Game Quickies - 2/3

Dancing Dice  —  It's Yahtzee's cousin.  The one with player elimination and "exceedingly stylistic" artwork.  As an aside, think of it as losing confidence, not endurance.


Double or Nothing  —  The very definition of "simple fun".  We flip a card at the beginning of every round - and another if it's a bonus - so that the first person has a choice.


Dragon Chess  —  A nice-looking chess set with a new pair of pieces and board that changes things up nicely without swinging very far away from orthodox chess.


Dragon Parade  —  The game needs more monies - five 10s and 20s should be enough - but is a nice light combination of tug-of-war, card play, and guesswork.


Dynasties  —  A quick-playing two-player area majority that reminds me of a certain battle of wits involving a small vial of iocaine powder.


Formula Dé Mini  —  After some tweaking, it's a rather solid role-and-move.


Hive  —  It scratches the same itch that chess does while being shiny and new (and a lot more portable).  As an aside, it's a *baby* spider.


Hollywood Blockbuster  —  A decent auction game that's easy to pick up, yet there's some meat on the bone, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.


Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation  —  It's takes Stratego and ups the ante by adding a "power" for each piece in addition to the standard ranking while providing a surprisingly strong theme.


Nexus Ops  —  A light combined arms wargame that's more than simply marching your armies from territory to territory and over-running the enemy.


Niagara  —  "Different" could go either way, but i say they pulled it off, though i only play with the Spirits expansion included.


Phase 10 Dice  —  A nice blending of Phase 10 and Yahtzee where you have to balance going for a higher score and keeping pace with the other players.


Pylos  —  Looks good, is simple to teach and learn, yet requires thought to play well.  With the "alignment" rules, this is another good two-player filler.


Rattlesnake  —  It's Magnetic Theory 101 turned filler. When someone goes out, everyone should total their eggs, and when someone reaches (60/#players), whoever has the least is the winner.


Ringgz  —  Very small rule set, yet requires you to think ahead to have any hope of winning. The new checkers? Bonus points for being playable by four.


Risk 2210  —  A very nice update of Risk, full of sound and fury and thwarted plans.  (Are those Stealth MODs you're hoarding? Frequency Jam.)


Risk Express  —  It could just as easily have been named Yahtzee: Flower Collecting (and the one rule would've made more sense if it had), but it's surprisingly engaging.


Rummikub  —  Essentially Rummy with a twist (hence the name), you should already have an idea of whether or not you'd be a fan of this.