The Isofarian Guard Unboxing

Like I said for a massive game, this is a bigger box than Frosthaven and more weight, there are way less minis. Only five minis in the game, but it gets it’s bulk in a number of different areas. The biggest being that it has a load of chips. Now, we didn’t look at all of them in great detail, but that’s basically the main mechanism for the game.

You build up your bag of chips and what you draw is how you are activating in combat. So it’s leveling up your character which I believe gives you new powers and/or new chips. Those might be specific to those powers, so you might just be manipulating the ratio of offensive to defensive chips in your bag depending on how the character is being built around surviving.

Of course, this game isn’t just about that bag combat. There are other elements in the game as well. Mainly exploring the map, finding the story you need, and interacting with different characters. So it promises a nicely developed RPG like system for a board game while using non-dice mechanics. I feel like while this matches up with Chip Theory Games with the chips, it is pulling from what Gloomhaven did to say that you don’t need to do a dungeon crawler with dice to chuck. A good story driven game can offer different luck.

Upcoming Streams

So, tomorrow, Wednesday, I’ll be streaming my sixth game of ISS Vanguard. You can find that stream over here. Click that notification bell to know when I go live, but if not, it’s at 8 PM Central time. But join me as I continue to dive into the game basically making my first major planetary exploration without the game telling me what to do. Let’s see what horrible things await us on the planet.

Then Monday at 8:30 PM Central time, I plan on doing a game play. It might be back to Planet Unknown, or there are some other games to be played solo that have come in. I picked up Wreckland Run from the Renegade solo line that I want to play.

And my apologies for Saturday. I meant to do the pack opening and chat, but my kid gave me a cold. So I was wiped out that day and evening and took it easy. You can hear plenty of the coughing in this video. Hopefully I’ll have time to stream that oon.

And if you want to know when I go live, checkout the channel page and subscribe. You can get notifications as to whenever I go live which is probably the simplest way to know. That link is here.

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The Game – Etherfields

So what is Etherfields. In Etherfields you are traveling through a world of dreams and wonders trying to find keys and survive Each dream is going to be completely different. Most of them probably will be nightmares more than pleasant dreams, but from what I know they play around with so many different options.

There is also a deck construction and deck building element of the game. You collect resources to gets cards that let you complete the challenges. Or you can put them into play and for maybe a bigger affect or an affect you can use right when you need it.

Like most Awaken Realms games Etherfields is a big game, though smaller, I think than Tainted Grail. That does mean that there is a little bit of mess to the game. Not all the rules are maybe going to be as clear as people want them to be. One of the reasons that I’m glad I got everything in wave two is that I have the improved rule book. I also have the option to do the continuous dream mode. Though, sounds like a Slumber and a Dream per session won’t be too bad.

Upcoming Streams

So on Wednesday at 8 PM I am going to be streaming more Stars of Akarios by OOMM Games. It’ll be the second scenario in the prologue and there is a poll out there right now. You can find the video coming up here.

As for Monday, I am not sure what my plan is to stream yet. I am thinking I might look at getting Trek12 to the table. A new roll and write that came in, which you can see at the start of the video. Or some other game, a Top 10 list is also an option, but my plan, I think, will be to get in some gaming.

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Stars of Akarios

Stars of Akarios, just for a brief overview is going to be an exploration game in two parts. It’s set in space so in one part you are flying around, battling enemy ships and going between planets. Then you came down to a planet level view and go on adventures there.

This is done with some cool looking minis, dice rolling, and a modifier deck. I think the giant book of scenarios, the modifier deck, and people are comparing it to Gloomhaven for those things. But the rest of the game feels quite different. Obviously, Gloomhaven has no die rolling.

What drew me to this game, besides it being a big campaign game, is that you can upgrade your characters and there seems to be a lot of story there. As I flipped through the rule book and scenario book, I wish there was more or better art in those books. But the whole of the game and the story seems to be bigger than the artwork in those books. And the artwork on the planets looks nice.

My hope with Stars of Akarios is to start streaming a play through of at least a few chapters of this coming up soon. I feel like it’d be something different than the fantasy that I’ve been streaming recently. And it is also a game that looks big but should be able to fit, barely, onto the table for streaming.

Upcoming Streaming

So, like I just said, I want to stream Stars of Akarios once I finish up the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. I should wrap that one up in the next couple of weeks, but we’ll see for sure. So I’d think that Stars of Akarios will likely get started post GenCon at the start of August.

But this Wednesday, and it’s already up, we have Pathfinder Adventure Card game for tomorrow. How will Seoni and Amiri fair this time?

And then, next Monday, I want to bounce between doing an unboxing or chat and a Top 10 List. I will eventually start to do some lists about specific games, like gateway games or stuff like that. But I think it might be 10 things to know before going to GenCon or something like that? I also want to do a list of GenCon games again to buy or demo there that have caught my eye.

Is Stars of Akarios on the list of games you’d want to buy? Or would you like to see a game play of it?

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Miniature Market Orders

Yes, it is plural. Though two of them are closely tied together. And the latest one was because they had a very nice sale for the 4th of July week, or the week leading into it.

Massive Darkness and Expansions

This one you’ve already seen on the website because I did an unboxing of it on Malts and Meeples. You can checkout that video below. I didn’t get this one on Kickstarter but I was very interested in it. Any game with a campaign mode is going to interest me. Plus this is generally a pretty well rated game, even the original version. So it is one that has been on my radar for a little while. And I want everything for it, but I know I don’t need it. So I got two character expansions and then the core box and the campaign box because of course I want a campaign game.

Fireball Island: Wreck of the Crimson Cutlass and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bees

This is part of the sale. I want to say that they were 33-50% off so a good amount. And this is just going to add in more content for Fireball Island. The Wreck of the Crimson Cutlass actually adds to the board this ship wreck area that is cool. And the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bees is an expansion that adds a tiger that you launch as well as then a lot of bee marbles.

Once it is in, I am going to make it a priority to table Fireball Island. I think it’s going to be a fun one for a number of groups. Plus it looks great on the table and is a simple enough game for almost any group. That combination is always a good way to get a game played.

The Quacks of Quedlinburg: Herb Witches

I enjoy The Quacks of Quedlinburg a good amount, I think that the game play is simple and fun. And while you can plan, you are really just pushing your luck, which is fun. I do think that out of the box, since they want you to play specific combinations, it might end up being a bit limited. That is where the Herb Witches expansion comes in.

The Herb Witches is going to be an expansion that adds in two more ingredients, I believe, that you can use, plus more scoring combinations. And while the new ingredients will change up the game play. I don’t know how much I really need more of those. But more ways to score is interesting to me.

All Systems Go

All Systems Go, as a reminder, is my preferred FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) though not the only one that I go to, as you’ll see. But I currently have had a bunch of store credit there, so it is a good spot to get some games.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

You know that I am playing the 2nd edition over on Malts and Meeples. But while I am getting into that, I bought up the first edition stuff. Someone had traded in the Mummy core box and the Wrath core box, including the Wrath with all the story expansions for it. So I grabbed that to go along with my Skulls and Shackles core box. Now I have basically all of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game that is out there. There is a 2nd Edition expansion that I kind of want to get.

Ra

Ra is a game that flirts with my Top 100 often. Why, because it’s such a simple game but with a good auctioning mechanic. I really like how there is a closed market and a loop to it. I bid, I win the bid, I get the bid token in the middle, mine goes into the middle. So if I bid with the 16, I think that’s the highest, now the next person to win a big will end up with a 16 to use the next round. It’s clever and it works well.

Zoo-ography

This is one that I don’t know too much about. It plays from 1-4 players and 15 minutes per player. So the game is going to be on the lighter end of things. But it looks like it comes with a lot of cool animal meeples, always a good thing. And it is a drafting game. I really enjoy drafting, see games like Draftosaurus, Sushi Go! Party, or drafting in Blood Rage. So this one with a lot of cute components really interested me.

New York Zoo

And sticking to the zoo theme and animal meeples, we have New York Zoo. This is a polyominal game where you are getting tiles to put into your zoo. Then getting animals and breeding more animals until you get enough to put in attractions. It seems like a pretty straightforward game like Zoo-ography, but one that will also get played. Plus much like drafting, I enjoy tile placement, and New York Zoo seems like a fun theme for that mechanic.

Target

So, every July, at some point in the month, Target rolls out some Target exclusive games. Most notably in that was Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion a few years ago and then Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition last year. I don’t know when that is happening this year or what the games are. But I do know that they often do clearance on games right before. So I picked up one new, and one clearance.

My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!

I don’t actually know anything about this game. My Hero Academia is an anime that I enjoy but I struggle to watch consistently. Mainly the main character gets way to emotional way to often. But when they have action sequences it is good. Plus there is a really good story with it. I don’t know if this board game is going to be good. It looks like it just came out, but I figured I’d give it a whirl just for the theme.

Summer Camp

And from the clearance side of things there is Summer Camp. This is a deck building game about Summer Camp, oddly enough. You are trying to go up on three different tracks. From what I know of this game, it is a pretty light game but I figured I’d give it a go. Plus it was 50% off, so the price wasn’t bad at all.

The Source

This is the other local game store. But really it’s games, comics, manga, nerdy things store. And I mainly go there to pick up manga, which I’ll be writing sometime soon about the ones that I’m reading.

Dungeon Party: Starter Pack

This is a dungeon questing, monster fighting board game where you are bouncing a quarter onto a coaster. It is purely silly but I am down for that. I might even work it into my Thursday D&D game. Make that be part of what we are doing for fighting a monster this week. Bring the characters to another dimension or something like that. I haven’t worked it all out.

But this is a game that I want to own just for the goofy nature. You probably know by now that I like my dexterity games. And I’d love to find an evening to just have some beers and play this game coming up here. I think it’ll provide a lot of laughs and a good time.

Half Priced Books

HPB is a book store mainly for used books. I’ve picked up some fun series there. And they have a game section. That is where I’ve gotten games like Tannhauser before. This time only one game caught my eye.

Periodic

This is going to be a game about the Periodic table. I know of someone who might like the game better, they have Genotype as well from Genius Games. I’ve heard good things about Periodic, so when was used there, I figured that I’d grab it. I’m not sure it’s a game for me, but we’ll see. And like I said, I think I know someone who would like the game if it isn’t for me.

eBay

Stars of Akarios

I blame the GloryHoundd discord server for this. You can join me on that discord server here. But one of their members found it on eBay with a listing that had a number of the game as a slightly better price than going through the store.

But Stars of Akarios is going to be a game of fighting and exploring on the fringes of space. But it hits so many of the words that I look for in a game. This is a narrative-driven, cooperative, campaign game that can be plays solo. I don’t know why I missed this one on Kickstarter, but I’m glad to have grabbed it now.

Amazon

Yup, Amazon has gotten a little love too. Mainly I’ll toss on a cheap game from time to time. Or sometimes Amazon is the only spot I can find something.

Skull and Shackles Expansions

This is again more Pathfinder Adventure Card game stuff. The story expansions and I think two character expansions for Skulls and Shackles. The name might not imply it, but this is the pirate base game for Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. And that is a theme that I really like. So I am curious to see how they will make that game and story work. I always want to run a pirate D&D campaign, maybe this will inspire me.

Crowdfunding

Marvel Dice Throne

This is one that came in. And it’s already gotten to the table 3 times. The downside of it being 3 times is that I still have two characters I need to play. Black Panther and Captain Marvel are waiting for their shot in the sun. I’ll have a whole lot more on this probably around the end of the week.

Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

This is one that I just late pledged. My curiosity for the game got the better of me. I again, am a sucker for a cooperative, solo playable, narrative-driven campaign game. And Arydia promises that for me, plus some cool minis that you can customize.

Overall, this is just one of those big box games that I’m going to have to start playing as a campaign. I really want to figure out some game to play as a campaign on my own, not stream. Or maybe one that my wife is interested in, and do that once a week just for a little time. I have half of the gaming table that should be free to play on a lot of the time.

Aeon’s End: Past and Future

More Aeon’s End, I am of course going to back this. It is an interesting project though, and it is available for late pledge. But Aeon’s End Past and Future is not a big box expansion like they normally do. Normally it is the next part of the story that they are going through. This actually goes back to the past and looks to the future and you need specific sets already to be able to play it. Of course it’s mainly just more content, so I am down for that.

Deathly Thrones

Deathly Thrones is the only print and play game on the list. This one is interesting, though because it’s not a roll and write game. It’s a solo print and play roguelike game where you use a deck of cards. I didn’t look into it too much, again it is one that was shared to me via the GloryHoundd Discord server. But I think it looks really interesting and unique. If it can pull off a fun game, I could see having this a smaller sized game to pull out and play.

GameNerdz

I said it was a big list and a lot of it is that it has been a while since I’ve done one of these. I don’t believe that I’ve written about this one.

Vampire the Masquerade – Chapters

This is another one of those games where I wish that I’d backed it on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter hasn’t even fulfilled yet and the regret got me, especially since I found it too late to late pledge. Or found it again too late to late pledge. This is going to be another one of those big story driven cooperative solo campaign games set in the world of Vampire the Masquerade.

What intrigues me so much about this one is that it has story and the story from Vampire the Masquerade where it isn’t just vampires chomping necks and sucking blood. But there’s this whole code of what you do. And then you get down to a tactical level map where you can interactions with people and battles that happen which is really interesting. I like that variety in what it does.

GameZenter

Another LGS (local game store) to go along with All Systems Go and The Source. All of them are very nice, I am lucky to have so many around me. And I like to buy something every time I go somewhere and play. And the GameZenter is my favorite spot to play out of the two that you can play at, GameZenter and The Source.

Spirit Island

Spirit Island is a game that I should have played sooner. And in all fairness I have yet to play it now. But it is a cooperative or solo game that has great puzzle elements to it. And it’s complex enough in what your spirit is doing to fight off the colonizers that are coming to the island. So I really want to give it a go and see how it plays. I suspect it’s going to be a game that is bigger that I really like to play solo or at two players.

Final Thoughts

That’s it, I think, that I haven’t talked about. It’s been a busy time getting in games, or getting them in soon. I need to start playing them. But I am close, still to that 100 game total which I wanted to get under for unplayed games. Granted, that number will go up a bit again soon with a few more big box games coming in. I know that Oathsworn is getting close, so I’m sure I’ll write about that in the next Point of Order.

And then other Kickstarters and Gamefound games are starting to get produced. There is a production copy that was unboxed for ISS Vanguard, so I expect that to show up October or November. And Grove is getting close as well as Tiny Turbo Cars. And I think even Spire’s End Hildegard just locked in it’s shipping addresses, though I might be off on that one. Oh, and Chronicles of Drunagor. So expect another big one coming, likely post GenCon.

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The Game – Massive Darkness 2

Massive Darkness is a dungeon crawler game where generally you play through one off scenarios. You fight monsters and level up your character in their class as you go. It is different from a normal dungeon crawl game that way. Most of the time you level up between scenarios but because these aren’t tied to a whole story, you do it during the game.

However, the reason that I backed this one is the Heavenfall expansion. That expansion gives you a short campaign to play through. There are 14 different quests in the campaign. And you don’t play through all of them. It gives you branching options. It also gives you harder roaming monsters to fight and allows you to go up to level 10 instead of just level 5.

Upcoming Streams

On Wednesday at 8 PM central, I will be diving back into the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game to see how well I can do this time. If you want to catch up on what has happened before, you can do so here. My plan is to stick with the heroes that I have and take on that first scenario again knowing a bit more now.

And then next Monday, I will be streaming again. Target time is to start by 8:30, but last night it was 9. I did a GenCon video two weeks ago. And then this unboxing yesterday. Next week is going to be a Top 10 list. While my Top 10 roll and writes will have changed, I want to push that list out a little bit further. Instead, we are going to do one that BoardGameCo did recently, Top 10 Crowdfunding Games I’d Back Again.

What Top 10 lists would you like to see me do in the future?

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Gen Con Preview

The list is just starting at this point with 169 different games. That is a lot of games, though, if you wanted to try and check them all out. I fully expect that more than normal won’t make it in time. But companies might be hedging their bets, as well, as a lot of the games are ones that will be released before hand.

Ra – 25th Century Games

This is one that I’d be surprised if it was out. The Gamefound campaign for it just wrapped up a few weeks ago, but at the same time, Ra is a game that’s already existed. This is an auction game that I’ve had fun with. In it, you are bidding on sets of tiles that get drawn from a bag. And the different things that you get give you bonuses and points.

But the cool thing about the game is the bidding. When you bid and win, you put your number into the middle. And then you take the number that was there. So there is strategy with the bidding because you likely don’t want to bid the 16 when the one is in the middle. Unless the tiles are so amazing. I find it a good and interesting twist on bidding.

First in Flight – Artana

Don’t know much about this one. But according to the description, thi sis going to have you building up a deck of cards and pushing your luck to be the first person to fly. I’m curious as to how it works, but looks like a lighter card game which isn’t bad. And it’s deck building, and I like that.

Call to Adventure: Epic Origins – Brotherwise Games

Call to Adventure: Epic Origins is a prequel to Call to Adventure. And Call to Adventure is a game where you cast runes and try and complete and create your epic story. I own the Stormlight Archives version of Call to Adventure that I need to get played. It seems like a pretty light game, but a good time. And, I believe, that Epic Origins, a standalone game, gives you more of the same, but builds your starting story.

Ark Nova – Capstone Games

Probably not much that I need to say about this one. But Ark Nova is a smash hit, right now, for Capstone and probably breaking into the Top 10 on Board Game Geek very very soon. It gets compared to Terraforming Mars, a game I need to play, in that it’s a bigger engine building game and one that offers lots of possibilities. I want to give this one a try for sure. I suspect it is a game I’d enjoy.

Starship Captains – CGE

The best way I can describe Starship Captains is that it reminds me, art wise, of Star Trek Lower Decks. Or maybe it gives me a bit of a vibe of Galaxy Trucker as well, not in play but in theme. I am curious about it as it has engine building and drafting. Those are two things that I enjoy quite well.

Fit to Print – Flatout Games

Fit to Print is an odd theme for a game but one that I find fun. In Fit to Print you are drafting cards and trying to collect and set-up the best front page of a newspaper for animals. The theme, very different. And I like this idea of trying to collect what you need and put it together.

Sagrada: The Great Facades – Glory – Floodgate Games

Glory is a given at this point. I own all of Sagrada, I believe just missing the Kickstarter promo window. And I know I want to grab this one as well. Sagrada is still one of my favorite games because it offers good choices but isn’t too complex. The expansions can definitely make it more complex, but again, that isn’t a bad thing as they are easy to add or remove and tailor the game to the group.

Oak – Game Brewer

Oak interested me more because of the theme than anything. Hand management and set collection I like. But they are very normal at this point in time. And I feel like I can find so many that it isn’t worth checking out. But add in druids trying to unlock a secret. That theme is what is drawing me in. And it doesn’t hurt that the cover looks great.

Ecosystem – Genius Games

Ecosystem is a game that apparently has been out for while. The Board Game Geek release date was November 20th, 2019. But I wonder if it is newly picked up by Genius Games for an American distribution. I like the them in this game. You draft cards to try and build a balanced ecosystem. It feels different but also not too different. And give a game pretty nature artwork, at least aesthetically it is more interesting. One that I want to checkout for sure.

Critical: Foundation – Season 1 – Gigamic

First of two back to back campaign and adventure style games. It will give you some role playing feeling, at least that is what they are saying. And Critical, it h as an interesting cover. I’m curious to see what type of story it has, set in 2035, so not that far into the future. I feel like they limited how sci-fi they can go with the story, because of the timeline. And also not the normal type of game I expect from Gigamic, but one that’ll be interesting to checkout.

Forgotten Depths – Grand Gamers Guild

I considered backing Forgotten Depths on Kickstarter. I like the artwork on the game and a dungeon crawl style is something I always enjoy. On Kickstarter, I think, I thought it looked lighter than I’d normally back. But for a $40 MSRP, that isn’t bad and for a game that can be played solo, it isn’t bad as well. I think it’d be a much smaller footprint campaign game.

Suspects – Hachette Boardgames

I believe that Zee Garcia, of the Dice Tower, recently did a review on this. Or he will be doing one shortly. But for me, this has two things that interest me. Firstly, I like cooperative deduction where you are trying to solve a mystery. It makes for an interesting time. Generally some very good experiences. And then add in Agatha Christie, or a world inspired by her works, I’m very curious.

Exit: The Game – Lord of the Rings: Shadows over Middle-earth – KOSMOS

I find the Exit escape room style games just okay. They have a destructive element to them which makes it feel like more of a waste. But play with 4 people for an hour, it isn’t bad for $20. And Lord of the Rings, that is a theme that I am curious about. What sort of story can they tell, what puzzles will they create for the game interests me a fair amount. It’s one that I could pick-up and play with my wife and she’ll appreciate the theme a lot.

Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles – Mindclash Games

Now a big Kickstarter. Mindclash always makes big games, and Perseverance with basically two games in one box, created a game with a huge box. I am curious about this one. I didn’t back it on Kickstarter, but dinosaurs, survival, and then building up your society, it is interesting. For demo only at Gen Con, that’s probably a good thing. Means I won’t be tempted on a game for a lot of money because it has dino minis.

Venn – The Op

A party game on the list, and this is one that I want to try, not buy. Mainly because it is a party game, and sometimes they are great, sometimes not so much. But I generally want to try before hand or watch someone play it. This one, though, I find intriguing. As the person who is it, I believe, you put down three cards, and people are trying to guess that middle spot on the Venn diagram. So the word that intersects all of the other words. If that is how it works, I think it is one that could provide a lot of laughs and a lot of replayability.

Long Shot: The Dice Game – Perplext

Another game that is getting a ton of love already. Long Shot: The Dice Game is a horse racing game where you buy and bet and horses. That, combined with a roll and write game. I love my roll and write games. And the idea of one that has a physical board that people race around, it seems different. Often roll and write games can limit interaction, but Long Shot seems to lean into that.

Northgard: Uncharted Lands – Shiro Games

Another big Kickstarter game that I looked at. I believe that Northgard is based off of a video game, which is intriguing. I don’t know anything about the video game though. And for the board game, I like the artwork. I love Norse mythology. So the game seems like it should be one for me. But the fact it is a 4x game makes me a bit hesitant to back it.

Cartographers Map Pack 4 through 6 – Thunderworks Games

And this is another one that I know I’m going to get like the Sagrada Expansion. I own everything for Cartographers thus far, and I really like it as a roll and write. Against, like Long Shot, it is more interactive than a lot of roll and write games. And while I enjoy a good roll and write that is a puzzle, like Railroad Ink or maybe has a race element like Welcome To for objectives, I like placing the monsters onto other players sheets here.

Unboxing

And two games were unboxed last night as well. It is fun to get in new games, and some of them, with Kickstarter, are a good time to show off. Now, this isn’t as minis heavy as a lot of the time, though, because , well, neither game has a ton of minis.

Steelslayer

Steelslayer is an expansion for The Reckoners. And Steelslayer adds in two more major epics. Plus more locations and cities as well. Overall, it just seems to add more to a game that could probably use a bit more. I haven’t played The Reckoners a ton, but I noticed we went through all the epics. Or we got close, in the one play. And while that isn’t a massive issue, it would be nice just to keep more variety built in.

Too Many Bones: Undertow

Too Many Bones: Undertow is going to be another game that I have played before. Or, I should say, I did a demo at Gen Con in 2019. I thought that the game was fun. But it didn’t jump off the table for me, mainly because we played only so little in the demo. I think more chance to play with it, and seeing more game play, the game looks like it should work better for me.

Plus, the price on Chip Theory Games went up at the start of June. So I knew if I wanted to grab it, I wanted to buy it before that happened. And I have another two character standalone game/expansion on Gamefound last year. The gearlocs in the base game are just okay, but the expansion ones, they seem like a lot of fun.

Upcoming Streams

So what is coming up. My plan is to learn and start getting Pathfinder Adventure Card Game to the table of Wednesday. Then for the next Monday, I hopefully will have a whole bunch of Massive Darkness 2 from CMON available to unbox. I believe that will be my plan for the next Monday stream. Another unboxing and picking a topic to chat about.

Let me know how you want me to do my unboxings. I personally like going with a bit more of a BoardGameCo style where I ramble on about a topic and about the game and spend some time. I know there are other channels that do them shorter. But for me, part of the fun, and why I do them live, is I can chat with everyone.

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The Game – Paper Dungeons

This is going to be a bit of a mini review for Paper Dungeons, mainly because you can see how it is played above. But I really enjoy this roll and write game. I think it’s for sure top 10, probably top 6 or 7 for me. Now, it isn’t without it’s negatives. I made some easy mistakes that I shouldn’t have in game two and corrected them the best I could. And that’s probably the knock on the game, there is a lot going on, but also a plus to the game.

Paper Dungeons is not one of the easier roll and write games to teach. While it might not have as many combos as something, let’s say, Sonora or Ganz Schon Clever, they are sneakier combos. And with all the areas, the pieces are pretty simple, spend a die, fill in a spot, but when you level up a hero, did you remember to add health. You complete a row of potions did you take the bonus? It is small things like that which you need to keep track of and make it harder to teach.

That said, it’s the small things like that which make the game so fun. The monsters you fight aren’t that different but that doesn’t matter. With the power and objective you get, it can change how you play the game. With the goals, it changes how you play the game. Yes, my two games ended up looking somewhat similar, but I was crafting more in the second game, and going for gems more in the first. Plus I like how they build out the dungeon.

My Grade: A-
Gamer Grade: B+
Casual Grade C (just because it’s a bunch to learn)

The Drink

So, following up from Monday’s drink, I used my Orange Jameson again. This time mixed with cream soda to basically create orange creamsicle. Not too surprising, it was a very tasty drink. I would compared it to an orange ice cream float. A bit less creamy than that, but that’s okay. And the orange flavor came through well on it I’d say.

Upcoming Streams

So next week I’ll be playing another smaller solo game. I don’t know which one yet. I think I want to learn how to play Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write and play that one. But I doubt I’ll make up my mind until the end, because I would mind trying Floriferous solo or playing Village Green again.

Plus, Monday, I am most likely going to continue going through my game collection to find more games to cull from it, or find more games that I really need to play. So expect to see a stream then, either 8:30 or 9. You can catch up on the Should It Stay or Should It Go series here.

And vote on what the next campaign game should be. Or maybe I should continue the Paper Dungeons campaign, though I might do that on my own time.

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My Board Game Resolution

To not pre-order a board game. Before we get into details let’s talk about keeping up.

Why Keep Up With Board Games?

I think I talked about this not that long ago. Or I talked about in the context of not shaming people for having unplayed games in their collection. Because while board gaming is a hobby, aka something I do, it is also a collection, something that I own.

There are tons of board games that come out every year. ANd a limited amount of time to play them. Some games, too, are just games that you want to own, for the collection. For me, I again talked about grail games. Games that I want to own. Sometimes it’s a game that I just want to own, like Battlestar Gallactica. Will I ever play my copy, I’m not sure I would. But it’s a rarer game that I really like.

And then new games, you don’t know what you like or don’t like. So get any game that sounds interesting to you. Now, for some people that isn’t an option. For me it isn’t an option. I’m starting to see The Return To Dark Tower show up for Kickstarter backers. I wish I’d been able to back it. But when I do have so spare money, it’s fun to get a new game, whatever might be hot.

But, on the flip side, while it is a collection as well as a hobby for me. I don’t want my hobby to just collect dust. I want to play the games which means that sometimes it’s better to wait to get a game when I’m ready to play it.

Let’s talk aout some examples/exceptions.

Space Base

People have called it more of a gamers Machi Koro, a game that I liked but didn’t stick around for me. If there is more game to it or more variability, I’m interested in it. But Space Base really isn’t going in and out of print. So maybe it was on sale when I got it but I didn’t need to buy it when I did.

Solomon Kane

This could be a lot of different bigger campaign style games. I didn’t need to get Solomon Kane, I’d just heard good things about it. So when I found a well priced copy on eBay I snatched it up quickly. Now, it’s not even all of the Kickstarter that there was, but it’s still enough content to keep me going for ages. And that was an opportunity for a game I wanted, and I knew I wanted, where I likely couldn’t do better.

The main difference the opportunity to get them in the future. It’s not a 100% fair comparison, but it also works for harder to find games or used games. Tannhauser, I don’t know when I’ll play it, but when I saw it in the wild, I bought it. So let’s get back to the resolution.

The Board Game Resolution

Now, there might be an exception to this resolution, but I’ll lay it out better here. This doesn’t include Kickstarter. And if there is a game that I own and love, I’m looking at you Detective A Modern Crime Board Game, I might pre-order something. Plus, Detective expansions pre-ordered come with more than just the game.

On the flip side, my resolution is not to pre-order a new game or an easy to find game when it comes out. If it doesn’t come with anything extra, I can wait for it to come out. If I missed it on the first print run, that means it’ll have a second print run, and and I can get it when I’m ready to play it.

Now, why is Kickstarter or Gamefound different?

Well, three reasons. I will sometimes, Call to Adventures Origins, for example, not back a game. Why, because what has been added to the game that is Kickstarter only isn’t enough. I can pick it up at retail, when and if I’m ever that excited to play it. So this one is like just buying a board game ahead of time. It doesn’t offer enough to take my money and then wait. But some games, Marvel United as example, come with so much extra on Kickstarter it’s worth backing.

Some games also won’t come to retail. Solomon Kane is an example of one that I wish that I’d backed and I was glad to find. Why, it won’t come to retail. It is just too big, even in the base two boxes, it is massive. You unboxed them on Malts and Meeples, you can watch that below, but I’d back that game on Kickstarter just to make sure I got it.

And finally, sometimes I just want to support the company. It might be a company that I really like their games. It might not have any of the extra bells and whistles that you expect from crowdfunding, but I’ll still back it. Grove is an example of this, or Hanamikoji: Geisha’s Road. I like both those companies. Will I be able to get those games in retail, most likely. But I want to support them.

Final Thoughts

There was a lot that I put in here. About why you should or shouldn’t buy new games, about why I’m not going to pre-order anything. And really, this is going to be more than that. My goal is to buy fewer games this year in general. I want to wait until I hear a review, or watch a game play of it to decide.

So will I still get a bunch of games, most likely. Will I back games on Kickstarter and Gamefound, for sure. Will some of them be duds even though I was extremely excited about them, for sure. Or at least they’ll be duds for me. And all of that is okay. What I want is to just be more mindful about the retail games that I purchase this year.

Do you have any board game buying or playing resolutions this year? Maybe you want to go to your first GenCon or Origins or PaxU, let me know what they are in the comments below.

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The Changes

So, you’ve probably already noticed more and different content on Malts and Meeples, but let’s talk about what Malts and Meeples was. When I started Malts and Meeples, I was looking to create a channel with solo game play so that you could see how games were played and know if they were for you. That was done with a focus on campaign style games.

Now, however, the focus is changing a little bit, so let’s break down the type of content I’ve been doing and what is being added.

• Solo Game Play
• Unboxings
• Top 10 Lists
• Board Game Topic Discussions
• 3 Reasons Buy/Not Buy

Let’s talk a bit about each of those:

Solo Game Play

So, we aren’t’ getting away from the thing this channel started for. However, this is just going to be some of what we do. And I think that I am going to focus on doing some campaign coverage, but intersperse that with smaller games. Games like the Roll and Writes that I’ve streamed are nice to add in for people to play along with, but also to give me a break for big set-ups for games. Plus, I think for a lot of people who want to casually play solo games, those small ones are a great spot to start.

Unboxings

This is something that I was doing a lot of for a little while. I am going to come back to them soon, maybe even next week, as I have an order come in. This is just a chance to chat about some games and show off games that are being added to the collection.

Top 10 Lists

Top 10 Lists are some of my most viewed videos, why, because Top 10 Lists work really well for digestible content. Plus it’s something that I can interact with the audience more. I used to do them a lot over here on Nerdologists. My plan is to continue to cross post them but to release them on Malts and Meeples live first and then post about them after the fact. And do a list with detailed reasons as well as then the video.

Board Game Topic/Discussions

These are videos that I’ve also started doing. But I want to do these more consistently on my Monday stream. I think that this and the Top 10 Lists will take turns trading off on the every other Monday schedule. The Topic streams I hope you can join live for because I want them to become more of a conversation than just me talking to the camera.

3 Reasons Buy/Not Buy

So all of those things I already do. The 3 Reasons Buy/Not Buy is a new video that I want to do, and I’m moving away from live for it. You can see my first attempt at it below. But the idea is that I want to give you reasons to buy, or not to buy a board game. Short videos, probably in that 10-15 minute range per video where I give three reasons to buy a board game an three reasons not to.

Now, the first one here is a bit rough. The focus is off throughout most if not all of the video. I already improved that with a new camera, I just didn’t use it this first video because of audio issues. So, expect them to look better in the long run. I also want to put out some pieces and show off the game more in future videos.

3 Reasons Buy/Not Buy Gloomhaven

So here we have it the new series. This is the video that caused me to create a new welcome video. I want to start creating more of this content to help you know if a game is right for you or not. For some people, a game play video is more helpful.

After this video, do you want to buy or not Gloomhaven? Do you think it’s one that you can get to your table or not?

And more on the rest of the videos, what do you want to see? Is there a Top 10 or a Topic that you want discussed?

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The Games

So two games that I unboxed yesterday. The first was Extension 6 for Pitchcar and then Middara: Unintentional Mallum Act 1, which was the bigger part of the stream. Two very different games that I’ll talk about quick here.

Pitchcar Extension 6

So Pitchcar is a flicking game, in fact, I wrote up a review about it yesterday which you can see here. I already had a bunch of stuff for it, but I decided that I wanted more. Getting more stuff for Pitchcar basically means that you can create more different and creative tracks. This one adds in a few pieces that I’ve already seen with a thin track and some jump pieces you can put in. Definitely just means we can create a trickier course and a bit longer course or us to crash repeatedly on, but that’s the fun of it.

Middara: Unintentional Mallum Act 1

This game is a totally different animal. It is a massive dungeon crawling game, but it is a little bit different. You can see a lot of the content in it, but the box is shorter but wider and longer than that of Gloomhaven. So another crazy large box. But the theme is different as well. In Gloomhaven and the likes of Sword & Sorcery, you have standard fantasy. Middara is definitely fantasy, but they give it an anime twist to it.

The artwork in the game is amazing. It has strong anime influences on it. Now that does mean that you end up with some fan service at times, but it doesn’t seem to be a predominant part of the game. If it was everywhere, I would be less interested in the game. The sculpts are good, not as detailed as some, but there are a lot of them. You can see how many I unpack, like I said, it’s a lot of them.

But what really blew me away was the books. Gloomhaven has a decent sized adventure book, Solomon Kane has a lot of small adventure books, MIddara has one huge adventure book. I think it was just shy of 500 pages. Now, I could read that all, and I might as I go along, or I can use the Foreteller app which has full narration for it, as well as games like Gloomhaven and Frosthaven when that comes out. I like that more of these massive adventure games are creating narration.

The Booze

So last night I didn’t end up having a beer. I started sipping on an Old Fashioned during the GloryHoundd “Should You Back” stream and decided just to stick with that. Of course, I got to talk some about what I’m drinking. This time it was about the different types of Old Fashioneds that you see around. Mainly talking about the simplicity of the normal Old Fashioned which is just whiskey, bitters, and simple syrup. I don’t want any Maraschino cherry in my Old Fashioned, maybe an orange peal.

Next Week

So next week will be a stream free week unless I decide to do one on Monday. I am busy on Wednesday evening, so no stream happening then. The following week I plan on getting back to Arkham Horror: The Card Game and sipping a beer. So I’ll see you in two weeks as the following Monday is Memorial Day so no stream that day most likely either. Keep an eye on my Twitter and Facebook for upcoming streams.

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