Variations on the same theme

DAY

Several board games create a universe in which the variants multiply. We dive into four games which are based on known themes and which bring their own elements to diversify the gaming experience.

Codenames Québec 

 

•  2 to 8 players 
• 12 years + 
• 15 minutes 
• $37.99   

Game Codenames no longer needs presentation. Two teams compete with the objective of guessing words thanks to clues based on associations of ideas.

We must avoid saying the black word, which makes us lose the game, or to help the other team by giving a clue to our partners which could lead them to discover an opposing word.

There are several variations to Codenames, in particular with images, in the Disney universe or in that of the Simpsons. But here is an entirely Quebec version.

The principle of the game remains the same, but with words that are typical of our region, such as “poutine” or “sloche”, for example.

So we are not here in a reinvention, but rather in a targeted edition that arrives in time for the summer. All we have to do is wish you a happy Saint-Jean!

Unlock! Game Adventures 

  

• 1 to 6 players 
• 10 years +  
• 60 minutes 
• $44.99  

Escape games Unlock! have been very successful for several years with their simple system where you have to solve puzzles at way of cards and an app.

Already a good dozen boxes have been produced and they are selling very well, both on the new market and on the user market.

We had the brilliant idea here of making a cross between Unlock! and existing games to create puzzles in universes that will be familiar to players.

Thus there are three adventures , as in every box. The first is set in the universe of Les Aventuriers du rail. We then move on to the very beautiful Mystérium to conclude on the popular Pandemic.

It is therefore by searching scenarios created from known themes that players will try to solve the enigma before the 60 minutes are up.

And as always, the level of difficulty increases d 'one scenario to another.

Azul – The Queen's Garden 

• 2 to 4 players 
• 10 years + 
• 45-60 minutes 
• $56.99  

There have already been three versions of the popular game Azul and they were all geared towards a fairly large audience since the rules were rather simple and accessible. We took tiles, placed them to make patterns and score points. Each version having a small variation, but nothing too disorienting.

This fourth version is the strongest of the lot and fans of the first hour will have to work a little harder to assimilate the rules. 

We also suggest that you do not start with this one if you want to introduce the Azul range to a neophyte.

In addition to laying tiles, you must also enlarge your garden and when designing it, many installation constraints complicate your decision-making.

The mechanics have been refined and are far more complex. You will need a few parts to familiarize yourself with it.

Like the other opuses, the material is pretty and of good quality. 

But we tell you, be ready for a good challenge.

Trails 

• 2 to 4 players 
• 10 years + 
• 30 minutes 
• $39.99  

Henry Audubon achieved a nice success with the game Parks, richly illustrated and whose game honored nature.

Parks, it is a hike that takes us through American national parks to collect resources, take them in photos and keep postcards.

Trails bathes in the same universe and it is already noticeable in the visual. The players control a hiker again and we visit places that will allow us to collect resources and photos.

It's finally the same idea, but executed differently and more simply in a smaller box and we visit places rather than national parks.

The game takes place over a day and the mechanics allow you to reproduce the course of the day with the sun progressing in the sky.

Additionally, we add the collection of birds, which makes perfect sense when we know that Audubon shares the same surname as the famous ornithologist John James Audubon.