Shaymurai Blogging

Welcome! This is my blog where I post about board gaming related things – with a heavy focus on solo friendly games

An avid gamer from New Zealand.
I enjoy all forms of gaming but tabletop gaming has always been my favorite place.
Here you will find my collection of reviews, play sessions and recommendation lists.

My Latest Posts

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  Ezra & Nehemiah – A Solo ReviewMay 1, 2024
  Ezra & Nehemiah is the newest game in the Ancient Anthology series.Unlike Garphill’s “Trilogy” series, these games are fully self-contained and without expansions. Mechanically, this has been described as a…
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  A Euro Gamers Take on Cuba LibreApril 17, 2024
  A solo euro-gamer takes on the COIN series! So, what can you expect from this review? Well personally I always struggle to find much on the actual gameplay in reviews…
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  A Return to the North Sea – A Shipwrights Redux ReviewMarch 28, 2024
  10 years and over a dozen games later, Garphill Games has certainly changed from the fledgling company they were when they first went and made the original Shipwrights.To say this…
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  Inventors of the South Tigris – the end of a trilogy – A Shaymurai Solo ReviewMarch 17, 2024
  Well, here we are. It feels like little over a year ago, I was sitting down unboxing my first ever review copy – that’s right, Wayfayers of the South Tigris.…
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  3, 2, 1, Lights out! Massive-Verse Fighting Card GameFebruary 22, 2024
  The Massive-Verse card game is a quick playing 1vs1 fighting game. Now, this is a kickstarter preview, so please be aware that everything said is based on the preview copy…
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  A Werewolf, Banshee and a Phantom walk into town…a Gathering Gloom Solo ReviewFebruary 1, 2024
  Gathering Gloom, is an interesting take on the horror genre. Rather than chasing monsters out of town, you take the role of one member in family of 12 monsters. There’s…
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  Splendor Duel – A Game of Almost Perfect Knowledge in a Perfect Little PackageJanuary 3, 2024
  Well, I’ve never played Splendor, so if you’re after a comparison to the original, turn away. But, what I have done is play alot of games at 2 players. And…
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  A Solo Review of Burning Valeria – Shadow Kingdoms of ValeriaNovember 25, 2023
  Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria is a game by Stan Kordonskiy (Endless Winter, Dice Hospital) and is part of the Valeria series. This is my first foray into the Valeria series…
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  Scholars of the South Tigris – A Solo Review.November 14, 2023
  Scholars is the second entry into Garphill Games “South Tigris” trilogy. Following on from 2022’s tableu/dice building Wayfarers comes what definitely feels like the heaviest, and tightest Garphill Game to…
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  Ierusalem: Anno Domini – A Solo-Only TakeOctober 21, 2023
  Ierusalem certainly turned heads due to its theme. Anything tackling a religious theme is sure to, especially when backed by a mainstream publisher! There’s been plenty of discussion as to…
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  3 Ring Circus Review – Is it the greatest show? (Solo included)October 17, 2023
  3 Ring Circus is a new game by Fabio Lopiano (Autobahn, Zapotec). You take the role of being the director for a small 3 ring circus at the end of…
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  Power Advance – A Clean Deck Builder (Preview)September 30, 2023
  Over the past week I’ve spent a bit of time with this game. (Thanks to BuddyPal Games for the preview copy!) Leaning heavily into its theme in a unique way…
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  Gùgōng – A game of Gift Exchanging! A Solo ReviewAugust 26, 2023
  It’s 1570, corruption was at an all time high…in what form you ask? Well the tradition of gift exchanging was being exploited. If you wanted an official to get something…
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  Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest ~ Solo ReviewAugust 10, 2023
  Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is a bidding, hand management, set collecting game. A remake/2nd edition from stonemaier games of the 2012 game Libertalia designed by Paolo Mori. With new art,…
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  Beacon Patrol – A Tile Laying Sea Patrol (Solo Review)July 21, 2023
  Beacon Patrol is a co-op small boxed game that plays in about 15 minutes, I’ve had the privilege of receiving a review copy from Pandasaurus Games ahead of its release…
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  Gloomhaven: Jaws of The Lion Review and Comparison to the OriginalJuly 10, 2023
  In celebration of the Gloomhaven Grand Festival, I bring to you a review of Jaws of The Lion, as well as thoughts on the Gloomhaven series in general! Read on…
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  Ovation – KS Preview (Solo mode included)July 7, 2023
  In a sea of “combo-genre” games it can be both surprising and refreshing to sit down with a game that is so true to one mechanic and just gets it…
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  Mind MGMT – A Solo only ReviewJune 30, 2023
  Hidden movement solo? If you thought that only Black Sonota existed I wouldn’t blame you, it’s a hefty feat to pull of without another player doing the “hidden” aspect. Yet…
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  Luddite – A Roll n Write Campaign Game – KS PreviewMay 29, 2023
  A graphic novel and a roll and write all in one!I’ve had the pleasure of testing the first 5 maps for this upcoming kickstarter, as well as reading the first…
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  Paladins of The West Kingdom: A Shaymurai Solo ReviewMay 17, 2023
  According to the BGG rankings this is Garphill Games top game – so I was definitely excited to see how it holds up as a solo experience! Gameplay: Primarily a…

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