Preface to reviews.
Complexity is based on a 10 point scale. 1 being the simplest, 10 being the most complex.
Rating within genre: 10 point scale. 1 being horrible (don't waste you time) to 10 (classic-must have). 5 would be an average rating. I rate the games within genre so that you can determine if it is a good game comparing it to other like games. I am rating minitures games against other minitures games, not against role-playing games. This system is used to help eliminate my personal bias of whether I like that genre of game.
Rated by: JED = James Deckert Good Games - Games that are sold Great Games - Games that are played Classic Games - Games that are played more than once I am committed to selling Classic Games

Collector's Pair-of-Dice Hall of Fame
Axis and Allies (Milton Bradley) Wargame
Times Up (R&R) Party Game
Acquire (Avalon Hill) Business Game

Mage Knight
Wizkids
Genre: Minitures Game
Players:2up
Complexity: 3
Rating within genre: 6
Other games within genre: Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Void, Chainmail
Time: 30 minutes and up (depending on size of armies and number of people playing)
Rated by JED
Mage Knight is a minitures game which includes the stats for the unit in its' base. This eliminates the need for extra books with armor/weapon/save stats. This makes this game easier to play than Warhammer and others minitures games. Because of this feature the game is simplier to play but the drawback is less flexibility in creating your armies. There is a stat card which describes special abilities on the base. This provides an amazing flexibility in creating armies.

Mage Knight has taken the industry by storm. It has solved two problems I have had selling minitures games. First it provides a vehicle for non-painters to play minitures gaming. Second it is cheaper than all the pewter based minitures games on the market. With an initial investment of $20 you can begin playing. $7 gets you another 4-5 minitures.

Axis and Allies
Milton Bradley
Genre: Board Game (wargame)
Players:2-5
Complexity: 4
Rating within genre: 8
Other games within genre: Risk, Axis and Allies Europe, Axis and Allies Pacific, Risk 2210
Time: 3-7 Hours
Rated by JED

This game is recreation of World War II. It is Japan/Germany versus US/UK/Russia. This game has amazing flexibility but remains a fairly simple game. Each country needs a different strategy from the other four. Therefore you will play differently each time you play if you are a different country. You will also play differently based on who you are playing and the strategy they are using. I cannot say enough good about this game. It is one of my personal favorites. The only drawback is that sometimes the dice determine the game, though usually the better side normally prevails.
Pieces include infantry, tanks, battleships, subs, aircraft carriers, transports, fighters, and bombers. Each has a different cost, and each has different abilities of attack and defense. If you like RISK, but want more of a challenge, this is the game for you.

Times Up
R&R
Genre: Party Game
Players:2up
Complexity: 2
Rating within genre: 8
Other games within genre: TABOO
Time: 1-2 hours
Rated by JED

This game has aspects of charades and TABOO. It contains hundreds of names of current and past fame. Approximately 40 cards are dealt to the players. They each look through their cards and discard two. The cards remaining are then shuffled together and all teams draw from this deck of cards for the entire game. In the first round you try to get you teammate to say the name on the card by giving him hints to the person, making sounds, and using actions until the timer expires. The cards are then passed to the next team. This continues until the deck is depleted. The round one score is tallied for each team based on the number of cards they completed successfully. Then the same cards are shuffled together and round two begins.
In this round, the clue-giver can only say one word and the teammate can only guess once. Sounds and actions are still allowed. When round two ends and the scores tallied, then round three begins with the same cards. In this round, no words can be said by the clue-giver, only sounds and actions. Though this sounds hard, the cards have been used for the previous two rounds, making them fresh in your mind. There is a wide diversity of names in this game and there are currently two expansions with additional names along with some blank cards so you can make your own cards.
This game could be used in schools as an educational tool or by parents to drill children before tests. It will increase the general knowledge of the players while having fun.

Formula De
Eurogames
Genre: Sports
Players:2-10 players
Complexity: 2
Rating within genre: 8
Time: 1/2 hour to 3 hours (depending on number of players and number of laps)
Rated by JED

This is a quick playing car racing game. Each player places his car in the appropriate pole position. Each player starts in first gear by rolling a 4-sided dice. The car can shift up to the next gear (up to 6th) and use the next higher die (4,6,8,12,20,30), stay in the same gear, or shift down. The goal is to cross the finish line first after the appropriate number of laps have been completed (1-3). Strategy is used when deciding when to slow down to make turns and which lane to be in. Sharper corners require more stops in the corner. Overshooting a corner will cost you in tire wear, or you can use your brakes. But beware of overusing them or you may spinout. This game has a good balance between strategy and luck (die rolls). Several additional tracks are available based upon real racetracks around the world for a change of pace. The core game comes with 2 large tracks and 1 mini-track. Once Upon a Time This is the ultimate fantasy card game. Each card contains a word (e.g. Frog, Castle, Prince) which needs to be woven into a story (which preferably makes sense). The players each have a hand of cards. When the storyteller uses a word which is on one of his cards, he discards the card. His goal is to run out of cards in his hand. If the storyteller uses a word on a card in another persons hand, that person can discard the card and take over the story. Each person also has an ending card. When the storyteller is done telling the story, he plays down his ending card which completes the story. Sometimes it takes a lot of immagination to weave the story towards your ending card. Though the game only takes a few minutes to complete, you can spend many hours playing it. This game is for the creative person. This game has no competition.

Acquire