You might be surprised, it wasn’t that long, a week, sine my last point of order with Pop-Up GenCon, but board game events wait for no man. And in this case, the following weekend there was a board game market (or exchange) at a local cidery. And I have to say, it was really cool, I think there were three stores there, but about 15-20 other sellers ranging from having a few games and odds and ends to probably a hundred games at some of the big tables. I was extremely impressed with the set-up and selection.

But let’s talk about what I picked up.

Palms Island

I remember seeing this game on Board Game Geek, their live stream, I forget what convention it was for. It might have been the 2018 GenCon or 2018/2019 Essen Spiel. It didn’t seem that interesting to me then, it was a small solo card game that you could play in your hand. You “play” cards to get resources, rotating the cards to then get resources and seeing how well you can do. Now that I’ve played solo games like Onirim, A Gentle Rain, and Orchard, I’m interested in this game. So was glad to spot it hiding in a box with some cheap games.

Imperial Settlers Roll and Write

Shockingly, I know, I got some more roll and write games. This is the first, Imperial Settlers Roll and Write from Portal Games. It is based off of a very successful game of theirs, Imperial Settlers, which I haven’t played. But it’s a roll and write, and it was cheap, so I wanted to give it a try and see what it was like. It looks more involved than a lot of roll and write games. This is a both a good and a bad thing. I like involved roll and write games and like a challenge. On the flip side, they are harder to get to the table.

Hex Roller

Another roll and write game, Hex Roller is one that I’ve heard basically nothing about. That’s generally not a good thing, but it looks like an interesting enough game. And I’m hoping that it’s at least an average roll and write game. It, unlike Imperial Settlers Roll and Write, doesn’t look that complex. While that might not excite me as much, it is one that I hope to get to the table really fast because it is going to be simpler to play.

Copenhagen: Roll and Write

Final roll and write on the list. This one looks a little bit more complex again, though not too complex. It is a roll and write, like Imperial Settlers Roll and Write based off of an existing game. Another one that I don’t know too much about, but I’m basically always willing to try a roll and write game, and if it’s not for me, I can pass it on to someone else. But most likely I’ll find some enjoyment in the game, and it’s based off of a Euro Game, so clearly I like Euro games.

Mechs vs Minions

So, there was one big game added to the collection. I was please to find this one because I’ve been not hunting it down, but looking for it generally for a while. Mechs vs Minions has you playing at mechs who are fighting off waves and waves of minions. You program out what you want to do, creating an engine of actions that will hopefully keep the minions from getting to your base.

The interesting thing about this game is that it’s from Riot Games. They are known for League of Legends. They decided to make a board game. This game comes with tons of minis in it, which is cool, but the price point of the original game was amazing. The game has done well, but they had a limited run of it. So now it’s hard to find, and I’m really glad to have found one at a good price in great shape.

Which one of these games would you want to play first?

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