So, I went to my local game store yesterday, I figured that I’d finally get my board games dropped off to sell, and I added in two more games to that pile to talk about. But I also figured there was a chance I’d pick up something new, which I did. Well, one thing new and one new to me.

Point of Sale – Out With the Old Board Games

Cosmic Encounter

This one might shock some people. It is a dearly loved game and Tom Vasel of the Dice Tower talks about it all the time as it’s one of his favorite games, or he did. And I have played this one and I liked it quite well. I think that with the right group, Cosmic Encounter is an amazing game. And that is why am I got rid of it. I am not sure that I have the right group to play it with. The game is very loose rules wise and while some of my main group is fine with that, others prefer more structure.

So, with Cosmic Encounter, I had to ask, is this a game that I’m going to be getting to the table? I don’t know when I’ll play it again, I suspect if I do play it, it’ll be at a convention or a board game store that has it. It is, unfortunately, a game that just wasn’t going to make it off of my shelf. So as much as I want to keep it and play it more, it just wasn’t going to happen.

Rising 5: Runes of Asteros

Rising 5: Runes of Asteros is a different case. A cooperative game that leverages Mastermind like mechanics to create a card game with a tile puzzle. It is kind of my type of game. I love having something to figure out. But, I had to ask myself, did it add something to my collection.

Lately, the puzzle games I’ve been playing are much bigger or one off things like the Unlock games. And while, I think a replayable puzzle game is a great idea, I don’t know that Rising 5 was going to get to the table. Most of the time I am going to want something bigger to stretch my brain like Mastermind and Rising 5 do.

Point of Order -In With the New

Clank

Now, this one might be a little bit more confusing. I already own Clank! In! Space!, and in my Top 10 To Be Played games, I had Clank! Legacy. So why do I need more Clank. The answer is, I really don’t but each Clank does something different. And regular old Clank has a lot of expansions that make it a very unique game compared to the other two. So I think that all of the three of are pretty unique. So I’ll probably grab some expansions after I’ve busted out the base game a few times.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

Final one is another sibling of a game that I have. I picked up Terraforming Mars not too long ago. But then the Ares Expedition came out. This keeps some of the same stuff from Terraforming Mars, but drops the big boards. So now it’s about building up a card engine from a massive stack of cards. And because the stack of cards is so massive, it makes the game more tactical in nature as well.

This game just seems to ramp up faster than base Terraforming Mars does and while it is just cards, it still offers a lot of meaty decision making. While I know that both of them have solo, I am more likely to play this one solo as well because it’s easier to get to the table in terms of set-up. Though, I’ve heard that there are a few issues with the pieces and knocking them, but I can always do an Etsy upgrade since I missed/didn’t back on the Kickstarter.

Which of those two games do you want to play?

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