Statistics:
Total plays in July 2016 – 46
Total unique games played in July 2016 – 23
New games played in July 2016 – 8
New games acquired in July 2016 – 6
New expansions acquired in July 2016 – 3
Most plays of a single game in July 2016 – 8
FUSE
Designer – Kane Klenko
Publisher – Renegade Game Studios
Last play before July 2016 – 6/30/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 8
In no surprise at all, FUSE is our top played game of the month! Em and I are huge fans of this wonderful little dice-drafting game and I don’t see that going away any time soon. As a bonus we were able to get a score over 100 points on insane level! Klenko is great and we are really looking forward to his game, Covert, that is coming out at Gen Con 2016.
Würfel Bohnanza
Designer – Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher – AMIGO Spiele
New to me
First play – 7/30/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 4
This is a quick, little dice-rolling game by designer great Uwe Rosenberg that we picked up in a trade this past month. We got it on 6/30/16 and have played it four times already! Em and I both love a good, quick dice-rolling game and this fits the bill perfectly! I love how you are rolling and re-rolling the dice in order to fulfill bean orders and how the opponent may use what was rolled as well to help them fulfill their orders. It keeps players in the game while it is someone else’s turn. This is quickly becoming a favorite!
The Grizzled (w/ At Your Orders!)
Designer – Fabien Riffaud/Juan Rodriguez
Publisher – Cool Mini Or Not
Last play before July 2016 – 6/15/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 3
In July we were able to pick up the expansion to this mean, little, co-operative, hand-management game. I really love what the expansion does for this game. It takes the game but gives it missions which you can use to tailor your experience and make it either harder or easier depending on what you’re looking for. Also, it makes the rules for the two-player game better (which is important for my wife and I) and adds in a solo option.
The Networks
Designer – Gil Hova
Publisher – Formal Ferret Games
New to me
First play – 7/25/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 3
This game arrived from a Kickstarter pledge this month and we were super excited to get it to the table! I am pleased to announce that it is a super fun game! It uses a card-drafting mechanism as its primary game play mechanism and that is always a hit with Em and I. We love the game so far and are already looking forward to the inevitable expansion that Gil is already working on! Oh, and bonus, the solo variant is very fun!
Sushi Go!
Designer – Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher – Gamewright
New to me
First play – 7/8/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 3
Well here you have it; we’ve finally played this fun, little, card-drafting game! We bought this game for my sister and brother-in-law so that they could bring it with them as they are going to train to be missionaries to Peru and wanted to bring some small games with them. This gave us the opportunity to buy it for them and teach them how to play…as well as finally try it ourselves! It was a lot of quick, simple fun and may have the cutest card art I’ve seen! We are planning on getting Sushi Go Party! at some point in the near future as it gives the same gameplay with more options.
Dice City
Designer – Vangelis Bagiartakis
Publisher – Alderac Entertainment Group
Last play before July 2016 – 5/25/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
Em and I got in two plays of this fun dice-chucking, city-building game. One of the plays we actually brought it out and taught my sister and brother-in-law how to play. They really enjoyed it and I think would have gotten it if they weren’t moving out of the country fairly soon and don’t have the room. This is always a fun game and I haven’t had a bad play of it yet!
Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft
Designer – Diego Ibañez
Publisher – Devir/Devir Americas
New to me
First play – 7/22/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
This is a new game for us that came out at Origins Game Fair this year and I have really enjoyed our couple of plays! You use your three workers and place them on different characters who will give you benefits. It is basically a set-collection card game that uses worker placement to get tokens which give you the ability to get said cards. It is a very good two-player game!
Munchkin Loot Letter (Love Letter)
Designer – Seiji Kanai
Publisher – Alderac Entertainment Group
Last play before July 2016 – 9/9/15
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
Wow, I didn’t realize it had been so long since we played this re-theme of Love Letter! That being said, we had a lot of fun breaking this out and playing it with my sister and brother-in-law once and with our buddies Anna and Ross another time. The game went over well (as it always does) as a quick, fun, filler game.
Poo: The Card Game
Designer – Matthew Grau
Publisher – Catalyst Game Labs
New to me
First play – 7/9/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
This is a card game that our buddy Ross brought over to a game night. It is a game that uses a take-that mechanism along with hand-management in order to eliminate players by flinging poo at them. It was entertaining and I’d play it again if he brought it with him.
The Ravens of Thri Sahashri
Designer – Kuro
Publisher – Osprey Games/Japon Brand
New to me
First play – 7/10/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
Wow, this game really snuck up on me. Em and I picked this game up at a game shop around Baltimore as I had heard of it and knew that it was a co-operative, asymmetrical, card game from a Japanese designer. This is the English edition and it is a beautiful and very entertaining game. I really enjoy the puzzle that this game provides and how very different the two sides play. I highly recommend this one for people who play primarily with two-players.
Splendor
Designer – Marc André
Publisher – Space Cowboys/Asmodee
Last play before July 2016 – 6/29/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
Em and I got in a couple of plays of this quick engine building game. We have the digital version on my tablet and are able to break it out when we have some time and are out and about. It isn’t our favorite game (or even engine-builder) but we enjoy it for a quick play when we have a short period of time to play.
Ticket to Ride
Designer – Alan R. Moon
Publisher – Days of Wonder
Last play before July 2016 – 6/25/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 2
Okay, this is quickly becoming a go-to game for us! We obtained this game in June and have already gotten it to the table five different times and with different groupings of people. We are really enjoying the play of this game as it is very easy to teach others and really gives a good time while playing. It is very light and definitely a gameway game, but I think that it is one of the best in this category!
51st State: Master Set
Designer – Ignacy Trzewiczek
Publisher – Portal Games
Last play before July 2016 – 6/13/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
We got another play of this great multi-use cardgame…and I lost to my beautiful wife again! She is some sort of savant at this game as she always seems to get a really good engine running and is able to edge me out every time! But, that being said, I don’t mind losing at this game. I really dig this game and can’t wait to get it back to the table…and hopefully win!
7 Wonders: Duel
Designer – Antoine Bauza/Bruno Cathala
Publisher – Repos Production/Asmodee
Last play before July 2016 – 6/1/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
This game is so great! It really is just about the perfect two-player game in our opinions. Em and I like to get this game to the table at least once a month and so far we have succeeded! It hasn’t gotten old and I don’t know that it ever will, especially since the expansion, Pantheon, should be coming out at Essen Spiel 2016. This will be a must buy and I’m sure it will make the game even more entertaining and replayable!
Bottom of the 9th
Designer – Darrell Louder/Mike Mullins
Publisher – Dice Hate Me/Greater Than Games
Last play before July 2016 – 4/16/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
I really wanted to play a baseball game and so Em and I broke out this quick, two-player game. I got my butt handed to me as Em cleaned my clocks with her favorite pitcher, Wraith. We love this game and recently backed the expansion, Clubhouse, during its run on Kickstarter.
Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King
Designer – Alexander Pfister/Andreas Pelikan
Publisher – Lookout Games/Mayfair Games
Last play before July 2016 – 6/22/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
Em and I got in another play of this Kennerspiel des Jahres winner in July and it was an amazing game! Em was behind the entire game and was slowly building up a really good end scoring situation where she got tiles that would score her a ton at the end of the game. Because of this she was able to come from way behind to beat me by one point…one point! This actually made me really happy as it showed us that there are so many different ways to win this game. We love this one and are really glad it won the Kennerspiel des Jahres this year.
Mottainai
Designer – Carl Chudyk
Publisher – Asmadi Games
Last play before July 2016 – 5/30/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
Yay! We got in another play of Mottainai this past month! This has become a favorite of ours as the game really has a ton of different ways to win and is always a different experience when we break it out. At this point I’ll try any Chudyk game at least once!
Mysterium
Designer – Oleksandr Nevskiy/Oleg Sidorenko
Publisher – Libellud/Asmodee
Last play before July 2016 – 6/12/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
Woot! Em and I broke this awesome co-operative game out with Ross and Anna and taught them how to play. We all had a total blast as we played it on medium difficulty for the first time. I love every moment of this game as it really gives a great thematic experience. I can’t wait to add the Hidden Signs expansion for even more card goodness!
Nantucket
Designer – Nathaniel Levan
Publisher – Dice Hate Me/Greater Than Games
New to me
First play – 7/30/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
This is a small box game that was an add-on for the New Bedford Kickstarter and we were able to get it to the table once in July. This was a super quick, super small game that uses worker placement and coin flips as its primary mechanisms. This game isn’t great but it is a cool little game that I’ll keep in a bag and that we can break out when we’re out on a coffee date or something like that.
New Bedford
Designer – Nathaniel Levan
Publisher – Dice Hate Me/Greater Than Games
New to me
First play – 7/30/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
We got this game on the 29th from the Kickstarter that we backed last year. This was one of my most anticipated games as I love a good worker placement style game and I thought the theme was very interesting. I’m happy to say that we quite enjoyed the play! I’m interested to play more as there are many different building options and “bot” players that you can add in to make the game even more interesting.
Patchwork
Designer – Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher – Lookout Games/Mayfair Games
Last play before July 2016 – 6/25/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
Well here we are…another month and another play of Patchwork. At this point we have played this game at least once every month since we purchased it in October 2015. I don’t really have that much to say about this game at this point as we love it and it will always have a place in our collection.
Quadropolis
Designer – François Gandon
Publisher – Days of Wonder
Last play before July 2016 – 6/2/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
We pick up and played this game with our friend Anna and Ross and I absolutely loved it with the added players! This is a very fun, light-ish, city-builder that is lavishly produced by Days of Wonder. Anna was a little confused with the scoring but Ross picked it up really quickly and enjoyed the play. I would like to break this out more often with groups of people.
Valeria: Card Kingdoms
Designer – Isaias Vallejo
Publisher – Daily Magic Games
Last play before July 2016 – 4/24/16
Total plays in July 2016 – 1
We finally got another play of this fun dice-rolling, card-drafting game set in the Valeria universe that was created by Vallejo. I am actually just as excited for the other two games (both Kickstarted) that are coming out, Villages of Valeria and Quests of Valeria.
New game acquisitions in July 2016:
Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft
Nantucket
The Networks
New Bedford
The Ravens of Thri Sahashri
Würfel Bohnanza
New expansion acquisitions in June 2016:
The Grizzled: At Your Orders!
The Networks: On the Air
New Bedford: Rising Tide
And there is another month of gaming! We didn’t get as many games as we had in the previous months but I thought that this month was just as good as we got a bunch of new game plays and longer game plays. The next series I’m planning on working on is my top 10 (or more…not sure yet!) games. My wife will join me as she did last year and do a guest post on her list. After that we will be moving closer to Essen Spiel season! This is a great time of the year for gaming and I am looking forward to posting more about it! Thank you everyone for taking the time to read. Until next time, game on!
