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

Hey all!  After finding myself on BoardGameGeek and looking at different people’s posts about what they’ve played, I’ve decided to do the same for my blog.  Every month (hopefully) I will take the time to just list what I’ve played during the month, how many times I’ve played them and maybe a short blurb about these games as well.   I will just start from last month, July 2015, and will try to make these posts earlier in the month, but this first one is a little late.  I will order the games on this list from the most played to the least played.  Enough of the preamble, on to my games played in July of 2015. 

Statistics:
Total plays in July 2015 – 36
Total unique games played in July 2015 – 16
New games played in July 2015 – 3
Most plays of a single game – 9 

Viceroy
Designer – Yuri Zhuravlev
Publisher – Hobby World/Mayday Games
New to me
First play - 7/21/14
Total plays in July 2015 - 9

Viceroy is a card drafting, bidding, tableau building and set collection game.  My wife and I just received Viceroy from a Kickstarter in July and we have thoroughly enjoyed it thus far.  I think this will be a mainstay in our collection as it really hits the tableau building mechanic that I am a huge fan of.  It also has an interesting bidding mechanic that we enjoy and doesn’t take longer than 35 minutes for a 2-player game.  These things make it and easy game to get to the table when we don’t have much time but want an interesting game with a ton of choices. 

Paperback
Designer – Tim Fowers
Publisher – (Self-published)
New to me
First play – 7/4/15
Total plays in July 2015 – 7

Paperback is a pretty straightforward deck-building card game.  We got this game in July when we decided to buy it for a friend who loves word games and books.  We decided (of course) to get the game for ourselves as well since we were ordering it for her already.  This game is probably, as of now, our favorite deck-building game.  It uses letters and costs to build words and buy better letters with better powers.  We have loved the co-operative variant as well as the competitive game.  This game will never leave our collection as it is a perfect, small-box card game that we adore thus far. 

Roll for the Galaxy
Designer – Tom Lehmann/Wei-Hwa Huang
Publisher – Rio Grande Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 3

 

Roll for the Galaxy continues to be one of our favorite games, especially when we only have 30 minutes or so.  It is a wonderful dice/pool-building game that uses dice rolling and tableau building.  Not much to say about this game except that we always enjoy it! 

Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
Designer – Isaac Vega
Publisher – Plaid Hat Games
New to me
First play – 7/31/15
Total plays in July 2015 – 2

Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn is an expandable, 2-player, head-to-head, battle card game that takes some influence from other LCG’s and battle card games (i.e. Magic: The Gathering) and builds upon said influence.  This game uses custom, colored dice to roll for resource payment that is needed on the cards.  You start with a phoenixborn character (each has different health, spellboard and battleground figures and a different starting ability) and build your deck from there.  Plaid Hat has actually included the cards for 6 complete and different starting decks for each of the 6 phoenixborn included in the base box.  This is possibly my current, favorite game.  I am loving each character’s personality and am looking forward to deck-building and card-drafting this game!  Also, the art by Fernanda Suarez is absolutely some of the best I’ve ever seen in a board game! 

Imperial Settlers
Designer – Ignacy Trzewiczek
Publisher – Portal Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 2

Imperial Settlers is a card-drafting, hand-management, tableau-building game that is in my top 2 (maybe even is my top now?) games.  This game continues to be one of mine and Em’s favorite games and it always a blast when we pull it out.  We have mostly played this 2-player but are starting to teach it to friends and they are enjoying it as well.  These games were played with the Why Can’t We Be Friends expansion.  Since these plays I’ve actually gotten the Atlanteans expansion and it is awesome.  More on that next month! 

Munchkin Loot Letter (Love Letter)
Designer – Seiji Kanai
Publisher – Alderac Entertainment Group
Total plays in July 2015 – 2

Ah, Love Letter, or rather, our version, Munchkin Loot Letter.  If you haven’t heard of this game, it pretty much single-handedly started the microgame revolution that is currently sweeping modern boardgames.  This is simply 18 cards and some cubes and a great bluffing mechanic that makes for some fun game nights with this simple filler. 

Samurai Spirit
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – Funforge
Total plays in July 2015 – 2

Samurai Spirit is a co-operative card game that is designed by the fabulous Antoine Bauza of 7 Wonders, Ghost Stories, Hanabi, Tokaido and Takenoko fame.  This has a similar feel to Ghost Stories but plays completely differently.  It is much more card-based than Ghost Stories and Em and I tend to prefer it over that one.  It is a wonderful (and very quick!) co-operative experience with some great art to boot! 

Brew Crafters
Designer – Ben Rossett
Publisher – Dice Hate Me Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Brew Crafters is a worker placement game that evokes the Uwe Rosenberg classic, Agricola.  This game continues to be one of mine and Em’s favorite worker placement/action selection style games.  Every game of this has been close and Em took her first win in our last match.  A great, tight game with a fantastic theme! 

Dice Brewing
Designer – Filip Glowacz/Ireneusz Huszcza
Publisher – Board&Dice/Stuntkite Publishing
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Dice Brewing is a fun dice-rolling, set-collecting game out of Poland.  My wife and I picked up this game when it was offered in the United States by Stuntkite Publishing.  It is a fun dice-rolling game where you then use the dice to “brew” different beers.  It is a second craft beer-themed game that we own and it feels completely different from Brew Crafters. 

Forbidden Island
Designer – Matt Leacock
Publisher – Gamewright
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Forbidden Island is a co-operative, set collection, grid movement game that was designed by the Pandemic designer, Matt Leacock.  This is a simple game that has been very enjoyable to us and also to friends who have come over.  Leacock created a slimmed down version of Pandemic with a variable board and great production values that creates a great “gateway” game for those not used to modern boardgaming. 

Ghost Stories
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – Repos Production/Asmodee
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Ghost Stories is a co-operative, dice-rolling, variable boardgame created by the fantastic Bauza.  This game is one mean bugger!  You take your monk and attempt to hold back an onslaught of ghosts as they attempt to haunt a village.  A very fun, very challenging game. 

Onirim
Designer – Shadi Torbey
Publisher – Z-Man Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Onirim is a 1-player (can be played 2-player co-operatively) game that uses set collection and hand management mechanics.  This is one of my favorite solitaire card games out there.  It is simple and beautiful and just provides a good time. 

Sentinels of the Multiverse
Designer – Christopher Badell/Paul Bender/Adam Rebottaro
Publisher – Greater Than Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a co-operative, hand management game that continues to be my favorite superhero game.  I still love playing each of the different heroes and how their decks play completely differently from each other.  This is a great game whose only drawback I’ve found is the crazy amounts of shuffling. 

Space Hulk: Death Angel: The Card Game
Designer – Corey Konieczka
Publisher – Fantasy Flight Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Space Hulk: Death Angel is a co-operative, hand management game in the work of Warhammer 40k.  This game has been a go-to solo game for me as my wife is a little “meh” about it.  That is quite alright because it is a wonderful solitaire experience! 

Star War: Imperial Assault
Designer – Corey Konieczka/Justin Kemppainen/Jonathan Ying
Publisher – Fantasy Flight Games
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Star Wars: Imperial Assault is a wonderful dungeon crawler set in the Star Wars universe.  If you like Descent and the Star Wars universe then there is no reason not to own this one!  Plus, as a bonus, it also comes with rules for a skirmish game.  My wife, my friend Sean, and myself are all going through the campaign with me in the role of the Imperials.  It is a ton of fun! 

Takenoko
Designer – Antoine Bauza
Publisher – Bombyx/Matagot/Asmodee
Total plays in July 2015 – 1

Takenoko is a tile placement, set collection, pattern building game by the prolific Antoine Bauza.  This was a game that really caught my wife and I from the very first play.  Between the cute panda art, the fun but simple gameplay, and the fantastic board that you can build, this game will always stay in our collection as one for us and also for new boardgamers.

And that is the end!  As I stated earlier, I hope to do this new series of posts once a month.  I found this post a very interesting exercise and hope you all did too.  As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments.  Until next time, game on!

Obligatory 2015 Gen Con Post Part IV: Top 5 Games At Gen Con Not Available For Purchase

Hey all, I’m back with what will be my final Gen Con 2015 post.  If you haven’t had the chance, check out my previous three posts.  The first post handled my honorable mention interests, while the next two posts took on my top 10 interests of the convention.  If you’re interested just click the links below and enjoy!

Gen Con 2015 Honorable Mentions

Gen Con 2015 Top 10 Games 6-10

Gen Con 2015 Top 10 Games 1-5

This post will take on some games that weren’t available in any way for purchase at Gen Con.  I do have a few caveats before going into my top 5.  First of all, again, none of these games were available at this year’s Gen Con.  Secondly, none of the games that I will go over are games that are/have been available on Kickstater.  These games are all going to go straight from the manufacturers to retail sometime in the near future.  

 I will be doing a series on Kickstarter interests fairly soon so keep your eyes on the blog if you’re interested in this topic!  Finally I wanted all of these releases to be within the 2015 year.  Most of this releases (if not all) will be available at this year’s Essen Spiel in a couple of months.  You may actually find these on my Essen Spiel interests’ series which should come out a few days before the convention starts.  Again, if you’re interested, keep watching the blog for more!  With those caveats out of the way, on to the list!

Honorable Mention – T.I.M.E. Stories (Space Cowboys)

T.I.M.E. Stories is a co-operative game that was designed by Manuel Rozoy and will be released by Space Cowboys.  This game was higher on my list and one I have been interested in for some time but honestly it sank a little because of some possible replayability issues.  In this game you are part of a time agency and are trying to prevent cracks in the time continuum.  You are sent back in time and are attempting to fix the cracks.  Your characters will be able to go back in time as many times as you need to get it correct.  The base game now only comes with one scenario but it is stated that it will take over five hours for most groups to get through this scenario their first play.  T.I.M.E. Stories does come with what appears to be a clever way to “save” your games so you can come back to continue on your mission at a later date.  They already have one expansion called T.I.M.E. Stories: The Marcy Case which will come out in conjunction with the base game.  While it sunk below the top 5, I am still very interested in this Space Cowboys release!

#5 – Tail Feathers (Plaid Hat Games)

Tail Feathers is a head-to-head skirmish game designed by Jerry Hawthorne (of Mice & Mystics fame) that will be released by Plaid Hat Games.  Hawthorne has given out more information and was showing off the beautiful models of the game at this year’s Gen Con and they didn’t disappoint.  Mice & Mystics has some absolutely beautiful miniatures that were going to be hard to beat, but Tail Feathers appears to have done just that!  These models are going to be great and they have some very interesting mechanics.  Each of the models is a type of bird that is being “piloted” or “handled” by a character out of the Mice & Mystics universe.  These models have a “tilt” mechanics that will be used in the skirmish game that looks very interesting.  This game started to move up higher among my interests when I discovered that they are planning a campaign mode.  I hope that it improves upon the Mice & Mystics campaign as that one was fun but did have some faults to it.  This game just appears to be fun and I’m looking forward to trying it out.

#4 – 7 Wonders: Duel (Repos Production)

7 Wonders: Duel is a head-to-head card drafting and set collection game by designers Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala and will be released by Repos Production.  7 Wonders is a game that is in my top 10 list, so how could I not include this version?  Everything that I’m hearing about this game is that it is an absolutely incredible, two-player version of the original hit and that it may even improve on that game in some areas.  Since my wife, Em, is my main game-playing-partner, good two-player games are always on my radar.  Then, a game by both Antoine Bauza (of Takenoko, Tokaido, Hanabi, 7 Wonders, Samurai Spirit, and Ghost Stories fame) and Bruno Cathala (of Five Tribes, Abyss, Cyclades, Dice Town, Dragon Run, and Jamaica fame) that takes on a two-player version of the incredible 7 Wonders come along?  Yeah, I’m in!  I can’t wait to see how this streamlined version of the game works and how much fun it appears to be.

#3 – Favor of the Pharaoh (Bezier Games, Inc.)

Favor of the Pharaoh is a dice-rolling, pool/tableau-building game by designer Tom Lehmann and will be released by Bezier Games, Inc.  Any game by Tom Lehmann automatically gets me interested in it.  Tom Lehmann has done games such as Race for the Galaxy, Roll for the Galaxy, The City, and Roll Through the Ages: The Iron Age.  Favor of the Pharaoh is a re-implement of Lehmann’s game, To Court the King.  All of the components are getting a major overhaul as well as some of the mechanics.  There will be a ton (maybe not literally) of tiles that have both front and back versions.  This means that the game have nearly infinite possibilities of set-up for each game.  You then take dice and roll trying to get pairs, three-of-a-kind, straights, etc. that you will need to buy these tiles and put them in your personal tableau.  So, this game has dice-rolling, Tom Lehmann, and tableau-building.  Yeah, I’m there!

#2 – Dice City (Alderac Entertainment Group)

Dice City is a dice-rolling, city-building, worker placement game designed by Vangelis Bagiartakis and will be released by Alderac Entertainment Group.  This is a very fun looking game that I hope becomes a Machi Koro killer.  You will roll your dice and put them on a grid depending on their color and the number that you roll which will give you the different powers of the buildings in your city.  You may use your turn to buy new cards which will then take the place of the old buildings in your city and give you even better powers to use.  This game just looks like a ton of fun!  It is bright and colorful and who doesn’t love rolling dice?  Also, along with some of my favorite dice-chuckers, there are ways to mitigate bad dice rolls.  All of these together make it a very interesting game in my opinion.

#1 – Big Book of Madness (IELLO)

Big Book of Madness is a co-operative, deck/pool-building, card game designed by Maxime Rambourg and will be released by IELLO.  This game has been one of my top interests for quite some time and they were showing it off at Gen Con this year.  The game is a co-operative card game (I love a good co-op) which some gorgeous art done by one of my favorite artists working in games, Naiade.  The idea of the game is that you are a student who is a little bored with their schooling and chose to go and open up a book which just happens to be a prison for some powerful monsters.  You will take your character and get a deck of elements (each student has their “favorite” element) which you will use to cast spells, learn spells, add more elements to your deck, and destroying a curse.  You work together with your fellow players in order to turn six pages of this book and defeat the monsters in order to close the book.  This game looks awesome and is a definite buy for me.

There you have it.  These are just my top 5 (well, maybe 6) interests that weren’t for purchase at Gen Con but should be coming out in just the next couple of months.  I have a feeling that it is going to be an awesome Essen Spiel this year and keep an eye here for my Essen series when it rolls around.  As always, if I forgot a game or you just have a question or comment feel free to ask.  Until next time, game on!