The last two I got. I’m breaking rules yeah. Were heaven and ale and waiting for dispatch crown of emara
2 Likes
It gives you more options in the late game when you’re cash rich and space poor according to the designer
“Seems awfully quiet around here without one of pillbox’s regular updates,” you say nonchalantly to the unknown character wearing a red shirt.
[pillbox swings in on a chandelier and slashes his rapier through the air, killing the poor unnamed character before he can even Wilhelm Scream]
“Ahah! Let’s talk about BGG Auctions again!” exclaims pillbox before he dives headfirst out of a window. A few minutes later, pillbox opens the door and walks in, slapping dust off of his sleeves and trousers. “Sorry about that, I got carried away a bit.”
And carried away a bit I may have had gotten. A couple of entries to talk about, neither very exciting if I’m honest.
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Incan Gold - Usually (okay, really it’s just sometimes) whenever I bring up Celestia and how much I love that little game, somebody chimes in with, “Yeah, well, Celestia’s great but wouldn’t you rather just play Diamant? And if you didn’t have that, wouldn’t Incan Gold arguably be just as good as Diamant?” Well, so here it is: Incan Gold. This particular printing does not show up in BGG’s version database, but it seems just like the 2013 Gryphon Games printing despite saying 2015 on the box. The linen finish on these cards just won’t stop - at first I wasn’t sure if they were linen finish or just straight up laminated linen. Either way, I’ve gone from 1 Bruno Faidutti game to 6 in a matter of months or weeks.
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Spell Smashers - I honestly don’t really remember what got me excited about this game to put it so high on my wishlist. I’m guessing because my partner likes spelling games and there’s letters in this one? I saw it pop up on a BGG auction and I threw a lowball (probably insulting) bid on it, below the stated starting bid; nevertheless, I ended up with a copy. The production is really good (as you would expect from a Renegade Games game). I need to watch a video on it to refresh my memory.
But, l now would like to take a detour through the “Last Game You Bought”-adjacent alleyway called “Last Game Accessory You Bought”. My over-indulgence of a year ago has finally come to fruition. Behold: Iron Clays 400 Chest
In addition to the stock standard 400 Clays Chest, I also picked up two Brass Deluxe Fill-Outs (which come with 2x Five, 10x Twenty, 10x Hundred each), as well as a sleeve of 20x Twenty and 20x Hundred to swap out with the over-abundance of 5s in the drawers. I’ll keep the 5’s handy, but most games where I would need a 5-heavy chip set could probably be handled by one of the Brass Deluxe chip trays instead of hauling out the Chest.
And, in case you’re wondering:
Iron Clays Bank Numbers
| Color | Denomination | Drawer 1 | Drawer 2 | Extra Sleeve | Brass Deluxe | Chip Count | Bank Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | $1 | 40 | 40 | — | 80 | 160 | $160 |
| Light Blue | $5 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 40 | 120 | $600 |
| Red | $10 | 20 | — | — | 20 | 40 | $400 |
| Dark Blue | $20 | 40 | 60 | — | 40 | 140 | $2800 |
| Grey | $50 | — | 20 | — | — | 20 | $1000 |
| Yellow | $100 | 40 | 20 | — | 20 | 80 | $8000 |
| Green | $500 | 20 | 20 | — | — | 40 | $20000 |
| Purple | $2000 | 20 | 20 | — | — | 40 | $80000 |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total Count | 200 | 200 | 40 | 200 | 640 | — | |
| Total Bank | $55140 | $54340 | $200 | $3280 | — | $112960 |
8 Likes
Still waiting for my 200 chips. I mean, it’s not like im in a hurry
3 Likes
Those clays are beautiful
1 Like
I’m very envious! I bought a “new in shrink” set of iron clays at a convention bring and buy earlier this year, and opened it to discover that it was actually the “update” set for Brass that the seller had decided to pass off as a full set 
2 Likes
Controversial opinion alert: No. For many reasons:
- Cardboard airship
- Social deduction elements, rather than just push-your-luck
- More options than just leave or stay (especially with the expansions)
- Cardboard airship
- Semi co-op
- An expansion that adds an adorable mini-ship
- More appealing theme, with art that toes the line between “lovely” and “batshit”
- CARDBOARD AIRSHIP
Diamant/Incan Gold is simpler and I wouldn’t say no to playing it, but it just doesn’t have the charm of Celestia. There’s a lot to be said for how enticing it is for people who’ve never played it before.
And did I mention the little cardboard airship?
6 Likes
I agree. I prefer Celestia for similar reasons to those you mentioned. Playing with less gamerly types the airship is massively valuable for selling the experience and the incentives shift as you go along in a way that’s more exciting than I’ve found Incan/Diamant to be. And like you say, CARDBOARD AIRSHIP!
2 Likes
I’m just reading a comparative review and I got to this gem
Celestia has you floating from island to island in a flying ship from a failed game of Forbidden Desert
Looking at it Celestia has a very personal problem to me. My copy of Incan Gold fits in my small games cupboard. I actually exchanged my Iello Diamant to achieve this. Celestia does not fit in my small games cupboard either.
4 Likes
Yes, the money I laid out for this seemed more sane back in the heady, decadent days where one could just walk into someone else’s house without fear of spreading or catching the plague (though, certainly, it might prompt a response from the police).
When I ordered these chips, I had regular game nights at my house… Now, though, I guess they’ll just collect dust, except maybe even I use them for solo gaming if I can get back to that.
I had to hit a department store last week, and the boss was in at my FLGS (not open, per se). I popped in to say hi, and left with a copy of Living Planet. From what I know about the game, I don’t suspect this’ll match Archipelago, and I do suspect I’m going to really miss the KS content, but I’m pretty excited about it nonetheless. Archipelago made a pretty good impression when I played it years ago, but the theming meant I never sought it out. It sounds like the game isn’t quite the spiritual successor that some folks were hoping for, but that’s fine with me. I’ve heard it described as somewhat Catan-like, too, which is just fine, and the rules (very well done, minimal Franglais) seem to support that.
Notably the cataclysm and economic/stock elements really appealed to me. This should be pretty spicy, at a full count at least, with what appears to be ample opportunity for hot competition. Missing is the SAGS system, which is apparently just a starting setup randomizer, though if I’m honest, I’m not too sure how much it would offer with the base content.
1 Like
A new boardgame shop/cafe opened up two blocks from my house at the beginning of March, the worst possible time to open a new business. I really want them to survive, since they seem nice and they are so damn close, but their game selection is understandably quite small right now. I’ve been buying bags of coffee beans from them and i bought Azul the other day through curb-side pickup. Also bought some puzzles to give to friends.
5 Likes
That’s a lot of hero! Dat box tho… Is that for putting other, smaller boxes in?
2 Likes
Nope. It’s the storage box to replace all the small boxes. It comes with lovely plastic dividers but… what a waste.
I’ve filled it and you’d be lucky if it was 1/3rd full. It also doesn’t strike me as helping any with setup and strip down so fails my first organiser test.
I am suffering a bit of what you may call the buyers remorse.
Weirdly feel like the card quality is a bit all over the place (i’m by no means an expert in such matters).
Still here’s hoping it plays well.
3 Likes
The great big box of Star Realms is like that too. It keeps all the things in it, which is good – even the Frontiers box which is what I actually put in the game crate and take to conventions – but there are just some foam blocks, no dividers or anything. I should make some.
2 Likes
I’m fairly unimpressed with White Goblin Games at this point. Look at how much future greed they are planning.
[sigh]
1 Like
I got burnt with their Star Realms Frontiers kickstarter. Never again.
Star Realms is sweet. But I just prefer other 2 players like Battle Line or Blitzkrieg. Blue Moon just needs a real game because Im enjoying my multi-handed games of it!
2 Likes
I didn’t feel I got burnt, but I ended up with a lot of cards I haven’t played with yet, and I certainly feel no need to buy anything further in the line while I have all these un-played bits…
3 Likes