And if you want to know the criteria that I’m using, or the conversation starting point, you can read that article here.

My Tableau Building Games

As normal, we split it into games that I’ve played first and then games that I haven’t played yet in my collection.

Tableau Building Games I’ve Played

• 7 Wonders Duel
• Lord of the Rings Duel for Middle Earth
• 7 Wonders
• Splendor: Pokemon
• The Castles of Burgundy
• Arkham Horror The Card Game
• Marvel Champions
• Dwellings of Eldervale
• Forest Shuffle
• Res Arcana
• Meadow
• Space Base
• Faraway
• Castle Combo
• Furnace
• Aquatica
• New Frontiers
• Jump Drive
• Ancient Knowledge
• Starship Captains
• Village Rails
• Call to Adventure: Stormlight Archives
• Cafe Baras
• Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition
• Pixies

Tableau Building Games I’ve Yet To Play

• Everdell
• 3 Ring Circus
• Ark Nova
• A Feast for Odin
• Revive
• Beyond the Sun
• Targi
• Endless Winter: Paleoamericans
• Vale of Eternity
• Expeditions
• Fantastic Factories
• The Bloody Inn
• Raising Robots
• The Witcher: Path of Destiny
• Andromeda’s Edge
• Earth

What Stays and What Leaves?

This is a tough list to really do because they are so unique. A lot of the time there is a pretty big difference between a scoring tableau game and an engine building tableau game. So as I’m looking at the list, it’s hard to say that I should keep this one or another one. Plus sometimes they didn’t really do a great job of putting like games on the BGG list. For example, Terraforming Mars, on the list, Ares Expedition, not on the list. New Frontiers is a tableau building game, but Jump Drive wasn’t part of that list. So I hope that I caught everything, but I’m sure some where missed.

What Is And Easy Leave?

So when we look at the list the ones that I have yet to play, those are generally going to stay. That means that we’re looking at what I’ve played for easy games to leave the collection. It’s not an easy list to pick from. I only have one that is an easy leave from the list. And that is I’m going to be getting rid of 7 Wonders Duel. Mainly because I own Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth. Yes, they are different, but I’m most apt to pick the Lord of the Rings themed one to play.

The other one that is going to leave is 7 Wonders. Now that might be surprising, but I bought I copy and I just don’t play it. If I want a big group drafting game, I go with Sushi Go Party! For that reason while 7 Wonders offers something quite different, it just isn’t going to stick in my collection.

What Is An Easy Stay?

Now for easy stays, I definitely am keeping Lord of the Rings Duel for Middle Earth and then both of the LCG’s on the list from Fantasy Flight Games. I know that I want to keep one of Dwellings of Eldervale and Andromeda’s Edge, but having not played the latter, I don’t know which I want to keep. I’ve heard the latter is the better game, but I like the theme for the former more so.

Space Base, Forest Shuffle, Castle Combo, Castles of Burgundy and Ancient Knowledge easily make the list as well. As does Call to Adventure: Stormlight Archives.

Everything Else

Now let’s touch on everything else and this is where I need to find a few to cut. Do I need Jump Drive in my collection if I play it on BGA so much? I had actually put it in the too sell pile but then I brought it back. And I want to keep it and New Frontiers because I really like both of them. So they stay, though with Jump Drive, it’s tempting because of BGA.

One that it tough for me is Meadow. I like Meadow a lot, but it’s also one that I play less often. I think that this means I just need to play it more to keep it in the collection. The same can be said for Res Arcana. I need to play it more because I really do love that game.

Furnace is going to leave the collection, I’ve decided. Mainly because it’s okay at two players. And I think that I am most apt to play it at two players. Because of that it should leave the collection I think. Another one that I love the theme of but thought the game play was okay so it’s going to leave is Cafe Baras. Mainly it’s super cute, but a bit too simple for my tastes. Even as a game to play with my kid, it’s not quite interesting enough.

So The Tableau Games That Are Leaving

Just to recap we have Furnace, which I really enjoy but less so at two. Cafe Baras is a bit too simple and 7 Wonders Duel is a game that has been replaced by Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth. And 7 Wonders is getting kicked out because it’s the secondary drafting game for big groups for me.

I think that there will be others to leave once I play more. But it’s tricky getting all the tableau building games to the table. Some I maybe shouldn’t keep, like Res Arcana just because when will I play it again.

What is your favorite tableau building game?

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

2022 Gaming Goals

365 Game Challenge

So this one was easily completed, right now I am sitting at over 600 plays and might finish with close to 700, though, I suspect I’ll be just short. A lot of them are Orchard, over 200 because I take the game in to work and I play it when I have five minutes between meetings. That’s mainly if I don’t have an e-mail to respond to or I’m needing to clear my brain. So this one was a success.

Added Challenges

I added a few more challenges throughout the year, all which I thought I was going to be able to complete. The first one was a 20 by 5 challenge. That is 20 games played five times. I also did a 10 by 10 challenge, 10 games played 10 times. That last one just snuck in. And then because I knew it was done, I did a solo game challenge of 100 solo game plays. So nothing in here was too challenging though that 10 by 10 I got done with two days to spare.

Buying on Demand

So this one was hit or miss for me. I started out strong in the year and then it tailed off post GenCon. Let’s recap what this one was. It was the idea that I would buy a game when I was ready to play the game. And generally I’ve done a solid job with that. So that meant fewer pre-orders, things like that. And I definitely had fewer of those throughout the year.

However, there were a few, Village Rails and First Rat that I did pre-orders for that I maybe should have waited on. Now, both of them I played at GenCon which is why I blame GenCon. For the most part, though, it has been buying in stock games. Not always right when I was going to play them, but a lot of them I’ve gotten to the table.

Under 100 Unplayed

Now, this one I flirted with for a while and then it got trashed, haha. I am down to a lower number of unplayed games, or I was before some came in around the holidays. But that said, I did play around 100 games for the first time this year. Some of those were at GenCon so not part of my collection, in fact a number of them were. Others I played and had different games leave my collection and new ones come in. So it has been a good year for playing new games and finding some really good new games.

2023 Gaming Goals

So I’m going to add in a few this year but ones that I generally expect to hit. And these are mainly for my own fun.

365 Game Challenge

Same as previous two years, I want to play through 365 different game plays. This should be simple, so the stretch of this goal is to hit 1000 game plays for the year. That’d be adding in over 300 to what I did this year. We’ll see if that can happen or how close I can get anyways.

365 Solo Challenge

Like the one above, but this one is for solo games. I’m not sure that I would have quite made it this year, but I suspect I might have or might have nearly. But I think I’ll be able to get to that number this year, especially at the speed I’m playing Orchard.

Limit Crowdfunding

Now, what does this even mean and how is this a measured goal? It’s not, but I want to slow down a little bit on crowdfunding. And I did in the latter part of 2022, really the second half was much slower. Now some of that was that Kickstarter and Gamefound were just much slower. But I want to keep that slower pace. A lot of these big campaign games, they still might get me, but I did a solid job of not backing those medium weight games that’ll show up to retail and I want to do that again.

That said, I am pretty sure that I’ll back some games like the Chip Theory Games Elder Scrolls, more Marvel United from CMON, Rogue Angels and Stonesaga are on that list as well. And most likely there’ll be another game that I really want to back as well, or a follow-up to something that I already own.

Why Set Goals

So as I wrap up, let’s as the question, why set goals? Because they are fun. Like I said, I don’t use them as a hard and fast rule, I can break them, but they are things that I want to keep to. Some of it is just a way to encourage myself to play more games. Others, like the Crowdfunding one is to limit maybe how many games that I back. I was going to say some in, but these won’t come in 2023, let’s be fair. But I also don’t want to regulate my gaming hobby so that it feels like work.

That is the challenge with something like getting my unplayed games to under 100. I still want to do that, but when I regulate it, it makes it feel more like work. Am I doing this because I want to play these games right now, I do want to play them. Or am I do doing it because I feel like I need to get that number down. So that is why that one is not on the list. I do love to play new games, though, so we’ll see, maybe I’ll hit that goal.

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

Top 5 Board Games of 2022

5. Village Rails

Village Rails is a game that stands out to be because it takes a concept I like in Village Green and iterates upon it. In Village Green, by a different designer, it is a tough puzzle to crack. With Village Rails you are still filling out a grid of cards completing rail routes, but it’s not as restricting. You decide how much you want to optimize how you score points on the route.

And I think the whole concept of route building is a lot of fun. This distills it into something that’s much smaller than a big train game, and offers more interesting decisions than a game like Ticket to Ride. All with just a deck of cards. You score points for the routes and the engines that you place on them, and it’s really just a clever and enjoyable system.

4. The Isle of Cats: Explore and Draw

This is one that is more built upon another game than my first one. But Isle of Cats: Explore and Draw is a roll and write version of Isle of Cats. The game plays in a much faster time and offers interesting other choices that the board game version can’t because of how it’s set-up. I think I like it better than the big box version, but it is close and I need to play the bigger box more.

In this you are still trying to rescue cats from the island. But you activate a column of three cards each round. Those cards can be cats to place on your boat, same rules for that as Isle of Cats. Or you can get scoring cards which you track which ones you’ve activated on a sheet. The game plays much faster, that is for sure, and offers still a lot of good choices. Plus you have powers you can use to break the rules and optimize a turn, which is fun as well.

3. Ready Set Bet

I own this one now, I own all of them on the list, but it took me a while to get Ready Set Bet. Ready Set Bet is a horse betting and horse racing game. There is an app that can call the race for you, but otherwise, someone does and everyone else is tossing down bets as the race goes on hoping to make as much money as they can.

There is a real time aspect that is needed for this game. It gives you that tension that I can only assume is like being at the track. You are watching trying to get a bet in at the last second on a sleeper who is making a move towards the end so you can win big. But if you hold onto your bets too long, the odds of betting on the favorites becomes worse. It’s a clever, light, and exciting system.

2. First Rat

First Rat is a game that I think the Dice Tower crew talked about well, it looks like it shouldn’t be that thinky a game. But First Rat, a game where you are collecting pieces to build a rocket ship as a rat to get to the moon that is made of cheese, it works really well.

You get a lot of options of how to move and optimize your strategy. But each player can have their own strategy. I pushed up on the lights track because I wanted, when I moved up the main track, it to be even more powerful. To collect resources faster. Other players pushed up for resources faster but had to be okay with getting fewer. There are a lot of fun things to play around with on the system. And the theme makes what is basically a resource collection game so much more fun.

1. Stars of Akarios

Finally, you got to see me play this one on Malts and Meeples. We have Stars of Akarios. An epic, massive, space exploration and tactics game. I love this game because it does so much. You want tactical space combat, it does that. You want to explore a planet, you can do that. And it has choose your own adventure story in there as well.

I’ve talked about this game a lot. I thought that I’d like it, and I do, indeed, like this game a lot. The story is engaging. It isn’t as polished or deep as some, like Tainted Grail for example, but it is a fun story. It has that early 2000’s SyFy channel vibe to it, or something like Farscape which is just fun to play in. And the tactical space combat is so cool and puzzly to figure out. And then you get little breaks with the story and exploring planets before you launch off and try again.

What Are Your Favorite Games from 2022?

I had 16 different board games on the list. And I did exclude Marvel Dice Throne from my rankings because it is just more Dice Throne. But that would be my number one otherwise. I love Dice Throne. But it has been a really good year for games. I don’t on my list have Oathsworn because I haven’t played it yet. I want to play Lands of Galzyr. Just missing was Batman: Everybody Lies the Detective System game and Long Shot the Dice Game. So it has been a story year for games. What is your favorite?

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

Checkout 100 through 91 first here.

Top 100 Games 2022 Edition 90-81

90 – The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

I really enjoy trick taking games, though not a ton of them make the top of my list. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea makes the list for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is a cooperative trick taking game. So everyone works together to complete certain objectives. That is fun, but it is also fun because I can play the same scenario over again and I’ll have different objectives. That’s something that made me like it better than The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine which was fixed.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

89 – Too Many Bones: Undertow

Too Many Bones, a bit game from Chip Theory Games, is one that I think will move up higher as I get more characters and get it to the table more. I like it every time I play, but it’s a beast and I need to relearn the rules. But Too Many Bones is generally a tactical fighting game where you level up characters as you go. Eventually you face off against a big boss. What you level up are stats but then also unlock new dice and abilities to use. And then I like that fact that the characters aren’t normal. The Gearlocs aren’t cute, but what they do is different than a lot of standard fantasy games.

Buy on Chip Theory Games

88 – Downforce

Downforce is an interesting light and quick betting game. In this game you buy a car, race that car, and then get your points, or money, for who you place a bet on, where they finish, and where you vehicle finishes. There is one thing, there are more, but one in particular, that is so clever though. As the cars race along, that is done by people playing down cards. The cards have a list of car colors and how far they move. If you plan it well you can get a car trapped and slow it down, which offers more strategy than you’d expect from the game.

Buy on Miniature Market

87 – Fruit Picking

Another one that has been on the list before and another lighter game like Downforce that way. But otherwise it is more like Mancala with set collection. You move seeds around, figuring out how to land on spots where you can either get a lot more seeds or you can buy different fruit. All you are trying to do is figure out that puzzle as quickly as possible. And of course, to land in the right spot to get those fruit and collect your sets.

Buy on Amazon

86 – Atlantis Rising

Atlantis Rising is new to the list, and a very good cooperative game. As I say in the video, it’s almost an introductory or welcoming cooperative game. In this game you are trying not to keep Atlantis afloat, but as it sinks, get off the island by making technology and end up in another realm. What I like is how the board shrinks as you play, parts sink and you lose some of the better options for going out. Of course, if you want to more likely get what you need, you go out to the end of an peninsula, but there is also a great chance it’ll sink and you get nothing.

Buy on Miniature Market

85 – Flamecraft

Flamecraft is one of the prettiest games out there with all the cute dragons. But it’s a fun light game to play as well. It is a very good welcoming game because of the artwork, but because there isn’t too much going on as well. You are either adding dragons to shops to get resources on your turn, and use powers of the dragons or shop. Or you are completing goals and gaining points. It’s such a friendly game that is a lot of fun to play and look at.

Pre-Order on Miniature Market

84 – Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Arkham Horror: The Card Game has fallen for me a lot. Mainly because I just don’t play it or have someone to play it with consistently. For me, it is a fine solo game, but I like it better multiplayer. In this game you are an investigator looking into some strange mystery, probably dealing with an elder god or some great old one. Of course, that means weird things can happen, and Fantasy Flight Games has done a great job of putting something together that uses the cards to create really unique experiences.

Buy on Miniature Market

83 – Village Rails

Village Rails replaces Village Green for me on the list. So another new game. It is still laying out things in a 3×3 grid, but now you’re trying to connect routes and score points that way. Plus playing out train engines to get even more scoring opportunities. What I like about it though is that the route building is a bit simpler to grasp than how the greens work. It’s a solid filler style game, I’d say, where it offers good decisions but not that long a game play time.

Not Out Yet

82 – Isle of Cats

The Isle of Cats from City of Games, is a great big polyomino game where you are rescuing cats. The same for the Explore and Draw which I’d maybe rate higher but hadn’t rated yet by the time I did my list. In both you are filling up a boat with cats, trying to get families – colors of cats- next to each other on the boat. And then there are objective cards as well that you can draft and give you more end of the game scoring. There is a lot to the game but it’s a fun one to play both versions of it.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

81 – The Lost Expedition

The Lost Expedition is another one that has been on my list for a long time and has dropped some lately. Mainly because it got played a lot and there is less to see. But I still enjoy The Lost Expedition a lot. Mainly because it’s a cooperative game that is hard or even impossible for one player to really run for everyone. You’re trying to find the lost city of Z and explore along different paths every day. When making that path, each person needs to make the decision themselves and can’t discuss with other players. Eventually you make it, or often times you run out of food and your guides all perish.

Buy on Miniature Market

Upcoming Streams

Next Monday the Top 100 Games 2022 Edition continues. You can find the video below for that one. If you want to join live, it’ll be at 8:30 PM Central on Monday. Only week where it might not happen at that time is October 31st as it’s Halloween.

Then on Wednesday, it is time for more Stars of Akarios. This is assuming my internet is back by then. If not, I’ll tweet it out. But you can find that link here. The following week I will be out of town so no Stars of Akarios. But hopefully you are still having fun, and most likely there is a fair amount to catch up on after seven games.

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

Top 10 Games I Want To Get My Hands On

10 – The City of Kings

Originally a game that I learned about from Rolling Solo, I think realized it is from a company that I like their stuff, City of Games, such as Isle of Cat and Isle of Cat Explore & Draw. Basically a company I’ll always be paying attention to. This is one that I could order, but it’s not a cheap game, because it’s a big kind of adventure game.

But it’s doing adventure in a different way. While you are still going out, fighting monsters, completing goals and things like that, so much of The City of Kings is about leveling up your character. Much of what you do is in preparation to face off against the big bad guy when they show up. It’s also more contained as well which I like.

9 – The King’s Dilemma

I’ve almost bot The King’s Dilemma from Horrible Guild a number of times. And it’s fairly surprising I haven’t because it’s a legacy game and I love legacy games. But the main reason that I haven’t is I don’t know when I’ll play it. And with it being in stock a lot of the time, it’s one that I plan on picking up when I know I’m ready to play it.

The King’s Dilemma is an interesting sounding game where you take on different factions in a kingdom. And then through the games you open up envelopes, deal with the dilemma’s that come out, voting on what your faction wants in the game. It seems like a big narrative experience and negotiation experience which sounds fun. Also seems like it needs a fairly specific group.

8 – Die of the Dead

I almost backed Die of the Dead when it was on Kickstarter from Radical 8 Games. And now it is hard to find, though I have seen it once used. This game just looked colorful and different which is what drew me to it on Kickstarter. And while it doesn’t look to be that heavy, it does seem to do some different things.

In this game you are trying to be the first player to get your souls back to the land of the living. You load up dice into coffins, roll them and try and place them on this three dimensional stairway. The whole idea of going back up to the land of the living with your souls. I don’t know a ton more about game play, but the table presence is amazing.

7 – MicroMacro: Crime City

From one that is hard to find to one that is easy to find we have MicroMacro: Crime City, and the standalone expansion. Both of those generally are fairly easy to get your hands on. And I’m mainly waiting for a time when I know that I want to play the game.

The basics of the game is a “Where is Waldo” type of scenario. You are looking around a giant map to try and find the specific clues for your case. And as you find some details you open up others which lead you down a path until you find the criminal.

Calling this a game is a bit tricky, but as an activity, it sounds like a lot of fun. Besides wanting to get it when I can play it, the other reason I’ve hesitated is I don’t know if I would play all the cases with it still feeling interesting and unique. If you’ve played it, let me know how it holds up after playing a lot of cases.

6 – Monumental

Another Kickstarter that I wish I had backed, but on Kickstarter it just looked good not amazing. For me, I think that this is a game that probably would work really well. But of course, now it’s hard to find because it has not come to retail.

In Monumental you play over two different areas. The first is a board where you are doing area control of sorts, fighting enemies, things like that. But what really intrigues me about the game is the deck building, a mechanism that I love. And the deck building seems interesting as well because you are playing down cards into a grid and then activating a row or column of cards. That just seem unique way to activate everything.

5 – Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion is a game that I’ve played, actually the rest of them are. Rebellion is a very fun two player game that is Star Wars in a box. It offers just such a good experience of the cat and mouse game of the Empire having a strong presence trying to find the rebel base. And the Rebels look to get planets on their side, build up their strength but really weaken the enemy.

There are two reasons that I don’t own this one yet. It is a long game that is two player only. So I feel like it won’t hit the table too often. Also, I know someone who owns it, I play with them. That last reason is definitely the bigger of the two.

4 – Village Rails

One that isn’t out yet, actually a few aren’t quite out yet. But Village Rails from Osprey Games is one I got to demo at Gen Con this year. And this feels like a simpler version and maybe more fun version of Village Green. The idea is similar between the two in what you’re doing.

In Village Rails you are building out rail routes and scoring points for those routes. You can buy and play engines that are going to give you more points as you place them on the routes. But you only have a limited amount of money. And the further something is down collection of engines the more it costs. Plus you are building out this grid of routes which can give you points in other ways as well. It feels like it offers just a bit more freedom in what you are doing.

3 – Asking for Trobils

Another one I played at Gen Con and actually just in my Top 100. Asking for Trobils from Breaking Games is a light and light-hearted worker placement game. Can you mess up your opponents, sure, but the artwork and everything about the game is just means to be fun and it comes through.

I like how fast the turns go in Asking for Trobils. You can go to a good number of spots, but generally you place a ship down, you get a thing and it’s on to the next turn. All the while you are working to get groups of stuff to be able to get Trobils. You might be buying more ships to get more actions, but whenever you want, you can spend your turn to pull you ships back. It’s fast and fun.

2 – Ready Set Bet

Ready Set Bet will be purchased soon. Ready Set Bet, a racing betting game, is coming out soon, in fact I might pick it up this weekend. Another one, actually these last four are, that I played at Gen Con this year. Ready Set Bet is a great experience and I think it’ll work in most groups because it’s a game that breeds excitement.

In Ready Set Bet one person is the caller, this can rotate or there is an app, for a horse race. They are rolling dice, moving the horses on the track. Everyone else, in real time, is betting on the horses. That might seem chaotic, and it is, but it’s chaotic in a good way. You really are just trying to guess right. But there are other bets, like the 4 beating the 7, or all horses being out of the gate, or close finishes, all things you can bet on as well in an attempt to make the most money.

1 – First Rat

And finally we have First Rat. While Ready Set Bet was more of an experience at Gen Con, I think that First Rat is the game that I want to get my hands on the most. And it’s not my normal type of game, yes, it has a great theme with rats building rockets to get to the moon because the moon is made of cheese. But at it’s heart you are pushing up a track, getting resources and trading them in.

But how you do that is really interesting and every different strategy you can have. When I played, I was pushing up my lights, the lights basically make the collection of other resources more powerful. But it meant I was collecting resources slower early on. Other players shot ahead to get resources as quick as possible to complete their rocket parts. The game is thinky but a nice balance of thinky and quick turns for me.

What Is On Your Wish List?

Let me know what some games that might be coming out soon to retail or are already out that you really want to get your hands on? There are so many games out there that it’s hard to keep up, and I think most gamers shouldn’t try and keep up. Looking at my list, I have a few games that are not old but not the newest and hottest games.

And then other games are new and exciting. But the ones that are the newest, those are also the ones that I’ve already tried. And even those, with the exception of Ready Set Bet, I’m fine waiting for the right time to get it. I want Ready Set Bet now because I think it could be a good game night game with that party nature to it. But others, Monumental especially, I’m probably unlikely to pick that one up, unless I find it for a really nice price used. And that’s okay, I don’t need to try every game, even though I’d love to.

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

Top 10 Games at Gen Con

10 – Dwellings of Eldervale

Dwellings of Eldervale has been on my shelf for a while. And I even own the fancy version with the monster bases that make noise and all the nice tokens for it. But I never got around to playing it. This is one of those games that I grabbed a spot so I could learn how to play the game versus because I was interested in the game. I knew I was already interested int.

And the game did not disappoint. I enjoy the worker placement in it. And I like how each person starts out a little bit differently with their plans. The game has a good amount going on to it. And you need to think about everything that you are doing. But it doesn’t feel overwhelming. I got through a decent chunk of a game, probably 4 rounds, but we still weren’t near the end of it. I want to get it to the table and play it again. And I want to try some of the other factions out there to see how they are.

9 – Twilight Inscription

I signed up for this event late. Learn how to play probably the biggest roll and write game out there. And set in the world and style of something like Twilight Imperium, it should be the biggest. It was a learning event, which I think is worth noting for this game. I suspect it will move higher the more I play it.

Twilight Inscription has you doing a bit of everything. And it has you mainly focused on your own board. It is interesting and I appreciate that there is a little interaction. It comes in the form of combat where you compare against the players next to you. But it also comes in the form of racing to the capitol planet and goals. So a few points of interaction that takes a mainly solitaire game and turns it into something more.

This roll and write won’t be for everyone. It is two hours and it is huge. But if you are looking for a hefty game, I think that Twilight Inscription could work for you.

8 – Village Rails

Village Rails, not really a follow-up to Village Green, but feels a bit like it. I think, after one play, I slightly prefer Village Rails. Village Green does an interesting thing where you need to think about rows and columns. With Village Rails you think about how you complete train routes. That is a bit simpler in what you are doing.

But the game isn’t too simple. You need to balance placing train tracks down to get routes that score well with placing down engines to score points. It gives you enough to think about without locking you in as much as Village Green does. I think that’s the big difference. Village Rails feels less restrictive in what you are doing.

7 – Long Shot: The Dice Game

Another roll and write game, but the last one on the list. And I do think that as I play Long Shot: The Dice Game, it could move higher on the list. Long Shot: The Dice Game is a horse racing and betting game. At the end of the game, you want to have the most money, pretty simple.

But how it works is interesting. You roll two dice and that determines which horse moves forward. But on each horse card, it can activate other horses to move them around the track as well. So while one horse could run away with it, you still are moving horses racing for 2nd and 3rd. And then you have the concessions stand where you can fill in. And there you can manipulate horses, pushing some further back or others further ahead. It works nicely and is simple to get a grasp of.

6 – Lost Ruins of Arnak

Another one, like Dwellings of Eldervale, I own this one. But I hadn’t gotten around to playing it. There is something about learning euro games without playing them that is a bit harder. Probably just means that as I learn I should mess around with the board. Because Lost Ruins of Arnak is not a hard game to learn, and it’s a game with great decisions in it and a lot of fun.

I like how Lost Ruins of Arnak blends a few things. You have your worker placement that’s about exploring, fighting monsters, but really about getting resources to move up a research track. Then you have your deck building. You want to get cards that help with resources and fun moves to let you get more points. Finally, you have that research track which you go up to get even more resources, but generally to help you in your exploration. And the adventure theme works well.

5 – Batman: Everybody Lies

It’s hard to rank Batman: Everybody Lies, especially only off of the prologue. I now have played case one as well, and that was fun as well. So it could move up, but also when I do my Top 100 you’ll never see it. This is basically Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game, with a few differences, and it’ll get lumped with that. But here, it gets it’s own spot.

Like I said, this is basically Detective. You still read cards, look up files and investigate everything that is going on. But with Batman: Everybody Lies, you are also having personal objectives that you need to think about. And information that you might find out as Catwoman that you need to decide if you share or not. I don’t find it that big a twist or one that you need to lean into. It’s a solid twist and the Batman theme works well in the system.

4 – First Rat

First Rat is the type of game that I wouldn’t try normally. See my comments about not learning Euro games easily. First Rat is a euro game where you are trying to build your rocket, score points and get rats to the cheese moon.

The game works better than that sounds, though. And that sounds very cute. So when I say the game works better, I mean it’s very good. Mainly because you have multiple of your rats climbing up this ladder or path. You can move one up further by itself, up to 5 spaces. Or you can move slower and move two rats, ending them on spots that are the same color to basically take both of those actions. There is more going on, but the game is that balance of simple actions but tough decisions when taking those actions.

3 – Oathsworn: Into the Deep Woods

Another one that I own. But I don’t blame myself for not getting this one to the table before. It came on the Tuesday before I left for Gen Con, so I had less than half a day with it around. And it is nice to learn a game from people who know it, granted, we only learned half of the game at Gen Con.

Oathsworn is a big adventure boss battling game. In Oathsworn you first do an investigation and story phase. Then once that is done, you dive into combat. This combat might be harder or easier depending on how you did in the previous part. I got to try out the combat and it is fun. I always talk about it, but being able to pick cards that remember that has been flipped before, or rolling dice, or a combination of both, makes the game feel different. I do wish I’d gotten the minis for the bosses now though.

2 – Ready Set Bet

Then we have Ready Set Bet. I actually suspect as I play more of these games most often, this one might drop. That isn’t to say that the game will get worse. But Ready Set Bet is easy to understand and get into right away when you play it. It is a real time racing game where one person is calling a horse race. They roll dice and move horses forward. Everyone else is betting in real time.

The fun of the game comes with the excitement of seeing how horses are doing. Trying to grab spots early that could pay out well, or maybe waiting longer and getting worse spots. Or when the long shots, the horses that move on a 2 and 3 or 11 and 12 start moving up and all of a sudden they are in the mix. I expect a good caller makes it more exciting but no matter what it should be a fun party game.

1 – Paint the Roses

Paint the Roses takes my top spot. This game is maybe harder to explain without the board than some of the more complex games. Basically it is a deduction game. Each person has their own card. The easy ones are all about color combos. The harder ones could be shapes or really hard ones shapes and colors combined.

On your turn you put down a tile from your four choices. You do so in a way to try and give the best clue possible about the card that you have. For example, if I had two red roses, I could put a red rose tile next to two other red rose tiles. I then put two cubes on it because I’ve made two matches that work for my card. And anyone else can put cubes on it as well if it works for their card. Then you guess, and you have to, about someone’s card and hopefully you can figure out the right answer.

Whatever you do the queen will move as she tries and catch you. And you better hope you get it right because that’ll move your forward at least keeping pace with her. If you get it wrong, she’s going to start catching you, and with an Alice in Wonderland theme, if she catches you, it’s off with your heads.

Final Thoughts

I think that the Top 10 do stand out. Through some of the ones that just missed, Meadow, Fit to Print, and Flamecraft, they could end up pushing into that list if I got to play a full game of them. Probably the closest to being the list that surprised me for missing it was Hero Realms as I got in a full game play. It again could move up, I want to play it more because it is such a simple game but I love deck building. And the fantasy theme works for me.

Overall, I played a lot of fun games. I think down through my 21 (which includes three games I’d already played), I’d happily play them again. Even my 22 is not bad, but I’d consider owning all the ones above it. The 22, Let’s Dig for Treasure, it one that I’d gladly play if someone plopped it on the table at a bar. But that’s where I see that game.

If you could play one of my Top 10 games, which one would it be?

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

Games Played at Gen Con 2022

Lost Ruins of Arnak

There are a few games that I have had on my shelf where I need to play my copy. Lost Ruins of Arnak from CGE was one of those games. And I got to play two games of it at Gen Con, including one full game. Needless to say, and if you saw the video, I liked it. It is a good game with interesting worker placement, light deck building and a great theme. I was worried that it might be more worker placement than I want, and while everything is mechanical, the theme makes it fun.

Ready Set Bet

This is one that is new, not even out yet. Ready Set Bet is a real time horse racing and betting game. One person is the caller who rolls the dice and shouts out horses as they move forward. The other players, in real time, are putting down bets on horses and trying to make the most money. You can rotate who the caller is, but the game goes so fast, and it is a fun role, that when I played it one person called.

This is a great con game. Everyone is around the table getting excited and shouting or getting into it. And you almost need to stand around the table so you can toss in your bids. It’s clever and fun and plays fast. And I could see getting this one and playing it a few times in an evening and having a great time.

Jekyll vs Hyde

This one I played twice as well. Jekyll vs Hyde is a trick taking game but with a twist or two. Firstly, it’s two player with one person being Jekyll and the other Hyde. The person who is Jekyll wants to keep the number of tricks as even as possible. Win too many or lose too many and Hyde advances on the board to the monster side. The Hyde player wants to get that difference up to get across the board. It is a fun idea and feels different, plus who top suit is determined for a trick is interesting as well. Not a two player trick taking game I need, but one I’d gladly play.

First Rat

First Rat has a silly but great theme. The moon is obviously made of cheese and you are rats trying to build a rocket to get to the moon. It is an interesting game where you are pushing your rat meeples up a track. You can push one up fast, unlock more rats or you can go slower and try and combo getting resources to build your rocket.

What you do on your turn is simple. You move one rat up to 5 spaces, or two rats up to 3 spaces as long as they end on the same color. But just that is a great puzzle. Plus how you pick what you do and what you’re going for works really well. It is a game that I wouldn’t have tried if it weren’t for Gen Con.

Draftosaurus

A game I already know I love and I own everything for. This was later one of the days at the con. I wanted to play a game but most of the bigger ones were either shut down as they take too long or already in the swing of things. Draftosaurus was easy to just sit down and play. The game is so light, but still it’s a lot of fun to play.

NFL Five

One that I demoed and came home with because if you demoed you got a demo copy. This is basically a way to sell packs of football cards, and specific ones, for the game. I describe it was rock paper scissors but instead of there being a tie option, you just need to watch. So it’s a guessing game that you can mess around with a little bit. It’s very light and just fine, but it was free and it was open for demoing so why not give it a shot.

Catapult Feud

Another one I own, this was me wanting to set down my bag after I bought Burncycle. Catapult Feud is fun, it’s fun building the castles and launching balls to try and knock it over. The game is barely there, but the toy factor is so high, who even cares.

Fit to Print

This is one that I believe was on my too demo list. Fit to Print is about making your best front page for a newspaper and scoring points based off of that. It was fun, and interesting because of the real time aspect to it. You start out picking out tiles which are articles, pictures, and ads for your paper. Then when you’re ready you try and set-up your layout as fast as possible to score the most points.

The game is simple and fun, and the real time element that didn’t bother me. I think because the feeling wasn’t intense. I had three minutes to do everything. But I never felt like there is too much time pressure on it. Nor is it like Fuse where it is always counting down. It’s fast moving and light fun, but the real time doesn’t add stress.

Spicy

Spicy was a bit of a miss for me. This is a bluffing game where you put down cards of different spices and they need to go up in numerical order, though you can skip numbers, but always ascending. You need to call out when someone lays down a bluff. Playing with masks makes the game trickier. And at three it was just okay. For me, the concept of the game and what it pulled off was less interesting than a bluffing game like Skull.

Galaxy Trucker

Here’s another game with a real time element that I like. I wanted to demo the new version of it, which I did. And I don’t really feel the need to upgrade my copy. Nothing seemed to have changed too much, so might as well keep what I have. I enjoy Galaxy Trucker because again it’s a real time game or a game with real time elements, but one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And then if you are lucky, you can build up your ship so it won’t blow up, if you are lucky.

Let’s Dig for Treasure

A push your luck game. This one is very simple, you pull cards until either an evil skeleton gets you or pull up two worm cards. But you can bank your points whenever you want. The artwork on the game is fun, and as the person who demoed it said, it’s a restaurant or bar game. One that’s small enough you can take it along and pull out and play easily. Not much thought or strategy to it, but it works well enough.

FYFE

This is a random game that I got to try because the table was open. It reminds me a bit of Village Green and Calico. You are putting down discs to complete different scoring objectives in rows and columns. But you need to think about rows and columns so that you can score as many things as possible. It gets tricky as you start to have limited options to fill in and now which thing do you think it’s more likely to be able to get and score. Not one I needed to add to my collection but not a bad game.

Knights of the Hound Table

This is a small game that I was tempted to pick up. Knights of the Hound Table is a head to head battler. You put down one hound as an attacker, one as your defender, and one for their power. Then you compare, take damage and buy cards to improve your deck of hounds. The artwork is cute on the game, the game play with picking which power to use is interesting. Better for a small box head to head game than I expected.

Village Rails

I mentioned Village Green, Village Rails is from the same company and it shows. You are making rail routes to score points. Keeping track of where the tracks are going is trickier than what is in Village Green. But you don’t have the column and row scoring in Village Rails. So it is slightly easier, I’d say, and just as fun. Plus the artwork on the cards is amazing and the game itself felt pretty relaxing. A small box game I’d want to add to my collection.

Coatl

Not a new game but Coatl is about building out your best Coatl to score points. The game play is fine, it is basically collect pieces then build out your Coatl. I wish that the game would move slightly faster than it does because of how light it is. The toy factor is fun, but that is not enough for me to really recommend this game. It is more going to be one of those fine gaming experience that I’d play again but wouldn’t seek out.

Flamecraft

Flamecraft was only there for demo, I was kind of hoping it’d be there for sale. But Flamecraft is a worker placement game with dragons. You are trying to collect resources to improve shops and end up with the favor in the end. How you play is simple, you either go to a place and collect resources or to fulfill a contract. What makes this game is the artwork. I wish I had backed it for that, and now that I’ve played it, at least a few rounds, I suspect I’ll add it because of how cute it is.

Starship Captains

A new game from CGE, I snuck my way into a game the first day. And I got to play the full game which is nice. It is an action selection game where you build up a little bit of an engine, fly around, and try and complete contracts and defeat space pirates. The game moves quite fast, I would say too fast, though that’s probably a good sign that it leaves you wanting to do more and to try again to do even more.

Meadow

Meadow is one that I knew I wanted to see because it’s pretty. But looking at it and watching the GloryHoundd play of it, I thought it likely wasn’t for me. You can watch their video below. But the game itself was fun to sit down and try. I’m still torn on it because it’s a very thinky and pretty game. I am worried that AP would set in too much if I picked it up. I even found myself having to think through what I was doing for a bit. It’s one I’d love to try again though.

Asking for Trobils

Another one that was played on the GloryHoundd Youtube channel. You can see that play below. A worker placement game that is very light but a good amount of fun. You are basically building up traps and things to get Trobils which are worth points. Two players was fine with the game, I feel like it’d do a bit better with more and with a tighter board where you bounce each other more.

Twilight Inscription

One of the big games I wanted to try out at Gen Con. This is a 2 hour roll and write game based in the world of Twilight Imperium. It delivers on what it promises. And I don’t think that the game is too difficult to follow. There is just a lot later in the game when you get a ton of resources to spend and figuring out how to do that in the most efficient way.

The game comes with four boards. So you activate one board each time, whether combat or exploration, or whatever else they might be. And you do need to do a bit of everything, but you can really focus in on how you want to score your points. A fun game that I want to add to my collection.

Dwellings of Eldervale

Another game that I own but I hadn’t played. Sitting down at Gen Con is a great way to learn a game that you don’t know or you want to know more about. Dwellings of Eldervale was a lot of fun to mess around with. The core game play is fun for it and I like that this is a worker placement game but it feels so much bigger than that. You can do a ton of big things and just have fun with it. And there is no trading in the Mediterranean.

Oathsworn: Into the Deep Woods

And yet another game that I own. Oathsworn just came in before I left for Gen Con. I was almost tempted to move it to the top of the queue but Stars of Akarios First. We didn’t do the city and story part of the game. I say city, it could be different map locations where the story is happening. But we got into the combat and that was fun.

What I really like is how you can push your luck. You can draw cards for hits and you can pick how many to draw. You can roll dice and pick how many to roll. The more you roll of the white dice the more damage you can do. But at the same time the closer you are to busting.

Hero Realms

Hero Realms is one that I played day one and bought day two. And I even got crushed when I played it. But I really enjoyed the lighter deck building of the game. And I thought that it worked well for what it is. Plus it’s a two player game and battler game that is easy to learn. And the deck building combos are not hard to understand. I picked up the cooperative expansion as well which will be fun to mess around with.

Batman: Everybody Lies

I actually got this to the table last night again. But I did a prologue for it at Gen Con at an event. I’ve written and talked about it twice before. See my Highlights here for more information. But this is basically the Detective system with Batman theme from Portal Games.

The biggest change to it is adding in hidden personal goals. It means you might advocate for something for your character that you might not otherwise think about. Or that you might suspect is a red herring because it’ll answer a question for your character. It still is not competitive and the main focus is on the main case. But because of that personal goal it makes it different to play via Zoom like I did last night.

Long Shot – The Dice Game

I almost forgot that this was at Gen Con. But I’m glad I didn’t. A horse racing roll and write game, Long Shot is a lot of fun. I even picked up a copy to bring home. In this game you roll dice and move horses forward around the track. At the same time you are putting bets on horses, filling in spots on your board, and trying to be the person who has the most money at the end of the game. The whole track and physical board element of the game makes it feel different and the game isn’t that complex.

Caesar’s Empire

This is another one of those sit down and play a game because I needed something to do. And Caesar’s Empire is a just fine game. You basically are building our routes to get to cities and score points. The two player game needs a slight rules clarification, possibly. But the whole idea is that you can build off of other people’s roads. Is it worth it to get some points if you are giving them more points. All you do is build onto routes each turn. The game is okay, not one that I’d recommend that highly.

Paint the Roses

Paint the Roses is a great deduction game. It is hard to explain, I feel, without the board but with the board it is easy to explain. The general idea is that you’re trying to get the garden perfect and not have the queen of hearts take off your head. But each of you have a hidden (or multiple throughout the game) things that the queen wants. It might be two red roses next to each other or a diamond and heart shaped topiary next to each other.

You place a tile on your turn and then everyone puts down their clue tokens if it matches. So if I have two red roses and I place down a red rose next to two others. I put down two cubes. Basically giving information that I have two matches. And everyone puts down their clues. Then you need to make a guess on someone’s card. If you get it right you move ahead and the queen of hearts moves ahead one. If not, she moves head faster. Really great puzzle that I want to play again now.

Mythic Mischief

Probably one of the hotter games of the con, I got to play Mythic Mischief in a two versus two game. I suspect I’d like it better as a one versus one game. I also suspect I’d like it better in the blitz mode where you only can take so much time to do your turn.

Mythic Mischief is an abstract game with some fun powers and cool characters. But it’s also a game that induces a ton of AP (analysis paralysis) and for me that knocked the game a lot. The game just isn’t heavy enough to make it worth the amount of time and thought. If I want something like that, I want a big game, not this lighter heavily produced game.

Final Thoughts

I did what I wanted to do, I played a ton of games. I believe that is maybe up to 29 plays and 27 games? But either way, it is a lot and I had so much fun with it. I do want to do a Top 10 list of all of those games, see which my top ones were. So expect to see that tomorrow most likely.

What were the top games that you got to see if you went to Gen Con? And in particular, which ones were the top you got to play or demo?

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