HappyGiant | $30 | Hybrid card battling | 2 players 5-15 minutes | Age: 13+ | hologridmonsterbattle.com
HoloGrid is billed as the spiritual successor to the fictional game of HoloChess that set young minds alight when it appeared in Star Wars’ 1977 debut.
While HoloGrid’s monster designs do indeed spring from the mind of Phil Tippett, the special effect wizard responsible for that iconic scene, he wasn’t directly involved in the gameplay’s creation. Nevertheless, the hybrid of physical trading cards and a digital mobile app ends up playing like a combination of chess and Magic: The Gathering, as players manoeuvre their champion around a virtual grid- based field, summoning monsters and spells in an attempt to defeat their rival’s opposing avatar.