You forgot the very obvious Treasure Island, which I enjoy quite a bit. Pirates on a treasure hunt, presumably torturing information out of Long John Silver, but can’t be certain they’re getting correct info, and once he breaks out the race to get to the treasure before him all feels rather piratey to me.
There’s also Black Fleet, which I own, but have not played, so cannot comment on whether it is “good” or not.
I remember enjoying Black Fleet and engaging in some piratical actions during the game 
There’s a new one - Dead Reckoning
Piraten Kapern (on BGA) was nonsense but we had a hoot playing it
Good catch, and I did totally forget it. It’s a solid one (although I have never won as Long John, I really enjoy losing!).
There’s another one that’s a fully co-op in the vein of Pandemic called… Dead Man’s Chest, I think? I’ve played it twice when it originally released, we got our teeth kicked in, and I never played it again, but it was good if you like the Ghost Stories / The Grizzled style of Fully Co-op where the game isn’t complicated but it is very hard. Some people want to know that they have earned their victory… great game for them.
There’s also Pirate’s Cove, which as memory serves was kinda Merchants and Marauders Lite(sic). I remember it being way too random for my tastes, but YMMV.
Ooh, must play more Forgotten Waters…
Oh yeah, played that once. That felt like “I’ve played Pandemic and Flash Point, I can do a game like that”. It felt weirdly like not getting the point of this style of game. (Thematically, one of you starts off with a decanter of infinite rum, and in spite of that you risk your life going into the burning haunted ship.) But some people love it.
Everytime I play Oranienburger Kanal I want to write about it because I have some new seeming thoughts (or I might be repeating myself).
I switched to the B Deck this time and in between the card almanachs discovered: player aids… oops.
Deck B felt harder and even more puzzly than my previous 2 games with Deck A (spoiler: I scored my highest score yet)
The game was off to a very slow and somewhat frustrating start because there is pressure right from the beginning to build as much as I can because there are only 2 actions that let me build buildings. In round 1, one of them is blocked and then in round 2 the other. And then in every round (there are 9) that I do not build 2 buildings, either one or two cards are taken from the market and always the lowest numbered ones (like a reference to a Friedmann Friese game).
And Deck B cards seemed more expensive…
So I struggled, and wanted to yell at the game for being so brain-burning…
And then in the middle part when I manage to „trigger“ a few building abilities by surrounding them with routes and connecting them with bridges, suddenly the game’s options open up and the „block marker“ moves on to other actions letting me build more and I have resources—just never the right ones.
In the middle I am hopeful that I might actually do well in building this city…
And then suddenly the end-game blue cards appear in the market and the complications ratchet up another notch. I had triggered all the cards that gave me resources and my bridge building was haphazard and all over the place and suddenly I can only build 2 more buildings and which ones which ones… the choices… the end-game pressure… oh noooo.
More internal at-the-game-yelling ensued.
And then the last action just taking some resources because I could not trigger any more buildings or build any more routes—but even resources get you a few more VP so think think think.
Suddenly, the pressure lets off and even though this is a slow thinky game it feels like a race is over… and I look at my board and it feels quite satisfying to survey the city I built 
The scoring is super quick despite having a bunch of different things like coins, vp, buildings and routes…
I am sure I would have disliked this game some years ago for being boring, dry, ugly (it is) and complicated. I think my appreciation for it arises from having played more than a few of its siblings. A bit like an acquired taste.
PS: I was able to read some of the icons this game without consulting the almanach: or so I thought because I made a mistake… but I found it and it was easily corrected just a few VP less for me: twice. But I am getting the hang of the iconography.
More games still today!
It all started with a couple of games of Patchwork, one with my father-in-law, which I won pretty big, and two with Maryse, which I lost not quite as big. This remains an absolute delight.
Then, because we hadn’t brought enough games apparently, we decided to play two which were already here with Maryse’s brother and his daughter’s friend, who was quite keen to learn.
The first was Risk. My very first play. At least it was the version with the missions, so it was shorter. But… Yeah, it’s not very good to me. The dice and the lack of unit variety kill it stone dead. To be fair, it was better than I expected. Maryse won it by controlling Asia and South America. I came reasonably close to my own mission of controlling Africa and North America.
After that, two games of Taluva. This was REALLY good. I learned the rules and taught it (none of the people who’d played it before remembered how), and as usual I got CRUSHED in the teaching game. The second one was much better for me, I won, but not by a landslide at all. Very good game, I liked it a lot.
A couple of games of Startups last night. First time playing since I bought it. Both rounds had runaway winners (we remembered to take 5 cards out of the deck the 2nd time - much better!) so I don’t think everyone felt they got a fair shake. I think playing over 4 rounds using the +2, +1 and -1 tokens will work better to keep people engaged. Either that or I was the only one capable of trying to figure the odds of getting certain cards etc and the others just deserved to get crushed! 
Then two rounds of Flamme Rouge - to make up for my crushing victories in Startups, I lost both rounds badly. Weirdly Sprinters were pretty crap for all players and both rounds were run by the Roulers! I think we might just not be very good at it. I certainly was too conservative in trying to hoard my 9 cards for the Sprinter and ended up playing them too late or having to waste them on a hill. But everyone enjoyed it, so that’s ok!
That is my general experience in FR. The 9 cards are nice, but that 6 extra total energy really counts for a lot.
THInking about it, it was a very hilly track so I guess the more consistent cards of a Rouler fitted the track.
I’m currently selling it. Zero chance of ever playing it
I was able to go to my FLGS last night where they were having a Learn to Play event for Star Wars: the Deckbuilding Game, and I got to give it a go.
It’s actually a pretty interesting game. It’s head-to-head (though apparently there are 2 v 2 rules online) with one player as the Rebels and the other as the Empire. I was the Rebels. Like most deckbuilders, both players have a starter deck of cards, which in this case have different names, but identical abilities. Cards can generate Attack, Resources, or Force, and can also have special abilities which you can trigger when you want. You start with two +2 attack cards, seven +1 resource cards, and one card which you choose +1 to any of the three when you play it. Players start with 5 cards in hand, and will discard any unused cards at the end of their turn and draw 5 new cards. Pretty standard so far.
However, both players also get a small deck of planet cards. These are the bases that you are trying to destroy. Take out three of your opponent’s bases and you win. Both players have to start with a base with no special abilities. After it is taken out, they can pick a new base from the cards they have, and all the other ones have some kind of special ability. Hoth, for instance, reduces all damage it receives by 2. Coruscant lets the Empire player look at two cards from the top of the deck at the beginning of their turn, put one back and the other on the bottom of the deck.
Between the players is the Galaxy Line, which is the market. It’s 6 cards, and the cards are either Rebel-aligned, Empire-aligned, or neutral. Only Rebels can purchase Rebel-aligned cards, the Empire Empire-aligned cards, though both sides can purchase neutral cards. Now here’s where it gets interesting. Neutral cards are oriented sideways, while the aligned cards are oriented so they are “upright” for that faction. However, unit cards have text that is upright for the opposing player, as they get a reward if they eliminate the card from the Line. Yep, you can attack the market! I haven’t seen this kind of mechanic in a deckbuilder before, but don’t know if it is unique to this game or not. Most of the time, the reward is to gain some Resources or Force, but there are other rewards, such as Exile (remove from game) a card from your hand or discard pile.
So, Resources let you buy new cards, which go to your discard pile, Attack lets you attack cards on the Galaxy Line, or your opponent’s base. “So what about Force?” you ask. Off to the side is a small board with 7 spaces on it, and a marker. The marker starts all the way on the Rebel side. This is the Force track. As cards are played that give Force to a side, the marker gets moved. If the marker is on your side of the center line, then the Force is with you. This triggers a lot of abilities on cards you play. For instance, Jyn Erso’s ability lets you look at your opponent’s hand, but if the Force is with you, you choose a card for them to place on the top of their deck. If the marker is all the way on your side of the track, you start your turn with an extra Resource. Darth Vader’s ability adds 4 Attack to his already monstrous 6 Attack if the Force is with you! That’s enough to outright destroy some of the bases!
There are also capital ships in the deck which can be purchased, but not attacked by your opponent on the Galaxy Line. When played, these ships have to be destroyed first before your base can be damaged. They also stay in play until destroyed, and can provide resources and attack each turn. I think this was the easiest rule to overlook, as both my opponent and I had a ship out for a bit and forgot to have it generate Resources on our turns.
I ended up losing due to a nasty combination of cards my opponent got, finishing off my second base and then generating enough attack to take out my new one. However, after he left and I read the rulebook and learned that a new base does not get played until the beginning of the player’s turn, so technically I was still in the game. Oh well, live and learn.
Fun game. Not sure I need to own it, as I’m not sure how much a head-to-head like this would get played by us. Maybe if the 2 v 2 rules are really good. Anyway, I just ordered a game, and I don’t think this one will be out of print any time soon, so lots of time to think about it.
I took home a copy of Plunder: A Pirate’s Life yesterday and played a quick game with my partner. If light and random aren’t dealbreakers here, it might be worth a look? One could argue it’s a bit like Xia but stripped down to just its core concepts.
It plays like an 80’s Hasbro game, for better or worse, and it’s clearly intended to be played by or with children. That said, I could see the right group of dummies having a good time with it over some drinks and snacks. Beer and pretzels, perhaps. I’ll stop short of a recommendation due to the intended age group, but it’s “cheap” (and lavish!) and there’s a good time in there for the right folks in the right mood to scrap and trade and bribe their way to a cheap V. BGG won’t let you down for opinions—people HATE IT. But there’s that smaller crowd that just loves it, and I think I’m one of em.
Oh, I have it, I’m just making a note to get it out again. Even if that means working out a way to play solo.
Is Forgotten Waters pbfable? It sounds like it would be a really fun game to play
Played scenario 0 of Frosthaven. The production is more lavish than GH and the way the box organised as sold is now much better.
I’m burnt out on Gloomhaven and this doesn’t do anything really to change the formula enough to reengage me. Only played scenario 0 though so will wait and see if I get in to the swing of it. I am sceptical from the feel of it just now. Glad I didn’t back the KS
I just got finished my first run in Paperback Adventures, and I’ve logged it without any shame or reservations whatsoever as three distinct sessions. My god this is a long game. This is at least slightly inflated just by virtue of being my first attempt, but also because it is a min/max dream/nightmare.
I mentioned to my friends that this could easily fit into Chip Theory’s new Lite games lineup. The weight of each turn (of which there are actually quite few) is enormous, and the game really begs of you to stew on each hand since nothing is left to luck, and you are fully empowered to see what’s coming next. It achieves this feeling without adding the sheer scope of a typical CTG monster.
It’s just fantastic. I played without the training wheels, and lost to the Chapter 3 boss for it (there is no way I wouldn’t have breezed through the whole game with the ample crutches suggested). I took too many hits against the prior Lackey (The Sirens) and just couldn’t get my engines going fast enough to cope with the finale (The Jailor).
There isn’t any formal save system, but thankfully the box(es) are set up for easy storage between chapters; Front to back, this lasted over three hours! And I promise you I’m not complaining! Awesome stuff, perfect (for me) solitaire.
I’ve played it on the computer. I quite enjoyed it. I really like the part where you go - okay I want X power to trigger but that letter needs to be the last letter of the word. It’s nice twist on most word games.
I’m glad I’m not playing it in real life to be honest.
I was playing against this villain who had this power that had something like you need more skulls than him to win but it never triggered. So that early access vibe is real unless I missed something subtle in the meaning of the terminology (once he’s completed all his actions).