And for other ideas check out the previous lists.

Two Player Games
Campaign Games
Solo Games
Party Games
Welcoming Games
Medium Weight Games
Thematic Games
Deck Building Games

Trick Taking Games

For Northwood!

We’ll start off with the most unique trick taking game. This is one that already is on a list, but it deserves to show up twice. For Northwood is a solo trick taking game and if that sounds odd and unique it should. How do you make a solo game work for trick taking?

Firstly, you play against the game itself. But it’s not just about getting the most tricks. You need to win at different forest locations all which require a specific number of tricks to be won to succeed there. If you succeed you gather points and allies to use at other locations. Because you play against a random card, you need to use different helpers, you start with a few, to limit or increase the number of tricks you win so you succeed at the location.

The game itself is a great challenge. But then it also comes with some challenges that you can do as well. So once you are done with the regular game and feel comfortable with your strategies in that, let the game challenge you even more.

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

The next one on the list is The Crew. I put down Mission Deep Sea, but you also can pick the space one. The Crew is a cooperative trick taking game. And you need to complete certain objectives to win each hand. However, you are not able to communicate which is going to be provide a bit of a challenge.

I like how it works because the challenges change for each hand. And for Mission Deep Sea they can change each time you play a certain level or hand. And it might be that I don’t want to win any blue colored cards. You need to win the red six. And another person has another thing they need to do. So how do you play out the hand to keep me from getting any blues. How do we get the red six at the right spot? That is the challenge in this game, and without communication it’s a fun puzzle and really teaches you trick taking strategy around how to win and lose a trick.

Fox in the Forest

Now we get to one of the two two player trick taking games on the list. Fox in the Forest is a head to head game where you want to get points by winning certain numbers of tricks. Win too many it can be bad, win too few, well the points vary across the range. So how can you manipulate the tricks and your opponent to get the number you want.

I enjoy the strategy of not always going for the most tricks. In fact, if you shoot the moon, so to speak, that can be bad. I also like how in the game, you do more than just play cards for their number. Some cards have powers as well. This might let you swap cards with your opponent, or change what the trump suit is. It offers a good puzzle to see how you can control what is going on so you can lock in that number of tricks.

Rebel Princess

Next up is the newest one on the list. It came out in the United States at Gen Con this year. And I really enjoy this game. It’s shot up my list of games that I always want to pull out and play because of h ow enjoyable it is. And because it’s probably the most familiar of the games on this list.

Rebel Princess is just Hearts in disguise. But it is a really good disguise. Like hearts you don’t want to take a certain suit, in this case the princes, because you are princesses and you are rebels. So you want to avoid them if you can. And you certainly want to avoid the frog prince, in the animal suit, because that’s a lot of proposals that you’ll have coming your way.

So all of that is normal, but let’s talk about what isn’t normal. Each player has a princess that they can use once per hand that gives them some sort of power. It might change the number of the card they play, or steal leading a trick, or several different things. And at the start of each hand how you pass the cards and some other rule are added to the game. It might be that you will win the trick if you are furthest away from the card led out. Or it might be the lowest card wins the trick and even more oddness as well could happen. All of those things make the game silly fun and good.

Claim

Finally another two player trick taking game. I believe there is a way to play with more, but this one works really well at two. Claim is played over two hands. And instead of counting tricks, you want to get majority in the suits. But each suit has it’s own power and the first hand you play, well it’s not going to help with that majority too much.

The first hand is going to be about building your second hand. You play out cards to win a new card from the deck of cards. And it might be a face up one, or it might be face down. If you win the trick you get the face up card. So sometimes you want to lose that trick because the face up card isn’t that good. But you also are taking the tricks that you win, because sometimes those cards will help later or give you some other ability to use right then.

The second hand plays out more like a traditional trick taking game. But you are trying to still get that majority. And again, there are a lot of powers and abilities of the suits that you need to keep track of. Like some suits just beat others, so you need to be aware of that. Or sometimes if you lose with a suit, you still get to keep that card you played to help get majority.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoy all of these games and there are a lot more that I want to play to get onto the list. So let me know your favorite trick taking games. And are there any from this list that you want to add to your holiday list or maybe you want to give to others this holiday season?

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Two Player Board Games

Lord of the Rings Duel

First one on the list is for the big Lord of the Rings fan, but you don’t need to be a Lord of the Rings fan to enjoy this game. Lord of the Rings Duel is a really fun back and forth game as players act as either the Fellowship or the forces of Sauron.

There are a few great things about this game. Firstly, it’s a two player drafting game and it works really well. It uses the 7 Wonders Duel drafting system. Plus there are a few spots in the game that you are competing over. There is area control on one board. You want to gain the favor of all the people’s of Middle Earth on another. And you can also win by getting the ring to Mount Doom, or if you are the forces of Sauron catching the ring before it gets there. Really good two player game.

Hanamikoji

Now maybe you want something that’s a bit faster but still has a really good back and forth tension. Hanamikoji is a great game for that. In this game you want to win the favor of Geisha. To do that you need to bring them gifts. Whomever has the most gifts next to a Geisha wins that Geisha’s favor. And you win the game by either winning the favor of four Geisha or 11 points worth of Geisha.

But the game has a great and simple twist to it. You only play four actions per round. And the actions you can use each of them only once. So it is a real puzzle to figure out how to use those actions to the best of your ability. And that’s what I love about the game and why it’s such a good two player game. It is easy to learn but there is a lot of thinking going on in it.

Star Wars Unlimited

I only put one TCG (Trading Card Game) on the list, and it’s my favorite right now, Star Wars Unlimited. This is such a fun game and one that I think non-Star Wars fans can enjoy. But you probably need a passing knowledge of Star Wars which makes this one a bit more focused. Star Wars Unlimited is a nice tight back and forth game without the baggage that comes with some of the older and more complex ones.

You take your turns back and forth and it moves really quickly which is great. Plus you have a leader and that leader determines some of the cards you use, but also gives you an ability and idea to build around. And I find that to be great with how it works. And you never are short on resources, well you might not be able to play everything you want, but you never go turns without being able to build up to play your more powerful cards. That is what makes the game work really well.

Star Wars not your theme, there are other solid options like Lorcana (simpler), Magic the Gathering (more complex) or One Piece (similar complexity) out there as well that might fit your interests more.

Dice Throne

Dice Throne is another consistent one on my two player board games lists. This is back and forth battle Yahtzee style of game. But each character has their own unique powers and abilities. And there are so many characters out there. You can dive in and grab 2 or go all in and get 16+ if you want. And there is even Santa vs Krampus to fit that holiday theme.

Like I said this is battle Yahtzee. But each character does their own thing. The Barbarian heals and does a lot of damage on basic attacks. The Shadow Thief can dodge damage while the Pyromancer hits you back for more damage. And you can upgrade that as well as you go, so you get stronger as you play the game and try and knock your opponent out. Or you can just shoot for your ultimate ability and do a ton of damage that way.

The game is also great because of the different themes and packs. You can mix and match anything. So if you find you like the game it is easy to add in more. And there is Marvel content for the game as well which is a theme that likely works better for most people than the general fantasy theme.

Fox in the Forest Duet

Finally we have two player trick taking which is a unique idea. But I really enjoy this version, or the competitive version, or the other competitive two player trick taking game Macha. But Fox in the Forest Duet is a cooperative game which makes it even more unique for a trick taking game.

You play out tricks like normal, but whomever wins the trick, the fox, who is trying to collect leaves, moves towards them. But you don’t want it to fall off the board or it makes the board smaller and easier to fall off. Do that too much and you won’t be able to collect all of the leaves. But there are cards that offer ways to manipulate that that you play out as well. But can you get in sync with the person you’re playing with and how well do you know how to manipulate and fish for information in trick taking?

Final Thoughts

I love two player games. I don’t play all of mine a ton because a lot of the times I play with more. But all of the games on the list come out and get played every no and again. And I gave a handful of extra options as well in there.

Do you find yourself consistently playing games at two, then these are probably great options for you? And do you have games you already like at two players that I missed? Let me know what those games are. And let me know which ones are making your holiday list, for giving or receiving.

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Top 5 Trick Taking Games

5. 9 Lives

9 Lives is a bidding trick taking game. There are a few different types of trick taking, and this is going to be in the vein of ones where you bid to see how many tricks you take. But I found there to be some interesting elements to the game. It’s a race to 9 points or whomever has the most points after 4 rounds.

But there is an additional twist to the game. As you play and win tricks you pull a card from that trick. This is good and strategic because you want to win the number of tricks you bid on. You might need a high number to win more. Or you might want to lose a trick instead.

4. Fox in the Forest Duet

Fox in the Forest Duet is a two player cooperative trick taking game. And that in itself is unique. But I appreciate how it does it. You want to move the fox token and collect all the leaves from the forest. To do that you need to vary who wins tricks because cards have paw prints on them, and how many paw prints there are is how far the fox moves. So if it is one away from my edge of the board, I want to win only if I can move one. Otherwise I want to send it back you way. So can you win in three hands or not is the question?

3. Rebel Princess

A new one for me, and you can read my review of it here. This one is a Hearts style trick taking game. So I appreciate the feel of that because I few up playing Hearts on the computer. But it more than that because there are special powers and abilities. Each player gets a Princess that gives them a power which always seems game breaking. And each round there is a new unique power that comes out which vastly changes how you play the game.

2. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

Next up is The Crew, I’ve only played Mission Deep Sea but I love what it does. This is a cooperative trick taking game. But it’s cooperative with missions. So you want need to not win a trick while another person might need to win two sevens and I need to win a trick with a blue and a green card. And with limited communication we need to make that work. I love that element of the game, trying to get it to work. And if people know trick taking, it is easier, but still, missions can be very hard.

1. For Northwood!

Finally is a solo trick taking game. Yes, you read that right, my #1 is a solo game. And with trick taking you expect that it’s going to need people to interact and play off of each other. But no, For Northwood offers the trick taking experience in a solo game. You need to react to what the deck is flipping out. But don’t worry, you have friendly forest creatures helping you. And it isn’t about just winning as many tricks as you can. You need to win a specific number to get access to more friendly woodland creatures, and to score points.

Final Thoughts

I like trick taking a lot. I think that people will call out some of them like Ghosts of Christmas, Cat in the Box, Fox in the Forest and more that I should play. And yes, I should play them because I own most of them. I want to have a trick taking day just to play trick taking board games and enjoy them. But I haven’t set-up a time for that yet.

Also missing from the list are some classic games. I mentioned Hearts but I also played Euchre growing up as well. Both of them mainly digitally which was fun. Classic trick taking still often holds up. And I’d still sit down and play either of the games.

What are your favorite trick taking games?

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April was definitely a slower month for gaming. Family came to town which definitely slowed it down. But also, I had a COVID exposure, no COVID though, which caused the monthly game night to be cancelled. May is already going much more smoothly for getting gaming in. But let’s see the 27 plays that I got in last month.

April Gaming Recap

Orchard – 8 Plays

This was me feeling like I wanted to play more games. Like I said, gaming didn’t happen as much last month. And towards the end of the month, I was missing playing games. So I decided on a day that I had time to just watch some YouTube videos and knock out a handful of games. Orchard is great for that.

Tainted Grail – 4 Plays

Tainted Grail is done, well the Last Knight campaign is done. Not this week, but the following we start playing the Age of Legends campaign. And I must say, Last Knight, I don’t know if it is quite as good as the main campaign, Fall of Avalon, but is basically there. Since we knew what we were doing, it took us less time to play. There are some cool different things, though, in the Last Knight campaign to checkout and changes to mechanics that work well.

Village Green – 3 Plays

I actually streamed some Village Green. You can watch me play it and mess with the solo version of the game to make it something I prefer. Plus there is some chatter about GenCon which is going live for it’s events on Sunday.

Black Sonata – 2 Plays

Another solo only board game, Black Sonata is about the dark lady in Shakespeare’s sonatas and trying to figure out who it is. The really cool thing is that as a solo game, it is a hidden movement game. The game itself controls how the character moves, and players need to try and identify the pattern and search for clues to figure out how the dark lady is. It’s a solo game with some set-up, but it is worth the set-up you go through.

Fox in the Forest – 2 Plays

This is a very fun two player trick taking game. It’s only three suits of cards and you don’t want to win every trick. Losing every one, not bad, but winning every one, that is going to give you fewer points. Fox in the Forest is a trick taking game that is really about how my manipulate the tricks that you take or manipulate it so your opponent takes tricks. Very fun idea for a game that is executed very well.

Foodies – 2 Plays

Foodies is a game in the Machi Koro style of game. You roll and everyone gets things, and is a race to victory points. While it is a fun game in that style, it is very light as well. Too light for me to keep it on my shelf, but I think as a gateway game, it’d be a fun one to play. I just want more variability in what you do in the game.

Super Mega Lucky Box – 2 Plays

The one game that I got in with family. Super Mega Lucky Box is always a good time and always a fun roll and write to play. The game is so simple, but I like it to mess around with different strategies to see what all I can do. And sometimes it works out, other times, well, it just gets going a bit slowly. But never is it dull to play.

Roll Player Adventures – 1 Play

We’re through three scenarios of Roll Player Adventures now, and I am still really enjoying the game. I do think that it is a pretty easy game at the full player count. Whether or not that is a bad thing, that is up to you. For me, I don’t mind it, it means I can really explore the full story, at least the direction that we are going. That is a cool element for the game, you beat a scenario and you can end, or you can continue to play around.

Perdition’s Mouth – 1 Play

I was sent Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift to cover, and I have to say, it is a cool dungeon crawl game. Gone is the randomness of the rolls, instead you figure out everything that you want to do by spending action points. And it has a rondel system that is pretty fun to play around with. Plus, once you get it down, what you do on your turn is pretty simple, while giving you challenging decisions to make.

Dice Throne – 1 Play

Always up for more Dice Throne. I think we’re probably a month and a half away from having Marvel Dice Throne in. When that happens, expect to see Dice Throne show up pretty often.

Bandido – 1 Play

I do not like Bandido. I barely finished a game of it. Put that in comparison with Perdition’s Mouth where I got in one full play, plus messed around with the game more. Bandido is a little card game, but not one that offers interesting choices. The game might end up with a best strategy but I don’t want to figure that out because it’s not worth the effort. And for a very small package game, it is a table hog.

Yearly Totals

So, like I said, it is a bit slower this month, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t do decently well. 27 plays in the month of April, so just off one per day. Plus, right now, in may, I am at 177 of 365 plays. So as we near June and it’s end, the middle of the year, I am likely in May to hit 50% of the way there, if not further.

Thus far, I think it is fun to do the challenge again. And let’s talk about unplayed games. 5 new to me games where played with Perdition’s Mouth, Bandido, Fox in the Forest, Foodies, and Black Sonata. Out of those, I think I like Black Sonata best, but Fox in the Forest and Perdition’s Mouth are sticking in my collection for sure.

What all did you get played last month?

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What Board Games are Leaving?

There’s no chance that I’m going to remember all of them. Mainly because, like I said, there are 17 games on the pile to get rid of. And surprisingly, there are several from my Top 100 games of all time. I won’t go into detail on why they’re leaving, I do in the video, but most of the time it is because I have others in the same genre or style that I will always play over it.

Claim

Two player trick taking game. I enjoy it, it can be a little bit swingy, but the game plays fast. So that randomness or the luckiness of the game doesn’t bother me much. It is more that for two player trick taking games, I now prefer Fox in the Forest and Fox in the Forest Duet.

Hanabi

Hanabi is a game with a fun concept. You have a hand of cards and you are trying to get them played out in order. But you can’t see you hand of cards. You only get and give clues. I like it for that, but it’s one I’ve played 10-15 times, I don’t pull it off the shelf anymore. For a game where you don’t know what is in your hand, I prefer Letter Jam now.

Skulk Hollow

Skulk Hollow is consistently in my top 100 games of all time, and I suspect it might stay for a while. But it is leaving my collection. Not because I am getting Maul Peak, the sequel, but because it just doesn’t get played. If I want to play a two player game, I pull others out first.

Tsuro

Tsuro is the poster child for, I liked this game, but I’ve played it enough. It’s a good filler game that can play a lot of people. But I went through a number of games like that. So Tsuro can find a new home.

The Terrifying Girl Disorder

The Terrifying Girl Disorder, I picked this one up because of the title and the artwork. And both still are still intriguing to me. But it’s been a long time on my shelf and I have yet to play it. It is one that I wouldn’t mind getting to the table sometime before I get trade it, just to see, but not enough to make sure it happens.

Call of Cthulhu: Living Card Game

I got this one recently, and now it’s leaving. It’s not because I’m not curious about it. I like the idea of a living card game around the Call of Cthulhu theme, but I already have Arkham Horror LCG and Marvel Champions LCG, I don’t want to try and track down old things for it. So as much as I’m curious about it, I know I will get sucked in.

Shadows of Kyoto

Shadows of Kyoto is another in the Hanamikoji themed game. But this one has more of a Stratego feel. And honestly, that’s why I’m getting rid of it. The whole hidden thing, trying to find your opponents, or maybe take them out, it’s not as interesting. And it’s two player, so why play it over Hanamikoji if I want a two player only game?

The Grimm Masquerade

Hidden role game that I find to be a good amount of fun. What I don’t love as much as that it’s a bit long. If I want to pull out a game where we’re trying to figure it out, then I am going to play two games of Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, if not three. And that’ll take the same amount of time and is just more fun for me. It’s a situation where I have another game I’ll always pick first.

Inbetween

Inbetween is another two player only game. You can see that I’m clearing out a number of those. One that I wanted to play because it had a Stranger Things-esque theme to it. But two player push and pull game as you fight over characters one to the “upside-down” and one to the “real world”. So, I could play it, but I don’t feel like it over Hanamikoji.

MonsDRAWsity

MonsDRAWsity is a party game that I picked up cheap, learned the rules to it, and then I realized that I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much. It is a party game of drawing what you think a character looks like based off of a description. That’s fun, but then voting on which one looks closest, that is way less fun. Any party game where it’s a vote or picking a favorite, it’s hard to keep those in my collection.

7 Wonders Duel with Pantheon

Yet another two player game. 7 Wonders Duel is just a game that’s been on my shelf for too long. I know it’s supposed to be a very good game. But the theme isn’t that interesting to me, I think 7 Wonders is just okay at best. And I have Truffle Shuffle that works for two person drafting, same with Ohanami.

Quiddler

A word game that has a 5 Crowns type feel to it as you build out bigger and bigger words or multiple smaller ones. It’s a fine word game, but like most word games, the bigger vocabulary, the better you do. It’s one I’ve played, had fun with, but I’m not going to pull it off the shelf again.

I think that’s 11 total games, so I’m missing six from the list. I guess that’s a sign that I’m not that interested if I don’t remember them. I’ll add them on in a separate article when I can look at them again.

The Drink

Just a cream soda and Orange Jameson mix again. Still a very good drink that goes down easily. One that I’d recommend. Though, as we were talking about in the chat yesterday, it’s not nearly as good straight. It’s a whiskey that I’d say needs to be mixed.

Upcoming Streams

I think Part 7 is going to be the end of going through my collection. And I want to do that on Wednesday. When we’re going to get back to playing some games. Probably some more roll and writes, or smaller solo games for a little bit before diving into the next campaign. But right now, I’m guessing I have 30-40 games and expansions that I’m getting ready to cull.

If you want to know when I go live, you can go to the Malts and Meeples YouTube channel, subscribe, and click the notification bell. That’ll let you know when I go live or schedule a video.

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124-101

100 – 76

75 – 51

50 – 26

Unplayed Board Games – 25- 1

25: Folklore: The Affliction

Folklore is a campaign game that’s been on my shelf for quite a while. It’s one that I know I’ll likely need to play solo to get played so it might show up on the Malts and Meeples YouTube channel coming up here. But it’s basically an RPG type game in a box. Like a HEXplore It, it is going to give more of that die rolling feel you’d expect from a pen and paper RPG. Plus it’s about vampires, werewolves, and ghosts, fun stuff that I like.

24: Fox in the Forest

The smallest game in this section, Fox in the Forest is a two player trick taking game. I recently played the cooperative version of it and had a lot of fun . Fox in the Forest is competitive but one that works really well with two. I believe it balances out some of that by making taking all of the tricks a bad thing, so no shooting the moon. Or it needs to be done in a specific way. I like trick taking, just need to figure out which trick taking games will stick in my collection.

23: The Quacks of Quedlinburg

Another not huge game, The Quacks of Quedlinburg has been a really popular game over the past few years. It is a bag building game, by that I mean you add things to a bag, in this case cardboard tokens. And then you draw them out, and you are trying to make your potion grow. But if you get too many bad ingredients in there, it explodes and you get fewer rewards. But the further you push down the track of adding ingredients, the more points you get.

22: Res Arcana

Res Arcana is an engine building game. It’s a smaller one though with a limited number of cards and the main goal of the game is to figure out how to turn out points. You do that through artifacts and spells and things that you might get out in front of you. The question of the game is, who can get their engine running the best.

21: Western Legends

Western Legends is back into the big games, not a campaign, but a massive sandbox game. In this game you play in the wild west and you can be a good guy bringing in trouble makers, delivering cattle, things like that. Or you can be a bad guy, rustle cattle, rob the bank, and things like that. And you can switch in the middle of the game. Western Legends lets you do anything in the pursuit of points and create your own wild west story.

20: Mechs vs Minions

Mechs vs Minions is an interesting game because it’s created by Riot Games. They are known best for League of Legends, and now Arcane a Netflix show set in that world. Mechs vs Minions is kind of set in that setting, from what I can tell. But it’s a programming wave where you set your Mechs on a path where they can take out the minions. The game plays in scenarios and it might be kill everything or it might be get this objective and get back out. It’s fully cooperative, and one that has been a grail game for me.

19: Cthulhu: Death May Die

I like Cthulhu, don’t know if he likes me. But Cthulhu: Death May Die is a game, kind of in the vein of Arkham Horror and Mansions of Madness, but this time from CMON. And it’s about investigating, fighting cultists and other horrors, and getting to be just insane enough that you’re powerful enough to kill the elder god at the end. Or maybe you’ll just go mad completely or die. I like the theme, and the difficulty level of the game looks really challenging.

18: Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor

Speaking of a game that looks challenging, Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor, is a 4x game in a fantasy world. I already had a game like that on the list, Heroes of Land, Air and Sea, but this has a twist on this. You don’t fight against each other. Instead, you all need to end with better scores than the two bad factions to win the game. This cooperative nature of the game really drew me to it. Because it’s not just everyone do better, but how do I do well enough but also don’t hinder your chances.

17: Black Rose Wars

Black Rose Wars is an intimidating game to get to the table. There are lots of cards in the game, and it’s actually another programming game. Like Mechs vs Minions you’re deciding what you do. But with this one, it’s a free for all. You are summoning monsters to the board, laying traps, slinging spells, and blowing up rooms. The first mage to a certain number of points, I believe, wins the game. But it’s more about the crazy and powerful things that you can do which makes me want to try it.

16: Descent: Legends of the Dark

Another big game, Descent: Legends of the Dark takes up basically a full Kallax cube by itself. And the box says Act 1 on it. This is going to be a story driven dungeon crawler of a game. But it’s from Fantasy Flight, so they used what they knew from their apps for Mansions of Madness, Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth, and more to make even a better app. This really helps with the fog of war or not knowing what’s behind a door as you play. I’ve done a demo, but not enough to count as a play.

15: Betrayal Legacy

Betrayal Legacy is a game that’s been on my too play list for a while. It has two great things about it, first it’s a legacy game, and I love legacy games an their progressing story. Secondly, it’s based off of Betrayal at House on the Hill. A game that I know isn’t balanced, but it is still a game that I love. Not too many games do horror too well, and Betrayal often feels like a horror movie in so many great ways. So I’m excited to see what can be done with a bigger story.

14: Loup Garou

Now we’re looking at a game that is a book. Loup Garou from Van Ryder Games is a game in that you go through and make choices. You play as a character and they have stats. But in a lot of ways, it’s a choose your own adventure. It’s a graphic novel, so you read the text, look at what you can do, and that determines where you flip to. I don’t know why, since I got this at GenCon in 2019, I haven’t just played this. It’s solo only and it’d be easy to get through, probably with dying. I need to play this ASAP.

13: Under Falling Skies

Another solo game, Under Falling Skies was added to my collection more recently. This is almost Space Invaders the game. But it seems really intriguing as a puzzle, plus there is a comic that comes with it and a mini campaign. You place down dice in the game to activate different things. The trick is that the weaker things won’t do as much, but the stronger things, alien spaceships descend faster. It’s finding when you’re perfectly ready to do that one big thing, from what I can tell.

12: Nidavellir

Another smaller box game on the list. Nidavellir is a set collection and auction game. And there is one reason it is so high, and it’s not the Norse Mythology. But it is because of how the auction works. You have five coins. You use three of them to bid and two are at the bottom. If you put a zero as one of your bids, you can trade in the higher of the two left over coins to get the value of the two left over coins. So you can upgrade your money as you go. When do you tank a bid, taking whatever is left, to do that.

11: Sea of Legends

I think from here on out is all big games, or mainly. It isn’t all campaign games, though. Sea of Legends isn’t a campaign game, but it is an epic story game of pirates. What drew me to this game, besides wondering about the story the game promises, is three things. Those three things set up your story, but at the start of the game, you pick a Captain, a Nemesis and a Lover. And that all determines your story. So you end up with a lot of variability. Plus it’s pirates and adventure on the seas, so it’s a theme that I love and look for in board games.

10: Middara: Unintentional Malum Act 1

This one could be higher on the list. Middara does a lot of things that interest me. It is a campaign game. It does fog of war well. There is massive amounts of story. The theming is crazy space, fantasy, anime, all things that I’m down for. And let’s face it, I could just say it’s anime because a lot of anime is space fantasy and crazy. But this one looks really cool to get to the table and massive to get to the table. I need to find a group to play this one with.

9: Deep Madness

Deep Madness is a game that I can blame on Rolling Solo. This is a game that is not easy to track down, mainly because it was just on Kickstarter. And I own almost everything for it, but I haven’t played it. The madness should give you some idea as to the sort of game, but what I like is that this is set on a deep sea base. And monsters are coming in and have wiped out everyone. The corporation who built the base is now sending the team down to figure out what is going on. It’s a theme and horror that I love so much, I just need to play it.

8: Lost Ruins of Arnak

Now we’re back from campaign style games. Though, Deep Madness can be played as a scenario, but they are kind of linked. Lost Ruins of Arnak is a deck building worker placement game. I like deck building, and worker placement isn’t my normal thing, but not bad. Lost Ruins of Arnak just has a cool Indiana Jones vibe to it that drew me in. And I think the deck building and theme will make it work well for myself and my group.

7: The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game

So when I said that there might be one smaller game left, this is it. It’s an interesting game in that it’s a solo only game, three of them on the list, but it’s a big box. It honestly feels like a bigger box than the game should have. In this you are trying to catch rats and get cheese. If the rats get too much cheese, now a big bad rat comes out onto the board, and things are going to get scary. It’s again a solo game, so one that I should get played.

6: Solomon Kane

Back to massive games, Solomon Kane is one that’s been on lists of games that I want to play for a while. But some of that was also that I wanted to buy it. It came and went on Kickstarter while I wasn’t too active there. And it’s been delivering last year and now wave two this year, and I managed to get wave one stuff for it.

In Solomon Kane you don’t play as Solomon Kane, you play as virtues guiding him. And I think that concept is interesting. You can play it solo with one super virtue, or each player gets a virtue in a multiplayer game. And then you take him through stories. Really interesting with how it works with not controlling the main character.

5: Roll Player Adventures

Kind of a cheat for the list, I really like Roll Player Adventures, but I’ve only kind of played it. Roll Player Adventures, I got to play a demo of it at GenCon in 2019 while they were still doing playtesting of the game. But the game is a blast, and the story, I like, because it isn’t too heavy. It’s a big story game set in the Roll Player world, but also a dice manipulation game when you drop into combat.

I know I’m going to be diving into this one soon. So I’m excited to get it to the table. I ordered the character backstory pack for it with the special quests that you can get from it for each character. I think that is going to make the whole thing even more immersive, which is great.

4: Nemesis

Another horror game, Nemesis is, from what I’ve heard, the closest you can get to Alien the board game. There is an alien infestation on your ship, and you need to complete your objective and then take out all the aliens or launch yourself out in an escape pod. But you don’t want the aliens to get to Earth, that’s for sure. But you want to end up there, so can you get the engines to launch you there.

3: Dwellings of Eldervale

Another non-campaign game, in fact a number aren’t in the top, but they are big games. Dwellings of Eldervale is that. This one really interested me because it has giant monsters, but also you are doing worker placement. But I really like how the worker placement works. You unlock new workers but also your workers become your dwellings. And when you pull back workers they do things as well, so it’s not a waste of a turn to pull back workers.

2: Terraforming Mars

Super high on the list and a big game in how long it takes and how big it plays, Terraforming Mars is so high because I really like Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition. I know that the games are different, there is more take that or randomness, and area control and you have a much bigger board that you’re using in Terraforming Mars. But I really want to play it and see how I like the engine building that goes on in that game.

1: Destinies

Finally, we have Destinies. Destinies is a game from Lucky Duck Games where you are playing through a story, but unlike a lot of story games, this is competitive. And each of you is trying to complete a destiny of yours. And it is a race to see who can complete theirs first. What interests me are some of the mechanics a roll over a certain number to get successes is cool. Plus you can manipulate that. But also that you need to pay attention to the story on other people’s turns because they might find something to help you.

To me, that’s a good game in that it’ll keep you engaged with what everyone is doing. Even if I’m not taking my turn, I need to know what you are doing as well. I might not be actively interacting with anything, but I still need to pay attention. And if a game can do that, I really want to play it.

Final Thoughts

That’s the whole list, all 124 of them. I could have had one less if I counted my playtesting of Roll Player Adventures. But also, that is a game that’s extremely high on my list for wanting to get played. Definitely a lot more big games up here. Though, I think outside of the campaign games, most of them can get played. And I could see, if things fall right, even getting one or two of those to the table this year. Like I said, I think Roll Player Adventures will be getting played soon.

Which one would you play first?

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Two Player Games Rankings

Before I get started, there are a few that are good at a lot of player counts. But I think a lot of people will prefer them at two, or they offer a different experience at two, so I’ll call out those on the list.

14. Star Wars: Destiny

Bottom of the list just because I had this game, I started to kind of get into it, but it’s a TCG style game. Trading card games are harder to play just because you need someone else who is into it. I recently sold my cards to a friend because, well, I wasn’t going to play it again. The game is fun, I don’t think it’s better than Magic, which isn’t on my list because I prefer it as a free for all. And like Magic, it’s harder to find time to play it.

13. Blossoms

Blossoms is a push your luck game with some choices. It really, though comes down to push your luck as you are growing plants. How far do you want to push, or will you bust. Game play is very simple, decision space is very limited. But it’s not a bad game. If you want a two player game you could play with anyone, Blossoms works for that.

12. Cribbage

Now Cribbage, I really like this game. The concept is simple but the game play is good and there is strategy to what you play. I’m not great at cribbage, but I have a nice board that I need to use sometime soon. The game plays fast, and this is really one of those great bar or brewery games where you don’t need much, and it’s a nice game to play.

11. Skulk Hollow

Might be higher on the list if I played Skulk Hollow more often. It’s a game where both sides play similarly but differently. Each side has their own objectives as to what they want to do, the Foxen want to take down the guardian, and the guardian might want to take out enough Foxen or maybe put out their tentacles, it depends on the guardian. Nice asymmetrical game with a cool two board system.

10. Claim

Two player trick taking, shouldn’t be the only trick taking on the list, but I haven’t played Fox in the Forest or Fox in the Forest Duet yet. I want to, and I have both on my shelf. But Claim is a very interesting game. You play a hand to build your next hand. And then you play to gain majority in the five different suits. But different suits have different powers. Fun puzzle of a game that you can play a few games in a sitting.

9. The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game

I think I’ve played this game at all player counts. Solo isn’t bad, and three isn’t bad, but I like The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game best at two. Why, because there’s little downtime between turns. And also because I know one person who I regularly game with who is as deep, if not deeper, into the Dresden series than I am. So it’s fun to bring that theme to a game that has it pasted onto mechanics in a good way.

8. Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion almost missed being put on the list. This is a two player only Original Trilogy Star Wars in a box. You can play with four, but it just splits up everything into two, and there’s not that much to keep track of. The game is a lot of fun because the Empire is trying to track down the Rebel base, and the Rebels are trying to undermine the Empire. I don’t even mind the dice combat in the game. Big box, takes a while to play, but great.

7. Hats

Hats is one of those abstract games that can play more, but it’s so much better at two. It’s about playing cards from your hand down to the table, the Madd Hatter’s table, to collect other hats. So it’s interesting because what you have in your hand won’t be the cards you use to score at the end of the game. It is fine at four, but at two, there is a whole lot more tension in what you do.

6. Ohanami

Ohanami is almost two different games at the different player counts. When you play with three or four, you take what is best for you because you won’t see the hands again too much. At two, you are going to see your starting hand three times. So you get six of the ten cards in it. Now in two players you think about what you want and your opponent might want, take the ones that overlap first, before taking ones that just you might want.

5. Hanamikoji

Two player only game, Hanamikoji is amazing. And really the top six are games I’d always play, and even Hats is one I’d play but only if it’s two player. Hanamikoji has you vying to win favor of Geisha. Either by getting 11 points or the favor of four of the seven Geisha. The game play is amazingly tense as you try and puzzle out what you opponent might have. And the four actions you take all feel like tough decisions.

4. Super Fantasy Brawl

Super Fantasy Brawl I believe can be played with more, but it’s best as a two player head to head skirmish game. This game is about punching your opponents to knock them out, but also completing objectives. I don’t think you can easily win without doing both. Because you worry about only objectives, your opponent will take you out and ruin your plans. Only about taking your opponent out, they’ll be able to maneuver to get objectives.

Plus, the game play is extremely simple. You have three different color actions you can take per round. That corresponds to colors of cards, so you play cards of that color. You have some defensive ones you can use, but if you use those, on your turn you can’t then play that color to take a more offensive action. And there are a lot of characters and I still want more.

3. Marvel Champions: The Card Game

Marvel Champions is a very nice solo game, but I think I prefer it as a two player game. More I wouldn’t want to play with because of downtime. But at two player, it feels like it offers a different depth of strategy and teamwork that you don’t get in solo. And it’s fun to take two super heroes up against a villain and have that team-up feel.

2. Aeon’s End

Aeon’s End is another one where I really like it as a two player game. Even the solo experience is really a two player game. Mainly because as solo you need to control at least two mages. What makes it so good at two players is that you each get two turns to go along with the Nemesis two turns. At four player you’d have each mage go once prepping in round one, and attacking in round two. You get that, but it feels more powerful with two players, though it really isn’t.

1. Dice Throne

Finally, we have Dice Throne. Dice Throne is a game that I love as a two player game, but I think it’s great as a King of a Hill style free for all. It makes sense at two because it’s kind of a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat battler of a game. Game play is slick with upgrading abilities and then Yahtzee style dice rolling and battling.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of games that are good at two players. For me, these fourteen aren’t always ones that I need to only play at two, but are really strong at two. And I have a number on my shelf to play. I want to get The Inbetween to the table, as well as Seven Wonders Duel, and the previously mentioned Fox in the Forest and Fox in the Forest Duet.

What are some of your favorite two player games?

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Tofu Kingdom, Brewcrafters Travel Card Game, The Mind & Cthulhu Fluxx

I lumped these together. They are all smaller games, I gave them a chance, and while they aren’t bad, I have a number of smaller games that I’m going to pull off the shelf before them. And often that’s why games leave, something like Cthulhu Fluxx was a great gateway game for me, but now I have others.

I think that most people might be surprised by the Mind. My experience with that was just okay at the best. The game with it’s, you can’t share information is fine. But also leads to long chunks of time of people not talking. I wish there was more fun and funny going on for a game that is so simple. The Mind is like Cosmic Encounter for me as well, where it is very group dependent.

Gloom

Gloom is a very fun game. It has transparent cards and you are trying to kill off your family with them having the most miserable lives possible. And you tell stories as you do it. It’s a blast to play, and I haven’t played it since before I was married. I was dating now wife but we were maybe engaged. That’s over 7 years.

So, you can guess why this one is leaving. I just don’t play it often enough, or at all anymore. If someone else has it and pulls it off the shelf to play, I will play it and love it. I might even buy it again at that point. But right now, even though it’s a small game, it opens up room for other small games to try and play.

Werewords

This one came into my collection not that long ago and now it’s leaving my collection. I am always trying to find a second social deduction game that I like. I even watched on Board Game Geeks YouTube channel Werewords played and thought that it’d be it. It’s a game of twenty questions with a traitor, the concept even sounds fun.

But it’s like so many social deduction games, when it comes down to it, you are just guessing. If you don’t guess the word you will take a random stab at whom the traitor is and probably be wrong. If you’re the traitor and the word is guessed, you’ll give a random guess on the seerer unless they were extremely obvious. I want more deduction in my social deduction is what it is, I guess.

Werewords is a solid game, it’s just not for me.

Onirim

This one might surprise people. I like Onirim as a solo game. But it’s going away for three reasons. The first being Orchard: A 9 Card Solitaire Game, then A Gentle Rain – another solo game, and finally, because I own the app. I can still play Onirim, but I’ll do on the app. And there will be much less shuffling.

I know that a lot of people even like the app better because it does all the shuffling. I still think I prefer the physical game, but if I’m going to play a solo game right now, it’s going to be Orchard or A Gentle Rain. They are easier to get out and play, so sorry, Onirim, you’re leaving the collection. Again another really good game and this one is for me, but I just have others to play now.

The Siblings Trouble

This is one that I never actually played. I picked it up because when it was on Kickstarter, I had backed the companies other game, Lift Off! and wanted to back another one of their projects. It’s a kind of RPG like game that is tailored for kids. But it came out at the same time as No Thank You, Evil! A kids RPG that has more support. And I likely would just play D&D with my kid eventually.

Hex Roller

I got this game quite recently, I played it, and I’m selling it. Hex Roller is not a bad roll and write. But it isn’t a game where what you do will change much. The dice rolls will change things up, but the mechanics don’t change. So I’ve played it, and I’m passing it on to someone else.

My knock on Hex Roller is that while the scoring is simple, the teach is not. The rules are a little bit weird for how you take dice and use them. It just teaches harder then a game that doesn’t have that much going on should. I understand that they wanted the game to be clever and give you lots to think about, but it’s just a solid game. Not good enough for me to come back to.

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger

This is a really fun and goofy game. It is also a story game that has limited replayability. Now, I am not done with the story, so why am I getting rid of it. It’s easy, I know two maybe three people who own it. If I want to play it again or play it the whole way through, I can.

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger is a great time. It’s goofy and fun to sit around and play. If you play lighter games, I definitely recommend it. But most likely, like me, you’ll end up selling it once you’re done with the story. The downside is I won’t get much for it, the upside is, someone can play it and enjoy it again.

Blossoms

Blossoms is a two player push your luck game. You are trying to grow flowers and then harvest them at the point that it’ll give you the most points. It’s a pretty little game, though in a larger box than really needed. But it is a two player game, so the question I asked myself, how many two player only games do I need?

The answer didn’t include Blossoms. When I look at my two player games, I would pick Hanamikoji before it, Skulk Hollow, 7 Wonders Duel, Fox in the Forest, Fox in the Forest Duet. All of those I’d play before Blossoms. Blossoms is just a little bit too simple for when I want to play a two player game. But if you have a parent or grandparent who likes more classic feeling games, Blossoms would be great.

Cry Havoc

This is a tough game for me to get rid of. I really like Cry Havoc. This is another situation where I just own other games I’m going to play before it. Cry Havoc is asymmetrical area control. If I want area control that’s pretty complex, Blood Rage. If I want asymmetrical, well I own Root now. Cry Havoc is leaving because I own enough other games that do similar things. And I own enough other games that I’d play before it.

It is a bit of a casualty of my Top 100 that I just wrapped up, actually. When going through the Top 10 and seeing games like Lords of Hellas and Blood Rage, th ose will get played before Cry Havoc. So even with Cry Havoc just missing at 103 and being there last year, it’s time for it to go.

Castle Panic

This is getting bumped because of a future Kickstarter that is coming. It’s also getting bumped because it’s too easy a cooperative game. Now, some of that is that I’m older than the target audience. This is a tower defense game for 10 year old kids or younger. It’s not targeting someone like me. Village Attacks as a tower defense game is.

But this is a game that I win too often. And again, I think that’s with the target age. A 10 year old will want to win more often than they lose. I personally like to lose about 60-70% of the time when playing a cooperative game. In my Top 100 I have Say Bye to the Villains, I have yet to beat that game. I don’t think I’ve lost Castle Panic.

Lift Off!

I just talked about this one, it’s the first game that I backed on Kickstarter. I am greatly tempted to keep this one. I’ve played it a few times but it hasn’t been in years. It’s a fun little game, and I like some of their other games. I still have Skulk Hollow which won’t be leaving anytime soon.

This is one that I am tempted to keep to just play a few more times. It is also a game that isn’t going to come off my shelf all that often. It’s like Castle Panic in that it’s younger focused, not my gaming group, and there’s enough other games I’ll play before it.

Dicecapades!

For a mass market game, Dicecapades is generally a lot of fun. You get goofy things like stacking dice. Or you roll a die and need to do that many push-ups. Or you roll a die and there is trivia. Wait, there is trivia, what does that have to do with dice , the answer, nothing. And that’s why I don’t pull it out anymore.

Everything else in the game is fun, but you need to answer a trivia question on a random area that is determined by a die roll. If you get it wrong, you stay and then do it again next turn. Meanwhile, everyone else is doing goofy fun things, until they get stuck on trivia as well. And if I roll sports before you roll movies, because that’s what we know best, I get going faster just based off of luck.

It is a mass market party game, it is supposed to be lucky. But it’s just not that fun when you get to trivia. Remove the trivia from the game, I’d probably keep the game. It’s one that I can play with cousins and non-gamers. But with trivia, it’s annoying. If I want to do trivia, I own Wits & Wagers.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Now, this is the tricky one, and it might stay. I want to play this game. The intro scenario to teach you the game, I’ve played it twice. But it’s a campaign game, and it’s a campaign game with an app before apps were common. So the app itself isn’t great. Not bad, but not great. And I don’t have a group to play this game. So it’s a lot of work to play solo.

If I had a group, I’d play it. I might even play it solo, if I go through the introductory scenario again. But am I going to do that when I have Isofarian Guard coming sometime, Destinies coming that can be played solo, Middara, Roll Player Adventures, Solomon Kane, Deep Madness and more? I think it might leave like Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth did. Not because it is a bad game, it isn’t, it’s a lot of fun, but because I own so many.

16 Games of Shelf Space

It’s a tough list to cut. I look at Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Cry Havoc, Onirim, and Gloom especially, and I really enjoy all of those games. But the question is, will I play them? Or am I just keeping them on my shelf because I like the idea of getting back to them sometime?

I think it’s more the latter than I’d actually get back to the games. And some of them, Gloom in particular, that depends on the group. If you like a tell a story, it works well, if you just play the cards, the game is fine. So, all of these are leaving, probably over the weekend, to get traded into my FLGS. And I’m looking at a few games, Escape The Room and Star Wars Unlock, that I need to play to then free up more space.

Which one, if you could get one of these games I’m trading in, would you want to play most?

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Solo Or Not

The first thing to think about is if you’ll be playing games with other people? If I’m going camping, I probably will be going with friends or my wife so I’ll have a second player. If I’m going on a work trip, there’s no guarantee that’ll be the case. So I need to think about who I’ll be playing with that what player count I’m needing.

Where Am I Going?

This also matters, if I’m going camping, I don’t want something with too many pieces, if I’m going to a gaming convention, that can also be the case as well. If I’m going to work training and have a hotel room, I can leave something set-up or potentially have more room to work with so I could pack something with more pieces. This also, though, depends on how many days I’m going to be somewhere, what suitcase or bag I brought along.

So What Games Pack a Good Bang For Their Buck?

I’m generally looking for small games that are a bit punchy, by that I mean that aren’t just filler, but give you some choices as well. I will point out where some of these games work better as some of them might be a bit much for a camping trip.

Criss Cross

This one is a little roll and write game that would work well almost anywhere. Yes, players have their little sheet of paper, but it’s one little sheet of paper that you have to keep from blowing away, otherwise it’s dice. Super easy that way, this game is generally a bit more of a filler game but does offer a few choices as you try and maximize your points. It also isn’t a game that doesn’t have you thinking, you need to score in both the rows and columns as you’re filling in your sheet, and that requires some thinking and tracking of things. The box is also tiny, it’s one that you could even stick into a backpack on a hiking trip and have no added weight from it.

That’s Pretty Clever (Ganz Schon Clever)

The last roll and write game that I’m going to put on the list. This one is a whole lot more complex, but still limits what people have to a piece of paper and a pen and then the dice. Another good one for taking almost anywhere. Ganz Schon Clever gives a whole lot more choices though as you try and optimize your scoring, get as many bonuses as possible and get a big score. The other two games in the series, Twice as Clever, and Clever Hoch Drei both would work as well as the premise is the same and the amount of stuff is the game.

Onirim

The two above can be played solo just fine and also be played in groups. Onirim is the entry on the list for purely a solo game. This one I don’t know would work as well camping, because you are putting out cards, I guess in the tent, but it’s a great hotel room game, or even an on the flight game. You are trying to pay out cards in a certain order and way so that you get three of a color in a row, they just have to be non-repeating symbols, in order to find doors to escape from this dream world with nightmares trying to stop you. It requires a bunch of shuffling, but I don’t mind that, and it’s a nice game that has enough going on to keep t interesting, but not so much that you can’t pay attention to anything else.

Silver Amulet (Coin, Bullet, or Dagger)

The Silver games work well for small box games that pack some interesting choices. And you could probably get all of them into a single box if you wanted to give you a lot of game to take along. In the game you are trying to get the village with the lowest points. You do that by swapping in cards to your face down village, the trick is that you only know what two of your cards are at the start. So the cards have powers and you can use those powers to see more cards, swap cards with an opponent, or more. Eventually someone will call for a vote, and if they have the fewest points, they get zero and everyone else scores their points. If they don’t you get 10 additional points, lowest after four rounds wins. If you were to stick it all in one box, you’d have tons of different combinations to play which means even for a longer trip, this game has a lot of bang for it’s small size.

Claim/Fox In the Forest/The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

I’m lumping all three of these together because they are all trick taking games that come in small packages. Fox in the Forest is specifically a two player game, so won’t work for every trip. The Crew is a cooperative trick taking game, and Claim is an interesting game where you play through twice, and the second time is when you score, the first time is building your hand for that second time. But trick taking games are nice, and obviously you could do things like Hearts as well with just a deck of cards, but that’s certainly a good option as well. These all will feel like a bit of a step beyond your more standard trick taking games while still really using the same mechanics.

Codenames Pictures

Final one on the list, and there could be a whole lot more, but Codenames Pictures works really well for a game with a little bit larger box. The downsize is the box is a bit larger, the upside is that you can play with almost any number of people, you just split into two teams, one clue giver from each team and everyone else guesses when it’s their teams turn to do so. While I don’t love Codenames in general, I think that pictures works well and shortens a game that feels like it should be a party game but often plays quieter than that. Pictures helps keep the energy level higher, but really any version of Codenames would do. It is also nice because it isn’t too large. The downside is that you are laying out cards on a table, so while it might work some places, give it a bit of a breeze and you might be running around trying to pick-up cards. But good for gatherings where you are going to be indoors.

What are some games that you take when traveling? Do you have a favorite that you’ll always grab?

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Fox in the Forest/Fox in the Forest Duet

Two different versions of a trick taking game. But both are two player only only games. In Fox in the Forest, you are trying to take tricks, but scoring is more challenging than just taking all of the tricks. Certain cards have certain powers on them. In Fox in the Forest Duet you are working together, trying to keep the fox moving along the board and picking up tokens, more tokens you get the better you do, but it’s still trick taking. There are paw prints on the cards, or fox symbols I forget which, and that is how much the fox moves, but which direction depends on who wins the trick. Both of these are clever little games and good for 2020 if you have a limited number of players you can play with.

Zombie Dice

While the previous ones were for casual gamers, I think that this one is one you can pull out with anyone. It’s a simple push your luck game where you are grabbing three dice from a cup, rolling them, keeping brains, seeing if you’ve been shot, and then deciding if you want to draw more dice and roll those. There is a bit more going on than that, but that’s basically it. Once someone hits the point total to win, everyone else get’s one shot to push their luck. It’s like a simpler version of the game Farkle, and it has a theme. I think that the theme and the simplicity of the game is going to draw people in, even though the theme is just goofy fun versus involved in the tactics. It also is really small and needs about no table space, just enough to roll the dice, so it’s good for at a bar, or a picnic.

Onirim

I’ve done two player, any number of player, and now a solo board game. Onirim is one of the best known solo games. It’s all about playing out cards, matching colors and changing symbols so that you can get doors out and escape the nightmares. It’s really an abstract game, but it’s a lot of fun. Plus, the new printing has all the expansions in the base box, which I need to learn all of them. The game is clever in what it does, because there are very powerful key cards, key cards can be played like any other card to find a door, but if you flip a door from the top of the deck and you have a matching key color, you can just spend the key and immediately get that door, or you can use it to look at the top five cards of your deck, discard one, can’t be a door, and order the rest how you want, or finally you can use it to stop some other affect from a nightmare being drawn. And the nightmares have as many things they can force you to do as the keys. It’s a really interesting puzzle to see if you make the right decisions with those really important cards.

Hanabi

Maybe you like the idea of a cooperative game, Hanabi is a very small box cooperative game where you are trying to put on the best firework short. You want to display all five colors of fireworks from 1 to 5, playing down their cards in order. However, you can’t see all the cards, in fact, you can’t see your cards, but you can see everyone else’s cards. On your turn, you can do one of three things. You can spend a clue token to give another player a clue as to what they have in their hand. The clues would be something like “This and this card are blue” or “That’s a two and that’s a two”. You have to give the person all of the information for a given color or number. You can also play down a card to one of the rows of fireworks, but if you get it wrong, the fuse gets shorter. Or you can discard a card to get another clue token to use. The game is somewhat lucky as you try and give specific enough clues to be helpful, but are stuck some on the draw. But the more you play, the more you know how to give good clues that mean something, even if it might not be as obviously straight forward.

Ganz Schon Clever

There are so many roll and write or flip and write games that I could say. Silver & Gold, Railroad Ink, Patchwork Doodle, Floor Plan, Second Chance, Cross Cross, Cat Cafe, and Cartographers are all ones that would pretty easily fit into a stocking. But I’m picking Ganz Schon Clever because that’s the one that I’ve been playing a lot of recently. It’s an interesting little puzzle of a roll and write, where you have five different areas where you are placing die values. Each of them scores in their own different way, and each of them has their own way you want to place the dice. It’s an interesting challenge and it’s based so much off of combos and how you can fill in a spot in one row to then be able to fill in a spot in another. It’s very satisfying that way.

Now, there are a lot more small games out there that’d work well, obviously I tossed out a bunch of roll and writes. But if none of those work for you, you can also find games like Stipulations, Parade, The Lost Expedition, Not Alone, Love Letter, Hanamikoji, Marrying Mr Darcy, Point Salad, Gloom, Arboretum, and so many more. There are a lot of good small games out there that are a lot more than just just a take that sort of game, or the classics like Uno, Skip-bo, and Pit.

What small game would you like to find in your stocking at the holidays?

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