Though, I think a lot of gamers like to collect types of games that they like. I might say sometimes for the intellectual property or theme. But other times because they just love that type of game. So they play that type of game a lot and they want to own them. That is a valid reason to own them. But it’s not going to be one I talk about coming up here.

What Do I Mean Same Type of Board Game?

First off, let’s define what I mean by that. I mean two different things, and possibly both can be true about a game. The most common is a game with a similar mechanism to it. So that might be that it is a drafting game, deck building game or trick taking game to name a few examples. The other might be that it fits an overall theme of game in some way. By that I mean an adventure game or a filler game. These give you a feel of doing something in particular or a niche in particular of gaming.

Reasons To Own the Same Type of Board Game

Variation

Variation is the first thing that I want to talk about. This means that while a central mechanism might be similar or the theme or feel of the game might be similar they do something differently. So when you decide to pull a game off the shelf you are making a choice between the differences in those games.

Example 1: Stars of Akarios and ISS Vanguard

Both of the above are big space adventure games. But Stars of Akarios is going to give you some exploration but a lot of it is going to be tactical space combat. On the flip side, ISS Vanguard is going to be a lot of planetary exploration and ship management. So while you might get that big grand adventure feel, they vary how you do that.

Example 2: Fox in the Forest and Fox in the Forest Duet

Now we are narrowing down here. Both of these games are two player trick taking games. The difference is one is competitive and one is cooperative. And that is variation on what you are playing.

Variety

The next thing is similar but do you want variety in what you are playing. Meaning if you place a certain style of game a lot do you want variety in what you are playing and when you play it. I find if I play a certain game a lot to fill a particular niche in my gaming, it’ll often get left be the wayside and sold. But if I rotate the games, a game is more apt to stick in my collection.

Example 1: Filler Games

I think that filler games are a great example for this. I own probably 20-30 filler games that are just small box fillers. Why, because they travel very easily with me. And because they travel so easily that means that I can take different games to play with my family. And the same with game night, it makes it easy to pull out of a different one. But, for example, we played Tsuro a ton. And because we played it a ton my wife and I got board of that as a filler game. Tsuro didn’t become a bad game, we just got burned out and tired of it.

Example 2: Trick Taking Games

Much like filler games, I think it would be easy to play a trick taking game over and over again until you burn out on it. Because these games are shorter to play, generally, you might play a couple of games in a sitting. But if you play the same game over and over and over again it starts to become stale. The example of this for me would be Hearts or Euchre on the computer. They are fun, but I played them so much that I am somewhat burned out on them, or at least I was.

Player Count

This one I think is more obvious than some other ones. But I do want to clarify a few things about it. A lot of games I might say player count matters on. But it is possible for a board game to say that the player count is 1-5 and another one of the same style of game and mechanisms to say 1-5 as well and to still be worthwhile having in your collection. What I mean is, what is a game best at for player count. Sometimes a game might say that it plays great at 5 but that takes a 45-60 minute three player game to two hours.

Example: Nidavellir

Now, this is just a single game but it serves my example well. I dislike Nidavellir as a two player. Or it is probably more honest to say I find that it is more fragile as a two player game. But as a three or four player game I love it. So while it has bidding, open drafting, and set collection, I will not play it at two. So I want other games two fill in that player count.

Complexity

Another question is how complex a game is. Because sometimes a game might give you a similar feeling or use a similar mechanism but might be complex at different levels. And for that reason it might create a lot more difficulty to get a game to the table and for that reason you might play it with a certain group or situation versus another game.

Example: Aeon’s End versus Astro Knights

Both of these are cooperative deck building boss battler games. There are some differences to them, but I think that one is easier to table than another. In particular, Astro Knights is a simpler game to teach and play, in my opinion. Some of that is because there is less work to get it to the table. The deck that you set-up to buy from in the game is much faster and simpler to do. I also think that it is a bit more streamlined with understanding the heroes.

Game Length

The final one I have for the list is game length. Now I mention game length with player count. And that can be a factor with that as well. But sometimes it matters less with player count and more with how long you want to mess around with that mechanism or how much time you have to play a game. If I want to play a trick taking game and I have ten minutes versus forty minutes that is going to change the game that I play.

Example: Hero Realms vs Clank! In! Space!

Which do I pick when I want a short deck building game? Clank! In! Space! even at two players can take a while. Especially if the players are playing safe and trying to get the best treasure and not rush the end of the game. On the flip side, Hero Realms is a fast two player head to head battler of a game. And it escalates quickly in the deck building. So while a game can draw out a little bit because of healing, it is shorter and faster to play.

What Deck Building Games Do I Need?

So let’s run down my game collection here. In particular, I want to talk about deck building games because that is a style of game that I love. But do I need all of them that I own? First off, let’s create a little list of the deck building games I own. I likely will miss some, but here is that list.

• Clank! Adventure Deck Building Game + Expansions
• Clank! In! Space! + Expansions
• Clank! Catacombs + Expansions
• Clank! Legacy 1 & 2
• Ascension + Expansions
• Xenoshyft: Onslaught
• Xenoshyft: Dreadmire
• Hero Realms
• Aeons End + Expansions
• Aeons End Legacy 1 & 2
• Lost Ruins of Arnak
• Mistborn
• Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle
• Anng’s Destiny
• Nightfall
• Thunderstone Quest
• Tanto Cuoro
• Star Wars: The Deck Building Game
• Astro Knights

So let’s start out, a few that are safe on the list because I just need to play them. So when I run through everything games like Clank! Legacy, Aeon’s End Legacy 2, Anng’s Destiny, Nightfall, Thunderstone Quest, Tanto Cuoro and Star Wars: The Deck Building Game are all safe.

Variation

Variation is going to make a few more safe on the list. Firstly, Lost Ruins of Arnak is a great example of game that is safe. While there is a deck building element to the game it is more of a worker placement and resource management game, or at least as much of that as it is deck building.

Likewise, Mistborn does unique things with it’s powering up mechanisms and that is going to make it a bit more unique than some. And it has a solid solo and cooperative mode to it as well which makes it versatile. But it’s mainly the the metal burning system and leveling up that make it varied from other deck building games.

A question should be asked about Astro Knights and Aeon’s End. While there are some differences, mainly how the market works, the game mechanisms are pretty similar. But each of them has their own niche. I am apt to pull out Astro Knights when I want to introduce someone to deck building but Aeon’s End is less likely. And I think I’d play Astro Knights at a higher player count as well, though it does have the same issue as Aeon’s End.

Game Length and Player Count

I am lumping them together here because they often times are the same thing. So Hero Realms and the Star Wars: Deck Building Game are interesting because they are both two player. Do I need to two two player only deck building games. I say that, but I own to make Hero Realms a solo deck building game as well.

Then I also look at games like Clank! (all versions, Xenoshyft, and Aeon’s End, all games that are bigger deck building games that are going to take longer to play. So do I need them all. In particular I am looking at Clank! because I own so many different versions. Aeon’s End I do as well, but since I own them they can mix and match. Clank! Adventure Deck Building Game, Clank! In! Space! and Clank! Catacombs do not mix and match, so it is a question if I need them all.

Complexity

Now complexity is a spot where I look at it and I think, Ascension is likely safe, but not maybe all the expansions for it. Ascension is a good straightforward deck building game. If I want to just introduce the concept of deck building the base game works wonderfully. But some of the expansions add a bunch more to the game. And while they are stand alone so I don’t need to mix them in, or I can use just them, it does make it harder to get to the table sometimes.

Am I getting Rid of Any?

Honestly, I think I am. Just in this moment, I think I talked myself into getting rid of Clank! The Adventure Deck Building Game and Clank! In! Space!. Why, because while I really like both of them, I think I am just going to play Clank! Catacombs. And if that is the case, why am I going to keep all of them around?

As well as Hero Realms. That one or the Star Wars: Deck Building game is on the chopping block. Now, I know that I said I haven’t played the Star Wars game. This upcoming Tuesday I am likely to have a friend over for gaming. And since it is going to be two of us, that is going to be a chance to get the Star Wars: Deck Building Game played. If I like it, I think that Hero Realms is going.

Upcoming Series

I need to get rid of more games from my board game collection. So that means I need to prep more games for selling. So why not use this framework, clump games together, and see which ones maybe should leave the collection. It’ll kind of be like the culling videos that I did a few years ago, and I might actually turn it into that as well for the Malts and Meeples YouTube channel. So join me on this journey.

Is there any way that I should consider whether or not game overlap is needed or not?

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How To Play The Great Split

The Great Split is an art collection game, but really, it is a game with tracks that you are going up on to optimize your score and have the most points at the end of the game. That’s the generic version of a lot of games. But The Great Split does it in a couple of interesting ways.

The main mechanism of The Great Split is “I split, you choose.” If you aren’t familiar, I create two groups of something, in this case, cards in my hand. You get to see those two groups and then pick the one that you want. I get what is left.

What you pick determines what tracks you go up on. You can go up on books, which have certain scoring thresholds when you score books. You go up on art where you score based off of how much art you own compared to the market. Or finally you push up the track on gems, either green or blue but ideally both, and you score twice your lowest gem total.

To go along with that, there are also tracks for contracts and coins. Contracts are end game scoring that triggers based off of how many contracts you’ve gotten in a particular area times how much those contracts are worth. So if I have 5 green gem contracts and I got my green gem contracts to be worth 3 points, I get 15 points. And with coins, they have contracts as well, but you can “spend” money to move up on other tracks as well.

The game plays over a number of rounds. And like I said at the beginning, the player with the most points wins.

The Details

So, as I’ve started doing, let’s look at what the box says.

For players it says 2-7 and the Board Game Geek community says best at 4-6. I think it would be fine at 4-7 players. And I know from playing it at 3, it’s still fun. But there is a difference. With more players more cards get into the rotation so you see more options. That is a big benefit with more. I don’t know that I really want to play it with two players.

It also says it plays in 45 minutes, and that is close. I think it is a bit longer than that. But the core mechanics are of the game are simultaneous. I only have played when I taught new players. I think with players who know the game, it might hit that time range. The game is only 7 rounds, plus three spots to score.

And finally, they say it is for 8+. Now as always a caveat with this. It is more about safety, but, The Great Split is language independent and has it’s one core mechanic. An adult might need to help with scoring, but I can see a younger kid playing it, say eight. They might not get all of the rules and nuisance of the game, which is to be expected.

What Doesn’t Work?

This is a very thinky game. And as a player you make a decision at times that might not be perfect for you. And because The Great Split is so thinky, someone who tends towards analysis paralysis and taking long turns will slow the game down. It is noticeable when it is there turn. But in a game with simultaneous play, it is going to be more noticeable. So be aware of that with The Great Split.

What Works?

The main mechanism in the game is amazing. I love I split you choose. And this game is that distilled. Yes, there are the tracks and they do create combos. But the main part of the game is I split my cards and you pick from those two splits. And that decision space is so good and so simple in this game. But when you split the cards, you worry that you either made the split too good to get back what you want. Or you didn’t make it good enough.

I also think that the tracks work well. They are not complex and basically you teach the game quickly. There is some to go over, but once you teach the player board, you teach the rest of the game in round one. So it is not a complex game but one that is fun to teach and play that way. Plus the combos in the game are simple in a good way. I hit this point on the coins, I advance two in another area.

The scoring is also well done. The Great Split is scored three times. Though what you score the first two times can vary. You score each of books, art, and gems. But when you set up the game you don’t know if you score books and gems at the first scoring and then art at the second or maybe gems at the first and book and art at the second. It gives you shifting goals. And then you score everything at the end.

Who Is It For?

This is a tough part that I almost skipped. Mainly because the core decisions can be tricky in the game. It might feel like too much to a casual game. I think this is a good filler for heavier gamers but also a fun game who play games. But for them, it is going to be the game of the night versus a filler game. But it is an accessible game with no reading on cards and different symbols to help with color blindness. That is really nice.

Final Thoughts – The Great Split

I love this game. I think that it is clever in in what it does in the best way possible. When I said that I like a game that does one thing and makes it thinky, I’m not lying. The Great Split makes every choice matter. What I pass to you is important and how I pass them to you. But that is seven times I make that choice in the game. And seven times I pick from the cards someone passes me. It is smart in how it does that and then making the tracks simple, but still meaningful. If they were a hard puzzle as well, it’d be less fun.

My one concern hasn’t been played out yet. I worry about how well it will hold up long term. Not components wise they are great. But will The Great Split feel consistent through every play and eventually start to feel like there isn’t enough change? I don’t know. I suspect it might, eventually, but that is a long ways out. Why, because the core mechanism is so strong with I split you choose that it makes for an interesting decision every time.

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

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So looking at this topic, I don’t just want to give you a list. I will give a few at the end that I like. But instead, I want to create, like I did for campaign games here, a guide to help you find good big group board games for yourself. What are some qualities to look for?

How To Find Good Big Group Board Games?

All my categories are going to be compared, at least to some extent, against party games. Because what I am looking for is an alternative to party games. Something that can play at six or more, it might only be up to seven, but offers that fun experience and offers that big group experience.

Downtime

So firstly, the game should limit downtime. Downtime is an major enemy in big group games. Or even in a lot of games. If a game plays in the time frame given with two players does it with four or six players. Often times that time frame grows considerably the more you add players. So a good big group board game is going to keep to a minimum.

For party games this is often done by putting you on teams. So half the time you are playing some element of the game. Or another way is when everyone is doing something, writing an answer, picking cards, at the same time. Everyone is engaged. To successfully move from party games, keeping downtime to a minimum is going to be key.

Complexity

Next up is complexity, keep it simple, stupid. Again to compare to party games, they are dead simple. Often times the most complex part is how scoring is done, and that is a detriment to the game. And with moving out of party games into big group games, keep it simple.

There are a few reasons for that. Firstly, it keeps downtime to a minimum. So see above how that is important. If the decision making space is simple enough, turns won’t take a long. Secondly, it makes it easier to teach, and you will teach this game a lot if it’s a good one. Because with a larger group you are more apt to have someone who doesn’t know the game. You might not, but it is more likely. Thirdly, it keeps the stakes of the game lower. And you might want them higher, but we are replacing a party game, so nothing too cut throat or where it feels like a wrong move and you lost the game.

On the flip side, as you try and replace a party game. Do not go too simple. The goal is not to replace a party game with another party game. So the complexity is going to be higher, but just keep in mind that Twilight Imperium and Heroes of Land, Air, and Sea play over six but wouldn’t be a good replacement.

Game Length

This one there is more wiggle room on. But I would argue that is because of a mistake that party games make. They don’t give you a good end point. This is again part of the too complex rules for scoring. If it is too complex, no one knows how or when the game ends, so you just play as long as you want. Often times this is until after the game has worn out it’s welcome.

So there is room in this one, but often times you want that filler length game, that twenty minutes, maybe up to forty. Something that can fit between games as a bit of a breather. And the reason for this is that with a lower complexity the longer a game goes, the less interesting it might be. Now there are ways around it, it might be simple but you do more or have more choices as the game goes on. So that is a smart build. But often times with a more limited decision making space, you want to limit how long the game goes.

Theme

Theme matters here, because a party game generally has an innocuous theme. Now, an easy exception to that is Cards Against Humanity with has a very specific target audience for it’s theme. But most of them give you a friendly theme or no theme at all.

As you move away from big group games just being party games you need to consider the theme. If it’s a bloody heroes killing monsters with dark artwork, that might not work for your group. Keep the theme more generic when you play a big group game. That is going to cast a larger net and catch a bigger group who might want to play.

Decision Making

Finally, and this one I touched on with complexity, but give a good but limited decision making space. And I think this is where a good big group game diverges from a party game. Often times you can, at least in some party games, put in a random card or answer and win just as often or more than if you put in thought to it.

So a good big group games is going to add in some real decision making while keeping the game pretty simple. You don’t want it to feel like you are playing the next big game. But at the same time, you don’t want it to just be another dumb game or a game purely with luck. A good replacement big group game is going to offer a limited window of choices.

What Are Some Examples?

Via Magica

Via Magica, and another below, I qualify as a gamers bingo. Something is drawn and everyone places in this case an animus or spirit on a portal that they are trying to open. Then another is drawn, and you do so again. You try and complete opening portals and first to seven ends the game, then you tally up points.

This one works well because the basic actions of the game are simple. You draw and place. And everyone is doing that at the same time from a single draw of a token. The decision making comes in two areas, firstly where you place on your portals, though that is a bit of a looser decision space. The other way is in what portal you get so you can push for more points or getting bonuses. That is where the game gives you most decision making.

Sushi Go Party

Sushi Go Party is another great options. This one offers, I think, a larger decision making space. But it keeps it limited. You setup a group of sushi and other food from a Japanese restaurant and shuffle those cards together. Then over a series of three rounds you draft cards. And that drafting is all done at the same time making it the speed no matter the player count.

This is definitely one with a few more decision. While the core mechanics stay the same, you need to learn the set of cards you are drafting from. Once you know them, it makes the turns simpler. So the game actually picks up speed as time goes on, because you learn more about the pool you are drafting from and what you want to go for.

Super Mega Lucky Box

This is the other bingo game. And it is much more bingo. As you complete columns or rows on cards you get bonuses that allow you to complete more. And you get points for completing 3 by 3 grids completely. Much like Via Magica, as cards are flipped with numbers for your bingo grid, you fill in a spot. And everyone does so at the same time.

This one I think offers more decision making, though, because of the bonuses, you might really be pushing for a bonus. And it offers more ways or more consistency in manipulating the number. While Via Magica lets you turn some things into wilds, if you get the right cards, Super Mega Lucky Box, always offers a way to do that, assuming you collect the right resource.

The Great Split

Next up we have The Great Split. This one kind of has the feel of drafting but the main mechanic in the game is I split and you choose. That I think makes it different for a bigger group game. Because everyone is picking a combination of things and splitting it into two groups.

I also think that The Great Split is one where it does offer more decision making space. Creating that good split where you’ll get back what you want but you won’t be giving your opponent too much is an interesting conundrum. For that reason, this game might run longer because some players will need more time to create that split. But every player is overlapping on when they create their split.

The game is really about going up on tracks to get the most points possible. And it pulls that off well. You are nudged in a direction by the starting card you get, but then you can really play around with it. And there’s enough variability to keep the game feeling different.

Welcome To…

Finally, and I could have picked a number here, we have Welcome To… It’s like all the rest in that everyone is doing stuff at once. You have a a setup of three pairs of cards and you activate one to work on building out your perfect town. Plus there is more going on with it.

This one has a bit more of a teach than some of them. Mainly because there are a number of moving pieces and how scoring in a lot of different areas works. But the game offers you just the right number of choices, so you always are considering what is going to be the best option for you.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of good games out there for bigger groups. But getting that one that hits the right combination is big. Because so many when you go below this level that I put out here, tend to not offer anything more than a party game. But going too far in the other direction, now you out of that almost filler type of category. So it is a balancing act.

Now, with all of this said. If you enjoy a good party game, that is great. I have party games in my collection that will stay because I really enjoy them. But sometimes you get tired of always pulling out a party game for a big group. Hopefully this helps find games that work for big groups, but aren’t too much to handle.

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What You To Pay Attention To When Picking a Campaign Game

This list isn’t in a particular order. Each of these things can matter, and a lot of them matter less than you’d think. I’ll explain as I go, but all of them are things to consider when picking out a campaign game.

Ideal Player Count

We’ll start with the player count. I think that this can often be an overlooked part of the game. The reason for that is that some games play at four. And then if you play with less, you have dumbed down versions of characters available. This might be a well implemented system, or it could be clunky. The main reason to find that ideal player count is that you don’t want to play four handed solo, unless you want to play four handed solo. Some campaigns will give you true solo, others will require you to play two or four handed.

Theme

This one is probably already in your consideration. Theme often is the first thing you can kind of tell from the box. But it is worth digging into further. Sometimes a game will be lighter or darker in theme than the cover looks. The easiest way is to use examples. Sword & Sorcery has a somewhat dark looking cover, for the most part that is a lighter and simpler story. Tainted Grail has a dark cover, that is a dark game. Know what sort of theme you are getting into.

Set-up and Tear Down

Now we’re onto one that is harder to find. How easy is the game to set-up and tear own. The simplest way to know is if there are inserts for the game. Now, some games just get inserts to get everything into one box. But if there are third party inserts to make the game easier to table, it’s probably heavy to get the table.

Now, this isn’t always an issue. I have a co-worker who has room at the end of a table to keep a game set-up. That speeds it up a ton. Or I own a gaming table so that means I keep a campaign set-up on the bottom player and put on the topper to play other games. But those are specific situations. If you can’t do that, then this is a bigger question.

Tutorial System

Next up is one that will depend on you again. But I appreciate that more games are coming with tutorial systems to get you up and playing the game. Sleeping Gods walks you through a few turns, Tainted Grail has a tutorial and same with ISS Vanguard and Jaws of the Lion teaches you Gloomhaven in five scenarios.

Is this needed, not always, but it depends on the complexity of the game. And campaign games are often more complex. That means that tutorials really do help get the game to the table. When you learn the game by playing the game it sticks better. And when you use the rule book only as a reference, it reduces the barrier to entry.

Game Length

To go with set-up and tear down, the question is, how long does a game take to play. In Gloomhaven, for example, it took about an hour or so per scenario when we knew what we were doing. We would get two done in an night and be done prior to 10 PM. Others it’s whole night, generally at a relaxed pace, from 7:30-7:45 until 11:30 for the game.

So know how long you have, this one is subjective again because you might have kids and need to check on them or have a babysitter so until 11:30 might not work as well as 10 PM. Know your situation when picking a game. And factor in that set-up and tear down time because if it’s a two hour session and thirty minutes to set-up and thirty to tear down, you really have a three hour session.

Campaign Length

This is different than the game length, and maybe what you thought I was going to talk about when I said game length. But this is how long is the overall campaign? Is it 12-24 sessions like Pandemic Legacy, or 50+ sessions like Gloomhaven?

This one is again one that will depend on your needs. There is no hard and fast rule, really with any of these, only things to think about and figure out what matters to you. But if you can’t commit to a very long game, don’t do so. Gloomhaven might be too long, but does Jaws of the Lion work for you as a shorter smaller box version? Know what sort of commitment you have from yourself and if playing with others, the group.

Complexity

Finally, and that again doesn’t mean least important, know the complexity of the game. I would recommend using Board Game Geek to get the weight of a game, but know that it is not always the most consistent. Meaning that a war game that is a 3 is probably much heavier than a board game that is a 3, and a campaign game that is a 3 is probably more complex than a regular board game that is a 3.

The reason for this is that people who rate those games, the war or campaign games, are used to that type of game. The difference between a campaign game and a regular game will be less though. I recommend using that number in comparing within the style of game. Figure out how complex you want to go for the game.

And know that a campaign game is likely going to be more complex. Something like Legacy of Dragonholt is pretty simple because it’s basically choose your own adventure. But that is an outlier when you look up campaign games. Most are going to be a bit more complex, just decide how complex you want to go. And know if there is a tutorial because that can help make it simpler to learn.

So What Game Do You Pick?

That’s such a good question. And while I gave you a lot of things to look into, that won’t always make it easier to pick. There are a ton of campaign games to look at out there. And some of them might be for you, others might not work out for various reasons.

I think the last piece of advice or two pieces are less around about the game, and more about researching. So with my list it is looking at the specifics of a game. Here is about your picking or starting that digging in process.

Firstly, narrow your scope. All of them might look great. But ask yourself some basic questions, how many do I play with and filter the results to match your player count. What theme do I want? Filter your results even further. Get it down to 3-5 that look really good and dig into those.

Secondly, while Board Game Geek and Nerdologists.com will give you some advice, it is words, generally. Or video reviews on Board Game Geek, and that doesn’t show you the game as much. So I recommend tracking down game plays. Malts and Meeples and Meet Me At The Table are two I recommend for actual game plays.

Hopefully this will help with picking a campaign game. There are a ton of them out there and I’ve played a number. So if you are curious about one, leave a comment or question one of the ways below. I tend to respond quickest to Facebook or Twitter.

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What Is A Cozy Board Game?

Now, this is probably where we can get into a debate right away. Some people will have some idea, other people will think it means another thing. But I think cozy can encompass a lot of different things. But for a board game to be cozy, I think it needs a few different things to be true, or at least a combination of some of them.

1. Not Overly Complex
2. Aesthetically Pleasing
3. Short Length
4. Not Too Competitive

Not Overly Complex

This I think is the first point of contention. I think there are games out there that are more activities. Even one I enjoy, A Gentle Rain, is more of an activity because the decision space and rules space is so limited. It doesn’t have to be taken to that level. But it is a game where you can hold all the rules of the game in your head without that much trouble. Even if you don’t learn rules all that well, a time sitting down and playing a round or a hand, you know the game.

Aesthetically Pleasing

I think looks, generally, are a key part to this. A pretty game is easier to sit down and play. And a prettier game feels less mean. It actually surprises me when a pretty game is mean because I don’t expect it to be that. For example would be Calico which is so tight in how it plays and missing out on a tile can cause you to miss out on a lot of points. But a pretty looking game is definitely another element that is important.

Short Length

I also think it’s important that the game isn’t too long. A long game is going to feel like it drags. Especially if it hits on the first part, simple rules. Simple games generally do not provide the depth in strategy that a heavier game does. And because of this play time matters. But less that they are less interesting to play, but more that the longer they go, the less interesting they are. I enjoy a game like Criss Cross, but if that game was twice as long, it loses it’s charm. So short or at least the right amount of time for the amount of rules.

Not Too Competitive

By this, I don’t mean that it shouldn’t be competitive. I think that often times competitive games make better cozy games. Why, because the game trying to beat you generally is done in such a way to give good tension. In a competitive game you can lean towards competitive but solitaire or minimal player interaction. If I can focus on what I am doing and I do not end up in direct conflict with you, I think that makes a good relaxing experience.

5 Cozy Games

5. Ohanami

This is probably the first game that comes to my mind when I think of a cozy game, or at least high on the list. The game is simple, you draft two cards and you put them in three columns. You are picking cards to score points. And scoring is interesting, blues score every round but fewer points. Greys score the last round but more points. There is strategy, but it is all easy to keep in your head. And nothing I take is going to really mess you up too badly. I will leave cards you can use, most likely. Plus the artwork is good and play time is shrot.

4. Kohaku

Kohaku is another very pretty game, probably the prettiest on my list. It is a game about building out a koi pond and scoring points. You pick two tiles and decide where to place them in your pond. One is going to be a fish and one is going to be a scoring tile. Picking and placement rules are very simple but you end up with a very pretty game. Especially with the Kickstarter edition, or first print, where it has double layer acrylic tiles.

3. A Gentle Rain

A Gentle Rain, I already mentioned this one and how it borders on an activity. But in Gentle Rain, you are picking up a tile and placing it into a big pond where it is raining. A pretty look for the game. You are trying to complete groups of four completely getting the four corners to touch. You do that by matching the flowers on the tiles. When you do you put in a disc and the goal is to play as many of those discs as you can. The draw a tile, singular, limits your options, but there is strategy to how you place. And it’s a very fast game.

2. Sagrada

The biggest game on the list and some might disagree with me on this one, is Sagrada. To me, this maybe isn’t the coziest game, no real order to this list. But it is a cozy game. Building out your stained glass window is pretty. The dice, windows, everything about the game is pretty. And the rules are a bit heavier, which is okay the game is a bit longer. But the basics are pretty simple. You draft a die and place it so it isn’t adjacent to the same number of color. At the end it can be tricky to play, but it never feels stressful. Even if someone drafts what you want.

1. Canvas

Finally, we have Canvas. Canvas is a simple game of picking pieces of artwork, overlaying them, and creating the best image to score points. And I know the point scoring is what gets some people and probably takes it off the list. Mainly because Canvas can feel like there is a balance between trying to score points and wanting to make pretty artwork.

It becomes a cozier game when you realize that you can just create the pretty artwork. Sure, points do matter, but it isn’t everything in the game. Even if you just layer the artwork for yourself or to show it off and then go to the good scoring combination, it is fun. And it is fun to see what you create and at the end of the game to judge which is prettiest, even if that isn’t the point of the game.

Final Thoughts

Cozy games are fun. But like anything, a cozy video game or a cozy movie or TV show, I don’t want that all of the time. But I do want to have some games like that in my collection. If it was all I had, I wouldn’t feel challenged and stimulated. If I didn’t have any, I wouldn’t have games to play when I just want to relax and clear my brain.

But, your mileage might vary as to how cozy a game can be for you. I put it this way for myself, I try and win games but I don’t need to win a game. For other people without winning a game or trying so hard to optimize to win a game a game isn’t fun. So if a game is too simple, which a lot of cozy games are simpler, they aren’t as fun for them. So know how competitive you are in a game.

What are some of your favorite cozy games?

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Needless to say, that’s a lot of different ones. And that doesn’t even include games like My City, Pandemic Legacy Seasons 1 and 2, Risk Legacy, Charterstone, and I’m pretty sure I’m missing one or two. But why play a campaign game? Why play a game that has a story that when you’re done you can’t really play again?

The Case Against A Campaign Game

1. A Campaign Can Only Be Played Once
2. It Takes A Long Time To Play
3. They Are Hard to Get A Group For

A Campaign Can Only Be Played Once

Once you’ve played a campaign game you can’t play it again? You might be marking up a board or you might not be, tearing up cards, but you might not be. In either case, though, you play the story once and you know the story of the campaign, is there really that much difference? And why would I want a game that limits my game plays?

It Takes A Long Time To Play

You want to play the same game over and over again? What happens if you have a break and need to pick it up again, will you remember where you left the story? Do you leave the game set-up so that you aren’t doing the set-up and teardown every time?

They Are Hard To Get A Group For

And with that play time, how do you find a group who is up for that. What sort of plan do you come up to play with? We all have lives, so how do you get it to the table consistently?

The Campaign Game Rebuttal

A Campaign Can Only Be Played Once

This is not fully true. For some games it is a bit more and very much so for Legacy games. Though with a Legacy game often, Risk Legacy, My City, and Charterstone, they can be played after. But even in the case with a legacy game if you can’t, it is still a great experience. It is a story that can’t be told in a normal game.

And this is true for all campaign games. It tells a story that might not exist anywhere else. If you do only play it once, you still get an experience that is different than most games. Even your favorite games you might play five times a year, or maybe that’s just games that you like pretty well. So if you do get through a whole campaign, you end up getting your money’s worth from it.

Finally, not all campaign games can’t be replayed. While I am not sure I could go back and play Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game again, at least not without everyone else being new. There is still plenty in that game that I never saw. Gloomhaven has more scenarios and classes that I never played. Tainted Grail has tons of story and plot lines that I never went down. So yes, you can replay them, you just might know some.

It Times A Long Time To Play

Yes, this is true, but that is also part of the experience of an unfolding narrative in a game. In a shorter game, there might be a narrative that emerges, but by nature of the shorter experience and desire to be replayable, it’ll be less impactful.

So if you want to experience a whole narrative, campaign games are a great way to go. And while some can have one person running the game, most, as compared to an RPG which also matches up with a lot of these criteria, are fully cooperative. That means that everyone is playing the same game and doing the same things.

They Are Hard To Get A Group For

It is not much harder than getting a game group together. I play campaigns with two different groups, both offshoots of my game group. But expectations do need to be set when it comes to a campaign. I had one group fall apart because of life reasons, but still am maintaining the other two.

Start with letting them know the commitment. A campaign game is a commitments and they should know that. Also discuss frequency of play. A lot of times groups will fall apart because they are not frequent enough or too frequent. If they aren’t frequent enough, people forget how to play. Too frequent and it becomes a burden to play it. Know what schedule works for your group and try and stick to it.

Why Play A Campaign Game?

So we’ve looked at some reasons why you might or might not want to. And I do think that game group can be a valid reason if no one is interested in playing a campaign game. However, I think more people are than a lot of gamers might think. But why do I play them?

1. The Narrative Experience
2. Consistent Gaming
3. The Epic Scope
4. Digging Into A Game

The Narrative Experience

I talk about this a lot. I love games that give you story that you can explore. You’ve seen me play Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, some and Sleeping Gods. Even Pandemic Legacy Season 1 gave story to delve into. And I love when a game gives you story like that.

It is interesting, because the ones that I really love give me flexibility in that story. Gloomhaven more so in how you build and play your character. But Tainted Grail and Sleeping Gods allow you to branch out into the world and see more of what is happening. And they don’t tell you how you need to play it, yes, there are targets you go for, but there is always more to explore.

Compare that to regular Pandemic, or a lot of other one off games, they don’t offer the same story. Now, there is story that emerges in those games from the choices that you make as a player. Which is the same for a campaign game. But the players need to bring a lot more of the narrative to the game.

Consistent Gaming

This is also kind of a rebuttal to it being long and finding a group. For myself and other gamers, consistently gaming is amazing. So often it is hard to set aside time to play games, but with a campaign game, it forces you to do so. Like I said, it’s about that developing that rhythm. And a good campaign game will draw you in with the story it provides so you want to keep coming back to it.

It is a knock, actually, that I have against Gloomhaven. The story is less compelling than the game play. I love the mechanics, but the story could and should be better. But the game play kept me coming back over and over again. That cycle of playing cards and figuring out the strategy for a scenario is amazing. But a campaign game helps hook you to come back for consistent gaming.

The Epic Scope

A campaign game also can have much more epic scope to it. I own other games that have epic scope, The Reckoners or Atlantis Rising are two examples. Pandemic, even, with trying to save the world from diseases. But while you play, those games, that scope is just smaller than what you can get in a campaign game.

Tainted Grail, yes, you are trying to save Avalon, how is that different than Pandemic and saving the world? Well, it is different because what you need to do builds and changes as the game progresses. It might be finding the grail, but now you need to complete a ritual or more in the game. It just keeps building and building until you reach an epic finale to the game.

Digging Into A Game

And now, this is one that is very much for Gloomhaven, but it allows you to dig further and further into the game. And with that, you get to explore and understand the mechanics of the game and the character(s) that you are playing so well.

In Gloomhaven it is that card loop of playing two cards to do the top action on one and the bottom on the other. It just makes for a fascinating puzzle that then you can augment and optimize with items and figure out what is going to work best for you.

Final Thoughts on a Campaign Game

The scope and epic nature of the experience really pull me in. And they are some of the best stories I’ve found in a game. Now, the experience won’t be for everyone. And I think the biggest reason is that sometimes they are just harder to get to the table. If you’ve watched Malts and Meeples, you know I like to play them there. But without a gaming table, I have one now, it is a lot of work to set-up and tear down every time for one to two hours of gaming.

But if you can find a group, I believe that they are worth checking out. And there are so many themes out there. I look at what I have coming in, Frosthaven another game in the Gloomhaven world. Then HEL: The Last Saga a fantastical Viking mythological game. ISS Vanguard is an epic space exploration adventure. Rogue Angels when that comes out is going to be a more boots on the ground dungeon crawl space game. So there is likely a theme for everyone out there, including lighter fantasy like Adventure Tactics or Cora Quest for the whole family.

What is your favorite campaign game?

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The Board Game Terms

Fast or Short

This is a game that doesn’t take too much time to play. So something that’s probably 30 minutes or less in terms of how long the game actually takes.

Quick

Quick is more about how engaged and involved you are in turns. And how long those turns take.

Long

Long is going to be the length of the game. So we’re probably talking about 90 minutes or more.

Slow

Slow talks about games that are going to encourage longer turns. Less engagement when it isn’t your turn and if there are a lot of people that the whole game could scale up considerably based off of player count.

Quick vs Fast

So, this is the one that I want to focus on more so, because I think that long and slow fall into an area that makes sense once we look at these other two. And I think that quick is really the highlight of what we are looking at and what I want in a game.

The Issue

Often times with board games, and let’s step back and talk about the issue, a board game might get a bad rap because it is a long game. Or people will be less apt to play it because it becomes more of an event. And on the flip side, some people look at little fillers as bad because they are too short to make a meaningful decision.

Let’s just say, in my opinion, both of these opinions are wrong. You can make meaningful decisions in a short game. And in a long game, it doesn’t mean that it’s not optimized for what it should be. But people are judging the game based off of how long or short, fast, the game is.

The Importance of Being Quick

For me, though, a game is more about whether it is quick or slow. Because that determines, more so, your engagement in the game. If a game has quick and punchy turns, then the players at the table are less apt to get distracted. And this is true even in a longer game. It doesn’t matter that the game takes longer, it matters if you are engaged in a game.

And the reason why I thought about this with Aldarra is that Aldrarra is not a short game. Now, almost three hours for three players, definitely longer than a normal game would be. Probably if people know the game, two hours for three players or slightly less, and that’s a pretty long game. But because of how tight the board is and how close you are to your enemies, you stay engaged. And the turns are pretty quick, even combat generally went quickly.

And that was with a three hour game. Now, on the flip side, you can play games that are short in how long the game takes. But you aren’t engaged in what is going on. A lot of classic games might fall into that category. Something like Yahtzee or Skip-Bo, it doesn’t matter what you do, really, for it to affect my turn. Not the best examples, but Skip-Bo works decently since you might have a long turn. Yes, the game won’t take longer because of that turn, but it does make a turn and game feel longer for everyone else.

Decision Making Space

So, I also don’t want to say that games need light decision making space. I think that’s some of the reason people shy away from smaller games, they think it’ll be too light. But there is a difference between simple decision making and engaging decision making. If I care what you’re doing on your turn, then it doesn’t matter if it takes a while.

It is more that I need to care in that case. In the case of Aldarra, I care about what you’re doing, even if you aren’t attacking me. Why, because it changes the board state a lot, it might open up new opportunities for me to move in, or it might squeeze into a smaller area. But what you do matters to me in that case and affects my strategy. Or you might be attacking me, and then I really care.

So What Is My Preferred?

Let’s wrap this up talking about what I look for. And honestly, the big thing for me is that I look for quick games. Now, this can mean a few different things, though I’ve mainly talked about it in terms of how long turns take. But again, that doesn’t matter so much, it’s more, how quickly do I move from decision to decision.

Decision to Decision Quickly

A bigger game might give me an option to follow your action on a turn if I have resources or something like that. I know that Scythe is a game that uses that mechanic. Well, your turn might take a while, but I can follow what you do, and do my own things, I’m interested. Or Ganz Schon Clever (or any of the Clever trilogy), you roll and I care about the dice that you leave behind. So even though I don’t have a full turn, I care of what you are doing.

And I think that moving from decision to decision makes the game feel faster. Area control is good for that, I care what you do because I don’t want you to attack me. And I do want you to weaken your armies and the other players. But a lot of other games make that work as well.

All At Once

There is another type of game as well, everyone go at once that works as well. This falls into the category of real time games, something I don’t love, but more so roll and write games. Metro X, Cartographers, and Welcome To… just off the top of my head, those are easy ones to play because everyone fills in things at the same time. There isn’t the pressure of a speed element instead it’s a smaller decision space and everyone acting at once, and that works well.

Story

And one final way that works for me, is if your turn has story to it. A lot of the time this means literally there is story that is being read out. But it can also mean that the game has a whole narrative flow. Pandemic Legacy Season 1 or 2 would be an example of this. And being cooperative helps, but you decide what you want to do on your turn, and that creates the story of what is happening. Especially in Season 2 with the discovery aspect, the game tells a great story.

Final Quick vs Fast Board Game Thoughts

Do you find that you have a preference, maybe based on length a board game takes? And is it really the length of the game that makes a difference?

I do feel that game length does matter, but I think for a lot of gamers that perception of game length often is tied to the decision making space. And for me, that is more about the quickness of a game versus how long a game might take. And how meaningful and interesting the decision that I can make are. Do you find something similar to that as you think about games?

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The three things are the age range, the game length, and the player count. All of these can be wrong for different reasons. Some of them might even be out of the publishers control, and well, they are just lies. Let’s get into them.

The Age Range

We start off with the one that publishers lie about the least. In fact it might not even be the publisher that lies on it. You see a game that looks like it’s for young kids, but it has an 8+ range on it. That number is more indicative of the size of pieces in the games. There are standards for toys so that they aren’t choking hazards or dangerous to a certain aged child. That is why you see on toy cars, dolls, anything basically, an age range for it.

Generally publishers do a solid job of aging it up, if the material, story, in the game is more mature. So I don’t know that many publishers lie on the age range. However, they know that some people think age range talks about complexity, and it doesn’t. That is a lie we consumers tell ourselves. Some publishers have even started to put a complexity scale on stuff, now, with that, sometimes they lie.

This, though, is also not completely intentional. For a war gamer, and easy war game will warrant a lower complexity on BGG or on a box. But for someone who has played Ticket to Ride and wants to jump into a war game, the complexity scale is different. This actually goes back into my board game classification article two weeks ago, which you can see here.

The Player Count

This one also gets lied about some, but not all the time. There are two ways that the lie can go, they can say it can’t play at a number or that it can play at a number. The latter of the two is by far way more common. The case where a number isn’t listed basically happens in cooperative games with shared information. It might take a lot of effort, but Pandemic isn’t a game that has solo play, but it can easily be played solo just controlling two characters if you wanted.

The way more common way of lying is by saying that it can play at a player count. This is most common in games that have a lot of downtime. So the more players, the more time between turns, maybe even the fewer choices people have to make in the game, and it ruins the fun. This is pretty common where a game will say it goes up to four players but doesn’t work well with that number. It can also go to lower numbers. This happens in social deduction type games. It might work with three players, but will it be fun at that number.

So why do they do this, because it sells more. If a game can play up to 4 or 5 people, that looks better. That works better for more groups. If a game can play with 2 or 3 players, that means you don’t need to get as many people together. Now, it might not be a good game at those counts, but it’ll sell more copies. Which is a bummer because a game could be an A with 3 players but a D with 5 players.

The Game Length

Finally, the biggest lie. Rarely do board games accurately portray how long a game will take to play. They will say 30 minutes, it’ll take an hour. They will say 20 minutes per player, it’ll be 30. And this is a really common problem. Generally I would say, look at the time and multiply it be 1.5 or 2 and that’ll be more accurate in terms of length.

There is an additional factor to consider as well. The first time you play a game it is going to take way longer than subsequent plays, or at least it will a lot of the time. Why, because you are learning the game. You don’t know your strategies, you don’t know all the rules. Now you are stopping to look things up, you need to read every card.

For example, the first time I played Ascension, there was a lot of reading. I have played Ascension a lot of times now, both on the app and in person. I don’t need to look at a card text to know what it does anymore. While a newer player will be reading and increase the game length, a group of veteran players of Ascension could knock out a game fast. So that lie isn’t intentional, it should just be known. So the first game might be twice as long as your next play, it just depends on the game.

So Are They Fixable?

Honestly, not really. The age is because of safety regulations, not complexity. It might look like that, but it’s not that. I recommend to help correct that one, read the back of the box, see what the game sounds like. The player count, publishers could and should change that. However, they won’t. Why, because it makes them money and someone might like it at that count. And the time, again, underestimating the time helps games sell. Faster, easier to get to the table games well more. And the sample size of players, the play testers, they get to really know the game. So a group of very veteran players of a game might be able to play that fast.

So why talk about it. I think a bad experience is often a deterrent for new players joining the hobby. So I want to get the information out there that shows how to read a box. Will this get to everyone needs it, unfortunately not, but I hope some people can spread the word and we can talk about actual expectations for game length, player count, and more in a helpful way.

Which of those lies bugs you the most?

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The Criteria

• Small/Portable
• Plays in 30 minutes or less
• Little to no set-up/tear down
• Easy to teach
• Small Footprint
• Plays well with few People

Small/Portable

There are some big games that do play fast or meet some of the other criteria, but let’s face it, you probably won’t be bringing in a Gloomhaven sized box, or have a spot to keep a Gloomhaven campaign set-up. If you do, you are lucky. So instead if a game is small and easy to take around, that is going to be the best way to go.

30 Minutes or Less

Game play needs to be fast. Even if you get an hour for lunch, you probably want to play something that is fast. A game that takes an hour, with teaching the rules, and other things can take longer. And you don’t want to have something that you can’t finish in that hour. Now, if you have a table in your work area, you can maybe leave something set-up, but otherwise, keep it snappy.

Minimal Set-up

This ties into that thirty minutes or less as well, Keep the game simple to set-up and take down. You don’t want to spend half your lunch setting up the game to rush through the game and be taking it down once lunch is over. So, instead, look for games that you can play basically right out of the box.

A Fast Teach

Rules are another big thing to think about. If I teach Gloomhaven, that’d probably take 15-20 minutes by itself. But there are games out there that you can teach really quickly. Pick those ones off of your shelf first. Or if the people you are playing with are up for it, teach them ahead of time via Watch It Played or some other rules video.

Small Footprint

You might think I already talked about this with a small game, but this different. A small footprint game is going to take up way less space on the table. Some of the Tiny Epic games come in a small box, but they take up a lot of table space. This one depends more on your work. some offices might afford you room at break room tables to play bigger games. I have played Power Grid and Dominion during lunch, not the smallest games. So know if it’ll work for you work.

Player Count

Some games scale well without adding times, some games do not. If you bring in Sushi Go Party, you can play with 8 people in the same time as two. Other games, however, you add in more players it increases the game time. Also find out if you play with analysis paralysis players, because that will make a difference in what you bring in, or what player counts you can do.

What Games Would Work?

Hanamikoji

This game is only a two player game, but you generally can knock out a game of it in 15 minutes. The actions are simple, set-up is fast, you could maybe even get in three games during an hour lunch. The biggest table hog part of it is the cards that are in the middle of the table, but generally pretty small and can be set-up and taught extremely fast.

Ohanami

This game is set-up right out of the box. And it is a drafting game, so that means from two players up to four players, the game goes about the same speed, which is as fast as the slowest player. Now, this does take up a bit more room, but you could condense the stacks so just see the high and low cards and then flip through scoring at the right time. But another really easy to teach.

Criss Cross

First of a few roll and write games on this list. Criss Cross is one where everyone goes at the same time, and that’s going to be a theme of all the roll and writes. It works well because the rules are fairly simple. The only tricky part of the teach is getting people to place the dice in pairs, so just really emphasize that.

Second Chance

Another roll and write game, this one again has everyone playing at once. So it can really scale as high as you want. Second Chance, to me, is supposed to be a relaxing game, so rushing to fit it into a half hour lunch with the teach and eating might make it seem a little bit fast, but once people know it, it’ll be easy to pull out.

Magic The Gathering

Now, this one breaks one of the rules for sure. Magic the Gathering is not easy to teach. So I wouldn’t recommend teaching it during a lunch period. But there are a lot of people who play Magic the Gathering. Instead of teaching it, hope the person knows it and has their own decks. A standard game of Magic with a 60 card deck and players knowledgeable in the game can make it go fast.

Cartographers

Back to roll and write games. The theme for them is that everyone goes at once. Cartographers is fun because for a roll and write, it offers more player interaction. I really like that about it. Teaching it can take a bit longer than the other two, but since it is map making, I feel like the teach can be a bit smoother as well. The game provides framework for what you are doing based off of the theme.

Sushi Go Party

I mentioned this one above, it works well and scales well. Since it’s a drafting game, the slowest person determines the speed of the game. And even in the players first game, people generally get faster as the game goes on. The one tricky thing is the combinations of scoring can change a lot. So to make it even simpler, consider just Sushi Go where you don’t have the card variability.

Dice Throne

This one would work better for a longer lunch because of the dice rolling. Now, there will be some people who don’t think this works because they have the big box of everything. So it isn’t a small box to take around. Open up your big box, take out two of the Game Trayz and take those. Or, I have all the duel boxes because I wanted to keep it portable. Probably for an hour lunch, but the dice rolling Yahtzee style makes it an easy one to teach.

Final Thoughts

Board games can be a good way to interact and get to know co-workers more as people. Out of a number of my jobs I have left with good friends who I still talk with. I know some people like to keep their personal life and work life separate, I don’t. I can get that mindset because sometimes people lose the business and professionalism over time. But I think being able to see your co-workers and people and friends can be helpful at times. And then be professional at other times.

I asked it at the beginning, but what board game would you bring in to play with this theoretical co-worker?

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Pros

• Quality of pieces
• Aesthetic and Art
• Theme
• Two Game Modes
• Player Count
• Play Time

Cons

• Arena Style Game
• Play Time
• Price

The Page

This is a gorgeous page, Druid City Games has done other Kickstarter games, Wonderlands War for example, and they know how to create a great page. The artwork is so vibrant it’s hard not to get sucked into the page. Add in the amazing mini renders on that page, and this is a game that should do well on Kickstarter.

I, as almost always, wish that there was more in the terms of game play higher up on the page. But they do a solid job of explaining what game play is going to be. I’ll get back to that later.

I should talk about price. It is in the cons, but it’s less of a con than it might seem. The price for this game is very fair because there is a ton in the game. Not only that but with other games that they have done, Wonderlands War and Tidal Blades, the components are always amazing. I like that the game already feels like a deluxe Kickstarter pledge even at the base level. However, with that comes a naturally higher price point for the game and higher shipping because it’s more expensive to ship these nicer pieces.

The Game

This game is definitely an interesting one. I have a card based arena style game with Super Fantasy Brawl. Bloodstone appears to be focused more on dice. Which, I mean, I like dice and think they work pretty well as combat.

I also really like how the characters are different. An area style game, one of the most important things is that you need it to feel like you’re playing different characters. Even something like Dice Throne that is just pure dice chucking fun, the characters feel like they are different. I hope that this is more like that than like Sword & Sorcery where the dice and what you do are pretty much just straight forward and it’s obvious what to do. I want there to feel like it’s more choices with the characters.

I am curious about the negative dice. That is actually one thing that I don’t love about the game, I wish it explained more how those work. What I don’t want is for those dice to be a sort of take that, but I’m guessing it’s more likely that you’ll place effect on a character, like giving them bleed, and then they get the negative die. But I need to check that out more.

The time, however, is a bigger concern for them. It says 1 to 8 players, and 20 minutes per player. So an 8 player game would take two hours and forty minutes. That’s way to long for an arena style game, in my opinion. So while you might be able to play this with 8 people, my guess is that most people will want to play it at that 1 to 4 range and even at 4, that is fairly long.

Back or Brick

Right now I’m right at the edge for this one. I think for me, I might end up saying this is a Brick, but it really looks like a good game. This is one where I need to watch through a playthrough of it, because the page gives me some teases as how the game works, but I feel like I don’t get the whole picture. The minis are amazing looking and I’m really curious about the game play, but I also am asking myself what this game would add to my collection. I don’t think anyone who backs this one will be disappointed with it though, it looks like an extremely solid game, might just not quite be for me.

How about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?

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