Party Games

Just a quick disclaimer. I picked party games for the party game list, that makes sense. What I didn’t do was pick games that work well in big groups, though all of these do. That’s because there are some games that work well in big groups but aren’t party games. That list will come up soon.

Doodle Dash

Let’s start out with a drawing game, and a speed drawing game. If you feel like you can’t draw, that’s fine Doodle Dash is about speed too. In Doodle Dash, one person doesn’t know what everyone else is drawing. And they want to guess it on the first try. But everyone else is vying to be that first try, so they are drawing as fast as they can to be the first one ready.

When you think your picture is good enough, you grab the first player marker. The second person, who will get their picture looked at next, grabs a die and starts rolling. That die has a stop on it, once that stop is hit, everyone else stops drawing. Then the guesser sees the first and fastest picture and see if they can get it. If not, they go to the second one, and if not, they go to the rest of them to try and guess it. But the points get lower the further you go.

This game will have everyone laughing as they play it. It’s light, it’s made to be silly, and it’s a drawing game where how good you are at drawing really doesn’t matter.

Fun Facts

Next up we have Fun Facts, a new party game as well. Repos Productions has two other games on the list coming up. Fun Facts is all about how well your group knows each other because this is a cooperative game. But it isn’t one where a single person can decide everything. Every player is making the choice on their own even though you win a whole group.

The game asks you a question about yourself, like on a scale of 1 to 100, how much do you like the season fall? I don’t know, maybe 47, I like the temps but not that winter is coming here in MN. Then the person who read the question puts theirs face down. Everyone goes around adding theirs to the column of face down. All the time hoping they are putting it in the right spot. The more in the right order you get, the more points you have.

It’s a simple game, it’s kind of an ice breaker, get to know you sort of game. But it works a whole lot better than a lot of ice breakers. You find out about people and there are some good laughs too as someone widely overestimates how much they like fall or how much more than everyone they’d pay to go actually visit Jurassic Park.

Medium

Now we’re onto a game that is about working together but is not in the cooperative party games category. Medium is about matching up with the person that you teamed up with. You play a word, I play a word and we need to come up with the word that connects those two.

It’s not bad if it’s “cat” and “baby”, we’ll both likely end on “kitten”. But if we differ, now we need to come up with a new word that connects are two new words. Hopefully we got closer than we were before. Because if we didn’t different directions on it, it might be even harder to connect now. And if we miss a second time, we have a third and final shot at it. The sooner you get it, the high points you get. And if you don’t match at all, no points.

Most points at the end of the game wins. But that’s not the fun of the game, the fun of the game is watching people try to come up with a word knowing you’re doing just as poorly when it’s your turn. And when people just miss by going robber and criminal when the words were “steal” and “burglary”, everyone one having a good laugh. Or wondering when the two people take it opposite directions how they’re going to get “cactus” and “car” to work together.

So Clover

Now we’re back for some more cooperative party games. The next two are that, actually before I end on a competitive one to make an even three and three in each area. But So Clover is a great cooperative party game of having a grid of words, might be “cactus” and “car” and needing to come up with a word that connects them.

This sounds a whole lot like Medium. But the player don’t just have one of those two do, they have four of them, one for each side of the clover. And on the card there isn’t just one word, there are four, one for each side of the square card. So you need to get four clues written down one for each. Then those cards come off, a random one is mixed in, and everyone else is trying to figure out how to put it back together.

It’s fun to see how crazy some of the clues have to be to try and connect things. Or how you figure out what goes on one side, like if it’s “steal” then “robber” and “burglar” might make perfect sense. But those cards share overlap with two other clues, one on the left and one on the right, so how do you get those clues to match up right?

Just One

Then there is Just One, which might be my favorite party game, for sure is my favorite in the cooperative party games category. Just One is about giving a one word clue, one per player, to the person guessing their single word without overlapping on any of the clue words.

You see, players write down their clues and without the guesser looking all the players compare. If there is any overlap, well, those two or more that overlap are all gone. The player then only gets to see the remaining words to guess as to what their word is.

So you want to be creative as you play, you want to give a clue that others won’t likely think of, but also not too obscure that it throws off the whole guess. It’s possible to get a really confusing one in there if you aren’t careful, one that makes everything else feel different to the guesser.

Just One has those moments where you’re really happy with a clever clue that you’ve given. Or those moments where you wonder if the guesser will be able to get it because there could have been six clues and now it’s down to just two. Are those two enough for them to be able to get it? And then the moments of elation when someone gets some weird clues but still gets it anyways. A great fun time.

Blank Slate

Finally we have Blank Slate, and I think that Blank Slate is one of those party games that works well with everyone. The system is simple and it feels familiar so it’ll work well with people who maybe played games like Balderdash before or others along those lines. But this time, it’s even simpler.

In Blank Slate you are given a word and either a blank spot before or after it. You might get the world “truck” followed by a blank. Everyone writes down a word to fill in that blank. If you match with no one, you don’t get any points. If you match with just one other person both of you get three points. And if you match with more than just one person, all of you get one point.

I really like this system of wanting someone to match with you but not wanting everyone to. It’s that question, like with Just One, of how obscure do I go or how much of a stretch do I go for, versus do I play it so safe that I’ll likely overlap with more? You just never really know how it’s going to go because you might find that you’re just thinking too much like everyone else.

Final Thoughts

I know that as someone who likes board games a lot, you’re probably reading this or looking at this list wondering if these games are for you. Or you remember when party games came out before and how disappointing they were. Well, I do want to say that these aren’t your parents party games, they aren’t like Taboo or Catch Phrase or the dozen other games that were about the same.

I think that party games have come a long ways in a lot of good ways. These all feel familiar, but add in more fun. And I think with party games, that is a big thing. You want the game to be fun without being repetitive. And with the cooperative games in there, it’s a chance for even very competitive people to join in.

Do you play a certain party game around the holidays? Do you think that any of these could bump that one from the rotation?

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Catch up on my Top 100 Games (of all Time) 2023 Edition:

100 through 91

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition – 90 through 81

90. Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker is a fun fast paced game that you can’t take too seriously. It’s about building what you hope is a good space truck and getting across the galaxy, picking up goods, and well, hoping that your ship isn’t blown up by asteroids or pirates. Which, you can do, you can build a great ship. But the ship building is done in real time. So it is easy to mess up your ship and have half of it blown away because of a misplaced asteroid.

Normally I don’t love real time games. But Galaxy Trucker is not against a clock. Instead, you build as fast as you want, and the fastest player determines the speed. And, to add to it, that is only part of the game, the rest is seeing if your ship gets blown up. So the game gives you a breather between the real time elements which I think works well.

Buy Galaxy Trucker

89. Final Girl

Now we’re onto a horror film of a game with Final Girl. Final Girl is a solo only game about what it says it is, the final girl of a horror film. If you’re not familiar with this trope, most horror films end up with a final girl standing at the end of the film after all their friends have been killed. The question is, are they able to kill the bad guy (or deal with them) or will the get killed?

That is what Final Girl is all about. Can you manage your cards, rescue the characters that are not the final girl, and then deal with the bad guy at the end. Van Ryder Games has done a great job of giving you all sorts of films. There is a Hans the killer at a summer camp or you might be at a circus or dealing with a ghost. And they are adding even more with a third crowdfunding campaign going on now.

Buy Final Girl

88. Doodle Dash

Now we’re onto a party game, and I don’t have too many party games on the list. But Doodle Dash is one that I really like because it’s the type of party game I want for drawing. One where it doesn’t matter how good you are because, as the name suggests, sometimes speed matters more.

In Doodle Dash one person is the guesser. They want to guess the image as fast as possible or with as few clues as possible. Everyone else is drawers. And they draw as fast as they can. The first person grabs the first person marker, the second fastest starts rolling a die, and when that die hits stop, everyone else stops. And then in order, fastest, second, and everyone else, the pictures are revealed. More points the earlier on the guesser guesses it, but that is also the worst picture, possibly. So it’s a blast and one good for a lot of laughs.

Pre-order Doodle Dash

87. Calico

Going from something silly, we now have Calico, a game with a calico quilt on the front, not a calico cat, which is an abstract game about making quilts. Your goal is to get the most points by completing goals, matching colors to get buttons, and matching patterns (since cats are color blind or a number are) to get cats on your quilt.

This game looks all peaceful, but it’s a pretty intense game. You need to strategize well to complete the objectives. Because the objectives give you more points if you get both the color and the pattern to meet those objectives. It might be surround a spot with three of one type and three of another. But if you get three of one color and three of another, plus three of one pattern and three of another, that is how you get the most points. A tense game, but a fun one, and it’s pretty.

Buy Calico

86. The Night Cage

Another tense game, The Night Cage is a perfect Halloween game. You, and everyone else, wake up in a labyrinth with just a candle next to you. You know enough that you need to find keys and then all find a portal to get out. But the labyrinth is ever changing and there are monsters and your candle runs lower.

This is a game where as you move around the labyrinth you reveal new tiles, they might have keys, portals, just pathways, or monsters. And As you leave other locations your candle only lights up a space around you, so you lose the tiles before. You need to work together to get everyone a candle. But if you’re too close, the monsters might pop up and blow out someone’s candle, then they are moving blindly around until another player can relight their candle.

All of this is being done while the stack of tiles is getting shorter. There is no way to get tiles back, they represent your candles. And your candles are getting shorter and shorter. So as you watch that happen will you be able to escape The Night Cage?

Pre-order The Night Cage

85. Destinies

Another game that has some spooky elements is Destinies. A game where all the players are working against each other, but not getting in each others ways too much, to complete their destiny. Each of you know what you need to find, so can you figure out on the map where that might be.

Lucky Duck makes Destinies, and they have a great app for it which leads you through the story. And the story has some spooky elements and offers you conversations and challenges to do. And doing the challenges are simple. It’s rolling dice to see how many successes you get. But you can improve your stats as you succeed on checks and get XP to spend. So you can increase your odds. Plus you have extra dice you can roll, but they only come back so often. When do you want to push for that success or do you need to hold them back. An easy but fun story game.

Buy Destinies

84. Ascension: Deck Building Game

My favorite pure deck building game is Ascension. I know for most people it’ll be Dominion. But I like a few things better about Ascension. I like that you have a changing market, that means that I need to adapt to how I play. I can’t pick out a perfect strategy from the start.

Plus, I think that the combos in Ascension are better. You play with four different factions and all of them synergize a lot amongst themselves. So can you build up an engine that allows you to play a ton of cards and have epic turns. I think that is what stands out so much to me, when I get an epic turn, I can buy a lot and fight a lot of monsters which is why I like Ascension better.

Buy Ascension Deck Building Game

83. Canvas

Now we’re onto a game about making art. In Canvas you take art cards, that are clear, and layer them to create masterpieces. Really Canvas is a game about getting the right symbols at the bottom to score a lot of points, or get lot of ribbons that score you points. However, it does this with great artwork and fun pieces of art that you create. I almost like to see what cool art I can make more than get the points. But when you make a piece of art almost no matter what it is cool. Canvas is a fast and fun game for everyone.

Buy Canvas

82. Ecosystem

Next up we have Ecosystem the drafting game on the list. In Ecosystem you are building out, well, an ecosystem with animals and terrain types. Each of them scores differently. Wolves like to be in a pack, so the person with the most gets the most points on them. Rabbits teleport other tiles around, just like real life. But bear want honey and trout, trout want to be by the river.

And the game is fast. You draft a card and you add it to a 4 by 5 grid. That is all the area you have, so how can you pick cards that will optimize your scoring. But it’s also so simple that it’s not a stressful game. Once you have an idea of the scoring, and each player has a cheat sheet, the game goes quickly.

Buy Ecosystem

81. Star Wars: Unlimited

Finally, Star Wars: Unlimited, this game isn’t even out yet. But I got to play it twice at Gen Con and I really like this game. The Star Wars theme certainly helps. But for me, when I compare it and Lorcana to Magic the Gathering, this is the one that gave me more of a feel of being full of combos as you build out what you’re doing. The base decks only had some, but as they’ve revealed more cards, I see more possibilities.

However, like Lorcana it is built to be a whole lot faster. You play out a card or attack with a card on your turn. There aren’t really other options. It’s not do everything on a turn, and your opponent can’t really respond at all. So the game is straight forward and keeps moving fast. It’s something that I don’t always love about Magic, it takes a long time on the turn. Star Wars: Unlimited it’s a whole lot faster.

Coming in Q1 2024

Upcoming Streams

So, 8 PM Central next Wednesday the plan is continue with the Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition. It’ll be games 80 through 71. I don’t even remember what is on the list, so I can’t really tease it. Join me and see what makes it on the list, will there be new games? Will there be roll and write games? Is the first campaign game going to be part of that section?

And then the other time I stream during the week is Monday at 9 PM Central. Join me then as I play a solo game. I’m not sure what game I’ll be playing. Maybe more Trailblazers as I seek to break 50 points. Or it might be Number Drop. A roll and write game that I can play solo that I haven’t gotten to yet.

But 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 Games

So let’s talk about everything that has come in that I need to find room for on the shelf. Some of it, though, I do have a creative solution for. So the big game that I unboxed was obviously Marvel United X-Men. And that, as well as Marvel United, have a ton of minis in those boxes.

So while the game isn’t huge, it is a lot to store all of the minis. So to store them, I picked up some make-up holders, wall mounted ones, that will fit the minis in quite nicely. I’m hoping that I can hang them and fit almost all of them in there and keep Marvel United and Marvel United X-Men down to one Kallax shelf, but we’ll see if that is possible.

Marvel United X-Men

I’ve got to talk about this first, because, well, it was the biggest thing that I unboxed. And I’m excited to get Marvel United X-Men to the table. Marvel United is a fun game that is great to pull off the shelf and easily get to the table. And for a game that has so much with it, that is great. It means that I can easily play it.

Actually, thinking about it, I might do what I did for Marvel Champions, get some extra boxes, clasp boxes, to store it so that it’s easier to get to everything. Though, I might need to get different dividers than what I have now. But it might be worth it because the actual boxes for Marvel United only work okay for storing stuff.

But if you want a good introductory game and you love Marvel, see if you can find a pledge. I love how I can pull it off the shelf, grab out a villain, a character, and really get to the table so fast. When I play it, it is two or three times in a row, each game goes faster, and you swap out characters each time. Plus, you do need more than the core box to really get the experience of the game.

Ghosts of Christmas

Ghosts of Christmas is a trick-taking game that I got interested in because of BoardGameCo. He put out a video with why he liked the game a lot as not a big fan of trick-taking. Ghosts of Christmas is going to be played as three tricks at one time. One is for the past, one is for the present, and one is for the future. And when you figure out the results the tricks, it goes in that order. But what the trump suit is can change, I forget how it works, but I believe based off of the previous trick. So that offers a unique challenge.

QE

QE is an odd sort of game where bid for businesses. But the weird trick is you can bid however much you want. I bid $200,000,000,000. Well, now you know what you need to bid in order to win any. However, the person who bids the most automatically loses. Even if they own all the businesses, in which case no one wins.

So I bid a massive amount, four times and I own those, you bid $1 than I do next time, now you’re in the lead. Then someone bids just under my total to get the next one. And all of a sudden the bidding continues to grow and goes crazy. I hope that this is a very fun game that has a good party feel for me. And I imagine that there will be a lot of laughing as we play and as bidding goes crazy.

Paperback

Paperback is a word building and deck building game. And I love my deck building games. As you can see, I kind of forget why I picked this one up. But I think it’s a deck building game, and from what I’ve heard not too hard of one, that my wife will like a lot. She and I are both big readers, and Paperback, about writing a paperback while deck building seems like it’ll work well for us. Plus our group of gaming friends likely will enjoy it as well.

Root Expansion

Just a little Root expansion. It swaps out some of the cards in the game. I don’t know how, but I needed something small to get to free shipping. And it is some of why I was talking about lifestyle games, though, let’s face it, I got very distracted. But Root, so me, is a lifestyle game because, well, you need to know the game. It’s not one that I pull off the shelf to teach just anyone, the game is too complex. So the group who knows the game is the one it gets played with.

Hadrian’s Wall

On my list as a roll and write games that I’ve wanted to try. I haven’t picked it up, though, because Hadrian’s Wall is not a cheap game. And that kept me from buying it for a while, but I finally caved. Why, everyone loves it as a solo game. So I’m in for that. Plus, I keep on playing more complex roll and write games and loving them. Paper Dungeons is fairly complex but is pushing to be one of my favorite roll and writes. Fleet: The Dice Game is one I want to try more.

I like light roll and write games for my gaming group. Stuff like Ganz Schon Clever, Welcome To… and others, which might actually be mid-weight roll and writes. But when I want to play solo, I don’t mind if it is a little bit heavier. And Hadrian’s Wall is definitely not a light roll and write game.

Riverside

Another roll and write game. And Riverside is definitely going to be lighter than Hadrian’s Wall. But I’m curious to see how heavy it is. There is an element of a river where the boat goes up and down the river. And you get passengers or items to take to certain stops. So you can push the boat down the river, but at the cost of passing some things up. I don’t know if that makes the game mean at all, but I’m curious. Plus, the game just looks peaceful to play with the aesthetic.

Doodle Dash

Doodle Dash is a party game that seems like a lot of fun. I get a bit of Just One as a drawing game. One person is it trying to guess a word. And players are drawing as fast as possible. The first person to finish drawing grabs a piece. The second person rolls a die until they get a stop, and that ends the drawing for everyone else. The first person wins showing their picture first. But it’s the fastest drawn picture, probably the hardest to tell what it is. But if it is guessed, they and the guesser get more points. Seems like extremely silly fun.

The Drink

Just a Negroni again. I really love that drink, very good for the summer too. I appreciate the bitterness of the drink. And because of that, and the grapefruit nature, I find it very refreshing.

Upcoming Streams

So what’s coming up. Next week I do want to do a Monday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, definitely going to be some gaming. And Monday, we’ll see, maybe Monday will be streaming some smaller games and Wednesday start my next bigger campaign game. See what looks good to get started. I want to play something bigger again, as long as I can figure out a fast way to get it to the table. Sleeping Gods is good that way that even as a big table hog, set-up and breakdown of the game is not that hard.

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BoardGameTables.com Order

So this is the one that’s Foster the Meeple’s fault. Two games only, and that actually takes me to the point where I’ll have the games I want from BoardGameTables.com (which does make board game tables, but also board games, guess which one cam first).

QE

QE is a game where you are bidding however much you want to buy a company. The interesting thing about that is that you can bid however much you want. If I want to bid 120 trillion, I can bid that, if I want to go higher, I can do that. It does have a twist, though, in that the person who bids the most, well, they are automatically out of the running to win. So the prices are likely going to get crazy, but you can’t be too crazy. It seems like it shouldn’t work, but also, everyone who plays it likes it or loves it, so I want to play it.

Ghosts of Christmas

Foster the Meeple are the ones who pushed this over the edge for me, in terms of reminding me about it. But BoardGameCo was the one who brought it onto the radar. This is a trick taking game where you play tricks in the past, present, and future. And you can play to whichever trick you want in whichever order. Only once all are full does the winner get determined. And the trump suit can change on tricks, so it sounds mind bending but really interesting.

Kolossal Games Kind Of Order

So, I ordered these games from Kolossal because it’s about the first spot I’ve seen them available in the US. The games themselves aren’t put out by Kolossal, instead by Chilifox Games out of Norway. It’s a new game company, so limited distribution in the United States, but the two games I know of theirs are really interesting to me, so I wanted to grab them while I had the chance.

Riverside

Riverside is going to be roll and write game. But it has more going on than that. There’s not only the roll and write portion of the game, but also a little board that determines where the boat is on the river. Players are trying to take passengers on tours, drop them off at the right places, and score points. But that extra element of the river and boat position make it feel like a different sort of roll and write game than a lot out there.

Doodle Dash

This is a very different type of game than Riverside. Doodle Dash is going to be a straight up party game. In it, one person is the guesser and everyone else tries to draw a picture as fast as possible, based off of a word, for the guesser to get. But the fastest person gets to show their picture first, and then next fastest. And that second fastest player is rolling a die to limit how much time the rest of the players are going to get to finish their drawing. So there is a benefit to being fast if you can get the word across in a simple drawing. Seems like good chaotic fun for a party game.

All Systems Go

I like to call out the local game stores that I go to, and most of the time it is going to be All Systems Go. I generally trade in my games there, and while I didn’t this time. I did pick up one thing there.

Marvel Champions: Sinister Motives

I basically get all my Marvel Champions stuff from ASG (All Systems Go) and they know to set aside for me every time. Sinister Motives is going to give more Spider-Man characters, both heroes and villains to play as or against. And it’s just more content for Marvel Champions. Why do I keep buy it, because I love Marvel, I love the variety of characters you can play as and villains you can play against. And I really like the game. But it is one that I’m soon going to have to consider how much I want, because I don’t play it enough. The answer, though, is that I probably will want it all.

Miniature Market Orders

I will say, it wasn’t my plan to have two orders that were close to one another from Miniature Market. But it just happened to workout that way. In particular, I can blame another YouTube channel, Quackalope for me getting the second order. Jesse and Devon, from Devon Talks Tabletop, did a solo game list, and there was one I wanted to get immediately upon hearing about it.

Res Arcana: Perlae Imperii Expansion

This is more content for Res Arcana. I haven’t gone through all the content that I have for the game, but I already know that I want more. And the expansions are not always the easiest to find. Res Arcana is an engine building game where you are building an engine off of eight cards. And you don’t add more cards to your engine. Maybe you get a monument, but often those just offer a one time effect. So how do you build the most productive engine you can from those cards. Not sure that Perlae Imperii adds, but hopefully more of what’s already there.

Railroad Ink Challenge: Engineer Expansion

A mini expansion for Railroad Ink Challenge. This is basically some extra dice that you can use that mess up the board as you go. I don’t know specifically what the Engineer Expansion adds, it is just the last one that I didn’t have, so I wanted to grab it.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game 2nd Edition

I’ve played the original version of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and I want to try this new one. Plus, I might have picked up some of the 1st edition, so I can compare. But I’ll talk about that soon. I’m hoping that this makes the game a bit smoother to play, but we’ll see. And I just like the fantasy setting and the interesting cooperative nature and card play in the original game.

Radlands

This is one that I don’t regret but also slightly regret getting. I regret getting it because it’s a small two player game, will I play it over Hanamikoji. On the flip side, it’s from Roxley, I like their stuff. And the artwork on the game is amazing. But I don’t know if Radlands is going to be one that’s easy enough to table often. I am excited to try it though.

Clank! Expeditions: Temple of the Ape Lords

An expansion for Clank!. I don’t know what this one adds in exactly. I’m assuming that it’s just going to tweak how the base game plays and add in some apes. I need to play Clank! some more before I add any more expansions to my collection.

Black Sonata

This is the one that Devon was talking about in the video I mentioned. I love the concept of this game. It’s a solo only hidden movement, deduction game. That sounds so crazy to be able to do as a solo game, but it works well. I’ve already gotten my copy and played it twice. Plus I picked up the Fair Youth expansion as well, so that adds in more or a new way to play the game as well. But the base game is going to keep my busy for a little while.

Amazon Order

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull & Shackle

I said I was getting some of the first edition of Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and Skull & Shackles was the base set I landed on. This one is going to be a pirate based theme, which I like, and use the standard Pathfinder Adventure Card Game system. I picked this one up for comparison purposes, and I hope that I really like it because there are expansions I could get as well.

Coconuts

For something completely different, Coconuts is a dexterity based game. You use monkeys to launch coconuts into cups to try and get a certain number of cups stacked up. The whole point of this is to be a silly fun game. I had a chance to mess around with it a tiny bit at GenCon in 2019, and it’s a fun one. It’ll not get played for a little bit, unless I do it on the table, because kittens will most certainly chase and play with flying coconuts.

Crowdfunding

So there are a lot to talk about, seven in fact. Most of them are going to be pretty small ones because, well, I’ve been trying to do some backing of little roll and write games that are print and play. When a game is $5, for a print and play, and I get it immediately, I want to support the creators because it’s a cool way to get games out there.

Kaikoro

Kaikoro is one of those print and play roll and write games. The game doesn’t seem too complex, you try and keep Kaiju from destroying a city. That theme and the artwork are the selling point, but it’s also a $5 game that I can print, laminate, and play as much as I want.

The Dark Quarter

The Dark Quarter is most definitely not a roll and write game or a print and play. You can see a lot of that here. I think the system is fascinating that it is using. And I really like the dark/mature supernatural, monsters theme that Van Ryder is bringing to the system. For me this was an easy back.

Fortress of Terror

Back to more print and play roll and writes. This one is another $5 that has a fair amount of content with it now. But it looks interesting, almost a bit of a dungeon crawl nature to it, or exploration, something like that. So I’m curious about it, and the system that is being used for the game, it seems like an interesting one that could be fun to play.

Paper Railroad

Another print and play, this one is going to be a route building train game, I believe, with some pick-up and deliver elements thrown in as well. The route building might be secondary to the farming and getting farm rewards and shipping out those things. So I’m curious to see how it is for a roll and write. But it was $6, so one to back that I want to mess around with.

Pestilence – Escape the Plague

The final print and play roll and write game on the list. This one has the most interesting theme for me, or up there with Kaiju. The black plague is rolling through, and you are trapped in the city. You need to make connections, build up reputation and avoid the kings guard to get out of the city. That just seems so different, there are other games about the black plague, but to do a roll and write on it, it’s a different than normal theme.

For Northwood!

Speaking of something that is a bit different. For Northwood! is definitely a unique game. For Northwood is a solo trick taking game. That immediately caught my attention. Add in that it’s pretty cheap, it’s just over a deck of cards, I’m curious about it. They company is also the one that has done or distributed other solo games that I like, like Orchard and Black Sonata.

Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies

Finally, Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies from Red Raven Games just launched this week. If you want to read more about it, you can do so here. But I loved my play through of Sleeping Gods, and Distant Skies seems to build upon that system. And while I didn’t have an issue with Sleeping Gods for solo play, this seems like even simpler solo play. Plus some changes to combat as well, which I was fine with combat. But I’m super stoked for this one.

Final Thoughts

So what am I most excited for, well, Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies and The Dark Quarter. But those two are coming in a while. Same with For Northwood!. So of the stuff that I’ve gotten, or is coming much sooner, what do I want to play? I really want to try and compared both of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Games. They can be played solo, so I think I’ll be tackling them soon. Maybe I’ll even stream some over on Malts and Meeples coming up here.

Which would you want to play first?

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Wish List Board Games

41: Pyramid of the Pengqueen

Low on the list, but let’s be fair, I do still want all of these games. This one just seems like an interesting idea, and it’s penguins. But the basic concept is what one person is playing as the Pengqueen who is going around her Pyramid, but no one can see where she is going. Everyone else is trying to get treasures. It’s kind of a hidden movement with a board that is vertical and magnets on both sides. So if you get to close, the magnets attract. Cool simple looking game for the holidays and with the toddler eventually. That’s why I want it.

40: Stella: Dixit Universe

A twist on Dixit where it keeps the great artwork. But players are trying to associate words with pictures and match up those words. And to me that sounds more interesting, and overall just a good looking party game. It also doesn’t have the thing that I don’t love of find the right answer in a bunch of them or tailor your answer to whomever is picking the best that so many also have. This one there isn’t a “right” answer, but you’re playing everyone.

39: Thunderstone Quest!

Thunderstone Quest! is a deck building game, so you might think it’d be higher on my list. For me, I think that I’d like the game a lot, but I’m not sure how much I’d play it over the other deck building games that I love. Thunderstone Quest with it’s fantasy theme and dungeon delving looks cool. But compared to something like Xenoshyft: Onslaught, Aeon’s End, or Clank!, I’m not sure that it’ll do enough for me. It looks like it’s basically just a deck building game.

38: Mice and Mystics

Mice and Mystics is one of the older games on the list. And one of the first storybook games from Plaid Hat Games. These are the ones where there is a book with maps and those are the boards that you play on. I like the feel of this where you play as the mice fighting other things. It’s lower because I really wanted to like Stuffed Fables and I thought it was a bit much for what it did. And that was building off of the Mice and Mystics system, slightly. So I’m worried this will feel like there are too many extra rules with the different pages as well.

37: Coconuts

Now for something very silly. Coconuts is a game where you are tossing coconuts with a monkey trying to get them to land in cups. As they land in cups, you get them and you are trying to complete a collection up to a certain number. But people can steal your cups. A fast paced dexterity game that is meant for that fifteen minute palette cleansing game.

36: Blank Slate

Another party game, in Blank Slate. Blank Slate is a matching game, where you put own a word to complete a phrase, [blank] Run for example. And they are trying to match with another player’s word. If they match up with one person, you get two points each. If you match up with more, well, you still get points but not as many. Simple concept of a game, but one that I could see working in almost any situation.

35: Qwirkle

One that I’ve played before. Qwirkle is an abstract game where you try and complete rows of six either of the same color or of the same symbol to get a lot of points. It’s kind of a cross between Scrabble and Rummikub. Both of them are classic games which I still enjoy. This one is definitely in that classic vein, but very easy to learn and play. So good one to pull out and have some fun with.

34: MicroMacro: Crime City

A combination of Where is Waldo and a who done it, MicroMacro: Crime City gives you a big map that you’re looking to follow a crime that has happened. The artwork is pretty cute and done all in black and white. What is cool about this one is that while it’s just a single map for all the cases, the cases are still dynamic. You can follow a blood trail and still see the same character as if they are moving. So the world is in motion which is really clever.

33: SET

Another classic game, and one that I mainly want to have in my collection because I’m good at it, or I was. It would kind of be one of those party trick games where I could dominate and impress. Kind of like Mastermind and always getting it in five rounds. So it’s more nostalgia than I think this is a great game. But I am curious to see if I’d still be as good at it.

32: Unmatched

Unmatched, and in particular I want the Marvel stuff that was announced a while ago and still isn’t out yet. But I do want to play this game system. It’s pretty clever how you spend cards to do actions, including to draw cards, and you’re looking to keep that balance of attack, move, and defend cards to play around with. Plus, when can you fight Bruce Lee vs some Raptors? Or Buffy the Vampire Hunter against Little Red Riding Hood?

31: Ramen! Ramen!

This one I mainly want because I think it’s going to be a small and cute set collection game. And because the artwork really makes me want ramen. So maybe that’s what I really need is to order or make some ramen soon. But the game looks like simple fun in that weight of something like Sushi Go. And with cute artwork like Sushi Go, that generally means that it’ll get played fairly often.

30: Risk: Shadow Forces

This is a new version of Risk Legacy. Now, there does seem to be fewer legacy elements to it than Risk Legacy, but you’ll see a number of legacy games on this list. I really like legacy games, and Risk is a fine game. I thought that Risk Legacy really improved upon it. So I’m hoping that this will just be another fun version of Risk.

29: Transhumanity

This isn’t a legacy game but more of a campaign game. Earth has leapt to somewhere else gone is the sun, next to us now, a scarlet dwarf star. Or maybe Earth stayed and they switched the other way. But the theme is cool and it’s a cooperative campaign where you are trying to influence what happens on Earth or the other Earths that have shown up as well as improve your deck of cards through card drafting. I’m mainly digging this one for the story, but I suspect it’s going to be right up my alley.

28: Gloom of Killforth

I own Shadows of Killforth that I need to play. But this is going to be a fantasy survival game where the world is very shrinking as the gloom takes it over. And you as a hero are building up your cards so that by the end of the game you’ll be able to defeat the big bad. And you can go to spots where gloom has taken over, but it’ll be harder to do anything there. Good concept and good artwork. I mainly want this because of completionist tendencies and I should just play Shadows of Killforth

27: Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories is supposed to be a very hard cooperative game. Players are trying to drive back ghosts and take them out in this game. And I like the horror them. Plus I really like the very hard cooperative nature. I know that sometimes cooperative games can be too hard, and I don’t want them all to be too hard, but this one, I want to bang my head against it’s difficulty and see if I can win.

26: Aqualin

Aqualin is a two player game from Kosmos. It doesn’t seem like too difficult a game but looks fun. One player is trying to group sea creatures by color. The other is trying to do it by fish type. It almost reminds me a bit of Qwirkle, but each player has a specific goal. I like little simple games like this that shouldn’t take too long to play but offer lots of very good choices.

25: Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Scrawler – Heroes of the Undermountains

There are a few roll and write games on this list, I don’t own all of them. But this one is on the list for two reasons. Firstly, I like the Dungeons and Dragons theme. And I know it isn’t the first and hasn’t been the last, but I like the idea of a dungeon crawler roll and write. I’m worried that it might be a cash grab of a game, considering the IP and popularity of roll and write games, but I still want to give it a try.

24: Machi Koro Legacy

Another legacy game, this is basically just Machi Koro, a game that I like. But it’s a short legacy campaign and then you can play Machi Koro. So, I want to get the game to just be able to play through the campaign and then have a copy of the game back in my collection. This is a legacy game that I can sit down and play with anyone, or probably even play over a weekend if I really wanted.

23: Menara

Menara is a dexterity stacking game. But a cooperative one, so no one is pulling for someone else to knock over the tower. To me that’s more interesting than something like Jenga. It changes the game from “haha, you knocked down to the tower” to “oh no, the tower fell down”. And that just feels better as a game when something game ending happens and it’s not about it being one person who is losing.

22: The Librarians: Adventure Card Game

This is another one that I’ve played. Granted, it was in prototype form on TableTop Simulator. The game was a good time and I really like the show. And the game has you playing through season one of the show. It’s a good cooperative game with solid mechanics. And I’d be more excited for this if I could play a real copy of it. And even with that less than ideal play, I am still ready to pick it up if I get a chance.

21: Star Wars: Rebellion

And another game that I’ve played. Star Wars: Rebellion is the original trilogy in a box, but your version of the original trilogy. It’s a lot of fun and a great two player game with one side being the Rebels and the other being the Empire. It has been on sale a few times, the only reason I haven’t picked it up is I know someone who owns it.

20: Adventure Ink: Five Factions of Filigree

I don’t know when this one will be hitting Kickstarter or published, I’m not sure which it’ll do, I’m guessing Kickstarter. And for that reason it is pretty low on this list because I am very excited for it. It’s a big story game but also a roll and write type game where things that you roll will get drawn onto things, I believe dry erase. The whole concept sounds very ambitious and very different. So like most games and projects that I enjoy.

19: Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball

So, I was talking about roll and writes, here’s another one. And one that I know that I like. Super-Skill Pinball is maybe the most thematic roll and write game that I’ve played. And this basically slaps a Star Trek theme onto it, I’m curious I want to know what the tables will do. Because if it’s basically just taking existing tables and making them Star Trek, then this would drop off the list. But I’m guessing it’ll be all new tables.

18: Floor Plan: The Winchester Mystery Mansion

I got rid of Floor Plan, but I’m excited for this. My issue with Floor Plan, while fun, was that I didn’t feel too much like I was making a floor plan. The houses that were made were just too crazy. You could build a room with zero doors, and as long as it met criteria, it would give you points. But the Winchester Mystery Mansion is crazy in real life, so a crazy floor plan will make more sense.

17: Dungeon Party

This could also be called Dungeon Quarters. And that’s why I want the game, it looks like one of those games that would be simple enough to pull out almost anywhere. But also be a silly good time when you play it. It’s, like I said, basically quarters, bouncing a coin onto a monster to deal them damage. Plus then with the dungeon crawl theme on it and powers for your characters. I’d bring this one out to a brewery and have a great time.

16: The King’s Dilemma

More legacy with The King’s Dilemma. This is one that’s kind of a story telling game as you all are making decisions about what to do and opening lots of envelopes with story and more choices. And the choices, you might not agree in real life with what you decide, but it’s to get points, so it gives a chance to role play your character hoping to get your way on this thing that’ll help you. I’m really intrigued by it and another one I want to play but I won’t buy until I know who I’m playing it with.

15: Divinus

Yet more legacy with Divinus. Divinus, from Lucky Duck Games, pits the Greek Pantheon against the Norse Pantheon. And you are working to become a demi-god as you support one of the two sides, or both, throughout the game. It’s intriguing because you are placing dice to get tiles to build out lands in front of you. And then it uses Lucky Duck Games technology to scan locations and tell story. I feel like it might be a bit mechanical from watching some game play, but how will the story develop, I want to know.

14: Hadrian’s Wall

I think this is the final roll and write on the list. Hadrian’s Wall is a hefty roll and write. Two big sheets of stuff as you build up defenses along the wall to keep the invaders from being able to get through. I don’t know a ton about the game, but it’s a heavy roll and write, so I’m interested. And everyone who I’ve talked to about the game who has played it really likes it.

13: Die of the Dead

I wish that I had backed this one on Kickstarter. Then I wish that I had picked up the copy someone traded in at my FLGS. From what I know about this game, you are trying to manipulate dice to get them rolled and played onto this 3D stairs and make it to the top. The concept seems interesting and the game is just amazing to look at.

12: Strike

Now to a much simpler dice game. In Strike, you are rolling dice into a bowl and trying to get matches to build up your die pool and avoid getting a strike which will end your turn. It’s a last person standing with dice sort of game. This is one that just seems like a silly good time and one that would be great to pull out to end a board game night with some good laughs.

11: Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down

Now we’re into mainly big games, there are a couple of smaller ones left, but Tsukujumi: Full Moon Down is not one of them. This is an area control sort of game where different factions are battling over areas. And what drew me to this game is that Sam Healey, formerly of the Dice Tower liked it, and I tend to like games that he likes. It is one that I think I’ll really dig, but also one with the price tag that I might want to try before I would buy it.

10: Maximum Apocalypse

Survive the zombie apocalypse, or alien, or dinosaur, or kaiju, or well, you get the picture. What is cool about this game is that it’s very much a survival game but feels like on the lighter ends of things. I maybe even want the latest version more so that offers a campaign to the game, but also, without a campaign it might be easier to play. Because who doesn’t want to play a scenario were a kaiju is stomping across the land to get you? And I like that the map is set-up as well.

9: Doodle Dash

Now one of the few smaller games left. This is basically just racing to draw something as fast as possible so that your clue is given first. Though, if you go too fast and draw too poorly, they might not get it. So it’s a balance of how fast you doodle, probably very fast though. Seems like a good party game that is similar to some, but I don’t have many drawing party games.

8: Townsfolk Tussle

This is one that I looked at on Kickstarter as a boss battler game but I didn’t back. I know it’s coming back to Kickstarter, but I’m not sure I’ll back it that time either, even though I definitely want it. But Townsfolk Tussle is a lighter game where you fight against different mustache twirling villains. I like the artwork on the game, which is Cuphead or old cartoon/comic like. And it is kind of a campaign, but not a massive campaign game. I just have Oathsworn and Primal coming as boss battlers.

7: Monumental

Monumental is a game that I wish wasn’t available only on Kickstarter and probably one that had standees. This is a deck building game where you fight, get more cards, and move and explore on a big map. What draws me to this game is how you activate. It isn’t a normal deck builder in that you don’t play a hand of cards. Instead you have a 3×3 grid and you activate a row or a column for the cards. That feels very unique in what it does.

6: Kingdom Death: Monster

Now the grandfather or all boss battlers? Well, maybe it isn’t that, but it’s the biggest one that really put them on the map. I’d love to get my hands on Kingdom Death: Monster. But I really don’t want to spend an arm and a leg like it costs. And I really don’t want to but together all the minis. This is one that I’d love to have, but I’d need to find it for the right price, which I doubt I ever well.

5: Iron Forest

Iron Forest is another one that I could get right now on Kickstarter. But I am not backing it, mainly because $80 for a flicking game, plus shipping, is more than I want to pay. I can probably find it cheaper used later. But I love Icecool from this company, and Iron Forest is two layer Icecool with some extra rules. If there was a game where I wanted to have it in front of me and play it tonight, this might be the one.

4: Arkeis

Arkeis is another legacy style game. I’m not sure if it is truly legacy, it’s been a while since it was on Kickstarter. But this is a game where you are exploring tombs in Egypt, I believe. And that theme is really cool. Plus it’s a campaign game, so I always like those. Just the Egypt theme has me really excited for this one. And it is a game where the box creates rooms for you to go into. It just feels like it’s going to be epic.

3: So Clover!

Now a small game again, So Clover! is a party game from the makers of Just One. In this game you have a clover leaf that you has four cards on it with four words on each card, one per side. So each leaf has two words on it. You put down a word that connects those two for all the leaves you have. And then you shuffle in a fifth card. Everyone else is doing the same thing. Then one player at a time, everyone who didn’t write on the board tries to unscramble it. It seems like it will work with almost anyone and be just a bit harder than Just One.

2: Vampire: The Masquerade – Chapters

Now a really big game, Vampire: The Masquerade – Chapters is going to be playing a story driven dungeon crawl maybe boss battler game. And of course it’s a campaign as well. So really it is everything that I love. I didn’t back it when it was on Kickstarter because I thought it was too expensive, and do I really need another campaign game? I probably don’t, but I love the mystery and intrigue that Vampire: The Masquerade Chapters promises. So I really want to try and track this one down when it finally delivers.

1: Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns

Finally Rogue Angels. I don’t need to say much about this one. You can watch me play it here. It’s not even on Kickstarter yet, or back on Kickstarter anyways. And from what I know about the changes coming to the game, all cosmetic, it’s going to be amazing. Plus, the game play itself is great. I can’t wait for this to come back to Kickstarter and then sometime in the future to be delivered.

Final Thoughts

Rogue Angels is easily my top game on my wish list. Though, there are others, So Clover! for sure, that I’ll be getting before it. I’m waiting for that one to come back into stock because when it does, it’ll get played right away. It’s going to be a great game night and holiday option for me. And some of the other ones, they might never get picked up. I mean, Kingdom Death: Monster, I’m never going to buy that. But some others, Vampire The Masquerade – Chapters, I definitely want to track down.

What game is #1 on your wish list?

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