Saturday, February 10, 2018

Obligatory “What I Played In…” Post Part XXXI: January 2018

Yay!  Here we are with my first “What I Played In…” post of the 2018!  This past month was a pretty good month and we played some great stuff!  We were able to play 20 different titles to the tune of 43 plays.  I’ve moved the challenge portion of this post to an entirely different post.  If you’re curious about which challenge we’re doing and where we’re at feel free to check it out at the provided link.


Alright, with that out of the way let’s move on to the meat of the post and find out which games we played in January 2018!

Statistics:
Total plays in January 2018 – 43
Total unique games played in January 2018 – 20
New games played in January 2018 – 6
New games acquired in January 2018 – 5
New expansions acquired in January 2018 – 5
Most plays of a single game in January 2018 – 6


Designer – Alan R. Moon
Publisher – Days of Wonder
Last play before January 2018 – 12/22/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 6

Yes I know, super surprising that our most played game in a month was this one!  I don’t think we’ll ever tire of this fun and quick game.  We added on another expansion map this past month as well which really adds more flavor and replayability to the game!


Designer – Jamey Stegmaier
Publisher – Stonemaier Games
New to me
First play – 1/13/18
Total plays in January 2018 – 4

We got this game for Christmas and were able to crack it open and start our plays in it this past month.  We have a group of four including myself, Em, Zach and Steph and we are having a blast with this one!  I love the way the board has grown and the game has slightly changed each round and am looking forward to more of it.


Designer – Dávid Turczi/Vangelis Bagiartakis
Publisher – Artipia Games
New to me
First play – 1/9/18
Total plays in January 2018 – 4

We got this one this past month from a completed Kickstarter and have had a chance to play it a few times so far.  This is a super fun game and I love the real-time co-operative play and frantic nature of this game.  This one has an extremely strong theme and feels like you are running around a restaurant trying to complete orders.  I can’t wait to play this one more!


Designer – Michael Kiesling
Publisher – Plan B Games
New to me
First play – 1/12/18
Total plays in January 2018 – 3

This was another Christmas present that was delivered and that we got to play a few times this past month.  This is an absolutely great game that is super simple to teach and has some absolutely great depth to the decisions.  I just want to play more!


Designer – Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher – Amigo Spiele/Rio Grande Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/31/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 3

This is a game we take with us to every family vacation because we know we’re going to get some plays of it in.  We were able to get a bunch during our Christmas vacation and as usual it goes down as one of my favorite card games.


Designer – Isaac Childres
Publisher – Cephalofair Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/14/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 3

We were finally able to get together almost every week for Gloomhaven night and it is absolutely amazing every time!  We’ve had some retirements and been able to try out some new classes which has been awesome.  Can’t wait for more of this game!


Designer – R. Eric Reuss
Publisher – Greater Than Games/Fabled Nexus
Last play before January 2018 – 10/13/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 3

This has quickly flown up the ranks of my top games and has become one of my favorite co-operative experiences.  This game is incredibly meaty and crunchy and absolutely amazing when you have good players to play along with you!


Designer – Phil Walker-Harding
Publisher – Lookout Games/Mayfair Games
Last play before January 2018 – 10/13/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 2

Em and I pulled this game out a couple of times this past month and played some rounds.  I think this may be my current favorite poly-omino game as it is just a ton of fun.  I was able to pull off the first win and Em took the second.  I am looking forward to the recently announced expansion.


Designer – Jonathan Gilmour/Brian Lewis
Publisher – Pandasauras Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/21/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 2

I played a solo round of this game in January and Em and I also picked it up to play a two-player medium length game.  I got 86 points in the solo (not sure how good that is yet) and Em was able to create an herbivore-strong park to beat out my carnivore-strong park for the win.  Love this fantastic worker-placement game!


Designer – Hisashi Hayashi
Publisher – Tasty Minstrel Games
Last play before January 2018 – 11/15/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 2

Em and I broke this one out during our trip back to Maryland with our buddy Ross.  We played two rounds and just barely lost the second one.  This is one of those great and simple co-op card games in the vein of Hanabi and I’ll always enjoy them!


Designer – Matt Leacock/Rob Daviau
Publisher – Z-Man Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/25/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 2

We got in one gaming session of this game this past month and played the month of March.  We were absolutely manhandled by March but it was amazing!  We are having such an amazing time with this game and can’t wait to continue the ride.


Designer – Steve Finn
Publisher – IELLO
Last play before January 2018 – 5/4/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

Josh pulled this out at a gamenight with a couple of other guys and we got in a 4-player game.  This is a great little card game that really shines in its two phases.  I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking for a solid filler!


Designer – Emerson Matsuuchi
Publisher – Plan B Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/30/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

Josh and I pulled this game out at a gamenight this past month and played a great round of it!  We actually tied but Josh took the last turn and thus was able to get the tie-breaker.  I love this game, so simple and yet so deep!


Designer – Andrew Fischer/Nathan Hajek
Publisher – Fantasy Flight Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/8/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

Josh pulled this out for a gamenight with me and Jeff and we played an epic game!  The best way to explain this game is that it is an experience.  I love how the cards create an entire story and branching paths and every time I’ve played it the experience has been different.


Designer – Kane Klenko
Publisher – Renegade Game Studios
Last play before January 2018 – 11/11/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

Josh, Jeff and I played this game once this past month during a gamenight.  We played it on normal and were actually able to not only win but do really well!  This is one of those perfect games to just pull out and play quickly and enjoy!


Designer – Scott Almes
Publisher – Tasty Minstrel Games
Last play before January 2018 – 12/6/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

Em and I pulled this game out once this past month when we had a few minutes after a larger game.  This is a great little economic game that is in a super small box and is just clever and fun.  It is definitely better at larger player counts but perfectly fun still at only two.


Designer – Bruno Cathala/Bruno Faidutti
Publisher – Fantasy Flight Games
New to me
First play – 1/3/18
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

I was able to pick this game up in a trade just before we went on vacation so we brought it along and were able to break it out with Ross when he was over.  I’d never played before but I really like the action selection and the area control of this one.  Plus, the production of the game it top notch!


Designer – Daniel Fremgen
Publisher – Renegade Game Studios
New to me
First play – 1/20/18
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

This was another Christmas present that actually held up the shipment of games that I got from my parents.  We got it and pulled it out shortly after as the theme was something that my wife was super excited about.  We really enjoyed this worker placement game and the way the worker get weaker or stronger depending on what you do.  I really look forward to playing this with more people.


Designer – Thomas Spitzer
Publisher – Capstone Games
Last play before January 2018 – 8/24/17
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

Josh and I pulled this out one night this past month when it was just to two of us at the gamenight.  This is a fantastically crunchy Euro-style game where you are picking up coal and delivering it to different towns and factories throughout the play.  I have really enjoyed this one during every play.


Designer – Martin Wallace
Publisher – Space Cowboys
New to me
First play – 1/1/18
Total plays in January 2018 – 1

We picked this game up just before going on vacation and thus were able to try it out while we were there.  This is a super fun, streamlined, 18xx-style game but definitely made more for family weight.  I am really enjoying this game and looking forward to playing it more!

New game acquisitions in January 2018:

New expansion acquisitions in January 2018:

Well, there you have it!  Another month of some great games!  I am looking forward to playing some of these new games even more and continuing to roll through our 25x5 challenge.  Here’s to a new year and another great one!  Thanks so much for reading and check back soon as I hope to have up my awards for 2017 soon-ish.  Until next time, game on!

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