Hot Game Magnet: Board game reviews

Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is a competitive game in which 1 to 4 players take on the role of ruthless gangs vying for control of the underground in the glittering hellhole that is Night City. Clash with other Gangs in the meat or on the Net, as your enterprising band of toughs seeks to gain dominance over the criminal underworld that rules the streets. Only the boldest will be remembered,...

It's been a long hiatus since our last episode but we are back and excited to bring you our latest boardgame reviews! This week we talk about a game that is already a strong contender for my game of the year, Tokyo Highway Rainbow City! This game is based on Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway known for its distinctive metropolitan structure. Tokyo Highway has a unique design with no board and no game b...

Century: Golem Edition is a re-themed version of Century: Spice Road set in the world of Caravania. In Century: Golem Edition , players are caravan leaders who travel the famed golem road to deliver crystals to the far reaches of the world. We recently had the opertunity to play this popular reimplementation of Century: Spice Road from Plan B games. We had the chance to play more than a few games...

When visiting the North of Britannia in 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian Augustus witnessed the aftermath of war between his armies and the savage Picts. In a show of Roman might, he ordered a wall to be built that would separate the Pict tribes from the rest of England. Grand in its design, the wall stretched 80 Roman miles, from coast to coast. In the game, Hadrian's Wall from garphill games an...

This week we talk about and do our Marvel Dice Throne Review. We've been playing this one for a few weeks after I found it on sale in EB Games. I've kind of wanted this one for a while because I've heard good things about Dice Throne, and I like Marvel stuff. Alison was not so keen on the Marvel stuff, but it is fun to compare the mechanics between this and similarly themed Games. In Marvel Dice T...

Wow! 2023 is already almost over. The Holidays are on, and the new year is just around the corner. It has been a great year for us at HotGameMagnet. We got to play so many fantastic games. In fact, if i had any complaint it's just that we didn't have enough time to play every game all of the time. I guess that's somewhat unrealistic. Actually, I have another complaint. It was really hard to go thr...

We have a certain style of game that is what we consider to be perfect. It's not perfect for everyone but it's perfect for us. We like an upper medium weight game with great art, and an interesting theme that takes about 90 minutes to play for two players. There are a ton of games that fit these criteria but not all of them have the magic that makes a game great. Luckily this week's game, Septima...

It's time for Kickstarter Round-up November 2023! Hello fellow board game addicts. It's time to find out what games are hot and why we think so! After all, we are called Hot game Magnet for a reason. It's not because we like magnets. We do like magnets, but not for podcasting purposes. OMG! There are so many great games on kickstarter right now. In this episode we talked for 40 minutes and only go...

We are always on the lookout for boardgames that the kids can enjoy. It's so important to find ways to engage with them and draw them away from wanting to spend all their time watching Youtube or playing video games. Fuzzlets looks like a fun and easy to learn game that on it's own merits will porbably be a winner with the family. However, where it realy shines is it's unique use of generative AI...

Social deduction games are really fun. However, it's hard to find social deduction games that work with low player counts. Many of the most popular require minimum player counts of five or even more. There are some that work well at three players and very few at all that can be played with two. Additionally, it is common to run into troubles with players being knocked out of the game too early and...

It's generally frownded upon in civilized society to make your pets fight other peoples pets for entertainment. Their are a few exceptions, like pokemon, or when you have multiple suitors. Another exeption is Kabuto Sumo. In Kabuto Sumo, you battle for supremacy in the ring with your own pet bettle wrestler. The gameplay of Kabuto Sumo resembles the coin-pusher arcade games in which you strategica...

One bit of warning. If you are hoping to play a game about saving the forest from fire, then this is not that game at all. Your goal is basically the opposite, and you win by spreading the fire as much as you can to burn up every other player's fire tower and be the last player left alive. It's actually very fun! LOL!

When I was a kid I used to pretend that I was a mad scientist and I used my science skills to make insain monsters. All for the greater good of Humanity of course. I recently discoverered Campy Creatures, a game about pretty much exactly that. I was imediately attracted to the cool retro-style artwork and the evil science theme. I was worried that it might be to simple but was plesently surprised...

What's the most fun thing about board games? For me it might be the opportunity to explore stories and possibilities through imagination while being able to engage with others and the game. For others it might be to crush their enemies, see them driven before them, and hear the lamentations of their women. To each their own, I guess. We recently got to play Unmatched battle of legends vol 2 and I...

Sometimes the simplest games are the ones you play the most. Viking See-Saw is a new game from Itten Games and game designer Dr. Reinerkunitia. I'm a big fan of this Japanese boardgame company. They make beautiful small games that are deceptively simple and surprisingly fun. Viking See-Saw is the first game from their new Funbrick series of games.

Expeditions is a new game within the 1920+ universe that was created by artist Jakub Rozalski. The game designer Jamey Stegmaier previously partnered with Jakub to create Scythe, which is a hugely popular game with multiple expansions. It also happens to be in my top 5 all-time favourite games. Expeditions is clearly something very new. It has the look and feel of Scythe, but the mechanics are sub...

Hello fellow board game addicts. Are you looking for someone to help enable your cripling addiction? If yes, then you're in luck because this week we talk about all the games I currently want to buy and think that maybe you should buy as well. Listen in as we discuss the pros and cons of each entry and ultimately decide to buy everything. LOL!

I always want games based on IP that I love but most of the time games based on popular shows or TV are pretty terrible. Consequently, I avoid buying games that are officially licened for TV and Movie IP. That being said, there are some exeptions. So far a have encountered a few very good games based on popular IP. Usually these games are from game companies that specialize in high quality board g...

Zombicide: Gear Up Review & Kickstarter Roundup. We have a few favourite things in boardgames. We like co-operative games. We like fast gameplay and replayability. We love Zombicide, but we also love compact games with quick set up and breakdown. When we discovered Zombicide: Gear Up we honestly didn't think it was going to be very good. A Cool Mini or Not game with no miniatures? A Zombicide game...

There are a lot of board games about buying and selling in a market. It's a very popular drama, and having played more than a few I can tell you it's actually very fun. Especially when you have a really cleaver premise combined with great art and solid mechanics. Ecavation Earth lets you play as an alien archaeologist scowerinng the ruins of humanity on an abandoned earth looking for cool stuff to...

Sometimes the things you suspect you wont enjoy turn out to be the things you enjoy the most. For example, lots of people think PB&J is gross without even trying it, but their wrong. I never wanted to play Rhino Hero Super Battle because I didn't like the yellow box. How silly was I. This is easily one of the best kids/family games I've played. 5 out of 5! I guess you really can't judge a game by...

Hidden Movement is one of the most thematic mechanics in board gaming. There is just something about sneaking around the game board and springing traps on your opponent that really sucks you into the fantasy world of the game. Beast by Studio Midhall is a perfect fit for this mechanic. I can't say enough how fun it is to sculk around the shadows of a primordial forest as an immense mythological mo...

Do we really need more Zombicide, Heavy Euros, or Niche game reprints? Yes. Yes we do. It's time again to check out all the games I'm trying to convince myself to back or not to back on kickstarter. The list is ever growing and always incomplete, but more than enough to eat up my paycheck anyway. What would you add to the list?

Feudum by Mark Swanson is one of my all-time favorite games, but after five expansions fans of the game are hungry for something new from its creator. I had the opportunity to speak with Mark about the future of his company Odd Bird Games and he had some exciting news. He has been teasing in social media that a new game will be coming out, but in fact he has a total of three brand new games in the...

What's better than Travel Games or Traving? Playing Travel Games while Traveling. I really like games that are set in a real-world location, and I kind of want to go all over the world and play games in the real-world city where they are set. There might be some exceptions to this. Anyway, On Tour Paris & New York contains two games about real-world cities for the price of one. It's pretty fun as...