Let’s continue with more games that I played for the first time in January. Now as a reminder, some of these probably played before January, at least at the start of the list, but are getting rated in January. And on the road to 1000 board games rated on BGG, we are getting close to February for games as well. Let’s see which games made the list this time.

January Part 5

For Sale

I like For Sale a lot. Not because I think it’s the most strategic game in the world, but because it’s just simple and fun to play. The game is simple in that you buy houses with the money you have, if you pass on a bid, you take the lowest remaining value house. Then you sell off your houses again based off of cards that are played out, whomever sells the highest number house gets the most money each set of selling cards. The most money at the end of the game wins, and that just works for a simple filler.

Nanga Parbat

A game about climbing mountains and collecting animals, Nanga Parbat is another pretty simple game but with solid strategy. I like the set collection element of the game and trading those sets in for points. I also like how the climber moves, depending on which animal you take in a section it moves to that numbered section. But there are other lighter games that I like better than it, so just okay for me.

Martian Dice

Martian Dice got played because of Zombie Dice being played at a game night. And Martian Dice takes some of the ideas of Zombie Dice and makes it a bit more complex. It’s not too complex though, which is good for games about dice chucking because of the high level of luck. Overall, this one is just fine, which is what I’d say about Zombie Dice as well.

Formula D

Big old racing game here. Formula D was first played by me on BGA and then in person. And I think it works pretty well in both settings. But like a lot of racing games, it only feels so much like racing. You lose out on some of the feeling of speed. And while the push your luck is good and fun, it’s also not a short game, so feels good, but also odd.

Carnuta

Carnuta is one of the games that is new for 2026 and one that I enjoyed quite well. It’s the first 8 on this section of the list. I did have Formula D rated as an 8 but bumped it down to a 7.5. Carnuta is a hand management and scoring development game. By that last bit, I mean it does something I like. As you play out cards they have the scoring you’ll do at the end of the game on them. So like the game Point Salad, you are going to be scoring differently than your opponents, but you can also maximize your scoring.

13 Leaves

13 Leaves looks pretty, but this game was just a dud for all of us who were playing it. I shouldn’t say that, but for a number of us. You’re trying to shed cards so you empty your hand the fastest. But there’s not that much more that feels like is happening in the game. And for that reason probably one of the lowest rated games I’ve played.

Pokemon

Got to catch ’em all. I play a number of trading card games, and Pokemon is one that my kid is interested in. I’m not super excited by the game, it’s simple and my kid cares more about the Pokemon than the game. So just an okay game for me, but that’s fine because not every game needs to be for everyone.

Wingspan

This is a game that I actually owned for a bit but I never got it played. And it does some things that I like. I like the engine building elements of the game and in general I like engine building games. Wingspan is definitely helped out by all the birds. For me, it’s a good game, but it isn’t game that I’m going to come back to all the time.

7 Wonders Dice

A spin off of a really popular game, is 7 Wonders Dice good? I think that it is okay. The game mechanism are simple, you roll dice, they get split into different costs, you can reduce the costs, and then you fill in a spot. That is what the game is, and that’s not bad. But it also is way less exciting than a lot of roll and write games. And compared to 7 Wonders or 7 Wonders Duel, this game is a notable step down.

All In: A Flip & Write Showdown

The final one of the games is another roll and write style game. All In is a poker flip and write game and I have been enjoying poker games recently. You build your best hand of cards on various rows and columns. And you get bonus points for filling them in before other people do. It’s simple, you can print and play with a deck of cards pretty easily. It isn’t a roll and write style game I want to play all the time, but it’s not bad.

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