Awaken Realms NEXT 2024

Castles of Burgundy Deluxe Reprint

You miss out on getting the fancy Castles of Burgundy, I did, but didn’t at the same time, you can get it now. I need to play the game now. I don’t think it’s ever one I’ll go all fancy on, but it’s tempting. Instead, this might be the one for you, if you love the game and now you’ve seen the production, you have a chance to get it without paying scalper prices.

Follow Castles of Burgundy Deluxe Reprint here.

Puerto Rico Deluxe

This is another one that really isn’t for me. But Puerto Rico is a classic worker placement game. And I know a lot of people are going to be intrigued by this. Do you need a massive deluxe version, probably  not. Will it make your old version obsolete, absolutely not. But might it be cool if this is a game that you play a ton, probably. So one to checkout in what seems to be a growing line of deluxe euro game versions. This is Q3 campaign for 2024.

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AR Vault

Last year they did some dice. Which I have a set of those dice coming eventually. Do I need more dice, no. But this year it’s miniatures. Awaken Realms is a miniatures company, at least in terms of what they started out as. And their games, Etherfields, Tainted Grail, and more have come with amazing miniatures. So if you’re looking for some awesome looking miniatures, this is going to be the spot to get them. For me an okay announcement, I don’t really get miniatures unless they are for a game, so while I’ll look at them, not going to be one that I back. This will be coming back in Q1.

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Grimcoven

This is a big boss battler game. Do I need more boss battlers, absolutely, especially anything that is done by Awaken Realms. I like the idea of a boss battler, I need to dive more into the ones that I have. But coming in Q2 of 2024, from Awaken Realms you know that it’s going to drip with the aesthetic. And I’m hear for this witch hunter feel as you are a hunter battling against these bosses.

It’s interesting, it’s just a boss battler. Kind of like Primal how it can work that way. But it’s going to not have a campaign to it. So that’s nice, because you get to dive in and experience it and then be out of it. I hope that the world is strongly built for the game. But sounds like you do evolve your character, but it happens during the game, which I like the sound of. And each hunter is going to be different. Color me very intrigued overall.

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Lands of Evershade

It’s a board game, it’s an RPG, and it’s going to be massive and epic. Let’s say, as much as Grimcoven looks awesome. Lands of Evershade looks even more awesome. It’s really the type of game that I just adore with massive amounts of story and them. This, to me, is what Awaken Realms does best. I need to get back Etherfields sometime to play that, but I’ve loved their big story games with ISS Vanguard and Tainted Grail. This is coming in Q4 of 2024.

The trailer looks amazingly epic. And I want to know more about it and everything that is going on in it. The aesthetic is completely one that I like. And it’s supposed to be more RPG like in that it won’t drive your directions maybe as much. Though, I feel like Tainted Grail, while it has chapters, gave you sometimes new ways to handle it. And ISS Vanguard brought you into a solar system where you could go wherever. I hope this builds upon what they have learned from those games.

It’s also a game system. I am curious to see what that means. It is supposed to give you a lot of freedom to create your own character. It’s going to be RPG like in how creation of character. That is cool, there are some very sandbox games, but it might limit you. But it’s also going to have dungeon crawler elements and combat elements. I think it sounds very fun that way. But it’s also going to be very narrative heavy.

I’ll leave the world building something for you to dive into. They talk about it a bunch in the video, and if you’re curious, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Follow Lands of Evershade here.

Final Thoughts

Last year Dragon Eclipse was the game that interested me. The rest of them were just okay for me. STALKER definitely was interesting. Here are there are two games that really stand out to me. Lands of Evershade is an instant back. And Grimcoven also looks amazing. I think that type of game works really well for me because it’s what I want in a game, heavily thematic, and knowing Awaken Realms, going to have a lot of interesting mechanisms. But it’s a one off game, which to me is a great option for how I play.

Which one of these games or projects interests you the most? Do you want a deluxe version of a game like Castles of Burgundy or Puerto Rico? Or are you more into the heavy story and them like I am?

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Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven, and I’ll include Jaws of the Lion, is going to be a campaign game for the person who wants a lot of control over what they are doing. The card play in Gloomhaven is great and really smart. I love picking two cards, one to use the top of and the other to use the bottom. But if I’m slower than other players or the enemies, now I need to put flexibility into what I’m doing. Gloomhaven also provides great character progression. It isn’t too fast so you learn and can use and enjoy the new cards but then be gaining XP for the next new card.

I also think that Gloomhaven, the big box, works well for players who like the change it up. You retire a character after some time. You’ll hit your secret goal and it’ll be time to retire them and move on. If you get really attached to a character or a way to play the game, Gloomhaven won’t be for you. It is better for a game that changes everything up as you get new characters with how you play them.

Sword & Sorcery

As compared to Gloomhaven, Sword and Sorcery is light and small. Now it’s still a big box with a lot of minis in the box. But Sword and Sorcery is all about the dice chucking. The story is pretty light, the decision making space in where the story goes really doesn’t exist. But when it comes to optimizing how many dice you can have and roll, Sword & Sorcery does that.

Stars of Akarios

Stars of Akarios is an interesting hybrid. I would say that this game is for people who want something like Gloomhaven, though the game is very different, but set in space. You can watch game play here. But this is going to be your big space epic game, and probably the biggest space campaign game, at least until ISS Vanguard comes out soon.

But this is also the game for the person who wants a little bit of everything. There is some choose your own adventure. Tactical space combat and then space and planet exploration. So really a little bit of everything that you could do. And they manage to make all of them work, though you need to be in for the space combat because that is the biggest piece.

Pandemic Legacy

This is one I’d say three introductory campaign games. And Pandemic Legacy is a legacy game on top of that. This one, though, might be the best, because in Pandemic Legacy Season 1, if you’ve played Pandemic, you can basically jump in and play the game. If not, it’s an easy teach and a cooperative game.

This is really just a story driven version of Pandemic. It does introduce rules as you go along. But it ramps up players slowly. So if you know someone who is interested at all in gaming, this is a great option to start.

Tainted Grail

Moving to the other extreme, this is not introductory friendly. There are rules you kind of need to look up to figure out what is going on. And there will be situations where the rules maybe don’t explain everything. But Tainted Grail offers some of the best story experience I’ve had in a game.

The story is dark, the story is adult. And the game has a strong survival element as well. I really recommend this one on story mode. The game is still very hard at times. There are going to be combats where you just look at it and run away. But when you dive into the story, it is just so good. So much depth to the world and every expansion gives even more story that is just amazing.

Charterstone

Charterstone is a euro campaign game. It’s one that I think euro players will like, it is a campaign game, and it adds in things. I also think that Charterstone is also a good one for a budding euro player. It’s pretty simple to start and definitely adds in a lot as you go along.

The story for me on Charterstone is very weak, and I honestly thing it pretends too much with it. But the game play is solid. It is a good euro game. And for a legacy game, you can still it after. They even offer a recharge pack, as does the next one on the list as well. But I don’t know what I’d want it.

Aeon’s End Legacy

Aeon’s End Legacy is another one with a weaker story to it. But a story that I sound fun. You can watch the whole of the game over on Malts and Meeples, I’ll put the first part down below. But if you like deck building or are interested, this is a great spot to start.

I also think that this is a great game for players who want to make their own character. As a legacy game it allows you to build up your breach mage with the cards you want the way you want. Other games allow you to customize somewhat, here you really get so much choice over that. Deck building helps provide some of that, but also with the powers you get, it works nicely as well.

My City

Another legacy game on the list and another one that is really easy to get to the table. It is a tile laying game where everyone has their own set of tiles and a card if flipped over to determine which one to put down. There are additional rules that are added as you play further into the game, but it is never too much.

This is also a great campaign or legacy game for people who don’t have that much time. Or don’t have a big block of time. It’s easy to pull out and play a game that takes maybe 30 minutes. Then you do that again two nights later, and so on and it’ll never take you that long to be back up and running.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Another one that I played on Malts and Meeples. This one is kind of like Aeon’s End Legacy, but instead of deck building through game play, this offers deck construction. So if you like optimizing your character to be good at some things, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is good for that.

I also think that this works well for maybe the person who doesn’t have time to play Pathfinder. If you’ve played Pathfinder and done the adventures, you’ll get more into the story, recognize characters and places. But it’s less of a commitment than jumping into another campaign and planning out 3 hours every week or two to play, at least.

Paper Dungeons

Paper Dungeons is an odd one on the list. It is technically a campaign game, you play through cards with monsters to fight. But it doesn’t need to be, it can be a one off. Nor do I think the campaign is all that great. But if you really like roll and write games, and Paper Dungeons is a very good roll and write game, this is going to give you a heftier roll and write to play. And also one that I played on Malts and Meeples.

Sleeping Gods

Alright, one more that is on Malts and Meeples. Sleeping Gods is for the player who wants a weird fantasy world but also wants to be able to do whatever they want. All the other campaigns on the list give you a general order of doing things. Some might have side missions but generally they’re about the main story that is going through.

Sleeping Gods gives you fun card play and a lot of interesting powers and decisions. Now, I’d recommend that you get the sequel one, it’s coming out sometime probably next year. It’ll make a few things cleaner, like not having to control as many characters. But the one you can get now is great as well and the story tends to be one of the lighter ones and more fun. And the story works as well which is impressive with no real direction.

Risk Legacy

Another legacy game on the list and only one more after this one before the list is finished off. But Risk Legacy is going to be for the person who likes that in your face game. But whereas Risk can be annoying and take forever. In Risk Legacy the games are much faster, so it’s also for the person who likes that in your face but finds Risk way to long. I’m one of those people, so this one is a lot of fun when you want something very competitive.

Seafall

Finally, I had to put it on the list because I technically did play probably half of it or a bit more. This one I don’t really recommend. I think that there are elements of the game that work but most don’t. If you go back to Sleeping Gods where I talk about open world, that one tells a great story in spite of that. Seafall is also open world but it doesn’t tell a good story.

Also the games are just too long, so I really don’t recommend it for that. The longer you play the higher the points get, plus you unlock things so that means there is even more to think about. I want this to be so much better than it is, it had potential and it just falls flat.

Final Thoughts

13 campaign games on the list. And I thought about adding in Arkham Horror the Card Game, and when I get around to a campaign box for Marvel Champions. So clearly I love campaign games, but like I said, not all of them are for everyone.

If you are looking to dive into a campaign game, I really recommend probably three games as my top choices. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a great small box version of Gloomhaven. And it’ll give you the exact same game just with less stuff and less cost. Pandemic Legacy is a good one to jump into as well because a lot of people know Pandemic. Start with Season 1 and it’ll be an easy way to see how much you like legacy games and campaign games. And finally, I think that if you want something bigger and maybe a bit more challenging, I recommend Sleeping Gods. I like it solo, but I think most people will like it at three players.

But let me know what your favorite campaign games are? And how do you play them?

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So what would my five games be?

5 Games in the Zombie Apocalypse

The rules for this are as follows. The zombies have eaten all the other games in the world besides these five. And anyone tries to make a game, the zombies eat that game. And any expansions for that game, yeah, the zombies eat those too. So what five base games would I bring from now into the apocalyptic future of zombies eating board games?

5. Aeon’s End

Now, I don’t know which Aeon’s End, there are a few core boxes I could use. Probably War Eternal because that is the one that I’ve played. Though, if it counts as an expansion to the base game, so be it. Aeon’s End is a great deck building game for solo play, and it can play up to four. Now, at four you do less, so I think it’s mainly solo or two player.

But I wanted to have a deck building game, and Aeon’s End jumped off the shelf at me more than others. Plus the solo play is almost a must for a game. Granted, there will be one on the list that can’t be played solo, because I need variety.

4. So Clover

No solo in this one, but So Clover is a great little party game that can play up to 6, I believe. And you’d be able to play with more, just not everyone writing stuff down. Or you could do it in teams. But this is the party game entry on the list.

So Clover has you writing down words that connect two words that can be really separate. It could be turtle and banana. And then those words are shuffled up and the other players need to try and put them in the right spot. It’s a clever idea and it has a nice challenge to it as you play.

3. Cartographers

Technically this can be played solo, but it’s a bit heavier for a roll and write, though not too heavy. And it is more interactive than a lot of roll and writes. Which might sound odd since you can play it solo. But the base game has good game play value in it. And it can play solo, like I said, but also go infinite. That means that it’ll fit almost any player number.

I really like this one too for scoring. Just the different combinations and how you can focus on things is great. Plus you score two things in each season. Including something coming back around at the very end of the game. For all the roll and writes that I own, this one has teeth for decision making, but it isn’t too heavy either.

2. Gloomhaven

I thought about not putting it on the list. And were Frosthaven out, that’d make the list because I haven’t played it. But it is my favorite game. And I still have a lot of characters to play. Yes, I know the story, but there are elements that I’ve forgotten.

And I think that Gloomhaven works well at different player counts. Solo is two handed which is nice, and it isn’t too much. I’ve played at 3 which works well. Gloomhaven is one that I would pull out and play with one group after another after another. And it’s long enough, plus I have a few other games, that I think I’d be interested in that over and over again.

1. Sagrada

I wish this one came with an expansion. But it doesn’t. The expansion I want would be the 5 to 6 player. But I think Sagrada fills that nice family weight game. One that people will be happy to sit down and play. And, honestly, I could make it 5-6 players just by getting a 2nd copy. Maybe not having everything in there, but having most things.

I really like Sagrada for the dice drafting. And the fact that the dice are rolled means that you have variability. Plus you don’t know what is going to be drawn out. I’ve probably played Sagrada 10-15 times and I enjoy it every time. My hope is that it’s one that since I haven’t played with all the tools and with all the windows, it’d generally stay pretty fresh.

Final Thoughts

This is purely crazy situation time but it’s kind of fun. I definitely have some high on my Top 100 games there. Though, So Clover is new to me, but should give you an idea that it’ll be high. The hardest part is trying to figure out how to cover everything and you really can’t. It’s five games.

My closest euro style game is an abstract in Sagrada or the card mechanics in Gloomhaven, but not really even that. So I wanted to pick games that could be flexible and cover a lot of things. But it is hard to do that. I doubt with five games it’d ever be possible.

So what five games would you pick?

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But now you’ve backed one thing. Now only that, you’ve backed it and the project delivered in a year, it was a small game, and it’s in your hands. It feels great. And then you see someone talking about another game on crowdfunding. And then there is another interesting looking one, and another. All of a sudden, you’re checking daily, or more often, and backing two things a week and it’s out of control. Because, what if this is the greatest game ever? What if this game isn’t coming to retail?

Now you are in the clutches of FOMO, so let’s talk about controlling it.

Why Is There So Much Crowdfunding FOMO?

There are a few reasons why there is so much FOMO happening around crowdfunding. There are three big reasons, though, that I see. The first is the game might not come to retail. Some games are just too big to come to retail. Some games there is enough interest to get it made but no connections to get it to retail. Especially for smaller passion projects, they just don’t know how or who to work with to get it to retail. And some games are just to niche.

Next is the upgraded or deluxe version of the game. This is something that’s too fancy to come to retail. But it works on Kickstarter of Gamefound. You can pay the premium to get it knowing that the retail version is going to be more plain. Often this might be minis, or metal coins, or wooden or plastic tokens versus cardboard. This is kind of like the next reason, but the next reason encompasses even more.

The other reason is exclusives. And I talk about it as what are the benefits of going with the crowdfunded version versus retail. Am I getting it cheaper, it could happen, but most likely not. What am I getting that’s exclusive, a first player marker? Metal coins? A mini expansion? And almost all games on crowdfunding do have something like that. Something that makes you think, oh, if I don’t get that, I won’t be able to later.

So How Do You Avoid It?

There are a few things to consider, and honestly, sometimes the FOMO will just get to you, and that’s okay. But let’s talk about the things to think about.

Do You Need the Deluxe?

Let’s start off with this one, the first two are really about points I made above. But this one has to do with the deluxe. Often times that is what traps people into backing something. It seems like a good deal to get all the fancy pieces, or maybe two more factions to play, but do you really need it? Does the deluxe add to the game play? Does the deluxe add to game play? Often times without adding to game play, it won’t make the game get played more often.

Will This Be At Retail?

Next, will it be in retail. This goes back to the question, does the crowdfunding add in more game play that is exclusive? Because, most of the time, you are going to be getting the exact same game at retail. And while the MSRP might be higher, once you figure in shipping versus free shipping, it’s often cheaper to buy it at retail as part of a bigger order. I mean, a game that is MSRP $100 is basically $100 versus discounted to $80 with $25 shipping for $105 via the Kickstarter or Gamefound.

Do You Know You’ll Like The Game?

Also, why do you think you’ll like this game so much? When I started backing crowdfunding games, I backed little things that I thought looked interesting. And some of them were complete duds, and some were cool. But I backed based off of what I thought looked cool. Now when I back, I need to believe that I will really like the game and I need to see what it is doing that I will like. If that information isn’t there, or it’s just shiny minis or metal coins that are drawing you in, stand firm.

Are The FOMO Items Game Play or Cosmetic?

This is going to be a big one that probably trips up a lot of people. It goes back to getting it retail or not. But sometimes you look at a game and you see all these cool things, upgraded resources, metal coins, card sleeves, whatever it might be, and they don’t add to game play. Those are purely cosmetic. If the game is really good, you can probably find something to upgrade the game with on Etsy later, for cheaper. So don’t factor those into a decision, game play is king. A fancy game with bad game play is still a bad game.

Will It Make It More Likely That I Play It?

Now, to counter that last one, sometimes a game needs those cosmetic things to make it better. It’s more interesting when you have those resources that look like resources. Or you have miniatures instead of meeples. It brings you into the game more. They don’t affect game play, but they do affect how likely you are to play it.

On the flip side of things, sometimes games have too much. So there is an element of FOMO about all the things you can get for the game that make it sound like a great deal. But ask yourself, do you need that all in pledge where you get twelve expansions for the game? Sometimes that makes you less likely to play the game because there’s just too much stuff for it.

What Other Games Do I Have Coming?

For me, this comes down to campaign games. I have a lot of campaign games coming. Whenever I see another one on Kickstarter or Gamefound, I want to back it. But I always have to ask myself, do I need it with what I have coming. And right now, I have a number coming. So do I need another game like that, how quickly am I playing that type of game. Those are all questions I need to ask myself. And what different thing is it doing than the ones I already have.

Will It Hold It’s Value If I Don’t Like It?

Probably not a thing you’d think about in the heat of the moment, but is this a game that is going to hold it’s value. I might not like it, so can I get rid of it. It doesn’t even need to be a get 100% of your money back thing. But can you get 75% back or can you get pledge amount minus shipping? Now, this matters more on a $100+ game, or for you it might be a $50+ game. Don’t expect to get your money back on a $15 game with $5 shipping, expect $10 or less on that. But for a big game, and a game with a ton of FOMO, is it a smart buy if you don’t like it?

Options If It’s Too Much Crowdfunding FOMO?

Stop Going on Crowdfunding Sites

Firstly, and most simply, stop going to Kickstarter or Gamefound. If you don’t see it, you won’t back it. That’s the simplest way, cold turkey if it’s a big problem. I know of people who have stopped using Discord, stopped going to the crowdfunding websites, because there is always a new cool game coming out. And they had trouble not buying all the games.

Some of this is cult of the new. Cult of the new being the idea that you always need the newest thing. This happens whenever a new version of the iPhone comes out as well. People with a great working phone go out to get a new phone even though they don’t need it.

And, cult of the new is and isn’t a problem. It is a problem if every game sounds cool and you try and buy them all. That’s a way to go bankrupt. Plus, it might sound cool, but not be cool for you. And it isn’t a problem, because someone else might be really excited about it for good reason. I don’t feel FOMO when it comes to euro style games. They aren’t something excites me, I don’t mind playing them once and a while but they won’t come off my shelf.

Set A Budget

Know how much you can spend. When you set how much you can spend, it makes it easier not to spend money. Because once the money you can spend is gone, then that means that great game that is coming down the pipeline on Kickstarter or Gamefound, it’s outside of the budget. So something that might have hype, might have FOMO going on, but isn’t exactly what you want, or has a retail version coming, it is easier to say no to it.

Know Your Taste in Games

Often times the biggest FOMO regrets aren’t that big game that you got everything for that you love. If you love it you probably are glad you got everything. It’s more the games that aren’t your type that you might like okay that are the big regrets.

If you know what you like, it is easier to avoid FOMO. Now, some of this takes time, and it’s best to experiment on non-crowdfunded games. Play an Ameritrash game. Play a Euro game. Deck building, engine building, tableau building, set collection, drafting, push your luck, take that, figure out what you like. When you know what you like, then you know what really excites you.

An example of that for me was Tidal Blades 1. The game from Druid City Games looks amazing. And it has some cool things going on in it, with upgrading your dice. Just from the look of the game I really wanted it. Then I watched the Dice Tower playthrough of the prototype, and I immediately knew I wouldn’t back it. The game looks fun, but I know my taste, and I know that it is too much on the worker placement and all the world building in it, that’s the artwork, not the game. Tidal Blades 2, the dungeon crawler, was much more tempting to me.

Connect With Other Gamers

This one might seem the oddest one out there. How does that stop you from buying more games? Well, if you can build up a good board game community, you’ll know what other games people are getting.

Let’s talk about Darkest Dungeon by Mythic Games. That game looked intriguing, but I wasn’t sure it’d be my type of game exactly. Dungeon crawl, yeah, I’m into that, and leveling and fighting. But the lack of story, that’s less my taste. So I didn’t back it, but someone who I play games with often did.

Now, this isn’t say that you should encourage someone else to get a game so that you can play it. That to me is just kind of rude to suggest that. Or to ask people to help pay for a game, though with legacy or campaign games that can be different. And you need to know the people well. But knowing what they are getting can ease some FOMO.

Also, it can ease FOMO because you have more gamers to talk to. If I were the only person in my group to own games, and everyone else just played, I’d end up being tempted to back more. But I’m not, so I don’t need to worry about it as much, I can talk to them, and talk about a game and what they think about it.

Count Your Unplayed Games

This isn’t something that I do too much as for me I can avoid a lot of FOMO based off of my taste in games. But when getting into the hobby, it is tempting to get a lot of games to play because games are awesome. And yes, while they are awesome, it’s important to play your games as well as just collect them.

I’m not someone to harp on it when people like to collect games. I like to collect games. And yes, I do have a lot of unplayed games for that reason. But I also like to play games. And April has been way to light on playing games for me thus far.

But when getting into the board game and crowdfunding part of the hobby, look at what you haven’t played. This isn’t about feeling shame over it, but just know what games you still need to play. Ask yourself, do I need that extra game now, or in a little while, to sit on the shelf as well. Do I have a game I need to try that does the same thing?

Final Thoughts

FOMO is a real thing, especially when you see lots of other people being really excited about it. And it is easy to want to go all in on games because games are really exciting. Honestly, there is little that gives me as much joy as getting a new game in to play around with. Even if the game isn’t for me, that’s okay, a new game is exciting to try and then move on from.

But it is really tough at the beginning to just not back a lot of things because they look cool. And that’s the big thing. Not all cool looking games are going to be for you. And some of them might not be for anyone because they aren’t good games. But a shiny crowdfunding page with lots of exclusives, stretch goals getting unlocked left and right, it’s hard to say no.

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124-101

100 – 76

Unplayed Board Games 75 -51

75: HEXplore It: The Forest of Adrimon

Yes, this moved up slightly. Mainly because I missed it and I didn’t want to go back and adjust it a few spots. But I do think it could be higher. HEXplore It is an adventure style game, so one that I think I’ll like. And the Forest of Adrimon is supposed to be one of the easier to get into. It has some feel like another game that will be on another list in that it’s an RPG but a board game.

74: Formula D

Racing games, I’ve really been digging them lately. And in general I’ve liked them. I have TItans Race which I enjoy as a silly racing game. And Downforce which is amazing for racing and betting. But Formula D is the most involved and I really want to give it a whirl. I think doing something that simulates racing a bit more might be cool, though possibly slower in terms of game play.

73: Arkham Horror 3rd Edition

I am surprised how far down Arkham Horror 3rd Edition is. I like Arkham Horror 2nd Edition but I got rid of it because it is too long. So I suspect I’m going to like this version of it as well, and a shorter play time. So I need to get it to the table. But I think because it is familiar and because I have games like Arkham Horror The Card Game and Mansions of Madness, I feel like I might not need to play this as soon,

72: Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar

I bought this one when it was cheap at Target. Well, the price hasn’t changed, but the version of the game now at Target is a cheaper one, and I think smaller. This is when shipping was backed up so Target bought a bunch of Restoration Games’ stock. This is going to be a good and silly time. But I just need to find the time to play it. I don’t think game play will last too long for it.

71: Everdell

Everdell for a lot of people, I’d guess, is higher on the list. I know this is a well loved game, and the tableau and engine building it looks to offer seems great. Plus then the artwork is amazing on the game. I definitely notice that I’m a big fan of engine building games, and ones where they have some of those more euro mechanics to them as well. It’s lower for me just because it is a bit less thematic.

70: The Table Is Lava

This is a silly game. The Table Is Lava has you throwing cards onto the table, placing down meeples to get points. But when you throw you try and knock down other peoples meeples which is hilarious to me. I’m going to turn off the fan in the game room when I play this one because that might interfere with throwing cards. Should just bust this one and have a good time with it some game night.

69: Star Wars: Unlock!

The last of the escape room style games that I own. It’s higher than the Lovecraftian themed one just because of theme and being three games in one box. My wife and I need to play these because we both like Star Wars. And after the Olympics and before Moon Knight comes out, it’d give us something to do for a few weeks. I’ve heard they aren’t too challenging, but it’s still Star Wars, so I’m sure it’ll be fun.

68: Cockroach Poker

And a small game in Cockroach Poker, this is almost a classic filler game, if not one, at this point. You either tell the truth about the card you pass or you lie. And you don’t want to get sets. If you call the persons bluff and they were telling the truth, you get the card. If you can call and they were lying, they get the card. Or you can peek at it and pass telling the next person who you think it is. Clever idea, seems like it should be fun with the right groups.

67: Drawn to Adventure

By the name Drawn to Adventure might sound like a roll and write, and it is a roll and write. It’s about adventuring the best that you can. And you do it over several maps. The production is great, but one thing keeps it down the list a bit. The several maps makes me wonder how long the game will take. If it’s interesting enough, it being a bit longer won’t be bad, but we’ll have to see.

66: Matcha

This is a little card game that I don’t know a ton about. But I like the tea theme and I like the aesthetic. So why so high on the list? It seems to do some things that I like, and it’s a two player game. That makes it easier to get to the table. I like set collection and hand management. It’ll be interesting to see how the bluffing works.

65: Mariposas

A couple games about butterflies on the list, but only one on this section. Mariposas is about generations of butterflies flying up north and then returning back to the south for the winter. I like the idea and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes over. The pieces are solid and the mechanics seems simple enough. It’s more about the puzzle of getting as far north as you can but then being able to go fast south again.

64: Tannhauser

A grail game for me, Tannhauser is lower on the list, just because I think it might take me a bit to learn. But I love the World War II theme of it, plus a bit of a weird world setting as well. Plus, it’s another game that Sam Healey was a big fan of, and like I said, his and my tastes generally match pretty well. It’s hard to find, though, because it’s out of print, so I’m glad to just own it.

63: Air, Land, and Sea

A little lane battling two player card game. I actually have this one sitting at work waiting to get played. Probably will happen next week. It’s a short little game where you deploy out troops to try and win three different theaters of war, air, land, and sea. I don’t know that it’ll be my go to two player game, but it’d be nice to have on in the mix.

62: Shakespeare

A Euro game at the middle of the list, Shakespeare is about putting on a play. You do different rehearsals, build sets, get actors, and get costumes to do the best performance possible. It’s been in my collection for a while, but I don’t want to get rid of it. Even with the fact it’s a euro, I like the theme a lot. And I( think that it’ll be a puzzle that works for me.

61: Foodies

Foodies is one of three games that I own where you roll dice and everyone can do something. Space Base, higher on this list, and My Farm Shop, already played, are the other two. I previously have owned Machi Koro, and I want to buy Machi Koro Legacy when I have a group for it. It’s a mechanic that I like, but will Foodies beat out My Farm Shop? And could Space Base beat out both of them?

60: Papillon

Another butterfly game, and this one is higher, slightly because the aesthetic is cooler. Plus, I like some of how the game works. You build out different patches of flowers, trying to close them off then place butterflies on locations And those locations are an area control/majority battle. So the game seems really cool and offers different areas to focus on for strategy. Diversify across all flowers to get some points in a lot of spot. Or go for a lot of points in a few spots.

59: Valor & Villainy: Minions of Mordak

This is another one versus all game like Descent. But this one is newer and I’m getting the campaign or legacy version of this via Kickstarter with Lludwick’s Labyrinth. I do want to try this version as well as both the villain and the heroes and see how it plays. Mechanically I think it is interesting and I like the leveling up that you do in just a single scenario.

58: Flick of Faith

Two dexterity games now in a row. Flick of Faith reminds me a bit of Sonora, but just with flicking being the focus of it versus the roll and write aspect. You flick discs trying to get control of certain spots. And you have bigger discs that are harder to knock out of the way. And then there are god powers that change up how you play the game each round.

57: Rhino Hero Super Battle

The other dexterity game is about stacking. Three on this section of the list with The Table Is Lava. And this one definitely needs the fan off as you try and be at the top of the tower, or at least the highest up when it topples over. Unless, you knock it over, and then everyone else wins. Simple game, but I like simple and fun dexterity games.

56: Doodle Dungeon

Doodle Dungeon is a roll and write game, but the biggest box I have, well, up there with Sonora, and I own the Railroad Ink big box. But this is a dungeon crawling or creating game, which I think leans into the Boss Monster side of things. We aren’t the heroes, we’re the monsters in the dungeon trying to stop heroes. I need to look into this one more, but I think it’s going to feel like a much bigger game than a normal roll and write.

55: The Bloody Inn

A game with a morbid theme but one that seems like a lot of fun. In The Bloody Inn, you run an inn. But you find out that it’s more lucrative to kill off the people staying there, hide their bodies, and take their money. Who can do that the best, and will the police crack down on you? Card game but one that the theme while morbid is also funny.

54: Wingspan

Wingspan is not a game that I thought I’d own. But a friend got an extra copy, so we traded games. And I do think that I’ll like Wingspan. It’s a tableau building game about bird watching. That theme isn’t that interesting to me, but everyone seems to love the game. Family weight plus game, it might work well for a lot of groups. I am excited to try it for that reason.

53: Welcome To New Las Vegas

Another roll and write, we have four on this chunk of the list, one more to come. And Welcome To New Leas Vegas is a harder. That’s kept it on my shelf. One thing that I like about it’s predecessor Welcome To, is that it’s easy to play. I can teach that game to basically anyone. But will this one be too hard for my group. I need to try it and see.

52: Welcome to Dino World

The other roll and write is Welcome to Dino World. I like the idea of a dinosaur park. I didn’t grow up watching Jurassic Park and the sequels, but the concept is still fun. This one looks like a good time and you can have dinosaurs escape which every good dinosaur park should have happen. Because I’ll never ask if it should be done, just if it can be.

51: Camel Up

Final game is another racing game. Camel Up is kind of a classic at this point in time. Mainly because the game is goofy. You bet on who wins and the earlier you bet on it, the more you can win. But it’s hard to know who can win. The camels, as they race, stack. And the camel on top is in the lead. But if a camel on the bottom moves, they move the stack. So a camel can get lucky, move up to land on someone and then bound ahead again when that came moves.

Final Thoughts

We definitely had a few bigger games this time. And four roll and writes. But we’re still not to the big ones yet. The top 25, for sure, will be a lot of big games. And I do think that the roll and writes will be played on this section of the list. Plus some of the games like Matcha and Air, Land and Sea should be easy to get to the table.

Which game would you want to play on this section of the list? Which one should I play first?

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CoolStuffInc Board Games

The Faceless

This is an interesting one and originally was a Kickstarter game. It mainly caught my attention because it is on a warehouse clearance, or was. So the base game and two mini expansions, terrain and another compass basically, cost all of $15. And this isn’t that simple a game. Now, I didn’t just buy it because of the price, the concept is also interesting.

The Faceless is a game where you are trying to avoid this goat monster, and how the monster moves is determined with how an arrow on a compass is facing, I believe. So as you move around the board trying to pick up things, or complete objectives, the magnets in the character bases are going to affect where The Faceless is going to go.

Is this going to be a good game, I don’t know. But the gimmick of the magnets was cool enough I wanted to try it. And a terrain expansion for $3.99 seemed like an easy pick-up to make the game look even better. If nothing else, this game is going to be fun to try and then pass on and let someone else try it.

Pioneer Days

Now we come to the company, Tasty Minstrel Games (TMG) that is going out of business for sure. And CoolStuffIn was handling their liquidation of their products, and while a number interested me, this is the one I pulled the trigger on. Pioneer Days is a euro game that has some nice artwork on it. And for I believe it was $25 or so, it was worth the try.

Normally, I don’t gravitate towards Euro games because the mechanic just isn’t that interesting to me. But, this one looks more interesting than most, and it was a good price. It isn’t that I dislike euro games, it is just that I am less apt to buy them for myself. So when a good deal came along, it was worth me looking at it.

All Systems Go

I also went past my local game store. Now, no shock there, but I went by because they moved to a new location. The space is a little bit bigger, I believe, but mainly, it has a parking lot. Street parking isn’t horrible at the old location, but not great either. And while the new location’s parking lot is very tight, it is a parking lot. Plus the store is a little bit closer to me, which is clearly important.

Village Green

I didn’t pick up much while I was there, just a used copy of Village Green. This is one that I’ve been keeping on eye on because the game play seems interesting in it. You are drafting and filling out a grid that will score you points in a lot of ways. The two things you draft are green cards and scoring cards. The scoring cards go on the outside of the grid. And the green cards fill out the rest of it.

What seems like an interesting challenge is that you score the scoring cards based off of the columns or row that they match up with. It is a bit like Criss Cross in that you need to think about your scoring in both directions. This, however, offers way more depth to what you are thinking about. The challenge of this excites me, also the complexity of game play doesn’t seem to high. That means it is a game that is easier to get to the table.

Kickstarter

Catapult Feud – Hydra Expansion + more

Yeah, it is a silly game, and it is one that I need to play, but it is a Kickstarter exclusive expansion. Is that a good enough reason to buy it, the answer to me was yes. You can see my Back or Brick on it here. I think if nothing else, this can be a great toy to play around with, and i suspect that I’m going to like the game as well. Just the nature is so light and silly.

I guess I didn’t explain too much what the game is. Catapult Feud is a game where you try and knock down your opponents castle. But you don’t do this with clever card play or worker placement, or even chucking dice. You actually are launching rocks or beehives, at the actual castle your opponent built. The goal is to take out the guys on the castle, first one to do so wins. And there is card play, but we’re here for launching attacks and building castles really.

Point of Sale

So only one item, which is why it isn’t it’s own article. And I didn’t actually sell it. But it did leave my collection and I’m really happy that it did. Why, because I gave it to someone who is going to play it now.

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

Why is an easily accessible version of my favorite game of all time leaving my collection? So it gets played. I don’t think I am going to play it anytime soon. I have Frosthaven coming in sometime later in this year. And I am playing through Tainted Grail, right now, as my campaign. And my streaming campaign is Sleeping Gods.

Plus, I learned about a couple of kids from a family I know who loved the idea of Gloomhaven. Now, I did have to warn their dad, who is playing with them, that it can get intense. I gave it to them on Sunday and they are already playing it. I played through the starting scenarios and I liked it. But I knew I wasn’t going to play it. I also know I can get it back. When I want to play it, when I want to introduce someone to Gloomhaven, it is easy enough for me to buy it again and play it then. But right now, I have more shelf space.

That’s get, those are the games that I’m adding to my collection and the game leaving my collection. And I must say, I’m happy with all of them. Will they all stay in my collection or having left my collection long term, who knows. But I’m excited to try all of the new ones, especially Village Garden which I hope to play this weekend, or maybe even solo sometime this week.

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Artisans of Splendent Vale

This is a game from Renegade games that is coming up on Kickstarter in September of 2021. This is a cooperative story driven game with a diverse cast of characters. There was a lot of attention placed on characters that you might not see in a normal fantasy setting.

The Designer, Nikki Valens, has worked on a lot of different games that I like. They have led the designs on Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition and Legacy of Dragonholt, both which are very good games. And this looks like they have taken some of both of those and created a cool and unique world. Not much on game play in the video, but one, because of Nikki Valens pedigree as a designer that I’ll checkout on Kickstarter.

Skybound Announcements

Tidal Blades 2

Tidal Blades 2 coming to Kickstarter this fall. It is going to be more of a dungeon crawl. It takes the characters from Tidal Blades and then now they are coming on a dungeon crawl adventure. It’s the same designers but not the dice building, dice progression system. More of a deck building style of game. Tidal Blades didn’t interest me too much, but a cooperative dungeon crawl set in that world, I’m very interested. The universe is really interesting for sure.

Kim-Joy’s Magic Bakery

And then a game Kim-Joy’s Magic Bakery. It’s an interesting thing because Kim-Joy is a baker who was on the Great British Bake-off. She definitely has a nerdy flare to herself and her life, so Skybound and James Hudson have met her and are working to create a game with her. It is a cooperative game, a bit of The Crew but also a bit of Kitchen Rush without a timer to rush you.

Boruto: Naruto The Next Generations The Board Game

So this is based off an anime, Boruto which is the sequel to Naruto from Blacklist games. Another cooperative game, and this one is a boss battling game. You get to play as characters who are senior ninjas and the junior ninjas so you can have a wide variety of combos to play with. And you are spending energy, shakra, and the cards you play give you as a group more shakra to spend to play more cards and stronger cards.

Unmatched Battle of Legends Vol 2

This is a continuation of what is showing up in Unmatched. This game has been put out by Restoration games. They are known for taking old games and modernizing them, and Unmatched has been massively successful for them. This is a tactical battling game where you are playing out cards to move, attack, and defend against another player. It’s a game that I haven’t played yet, and I think it looks solid, but I do want to try the game before I buy it. This includes Bloody Mary, The Monkey King, and more. Coming out later in 2021.

Flamecraft

Card Board Alchemy is announced a new game about dragons who are baking bread. This is a dragon placement game as they placing dragons around town. It’s small dragons who are making food, at the forge, or brewing potions, it could be a lot of different places. The artwork on this game is amazing. I feel like I know it from where, but I would need to look it up. This looks like a super cute game and it’s coming to Kickstarter in August, definitely looks like a cute game. I hope that it’s easy to play because that aesthetic is amazing.

Galaxy Trucker

This is getting a new version. They are putting out a free expansion, Rough Roads that was out before. But they are making it for the new version as well. They have been putting out small and free mini expansions that can be downloaded for a lot of their games throughout 2020 and 2021 to give more small content to their games. This seems like a nice refresh.

Portal Games Announcements

Million Dollar Script

This one is a party game from Portal games. I am not super interested in this one. While the theme is interesting, I just don’t know about making movies. You are trying to come up with scripts for movies, which I like, but I’m not sure how well it’ll work. I think that it could be funny sometimes, but it feels pretty standard. But you are creating the movie really well. I think that it looks like one which will be great sometimes and bad others, which is the type of party game I pass on.

Dune: House Secrets

This one I am super excited for. It is a Dune game that uses the Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game. I love that system because it can offer so much. And it means that they can tell a really interesting story. Dune is an interesting theme for me, because I like the book pretty well. I think that the world of Dune is very fascinating. This is one that I’m pretty sure I’m going to pick up. I’m waiting for Portal Games to do their pre-order. I could order it from a store, but Portal tends to do pre-order bonuses. July 12th is when the pre-order opens up.

Queen’s Dilemma

Horrible Guild is announcing something super generic, but they are teasing the Queen’s Dilemma. They came out with The King’s Dilemma, a legacy game that I really need to play. It is a fascinating sounding game where you are making decisions trying to influence the king and it’s highly story driven. You play around the table discussing and making deals and trying to pitch things. This is one that I really need to play, like I said, so that when the Queen’s Dilemma comes out I’ll be able to play that one as well. It looks like they are building upon what they’ve already done. Also, I love Horrible Guild’s stuff that I’ve played thus far.

Paint the Roses

Another Wonderland based game. This is a theme that has been done a lot because, well, it’s free for public use. This is a cooperative game all about building the perfect garden from North Star Games. The art doesn’t look too bad. It sounds generic to me. But of course with the Queen of Hearts as your employer, she is going to be executing you. So she’s only handing out pieces of the puzzle to how to build the garden out.

So there is an element of cooperative deduction which is interesting. This seems like a try before you buy for me. You can’t discuss what your secret card is. But it is fun because you can discuss what you think other people’s whims, the secrets, are openly. And the whims might change throughout the game. The Queen of Hearts is very fickle.

Detective Rummy

This is a game from WizKids. It is a successor of sorts to Mystery Rummy. This is not a game that I know anything about. But it is a series of cases that you can play, so I am interested. I like games where you are trying to solve something. But the word rummy just throws me off as to what it is. I’ll need to look into Mystery Rummy to see how that plays and keep an eye out for more information on this one.

Machi Koro 2

I like Machi Koro pretty well. However, I got rid of my version of the game because I want to play the legacy version. It seems like a simple game that I and my wife could play as a legacy game for a little bit. Machi Koro 2 is interesting, however, I have Space Base, a game that uses similar mechanics that I need to play. This will likely be one that I want to try before I buy. Though, if you haven’t played Machi Koro, it is a great gateway and family game. This is coming out from Pandasaurus.

They are saying that this should be a bit more challenging for people who want to find a little bit more. The big change is that they have added in a wide variety of landmarks to build in the game. That means that you will have a different set than I will. I really like that because in Machi Koro you might be building too much that is just the same. The variety wasn’t there for me. This seems to be a simple change that just adds in more variety. And they will be in the market versus in front of a player.

Power Plants

This game comes from Kids Table Board Games (KTBG from here on out). I actually haven’t played anything before from KTBG but people tend to like their games a lot. And I am interested in their game Creature Comforts. This game isn’t about power plants producing electricity, but powerful plants. The style looks pretty nice and coming to Kickstarter this fall. Not much more about it in the video, just a visual tease.

Pegasus Spiele

Fire & Stone

This game is from the creator of Carcassonne, which is a great gateway style game. If you haven’t tried it, I definitely recommend it. This game has you trade resources and expanding across the globe. This doesn’t seem like my type of game completely, but I am interested because of the designer, Klaus-Jurgen Werde. I am thinking this will be a try before I buy.

Carnegie

They are bring this game to retail. It originally was on Kickstarter. Another Euro style game that isn’t high on my list of games to play. This one, though, being more available will make people who missed out on the Kickstarter happy. I’d play this one but I doubt it’d ever make it into my collection because it is a heavy weight Euro game.

Bonfire: Trees and Creatures

This is a modular expansion to Pegasus Spiele’s game Bonfire. In fact, there are three modules in there. Yet again another Euro game, this is one where if you already like the game, it’ll give you more to play with. Another that I’d play but it’s not up the alley for me as a gamer. It also lets you play a 5th player which is always a worry to me for a bigger Euro game because they can sometimes take way to long between turns depending on players.

Arcane Wonders

Onitama – Light and Shadow

This is an expansion for Onitama. It adds in a ninja. The ninja can move in secret which is a big change. I kind of still want to get Onitama as a simple abstract game, but I also know that I don’t play abstract games all that often. For fans of the game, though, this is going to be cool for you. The shadow play version has the ninja, and the light play version gives you an asymmetrical starting position.

Viral – The Hive

This is an expansion as well for Viral. Viral is a game where you play as disease that are going throughout the body. It basically adds in more viruses that you can play and viruses that are asymmetrical and can grow as you go. Viral is one that was interesting for me to play, but it kind of fell off my radar. I’m not sure that this pushes it back onto the map for me, but if you want a silly themed area control type of game, Viral might be a good one to checkout.

ALS: Critters at War

A new version of the game is coming out of Air Land and Sea. Not one that is on my radar. War themed games aren’t all that interesting and adding in critters isn’t all that interesting to me. The artwork does look nice, but a two player push and pull on three battlefronts could be fun, but isn’t really for me. Another one that I’d probably enjoy if I played it but won’t be one that I pick-up.

Picture Perfect

You are trying to set-up the perfect photograph. It’s an interesting sounding game about trying to set-up the perfect picture where each character has three things they desire to have in that perfect picture. You are trying to figure out the information but events keep happening that might give you more information or mean that you need to share some of the information that you’ve found. In the end you snap an actual picture with your cellphone. The concept is interesting but a try before you buy just from the sounds of it for me.

Mortum

This has a lot of things that I like. It is a cooperative storytelling and deduction game. All three of those things are really cool for me. It’s a grim setting in medieval Europe. The base game has 3 scenarios that all tie together. I probably will end up getting this one because, like I said, it has three things I really like. I hope that the game works well, and with a lot of Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game left to play from expansions, I might wait for reviews on this one.

Leylines

This one is further out from Arcane Wonders. The artwork looks quite cute on this game. It sounds like a resource gathering game and then getting victory points. In terms of the look, this seems way better than most euro style games, but for me it probably won’t be one that I pick-up.

Dune Imperium: Rise of Ix

Dune Imperium from Direwolf was one of a few worker placement and deck building games to come out last year. I have Lost Ruins of Arnak on my shelf waiting to be played, and I didn’t get Dune Imperium just because aesthetically this didn’t look as interesting. Now, they are both getting expansions. But I’m talking about Rise of Ix here. This one should be an easy buy for Dune Imperium fans as well as some just Dune fans who I know. While Portal is putting out the Dune game for me, this is one that I want to try and maybe own.

Wild Tiled West

Another game from Direwolf. This one is just a little sneak peek. We can safely say it’s an old west themed game, a tile laying game. And well, that the artwork is cute with it’s animals in hats. Beyond that not too much information on the game as this was just a little bit of a tease. This one is coming sometime in 2022.

What Am I Looking Forward To?

So what am I looking forward to most out of all of these? Dune: House Secrets has to be high on the list because it’s based off of a Top 10 game for me, or at least Top 20 game for me. Plus the Tidal Blades 2, the world is so cool in that game, and a dungeon crawl is more my speed. And then finally Queen’s Dilemma, yes, I do need to play King’s Dilemma first, but I love a good legacy game and I’ve heard nothing but great things about King’s Dilemma.

Which are you looking forward to most?

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Publisher Portraits: Awaken Realms

Awaken Realms was originally founded as a game that made minis. This is pretty apparent if you look at the board games that they have put out. Granted, not so much with the first one they put out, This War of Mine. That game was based off of the popular video game. From there, they have branched out into a lot of other genres of game with Cyber punk in Lords of Hellas, grim dark Arthurian legend with Tainted Grail, ancient China with Great Wall, dreams with Etherfields, and most recently space with ISS Vanguard.

What Are Their Games Like?

Awaken Realms prides itself in making games that have great theme in them as well as amazing components. This really comes across in all of their games that I have played. They also try and give you an unique experience in all of their games. This can be pushing the story element or it can be creating interesting mechanics.

When I did my different types of gamer article, found here, Awaken Realms very much creates those experience games. Great Wall is basically a euro game, but it has minis and tries to immerse you in the theme. But Tainted Grail, the combat is a very interesting puzzle, but the story element just has you exploring and discovering so much in this huge world. This is really a hallmark of what Awaken Realms does. The knock can be that their games can be a little rough around the edges, but that adds into the immersion and the experience of the game most of the time.

Board Game Spotlight

Tainted Grail

I’ve talked about it some already up on what type of games they make, but Tainted Grail is an immersive story driven game. It really takes you on an adventure as you fight monsters, try and survive and deal with this grim dark Arthurian legend. This isn’t about nights in shining armor, it is about surviving and seeing if you can save the lands of Avalon. The game is really driven by the exploration and the story that you play through in 15 different chapters, but the combat and diplomacy mechanics are interesting as well. I like the card puzzle that you are given when fighting someone and trying to figure out how you can optimize it. I’ve done a lot of videos on Tainted Grail that you can see below.

This War Of Mine

This is the only Awakens Realm game based on an IP (Intellectual Property) that I can think of. Another survival game, this one I have picked up but haven’t played yet. You are trying to survive in a war torn land, build things, go out and find food, and survive another night as fighting can break out at any time. It’s a very depressing game, from what I’ve heard, but has a solo mode which is why I picked it up. Rolling Solo has a video that goes over the rules and how a day works in the game.

Lords of Hellas

Lords of Hellas is a little bit like a ton of other games but also like no other game I’ve ever played. In Lords of Hellas you get a hero from Greek lore and are fighting to complete various objectives to win the game. But how the game plays is just wild, you can win by conquering lands, building and controlling temples, fighting and killing monsters, and more. And each hero that you can play is different and you unlock other things that make you even more different as the game goes on. Plus, you are building minis in this game, there are towers that you end up building and those minis are amazing looking. This game really highlights that Awaken Realms is good at minis. The Dice Tower has a great play through of the game.

Flick of Faith

Now, for something completely different. Awaken Realms also has a line of lighter games. This is one of them. I haven’t played, but I really want to, because it seems like a ton of fun. You are flicking discs onto a board and trying to get them to stop in different areas to score you points. Now, the concept isn’t the most unique, but there are discs of different sizes and values. And there are special rules each round that the players can vote on which one they want. The game seems like a lot of fun, and when Man vs Meeple played it, well, you can see for yourself.

Final Thoughts on Awaken Realms

Like Mythic Games, whenever Awaken Realms puts out a game on Kickstarter, or now on their own Crowdfunding platform GameFound, I am going to be interested. The experience of playing an Awaken Realms game is truly hard to describe. There is something that makes it unique every time. Whether it be the story that they create, or the mechanics that they put together, it works. Now, I haven’t backed everything of theirs, I did skip their worker placement in Great Wall, but even that has more theme than most worker placements. If you want a game that will have interesting mechanics and be dripping with theme, Awaken Realms does that so well.

Which Awaken Realms game interests you the most? Or do you have a favorite already that you’ve played?

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The Collection

Numbers

A’s – B’s – C’s – D’s – E and F’s – G and H’s – I, J and K’s – L’s – M’s – N, O, and P’s

Q and R

Quarto

This is a classic abstract game that has wonderful wooden components. And while I haven’t played it yet, I know that I need to, because I think it looks really interesting and smart. In the game your opponent is picking a piece for you to place. And you are trying to get rows or columns of four that match different criteria, or don’t. It reminds me some of the game SET, which I love and am quite good at, if I do say so myself. I like the idea of having to think about where you place so you aren’t forcing yourself to give your opponent the win, but also locking down the number of options that your opponent can give you, so it makes it more likely you win. A highly strategic game.

Status: To Be Played

Quoridor

Another game from the same company was Quarto, this one is a race across the board. Each player starts on their own side of the board and you either move your piece or play a wall piece on your turn. And you can’t do both on the same turn. I love this game for trying to let your opponent get as close as possible, block them, and make them backtrack in their race across the board. Or, in a four player game, I like making an opponent do that dirty work for me, so I can push ahead further. It’s a thinky little game and while Quarto is more strategic, this one can be very tactical.

Status: Played

Raiders of the North Sea

I like games with Vikings in them, but I normally don’t like worker placement games. Or, I should say, I’m normally not drawn to worker placement games. This one the theme pulled me in, and the simplicity of the mechanics. I like that you don’t have your own workers. Instead, you start with a worker and on your turn you start by placing a worker, and then you take one off of another spot. So you get two actions on the turn basically, and that’s how it works for everyone. You are fighting for places less than many other worker placement games.

Status: To Be Played

Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition

Most of the time when I say that I like a roll and write, I then add flip and write, but this one is a true roll and write game. You are building out roads and train routes on your map trying to connect as many as you can. I like that it’s a true roll and write, and that everyone can go at once. Games with little downtime are a very good thing in my opinion, this will only ever have you waiting for someone else to finish filling in their route spots. It also comes with laminated sheets which is great as well, means that I don’t have to, and it makes it so you’ll never run out.

Status: To Be Played

The Ravens of Thri Sahashri

I picked this one up because I was able to use a friends Fantasy Flight game center discount and it is a two player game that they sell a lot of. It’s an interesting game of kind of tableau building for one person and the other player removing cards from it based off of a rules. The one person who is removing cards is trying to do so in such a way to keep only the cards that they match the colors of the face down cards they have. It’s an interesting puzzle of an idea and works with the limited communication you see in a lot of cooperative games.

Status: To Be Played

The Reckoners

The Reckoners is one of my favorite book series of all time. So when a cooperative game came out for it, I knew that I’d get it eventually. I love the theme of being normal people trying to stop super powered bad guys. You research, and fight, all working to the big boss, Steelheart, trying to find his weakness and be able to take him out. It also has a nice dice rolling mechanic for the heroes, so that means it is more accessible to non-gamers. I am a bit concerned about how hard it is supposed to be, but the expansion is supposed to fix that.

Status: To Be Played

Reichbusters: Projekt Vril (and expansions)

Do you want to punch Hydra in the face? That’s what you’re basically doing in Reichbusters. This is a campaign game where you are fighting Nazi scientist, soldiers, and everything else crazy they are creating. This is a campaign game, but you don’t have to play it that way. That’s something other games claim to do. Now, Reichbusters won’t be for everyone. But I like dice chucking, big minis, and table hogs of games. It also feels like Captain America: The First Avenger in some ways, which is a big selling point for me. It also took me a few hours to punch and sort everything.

Status: To Be Played

Res Arcana

I was sold on this game by some friends. I like the idea of it as it’s a small engine building game. I hope that it’s very accessible as that will help it get to the table more. The card play seems interesting because you start with your hand of cards and that doesn’t change much during the game. I need to play this one as the standard first and then move onto drafting. The drafting of the cards to start seems really interesting and can make it a bigger game with more replyability. But it looks really enjoyable.

Status: To Be Played

Rhino Hero: Super Battle

I got this one to play with the toddler. Now, I don’t think he’s ready yet. But this is a dexterity game about stacking a massive building and moving your character up on it. Any dexterity game works with adults as well. It’s a silly little game but fairly often you need fun filler like that.

Status: To Be Played

Rising 5: Runes of Asteros

This game is interesting to me because it was sold as a better version of Mastermind, a game that I liked, but that was too easy. Mastermind should be won in the game number of rounds every time. Rising 5 does a similar thing where you need to match symbols, but it has an app. So you don’t have one person running the puzzle. Now, that’s a turn off for some people, but it’s nice to take the game so it’s completely cooperative. I like games that make me have to figure out a puzzle.

Status: To Be Played

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

I love cooperative games, and I love hard cooperative games. This one is one of the hardest cooperative games. It is the precursor to First Martians. The one issue that’s kept this game off the table is that the rule book is not good. Unfortunately Portal Games does not make the best rule books. I need to watch a video on how to play the game to get it to the table. But I am excited because I like the theme, I like that you can play Robinson Crusoe, or maybe it’s a film crew filming Kong, or Swiss Family Robinson, and that’s in the box. So it has scenarios, but they aren’t a campaign.

Status: To Be Played

Roll Player (and expansions)

Dungeons and Dragons is my RPG of choice, and even though I’m always the DM, I do roll up character sheets. Roll Player takes character creation and turns it into a board game. You draft dice, put them in the stats, and do that until you get a character. The Monster and Minions expansion make it so you fight with your hero as well. And the Fiends and Familiars adds even more to the game. There is a lot for this game and eventually I’ll be able to use the character I create in Roll Player Adventures, which I’m looking forward to. This game grew on me, but now I really like it.

Status: Played
Expansion Status: To Be Played

That’s the letters Q and R. A number of games in R had some expansions. I really want to get Reichbusters to the table. Which is your favorite game in Q or R? What should I add to my collection starting with Q or R?

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Unfortunately I can’t drop in anything more than I link, like I do with Kickstarter for the page, you can find it here.

Pros

• Space Theme
• Great Track record
• Exploration period
• Campaign Game
• Leveling, upgrading
• Ship and planet parts of game
• Aesthetic/Graphic Design

Cons

• Cost & shipping

Page

This is Awaken Realms, and this is their own crowdfunding site, it is going to look good. They know what to throw up to get people to check it out, and they’ve been advertising this a ton. I think it’s important to note that, because it’s been launched for all of an hour and 5 minutes on their own platform and it is at $467,000. Now that’s a lot of money, this game is going to make a ton of money for them, but it’s a risk because I’d guess this would be over a million or near that, if it was on Kickstarter.

But besides that little note, Awaken Realms really knows how to create a great looking game and a great looking page. Tainted Grail had a nice dark moody look to it that matches the game, this page gives you that sense of excitement and largeness of the game and space. And while certainly, from some of the playthroughs if you check them out, things can go wrong, this game looks like it’s less dark and more about the massiveness of space, exploration and adventure.

I also like that with this new layout the pledge levels aren’t off to the side, you can see what you’re pledging when you go through the whole process and the page has bookmarks/navigation along the side for more than just risks. This whole page looks really nice and functional for what I need. And now, I will say, the playing section, that part as I always say, I want it higher and more, but Awaken Realms generally has done a great job with games, so I don’t need as much from them, they have done a great job with getting playthroughs out.

The Game

This game has a lot of things that attract me to it. There is dice rolling, which isn’t one of them. I don’t’ mind dice rolling, but the fact that you’re rolling dice and that’s a bit part of the game on the planets doesn’t have me super excited. Now, I don’t think that it’s going to be a bad part of the game, but I like a lot of mitigation of the dice rolls, or better yet card play, but there also seems to be some of that as well, or planning that comes with it.

I do really like how the game is split into two phases, there is the ship phase. You’re doing things around the ship, playing through that book so that you can get ready for the next planet that you decide to go to, and you have a wide variety of planets to go to that you can pick form. You can upgrade the crew, the lander, the ship itself, you can do a lot of different things, heal up, whatever it might be, and that’s a big part of this big game, so I do get my euro piece to it which apparently I want.

Then you get down to the planet, and there’s a ton of story, you’re exploring, looking for things, trying to complete missions, fight aliens and monsters and ideally not die, but let’s be honest, it’s an Awaken Realms game, you’ll die at least 4 times. And you can go back to planets again, but whatever state you left that planet in is what it’ll be like when you get back there again, which I think is really interesting and makes the game feel even more epic than it would have otherwise.

Back or Brick

Not going to draw this out, this was an instant back for me. I signed up for the notification when this was put up on Gamefound right away when they announced that they were going to do their own crowdfunding site. And the question I had for myself was minis or not. I did end up going with the minis because they look amazing, Awaken Realms did minis before board games, but they feel like they’ll add more to the immersive experience of the game.

How about for you, is this a back or a brick?

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