CoolStuffInc

Dungeons and Dragons: The Yawning Portal

I don’t even know that much about this game. But it’s a theme that I like a lot, Dungeons and Dragons. And from what I know of The Yawning Portal, that’s a portal in a tavern that leads to a lot of different adventures. It’s part of the Sword Coast and Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons and Dragons. I’m hoping for a fun, lighter, adventure style game.

TIME Stories Revolution: Cavendish

I still get basically everything for TIME Stories. This is one the new cycle now so I need to get through the first stuff, first. But it’s been a game that we’ve enjoyed a lot. And if I figure out a better storage solution, I can make it take up a whole lot less space on my game shelf. But I’m curious to play more. And even if it isn’t the most loved thing, it should be fun for my group still. We’ll see when we get this far into the series.

Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar

Next up we have a legacy game with mixed reviews. But mixed reviews was enough to keep me from running out to get the game. I think for a lot of gamers it has been. I wonder as it goes on sale more, if more gamers or people will buy it. It’s a Jurassic Park/World park building game where you are avoiding dinosaurs and basically playing through stories around the movies, not really the movie stories. It looks like light fun, which is why it felt like the right price to get it when it was pretty heavily on sale.

Reload

Finally from CoolStuffInc we have Reload. I’ve heard very mixed things about this game as well. But I like what it is in concept. Kind of that battle arena like a Fortnite or PUBG style of game. You run around, the area gets smaller, you want to be the last person standing. It sounds like a fun time with some complexity and decision making, if you make it through the rules.

Miniature Market

Rome and Roll

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but in a short chunk of an evening you can build it up in this roll and write game. Or at least build up your gladiators, warriors, and I believe civilization as well. It’s a heavier and crunchier roll and write game. One that I want to play to see if it’s a good game for me. That, Hadrian’s Wall, and Twilight Inscription might be my heavy roll and write games.

Stranger Things: Upside Down

This one should be arriving today or so, but it’s a Stranger Things board game. And one from the designer of Pandemic. Now, it’s not just the Pandemic system. But it is a light to mid weight cooperative game. And kind of follows some of the things you expect. You do things and then bad things happen. But how the bad things happen and how many is determined by what you do. So it adds this element where you need to push to complete things. but that can cause more bad things to happen.

Lucky Numbers

Lucky Numbers is a game that I don’t know too much about. But it looks like a tile, or number, laying game where you are trying to fill out a grid in a specific way. It looks light, it has a solo mode, so one that I want to try out and see what it’s like.

My City: Roll and Build

You saw this one, potentially, already because I just played it on Malts and Meeples. Let me drop the video below, but it’s a roll and write version of the legacy game My City. I still enjoy it this way, and it makes a nice solo game.

The Quest for El Dorado

Kind of a classic game at this point, and a deck building game. I do like deck building a lot. To go along with that, it’s also a racing game. As you try and navigate a path to El Dorado as efficiently as possible. From what I’ve heard, it has some fun twists on it, which I’m here for. I like deck building a lot, but I don’t need all my deck building games to just be deck building, this one adds in more.

Arkham Horror LCG: Winifred Habbamock

I’m going to have to do a part 2 on this because this article is getting long. And there will be more Arkham Horror LCG character packs on this. I’ve started playing some with a friend, and it’s been a grand time. So I picked up some of the character packs because that is where you get some of the best cards.

Joan of Arc Expansions

This one come from Mythic Games selling off the rights to this game. It’s a bummer because I’m not sure Mythic Games is sitting in that much better of a spot. But for me it’s been a chance to grab more expansions. It’s still a game I need to table. But I like the idea of it as a miniatures style game, but with less overhead.

Omen: Heir to the Dunes

Another one I can’t say that I know that much about. I picked it up because it was on a good sale. It’s a two player head to head game. So the type that might stay in my collection. But it, and Radlands are games that I want to see how they play and if they’ll dethrone my favorite head to head game, Dice Throne.

That’s a Question

Another good sale game. This looks like a simple party game. I’m not sure it’ll be for me, but if I remember correctly it was $3 or $4 so cheap enough to take a flyer on. I don’t know that I need more party games, but I also find that party games are the ones that I rotate the most.

Robots

Robots was another game from that sale. It’s a kids type of game from what I can tell. But in a small box with cute artwork, another one where I look at it and think, why not try it. It might be a fun filler game about making silly robots. If not, it cost $3, so not a big deal.

Skytear Horde

Another one that you’ve seen on Malts and Meeples. So the video will again be below. But this is a tower defense, lane defense game. I like it because it’s just a fun experience that as you start to get into the swing of the game, it moves quickly. Yes, the learning of all the steps can take a bit, but once you’re in, it’s not too bad.

D&D Dungeon Scrawlers: Heroes of Undermountain

Finally another roll and write game. This one with again a Dungeons and Dragons theme. I want to play it, and I want to play some of my other dungeon crawling or scrawling roll and writes, but two of them, this one included, don’t have a solo mode. That’s my only bummer about the game. But a D&D based roll and write game is a theme and style I’ll gladly give a try.

And like I said, more to come. But those are some of the games that are entering into my collection. There’s been a lot coming in, which means that I need to have a decent number of them leave soon as well. Which is what will be happening this weekend.

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10 More Board Games I Want to Check Out in 2023

10. Point City

Now, this is from AEG and Flatout Games and AEG brought you Point Salad. Point City has the same style of artwork, but the game play looks similar but different as you build up your city to get buildings around, and score points. It still uses an open drafting mechanism and tableau building/set collection. So the whole sounds pretty similar but I’m guessing will be a little bit of a step up. I’m curious to see if it can displace Point Salad for me, or if both of them might have a place in my collection. I think that both could because Point Salad is so easy.

9. Dice Manor

This one I really want to try because I watched it played on the Dice Tower, I’ll see if I can find a link to that below. But this is a game where you are building out a house by placing dice as a bid to get different house pieces. Plus you are then trying to score points by placing dice into your house. So I think that element sounds interesting, you have three different things that you can do with the dice, and all of them are good. So which one do you focus on, and how do you switch your focus as the game goes on? All while being a pretty simple looking game.

8. Marvel: Age of Heroes

It’s Marvel, enough said. But it’s an X-Men game, and while there are X-Men in other games, Marvel United and Marvel Champions, I am curious to see what a purely X-Men game will work like. It sounds competitive, which is interesting, so I am curious about how that works as well. But it sounds intriguing as you take your team of heroes to fight villains trying to do better than the other teams or duos. And the characters in it look interesting as well, I hope that Gambit makes it in, but to have Forge and Jubilee to start is cool. And I know that some people might not love the artwork, or I believe I’ve heard, as it’s not as comic book like, I really enjoy it.

7. Marvel Damage Control

I’m less interested in this one than I am in Age of Heroes. But it’s still Marvel, and this one looks like a small box game. From what I can tell you are collecting cards to get artifacts to score points with some deck building built in it. So I’m curious as to how it’ll work and I really hope that it’s going to be on the filler side of things. If it’s a quick deck building experience that I can sit down and enjoy a game of or two in an evening, that is what I want. Especially, like I said, since it has the Marvel theme.

6. Hadrian’s Wall: New Fates

Yes, it is an expansion. But I am not above putting an expansion on the list. And it’s an expansion for a game that I own but I haven’t played yet. I learned the rules once for Hadrian’s Wall, it sounds fun, but I just need to play it. A massive roll and write with a lot of combos, it sounds like what I’d like. And New Fates looks like it should just change up the game a little bit. Do I need it, definitely not, but it’s likely to be one that I get because it’s just an expansion. My goal is to get it played, Hadrian’s Wall that is, early in 2023, so I’ll know if I like it.

5. Books of Time

I knew nothing about this one, expect than I read the little blurb on it, a simple and fast-playing tableau builder. That sounds like what I like. I know I’m trying to get into more heavier euro style games, especially since themes in euro’s are actually there now. But my hope is that this is a fun and fast filler game that I could add into my collection. If it compares at all to Century: Golem Edition in terms of complexity, I’m excited for that because that’s one that I enjoy but don’t play as often as I might like. It just takes a little bit to set-up compared to other games. So if this one is fast and easy to table, that’ll be great.

4. Redwood

It almost made my Top 10 but now that I’m seeing the expansion further down the list, I am curious about this one. Redwood is a game about photographing nature. There are a lot of games about nature, and photography isn’t a huge twist on it. But the game looks gorgeous and sometimes that’s all you need to get me to look at the game. I hope that it’d be that nice balance of just enough decisions without becoming too complex. Because the game with the artwork looks like it should be light and welcoming.

3. Stranger Things: Upside Down

Probably should have been on my list before, but from CMON and coming to retail, I’m so excited for this one. Rob Daviau is designing it, and the Duffer Brothers were heavily involved with playtesting and what they thought made sense. So I’m really curious about it and CMON has already talked about it some. What I gathered in that talk is that it’s slightly heavier than a Pandemic game, more moving pieces. And I’m here for that, I don’t really want to play base Pandemic again, but a theme like Stranger Things, I am here for that.

2. 6: Siege

Based off of the video games, this one when it came up on crowdfunding didn’t interest me that much. So why is it on the list now, it’s because it did interest me a little bit. 6: Siege is one that I would like to try well before I’d buy it. The modern warfare or sneaking around is less interesting than fantasy for me. So I’m curious about it because it was getting solid reviews or previews and from what I saw of game plays, it looked fun.

1. Paper Dungeons: Side Quest Expansion

New treasure chests, new monsters, and side quests. I was hoping it’d add in more of a campaign, when I saw it, but I figured with a name like Side Quest that it wouldn’t. But more for this game would be amazing. I love Paper Dungeons and you can watch a full playthrough of it over on  Malts and Meeples. It’s a big roll and write game but not one that is too big. And I’m really excited to be getting more of it. It’ll help keep the experience of playing even more varied.

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Osprey Games

Undaunted Battle of Britain

Take to the sky. It’s continuing the series of games. Undaunted games are deck building and war games. This is going to add in airplanes with is different. Undaunted is one that I would like to try. I really do enjoy deck building and while the theme isn’t my normal one that I love, I think that it could be a game that I enjoy a lot to play. And there is an expansion to what is already out there that makes it solo.

Arcane Wonders

10 Years of Arcane Wonders

A new logo for Arcane Wonders as they have reached 10 years. They talked about some games that they have already announced.

Foundations of Rome

New Kickstarter August 2nd. I believe this is going to have a new expansion. The announcement that they officially had was just the 10 years of being around and the new logo.

Horrible Guild

The Great Split

The Great Split is where you are drafting cards, collecting riches and trying to get the most prestigious of all of them. You split your cards and your opponent picks one, so you split and choose. Looks like a very light game but also one that is going to be a lot of fun as you try and figure out what to collect and how to get points. Honestly looks like one that I’ll enjoy a lot.

Pencil First Games

Floriferous Pocket Edition

Continues the trend of taking their games and making smaller editions of games. They take everything and basically make it smaller. So it’s going to be the same game but in a smaller package. I don’t know that it needs a smaller edition, the game is already small and I own it and I really enjoy it. But I’ll look at it as maybe a small stocking stuffer for people I know.

Forbidden Games

Mosaic Wars and Disasters

Adds in more cards to the base game. This is a civilization themed game. I am curious about the game as I’ve heard very good things. But It’s also a big game and that means that it is going to be a longer game. Mosaic was a try before I buy and Wars and Disasters seems intriguing but it doesn’t change the fact it’s a try before I buy. Coming to Kickstarter in September. This is a chance to get the game if you missed out on it though. And who knows, maybe I’ll back it if I can demo it at Gen Con.

Unexpected Games

3000 Scoundrels

Old west game that definitely looks to have some weird west vibes to it. And it is going to have cards and sleeves that change up characters. It seems to have a lot of interesting things to it. There are in fact 3000 unique scoundrels. It is going to be an engine building game with some push your luck as well to it. I really love the aesthetic of the game that’s for sure. More information is going to come out tomorrow for more details and is coming out Fall of 2022 or demo it at Gen Con.

Pegasus Spiele

Caldera Park

This is a tile placement game where you are trying to place large herds of animals. The active player is picking what you do and you play them on your own map. It sounds interesting, you try and place things out so that you can not block yourself out for what other people pick, because you are trying to get large herds. I like this a lot reminds me of Tiny Towns.

Spaceship Unity

A space themed game, I don’t know a ton about it at this point in time. It has some great artwork and a fun video introducing it. It is going to be a campaign game over 5 episodes. You need to interact with your own house, I am less convinced on that. They want it to be kind of that Star Trek or Orville theme but to me that sounds too odd.

Dan and Cora Hughes

Cora Quest: Keep on Questing

It’s a family dungeon crawling game. This is more for the game, more quests. It’s coming to Kickstarter in October. It’s going to be adding in more to the game, leveling up characters, more items things like that. Just basically more for the game, so if you like it, you know, and you know if you want more. And there is a box design contests or things for kids from all over the world to get artwork on the box.

Portal Games

Basilica

A 2nd of the game. I don’t know much about it, but it looks quite euro. A two player tile laying game. Ignacy described it as Carcassonne with combat and area control. I like tile laying, I don’t mind area control, especially as two players. So I am curious about it but it is a try before I buy easily. It’s going to be an Essen Spiel release.

Granna

Space Craft

You are building a space craft. You get different resources to let you buy different ship pieces. One interesting piece of the look is that the pieces click together. Plus you are trying to build your space craft to get orders completed. There is some interesting movement to gather your resources and how they are limited. This is one that I’m curious about just because it is building a space craft, and while it’s 2D it looks like a lot of fun. It’s going to be premiering at Essen Spiel.

Matagot

Peter Pan

It’s panic in Neverland as the lost children has been kidnapped. It looks like a game with players trying to figure out where the lost children were taken while avoiding Captain Hook. I think it looks like a lot of fun, it’s a dry erase board which allows you to figure out information. And there is a campaign mode which is interesting. It reminds me of Treasure Island but this one being cooperative is way more interesting to me.

Smirk and Dagger

Tesseract

An other dimensional tesseract is collapsing down. Can you figure out how to control it or will it blow up and destroy our earth. The goal of the game is to get cubes off of the Tesseract and get them into a matrix. If you can contain a cubes into matrix. It’s all about collecting different sets of cubes to fill up that matrix. Looks like a fun puzzle of a game and is going to be cooperative as well. Coming to Kickstarter in October. And it has a lot of cool dice in it.

Gale Force Nine

Enola Holmes: Finder of Lost Souls

It’s an all versus one game of reasoning and deception. I like the idea of a one versus all game where it is set-up with figuring out what the one has set-up. It’s made as a family weight game which to me is interesting but probably not for me. I find that one versus all are hard to get to the table. And it sounds like there is a bit of Mastermind element to it as well. For me, I’d play this but I don’t think I’d ever pick it up not because it looks bad, but it doesn’t look like it’s for me.

Plaid Hat Games

Hickory Dickory

You are trying to collect different things to get points. Now, that sounds boring or standard. But there is a clock with a moving hand around the board. Which I think is pretty interesting. And it isn’t just collecting sets, it’s collecting rows and columns. And the artwork is amazing for this game. I actually think I want to pick this one up because the game just looks so pretty on the table. And Q4 in 2022 for the release date.

Grey Fox Games

Prophets of Doom

You’re the leader of a doomsday cult but you are really bad at figuring out what is happening. You’re trying to get followers and build up your compound. It’s a fun theme and fairly unique. Honestly, don’t know what I think about this, the artwork is nice. The theme, like I said is fun, but also I don’t know too much about how it’s played. And it’s a Q1 game in 2023.

Reavers of Midgard Expansion

I haven’t played Champions or Reavers of Midgard. I think that they look pretty but also they don’t seem like my type of game. But if you like Reavers of Midgard, then this is going to be interesting to you. It’s a game that I wouldn’t mind playing. And it’s coming to Kickstarter or crowdfunding towards the end of 2022.

Navoo Games

Raising Robots

It’s interesting strategy game with robots for 1 to 7 players. I find that interesting because that’s a big number of players but they have engine building, simultaneous action selection and variable player powers. I really love the artwork from Howard McWilliam. The game looks like it’s going to be pretty heavy which is not a bad thing, but it might be heavier than the art makes it look. Looks like a try before I buy because there is a lot going on. And while you do stuff simultaneously, it looks like you pick actions and then set stuff up then everyone activates. It’s one you can checkout at Gen Con.

Rebel Studio

Meadow Downstream

An expansion for Meadow. It is releasing at Spiel Essen this year. There is a river board and water tiles that you use. It’s going to add more to Meadow and if you like Meadow then you are probably going to want more of this

Meadow Adventure Book

Another expansion but this one is going to be adding in scenarios. It will be legacy like experience in 2023. So think adding rules as you go and playing the specific scenarios. They said legacy like, though, so I am assuming somewhat replayable. Meadow is a game that I should try and checkout at Gen Con because I love the artwork and look but don’t want to take the plunge to buy it yet.

Chronicles of Avel: New Adventures

It’s adding in three more scenarios and three modules. This is going to be an expansion, if that’s not obvious, for Chronicles of Avel. This is a game that I keep on seeing at stores. I believe it’s an adventure game for a younger audience, or at least that is the feeling that I’ve gotten. I don’t know if this is making it more complex, but the game always interests me. Another one I’d love to checkout at Gen Con. And the components really do look amazing for this game.

Avel the Card Game

This is going to be a deck building game set in the Avel setting. There is no shuffling of the cards. This is going to be a bit of a step up, and is going to be a cooperative card game that they call as a next step game. That definitely makes me think that Chronicles of Avel might be too light for me, at least until the kid is a bit older, but this one could be intriguing for playing with more casual gamers.

Rock Manor Games

Set a Watch: Forsaken Isles

This is going to be a standalone expansion, which they have done before, for their Set A Watch game line. You face off against monsters, new ones, with new adventurers. But it still maintains mix and match ability with the other Set a Watch stuff you already have. This is one, Set a Watch, that is on my shelf that I need to get played. I am not sure that I need to grab more of it, but we’ll see once I get my copy of Set a Watch played, which I should soon.

City of Games

Race to the Raft

From the designer and company that brought you Isle of Cats, this is about the cats left behind. A cooperative game where you play as the cats to try and get the ones left behind off the island on the last remaining raft. It definitely is interesting to me. I like Isle of Cats and I want to try City of Kings. I like the idea of cooperative with those same cats and cat artwork. Definitely one I’ll be keeping an eye on.

WizKids

Ascending Empires Zenith Edition

A new version of Ascending Empires. I don’t know anything about this game, it’s a Sci-Fi themed 4x game with about a 60-90 minute play time. Whenever I hear 4x, I am intrigued, but I also know I have troubles getting the ones I own to the table. It’s a new edition so it’ll be interesting to checkout for me as there is a dexterity element to the game with how you move your ships. I do like games with dexterity but again, it is still 4x. For sure it is one that I’d want to try. And like a lot of games now, it is going to add modules to allow you to change it up. I often wonder how likely I am to play with a module, I need to try them in Isle of Cats.

CMON

Stranger Things Upside Down

If you could have seen me when I saw what the announcement was. It is by Rob Daviau from Pandemic Legacy which I love. And Cthulhu Death May Die which I need to see. I literally got goose bumps and I had to pause the video because I am so excited. There was an Asmodee Stranger Things social deduction game announced. This, however, is not that.

It is coming to retail in 2023. Not a ton of details yet for it, but I don’t need to know more about it. It is Rob Daviau, it is a cooperative game. And you are trying to save Hawkins from the Upside Down. I don’t need to know more, I will get this game. I don’t know that I have ever had a reaction to a board game announcement like I did now. Maybe for Frosthaven but that would be about it. Shut up and take my money!

Dire Wolf

Dune Imperium – Immortality

I really need to play Dune Imperium. I assume that anyone who knows the game is going to be exciting. This expansion is going to be more for the deck building element. Plus there is also going to be research track as well, which is interesting. It is definitely making the game more complex, and I think it could be exciting. Dune Imperium is one that I should track down and play, but it never shows up used that I’ve seen. Expected to be available around the end of 2022.

CGE

Deal with the Devil

It’s an engine building Euro game. it is going to have secret roles, though, which is going to be changing up the standard thing. The game looks interesting on the table with buildings that are player screens to hide who you are and what you want to do. Not my type of game, but it is going to have a table presence for sure. And there is going to be an app that hands out the roles as well, which is intriguing. I would try it just because it seems to add in a little bit more than just a standard Euro game but then again, there is social deduction. It is a Gen Con first look coming out around Essen Spiel.

Final Thoughts

There are a ton of games in this announcement. There are some that aren’t all that interesting to me, but then again, there are others that I am clearly excited for. I will be finding out everything I can about the Stranger Things game. Like I said, it is going to be on that I immediately seek out and it’s a theme that I want a great game with it. Rob Daviau is a designer that I want to doing it. But besides that, I got to say, I think that Race to the Raft and The Great Split interest me the most next.

What is the game that stood out to you that you want to try out or need to get?

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There are going to be spoilers in this. A lot of spoilers, not even going to pretend to do a review without it. If you want the two sentence review if this is good, the answer is yes. It’s not a perfect season but it’s really good.

Spoilers Ahead

The Storylines

This is a bit of a different season. As the boys are growing older, it is like they are closer to the ages of the older generation. So instead of getting that split of the older kids, younger kids, and adults, we have two groups of kids and a group of adults. Plus then Eleven is split off on her own some. I think it is important to talk about all of these different groups and if their stories worked.

Eleven

Eleven is the best spot to start because really this world and overall story revolves around her. Her story, is both one of the more interesting parts and one of the less interesting parts. Her time in California is just fine. It has strong Carrie vibes but doesn’t really pay off. We already know she’s not a normal kid and doesn’t fit in.

And then we go to the new lab with Brenner and Owens. It is a very good vehicles for telling the story of Eleven’s powers, and who Vecna, Henry, the Orderly and One all are. The unraveling of that mystery with Eleven and Nina and Eleven getting her powers back works well. However, her time in this new lab, the fighting between her, Brenner, and Owens, the military showing up, there is too much of that and that part was not interesting.

The Adults

Then we head over to Russia with Joyce, Murray, Yuri, Hopper, and Antonov. And this is a bit of a mixed bag for me again. I really loved Antonov and her and Hopper’s relationship. How they loosely work together to really work together. How they both help out the other. And Murray and Yuri provide some good comedy for this.

Overall, really know knocks on the storyline for the adults. It does feel a bit like it’s less connected to the overall story though. And I get it, they need to get Hopper back to the rest of the group. The fact that they never really were in the same fight, even though they tried to help, is interesting. I’d have loved for there to be something more to get them directly involved.

Hawkins Kids

Easily my favorite part of the story, and I don’t think that’s a surprise. The Hawkins story has most of the bigger cast with Dustin, Lucas, Max, Erica, Nancy, Steve, and Robin and introducing Eddie. All characters that you really start to like.

They also have the best ability to interact with the upside down and it was fun to delve into there more. We’ve gotten these hints throughout the other series. We even spend time there, but this time we really get to spend time in the upside down. There are still mysteries to it but we know more now, some because of them.

And I also think that the Max storyline was interesting. What she is going through, Vecna targeting her, she’s a character I really like. She brings something different to the group. And to have her be a focus and really the whole Hawkins kids side of thing being so relationship drama free, I think it worked well.

California Kids

Finally, the California kids with includes Argyle, a great character, and Mike, since he timed up his spring break amazingly. But their story was intriguing. They got to do the whole road trip thing which is fun and very much a trope from that time period. And getting to meet Suzy’s family was interesting.

I think that their story was stronger once Eleven was gone and them trying to get her. While that intersected with hers at one of the more boring parts, overall, it felt real. And to see the emotion from Will and Mike. And just that relationship and rebuilding between Eleven and Mike, it worked well. Plus Argyle was a great humor character.

Stranger Things Season 4 Overall Story

To me, while there were outliers, mainly the adults, the whole story did work together. And I think you could argue that they lost this fight, Vecna still lives, Max is in a coma, because they split the party at the end of season 3. Now the adults being split off, or at least Hopper, makes sense, really all of them splitting makes sense. But it’s leaning into a D&D trope that way where you never split the party.

I also think that building up the history of the upside down is very good. And for Eleven and her powers. It makes the world that is being more impactful to go back. And they did it in a smart way where the consequences to the real world mattered as she was finding out all of this. It was an information dump, technically, for her stuff, but not one that felt only like explaining. There is a reason behind it.

How It Ended

So, this is a bit more speculation going forward. If you don’t know, season 5 is going to be the final season of Stranger Things. Now there is plans for a show set in the same “world” as Strangers Things. And The Duffer Brothers are the runners for that show as well. It is an idea that they had, not someone that they were asked.

But let’s look at the world as it is now. Vecna is out there. Hawkins is a disaster area, what is going to be happen next? I expect that the finale will again be a face off against Eleven and Vecna, though that might be mid season. If they split it into two, I wouldn’t be shocked if Vecna is defeated by the end of the first half. For Hawkins, the question is, how do you close it up again? And that is where the story gets interesting.

Because I think that is going to be the harder part. Vecna might have an army around him, but he is injured both on the mental level and the physical. But how do you close everything back up again. I think we might see a character lost to doing this. In particular, I think Will might need to sacrifice himself. Not die, but go back to the upside down. Face that fear that he has and go back to close the portal. Eleven working on the outside and him on the inside.

I also think we end with more deaths in the season. Murray, unfortunately, and possibly Joyce or Hopper I could see dying. One of Steve, Jonathan or Nancy might die. And I don’t know if I think one of the kids will die or not. Max seems like a choice, if she never recovers, but she’s had that experience. And Will staying in the upside down could be seen as that. But I don’t know about Lucas, Dustin, or Mike. Mike seems fairly safe, but Lucas or Dustin could be a casualty.

Stranger Things Season 4 Final Thoughts

It is a very good season. I put my rankings of the seasons as 1 followed closely be 4. Then there is a gap down to 3 and a gap down to 2. Two is not bad, I think that it feels like it’s trying to be season 1 again without capturing that same feeling. Season 4 captures that feeling of season one and is darker as well. For me that is really interesting and works really well.

I think they walked that line nicely, though. It is darker, but they kept much of the essence of Stranger Things. And with that it let people who maybe don’t love that slight step darker stay engaged. Because, in the end, we want it to feel like Stranger Things and this season really did.

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The Obvious Ones:

Supernatural

This show has been going seemingly forever at this point, but it’s a classic monster of the week show. They have developed a nice cast of characters for the show and really found a groove. The first few seasons are definitely leaning more into the horror aspect, but even some of the goofier episodes in later seasons still is a solid hit for Halloween. While the show can be a bit repetitive, Sam and Dean Winchester more than make up for it by being fun characters to watch.

Stranger Things

Last year, the second season came out around Halloween, so it makes perfect sense that this is on the list. The show has a decent amount of suspense and the monsters from the upsidedown are pretty classic for horror. What makes Stranger Things so good is the feel of nostalgia that you get form it as the Duffer brothers reference the 80’s a ton and have pulled from horror and Halloween masters like Stephen King and John Carpenter. The first season especially has that tightly constructed story feel to it, and you are on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. And because it’s only two seasons and not long seasons at that, it’s certainly a digestible show to jump in and watch.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This definitely falls into the campier area, especially now looking back at hos Joss Whedon tried to add drama into the show. But it’s a classic monster of the week show at this point and has some completely amazing episodes. There are some weaker seasons in the show, and the show itself kind of tapers off, though it did have a final season, in terms of it being worth watching. The musical episode is definitely a standout episode.

So now some deeper cuts for Halloween shows. They probably will still be somewhat known, but there might be a few odd ones in there that people might not have heard of.

Dark

Another show that can be found on Netflix, like Stranger Things, Dark doesn’t have the typical horror elements, but leans much more into suspense. It’s a German show that can be watched in English, but I’d personally recommend it in German with subtitles, just because of matching out up the mouths with the words and the issues that you can get in German with that. Dark is deeply thematic, and the time travel in the story keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s a very heavy show but it always leaves you wanting more of it. For some this show will be too stressful, but I personally found it engaging in a great way. Also, the music in this show is amazing and would work really well for a Halloween party.

The Rain

The final Netflix show on the list. The Rain is a Danish show that has some aesthetic similarities Dark. In this case, The Rain walks more on horror theme, but has some feel of The Walking Dead and a show that’ll be further down on the list, from what I can tell, I’ve only seen some of The Walking Dead (it isn’t on my list). The Rain deals more with people living in a tough world after a plague that has killed most of the population of at least Denmark because of something in the rain. Simone and her younger brother Rasmus are left on their own for years in a bunker while their father, who seems to be tied to the plague that has happened is out searching for a cure. Eventually Simone and Rasmus have to return to the surface to deal with the “humanity” that is left. There’s a little bit of a 28 Days Later feel to it, now that I think about it. I haven’t finished the show yet, but from what I’ve seen, I’m loving the show and the on the edge of your seat feel that it gives.

Grimm

This show is more main stream as it was on NBC for a while, however, now that it’s off the air, I think it’s less of a known. It’s a bit monster of the week as it follows around a cop who finds out that he has a connection to a world that he never knew existed. It’s another show that I’ve heard drops off a bit, but from the parts of it I’ve seen, the first three seasons I want to say, it was very enjoyable. Definitely less tense than the previous shows on the list, but none the less, very enjoyable.

Helix

This gets back into more of the harder horror show feel. This is the show that The Rain, for me, feels like it’s borrowed some from the feel of it. Though Helix focuses primarily on the scientists and trying to figure out who might be infected with the disease that is ravaging their Antarctic base, where the disease even comes from, and why it is being worked on. There’s a vibe that I’m pretty sure is similar to The Thing, I just haven’t seen that movie yet, somehow. I believe that Helix only had a two season run on SyFy and I only watched the first season. Even as a single season show, the tension and twists that happened made this into a very solid show and definitely one that is binge worthy to watch the first season around Halloween.

What are some of your favorite shows to watch around Halloween? I haven’t seen much of The Walking Dead, but that show, Fear the Walking Dead, and American Horror Story seem like prime candidates for Halloween watching, as well as The Strain.

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These are all games that Fantasy Flight has taken from a license and turned into a ton of products. I’m pretty sure I’m evening missing a game. There are also other games like the Game of Thrones living card game or the new game that came out from CMON, Song of Ice and Fire. There’s a whole system of games, the Legendary Encounters based off of Marvel Legendary (another licensed property) for Alien, Predator, Firefly, Big Trouble in Little China, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and now X-Files. The point of writing all of that was that there are a ton of board games that have cool properties behind them and there are more coming out all of the time.

Unlike Robin Hood and Lovecraft’s work which can be slapped on anything because they are public domain, there are a lot that need to be licensed. So, what are some of these other stories that I can to see board games made out of?

I’m going to give the title of the book, TV show, movie, and some description of what I think would make it an interesting game or how I might go about building a game. I’m also going to be avoiding things that I know are already board games, you might not know there is a Kung-Fu Panda game, but there is, so I won’t be making my own for that.

R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D. is a movie and comic about a cop who dies and then becomes a cop in the after life taking crazy bad guys. I like the theme for this one and think that with a bunch of minis and different cops who you could play, it could be a fun game playing against a scenario(s). You’d be trying to defeat different bad guys, or maybe a scenario would have you get information while trying to survive long enough to get back out. There’s a good number of stories that you could do with it, and while it is a lot of the current meta, I’d lean into the supernatural. Give the players and monsters abilities that they can use that are a bit game breaking, but come at a cost to the monsters of the players. That would then give the game a unique feel as compared to other scenario based games because it’s the last ditch sort of move instead of other variable player powers.

Kingkiller Chronicle

Now, there is something coming out that can have some tie in to this series by Patrick Rothfuss, but I want to take it in a different direction than that game. That one looks like it is more about the whole fantasy world, and like I said, it isn’t an actual game on the series, it just has a module for it, so it counts for me. I’d focus on the time at the university. People could take on different students, doing different things for different classes and the game would be split into four or five parts which would be different years at the school. Each turn you’d take an action to either study, go to classes, make money, or if you are playing a character who has money, just get money. You’d play as different characters who are studying at the university and at the end of each round you’d score points and depending on how you did and your income, you’d get your tuition set for the next year which would take money from you, and you’d repeat the process. If you didn’t have enough money, you’d be limited to actions in town or going and taking out a loan to be able to stay in school, but that would be costly for you. I think you could make this game interesting by having characters increase in skills, do sneaky things, and complete missions for teachers. I think I’d then have the players try and get as many points as they could in completing their education or at least advancing in it.

Killjoys

Killjoys is a space television series about a crew who picks up criminals and turns them in and deals generally with all the problems that are going on in their world. I don’t think I’d make my game as dramatic as the show, but I do think I’d set it up so that it really focuses on bringing in those criminals like the earlier part of the show does. It would somewhat be a pick-up and deliver game where you fly to a planet, pick up what you need, and deliver it back for money. However, the longer you go, the more troubles you are going to run into completing missions and also the more events and worse events that will be happening to the Quad, the area of planets you are working in. In the end, the winner would have the most money at the end of the game from bringing in criminals, but you have to decide how to use it because you might want to upgrade your ship, weapons, or crew to make the jobs easier.

Stranger Things

I’m a little surprised I haven’t heard of one besides some company branding an ouija board with Stranger Things, because of money. For those who don’t know, Stranger things is about a girl who escapes from the grasp of an evil company that is messing around with her abilities and is also looking into another dimension, the Upside Down where there are monsters that start bleeding over into this small town. I would make this as an asymmetric game for up to five people as that’s about how it works in the game. There are the kids, the teenagers, the adults, the company, and the upside down. The upside down and the kids would be required to play the game, but the rest could be optional. As the kids, you are trying to keep Eleven safe and close the portal to the Upside Down, as the Upside Down, you are trying to capture all the kids or get enough monsters into the world that you win. If you were the adults, your goal would to find one of the kids who gets lost in the upside down, and as the teens your goal is to kill as many monsters as possible. Finally, as the company, your goal would be to keep Eleven alive, but have her under your control, and not have anyone else win for a certain number of rounds. I could also see cutting it down to three factions and having the people of the town, adults, teens, and kids, all be the same person. But I think it could be interesting, each group having their own special powers and goals that they are going for in the game.

What are some stories that you think would turn into a good board game? What are some of your favorites that are already board games?

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