We’re back and this might be the last of new to me games for the month of May. Of course, all of this is on the way to 1000 games rated on board game geek. I’m just about, I think I’ve said before I was over, to 850 games rated. But my playing new games has definitely slowed down over the last few months. So let’s see how close I can get by the end of 2026, though I expect it’ll be 2027 when I get there.

May Part 2

Double Seven

Double Seven is a meh game, that’s the best that I can say about it. This is a game where you are trying to collect multiple groups of seven cards. But each of these groups, or sets, you can add to them, trade them, and it’s basically draw cards and hope you get what you want. Granted, you get points some ways, but it’s not interesting ways.

Catopomp

Catopomp is a bit more fun than Double Seven. In this game you are shedding cards from your hand. Basically what that means is that you want to get rid of your cards first. Your hand is cards that are in or on their way to heaven, and then when you play out cards, you send cards to hell. Those cards that are sent to hell you need to get rid of as well as you play sets or runs. But if someone can’t beat what you played, you give them one hell card. Plus there are dice that you can use. The more I talk about it, the more I’m like, this game is fun.

First Giants

First Giants is kind of a remake of a game. I say kind of because it isn’t a direct remake, but there are a lot of elements that are similar to Elysium. In this game you are collecting different dinosaurs and then displaying them in a museum. But each dinosaur you get has an instant ability or an ability that stays that you use to build up a little engine. I like the theme, I like the artwork and I like how simple of a game that this is to learn and play.

Slambo!

Slambo is not a game that I should like as much as I do. This is a sumo wrestling themed game, but it is so simple that it just works. You have a hand of cards that you play out onto a shared stack. And you want to keep the stack from going below 0 or above 10. And you want to make it so that it’s hard for your opponent to do that. So your cards are positive and negative points, or maybe equal to the last one played. And whomever gets knocked out of the ring twice first loses and everyone else wins. It’s simple, but it’s fast, fun, and gives you some cool moments.

Ipso

Another one that I should just be okay on is Ipso. Ipso is a style of game that is really simple, but also a style that I kind of like. You have a pyramid of cards in front of you. Those cards go from 1 to 90, I believe, but you don’t know what you have because they are face down. On your turn, you take a card and put it into your pyramid, flipping up the card that way there. You get points for cards in a row of your pyramid being in ascending order, having stars on them, and all being the same color. That’s it for the game, simple, but just fun.

Top 5 New Games From May

5. Ipso

Let’s just stick with Ipso as it’s my #5 for the month of May. It’s simple, but I’ve played it a number of times and it’s always fun. Is it very lucky, yes, but you can still do well even if you don’t get all three of the scorings right. And sometimes you want a game that you can sit down and play quickly.

4. Catopomp

Catopomp is one that really grew on me and now I’m going to be playing more of it on BGA. Card shedding is fun, and games like DNUP and Scout are some of my favorites. Catopomp is a bit more complex than those, I think, just because of how it works, but one that I think is a good time still and offers strategy that is fun with it as well.

3. Slambo!

Yes, Slambo! is my #3 for the month of May. And out of all the games, while I want to get my top two, might be the first one I pick-up. This game is small and just a silly good time. The theme works for the game. And I like the feeling of playing cards in a clever manner. Is it really that clever in how you play them, sometimes yes, sometimes no, really you just want to get it as close to either 10 or 0 as possible. But I like Games where you can lock people into choices like that if you play smartly.

2. First Giants

First Giants is a blast of a game. I like engine building. And while First Giants has pretty light engine building it’s a ton of fun. And while I know people who just are going to keep Elysium, I don’t own that game, and I’ve heard that First Giants streamlines a little bit. So I really want to get this one as a fun and friendly game.

1. Darwin’s Journey

And then finally we have Darwin’s Journey. This is easily my favorite out of all the new to me games this month. This is a tight worker placement game where is goes by so fast it feels like you can’t do nearly all that you want to do. I need to get another game of this going because it’s just so fun. Do I play it well, certainly not, but I have a very good time with it.

Which of the games from May sounds the most fun to you? And are there any that you’d like to get a full review of? Let me know which those are.

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