Tabletop and video games are like the rock and rap of the hobbyist realm. Both have dedicated and longstanding fan bases that tend to give sidelong glances at the other, untrusting of these people who share a similar love and dedication to an entertainment medium.

The similarities don’t stop there: Much like the fabled 1980s collaboration between rap legends Run DMC and Aerosmith — a band so prolific they have a roller coaster themed after their exploits — the games of tabletops and television sets often come together and create something fantastic. In a post-Geek & Sundry world, board games have become even more well-known, and that influence has leaked into the video game world with interesting results.

Slay the Spire takes the mechanics and design philosophy of a traditional deck-building game and streamlines the experience into a colorful, engaging single-player experience that is a constant surprise. Excellent as a short game or for a long and thoughtful excursion, Slay the Spire pulls off a sparkling combination of board and video games akin to Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s 2004 mash-up collaboration.

For those out of the loop: Deck-building tabletop games are a cooperative and competitive experience where players start with a small deck of basic cards that they use through the course of the game to buy more and better cards. Adding these cards to your deck then allow you to pull off bigger, more elaborate turn. There’s a cycle of refinement and tuning in playing a deck-builder that I find satisfying, and this is at the heart of what makes Slay the Spire so great.

Each round starts with choosing one of three characters, all of whom have their own unique health pool, starting ability, and cards. From there, you select a starting position on a map, adorned with rooms that are either monster fights, filled with treasure, or feature a merchant. The goal is simple: Survive each of the three maps, grow your deck with cards collected from fights, and embolden your character with relics — special items that change your character’s abilities.

Each of the three characters has his own playstyle that requires you to plan what kind of cards you’ll want for the ever-expanding deck. The Ironclad — a melee-based character with cards that trade health points for the energy required each turn to play cards from the deck — can be built in many styles, just like the other two playable characters. Depending on what card you choose to take from fallen monsters, Ironclad can be built as a defensive monster who uses block points to deal damage or amass “strike” cards that get better as more strikes are added to the deck.

The amount of strategy and variety in each character keeps the action fresh, and even after 50 hours of play, I’m still finding new ways to build my decks and play these three archetypes. The Silent is a rogue that trades health and defense for playing massive amounts of cheap cards per turn, while the Defect is a tricky character that casts spells and recycles cards. No matter how you wish to play, Slay the Spire provides.

The trial-by-error style is what makes traditional deck-builders such as Cryptozoic’s DC Comics Deck-Building Game and the Marvel Legendary series a joy to play. Slay the Spire takes the best of those moments and brings it to a single-player game that’s as great between rounds of Overwatch as it is as a lengthy, Saturday night dungeon dive. Slay the Spire is one of the best hybrid games in awhile and one of my top contenders for game of the year, even though we’re only in July.

Review: AZIO Aventa

Last year I took a look at the AZIO Retro Classic mechanical keyboard, a lavish and hulking device that’s as great to type on as it is to display. AZIO returns this year with a new gaming mouse that has a similar, metallic design aesthetic and a host of useful features that doesn’t need any extra hardware installation.

The Aventa is easily the heaviest mouse I’ve ever used, clocking in at almost a third of a pound. The weight is noticeable, and I’ve actually come to enjoy the heft of this glowing, metal mouse. The lighting effects and DPI sensitivity settings are adjustable on-the-fly with the push of a button, meaning there’s no software involved.

The ergonomics of the mouse are also top-notch, which includes a thumb rest on the side that, now that I’ve experienced, means I’m going to want it on every mouse I use going forward. The weight takes some getting used to, as does finding the right DPI setting, but I’ve found that the sturdy nature of the mouse is ideal for the likes of multiplayer online battle arena and first-person shooters.

The Aventa might take some getting used to if you have smaller hands, but the adjustment period is worth the price of admission for one of the best PC gaming devices I’ve used in awhile. The Aventa retails for $79.99 and is available at aziocorp.com.

Contact William Harrison at DoubleUHarrison@gmail.com or on Twitter @DoubleUHarrison.

First Published July 19, 2018, 11:30 a.m.