I’m setting in my game room looking at the new games around me that have come in recently. Some of this has been because with Gen Con, new board games abound and board game sales abound. I didn’t pick-up too many new board games though, just a few who hit sales and were small games. But let’s talk about the ones that have come in, and the board games that are coming from Gen Con.

New Board Games To The Collection

Orleans

Orleans is a game that I probably should have played before now. It’s a classic bag building game where you are trying to expand your dominance across a medieval landscape. You get farmers, merchants, knights and more to help you do that. But you are adding them to a bag and then what you draw out that is going to determine what you are able to do which I really like the sound of that.

Jisogi

Jisogi is a worker placement game about making an anime studio. Well, that’s not quite right, the anime studio already exists but it’s not that great. So your goal in this board game is to get it up and running with happy employees and turning out anime that people are loving. I don’t know all the details of how it works but it’s a bigger euro style game and I’ve found that I’m enjoying more of those board games now that they have themes to them.

Campy Grizzly

Camp Grizzly is not a euro game, this is pure ameritrash fun in a board game of trying to be the survivor in a camp horror movie. I love the them and I’m fine if the game has some turns that aren’t the most outstanding, which I’ve heard, because the game is going to provide more fun and great moments than those downer moments.

The Architects of Amytis

Now this one is one that I played on BGA and I picked it up because it was on sale. But I really like this game. It’s a two player only board game and I probably have enough of those board games. But in this game you are trying to build up the best city and complete objectives. These objectives are get tiles in the right order.

To do that you place workers on a grid of tiles and take that tile and place it. If you get a row of workers, three in a row, you get a bonus end game scoring. But there are other elements, like the fact that you don’t just draw an objective you need to take a tile that gives you one that add to the strategy of the game.

All Mine!

All Mine! is a game that is a remake of an older one. But I like this theme and the other one was out of print. It’s a trick taking game with not picking how many tricks you’ll win but the color you’ll win the most of, I believe. And that is going to be how you get points in this game. It’s simple twist without over complicating at least that is my hope.

dnup

dnup is a game that I’ve talked about a fair amount on some of my new to me game posts. I originally didn’t love the game. But the more I play it the more I appreciate the simple strategy in the game. That is going to make the game easy to teach. I still think that I like Scout better, but I think that dnup will get played more.

Hercules and the 12 Labors

Hercules and the 12 Labors is a solo dice game, and more, about the 12 Labors and you need to beat them all to win the game. I like the sound of that and as a small box game I think it’s going to be a solo game that I can get to the table or take with me places to play when I have downtime.

Nidavellir: Idavoll

I have not heard a ton about this expansion, and I’m not 100% sure that Nidavellir needs more. But this was on a good sale and I got it with Architects of Amytis so it didn’t really add to shipping costs or anything like that. I’ll see if I like it. The trick is that I need to find a time with two other players to get it to the table as I don’t like Nidavellir as a two player game.

Dice Throne: Mystic Brawler

It’s a new Dice Throne character of course I’m going to get it. Do I need to say more?

Pirates of Maracaibo: Bermuda Triangle

One of two expansions that I own for Pirates of Maracaibo. And I will say, I need to play my copy of the game, I might tomorrow actually. I love the game on BGA and I almost always have a game of it going on. I’m not the best at it, there are some rush it strategies that lock out others, but it’s such a fun time. And it gives me that pirate adjacent theme. Maybe with the expansions I’ll get more of that.

From Gen Con

Now let’s talk, again, about the few that I got from Gen Con. And yes, my friend who bought them for me was able to get all of the ones I asked for.

Torchlit

Torchlit is a trick taking game with a dungeon diving monster fighting theme. I’m really curious to see how it all comes together. I think that I might do a multi-table board game night coming up here soon where it is trick taking board games. And this is one that I want to hit the table for sure.

Pet Quartet

Pet Quartet is a set collection game. But there is a twist to it. You are collecting and playing out animals. The twist is that only solo performers and quartets are going to score you points. I’m sure that I don’t have the rules right on this one, but I’m a big fan of GameHead and excited to try more of their games.

Trick to the Future

Speaking of GameHead games and trick-taking games with have Trick to the Future. A game where the cards display digital numbers and you have pieces you can add to them. The twist is that you “bid” how many tricks you’ll win based off of how many of those sticks that you have left. So you need to balance winning tricks but not spending too much. A simple twist and hopefully one that is a lot of fun.

Kobayakawa

Kobayakawa is a game that is trick-taking adjacent, I’d say. You have a choice on your turn, you either change the card in the middle or you draw and discard a card. Once everyone has done that, you see who has the highest number. That’s not much of a game, and I might be missing some rules. But the twist, the player with the lowest number adds that number from the middle to their total. So that can swap who is winning like that, and I love that twist.

Questline

Questline is a game that I don’t know a ton about. But I like the theme, of building out this epic story or questline for your character. And it’s from Thunderworks and I love their games and worlds that they have been creating. So I’m really excited to get this one to the table.

Zenith Expansion

More cards and things for Zenith one of my favorite two player games. I’m totally in on that. I don’t know how much it adds, but I think it’s just an expansion that adds more with minor rules if any.

Arnak Expansion

And another one of my favorite board games we have more stuff for Arnak. I appreciate that it’s just more cards because I have the big box for Arnak and there isn’t room for that much more in the box. At this point in time if they just do a promo card every now and again, I think I have enough Arnak as I don’t want to have to add another box to the game or get the even bigger big box.

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