10 Played Games for My Gaming Day

10. Pirates of Marcaibo

I love this one on BGA. I want to play it in person and see how that goes. It’s a bit more of a rules teach, but it shouldn’t be too bad to get played. And I think once the game gets going it moves fast. Plus fun theme and easy sell.

9. Lost Ruins of Arnak

Lost Ruins of Arnak is a game I love. I own everything for it. So I want to get it in the big box and try out the new tracks in the game and see how everything works together.

8. Mistborn

Another one where I really like the game and it’s been a while since I’ve played it. That is going to be the case for a lot of the games. I think the people who are invited thus far are going to enjoy a game like this as well.

7. The Great Split

See above, really. But after playing New York Slice for the first time it made me realize that I just want to play The Great Split because that game is a brilliant I split and you choose game.

6. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

Yet another one where I just want to play it again. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition is a great engine building game and good for a longer game day. Like Lost Ruins of Arnak, though, I need to get it sorted out.

5. Strike

I play this one a lot. It’s on the list because it’d be a great group game there. Plus it’s a good filler/take a break from bigger games game.

4. Can’t Stop

The same can be said for Can’t Stop. Though Can’t Stop can’t support as many people. But it works well and it’s an easy one to teach and play. A good filler for when maybe one group finished before another.

3. Trekking Through Time

I’ve played this one two players and I really enjoy it two players. I want to try it with more because it’s just a fun game. It’s also a simple one to learn and play.

2. Skyrockets

You might not even know I played this game. And it is kind of a cheat to be on this part of the list. Played it two years ago at Gen Con when it was still a prototype at the Floodgate Games event. But it’s a fun real time game, so I want to play it again.

1. Heat: Pedal to the Metal

I love this game. It isn’t the easiest I think to learn. But once you wrap your head around it, it’s pretty simple to play. And it is a good game because it plays a lot.

10 Un-Played Games for My Gaming Day

10. The Gang

Now we’re in the new games. This is a cooperative poker game, so I want to give it a whirl. Plus I know it plays at higher player counts so a good one for the list.

9. Critter Kitchen

Critter Kitchen has just been sitting there waiting to get played. I want to take it a lot and see if I can get it played, but I need to open and sort it for that to happen. And it is one I probably need to learn to take along.

8. Maple Valley

Maple Valley is the follow-up to Creature Comforts. I like Creature Comforts as a good simple worker placement game. I am curious to see what Maple Valley does. They are very different games, but same great artwork and in the “same world”.

7. Ruins

Ruins is one that people were talking about going into Gen Con. It is a reworking of Custom Heroes. It is a card shedding game where you upgrade cards throughout the rounds. So I am curious to know how that system is going to work.

6. Ito

Ito is going to be one of the bigger games or party games on the list. I want to learn this one and it seem easy to play. From what I know of it, it is a good ice breaker game as well. Or maybe more of an ice breaker than an actual game.

5. Emberleaf

Emberleaf is the card dancing game. Basically a game where you play cards into a grid and then you activate the grid. The cards then move in that grid, some dropping out, others activating various affects. I like the sound of the game and great cute artwork.

4. Ghosts of Christmas

First of three trick taking games. Ghosts of Christmas sounds like a brain burner of a trick taking game where you play three tricks at once. And depending on how the previous trick goes that determines the led suit for the next one. With a Christmas Carol theme, how will it work for the past, present, and future tricks.

3. The Six of VIII

The Six of VIII is going to be a fun one to try as well. It’s about the six wives of Henry the VIII. And each trick the trump suit is going to be one of the wives. But it is more than that because how long a wife was alive is going to impact how many rounds that suit is trump. I like how thematic they managed to make a trick taking game.

2. Tricky Kids

Now, Tricky Kids is a new game as well. I would have put both Tricky Kids and Cat in the Box on the list, but I’m playing Cat in the Box on BGA right now. It is very possible that Cat in the Box will come along as well. But Tricky Kids is trick taking game where the cards don’t have a value on them. So you need to set the value, but you only have 21 points to allocate over 7 cards.

1. Expeditions

Finally, let’s go with something different and big with Expeditions from Stonemaier games. I like the idea of trying this one in a bigger group, or maybe not with everyone but with some. And I believe that one person in the group owns it and has played it before. It is nice to bring along games like that so that I don’t need to learn the rules. Or more so, so that no one needs to learn the rules because I’m not going to learn them all.

Final Thoughts

Now that is a lot of games to bring along. And I know that all of them won’t make it, but I plan on bringing a big mess of games. There are other smaller games too that are going to be stuck in because they are smaller games. So stuff like Flip 7 or Push are really likely to come along. New games like First-Class Letters and Trinket Trove (as I want to play that one with more) will come along. But this is a good list for me to start planning on what to bring. But it sounds like a good gaming day to me.

If you were to do a full gaming day, what games are you going to take off of the shelf?

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Top 15 Board Games I’m Waiting On

15: Critter Kitchen

Based off of Flamecraft I am excited for Critter Kitchen. It is a very different game, but still it looks amazing. And I like the food theme, the idea that you’re basically chefs trying to impress critics is a fun theme. I feel like there is a bit more going on in this game than Flamecraft, so what is keeping it lower on the list is I want to know the weight and accessibility of it, because the artwork is amazing and very welcoming.

14. The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game

This one is very new to the list as in that I preordered it this week. But it’s Lord of the Rings, a theme that I love. But there is way more that I love about this game than just that, or at least the theory of it. It sounds like you play cooperatively through The Fellowship of the Ring in various missions. So cooperative, trick-taking, and scenarios with a theme I love, I’m all in.

13. Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders

Now one that I’ve been waiting on for quite a while. Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders is why I got Tidal Blades, a game that I still need to play. The first one interests me a fair amount, I like the idea of leveling up and improving your dice. But the second one, well, it’s a dungeon crawler and we know I love dungeon crawlers. Plus scenario/campaign based and some interesting sounding mechanisms. Especially around turns where you slowly build up what you can do, then after a real powerful turn it resets and you repeat the process.

12. Marvel United: Multiverse

Next up is just more Marvel United. I love all the stuff for the Marvel United board games. Multiverse is going to give me more stuff. So why wouldn’t I want to play with more stuff for the game. Especially since it’s so easy to get to the table.

11. Wandering Galaxy: A Crossroads Game

I need to play the other board games in this line. They are all really different themes, but they all sound like a ton of fun. this one is going to be about space explorers, mercenaries, whatever it might be. And you play them along missions and scenarios in a big adventure. I just like the fact that it’s this crossroads system, the best part of Dead of Winter. I like making choices and maybe not them impacting the whole game, but being meaningful in terms of flavor.

10. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – RETALIATION

This one is on the list because I’m enjoying Vampire the Masquerade: Chapters a lot. Yes, they are different games, but both promise narrative and living in the Edge of Darkness world. So I want to experience more of that. And while there is a ton of stuff about vampires, I feel like werewolves need more, so the theme is even better for me.

9. Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men

Much like Marvel United, Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men is just more stuff. It’s been a bit since I played Dice Throne, but I’m ready to battle it out again in this dice chucking battle yahtzee with unique powers.

8. Stonesaga

Stonesaga is high on the list as a persistent game that sounds really fun to me. And I know that I like the start of it. Though, I’ve done the tutorial enough times that I’m ready to see more. But I like everything going on in the game and the fun minigames within the bigger game. And it’s set well before technology really of any sort, so I love the discovery aspect and process to the game.

7. Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game

Another one that I’ve played, this one I’m still waiting patiently for after playing it about a year ago at CMON Expo. I love this game, I love that it’s a combat game, but not always a combat game. Sometimes you just want to sneak around because when the guards know where you are at they’ll all rush you. And I got to play it in the standalone mode, but I want to try the short campaign in it as well.

6. Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

A big campaign game, and there are a few on the list at this point and a few more to come. I love my big campaign board games. Arydia though sounds so interesting to me. Mainly because it plays over three different levels. There is this largest level that is the world, well not full world but let’s say lands that you traverse over. Then you go down to a more focused area, maybe a big camp or a town. Then you can get down to tactical dungeon crawl as you go. The whole idea just sounds amazing and I want to see how it executes.

5. Castle Combo

Another one that hit the list a couple of days ago. Castle Combo is one that I’m playing on BGA (Board Game Arena) right now and I really love it. It’s a simple game where you build out a three by three grid of cards. You spend coins to buy the cards which give you an immediate bonus, probably more coins and then a scoring. And you just want to get the best scoring from the cards you can buy. Simple but a ton of fun.

4. The Witcher: Path of Destiny

I need to play my other Witcher game, but The Witcher: Path of Destiny is still really exciting for me. I like The Witcher a lot as a setting. This is one that I kind of wish was cooperative, but also I get it, all the characters really have their own thing that they are doing. But it’s about building your most iconic and exciting story in the Witcher world, and that sounds like fun. But it’s not really a storytelling game, it’s more about completing challenges to gain those stories.

3. Witchbound

Witchbound is one that I stumbled across two years ago and I’m excited for when it will be coming. The hope is that it would be really fast turn around, it wasn’t. But that is because it needed to be translated into other languages. But it’s basically a point and click adventure as a board game. I find that fun and the artwork is great and the story is great. Solo only game and one that I’m excited to show off when it comes in.

2. Mistborn Deckbuilding Game

Another one that I’ve played, Mistborn Deckbuilding Game is one that I got to play at Gen Con and it’s great. I love the ramping nature of the game, I love the thematic nature of the game. And the game play is so fast. It’s not that the game is too short, it’s more that the game moves along quickly and you feel like you do something each turn. And burning the metals is a great thematic element that works well to separate it from other deckbuilding games.

1. Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns

My number one for anticipated board games, as it has been for a while, is Rogue Angels. I’m still so excited for this game, and I’m tempted to reset my prototype copy and play it again. The story is a blast, the game play is easy to follow. And I really like the cooldown system for actions and the flow that everything moves with. The late pledges are still open on this one so if you’re looking for a cooperative campaign game, I highly recommend this one.

Which Is Most Interesting To You?

Let me know which of these board games you are excited in, if you’ve backed or preordered any of them. There are so many good games coming out, it’s hard to keep up on playing everything. So like I said, I’m taking a hiatus from buying just so that I can play more of the games that I already have. Because there are a lot of games that I want to play more or ones that I want to get to the table for the first time.

And when these games come in, I’m going to want to get them to the table as quickly as I can. Though, some of them being bigger games or campaign games, those might take longer to hit the table. But when Witchbound comes in, as long as I’m not streaming another cooperative/solo campaign, it’d going to get started because of how simple it is to get to the table. But now just to wait on those board games and play the ones that I have.

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Crowdfunding Round-up

Critter Kitchen

Critter Kitchen I wrote about a bit ago as it was announced during the Dice Tower Summer Spectacular. So it might have gotten lost in the shuffle, but this is a game from Cardboard Alchemy, known mainly for putting out Flamecraft. Flamecraft is a fun family weight worker placement game that maybe takes a little long but has the most adorable dragons and artwork.

When they announced Critter Kitchen what caught my attention was the amazing artwork. Sandara Tang is doing it again and this time it’s all animals not just dragons. But for the game itself, you are collecting resources to be the best rated and reviewed chef during food week. So it takes place over several rounds as you try and complete recipes and goals that will get you the most points. It’s still a worker placement game, but like Flamecraft, one with a very fun theme.

Backed

Spirit Fire

First of two games that should be solo only or solo mainly. Spirit Fire is from Orange Nebula. Orange Nebula if you aren’t familiar with their other crowdfunding games, did Vindication and Unsettled. Two big games that have great components. Spirit Fire is their take on an adventure story driven game, and one that is solo. It is mainly solo because you can play it two player but it’ll be shared decision making, like most solo games.

I know less about this game play than some of the others. But the company so they already have some built in trust that way. But the game itself sounds unique. It’s an open world adventure but one that says it won’t have much story. You create the story as you go. This could be a great thing where it gives you a lot of freedom, it could be awkward. But again, Orange Nebula has my trust on it.

Backed

DreamEscape

DreamEscape is one that I stumbled across more. I like how on Gamefound you can explore the upcoming crowdfunding games. I came across it there and it immediately sounded interesting to me. A Lovecraftian setting where you are trying to escape dreams sounds fun. And I like the idea of living, dying, and replaying scenarios. It lets you use your knowledge in the game.

The question I have about this game which sounds like a card exploration and adventure game, is replayability. I said I like the sound of the scenarios being a challenge, and I hope that they stay a challenge. But it reminds me of a cross between something like an Etherfields and an Arkham Horror Card Game which are two things that immediately draw me in. And again, a solo game (or two player) but seems like mainly a solo experience.

Backed

Secrets of the Lost Tomb

Secrets of the Lost Tomb is the only one of these that I’ve played around with. And I didn’t play the original version. At Gen Con this is a game that I got to demo, and I’ll say demo loosely. I got to sit down and learn a little bit about the game. But it caught my attention for a few reasons.

Firstly, it’s a scenario driven game where you’re exploring a tomb in a cooperative nature. But you’re building out the tomb like you build out the house in Betrayal at House on the Hill. And I like that idea that each scenario doesn’t have to be set-up a certain way. I can start playing it faster because I’m not looking to make sure certain rooms are in certain spots. Also, the fact they aren’t increases the replayability.

The other thing is that it’s fully cooperative and you still have the finding loot, leveling up character that going on. Secrets of the Lost Tomb looks like beer and pretzels fun, though too big to play at a bar. The game just seems like it leans into the pulp nature and the nature that anything could happen. That makes it a bit rough around the edges, but what felt like it’d be a fun game.

Pick-up at Retail

Final Thoughts

As much as I want to pick-up Secrets of the Lost Tomb, I think it’s a game that would make more sense at retail. The extra content, scenarios you can go on, is a lot. And not all of that might be coming to retail. But what comes in the main box is a lot as well. And I can’t back all the games on crowdfunding.

What I did choose to back, I think it makes sense to back it there. Critter Kitchen would be the other one that I maybe could wait for retail on. But Orange Nebula does all their games on crowdfunding, so picking it up later would mean buy Spirit Fire at a mark-up on the second hand market. And I’d guess the same with DreamEscape but that’d be even harder to find because right now it has less people backing it.

Out of all of these games, I think I’m most excited for Spirit Fire. It’s so ambitious. But Critter Kitchen and DreamEscape are obvious close behind for me to back them. It was a strong week and there is a game, Wonderous Creatures, that I know is coming soon to crowdfunding as well, possibly today.

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