It’s my birthday today. Happy Birthday to me. The main thing that I put on my birthday list is board games. I love a good board game. And while I buy lots of board games for myself and for this website, I do put them on the list as well. So let’s see what board games hit my Giftster list as the ones that I want most, or the ones that I maybe won’t buy for myself. A lot of it is that because if it’s small or if I really want it, I just buy or back it.

Birthday Board Games Wishlist

Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority Hagalaz

Should this one by on the list, I’m not sure. But it’s on the list because I am interested in it. But it’s not the game that I’m going to get for myself. I need to play the Mass Effect video games as well, but I feel like that ship might have sailed on me. That said, I do own them on Steam, so maybe I’ll get around to them. But a game set in that universe sounds interesting to me.

Digging for Dinos

This is one that I might just pick-up for myself at some point in time. But Digging for Dinos is a set collection dinosaur game where you are trying to complete your skeletons and that gets you points. But you have two archeologists who move around either orthogonally or diagonally and then flip to move the other way. Simple but fun.

Spooktacular

We’ll see how much longer this one stays on my gift wishlist. Mainly because I really want this game. I love the theme and campy nature of this game. You are horror movie tropes/villains that come off the big screen at a movie showing. And you want to kill as many people as you can in the theaters, so you are, in your own special thematic way, doing that and I just adore the idea of that in a game.

Corps of Discovery

This game just looks like my type of game as well. Corps of Discovery is a deduction sort of game, if I remember correctly but can be played solo. You play in this Lewis and Clark sort of setting or that time period but it’s not just the normal world. This is also based off of a comic. The game and scenarios definitely sound interesting as you play.

Duel for Cardia

This is a two player dueling game that is a lot of fun. I’ve played it a bunch on BGA and I really enjoy every play that I’ve had of it. You are playing out cards where you want to win a certain number, I believe it is 5, before your opponent. But if you win the battle you get the point (for now) and your opponent gets to activate their cards ability. And that can mess with previous duels that you’ve had. And I like that back and forth of maybe trying to lose sometimes for the power

Galactic Cruise

Honestly, this might be a game that I wait to see drop into a local game store used. I have played it on BGA and I find it to be a really fun game though very crunchy and one that I probably need to play another 2-3 times to get everything down. But that’s the fun of some games and the theme of launching cruise ships into space and become the best not pilot but best coordinator for the company is a lot of fun

Splendor Duel

Now, I am not the biggest fan of Splendor. Mainly because I feel like the game becomes very samey over time and that’s not a bad thing but it’s a game that I’ve played enough. Splendor Duel feels better. You have three ways to win and the grid of gems is going to change. So while the game definitely has a lot of the same collecting vibe, it’s just handled in what I’d call a better game.

The Battle of Versailles

Did I think that I’d want a game that is about fashion ever, no. But this one sounds really intriguing as a two player game battling over a historical fashion show where two different groups were trying to come out on top. The back and forth nature of a two player game draws me in more than the theme does and the company is also really intriguing.

The Hobbit: There & Back Again

I am a sucker for Lord of the Rings themed games. I like Lord of the Rings a lot. But my wife likes it more so it’s something where I feel like I can get it and it’s much more likely to get played. Because of that, The Hobbit: There & Back Again is on the list. And the game itself does sound interesting to me. Interesting that it’s competitive, but that doesn’t bother me.

Darwin’s Journey

This is another game that we’ll see how long it sticks to the list because I really want this game. I played it twice now on BGA and I feel like I understand it, but I’m not that good at it. There is so much going on in the game as you are exploring the islands, sailing, as well as then finding specimens, sending them back to museums and it’s just a lot. Plus the game is beautiful as well.

Toy Battle

This is a two player game that I debated if I really wanted it or not for a while. And the answer is yes. This is a two player lane battling game in the vein of a game like League of Legends. You either draw tiles or play a tile on your turn. Your goal is to get points and get enough to win. Or to get to your opponents base and place a tile there. The tiles all have powers and the maps change up paths and strategies.

Turing Machine

I didn’t think I’d like this game. I won’t lie. I thought that the game was going to be too difficult to really puzzle out. Then I learned it on BGA and I really like the game. I bounce off of some of the more obtuse board games when it comes to deduction, like Orapa Mines. But Turing Machin just works for me. And I love the idea of this as a puzzle of the day for me to get my brain going.

Yaxha

This is a light filler game of selecting stones and building up a pyramid. I have this one on my list for myself but also because I think that others in my group would like it. And sometimes those are the board games that I put on my Birthday list or gift list. I know which board games I want to play and I tend to buy those for myself. But the board games that others might like better, I like those as gifts.

Final Thoughts

Thank you all for sticking with me through years of Nerdologists. As I get older this is something that is going to keep on going and talking about board games because I love doing it. How I write and what I write about has changed over the years but my passion for this hasn’t. So thank you again for sticking with me through the thick and the thin of board gaming fun.

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