Game Preview: SPIEL 2016 — Picassimo, or Hip to Be Square

In 2015, HABA introduced a family game line amongst its familiar tidal wave of yellow boxes, and these three titles — Karuba, Adventure Land, and Spookies — were such a success, especially given Karuba's Spiel des Jahres nomination, that the German publisher has a new wave of family games due out for SPIEL 2016.

Carlo A. Rossi's Picassimo falls in the category of "party game in which you draw stuff that others then guess", but naturally there's a twist in the design — something modern, as you might be able to tell from the title. The story behind the game is that all the works of modern art have been stolen from the museum where you and your fellow players are employed, so you're now trying to fill the walls with appropriately looking creations before it's time to reopen. Get out your brushes and start slapping the canvas!

Designer Diary: How Traveling the World Gave Birth to Scuba

Oct 07, 2016

My name is Martin Looij, and I'm a board game designer from the Netherlands. I love scuba diving, traveling, and board gaming (in that order). From July 2014 until May 2015, I was traveling...

Designer Diary: Honshu, or An Idea That Blossomed Into a Game

Oct 07, 2016

The journey of Honshu begins in the first quarter of 2014. I had played Patchistory twice in January 2014 and really liked the patching aspect of the game. The rules were not very clear, but what...

Designer Diary: Solarius Mission, or Dice for the G*****, or Solar 3X

Oct 06, 2016

I still remember the day when I first came up with the idea for Solarius Mission: It was in summer of 2011 and I was working on the facade of a house. I mused about various mechanisms and...

Designer Diary: Flamme Rouge, or How Magic: The Gathering and Dominion Inspired a Racing Game

Oct 05, 2016

I've always been drawn to racing games, and my favorites include Snow Tails, Ave Caesar & Tales & Games: The Hare & the Tortoise. The simplicity of the goal is something everyone intuitively...

Designer Diary: Fields of Green, or If You Build It, It Will Come...

Oct 04, 2016

Back in 2012, Among the Stars was published by Artipia Games. It was a card-drafting game with a sci-fi theme in which players tried to build space stations. It ended up going very well, having a...