Kids View: Cyclades

What is the Game About?

You have to build four metropolises to win and each metropolis needs four different types of buildings to be completed (temple, university, fortress, and port). To be able to build, you have to first bid for different gods who are kept track of on a separate board. You shuffle the four god tiles (Zeus, Athena, Ares, and Poseidon) and then lay them in random order on the board and players then bid to be able to use their powers for a turn. The first bidder each round is the player who went last the turn before that. You can always choose Apollo who is free, and always last, but he gives you money, so it's not too bad. The gods let you build different buildings that you need to make a metropolis and other things. Athena lets your build a university, Ares lets you move troops and Poseidon lets you move ships. There are also cool creatures you can buy. They come up randomly but have some cool abilities you can use.

What do I Like?

I like it because it is based off of the movie (ed. from Dad - she means Clash of the Titans, hehe). I like the way all the characters are and what they have to offer. The board set-up and all the pieces are awesome. I like how they let you choose Apollo so that you can rest or pass or earn a little money. The creature cards and figures look really, really cool.

What do I Dislike?

It can be really frustrating when you spend time building your own metropolis and then some one else has just been building up their army and just comes and takes yours. Some of the creatures don't give you a lot of help compared to others. I don't like when some one bids higher and then you have to bid on a different god and you don't get your first choice. The bidding can be hard and sometimes mean.

Kids View: Bang! The Bullet

What is the Game About?

You have a secret role - either the sheriff, a deputy, an outlaw, or the renegade. The renegade is supposed to kill the outlaws first and then the sheriff and be the last man alive. The sheriff is trying to kill the outlaws and the renegade. The outlaws only have to kill the sheriff. The deputy is trying to protect the sheriff by killing the outlaws and the renegade. To shoot other players, you have to play Bang! cards, but you can only use one each turn. You can play other cards that give you protection, or let you shoot farther, or heal you. You can also play a Missed! if someone shoots you. You also get special character that you play as the whole game and that person gives you different abilities.

What do I Like?

You can win the game no matter what role you are. Even though everyone knows who the sheriff is, the deputy will secretly help him and the renegade doesn't want to kill him first. I won the first 7 games of Bang! that we played! I was the renegade once, the sheriff twice, an outlaw 3 times, and even the deputy. I also was never killed!

What do I Dislike?

The green border cards are hard to keep because you have to lay them down before you can use them. The renegade is the hardest to play and I wish there was another teammate. If you are the sheriff and kill a deputy, there is a huge penalty - you lose all your cards in play and in your hand. I want to make a house rule that if you try to punch somebody, but they play an Iron Plate (which acts as a Missed!), then that means you hit that instead with your fist and broke your hand and have to lose your next turn! Dad says, "He'll think about it."

Kids View: Axis & Allies

What is the Game About?

The Allies (America, Britain, and Russia) are trying to save the world from the Axis (Japan and Germany) during World War Two. The main idea for Russia is to buy a lot of men for defense and to attack Germany. Britain wants to build transports and men so they can attack Germany, too. America has to worry about the Japanese. When I'm America I like to build a factory and put it in Hawaii or China if I can. You also need a good navy to beat Japan. Germany needs mainly tanks and men to fight Russia. Japan can attack both Russia and America - so they should have a lot of different types of units. Turn order is the same every round and you get money by taking over other areas. Different territories give you different amounts of money that you use to buy all of your units. Fighting is done with dice - you have to roll different numbers with different kinds of units.

What do I Like?

I like that you can play any of the five major countries and each one uses a totally different strategy to win. I like to be America because I'm from there and they go last and I can plan my attacks based on what Japan does. I like war games and so that is one reason I like playing Axis & Allies. And the history is interesting. You can learn a lot. I like the newer version (1942 Edition) because tanks get to defend on a roll of 3 or less (instead of 2) and it includes cruisers and artillery. Also, all of the pieces look different for each country - little plastic men are cool!

What do I dislike?

The sea zones are hard to keep straight on the old version's board. But the board in the newer version is smaller with squished territories that make it hard to fit all your guys in one space. However, more pieces means that there is a better chance of losing some, too. And we have to be careful not to leave any laying out on the floor because of our cat. The weapons research in the old version is confusing and a lot of times a waste of money. They took this out in the newer version. I also don't like it that you have to hit battleships twice to sink them (except when it's mine!).

Kids View: Dust

What is the Game About?

You try to earn points by taking territory, capturing power sources (they look like targets), and building up an army. You can build tanks, mechs, fighters, bombers and subs. You also have to protect your capital and your power sources so that you don't lose points and so you can build things. You also cannot build things without your power sources. You use special dice in battles. The game also has cards. They are used to give you a certain amount of actions, to tell you what turn order you go in, and give you a special action for that turn. My favorite special card is Sigrid who lets you re-roll all of the misses in one battle roll. The first player to 30 points wins the game.

What do I Like?

It is not that complicated and I like the strategy because you have to concentrate on the power sources and on capitals. You don't have to worry as much about the whole world. The mech figures are really cool. The cards are easy to follow because they don't have words and they give you lots of choices.

What do I Dislike?

It is hard to play on the floor because the board is like a puzzle and doesn't fit together very well. I do not like the Mech Dropper card when some one else has it because it lets them attack with too many mechs and take you out really easy.