#boardgamenerd

New to tumblr, thought we’d jump into the community over here.

Here is our ever growing collection of Board Games!

Also a little bit about us:

Our names are Kelly-Lea and Ben.

We are two board game enthusiasts from the South East of England, we have been together for 8 years.

Kelly as a kid enjoyed playing Hasbro type games with her family at Christmas but had always loved the way those games brought the family together. That was up until meeting Ben...

Ben was brought up with a love of board games by his godfather who has been into the hobby from a young age. At every family get together there would be a game on the table like Settlers of Catan, Landlord or Bohnanza.

Throughout our relationship, our love of modern board games has grown and grown and along with it our board game collection! We are equally bad influences on one another when it comes to buying new games 🙈

Kelly has always had a passion for photography and writing, and decided that she wanted to document our adventures in gaming via social media so started an Instagram page. We were humbled by the following that we gained on Instagram and by the positive response that we have received from the wonderful board game community as well a number of board game publishers via the social network.

The Red Meeple Player Gamer is a passionate enthusiast in the world of board games, particularly those featuring the iconic meeple game piece. This dedicated gamer has a special affinity for the red meeple, often choosing it as their representative on the game board. With a keen strategic mind and a competitive spirit, the Red Meeple Player Gamer approaches each game with enthusiasm and a desire to win.

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Whether engaged in worker placement games, tile-laying adventures, or area control challenges, this gamer leverages their red meeples to maximum effect. They're well-versed in popular titles like Carcassonne, Agricola, and Pandemic, but also enjoy discovering new games that incorporate these versatile wooden pieces.

The Red Meeple Player Gamer is a fixture at local board game meetups and cafes, always eager to teach newcomers and engage in friendly rivalries with fellow enthusiasts. Their collection of games is ever-growing, with a particular fondness for those that feature high-quality, custom meeples.

Beyond just playing, this gamer often engages in discussions about game mechanics, strategy tips, and the latest releases in the board game community. Their passion for the hobby extends to painting and customizing meeples, with a particular flair for creating unique red designs.

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A perfect present for board game enthusiasts, Gaming Meeples Gifts celebrate the iconic player tokens that have become synonymous with modern tabletop gaming. These charming, person-shaped pieces come in various colors and styles, making them ideal collectibles or playful additions to any gamer's collection. From classic wooden meeples to themed variations representing different characters or professions, these gifts offer a tangible connection to beloved gaming experiences. They can be used as game upgrades, decorative items, or even incorporated into crafts and jewelry. Whether it's a set of giant meeples for outdoor games, custom-engraved pieces for a personal touch, or meeple-themed accessories like keychains or stickers, these gifts are sure to delight any board game aficionado and spark joy in their gaming adventures.

Board games are tabletop games played on a pre-marked surface with counters or pieces moved according to a set of rules. They offer a diverse range of themes, mechanics, and complexity levels, appealing to casual players and dedicated enthusiasts alike. From classic titles like Chess and Monopoly to modern favorites such as

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Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride, board games provide entertainment, social interaction, and mental stimulation. They often involve strategy, luck, negotiation, or a combination of these elements. Board games can be competitive or cooperative, and are enjoyed by people of all ages, making them popular for family gatherings, game nights with friends, or as a hobby for passionate gamers.

Retro Gaming Gifts tap into nostalgia for classic video games, delighting enthusiasts with items inspired by the golden age of gaming. These presents range from functional replicas of vintage consoles to decorative pieces that celebrate iconic games and characters. Popular options include miniature arcade cabinets, pixelated artwork, and clothing adorned with retro game logos. For the hands-on gamer, there are DIY kits to build custom controllers or even entire consoles. Collectibles like limited edition figurines of classic game characters or reproductions of original game cartridges

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We’re taking our gaming to new heights today as we review Forbidden Sky. It’s the third instalment in the Forbidden series.  Forbidden Sky was published by Gameswright in 2018.  It’s a 2-5 player co-operative game, with an age rating of 10 years and up.

The game illustrations are okay.  Kirsty likes the box art and thinks the colour choices are complimentary. Andy thinks it’s a bit basic but fine considering it is a metal walkway with clouds.  The game pieces and cards are solid and well made, the rocket has a substantial amount detail and the sound effects are nifty.  As we have stated in previous Forbidden reviews we choose not to place the storm level card in the holder or attach the markers to the cards as we feel this would damage and degrade the cards over time. The quality of the cards and game pieces are what we have come to expect from the Forbidden series.

If you are familiar with the rules from either Forbidden Island or Forbidden Desert, particularly Desert, the rules are simple to pick up as the discussion and planning mechanic is the same. Forbidden Sky can be quite punishing and leaves little room for learning by error which we both found frustrating but the rules themselves are simple. You have to follow the blueprint (which gives the minimum components needed) and create a circuit. Once the circuit is complete, all players must be on the launchpad to win. If anyone is ‘left behind’ you lose the game.  Each turn a player can perform 4 actions before drawing storm cards. The actions are move, explore (place a tile from your hand), scout (draw a tile from the pile) and wire/unwire. There are copper coloured markings on the tiles which represent wires. At least one wire on the tile must align with a wire on an existing tile for it to be placed. In addition to this rule tiles can only be placed in an empty space adjacent to the player.  Other markings on the tiles include faraday cages, which protects against electrocution. There are also teleporters which can be used for one action to move to another teleporter.

SEach player has a life meter and a rope meter. The life meter is reduced when lightning strikes and electrocutes them. This involves a lot of line tracing to see which tiles are electrified and which players need to take damage. If a player is on a tile with a faraday cage symbol they are protected from electrocution. A players’ rope is diminished when they are blown off of the edge of the game during “high winds”. Should a player’s life or rope meter reach zero then the player dies, and the game is lost. Additionally the game can be lost if too many “storm intensifies” cards are drawn, and the level of the storm gets too high.

There is a small element of luck in Forbidden Sky, but the majority of the gameplay is skill based. The random nature of the tiles being drawn affects the game but placing them (the “explore” action) directly influences where the capacitors, lightning rods and other features will be located in the game. A poorly placed tile can place a capacitor where it is not desired and could make the players unable to be victorious. Players must plan placement of tiles as well as when to wire capacitors and the launchpad together to make an electrical circuit to match the blueprint.

There are items to help the players like jetpacks and storm predications (allows you to look through the pack to make the storm act more favourably) and medi-packs. These can be vital in assisting the players to reach their goal.

Forbidden Sky’s suggested playtime is 60 minutes and we recorded a time of 40 minutes for this playthrough.  We feel the reason for us completing the game significantly under the suggested playtime is 1) Andy set the storm counter to one when we began playing instead of 2 like it was meant to be, and 2) we learnt, from the first time we played, it’s better to keep everything close and smushed together near to the starting point of the game.  We’ve found this increased our chance of success.  In theory it has a high replay value due to the varied character abilities, random card and tile draws, as well as the relatively random placement of tiles.  For us personally we don’t think we’ll play it more than a handful of times a year, if that.