Ooh, that was satisfying! Spirit Island, solo, nearly losing by running out of the little invasion cards, and managed to win in two different ways at the same time - earning the last fear card by removing the last city. Two minutes before I’d been unsure I was going to win at all. Sometimes this game is perfect.
9 Likes
It has not been a good weekend. In addition to losing at Kingdom Builder
I have also lost at 7 Wonders Duel with Pantheon. Lost at military.
And got trounced at Pixies
6 Likes
Ouch military loss is mean. But winning with military always feels a little like whacking a clever person over the head with a club. A bit uncivilized.
3 Likes
Played two really quick games last night: we were supposed to finally finish our Stuffed Fables campaign, but my partner was feeling out of sorts so instead we played some low-brain-power games that I still wanted to get to the table:
Spots, which is a little push-your-luck dice rolling game (kinda like Can’t Stop, but more adorable). I didn’t manage to get a single pup finished by the time Matt finished his 6th… but it’s a push-your-luck dice game, and I notoriously always push my luck just a little too far.
Celestia, which is a push-your-luck dice and card game (or, as both I and a colleague call it, “MLEM but good!”). Also came in last on this one, but I’ve now incorporated the first expanions (of the two, which I have owned for… 4 years?), so that’s something. The expansion is a neat little twist, and the game itself is very clever. Wendy won this one with this incredible knack of crashing the boat whenever we all were on it, but miraculously getting through when it was just her… anyway, big fan, great game even if the artwork is pure wonky nonsense.
8 Likes
Third age, first card, two away from losing and revealed a 3 shield card.
Should have conceded the first card to save the reveals.
2 Likes
The three of us played Lords of Vegas today. I was behind for most of the game, but a couple of lucky draws and an agreement with my brother-in-law to not fight over control of a casino I was the boss of in return for a lot that would allow him to connect some of his C lots allowed me to catch up.
Ended up tied at the end with him at 44, with my wife at 36. I won the tie breaker of most money, as he had just spent a bunch of money to raise a 5 tile casino, making it worth 10. Funny enough, I had suggested he instead sprawl to connect two 3 level casinos which would make it a 12 pointer, and if he had done that instead, he would have won outright, but I think he was hoping the 10 point one would score one more time before endgame.
7 Likes
I learned Apiary on Saturday, losing to a stuffed monkey 95-64. It’s great! Looking at our collection, it reminds me of a mix of Tzolk’in (the evolutive worker placement) and Honey Buzz (the spatial puzzle, also bees). Can’t wait to try it for real. The plan was to give it a go over the week-end, but Maryse had a couple of exams to do (she’s going to school) and they left her too tired mentally to learn a new game. So we broke out Bärenpark (won 101-93) and Everdell (also won, 156-100).
That’s how I knew she was really tired, I actually won two games, LOL
10 Likes
Quartermaster General 1914 - got this from AireCon. Very cool game, strategy-wise, but if I now want depth with rather lean rule set, I would just pick up a Cube Rail. Very good game but I am selling this.
Im wondering if Quartermaster General WW2 is more “arcadey” and even simpler.
Jump Drive + Terminal Velocity - quick af game. But at this duration, I would rather play Mottainai with this kind of rules weight. Or just play a trick taker from my collection. JD is just not enough for me any more, as an item in my collection
Ticket to Ride: Legendary Asia - rather meh, but the falling trains adds some subtlety to the pace of the game.
Concordia with Italia map - setup and finished a 3 player game just over an hour. It’s been years since I’ve played this so one can see that I’ve become rusty at this. I neglected to score one more region by building in Apulia which have cost me the game.
Potato Man - while playing, I find it a bit unimpressive. But in hindsight, I am now appreciating the subtleties of this trick taking game. Need plays
Ticket to Ride: Team Asia - man, if Legendary Asia is kinda meh. Then Team Asia is one of the best TTR expansions out there. Not much rules change, but the game changed the dynamics and executed “silent teamwork” really well.
Team Asia got it right where it introduce depth, not by adding bits and bobs, but by changing player behaviour to be more difficult for the player to do their rather easy task. You wanna think long-term? Too bad. You don’t know half of your tickets because your team mate holds them secretly. You want to do something? Telegraph your intentions via card draw!
9 Likes
We played Mind MGMT the other night. Only the second play, and long enough in between that we had to relearn the rules.
1 v all hidden movement with an absolutely batshit theme. Both games have seen fairly easy wins for the recruiter (the 1). There is a mini legacy system where the losing team gets to open an additional box of stuff which they can include for future plays, but we felt it was better to play again soon to see if we find a more balanced game ourselves first.
Unlike Scotland Yard and the Whitechapel games, there are no regular position reveals, which is really tough when we’re still getting to grips with what the information that is revealed means. It’s not as easily intuitive to be the chasing team.
It’s fast, but teaching is was a bit fiddly. I’d like to play this 4-5 times over the next two months, and play twice a session to feel like we’re getting the most out of it.
Failing that we’ll be careful with the components and sell it at Aire Con next year.
9 Likes
Of this series I’ve only played WW2 but I get the impression that the main difference is in ideal player count. It felt very random to me, but as a hobbyist historian I tend to feel that way about most card-driven conflict games where historical things can come up because I’m always thinking in terms of how X and Y made it possible for Z to happen (see also Votes For Women).
4 Likes
John Company - played 5 players with the 1758 scenario. So we start with EIC monopoly but deregulation will coming along at some point. It was one of the best board gaming experiences. Of course, it helps when I won. I sucked the company dry and bought the largest fuck-off mansion in England and retired there ONE ROUND before the company collapsed.
One good round have put me in a great position to jump from 2nd place to 1st place. If it wasn’t for the length and rules weight of the game, this would have been my favourite Wehrle. I have played this one enough that I can play this with a few questions here and there.
12 Likes
I played Blazon it was kind of bland.
3 Likes
Yeah, I played it a while back. The chap who owned it back in January last year hasn’t brought it out again and I don’t feel any urge to seek it out.
It seems a shame because I find heraldry fascinating, but it was basically an assembly of set-collection puzzles without much to offer beyond that.
2 Likes
Yes. My expectation was there’d be more tension somewhere but I couldn’t find it. Maybe if I played it again I’d find some but it seems like it gives a lot of scope to get exactly the turn you want to have which is a bit of a nervousness killer.
2 Likes
- As usual: Sprawlopolis.
- More 2 player Daybreak on BGA.
- Then a third attempt (I try every 3 to 4 months) to play Bloc by Bloc. I just don‘t understand how to not lose this game in the 2nd round. The BGG forums don‘t look like this game is impossibly hard. But maybe it is not one to try and play a 4handed solo with. There must be some kind of opening move that would help me get to the first liberation—my guess is liberating a district is very powerful but I just can‘t figure out how to do that without being thrown under the police-van.
- This afternoon a quick game of Hex-Azul with my friend. I got a bit lucky with the 6s—I managed to plant 3 of those and 2 in big color groups for double scoring. I also ended the game without any tiles left over. My friend got a bit unlucky having to draw … oh man she might not have lost quite so badly if we had remembered the rule that you only take 1 copy of a tile… we had some really weird draws in the last round and she had 2 of the same #5 tiles and could not get rid of them. This might not have changed the complete outcome but made the game closer. 128-100 for me. I like Hex Azul, it is so nice and puzzly. Also Hexagons are Bestagons
(I still think the church window Azul is the best).
10 Likes
Played Lost Cities and Star Wars the Deckbuilding Game with my wife today and won both games. SW was really close and could have gone either way, though as the Rebels, a lot more cards came out for me than for the Empire. My wife only got three Empire cards from the galaxy row the whole game, but lots of neutral ones. Meanwhile I had Han, the Falcon, two B-Wing s, an X-Wing, etc etc.
7 Likes
Just played Marrakech with my 9-year-old daughter and was absolutely taken to the cleaners 72-36. I’m telling myself it was because I was concentrating on teaching her… 
9 Likes
Leaving Earth technically fits on my big (150×80 cm) game mat.
And I won, with a self-sustaining moonbase and a hasty Grand Tour.
13 Likes
First two games of food chain magnate with 2 players. Played a starter learning game yesterday which was a bit underwhelming. Played the full game tonight (now with the milestones) and really liked it despite stupidly making a beer bubble and not being able to reach the beer factory.
I can totally see why the first game is easier to learn without the milestones breaking all the rules but I’m amazed how much the milestones add to the game.
8 Likes
Yeah. Playing FCM without the milestones is playing FCM without the magic on why FCM is a Top 10 game.
With first timers, I always point them to either trainer or RG as their first hires. Trainer/RG/Marketing with Hard Choices rules
4 Likes