There are two reasons I would avoid that Splendor tray. One is that you can fit splendor is less space if you just put it in a small sack. Two is that it has no room for possible expansions.
I was sure X-COM was going to be my board game of 2015, but I think i might have to second Alchemists for that category. I got to play it last night and basically the game is a logic puzzle smashed together with a bluffing game and some bits from Dungeon Lord. Massive style points for the game mechanic where you disprove someone's hypothesis by performing an experiment that disproves their hypothesis
Now you got me thinking about the best board game of the previous year...
Board game yearly awards are awkward because they are scheduled at different times - the SdJ is awarded in July, Deutscher Spiele Preis and the International Gamers Awards are announced at Essen in October. Assuming a cutoff three months before the awards are announced, that means the SdJ is the best family game since April of the previous year, and the DSP/IGA run from the middle of the previous year.
By the Essen award standards, my games of the year are Roll for the Galaxy and the Terra Mystica expansion. Alchemists is almost definitely going on the list, too, but I want to play a few more times to make sure.
If we expand the list to older games I played for the first time in the past year, it would include Tzolk'in, Tigris & Euphrates, Navegador, Caverna, Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper (which I just played yesterday and want to be playing again right now), and Wizard.
Ultra Pro dual deck box. It's 8 bucks. It's a nice solid rectangle. Durable. Velcro seal. All of the cards and tiles fit in one side, and all of the chips in the other. Folds up extremely compact, and is great for tossing it in a backpack.
That tray looks like vacu-formed plastic, which is just waiting to get crushed and cracked.
Played Glass Road a couple of nights ago for the first time.
Damn, that is a fine game.
I particularly enjoy that it has you count fractional points. I know that, mathematically, it doesn't really matter if you use fractional or whole points - but the psychology of knowing that fractional points count is intense.
Doesn't look like anyone has brought it up here - Friedemann Friese (Power Grid) has a new design called 504. There are 9 'modules' that you combine in any order (eg. Race, Military, Exploring or Majority, Pickup & Deliver, Shares) to construct a set of rules.
This is the rulebook of the prototype:
And this is what it looks like on the table (setups vary; apparently Exploring leads to constructing the board during play):
Bring Alchemists next Friday or Saturday. I really want to play that game.
I managed to play Argent: The Consortium last Friday. It's probably the worker placement game to end all worker placement games. The complexity reminded me of Copycat, without the deck building.
The premise is you're all Professor Wizards trying to become the next Headmaster of Anime Hogwarts. Whoever accomplishes the most out 12 goals wins. Game is played over five rounds. 2 of the goals are public, one goal is known to each player at the start of the game. The other 10 goals are random, but most center around have a particular type of resource.
The board is modular and double sided, so it's never quite the same game. The first slot on each room of the board requires a merit badge in order to utilize. Every 7 Influence ("Base" victory points and tiebreaker) awards a merit badge. It plays up to 5, but it's fairly easy to understand once you know what all of the resources do.
There are two reasons I would avoid that Splendor tray. One is that you can fit splendor is less space if you just put it in a small sack. Two is that it has no room for possible expansions.
Yeah, we currently use a plastic deck box for the cards and nobles, and a game bag for the chips which all fit into a small storage box. After seeing the shipping for the Splendor box, I am going to pass, seeing as the shipping is about 90 cents less than the price for the tray.
I played Homebrewers for the first time. It's a great worker placement game that, at least at first, comes off as an Agricola clone, but it's so much more thematic, I love how all the information is open, and I generally just enjoy the game more than either Agricola or Caverna.
Plus, who doesn't love a board game where you're brewing beer?
I played Homebrewers for the first time. It's a great worker placement game that, at least at first, comes off as an Agricola clone, but it's so much more thematic, I love how all the information is open, and I generally just enjoy the game more than either Agricola or Caverna.
Plus, who doesn't love a board game where you're brewing beer?
I goofed and missed the edit window. I meant Brewcrafters, not Homebrewers.
I haven't gotten to try Brewcrafters yet, but I did get the Brewcrafters card game version in the Dice Hate Me card game 6-pack, and I've already traded it away. It was pretty shitty. It's a set collection card game with a few other bonus point opportunities and special abilities tacked on. An extreme example of an "I don't care what the other players are doing" game, and that felt like a big missed opportunity.
So far out of that six-pack, Isle of Trains was a hands-down great card game. I'd recommend that to anyone. We also enjoyed Pie Factory. It wasn't great but it was good enough to keep. Diner and Brewcrafters: The Card Game were both crap. Haven't tried the last two yet.
Don't feel too bad, once you add in shipping it's more like $65
Honestly, if I was going to drop down money for prepainted Minis it would be X-Wing. I'm not quite as in love with the Capital ships as I am with the fighters.
SdJ: Colt Express, Machi Koro, The Game Kennerspiel: Broom Service, Elysium, Orléans
The recommended list also includes Deus, which would have been my pick for Kennerspiel. Seeing as I don't have any games to root for, I'll pull for the witchy broom game.
Edit: "The Game"s special power is that it is impossible to search for on BGG.
I've never played "The Game" but it appears to be just another bad co-op where you technically aren't allowed to communicate. On paper it's garbage next to previous winner Hanabi.
Machi Koro is Splendor lite. Meh.
Never played Colt Express, but by process of elimination it's my pick.
Colt Express is a timing and positioning game. You have a deck of actions each round, getting shot gives your deck extra cards that are dead draws. Get the most loot at the end of a number of set rounds.
It's a game that skews toward a younger audience, say about 10 years old.
I keep hearing about Alchemists. A Netrunner player was asking about it at the store yesterday. Also, I hear there is a new game coming down the pipe that is a meta-CCG game. You don't play a CCG, you play as a CCG player.
Alchemists is about two orders of magnitude too complex and one hour too long for the SdJ/Kennerspiel. The DSP or IGA might nominate it... in fact I expect to see Alchemists or Aquasphere take the top honors for the IGA, with a nomination for Deus and Roll for the Galaxy. The DSP will ignore Roll because space doesn't sell in Germany and the game isn't even in print there.
Comments
Board game yearly awards are awkward because they are scheduled at different times - the SdJ is awarded in July, Deutscher Spiele Preis and the International Gamers Awards are announced at Essen in October. Assuming a cutoff three months before the awards are announced, that means the SdJ is the best family game since April of the previous year, and the DSP/IGA run from the middle of the previous year.
By the Essen award standards, my games of the year are Roll for the Galaxy and the Terra Mystica expansion. Alchemists is almost definitely going on the list, too, but I want to play a few more times to make sure.
If we expand the list to older games I played for the first time in the past year, it would include Tzolk'in, Tigris & Euphrates, Navegador, Caverna, Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper (which I just played yesterday and want to be playing again right now), and Wizard.
Ultra Pro dual deck box. It's 8 bucks. It's a nice solid rectangle. Durable. Velcro seal. All of the cards and tiles fit in one side, and all of the chips in the other. Folds up extremely compact, and is great for tossing it in a backpack.
That tray looks like vacu-formed plastic, which is just waiting to get crushed and cracked.
Damn, that is a fine game.
I particularly enjoy that it has you count fractional points. I know that, mathematically, it doesn't really matter if you use fractional or whole points - but the psychology of knowing that fractional points count is intense.
This is the rulebook of the prototype:
And this is what it looks like on the table (setups vary; apparently Exploring leads to constructing the board during play):
I managed to play Argent: The Consortium last Friday. It's probably the worker placement game to end all worker placement games. The complexity reminded me of Copycat, without the deck building.
The premise is you're all Professor Wizards trying to become the next Headmaster of Anime Hogwarts. Whoever accomplishes the most out 12 goals wins. Game is played over five rounds. 2 of the goals are public, one goal is known to each player at the start of the game. The other 10 goals are random, but most center around have a particular type of resource.
The board is modular and double sided, so it's never quite the same game. The first slot on each room of the board requires a merit badge in order to utilize. Every 7 Influence ("Base" victory points and tiebreaker) awards a merit badge. It plays up to 5, but it's fairly easy to understand once you know what all of the resources do.
Plus, who doesn't love a board game where you're brewing beer?
Haven't read the rules yet, but it's probably not the greatest. Still cool, though.
So far out of that six-pack, Isle of Trains was a hands-down great card game. I'd recommend that to anyone. We also enjoyed Pie Factory. It wasn't great but it was good enough to keep. Diner and Brewcrafters: The Card Game were both crap. Haven't tried the last two yet.
http://www.coolstuffinc.com/p/206468
Honestly, if I was going to drop down money for prepainted Minis it would be X-Wing. I'm not quite as in love with the Capital ships as I am with the fighters.
http://www.semicoop.com/comic/just-a-game/
SdJ: Colt Express, Machi Koro, The Game
Kennerspiel: Broom Service, Elysium, Orléans
The recommended list also includes Deus, which would have been my pick for Kennerspiel. Seeing as I don't have any games to root for, I'll pull for the witchy broom game.
Edit: "The Game"s special power is that it is impossible to search for on BGG.
Machi Koro is Splendor lite. Meh.
Never played Colt Express, but by process of elimination it's my pick.
It's a game that skews toward a younger audience, say about 10 years old.
Did Alchemists not qualify for some reason?
I also expect Alchemists will win a Golden Geek.