Recent Boardgames (Your Last Played Game Volume 2)

Boardgames
3066

Some games I’ve played over the last week or so:

Hadrian’s Wall, had another great solo game of this the other day. Decided to focus on priests and temples and did actually rather well - second highest score. Every time I think I’ve found a strategy that is weak, I try it and find it actually works way better than I expected. I mean you’re still reacting a lot, since most of your income is somewhat random, but I’m very impressed with the balance of the different paths you can go down.

Viticulture, had a solo game of this one which I won on the final action, which was nice. I keep going back and forth on whether I should buy Tuscany. On the one hand everyone says its amazing and it does look appealing but on the other I only like Viticulture, I don’t love it. Which makes me a bit hesitant about expanding…

And some online games with a bud - I don’t normally track online games but given we’re back in lockdown here, I’ll take what I can get!

Railroad Ink, a couple of games of this on BGA. The implementation is quite nice - things like the mouseover that shows all the faces of a particular die are a great touch. First game sans expansion I won handily. The second with the river expansion was closer, but still pulled in ahead in the end.

Welcome To…, I’m always happy to play this one, and things really went my way the whole game and I finished all three streets, which happens very rarely to me. Yay!

Potion Explosion, never as fun without the marbles but still a fun little game. My opponent was a bit too hesitant to ‘get help’ (which is a classic rookie mistake I’ve come to realise - losing 2 points sounds bad but if it helps you finish an extra card its often worth it). So I won this one by a decent chunk but still lots of fun.

Jaipur, and we finished off with a game of this. I’m not sure how I like the new art compared to the old. I’m please I own the smaller physical version at least. I won the first match but my opponent then won two back to back by a decent chunk. I’m not great at this game, but never so bad that it’s not fun.

7 Likes
3067

I’ve only played the Essential Edition which has the “best bits” from Tuscany in it, but the:

  • Special worker
  • Mamas and Papas cards
  • (Was selling fields in the original?)

are all SO good that I’d definitely say try it out.

The special worker transforms each season into something you always feel you can be effective in and plan for, instead of being 100% blocked by the opponent.

(Anyone more familiar with the game / editions have advice on this?)

3068

I also have the Essential Edition plus the Tuscany Expansion… but i have not played yet with the four seasons. I do think it is going to be more interesting with 4 seasons and some new round bonuses in the player order mitigating the fact that taking the bonus worker and going last is too strong.

I only like the game for myself. what i love about it is that i can get others to play it. except that one friend who is sick of worker placement in general :wink: if you can get it to the table regularly i think the expansion makes it better for a group experience.

if it is just another solo game… I wouldn’t buy the expansion for solo play.

2 Likes
3069

Red Cathedral - pretty good Euro in a small box. Not an insta-buy but I really like it.

Seeland - a Kramer & Kiesling game. This is one of the bad ones. Actually, it’s “meh”, but when there are loads of good ones around, hard to see this one compete.

Rajas of the Ganges: The Dice Charmers - yet another elaborate Bingo game :confused:

2 Likes
3070

Just got mine today, its so teeny tiny!

2 Likes
3071

Just finished up a game of Istanbul between me and my wife. It was a very close game, but I managed to get a couple moves ahead of her and get the 6th ruby before she could. We played using the green number layout, which is long paths, which we played last time, so next time we will need to change it up.

5 Likes
3072

Played a quick game of Race for the Galaxy with my wife before we head down to be the cape for a vacation weekend with a bunch of friends. It’s not really a board gaming group but we are bringing a variety of party/large player count games since there will definitely be some opportunity (and who doesn’t like Pictomania?). The Race game was close, 46-44 to my wife, with neither of us having too coherent a tableau at the end but very roughly military/alien vs production/mass settling.

3 Likes
3073

That’s very RftG.

Get the best shaky engine together

3 Likes
3074

Me mam is visiting for a few day so we got Fort off my unplayed list. Unsure of the game at two. From my single play… It would seem that building the fort is the most important thing. Whether this is good I don’t know.

Also Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples. Nice mix up of the QfED formula.

6 Likes
3075

Played more Iwari. Still loving it as a light area majority game. But I miss Han’s border cities. Those are so neat to have. Which isnt a problem as I own Han.

Broom Service - I AM A BRAVE FOREST WITCH!!

Stick Em

10 Likes
3076

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion , we moved on, even tho we failed the last mission. We really didn’t want to play it again, it was a pain. More success this time, no real danger. I was just about to bust out some powerful cards when the game was over, oh well.

The Red Cathedral , first play. Was pretty keen to get this on the table, after the positive SUSD review. It’s a pretty small box, but there’s a lot of game in here. This is a pretty crunchy game that doesn’t take too long to finish (the end is when someone finishes their sixth cathedral card). Scores were quite close, I managed to lose in a tiebreak (ties are broken by the player with most completed sections). Annoyingly, I had the chance to take a resource earlier, but decided not to because my inventory would have been full, and just one more resource would have given me an extra points (every five resources/money at the end is worth an eagle point). Doh – but at the time I was trying to finish my sixth section. I managed to finish two sections on my last turn, because each one required just one more resource. I was holding off on completing because I didn’t want someone jumping in with a decoration.

Nova Luna , squeaked the win, each of the other players had a single token to place, so close.

Marshmallow Test , such a great trick taking game. This could be our go-to filler game for a while.

9 Likes
3077

No, I’m a brave Forest Witch!

7 Likes
3078

How is Broom Service (board game not card game)? Because it’s basically ideal theming for my partner.

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Broom Service is one of my favorite games. It does, however, seem to have a marmite/licorice effect; people tend to either love it or hate it – I’ve not met many who are lukewarm on it.

The game is selecting your cards and judging whether you can risk going brave. The board state just helps you suss out what your opponents are going to do.

5 Likes
3080

This is good to know! Most of the YouTube reviews I’d seen didn’t love it, but if it’s possible for it to be the right game for some players that’s good enough for me.

1 Like
3081

It very much depends on whether you’re all right with someone ruining your plans. Particularly as it means you then don’t get to do anything that turn.

If you treat it as a silly, light game, it works great.

A very important rule is that you have to announce that you are a brave forest witch (or whatever it is you are).

2 Likes
3082

Honestly, that sounds excellent. Now I just need to find it in the UK for less than £60…

2 Likes
3083

I found it best at 2-3 players.

Played a five player once and it soured me enough to sell it.

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3084

Fantasy Realms x 2 tonight. Perfect length for the game. Combo-tastic, and fires off the right things in my head.

Keeper

2 Likes
3085

I intend to play more Broom Service. It’s been literally years since I’ve played it. The thing about it though is that there’s no random elements in the game post-setup. I’m very curious if one can pour thought on this game and see if it gives back. There’s only one way to find out!

Although, I find the combination of selecting cards that everyone have (think Race for the Galaxy or Glass Road) conbined with the spatial game to be interesting. So that made me bias

1 Like