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Wolfbane's Gaming Den

Wolfbane's Gaming Den is a video channel dedicated to all things gaming, as well as hobbies and activities related to the gaming culture.

Wolfbane's Gaming Den is a Youtube video channel dedicated to all things gaming (including video games and board games), as well as hobbies and activities related to the gaming culture. The channel currently provides regularly updated content focused on
i) Video game playthroughs on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC
ii) Board game tutorials, reviews and unboxings
iii) Coverage of digital versions of board games
Additional variety of content will be introduced throughout 2021.

02/26/2026

Got my second playthrough of Coalition done a few days back, and I think I have a firmer grasp on how I feel about the game.

For those unfamiliar, this is a negotiation driven game of conflict during the Napoleonic era, where 2 players play as England and France on opposite sides of the conflict, while other players can choose to either align themselves with one of these two powers, or do their own thing. And central to gameplay is a rotating dial which tells each players / nation what action they get to do on this turn. And then the dial turns, and everyone does the next action in sequence on the dial.

After my first playthrough, I came out very excited about getting back to it. It felt like a game that would reward multiple plays with the same group, and it's always exciting to get an epic feeling game played with a large group (6 players in this case). A lot of that was still true this time around, but the action dial felt a lot more restrictive and non-thematic. With certain key actions only becoming available once per round, you often end up watching other nations marching and picking a fight with you, while your action is as basic as "draw a card" or something similar and you have to wait maybe 5 to 6 turns before you can do something exciting. It feels like an artificial constraint in service of trying to innovate a game mechanic. I am probably making it sound worse than it is; after all, players are generally engaged on other's turns as well, trying to wheel and deal and influence what others may do. But the loss of agency of your own action isn't fully compensated by it.

Does that mean I won't play this again? I probably will. Our group enjoyed both playthroughs, and if for you, the company and interaction around the game matter and elevate gameplay, with the right group, this can still be a good time. So while I may play this again if my friends want to, I am happy to propose some other games till it happens.

08/10/2025

Finally got a playthrough of Unsettled in, with a 2-player game, and there is a lot to go through here. First, the production quality is very good. Yes, the miniatures are good but not the best in terms of details, yes it's easier to play on a gameboard than on cards....but those feel like minor quibbles given the overall quality.

What struck me as the most impressive was the possible combination of planets and scenarios, which indicate there can be numerous unique experiences if you have all the expansions before you run the risk of repetition. Of course, this works if you have multiple expansions. If you have just the base game, you get 2 planets, so it's likely you are looking at half a dozen unique scenarios and stories. That may be enough for many, but if you plan on playing this often and regularly, you need the added planets.

Each playthrough also being a standalone experience (generally) also has its pros and cons. This is less of a concern if you are looking for half a dozen games out of it, but if you want more, its worth remembering that it doesn't have the traditional full campaign / story mode..

But I am excited with what I have seen so far. Time for me to try more scenarios.

07/18/2025

Finally, I got a play of Sankore in for the first time, and generally, I have mixed feelings.

First, the good stuff. There is a lot to like. If you like inter-connected mechanics in a heavier euro, with solid production quality, this is at the very least worth a play. The game flows more smoothly than the rules might suggest, and once you get into the groove of it, it is certainly pleasing and should move fast.

My biggest and possibly only real concern with the game is around scoring. You don't know which academic field will score how well, and quite often, it boils down to luck and actions from other players that determine how well you do. If that is part of an overall greater scoring mechanism it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but the fact that it's the only way to score, does mean you can work hard for multiple prestige tokens that mean nothing at the end of the game.

In this play, it didn't impact me as much negatively, but it's easy to see how it can in future plays. I still look forward to trying it again and feel comfortable recommending fans of medium-heavy euros to check it out.

04/26/2024

I had originally played Anachrony very early into my life as a hobby gamer, and I have always wondered what it would be like getting back to it.

I finally got that wish fulfilled yesterday, as I got a solid 3-players game of this played. The overall experience was much smoother and, well, traditional, than I remembered. It's easy to see why this is such a well regarded game, and the time travel theme/mechanic felt more novel than gimmick-y. Overall, very happy to get to this game, and I am now encouraged to break out the Anachrony Infinity Box from my locker (which I dreaded as soon as I got it's delivery).

Onto more Anachrony in the future.....hopefully without a meteor impact!!

04/19/2024

I had not heard much about Dominare before I got it in a trade, and even after that, I wasn't quite sure when I would get it played. Then I came across a video on The Discriminating Gamer channel on YouTube for their top 10 area control games, and I saw this was high on that list. This definitely got my interest, and upon checking further, I found the review from The Dice Tower, where this game had a glowing review.

Now I felt i had to get this played, and that is exactly what happened yesterday. And I wasn't disappointed.

Dominare is set in the Tempest universe, a fictional setting that the popular micro-game Love Letter is set in. The setting for this leads to a game of political intrigue where players represent shadow cabal vying for power within the city. You will play cards representing figures every round, which will allow you to spread your influence across the city, which is broken up into the Senate, Church, Swamps, etc. There is a very minor element of programming as your characters trigger in sequence, and this can lead to tense and dramatic moves, especially near the end of the game.

This game surprised me, and this is definitely an underrated gem. The only criticism I can think of is that the game can run long and that while it scales well between 4 and 6 players, it loses a little of its edge at lower player counts. 4 players is probably the sweet spot, as it gives you good competition without running too long.

If you can get a copy and have even a passing interest in area control game, try it. You won't be disappointed.

04/12/2024

Getting back to sharing these gaming experiences, and this is definitely a worthwhile one to restart with!

Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict is a highly asymetric game that has drawn comparisons to Root. The core game is a two player experience, but we added the Hester role to play this as a three player game. Overall, the game oozes theme and makes me very interested in reading up on the source material (based on a comic). The mechanics are very interesting overall, with Hester being more unique or different mechanically of the three we played.

Learning the game is also very layered, as the game introduces additional mechanics over different chapters, which are meant to be played over different games. However, we had only the one game scheduled, so we merged all the applicable rules to play the "full game," and while it was definitely a learning game, we were able to get a full flavour of what the game offers. Gameplay balance came up as a question, with some feeling Hester was overpowered compared to others, but I definitely need more plays to confirm if this is accurate.

Components were very good, with my only qualm being that the Hester board was not recessed (dual layered) as the others, making it feel like the game was part deluxe and part retail. But the inserts made setup and tear down fairly easy, which was helpful.

Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit and would like to get back to Harrow County again. My worry is that this game may meet the same fate as other asymetric games (e.g. Cresent Moon, Chaos Order) and not get the recognition it deserves simply due to its barrier to entry. But I hope I am wrong. Definitely recommend this game to anyone interested in a thematic and asymetric wargame style game.

04/18/2023

Every once in a while, you come across a game you hadn't heard of before, one that isn't played or spoken of much anymore, but when you play it, you realize you have discovered an absolute underappreciated gem. War of the Roses: Lancaster Vs York was that gane for me yesterday.

The game is now over a decade old, and first impressions are that it must be a heavy war game. The artwork is certainly reminiscent of its time, but physical production is solid. Then you start reading the rulebook, and something clicks in your head.....there is a lot going on, sure, but it's not convulated or unintuitive, but rather, the flow makes sense. The rules nuances also make sense to the point that you could have guessed the correct rule for unique scenarios more often than not.

And then you start playing, and within the first round, you can see the players excited, and you know you are having fun!

This is such an underrated game. Designed by Peter Hawes (designer of Francis Drake) and published by ZMAN games, this has all the hallmarks of a game that should have made a big splash but didn't. Which is a shame cause the game is so good!

Turns flow fast (with the exception of the last planning phase, which is to be expected), and the simultaneous planning means much of the downtime is mitigated. The decisions are interesting, the area majority part of the gane is tight yet dynamic, and the semi co-op nature where you win individually, but it still pays to play nice with your team member just works.

If you like games with secret deployment and area control, you need to hunt down a copy and try this. Amazing find :)

04/14/2023

I had been nervous about trying out Skymines. On the one hand, I was excited about it as Mombasa, the game it's based on, is one of my all time favourite games. On the other hand, my first look at the game made me nervous about the iconography, colour scheme, etc. and just generally made me question the production choices.

The bad news is that Mombasa definitely does have a cleaner interface and icons, and is generally therefore better "functionally". And the storage solution within the box in Skymines could also be better, despite the use of tuck boxes.

Thankfully, the bad news does end there! Once you get familiar with the icons and the look, it's still the same great game. The same tug of war plays out between when you want to invest in a company (which will only benefit you but also paint a target on your back) vs when you want to expand (which may benefit everyone but an action you will have to take regularly). Temporary alliances are still made just as easily as they are.....ahem, forgotten? Yup, it'll happen.

You still do need the full complement of 4 players to get the core game to work at its best, but there are now solo modes and even campaigns, so if anyone is looking for the Mombasa experience and wants more gameplay options, Skymines is definitely the way to go. If you are just happy with the base/core game, Mombasa may be a better option as it's interface is cleaner and more user friendly, but it is out of print and still has that problematic theme of expanding your company throughout the continent of Africa, so Skymines is probably the way to go regardless.

But no matter which version you play, it remains an incredible game system. Very highly recommended! 😀

04/07/2023

So......in a world where Brass is the #1 ranked game of all time on BGG, why is this game so obscure, and so rarely spoken of?

Welcome to Wildcatters, a heavy economic game where you represent a large oil company looking to extract and sell oil across the globe. At first, actions seem a little unintuitive when you first read the rules due to the multiple steps involved, but once you start, it doesn't take long to get into a smooth flow. While individual turns can take long, it never becomes an issue as all players are involved in each players turns, as actions others do can impact you both positively and negatively. And the similarities to Brass continue, as you build a network across the globe with trains and ships (and you can always use your own or that of others).

But despite the similarities to Brass, Wildcatters is definitely its own game, as the core mechanisms are quite different. This ditches money to pay for building things and actions, and instead opts for a combination of workers and company shares. And the use of shares is brilliant, as it is used as currency to pay for actions on other players turns, but beware if you run out of your own as you can be forced into situations where you have to pay shares but don't have your own, and you have to cover for it by taking a .......(drumroll)......bank loan, of course!

I could go on, but suffice it to say that this is a fantastic economic game, with brilliant ideas that are executed well, and the updated version by Capstone Games has a lovely table presence and overall production that brings out the best of the theme (despite the zillion stickers you need to put on components). If you like heavy economic games and you haven't played this yet, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Highly recommended!

03/06/2023

Autobahn is the latest and hottest pick-up-and-deliver game from Alley Cat, and designers Fabio Lopiano (Merv, Calimala) and Nestore Mangone (Newton), and while the mechanic in question was usually a hit-or-miss for me, I do like the designers' earlier works and was excited to give this a try.

After my first playthrough, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. There are parts of the game that work really well. For example, at the start of the game, you will be looking at the roads and your delivery status and thinking "I am not sure how I am supposed to do multiple of these", but then the roads start getting upgraded and the network expands and suddenly the flow of traffic picks up and you have genuine now-i-get-it moments, as the German autobahn reveals itself thematically and mechanically. I played with the Kickstarter version, and components were generally pretty good, though production is definitely restrained (e.g. wooden bits instead of plastic, no dual layered boards) which I don't mind as I assume it all helps keep costs reasonable, which I appreciate.

But then there were things that didn't work so well, starting with the rulebook, which definitely needed more work, and the game can start to drag at 4 players. There are also a number of upkeep items that felt kept the game from flowing smoothly and really taking off.

Overall, though, I did enjoy it, and I think repeat plays are bound to be smoother, and if you play with others who have played before, it can be a very smooth experience at that point. There is a lot of potential here, one I do hope I get to explore again!

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