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Roll Pasa

@rollpasa

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🎲 Board game reviews & hot takes • Tabletop Photography
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The White Castle is my desert island game. If I’m traveling and can only pack one box, it’s this. If I’m completely drained after a long day but still want a crunchy Euro that never overstays its welcome, this is the one hitting the table every single time.

It’s an absolute masterclass in tight design. You only get finite turns - 9 in the base game, 12 if you add the Matcha expansion. But the genius is that those 9 turns can easily feel like 18 if you know how to chain actions and find the optimal combo.

At its core, it’s dice drafting. You place a die, trigger an action, and set off a chain reaction. No walls of card text, no massive appendix to dig through, completely unbloated. The actions are dead simple, but when they click and you squeeze every drop of potential out of a single turn, the satisfaction is unmatched. No game delivers combo-wombo payoffs quite like this.

People often complain that it’s too tight or lacks dice mitigation. I completely disagree. It’s supposed to be tight. Why does every modern Euro need to drown you in pity tokens to fix bad rolls? This game forces you to look two turns ahead. Play smart, and the better planner will consistently win. Don't blame the dice.

Sure, an experienced player will beat a newcomer most days, but that’s true of chess, soccer, or any skill-based game. It rewards getting reps in and spotting lines of play. It’s not really engine building or area control; it’s pure, razor-sharp efficiency. Waste a turn and you pay for it. But why stress about a catch-up mechanic when the whole game wraps up so fast? This is the game you play for perfect execution.

Then you add Matcha, and it integrates seamlessly. You get the new bridge, new dice and a fresh layer of decisions, all learned in five minutes. If you want a slightly longer, meatier Euro, throw Matcha in. If you want the purest, tightest knife fight in a phone booth, stick to the base. For me, Matcha is a permanent addition never leaving the mix.

White Castle is an essential box on any shelf. I’ll gladly defend this design against anyone who thinks it needs fixing. The game is as close to perfection as a board game gets.

#thewhitecastle #boardgames #review taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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a month ago

If Carcassonne would like to take a Rebirth then that's Rebirth. 😅 Excuse me if that's cringe, forgive me and then read on.

Rebirth by @mightyboards is a dirt simple game. In Carcassonne you at least have some small challenge explaining how farmers work and the farm is cut by road and other things. This game is just simple. Now you might think if I wanted a simple game why even bother. Well, read on.

Rebirth is strategic in stealth mode. Not gonna lie when I read the rules and without even playing regretted my purchase. I thought a game where you have one tile in hand which comes from your own personal supply, no option and you lay that tile down and get a new tile for next turn, what could it offer. There's no option that breaks that draft and then you are stuck with one tile but still gets you something no matter where it goes. You keep playing, score your tiles based on its scoring conditions, score your personal objective cards that also come from the tile laying from cathedral spots and then add up all. That's it.

It felt like a salad bar at first and felt like nothing I do would matter. But the bigger board soon became so small. We were constantly sabotaging, fighting for castle spots, cutting others out to deprive them of good spots and it got so crunchy. Boy oh boy I was so wrong. It feels so good to be wrong.

The game board has two sides. Scotland is chill (chill but tight) great for casual plays where you have private goals, hidden from others, so less chance to get evil eyes on. Ireland is tight (tight but chill still). This side of the board is where the game slaps hard. Missions are public now. So you know intentions for all the moves. It's a blood bath now. For a salad bar looking board, there's no swing, in our 3-4 plays scores were always a few points apart. This showed us how balanced the game is.

I didn't talk about the art and components. I will let pictures talk. Beautiful.

My closing notes are if you have the game in your cart. Time to checkout.

#rebirth #boardgames #tabletopgaming #gamereview #cozygames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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4 months ago

The Everdell big box is massive. I will admit it takes courage and an alright let's do it mindset every time I want to set it up. But once it is on the table, the organization does make it very easy to set up. It is just the size that is intimidating.

One thing I wish is that the base components were on the top, because even if you just want to play the base game you still have to take everything out. But they are organized in trays with lids so it is still not that bad. I am a lazy guy so I just find ways to complain about any work no matter how small.

The box is like a trophy in my game room. It looks grand, and people always ask about the game even if they do not ask about anything else. Everdell always captures attention and it always looks magical.

Everdell was my first worker placement game, and then I went back and discovered the classics. But this game is already a classic. It is simple and it is charming, but it isn't bland, it is still crunchy and very satisfying.

I took it to the table with the base game plus Newleaf, Pearlbrook, and Spirecrest all mixed into one game. That is the forest, the river, the mountains, and a train station all at once, and honestly it looked amazing. Very fun too.

The common wisdom is to play with just one big expansion at a time, and I get it. Pearlbrook and Newleaf both add a bunch of cards to the deck, and every expansion makes the game longer. But I am glad I went all-in at least once, because seeing all of it together is something else.

I have yet to try the Edge of the World maps, but I am excited to put on my adventure hood and set out from Everdell Valley to explore.

So how many expansions in one game is too many?

Purchased copy used for review ☺️ @playtycoongames @andrewbosley

#everdell #boardgames #tabletopgames #starlinggames #tycoongames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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15 days ago

Drillers drills hard. This game is smooth.

I usually start with the game, but this time let me appreciate the rulebook first. Reading through it was like gliding. It is clear, the visuals keep you focused, it highlights what is important, it catches your eye at the right spots, and the words are optimized and precise.

Drillers is a 1 to 4 player deckbuilding race from CGE, and you are piloting a mining mech into an abandoned mine. Every card in your deck is multi-use, so each turn is a small puzzle about what to spend where. You manage fuel, push your luck on depth, and try to make it back before you are stuck.

The deckbuilding is really fun, and it is unique for a few reasons. Your draw deck sits face up on a cool stand, so you can see what is coming. And when you buy a card, it goes right on top of the deck, so you get to use it almost immediately instead of waiting for a reshuffle.

I also love the excavation theme and how tightly it binds to the mechanics. Fuel is the resource to play cards. You fill up at the surface, then explore the depths collecting minerals, then come back up to fill the tank and sell the minerals to buy more cards and upgrades. The decision of how long to stay in the depths burning fuel and resources for better collection, versus doing frequent shallow trips, is so strategic and impactful. Excavating corridors also gets you tiles with end game victory points and benefits, and producing minerals that others can grab later leaves real interactive opportunity in this otherwise solitaire kind of deckbuilder.

The game does run long though. There is no main action concept and you can do as much as you want in your turn in any order, so a turn can keep going and might cause AP for players who like to map out every possibility and combination. And this is where the game is going to shine at solo or 2 players. However, if you do not mind a long game, Drillers will not disappoint. It promised fun and it delivered.

I will follow up with a second post because I have so much more to talk about.

Review copy provided by @czech_games_edition.

Have you tried Drillers yet?

#drillers #czechgamesedition #deckbuilding #boardgames #tabletopgames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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8 days ago

The NC State Fair is right around the corner, and I got the perfect game to celebrate the season.

Ferris Wheel Rush from RoseArt Games takes you back to 1894 Chicago, where the first Ferris wheel just opened with all its carts scrambled. Your job is to rearrange the Wheel Cart tokens into the correct order before the storm hits. You move around the board, draw tickets, and race a storm deck that only gets meaner. It plays 1 to 6 players, solo, co-op, or competitive, ages 8 and up.

Can I appreciate something about RoseArt Games. Every one of their games somehow fits solo, co-op, and competitive into the same box. Some modes did not work for me, like the solo mode in Blooming Bouquets, but I love that the game still works depending on your audience. And the rules overhead between modes is basically nonexistent. Family weight games should stay that way, and switching modes should never change the difficulty of learning.

Our first game started suspiciously easy. My wife and I thought we would do a fun little activity and the game would just end. Then the deck ran out fast, the first storm card flipped, and reality hit us. We were moving everywhere and drawing fewer tickets to hold off the game end, and no matter what we did we still lost. We came up one wheel short. This game is decisively difficult to win with basically zero learning difficulty, which is my favorite combination. I can already tell it gets even more puzzly and fun with more players, though it absolutely works at two. And with multiple wheels, random setup, and the card mix, the variability feels infinite.

Quality is great as always with their games, no compromise there.

Setup and teardown take a few minutes, and the rules teach is another two minutes. This game is highly accessible and works really well for gamers and non-gamers alike.

Review copy provided by @roseart_games.

Do you like your family games easy to learn but hard to win?

#ferriswheelrush #roseartgames #familygames #boardgames #ncstatefair taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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a day ago

Blooming Bouquets from RoseArt Games makes you a florist. You roll flower dice, collect flowers from the market, and build beautiful bouquets for your customers. It plays solo, co-op, or competitive for 1 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. The dice combos are pure Yahtzee. A pair gets you 1 flower, three of a kind gets you 2, and so on. First to finish their bouquets wins.

It feels familiar because the dice rolling is straight out of Yahtzee, and the cozy flower theme will remind you of games like Gentle Rain but with Cascadia style drafting. What makes it unique is the steal. Flowers you roll but cannot place stay out in the open as free flowers, and anyone can snatch them.

That is also where the game shines. In multiplayer, leaving tokens out in the open adds the perfect amount of anxiety and panic to the game. It is panic in a funny way. A bad roll is no longer just missing what you wanted. Now it is the risk of watching someone else take it.

The components deserve love too. The flower tokens are chunky cardboard, the cards are really nice, and everything comes with a bag for the tokens. It all feels made with high quality, as it should be for a family game. With the charm, the weight, and the accessibility, this is going to get played a lot, especially with kids handling the pieces.

The solo mode is where it lost me. It is too easy and that took the motivation out for me. The simplicity and the colors reminded me so much of Gentle Rain. The first half you do not even have to worry about the board opponent. The second half stings a little bit, because right when you need one exact flower, the market does not refresh and the board gets the token. However, I played a few games and beat it every time, even on the hardest difficulty. But that means, if you want a Gentle Rain replacement, this could work. It is light.

I know exactly the audience I am going to play this with. It is good and fun, but not groundbreaking. Give it a try.

Review copy provided by @roseart_games.

What other flower themed games do you have in your collection that this game can side with? Do you like Yatzee style games?

#bloomingbouquets #roseartgames #familygames #dicegames #boardgames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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3 days ago

Tell me why you love #Sagrada from @floodgategames and your experience with the new Panaroma expansion.

Also check out my review in the previous post.

#gamereview #tabletopgaming #cozyboardgames #boardgames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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4 months ago

Could not fit all the Pact beauty in one post, so here is part two.

This prototype is pure eye candy. The bug kingdom pieces, the treasury tracks, the courtiers. Every shot looks straight out of an insect empire.

Pact by @wulfhorngames has GameFound campaign running currently, check it out which is also fully funded now 🔥.

Which piece catches your eye?

#PactBoardGame #BoardGameReview #TabletopGames #CrowdfundingGames #BoardGameGeek taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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4 days ago

Could not fit all the Emerland beauty in one post, so here is part two.

The table presence on this one is unreal. The ruins, the double sided cards, the little helpers everywhere. Every photo looks like a postcard from the jungle.

Which shot is your favorite?

@playtycoongames 👏

#everdell #everdellemerland #boardgames #tabletopgames #tycoongames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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4 days ago

When you said you had enough Everdell already, these critters went off to find a lost city.

Playing this felt like Everdell, but the whole time I had a different excitement. Was it the double sided upgradeable cards, the Events replaced by excavation up a track, the die roll resources, the Artifacts from the bag. I do not know. Many changes, none adding complexity, but all making Everdell decorated.

Here is why this is my favorite Everdell yet.

No memorizing that the post office is needed for the pigeon. In OG Everdell, veterans beat rookies on card synergies alone, and remembering which construction played which critter for free was taxing for new players. Harps remove all that. Collect a harp, play it on an upgraded construction, and the free critter play happens elegantly.

Second, excavation replaces the Events. A dedicated worker climbs the adventure track toward the Lost City, scoring points along the way. Nothing to memorize. Moving is one genuine decision of action, resources, and a card, and it makes an impact. I love the strategy wrapped in a simple decision.

And the upgraded cards, ughhh, so good. Artisans let you tuck cards from hand to trigger their effects, so everyone builds card draw engines. Your hand and the market never go stale, because cards always have a use beyond being played.

Also no tableau limit, yupp. You start at 12 cards, and Realms raise the limit while giving end game scoring. You set your end game direction as you expand.

Finally the dice and Artifact bag. Excavation and cards let you draw Artifacts worth pure points or small resource boosts, and 4 dice offer variable resources. Both add luck, and strange me saying it, luck that balances the game by giving desperate times a leaping chance. Our game was score tight and competitive without being resource punishing. Just such a pleasureful experience.

Everdell Emerland is beautiful and I am happy the publisher did not stop before releasing this version. Highly recommended.

I have yet to try Silverfrost before I seal my Everdell verdict, but so far Emerland is my favorite.

What is your favorite Everdell?

#everdell #everdellemerland #boardgames #tabletopgames #tycoongames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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6 days ago

I did absolutely bad at this game. If you do not manage and time your drilling and surfacing, you run out of fuel and the game is going to punish you. I spent two whole turns discarding cards for fuel just to get back up. But I love that. It was true to real life. How could you keep drilling without restock and rest. I enjoyed my misery.

The game even lets you hurt yourself on purpose. Once per turn you can take 1 damage to gain 3 fuel, which is exactly the kind of deal that sounds good until it is not. And if your mech is still in the mine when the game ends, you lose points based on how deep you are. The game wants you out.

I also love the damage cards. Like most deckbuilders, these are clutter. But unlike those deckbuilders, these are not total trash. Every card in this game can be played for fuel, so even damage cards keep you moving. And when you push yourself, you get the juice but you take the damage, and that is where the negative points come from. Damage cards carry big negative points. You can repair them away at the surface for 5 credits, but that is a whole trip up. So it is a balancing game.

I like the end game trigger too. Excavating corridors puts tiles on your progress track from one side, and minerals you dump into the overflow push cubes in from the other side. When they meet, the mine collapses and the game ends. Any player can trigger it, and then everyone gets one final turn. It is kind of like Ark Nova if you know the game. So this is actually a race game too.

Okay, all I am trying to say is, I already love Drillers and it was no surprise to me from the publisher who gave me two of my top 10 games - Lost Ruins of Arnak and Seti 🙌

Review copy provided by the publisher, @czech_games_edition.

What's the game you love despite being miserable at?

#drillers #czechgamesedition #deckbuilding #boardgames #tabletopgames taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @rollpasa

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6 days ago

Pact by @wulfhorngames puts you in charge of one of four completely different leaders fighting to rule a crumbling bug kingdom. There are no giant battles here. You win by playing dirty politics, swaying insect courtiers, and betting on which kingdom factions stay in power.

Every turn starts with drafting a card, and the card play is mean. If you pick a card with an opponent’s face, you do the actions, but they get to fire off the special event on it. If you pick your own card, you have to choose between doing the actions or using the event. You never get both.

On the board, you send influence to take over courtiers. When you control a courtier, you physically steal a coin from one pillar’s treasury track and move it onto another. More coins push a faction up in standing, while draining coins makes them drop. Then you sign pacts, which are public bets on where those factions will finish at the end of the round. Guess right and you score big points. Overpromise and watch that faction fall short, and the scandal tanks your score.

My favorite part now, while you are playing against other players, you are playing against the board too. Giant centipedes attack the roots each round, and if the military pillar fails to stop them twice, the game ends on the spot and everyone at the table loses. You have to mess with your friends while also helping the kingdom survive just enough so you don't all die.

Pact captures that same feeling in Pax Pamir where you do not own any faction, but instead manipulate their standing to profit off them. At the same time, the unique player powers and insect theme give off strong Root vibes. Both amongst my favorites.

This is still a prototype, but the art is stunning and the pieces are absolute eye candy. If I had to nitpick, the font on the standing track hasn't quite clicked for me yet. But that is the beauty of an early copy, there is plenty of room for little polishes like that before launch.

Pact is hitting Gamefound soon, and it is well worth checking out if you love games with heavy table talk, player interaction and non stop tension.

#PactBoardGame #BoardGameReview #TabletopGames #CrowdfundingGames #BoardGameGeek by @rollpasa

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7 days ago