Remember a few days ago I said I was done buying stuff for the moment except I was unsure about Castles of Burgundy? Yeah, about an hour after my post I got an email from a shop announcing a 20 percent anniversary discount on all alea titles. And i already had them on my watch list because they had the best price for the game (I ended up paying 32€ instead of the usual 42-46). And also they had JunkArt for 13€… now our first ever dexterity game (to see if that is something for us… if it doesn’t work out I already know a few kids who would probably enjoy it)
6 Likes
I’m a massive fan of dexterity games for multiple reasons, not least of all because they require an entirely different set of tools to enjoy (specifically, usually not the analytical parts of my brainy bits). Above all else, though, is the fact that most good dex games can elicit the same kind of cheers and groans that are the hallmark of the best and most involved strategy games… but usually within 10-30 minutes.
I really hope you fall for them. Junk Art won’t have the same kinetic madness of some other games, but I’ll bet your table will be sweating throughout just the same! 
[EDIT] Failed to mention one of the better elements of dex games: sucking at them is usually half the fun.
7 Likes
Speaking of, ever finish up TLoU2?
My copy of Troika! arrived today. Thrilled to see they kept it to a small form factor. Now to go a bit mad(der) reading it.
2 Likes
I think games like Junk Art are a brilliant option for getting non-gamers to play something. They tend to be incredibly easy to understand/explain, so the barrier to entry is super low, and they have this wonderful aspect whereby everyone at the table will be just as engrossed with each of the other players’ turns as they are with their own.
Those things also combine to mean that spectators who haven’t seen the game can wander over, immediately get an idea of how the game works, genuinely enjoy watching other people play it, and be capable of sitting down for the next game.
Whether you’re laughing at some impossible predicament, or impressed that it was overcome, or watching everything come crashing down, you get these rapid cycles of escalating tension and release, and it’s just entertaining. I think most games collections should have at least one.
4 Likes
Absolutely, and yet curiously, dex games tend to be the hardest sell in the world to so many seasoned gamers. They’re not for everyone (no game is), but I’ve always felt like they’re kind of the black sheep within the board gaming space. Any time I see someone asking how to get their (non-gaming) friends to the table, however, and it’s a no brainer: Look into some dexterity games.
[EDIT] I think it’s worth noting there’s a world of difference between “how do I get my friends to play games” and “help, dinner party and want a game for non-gamers”. Not everyone is looking to bring folks into the hobby.
5 Likes
I do find that dexterity games are shunned by players who are more interested in treating games as puzzles or intellectual competitions (the merits of which are another subject 
). On the scale of your typical board game (as opposed to snooker, bowls, etc.), dexterity games are about simple rules and very fine motor skills. Consequently, you can hit a ceiling of skill quite quickly, and you can’t beat your opponents just by knowing the game better. To a lot of people, that makes them accessible and appealing. To others, that makes them shallow, and inaccessible to those with physical disabilities.
Me, I have an awful tremor, but like stacking or disc-flicking games. I recently bought a Crokinole board - it’s great.
6 Likes
I like to think that it’s because - generally - we have a background in the mental and dexterity games are physical.
Speaking of dexterity games, I ordered a copy of Men at Work along with a jigsaw puzzle. Have been eyeing it up for a while and it should be good for my flatmates who aren’t into “serious” games.
It seems cheerful and light, which is what I think I need right now.
8 Likes
For a “smaller” version of Gloomhaven there is an awful lot of stuff in that box!
1 Like
Considering it all arrives in in cardboard sheets with over a dozen different enemie types to organise into baggies, it does ask a lot of the customer for an ‘entry level’ game.
I wonder if they should’ve sold it as an app game to eliminate a lot of the awkwardness. Keep everything enemy-related within the app (except the standees obv), and use physical components for the characters. It would be a lot cleaner (and less intimidating) in opening.
3 Likes
The punching cardboard is okay - takes a little while, but easy to understand what goes where. I kinda want the full cardboard experience to prepare me for Big Gloomhaven.
The fact that there is NO WAY it’s all going in the box again now that it’s in bags instead of flat sheets is something I wish they’d dealt with better, though.
2 Likes
My point is more that this is being sold in Target, alongside Splendour, Azul, and Pandemic. It has quite a high likelihood of being someone’s first non-Hasbro/Waddingtons game, with no prior knowledge of what it is 
5 Likes
I think the ‘start here’ sheet deals exactly with that problem, and I felt that it would be a good hand-hold for those opening the box with no previous experience of similar games.
3 Likes
We’ve just played scenario 5. For the first time we used the Gloomhaven Helper app for the monsters and it does make it smoother.
Really enjoying it so far
4 Likes
A 5 day streak without anyone buying a game 
And I’m not really breaking it… because I am just posting to say my Moonrakers Kickstarter has arrived and it looks really nice, and I’ll post more pictures as soon as I get to play. The box is bigger than I expected. I am not sure if the game will include some of the cardboard plans in retail which would make this a pretty small box edition card game.
In any case, this box has an actual working insert that even allows me to keep the box upright and everything stays in place. Here’s a box cover peakture:
I backed this right at the start of my “buying spree” last year. Back then, I didn’t know everything I know now, about what kind of games I want. So wish me luck that this one clicks
The photo doesn’t quite let you see the beautiful purple/blue color… I would have bought it only for that color.
9 Likes
More catch-up! Seriously, the backlog of games I have to talk about exceeds the size of some peoples’ entire collection…
Ora et Labora -
This was the “hot” Rosenberg when I was first devling into this, our cardboardy hobby. Well, that’s not entirely true; the Rosenberg noise was all around “Caverna: is it better than Agricola?”, but O&L definitely looked more my scene. Seriously, what’s not to love about monastic farming? It certainly sounds more chill and relaxing than Caverna’s Expeditions.
This one languished on my wishlist for years until my FLGS sold its last copy sometime in 2017, at which point I removed it from my evergreen wishlist to save my partner the hassle of trying to track it down (because it became very difficult to do so up until the very recent reprint). So, while grabbing the next two items, I added this as well due to the nice pre-order price they were offering.
Orleans: 5th Player -
I’ve played Orleans exactly once and I was not overly thrilled with it. Since then, I played and adored Altiplano and decided to pick up the Orleans expansions to give those a try. The one play I had was at 2-players and it felt very solvable, it seems to me that the more players you have, the more noise there is and the more unknowable the game becomes (which is good, I like opaque decision space). So, in fear that this 5th player mini-expansion won’t available in the future, I made sure to keep track of sales on it, especially because it comes with a solo scenario (which is really strange, if you ask me)
Root: Overpriced Mousepads -
I have all the other Root stuff. Neither of my boards lays particularly flat and it seems as though Leder Games doesn’t really care about that. So, mostly out of blind adoration for Kyle Ferrin’s art, I pre-ordered these (cheaper than if they had been add-ons on the most recent Kickstarter).
Gloomhaven w/Forgotten Circles -
When I backed Frosthaven, I really still had no idea if it was something I would enjoy. What better way to find out than to get Gloomhaven? So, I pledged in the Frosthaven campaign to receive all of the “playable” content. I figure if GH doesn’t floor me, then I can safely resell my FH pledge, when it arrives, still in the shrink. And if I do enjoy GH, then I have two lifetime supplies of (*)haven content.
Unmatched: Robin Hood vs. Bigfoot -
The art of Unmatched is unmatched in board gaming. Historically, I haven’t spent a lot of time or money picking up 2-player games. But COVID-19 has shown me that I may have overlooked a great niche. Still haven’t played my base game, Battle of Legends, Volume 1, but I certainly can’t overstate how good it is to increase both Robin Hood’s and Bigfoot’s presence in my collection.
Dungeon Lords: Happy Anniversary -
I adore Dungeon Petz. After seeing some discussion here about Dungeon Lords, I thought it was worth checking out. I wish it was a smaller box, but for the price I paid I really can’t complain (and I have room for big boxes that others may not… or… I did…? more on that later in another thread)
Fist of Dragonstones: The Tavern Edition -
2020 is the Year of Faidutti in my collection. Probably because his designs are player-count-heavy and, as a result, are hitting clearance shelves and the secondary market, which is where I pay most attention (and money). Also: I love bidding games, even if they don’t love me. The tactility of this one is also quite pleasing.
Innovation w/Artifacts, Cities, Figures, Echoes -
I rarely see this one hit the secondary market, and even more rarely chock full of expansions. This particular copy came all the way from Canada. Sometimes I feel bad when I import used games from Canada… I feel as though I’m draining their secondary market that is already less prominent (its hard to tell if it’s less volume, but certainly there’s less noticeable churn on BGG). Still, it was a great price even with international shipping. Here’s hoping I get on with it? (I’m pretty sure I will)
9 Likes
At this rate we’ll be able to run an inter-continent tournament with all the copies floating around!
3 Likes
PSC had a sale so I bought Quartermaster General: the Cold War and Battle Ravens for a tenner each. Milito was on sale too but already own it
Also bought Mottainai: Wutai Mountain expansion and Forbidden City which is a Knizia
1 Like