Obligatory “What I Played In…” Post Part III: September 2015

Hey all, we’re back for another round of “What I Played In…” This is my series of posts where I list what I played for said month, and said month is September of 2015! This post would normally have been earlier in the month but that time was taken doing my Essen Spiel 2015 series. Now that those are done, on to my “What I Played In September 2015 post! This month has taken over as my most plays, but mostly that is because of some smaller, quicker games that have been hitting the table a lot. Alright, check out my list and enjoy!

Statistics:
Total plays in September 2015 – 68
Total unique games played in September 2015 – 25
New games played in September 2015 – 3
Most plays of a single game – 22


Codenames
Designer – Vlaada Chvátil
Publisher – Czech Games Edition
New to me
First play – 9/7/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 22

A friend of mine let me know that Codenames was at our local comic and game store and I went right over to pick it up to make sure I got a copy! This has been the hotness since Gen Con and I wanted to see what it was all about. 22 plays later I’d say it is a hit with everyone we’ve played it with! It is just a fun word association game that was brilliantly and simply designed. I highly recommend this to absolutely anyone, it will go over great!

Coup
Designer – Rikki Tahta
Publisher – Indie Boards & Cards
Last play before September 2015 – 8/22/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 10

This is the second month that we’ve had Coup and it is still very popular. Such a simple and quick game and I like the deduction in it. It is one of those games that I look forward to teaching to new people because I think it will draw them into more modern boardgames.


Tides of Time
Designer – Kristian Čurla
Publisher – Portal Games
Last play before September 2015 – 8/24/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 5

This game continues to hit the table. It is such a simple 2-player card drafting game and those are incredibly rare. Normally card drafting isn’t a mechanic that works well with only 2-players but here it does. My wife and I can finish a game of this in about 10 minutes and then move on to another game if we want. It is a fun and heavily tactical card game.


Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords
Designer – Mike Selinker/Paul Peterson/Chad Brown/Tanis O’Connor/Gabby Weidling
Publisher – Paizo Publishing
Last play before September 2015 – 6/5/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 3

I played 3 rounds of Pathfinder ACG this month to finish up The Hook Mountain Massacre Adventure Deck for my solo play. My wife and I really enjoy this game but we find it more and more difficult to get it to the table. Oh well, we will finish the adventure path eventually!


Shinobi Clans
Designer – Jürgen Mayer
Publisher – Posthuman Studios
New to me
First play – 9/8/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 3

My sister-in-law and her husband got this game for me for my birthday this past February. We finally got it to the table and really enjoyed it! I was actually annoyed that we hadn’t gotten it out sooner when we realized that this is quite a fun little game. We’ve played it 3 times now and everyone has had a good time playing.


Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
Designer – Isaac Vega
Publisher – Plaid Hat Games
Last play before September 2015 – 8/29/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 2

This continues to be a hit among me and my wife. We are starting to get to the point where we want to add in other players and trying this like the drafting and deck building parts of the game. We’ve had a blast with the pre-built decks and I don’t see us stopping this game any time soon. I highly recommend this for any CCG fan! Plus, bonus, it’s not a CCG!


Munchkin Loot Letter (Love Letter)
Designer – Seiji Kanai
Publisher – Alderac Entertainment Group
Last play before September 2015 – 8/15/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 2

What more to say about Love Letter? This is just a simple, small game that goes over well and is a very solid filler. It will always be in our collection just for quick plays and teaching to new gamers.


Roll for the Galaxy
Designer – Thomas Lehmann/Wei-Hwa Huang
Publisher – Rio Grande Games
Last play before September 2015 – 8/16/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 2

This game is just awesome. We haven’t had a missed month of playing this game since we obtained it earlier this year. We can’t wait for the expansion, Ambition, to be released to give us even more options!

Shadowrun: Crossfire
Designer – Mike Elliott/Rob Heinsoo/Jim Lin/Gregory Marques/Sean McCarthy/Rob Watkins
Publisher – Catalyst Game Labs
Last play before September 2015 – 8/31/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 2

Viceroy
Designer – Yuri Zhuravlev
Publisher – Mayday Games/Hobby World
Last play before September 2015 – 8/31/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 2

This continues to be a game that we’re going to pull out a few times a month and completely enjoy! Actually we’ve started to wonder what it would be like to play at either 3 or 4 players so we may be getting even more fun out of the game soon!


7 Wonders
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – Repos Production/Asmodee
Last play before September 2015 – 8/9/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

Again, 1 play in a month is never enough of this game. Every time I play it I love it more! I can’t wait to get my hands on the new 2-player version of this game that was released at Essen Spiel 2015 entitled 7 Wonders: Duel. I think that Em and I will get 7 Wonders: Duel to the table quite often!

Brew Crafters
Designer – Ben Rosset
Publisher – Greater Than Games
Last play before September 2015 – 7/2/15
Total plays before September 2015 – 1

We got one play of this in September and it is another game that we may only pull out once a month or every other month but we have a great time playing it when we do! It is a great worker placement that is apparently somewhat similar to Agricola but with a much cooler theme!

Carcassonne
Designer – Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Publisher – Z-Man Games
Last play before September 2015 – 6/12/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

We had a good, mellow play of Carcassonne this month with Em’s dad, Terry. We really love pulling this game out with people who aren’t necessarily gamers as it goes over well and is just fun to look over the board afterwards at what you’ve built.

Catan
Designer – Klaus Teuber
Publisher – Mayfair Games
Last play before September 2015 – Not sure
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

Wow, I think it’s been about a decade since I’ve played this game. A buddy gave us a copy of Catan and we finally decided to break it out and play. I remember not liking it but actually enjoyed my play of it this time. I still think the thief/robber is a terrible mechanic but that’s just me. As a side note, my wife is still really not a fan although she also said it wasn’t as bad as she remembered it being.

Diamonds
Designer – Mike Fitzgerald
Publisher – Stronghold Games
Last play before September 2015 – 6/28/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

We got in a play of Diamonds with Em’s dad. He ended up pulling out the win in this one. It’s always a good time playing this one, and super easy to teach!

Dice Brewing
Designer – Filip Głowacz/ Ireneusz Huszcza
Publisher – Board&Dice/StuntKite Publishing
Last play before September 2015 – 7/6/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1
 

We got 1 play in and as has been the norm recently, we seem to be enjoying it more and more with each play. Once you figure out how to gain the resources you need this is a fun play.

Hanabi
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – R&R Games
Last play before September 2015 – 8/6/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

This continues a run of this game. We’ve played it a couple of months straight which is cool because I really like it and it seems to be growing on Em. This is one of those games I can take anywhere and teach easily. We played a 4-player game with Molly (sister-in-law) and Dustin (brother-in-law) and score a respectable 18 points. I think if we’d played again we would have done really well!

Imperial Settlers
Designer – Ignacy Trzewiczek
Publisher – Portal Games
Last play before September 2015 – 8/24/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

We played. Of course we played! This is one of our favorite games of all time! Oh, and I lost to the Egyptians with the Atlanteans. Always an awesome game, even when I lose!

Mage Knight Board Game
Designer - Vlaada Chvátil
Publisher – WizKids Games
Last play before September 2015 – 7/12/14
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

Wow, I finally taught this game to Em. It was epic! Honestly, she didn’t enjoy the game that much but she was still willing to learn and try the game with me which is just one of the reasons that she is so cool! This is an awesome game that I may only pull out once or twice a year due to its epic nature but I love every moment when I do!

Mice and Mystics
Designer – Jerry Hawthorne
Publisher – Plaid Hat Games
Last play before September 2015 – 11/18/14
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

Em and I took on the fourth chapter of the Sorrow & Remembrance story line and she rolled those die like a boss! We cruised through this chapter without very much difficulty and loved every minute of it! We always enjoy our plays of this game and hopefully this will give us enough of a kick to remember how fun it is and pull it out more often. On the same note, hopefully Tail Feathers will bring it to the forefront of our minds more often!

Province
Designer – Samuel Strick
Publisher – Laboratory Games
Last play before September 2015 – 8/2/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

Em and I played this at a coffeehouse in September and had a great time. It is such a small and quick Euro-style game and I love that it takes no work at all to pull it out and get it ready! It is a solid and fun little game.

Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island: Voyageof the Beagle (Vol. 1)
Designer – Ignacy Trzewiczek/Robert Masson/Marion Heuser
Publisher – Z-Man Games/Portal Games
New to me
First play – 9/26/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

This is similar to last month is that I’m considering this a new to me game. I’ve played the base game a bunch of times and love it but this is the first time that I’ve played the Voyage of the Beagle expansion and I think that Ignacy and crew did a wonderful job on it. I am looking forward to future plays of this expansion!

Samurai Spirit
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – Funforge
Last play before September 2015 – 8/20/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

This game continues to be one of mine and Em’s go-to co-op games. We always have fun with the small puzzle that this game puts forth on every play. We always love it and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good puzzle, a quick game, and a solid co-operative experience.

Seasons
Designer – Régis Bonnessée
Publisher – Libellud/Asmodee
Last play before September 2015 – 8/16/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

Yay for a game of Seasons! This game is still both mine and Em’s number 1…at least for the time being. That just means that it is always fun and we always love it! This still has my favorite custom dice of all times! Oh, and gorgeous art by Naïade!

Tokaido
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – Funforge
Last play before September 2015 – 8/19/15
Total plays in September 2015 – 1

We broke this one out for a play with Em’s dad while he was here for a visit. This is always a simple game to teach but still fun and relaxing. I actually scored 99 points in this one which I’ve never done before…so close to 100! Oh, and again, art by Naïade! How can you go wrong with this one?

And there you go! Those are my plays in September 2015. As usual, it was a great month of gaming with my wife and friends. This month’s winner was definitely Codenames as that game just seems to hit the right note with everyone who plays it. Shinobi Clans was really a surprise and I knew the art was good but didn’t know a ton about the game when it was bought as a gift for me. We’ve quite enjoyed the plays we’ve had of it so far.

October is going to be a heavy new games month as (spoiler) we’ve already gotten a few for our anniversary. I won’t tell what they are yet but we’re enjoying all of them. If you haven’t had a chance, go back and check out my Essen Spiel posts. They are all about my interests from this past weekend’s gaming convention in Essen, Germany. If you have any questions or comments feel free to make note at the bottom. Until next time, game on!