June only has two parts to talk about, but let’s see if there are any real winners in the second part. Of course there are going to be a lot of games that I tried for the first time on Board Game Arena. So let me know if you’ve played these games over there. And all of this is on my way to 1000 games rated on Board Game Geek. I’m probably about at 850 games and almost 950 games and expansions rated so we’re getting closer.

June Part 2

The Dwarf King

The Dwarf King is my type of game because it’s a trick-taking game. And it’s a good trick-taking game in that it does a little in terms of changing things up, but not too much. There is a special rule that might cost players points for taking certain tricks or cards. There are others that give you points if you win the last tricks or certain colors of cards. It’s not complex, but that little bit changing up each round works well for me.

Hegemony of Faith

Do you like big games and rock paper scissors, that’s kind of what this game is. You all play as different cults and are trying to be the one with most followers after the follower deck runs out. But the issue is that the deck doesn’t run out quickly, it just kind of putzes along and sometimes on a turn none even come out. Plus you can make others convert to you and work on a team, which I did with two of the other three players.

I think there are some interesting ideas in the game but the theme is not great. It’s done just to be edgy and dark and doesn’t really add anything. And the game is simply twice as long as it should be for what is basically rock paper scissors.

Cozy Stickerville

You inherit some land and you can build a village there. That’s the idea for this cooperative game. I call it a game because you do make some choices in it, but it’s more of an experience. How do you want it all to come together is the big question. It offers pretty simple choices and actions that you do on your turn, but it’s a fun time for what it is. And it’s one that really works well with a lot of people and ages. I’m playing through it with my wife and kid and while the kid complained they were also invested in it.

Iron Forest

Iron Forest is an iteration on Ice Cool. I say Iteration because it is still a flicking game with the nesting boxes. But it’s much much larger and you play missions instead of just the normal cat and mouse flicking. But that is an element to it as well. I really like how it works and it’s a fun two player playing of the game. Which I think that Ice Cool is okay at two, each controlling two penguins, but it’s not as good as this is.

Just Desseerts

Just Desserts is just a lucky game. You are trying to complete desserts based off of the ingredients that you have collected. But you might not be able to collect the ingredients that you want. Or the recipes that come out might not have ingredients. This game is mainly going to make you hungry instead of thinking, this is a good game.

Collect

Collect is a game that I hoped I’d find to be a fun filler. But it’s a game where it’s really lucky again. You draw blindly from two decks and add the card into your row. You want to either get cards of each type, in which case you win the round, or some cards have other goals. Because it is so lucky it’s probably better in person when it’s real time and really fast. But also, I thought it was okay at best so I don’t need to buy it to try it in person.

Lovecraft Letter

Love Letter, but with Lovecraftian themes and some twists on it. I think that it’s a solid game. It adds to what base Love Letter does and I’ve come to believe that is not a great thing for the game. I like how simple Love Letter is and how easy it is to play. Lovecraft Letter isn’t super hard to play, but in comparison it’s just not as much fun.

Pentaquest

Meh as a board game. Or I should say dice game. You are rolling dice, Yahtzee style, and trying to defeat monsters. When you defeat a monster it gives you an ability to use. But if you use the ability, it’ll cost you on an potential tie-breaker. Yes, the powers are nice in the game on the cards. I think that makes it more interesting, but it’s still basically Yahtzee and if you roll worse and have to use more cards powers, even if you tie, you lose, just because of luck.

Top 5 New Games from June

5. Cozy Stickerville

This one I like a lot because it’s a cozy game that feels cozy. But you also just have fun decisions to make. Most of them are pretty straight forward branching choices. Do I want the sawmill or a tinkerer? But when you pick one it locks off the other, so there is a bit of replayability there. And even if there wasn’t it’s just fun to have a game like this to play with my family.

4. Dice Throne: Vanguard

More Dice Throne. I write about it a lot already, so this is more of a thing that I already love. It’s not as good as some, otherwise it’d probably be #1, but it’s still a ton of fun. And if you want to play Battle Yahtzee, but with more going on than just that, this is a decent spot to jump in, though there are other sets I’d recommend before it.

3. FlipToons Season 2

Like Dice Throne this is just more of a game that I already like. FlipToons has great artwork and simple game play that I just find to be a fun time. It’s also a pretty friendly and easy to get into game. There might be some new concepts to more casual gamers, but even those more casual gamers have picked it up quickly when I’ve played.

2. The Dwarf King

I don’t think a surprise that a trick-taking game made the list. The Dwarf King is what I look for in this type of game. While I find Cat in the Box to be a fun trick-taking game, there is a lot going on. The Dwarf King is something I can sit down and teach to people who play trick-taking games in a couple of minutes.

1. Bunny Kingdom Town

Finally the one that I’ve bought because I played it. I guess the same could be true for FlipToons Season 2. But I knew that I liked that game already. When it comes to Bunny Kingdom I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. And the same with Bunny Kingdom Towns. But this two player game is a lot of fun, and I like how you play on the same board as the other player. You can get in each others ways and it’s just a nice, fast, two player game.

It reminds me a bit of a game like Overboss Duel. Where that one is a mean game though, this one generally wants you to play it in a more friendly manner. And I think that works really well with a cute bunny theme.

Which of these new to me games in June is the most interesting to you?

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