Germany is the home of many high-quality board game companies. Kosmos is one of those companies and the focus of this holiday gift-guide review.
Kosmos works with some of the most notable game designers in the world. Its games are designed not only to be fun but also beneficial and wholesome. The games are made with the best quality of components and cultivate social skills, strategic thinking, math skills, manual dexterity and encourage family time. This review covers four games.
One of the best two-player card games on the market is Lost Cities by Kosmos Games. It has won multiple awards. But now there is a Lost Cities board game ($40) for two to four players with all the fun elements from the card game. Just like the card game, players will draw a card and play a card each turn. Its that simple.
Players represent leaders trying to profit from expeditions to various parts of the world. There are five expeditions in total and the board shows five paths that players are trying to progress on to a final expedition location. Along the path are spots that contain a specific event tile. If a player moves onto an event space, he or she must perform the special event, which is usually something good.
The main component of the game is a deck of cards containing numbers zero to 10 in colors that match each of the expeditions. Cards of the right color are played to progress along an expedition path but must be played in sequence. For example, on the white polar expedition path, a player plays a white four to progress one space. On future turns he or she may only play white cards of value four or higher. The strategy is to play low cards first to allow for maximum progression. The farther a person progresses, the more points are earned. The person who scores the most points after three complete rounds wins.
The Lost Cities board game keeps all the charm and addictive gameplay of the card game but now up to four players may play on a cool-looking board! The game is family friendly, moderately priced, contains excellent components, appeals to a wide variety of gamers, is easy to learn and is a tried and true design. This is fun, fun and more fun to play. It is my No. 1 pick for the holiday season. Go out and get it now!
For people who like puzzle games, Ubongo ($40) offers a unique timed play experience of finding the right shapes and sizes to place together for two to four players. The player who can do this consistently and gather the most valuable gems will win. But more on the gems later.
Each player is given a set of 12 cardboard pieces in various shapes and sizes. They look like pieces from the popular video game Tetris. Players also receive a puzzle board showing a specific shape that can be formed by putting together some of the cardboard pieces. Six options are given on the puzzle board using a selection of the 12 cardboard pieces.
One player rolls a die to determine which one of the six options will be played. The correct pieces are gathered and a sand timer is set in motion. Players race to put cardboard pieces together to form the right puzzle shape. The player that completes the puzzle first receives the biggest reward and successive players get smaller and smaller awards.
Rewards come as colored gems. Red gems are worth four points, blue gems are three points, green gems are two points and brown gems are worth one point. The quickest player gets a blue gem and a blind draw from a bag of miscellaneous gems. The next quickest player gets a brown gem and a draw from the bag. The third and fourth players get a blind draw from the gem bag. So even if a player is not the quickest, he or she can stay in the game by collecting the most valuable gems. After nine rounds the game is over and gem points are calculated.
Ubongo is a game unlike any other. The puzzles are challenging for the mind, develop reasoning skills and bring great satisfaction when completed. The timed puzzles make things tense. This game has won numerous awards and will hit the table often. The gem collecting aspect of the game is fun and satisfying. Collecting a red gem is most exciting. This is a highly recommended game.
Party games are perfect for the holidays and the game Dohdles! ($40) is something that will be different from the hundreds of party word games on the market. The basic concept of the game is to use clay to sculpt any object a player can think of and have other players guess what it might be.
Between three to six players take some clay in their player color and begin sculpting an object. It could be an animal, a toy or even a plant. They place their objects on the game board and other players take turns asking questions about the object. Does it eat? Does it live in the sea? Is it an animal? Opposing players may even ask for a letter in the name of this object.
All players hear the answers given and a paper showing the first five letters of the object is visible to all. When a player thinks they have the answer, he or she throws a solution stone in their corresponding color into a nifty answer funnel. First one in gets the first guess.
If the guess is correct, the player answering correctly scores points as well as the creator. Once all the dohdles are solved, the game ends and the person or team with the most points wins. The art of creating a clay object is to not make it too obvious. But not too vague that no one will ever guess it.
Dohdles! is a game of creativity, laughter, guessing and fun. It is perfect for parties and family time. Children will love the game as they create with clay and guess what others have made. A solid plastic bag keeps the clay moist from game to game. This is another wonderful offering from Kosmos.
Another great one- to four-player puzzle game from Kosmos is called Dimension ($50). It features colored balls that are stacked together forming a pyramid but the placement of the balls must follow a set of specific rules. Of course putting together the pyramid is timed and players must think on their feet to complete the specified objectives.
Each player receives a player board and three solid balls in five colors. The well-designed player board conveniently holds all the balls in place with the play area in the center. Six rule cards are then revealed showing what guidelines are in effect during the construction round. For example, a rules card may indicate that no blue and orange balls may touch. Or a card may indicate that there may be no balls sitting on top of green balls.
A timer begins play and each player tries to put together a pyramid following each of the six rules. After time runs out, each player evaluates his or her creation. For every rule followed, points are earned. If a player can use 11 balls to form a pyramid and follow every rule, they score maximum points and a bonus token. Points are lost for not following a specific rule.
Dimension is an extremely well-designed game with an original theme and concept. Puzzle gamers will enjoy figuring out how to put together the right pieces while even non-gamers can think out what balls can be combined together to score points. The game is definitely family friendly and the components are top notch. Check out this and other games at www.thamesandkosmos.com.
Kosmos works with some of the most notable game designers in the world. Its games are designed not only to be fun but also beneficial and wholesome. The games are made with the best quality of components and cultivate social skills, strategic thinking, math skills, manual dexterity and encourage family time. This review covers four games.
One of the best two-player card games on the market is Lost Cities by Kosmos Games. It has won multiple awards. But now there is a Lost Cities board game ($40) for two to four players with all the fun elements from the card game. Just like the card game, players will draw a card and play a card each turn. Its that simple.
Players represent leaders trying to profit from expeditions to various parts of the world. There are five expeditions in total and the board shows five paths that players are trying to progress on to a final expedition location. Along the path are spots that contain a specific event tile. If a player moves onto an event space, he or she must perform the special event, which is usually something good.
The main component of the game is a deck of cards containing numbers zero to 10 in colors that match each of the expeditions. Cards of the right color are played to progress along an expedition path but must be played in sequence. For example, on the white polar expedition path, a player plays a white four to progress one space. On future turns he or she may only play white cards of value four or higher. The strategy is to play low cards first to allow for maximum progression. The farther a person progresses, the more points are earned. The person who scores the most points after three complete rounds wins.
The Lost Cities board game keeps all the charm and addictive gameplay of the card game but now up to four players may play on a cool-looking board! The game is family friendly, moderately priced, contains excellent components, appeals to a wide variety of gamers, is easy to learn and is a tried and true design. This is fun, fun and more fun to play. It is my No. 1 pick for the holiday season. Go out and get it now!
For people who like puzzle games, Ubongo ($40) offers a unique timed play experience of finding the right shapes and sizes to place together for two to four players. The player who can do this consistently and gather the most valuable gems will win. But more on the gems later.
Each player is given a set of 12 cardboard pieces in various shapes and sizes. They look like pieces from the popular video game Tetris. Players also receive a puzzle board showing a specific shape that can be formed by putting together some of the cardboard pieces. Six options are given on the puzzle board using a selection of the 12 cardboard pieces.
One player rolls a die to determine which one of the six options will be played. The correct pieces are gathered and a sand timer is set in motion. Players race to put cardboard pieces together to form the right puzzle shape. The player that completes the puzzle first receives the biggest reward and successive players get smaller and smaller awards.
Rewards come as colored gems. Red gems are worth four points, blue gems are three points, green gems are two points and brown gems are worth one point. The quickest player gets a blue gem and a blind draw from a bag of miscellaneous gems. The next quickest player gets a brown gem and a draw from the bag. The third and fourth players get a blind draw from the gem bag. So even if a player is not the quickest, he or she can stay in the game by collecting the most valuable gems. After nine rounds the game is over and gem points are calculated.
Ubongo is a game unlike any other. The puzzles are challenging for the mind, develop reasoning skills and bring great satisfaction when completed. The timed puzzles make things tense. This game has won numerous awards and will hit the table often. The gem collecting aspect of the game is fun and satisfying. Collecting a red gem is most exciting. This is a highly recommended game.
Party games are perfect for the holidays and the game Dohdles! ($40) is something that will be different from the hundreds of party word games on the market. The basic concept of the game is to use clay to sculpt any object a player can think of and have other players guess what it might be.
Between three to six players take some clay in their player color and begin sculpting an object. It could be an animal, a toy or even a plant. They place their objects on the game board and other players take turns asking questions about the object. Does it eat? Does it live in the sea? Is it an animal? Opposing players may even ask for a letter in the name of this object.
All players hear the answers given and a paper showing the first five letters of the object is visible to all. When a player thinks they have the answer, he or she throws a solution stone in their corresponding color into a nifty answer funnel. First one in gets the first guess.
If the guess is correct, the player answering correctly scores points as well as the creator. Once all the dohdles are solved, the game ends and the person or team with the most points wins. The art of creating a clay object is to not make it too obvious. But not too vague that no one will ever guess it.
Dohdles! is a game of creativity, laughter, guessing and fun. It is perfect for parties and family time. Children will love the game as they create with clay and guess what others have made. A solid plastic bag keeps the clay moist from game to game. This is another wonderful offering from Kosmos.
Another great one- to four-player puzzle game from Kosmos is called Dimension ($50). It features colored balls that are stacked together forming a pyramid but the placement of the balls must follow a set of specific rules. Of course putting together the pyramid is timed and players must think on their feet to complete the specified objectives.
Each player receives a player board and three solid balls in five colors. The well-designed player board conveniently holds all the balls in place with the play area in the center. Six rule cards are then revealed showing what guidelines are in effect during the construction round. For example, a rules card may indicate that no blue and orange balls may touch. Or a card may indicate that there may be no balls sitting on top of green balls.
A timer begins play and each player tries to put together a pyramid following each of the six rules. After time runs out, each player evaluates his or her creation. For every rule followed, points are earned. If a player can use 11 balls to form a pyramid and follow every rule, they score maximum points and a bonus token. Points are lost for not following a specific rule.
Dimension is an extremely well-designed game with an original theme and concept. Puzzle gamers will enjoy figuring out how to put together the right pieces while even non-gamers can think out what balls can be combined together to score points. The game is definitely family friendly and the components are top notch. Check out this and other games at www.thamesandkosmos.com.
