Panda Spin – Andrew Lynch
There is a lot of promise in the core idea of Panda Spin, a shedding game with upgradeable cards. When/if you pass during a trick, you reclaim all of your played cards and turn them from their weaker side to their stronger side. Theoretically, this should cause hands to ramp ever-upwards as the game progresses and players start playing out massive set after massive set. It should also make the decision of whether or not to play something interesting, a game of chicken in which your desire to empty your hand of cards clashes with your desire for the stronger versions of things.
The reality falls short. Hands last too long. The rules are too clunky to explain to new players, with the juice rather immediately not worth the squeeze. The decisions aren’t particularly interesting. Many of the extra bits and bobs don’t feel like they enrich the game half so much as they complicate it, and therein lies the real rub: why play a somewhat inconveniently complex shedding game when I could either play a divine complex shedding game (like Tichu) or a terrific straightforward shedding game like Jungo or Scout?
Ease of entry?
★★★★☆ – The odd bump or two
Would I play it again?
★★☆☆☆ – Would play again but would rather play something else
Read more articles from Andrew Lynch.
Disney Villainous: Treacherous Tides – Justin Bell
For my final run of the Disney Villainous system—I know it’s over for me, because I struggled for months to get even my children to play yet another round of these games—I broke out the 2025 set Treacherous Tides, featuring Tamatoa (a villain from the Moana franchise) and Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean). As usual, this two-character set can be played as a standalone game or combined with up to four other villains from the other sets in the series.
As I have given all my other sets away to my review crew, Tamatoa and Davy were the last baddies standing. Villainous forums are rife with the idea that the baddies are unbalanced; while I can’t say that for sure based on a single play, I can say that it feels like these two characters are a bad idea to use against each other. Tamatoa’s win condition, which might surface the cards needed to win early on, seems a lot easier to accomplish than the Davy Jones condition, which could take a while if they are unable to cycle the two card types needed for the treasure tokens Davy needs to win.
As a production, Disney Villainous still rocks. I love the simple turns, the system, the mover tokens, the player aids. As a game, I still think Villainous runs way too long if more than two players are involved, because even at two players, this could run 30-45 minutes without any real arc to its gameplay. There must be at least 25 or more villains at this point, so for a collector looking to mix and match, it’s hard to beat what the system offers at this stage. But the more streamlined Disney Villainous Unstoppable! (which is not compatible with the other sets in the main line) is all I need to get the Villainous experience, especially if I want to play with more than two players.
Ease of entry?
★★★★★ – No sweat (especially now that I’ve played four other Villainous games!!)
Would I play it again?
★★★☆☆ – Wouldn’t suggest it, but would happily play it
Read more articles from Justin Bell.
The Color Monster – Justin Bell
I’ll cover anything in Devir’s catalog, so when they offered to send The Color Monster (a game targeted for players ages 2-5, which describes no one in my household), I still raised my hand. After the game arrived, I did a play with my wife and nine-year-old, and I’m very pleasantly surprised to say that everyone enjoyed it, even though they agreed that it didn’t make sense to hold onto it because the nine-year-old has aged out.
But we enjoyed it because The Color Monster has an interesting goal: cooperatively match up emotion tiles with jars that require a hint of memory skills to end the game. But on each turn, the active player has to pick up one of those emotions and then describe something that makes them feel the way the token requires—happiness, fear, sadness, etc. To my great surprise, the nine-year-old leaned in for his turns, and while he only had to describe easy situations (playing video games makes him happy, etc.), he carried it into a conversation we had about something completely different the next day.
“Daddy, you know that Color Monster game we played yesterday? I was thinking about what else scares me about the dark…” This led to a conversation about bedtime, and bumps in the night, and the times I’m traveling for work. It opened a couple doors I wasn’t expecting, and that’s a testament to the game’s push to create a dialogue between families (or care providers, or doctors, or anyone) and children. For that, the game earned my respect; getting my kids talking about their emotions is quite a feat. If you are looking for a game to play with young children, give The Color Monster a look.
Ease of entry?
★★★★★ – No sweat
Would I play it again?
★★★☆☆ – Wouldn’t suggest it, but would happily play it
Read more articles from Justin Bell.
Crokinole – Tom Franklin
At TantrumCon 2026, there was a long, narrow hallway set up by the Charlotte, NC area Crokinole club. Having played Carom when I was growing up, that lengthy row of beautiful wooden boards easily drew me in.
A Crokinole board is round, with three concentric circles drawn on the surface. Eight raised pegs surround a center inset area, just slightly wider than a playing discs. Players flick, push, or slide their discs from the outside of the outer ring towards the center of the board. Slide your disc into the center inset, and score you’ll 20 points. If you miss, not to worry. As long as that disc is still in the center area, you opponent must connect with that disc on their next turn or their disc is removed. Of course, the same may happen to you.
Crokinole is an easy-to-learn dexterity game that only takes a minute or two to play. The only barrier to playing is the price of the boards. They’re primarily made by individuals or small shops who specialize in making them using elegant hardwoods, so they’re worth the expense if you can afford one.
Otherwise, check the National Crokinole Association’s website to see if there are any local clubs near you.
Ease of entry?
★★★★★ – No sweat
Would I play it again?
★★★★★ – Will definitely play it again
Read more articles from Tom Franklin.
S-Evolution – Andy Matthews
I picked up S-Evolution at a recent board game flea market because I’d never heard of it, the concept sounded interesting, and it was cheap. S-Evolution is a civ-building, trick-taking game in which the way tricks are claimed changes over the course of 6 ages or eras. At the beginning of the game you can’t even look at your cards, you simply flip over your top card and whoever has the highest number wins. But as your civilization advances you get to see your hand, understand the concept of suits, and finally you’re able to include trump suits.
Unlike other trick taking games, the winner doesn’t collect all the cards, they only get first pick of the cards on the table. Then in turn order the other players select. Cards you choose contain resources like food, tools, and knowledge. Once the round is done you spend those resources to satisfy your population. Then with anything left over you can put your people to work generating more resources, giving you the ability to trade, protecting yourself from disasters, and more.
S-Evolution wound up being a mixed experience that left one of my group very frustrated. We didn’t catch on to how ties work until closer to the end of the game, which meant that one player ended up getting an early lead. I’d still like to play it again with a different group, but
Ease of entry?
★★★☆☆ – There were a few questions
Would I play it again?
★★☆☆☆ – Would play again but would rather play something else
