We’re back more games that were new to me in October and a few quick thoughts on what I liked or didn’t about them. Of course, as always, as expected, this is on my way to 1000 games rated on Board Game Geek. I am at 1000 when you included expansions, in fact just past that. But now I am about 80 away from just base games. So join me as I continue that journey.

New To Me Games From October (Part 2)

Sunfield Farm

Drafting, recipe fulfillment, gaining items, this game has a lot of things that I like about it. But I only rated it okay, why, because when it comes to these games, I feel like there are a lot of them. Sunfield Farm is all about selling stuff to people at a farmers market, that is the recipe fulfillment. And I think that it tries to be clever by how you get those veggies. You need to draft cards to fill in veggies on other cards. So it is all about moving those things forward, but that is not that interesting of a twist on a simple game.

Labyrinth

There are some classic games that I just haven’t played and Labyrinth is one of them. I like the game quite well for what it is. I say that and I rate it as a game that I’ll gladly play but not one that I am going to seek out to play. The whole puzzle of how you slide stuff along the grid to gain access to different parts of the labyrinth is fun. But, I think like Sunfield Farm, the game is just simple, and while the puzzle is going to change every game and every turn, it is not enough to keep me excited.

Frosted Blooms

Frosted Blooms is a tile drafting and tile laying game. There are so many of these games out there, but I think that Frosted Blooms does a solid job with making an interesting game. It is not too complex, but there is enough going on it it. I really how how it’s a short drafting game, but one that has a few good decisions. The best decision in the game is what scoring card you play. After every turn you play a scoring card. And the score it’ll calculate is a group (or groups) of flowers and water that are on the tile you played or connected to it. I think that scoring is just fun and challenging.

Blob Party

I spoke some about Blob Party last week when I talked about Grant Lyon and his stand-up show last week. You can read that article here. I like party games, and I think that this one is pretty good. I say pretty good because it feels like a lot of other party games. But while it does some similar things, like matching with people, there is a twist. In the twist you want to match with folks so after seven rounds you match with everyone. And as you match, you become a blob, a group with the people you match. It’s fun, but not one that I’m going to buy.

Take Time

The concept of this game is pretty interesting. You can only communicate a little bit at the start of the round to discuss how you are going to complete the objective. The objective is that you will play cards out around this clock an each spot is always going to be higher or equal to the one before it. But once you start playing out cards you can say anything.

Limited communication in games, when it’s the main gimmick is not for me. I think that this one is better than some of the other ones that I’ve played, but I still don’t love it. The puzzle is interesting in what you play out or when you play a card face up. But I don’t feel a desire to keep playing it like I do with some other limited communication games like the Lord of the Rings trick taking game or others.

a_way

I knew nothing about a_way when I decided to try it. And I have to say that sometimes that leads to really bad games, but in this case I think that it is a pretty fun chaotic game. You want to get to the other side of the board from where you start. You do that by playing out cards, messing with things and creating a path for you to move from station to station. I like that you only can play one type of card each round, but you can play multiple. So it let’s you mess with the board a lot.

The reason I think I like this one but not love it is because of that chaos. I felt like I had some decision making that I could do to help me win my game of it. But it is also a lot of randomness that I can’t control on my opponents turn. I also want to try it with more players. I played it at two and that was fairly chaotic. Is this a game that will be too chaotic with four?

Top 5 Games from October

5. Scoville 2nd Edition

Let’s be fair, I don’t think I’d have bought this game if it weren’t for the theme. But I also think that it’s the type of game that I’ll find better in person than I do on Board Game Arena. Mainly because tracking everything on the board is a bit tricky there and remembering how everything creates different peppers. That said, I think when it comes to themes for games, this is way up there for me.

4. Frosted Blooms

It’s going to be odd to say, but I like Frosted Blooms better than Scoville when it comes to how the games play, but I don’t think I’ll buy this one. And that’s mainly because I have a lot of draft tiles and score points games. Maybe if I find it on sale I’ll pick it up. Because I do really like the scoring in the game. And I think I’ll be a regular with this one when it comes to Board Game Arena.

3. Cat Between Us

I like cats. But not all board games with cats are great. This one I’m not sure I’d say it’s great, but it’s fun and I’m glad that I own it. I think that the game hits that sweet spot for me of not too complex to to learn or play, but when you get into those few great decisions in the game of what to keep or what to play the game really shines.

2. Drillers

I plan on buying this game. It was a small release at Gen Con, but now after Essen I think there should be more copies of it out there, if not yet soon. And it’s CGE so they are great about releasing their games widely and supporting there games for a while. I honestly didn’t think I’d like the game after watching a few minutes of a Dice Tower play, but I’ll gladly admit that I was wrong and I enjoy it a lot.

1. Hell of a Deal

Hell of a Deal does so many things that I love in games. It’s cooperative poker and I love that. But it also lets you cheat and do cool things. Of course it’s at a cost. And the components in the game are amazing. The playmats are great. The poker chips are great. It’s one that might not be for everyone, but for me, it’s just such a fun time.

Which of these games sounds the most interesting to you?

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