5 Crunchyroll Anime

These are in no particular order

5. Magical Explorer

This is the one that I’m least sold on out of all of them that I’m going to talk about. The idea of a smut moving MC trying to turn themselves into a heart throb sounds like it could be funny for an anime. And I hope that it is that. But I’m also worried that it’s just going to be, I’m a horny protagonist who got isekai’ed into another world and now I’m still that same person just with a harem. And while that can still be fun, it is going to get tiring pretty quickly.

4. Reborn a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting The Strongest Ship!

This is an anime that I already know I’m going to be interested in. Probably my top or second to top one for this fall seasons. But Reborn a Space Mercenary is a manga that I’ve enjoyed. And yes, before you ask, it is another isekai. But this one is not in a fantasy setting like most of them, or a confusing setting like Trapped in a Dating Sim. This is straight up sci-fi and I’m excited to see what can be done with a setting that is a little bit less normal.

3. Firefly Wedding

Firefly Wedding is one that just sounds interesting based off of the summary. A character who is dying but then proposes to her kidnapper. There is a lot going on in that and I want to know more about it. Plus the visuals that I’ve seen for it really do look beautiful. And if an anime has a beautiful look to it, I find that I am more interested in checking it out. I hope that this one has a great aesthetic and that the tease of a dangerous obsession from the description is going to offer a unique story.

2. Hello, I Am a Witch and my Crush Wants me to Make a Love Potion!

I think that the title says it all as for why I am interested in this anime. I’m just going to call it love potion because the actual title is too long. But I want to know how it is going to turn out. My hope is for a slow build romance anime where the characters keep on bumping into each other before they fall in love. And the main character is going to make a tough decision of if they are going to help their crush with the love potion or not. I think that the answer should be yes, but then it won’t work or will work some other way.

1. Overgeared

Finally we have Overgeared. This is an anime that is from a source material that I already like. It’s a video game anime where it really isn’t quite an isekai because the main character isn’t trapped. But it is close because you are going to spend most of your time in the game with the character. But the game is a massive game that everyone in in the world is playing. And you can make money from it. So the main character wants to live that life of making a living, but it hasn’t been working out. But then he finds a secret class that no one else has. Is it his ticket to the big time, well, maybe.

Honorable Mentions of Crunchyroll

Psyren looks like a crazy anime that anything might happen in it. So I’m definitely intrigued by how that one might play out.

So What’s Wrong With Being Reborn a Goblin is an isekai so the odds are that I’m going to be checking that one out at some point in time.

The World’s Strongest Witch will round out my honorable mentions. Just the animation look for it and a plot of a disowned MC sound like it should be a fun time.

What are you going to be watching?

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Dungeon Crawler Carl Plot Synopsis

First off, let’s just refresh for those folks who might not know what Dungeon Crawler Carl is. I wrote an article/review on it not too long ago. And I am reading book 7 out of 8 right now. But it’s Earth and aliens harvest all the resources from Earth. Now, your options are survive on the surface where there aren’t many resources left. Or you can go into the dungeon and that is going to be televised across the universe. If you survive this dungeon long enough you can get taken out and get a job. But is that worth it, for Carl, the answer is yes.

The Differences

So let’s talk about the differences. Firstly, Dungeon Crawler Carl is not a system with a leveling cap to it. Or at least in the books that is not something that has been hit. So that is different from Dungeons and Dragons. In D&D you go up to level 20 and then that is it.

The other big thing is how you level up. You level up and you get to put points into stats. As well as then your skills and abilities level up. In Dungeons and Dragons terms think of it like the following. You go up to level five and you gain the spell fireball. You cast it a whole bunch of times. And after you cast it enough times it just goes up in level. You can now always cast it just a level higher even if you haven’t leveled up. Even if you don’t have a spell slot at that level.

How To Makes Dungeon Crawler Carl Work in D&D

Let’s now talk about how you make it work. I’m not too worried about the level cap for this. I think that is the element that is easiest to work around. Especially with how crazy Dungeon Crawler Carl is. I think that you can make that work at level 20 and maybe do some smaller milestone leveling or split up what you get at a level to stretch it out and give more of those rewards you expect from the book.

Leveling

But let me break down leveling even a little bit more. And let’s use the fighter as an example. If you are playing in the world of Dungeon Crawler Carl you start as a level 0 character. You get into the Dungeon and at the third floor you go from a nobody to a fighter.

Now, even before that you can start to get some skills. But we’ll talk about that in the next section. But when you hit level three of the Dungeon you become a level 1 fighter in Dungeons and Dragons terms.

Now what happens when you continue to go up in levels. You fight more monsters, and in Dungeon Crawler Carl you would go up to level 10 pretty quickly and then level 40 or 50. I think I would do something I’m going to term as micro-leveling.

Let’s use level 4 as an example because it’s easy and it’s the same for every class. At level 4 you get an ability skill increase. Now that is going to be adding in two points your ability scores. Well, instead of doing that you do a level 4a, a level 4b, and a level 4c. Level 4a is going to give you an ability point you can spend how you want. Then level 4b gives you your level up hit dice. And finally level 4c gives you your final ability point to spend.

Skills and Spells

So the next hard thing is going to be how do you handle skills and spells. As I mentioned in the differences section, in Dungeon Crawler Carl those things level up separately from everything else. And I think that there are ways to make that work as well. And that is just by scaling benefits for things. Now that is going to mess up how you calculate difficulties in a Dungeon Crawler Carl D&D campaign, but it is workable.

Spells

And maybe it is even that you start out with things weaker and then level them up. Let’s give fireball as an example. Your character learns the spell fireball. A normal fireball in Dungeons and Dragons does 8d6 fire damage, that is eight six sided dice. Well, what if it starts out at 4d6. That is still strong, you can give it out early and the more the player uses it, the more D6 damage that it can do.

Skills

Or, what about a ability skill check or saving throw? I think that things like expertise could help with that. Now that is going to again scale up your leveling plans, at least I’d assume so. But there are some things to do to make this work as well. As they level up and as you get more points in your proficiency bonus, give a % based boost of expertise. You are really good at perception, you are proficient with it, cool, you get that +2. You use it more, now you are at 125%, rounded up, so a +3. Then you level up to a level where you get +3 naturally for your proficiency, you are +4 now. You go up to 150%, you are +5.

A similar thing can be done with weapon damage or attack bonuses. And even things like the rogues sneak attack ability. Treat it like the fireball. Less damage at first but then it ramps up into that.

Loot

Finally, I didn’t mention loot before, but loot is something that is common in Dungeon Crawler Carl. And there is a lot of loot in the story. It is tricky in Dungeons and Dragons because you don’t want to give out too much loot. But I think there is a way around it.

Still be stingy with things like +3 long swords. Or a wand of fireballs. But when you give out loot, give odd more mundane objects. A ring of water walking is something that is very useful, but won’t overpower your players too much. So items that they can keep that are situationally valuable.

The other thing is to give them items that are good and powerful but limited use. A wand of fireballs but give it three charges and then it’s destroyed. As the person running the campaign then you put them in situations where it would be useful. And the players should, hopefully, use it.

But the big thing is give them those limited use, one time use items, and give them those things often. And then put them in situations where it is going to be useful and go crazy and have fun with them.

So Would You Play Dungeon Crawler Carl in D&D?

I think it could be a fun way to do it. And there is one main reason that I would say to to do it over just getting the new system. If you have a group who is interested in it but not in learning a new system. I don’t think the new system is going to be that hard to learn. But I also know from owning different gaming systems for RPG’s I tend to stick with Dungeons and Dragons. I know how it works and that is good enough for me.

But let me know if you’ve given it a try. What did you do, if anything, that was similar to what I said? How did you give it that Dungeon Crawler Carl feel?

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What Is Isekai?

First off let’s talk about what Isekai is. The concept is generally that some person, from the real world or another world gets killed, or somehow trapped in another world. This is a little bit up for debate as if they can get back from that world. You’ll see on my list that yes, I think that counts as an isekai. But that’s the general idea. You are stuck in another world, often summoned as a hero, now what do you? Do you become that hero and save the world, or do you just want to chill?

Why Is It So Popular?

I think that there are a number of reasons that isekai are popular right now. Though, I do think that the popularity of the genre is fading. Or maybe I should say, it is in vogue to stick up your nose at isekai as being too basic in the anime world and a dime a dozen. That isn’t to say that there aren’t a ton. But there are a ton because they are popular, not because there are a ton.

I think that the big reason for isekai being popular is that it’s about a character getting away from something. Getting a new lease on life and being able to build themselves up again often times into a person that they weren’t before. They get another chance at being a hero. And as an audience we like that.

It can also give you the fish out of water sort of storyline. What happens if a normal person who isn’t some big nerd ends up in a sci-fi or fantasy world. How are they going to handle everything. And that is another element that is just fun to watch.

Why Do I Like Isekai So Much?

All of the reasons that I gave above are reasons I like it. I think for me the chance for characters to become more than they were before is something that is meaningful to me. That element is something that just feels good and is something that I want to have a part of my own life.

Isekai gives me an escape into that, but it’s not to say that I don’t love my life. I love it, but I am someone who is trying to grow, learn more, do more, and help more people grow. That is why I have a passion for coaching, development, and sharing what I care about to people in my life. It’s why I’ve trained people at work and managed people, and what has driven me to that point in my career.

But I also like the wide variety of stories that it can tell. From characters who are the hero. To characters who just want to be left alone and enjoy their new life in new world. And of course with so many isekai out there now, it has gotten crazy like being reborn as a sword, a vending machine, a slime, a goblin, and so many more things.

Now, I won’t even begin to say that all of them are that good. I like a lot of them. But you’ll see the list of isekai below and you’ll know that some of them I don’t like. At the bottom of the list are a lot of them that are just annoying. And that are an isekai for kind of the wrong reasons, I’d say.

Ranking The Isekai I’ve Watched

Let me know what isekai I don’t have on my list that I need to watch?

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New Games to the Collection

Turing Machine

Out of all the games added Turing Machine is the one that I knew for sure I watched to get. Turing Machine is a deduction game where you are trying to figure out a three digit code. There is only one right solution, of course, and you need to figure that out. But you are asking a machine questions as you create a number.

It might be, is the yellow number, which I have as 4, greater than 3. If that is true, it’ll show a green check. If it is not a red x. There are other things, like is the total of the numbers odd or even. Are there repeating numbers. Things like that for each one and you want to figure out the puzzle faster than other players by using the fewest clues possible. It’s a great thinky game and I love thinky games.

Northgard: Uncharted Lands

Northguard is on the list because it was so cheap. I am interested in the game. It seems like it could be a fun, bigger game of adventure without being a campaign. But it’s also a 4X games, and that is an area that I want to play more games in, but also one that I haven’t played many in. The game was really cheap, though, for how big the game is and that made it an easy one to pick-up for that reason.

Scoville

Scoville is one of the games that drew me in because of theme. I love spicy peppers and a game about that sounds fun. I actually just finished a play of it on Board Game Arena and I enjoyed it. In fact, I didn’t order the game until I was part way through and realized that I was enjoying it a lot. You plan peppers and then harvest them trying to get the spiciest pepper combinations and trade those in for points. If it weren’t for the theme I’m not sure I’d have bought it, but for the theme and my love of spicy foods, I know it’ll get played once in a while.

Spooktacular

Now another one of the games where the theme just was for me. I love spooky things and horror movies. So why not a board game all about horror movies and horror movie monsters. I own games like Camp Grizzly and Final Girl where you are trying to survive. But what about a game where you are playing the horror movies themselves.

That is what Spooktacular is. You are in a movie theater and you are the horror movies escaping from the screen. And you want to kill guests and do it in the way that your movie wants to do it. I love that all the movies have that similar objective but they all do it in different ways. It seems like my sort of game that way.

Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship

This is one that I have been looking at for a long time. It is a pretty safe bet with my wife that she’ll be interested in any Lord of the Rings games. In fact we have a few that need to get played still, with her or others. But Fate of Fellowship is based off of the Pandemic system but is it’s own game. I like that there is more going on with it in terms of complexity. But also is going to use some elements that feel similar and familiar to things that we’ve played before. That is going to make this an easier to table game.

Frost Punk: The Board Game

Finally for the new games is Frost Punk. I finally got my hands on a used copy of this game. I wanted it for a long time because I think it sounds wonderful and pretty absurd. Now, I don’t mean absurd as in really goofy, I mean as in you are being asked to make crazy decisions. And I like that in a game.

It feels like the next step, kind of, in a Dead of Winter Crossroads style game. You make a decision if you have child labor, for example, as one of the options. Is that a right or wrong choice, who knows. It’ll hurt morale but give you more workers. And sometimes you need more workers more than you need morale. But that is the sort of thing that the game is going to ask you. And I am here for that.

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New Games in September

Koi-Koi

This is a game that you play with Hanafuda cards. There are a lot of games that you can play with them, but this is the one that I picked to play, and I thought that it was okay. It’s all about trying to remove cards from your hand by matching them to ones on the board. The ones on the board and in your hand all align to a month, so you are matching that. Then you collect those cards and they create different scoring opportunities for you. You can score or you can push further. If you push further, you can score with a multiplier. But if you don’t score and your opponent gets a scoring hand you miss out.

Arctica

Arctica is a game that is actually crowdfunding now. It’s kind of rare of games like that to show-up on BGA before they are even out. But it is also a way for people to see if they are interested in the game. I think that Arctica is an interesting game with a lot of moving pieces. I mean that literally as it does have rotating cogs that you place pieces or or that change up the actions that you can do. This is one that I want to like more than I do. I think I mainly don’t like it, though, because it’s a game that is just okay to learn on BGA. There is enough going on with that I think it would be easier to learn and play in person.

Pondscape

Do you like frogs? Do you want to play board games about frogs? Than Pondscape is going to be for you. I think that it’s another one of those interesting games. And it does a lot of things like I like with tableau building and drafting. But I am also less sold on it compared to some other tableau building games. It is complex enough that it won’t work for everyone, but not as complex as some others that I like better. It’s one that I’d gladly play more and figure out more, but isn’t one that I love.

Manoir Bizarre

Manoir Bizarre is a fun game with some good choices in it. But not one that I loved. It’s about building out a weird manor to match the wants of guests and score points for completing different things. The big cool thing that it does, compared to other tableau building games, is that you are passing cards, but not drafting cards. So as you pick from your starting hand of cards you pass one to the left and one to the right and keep one for yourself. So you can try and send cards that your opponent won’t want to them.

Number Drop

Number Drop is a game that I owned but then sold. And having played it no on BGA, I’m not sad about that. There are a lot of games that use Tetris shapes. And this one is about dropping them down in Tetris style. You want to score points for getting rows completed and also for creating runs and sets of numbers. Is it fun, yes. Is it one that I want to play all the time, no.

The Builders: Middle Ages

This is an engine-ish building game. You are building your Middle Ages buildings and you need workers to do that. You can get new workers and send them to work, but you are limited by coins and action points as to how to do that best. I like games that push you to make smart and tight moves. You can’t just get all the buildings and workers and assume that you won’t spend actions just getting money. And just getting money is not helping you complete buildings. But the game is very simple, so that’s just okay.

Reflections in the Looking Glass

I really wanted to enjoy this game. I thought it sounded like a cool two player game, but in terms of two player games, it fell kind of flat for me. You are drafting in a 7 Wonders Duel sort of drafting way. And you want to win rounds by being the furthest from 0 that you can be. This is either positive or negative. The thing is, it’s hard to keep track of all of that. And because of how you draft and open things up there are sometimes that you just get stuck with it. I thought the decision space would be more than than it was, at least for me.

Chicken!

I like push your luck games. Though sometimes they are a bit too simple. This one is a nice balance of giving you push your luck but also a little decision making. You are just rolling dice and then seeing how many eggs you get. The more eggs the farther you go along the track. But as you roll you also get other symbols which add more dice. More dice, more chances to get eggs, but also more chances that you bust. So you sometimes want to stop sooner other times not so much. Because if you stop sooner you give all the dice to the next player and now they have more to roll.

Tangram City

This is a pretty fun little game of building out your city. You want your city to be part green and part brown and you want them as even as possible. Is there a theme, certainly not. But it’s still fun as you are trying to build out these areas and match the colors to get more points. But also build it as square as possible. I like what it does, but again falls into the category of a game that doesn’t blow me away with what it does. And I think that is mainly because of how simple the game really is.

Atrah

Finally for September is Atrah. This is another one of the new games that is coming out soon. A smaller game from CMON about fishing. I feel like I kind of understood my play of it. But I think I should play it some more to really figure it out. You are catching fish and then collecting fish from what you caught. Some of them give you abilities as well, and there is a set collection element. The game doesn’t feel bad to play but it also didn’t blow me away with the game play.

Top 3 Games

Normally I do Top 5 games for the month. But this month with fewer games, and it’s been busier at work so less brain space for games, it is just a Top 3 games. And even that is a little bit tricky.

3. Arctica

I do enjoy Arctica when it comes to the games from the month. I even am playing it more just so I can try and figure it out better. But like I said, there is enough going on that it is hard to play on BGA. I want to see it in person and try it there. But I also feel like it’s not a game that if I backed it I’d play often. So maybe someone I know will back it, but otherwise it’s a try before you buy for me.

2. Pondscape

Pondscape is one of those games that is just fun. I said it falls into an odd spot for me too complex for a simple tableau building game and too simple for a complex one. That might sound like a sweet spot, but it is likely the spot of games where it just isn’t going to get played that often. So yes, I’ll play it on BGA, but it won’t be one that I pick-up.

1.Manoir Bizarre

Manoir Bizarre is the one that I would consider picking up. I like how you split up the cards. And I think that the theming is fun as you play. But it also is not that unique in what it does. So while I like all the parts of it, when it comes to games to add to my collection or ones that I’d play a lot. I just don’t think it would do well for me in that area.

So is September maybe a little bit of a pass when it comes to games for me. Yes, but the more games that you play the harder it is to find the ones that you are super excited for or ones that will supplant your favorites. But still, look for tomorrows article about new games to my collection.

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First Off Some Board Games History

Board Games have come a long ways in terms of what they can do and what they are. And that is the first spot we should look at in terms of why the board game hobby is becoming more expensive. Games these days just have more in them. When games that exists only had some cards, a board, and a few tokens or other pieces that is a whole lot easier. And even those pieces were the standard pawns.

A game like Monopoly was unique in that each player piece was unique. Or a game like Clue with all the weapons, those were different and unique elements. But most of the games just used standard plastic or wooden pawns. They paired that with a standard looking board that folded in half and a standard rectangular box.

Yes, exceptions to these rules did exist for board games. But for the most part every element that you got was very standard. And that keeps prices down. It was unique when the world was introduced to something that is standard now called meeples. And then other games added more pieces, but it wasn’t that many.

Component Growth

So that launches into the first thing has driven up the cost of board games. A lot of these games could still get by with mainly standard things. Things like basic card board tokens, meeples or pawns, and cards. But as gamers we have asked for and been given more. We want to have more and higher quality pieces. And when they don’t exist, we complain and we have created a whole secondary market around 3D printing and other things to replace pieces that we want to be nicer.

The great example of this is Quacks. There are now great tokens for Quacks. Instead of buying the game again, we spend as much on those tokens. Or maybe you didn’t do that but you got coin capsules for them.

And let’s not even start on minis in games. That is the biggest area where things keep getting more expensive. I love a good mini, but we are in a minis arms race of creating bigger and crazier and more and more detailed minis that we need in games. Games where it would have been a card board standee now have minis in the core box, or at least as an add-on. And the truth is, we generally want them.

The Replayability Lie

Are you ready for me to make a lot of board gamers very mad. Your board games already have enough replayability in the box. But it’s another demand that we as gamers make. The truth is, unless it’s our favorite game we aren’t going to play a game 50 times. Most games maybe get played once or twice a year. Are you really going to be playing that game still in 25 years, and if it takes 25 years, how many times are you going to rediscover the same strategies with that comes in the core box.

Plus games naturally have variability to them. One game that I really like that I shouldn’t have gotten the expansion for is Planet Unknown. There is so much variability in that box. Yes, after 10 times (not 100% sure on the number) I could have played every planet. But I won’t have played every plan with every corporation. Yes, that does mean that the replayability is good, but they still made more that people asked for and people spent money on that still.

Even games that come with a lot less, you need to play them a lot and play them often to feel like you need more. Let’s say Popcorn, for example, a game that I really love. What more do I need for that game in the core box than I already have. Now there isn’t an expansion for it, yet, but the game is great the way it is. And it’s always a fun and different puzzle to try and figure out with what you are given to play with.

Board Games as Collectors Items

The other thing is that we expect our board games to look great after those first 10 players, like they are brand new. I am not a crazy sleever of cards for board games. But how much are we spending on protecting card board, the answer is a lot. And this might be the same as components, but we’re driving up the cost by demanding of ourselves that we are getting that collectors edition of a game. We want the fancy train cars for Ticket to Ride, or we need the premium tokens for a game where the tokens just sit out there, but they might get some wear.

Yes, board games can be great focal pieces and interesting for a room or area of a house. But there was just a version of Lord of the Rings Confrontation that came out on it’s own table. Why? Why are we spending thousands of dollars on that. People do on fancy chess sets, but that was a rare thing before, now in board games we expect our games to be something that is a collectors item.

The Extras

I mentioned this in components, but I think that it is worth mentioning again. Let’s say that board games are matching inflation. And honestly, they might be lagging slightly behind. Just looking at Catan it is now notably cheaper, though the price has gone up, than it would be if you bought it originally.

But, we as gamers are making our board games more expensive. And we’re doing that with 3D printed bits, inserts, board game tables, game mats, and more that we are adding to our games ourselves. Things that the manufacturer of the game never even created for the game. Someone on Etsy or someone starting up their own company, they decided and created these items for the games themselves.

Board Games as a Luxury

And finally, let’s just say it as it is. Board games are a luxury item. I want board games because that is how I spend time with my friends. It is a great way to engage with people socially and have a reason to hangout. I find that it’s easier to talk over and enjoy than a lot of things that people do together.

But it is a luxury item. It is possible to just sit around a talk. I don’t know how many parents did that, and they didn’t always, they did play older party games too or classic games. But often they just sit around and talk. I want to be engaged more than that, mainly because I’m not big on small talk. But that is an option.

And this isn’t a board game only thing. People who go out to movies as a group often hate how expensive movies are. You go play a round of golf, that’s more expensive. You go to a brewery or a restaurant, that’s more expensive. This is true overall. It is just that we forget that board games are a luxury for us to have and that we don’t need them. My life would be more boring without them, but I don’t need them.

Which of These Do You Forget the Most?

I’m not going to play nice around this one. I’m not going to say that it’s okay and we should be frustrated with a political party or anything like that. We forget all of these things around board games from time to time. We see what someone else has and then we want that too.

I didn’t even mention it, the cult of the new. The need to chase that high of the next new and and cool thing to add to your collection. But I should have. Because it’s part of it too, it’s part of what we do to ourselves. And that is true with so many hobbies. That is just how this modern era of life works. And it’s on us as individuals to learn a few things.

Firstly, we need to learn to be happy with what we have and the way it is. I mentioned that I don’t often sleeve cards. The reason for that is that if a card gets damaged, that’s okay. It’s just a game. It’s a kids toy, though kids can’t learn the rules to them anymore, and it can be replaced.

Secondly, we need to understand reality. I didn’t go into the all the numbers before, but let’s mention it now. Today something that cost $50 in 2000 would cost $90+ based off of inflation. That sucks to hear. And it sucks that job pay doesn’t keep up with inflation the way that it should. But math is math and no amount of complaining will fix that.

So yes, it sucks, but in a lot of ways we are doing it to ourselves. And it is our job as consumers to figure out what we consume and not overdo it. But this is a downer, so soon, next week, we’ll be talking about more games and more fun things again. Because yes, it does suck, but there are so many games out there to keep playing even if you never buy a new one again.

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The order below is in no particular order. You’ve been warned.

Know The Board Games’ Rules

First, you need to know the rules to the game. I like board games, and I which I could just sit down and teach it from the rule book. But almost no rule books are written that way. So when it comes to teaching board games, you need to know how to play it first.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to have played it. I know people who do set it up and play it two handed for a few turns to learn the game. But that is not something that you need to do. If you are good at internalizing rules and ideas without it being out in front of you, you reading the rules is going to be enough.

I love board games, but if someone is just reading from the rule book word for word, I will zone out. Most rule books are written as technical manuals and not stories or engaging processes, so learn it ahead of time. Or give me the rule book and I will read and learn the rules myself.

Show and Tell

When it comes to board games you have it sitting in front of you. So show what is happening. Find a card, move a piece, whatever it is, make it so it’s not just learning from what you are saying. I find that for most people this is going to help them internalize the rules a whole lot quicker. And my bottom thing will help with that even more.

You might think that it’s tricky to do, but taking a moment and setting up the board or a situation that you can show will help. The great example of this is Faraway. It isn’t hard to learn, but the scoring is weird, so set-up an end game state and show people how it works. Then it is not that hard to learn and play.

Don’t Teach EVERYTHING

A big trap when teaching board games is teaching everything. You do not need to do that. In fact, it makes it harder for people to learn. You need to teach the basic concepts and not the exceptions. You should know the exceptions yourself, this goes back to point one. But you don’t need to teach them.

When an exception comes up, it’ll feel like that and you can teach it then, because it’s going to be weird. Or, maybe it’s less an exception and more a special rule. If this situation occurs you can make this move. Chess with castling for example. It is not a standard move, but it is important to the game. And this ties into the next thing on my list, so let’s move to there.

Learning Games

It’s okay if a board games first play is a learning game. In fact all first games are going to be learning games. There is so much in terms of strategy and more that you can’t fully understand on your first play of a game. Now, this can mean playing a full first game. Or it might mean that you play two rounds or three and once everyone kind of gets into the flow and understands what is going on you restart. A ten minute game, I expect to play it, learn as we go, and shuffle up again. A three hour game, maybe two hands and then restart.

The Elevator Pitch

This is probably the first thing that you should do when teaching. Or maybe it is even before the teach, but explain the game in some ways. We are making our best meal over three plates and dessert. What game is that, Sushi Go Party. We are explorers delving into the jungle and finding and researching artifacts and fighting monsters. That’s Lost Ruins of Arnak. Get people on board with an idea.

It’s the same with a movie, book or television show. If you want people to be interested, you have to hook them fast. So give the quick elevator pitch. And often times it can help you teach the rules in the future. Arnak is a whole lot easier when you teach it as exploring, researching, and fighting versus deck building and worker placement. Yes, that is what you are actually doing, but less memorable.

Make The Board Games’ Teach Interactive

Finally, make the teach interactive. This is the one that I said tied into the other point for a good teach. But board games are an interactive thing. And this is beyond showing and telling. Let the players help with set-up. Give them cards to shuffle. Let them place pieces, theirs and others, on the board as you teach. This helps with the player engagement and takes some of the burden of setting everything up and teaching at the same time.

Plus, let’s say it’s variable tokens that go on the board. As you explain them then give them to a player and let them put them out. They will connect what those tokens are with what you are teaching. Or as you explain how a deck of cards works, give them the deck, let them look through it and then shuffle it, it’ll connect that deck more to them. It’s how people learn best, and why writing is important because it helps you brain learn reading and spelling better that way.

Final Thoughts on the Board Games’ Teach

There are different ways to do it. And people learn in different ways. But don’t overestimate how a good teach can make a whole game better. It might even change someone’s opinion on a game.

An example of a really bad one was the first time at Gen Con. My friend and I were learning Letter Jam and the person who was teaching didn’t mention one important thing. The game is cooperative. So my friend was wondering why we’d help the others learn their letters and words. That doesn’t make sense other than that the game makes us do that at least once as part of the rules. That is absurd in terms of a bad teach, and a bad teach for a game that we both like.

But a great teach can do the opposite and make a game even more fun to play.

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New Games in August Part 3

Dragon Overload

Dragon Overload is a two player lane battling game that gives me some feeling of Lost Cities. And there are a lot of these games where you battle over lanes or different areas. But I think that Dragon Overload has some really good twists on it.

Firstly, you only score a row if your opponent has at least half the value that you have in that row. So you can be sneaking about that. How, you might ask, because you can play some cards face down. But you can only do that three times per game, so you need to be smart with that.

Then you also give your opponent a card from that column that is face-up. Not one of yours, but one that gets flipped into the middle. So you need to be strategic about if you give them a good number or not. And that is nice and tricky to think about. But also strategic, because one of the lose conditions is if you can’t play a card. So maybe your opponent already has three greens in play, you try and overload their hand so they can’t play. Doesn’t happen often, but is a fun addition to these type of games.

Yokai Pagoda

On of my favorite games from August. We’ll see where it falls down below. But this one is a card shedding game. You want to end up with no cards, or low scoring cards in your hand. To do this you need to play cards out that match the number to one of two different temples. Then you can give a card to your opponent.

But what happens if you can’t. If you can’t and you need to play higher, you can play, but you then draw a new card to add to your hand. If you can’t match the number but can play lower, then you can still get rid of a card. And you can also call the end to the round, as long as you are scoring three or fewer points. And after three rounds, the fewest points wins.

Top 5 Games from August

August was a fun month when it came to games. I found a lot of them that I enjoyed quite well. And some that were complete misses for me. It’s rare for me to find a game like L.L.A.M.A. that I dislike so much. But what games make my Top 5 for the month, and a quick reason why. You know about them because you read the last two articles, but let’s see what was good overall.

5. Questline

I like the story element of the game and how fast the game is to play. Now, I think with games like this one it’ll go higher the more I play it and the more people I play it with. With two you just see too few cards.

4. The Happiest Cat in the World

I like cats and I like games, so great combination. And I think that it is a good one. I feel like I need to play this one in person to see if I love it. Because there is a lot of scoring. And when you play a lot on your phone that makes it harder.

3. Dragon Overload

Dragon Overload, you can read about that one above. Whenever it’s a longer paragraph you know that I like it. But this one is just a great lane battler and I like those sort of games. And I think that this one gives me that feeling of a Schotten Totten or Lost Cities. But I like it better than Lost Cities for sure.

2. Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountain

I like the Forest Shuffle games. I like the first one, I like the expansions and I like Dartmoor. So I think there is no surprise that I like this one. And because it is Smoky Mountains I know a few more of the animals as compared to Dartmoor.

1. Yokai Pagoda

Finally is Yokai Pagoda my top of all the games from August. This one just works for me. I didn’t mention how scoring works, but whatever you end up with in your hand, only the lowest cards score. And that is a great twist for the game and makes the game change as you play because those cards stay out of the deck for future rounds.

Is there a game that you want to know more about or read a full review on, let me know. There are so many August games, 22 in total. And I could give you a solid review on most of them. I even played L.L.A.M.A. twice just to see if I made a mistake in not liking that game. The answer is no, I really don’t like that game.

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New To Me August Games Part 2

Wizards of the Grimoire

I know that Wizards of the Grimoire is one of those games that I would like. And I did enjoy it. It’s a game about building combos in cards to deal damage to your opponent. The trick here is that you are getting more cards and adding them to a grid. As you add them they might give you resources or they might attack and you need to get the cards to trigger to deal that damage. It reminds me of Res Arcana, but as a battler. The issue is, I think that Res Arcana is a better game and I want to play that one instead. Plus, how many of this sort of game can I own, and I own a handful already.

All You Can Eat Buffet

Now for a tasty game with All You Can Eat Buffet. With food games I often get hungry, but this one didn’t make me feel that way as much. That’s mainly because this is more of a row manipulation game. You pick a mood for your eater for the round. And that is going to give you a plate to play in front of you. And each plate of food and type of food on that plate is going to score in some way. So I like that strategy for the game, but it’s not a game with a ton of depth to it. One that I’d gladly play again though, which is a good sign.

Pet Quartet

Pet Quartet is a game that is hard to rate for me. I think the concept is interesting and it’s from GameHead and I like their games. The reason that it is hard to rate is that I’ve only played the game at two players. I think that Pet Quartet is probably going to be more interesting with more, because I do think the core concept of the game is good.

You either want to get a quartet of a type of pet or a soloist. But to do that you need to take a column of pets. How do you get a column, well on your turn you either draw a card and add it to a column or you take one. And once you take one you are done with the round. At two players you lose a little bit of variety in the game that I expect with more.

Pocket Cats

Pocket Cats is an odd little game. But one that I think is pretty good for what is mainly an abstract game. If you read my stuff, you know I don’t love most abstract games. But this one feels like it’s a little more interesting. You flip up cards in a grid. And each card is going to let you move that card in some way. You want your cats to end up next to mice so you get points at the end of the game. But you want to avoid being by dogs. It’s not complex but it works well.

Questline

Questline, like Pet Quartet, is one of my Gen Con delivery games. And those are the first two that I got to the table. I have to say, I think that Questline is a fun game. In this game you, in real time, are trying to order cards in your hand so that you get the best scoring questline. Basically the best sort of heroes journey. Now, like Pet Quartet, I’ve only played this at two. And with two, one player might go faster than the other.

This matters in the game because you can take cards to add to your questline from other player’s discard piles. If there is only one other to draw from, one player can sit back a little bit longer. Because when you draw a new card you also discard a card. And you can only have so many cards in your discard. So at two on player might just have to end whereas with more, it’d give more options.

Texas Bingo

Texas Bingo is a game that I feel like I’ve played before. Knister is the game that I’d compare it to. And both of them are poker hand roll and write sort of games. In Texas Bingo you are making your best scoring poker hands in five rows, columns, and two diagonals. Whereas with Knister you are rolling dice, so you can get a five of a kind, for example, here it is flipping from a standard deck of cards. And it’s fine, I think that Knister does so much the same thing and better.

Under the Leaves

I like drafting games. And Under the Leaves is a fun drafting game of completing groups of leaves and then getting tokens, which score as you build out your grid. I like the game, but I won’t way that I love it. The scoring elements are fine, and the game play is simple but fine as well. I wish that I felt like I had more and better decisions to make in the game. All the decisions are pretty similar throughout the game and most very simple.

Happiest Cat in the World

I like tableau building games.. And I find that I play a lot of them and a lot of them are enjoyable. In this one you are building out a room/rooms for your cat so that they can be happy. How are they happy, well, depending on what is in each room different scoring things happen. And the cat with the most points at the end of the game is the winner. What is making this game tempting to me is the theme. I think that it’s a fun game, but doesn’t stand out a ton, but it’s probably one my game group would like. And I will enjoy playing it more.

Rest In Peace

Rest In Peace surprised me as a pretty fun game. It is a two player back and forth game of trying to win a certain number of lanes. And you play the lanes from left to right, so you need to decide when to make a push and when to let your opponent win so you get the benefit. It reminds me of games like Cardia and Wizard Cup. And I think that Cardia is more interesting for sure. But I had fun with this one and I’d be happy to play it again.

Lady and the Tiger

Lady and the Tiger is a fine game. It’s kind of a bluffing game of taking turns trying to guess the two things on your opponents hidden card. They, on the other hand, are trying to keep that hidden and keep you confused until they have four of that played out in front of them. I played it once, I thought it was fine, I really am not interested in playing it again.

That’s it for part two of my August games. So many out there to play and so little time. But hopefully with these articles you find games that you want to play. And let me know which ones interest you the most.

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August Board Games Part 1

Abandon All Artichokes

Let’s start out with one of the light and fast games that I learned. And it’s an okay game. I think that the premise is a good one for that family or less gamer sort of game. This one is about trying to get rid of artichokes from your hand. And if you can, at the start of the turn draw a hand with no artichokes you win the game. That’s all there is too the game, but it’s fun, it works.

Chococonnect

Chococonnect reminds me of a lot of Gigamic games, but it isn’t. From Snovid, this one is about trying to get chocolates in a row in a chocolate box. And the game is just okay because of that. You want to get chocolates in a row and depending on the type of chocolate you need to get so many in a row. So you want to play a defensive game where you are keeping your opponent from winning. But because you don’t know what chocolate you might draw it’s just okay. Sometimes you just end up setting them up and then they draw the right chocolate.

L.L.A.M.A.

This is a bad game. Now, I know that a lot of people like this game. But there aren’t that many games that I rate a two. But I rate L.L.A.M.A. a two. I find nothing fun with the game. It is just luck and not interesting luck. Do you have what you need in your hand at that moment, great. If not, that sucks. It reminds me of Uno in all the worst ways.

Habitats

I find Habitats to be a fun game. I like games where you are building out a grid to score points. And Habitats does it in a good way. Now, do I love it, not really. But I think that’s more because I own a lot of grid building and scoring games. The main element that makes Habitats feel unique is how you get your tiles by driving around and that being a limiting factor. That isn’t enough for me to jump at buying it, but I’d gladly play it again.

Vizia

Vizia is a color pattern creating sort of game. You play out triangles into hexagons and you want to get certain sorts of color patterns together. I like some pattern building games, but that is all this game is. Honestly, can’t say much more about it than that, I wish the game was better, but it doesn’t do anything interesting.

Marrakech

Marrakech is a game that has been on my list to play for a long time. I actually own it, but I haven’t played my copy. This game is all about building out a nice little rug collection and getting your opponents to land on it. Of course, then they cover up some of your rugs. It’s a good amount of decision making while still have some luck to it as well. I had fun with it, but I wouldn’t call it amazing.

216

216 is a luck based dice game. You roll 3 dice and you are trying to match the outcomes on some cards. I like die rolling in my games fairly often, but this one is just roll dice and see what happens. There is some mitigation in cards that you can get, but not enough to make that game super interesting.

Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains

I debated if I should put Forest Shuffle Smoky Mountains on the list. I love the Forest Shuffle games. And I own the first game and expansions. But I didn’t pick up Dartmoor yet. I think that I am more apt to pick up Smoky Mountains to add to my collection out of these games. This is a lot of fun and the rivers and fish element to the game add to the fun for me. I know some people have complained about a few scoring things, but it makes the game a bit more interactive instead of just building out your own scoring tableau.

Reef Garden

Reef Gardens is a pretty looking game that is really an area control game. You want to place out your reef tokens to gain control of areas so that you score the points for them. All while balancing bringing back up divers to get money to go diving again and placing more coral tokens. The game is probably better looking than it is playing. I found the play to be simple enough that I don’t feel like I want to come back to it. Simple games are good, but I need a better decision space.

Via Gladiola

A game about marching. I think that this game is pretty okay. It’s not complex and it falls into that category of card game, where in this case you are playing numbers low to high, where you want to get rid of them. But it you don’t have a number, you draw. I don’t mind that for a game, but it also is just not that exciting when it comes to games. I think there is more fun in this, and that’s because of the push your luck element than the other simple card game L.L.A.M.A. But it’s still not one that has me interested in trying it again.

So there we have it, part one of the games that I played for the first time in August. We’ll see when I get to 1000 rated when expansions, probably September, maybe October. But either way the journey continues. And thanks for joining me on it.

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