Spearpoint Reviews

  The Oregon Trail Card Game (2016) Theme: linear card-based mapping system based on The Oregon Trail computer simulation Team: Pressman Toy Corporation Players: 2-6 (~4 preferred) Style: Cooperative Balance: Downhill Complexity: Basic Time: 30-45min (usually ~10min) Components Y Card Y Dice N Meeples  N Trackers N Social/Negotiation N Building  N Leveling Mechanics N Keyword N Symbols N Drafting Pros Theming of the Resource, Trail, and Calamity cards are of great reference to iconic computer simulation of the same name Boxed contents are lightweight and condensed for easy transport Cons Entirely random outcomes without any sort of planning affecting the outcome, especially a concern with instant-death Calamity cards that cannot be countered Rule dictations are inconsistent between various cards Components are of questionable quality with the cards being somewhat flimsy, the die appearing to have little contrast regarding numbering, and the marker inc...

Fluxx (2013) Theme: unique card matching game with variable themes where the rules evolve Team: Andrew and Kristin Looney of Looney Labs Players: 2-6 (~4 preferred) Style: Competitive Balance: Appropriate Complexity: Basic Time: 5-30min (usually ~15min) Components Y Card N Dice N Meeples  N Trackers N Social/Negotiation N Building  N Leveling Mechanics Y Keyword N Symbols Y Drafting Pros Highly varied with different themes released Rules (begin) simple and grow in complexity as you play Rules cards Goal cards are easy to understand with images that correspond to relevant Keeper cards; the game can be simplified to a more mechanical card matching game Further sets come with unique rules for the given set, aiding thematics Very easy setup Cons Mixing of themed sets makes play impractical due to card variability related to Goals (One set at a time!); consider this more of a neutral point in review of just this single box Playing consecutive games may confuse p...