How To Play Air, Land & Sea

Air, Land & Sea is a lane battling game. Basically, two players fight over three theaters of war, air, land, and sea. Players take turns playing down cards that influence how much power they have at the given theaters of war. Cards range from 1 to 6 for each theater. It would be easy to know what the other player has except for the fact you only play with 6 cards each.

The strategy comes into the game around when to play cards. With the exception of the 6, each card has a power that goes along with it. Those manipulate where you can play cards or how cards can be played. And each theater can only have it’s own cards unless something allows you to break the rules with that. Or if you play a card face down, then it is worth two points but doesn’t have any power associated with it.

After a round, you score the battles. Who wins each theater gets 6 points and the first person to 12 wins. However, you can pull out of a theater if you don’t think you can win. The sooner you do that the fewer points your opponent gets. If no one reaches twelve, then the theaters adjust their adjacency to each other and you battle again.

What Doesn’t Work?

The aesthetic of the game is just okay. It is a game that takes itself seriously with how it looks, and that is kind of a negative. This is a very light game, one that is meant to be thinky but light in terms of game play. The artwork doesn’t feel nearly as light as the speed the game plays at. And I think the theme and aesthetic will be off putting to some people.

I also feel like the powers on the cards are not always that interesting. They do cool things, but not that game changing in what they do, at least what is what it feels like. The powers are good, and they add a lot of interest to the game, but with six cards for each player and six not in play, it’s fairly lucky what cards and powers will be in play. I feel like even taking it up to seven cards each and four not in play, you would feel like you could strategize more.

What Works?

The speed the game plays at works really well. This is a fast game and a quick game. I am generally interested in what you are doing and need to know what your powers are. And that is one nice thing about the easier powers, it doesn’t take much time to wrap my head around what your strategy for playing that card is going to be.

I also very much like the pull back mechanic. The fact I can drop troops out of a theater of war and give you fewer points, that is by far the most interesting thing to consider in the game. Mainly because, the longer you wait before you pull back, the more points you are giving your opponent. So, even if you think it might be close in a battle early game, it might make sense to pull back.

Who Is This For?

Firstly, I think it is for people who like that war and battling theme. Because the game definitely leans into the theme with the artwork. I think that if you don’t at least appreciate the theme there are going to be other lane battling games or lane tug of war games that will work better for you.

But I do think that the game difficulty level makes it very accessible. I could see playing Air, Land & Sea with a non-gamer and them being able to understand most of what is going on quickly. And since it’s a fast game anyways, if you need to play a learning game, you can and it won’t be bad to then shuffle up and play it again.

Final Thoughts on Air, Land & Sea

Air, Land & Sea is going to be leaving my collection. Now that doesn’t sound all that positive, and I will say, it is a mixed bag for me. Mainly because I compare it against Hanamikoji which has that same push and pull to it. Air, Land & Sea adds in powers, which seems intriguing, but Hanamikoji’s four actions are much more interesting in terms of a decision making space.

I think a lot of it comes down to that for me, the theme is just okay. I am not that interested in games with a war theme unless you add in something supernatural or fantasy to it. Just a straight up war themed game is not that interesting to me. So with the game leaning so heavily into it and just it not popping on the table aesthetically, I don’t know what I need it. I won’t play it over a number of other two player games.

That isn’t to say that the game won’t be for you. This is a game that I know a lot of people like. For me, I just have other games that I prefer and will want to play instead of it.

My Grade: B-
Gamer Grade: C+
Casual Grade: B

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This is going to be a list article, with all my unplayed games ranked. But before I dive into that, I want to talk about some of the terms that I just used. Mainly shelf of shame and shelf of opportunity. They are the same term phrased in different ways. Let’s dive into them and then the big list of games to play.

Shelf of Shame vs Shelf of Opportunity

This is a term that I’ve heard thrown around for a few years now. The idea that games on your shelf have this title. First off, I think this is kind of silly. Games that you haven’t played don’t have a special spot in existence. Now, maybe they do have a special spot on your shelf, but they aren’t held in any sort of light. They are just a board game.

But the first term I heard is Shelf of Shame. The idea behind this is that you feel bad since you haven’t played all your games. This is silly. I go back to my talk about collection versus a hobby. Know what you have on your shelf. For me, board games are a collection and a hobby. That means it’s fine to not get to every game quickly. They are part of my collection. But I play them, as they are part of my hobby as well, and hobbies get used or worked on.

Then came the term Shelf of Opportunity. Shelf of Shame is very negative, and opportunity sounds much better. But I, again, find this not much better. Yes, they are games that you play eventually. And yes, it spins it in a positive light. But both terms keep a focus on the fact the games aren’t played.

What Do I Call Them?

I call them what they are. Board games to be played. A board game is just an object. In labeling them either way, it places power on that object. Yes, one puts it in the light of a game being an opportunity for something new, and new exciting opportunities are good. But it leaves the pressure on actually playing the game.

Like I said, I play games. I buy games. Board Games are a collection and a hobby for me. I own games that might take a long time to get played. Campaign games where I play one at a time or two, and I am already playing two. Those wait for when I have time, and that is okay. I feel like the label places a cloud, no matter what label, over the games, and in the end of the day, games are just games.

If I never play a game in my collection and it collects dust for five years. I shouldn’t feel bad about leaving that opportunity out there. I most definitely shouldn’t feel shame. It is a game and I play games. So I play other games and not the game that is sitting there. I am still enjoying the hobby without playing every game I own.

So Why Write This Out?

I gave myself a challenge at the beginning of the year. Not because I feel guilt about games that I haven’t played. But because it is fun to play games. And I want to play games, I want to experience new games, and I want to cover new games.

For me, my challenge isn’t to get all the games off the shelf. It isn’t because I feel like I miss out on an opportunity. And I care not about shame from it. For me it’s about trying new things and almost making a game out of it. If I don’t make it by the end of the year, I don’t care. I play these for fun.

Unplayed Board Game List

Let’s Talk About the List

124 Games on it, and my goal is to get it down below 100 by the end of the year. You add in a bunch of Kickstarter games coming in, and you can see why it is a big list and also a challenge. And of course, then, there are campaign games on the list. If we look at campaign style games, I think we’re sitting at 14 on the list. And that is a lot of games to play through a campaign of, so that isn’t going to happen. Though, with Sleeping Gods coming off the list to start the year, it will some over on Malts and Meeples.

There are also some kids games on the list. Right now, I don’t think I will play those this year. Monza looks fun, but the toddler isn’t quite ready for it. But the toddler is also three, so who knows, maybe by the end of the year, we can play those games a bit more. But right now I’m not expecting to.

I also think it’s important to note that a lot of big games are at the top. Those are the ones that I’m most excited to play and cover. And some of them should be getting played soon. Probably after this weekend I’ll be lining up a time to get started playing Roll Player Adventures.

To go along with that, there are a lot of solo games as well. I could play, in the top 20, around 75% of them solo and some of them are solo only games. So I need to start knocking those out first, because they are high on my list. That won’t be how I get under 100, though.

Final Thoughts

I think that it is fine to challenge yourself to play your unplayed games. I think it is fine to limit how many unplayed games you own. When that becomes the focus or the obsession, I think that is when we start to lose the focus on what we are doing. Or when tie to it other emotions, like shame.

When I see people post about clearing their shelf of shame, I am sure it feels good for them. But on the flip side, in the comments, you see people feeling guilty about their unplayed games. I am not that way. I don’t feel guilt over that. And you shouldn’t either.

This is an odd article, I wanted to talk more about the games, and I will soon. But before I could do that, I think it is import to talk about the shame or guilt that can be thrown around in the hobby. Not always intentionally malicious but always harmful.

Also, let me know what game you think I need to try first. What is your favorite on the list that I have too low, or that you know I would like or should try?

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