Board Games have recently come into my life and I did not realize the depth and intensity of this hobby! Join me as I dive further in and explore the hidden gems and the obvious ones.
Recent Games
Steam Park
Who doesn’t love pop-out roller coasters built specifically for Robots? And those Robots get so excited they make… dirt? Steam Park is a fun themed game where you can build three-dimensional roller coasters to fill your part as well as other stands and attractions. The core of this game is about resource management as well as using dice to determine your turns.
Mass Effect: Galaxy at War
Mass Effect has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I would attribute that to the newly available Legendary Edition which could not have come out soon enough. I wanted to take this chance to talk about Mass Effect Risk because I got it a while back and I’ve always wanted to try it out. To my surprise, this game has a lot to offer and made me incredibly happy as a Mass Effect fan. Going above the standard Risk game, Mass Effect Risk leans more into the war game category with multiple factions aiming for different goals.
Root Tournament – Overall Statistics
Root: A game of Woodland Might and Right has a very special place in my heart. The intense, battle of a game that hides behind the cutest of animal designs. This game is the only tournament style game that I have ever played in. With a new drafting systems for tournaments coming out in the latest expansion, I thought now would be a good time to look at the overall statistics for the tournaments played thus far.
Lords of Waterdeep
Lords of Waterdeep takes place in the city of Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, a core location in the Dungeons and Dragons core World. This game takes you into the city where you and other lords vie for control of the city through completing quests and expanding the city. But resources are tight, and treasure is limited, so taking advantages of your opportunities is a must!
Small World
I remember visiting my cousins house a few years back, stacking up his game collection and playing through them. One of the biggest impressions on my mind coming out of that session was Small World. This game explores a dynamic fantasy setting using area control mechanics with a bit of pushing your luck. Finding the right dynamic between the new regimes and the old regime is also something to keep in the balance.
Sprawlopolis
Traveling on the road can be difficult. Especially because it’s hard to bring Board Games with you! But Sprawlopolis can fit in your pocket! This game works from only an 18-card deck but has so much variability between each play that each game can feel completely different! Which is a very impressive feat for a game with so few components. So, watch as this ever changing and sprawling metropolis unravels.
Dinosaur Table Battles
Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? Who doesn’t love dinosaurs battling other dinsoaurs? Who doesn’t love teams of dinosaurs battling each other? Well that’s what Dinosaur Table Battles is all about! I truly do love this game as it has such a great theme and a great mechanic. The biggest challenge for me with this game is that dice hate me! (More on that later). But for now, get your claws out for a ferocious battle.
Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile
Oath is an epic game about history and the rise and fall of peoples and empires. This game deal with resource management, card management, area control, and even a bit of negotiation. All in all, this a game with a lot of mechanics and easily falls in the category of a heavy weight game.
Oath perfectly fits in the range of games that I enjoy. Not only does it have complexity, but it also introduces the concept of the Chronicle system. The results of every game affect the next game. The winner of each game goes on to be the ruler of the Empire in the next game. The map and world deck also change from game to game making Oath feel like a living board game.
Bargain Quest
Bargain Quest is a card drafting game that deals with the hand management, auction and bidding, and economic management concepts while still standing in a light to mid weight game.
I will admit that Bargain Quest is a little lighter of a game than I normally enjoy. That being said I still find a good and light enjoyment in this game. This game does a great job of introducing the drafting mechanic to newer players and I would contest that it is a gateway game.
TRAINS
Trains is one of my favorite games and it definitely snuck its way into my heart. I am honestly a bit surprised how much I like this game considering how much I have fallen into cube rail and 18XX culture. But I noticed that not many people know about this game. So I decided that I wanted to review the game, and since this is something I am extremely passionate about, what better way to dive in than doing a video review?
Air, Land, & Sea
Over the course of February, I indulged in 2 players games and I was reminded what an absolute gem Air, Land and Sea truly is. This is a game that plays out over a series of battles to emulate a full war between two factions. As, just as the name suggest, each battle takes place in three different theatres: Air, Land and Sea.
Food Chain Magnate
There is no denying that I am totally in love with games from Splotter Spellen and Food Chain Magnate is high on that list. And in fact we have been playing Splotter games every Sunday for the past few weeks and now seemed like a good time to put together a post with some of our recent playthroughs.
In all of the games, we use the new milestones from the Ketchup expansion. I won’t deny that the expansion adds many new layers of depth to the game. Our playthroughs also include modular expansions like noodles, kimchi, and coffee.
Two Player Highlight: 7 Wonders Duel
February seemed like a good time to do a string of posts highlighting different two player games! Being stuck inside during a pandemic has expanded the search for games that have less players. And, since this month is supposed to be romantic, what better way to celebrate than building a stronger civilization and dominating your significant other?
The third game in this short series will be 7 Wonders Duel! This brings the classic game of 7 Wonders down to a two player game. In this, you and your opponent will build different civilizations striving to be the best. It’s really fun to watch how the civilization grows and expands as you walk through the three different ages. But sometimes, science or military can take over and completely destroy the other civilization early. This game is a fun drafting game with interesting decision from limited options.
TROGDOR!! The Board Game
I grew up on watching Homestar Runner. My brothers and I always looked forward to the next episode. Weather is was a new toon, a holiday episode or a Strong Bad Email, it always brought a smile to our faces. And undeniably, Trogdor was one of the favorite characters that emerged from the show. I spent hours and hours playing peasant quest and doing by best to defeat him. So when I found out there was going to be a board game, I couldn’t have been more excited.
When I first heard about the board game, I assumed that it would be similar to peasant quest. I figured the players would peasants trying to defeat Trogdor. And boy was I wrong. Why go against Trogdor when you can help him and burninate the country side? Or burninate the peasants? Or, even better, burn the thatch roof cottages?!
Two Player Highlight: Consentacle
February seemed like a good time to do a string of posts highlighting different two player games! Being stuck inside during a pandemic has expanded the search for games that have less players. And, since this month is supposed to be romantic, what better way to celebrate than exploring the theme of consent through board games??
