kaz Brekker, who is this ruthless gang leader that trusts no one. But as you start to learn more about him (through flashbacks to before the heist) you start to uncover the human behind the mask.

This book lingered on in my mind for a long time after reading it because of the deep and complex
themes it explores. For example, it talks about what crime does to people and racism in a very refreshing way that doesn’t seem forced at all. With all this extra baggage going along with the characters, it makes them extremely memorable and gives the story lots of layers to unpick. Though, as I said earlier, it doesn’t discuss the theme of ornithology in the book which is very disappointing (for those that don’t know, ornithology is the study of birds, don’t ask me how I know that).

However, my one small grumble with Six of Crows is that the very start and very end of the novel to the rest of the book are like what the prequels are to the main Star Wars story (I still have flashbacks to Jar Jar Binks *shudders*). The start can leave you confused about who people in the book are, what a ‘Grisha’ is and what is even is going on (I think I read some sections of the chapter at least three times before giving up and just going with the flow). The ending also feels very contrived, predictable and anti-climactic compared to the wild uncharted story that had come before it.

But the start and the end are by no means representative of the rest of the book. The plot switches between flashbacks and the heist and drip feeds you information that leaves you craving for more (like me after I have eaten a chocolate bar, Toblerone are my favourite). It feels almost perfectly planned, with things that you thought weren’t important coming back to be pivotal plot points almost like a detective story.

Like I have said before (and I will say it again to anyone I can find), I really really love Six of Crows. I think it is one of the best heist let alone fantasy novels I have ever read, and I will sing its praises from the rooftops. So, if you haven’t gone and bought this book after all of this, then what are you doing?
P.S
See, I have made it easy on you, this link will take you straight to Waterstones so you can buy the book straight away
P.P.S
I promise, I wasn’t payed to make this review. I promise…
P.P.P.S
Still annoyed there wasn’t any crows in the book.

Settlers of Catan - Board game Review

You have just arrived at an uninhabited island which you name Catan and start to build your home on. However, news of the island spreads fast and now the island is crawling with other settlers. You must compete (and sometimes even trade) with them to gather resources in a bid to build the greatest civilisation on Catan.

In the excellent classic of Settlers of Catan you win by getting 10 victory points. These are acquired by building roads and towns (and upgrading your towns into cities) on the hexagonal board you play
on. To build these structures you must pay resource cards (which are sheep, brick, wood, grain and ore). You get these by having the result of two die, that are rolled every turn, match the number on the correlating hexagon you have a town or city placed on the corner of. However, if you don’t have enough resources (which is almost certainly the case) then you can trade with other players to try and collect that one last ore that you need to upgrade your town into a city or that wood for the road.

Well, one of the main things that makes this game so darn good is that it packs so much into to its easy to learn mechanics. While it takes only a brief explanation to learn, even small parts of the game
give you a lot to think about, like how to best barter with you opponents for that wood resource card you need or where to build your next town. These decisions are easy to make though, due to the intuitive design which lets even new players who have no idea what they are doing pick it up and play with minimal help.

The games simple mechanics are further helped by the fact that you always have something to do (so no more waits that make you drift of and start contemplate the meaning of life, before you get to do something again). Each turn, two dice are rolled and then everybody who has towns or cities on the corners of spaces which the sum of the two dice on them collects a resource card. This means, that everyone round the table will be intently looking at those dice to see whether they get anything this
roll, even if it isn’t their go. Couple this with turns that go at a galloping pace and you have got yourself a game where there is never a dull moment.

My only small gripe with Settlers of Catan is that sometimes players can be left behind if by unlucky chance the numbers on the spaces that they have towns next to never come up. While for some people won’t mind that, others will definitely find this exasperating.

Overall, this game is a bona fide classic, that rewards our in-bread sense of satisfaction with feeling like we are building something that we all love. I would suggest playing this with practically anyone, from people who haven’t sat down to play a board game in years or for youngsters who want to take a step on from the monotony of snakes and ladders or other kids games. Settlers of Catan is a timeless classic, and I think it deserves a place at anyone’s family get togethers or board game night.