How To Play Moonshine

Moonshine is an engine building game where you are racing to 12 points. To do this, you need to score patrons to your speakeasy by meeting their requirements. On the turn where one player gets 12 points, the game ends and whomever has the most points, as you can go over 12, is the winner of the game.

A Turn

Turns are pretty simple. You roll three dice, possibly more, and then per the rerolls that you have, you start with one on your speakeasy, and you try and get combinations to complete the patrons you have at your speakeasy. To do this you need to match symbols. The symbols are money, music, drink, and moons.

If after your roll or your opponents roll you cannot complete a patron’s requirements, you choose from two other options. First is you can choose to get a moon. If you do, you cover up a moon spot on your speakeasy or one of the patrons. I plan to talk about that more in the engine building section. The other option is that you draw patron cards and may replace one of your patrons.

Engine Building

The engine building is done in two ways. The first is with the moon tokens. When you get moon tokens from rolls or for your turn option, you place them on a moon location. These offer some benefits. On the speakeasy it is either unlocking a blue die to use or a wild symbol for money, music, or drink.

The patrons also might have one as well that you can spend into. When you spend into those, you gain that benefit for as long as the patron is waiting at your speakeasy. Once a patron is complete, they go to your speakeasy. They offer two things potentially there. The first is points, some patrons have a fixed number of points, some have no points, and others offer a variable number of points based on card color.

The other thing that patrons add is symbols. These can be symbols like money, music, drink or moons. These symbols are permanent and let you more easily complete other patrons’ requirements. Or it might be access to the blue or orange dice. It is also possible to get access to looking at more cards when you gain a new patron or three patrons waiting at your speakeasy versus just two, or additional rerolls.

What Doesn’t Work

This is one where i don’t find a ton that doesn’t work. As normal, in that case, I want to talk a little bit about luck. There is luck in this game with what you draw. Now you always draw a few cards to look at and choose one to add to your waiting patrons, but that is not always going to give you what you want. So it is possible that you just need to draw patrons again after a role.

And the other minor thing is there are a few patrons who when you gain them, they give you a moon and remove a moon from your opponents. There are not many and it doesn’t set your opponents back too far. But that is a negative player interaction that might feel tough for a player.

What Works

I like how simple this game is. The dice are easy to understand what symbols they give you. And it is easy to see what you want to roll for. I like it when a game can get to the table very quickly and is very easy to teach. There are a few symbols but those are really easy to understand after a turn or two in the game.

I also like the interactions in the game. I mention the few cards have that negative interaction. The game is also going to offer a chance to mess with your opponents on your turn when you roll the dice. But this is not too negative, they still get to take a positive action, get a moon or replace a patron, if they can’t fulfill a patron’s requirements. I like that the game isn’t purely solitaire though because you can set up your roll or pick your patrons in such a way to maybe fulfill them on an opponent role.

The engine building is Moonshine is good as well. It is simple, I liken it to Splendor. But that goes back to how simple the game is. I know how to leverage my engine pretty quickly once it gets going. And that moment of when do I stop building my engine and go for bigger points is nice. And because it is a simple engine, it keeps the game moving. Moonshine doesn’t stall out.

Who is Moonshine For?

I think this is a good game for people who like Splendor. And I think that this is a more enjoyable game than Splendor. So maybe for the people who think that Splendor is a bit slow in getting going, Moonshine offers a lot of the same engine building style, but is faster to get to it. And there is a bit more in terms of strategy, I think, than with Splendor but just a tiny bit more. So if you want to introduce someone to engine building concepts, this is a good game for that.

Final Thoughts and Grade on Moonshine

I very much enjoy Moonshine. It is a game that I already have played at least five times and have a few more games of it going on BGA. I also think it is very possible that it is a game that will start to feel similar. Your engine is not going to massively change from game to game. So it is never going to feel wildly different as you play it.

This is a bit of a negative, but it is also something to be aware of what type of game it is. Mainly, Moonshine is a great game for BGA because there isn’t too much going on. At the same time, if you want heavy engine building it is going to feel a little bit lacking and won’t stick around as long because of that. But it is meant to be an easy to get into and play engine builder, and it is great for that and for that reason I like it.

My Grade: B
Gamer Grade: C+
Casual Grade: A-
Strategy (out of 10): 4
Luck (out of 10): 5

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Top 5 Games that Would Work with a Pokémon Theme

5. Ice Cool

The list needs a dexterity based Pokémon game, and I think with Ice Cool branching out into Ice Cool Wizards, there is room where this can work. You flick around your trainer and you need to collect pokéballs and then capture Pokémon. It would be a very simple game. Simple games work well for this. For Ice Cool you’d actually need to change some more rules than in other games, and Ice Cool and Ice Cool Wizards don’t have that many rules. But make it a dexterity game about who can catch the most and rarest Pokémon.

4. Gasha

This already has a Japanese theme. It leans into the gashapon machine theming. You get toys and you’re trying to collect ones to get additional prizes. The theme doesn’t even have to change. Do it like Gasha: Pokémon or Gasha: Eevee Edition and it’ll work just fine. You’ll find for most of these that I’m trying to do what has been done thus far, which is just add the theming to the game. So a simple game like Gasha is perfect to get that theme added to it.

3. Super Fantasy Brawl

It’s a fighting game, so that makes sense for Pokémon. And it’s a 3 versus 3 character fighting game, that’s certainly possible to do with Pokémon. This could easily be my number one game on the list, but I think that there’s another fighting game that would work even better than Super Fantasy Brawl. But the simple game play Super Fantasy Brawl would make for an extremely accessible game and you could do some cool miniatures with it too.

2. Isle of Cats: Explore and Draw

I like this one where the Pokémon theme is a bit more slapped onto it. I think, though, it’d b a solid game to get the theming. Why, because this game is all about rescuing cats from an island that’s being destroyed. Well, make it about capturing Pokémon and you’re trying to be the one to do it the best. It loses any battle aspect of the game, and makes it more about catching them all. That might not be Ash’s goal always in the show, but it certainly works and is one of the goals of the show.

1. Dice Throne

Dice Throne is an easy top answer for me to get a Pokémon theme. It’s considered to just be a head to head fighting game. I think that you can do more than just that, but if you treat it just as a head to head game, it works perfectly. Plus there are already 26 characters out with another 8 on the way. Not all of them would translate into Pokémon but some of them would. And I think with minor tweaks, you could get a core group of eight Pokémon ready for a set.

Final Thoughts

Before you get your hopes up, only a few companies seem to have this property to release in South Korea. So before you get your hopes up, it’s highly unlikely that any of these would ever happen. But it was a fun exercise for me to do. I like to think about what games might work well with other themes.

And some of these games, Dice Throne for sure, doesn’t really need that boost. It’s already a very successful hobby game for Roxley Games. Some of the others maybe haven’t gotten as much notice. But I am keeping an eye out to see what other games are getting a Pokémon board game treatment. And I expect that there’ll be a few more that happen that I might have to import.

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Again, this isn’t a bad thing, tastes change over time. What I like today doesn’t mean what I liked yesterday or five years ago in board games was bad. It’s an evolution and a journey. And remembering that is not a bad thing. So as I put together my list, I can think of positive experiences with all of them, it’s just now that I’ve cooled on them.

Top 5 Board Games I Cooled On

5. Munchkin

I don’t think this is one that would surprise a lot of people. This is one of those games that shows up often when you start playing board games. It’s a silly system of kicking open doors and hoping you have enough to fight a monster so you can level up. Or you might need to run away.

There are two things that dropped this on my list. The first being the length of the game. It might be over fast, but it might overstay it’s welcome, especially with a larger group of players. If I could guarantee it is a half hour filler for four people, I’d probably still own a copy.

The other thing is how the game ends. A normal, I feel like Munchkin game goes until two players, normally, reach that second to last level. The first player gets a monster that would get them to that last level. Everyone plays their good cards to stop them. Then the second player to kick down the door to win does so, and they get an easy monster and they win because people spent their cards. It’s kind of anticlimactic. It does keep the same shorter, but not that interestingly.

4. Catan

Catan is another classic that I think it’s in favor to say that it’s a bad game now. Or that it is kind of a kids game now. I don’t own it anymore, but I’d have no problem playing it. Why, because there is strategy and a bunch of luck to it.

My issue or why I cooled on Splendor is that I’ve played it dozens of times. I guess that with it being the first game I was introduced to as a modern board game, I probably have played it fifty times. That is a lot to play a game that generally plays out fairly similarly with no one wanting sheep.

Now, I want to say that there are expansions as well. Some of them make the game more interesting, some more complex, and some longer. But generally what they add hasn’t moved it back up on the list for me of games that I really enjoy.

3. Splendor

Splendor falls into the same camp as Catan. Less luck, but one that I played a ton of times. And as I play it, I never think that Splendor is going to end differently or that this game is going to be that different.

Splendor has two strategies. You buy small cards until everything expensive is cheaper and discounted enough so you can get them very fast. Or you save up and buy bigger cards for the points. Which is a better strategy, it at times comes down to which cards are flipped over on the next flip of the piles.

So there is a luck element to the game. But it is really that Splendor doesn’t offer enough exploration of the game for me, at this point. I play Splendor and nothing is different from game to game. Which is a common problem or a common reason for games to drop or get cooled on.

2. Dominion

Now, Dominion is one I know a ton of people still love. And this one, I understand why people still like it a lot. I understand why new sets sell like hot cakes. But, for me, Dominion lost it’s luster pretty quickly and dropped for me.

The big reason is the fixed market. I find that if one person knows Dominion strategy well, they pick the best or most optimal play and stick with it. Dominion is winnable at the start of the game, and then you play the whole game still.

I also find that I want to explore a game and it’s strategies. When I play Ascension, I adapt to what comes out. I need to play different strategies depending on the situation. In Dominion, the exploration is solving that one puzzle first. And if I play with people who like to explore it as well, we play suboptimal and enjoy. But one person who knows how to win at Dominion, it lessens or makes that experience not that fun.

1. Cards Against Humanity

Finally is Cards Against Humanity. I am 100% done with the game. While I might play Dominion and Splendor again, and I would play Munchkin and Catan again, I will not play Cards Against Humanity again. And I do think some of it is that my tastes have matured. Cards Against Humanity uses sophomoric and gross out humor in it’s game. That is not a game just to use those. And not every party game needs to add a NSFW expansion.

But that is not the main reason. The main reason is that when you play you see most of the cards. At least that is my finding. People play and go through the cards in a big group in a sitting or two. So now each time after no card is new to you. It is why the expansions are so successful for it. I know all the cards, the jokes, potty humor, whatever it is, aren’t as funny anymore. So people buy more cards and more cards in hopes it will still be good.

But the cycle is there. Once you start, the same thing happens over and over again. And I don’t want to spend money each time I play in hopes I get new cards that make me laugh. That is where I felt like Cards Against Humanity, and a lot of party games let me down. And it makes much more particular with the party games I buy.

Final Thoughts

I hope even with Cards Against Humanity, I laid out well why it doesn’t work for me. If that is a game you love, play it. My theory is play more games, even if they aren’t ones I like, still play them. And explore more games because it is fun.

I know my tastes have changed over time. And I know my tastes are even changing now. I love dungeon crawler and campaign games, that might never change. But even with those, I am becoming more particular about what I back and what I play. Why, because I own and play a lot of them. But I don’t have time to own and play them all.

What are some games that you have cooled on during your time as a gamer?

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How To Play – Via Magica

Like I said, Via Magica is a bingo style game. Or maybe more Super Mega Lucky Box style game, though, Via Magica came out first. In this game you are trying to capture animus to open different portals, all very magical. What that means is you have three portals in front of you and as a player draws out tokens, you match the animus type, colored white, blue, red, brown, green, and black, to the animus needed on that card. There are wilds, and when that is drawn, you reset the bag of tokens and draw some more.

However, you only have a limited number of crystals. You put them out and you might have two near completion but no crystals left. Depending on what is drawn, you can move crystals around to get a card completed. When you complete a card, you pick a new card. And once someone has completed seven, the game is over.

But it isn’t just that, each card has a power, or a lot do. It might be that you score two points for each green animus that you have. Or it might give you 12 points but be a hard card to complete. And some might make a color wild or allow you to place animus of a certain type for free. So you try and build up combos that will help you get the most points. Because at the end of the game, most points wins.

What Don’t I Like?

I have played this at two and it plays up to six, so I want to play with more. The reason I want to play it with more is that the market of portal cards is pretty static with two players. I might complete a portal, take a new one, and then complete a second one with only one new portal being available. This isn’t a major issue, but with more players the market would be in flux more. It’s a minor quibble with the game, though.

I also wish that the tiles that you draw were nicer. In my final thoughts I’ll talk about how this gives me a bit of a Splendor vibe. Splendor has great chips in the game, and then fewer other components. I wish this one has Splendor like chips as you do draw them from a bag, so as they are handled they will start to wear out. Not as fast as Quacks of Quedlinburg, the chip here are handled less. But it’s worth noting.

What Do I Like?

Simplicity

I like the simplicity of the mechanics. The game is easy to setup, easy to teach, and easy to play. It says 30 minutes, I think in lower player counts that is a bit long for the game. Two players probably takes 20 minutes, unless you get really poor draws. So it falls easily into that category of from box to teach to table in 10 minutes tops. And if everyone knows how to play, probably five minutes.

The game is also going to scale really well. I draw an animus tile, everyone puts down on their portal, if they can or if they want. So while with more players it’ll take longer because it’ll take more time for people to pick portals. This is not going to be a long game ever. Maybe at the full six players it’d take 40 minutes in a slow group. Goes back to that simplicity of the mechanics.

Strategy

I also think, that while it is simple to play, there is strategy and choice in what you are doing. Not tons of a complex level, but when you finish a card matters. I play down onto a portal that lets me place out two crystals on blue animus immediately. Well, if I don’t have two open blue animus in play, that is a waste of my play. Or in the last game I played, I got three colors to be wilds for me which wasn’t a ton of points, but gave me a ton of flexibility early in the game to then go for bigger points.

I think this is an area that people will overlook. They will see it like Super Mega Lucky Box and see such a simple game but not realize the strategy that you can have. And probably lose their first game because of that. There is a lot of luck in the game, what is pulled out of the bag. But there is strategy or thought that goes into which portals you do and when you try and finish a portal.

Who Is It For?

This is a good filler game for gamers who want something quick while waiting for more people to show up. Or maybe as the game night is winding down. Not some party game, but a game with decisions that is fast to play and get to the table.

But, this is also a good game for when you are with non-gamers. The artwork is cute, the rules are so simple, and it plays fast. I could see pulling this one out with family and playing it twice or three times in a sitting, because the game is that easy to get to the table. And it is that level of a Splendor where the rules are simple, animus is drawn, you place a crystal. But as you play you learn more of the game.

Final Thoughts on Via Magica by Hurrican

I really enjoy this game. In fact, I prefer it to Splendor. There are a few games, Century Golem Edition, and now Via Magica, that I put in the same weight as Splendor, same depth of strategy as it were. And I prefer both of them to Splendor. Both Century Golem Edition and Via Magica have more strategies that you can try. And while I might eventually feel like I’ve played enough of either, it’ll take much longer than it did with Splendor.

Now, it isn’t going to be a game that works for everyone. It is a very simple game, but treating it as such should entertain most people. It is a great filler where it isn’t just a lucky party game. And there is no scaling to worry about for the game. So it will never play longer, which I love in games. That way it falls int some of those roll and write categories like Super Mega Lucky Box. But it is also like Sushi Go Party! that way with decisions but not too many.

I want to always have a game like this in my collection. The type of game I play with anyone. It might not get played all the time, but it will get played. It is like Ticket to Ride or Small World in that way. I play those once a year, maybe. But they come off the shelf, and I keep them because they will always find time to get played.

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

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So this is a list of 10 games, in no particular order. Also worth noting, it’s a list of 10, I’m unlikely to buy most of them as a lot will be big, but I’ll likely buy a few.

10 Board Games in 2023

10. Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Board Game

I almost considered backing this one, but it just didn’t quite draw me in. But I love the material that it’s based on, I think I mainly played Heroes of Might and Magic IV. And it’s a world exploring adventure, fighting game which has some interesting systems. So I want to get my hands on this one and try it, because of that. And because it’s a big game but isn’t one that is all about the minis or all about an epic campaign which is different. And it’s not cooperative, which is also different for me.

9. Earth

Another one that was on Kickstarter, and Earth is a much smaller game than a lot on the list. But for that reason, I didn’t back it, I thought it was an interesting one to pick-up later. It’s an engine building game, which I generally like. And with a smaller package I’ll enjoy that as well. Plus it’s an engine building game about creating your own ecosystem which is fun, and the game looks very pretty. So that’s enough for a reason for me to be interested, it’s a pretty game.

8. Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game

I didn’t consider backing this one because the Terraforming Mars games, generally no need to back them. And the Dice Game looks interesting and like more Terraforming Mars. I already own Ares Expedition and I like that one. Plus I own Terraforming Mars that I need to play. But like Earth, this is going to be another engine building game which I’m certainly interested in. And it’s based off of a system at least with Ares Expedition that I like and a theme that I like.

7. Arkeis

People are complaining a lot about this one because it’s taken a long time to deliver. I believe it was crowdfunded in 2019 or very early 2020 and it’s got a 2023 date. But it’s one that I am very interested in grabbing at retail when it comes out.

It’s a legacy game, but a legacy game set in Egypt and delving into tombs and temples to get treasures. I’m not sure how it’ll all work, but I’m excited for it for the legacy campaign aspect but also for the setting and the potential for story. I really like Lost Ruins of Arnak which generally has that theme, so I’m hoping that Arkeis will be more immersive game play.

6. Soul Raiders

This one says it was on Kickstarter or Crowdfunding and it looks vaguely familiar, but I’m surprised I didn’t look into it more. The designer did Splendor before, a game that I don’t love, I think this one sounds very interesting. A high fantasy setting will get me interested.

Plus then it had deck building in it as well, which I enjoy. I’ve wanted to find a good campaign game that uses deck building heavily in it as I think it’s a mechanic that makes sense. And the artwork looks nice, so it’s one that I want to try and play, maybe not own, but play.

5. Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders

Have I mentioned that I like big campaign games? Well, I do. And Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders is a follow-up, in setting to Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef, which I just got. So I do want to get this one as well, it’s a dungeon crawling campaign game set in that world. And that world, while it might not come through too much in Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef, is gorgeous to look at.

So if I can start to get story and explore characters in that world, I’m interested. Plus when it was on crowdfunding, I thought it looked intriguing. Mainly it looks like the action system is going to be very different with ebbs and flows of it building from lighter turns to bigger turns.

4. My Island

This one I doubt that I’ll get in 2023 but I wouldn’t be surprised if I get it later. It’s a legacy game, follow-up to My City, this time with an Island. I haven’t beat My City yet, or completed it I should say. But I’m really liking it when we do get it played. It is an accessible, easy to pick-up and easy to put down legacy game.

My hope is that My Island is the same thing just some new twists on it. And it’s a legacy game, so I like that element as well. And that’s the reason that I’ll get to it when I get to it. I have enough other legacy games that I really need to get played.

3. Sagrada Artisans

Another one that was on Kickstarter, Sagrada Artisans takes Sagrada and turns it into a legacy game. From what it looked like, it kept a lot of the game the same with drafting dice and creating stained glass windows. But it also added in a coloring element.

So that they could mess around with the windows more, you aren’t placing the dice on the windows but instead coloring in the color you picked, and I’m assuming putting the number down. That sounds like an interesting twist, not the coloring but the non-square windows, and how that’ll work. I hope it’s a light, fun, legacy game, like My City has been and like I hope My Island will be.

2. First in Flight

At this point in time you should know that most of these have been on crowdfunding. Some of that is because it’s hard for publishers to know when a game will come out so far in advance unless it is on crowdfunding. And First in Flight is one that is different, though, it’s a smaller, lighter game where you are trying to collect cards to be able to pull of the longest flight possible.

It’s historically based, so you’re competing with others trying to do the first flight of some length, I believe. And the helpers you can get are actual people. That element also makes it more interesting because it’s a lighter game that is going to give you history. When it was on crowdfunding, I was definitely interested. But it’s in that range of buying it later is probably the smarter plan.

1. Tales from Red Dragon Inn

I’m not going to buy this one, but I do want to play it. I think that Red Dragon Inn is an okay game, and I fully know that I’d like it better if I played it with fewer. I’ve always  played it over the player count, and it just takes a silly game and makes it too long. Tales from Red Dragon Inn is the dungeon crawl adventure that you all go on. I don’t really know how it’s going to work, but they’ve created very interesting characters for the world. So I think it’s something or a world that would be fun to play around in.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of good games out there. I said that there were 16 pages of 2023 games on BGG, I didn’t go through all of them to get my list of 10. Am I missing something huge that I’ll end up loving, most likely. But that’s the fun of gaming and new board games coming out. It’s finding that new board game that you want to play over and over again. Last year, for example, Stars of Akarios wasn’t even on my radar, and now it’s in my Top 10. So we’ll have to see what game comes out of nowhere and just surprises me.

What game are you anticipating coming out in 2023?

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How To Play Project L

Project L is a game about basically playing Tetris, or with Tetris pieces. You are trying to complete shapes by filling in pieces to it. At the start of the game, you have two pieces a single square and two squares, but you get more as the game goes along.

On your turn you have a number of actions that you can do. And you get to take three of them per round. You can pick up one of the shape cards that you need to fill in and put it in front of you. Next you can upgrade a piece, and they have different levels which determine how you can upgrade. Or you can take a basic piece. You can clear a row, or one important one is you can master. Master you can do once per turn, but allows you to put a piece in every shape that you have.

The game continues until you get down to none of the harder tiles left. After that you finish out the round plus one more. That way each person gets a similar number of turns. Then you count up points on your shapes, and most points wins.

What Doesn’t Work?

The base game is a lot of fun, and I have more positives than negatives. However, I am concerned about how the base game will play over a lot of plays. I expect it to stick in my collection because the game is very accessible, more on that later. But for me, without the Finesse expansion or Ghost expansion which I want to get, will it be interesting enough.

The game play itself is simple, and after a handful of plays. I feel like it doesn’t change up too massively. Now, I think it can change up with different players because if I go for the higher scoring cards and push the end game faster, that will make it feel different. But if I build up a really strong set of pieces and go from there, it’s going to feel like what I’ve done before.

What Works?

The ease and time of play are great on this game. In a two player game, turns are snappy. And while there is decision space with what shapes you take, how you allocate your pieces, things like that, it isn’t daunting. I felt like I could sit down and play this game with anyone.

The game also looks great on the table. The bright colored pieces that you are fitting into the black and white cards makes the game pop. It makes it feel easy to get to the table and play. And the pieces are a lot of fun, very high quality game.

Who Is This For?

I think that this is a great game for gamers to teach people getting into the hobby. Or to teach players who gravitate towards that Splendor, Ticket to Ride, and Smallworld weight of game. I don’t know that this will work for a group of heavier gamers. It might work a few times but it won’t be one that sticks around because the decision space and strategy for the base game is a bit limited.

But more casual gamers, I highly recommend this game. Project L is a game that should be in Target and sell a million copies or at least one hundred thousand, because it is fun, it is easy to learn, and it looks great. Put this on a shelf next to a lot of games and it’ll stand out.

Project L- Final Thoughts

I think that this is going to be one that sticks around in my collection. And I think that even though it won’t be one that I always want to play. Because while the game play is fun and easy, I’m not sure the base game has the level of strategy that I want.

I am hopeful, with looking at the expansion, that will improve the game for me. This is a game that should have staying power on my shelf for a lot of people I game with. And I don’t think it is going to be a game where I will turn down playing it. I also think that the expansion is going to make that even less likely that I’ll turn down playing it. Mainly because it looks to add to the puzzle of the game.

Finally, this isn’t part of the review, but there is a insert or Game Trayz for Project L. I’m not sure if it’ll be something you can buy later, but man, is it nice. Takes what could have been a bit of a messy table and a slower set-up and makes an easy game easy to get to the table.

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

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Today, though, I want to take a different tact. There is a lot about why you should get rid of games. But not all games fall into the category of play it, then get rid of it. Or why did you buy it in the first place, you already have 20 campaign games, you don’t need all of Kingdom Death Monster. I believe games can fall into three different categories in your collection. The games that you need to keep, the games you want to keep, and the games you should probably get rid of.

The Board Games You Need To Keep

Now, I use the word need here. There are no board games that you truly need. Board games are a hobby, and no hobby is a need. That said, there are some games that you will want to keep no matter what. These games fall into a few different categories or reasons why you keep them.

Firstly, you play the game often. So board games that you play a lot, you can most definitely keep those. You need them because you play them. That one is simple enough to grasp.

Next, you might keep a game because it’s a grail game. But even this is not a great reason to keep a game. If you aren’t playing a grail game, why do you need it on your shelf? Sometimes, though, a game is just so hard to come by that it won’t be worth the hassle of getting it back. Especially if it’s a game that you found before it was hard to get or just stumbled across. Also, if the grail game still brings you joy.

For example, I’ll remember stumbling across Tannhauser at a used book store, or getting the minis for Dice Throne Adventures off of Facebook Marketplace, as how I got the game. So there is joy of the hunt for those games. And having that on your shelf and reminding you might be enough.

That brings us to the final reason you might need a game, it brings you joy. This is a game that you look at, possibly a grain game, and you see it and it just makes you happy. You don’t feel regret that you aren’t playing it, you are just happy you own the game.

The Board Games You Want To Keep

Now, the final reason of need is also the main reason that you might want to keep a board game. The game brings you joy. But these are the games that bring you less joy than other games. An example for myself, owning Xenoshyft: Onslaught, and Dreadmire brings me joy. I don’t really need two things that are basically the same game. I should play both and pick my favorite.

So it is more of a want to keep both? They bring me joy. Another way to put it is that while you might have a lot of the type of game you love. I own a lot of deck builders and a lot of stuff for a lot of deck builders. Do I need Xenoshyft, Aeon’s End, Ascension, Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle and more in my collection? No, I don’t play all of them all the time. But deck building brings me joy.

This can also be the games that you maybe don’t love, but you play. Another example from my collection would be Splendor. I think it’s an okay game that I’d play but never seek out to play. I feel like I’ve played it and I don’t need to again. But, my wife likes the game, and she can pull that one off the shelf and teach and play it. That is a game I want to keep because other people like it and want to play it. This really works for games that people ask to play.

One important thing though is that games you want to keep shouldn’t be games that weigh you down. Some games when they are on the shelf, you look at them and you feel bad that you aren’t playing them. Those games fall into the third category.

The Board Games You Should Get Rid Of

This is the hardest category, there are reasons to think you shouldn’t get rid of any game. What if someone wants to play that one game that has been collecting dust for years. You got a good deal on a game, so it’d likely cost more to get it back. Or it’s out of print, so it’ll be more difficult to track down later.

Before we pick apart some reasons to keep, let’s talk about some reasons to get rid of a game. The most obvious one is that you don’t play it. If you don’t play it, why do you keep it? Does it bring you joy? Okay, but does it bring you enough joy to eat up a spot on your shelf? Is it in a genre that you just adore, well, maybe keep it. But sometimes it’s better to know your putting a game into the hands of someone who will play it.

Honestly, that is the reason that you get rid of a game, you don’t play it. But to add another twist on that, it weighs you down. That’s the idea that you look at the game and you feel bad that you aren’t playing it. And it feels like it’s too much work to learn the rules and play it, but you feel bad you aren’t. Get rid of games like that. They are a mini black hole on your shelf and soon they’ll start sucking the joy out of other games around them, because you always see that one game.

But now let’s tackle some of the excuses that you might be using to keep games around.

What If Someone Wants To Play The Game?

This one is simple, they can buy it. Or we can make it slightly less simple, they can let you know they want to play it and you can buy it. This is something I want to work on this year, the idea of getting a game just in time. Some games I want to keep on my shelf because they get played, but if a new game comes out, let’s say So Clover as a party game example, I can buy that right before a game night. I don’t need to buy it two months or two years before I’ll play it.

It Was Such A Good Deal Though

So, what does that matter if you don’t play the game. Buying a game because it “was a good deal” still uses money that you could be spending on other things. Even non-board game related things. And if you sell the game now, or trade it, you’ll get money to buy a board game or part of a board game that you’ll actually play. Or something else that you actually need. If or when you want to play the game again, you can buy it again, probably on sale again.

It’s Out Of Print, It’ll Be Hard To Find Later

It might be hard, but it won’t be impossible. And if you are savvy with selling it, you will break even when you want to get it back. And this is still a game that you’re not playing. It might even be a game that you don’t like that well. So why would you want it to eat up some space on your shelf. Like the game that was such a good deal, this is money that is just sitting there. But in this case, it is more money that could be going into a game that you will play.

This is one that i really do see so often, it’s the idea that people don’t love a game, but it’s hard to find. That is a bad reason for it to be in your collection. Just because it is rare isn’t going to make you like it more. Let someone else who is having trouble finding a game that they like and want to play, get the game. Sell your copy, and then get a game you will play.

It’s My Favorite Type Of Game

But does it bring you joy? Or does it weigh you down? If it isn’t bringing you joy, that doesn’t matter that it’s your favorite mechanic. I don’t own Dominion even though I love deck building games. Now, in all fairness, I don’t like Dominion as a deck building game, it is a game that kind of plays itself for me. I do not need it in my collection because I won’t play it. The other ones I do pull off the shelf from time to time all of them.

Let’s Run Through Some Examples In My Collection

So, like that whole long title says, I want to use some games in my collection as an examples of different things.

Gloomhaven

When was the last time I actually played Gloomhaven? Well not this year, and not in months. I have beat the campaign and I don’t intend to go back and play it again anytime soon.

But it isn’t going to be leaving my collection. This is a game that I absolutely love. Even if I never come back to it again. I like having it on my shelf to think about all the great fun I had playing it. This is a game that brings me so much joy. Plus it’s marked up and has stickers, so while I’m sure someone would like a cheaper used copy, the return isn’t worth losing that spot of joy on my shelf.

Xenoshyft: Onslaught

This is a simple one, I play the game often. Now, what determines often might be different for different people. I think I played it 3-4 times last year, and when I played 70+ different games and 100+ were Orchard, that is pretty often.

The Blood Inn

Now this one is trickier. I haven’t played the game yet. Technically it is part of my goal to get down to under 100 games in my collection that I haven’t played. And I do want to play it, the theme is fun and I think I’d enjoy the game. I just need to play it and see if it is a game that I like.

Marrying Mr Darcy

This is kind of my stand-in for Splendor. This is a game that my wife backed on Kickstarter and I do like playing it. It isn’t that far off of my top 100. But it is a game she can easily pull off the shelf and teach and play with people. And that happens fairly often. So that one won’t leave the collection for that reason.

Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate

Finally we have Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate, and this one I think is actually going to leave my collection. You know I love Betrayal at House on the Hill. And Betrayal at Baldur’s Date is the same thing, just the fantasy version of that, the D&D version. And I love D&D. But if I were to pick one of the two games, Betrayal at House on the Hill will get played every time before Baldur’s Gate. And I have Betrayal Legacy that I need to play as well. So there are two games ahead of Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate.

But does it give me joy? Meh, I don’t feel like it’s a weight, but it also doesn’t make me smile every time I see it. It is just more of a game and game system I know I love in a package I like slightly less than the original version. And it’s a game that if I want to get it back, I can.

Final Thoughts

So we actually found a game during this that can leave my collection. Some people say that as you start culling it can be addicting. It feels like a weight leaving your shoulders because you don’t need to worry about playing that game. I can see that to some extent, but that’s not why I cull. And I think, to start, it doesn’t feel like that. It feels bad that you are selling a game that you didn’t play as much as you wanted to.

I cull games and sell games for a few reasons. When I sell a game it means that someone else can enjoy that game. If I’m not playing it, now someone who really wants it can play it. I’m passing on the joy of board gaming to someone else. Plus I get money or store credit, and now I can get a game I want to play even more.

And I really mainly do it for that last reason. I want to find a game that works better for me. If a game doesn’t get played or is just fine for me, why keep it in the collection. Instead, let someone else play it and quest for that next game that is great for me.

Do you find it hard to get rid of games? And do you have games that you love but you know you won’t play, but they still stay anyways? Let me know what those games are in the comments below.

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Kohaku Game Play

Like I said in the introduction, Kohaku is very easy to play. You draft tiles, two of them that are adjacent. One is going to be a koi tile and one is going to be a feature tile. The koi don’t give you points themselves, unless they have a coin on them. Instead, as you place them out into a tableau in front of you, you place koi near features to help them score points. For example, a feature might give you two points for each red or yellow koi next to it or three points if they are both red and yellow.

After a number of rounds, I believe 14 in a two player game, you tally up your score. There are six, I think, different scoring features, some just being five point turtles, to more complex ones scoring for all of a color in a row and a column. At the end of the game, the person with the most points is the winner.

What Doesn’t Work?

For what this game is, there are very few things that don’t work. And what I am going to say doesn’t work is kind of a nitpicking. But the game comes with amazing acrylic tiles that have the koi and features, more on them later. But when they are shipped, there is a film on them, this is to protect them when being cut. That hurt, like fingers legitimately hurt after taking all of those off the fronts and backs in probably an hour and a half of time. So it’s trick to get to the table to start.

Then my one real complaint is the scoring track. All the scoring is done at the end, and they give you a little neoprene mat where you draft your koi and features from with a score track at top. The track doesn’t have a zero, it goes 1 through 9 and 10 through 90. If you know that, you can count it correctly. If you don’t, you’ll score it wrong going straight from 1 to 9. This would be better with a 0 on the track. But even then, it’d be much better as a score pad.

You can watch a good playthrough of this game over on GloryHoundd YouTube channel, which I have below.

What Works?

Firstly the aesthetic of the game is amazing. The tiles are beautiful. The neoprene mat, while I have issues with the scoring is very nice. And they made it as pretty as it is without taking away from the functionality of the game. You can easily see how many baby koi or dragonflies are on tiles. The scoring tiles all have their scoring printed on them. You don’t wonder what is going on as you play.

Play is also very fast. Can you spend time figuring out your perfect move, sure, but you are taking two tiles from a total of twelve. And even in that you are limited because you need to select adjacent tiles, and only orthagonally not diagonally. Plus the game is a lighter game, so it’s not one that is meant to be maxed out to the highest point total possible. I’m sure some people will, but it isn’t a game that should be.

Weight wise it reminds me of Calico, a simple game to play with a lot of scoring. The scoring in Calico restricts what you can do or what you need. It does in Kohaku as well, but because you are always drafting a feature, you open up more spots and ways to score. And through three plays, it seems like almost all the scoring tiles are about equally as good. Turtles being the worst, but being a guaranteed five points no matter what.

The game is also fast in play time. Fourteen rounds, two turns per round, took us maybe 20-25 minutes per game. For a game that gives you a good choice each turn, that is really fast. And while I don’t need to be engaged in my opponents turn, I often am. Not because they can mess me up too much, just because I can start to plan while the person before me goes.

What Do I Want To See In More Plays?

Firstly, I want to try this at a higher player count. I played Kohaku three times, but it was all at two players. And it works very well at two players, but I’m curious to see how it plays with more people. I didn’t strategize too much with blocking my opponent at two player. But I think that’d be even less of a thing with more players.

I like that Kohaku seems to let you focus more on building out your own tableau to score points versus stopping your opponent from getting stuff to score points themselves. If you try and block, you likely will tank your points too much. Instead, when you choose between two equally good things, you maybe choose the one that hurts your opponent more.

I also want to see how well this holds up over a lot of plays. I’ve played it three times in a row, and because it is so fast had a great time with it. But after 10 plays will it start to feel the same or not? I think that it could, but also I think that it might not matter as much. For example, Splendor generally seems the same to me and I got tired of it. But Splendor also takes longer. This feels as easy as Splendor but faster, and I think more interesting in the choices I make.

Kohaku Initial Impressions

This is a fun game. It is a simple game. I actually almost brought it up to family Christmas because it is a family weight game. And I could see my family liking this game because it is a pretty game to get to the table. Is this a game that I’m always going to want to play, unlikely. But I think it’ll have a spot on my shelf for a long time.

It really comes down to the scoring. While the koi and features determine some of your direction, you can try lots of different scoring ways. And to me, that experimenting with the game makes it a lot of fun. Like I said, that might end eventually with more plays. But it is a game that fits a nice niche. Games like this stick around longer because they play so well with a wide number of players.

Have you played Kohaku, what are your thoughts on it? Is it one you want to try?

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But let’s talk about what board games I’m going to be doing a list on first. I’m doing Gateway Plus Games. What does that mean? A gateway game is a game that you can introduce to anyone. Gateway plus is one that you introduce to people after that. These are for the people who are just getting into board games but maybe haven’t gotten far past the level of gateway games. They know and like games like Splendor, Catan, Ticket to Ride, and others. What’s the next level games to introduce?

Calico

This is a game I’ve talked about before and it’s barely a next level game. The game is very simple to play. You have two tiles in front of you can you put one onto your quilt. Then you take one of three tiles and put it in front of you. You do that until your quilts are full. But it’s challenging because of scoring. If you get a group of three of a color, you get a button. A certain size or shape of the same pattern, that’ll attract a cat. And then scoring pieces that want to match patterns and colors.

The game is way more challenging then you’d expect. And most of the time you are hoping that the one piece you really need will come out. There is a lot to worry about with what is going on, but it’s still a blast. The game can be a bit cutthroat feeling if someone takes a piece you need, but generally people want to optimize fo their own scoring.

Roll Player

You might have introduced your friends or family to Sagrada. That can be a slightly past gateway game depending on the set-up. But it’s generally quite friendly and fun dice drafting game. Roll Player steps that concept up just a little bit and makes it a whole lot nerdier. You’re still drafting dice, but now you’re using them to build a Dungeons and Dragons or other RPG character. And all you’re trying to do is match the stats to where you want them to be.

The game works really well and the Monster and Minions expansion adds in more to the game. Now you have to deal with monsters as well, which I think adds to the overall game. It makes it feel like you’re doing more. This one is gateway plus because there is just a little bit more going on with making money, buying cards, and casting spells. But it’s still easy to get into and for a friend who is a bit more nerdy.

Photosynthesis

Another more abstract game like Calico. Photosynthesis is all about growing trees, but in a very cutthroat way. Here you are planting trees, growing trees, and then when the trees mature harvesting them for points. But the game has a really clever mechanism to it. The sun rotates around the board, so you get light points (action points) to use based off of how many and sizes of your trees seeing the sun.

Where the game gets cutthroat is that you can block out the sun from other people. Two trees of the same height, if the sun is hitting one that one can block the other. Or larger trees have a bigger reach as to what they can block. This is going to be for that person who likes moving the robber around in Catan.

Hanamikoji

This is a two player only game, but it’s very thinky, and I think for a lot of gamers, especially maybe a chess gamer (which chess isn’t gateway) but someone looking to branch into more hobby board games, this will be a good puzzle. The game is extremely simple, you do four different actions each round. But each choice is to hard to make.

You either take a card to score, which is hidden, discard two face down, give your opponent the choice of three cards for winning favor or get two pairs of cards and your opponent picks one. The push and pull of trying to control the favor of the Geisha is really well done in this game and the game plays extremely fast.

Dice Throne

The final one is also two player and it’s on Kickstarter right now as a Marvel version. So if you have a big Marvel fan in your life you can get this for them. Otherwise, you can always pick up the fantasy version that is already out there. Pick two of your favorite duel packs and you can get playing right away. This is generally a two player head to head dice battling game, but you can play it more.

In fact, I really like the three player version where it is king of the hill. If you attack the person with most life you get a bonus. It’s a really good game with more strategy than you might think with Yahtzee style dice rolling. When you upgrade cards, how you push your luck and use cards to manipulate dice make this a more challenging and fun version of something like King of Tokyo, which I consider a Gateway Game.

What game would you get that is Gateway Plus? This is something that I see a lot that people want that next game on board game groups. And people give games like Scythe or Gloomhaven, or whatever their favorite game might be. I wanted to put together this Christmas list of ideas for you for friends who are interested in games, or games to ask for yourself if you’re just getting into the board game hobby.

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My Farm Shop

Let’s just start out by saying that this game compares to Machi Koro, if you’re familiar with that game it’ll help with some of the mechanics. In My Farm Shop you are getting goods to then sell for coins, which are your victory points. You have 10 different areas on your board all which correspond to numbers, 2 through 12 actually with 2 and 12 sharing the same space. These are your farm plots where you can grow things, or where you get your yarn, honey, milk, or eggs. You trade in those goods to get coins, which are your points. But how it works is interesting.

On your turn you roll three dice. You use one of those dice to get a new field. These are the spots where you get your goods or coins. So you can upgrade a spot which gives you an egg to give you two balls of yarn instead. And then the other two dice will activate one of those fields, hence the 2 through 12. There are a set number of cards that go onto the board and as you finish off that pile the game ends. The player with the most points wins.

What Didn’t Work

This game generally works. There isn’t that much randomness to it really for a dice game. And while some people can have better luck, there are ways to mitigate that luck if you want to, which I’ll talk about in what I like. I do think that this game might be too simple for a lot of gamers. I’d put this at a complexity level with something like Splendor. And Splendor is a game that is still in my collection and I’ll play, but has run it’s course for me.

There is more decision space, I think, with how you build your engine up, but it’s not that much more than with Splendor. The choice you make is generally pretty obvious, which is fine. It falls into that category of a nice welcoming game, but one that might have a limited shelf life for a lot of gamers.

What Works

Let’s start with the one thing I teased, the die mitigation. I didn’t talk about it, but there are burlap sacks in the game. Another resource you can get. They are used to modify the dice just for you. So you want card #4 for your engine, but you don’t roll a four, you can reduce a five to a four or a three up to a four. Or a nine is getting activated but you really need to activate eight, so you can spend a burlap sack adjust down to an eight. It makes the burlap sacks important.

I also like that early in the game you can always activate everything. At the end you might have a dead turn, but for the most part what you start with just gives you stuff. Even later in the game, you need to decide how to spend those burlap sacks to try and optimize your engine. So you are always paying attention. If you aren’t rolling the dice, those other two dice still do activate what you have.

The game speed is also very nice. Now, I’ve only played this at two players, it will be longer with more people, but I don’t know it’ll be that much longer. Plus since you are always engaged it makes the game more interesting. And with more people points will be higher because you’ll activate more things, which will be satisfying because it’ll push the points higher. I like it when a game might be longer but rewards you by allowing you to do more.

Final Thoughts on My Farm Shop

This game isn’t going to be for everyone. When I say that it is light, it is a very light game. This is one that I think my wife will like, I think I can play with my parents, and it’ll go over well. The game is easy to teach and easy to play. That said, for heavier gamers, this game is going to be too light. For me, I can see this one getting played with the right groups. It’s also a nice filler sort of game when you don’t want too simple a filler.

Overall, it is a good game. It is also a good game at a good price. There are a fair amount of pieces in the box without it having a $50 price tag, which you’d expect for a box that size. I think that for a casual game night this will be a hit.

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

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