5 Hobbies I Wish I Had More Time For

5. Lego

Lego is one that is lower on the list because it’s one that I do spend more time/money/space on when it comes to hobbies. But I’d love to spend more on it. I own a bunch of loose bricks that I need to create a space where I can work on my Castle/Marvel mash-up because I think it’ll be awesome. But I need time for that. And as I build, I need space for it. And as I build I also need money for that. I own a lot of the figures I want for Marvel. But I’d love to get more figures from the knights sets. Same with more castle pieces and things like that.

It’s going to be an undertaking, plus we have Rivendell to finish building. And there are a few other sets floating around in my household that I’d love to build. I even have a Ninjago set that I need to rebuild for the third time. But it’s all about finding the time for that. This and another one on the list are two that I can work on while watching movies or anime, so I need to start using my hobby time better for that.

4. Comic Books/Manga

Let’s just say that my free time is limited and that is why comics have kind of gone by the wayside. Also, if you were checking out the comics that I was getting in on the 10 Minute Marvel YouTube, doesn’t help that Things From Another World closed down their website. But I want time to not just collect comics but also to read them.

So what’s getting in the way? Time is, but I should make more time. With my work schedule I get two half hour breaks during my shift. And when I get those breaks I play games on BGA, checkout my Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, but I should start reading more Marvel comics on my Marvel Unlimited subscription. The same is true for my manga subscription through Crunchyroll. No reason not to get a couple of chapters or comics read in those.

3. D&D

Dungeons and Dragons is an odd one to have on the list. I run a game every other week, but I want to play more. In particular right now, I want to run a Dungeon Crawler Carl style of game. I think that it could be fun to stream, but I don’t know with that time or with what group. Having read almost four of the the Dungeon Crawler Carl books, thus far, I think that I could have a ton of fun with it.

The reason that I want to do more of this is that I have fun hanging out, chatting, and playing a game. Dungeons and Dragons is the best when it’s done in that fun setting where everyone is having a good time. And I want to have more of that hangout time, especially if I can go crazy and run a Dungeon Crawler Carl campaign.

2. Magic the Gathering

I am kind of getting back into Magic the Gathering. This is more, though, as a collector right now than as a player. And in terms of hobbies, this is probably a good one not to get fully back into. But with Magic the Gathering releasing sets for Lord of the Rings, Avatar the Last Airbender, Spider-Man, and Marvel Super Heroes, I’m back in.

What I want is more time to play the game. And really with that more time to deck build and have fun with that. I probably have enough Marvel cards between the two sets to create some interesting decks. Or I’d love to get the draft box and draft with friends. But I also don’t want to dive fully in. Magic is an expensive hobby, like most are, so I need to plan it out what I get and how I play.

1. Painting/Coloring Minis

I own a lot of grey plastic. This is the hobby that they don’t tell you about when it comes to board games. You end up with a lot of great plastic and your new hobby can be painting minis. If you play campaign games like I do, you probably will never run out of minis to paint. But I also said color because I own acrylic markers that I can use on the Marvel United chibi figures.

Why do I want to do more of this? Because the minis will all look better. Great minis are fine, I play with grey minis all the time. But I’d love to play with brightly colored minis that look like the characters they are meant to represent. And it’s pretty relaxing and a good way to listen to audiobooks as well.

Final Thoughts

There are so many great hobbies out there. I’d love to spend more time on homebrewing again or smoking things, but all of these things require time, money, and often times space that just doesn’t exist. What are hobbies that you wish you had more time, space, or money for that you’d go all in.

And yes, I know it wasn’t on the list, but I wish I had more board game time.

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5 Games I Wish More People Knew About

Just a few rules for this, it can’t be a 2025 or 2026 release. Yes, 2025 has had time for people to play these games, but often these games get listed as 2025 and are a crowdfunding game or don’t get a big release until later. And I need to have rated it an 8 or higher.

5. Stipulations

This is a party game that I championed, but one that has left my collection. This game only has 74 ratings and I rated it an 8. I like it for a party game but it kind of ran out of steam in the long run for them. But compared to a lot of party games that keep on pumping out new content (Cards Against Humanity) this one is a lot better. I like the idea of making up a goofy stipulation for something whether it’s the super power of flight, or being able to speak any language. And it’s a tried and true formula, for the most part for a party game.

4. Black Hole Buccaneers

I kind of get why this game is overlooked. When it comes to games, set collection and drafting are pretty common. And this one does that with just a little twist as you try and draft the best loot over several rounds. The twist is that if you have the most of one item you’re going to get busted and lose points for that, so can you get just less than the person who has most. But it’s a small box game and one that a lot of people, I think, would enjoy if they played it. And only 325 people have rated it.

3. 61 Autumn Leaves

I know why this game is not as rated. It is not actually in print. It is a game that you can do a print and play version of but that is it. And for that reason it is going to be less rated, and only has 353 ratings. But it is on BGA, so play it there. The roll and write is not complex in this game. You want to fill in areas to score points. And if you do it first, you get bonus points. You also get bonuses, though, if you fill in to the right numbers. Not a complex game, but one that is fun and easy to play.

2. Age of Wonders: Planetfall

This game kind of came and went, and I enjoy it a lot. But it is not that common off the shelf was it’s only 362 rated. This is a game of building up your planet/faction to gain the most points. And you play it out over several different planets/ages to see who can get the most. The asymmetric factions work well. And I remember while there is a little learning curve the game is not hard and the factions aren’t that asymmetric, they just give you a good focus.

1. Relics of Rajavihara

If you want to see game play of this, I have it down below. I streamed it a few years ago on Malts and Meeples. This is another crowdfunding game, so that is one reason it isn’t as often rated. But for a solo puzzle game, I really like it. The game is clever and the puzzles work well. Relics is also a really familiar idea for a game in terms of puzzle solving. Maybe more people went back to the video games like this instead of playing it, but more than 442 people should rate it.

Final Thoughts

Like I said at the start, there are so many games to play. And while I like all of these games, generally rating them 8’s. If a game has some reason, like being crowdfunding or solo or print and play, it is going to reduce that appeal of a game. I think that some of them do deserve more love. So while Stipulations is probably impossible to find, check out some of the others at least on BGA if you can. And maybe if it sounds interesting, find them and give them a rating on Board Game Geek.

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Gen Con Pre-Orders

Let’s start off with a kind of list of games and expansions that I’ve already ordered because you can get a lot of these around the time of Gen Con even if you aren’t going to Gen Con.

The first one is the Flip Toons Season 2 standalone expansion. What’s a standalone expansion, you can play it by itself or mix it with Flip Toons. Flip Toons is a game of building out your best two by three grid, exceptions of course to this sort of game, that is going to score you the most points. Everyone improves their grid by getting rid of cards and adding in new ones. This doesn’t change up the core game, but it just adds more to it.

The next is Tag Team: Arthur’s Legacy and I’m not sure if this is standalone as well as an expansion, but it’s more stuff for Tag Team. Tag Team is an auto battling game where you try and outsmart your opponent so you knock one of their characters out before they knock out one of yours. It’s awesome and so easy to get more characters for because you just swap out who you play with.

Final three are Camp Grizzly, Jisogi and Hell of a Deal. Both of these were crowdfunding games. Camp Grizzly is a horror game of trying to survive that classic scenario of a summer camp gone wrong. And Hell of a Deal is a cooperative poker game playing poker against the devil. I backed both on crowdfunding and Camp Grizzly will be here soon. Hell of a Deal should follow shortly, but might not get it before the Gen Con folks do. And Jisogi is all about running your best anime studio in a heavy game.

Top 5 Games I Want From Gen Con

5. Kobayakawa

A little trick-taking-esque game from Oink! games. This one is one that I’d love to get and play from Gen Con. The idea is really interesting. You want to win the trick, but to do that, you need the highest number. The twist is that there is a card in the middle of the table. And the player with the lowest number in the hand gets to add that to their total. Now, that might not be high enough to win, but it might be. And instead of playing cards as traditional in trick-taking, you can swap your card with one from the deck, or you can swap that middle card.

4. Mystic Curling Club

This is one that last year I was interested in how the game demoed. I heard some about it, but now it’s a thing and I’m curious about how it plays. The theme is what has me for this game, a magical curling club, plus then dexterity as you flick your curling stones (dice) down the board. I hope that it is a game that is silly fu n and when reviews start coming out that people will love it, because it’s one I really want.

3. Azure

I wrote about Azure as it’s one of the new games I’ve played this year, but now I’m talking about it for Gen Con. This is a two player abstract game of scoring points and winning majorities in some areas. I like how it works with the majorities because you are able to flip them and they give you an advantage. Also the spots you play depend on the cards you have in hand, but you can make spots cheaper by having your stones in that row or column. Fast, abstract, and really fun.

2. Pet Quartet

This one is probably an odd one because it’s about drafting animals. But it’s done in an “I split, you choose” sort of manner. And only animals that are by themselves or in a quartet at the end of the game are going to score you points. So I expect it’s going to be light and fast, but how do you split the cards so that you can get what you want all while not giving your opponents what they want. Of course, if you make one good for you, will they steal it and block you from it.

1. Torchlit

Torchlit sounds just like my type of game. It’s a trick-taking game and I like trick-taking games a lot. But it’s also a dungeon crawler, kind of. More that you have to fight and defeat monsters as part of that trick-taking which I assume is going to be what gives you points. That theme is just on point for me and from Allplay, I find that I like most of their games.

Bonus Gen Con Expansions

So let’s quickly talk a few expansions that I’d love to get my hands on as well. There is another princess for Rebel Princess which I love, so that one would be awesome to get. And then one that I expect is going to be really popular the Rock Hard 1977: Ear Candy sounds good, I really like that game. And then for a couple of games that I like more tiles for Castle Combo and Faraway just adding a little more to those games. Finally two from PlayPunk Captain Flip: Isla Bomba is just new maps, not new rules for Captain Flip and for one of my favorite games, more stuff for Zenith.

5 I’m Asking To Be Bought For Me

Now, you might think that I’d just ask for the games that were in my top 5. And while that is tempting, some of them are a little bit more expensive. And they are also larger so with shipping costs not being cheap I don’t want someone to do that for me and have to lug those games around.

The five that I’m most interested in getting shipped to me Kobayakawa, Pet Quartet, and Torchlit make it from the list. The other two are Questline from Thunderworks Games. This one maybe should have been on the list, but also is less important that it is. It’s a game company that I’m always down to try their games and Questline looks like a good time. And then between Phantom of the Opera a two player trick-taking game and Trick to the Future another trick-taking game but one where you can rewrite tricks that have happened?

Final Thoughts

There are so many amazing games coming out this year at Gen Con. That is always true, but I think it’s worth highlighting again. While not all of the games are for me, if I were at Gen Con, I’d probably sit down and try any of them.

What games do you hope to pick-up at Gen Con?

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Why The Surprise

Firstly, it’s a surprise because of the niche genre that it comes out of. The genre is LitRPG. This is a blend between literature and a role playing game. Not that you are playing a role playing game, but that a role playing game is baked into what Dungeon Crawler Carl is, at least in some way.

This genre is known for interesting quality of books, let’s just say that. It’s one that a lot of RPG players take their own stories and ideas and try and turn it into something. So you get a lot of noise from people who aren’t authors in this genre which means that it’s hard to find the good ones. That makes it even more impressive for Dungeon Crawler Carl because it’s a niche genre with a lot of noise that not much breaks free from that community that reads those books.

And the Author, Matt Dinniman is one of those turned authors not someone who has been an author for a long time. It’s not like GRR Martin did a LitRPG book or Matt Mercer, big from the RPG side of things, did a book. People would flock to those because of the names, this is one that rose above the noise because of itself.

What Is The Premise of Dungeon Crawler Carl

So we’ve determined that it is a litRPG. But what does that mean in this case?

Well, the story kicks you off with the end of the world. Well, not the end of the world but the end of the world as we know it happening. And if you want a fighting chance to survive, you probably need to go into this game that an alien race is hosting on the remains of Earth. So that is what Carl does along with his ex’s cat Princess Donut.

From there, everything else would be pretty big spoilers beyond that first chapter or two of the first book. But basically in this game you level up. Hence the LitRPG status.

What Makes It So Good?

Firstly, it’s good because Carl is good. Carl is a well written main character who finds himself in a crazy situation and reacts in ways that are unexpected but also develops as a character. It’s someone who isn’t perfect, he knows that and is carrying lots of baggage with him while going in. And the supporting characters are wonderful. They grow and change and challenge each other. There isn’t a character that I look at that is poorly written. Not all of them get much time in the books, but all of them are interesting.

Then is how the book blends so many things together. I’ll talk about big ideas soon, but it’s a good story with a plot that is strong enough to carry everything. But there is great comedy in the book as well and the comedy serves the story, not just being tossed on top. Or maybe just a bunch of comedy with no real plot, it has plot.

And it has big ideas. Dinniman is writing a sci-fi/fantasy/comedy/LitRPG story that is touching on a lot of real world things. I like how it is this absurd setting but there is real world underneath it all. But, Dinniman does a great job writing it because it’s not just real world preaching. I read books where they are bad because they touch on an important topic poorly. The big ideas need to support the story, not the other way around.

Have You Read Dungeon Crawler Carl

So that’s just a little bit on Dungeon Crawler Carl. I’ll be back once I get caught up on the series to talk about it. I recommend, highly, checking it out. And if you don’t have time to sit down and read something that long, checkout the amazing audiobooks. They are some of the best audiobooks that I’ve ever listened to, and I’m not even that far into it. Plus, if you want more, checkout the comic book. I wouldn’t jump in there, but if you want to revisit Dungeon Crawler Carl, it’s a good spot to do so.

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Party Game

Yes, I put party as the first one in terms of a game to start a collection. A good party game is going to get played more consistently than any other game in that players collection. Why, because they probably play games with people who don’t play as many games. And this is where you can help find a better game for that person. Or if that person is you, can you pick a game that won’t grow stale.

That is the issue with a lot of party games. I used to play Cards Against Humanity. I don’t want to anymore, but the same is true for Apples to Apples. Both of these games grow stale over time. When I play a game of Apples to Apples i know the cards and if I know the cards the sense of discovery or creativity/surprise goes out the window. So you make it adult like Cards Against Humanity, that is better, right, no, the same thing happens.

Instead my recommendation is Blank Slate, this game keeps a lot of the party game feel but players are filling in one word. And they are using their own creativity and minds to try and match with other players and come up with words. Much of the laughing this game is not what people come up with, but them coming up with the word.

Strategy

Next up is a strategy game. I am not going to recommend here that you dive into a heavy strategy game. Maybe Chess is the option here, but I want a game that plays more than two people. And when I say strategy, I also don’t mean a game like Chess with zero luck. For a new gamer and a new game, a little bit of luck is often good because the strategy games that they have played, like Risk, still offer a good amount of luck tot hem.

For this I’m going to recommend the game Five Tribes. Five Tribes is a step up from games that people generally start into the hobby with, Catan and Ticket to Ride. But it’s not too complex. And it’s a good one because there is a little bit of luck as to what comes out. But also everything is laid out from the start of the game in terms of how you can move. So there is strategy. It also is very freeing in that it let’s you score how you want to score in a given game. Which is a bit overwhelming a times, but also fun to try new strategies.

Cooperative

Next is a cooperative game. This one I think might surprise some folks, but it’s a good way for new gamers to play a game with people who maybe have been burned by games. A three our game or Risk and you lost an hour in and are not waiting around. Or everyone ganged up on you, cooperative is your way to introduce new games to them.

Pandemic is going to be my choice here. This one offers strategy to it but also a great cooperative and work together feel as you have to pass off cards and try and deal with diseases as a team. It’s also not too complex of a game. But it might be the game that someone found as the one to get them into the hobby or looking for more.

So a back-up to that is going to be Marvel United. This one is another one that really has you working together as you play out cards and take actions while hoping the villain won’t take you out first. And there is amazing variety in this game for it to grow with the gamer. But even in the base box, this one is going to become a comfortable game quickly.

Filler Game

First off, what is a filler game? A filler game is a smaller game that you can play pretty quickly without taking the whole evening. A lot of the other games I’ve talked about are bigger and might take an hour or more to play. So this is something that should take half an hour or less to play. And the reason for that in a game collection is that they are great for that week night want to play something, or take to a bar and play something.

There are a lot of options that that I could pick here. But I want to pick a new game Symbiosis. This one is going to be a game that kind of feels familiar to some card games that you maybe played growing up. Face down cards in front of you are going to feel like a game that I can’t remember the name of. But in this one you want to score points and the more points the better, so you trade cards out from a grid and depending where they are depends on how they score. I like that it feels familiar but grown up scoring.

Combative

Finally, buy them a combative game. So, on my list thus far are mainly competitive games. But I think that this type of game, combative, is something that for a new gamer and a new collection makes a lot of sense to add into it. And there are a lot of good options and reasons for this. The big reason is that a lot of games you play before getting into hobby games offer take that to it.

So I’m not going to suggest Munchkin or King of Tokyo, mainly because those games often introduce people to more games. I’m going to go with one of my favorites in Dice Throne. Dice Throne is all about attacking your opponent to knock down their health. And each character is going to be different and unique in how they do that. Plus it uses Yahtzee style dice rolling which is going to feel familiar.

Plus there are Marvel sets as well as then as fantasy sets. Yes, there is a lot for this game, but that’s another pretty good thing. Because like Marvel United, you can always buy more once you feel like you know the base game. And then you add that variety and choice that will keep the game coming back.

What Game Category Do You Play Most?

I think that these are a good way to start a collection. And I think that it’s a good way not to overwhelm someone. You come into my game room as someone who doesn’t play games, there are hundreds of games. You don’t even know where to start looking. The same is true for a game store, what do you pick up off the shelf? And there are a lot of games (Root) that look like one thing and are something completely different. So what game did you first play to get into hobby games?

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What Is A TCG?

A TCG, trading card game, is a game, like any other. The difference is that TCG’s have randomized packs of cards, often with different rarities. You’ve likely heard of two main ones with Magic the Gathering and Pokemon. Now you can also buy pre-made decks for the sets that come out, often for these, but they are going to be more vanilla versus the cards you can get in packs.

These games also generally have another element in common besides the distribution method. And that is that you play with a deck of cards. As I mentioned, you can play with a pre-built deck of cards. These often come in starter boxes for these games. Or you can build your own. And that is where it starts to get into it for some people, but we’ll talk about it.

Why People Avoid a TCG

There are few main reasons that people avoid a TCG. And I think some of them is kind of valid. One is kind of ridiculous because it’s not about the game itself. It’s about the methodology in which game is released. These games are released in sets and some versions of how you play, mainly in tournaments, care about when the cards are from, and the better cards and rarer cards become very expensive for the best decks.

This reason is dumb because no one is making you play the game that way. You can play any of the games casually. And you don’t need the expensive cards for that. As long as your group has a mindset of how they want to play, these games can be reasonable.

Now, it is important to know yourself and your groups tendencies. Is someone going to go all in on the game? Then a TCG is going to be a massive money sink and you’ll get an imbalance in the play groups. So know that before you dive in, but that’s a person issue, not a reason to avoid the game.

Better Reasons

There are better reasons to avoid the game. Though, the player reason of resources and group experience balance is a very valid reason to avoid it. Though, I’ll remind everyone again that this is a player issue, not a game issue. So don’t blame Pokemon for releasing too many sets, you don’t need to keep up.

Another reason is that they tend to have take that elements to the game. In Magic the Gathering, the blue cards often counter what your opponent is going to do. So that confrontational and negative interaction space might not work for your group. Granted, there are some other TCG that are out there which might work better because they don’t have. They also tend to be fighting games where you are either attacking the other player(s) or their creatures/characters.

Deckbuilding is hard. Now, I think that this is a valid reason if you have a group that is into that. Even if the power levels and money being spent are very tame, if you run a pre-built deck versus a cheaply built deck that someone has built, it’s probably going to be weaker. But let’s talk about deckbuilding more later on.

Why You Should Still Play

Are there reasons to play these games? I think that a good TCG is still fun to play and there are certainly good reasons.

The first one I can think of is that they offer such a variety of play and experience for the players. Are the games generally all head to head or attack another player, yes. But how you do that can really be tailored to what you like in a game. And with that comes a level of creativity that you can build your deck with. Even if you don’t want to build a deck, almost all of the companies who make a TCG offer you decks that you can just buy to play.

And like I said, I wanted to talk about the deckbuilding aspect of the game. Yes, it is not going to be for everyone as I’ve mentioned before. But when you get into it, I think that it’s a great way to stretch yourself and grow your ability to think logically. You need to puzzle out a deck and determine what is going to make that deck work and what cards make a sense to put in there. Either cards that you buy or cards that you already own. And I think that’s a good skill in general for people to have in life. So this is a fun way to get it.

Also, there is a theme for everyone. You want to play sci-fi, superhero, fantasy, gothic, etc. You can do all of that, and that is just in Magic the Gathering. Other games often give you a more specific theme, but we’ll talk about that and maybe which ones you want to try.

Which One Should You Play?

So, let’s just jump into that. What games should you play? I think that there are a lot of good ones. But it’s all going to depend on who you are as a gamer. And, in the rare care, if you want to play solo/cooperatively.

Magic the Gathering

Magic the Gathering is a great one to jump into if you want a game with a ton of different themes in a single system. You want to play Marvel, you can do that. You want to play Lord of the Rings or Final Fantasy or Doctor Who, you can do that. Or if you just want to play in their own world that is certainly an option as well.

But beyond the theming, it’s one that has the best support for playing in almost any area. You are most apt to find people to play it with and who play at different levels or different types of Magic the Gathering. And that should be mentioned, Magic itself supports almost any way you want to play.

Magic the Gathering is also the one that has the biggest variety in how you can play. Decks are going to feel very different across the different colors and factions. The downside is that if you get into it, there is so much coming out it’s going to feel very overwhelming.

Pokemon

I think that Pokemon is a great game if you are going to play with a younger audience. The decks are simpler, and the video games and TV shows clearly market it to that broader audience. You will be able to teach the game to younger players faster because they don’t need to know as much and deck construction itself is going to be easier, though, it’s going to offer less variety.

And that’s kind of the downside. But this game does have another downside. And this is where the model of how these games are released does impact the game. Pokemon is highly collectible. And that means that it’s very hard to find with lots of scalpers in the space. So it’s not as cheap and easy to play as it should be if you just want to buy packs.

One Piece

One Piece is probably going to be the most niche theme of all the ones with just one theme that I talk about. But I think the game play itself is very welcoming in how it works. Yes, you do attack and everything, but it does what Pokemon does in that it gives you prize cards. These are just cards from your deck that are set aside randomly. But it means that you are knocking down your opponents boss.

The complexity of the game play is also more in line with Pokemon. Now, there is more going on, there are cards that interrupt what your opponent is doing. So there is more challenge there. But it does what the next two games do well which is you can’t always play everything, in Pokemon you kind of can, but you are always getting what you need to play more.

Star Wars: Unlimited

Now, if you like Star Wars, this is going to be the one to go with. But it’s also the one that I’d recommend the most. It’s that balance of interesting deck building and being able to lean into synergies, without diving all the way into the volume and complexity of Magic the Gathering.

In this game it also removes that one element of timing that you get in the One Piece TCG and Magic the Gathering. You don’t interrupt what your opponent is doing. In fact you take an action, which can be playing a card or activating an ability or attacking and then your opponent goes. No blocking, not turns taking a long time. This one balances that deckbuilding fun and then fast game play.

Lorcana

Finally is Lorcana which is for the Disney fans. This one is more complex than Pokemon, but not too complex, I’d say easier than One Piece or Star Wars Unlimited. For that reason it wasn’t for me, but it is for a lot of people and the theme is the most welcoming out of any of them. And an element I didn’t talk about, the communities for these games, this one is probably the most welcoming.

And some of that is because this is a game that kids are able to play, easily, though a lot of them aren’t that hard to play. But it’s also the least “violent” one. This one you are going for a goal instead of trying to knock down your opponents life/base/characters as much. Yes, that is still part of the game, but it’s not the whole game.

Do you play any of these, if so which is your favorite TCG?

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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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June New To Me Games (Part 1)

Fugitive

Fugitive is a pretty fun game of cat and mouse. One person is the fugitive, the other is the law. The fugitive player plays out cards to try and get from 1 to, I believe, 42. But they can only go so far, at least go so far without playing extra cards. The playing of the extra cards gives the law player an idea of what number they might be on. The law then guesses a or several numbers to see if they are right. But if you guess several you need to get all of them right. It’s simple, it’s fast, and it’s decent in terms of that cat and mouse. I think I’d like it better in person.

Bunny Kingdom Town

This is one of the games that I now own. Or I should say I will own, I have a copy waiting for me, this and Bunny Kingdom, at a local game store, just need to swing in and get it. Bunny Kingdom is great at more than 2, and Bunny Kingdom Town is the two player version. I like how simple it is, drafting tiles and placing them. But there is also good strategy as you try and smartly build out your town to get a large group and trigger the best point scoring options that you can.

Dice Throne: Vanguard

I love Dice Throne so I know I’m going to like these characters and I do. But after having played it twice, I’m not sure that the Vanguard characters are going to be my favorite. They do some very interesting things and offer fun puzzles to them. But mechanically I’m not sure that they are my favorite. The Forgemaster, for example, forges armor and that upgrades their defense and what they do each time attacked. But it’s at the cost of some other upgrades in the deck, so that’s fun, just not as fun as I had hoped.

YRO

This was a cool battling game that I was pretty impressed by. I’m not sure I’m going to pick it up, but I liked how it worked. You faced off against your opponents but as you did that, you get points for beating them and for how you have your team set-up. And then you keep on adding to your team, though you might lose some in the fight. I like it on BGA because it’s doing some of the bookkeeping for you. In person, I think I’d get it quickly, but it’d be a bit more of a learning curve.

Tinners’ Trail

Tinners’ Trail is an interesting resource selling game. You’re bidding on mines, mining them, and adding upgrades to them in an attempt to sell at the right time and get the most money and points. The BGA implementation is very solid for it, though I messed up on one part because it’s not very visually obvious. But I like how the game works, it’s not too complex, but there are good moments where you try and get your opponent to bid something up more, but that might mean you get stuck with it. One I want to play more.

P.I.

This is a game that should be better in person. Mainly because it’s a deduction game of trying to solve several cases and you need to guess right fastest to get the most points, but if you guess wrong you are losing points. The downside to this game is that it’s kind of long, at least on BGA. And the game doesn’t change from round to round, you just do the same thing three times. I think it’d be better in person, but it’s not a super dynamic deduction game.

Verdant

Verdant is the third game in the line of Calico and Cascadia. It’s another tile laying, those this time cards as tiles where you are trying to get your house plants in the right spot. It’s fun, but I like the others better. It is kind of in between how restrictive and tight Calico can feel, which I love that feeling. And how friendly and welcoming Cascadia is. For that reason, while it’s a lot of fun, I think that I don’t want it for my collection like I do with the other two.

The Bloody Inn

The Bloody Inn is a game with a great theme. You are running and Inn trying to make the most money you can, but sometimes the easiest way to do that is kill off your guest and bury them. Of course you need space to do that. It’s one that I have been wanting to play for a long time. And I’ll say, it feels like there is more going on than expected. But it was also my first time playing it, so I’m pretty sure I didn’t optimize my strategy at all. I want to try it in person just so I can spend more time with it and not have as much time between turns.

Taluva

Taluva is a game that I’d never have checked out myself, but because someone wanted to learn it I did. And I thought it was pretty fun. You are placing out tiles and layering them to try and get your temples, towers, and tribe played out faster than the other players. But you can only play out some of those fancier buildings if they are in the right configuration and on the right level. It’s not one that I strongly want to come back to, but it’s a fun puzzle as you play.

FlipToons Season 2

Finally for this section is a game that I really love in FlipToons and the second season of it. That just means that there are more cards and you need to figure out what combos work best with those. I almost didn’t put it on the list just because it’s more of the same thing to play. But like Dice Throne Vanguard, it is it’s own stand alone thing. You don’t need to play it with the original game, though you can and that is going to be fun to mix and match and see how different combos work.

That’s it for this part of June. I have more games to talk about as well which I’ll do tomorrow. Is there one of these games that you really want to try?

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I’m going to be fairly loose with the definition of what of a kids game is. I say that because Spot It! is a kids game and I have it rated fairly lowly, but it’s also an easy game to play with no gamers. So it could maybe be on the list, but it isn’t. Final caveat, I’m skipping the mass market games as well that could make the list.

5 Lowest Rated Games I Own

5. Lucky Numbers

This one is a fine little game of selecting a number at random and seeing if you can build up your grid. Your goal is to get a grid where it goes from high to low in both columns and rows. It reminds me a lot of Rack-o, but with little clovers instead. This is a fun little game, not one that I love, but one that works well for very casual groups because of that Rack-o feel.

I basically gave away why it is staying in my collection, at least for now. It’s so simple to teach and play that it works well with family groups. I will say the solo mode for the game sucks, it’s basically a puzzle mode and a completely different game. I played it on Malts and Meeples, so you can checkout that video to see what that is like below.

Grade On BGG: 6.5 Solo: 2

4. Quiddler

This one is kind of a mass market game. I say kind of because yes you can buy it at Target. But not that many people do. Quiddler is a word game where you are drawing a certain number of cards and trying to make your best word. Then you draw more cards the next round. It kind of has that Kings Crown or Phase 10 vibes to it, but a word game.

I keep this one because it is a word game and there aren’t that many word games. Now, I own First Class Letters, so that might cause the game to leave my collection as I own a word game I like better. But that one is different and has a time pressure on it.

3. Ito

This game is just a meh party game for me. Mainly because it feels too jankey in what it does. It’s a game with only a little bit of structure as you try and put cards in numerical order blindly. It’s not blindly but you are giving your clue of how good or bad something is based off of the number. And everyone’s scale is different. It’s an icebreaker game that kind of expects you to know the people some.

So why is it staying, it stays because my group likes it. And while it has more of that activity/icebreaker vibe to it, I don’t dislike it enough to not have it in my collection. For games that I really hate, they leave even if others like them.

Grade on BGG: 6

2. Lure

Lure from Allplay is one of their little square box games. This one is a fishing game where you are rolling dice and trying to catch the fish that are swimming by. The game is really simple and while it’s not a bad game because of that, it’s just not that exciting when it comes to games.

This one sticks around because I like having these little square boxes from Allplay. I realized that there are a couple that I need to order or get back just so I can have them all. That’s a dumb reason to keep them, and I’ll probably get rid of more of them as time goes on, but right now I enjoy having them.

Grade on BGG: 6

1. Sword Art Online Board Game: Sword of Fellows

This is kind of a Yahtzee style game where you are rolling to defeat boss monsters. As you defeat them and go up levels you unlock new powers. You also get to switch like they do in Sword Art Online so that is a way to avoid enemy attacks. But the rules on this game are not that clearly written. And the combat is really lucky.

So why is this one staying my collection, and what did I rate it? It’s staying in my collection because I love Sword Art Online and there is no other SAO game out there. I wish there was a good one or a big campaign one where you play in that death game. But there’s not, so this one sticks around because of that.

Grade on BGG: 5

Do you have a game or games that you own that you don’t love?

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5 Games That I Want To Start Streaming

5. Too Many Bones

I own so much Too Many Bones, and I like the game so much. For that reason, it’s one of those games that I want to stream. The tricky part with streaming Too Many Bones is that it’s not a sit down and stream a whole session in one night and have an easy saving point. Now, the simple way around that is to use the recessed part of the table.

The other thing that is keeping me from doing it is that I need to refresh myself on the rules. I remember them generally, but generally might not be enough to really get me started on the game. If I could just pull it out and starting playing the game, that would be one thing.

4. 20 Strong

The next one on the list is another Chip Theory Games game, I could have gone with four games from Chip Theory that I want to get played. 20 Strong, though is a smaller game to put on the list. And that is nice because it means that it’s going to be easier to get to the table.

The question with 20 Strong is where do I dive into the game at? There are four different options for me to jump in at with Chip Theory Games’ own IPs and then the one made for it with Solar Sentinels and the one that came after Tanglewood. I haven’t heard the best things about Tanglewood, but it’s also the theme that is going to be the most interesting for me at least off the bat.

3. Motor City/French Quarter

Now for another two small ones, so yes, there are 6 games on the list. But these two are kind of a pair, and I could even add in a third. I have played two roll and write games by this team/company with Fleet the Dice Games, which I believe that I streamed, and then Three Sisters. I really like both of those games, not sure which I like better.

So two more games in that line. Motor City I’ve heard okay things about. It’s a car game where you are building up your muscle car, I think and kind of going through the whole process of construction and everything to get the best car. Then the other one is about the French Quarter. Honestly, I have little to no idea as to how that one plays, but it’s from the same group so I’m interested.

2. Dragon Eclipse

Now we’re back to a huge box of a game with Dragon Eclipse. Honestly, it and the Trove Chest for Too Many Bones are about the same size. But Dragon Eclipse is going to be a game where you are taming dragons, kind of Pokémon style and they taking them out so that they are fighting for you.

This game is huge but mainly huge because I have all the dragon minis. And there is a little story and campaign that you can do as well as play against other players. But I’d be doing this as a solo game and I really want to give it a try. I played a version of it on BGA and I thought it was okay. I think it’s going to be better in person and non-PVP. And while I haven’t played it in a while, I like Dragon Eclipse a lot as a video game

1. Witchbound

Finally is Witchbound. This game I really want to play. I think it’ll be the first one I got with for multiple reasons. The first reason being how simple it is to get to the table. And it is easy to take out and put back away. And it’s an easy game to learn. While all the other games on the list I’d need to spend more time with the rules, this one it’ll be some rules learning and refreshing but fast to the table.

The other reason is the theme and some of it is the anime I’ve been watching. A girl learning that she has magical powers and become a witch, that’s awesome. I want to see how the story unfolds because I only got a little taste of this cute world. Plus I’m watching Witch Hat Atelier right now as it’s coming out and that has the same vibes.

Which of these games so you think I should try first?

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