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
2021 Root Winter Tournament – Round One
Welcome to round one of the winter tournament!! This post will be updating after around 10 games, 20 games, and then once more at the end of the round. Check out the 2021 Root Winter Tournament Post for the complete tournament overview! The 2021 Root Winter Tournament uses the AdSet draft so it cannot be directly compared to the previous tournament stats.
Northern Pacific
Do you like trains? Because I love trains! And, luckily for me, there are tons and tons of games about trains. I have discovered that many people are intimidated by train games (especially those of the 18XX varieties). I feel like one of the big contributors to this intimidation is the sheer number of pieces that these games tend to have. While Northern Pacific does contain several cubes, it couldn’t be simpler. Northern Pacific is a great introduction to route building and the fun of bidding on something that may not be a safe investment!
2021 Root Winter Tournament
The Root Winter Tournament is upon us! The Root Winter Tournament is being streamed live on Guerric Samples Games Twitch Channel. They will also be available on Guerric Samples Game YouTube Channel about a week after each game is streamed. And since I am obsessive, I will be keep track of stats and other information! Stats will be updated in the middle and end of each round and will be updated as the tournament goes! To everyone completing, good luck and have fun!
Don’t Turn Your Back
Welcome to the Mad City. You were asleep but now, now you’re awake and you have to deal with the horrors and nightmares that surround you. But you were given a glimmer of hope in escaping this hellish world: gaining the favor of the Wax King. Don’t Turn Your Back is a combination worker placement and deck building game with points gained during the game as well as having a point burst at the end of the game. Its dark theme is embodied in the nightmares that comprise of your deck. This game has an utterly unique approach to worker placement and a fun dynamic that draws me in every time.
Battle Sheep
After making this game out of cookies, it seems only right to give Battle Sheep a board game spotlight! Battle Sheep is a great abstract game that has a cute theme and can be absolutely brutal in it’s playstyle. Stacks of sheep roam the fields and take over the pasture, spreading out as far as they can while blocking in their opponents. This game is fast paced, easy to learn and play, and great for gamers of any experience!
18xx: A History [Part 2]
I adore the 18xx series of games, I might have a slight addiction because of 18xx.games. Access to all of these fun game titles got me thinking. What commonalities do games with in the series have? Differences? Which games inspired others? While I tried to be as comprehensive as possible, I know I didn’t get all of the details. Leave a comment if you see anything that needs to be changed!
Many of the statements below are generalizations about the genre of games and do not apply to all circumstances. The stats listed do not include data points from every game. I love the 18xx series because you get to see all the exceptions.
18xx: A History
adore the 18xx series of games, I might have a slight addiction because of 18xx.games. Access to all of these fun game titles got me thinking. What commonalities do games with in the series have? Differences? Which games inspired others? As you can see above, the core of this series is 1829 – the very first 18xx game by Francis Tresham. While I tried to be as comprehensive as possible, I know I didn’t get all of the details. Leave a comment if you see anything that needs to be changed!
Bloodborne: The Board Game
years. Many have praised Bloodborne for being a gothic masterpiece, so the powers that be decided to turn it into a board game! We bought this game for the miniatures. I mean, they are absolutely fantastic miniatures. If you just want to see the mini’s I would recommend jumping over to my original post on the game. But, to my delight, the minis are not the only part of the game! This game in intense, engaging, and I am constantly looking forward to my next session.
Paris Connection
Paris Connection is a fun and light train games that shows the balance between expanding companies and investing in stock. This game is short and a great introduction into the world of train games as it teaches some core concepts that can be applied to many games within the train genre. I absolutely adore trains games but, honestly, it wasn’t until I played Paris connection that some of the major lightbulbs started going off. This game is fun, fast, and a little silly as you can drive some train routes into a circle or into the middle of nowhere – just because you want to!
Blokus
board. The tiles within the game are made up out of one, two, three, four, and five blocks. Each configuration of block exists creating some interesting shapes. This game may be light on rules, but it has so many possibilities that it can be played in a variety of ways. While I’ve only had this game for a few weeks, I have already played over 10 times and I am ready to play more.
Stationfall Stats
fall is a game of hidden identities, secret relationships and asymmetric goals. Players are given two character cards at the beginning of the game – one will be their main character and one will be their secondary character. And I was really curious about the choices people have made in our games and the popular winning character. As well as the unloved characters. This only covers about 12 games (all of which can be found on the MCG YouTube Channel or the Guerric Samples Games YouTube Channel). I’m very excited to see the results and watch the game stats change as more and more games get played!
Root – A Deck Comparison
I recently got a request to do a comparison between the two decks from Root: A game of Woodland Might and Right by Leder Games. The Standard Deck comes with the base game while the Exiles and Partisan deck is available as an expansion for the game. Since each deck is balanced in their own way, there are some big similarities between the decks but there was also some surprising differences. And there were somethings that I learned even though I’m pretty sure I inherently knew them, but I never did the math before. So, without further ado, let’s drive in!
Oath – 17 Games, So Many Stats
Alright, y’all knew it was coming. I just can’t help myself. We are seventeen games into our Oath Chronicle. SEVENTEEN. How did that happen?? (It’s a game that draws you back to it, that’s how). It seemed like a good time to get into the stats of the game and take a deeper dive into what was happening in the game.
Bullet <3
Bullet ♥ is a unique game where you react to bullets, or pieces, that are attempting to hit you. Bullets will be placed on your sight board as they are fired toward you – and you’ll be able to react to the bullets clearing them and oh so conveniently redirecting them to other players at the table. The main mode to play in Bullet ♥ is the standard timed mode where you have three minutes each round. Each player will be a specialized heroine which will act as an asymmetric faction.
The Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the cloth of gold is a two-player game that allows you to revel in the greatness of kingdoms of England and France as their respective leaders. This game reflects the meeting in Balinghem in June 1520 where the ruler of each kingdom is trying to outshine each other while celebrating their friendship. It’s a heathy rivalry. Probably. Join the story of kings, castles, tournaments, and dragons to show off your ostentatious wealth!