Brain Games releases 18 new games and a new line of puzzles

Author: Jānis Bernāns

New year, new and exciting games on the shelves of Brain Games stores.

For the third year in a row, I have the opportunity to write and maintain all Brain Games news in one place, and it is this year's news that I am most excited about!

All the games mentioned in the article can be viewed here .

Without a doubt, my favorite game from this year's new releases is Flamecraft , a very delightful yet strategic board game. You can find a more detailed description of this game and my personal opinion in the review of this game , but in short, if you like board games, you like the theme of dragons and the specific visual style, if you want a game where you will have to break your head a little, then "Flamecraft" is for you . Flamecraft looks cute, but it's by no means the easiest of board games, so for those new to the wonderful world of the board game hobby, I recommend starting with something simpler.

"Flamecraft" can be played with up to five players, however, it shines brightest in a company of three. Considering the game's illustrations, components, mechanics and price, I believe that this is undoubtedly the best game localized by Brain Games in Latvian in recent years.

Continuing to talk about excellent games at very reasonable prices, we must mention "Acropolis" , in which players are talented architects in ancient Greece. Players take squares and build their city, trying to combine them to score the most points. In a way, you could say that the game is like "Carcassonne", where players take tiles and place them in a city, only here everyone builds their own city and tiles can also be placed on top of each other so that they partially overlap.

This is one of those games that has very simple rules that can be learned in a couple of minutes, but the strategic planning will be challenging for everyone. It is not for nothing that "Acropolis" has received several awards as the best game of the year in France and Great Britain, and it was also nominated for the prestigious "Spiel des Jahres" award.

If the idea of ​​taking squares and arranging them in several layers seems exciting, but instead of ancient Greek temples and gardens, it would be better to build Egyptian pyramids, then it is definitely worth looking at the brand new "Pyramido" , which added to the range of strategy games only in mid-November.

In each round, players start building a new level in their pyramid, trying to create as many territories of the same color as possible. With each round, the level becomes smaller and partially covers the previous one, so it is very difficult to figure out the best way to combine all the squares. And, of course, very often the player before you takes the exact square that you had watched, so you have to re-plan everything.

"Akropolis" has already managed to win various awards, but "Pyramido" saw the light of day only this fall. It is possible that it will win a more prestigious award very soon, as it has been praised by various game reviewers.

The game will be available in stores in the next few days!

At the end of October, Brain Games pleased die-hard fans with the game "Ubongo" . It's a fast, fun and easy-to-learn geometric puzzle game where players race against time and against each other to solve brain teasers with different connectable shapes.

If you're looking for a quick and easy game that will be fun to play with just about anyone, then Draftosaurus is for you. This is also my choice to give to friends who are not big game enthusiasts, as the rules of the game are quite simple.

Each player has a handful of different wooden dinosaurs to choose from to place in their dinosaur zoo. Players have to think carefully about which dinosaurs to combine together in which enclosures to get as many points as possible. Once all players have taken their turn, the dinosaurs in hand are passed to the next player, so you never know what options you will have on your next turn. The game is played in this way until each player has 12 dinosaurs in their zoo.

The game can be played in 15 minutes, which means you can get through several games of Draftosaurus in one evening. In addition, the play area has two variations that slightly change the way the dinosaur enclosures give points.

Brain Games also released sequels to several well-known and popular games this year. Saboteur: The Dark Cave is a new take on the classic game Saboteur, where players are dwarves trying to escape a cave with gold. The players are divided into two teams, but there are also traitors among them.

Saboteur: The Dark Cave is not an expansion of Saboteur, but a completely independent game!

Crooks, robbers and scoundrels continue to operate in MicroMacro town. The second part of the game features a completely new city map with 16 new crimes. The principle of the game is identical to the original version - hundreds of characters in different places and times are displayed simultaneously on a large city map. As detectives, players have to follow the criminals and solve the worst crimes of this town.

In 2021, "MicroMacro" deservedly received the "Spiel des Jahres" best game of the year award.

Fans of breakout games will be delighted with the new EXIT: Tunnel of Horrors , a new game in the well-known series. Let's whisper in advance that soon there will be other versions of this game in Latvian!

Brain Games has also thought about the youngest players - fans of "Disney" cartoons will be delighted with the new version of "Cortex Disney" . The game maintains the basic principles of the original Cortex, but the task cards are adapted for players from the age of six and are decorated with various characters from the classic Disney animated films.

Yummy Yummy Monster Tummy , an app-supported team game for funerals for ages six and up, is also localized. The object of the game is to feed the monster cards with items in his favorite color. If you manage to feed enough monsters, the players will win together!

If you are looking for small games or small gifts, we have several options. The game "Karakum" , which became a bestseller in our stores at the beginning of the year, has already gained great popularity. In October, it was also Brain Games' best-selling game at the 'Spiel' exhibition in Germany, the largest event of its kind in the world.

In Karakum, participants collect resources and exchange them for camels, which form a caravan. But there is a catch - in a caravan, each subsequent camel must be the same color or value as the previous camel.

Those who like more casual games where you can interact and disturb other players will definitely enjoy Carnival . In this game you try to accumulate as many points as possible in front of you, but at the end of the game you will only get them if there are more cards of the particular creatures played in the middle than in front of you.

If finding the balance between the points in front of you and in the middle of the table seems challenging enough, then throw into this chaos the opportunity to play cards face down and in front of other players to spoil their plans, and you have a real carnival!

Zing-a-zam is a very simple but exciting card game that even those friends who say "I don't play board games" will be able to play! A delightful, fast and simple game where players keep their cards face down, so luck balances with strategy.

Talkative gamers will love Mimic Octopus , a unique mix of hidden role-playing and party games. Unlike the usual hidden role-playing games, where you draw a card and know whether you are in a team or alone, this time it is not. Each player is given a fun card that somehow explains their communication style for that particular round. The game itself is quite simple - players talk to each other on absolutely any topic, trying to find other players who have been dealt the same card as them. But be careful! Players can realize that there is no one else with the same card, so he can become a copycat octopus that tries to infiltrate others and steal points. At the end of the round, players vote for their teammates, with correct guesses receiving points.

A very simple party game that will make everyone laugh in the right company. In addition, the game has three versions from which you can choose the one that suits you best. For a completely chaotic game, cards from different versions can be mixed.

All these card games are self-published, and they are not only designed, but also produced right here in Latvia!

Our own list of games can also include the numbers and deduction game Deductio , the cooperative game Mission Complete , the fantastically beautiful two-player battle game Eridanos, and the dice strategy game Spellbloom . All these games created by us are currently available in stores in English - players will have to wait a little longer for the Latvian versions.

Puzzle lovers must try our new 'Purple Witty Fox' series of puzzles. One of the mottos of these puzzles is "We don't sell air!". A standard size 1000 piece puzzle is sold in a significantly smaller box.

For now, "Purple Witty Fox" has two series of puzzles - puzzles with photos captured by photographer Mārtiņš Plūme and works of art by Ukrainian artist Veronika Blyzniuchenko™, half of the sales proceeds of which are donated to the rehabilitation of Ukrainian victims.

Just like our card games, "Purple Witty Fox" puzzles are completely produced in Latvia!

Even now, Brain Games continues to work on the localization of new games, and new surprises could soon appear on store shelves. These include the much-anticipated Winged European bird expansion , coming early next year, as well as possibly my favorite party game yet! The new " ICECOOL " game "ICECOOL: Wizards" will also appear in stores very soon.

A look at this year's games here .