Gamefound Fall Feast

Altered – Seeds of Unity

This is a TCG that I haven’t checked out before. This is going to be the first expansion for it, and it sounds interesting to me. I have held off on playing it though. So this is not going to be a new one that I get at least in terms of the crowdfunding campaign. But I would expect that I’ll get some of it at some point in time coming up here, because I really do want to try it. There are so many cool things with it with the technology aspect of it as well.

You can follow Altered – Seeds of Unity here.

Dungeons & Dragons: Xanathar Device Holder and Dice Tower Collectible

This is going to be some fun stuff for your gaming table. It will hold your phone with a fun Xanathar look to it. Plus it is a dice tower as well. While this looks cool, this is something that is just very much an extra for your D&D game. For me this is not something I need to add to my game.

Follow Dungeons & Dragons Xanathar Device Holder here.

Quake The Board Game

I don’t know a ton about Quate, but I know it’s a popular video game IP. I like the sound of it, though, as you build up abilities and weapons. It sounds like there are scenarios that you can play as well as a death match mode. I think it sounds most interesting as a cooperative experience against the game. I find that head to head battlers, while I like a lot of them, I only play a few.

Follow Quake here.

The Hunters A.D. 1492

This is one that I was really interested in when it was first coming out. It’s a campaign game which I love. And you are going to be monster hunters are a big campaign. I heard that the first version was maybe just okay. This is one that I want to checkout if I can coming up here at some point in time.

Follow The Hunters A.D. 1492.

Claustrophobia 1692

This is a two player head to head game where one player is going through a dungeon and the other player is playing as the monsters. It is another one that I think sounds really fun, but it’s also a bigger two player game which is harder for me to want to get. But I really trust Devir as a company, so I hope that it’s something I can checkout. The theme is fun as well with these prisoners and the hell monsters coming through.

Follow Claustrophobia 1692 on Gamefound.

Travail

Travail is going to be 1-2 player game that is rogue-like adventure. I love a good rogue-like games. This is definitely a grim dark setting, and the minis look great. I hope to learn more about how it’s played. Right now the video is just about that theme in the game. And I think that the theme is really interesting and the minis look great and creepy of the fallen angels, but how is the game going to play.

Follow Travail here.

Fireteam Zero

This game is coming back. I actually own it, but I need to play it still. This is a new version of the game that is going to be backwards compatible. Now it is something that I won’t likely back because I need to play my own copy. This sounds like the type of game I’d love which is why I bought it previously. So this is probably just a reminder that I need to play it.

Follow Fireteam Zero.

Goa

Now we are into the euro game section of the list. Goa is one that already existed before, but now it’s coming back. This is going to be a very deluxe edition of the game. So if you want a new and fancy version of the game, this is going to be for you. Plus the game has been out of print for a while, so it’ll be a great chance to get it. And it’s going to be the first time with a solo mode.

Follow Goa here.

Ardevur

This is a game about mining. That is interesting in terms of a theme. But this is going to be a very euro type of game. The game looks very nice and it looks like it is going to be very heavily economic. I think there are going to be a lot of people who like it, but also I know this is not a game for me.

Follow Ardevur here

Inferno 1348 Deluxe Edition

This is going to be grow upon what is happening in Inferno. This is going to be all about about the Black Plague. And it is going to be an expansion for the game. Inferno is one that I was interested in when it was out the first time. I would love to try this before I would play it. I need to look more into the reviews for the game and see if it’s one I think would hit my table.

Follow Inferno 1348 on Gamefound.

Hegemony – Shadows of Authority

This is another expansion where you play different parts of society. Hegemony is not a game that has interested me at all. While it is likely going to be a great expansion and great game, this is not a game or theme that is interesting to me. In fact so much that I’d be hard pressed to set aside the time to play it.

Follow Hegemony – Shadows of Authority here.

Dicequest

This is going to be a game where you combine heroes and items. When you try and go on quests and complete them. You can play solo, cooperative, or competitive in this game. The competitive is going to add in take that cards. This is from the designer of Super Fantasy Brawl, a game that is in my Top 100, so it’s a game that is very interesting to me. I expect it’ll have interesting decisions but easy game play based off of Super Fantasy Brawl.

Follow Dicequest

Boss Hunters

Let me guess, Boss Hunters is a boss battler game. This is a strategy and positioning game. It’s going to be a tactical game which is interesting. The game play is interesting because you flip cards from active to passive actions but when you use an active action you flip it. So I like the sound of that a lot. And the cards can level up which is going to be good as well for me.

Follow Boss Hunters

Shiver Me Timbers

This is a pirate adventure game. I need to play the adventure pirate game that I own. This one looks like a lot of fun as well and looks like it has a lot of theme and variety that you can do. It’s not a campaign game, but it’s a competitive big adventure and open world game. I think that this is the type of game that I’d love.

Follow Shiver Me Timbers.

Bantam West and Expansion

This is going to be a second edition of Bantam West. I own Bantam West and I need to play it still. So I need to play my copy. This edition is going to be the “improved” version so might be time to jump in and see if it’s a game for you. There is going to be an expansion for the game as well which takes it from 2-4 player to 2-5 players. It’s possible that I might get the expansion, but really, I just need to play the game.

Follow Bantam West 2nd Edition here.

Carnivore

Dinosaur battle time. I love how fun and silly this project sounds, because you really don’t think about taking dinosaurs into a battle. The minis or the mocks of the minis look very good. So we’ll see about the game. And that’s the big question of the game how is it going to play. There is no information about that in the preview video. So it’s something that I can’t tell you too much about it.

Follow Carnivore here.

What Are Your Top 3?

For me there are a number that interest me. And I expect that a lot because the type of game that I love is often the type of game that shows up on crowdfunding. That’s because they need a lot of funds to get the game off the ground, create molds for minis and the like. So it is tricky for me to pick three, but let’s see them in no particular oder.

Dicequest is going to be one of them. I like the sound of this game with going on missions, recruiting heroes and getting equipment. Especially because I hope that it’s not too heavy a game.

Shiver Me Timbers is the next one because of the sand box pirate theme. I love the pirate theme but there are not a ton of good games in that theme. There are some decent ones but not that many that give me a big pirate feel. So I have high hopes for Shiver Me Timbers and the fact that it’s coming back is always a good sign.

Travail is the final one in my Top 3. It is hard to pick just three, but Travail is in because of the rogue-like nature of the game. And it sounds interesting in what it should be doing. Now, I wish that it told me a bit more about game play, but the minis and everything look amazing for the game.

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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?

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Catch up on previous videos here

100 through 91
90 through 81
80 through 71
70 through 61
60 through 51
50 through 41
40 through 31

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition – 30 through 21

30 – Hanamikoji

• Published by EmperorS4 in 2013
• Give gifts to win the favor of Geisha through tricky card play

This is one of my favorite if not my favorite two player only game. There are others on the list that I like at two a lot, but this probably my favorite pure two player game. In this one you want to win the favor of Geisha and you do that by giving them gifts. But it’s how you give them gifts that is so much fun. The four actions you take per round, and each them offers a good decision. Mainly because you don’t know what your opponent has, you don’t know what’s yet to be drawn, and of course you sometimes have to give the ultimate decision to your opponent.

Buy Hanamikoji

29 – For Northwood!

• Published by Side Room Games in 2021
• Try and win the favor of the woodlands rulers by taking the exact right number of tricks

This is a weird game. For Northwood! is a solo trick taking game. And that sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it really does. Mainly because of the powers and abilities and how all of those work. You play out eight hands and you need to win 0 to 7 tricks each time. But you need to decide how many tricks you’ll win before hand. So it’s using your powers and abilities to mitigate or push for winning those tricks and not getting too high or too low. If you can pull off all eight, that is going to be perfect win.

Currently Not Available But Could be through Gigamic.

28 – Arkham Horror: The Card Game

• Published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2016
• Investigate, fight, and solve the mysteries around Arkham in a Lovecraftian story

This is a fun game in Fantasy Flight Games Arkham Files line, in fact it’s my favorite of them. I really like how they use deck building and just cads to create an immersive narrative and experience for a game. It’s fun to play through the story, use your deck, and try the best you can to not fail the checks that you’re given. And it’s also nice because it is a campaign, you play through multiple scenarios, but it’s not a long campaign, so you can pick and choose which short campaigns that they’ve put out for the game that you want to play through.

Buy Arkham Horror: The Card Game

27 – Star Wars: Unlimited

• Published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2024
• Battle to beat your enemy by destroying their base with your dominance in space and on the ground

This is the only Trading Card Game to make the list. And you know I have some beef with Fantasy Flight and Asmodee around how they are handling sending out destroyed cards and basically saying it’s not their fault. But this isn’t for that.

Because, I love the game. The game is a ton of fun to play and I like the deck building for it too. It’s fun to always have a “commander” basically that helps determine what colors you should build it. And I like how the game play is simpler than that of Magic the Gathering. You never worry about running out of lands because your ability to play cards is just cards. Of course, it gives you a great decision as to which cards you put into play as resources or keep in your hand to play.

Buy Star Wars Unlimited

26 – PitchCar

• Published by Ferti in 1995
• Race around the track and be the first to cross the finish line in this flicking dexterity game

PitchCar is just a fun game. I love how simple it is to teach and play and of course how fun it is to set-up a track and build something crazy, if you want. You want a loop, you can build that. You can add in a jump or you can go up a level and have more track go beneath. Of course you need a buy a bunch of it to do that, but it’s worth it to build more and crazier tracks. At the same time, it’s also fun just to have the basic track as well to play with. And it is a good game for all ages.

Currently Not Available

25 – Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

• Published by Stronghold Games in 2021
• Build up your card engine to be the most influential corporation in the terraforming of mars

This is fun card engine building game. You build out a tableau of cards that provide you resources, take actions, help you terraform. But there is more to the game than that. You need to pick what action you want to do, as do your opponents. You may pick the same one but whatever action you pick, you get a bonus doing that. But it isn’t just your action you take, you take your opponents action as well. So I love the strategy in what action do I take based off of what action I think my opponents will take. I might not get a discount or a bonus for doing it, but I do for the one I pick.

Buy Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

24 – Forest Shuffle

• Published by Lookout Games in 2023
• Build up your forest and surround them with the nature that gives you the most points

This is such a pretty game. That is not the spot you’d thought I’d start most likely, but it is. And I like the game a lot for that, but also because it’s a really fun game. In Forest Shuffle you place out trees and then surround those trees with creatures and other plants to build out your forest. Each tree only is able to support a card per side, with a few exceptions. Every card you play is going to give you points in some way. I love it when a game is able to let you score points while still keeping the game simple, which Forest Shuffle does amazingly well.

Buy Forest Shuffle

23 – First Rat

• Published by Pegasus Spiele in 2022
• The moon is made of cheese, so as rats you want to collect items, build space ships, and get to space

The game has a great theme, let’s start there. I enjoy the theme of First Rat and I’m sure that it does help push it higher. But I also like the diversity in what you can do in the game. You might rush to get pieces and shoot one of your rats way up the board. Or you may collect points in other ways, unlock more rats and get them onto the board or push the lights further so when you start to collect resources you get more. And each way is going to give you a good way to win the game. So fun theme, not too complex, but lots of good decisions.

Buy First Rat

22 – Ready Set Bet

• Published by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) in 2022
• Bid on a horse race in real time, can you make the right calls and win all the money?

This is a party game, kind of. I say kind of because it isn’t a party game in the traditional sense. Or what you think of a party game when you think of the mass market ones you find at Target or Wal-Mart. But Ready Set Bet is a fun, light betting game that is done in real time. I love this game for it’s stand-up moments. All the bets are down and all of a sudden the #2/3 horse is coming out of nowhere because you rolled it’s number twice and the race changes.

Buy Ready Set Bet

21 – Paper Dungeons

• Published by Alley Cat Games in 2020
• Roll the dice, level up your heroes, and explore the dungeon in this roll and write game

I suspect that this is my highest rated roll and write game on the list. I don’t know of one that I’d have put higher. But I like this one because it gives you a lot to do but not too much. You need to balance leveling up characters, getting health potions, moving around the dungeon, crafting items, and being able to fight the various bosses to score points. That is a lot, but it really comes down to rolling some dice and deciding how to use two of the dice rolled. And then, if you figure out what to do well you combo into a whole lot more.

Buy Paper Dungeons

Upcoming Streams

Just a reminder on my streaming schedule. It’s not just all my Top 100 Games (of all time).

• Monday night, time varies, I play different small solo games, though I might be looking to start up a campaign again. And generally the streams do start between 8 and 8:30 PM central time.
• Wednesday at 9 PM central is going to continue my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition for another six weeks. After that expect this to be when I play my small games. Only 5 more weeks left of my Top 100 Games, then likely this will switch to smaller solo games and video games.
• Friday at 9 PM central my wife and I are streaming a playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. Join us for the adventure of Nina and Kaerok and see what choices we make.

The best way to know when we go live, though is to subscribe and click that notification bell. I can’t promise, and in fact it’s pretty unlikely, that I’ll have events to click on ahead of time. Though I do want to get better at it. I hope that you can join a stream and hop into the chat. And let me know what games in this list are your favorite or that you want to try.

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Star Wars Unlimited Quality Issues

I knew going into this set, though after I’d ordered my boxes, that there were quality issues with the set. Man vs Meeple did a play of the starter decks, droids vs clones, and the cards were miscut. I believe that it was more of a centering issue with that.

But this is really bad. I was talking about it with my wife last night. And the idea that something like this could happen made sense for her, it’s a mass production. But for me, it’s about the quality control and quality assurances that surprise me about it. Especially for a product that is doing well like Star Wars Unlimited.

I play Magic. And I buy some Pokemon cards and One Piece cards. Throughout my history of buying cards, I think I bought 20,000 cards or so. Figure about 13 cards a pack and well, that’s a lot of packs that I opened. I’ve never seen anything like this from any of them. And in fairness to Fantasy Flight, I own boxes from the previous two sets of Star Wars Unlimited. I found 0 issues with those. So it seems like someone wasn’t doing the job as well as they should have in terms of quality control for this set.

If you watch video #2, you hear me talk through an e-mail that I sent to Fantasy Flight on the issue. My hope is that they send me a replacement for that card or refund me the cost of the cards that I got damaged. I fully expect it won’t be the latter. So if they can compensate me with the showcase card, that is solid on their behalf. Plus I plan on selling the card to people who might be interested in collecting weird cards.

Upcoming Streams

Just a reminder on my streaming schedule. It’s not just all my Top 100 Games (of all time).

• Monday night, time varies, I play different small solo games, though I might be looking to start up a campaign again. And generally the streams do start between 8 and 8:30 PM central time.
• Wednesday at 9 PM central is going to continue my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2024 Edition for another six weeks. After that expect this to be when I play my small games. Only 5 more weeks left of my Top 100 Games, then likely this will switch to smaller solo games and video games.
• Friday at 9 PM central my wife and I are streaming a playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. Join us for the adventure of Nina and Kaerok and see what choices we make.

The best way to know when we go live, though is to subscribe and click that notification bell. I can’t promise, and in fact it’s pretty unlikely, that I’ll have events to click on ahead of time. Though I do want to get better at it. I hope that you can join a stream and hop into the chat. And let me know what games in this list are your favorite or that you want to try.

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

Two Player Board Games

Lord of the Rings Duel

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

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

Hanamikoji

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

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

Star Wars Unlimited

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

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

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

Dice Throne

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

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

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

Fox in the Forest Duet

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

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

Final Thoughts

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

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

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Initial Impressions on Shadows of the Galaxy

So, let’s talk a bit about Shadows of the Galaxy, the second set of Star Wars Unlimited that Fantasy Flight has put out. Because I like elements of it, but also don’t love other elements. And I know that my quibble is pretty minor. But I want to call it out.

Let’s start out with that quibble. Rightfully so, the first set is rebels versus empire. That is what people want, Darth Vader and Luke. And I like that a lot. But the second set, now, doesn’t continue that. I make mention that I got one more rebel card to use with my Leia and Han deck. And I wish that they’d built up those factions a bit more. Or given even just a few more nods to it in the set.

I get building multiple factions, and that is an element that I like. I love the new Bounty Hunter stuff and the bounty mechanism. So I think they were very smart with adding that in. It adds a very cool element to the game. But at the same time. It is a new faction with bounty hunters, smugglers, resistance, first order. All of them are new elements to the game which waters down the pool.

I assume that Fantasy Flight knows what they are doing. And with that assumption, I also assume that they will continue to flesh out those factions over the next few sets. It seems likely that they’d spend their time adding a bit new, but also revisiting what they’ve done before. If we get a new set two down the line with more rebels and empire, my concern is a moot point. And I think it will get there, but I hope it doesn’t take too long to revisit some of the iconic factions.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I play small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well. And I might do more deck construction with Star Wars Unlimited on Mondays as well or pack openings. Right now it’ll be more Slay the Spire.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. I plan on playing a campaign game coming up. Right now I’m torn between two games. Well, more than that if you watched through the end of the video. And that is more of The 7th Citadel. I plan to keep playing through The Drums of Desolation for a while so join me for that.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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How To Build A Star Wars Unlimited Deck

Let’s quickly review how deck building works. I talk about it some as I sort cards at the beginning bug if you want the simple rundown it goes as follows.

Leader and Base

You start by selecting your leader and your base. Right now most bases are the same, and I expect that to be the case going forward. They have no power on them, but they have 30 health. The big thing, as you start building, is that your leader and your base are going to give you three different symbols. This can be two colors on the leader and a separate or repeat on the base.

Color and Cards

Those colors don’t determine what you need to put in the deck, but they do make it cheaper. So I built a deck with green, black, and blue. Any of those symbols on a card I add make it cost the listed amount, however, if I’d put in another color, I can, but for each symbol I don’t have, it costs two more. So I should say less cheaper and more there isn’t raised price on them.

Then, as you pick cards to add to the deck, you can have up to three of each card in there. You need a deck that is 50 cards. It is worth noting that neither your leader or you base count towards that total. And, it is worth noting that not all cards work the same way when having three in the deck. There are some cards with a symbol by the name, those are similar to legendary cards in Magic the Gathering. I might have three of them in my deck, but only one can be in play at a time. If I play a second, I need to destroy one of the two.

Cost

And that is really about it. The deck construction is very simple for Star Wars Unlimited. I am not sure on what a great cost curve is for a deck of cards. The starter decks are probably going to be what I base it off of for the most part. But, as I built this deck, I found that I had about 1/5 of the cards that were above 5 cost. Or it might have been at 5 or above.

I expect that is going to maybe be a little bit low. Just with how you play out resources, being that they are cards that you could play, and having a way to get more into play, it seems likely that I might want more higher cost cards. But we’ll see, I need to sleeve it up and give it a whirl to see what happens.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well. And I might do more deck construction with Star Wars Unlimited on Mondays as well.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. I plan on playing a campaign game coming up. Right now I’m torn between two games. Well, more than that if you watched through the end of the video. But 7th Citadel and Sleeping Gods – Distant Skies are right now at the top of my list. Which would you prefer to see?

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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Thoughts on Star Wars Unlimited

I’m not going to put in too many thoughts here. Why, I already gave them, and I haven’t played it since then. But I will say, I’m excited to play it. And I’m excited to bust into my other box, like I said, possibly streaming it tonight. I want to see what other cards I get and to start building decks.

If you want to see my Star Wars Unlimited thoughts, you can do so here.

And I can’t do it justice at least compared to Rodney Smith and Watch It Played as how to play the game. If you want a good overview of all of that, checkout the video below.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well.

On Wednesdays, well, I said that I plan to play at least a few more games of Mythwind. This is going to continue how I play my solo campaign games on the channel. The reason for that is with how many campaign games I can play solo, I want to try more. That is at 8 PM Central time for the campaign games.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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One Piece Trading Card Game – Pricing

It’s a topic that everyone talks about but no one really wants to talk about with trading card games, and that’s the collectability of the game. Mainly that it’s probably better to buy cards separately than it is to buy them all at once. Why, because buying a pack probably won’t get you your value back, buy a box, much more likely not to get you your value back.

The One Piece Trading Card game is the same as all of those. Now, there is multiple reasons for this, and even with something like Lorcana it’s generally true, because you can’t find it at retail prices. But with all of these, the market prices are placed at a tipping point. That tipping point is based on the likelihood that you pull a card that is worth more than the box.

And that is where the trick of it comes in with pricing boxes. It is that you pull a card, not multiple cards to reach that point. Why, because most of the other cards that are worth anything are worth $1-6. So for a $60 box, you’d need 10 of them at least. But there is a card or three that are worth more than the box. But they are the rarest cards. So you’re looking for the big pulls to make your money back.

Now, there are more cards in One Piece and in most trading card games that can help get you there. I got a $30 alternate artwork card. But it requires pulling multiple cards to make it and it’s a risk. I think I was just off on making my money back on this box, and easily did on the other. So it’s that balancing point of pricing that makes buy boxes and packs a risk.

Upcoming Streams

Let’s run through the stream structure like I normally do. You might already know the schedule but in case you don’t. Wednesday at 8 PM Central I stream either a campaign game, or with this time of year it’s my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition. And join me Wednesday for games 20 through 11, almost to the Top 10. It goes so fast, and now I have so many games that I want to play.

Then on Monday I stream at 9 PM Central time. It’s generally a solo game. Though I’ll also do pack openings for things But normally it’s a solo game and a one off for the game like a roll and write, or sometimes a game like Under Falling Skies or For Northwood, which was on the list today.

But the best way, if you want to know when I go live or a new video goes up (it’s basically always live), please consider subscribing. You can do that here. And click that notification bell on the channel and you’ll always know when I go live.

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How to Play the One Piece TCG

If you know trading card games, you are going to know a lot of the basics of this game. Playing out creatures, them not being able to attack the round they come out, spending a resource for them. All of that is present in the One Piece TCG. But it is not just a clone of Magic the Gathering in all that it does. But the basics, plus getting your opponents life down, those do match what TCG’s are known for.

The basics of your turn go, refresh cards. So characters that attack and Don, your purchase power that you used all refresh. Then you draw a card and you draw and play two Don. Then you get to play out cards, attack with cards, and do what you want to do until you say that you’re done.

When attacking you pick your target. This is something we see in TCG’s more now like Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited. You either attack a spent enemy card, one that attacked last turn, or their leader. The math on it is simple, if you hit with more or equal attack power you win and knock out your opponents character or knock down the leaders health by one. After the leaders health has been hit one more time than they had health cards, you win the game or lose.

Unique or Interesting Elements

There are a few areas in the game that stand out that feel different from other TCG’s. I say different, I mean that loosely. It isn’t Magic the Gathering, but it’s close or offers an interesting decision space even if it isn’t always completely unique.

Don Cards

Let’s start with the Don cards. There are a few things that stand out to me about them. Firstly, you always get two into your resource area every turn. Well, I say every turn, there are ten that form your Don deck, so for your first five turns, six if you’re the starting player, you are adding to your Don. As compared to something like Magic the Gathering, One Piece really keeps you from drawing dead in terms of card play and mana by always adding Don cards.

The other thing with Don cards is that they offers boosts as well. Each one gives you +1000 to attack. So, like I said in game play, you need to meet or exceed your opponents health total. The Don are one way to take a weaker character who might never be targeted or attacked with and launch an attack. But it is +1000 for the turn, then it goes back to your pool of resources. And they are only value if you are the attacker.

Charging

Now, the Don cards with their +1000 are balanced by this idea of Charging. Charging is how the defending player is able to boost, or one of the ways, their characters power. Some of the cards, I believe only characters, in your hand will on the side of the card have a charging amount. To use that, you simply discard the card and you get a boost to the character who is being attacked.

I like this decision space in the game. While the Don are a resource that you can use over and over again to boost, charging is not. You use that card once and it goes to your discard. So two things are happening there, firstly, when do you just take an attack. Sometimes you might, even to your leader to save a card with Charge on it for later or to play into your line of characters. The other thing is, when you charge with it, it’s discarded and gone. So the new question is, do I want to play it or not. Two very solid decisions in the game.

Life and Triggers

Finally, I want to talk about life and how that works. I wrote down life and triggers because they tie together so closely, but we’re going to start with life. The leader you play with has a life amount. Generally from what I know thus far, it’s going to be in that five to six range, maybe down to four, but that’d be a powerful leader. So it is a small life pool that you are defending. If you hit your opponents leader six times successfully with an attack, in most cases that is enough to win.

But your life is cards from your deck. So when you build up your life pool, you take cards from your deck, not knowing what they are, and lay them out in the life area. So you might just have taken out some of your best cards from your deck, you don’t know. The cards that become your life are random.

Then, when you take damage, those cards are taken off the life total one card at a time. And this is another area I really like, you add them to your hand. When they go to your hand, they might have a trigger keyword on them. That gives you a special bonus, that you can sometimes use, when it is taken from the life pool. It might be dry an extra card, that’s nice. Or it might be, put this card into play and that is for free versus paying the cost. So it can be useful, at times, to take a damage and go fishing for card with a trigger on it.

Who Is This For?

It’s interesting, I think that Star Wars Unlimited and Lorcana are built more towards casual gamers. One Piece isn’t quite there with them. Mainly because there are triggers on cards that just add to the complexity. And because when it is my opponents turn, I need to pay attention. There are things like charging or events that I need to pay attention to.

On the other hand, it is also much easier than Magic the Gathering. There is no stack of actions that needs to be resolved. So it’s do an action, see if opponent responds and repeat that process through your turn. It’s a singular action and response system. So that makes it much easier.

Overall, though, this game is for fans of One Piece. The game play doesn’t stand out in the starter decks as being the most unique, but for a fan of One Piece, the trading card game is going to work better.

First Impressions of One Piece TCG

Generally, I feel like I want to play it more. The game and system are fun and they work smoothly enough. It’s not as smooth as Lorcana or Star Wars Unlimited, but it is more complex. That to me is the value that you get from playing a game like the One Piece TCG. There is more game there, at least in the starter decks.

And I do want to say, this is only in the starter decks that I’ve played for Lorcana, Star Wars Unlimited, and the One Piece TCG. But for a starter deck, it gave me enough of a feeling of the game to know that I enjoyed it. Deck building is simple, just cards that match your leaders color, so that is not going to be a major part of what you do. But it is just a solid setup where I do want to see a deck that has more cards with triggers or maybe fewer charges, different options or ways to play.

Overall, I like the game. And it is one that I shouldn’t collect more of. But I that ship has sailed. A box of cards is on it’s way. Though, my plan is that is it. I want to know more of what is the game and maybe do a little deck building and play like that. But if you are looking for a new TCG, and Lorana is too simple (and expensive) for you, One Piece is a nice step up.

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