That's What Jenni Said

Earlier this summer, Tokyo Sidekick arrived on our doorstep from Japanime Games. I knew absolutely nothing about the game before it showed up. Turns out, it's a big game, with a big board, in a big box. Unpacking everything, I was pretty impressed with the breadth of inventory. Check out the pic below from the publisher of the core game components beyond the board and cardboard standees. My copy also included a comic book giving the origin stories of the heroes, as well as upgraded acrylic standees. The components are well made and I particularly like the acrylic upgrades; you’ll want these for sure if you can get them.   Perusing the rulebook, I started to get a good understanding of Tokyo Sidekick . It’s a cooperative game designed by Yusuke Emi where 2-4 players take on the role of heroes and sidekicks who battle against villains, supervillains, and menaces, while also navigating around the central board to deal with incidents as they crop up. There’s a lot going on at once for...

When Chris and I were at GenCon this year, we had the chance to sit down with a few of our favorite publishers for some 1 on 1 interviews and get information on upcoming releases from their catalog. I wanted to share some of this info with you guys to aid you in planning your board game purchases.  Japanime Games Domina Anthology featuring Argot, Miraris, and Pralaya ( 2019 4th quarter or 2020 1st quarter expected Kickstarter delivery then retail release) . This anthology of games from Japanime is illustrated by Qtonagi and features games originally released by Domina from 2015-2017. Argoat is a worker placement game in which players travel trough the land looking for pieces to get to Eden and escape the nightmare of their current reality (bonus – it’s colorblind friendly). Pralaya is  competitive press your luck set collection game reminiscent of Forbidden Island in which your island is sinking and you must collect relics and pay the boatman to get off the island befo...

Japanime recently sent me a review copy of their storytelling game Cartooner  from designer Jason Thompson, and as soon as I read the detailed description of this real-time drawing game I was a bit anxious about playing it. In Cartooner , players take on the role of cartoonists tasked with creating comic strips that carry their artistic vision and the narrative demands of their readers. I am a terrible artist. Stick figure level artistry, if we are being honest. My fragile ego doesn’t always react well to attempting tasks I am terrible at (hello shame and feelings of self-loathing). But all three of my kids love to draw and were quite excited about the game so I reluctantly brought Cartooner to the table one recent afternoon and we gave it a go as a family. In the first round of the game each player is dealt three theme cards which represent their core artistic vision and they must draw a comic strip with two panels during the allotted time period (in student mode, which we played...

Three years ago Japanime released an English version of Dynamite Nurse (originally published in 2011) via Kickstarter. Although we added this take-that deck building game to our collection earlier this year, it took a bit of time to find some friends from our various gaming circles willing to play the game given the boundary pushing artwork. The character illustrations are in the style of anime - colorful and detailed - but bordering on pornographic. In making a case for the game's merits, I pointed out that Dynamite Nurse is centered on strong female characters (sure, the nurses are barely clothed and poses provocatively but they’re the main focus of the game and hold all the power). Also, the game has an interesting storyline. In Dynamite Nurse, players take on the role of nurses competing to save patients who have been severely wounded while out exploring dungeons. Fun fact: in an odd parenthetical note, the rulebook states the characters are actually doctors that are simply ref...

Recently Japanime games sent me a copy of Heart of Crown . It’s a Japanese deck building game designed by Ginko (ぎんこ) that first debuted in 2011 and then was reprinted through a Kickstarter in 2016.  Heart of Crown   includes a handful of cardboard tokens and multiple card decks (which should hold up reasonably well under regular use, especially if sleeved) illustrated with family friendly anime. A small team of artists worked on the playful illustrations including  Haniwa, Yuji Himukai, Medilore, Chosuke O-ide, Yuki Takahata, and Nemigi Toto. In the game, we learn that the royal kingdom has experienced a great loss in the death of its Emperor. Seven Princesses are thus vying to take over the kingdom and each player has a responsibility to select a princess (or the twin princesses) for the position and attempt to coronate her by accumulating a minimum of twenty succession points.  Every player is dealt a starting deck comprised of worthless filler cards (value: –...