Top 10 Games to Demo at Gen Con

10. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

I love the Middle Earth setting, but this is the only Middle Earth set game that is making my Gen Con to demo list. There is also The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship. A “pandemic” style game in some ways. But I know more about that one. The Hobbit: There and Back Again, I don’t know much about it. I hope that it’s a fun and interesting game themed around The Hobbit. As board gamers, I think we have a lot of Lord of the Rings themed games that are good, but The Hobbit, not so much.

9. Crits & Tricks

Crits & Tricks is a fantasy themed trick taking game. I like trick taking so that is what drew me to this one right away. It sounds like each trick is a quest that you play out and that you win loot at the end of it. The theme founds fun and interesting. Or maybe each hand is a quest, so that is interesting and maybe as you progress through the quest, different hands, that is where the suit can change. Either way, I really like the sound of this trick taking game.

8. The Battle of the Divas

The Battle of the Divas is a game that jumped out at me because it is such a different theme for a game. I believe there is another game in this series from Salt & Pepper Games. But the idea is that it’s a two player back and forth game where you want to be the best opera diva. And it is based around actual historical opera singers, Callas and Tebaldi and their clash to be the best. So it is just exciting sounding as a very different game.

7. BattleForge: Berserker

Creative Games Studio LLC is the game company behind BattleForge. And I like the one game of theirs I’ve played. Though I need to play it more. And I am excitedly waiting for their next one Dante: Inferno to come. I think it might be shipping soon-ish. But BattleForge is a cooperative game again, which I love that they make cooperative games. But this one I don’t if it supposed to be a campaign. Either way, I want to know more about it as it comes out and Gen Con is going to be a great spot to demo it.

6. River Market

River Market seems kind of to be a third in the line of Creature Comforts and Maple Valley. Now, each of the games is different from KTBG, but there is a similar aesthetic. And the designer of River Market is Roberta Taylor who is the designer of Cafe Baras, a cafe capybara game. I think that game is light and fun, so I am excited to see what this game can be.

5. Tea Witches

Manny Vega and Sandara Tang are two people working on Tea Witches. If that seems familiar they also did the design and artwork, respectively, for Flamecraft. That’s the game about little dragons who help around town. So a new game with Sandara Tang’s artwork is always going to interest me. I don’t know much about the game play, but it’s tea, it’s witches, and the artwork gives me a vibe of Little Witch Academia, so I’m all in for it.

4. Camp Grizzly

Camp Grizzly is a game that is already out. And if you want to buy it now, it is going to cost you around $600 on ebay. What is this game? It’s a horror movie themed game, or horror themed game in the theme of classic horror movies set at camps. The artwork on it looks great, and I love horror films. So the idea of this theme is really interesting and exciting to me. And it is one that I did look, a year or ago or so, on ebay to see about getting it. But it is crazy expensive. So I think it is coming back to crowdfunding and when it does, I’m very interested.

3. Class of ’89

Paverson games is making a name for themselves. I have the game Luthier which is coming and that looks amazing. But their first game, Distilled, is really popular and is on my shelf to get played. Class of ’89, though, does seem like a little different game. This is a game about making a year book. And that itself sounds lighter as a theme. But it is also a theme that sounds like a ton of fun. So I want to know more about their next project. And I really hope that I like it because I really love the theme.

2. Viking Route

Viking Route I think was on my most anticipated games coming to crowdfunding or maybe coming this year. But now at Gen Con is the time to demo it. This is a ship sailing game but it uses a mechanism for navigating your ship that I think sounds great. What is that mechanism? Magnets. You play magnets around the board to move the ship and affect the way the compass is pointing. That mechanism is in another game that I own and I need to get played.

1. Mystic Curling Club

So after so many amazing sounding games, how is it that Mystic Curling Club is the top of the list? One word, curling. I love watching curling as a sport. And I want at some point in time in my life to do some casual curling. And yes, where I live doing some casual curling is a possibility because the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro has multiple locations with curling. But this is going to be a dice flicking game witch magical powers in it as well. This sounds silly and fun and I love the theme so it is easily my #1 game to demo at Gen Con.

Final Thoughts

As always, I wish I was going to Gen Con. I think that all of these games sound wonderful to play. And there are a ton of different and unique things among them. So someone want to check them out for me and let me know their thoughts?

But out of all of these, the one that I want to try the most is Mystic Curling Club. But as I say that, I think I am apt to just buy that one for the theme no matter what. So I think that The Battle of the Divas is the one that I want to see and try the most because I am less likely just to buy that one sight unseen. Even then, if I can find it or it’s predecessor cheap, I think I may pick it up. I play games at two players fairly often, so a two player only game is pretty easy to get to the table.

What is your most anticipated game to demo at Gen Con?

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Top 10 Retired Lego Sets I’d Love To Own

10. Droid Escape

This is a very small set that is actually pretty reasonable to pick-up. And it is over 20 years old. Lego only had it out for a single year, but it wasn’t an expensive set then so it isn’t too expensive now. I am sure with it being Star Wars that a good number of them sold.

What is it about this set that I like? It is an iconic scene for me from Star Wars. You start out A New Hope with that great scene on the spaceship, but you quickly go to the droids on Tatooine. And this is just the escape pod and the two droids. But I think that is enough for the set because it just shows you what you want from that scene. Everyone is going to know where this is from in Star Wars by just looking at it.

9. The SHIELD Helicarrier

This is a huge set so definitely not one I will track down. But I really like the set. The Helicarrier looks great, and it is an iconic element of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I wonder if Lego will every make one again? Maybe, I guess, if it shows up again in another movie. But the set is now $425. That is a lot, though, it started out at $350, so it isn’t a set that has gone up a ton in price.

I suspect that people like the set, but it is one where the minifigs are a bit more limited. And I believe that sets often times go up more in price if they have a rare minifig to go with them. But for a big set, it just looks cool and it is very detailed which is important for me as a nerdy Marvel and Lego fan. Though, it is hard to find Lego sets that I really want for Marvel because so many of them just kind of feel normal.

8. Iron Man Hall of Armor

This is an interesting one to have on the list. But it is one that feels less normal when it comes to Marvel Lego sets. It is not the biggest set, but for Iron Man it is pretty iconic. You get a number of different Iron Man armors, and you get the base that Tony Stark uses to get in and out of some of the armors I believe in Iron Man 3.

This set is one that is reasonable to get. It is more reasonable than a lot on the list for two reasons. Firstly, it is not super expensive. Used it is $43. In fact, the price is lower for it now even new than when it came out. But also it is reasonable because it is not a massive set. As much as I like the Helicarrier on the list, that is hard to display. This is going to be easy to display if I get it.

7. Kylo Ren’s Shuttle

The only Lego set from the sequels that I found to put on the list. This is one that I do think I want to try and track down. We own Poe’s black X-Wing, found a good deal on that. So if I can find a good deal on Kylo Ren’s Shuffle, that would be great. The detail is nice on it, and it comes with a good number of minifigs.

I don’t think it is the hardest to find as well. So while it is a not a super cheap set, it is not super expensive either as compared to some of the other sets on the list. I did a good job of not picking too many expensive sets, I think, this time around. Though, there are definitely some that are a long ways up there.

6. The Black Pearl

I think this one is pretty easy to say why I’d like it. This is from The Pirates of the Caribbean, a series of films that I’ve enjoyed really for the most part. Though, I think I’ve only seen four, are there five now, I don’t know. But The Black Pearl is an major part of those films. And this is a nice looking version of it and very black.

There are so many different pirate ships out there to pick as well. I know there are a lot of classic ones which could make the list. But not having a pirate ship Lego set growing up, it is something that I don’t have as much nostalgia for. So The Black Pearl is more fun for me than some of the other older ones.

5. Ahsoka’s Starfighter and Vulture Droid

I like Star Wars Lego sets. I think that much is obvious by this point. This one i like because it gives you that Clone Wars feel with it with an iconic character is Ahsoka. Yes, there are a lot of new sets with her from the Ahsoka show, but I need to watch that still. I’ve been watching the Clone Wars because my kid has been, and she is great in that.

This is a set that is expensive, though. Some of it is because she’s a popular character and Star Wars. Some also because this is apparently a Wal-Mart exclusive that was out for a single year. So it is going to be more limited in how many people picked it up, I’d think. Still, a set that I’d love to get my hands on, especially if I can find a nice used copy of it.

4. The Battle of Helms Deep

This is a massive castle set in a lot of ways. And it is not cheap to pick up used. I think that it goes for about $400 used and only about $100 more new. I’m sure if you get lucky you can find it cheaper used, but you would need to get lucky. But this set just looks great. And it really is a big set with so much going on in it and so many characters that we like. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas all are part of the set.

And if you read my other list, you know that I like the Lord of the Rings sets a lot. So this is one that feels even more of a bummer to have missed on. It is such an iconic scene and probably my favorite scene from the movies, I love the battle at Helm’s Deep, that it is a set that I would just love to own.

3. The Upside Down

There has only been one Stranger Things Lego set. I am not too shocked by that. It is something that people love, but is it going to give us a ton of iconic locations? No. It is just the US in the 1980’s. And while people love the 80’s, they aren’t going to buy Lego sets for it.

This set, however, I like because it combines not only the house from season one but also the upside down. So you get to see both elements that are pretty iconic for the show. And you need the upside down in there, I think, to really make it feel different than just being a normal house set of some sort.

2. Mos Espa Podrace

I know that people don’t love Episode 1 of Star Wars. Want to know something, it is my favorite of the prequels, even with Jar-Jar Binks playing such a major role in the film. And the podracing scene is awesome. I own the diorama set that they came out for adults not too long ago, and it is great. But this one is the podracers themselves all big and awesome looking. And it has Sebulba and Anakin’s podracers.

This is a set I think I could see myself getting. It has gone up in value, but it is not a crazy price used. Yes, it is more expensive than it was on release, but only by fifty more dollars. I know that I won’t buy this one used, though because that is about $400.

1. Gandalf Arrives

Why is this one at the top of my list? I’m not 100% sure. There are amazing bigger sets, but this one is just that starting moment of The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf is arriving and it’s going to be time for Bilbo’s 111th birthday. The set is simple but it looks great. And it has Frodo and Gandalf in the set along with some great looking fireworks in the back of the wagon.

I think this is also high on the list because it’s slightly more accessible. It is small so that point of being good value isn’t there, but it’s only around $50 used for a really nice looking set. And while you can grab it new, it almost doubles in price to get it in the box. This is really one where I wish I’d been more into collection Lego when it came out.

Final Thoughts

One of the great things about Lego is all the sets that they have put out before. And you can try and track them down. And you see my list, I do plan on tracking some of them down at some point in time. Especially #10 and #1 I think I might try and find both of them.

But Lego is always coming out with so many new sets that are amazing. So if you miss a set, I don’t think it is that big a deal. Yes, you might never be able to get another one of Kylo Ren’s Shuttles. That might be gone forever, but there is going to be new Star Wars sets. In fact, we are a few days away from May the 4th, and Lego is going to announce and drop more sets then. So you always are able to find new awesome sets, and I know I will find more that I would love to get.

What is a set that you are really glad you have because it’s old and hard to find? Or is there a set that you wish you had?

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

How to Play The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game

The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game is a cooperative trick-taking game where you play through chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring. Each chapter is going to give you different characters that you play as, and possibly additional objectives as you play as well. I don’t want to spoil what those are, so we’ll talk about chapter one.

Set-Up

Firstly, you deal out all the cards except one which is taken out of the game. So fewer players, the higher number of cards you have total, this matters for some of the goals, kind of. There are five suits, hills, mountain, forest, shadow and rings. Players do the normal thing of sorting their hand, and then it’s where the fun comes in.

The player who has the one ring is Frodo. They take that card and it goes clockwise from them with each player picking one of the other characters. Some chapters are going to have specific required characters, in chapter one, for example, Gandalf is a required character. Just because they are required doesn’t mean the next person need to take them, it just means someone else might be stuck taking them.

Then specific characters let you pass cards. You go in order from the left of the Frodo player to the right. Players chose to exchange cards per the rules on their cards. And not all cards are going to have an exchange. Also, some cards might have additional set-up instructions, which you see in chapter 2.

Trick-Taking

Then trick-taking is going to go in a pretty standard way. The lead player, for the first trick in the first chapter Frodo, plays out a card. Everyone must follow suit if they can. You do this until either everyone completes their objectives – which often requires all hands being played, or you can’t win.

There are special rules for the ring cards. The ring cards cannot be led out until they are broken. This is a mechanism that is similar to Hearts. Once it is broken, then rings can be led. However, while the other suits go from 1 to 8 the ring suit is only 1 to 5. The One Ring does have a power, though, it allowed the player of the ring to declare they win the trick.

Now you are very limited in communication in this game. You aren’t allowed to tell people what you have in your hand. Now, in trick taking there is often not much communication, so that is not a massive difference as each player needs to infer information from the cards played.

Winning

As I said already, you win when all the objectives are met and none can be broken. This might be a character who wants only zero or one tricks. If you still can play out tricks, you need to verify that player can’t win anymore before stopping the hand. But if you know that, then you don’t need to play out the full hand.

After you successfully complete the challenges of a chapter you go onto the next one. This is going to give you some flavor as to what you are playing through and the set-up and characters for the next chapter. Some characters will go between chapters, Frodo for example. So you shuffle up and play the next chapter and as many as you want in a night.

What Doesn’t Work

This game does change with different player counts. And while they do a good job of trying to balance it, I think it is simpler with three than it is with four. Mainly because some of the challenges require taking a number of tricks, and if it’s a higher number, Bilbo needs three in the first chapter, then it’s trickier with fewer cards. They try and balance it out, but more variables, the trickier it is.

What Works

Theme

Firstly, I think they do a very good job with the theme in the game. That little bit of reading is great. And the fact that every chapter changes is very good. Now only does every chapter change, it very closely follows the book. And I like that attention to detail for the game. It’s going to be fun for people who have just seen The Fellowship of the Ring as a movie, but more fun for those who know the books as well.

And I just want to talk a bit more about that. I think that they do a good job of changing up the characters as well. So it’s not just that little blurb of text that you get. But the characters who you can play as change as well. The first chapter has Bilbo, Merry, Gandalf, and Frodo and is themed around the party and Frodo getting the ring. Then you don’t have Bilbo for the next chapter because he leaves to do his own thing.

Ease and Speed of Play

The game is easy to learn and play, which is good. Though, it is a trick-taking game. I say that not as a negative, but as a be aware because the more you know trick-taking the easier it will be. Mainly because there are things you do in trick-taking to demonstrate or share information. Or it could be techniques like short suiting yourself that newer players might not know.

I also like how fast the game is. A good trick-taking game should be fast. I don’t want it to be a slog as I play through a lot of hands to get through a chapter. So one chapter being one hand means that you can easily get through it in a handful of minutes, I think on average probably 10 to 15 when you know what you are doing. With setting up the chapter, maybe twenty. And each chapter is fast to set-up as well, so it never adds or changes too much.

Cooperative

The cooperative nature of the game is great as well. Now, I don’t think you could do a Fellowship of the Ring trick-taking game, for more than two, and make it competitive. At two you could have Mordor versus the free lands. But in this case, it’s a nice element to the game, and because it is trick-taking, you can’t alpha game it. So that is something that makes is nice for a cooperative game where you win or lose together, but no one person can run it.

Who is The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game For?

Firstly, I think the fans of Lord of the Rings are going to like The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking game. Even if you don’t know trick-taking, it could very well work for you. And I think for gamers who know trick-taking, I think the changing challenges work well. So this is a game for most people, and I think it’s easy enough for a non-gamer to pick-up the rules and learn the game. Again, it helps that there is a bit of Hearts to it because a lot of people have played that on the computer.

Final Thoughts on The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game

I really like this game. I already know that I like trick-taking, so the Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking game, combining a theme and mechanisms I like I knew it’d likely be a hit. That said, I am really pleased with how it is directly tied to the book. Those bits that are glossed over are nice to have here and gives for some very fun chapters.

And I think the variety in chapters and characters are good. And without that, it’d be just an okay game. The characters are all fun and different. But when you get a really different chapter to play, you understand the detail that went into the game. It is truly a game for fans of Lord of the Rings. And this one is just The Fellowship of the Ring, so that means we should be getting at least two more.

This is game also with a solo mode. So I want to get it played solo, and it might be a game that I play solo on Malts and Meeples. I suspect it is going to be better with more, but either way, it’s nice to have a solo mode.

My Grade: A
Gamer Grade: B+
Casual Grade: B-
Strategy Score: 7 (out of 10)
Luck Score: 5 (out of 10)

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

As normal, I am using Pub Meeple to do my rankings. You can find their ranking engine here.

Ranking New Games 35 through 5

35 – KADO
34 – Gold’n Crash
33 – Castellion
32 – Harmonies
31 – Pokemon Old Maid
30 – Karvi
29 – Panda Spin
28 – Unsurmountable
27 – Stalk Exchange
26 – The Royal Limited
25 – At the Helm
24 – Ancient Realm
23 – SpaceShipped
22 – ROVE: Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer
21 – Ext: The Game – Lord of the Rings: Shadows over Middle-earth
20 – Circus Flohcati
19 – A Nice Cuppa
18 – Toy Battle
17 – PUSH
16 – Knister
15 – Luxor
14 – Crafting the Cosmos
13 – The Architects of Amytis
12 – 6 nimmt!
11 – Imhotep
10 – Pyradmido: Forgotten Treasures
9 – One-Hit Heroes
8 – Fromage
7 – Schadenfreude
6 – Symbiose

Quick Thoughts

There are a lot of great games in this section. Everything from Old Maid up I’ll gladly play. And I mainly will gladly play old maid because my kid likes it. Also, I realized I have played old maid before growing up, but I never ranked it. So maybe shouldn’t be on the list.

There are some games where I wonder if they would move higher in other circumstances. Panda Spin, for example, at 29 feels low. But it’s also just okay on Board Game Arena. Would it be a better game in person. The downside of that one is downtime as you might not be able to partake in tricks. But that downtime would be way less.

Also there is a huge clump of Button Shy solo games there in the middle. I like those games. There weren’t any where I thought they were actively annoying or not that great to play. At the same time, there are some that are better than the others, and because it’s just 18 cards, they all fall into that similar feeling category, especially the ones that I’ve played on Malts and Meeples thus far.

Top 5 New Games of Q1

5. Pirates of Maracaibo

This game is great. I love everything that is going on in it and I also love how fast the game is. I wrote up a review of this one already and you can read that here. Just a quick recap, there is a lot going on, but the turns are simple. And there are a ton of ways to explore scoring. I like being able to spend time figuring out new ways to score. And each way to score really does feel good, but you can’t only focus in on one, most likely, you are going to need to get a few working together to do well in the game.

4. The Guild of Merchant Explorers

The next one is another one that I’ve done a review on already. You can read my review for The Guild of Merchant Explorers here. This one I love because I can play it so quickly at two players on BGA, as long as the other player is active. And it is a different puzzle each time you play as you get unique cards for each era. And the scoring objectives, which can easily swing the game, help give the game that more variety as well.

3. Zenith

Yes, another BGA game with a review, but the final of the BGA games, is Zenith and you can read the review here. Zenith is a very fun two player game. And while there are other two player games on the list, the lowest at 34, Zenith stands above with the variety of ways to win the game. It really feels like such a great back and forth two player battle. And that tug of war element where you are trying to get the planets to your side and figuring out how to do that best is great.

2. Clank! Catacombs

Next we have Clank!: Catacombs. We already know that I love Clank in all it’s forms. I’ve streamed the digital app this year as well, but Clank!: Catacombs is probably the best version of Clank!. And that’s really driven by the fact that the game is going to change every time. You don’t know how the tiles are going to come out, and you could decide to build things so it goes off into the distance. That is going to make it more replayable without any expansions, and I think it also makes it easier to have expansions.

1. Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men

The final one is another game that I’ve kind of already played, much like Clank!, but it’s Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men. And this one is great for me because it has two of my favorite players. Beyond that, it is still just more Dice Throne, and I love Dice Throne. I need to pull out my other Marvel characters and have everyone battle together and see who comes out on top. That’s another great thing about Dice Throne, it’s really built for a tournament or competitive play. I wonder if there are any shops around me who are doing the Dice Throne league, that could be something fun to join.

Final Thoughts

That’s all of the new to me games that I’ve played this year. And I know that I’m going to play even more. I am trying to learn new games each week on board game arena and I’ve done a very good job of that thus far. It might become harder later, but I think that I can do it.

Based off of these games, are there any that I should be looking out for in 2025 to tryout? Obviously these aren’t all the games that I’ve played, so I might have played your suggestion already. But let me know those down in the comments. And let me know which games you’ve tried for the first time this year?

Looking around me, I have games like Knarr, Finca, Thunder Rolls, Bomb Busters and a whole lot more that I’ve had come in this year. And there are kickstarters as well, like Dragon Eclipse, Lore, Star Realms, Andromeda’s Edge, and The Dark Quarter that I need to get played as well. So I’m at no shortage of games to get played. And I hope to get a lot of those games played this year, plus the oh so many more that have been on my shelf of opportunity for even longer.

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Dungeon Master Tools – Exploration

Firstly, let’s talk about why exploration is difficult or often overlooked in a campaign by the Dungeon Master and the players. Exploration is often this idea of travel of getting from here to there. We think about Lord of the Rings, as an example. There is a lot of “exploration” going through Mordor, the part with Tom Bombadil that everyone loves so much. But with that, often times just walking isn’t going to be all that interesting, and we see that in Lord of the Rings as well.

So when the party of players leaves the town, what do they do? They start walking. And it might take some time to get somewhere. If the Dungeon Master is doing a good job it won’t be too long of a walk, but Tolkien made it a very long walk. And things happen along that walk. But I think that exploration is more than that.

Exploring on the Walk

But I think it’s important to talk about exploring along the walk. We see exploration happen along the walk in Lord of the Rings. Some of it pays off in interesting ways for the characters, and other parts, well, not so much. And I think a Dungeon Master can learn from this.

Example from Lord of the Rings

Let’s, for this example, say that all the players are the four hobbits in Lord of the Rings. When their NPC mentor seemingly dies fighting a giant monster they can’t defeat, that’s an interesting element along the way. Of course by this I mean Gandalf the Grey fighting the Balrog. But there are other elements, like the side quest to Tom Bombadil that don’t make that much sense.

So the point of the example is make it matter to the story. I want to go back and talk about story arcs again. Not to beat a dead horse, but story arc planning can help make the exploration more interesting. Why, because, that is the chance to start dropping breadcrumbs for arcs to come. In Lord of the Rings how much more epic is it when Gandalf returns as Gandalf the White?

Example with Story Arcs

Here’s our story planned out:

• Find treasure
• Fight Mid-level boss
• Learn about Big Bad
• Search for way to stop Big Bad
• Get information from wizard
• Find artifact
• Confront big bad

Let’s say we are on that first arc of finding the treasure. Before we head out of town the group is confronted by a gang of street toughs. They all have a crimson band tied around one arm as a notable feature that you call out as the Dungeon Master. When you finish up that arc, because it’s part of the walking out of town, you go onto that mid-level boss. And sure enough the boss’s henchmen have a band tied around their arm that is crimson.

So what did I do there? I tossed in seemingly a random encounter, gave it one piece of flare, an arm band, and paid that off later. Will the players remember it, possibly. But let’s also say the players maybe don’t kill all the street toughs because some run away, those street toughs will remember the players for sure.

Exploring in Other Ways

So we talked about that journey exploration, but sometimes exploration isn’t so much that traveling. Sometimes you might want to focus on exploration being a dungeon or something like that. If there is an old lost ruin of a dungeon, no one might know what is in there. And the NPC’s probably don’t have a good map of it. So this is another way to add in exploration in a more meaningful plot or character driven way.

Example from Lord of the Rings

So is there an example again from Lord of the Rings? There certainly is. The Mines of Moria are a pretty standard dungeon. While it does offer some of the bigger arc stuff like I talked about with Gandalf, there is another story that is progressed through this exploration. And that is of Gimli finding out what happened to the other dwarves. It’s a good character developing arc for a specific character.

Example with Story Arcs

So let’s keep this story going that we’re doing. The players are out of town after fighting those street toughs. They maybe need to deal with some more wildlife along their way, but they reach the crypt where the treasure it hidden away. You know, the one where they are going to need to fight the undead. Read up on that here with combat.

We know from talking about story arcs and planning sessions that the players know a little bit about this place. But the information they got was from a drunk who ran away from this place. So it isn’t likely that the person knows everything for the players to know. That is when you start to explore with the players and they explore this tomb/crypts to get down to that last hidden crypt. And that leads us to our next thing, creating a dungeon.

Creating a Location

So, I say it’s about creating a dungeon. It doesn’t need to be that, it can be any sort of explorable location. If the players need to find something in a woods, that is an explorable location. But it is called Dungeons and Dragons for one RPG, so I do think of Dungeons.

What do you do as a Dungeon Master to prep a location? I think there are a few ways that you could try and make this work. Let’s start with the easiest way, you can use an existing tool. This is one dungeon generator that I have found that I think is nice – https://donjon.bin.sh/d20/dungeon/. And even if you don’t use the dungeon that is generated, I think it’s nice to look at to help shape up some ideas of how it can work.

The other way is to sketch out a dungeon. You don’t need to plan everything out, but if you want to create a dungeon, I think jotting down a few things can be useful. Firstly, draw out some shape of the dungeon. That is where the generator actually can help too, even if you don’t want to use everything they put in there, you have a specific monster(s) you want to use, for example, it can give you a shape.

Then jot down some notes about the dungeon. Are there traps, and what type of traps are they? Are there wondering monsters or specific monsters that could be in a room in rooms? And what types of monsters do you want to use. You don’t need to plan each combat, but you can create a list to make it feel a bit more living.

Example Dungeon Creation

Firstly, I whip up a map from the Don Jon site. I want to use a map of some sort. That is just my template for my dungeon. Or I draw up a map. Mainly I want to create as many rooms as I want and I want to know how it maps out. The reason for knowing that is I want to create some dead ends and other things to mess with the players.

Traps

Next I want to put in some traps. But I don’t need to put them into specific rooms. For our example of this undead crypt, I know I want the last door to be trapped, it’s the final room it makes sense, so I put a trap there. Otherwise I put one in the first few rooms, so the players know to look for it, and then I roll to see if there is a trap or not and what type of trap. In this case, I want a spike trap and a poison trap, so I grab stats for them and create a little table.

Monsters

Then I think about what monsters do I want? If you know what you want it makes it easy. But much like the traps, create a table to roll for monsters in rooms or not and what type of monsters. In this case I want a couple of ghosts, including one I place in specific side room who isn’t actually evil, but just wants to go to rest and the players can help with that. And then some different combats of varying difficulty. And I roll when players enter rooms and then roll for bad guys.

Items

Finally there are items. A good dungeon should have some things in there as well. And you need to decide how much you want the players to find or how little. Since this is really early game, I want it to be a little. What I think makes sense is that some of the tombs will have bodies with jewelry on them, so the players can get a few cheaper pieces of jewelry to sell and then buy other items with. Plus there is going to be the item somewhere that the friendly ghost wants, and I’d place that specifically. And last the item at the end that the players already know about.

Always For the Plot or Characters

Final thing is that exploration is always for the plot or characters. I think that random encounters can be okay, but it needs to make sense. A random encounter is generally not for the plot or the characters. It’s for some combat in a game, and generally it’s the type of combat where it’s just kill everything that attacked, which isn’t that interesting. But they can be used to set the tone of the world, how dangerous it is, and then you drop them.

There can be reasons to use random encounters, but generally your exploration and combat in exploration should be for the plot. Even the locations you encounter should be for the plot. It’s great to find a random ancient ruin, maybe there is some treasure there, but does it serve anything? If the answer is no, why did you stop there? Make it serve either the plot, or for those random side quest locations, make them serve the players backstory.

Final Thoughts

Exploration is more than just random encounters as you get from place A to B. If that is what you want to use for exploration, than skip this pillar as it won’t be that fun or exciting for anyone. Instead montage through it and get to the locations that matter. Sleeping out in the woods and a few rolls where nothing happens as players keep watch, not that exciting.

And, as a Dungeon Master, when you do exploration and flesh out the world, I want to reiterate my last point, make it matter to the plot or to the characters. Even if it’s a new NPC and the players help them, make it meaningful. It doesn’t need to be a major thing, but one final example, our crimson arm band street toughs, maybe they messed with a shop keeper so the players help that shop keeper get something to keep the business going. Yes it’s not directly tied to the main plot, but it uses characters who matter to story arcs, so keep it simple and keep it tied in.

Down to two more Dungeon Master Tools topics:

• NPCs/Social Interactions
• Meta Game and Players at the Table

And let me know if there are other things to cover as well that you want to know more about, or help with. I think that there are a ton of different things that new Dungeon Masters are curious about or that feel intimidating. So I hope that I can help make them clearer and simpler for you.

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Five Board Games I Really Need To Play

5. Robinson Crusoe Collectors Edition

I owned Robinson Crusoe for a while. And I owned the sequel to it, First Martian. I did play First Martian which I enjoyed. There were some elements of it that weren’t amazing, but the theme also interested me less. Now I own Robinson Crusoe again, with the collectors edition, and I need to get this one played.

There are two reasons why I think I’d like this game. Firstly, it’s a cooperative game and I enjoy a good cooperative game. And the theme for this type of game works as well for me. So theme and cooperative nature. But I want to talk about the type of cooperative game that it is. It’s supposed to be a very difficult one. And some of that has been a bad rulebook in the past, possibly, but also just hard to beat in general. I love a good cooperative game where I feel like I’m struggling with it.

4. Lord of the Rings Living Card Game

Lord of the Rings LCG is another one of those board games that I’ve had in my collection now twice. I got a copy of the old version and when the new version was on a good sale somewhere, I picked it up. But this is another one that I need to try. And I know a friend who would gladly teach and play it with me, I just haven’t gotten to it. And he and I are playing through Scarlet Keys Arkham Horror LCG right now so might not get to the Lord of the Rings one soon.

But Lord of the Rings is a theme that I like, hence why I keep on getting it back. It is also a one off scenario game which is nice. Yes, there is still that deck construction that you expect in the LCG’s that Fantasy Flight Games puts out so there is going to be some time there. But I don’t need to plan a few sessions of it like I do with the Arkham Horror LCG and that is certainly a benefit.

3. Cascadia

This one I don’t know why I haven’t gotten it played. It’s not supposed to be a very complex game and it’s a nature theme. There are a lot of people in my game group who would enjoy this sort of game. I bought this one, again on sale, because it’s from the same people who did Calico a game about cats and quilts that I like a lot. And that one is tight and puzzly. This one is supposed to be freer and still a good puzzle as well.

I think that it’s odd as well that I haven’t played it because I think that my wife would enjoy it. Sometimes I buy games where I think, we could try this one and probably would go over well. But then I never get around to pulling them off the shelf. Not that I think many people would balk at playing Cascadia.

2. Spirit Island

Spirit Island is one that I’ve been very hesitant to play. I don’t know why, really. I know a ton of people love this game. And it’s supposed to be a difficult but worthwhile investment of a game. You play as spirits who are trying to drive colonizers off an island. That is a great theme, unfortunately while the cover looks good the board and components don’t really sell me on the game. I know that is the big reason why I haven’t played the game. In fact, I just ordered upgrades to encourage myself to play it.

But this game sounds really interesting. Each spirit that you play is going to play differently. And for a cooperative game, they spirits add in enough complexity that one person can’t really alpha game the whole game. At least that is what I’ve heard. So I want to give this one a whirl, both as a multiplayer game and as a solo game.

1. Clank Catacombs

I love Clank! In! Space!. I like Clank! Adventure Deck Building Game a lot. So it is probably natural that I am going to like this game. But I need to play it still. It is keeping that delving into a dungeon theme here. But instead of it being a fixed map, Clank Catacombs is going to build out the map as you go, and that is a cool element to the game. Why, because it means that the map is never going to be the same every time that you play it. And that sounds wonderful.

Plus it’s still what I love from the other games. You want to go into the catacombs, find treasure, buy cards, and get out before you are knocked out of the game. It’s that push your luck and deck building combined that really works so well for me. And based off of a system that I know I love, it’s not one I can go wrong with.

Which To Play First?

So which of these board games will I get played first. I have a friend coming over, likely, next Tuesday. So maybe it’ll be a situation where I can get one of these off of the shelf. Cascadia and Clank Catacombs are the two that I think are most likely. And I want to get Clank Catacombs played more because I like Clank so much. So I think that is going to be the game that I target for next Tuesday. And maybe I’ll find time to play Cascadia as well.

Some of the others, not the Lord of the Rings LCG, but the other two, I can play solo. So I think maybe once I finish off my Button Shy games on Wednesday streams I should jump into one of those. And Spirit Island is probably the right spot to start. Though, as I say that, I need to make sure that I have it on my shelf still, but I’m pretty sure that I do.

What is some game that you feel like you really need to play because of how it’s talked about in the hobby and because it sounds like one that you’d like?

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Top 10 Games of 2024

10. Dungeon Kart

Do you want to play Mario Kart? Do you want to play a board game? Why not do both and play Dungeon Kart from Brotherwise Games. This is a racing game where you play as the characters from Boss Monster, those bosses who are trying to build up their dungeon, well, they want to blow off some steam. So hit the track and use their abilities and their cars to the best of your abilities to get around the track first. If you fall behind, don’t worry. You get spells and blast away at your opponents to slow them down so you can get back into the race.

I like this one because it is a fast game and a theme that people like. I like Mario Kart a lot, and I know that a lot of people do. So Dungeon Kart is an easy one to recommend. Add in that the game is simple to play, and it is even easier to recommend. There are a few things that you need to know, but overall, not a complex or difficult game to learn. And the fact that the characters and cars are different, that’s fun as well.

9. Snowfall Over Mountains

Snowfall Over Mountains is one of a few smaller games on the list, but the only one that is only solo. I enjoy this game for the solo experience because it’s one of those calming and relaxing solo games. You are drawing cards and trying to build a snowscape around you that is going to score the most points.

You score points for different things like rabbit tracks or trees. And there are a few different scoring cards for each of the elements. That is good because it means you can mix and match and get a lot of different combinations for a lot of good variety in what you are doing.

The footprint isn’t as small as some solo games, but it’s not huge. And the box that the game comes in is a nice and small box so if you are traveling and want a solo game to take along this is a solid one.

8. Star Wars: Unlimited

Next up, this game could have been higher, I think. I really like Star Wars Unlimited and I really enjoy the TCG aspect of it. As I say in the video, without the theme I’m not sure I’d be as excited for it. But being able to build a deck with clones, droids, Mandelorians, rebels, whatever factions they have thus far, that’s a lot of fun. And there are a number of aspects that also help the game.

I want to focus on one aspect here. I really like that you always have a leader in this game. The leader is going to give you an ability that you can use, even when they aren’t in play, and that ability is going to give you a focus for your deck. There isn’t just throwing your favorite cards into a deck, you need to think about synergies as well between your characters.

Okay, one more aspect that I really like, and I promise that is it. I appreciate that the game doesn’t let you run out of energy. There is no card draw and hope you get credits or whatever so you can play out cards. Instead, it uses this great system, you draw two cards and, if you want, put one into play as a resource. I love that decision space as I need to decide, do I want this card or do I want the resource, and that is often times a very tough call.

7. The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth

Now for another theme that I really like, we have The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth. This game reimplements 7 Wonders Duel, but it’s not just a straight reimplementation. And for me that is a good thing. I like 7 Wonders Duel a lot. But I think that I like Lord of the Rings Duel (as I’ll be calling it) more. And of course, the theme is a great reason for that.

I also like that the game doesn’t end with scoring. Yes, I’m not 100% sold on how it does end, but there are a number of ways for it. There is only one way that I have an issue with or wish there was a bit more. The first way is that the ringbearer makes it to Mount Doom and chucks in the ring, or the Nazgul catches the ringbearer. Or if you rally the support of the different races of Middle-Earth that’s another way too. Finally, if you take control or have a piece of control in every area. If none of those happen it’s whomever controls the most areas, and that’s okay.

But if you like Lord of the Rings, this is a great two player head to head game that I really recommend. If you don’t like Lord of the Rings, it’s still good. Especially if you want something with a bit of theme in it compared to 7 Wonders Duel.

6. Castle Combo

Now for a game without much theme but that’s still a lot of fun. Obviously Castle Combo is a lot of fun, it’s in my Top 10 Games of 2024 and at #6. But this is a game about building out the best scoring grid that you can. The game is simple, you play it in nine rounds, and at the end, you have a 3 by 3 grid of 9 cards.

But there are elements to the game that offer a great challenge or some good fun. I like how the cards are all divided into three things. The first element is the cost, you need to be able to pay that coin cost to get it. The next is an instant effect. It might be that all cards of a certain type cost 1 less now. Or it might just get you coins or keys. Finally there is the scoring, and that is going to happen after all your grid is full. So you need to figure out how to optimize that scoring while still getting coins and keys to get more cards.

And I really like the key mechanism in the game. The keys either let you wipe the row of cards you are on. Or you can use the key to move you to the other row so you can buy from there. But, it won’t less you do both in one turn. I really like that challenge element of the game because I could wipe, but will I get something good. Or I could move, but maybe wiping will give me something better.

5. Let’s Go! To Japan

Next up is one that didn’t make my Top 100 Games because I hadn’t played it yet. But I really love Let’s Go! To Japan. This is a game about planning out your itinerary for going to Japan. And you need to plan out three things to do each day in Tokyo, Kyoto, or both.

Each day has a particular theme that it wants you to go for as well. It might be that you want to get food one day and go to a nature sight another day. That order changes for every game, but the different symbols remain the same. The fun thing is that you need those symbols to score your cards each day, well to score the one that you can see the end game scoring on anyways. So if you need food and it’s before the food day, you probably need to get some food in a less than optimal way.

It is also a good drafting game. I like how I get two cards, one Tokyo and one Kyoto. I pick one to add to my itinerary and give you the other, or person to my left or right. But not to use right away, to collect into a hand of cards that then you’ll pick from later in the game. So I can set you up with stuff you don’t want. Or I can just focus on what is best for me. But it’s a nice twist on drafting.

4. Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game

Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game was one of my most anticipated games for 2024, and clearly it didn’t disappoint. I really enjoy this game and of course, I love the theme and I love deckbuilding. But those two elements aren’t enough for me automatically love the game. I think the solo/cooperative play helps it as well, though I really do enjoy it as a competitive game too.

There are two elements I want to talk about that I really like. The first is the burning of the metals. I love how they make that a thematic part of the game. Pewter is going to give you more attack and healing. Things that help you sooth emotions or rile them up could heal or get people to be generous and give you more money. But they are thematic and I like that you are limited in how many you can burn, so there is a good amount of strategy in your deckbuilding.

I also like that the game has a leveling track. Each player levels up once per turn. That gives you new abilities that make you more unique and powerful in the game. And it starts to let you burn more metals. I think that combination just works well so that what could be a longer game, can’t be as long because you start to ramp and get stronger. And soon you might be buying and using cards with Atium and doing a lot of damage or leveling to win the game.

3. Rebel Princess Deluxe Edition

I never thought that I’d put Hearts on my top games list, but here it is, Hearts, albeit with shenanigans is my #3 game for 2024. I really like this one because it’s a familiar trick taking game. Instead of avoiding hearts and the queen of spades, you avoid the princes proposals and the frog prince and his proposal. That element is very much the same.

But it’s very different in a lot of other ways. You each have a princess and they have a power. You can use that power once per hand of cards. And then you, instead of passing left, right and then across, you pass however a flipped card tells you to. And that flipped card also has other things on it, like some special rules for that hand. It might be that the person furthest from the card that led the trick, numerically, is going to be the winner of that trick. It causes chaos but is so much fun.

2. Slay the Spire: The Board Game

The last two are ones that I’ve played on Malts and Meeples. First off we have Slay the Spire. I love the video game and the board game works just as well. In fact, it offers something that the video game can’t, you can play Slay the Spire: The Board Game multiplayer, and it’s amazing. In fact, I think I prefer it multiplayer, or maybe multihanded better than purely solo.

The game does a few things to make it work. While the core of climbing the tower, and adding cards to your deck, is the game, there are elements that are different. Firstly, it scales down the health and attack levels. I love this because it makes the math easier. Next you roll a die to determine the enemies attack and what relics that you have activate. This makes it simple as compared to keeping track that something goes off every seventh round or anything like that.

And I want to talk about multiplayer. Each player gets their own row of enemies that will damage them. But you are able to support your allies by attacking the enemies. So maybe mind are just playing defense for a round, that means that I can help wipe out your row of enemies and then you don’t have to worry about anything so you can go all out attacking. It’s a great addition to a great game.

1. The 7th Citadel

Finally, at #1, we have The 7th Citadel. I really love this game and it’s what I had wanted from The 7th Continent, though I do appreciate that open and very sandbox system in The 7th Continent. The 7th Citadel gives you that same sandbox to play in but gives you more specific and focused missions. I know that I need to find something southeast. I’m not sure where for sure, but I just know that I need to go southeast, and I really enjoy how that works.

But the game keeps some of the core elements to it that are great. I like that you still are spending cards from a deck. And while that deck isn’t your life and won’t just instantly kill you if the wrong thing is drawn, bit kind of is your life. You put cards back into the deck by spending hit points. So if I want to get 10 cards by in, that’s five of my life. And while the game isn’t always punishing you with combat and taking life that way, there are a ton of challenges that you need to deal with.

Final Thoughts

Like I said at the beginning, I’m annoyed I missed Rock Hard 1977. I really like that game, so it’s an honorable mention and probably would be in about the middle. And I look at my shelf and I see more 2024 games that I want to play. Bomb Busters is a big one as is Stamp Swap that I want to try.

It is always a good year for games. If you don’t find one that you love, it means that you either got caught up in the hype for some game or weren’t looking that hard. And I love that I can find amazing games all the time to try. I definitely want to spend more time playing 2024 games, and maybe late in 2025, I’ll look back again at 2024 and see what my Top 10 looks like then.

Let me know your favorite game from 2024?

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Top 3 Magic the Gathering Universe Beyond I Want?

3. Vampire the Masquerade

This is a license that I think has a chance, but also doesn’t. Vampire the Masquerade Rivals exists which is supposed to kind of be in a Magic the Gathering spot. That said, I’d love a set of this, and I think it’d drop into the Magic the Gathering system amazingly well.

Mainly, we already have Innistrad, we already have vampires in Magic the Gathering. Compared to the others, it’s something that already exists. Now, this is a more modern setting than Innistrad, so that might be a concern, but you’d be able to use some of the same mechanics for Vampire the Masquerade.

But one thing, that I think people might call out, is the masquerade, how do you make it so it isn’t just vampires fighting vampires. The whole point, or part of it, is that vampires run things from the shadows and want to stay hidden. So, how do you make that work in Magic the Gathering? I think there is a template for that with the ring tempting the ring bearer in Lord of the Rings set. It’s a tracker to see if you break the masquerade. So you can improve it, get it further from breaking, but as you attack it might get closer. So it’d be a balancing act which I think would be fun.

While Vampire the Masquerade is my #3, I think out of the three it’d be the easiest to do in Magic the Gathering.

2. Wheel of Time

With a lot of these, it’s hard to come up with an in game reason why they would be fighting each other. That’s the issue with a lot of IP’s, they are built around stories. But we just saw a massively successful one where it doesn’t make sense in Lorcana. Even Lord of the Rings or Doctor Who it won’t always make sense. So I just need to assume that logic is out the windows.

The nice thing with Wheel of Time is that you have different groups throughout that you can play around with. The Aes Sedai, Rand’s group, some of the bad guy groups, Aiel, and more. What does is it builds out a systems where you can create synergies between certain groups and work better with each other versus with other groups. So from that perspective I think it could work. And if it’s just a straight up battle, that would make sense for at times in the story with almost any group fighting the others. Or you could have them going up against dark friends and dark ones to do better than the other team.

But in the world of Magic the Gathering, I think it’d work. Plenty of groups to build commander decks around. And there are plenty of interesting characters to draw from.

1. Sword Art Online

Now, I think there are other anime that would get done first. With the success of the live action One Piece show, that’s the one I could have scene. But anime’s are generally pretty stingy on giving out their licensing for stuff, especially for something that isn’t just their thing. And One Piece technically has a TCG out, but not one that’s even close to the name recognition of Magic the Gathering.

But Sword Art Online, on of my favorite anime, I think could work as a trading card game. Possibly a player versus the game set-up game. Or there is dueling within the first season and the world of Aincrad. So let you take on heroes and characters from Aincrad and face off against one another, build up decks with abilities to augment what your characters can do. And let you switch heroes out, if you meet a condition they can jump in and take over the attack, like in the show.

In terms of Universes Beyond, I think switching would just be a flip card that you could have as a commander. And it’d likely break the game in some way that Magic hasn’t done before. But that’s what Magic the Gathering does regularly anyways, add in something new that changes up how the game works. And Universes Beyond are actually a decent testing ground for that.

What Set Would You Want?

I know that some of the upcoming ones might interest people that are already coming. There is Final Fantasy, Doctor Who releasing today, and Assassin’s Creed, all worlds and IP’s that people enjoy. But is there one that they haven’t announced you’d be interested in.

More generically, probably not in Universes Beyond, I’d like a set where they lean into Gundam. Giant powered machines doing the combat and being able to play around with that and piloting them, adding on mods to them, things like that. It’d feel different, but in the mechanics of Magic the Gathering, I feel like it’d work quite well.

Let me know your thoughts or favorite one.

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

What Is A Trading Card Game

Let’s start out with the basics of what a TCG is. Because it’s important to understand some elements of it. A TCG is a game where you build a deck to face off against opponent or opponents. In standard Magic the Gathering and Pokemon, you will face off against a single opponent. There are formats where it might be team vs team or a free for all with multiple players, at least for Magic the Gathering.

But that’s only part of it. The other part is the blind buy system that these games employ. To create a market for trading cards, there are certain rarities for cards. In Magic the Gathering you see common, uncommon, rare, and mythic rare. Pokemon has a similar system. When you buy a pack, most of the cards you get fall into the category of common. Then uncommon being, well, less common. And you get a rare, but you might not get a mythic rare.

This is done to drive up the value and scarcity of some of the better cards. Hence making the game a trading, or it used to be called collectible card game.

Getting Cards

For getting cards, there are two main ways to do so. And I mentioned one above, or really both. But the biggest way is that you can buy packs. The downside to buying packs is that you don’t know what you will get. TCG’s use blind pack buys which means that it’s a random set of cards, the commons, uncommon, and rare or mythic rare, in that pack.

If you open enough packs you can find most of the commons pretty easily. Again, those make up most of the pack. But the mythic rare cards are much harder to find and would require a lot of hunting for them. That means that you, most likely, won’t pull the cards you want, or the number of them you want, without opening a substantial number of packs.

The other way is to buy singles. There are plenty of card shops, and often board game shops or comic shops will also have cards, which sell single cards. That way you can search down the specific card that you want. This method likely will cost more to get that card or playset of cards than buying a pack. But it is going to be cheaper than buying the number of packs needed to complete getting those cards.

Deck Construction

The final big element of the TCG’s is building your deck to play against someone. I don’t plan on going into all the details here. But each system has specific rules about how to build your deck and utilize cards. You use the cards you buy, either from packs or single cards, to complete decks.

You look for synergies between cards when creating a deck. What card will benefit from another card being in there to create an interesting combination. There is a lot that you can do in a good TCG to create many unique deck types and strategies. Some will be better than others, but building your deck, sometimes, is as interesting as playing a game.

Final Thoughts on Trading Card Game

Trading Card Games can be great. There are a lot of cool elements to them. Also trading card games can cost a lot of money. The decks that win tournaments are not cheap and actually a situation where you might be better off buying packs versus the individual cards, at least sometimes.

And one element I didn’t talk about yet is the addictive quality of TCG’s. The idea being that you buy a pack, you pull a great card. Now that $5-8 pack gave you back value of $15-100. Or, in the case of the Lord of the Rings set, I want to get certain artwork or certain character cards. So I might not get the value, but I am still chasing certain characters or cards. It is something that pulls people in to keep buying packs for that dopamine hit.

But the game, themselves, is a lot of fun. I don’t have experience playing Pokemon, but I played a lot of Magic the Gathering. And it’s a great system, sometimes rules heavy, but with a good flow. And I want to play more, it’s a matter of finding time and people to play it with. But Elves vs Hobbits, yes please, or maybe Hobbits vs Warhammer 40k? With the Universe Beyond sets, you play anything you want. And that is the fun of getting into these games. And what is keeping me from getting away from them completely.

Have you gotten into any TCGs? Which is your favorite?

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Lord of the Rings – Magic the Gathering

So just to quickly go over what I opened. Four more collectors packs and two commander decks. I got them for different reasons. The collectors packs, obviously the chase for the one ring. But also just the chase to find more cool cards, because there are a lot of amazing cards in the set that I don’t own. And the collectors packs are the way to get full art cards, things like that.

But for the commander decks, I do like to pick those up for the purpose of playing them. Are they worth it, probably for the lands in there, but to have two constructed decks that I can use to play Magic the Gathering, that’s a nice thing to have. I don’t want to hunt down cards to play. Though, if I have cooler versions from the collectors packs, those might be added in.

Dungeons and Dragons – Magic the Gathering

As for Dungeons and Dragons, I got a set booster box for that. Why, because it’s Dungeons and Dragons and I wanted to see that set. There are some fun things in the set. I think that there are other products that are better value than what I got. But I really enjoyed opening it up and seeing the different artworks and nods to the game that I play and like a lot in Dungeons and Dragons.

Paldea Evolved – Pokemon

Finally a box that was a complex bust, which was weird. But nothing from the Paldea Evolved box, though I have opened other Paldea Evolved product and had better luck. I picked the Elite Trainer box because it offers me some storage as well as cards. And sometimes you just need storage to hold your bulk cards.

More Pack Openings to Come of Lord of the Rings, Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, and More?

That was a fun Saturday evening. I could see doing that in the future again. Collecting a number of different products across Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, and the Star Wars TCG when that comes out from Fantasy Flight Games.

Do I ever expect to make my money back on things like opening up boxes. Nope, I don’t for sure. But it’s just fun to see the new artwork and things like that. I have already ordered some of the Doctor Who products that are coming out later this year. I’ll be checking those out and I might save other sealed products I pick up to show off and look at then as well.

Do you enjoy playing any of these TCGs and are the pack openings fun?

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here