Board games for bored brains
We're Madeline and Ollie, and Madeline trusted me (Ollie) to write this - which was a silly move, because her copy is so much better.
About
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At Board Brains, we review board games based on how they feel to play—not just the mechanics on paper.
We're looking for games that fill your cup: ones that spark genuine connection, reward strategic depth, and are crafted with the kind of intentionality you can feel in every component.
Middle Ages
Wispwood
Knarr
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What we're known for gushing about:
Knarr
In Knarr, you are the leader of a band of Vikings that you send to new destinations. Manage the recruitment of your crew, and choose the best territories to explore. Depending on the destinations reached (for trading or influence) and the Vikings who accompany you, you can increase your reputation to gain even more wealth. Each turn, you: Place a new member in your Viking crew, activate the effects of all of them with the same icon, and get another one from those available under the matching color on the central board, or Explore new destinations, with the opportunity to trade with those places and get more gains or reputation.
Trinket Trove
Beneath the floor boards and between the walls, a secret world thrives. By moonlight, the collectors scurry into quiet corners in search of tiny treasures: mirrored lockets, shiny buttons, gleaming gems, and more. When dawn breaks, the animals retreat to their snug little burrows to share stories and trade the night’s trinkets. OVERVIEW In a game of Trinket Trove, you are a collector – a cute little critter living in the margins of the human world. You trade and collect sets of trinkets to decorate your burrow. You begin with a hand of 4 trinket cards, and each round new trinket cards will be drawn face up into the center of the table. You and the other players will take turns bidding for draft order, by offering up trinket cards from your hand. Then players will take turns claiming the trinkets on the table, including the bids offered up by other players, and placing them in their hands. At the end of 5 or 6 rounds you score your hand of trinkets and the player with the most points wins! —description from the publisher