Gone are the days when Advent Calendars merely offered up a small slab of chocolate in the December countdown to Christmas. We've seen an endless array of Advent Calendars offering toys, including now several different versions each year from Lego and some even better examples from Playmobil. Board gamers haven't been left out in the cold: for several years, Frosted Games have published their Brettspiel Advent Calendar where each of the 24 days of December up to and including Christmas Eve opens up to a board game promo or mini-expansion. The downside for this tho' is that the chances are that you'll only have maybe two or three of the board games for which the promos are applicable.
In recent years, Thames & Kosmos have published an Advent Calendar version of their Exit games to give users an 'escape-room-in-a-Christmas-Box' experience. Now, Mantic Games have joined the party with their BarRoom Brawl and Deep Space: Pest Control board game Advent Calendars.
BarRoom Brawl originally came out last year. It has the look of a dungeon crawler but it's actually a seasonally-themed 2–4 player game set in a tavern. New this year, Deep Space: Pest Control builds into a space-themed game for 1-2 players. We're studiously avoiding giving any Spoilers here or in our Board's Eye View 360 so suffice to say each door in BarRoom Brawl and Deep Space: Pest Control opens up to provide a miniature, Terraincrate furniture, game tokens or dice. You don't get to unpack and access the board game rules till Christmas Eve, by which time you'll have assembled the components from the 24 doors (or rather Airlocks, in the Deep Space Advent Calendar) so you'll be all set to play.
If you're looking for a pre-Christmas gift for a gamer, BarRoom Brawl or Deep Space: Pest Control could be just the ticket. Either one would certainly make a change from those run-of-the-mill chocolate taste-teasers.