Statistics:
Total plays in Aprils 2016 – 59
Total unique games played in April 2016 – 21
New games played in April 2016 – 7
New games acquired in April 2016 – 9
New expansions acquired in April 2016 – 6
Most plays of a single game – 9
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
Designer – Matt Leacock/Rob Daviau
Publisher – Z-Man Games
Last play before April 2016 – 1/20/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 9
Wow. I’m not sure
what else to really say about our plays of this game. Em, Sean, Lainey, and I have now made it through
nine months of the game and we are on an awesome roll! We have crushed the diseases and laid them
bare in our wake of viral destruction.
All the while we are having an amazing time and loving everything about
the game while getting completely immersed in the story that has been crafted
by the designers. I would highly
recommend this to everyone…and that is all I have to say.
Red7
Designer – Carl Chudyk/Chris Cieslik
Publisher – Asmadi Games
Last play before April 2016 – 3/19/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 9
Well here is a surprise…a whole bunch of plays of this
game in a month! Okay, if you’ve read my
blog at all you know that Red7 is one of our favorite, super-quick
fillers. We love just taking this game
everywhere and pulling it out whenever we have 5-10 minutes to kill. Always a simple, fun time!
Coup
Designer – Rikki Tahta
Publisher – Indie Boards & Cards
Last play before April 2016 – 3/19/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 6
Em and I have made no secrets that we are big fans of
Coup. This is such a quick and small
game that is easy to teach and even easier to play. We’ve been able to teach many different
friends this game and we are able to break it out at many different game nights
and we just have a ball playing it every time.
Codenames
Designer – Vlaada Chvátil
Publisher – Czech Games Edition
Last plays before April 2016 – 3/20/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 5
April brought out a bunch more plays of Codenames at a
game night and as always it went over great.
This is one of those games that should just be a staple in most game
collections as it really goes over well with all types of people and never
leaves the gamers wanting. Go and buy
it! Plus, it’s cheap! And we, as gamers, have to love that!
Baseball Highlights: 2045 (Super Deluxe Edition)
Designer – Mike Fitzgerald
Publisher – Eagle-Gryphon Games
New to me
First play – 4/11/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 4
This is a game that I had really been dragging my feet on
for quite a while due to its relatively high price point. Finally, I broke down as I had a very good
idea that not only I’d love it, but so would my wife, Em. I was completely correct! This game is totally awesome and we are
absolutely loving the back and forth, tactical card play.
Mottainai
Designer – Carl Chudyk
Publisher – Asmadi Games
Last play before April 2016 – 3/30/16
Totally plays in April 2016 – 4
Oh do I ever love this game. I am such a sucker for games that have
multi-use cards and Carl Chudyk is a designer that loves that mechanic! He does such a wonderful job with card games
and to be honest I really want to get more by him! I think I may try to pick up Innovations next
and see what my wife thinks about that one!
Oh My Goods!
Designer – Alexander Pfister
Publisher – Lookout Games
Last play before April 2016 – 3/31/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 3
This is another game that has become a huge hit in our
household as we are such big fans of card games with a little meat on their
bones. I enjoy every single play of this
game and I don’t see that sentiment changing anywhere in the near future.
Artifacts, Inc.
Designer – Ryan Laukat
Publisher – Red Raven Games
New to me
First play – 4/4/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 2
We got this game early in the month a pulled it out. We’ve become huge fans of Above & Below
and wanted to see what Laukat’s other games were like. This is a very fun dice-placement game that
is pretty quick and easy to teach. And
of course, being that it’s from Ryan Laukat, the artwork is amazing! I really like this one. If you want a quick and portable
dice-placement style game then this may be for you.
Bottom of the 9th
Designer – Darrell Louder/Mike Mullins
Publisher – Dice Hate Me/Greater Than Games
Last play before April 2016 – 3/23/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 2
Em and I pulled out and played this game a couple of
times this month. This is one of the
games that we pull out on average once a month at the least. It is just a completely fun filler game that
really feels like the bottom of a 9th inning with the game on the
line.
Coal Baron
Designer – Michael Kiesling/Wolfgang Kramer
Publisher – R&R Games
New to me
First play – 4/2/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 2
We got Coal Baron in a trade and it is our first Kiesling
and Kramer game. After playing this a
couple of times I can totally see why they are some people’s favorite
designers! The easiest way to explain
this game is that it is beautifully elegant.
The mechanics are beautifully designed and the game is amazing. This is exactly what I feel a good Euro-style
game should be. My wife and I have
greatly enjoyed this game and want to try others by the designers.
POOP: The Game
Designer – Blaise Sewell
Publisher – Feels Right Design
Last play before April 2016 – 4/19/15
Total plays in April 2016 – 2
I realized that it had been almost exactly a year since
we had played this little, silly ice-breaker.
Thus, we pulled it out and had a ball.
Okay, not a great game, but it is a lot of fun with the right crowd,
just light, silly fun. On a related
note, Feels Right Design got the go ahead and will be selling the game in
Target. I thought that was pretty cool
for them!
Valeria: Card Kingdoms
Designer – Isaias Vallejo
Publisher – Daily Magic Games
New to me
First play – 4/9/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 2
Another one of the games that we acquired this month was
Valeria: Card Kingdoms. I saw this
played and was interested in it from the get go. I’ve been somewhat interested in Machi Koro
(which this game seems to be modeled after) but I know it has its
detractors. This game seemed to get rid
of some of the problems that kept me away from Machi Koro. Thankfully, we really enjoyed our plays of
this game! It does ramp up a lot at the
end as you are just getting piles and piles of goods in order to buy other
cards in some fashion. It is a very fun
game with incredible art by Mihajlo Dimitrievski (The Mico) which really gives
this game an awesome look. If you want a
good, light dice rolling and engine building type game then you may enjoy this!
7 Wonders: Duel
Designer – Antoine Bauza/Bruno Cathala
Publisher – Repos Production/Asmodee
Last play before April 2016 – 3/23/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
What else is there to say about this game? If you are looking for an amazing two-player
game then you can’t do too much worse than this. Also, it definitely has a place in a
collection even if you have its big brother, 7 Wonders, as it is a very
different game with a very similar feeling.
Love it!
Above and Below
Designer – Ryan Laukat
Publisher – Red Raven Games
Last play before April 2016 – 2/20/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
We got a good play of Above and Below in this past
month. This is easily one of the most
beautiful games that we own. Ryan Laukat
has an amazing eye for art and so far we really enjoy his games. I’m really looking forward to his sequel to
this game, Near and Far, which will hit Kickstarter sometime this summer.
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
Designer – Isaac Vega
Publisher – Plaid Hat Games
Last play before April 2016 – 3/2/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
Woot! This single
play in April was our first with the new expansion decks, The Frostdale Giants
featuring Rin Northfell, and The Children of Blackcloud featuring Brennen
Blackcloud. These decks are completely
awesome and amazingly and thematically flavorful! I love these decks and can’t wait to see what
is coming up next!
Dice City
Designer – Vangelis Bagiartakis
Publisher – Alderac Entertainment Group/Artipia Games
New to me
First play – 4/9/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
This is a newer dice-placement game that came out this
past Essen Spiel and has done pretty well for AEG. We got it out to the table (it was in our new
shipment) and really enjoyed it. I like small, Euro-style cards as buildings that you are able to change on your
personal board. I also love rolling dice
so, yeah, there’s that in spades! This
is a fun game, but beware, it is a table hog!
Mistfall
Designer - Blażej Kubacki
Publisher – NSKN Games/Passport Game Studios
New to me
First play – 4/9/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
I received this game in a trade this month and got it to
the table very quickly. I will say this
right off the bat, I loved it! This is
truly what an adventure card game should feel like. That being said I will state a word of
warning; it is a very long, very involved game that doesn’t have the best
rulebook I’ve ever read. But, if you are
into the theme and like a good adventure card game that don’t pass over this
one without a second look!
Patchwork
Designer – Uwe Rosenberg
Publisher – Lookout Games/Mayfair Games
Last play before April 2016 – 3/23/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
What’s that you say?
We played a game of Patchwork during the month? That’s crazy!
Oh wait, no, that’s expected! We
got this game in October 2015 and haven’t missed a month yet. This is easily one of our favorite two-player
only games. It is what I consider to be
basically a perfect abstract game, easy to learn, hard to master. Love it!
Space Hulk: Death Angel: The Card Game
Designer – Corey Konieczka
Publisher – Fantasy Flight Games
Last play before April 2016 – 7/31/15
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
During a game night this past month, we were playing
Pandemic: Legacy but had to put the game on pause while my wife fielded a
call. So, I decided to break this mean,
little co-operative card/dice game out with my buddy Sean. I will just say that my two squads died in
the first hallway! My dice rolling was
definitely off. Sean was able to step in
and got us to the final hallway but that is when he got overrun. I love this game and this play just made me
want to break it out more often.
Tail Feathers
Designer – Jerry Hawthorne
Publisher – Plaid Hat Games
New to me
First play – 4/23/26
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
We’ve had this game since Christmas…and for some reason
it has sat on the shelf since then! I’m
not one who has many games that go unplayed, as a matter of fact; every game on
my shelf has seen at least one play and most multiple plays…except poor Tail
Feathers. I think I was slightly
intimidated by this game (even though I’ve got The Gallerist pretty well down!)
and that made me wait until I felt confident enough to teach it to my wife. We loved it!
It was a great game that literally came down to a bad die roll by Em
which enabled me to win on the next roll!
Great fun!
Taste of Poland
Designer – Violetta Kijowska/Marcin Senior Ropka
Publisher – Bomba Games
Last play before April 2016 – 2/22/16
Total plays in April 2016 – 1
We came, we played, and we cooked Polish cuisine…in an
abstract sort of way! We got a play of
this fun little card game that has a cool speed element. Em completely kicked my butt in this
play! This one is always a simple but
fun time.
New game acquisitions in April 2016:
Artifacts, Inc.
Artifacts, Inc.
Baseball Highlights: 2045 (Super Deluxe Edition)
Coal Baron
Dice City
FUSE
The Grizzled
Mistfall
Quadropolis
Valeria: Card Kingdoms
Coal Baron
Dice City
FUSE
The Grizzled
Mistfall
Quadropolis
Valeria: Card Kingdoms
New expansion acquisitions in April 2016:
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn (The Children of Blackcloud)
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn (The Frostdale Giants)
Sentinels of the Multiverse (The Scholar Hero Character)
Sentinels of the Multiverse (Wager Master Villain Character)
Valeria: Card Kingdoms (Expansion Pack #01: King’s Guard)
Valeria: Card Kingdoms (Expansion Pack #02: Undead Samurai)
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn (The Children of Blackcloud)
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn (The Frostdale Giants)
Sentinels of the Multiverse (The Scholar Hero Character)
Sentinels of the Multiverse (Wager Master Villain Character)
Valeria: Card Kingdoms (Expansion Pack #01: King’s Guard)
Valeria: Card Kingdoms (Expansion Pack #02: Undead Samurai)
Oh man, what a month! So many new games played and acquired and not a dud in sight. In fairness, I am hardcore about researching games that my wife and I would like as we don’t have much disposable income. I was incredibly pleased with these purchases/trades and look forward to future plays of them! I’ll see you all soon as Em and I ramp up our posts for our Top 10 lists. Keep your eyes peeled for them as they will hopefully start sometime this month. Until next time, game on!
