Land vs Sea | Nerdologists https://nerdologists.com Where to jump in on board games, anime, books, and movies as a Nerd Wed, 31 Aug 2022 13:52:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://nerdologists.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nerdologists-favicon.png Land vs Sea | Nerdologists https://nerdologists.com 32 32 Beyond the Box Cover – Land vs Sea https://nerdologists.com/2022/08/beyond-the-box-cover-land-vs-sea/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/08/beyond-the-box-cover-land-vs-sea/#respond Wed, 31 Aug 2022 13:48:14 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=7320 Land vs Sea, finally hitting the table after getting a look at it at Gen Con. Is this an abstract game that builds well for me?

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Land vs Sea is a game that I picked up because some reviewers were talking about it and raving about it. I figured, like some other games that get really popular, it might not be for me, but I do want to try it. And Land vs Sea from Good Games Publishing will be wanted by other people if I don’t want it. Now, this is an impression off of the first play of the game.

How to Play Land Vs Sea

Land Vs Sea is a simple tile laying game. You have two tiles in hand, and you try and complete groups of land or sea, closing them off kind of like the cities in Carcassonne. But the twist on this is that one person scores for sea sections closed off and the other for land sections. One point per tile used.

Now, this just seems like it’d be all about not closing off your opponents section. But in the basic version of the game, there are X’s on some of the tiles. The person who closes off the land or water mass scores for the X’s on the tiles. So even though I might be giving you points, if you are sea for example, if there are enough X’s, it makes it worthwhile for me to close it.

At the end of the game, the person who has scored the most points is the winner. There are advanced versions of the game, or versions for more than two players, but I haven’t played those yet.

What Doesn’t Work?

I have two issues with the game. One is minor, the other is a bit bigger. So let’s start with the minor one. I think that figuring out the scoring during the game is fine. But I also think that no one will ever play a game where they don’t mess up the scoring sometime. A large land or water mass is just hard to remember if you’ve already counted a tile. It’s not a major issue because scores are high enough it shouldn’t matter.

The one thing for me that is a downside is that as you build out this map, the game slows down. When you start there are two or three options that are good for you. The longer you go, the more options you have, and the slower the game goes. This might be fun for some people. But at that point in time, I want the game to feel like it’s ramping up, or something. And really it’s just the same game as before.

What Works?

Firstly, the scoring works. I like that one player is land and one player is sea. It adds in strategy that you just wouldn’t get if whomever closed off the section could score it. But because of the X’s on the board, it isn’t like you just try and avoid scoring anything at all costs. You want to close stuff off to get points. So the game doesn’t skimp on points which is nice.

I also like that the tiles are two sided. That means that even though you only have two tiles in hand, you have a lot of options. Now, I just said that there were too many options, but that’s on the map. I don’t mind having options in my hand. It’s just trickier when those options are also on the board with so much to look at. But double sided tiles means that you can look and think about options but not too many options in your hand. And you can maybe bluff your opponent.

Land vs Sea Tiles
Image Source: Good Games Publishing

Who Is This For?

I think the people who like a fairly easy game to get into, it at it’s basic level is a gateway game or an inviting game. It is also going to be a game that works well for couples or a date night. Or people who really like that head to head abstract game.

Final Thoughts on Land vs Sea

I need to play this one more, and in particular with some of the other rules in place. But I suspect my opinion might not massively change on it. Why, because it’s an abstract game that lends itself to going slower and slower as you play.

In my head, I put this game kind of in the same category as Calico. Some of that is the tile shape, but some is also because there is that abstract puzzle piece to the games. But with Calico, when you get closer to the end of the game, it moves faster. Fewer choices and you know what you want to do. In Land vs Sea, it just gets slower and slower and slower as you play. Decisions might matter more at the end of the game, but the game suffers with that slowdown.

But let me know if you think I’m missing something in the game? Or what do you think of Land vs Sea. It’s one I plan on coming back to, to try at least one more time, but I”m not sure if it’s for me.

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Gen Con Recap Part 5 – Games I Saw https://nerdologists.com/2022/08/gen-con-recap-part-5-games-i-saw/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/08/gen-con-recap-part-5-games-i-saw/#respond Fri, 12 Aug 2022 14:18:32 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=7262 What games did I get to learn about at Gen Con, maybe not demo? And which ones are the ones I'm most interested in picking up?

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This list is going to be a little bit different. I don’t mean random games that I saw while walking around. I looked at a lot of them. Mainly because you see a ton of games while walking around at Gen Con. These are games that I learned a little bit about, even if I couldn’t do a full demo of them. And some of them I really wish that I’d gotten a demo for them.

Games I Saw at Gen Con

Burncycle

One I knew I wanted to see and one that I came home with. This is a big game where humans built robots, robots took over, humans came back with a vengeance and now you’re robots trying to survive and go on missions.

It is a Chip Theory Game, so big and has a lot going on with it. But one that when you get down to it, with the chip system and everything, it doesn’t look too bad to play. It’ll be a table hog, but one with a lot of good and interesting choices. And it looks different than a lot of games. This game has two boards one where you are sneaking into a facility and another where you are hacking the system and trying to balance both of those seems interesting.

burncycle
Image Source: Chip Theory Games

Hoplomachus: Victorum

Another Chip Theory Game, this is one that I suspect I’ll buy and I wish I’d backed on Kickstarter. Hoplomachus takes one of their original games and brings it to the table as a solo only game. And with a campaign in it. Which makes it even more interesting.

In this game you are going around and trying to defeat the minions of Pluto in this arena/gladiator combat game. You travel around build up your troops and fight to gain victories and rewards. For me, I think it could be a great game to stream on Malts and Meeples. With so many massive campaign games, this isn’t small but it won’t be as massive on the table.

Cora Quest

Cora Quest is s game that I knew I wanted to checkout for sure. Cora Quest is a family weight dungeon crawler game. Everything about this game is fun, there is story, but it’s family friendly and fun. There is dice chucking, the artwork is great. I haven’t bought it because I don’t need to yet. When my kid gets older, I could see this being an amazing introduction to dungeon crawlers and story adventure games.

Land vs Sea

I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to demo this one. I got more of a sales pitch than anything. Though, I did get the basics of the rules, which means I probably need a minor rules read and then I can play. At it’s core, Land vs Sea is a two player game about trying to close off areas of land or sea.

One player gets points when land masses are closed off, the other when sea is closed off. But you might want to close off your opponents area because there are other scoring pluses on the board. If you close off that area, your opponent scores the land or sea area, but you get the bonus points. Seems like a light and fun game. You can also play with more players, but I want to try at two first.

Land vs Sea
Image Source: Good Games Publishing

Bark Avenue

Bark Avenue at the same booth of Land vs Sea is another game that I got more of a pitch for than a ton of details on it. The basic idea is that you are a dog walker. And you try and get points or money by having the dogs that you walk do things on their walks. It didn’t seem like too heavy a game, and it had a very big footprint for that. Probably not one I’ll checkout later.

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather is a small set collection game. It’s interesting in how it does it though. You are playing out birds that you are seeing. And everyone plays out birds all that once. Anyone who crosses over with a habitat checks off all of the birds. And then the previous rounds birds stick around for the next round. So there is some strategy as to where you go. The game seems light and fast, but pretty and could be a good small box game to add to a collection.

Dawn of Ulos

Ulos is the world of Roll Player Adventures. And Dawn of Ulos is an economic game set in that world. The game looks very cool on the table, but I’m not sure it’s a game for me. I like the more thematic things set in that world. Now, that isn’t to say that the game doesn’t look cool on the table. It definitely does. I just think that manipulating the different species as you manipulate the market is less interesting to me.

Paperback

Paperback
Image Source: Fowers Games

Paperback, this was a very fast overview, but a game that I kind of want to try. Paperback is a deck building game where you are making words. The words that you make give you purchase power and gets your more letters and double letters and the possibility to make even bigger words. I love deck building and I enjoy word games. My wife loves words, so I think this is a solid option. And unlike Scrabble or Banagrams, it doesn’t just reward you for knowing the few great Scrabble words.

Chai

Chai is another theme that I think my wife would like. It’s a bigger game where you run a tea shop and you are collecting ingredients to complete orders and get tips. The end of the game is to have the most money. So pretty standard for a board game. The production on this one looks great, though. One I’d love to truly sit down and play and see if I like it and what I think of the weight of the game.

Red Dragon Inn 8

Finally Red Dragon Inn, I have played this one before, but I was learning about Red Dragon Inn 8: Pub Crawl. It’s more stuff for Red Dragon Inn, but it adds in a pub crawl mechanic. It just seems like it offers more options for game play without making it much more complex. I’m more interested in their dungeon crawl game that they have coming out set in the world. Because while I generally find Red Dragon Inn too long, I do like the characters and the world. And I think the length is more due to player count than anything.

Final Thoughts

GenCon Logo
Image Source: GenCon

There were a lot of fun games to see, and I likely could have seen a whole lot more. But I was semi-targeted in what I was doing. Though, there are also games that I probably never would have looked at, but I had a moment. Bark Avenue being the big one on the list. I generally wouldn’t have checked out Red Dragon Inn 8 either, but I know they have promo cards often if you listen. So I did that to get the card for a friend.

Out of these games ones that I’ll likely pick up will be Paperback, Hoplomachus: Victorum, and Birds of a Feather. All very similar games, not at all, but all that do stuff I like. Paperback is deck building and word game. Hoplomachus is a big campaign solo game. And Birds of a Feather is a small filler game. Which would interest you most?

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Unplayed Board Games – 50 -26 https://nerdologists.com/2022/02/unplayed-board-games-50-26/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/02/unplayed-board-games-50-26/#respond Mon, 14 Feb 2022 15:49:12 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=6677 We're getting towards the top of the list. What board games that I need to play from my collection interest you most?

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We’re getting down to the top of the list of unplayed board games, and I keep on saying this every time, but there will be more and more bigger games as we go up higher on the list. In particular, we’re going to start to see more campaign games show up. Now, that doesn’t mean they’ll get played this year, it’s unlikely that they will, but I am really excited to get them to the table.

124-101

100 – 76

75 – 51

Unplayed Board Games 50 – 26

50: Arboretum

This is an abstract game about planting trees. What interests me so much in this one is that you play out cards to build up your arboretum, and you score points for having trees go in ascending order. But in order to score a type of tree, you need it in your h and at the end of the game. So do you risk it that you might not get a tree of the type you need in order to complete a longer route and score more?

49: Call To Adventure: The Stormlight Archive

Call To Adventure comes in a few different flavors. There is the base game which is generic fantasy. That has an expansion for Patrick Rothfeuss Kingkiller Chronicles. And while I do like that series, I knew there was a Stormlight Archives version coming out, so I waited for it. I love the setting of the game, and I think a game where you are building up your characters story is cool.

48: 7 Wonders Duel

I got this one a while ago using store credit after a trade. And the game I think is going to be fun and probably better for me than 7 Wonders which I think is just okay. This does a lot of the same things, drafting, fighting, and science, but all in a two player package. And you can win by doing more than just getting points. Though, points are one way to win. Get one of each science card, you automatically win. Push the combat all the way to your side, automatically win. I like that a lot.

47: The Dragon Prince: Battlecharged

And now we’re back to another IP (intellectual property) that I really like. The Dragon Prince is a great show. And this is a two player battling game. You put together games of characters to face off against each other in battle. Looks some like Super Fantasy Brawl with card play determine a lot of what you do.

46: Paper Dungeons: A Dungeon Scrawler Game

It’s one of a couple roll and writes on this part of the list. Paper Dungeons as it says is a Dungeon Scrawler. So it is going to give you a bit of that dungeon crawling feeling all while being in a roll and write package. I hope that between it, Doodle Dungeons, Deadly Doodles (which I know I like) and Drawn to Adventure, I’ll have some fun adventure focused roll and writes.

Yggdrasil Chronicles
Image Source: Ludonaute

45: Yggrasil Chronicles

This is a bigger box game, some of that though, is because it comes with a tree. One that you put together, and then it’s a cooperative game where you are trying to protect Yggdrasil, possibly, my knowledge of this one is limited. But the game looks like a lot of fun, and I know that the original is really challenging. Plus a giant 3d tree that rotates is cool.

44: Forgotten Waters

Forgotten Waters is a campaign game that I wish I played already. It’s gotten bumped down the list a little just because I’m playing more in person. But it was a good one that could be played via Zoom. In this game you are pirates on a crew working together through an adventure. There is voice acting for the story, and overall just seem like a fun time. And it uses the Crossroad card system from Dead of Winter that I love.

43: Mythic Battles: Pantheon

Definitely a big game here. I don’t have the whole Kickstarter, just the base game and Pandora’s box and that is a lot. It’s another one of those head to head battling games, like The Dragon Prince or Super Fantasy Brawl. This one is pitting Greek gods against each other. And what really intrigues me about this one is how you can pick up trees, as a god, and use them as a weapon. So the terrain is very much in play.

42: Catacombs & Castles

We go from an epic minis game to a one versus all dungeon battling game where you flick discs. And that is what intrigues me. I like dexterity games, and Catacombs & Castles seems like a lot of fun. It also seems a bit more complex, otherwise might be higher on the list. But I think if I learn the game it’ll be pretty easy and fast to teach.

41: Adventure Land

While I’ve gotten a lot of games based off of Sam Healey’s reviews on the Dice Tower, I have less based on Tom Vasel’s but Adventure Land is one. In this game you are taking out adventurers trying to get treasure. And they move across the board right and down. That means if a treasure shows up to the left or higher on the board, you might not be able to get it. So how to balance that out getting the best treasure, but still hanging back?

40: Space Base

This falls into that category of Foodies, Machi Koro, and My Farm Shop. A game where you roll dice and no matter what you get something. I like those games, and this is supposed to be the most gamer version of that. It gives you a lot to think about and you can build up some powerful combos while you try and get points. And you have more tracks to control and keep track of.

39: Chronicles of Crime

This is a deduction based game that I’m confident I’ll love. Chronicles of Crime, from Lucky Duck Games, uses an app that you can scan cards with to interrogate them and so you can actually look around the crime scene. The concept is cool and while the cases sound a bit less in depth than Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game, it might work better for some people because of that.

Chronicles of Crime
Image Source: Lucky Duck Games

38: Fleet: The Dice Game

Roll and write game and actually dropped further down the list than I’d have guessed. Fleet is a game about building up your fishing fleet and scoring as many points as you can. I’ve heard that it’s great for combos, which I love in roll and write games. And it’s also more complex. I think that it is going I’m going to play solo pretty often.

37: Raiders of the North Sea

Possibly the highest true euro game on the list, Raiders of the North Sea has you building up your crew and taking them out to plunder lands. What intrigues me so much about this one is that your turn you put a meeple on, and take a meeple off. You can’t do the same one twice in a row, so it gives some interesting strategy to the game. And as you push out further and plunder, you lock some meeples to those locations, but get stronger ones back.

36: Horizon Zero Dawn

Based off of the Playstation video game, Horizon Zero Down doesn’t take you through the story of the game, but it puts you out on hunts against monsters. I’m excited to see how this game works, I really like the video game, but need to play it more. And I like the idea of just going out on a hunt, and it being a scenario and then done. It’s a bigger minis game, but not a campaign.

35: Reichbusters: Projekt Vril

Now we’re onto a campaign and Reichbusters is one that I picked up because it looked like so much fun when GloryHoundd YouTube Channel played it. And I think it’s going to be amazing. I need to get the errata cards taken care of, but sneaking into bases in WWII and finding all sorts of crazy experiments going on, it’s very Hellboy. And that theme is just fun, plus it’s not just kick down the door and shoot the board game.

34: Bloodborne

Another video game board game with Bloodborne. Another one that it is a bigger game but doesn’t play over a massively long campaign. I believe this one comes together over three different plays. Or it might just be that’s how the chapters, that are in the box, come out. Still, fantasy, fighting monsters and bad guys. Story going on, and from CMON, I suspect I’m going to enjoy this one.

33: Time of Legends: Joan of Arc

And another big box game. Time of Legends: Joan of Arc is almost a miniatures game more in the lines of a Warhammer where you takes two armies up against each other. But it does away with all that measuring. And it comes down to scenarios, there are characters, NPC’s, that you can interact with. And it’s time of legends because it takes the legends from the Joan of Arc time period and historical records, so it can add in dragons and things like that.

Joan of Arc by Mythic Games
Image Source: Mythic Games

32: The 7th Continent

The 7th Continent has been on my shelf for a while. And I need to get it played before The 7th Citadel comes in, because I suspect I’m going to like that one better. In The 7th Continent, you wake up on a continent cursed, and need to explore and find a way to break your curse. I’ve heard that the first one is tough and takes a lot of time to play. Mainly so you learn the continent, but as you do the other ones, you have more of an idea of where to go.

31: Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write

The final roll and write for this list, and might be the final one overall. Dinosaur Island is a big game about building out a dinosaur park with a lot of euro mechanics. The Rawr ‘n Write is similar in that you’re building out a park. And you are trying to breed dinosaurs, it just does it in a roll and write version. So I’m very excited to give it a go. Supposed to be a heavier roll and write as well.

30: The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

The Crew is a cooperative trick taking game where you have limited communication. And while there is a space version, the Mission Deep Sea is supposed to help improve a few things. Mainly because you have missions, Mission Deep Sea makes them variable. The space one they are set. I like trick taking, and I need to play more of them.

29: Land vs Sea

Land vs Sea is a tile laying game where you are trying to complete areas of land or sea. But I care about completing land areas where as you care about sea. And the tiles are four sided, so having two in your hand gives you a lot of options. I wonder if this might replace Carcassonne when I play it. A tile laying game, but one that seems like it could be simpler.

28: Heroes of Land, Air & Sea

Now we’re back to a big game with Heroes of Land, Air, and Sea. This is a massive 4x game where you’re taking over lands, exploring new locations, fighting your opponents and building up your power. Twilight Imperium 4th Edition is a massive 4x game as well that I’d love to play set in space, but Heroes of Land, Air, & Sea just spoke to me as a 4x game I wanted to own.

Heroes of Land Air and Sea
Image Source: Gamelyn Games

27: Champions of Hara

Champions of Hara is a pretty big game, and one that seems like it will be quite unique. It seems unique because all the characters seem unique, and I like that about it. It has a fantasy feel to it, but it isn’t fantasy in the normal way. And I believe that you play the game in two parts. The first part is competitive. Then the second part, really second game, is cooperative where you work together to complete the winner of the first games story.

26: Floriferous

Final one for this part of the list is Floriferous. A set collection flower game, this one looks amazing. The artwork is great, and I like the mechanics, or how they sound. You basically draft cards from the columns. But as you draft, you place your pawn next to the spot. So the higher in the column, the next round, is going to go, then the next. Plus you are drafting scoring cards, great ways to get more points, but you’ll go last in the next round.

Final Thoughts

One more list of this, and then you’ll know about all the games i need to play. I actually had a game night this past weekend and I didn’t play any new to me games. I did have a few pulled out. But with the group, and player count, not all of them would have worked.

This part of the list also had a lot of big games in it. And while some of them might be harder to get to the table, even something that is more campaign like Reichbusters, you can play on off scenarios. So I should be able to get a number of them to the table. And some of the roll and writes, probably all of them, can be played solo.

Which one should I play first from this chunk of the list?

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Unplayed Board Games https://nerdologists.com/2022/02/unplayed-board-games/ https://nerdologists.com/2022/02/unplayed-board-games/#comments Tue, 08 Feb 2022 15:28:43 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=6654 A lot of us have unplayed board games. Which ones on my shelf do I want to play, I ranked them all and which one do I want to play the most?

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One of my goals this year is to get through a good chunk of my unplayed board games. You can see how that started out in the month of January here. And I already knocked two more off of my list of games to be played, or shelf of shame or shelf of opportunity in February.

This is going to be a list article, with all my unplayed games ranked. But before I dive into that, I want to talk about some of the terms that I just used. Mainly shelf of shame and shelf of opportunity. They are the same term phrased in different ways. Let’s dive into them and then the big list of games to play.

Shelf of Shame vs Shelf of Opportunity

This is a term that I’ve heard thrown around for a few years now. The idea that games on your shelf have this title. First off, I think this is kind of silly. Games that you haven’t played don’t have a special spot in existence. Now, maybe they do have a special spot on your shelf, but they aren’t held in any sort of light. They are just a board game.

But the first term I heard is Shelf of Shame. The idea behind this is that you feel bad since you haven’t played all your games. This is silly. I go back to my talk about collection versus a hobby. Know what you have on your shelf. For me, board games are a collection and a hobby. That means it’s fine to not get to every game quickly. They are part of my collection. But I play them, as they are part of my hobby as well, and hobbies get used or worked on.

Then came the term Shelf of Opportunity. Shelf of Shame is very negative, and opportunity sounds much better. But I, again, find this not much better. Yes, they are games that you play eventually. And yes, it spins it in a positive light. But both terms keep a focus on the fact the games aren’t played.

What Do I Call Them?

I call them what they are. Board games to be played. A board game is just an object. In labeling them either way, it places power on that object. Yes, one puts it in the light of a game being an opportunity for something new, and new exciting opportunities are good. But it leaves the pressure on actually playing the game.

Like I said, I play games. I buy games. Board Games are a collection and a hobby for me. I own games that might take a long time to get played. Campaign games where I play one at a time or two, and I am already playing two. Those wait for when I have time, and that is okay. I feel like the label places a cloud, no matter what label, over the games, and in the end of the day, games are just games.

If I never play a game in my collection and it collects dust for five years. I shouldn’t feel bad about leaving that opportunity out there. I most definitely shouldn’t feel shame. It is a game and I play games. So I play other games and not the game that is sitting there. I am still enjoying the hobby without playing every game I own.

Descent Legends of the Dark
Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games

So Why Write This Out?

I gave myself a challenge at the beginning of the year. Not because I feel guilt about games that I haven’t played. But because it is fun to play games. And I want to play games, I want to experience new games, and I want to cover new games.

For me, my challenge isn’t to get all the games off the shelf. It isn’t because I feel like I miss out on an opportunity. And I care not about shame from it. For me it’s about trying new things and almost making a game out of it. If I don’t make it by the end of the year, I don’t care. I play these for fun.

Unplayed Board Game List

124Monza
123Dinosaur Tea Party
122Hey, That’s My Fish!
121Danger Park
120The Faceless
1198Bit Box
118The Terrifying Girl Disorder
117Boy Band Builder: The Card Game
116Starship Samurai
115Unicornus Knights
114Copenhagen: Roll & Write
113Journey: Wrath of Demons
112Cowboy Bebop: Boardgame Boogie
111Detective: City of Angels
110The Ravens of Thri Sahashri
109Shadows in Kyoto
108Ascension: Immortal Heroes
107Pioneer Days
106Imperial Settlers: Roll & Write
105Quarto
104Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game
103Escape the Room: Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor
102Mesozooic
101TAGS
100KeyForge: Call of the Archons
99Vault Wars
98Mage Knight Board Game
97Shadows of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game
96Sentinels of the Multiverse
95Narabi
94Quadropolis
93Jamaica
92Heaven & Ale
91Silver & Gold
90This War of Mine: The Board Game
89Boomerang
88Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)
87MonsDRAWsity
86WWE Legends Royal Rumble Card Game
85Shadowrun: Sprawl Ops
84Boomerang: USA
83Palm Island
82Blueprints
81Specter Ops
80HEXplore It: The Forests of Adrimon
79Crash Octopus
786 nimmt!
77InBetween
76Heroes of Terrinoth
75Codinca
74Formula D
73Arkham Horror (Third Edition)
72Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar
71Everdell
70The Table Is Lava
69Star Wars: Unlock!
68Cockroach Poker
67Drawn to Adventure
66Matcha
65Mariposas
64Tannhäuser
63Air, Land & Sea
62Shakespeare
61Foodies
60Papillon
59Valor & Villainy: Minions of Mordak
58Flick of Faith
57Rhino Hero: Super Battle
56Doodle Dungeon
55The Bloody Inn
54Wingspan
53Welcome to New Las Vegas
52Welcome to Dino World
51Camel Up (Second Edition)
50Arboretum
49Call to Adventure: The Stormlight Archive
487 Wonders Duel
47The Dragon Prince: Battlecharged
46Paper Dungeons: A Dungeon Scrawler Game
45Yggdrasil Chronicles
44Forgotten Waters
43Mythic Battles: Pantheon
42Catacombs & Castles
41Adventure Land
40Space Base
39Chronicles of Crime
38Fleet: The Dice Game
37Raiders of the North Sea
36Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game
35Reichbusters: Projekt Vril
34Bloodborne: The Board Game
33Time of Legends: Joan of Arc
32The 7th Continent
31Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write
30The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
29Land vs Sea
28Heroes of Land, Air & Sea
27Champions of Hara
26Floriferous
25Folklore: The Affliction
24The Fox in the Forest
23The Quacks of Quedlinburg
22Res Arcana
21Western Legends
20Mechs vs. Minions
19Cthulhu: Death May Die
18Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor
17Black Rose Wars
16Descent: Legends of the Dark
15Betrayal Legacy
14Loup Garou
13Under Falling Skies
12Nidavellir
11Sea of Legends
10Middara: Unintentional Malum – Act 1
9Deep Madness
8Lost Ruins of Arnak
7The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game
6Solomon Kane
5Roll Player Adventures
4Nemesis
3Dwellings of Eldervale
2Terraforming Mars
1Destinies

Let’s Talk About the List

124 Games on it, and my goal is to get it down below 100 by the end of the year. You add in a bunch of Kickstarter games coming in, and you can see why it is a big list and also a challenge. And of course, then, there are campaign games on the list. If we look at campaign style games, I think we’re sitting at 14 on the list. And that is a lot of games to play through a campaign of, so that isn’t going to happen. Though, with Sleeping Gods coming off the list to start the year, it will some over on Malts and Meeples.

There are also some kids games on the list. Right now, I don’t think I will play those this year. Monza looks fun, but the toddler isn’t quite ready for it. But the toddler is also three, so who knows, maybe by the end of the year, we can play those games a bit more. But right now I’m not expecting to.

Mythic Battles Pantheon
Image Source: Mythic Games

I also think it’s important to note that a lot of big games are at the top. Those are the ones that I’m most excited to play and cover. And some of them should be getting played soon. Probably after this weekend I’ll be lining up a time to get started playing Roll Player Adventures.

To go along with that, there are a lot of solo games as well. I could play, in the top 20, around 75% of them solo and some of them are solo only games. So I need to start knocking those out first, because they are high on my list. That won’t be how I get under 100, though.

Final Thoughts

I think that it is fine to challenge yourself to play your unplayed games. I think it is fine to limit how many unplayed games you own. When that becomes the focus or the obsession, I think that is when we start to lose the focus on what we are doing. Or when tie to it other emotions, like shame.

When I see people post about clearing their shelf of shame, I am sure it feels good for them. But on the flip side, in the comments, you see people feeling guilty about their unplayed games. I am not that way. I don’t feel guilt over that. And you shouldn’t either.

This is an odd article, I wanted to talk more about the games, and I will soon. But before I could do that, I think it is import to talk about the shame or guilt that can be thrown around in the hobby. Not always intentionally malicious but always harmful.

Also, let me know what game you think I need to try first. What is your favorite on the list that I have too low, or that you know I would like or should try?

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Point of Order: Where is my Board Game Shelf Space? https://nerdologists.com/2021/11/point-of-order-where-is-my-board-game-shelf-space/ https://nerdologists.com/2021/11/point-of-order-where-is-my-board-game-shelf-space/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2021 19:18:26 +0000 https://nerdologists.com/?p=6329 Do I have enough room on my shelves for another board game? And since I just didn't get a board game so I have enough for all of them?

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Yes, I am running out of shelf space and as I do that I cycle games in and out. But I still have a bit more room, so I’m at least good for now. But what new board game is taking up my shelf space? There’s a number of them that have come in recently, such as Sleeping Gods pre-order, but what are some of them that I haven’t talked about because, well, there are a number of them.

Eagle Gryphon Games Order

This one happened today. I normally wouldn’t have done it, but I got an e-mail from Eagle Gryphon game that they have their Black Friday sale going on, and there’s even extra off when you hit $50, $100 and $200 I believe.

PitchCar Expansion 8

One of two expansions that I don’t have. This one is cool in that it allows you to split your road. You can create two paths. If you think about games like Mario Kart or often Need for Speed games, there are a lot of the time shortcuts that you can take. Or the board game Downforce has tracks that split as well.

Well, now I can do that in PitchCar. And I’m probably never going to say no to even more PitchCar. PitchCar is just so much fun, and it’s in some ways easier to get to the table than Icecool, which does something similar with flicking penguins instead of cars. Racing is just a theme that people understand better than penguins in high school. And this I want to create that shortcut, or maybe a long cut.

Pitch Car
Image Source: Ferti

Fleet: The Dice Game

To hit the point where I could get a bit more off I added a roll and write game to the list. For a lot of YouTube people I watch, The Brother’s Murph and Dr GloryHogg on the GloryHoundd YouTube Channel, they really like this one. It is a roll and write with a number of combos, but it is also a roll and write that it heavier. It’s one that has been on my radar for quite a while, it’s just been hard to find. So already on sale for Black Friday and pushing me to get 10% off, I’ll add it to an order.

All Systems Go Purchase

This is from a couple of times of going to ASG. The last game on the list I actually got when I finalize selling my RPG stuff that I talked about last time, which I talk about why I sold a lot of RPG stuff here. Buying stuff this last time with store credit I had left and paying for what was leftover pushed me to the point where now I can get a free $100 game with their rewards program. I just need to figure out what.

The Crew: Deep Sea Adventures

This is one that I might have talked about before, but it was a pre-order that came in. I didn’t actually realize it, but they rang it up when I was in the store even though I’d already paid for it. They caught that not me, so now I have store credit to use on my next purchase, which I’m glad they noticed. It’s something that could have easily been missed.

But onto the game, this is a trick taking game. It’s a cooperative one and that’s different. There was already another version of it that I own as well and need to get played. You’re limited in how you can communicate, and you need certain players to win certain things. I might need to win the trick with the red four in it, for example. And to go with that, you might be allowed to only win one trick. So it’s an interesting puzzle that I want to dive into.

Marvel Champions: War Machine and The Mad Titan’s Shadow

Marvel Champions
Image Source: Fantasy Flight Games

This is just more Marvel Champions. I say that like it’s not a big thing. The Mad Titan’s Shadow was delayed for ages because of the shipping crisis, at least in getting to the US. Well, it’s here now, so if you want to play through a Thanos focused campaign, you can do that now. And War Machine is another character to add into the pool to play with. I’m excited to play with them, and really, I need to play more Marvel Champions, I’m so far behind on the content.

Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write

If you’ve been watching my Top 100 Board Games (of all time) 2021 Edition, you know that there are a ton of roll and write games on the list. Well, here is another roll and write game. This is one from Pandasaurus who is known for a lot of different games but I love Sonora that they’ve done and they have games called Dinosaur Island and Dinosaur World. This one is a roll and write version of that first one.

And All Systems Go backed the Kickstarter. So this is the Kickstarter version of Dinosaur Island Rawr ‘n Write. I’m not sure what that adds in extra, but there are extra things in the box. That is just a fun bonus for me, because I’d have been fine with retail.

XenoShyft: Dreadmire

This one I picked up when I finalized my trade-in. Going back to my Top 100 Board Games (of all time) 2021 Edition, you’ll know from yesterday my #11 is XenoShyft Onslaught. It’s kind of tower defense deck building game with bugs. I call it Starship Troopers the board game because fighting bugs in space. I already know I like the system, this one adds in weather I believe to maybe make it even more difficult, and this game is already difficult. But I want to get it to the table, and it was used but NIS (new in shrink) at the same time which is fun.

Miniature Market Anniversary

Miniature Market does a good job of getting you to buy stuff. For my birthday month they gave me $10 credit to use. Anniversary month, I think for me making my first purchase but maybe theirs, $10 credit. Of course, I’m not going to let money to to waste, or since I already wanted these games, might as well make it cheaper on myself.

Land vs Sea

This is one that I blame Quackalope for telling me about, Quackalope is a board game YouTube channel, very good and highly recommend after Malts and Meeples. But they really loved this game, and to me it sounded interesting. Land vs Sea is kind of an area control game as you are building out areas of, well, land and sea. But depending on how you put stuff out, it can let you score even more points. And, this is key for me, you are building out a map, there is no set board. I have Carcassonne that does this, but I want another, well, I have one now.

The Dragon Prince Battlecharged
Image Source: Brotherwise Games

The Dragon Prince: Battlecharged

I love The Dragon Prince. If you haven’t watched this show on Netflix, stop reading articles after this one on the internet, and go watch it. It’s from some of the same creators (or maybe all) as Avatar: The Last Airbender show. I personally like this one better.

The game takes the main characters from the show, both good and bad, and allows you to create teams. You draft them or pick them thematically and then fight. So it’s a skirmish style game. I don’t always love skirmish games, Super Fantasy Brawl being an exception, but the theme of this one I love. If nothing else I want to give this one a try and see if it is one that works for me. If not, it can move on from the collection, because I got it $10 off.

Crowdfunding Backing

Mythwind

I won’t talk about this one much because I’ve already talked about it a lot. If you’re just looking at this post, Mythwind is like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley but as a board game. That is, it is a game where there isn’t a win condition. You are just seeing how well you can do and how big a town you can build. It’s an interesting concept and one that I’m sure some people will love. I think that I might love it as well. But if not, I can always sell it for what I backed it for most likely.

Boy Band Builder

This is one that my wife backed a while ago and just showed up. Guess what the game is about, that’s right, building a boy band. I think it feels a little bit like Marrying Mr Darcy, where it’s almost a take that sort of game, but really you care more about building up your boy bad to complete gigs and get as many points as you can. I want to play this one because I think it’ll be good for a laugh.

Too Many Bones: Unbreakable

And this one is from Gamefound. I haven’t gotten any Too Many Bones before, even though I work within a mile of Chip Theory Games, might be a mile and a half now. Too Many Bones is kind of a tongue in cheek with weird characters little fighting game. There are no minis for the fighting, though, it’s all done with poker chips which is weird and cool.

So, why did I jump in now? This expansion wasn’t a bad price, and it’s a standalone expansion. To go with that the characters seem more interesting. One is kind of a weather manipulating character, and I forget what the other one does, but some of the earlier ones are closer to your more standard fighter, cleric, etc. that you expect to see in a fantasy game. If I really love it Chip Theory Games does a solid job of keeping stuff in stock.

Bullet Star
Image Source: Level 99 Games

Level 99 Pre-Order

Almost forgot about this one, but it’s a pre-order so will come in eventually.

Bullet [star] and Wood Pieces

From what I can tell, this feels like an app game. You are trying to blow up different patterns of stuff, and it’s just hard to explain. But it looks cool. It’s real time too, which isn’t something I always love, but if I can play it solo and real time, then I might be more interested in real time.

The idea is that you are playing down cards to destroy bullets that are coming towards you. And you are different anime style heroines, I think each with how their own powers. You are trying to do some pattern matching so that you can destroy those bullets but you only have a certain amount of time. And I got the wood pieces because they just look cooler.

Alright, that’s it. Which one of these games that’s coming in or that I already have would you want to play?

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