Why I Don’t Like Codenames

Let’s lay the groundwork. I expect that a lot of people like Codenames a lot. And for me, it is basically always a miss. I know, in fact, that my opinion is less than popular because Codenames sells really well, which means that people are trying it and buying a copy for themselves. Which, even though it isn’t for me, I like because more people are playing games.

But what is it about Codenames that isn’t for me? Firstly, it bills itself, or gets treated like a party style game. It really isn’t a party style game. There is a lot of downtime of people thinking and staring at the board. Either the spymaster who is coming up with their next clue. Or the guessers who are using the clue. And that doesn’t make for a party like experience. It is only even okay as a social experience or a lighter game that way. So first issue, there is too much downtime.

Secondly, you are either clever or wrong. Let me talk about this one a little bit more, but when you give a clue either you give a good clue and people get it. Or people mess it up, or you mess it up, and it goes wrong. In Codenames, which is already tight with your creativity, it is a game that can make you feel bad or make you feel dumb. This ties into the first issue, for a game that is supposed to be lighter, that doesn’t feel good.

The App Is Better

Downtime

The app fixes a lot of these issues in a lot of ways. Firstly, let’s talk about that downtime. The great thing about an app is that the downtime doesn’t matter. How does it not matter, like almost every app you expect that there is going to be time between when you take your turn or action and when you can play again. Apps always teach us that, there is a timer before you get another life or attempt in other games. We know you can’t just sit there and wait with an app.

Plus, downtime is less of an issue when you have five or ten games going. And it is easy to play that many games. Again, why? Because Codenames is a game where context doesn’t really matter. I need to know the word you give as a clue and how many guesses I have. That’s going to be it. If I missed one the previous time or sometime before, I look at the history and see that. I don’t need to hold anything in my head. So when I check, I play a few different games.

Finally around this idea of downtime there are solo challenges as well. Somethings that you play, either giving clues to a group of others or trying to solve those clues yourself. But it’s a one off, get the clue solved and call it good and that’s it. Nice quick hits that you can play. They refresh even more slowly, but it’s a filler activity between game play, or can be the only way you play the game and you know your exact timings.

Cleverness

I think that the app also encourages some more cleverness. Let’s start with the solo challenges. When I play as the spymaster, I get rewarded for giving more answers for the one clue I give. So it encourages me to push for some risky clues and guesses. And that is great because it takes away the pressure of winning all for the sake of winning. Yes, that sounds odd, but I don’t have feedback across the table of people thinking it was a dumb clue.

This then spills over into the regular games as well. I play with real people in those games. But there is no one sitting across the table from me. There is no immediate feedback on if I did a good job or not. And if I make a mistake, it’s easier to gloss over it because I am playing a bunch of other games. And because there wasn’t five minutes of me sitting in front of people only to give a bad clue or only to make a bad guess.

It takes away that human element from the game. Now, normally I find that to be a bad thing. On BGA (Board Game Arena) it is often a bit of a miss. Things take so long and you lose context and reads on people for games that might need them. But here, it’s easier to just brush it off and move onto the next thing.

Final Thoughts on the Codenames App

I expect that there is more that I can talk about this game. There are likely going to be more features that I can talk about. And there are even some elements, like getting words and unlocking certain modes of the game that I didn’t talk about. A lot of that falls into standard app stuff. And I mean that in a good way.

But in terms of what it feels like to actually play the game, I really like it. I think it is a much more preferable way to play the game. And I hope that I laid out why I thought that well. I realize that your milage might be different because you might like Codenames a whole lot more than I do. But even if you do, I think the app will scratch an itch that gives you a similar feeling to playing it. I don’t think it’ll have people getting rid of their copies, but playing it alongside and if you don’t like the game that well, like I don’t, it might help you enjoy it more.

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Top 5 Board Game Apps

Disclaimer, of course, I haven’t played them all. Some are for games that don’t interest me that much. So, like Dominion just has an app in beta or just out on Android, haven’t played it, probably won’t. And list is in no particular order.

5. Fleet: The Dice Game

Let’s start with the one that I’ve been playing the most of recently. Fleet: The Dice Game has a nice and simple app for playing their game solo. No pass and play multiplayer, but when I play a board game on an app, multiplayer is low on the list of things that I care about.

This one takes what’s not that complex a game to run solo in person, but takes up space on the table. So it makes it much more compact. And it makes me want to play the game again, and actually try it multiplayer in person. So that might not be the best sign for the app. But the app lets you get in a game much faster, as an app should, and let’s you mess around with strategies easier.

4. Super Mega Lucky Box

Next up is another roll and write style game. Actually, I could do a top 5, possibly Top 10, on this type of game. Why, because a lot of them end up with simpler rule sets and thus are simpler to program into an app. And Super Mega Lucky Box is another one without a pass and play, at this point, but one that you can play solo.

Now, I give this solid marks as a board game app not because it’s that much easier than the board game. No, I give it that because it’s more portable. I can play Super Mega Lucky Box solo easily enough in person. But there is a minor amount of set-up. With the app, it’s pull it out and play. And they give you a few ways to play which are fun to mess around with. Honestly, it’s a really good way to learn how to play the game.

3. Sagrada

Now one that isn’t a roll and write. Though, Sagrada does have rolling dice as you roll each time for drafting. This one does have multiplayer, which I have yet to use. But it also has a challenge/campaign mode. Not like the Sagrada Artisans legacy game, no, the campaign is just progressively better AI opponents. I like that sense of progression, and it walks you through the different ability cards and scoring cards.

And while the other games on the list are definitely faster in an app, Sagrada flies speed wise. I really like it for that, if I were to play a game of Sagrada solo, well, I haven’t before, but I imagine it might take a little bit. On the app, it’s about five minutes to play a whole game.

2. Railroad Ink

Now, yes, another roll and write game with Railroad Ink. This is another one that take a roll and write game that isn’t hard to play solo and makes it even easier. Railroad Ink is a game of connecting routes, which is not hard in person. But the app highlights were you can put railroad sections and makes it easier for you that way. And it keeps track of your round to help with scoring the challenge cards.

This is another one that is only solo. But it works slick, and games are definitely a little bit faster than playing solo in person. Out of all of these, I think that Railroad Ink probably saves you the least amount of time. But, it’s fun to be able to play it on a small screen in your pocket.

1. Clever Games

Finally, yes, this is a lot of games. Four games actually, though, I hope that they’ve improved the fourth one, Clever 4Ever on the app because, well, it doesn’t size correctly to all screens. But the other three are great ways to play and learn the various “Clever” games. And all of the apps work nicely.

It is only solo play, but it handles some of the solo elements like which dice end up on the platter on the “opponents” turn. No more guessing, though, the rules for that are simple in the real game. The nice thing is that it highlights what you can do when you click on a die, and shows you the options well. It’d be nice if it had a tutorial mode, but the rules are on there so you can read them as well. And mainly, if you know how to play, you just need to learn the scoring and new ability.

Honorable Mentions

Let me wrap up with some honorable mention board game apps.

Ascension – this has a nice app for the deck building game. And it comes with the base game and an expansion. You can pay for more to unlock them. The downside to this one, is it’s small on a screen. So until you know the cards it’s a bit fiddly. But it does have pass and play.

Hero Realms – Another deck building game, Hero Realms is a head to head battler. The AI is strong in this one, and you can set it and unlock more cards as you go. The system works well in this setting and it helps you remember everything, like if you haven’t attacked your opponent or your opponent has a blocker.

Potion Explosion – Finally, I want to end on Potion Explosion. This one you do lose some playing it on the app. Obviously you don’t have the tactile thing of pulling out a marble and watching everything else fall into place. That said, it still is slick and it does some of the work, auto placing ingredients if you want. I like it for that, and I like the challenge it offers.

What are some of your favorite board game apps?

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The Isofarian Guard – Foreteller app vs Reading

So let’s talk about the app with this game. And I’m just going to say if you don’t want a phone/tablet at your table, they got you covered. But for me, this is a game that I’m grateful there is an app for it. I read a good chunk of the time because that is what the story demanded this time. And I don’t know if I want to do that every time.

The thought process might be that it is because it’s a lot of reading. And the amount of reading is certainly a factor. But with a solo game, versus a cooperative or competitive story game, I prefer to do the story via an app. There are a few reasons for that.

It allows me to more greatly experience the narrative. If I want, I follow along in the book with the app. Or some apps show you the words as well as play the audio. So it allows for that more immersive experience that it’s harder for me to provide. I read with voices, but it is not the same as a full cast narration in this case.

The other thing is it allows me to not read out loud. Do I need to, if I stream, yes. But it is more if and when I play this not on stream. For a good level of comprehension reading out loud can be needed. But that means you read out loud to yourself. Which, I find, dilutes the end product of playing the game.

Upcoming Streams

Streaming is back this week. Not in full force though because I missed Monday. The 4th of July made it impossible to stream, or at least not stream on a phone with spotty internet. I plan to play a game next Monday. To be determined what the game is. I think Welcome tot he Moon. But I need to learn the rules with that before I commit. I play at 8:30 PM Central time on Mondays.

Then on Wednesday, it is back to the table to play more of The Isofarian Guard. How will Alek and Grigory do this time? Wednesday it is 8 PM Central time, though that can shift slightly. But the goal is to play then. Now, this upcoming Wednesday I might miss the session. We plan on being out of town and coming back in that evening. So it might be different. It might be Gen Con preview time next Wednesday.

The best way, if you want to know when I go live or a new video goes up (it’s basically always live), please consider subscribing. You can do that here. And click that notification bell on the channel and you’ll always know when I go live.

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The Game – Lands of Galzyr

Let’s tackle maybe the more controversial part of Lands of Galzyr. Or really the controversial part of any board game, the app or website. And let me say, I’m not here to sway your mind on if you want technology at the table. I understand that some people want it to be complete analog and a way to decouple from a phone, tablet, or computer completely. I want that as well, sometimes.

But let’s instead tackle if Lands of Galzyr is that possible without a computer. Is it reasonable to assume that you could, with a book, get in all of this text and all of these options? It’s possible, yes, but it is reasonable? I tend to think the answer to that question is no. And while you might think you’d be fine reading that much, you still do, would you be fine at the speed it would work?

The Downside of Physical

For some games, like Roll Player Adventures, there is some story. And each part of that story might branch, but it might branch a little. I make two choices and those are my branching paths. In Lands of Galzyr, I have seen a check occur and that branches into 3 paths, or 5 paths and that can lead to additional story as well. So, the branching in Lands of Galzyr is much more extensive.

What does that mean for game play? Well, it means that if it were just a book, and it could be, that you’d be finding different passages very often. And you would need to understand how it branches, which is why the app can handle it so well. What an app or website can do that a book can’t is provide the logic to instantly pull up the next section. The story is loaded into the memory of your device and you can access that very quickly.

On the flip side, all puns intended, you’d be flipping through pages trying to find the next passage constantly. And that branching structure would become very hard to follow. I think, and you might disagree, Lands of Galzyr would be considerably less favorably reviewed if it didn’t have the website. Mainly because I play an hour and a half game, and that would become two and a half hours or more with a book.

Upcoming Streams

So, next Wednesday at 8 PM central time, I will be back streaming more Lands of Galzyr. And I should have the game sleeved and a playmat instead of the board by that point in time. I am excited to get that to add to the game. Just know that it is totally not needed if you get the game, but I wanted to add in that little extra bit.

Before that on Monday, I am going to be streaming a new game. For those of you who don’t like roll and write games, I’m sorry. It is likely going to be 18 Holes Course Architect that I am playing. 18 Holes Course Architect is a game about building a golf course, and of course, done through a roll and write. It does make me want to play the regular 18 Holes board game as well. But I don’t own that one, yet.

And as always, if you want to know when I go live, you can subscribe and click the notification bell.

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Campaign Game Expectations

Branching Narrative

Let’s start out with story. I want a good narrative and I want a branching narrative in a game. Now, this doesn’t mean I need 10 different endings. Though I appreciate what Tainted Grail does, giving a lot of different end game moments. But I’m fine with just a story that gives me choices in what I do. The illusion of branching narrative.

What I mean by the illusion is that I can make a choice and that’ll change how something goes. It might make a few scenarios different. But the main story beats, I’m going to end up there no matter what. So do the decisions I make matter? Yes, for how the story is shaped and told to me, but where I’m going to end up not really. But there needs to be real, meaningful feeling decisions.

Tainted Grail does a good job of this, Stars of Akarios, you end up on a planet and can choose to go many ways. Gloomhaven, the story is much more linear throughout. In a few spots, it does branch but only changes stuff in a minor way. Sword and Sorcery, about once per box would you have a decision to make. Clearly there are other stuff that determine how much I like a game than just story. But now, I expect more from story because companies are doing more.

Storage Solution

I didn’t put these in any order, but this might be number one. I want a campaign game to come with a storage solution. And not just any storage solution. Sleeping Gods gives you baggies to save your game. That is not a storage solution that I’m talking about. Though, it’s better than not having the baggies.

What I am talking about is something that makes it easier to play and faster to the table. Gloomhaven I had to buy an insert for that. Sword and Sorcery it doesn’t have that at all. But Tainted Grail allows you to save characters and locations in an okay system. But when I look at good, I look at my Gloomhaven insert or Stars of Akarios.

I want to be able to pull out a whole tray of tokens and that that on the table. I don’t need to worry about getting them to the right spot or within reach. There is just a tray for that, and for the cards. And, ideally, you can have all your character stuff in a single spot. Make it easy as possible on me to get it back to the table. Yes, it is still a big game, but you can make it easier.

Scaling – Player Count and Difficulty

This one might not be the most obvious, but at times some games require you to play with four characters. Sleeping Gods you play with 9 characters plus the Captain, I believe. Now, you activate as the whole crew, but for a lot of people that is a lot. I always saw it just as a turn and knowing my abilities. But I totally get why it would be a lot.

And it isn’t just how many characters you control, it is how many monsters you control and how hard they are. Gloomhaven is a great example of this. The fewer players that you have, the fewer monsters there are on the board. But if a scenario is too easy or too hard, you can lower or raise the difficulty. That is great.

Now, sometimes games do need or expect four characters. So some games handle that in different ways. Oathsworn they are allies who activate on a simpler system in combat. That way you only need to think about a character or two. For Middara, they kind of slot in with another character. So think of lending health or stuff like that. Bad guys don’t change, but your heroes get stronger with fewer.

Interesting Mechanics

Interesting is a relative term. I think I mean that I want a mechanic that feels different or feels unique to the game. Stars of Akarios gave me unique tactical space dog fights. Gloomhaven has the dual use cards with the top and bottom. Tainted Grail leans into the exploration and survival, but also has the chaining combat system. Each of those feels different.

What I don’t really want is to only grab a handful of dice with an ability card and roll to see if I activate it. Now, something like Oathsworn has an element of that, you just grab dice and roll them. But it offers more than that, the card play and the battle flow system are unique. And the grabbing of dice is a push your luck element.

I hope it doesn’t come across that I don’t like rolling dice, rolling a handful of dice is satisfying. But if that is your mechanic, or main mechanic, that is old at this point. Sword and Sorcery, for example, mainly has your activating a card which tells you what dice to roll, and you can take actions to add dice. It’s why over time Sword and Sorcery has slipped so much for me.

Good Character Progression

Finally, I want good character progression. And this is also in two ways. Kind of like the scaling can be done in two ways. But I want good character progression where I get to know more about the character. This isn’t a must, but it is appreciated. Awaken Realms often has this as an add-on to their games. Echoes of the Past is that for Tainted Grail. You complete objectives, you get to read story about the horrible past your character has had.

It doesn’t need to be as blatantly obvious as that. But also in Tainted Grail, you find certain things that only a given character can do. Generally there are other ways to do them, but it’s easier for that character. And you find out more details about that characters past that way, or story, and it feels good to have something unique for that character.

But I also want to level up my characters fairly often. And leveling up can slow down as time goes on. But within the first few sessions I should get something new. I want to feel like my character is doing better and is stronger in the game. Generally this is more mechanical. For Gloomhaven, it’s less XP to level up early levels. For Tainted Grail, it’s chapters early on giving you things you’d normally spend XP for.

Final Thoughts

Now, this list probably isn’t everything that I want. Personally, I would love voice narration and app assistance for most any game. This goes back to the ease of play I talk about with an insert. That makes it easier to play and get to the table. But not flipping through a book also makes it easier and simpler to play.

So I want that for more games, but I don’t know that it is needed for every game. At least narration so I don’t have to read large swathes of text. But it’s also important that it’s done well. Don’t just have the designer of the game, or a random friend, read it, it needs to be well done. And same with the app, the app needs to be well designed as well, because a bad app can hurt ease of play if not careful.

What, to you are the important things to get you interested in a campaign game? What is often the biggest barrier for you to getting a campaign game to the table?

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How To Play Marvel Snap

Marvel Snap is a combination of two different things. It is deck construction and then lane battling. In a lot of ways, it is as much of a board game as it is an app game. We’ll talk about the app features and if they are worth it later.

In this game you create a deck of heroes ranging from 1 to 6 energy cost to play with. Then you take that into battle against other players. You try and gain majority of power, each character has a power, at two of the three locations out there. Many of the locations offer specific powers that bolster or hurt characters at the location, or change up how you can play characters. At the end of six rounds, gaining an additional energy per round, the person who controls the most locations wins.

The Heroes

Let’s start out by talking about the heroes in this game. I didn’t mention it, but a lot of the heroes have powers. For example, Quicksilver, a 1 cost card, always starts in your hand, because he is fast. Scarlet Witch swaps out a location after a specific round. Hulk just has a ton of power so he smashes.

I think that Marvel Snap does a good job with the characters. They all make sense with their powers, and some of them just don’t have special abilities. Generally if you have a power your cost and power are at a 1 to 1 ration or worse. If you don’t have a special ability you have more power. Hulk, for example, costs 6 and has 12 power.

Now, not all special abilities are created equal, though, those that aren’t tend to be more powerful. Some characters, Rocket, Star Lord, Gamora, all gain attack based off of the other player playing a card at their location. But not just at the location, but at the location the turn that character comes out. Others, like Captain America, give more generic on going abilities, like +1 power for each other card at his location.

The Locations

The other important factor in the game are the locations. I like them a lot in the game because it changes up each battle. Some of them are simple, every hero here gets +5, that’s not really anything special. Another, when it’s flipped, gives you a copy of another players card. Of course, they get a copy of one of yours.

One thing that is interesting is how the locations reveal throughout the game. On turn one, only the first location is known. Then turn two the next one flips and the final one on turn three. Yo can play blind to them, but it might mess up your plans if you aren’t careful. Or you might sneak a 1 cost card onto a location that only can have four or higher cost cards. There is a risk to placing it down blind, but sometimes that risk is worth it.

The Deck Construction

Deck Construction is a very important part of this game. You have a limited number of cards to put in a deck and a limited number of them that you can see. It is like Magic: The Gathering, in that you want enough low cost cards to get them them out early game, but not too many that you never draw your bigger more powerful cards. It is about find that balance.

The app makes deck construction fairly easy. But it does fall into an issue I have with digital Magic: The Gathering. When you are on an app, you can’t see all your cards as easily. Granted, with Magic, I used their database and a site you can build decks in conjunction with each other when I had decks for it. But with the digital deck building, it is a bit trickier.

It offers ways to search and filter cards. But until there is a nice built up database with search features, deck construction is going to be a bit slow. It isn’t bad early in the game when you don’t have many characters, but you add in characters quickly as you go.

The App

So, Marvel Snap, is an app game. That means it is going to do a few things. Firstly, it’s going to try and sell you stuff. Right now, there are not ads that pop up for other things. I doubt there ever will be. But there are adds to get people to buy in game things. The most notable is a season pass. It isn’t a bad price and does offer more unlocks and new characters. But if you don’t do it, it means that you likely are falling behind a little bit in collecting characters.

One important question I have is how those characters then will be released. In an app game I play a lot, Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, characters can be bought before they become farmable. What is that time table for Marvel Snap? If I miss out on Miles Morales now, do I need to wait a year to get him later? Or is it that I’m getting him a month earlier with the season pass? There is a balancing act for the company to get people to buy, but also not turn people off from the game.

And finally the unlocks or upgrades to characters. One of the ways you push up in the game and get more and new things is upgrading your characters. But are you really? Your character doesn’t get better, it just gets more “rare”. It’s an artificial thing in the game that only matters if you want fancier artwork, it is cool. But mechanically it doesn’t matter, it mainly just unlocks more things as you go.

Final Thoughts on Marvel Snap

Now, I say final thoughts, this probably more initial impressions. Why, because I wasn’t in the beta and the app just released yesterday. But I do have some concerns with the app. It is a game about getting characters you want and then deck construction. Most likely some characters, especially early on characters will lose value over time to play with. And the whole, unlock a 3D picture of what is already solid artwork isn’t reason enough to play with them.

I also really want to know the cadence of how characters are released. I bought the initial Season Pass, but I doubt I will buy anymore. It is a situation where I was curious about it to start and I wanted to know for coverage. But I try not to spend much if any money on app games. So now that Miles Morales or the next season pass character, when can I see them. Or are they always kept behind that season pass? If they are, that’ll kill the game.

But my concerns are more app based and how the company wants to make it’s money. The game play itself is a lot of fun. I liken it to Smash Up, but I think that other things, Land, Air, and Sea, for example are also good examples of a lane battler. It just has some of the randomness in powers that Smash Up has. But I like it much better than Smash Up, because I curate my deck.

The final thought is that I’m glad it is an app game not a physical game, but I wish it was a physical game. As an app game, I can most likely free to play eventually get most everything. But I’d love to get this to a physical table. I’d love to have the cards and build the decks. It’d just cost me more money because, well, it’d be a TCG (Trading Card Game) and buying blind packs would cost me money.

Have you tried Marvel Snap? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below or over on Twitter.

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Pros

• Price
• Theme
• Pedigree of Companies
• Campaign Game

Cons

• Shipping Discrepancies
• Campaign Game
• Mature Themes

The Page

This is a flashy page and it doesn’t even rely on minis to be flashy. It instead just puts you into the theme. That is what I expect when it comes to Lucky Duck Games and Van Ryder Games. They both create a lot of thematic games like Destinies, Chronicles of Crime, and Final Girl. So the page really gives you all of that theme and shows you the setting you are going to be in.

But I do want to talk about this leaning into it being a game with mature themes. That really feels to be coming from the Van Ryder Games side of things, though I am sure that both agreed to it. Van Ryder Games puts out more serious story games like their Graphic Novel Adventures. The question is, do you want a game with mature themes or not? And is it needed in this game? I do think it matches the theme quite well, but I also get that it is not for everyone. They at least advertise it so people know.

The Game

The game itself, I will go into some detail on it, because I know a bit more about it. With Lucky Duck Games, you know there is likely going to be an app. And with this game using systems that can be found in Chronicles of Crime, an app assisted game, and Destinies, another app assisted game, this is going to use an app. For some people that might be enough to keep them from backing, but for me, I’m intrigued by it.

The app is going to be used to let you know what skill checks you can do, and to interact with points of interest that you find during your investigation. This is very much a combination of both Lucky Duck Games that I mentioned. The advantage to a system like this is no single person needs to run a game. The story runs itself and everyone plays the same game.

The skill checks in the game are the same as what is found in Destinies. Basically, you look to roll high enough to pass certain thresholds or markers on your player board. The more markers you pass, the more success you end up with.

That’s it mechanically, but I want to touch on story as well here. Not to go back to it being mature. But in the previews or first impressions that I’ve seen, the story while cooperative, seems like it will vary between different characters. Certain characters excel at certain elements. Some might investigate better, others might be more apt to intimidate or fight. So while replay might be somewhat limited, it does seem like different characters provide different paths.

Back or Brick

For me, this is a Back. I generally like what both companies are doing, and their games tend to be thematic. I’m looking at games of theirs that I need to get to the table soon. I like the setting. I have heard it compared to Anne Rice, though that seems to be more for vampires in New Orleans. A better comparison might be LA Noir, the video game, in the sort of dark detective feel that you get from the game.

Now, with a mature theme, I think this game isn’t one for everyone. It might be too macabre for some people, too much blood or difficult story situations. But for me, that intrigues me. And if it isn’t one for me, I know that there was a period of time where Destinies was hard to find, so might be one that I can sell if need be. But I really suspect it’s going to be one that I play through, and then trade so someone else can have fun with it.

How about for you, is The Dark Quarter by Van Ryder Games and Lucky Duck Games a Back or a Brick?

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Cooperative Games Rankings

So just be aware I’m going to talk less about these games because there are a grand total of 52 that I ranked. Expect a sentence or two on each one of them.

52. FUSE

Fast paced game of rolling dice and then using them to try and complete enough cards to diffuse the bomb. I don’t love games that are only real time, and FUSE is only real time. It plays fast, but the game isn’t that interesting the more you play it.

51. Magic Maze

Another real time game, this time taking adventurers through a shopping mall. This one is more interesting because you need to work together more. But it’s going really fast without talking and sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t.

50. Forbidden Island

This one is a great introduction to cooperative gaming and gaming in general. It follows the standard, do something and then something bad happens. My issue is that the game is too easy and generally just an okay game.

49. Arkham Horror: Final Hour

Now, on the flip side of Forbidden Island, this game is hard as you try and guess some ruins to be able to stop ritual from happening. It basically takes Arkham Horror and tries to make it shorter. It succeeds on that, but it also just isn’t interesting. The couple clever things it tries to do are just misses.

48. God of War: The Card Game

And another game that was too easy when I played it. I wonder about playing a whole game if that would make it more challenging, but what I played was fairly boring. I also feel like the decisions weren’t that interesting in the game. Most of the time it was do the obvious thing.

47. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

I talked about this yesterday. It’s a fine deck building game. It is just too slow to get to the table and too slow to get to feeling powerful. If they were to come out with a second edition and make the game play ramp up faster, I’d probably like it a lot. But right now, the ramp is just too slow.

46. Forbidden Desert

I like this a fair amount better than Forbidden Island, it offers more to do and a more clever mechanism of figuring out where to get things. It follows that Pandemic formula for things of do good things and then bad things happen. Played it a few times, enjoyed it, and have moved on.

45. The Mind

This one is an interesting one. You try and play cards down in numerical order without talking. The concept is cool, and the game works, but only sometimes. This is one where it really depends on who is in the group. And I had some good times with it but moved on again.

44. Sword Art Online Board Game: Sword of Fellow

I need to try this one again, it’s been a little while. The concept isn’t bad, you are basically playing the boss battles from Sword Art Online the show, and it has the main characters. The downside is that the rules aren’t that great, and it’s pretty simple and lucky. That said, it is tiny, so I don’t mind luck as much.

43. Exit Games

Exit Games are fun, but any escape room game is always hard to rank. I’ve played less Exit Games, and I don’t love that you can’t pass it on. Granted, I did see it kind of work with them at Fantasy Flight Game Center (now GameZenter), but I don’t want to buy something I need to then replace.

42. Flash Point: Fire Rescue

This is basically Pandemic but with fires. You haven’t seen Pandemic yet on the list so you know it’s higher. I think that Flash Point: Fire Rescue might end up being one that I get. And that’s because it might replace base Pandemic for me, but we’ll talk about why later. Very standard cooperative game.

41. Legendary Encounters: A Firefly Deck Building Game

On yesterday’s list, it is one that I like the theme of. Firefly was a great show, and the game is playing through the episodes. The game isn’t that easy and the artwork is just okay. Again, the ramp speed doesn’t seem right for the type of game it is, but it’s better than Marvel Legendary.

40. Stuffed Fables

This is one that I had a good time when I played it, but ended up being one that I never wanted to come back to. The game has a cool story about a kid who has a blanket, I believe, stolen, and you play as animals going under the bed with all the broken toys to get it back for her. But the mechanics were not that well taught and things that changed up on each different storybook page were worse taught.

39. Legacy of Dragonholt

Another one that was in my collection and left. When I heard about an RPG in a box, I thought it was going to be great. And in all fairness, it is a fun game with a lot of story in the box. But the story and writing was just okay. The best I can compare it is that it was written like a YA novel, but not one of the great ones. I think the system was very good, but I wanted writing.

38. Marvel Battleworld

This is dumb little game. I know it shouldn’t be this high on my list, though we’re not even half way yet. It is just a game where you roll a die and advance a track. The fun of the game is buying blind packs and getting little Funko figures. So I have it this high because it’s a fun toy with a little game attached to it.

37. Ghostbusters: The Board Game

We’re still in the area of games that are just okay, but we’re soon to games that are still in my collection. I loved the minis in the game, and the translucent ones look cool. But the game play was just okay. While there were different scenarios, they weren’t bad, but it wasn’t all that interesting. I just wished there was more.

36. Elder Sign

Another one that left my collection, some of that was just because I had only the base game. I have heard that the expansions help improve the game, and add more to the story of what you are doing. The base game is basically a Yahtzee type game, and I wish that it played a little bit faster for what it is.

35. Legends of Andor

Story driven puzzle game, Legends of Andor is good. The reason that it left my collection is that I never wanted to just sit down and play through all of it. So when I did want to play it, I’d play through the introductory scenario again and I did that a few times. But I like the story and the mechanics are pretty cool.

34. Sword & Sorcery

I played this one a lot, I got through the base game and one expansion. And I do like this game. Once I played that, though, I got rid of it. Even though I had more characters to play with, I wasn’t interested in going back through. The story doesn’t branch enough for that. And I wish that you could retire characters like in Gloomhaven.

33. Castle Panic

I almost culled this game, and I might, the board is a bit dinged so the FLGS didn’t take it. But the game is still playable. We’re not here to talk about that, though. The game is fun, and it’s a very light tower defense game. I like that I can play it with almost anyone, and while you rarely lose, it feels like you might. If I don’t lose a cooperative game fairly often, though, I will move on from it.

32. Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger

This is a fun silly little game. I would say that it’s pretty much a solo game. Because you all play as one character and basically just do a choose your own adventure. You can make decisions as a group and pass around who is reading and rolling a die, but that’s how it’s cooperative. It is fun for that, though, because it’s so silly that everyone is laughing together.

31. Mysterium

Mysterium bounces all over for me. I think it was in my Top 100 games this past year and now with this ranking it wouldn’t be. If and when I play it again, it likely will move up. This is about figuring out who the murderer is. And there are rules about how that all works, but really it’s about giving clues as a ghost to everyone so they can figure theirs out. It’s cool concept that can get in it’s way with how it tries to be a game.

30. Unlock Games

The better escape room style board game. Unlock Games you don’t destroy anything, unless in a fit of rage. And I like how it counts down building up pressure versus Exit which is just see how long it takes you. And there are a lot of these with a lot of different themes. I want to play more, but it’s kind of a lot of a game night and works better with 3-4 people not 6.

29. Arkham Horror

This is the 2nd Edition, I haven’t played my 3rd Edition yet, but I need to. This is a grand epic game that takes forever to play. But it is a lot of fun. I felt like when I’ve played it that I get into what is going on in the game. The story is light, but the longer you play, the more story develops just from what you are doing.

28. Dead Men Tell No Tales

I like pirates, so that helps this game. And the supernatural twist on it is good. It again falls into that category of do some things and then bad things happen. What ended up causing this one to leave my collection is that it is that bit more. There are so many things to keep track of and the game isn’t as familiar, I didn’t pull it out over Pandemic.

27. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle

Another deck builder on the list, and one that I just got rid of as well. Why, because I own a lot of deck building games. This one I like the theme of it, and the mechanics are fun. The game gets a bit longer as you go, and I wish there were more characters in the base box. It’d be one I’d gladly get back when I have a group to play it.

26. Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth

It’s odd how many leave my collection, and this is another. And I actually just realized that I forgot to rank Star Wars: Imperial Assault which also just left. So this counts for both. They are great games, The apps work really well, and you can pick your preferred theme. These are campaign games with a nice sense of adventure, but because they are campaign games, that’s why they left.

25. First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet

This one is still in my collection, huzzah. And it’s probably surprising because when it came out people didn’t love it. But I really enjoy this game. It is a tough cooperative game where you can play all sorts of one off missions with different focuses. Or you can do a mini campaign. And it has an app, not a great one, to handle a lot of the bad things that happen, which I like.

24. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

I really should buy a copy of this game. I played a few times at Fantasy Flight Game Center and really liked it. But never picked it up, and then played a bunch on the app. There is story, campaign, deck construction, and a lot of cool card play. I prefer the game that this is based off of, but I’d gladly have both in my collection.

23. The Lord of the Rings

While some might argue this game is fairly abstract, where you are pushing up on tracks as you go through the story of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I really enjoy this game. It is a very hard cooperative game, but it gives you rewards at just the right time. It’s one I haven’t played in ages, but now that I’m thinking about it, I want to play it again.

22. Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game

My favorite book series in a board game. When talking about this one, I always want to to point out that it is abstracted. And while the theme is there, it is mainly there if you know the books. I love picking out one of the books to play and then characters from that book and trying to beat the game. I like it best, I think at two, though three isn’t bad either.

21. Just One

Party game on the list, Just One is a great game. And I really like that we are getting a number of cooperative party games. Here one person is trying to guess a word, and everyone else gives them a one word clue. But any duplicate words cancel. Simple game, clever idea, don’t need to play for points, and always a blast.

20. Cross Clues

Another party game, I told you there are a few, Cross Clues I like just a little bit better. Though, last time I played it I was so tired that I messed up a few times. Here you are giving a one word clue to get people to guess the intersection of two words. So it might be day and octopus, what word is between those two? Eight might be a good option. Simple and a lot of fun again. You can play real time, 5 minutes, see how well you do, we never do that.

19. Pandemic

Here are all the Pandemic games. And I have to say, I don’t know that I need to play base Pandemic again. Pandemic Legacy games just kind of ruined it for me. Still in my collection, but like I said, I might get Flash Point and replace it. If I want to play Pandemic again, I’ll play legacy, I think.

18. Village Attacks

A bigger tower defense game, I am still waiting for my Kickstarter to come in. It funded in 2019. But I am excited for it when it does. Village Attacks has you playing as the bad guys with the villagers coming with pitch forks and torches. You might be grotesque or horrifying, but the theme is just funny to me, so while it’s a dark game, it doesn’t come across.

17. Arkham Horror: The Card Game

I really need to play more of this game, it’s another one that I just really love. Arkham Horror: The Card Game, is the living card game (LCG) from Fantasy Flight, and it’s so cool how they can do so many different things with the game. Great card play and fun deck construction that I want to do more of. I prefer it two player, I think, but it’s good solo as well.

16. Similo

Final party game on the list, but not final light game. Similo is game where one person is it. That person is giving clues of either a card being like or not like the secret card. Then the rest of the players eliminate cards. Simple concept for a game and a ton of fun, especially to mix decks. How do you tell players that a chicken is or isn’t like a vampire or medusa?

15. Apocrypha Adventure Card Game

This is the game that the Pathfinder Card Game was based on, though the Pathfinder one came out first, it’s confusing. But I like the dark theme of this one, there is warfare going on between supernatural forces, and not everyone can see it, but you can. So how can you stop it in the different scenarios. Good game, great art, and my sort of them. Horrible rule book.

14. Say Bye to the Villains

Definitely the hardest game on the list, at least in terms of winning. The play is simple, spend time to improve your stats, look at what a villain is doing, and hope that you can win when you run out of time. And there isn’t enough time to do everything in the game. I’ve come so close to winning so many times, I’m sure eventually I will.

13. The Reckoners

Pretty high on the list for limited plays, but I love the theme of the game. The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson is a great series. And I love the game play, it’s tough, even on easy, but it has a lot of good choices. And you feel like you can do a lot on your turn as you roll dice and every face on the die is probably something you need.

12. Marvel United

Marvel United is a pretty easy game, but I love it a lot. In the game you are playing down cards to stop a super villain. As superheroes you all work together. So the last card you played, if I’m next to go, I’ll get to use as well. The villains also feel so different in this game, and while I have everything for it, the grab and go get it to the table is great.

11. Letter Jam

A game that just made me realize I forgot to rank Hanabi, I play a lot of cooperative games, Letter Jam is a game where you are trying to guess your word. But you can’t see the letters that make up your word. Only through clues and words given by other players can you infer what your letters are. There is some good strategy in figuring out what are good clues. Loads of fun and one that I think a lot of people will like.

10. TIME Stories

The highest escape room style game on my list, though this one has more going on than that. I really like TIME Stories for the puzzles that it gives. I haven’t played all of them yet, and I have heard that some are weaker than others. But every one that I’ve played thus far I really enjoy.

9. Roll Player Adventures

I’m really excited, I get to play into a campaign of this in February. Roll Player Adventures is my highlight from GenCon in 2019. Getting to playtest it was great. In the Roll Player universe, this takes characters you might have rolled up, or pre-made ones, and lets you take them on adventures. The adventures are fun, and the combat is interesting. It’s a lot of choose your own adventure and so good at that.

8. Mansions of Madness: 2nd Edition

Another Lovecraftian game, and another cooperative one. All of Fantasy Flights games in their Arkham Files line are cooperative. Mansions of Madness is app assisted and so much fun. Like Arkham Horror The Card Game, the game can be so different depending upon scenario. Some might have you stopping a ritual in a mansion, others exploring a town. One that I want to play more of to see what else they can do with it.

7. Sleeping Gods

You can watch me play this tonight, Jan 26th, on Malts and Meeples. Sleeping Gods is a big adventure game that I’m playing solo right now where you are the Manticore, a ship, and sailing around with crew that go on adventures. The game has an amazing aesthetic and story. Even though the story isn’t linear, it works well. And the world it’s set in is really cool.

6. Marvel Champions

I like Marvel a lot, and for me Marvel Champions is the best Marvel game. The different heroes feel like that hero, and you can take them up against any bad guy. While Marvel United you play as one hero they are a bit more generic. And Marvel Champions gives you that alter ego side, so you push and pull to keep the villain at bay. And there are so many heroes and villains already and there can be so many more.

5. Aeon’s End

Another one I talked about yesterday. Aeon’s End is a cooperative deck building game where you try and stop a nemesis. A great solo and two player game. There are so many set-ups and so many cards for it. Now this does include Legacy as well, which is a great introduction to the game. And I like that the randomness in the game isn’t shuffling your deck, it is turn order and what the monster does.

4. Xenoshyft: Onslaught

Another deck building game, this one is Starship Troopers and tower defense. I like how collaborative the game is. I build my deck, but if I have an extra troop and you need one, I can give it to you to defend your part of the base and it goes into your deck. It allows everyone to really balance out what is going on and have a chance, which is good, because it’s a tough game.

3. Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game

I feel like this one I talk about and always describe it in a way that doesn’t sound that fun. But in this game, I feel like I am a detective. It’s a bit like a detective TV show, but fun is how I put it. You get into the case and the theme and if you allow yourself to be immersed in figuring out the story going on it is a great time.

2. Tainted Grail

Another one from yesterday, Tainted Grail is an amazing story adventure game. You take these characters and build them up through a grim dark storyline. And the writing on the game is just so well done. In terms of thematic games, I feel like this one might top my list, though, not my favorite cooperative game.

1. Gloomhaven

For my favorite cooperative game, no shock, it’s Gloomhaven. I love this game. I love the leveling in this game and the card play in this game. And I love that you retire characters and get new ones. I think that the mechanics are amazing and the story is interesting. But overall it leads to a great cooperative experience.

Final Thoughts

I’m guessing since I missed Hanabi and Imperial Assault that I likely missed others. And I also found it interesting how many I’ve gotten rid of. I think a lot of that has to do with me having so many I’ve played. It means that they are fighting for playing time. So only the top ones stick around. Especially when you get down to campaign games, for those it’s even a tighter field because of Kickstarter games coming in and time.

What is your favorite cooperative game?

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How To Play On Tour

On Tour is a simple route building game. You roll two dice, and get two numbers. Let’s say a seven and a two. So on your board you put down 27 in one spot and 72 in another. And you try and build up a route as long as possible connecting numbers in ascending order.

There are two things to know about how you do that. Firstly, you connect your route at the end of the game. So that means you don’t need to put those numbers next to existing numbers. And secondly, and as importantly, there are three cards flipped per roll. This affects where you can place the numbers. In the maps, US and Europe, it is split into North and South, and East and West.

Each of the cards also has a location on it. Generally a country or state depending on the map. And if you put the number in that specific location, you get to circle it as well. What do circles do? Well, they get you a point if you route goes through there. So let’s talk scoring. You get one point for each stop for your band. If the location is circled you get an extra point. Most points wins.

What Doesn’t Work?

The game play might be too simple for some gamers. I personally like it because it kind of has a push your luck to it. But All you do is flip cards and roll a die to figure out a route. There are no combos, there is no clever game play. So for some gamers, On Tour is going to be too simple.

I also think for some people the route connections at the end might be tricky. There is a limited number of spots that you can go, so that helps. But you look at your board full of numbers and it can be hard to find all the connections and what is your longest. I think it is useful for a second player to look at it and see what they can find.

What Works?

On Tour plays in a great arc. What do I mean with that? When you start the game, you push for things, like maybe pushing to get more circles. And as the map tightens up, the tensions increases. Towards the end you need specific numbers, and about half way through the game, you know where you’ll need them. So the game feels like the tension is growing as you play it.

I also think that the simplicity of the game works. Like I said, for some people who really want combos, the game will be too simple. But the game plays in a very smart way. It gives you this balance of risk and reward, like of like No Thanks that I wrote about yesterday. It really asks you how much you want to push your luck. Because a shorter route will score you more points than the player who pushed for a long route but missed one connection they needed.

This game also plays fast and scales well. It is, like many roll and writes, a game where the difference between solo and multiplayer doesn’t exist. What I do on my board doesn’t affect what you do. But we all play at the same time, so that means the game moves along really well. Yes, choices can be hard and slower in the middle of the game, but they are still limited well by the cards and dice, so even then it doesn’t take too long.

On Tour Final Thoughts

I really enjoy On Tour. Clearly if I own the app and I still wanted to own the game. And I think for a lot of people On Tour is going to work very well. It falls into that category of Railroad Ink for me. It is a challenging game, but it also isn’t too complicated. The difference is in Railroad Ink you need to think about four dice placement, and in On Tour, it’s just two numbers. So the options are more limited in On Tour.

I also think that a lot of people will like how fast the game plays, it really moves along quite nicely. But it doesn’t feel like it is too short, it feels like it’s the right length and really does give you that arc of game play. Where the tensions builds towards the middle of the game and into the end game. But the game itself doesn’t drag out too long. No one can optimize their last few placements or turns, because the game limits them.

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

I think this game probably skews a bit towards the more casual gamer. But I can see gamers liking this one as a palate cleanser between games. It is fast enough to be a filler, but for some groups it’ll be big enough to be the main course. For me, I know it’s a roll and write that won’t be leaving my collection.

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Crowdfunding Games I Wish I’d Backed

I don’t have too many requirements for what can go on the list. The one that I do have is that the game is out, or at least production copies are close, there is one exception to my list, I think. But generally the game needs to be out. I missed these games and now I wish I had them because the game looks good. There are some games, Arkeis, for example, that I really am interested in, and I wish I’d backed it, but I don’t know enough about it still to say for sure.

Also this is a fairly long list, though some will surprise you on the list. You’ll have to see what they are, but let’s get into the list.

Final Girl

This one is going to be an interesting one, because I am going to back it. But I just said I’m sad that I missed it. I am because now we are onto season two. So that probably means that I’ll be getting more for the game, and clearly I need even more of a game that I already don’t own.

Final Girl is kind of what it sounds like. You are the trope of the final girl in the horror movie. Can you survive the serial killer and escape? Can you rescue others, or will you truly be the last one standing? I love that theme, especially since those Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th type of movies are my favorite for horror movies. This one I don’t know why I passed it by the first time, I won’t this time.

Unsettled

Another one that is coming back to crowdfunding, I believe Kickstarter. This is a planet exploration puzzle. It reminds me, in some ways of TIME Stories, but in space instead of this weird time travel mechanism for the game. So it’s modules that you explore to try and complete objectives. The game sounds really cool.

They are coming back to Kickstarter so that they can drop some more planets into the game. That is something that is great about this game and system, that I can tell, they’ll always be able to add in more planets. And from what the reviews have said, this has some really good writing with it as well. So while not a big campaign game like ISS Vanguard which I did back, this is going to give me a lot of planets to explore as well.

Solomon Kane

Now, this isn’t my exception, but you can watch on Malts and Meeples me unboxing Solomon Kane. Well, that’s because I bought it on eBay. I wish that I’d backed this on Kickstarter. I think that Mythic Games brought it to Kickstarter when I wasn’t checking as much. And by the time I heard about it, I think it was too late, or I didn’t know about the late pledging of things.

This is one that I still need to dive into my copy of it. It was an option to stream when we chose Sleeping Gods instead. And it is very possible that I will stream it later this year. Because, while it is kind of a campaign, it is shorter stories that are campaigns. That is similar to how Roll Player Adventures is doing their campaigns as well. I like that because it means that I am not signing up for 100 hours of game play.

Vampire the Masquerade – CHAPTERS

Here’s the cheater one, this one isn’t out yet. So why is it on the list, because Quackalope has a very polished looking almost production copy that I’ve watched played. I’ll add the video below. But the game looks right up my alley. It has tactical elements for combat where you need to think about positioning. But it is so much more about story, and I love a good story in a game.

Not to mention that the whole world of Vampire: The Masquerade sounds interesting to me. This world of vampires, but not vampires who are ripping peoples necks out. This is about the intrigue and codes that they have, and being subtle about the hunger and when and how you get your blood. And the different clans and how they interact amongst each other in a struggle for power.

Maximum Apocalypse

This is an interesting one because I’ve again, had a chance to get it. And not just a chance, two chances, and then there is more of a campaign version of Maximum Apocalypse as well that I could have gotten. So why do I regret not getting it, but also haven’t pulled the trigger? This is a survival post apocalyptic sort of game, or during the apocalypse. And it’s done with random tiles that you are searching and different objectives to complete. Plus you have a lot of different apocalypses you can play in.

So theme is great for me. Game play looks like a lot of fun. It just hasn’t caught my attention quite enough. And now, and this is a bad reason, there is a lot of it. And I’m going to want to own all of it. That is a bad reason not to get it. I can get a little bit and if I love it I can get more. I do that often with games. But this one, stuff like the Kaiju expansion I really want, but isn’t part of the base box. So I haven’t bitten on it, yet.

Mars Open

You’re going to see a lot of big games on the list. We know what I like my big campaign games, but this is a small game. And I don’t actually remember what kept me from backing this one. And I keep on looking at it on eBay thinking I should pick it up. Mars Open is a dexterity game, basically paper football flicking, but instead of football, it’s golf. And you are play some holes and low score wins.

That game sounds hilarious to play. I have to imagine that I’d be bad at it, but I’m okay with that because it’ll be a good end of game night game. It reminds me of PitchCar as a game where when someone has a crazy good shot, everyone is going to be excited for them.

Horizon Zero Dawn

This one I’m glad I didn’t back, but I also wish I had. The minis in the game are amazing. And the core box has a lot of cool things. but it has a limited number of things. I likely would only have backed the core, and while people seem to like the game, the general consensus is that you need more. The base box gives you a good gaming experience, but not enough to come back to and feel like it’s different.

That said, there isn’t only the base box, there is a lot more. And if you went all in on everything, there is going to be a ton that you can play. Plus the theme, I love the theme. I haven’t beaten Horizon Zero Dawn, but I need to get back to that game. Honestly, too many video games to get through right now. But in terms of setting this is one of the coolest.

Graphic Novel Adventures

From Van Ryder Games, these are basically mini choose your own adventure in graphic novel form. But they are more than that, it’s not just flip through and read stuff, you have a character and you have stats. That is going to determine how well some things go for you. And they put so many themes into the different graphic novels. Pirates, Sherlock Holmes, and werewolves just to name a few. And I own one, which I really need to play. If I love it, they seem to do more every few years, so I can get another one. I really need to play mine.

Sea of Legends

Another one that is coming back to Kickstarter soon, or maybe Gamefound, I’m not sure. Sea of Legends is a pirate game with app assistance. To me, this looks like it’ll be similar to Merchants and Marauders, a game I like but don’t love, and then add more story into it. In Merchants and Marauders there isn’t story, it’s what you bring to the game. And while the theme is solid, I like games that have story.

Sea of Legends did start out rough with an app that was bad, issues with the rule book, and generally felt like Guildhall sent it out before they polished it. I think that there are still issues with the rule book, but the app seems to be better. And it has a whole idea, that you pick out three different things, I forget what they all are, and enter them into the app and that drives your story. So you can change them up and the story is going to change as well.

This is one that I’m probably going to either grabbed use, my FLGS has had a copy, or back when it comes back. Pirates are a theme that I love, and a generally open world game with story, I like that too. I mean, you can see me now playing Sleeping Gods, a game that I almost put on this list. I own it now, and I like it.

Wild Ascent

This is kind of a Monster Hunter style board game. Or a boss battler game, where you have a village phase and then fight a monster. Kingdom Death Monster might be the one that popularized the genre. KDM (Kingdom Death Monster) is one that didn’t make the list, but was close. I want it, but that Kickstarter was insane.

Wild Ascent does a lot of the same things, and seems like it’s a shorter campaign. KDM feels more like a lifestyle game. And while I wouldn’t mind having a solo lifestyle game that I can keep set-up all the time. Until I get a board game table, which I want to do eventually, and can get two levels and leave a game up all the time, one is about all that I can manage.

That is why I passed on Wild Ascent twice. There was a Gamefound and Kickstarter campaign, and the Gamefound one I was so tempted by. But I held off because do I need another big game that will be hard to get to the table? No, but I really really want it.

Chronicles of Drunagor

Another campaign game, and one that I did end up backing the second time around. So why is it on the list, because I was interested in it when it came out the first time. And if I had backed it then, I could be playing it now. This is another big dungeon crawl campaign game that does some really cool things.

Firstly, the terrain is 3D, meaning levels to go up and down. And when you get to a door, that door tells you what is in the next room and you set it up then. Plus the action system is really interesting. You have cubes that determine what you can activate, which is great. Because as you activate spots you start to lose what you can do. And then you pull everything back, but you cover up an ability.

The puzzle of the game just seems good. And there are a number of reviews out for it now, and they are good. So I could be playing that now, but so many games that I probably wouldn’t actually be.

QE and On Tour

So, I own half of these games now, and I wish I owned both. But it’s also one that I kind of don’t mind I don’t own it yet. I own On Tour, a great roll and write game. And one with a great app. But QE is one that I think I want to own, but for sure want to try.

QE is a bidding game where you buy companies and get points. The trick is that you are bidding and there is no set amount. So I could be 20 trillion dollars. However, the person who has bid the highest total amount of money at the end is automatically eliminated. So bidding will escalate, I think it’d be impossible for it not to, because if one person gets everything, everyone loses. how much and how crazily, who knows.

QE really doesn’t sound like it should work. But everyone who reviews it says that it does, though, often, they don’t know why. I think it might be a bit group dependent, but in the right group could be hilarious. Another one that seems like a great game night game.

Canvas

I backed the second Canvas Kickstarter and I wish I’d backed the first. Not only could I be playing it now, but I wouldn’t need the expansion. On the second Kickstarter, the option was just there to get the expansion and base game together, not just the base game. I am sure that I won’t mind having the expansion, but do I really need it.

Canvas is a game where you are painting a picture. You do that by selecting cards and layering them on top of each other. The game Gloom is one that I have which does something similar. But in this one you are creating pictures. And depending on the symbols at the bottom of the picture, you score points. The game looks simple but also like a lot of fun.

That’s The Crowdfunding Wish List

Now, I could have picked more. Lords of Hellas, wish I’d backed it, maybe, same with Deep Madness, but I own most of both of those now. Or there were games like Monumental that almost made the list. Deck building with an interesting action mechanism sounds really cool. But I want to play it more than I want to own it. And maybe once I play it I’d want to own it.

Have there been any games for you that you wished you’d backed? Do you pick up those games on eBay or hope that they get a second crowdfunding campaign? Let me know what your top game you wished you’d backed is.

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