OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

[hepcat]

About a month ago I went to a community board game sale and picked up a few things, most of which I've tried with my boys now.

Pax Porfiriana. I believe Hepcat had spoken very highly about this, so I was excited when I saw a deluxe version of it for a reasonable price.

Oh yes, yes I have. One of my all time favorites. It’s not easy to get into, but once you do you see all the neat things going on. Plus, every…single…card in that game is unique and includes a wall of historical text. Heck, I still find myself just reading cards for the interesting history when it’s not my turn…and sometimes even when it is.

Pax Renaissance 2nd edition has temporarily replaced it as my favorite pax game right now though. I highly recommend looking for that of if enjoy Porfiriana.

Also, Ricky Royal has a great solo AI that’s better than the one included with PP. I highly recommend that too.

Tide of Iron

Another great game I still own and refuse to replace. I have numerous stories of late night games with Seppe with this one from years ago. The beaches of Normandy scenario being one of our favorites. I grabbed the updated rules a while back after FFG sold it a different company and they started re releasing everything. I believe it’s compatible with both new and old releases though.

[disarm]

I picked up Azul from our town library and we gave it a shot this weekend... only three games played, but it's been a hit so far. The rules are pretty simple, so my 7yo and 13yo picked it up very quickly, with my 7yo showing a surprising amount of insight into how to best build his wall. We haven't played enough for me to catch onto much strategy yet, but I do have a few ideas to try out as we play more. Overall, I'm enjoying it for now...will see how it holds up over time...

[AWS260]

This weekend my family played Caverna. Such a joy; I'll probably be playing it well into my dotage.

My son destroyed us with an expedition-heavy strategy that he leveraged to build a ton of point-scoring rooms. I did OK with a mix of expeditions and crop farming. My wife focused on animals and ended with with an impressive menagerie but not a lot of points.

[YellowKing]

I finally got to play an older game that has been on my bucket list for years - Freedom: The Underground Railroad.

This is a cooperative title in which players are attempting to get a certain number of slaves from plantations in the South to Canada AND purchase a number of support tokens before the end of 8 rounds. They lose if they lose a certain number of slaves (slaves are "lost" when the slave market refills at the end of each round and there is no room for them in the plantations).

If all that sounds horribly insensitive in this day and age, rest assured the game is presented with the historical gravity the subject matter deserves. Throughout the game you'll be assisted by buying Abolitionist cards representing famous historical figures and events from the anti-slavery movement.

There are several mechanics in this game I REALLY liked. Slave catchers get tips and move towards slaves that have recently moved, so you'll find yourself in a constant tug of war with them as you attempt to sneak past and get up north. This also leads to interesting strategic decisions in which you can move a slave in one area to distract a catcher to allow another slave to slip past.

I also really enjoyed having to purchase tokens in order to move slaves and garner support - money is tight in this game, and it adds another source of tension. You don't often see currency and purchasing in cooperative games, so I thought that was neat.

I always enjoy games that tightly tie mechanics to theme, and this one does this spectacularly. It's incredibly difficult to get slaves out of the plantations and through the south, as it would be. However, things open up as you get up north, farther out of reach of the catchers. Historical figures and events tend to have appropriately powerful effects that fit their real-world impact.

I've seen impressions of the game in which people thought the subject matter was too emotionally heavy for a game, etc. Personally, I did not find this to be true at all. I found it fascinating from a historical perspective, and it made me think about a subject I really haven't thought much about since high school. I talked for 10-15 minutes after the game was over with the guy I played with, discussing how the game abstracted the historical struggle into game terms that made the events relatable in a way we'd never experienced before.

We lost the game, but as the rulebook points out - losing the game does not mean the battle to destroy slavery was lost. Brave people continued the fight and eventually abolished this horrible stain on America's past. This is a wonderful game that not only provided an incredible challenge but was easily one of the most educational games I've played since Black Orchestra.

[hepcat]

I owned this for a while and loved it. We played with the designer at Gencon one year. He’s a teacher and he designed it to play with his classes to teach them the history of that period. I think claiming it’s too dark or too heavy for a game is doing an injustice to what it tries to achieve.

[Zarathud]

It’s a rough game because the mechanics are not easy. Just when you think a group is safe, the slaves will get caught. And when you start to despair, an opportunity will open up. The theme works well with the mechanics. It’s brilliantly done.

[Fardaza]

Started my first game of The 7th Continent a couple days ago. I couldn't get off the tutorial island and realized I'd missed something. So, I restarted and found the item I was missing in my first go-round. When I managed to

Spoiler:

get the submarine started and escape to the main island,

I was elated! I saved the game then and hope to continue this afternoon. It has already got me hooked into the story. Now, if I can only find some bone for Dr. Frankenstein to work with.

[tylertoo]

Started my first game of The 7th Continent a couple days ago. I couldn't get off the tutorial island and realized I'd missed something. So, I restarted and found the item I was missing in my first go-round. When I managed to

Spoiler:

get the submarine started and escape to the main island,

I was elated! I saved the game then and hope to continue this afternoon. It has already got me hooked into the story. Now, if I can only find some bone for Dr. Frankenstein to work with.

I am also starting out in 7th Continent but still stuck on the starting island. I know what I need to get off it, but haven't found it.

[Skinypupy]

After a long break, we're starting to get back in the swing of gaming a little bit. Played Legendary Marvel, Survive, Overboss, Potion Explosion, and Dominion with the kids between yesterday and today. I still have to nudge them a bit to actually sit down and play, but we had a good time once we got to the table. I also played the new WoW: WotLK game, which was really fun.

Over the last few months, I've really started to hone in on the type of games that I enjoy. Especially those that will actually have longevity versus those that I play like crazy for a few weeks, then never touch again (hi, Middara and Gloomhaven ). Honestly, I went completely overboard during the pandemic, jumping into the deep end of this hobby trying to narrow down what I like, spending a metric shit-ton on games that are now gathering dust (something everyone here has done, I'm sure). I think that having focused on a narrower scope of games that I am more likely to enjoy will probably save me lots of $$ moving forward, and make me feel a bit less guilty about having shelves full of unplayed games.

Bear with my stream of consciousness for a minute...mostly just noting this for posterity. A few things I've decided I really like/don't like:

- Simple to mid-range in complexity. With a few rare exceptions, if the rulebook is over 50 pages long, it's probably not a game that's going to stick with me.
- I enjoy Ameritrash dice chucking, with overly thinky and fiddly Euro-style games rarely clicking.
- Deckbuilders are rad, and might be my favorite genre.
- No matter how good the game is, if it takes an hour to set up, then another hour to remember all the rules if you've happened to step away for a couple weeks, it's likely going to collect dust.
- I like games on the easier side, and do occasionally like to actually win every once in a while (which seems to be an increasingly rare feature).
- While I keep telling myself I like campaigns, it's really very rare that I ever actually complete one. I typically wander off once it gets too difficult or something else grabs me. I end up stuck in that weird spot where you campaign games are really difficult to pick back up where you left off, but I don't want to start entirely over from the beginning.
- I generally stick with fantasy-themes, with the occasional detour into super-heroes, sci-fi, or anime. Games with farming, business, historical, military, post-apocalyptic, or zombie themes are usually out (very similar to my preferred video gaming themes, really). I really struggle with anything based on anthropomorphic animals or anything that's overly "cutesy", even if they're otherwise good games (both Everdell and Root fell totally flat, for example). Oddly specific, I know.
- I don't mind app integration (especially solo) as long as it's done well. Imperial Assault's solo mode is still my favorite.
- I love a game that tells a good story. A big, complex setup and cool world with a crappy story never gets very far with me (looking at you, Descent: Legends of the Dark)
- I'm mostly a solo gamer, with the kids (12 and 8) joining in on occasions. I only get to play with other adults maybe 3-4 times a year.

My problem now is that lots of my current collection doesn't fit in this small window of games I enjoy. I have SO many games that I know I'm never likely to play again, and need to figure out WTF to do with.

I found a local board game exchange group on FB, but wanted to first drop the list here and see if anyone might be interested in either trading or making an offer before I posted everything there. If I need to stick this in a trading forum post, I'll do that (I never really look in there, so I figured I'd throw the list here first). These are all up for grabs:

Spoiler:

All in perfect condition, unless otherwise noted:
- Mage Knight Ultimate Edition
- Cowboy Bebop Space Serenade
- Sword & Sorcery: Immortal Souls
- Call to Adventure
- Dungeon Alliance w/Champions xpac)
- Star Wars Rebellion
- Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
- Descent: Legends of the Dark
- Street Masters (one corner of box is ripped, but no components are damaged)
- Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth
- Dice Miner
- Warp's Edge
- Tiny Epic Tactics
- Tiny Epic Zombies
- Paladins of the West Kingdom
- Ark of the Covenant
- Marvel Villanous
- Keyforge (2-player starter set)

[YellowKing]

While I keep telling myself I like campaigns, it's really very rare that I ever actually complete one. I typically wander off once it gets too difficult or something else grabs me. I end up stuck in that weird spot where you campaign games are really difficult to pick back up where you left off, but I don't want to start entirely over from the beginning.

I'm slowly starting to understand this about myself as well. I am an absolute SUCKER for a big box fantasy campaign with bunches of minis. Yet by the time I punch it and set it up and spend hours painting it and play a couple of scenarios, I'm done. My shelf is littered with these that I've played a couple of times then shelved. Folklore: The Affliction, Bloodborne, Hellboy, Descent 3e, Sword & Sorcery. There are exceptions. I finished LOTR: Journeys in Middle Earth, Gloomhaven:JotL. And Gloomhaven, though I don't really count that one since I played that with a dedicated group. If left to my own devices I'd have never seen 1% of that game.

If I look at the games I got true enjoyment out of - and have played repeatedly, even bringing back out months or years later, they tend to be the ones that are quick setup, quick tear down, 45 minutes to an hour with a lot of replayability. Games like Wingspan, The Loop, Back to the Future Dice Through Time, Horrified, Under Falling Skies. And typically these games are half the price of those big box campaigns.

I am encouraged that none of my current Kickstarters are of this variety. Nemo's War, AuZtralia, and Hoplomachus are all solo games that are proven successes in my house that I bring out regularly. And Freedom Five fits the mold of the type of one-off co-ops I enjoy.

If, at some point, my kids ever get into the hobby there may be room for longer games, but as it stands right now I have to just come to terms with the fact that I just don't have the time to devote to these multi-hour campaigns - particularly when I have a bunch of other hobbies competing for the same hours.

[baelthazar]

I am in the same boat. I tend to collect the big box fantasy games but then never get through the campaign. I actually prefer these types of games with more “skirmish” or sandbox modes - where you can get individual adventures not tied together.

The games I play most tend to be one off type things. Like Final Girl, Anachrony, Robinson Crusoe, and such. I need to remember this when I see those giant fantasy games. Thankfully, I did think about this when Chronicles of Dungagor was up and didn’t pour tons of money into that.

[Malificent]

What's funny is that I'm the exact opposite. I have my wife and I play with a friend every Tuesday and every other Saturday and then meet with another couple and that friend the other Saturday. So we play the big box campaigns and rarely have time for one off stuff. We're working our way through Tainted Grail and the original Sword and Sorcery. After those two are finished, we'll move to Descent and Sword & Sorcery Ancient Chronicles and after that, probably Frosthaven. Occasionally, I miss playing one offs, but I can't realistically fit in more board gaming in my schedule. These are the trade offs.

[Skinypupy]

We're working our way through Tainted Grail and the original Sword and Sorcery.

I did manage to get to the final level in the base Sword & Sorcery game, but couldn't beat it after about half a dozen tries. Put it up in frustration, and haven't busted it out since.

I quite liked that one, but the difficulty was too intense for me and figuring out combat required a damned advanced mathematics degree.

[Blackhawk]

If I'd quit holding off on playing the big games until they're 'all painted'...

[AWS260]

Some Xmas present gaming over the past few days:

Burgle Bros 2: Basically Oceans 11 The Game. You're a crew of thieves with complementary skills executing a heist in a casino. Our game was very tense, with a final round that could have gone either way as we tried to outmaneuver security and escape.

Critters at War: This is the well-regarded Air, Land, and Sea, redone with a cartoon animal theme. Other than the art, it's the exact same game. Thankfully a very good game, filled with bluffing and strategic retreats. My son stomped me.

Machi Koro 2: I don't really like Machi Koro. While this sequel has a bit more variety and decision-making, it hasn't changed my mind. That said, it was fun watching the game swing wildly between my mom and my son over the last couple of rounds, before he pulled out the win with a lucky die roll.

[Fardaza]

I found a local board game exchange group on FB, but wanted to first drop the list here and see if anyone might be interested in either trading or making an offer before I posted everything there. If I need to stick this in a trading forum post, I'll do that (I never really look in there, so I figured I'd throw the list here first). These are all up for grabs:

Spoiler:

All in perfect condition, unless otherwise noted:
- Mage Knight Ultimate Edition
- Cowboy Bebop Space Serenade
- Sword & Sorcery: Immortal Souls
- Call to Adventure
- Dungeon Alliance w/Champions xpac)
- Star Wars Rebellion
- Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
- Descent: Legends of the Dark
- Street Masters (one corner of box is ripped, but no components are damaged)
- Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth
- Dice Miner
- Warp's Edge
- Tiny Epic Tactics
- Tiny Epic Zombies
- Paladins of the West Kingdom
- Ark of the Covenant
- Marvel Villanous
- Keyforge (2-player starter set)

I sent you a private message, Skinypupy. Let me know.

[YellowKing]

I bought my daughter a bunch of escape room games for Christmas since she absolutely LOVED the real escape room she did for a birthday party a few months back. And wow, was that a humbling experience.

We tried one of the more mainstream titles you can get at Target, Escape Room: The Game. This one comes with a battery-operated "Chrono Decoder" that serves as both a timer and a place to enter your escape codes. Codes are entered by inserting four keys with various shapes, numbers, or letters on them in the correct order. This lends a bit of a tactile feel to the solution that I enjoyed. The timer also beeps when you're allowed to open a hint, and plays increasingly stressful sounds as the timer ticks down.

The game also encourages you to download their app, which has fully customized theme music for each scenario. I thought that was really cool.

Each scenario consists of 3 parts, each part resulting in a code to enter. Solve all 3 parts and you win. We decided to start things off with the easiest of the 3 scenarios, Titanic Panic (2 out of 5 star difficulty). In this one you are a passenger on the TItanic and must help the Captain accomplish various tasks before the boat sinks. I figured as a one-time escape room victor and a lover of puzzles, this would be a walk in the park. I could not have been more wrong.

Things started out swimmingly (pun intended) as we rapidly solved the first 2 tasks and were making good progress on the remaining two. We got the code wrong once, but after reviewing one of the puzzles we realized we had made a mistake and corrected it. I smugly looked around as we entered the code and got the victory sound. 20 minutes to spare!

Then my daughter said, "Dad, that was just the first part. We've still got two more to go."

The second part proved to be a nightmare, and a half hour after the timer had run out, I was still sitting at the table poring over it. The kids and even my wife grew bored and wandered off. I did finally solve it after going through all the hints, but it was a humbling experience.

We decided to just save part 3 for another night and not time it since we've already drowned in the icy waters of the north Atlantic.

Was it fun? For me, yes, but my wife and kids got frustrated/bored pretty quickly. I think the difficulty level was just too high for our group. You'd really need a bigger group of adults to even have a chance at solving it within 60 minutes. I also handicapped myself by not looking at hints - I hate hints, but I think taking advantage of them when we were given the opportunity would have at least given us a fighting chance. Of course, you always have the option of just ignoring the time limit and enjoying the puzzles without the added stress.

I think our next effort is going to be the Scooby Doo: Escape From the Haunted Mansion one I bought them. That one's obviously geared for a younger crowd, and I'm hoping we'll have a better experience.

[Zarathud]

My wife was asking why I didn’t own any games about crime solving, and threatened to buy one. Luckily, hepcat was willing to lend Chronicles of Crime, the Lucky Duck app-driven detective game. My youngest daughter and wife fell in love with this game.

Each card or witness or location has a QR code which you scan to advance the plot — and the timer. At the end, you answer a few questions and it checks against what you’ve discovered to give a score.

My youngest daughter loves grabbing the app to investigate the crime scenes. They’re shown in an augmented reality scene where you move the iPad to look around. My daughter’s reaction to her first crime scene — “Damn, she dead.” Winner.

[Isgrimnur]

[Skinypupy]

My wife was asking why I didn’t own any games about crime solving, and threatened to buy one. Luckily, hepcat was willing to lend Chronicles of Crime, the Lucky Duck app-driven detective game. My youngest daughter and wife fell in love with this game.

Each card or witness or location has a QR code which you scan to advance the plot — and the timer. At the end, you answer a few questions and it checks against what you’ve discovered to give a score.

My youngest daughter loves grabbing the app to investigate the crime scenes. They’re shown in an augmented reality scene where you move the iPad to look around. My daughter’s reaction to her first crime scene — “Damn, she dead.” Winner.

I picked up Destinies yesterday (same developer, same system, different setting) and played the first scenario this morning. I’m not quite sure what I thought of it.

Using the QR codes in the app is a very cool mechanic, and I liked the fact it had simple systems for skill checks, leveling, etc. The exploration and branching story paths made for some really interesting “a-ha!” moments as the story came together. The app is well-done, but really needs some sort of log function so I can go back and review certain clues and descriptions.

However, it felt like I was playing through a puzzle that required very specific steps and had to be done in a very specific amount of time, but was flying entirely blind with no actual indicator of either of those things. I also thought the tiny minis didn’t add much to the game, and the writing overall was meh.

I’ll play through another couple scenarios (there’s 5 total) to get a more complete picture, but first impressions were very mixed. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I expected to either.

[hepcat]

I’m 100 percent with you on Destinies, SP. Your experience mirrors my own.

[Smoove_B]

I've been told Destines is really fun with multiple people as a very lite RPG, but as a solo game I did not enjoy it at all.

[Zarathud]

I enjoyed Destinies when I played with hepcat and steppe, but there was definitely a push to beat everyone else in finishing your story. That could be frustrating solo as you wouldn’t see hepcat finding his stuff while repeatedly failing your own skill checks. By that time, I suspected he and I had incompatible goals. I enjoyed the story’s brutal payoff at the end.

[hepcat]

I enjoyed the final moments of the game when Seppe suddenly realized that the game wasn’t completely a coop and that he was supposed to be trying to win. I guess I failed to mention that when explaining the rules.

[Zarathud]

That was funny. And instead of getting a coop win, he had the dishonorable ending of getting run out of town, too.

[YellowKing]

A buddy of mine came over last night and we got into a rousing game of Zombicide:2E with my son. While I've been enjoying it solo, it really shines with a casual group where you don't need to get bogged down in a lot of rules but still want to roll dice and move minis.

He liked it so much he wants to play through the Washington ZC and Fort Hendrix campaigns with us.

[AWS260]

Caper: Europe arrived just in time for the holiday break, so we took it out for a spin this week. Gameplay is very similar to the original Caper: you're assembling crews of thieves, equipping them with gear, and sending them off to steal stuff in a European city. It's a very good, tense two-player game that combines tug-of-war, card drafting, and set collection.

The production screams "kickstarter": foil-embossed box sleeve, faux-velvet game trayz, custom metal coins, etc. Unnecessary, but honestly very well-done. Except for the rulebook: beautifully designed, but with an embarrassing number of typos. Copy editors exist, and board game publishers should hire them.

We played two games, in Paris and Barcelona. My better half won Paris by stealing a bunch of paintings from the Louvre, and I won Barcelona with a more balanced approach. Which included using a flamethrower to destroy a crucial piece of her crew's gear in the final turn.

[baelthazar]

My wife and I addicted to Parks, which the family got from Santa this Christmas. It’s too heavy for the 5-year old (although the family version of Isle of Cats is her speed), but we love it! Great worker placement, excellent theme and amazing art. We immediately purchased the Nightfall expansion and it improves on an already great base. Even the tokens and trays are amazing, shaped like wildlife, trees, mountains, suns, and water.

I would say we love it as much or more than Wingspan, which is saying a lot!

[AWS260]

That's awesome - Parks is a really fun and lovely game.

[hentzau]

Just played a game of Kingdom Hearts Talisman. It's kind of a mess. Tons of typos and really stupid event cards that are next to impossible to do. And some questionable choices of the characters they used. For instance, the usual suspects you would expect, like sora and roxas and goofy and donald and mickey, and the various FF type characters, but then they threw in a lone Mulan as the only other disney character. Weird choice. But the figures are really nice, and look like they would take paint really well.

I don't really know the KH games at all, just through watching my girls play the games. And I like Talisman well enough, at least 2nd edition Talisman, but this one...my middle daughter enjoyed it, but the rest of us were kind of meh.

[disarm]

I started Stuffed Fables this weekend with my 8yo son and 13yo daughter. It was a little rough going as I tried to walk them through the rules that I had read a couple times but never actually applied to a real game, but everyone seemed to catch or n pretty quickly. We made it about 2/3 through the first story before stopping because it was a slow-going first try at the game and she wanted to do something else. The kids both agreed that it was fun before stopping though. I took a photo of the game so we could set up where we left off and continue playing another time.

Overall, I think everyone enjoyed the game and will want to continue playing, especially now that we are starting to get more of the mechanics down and can keep the game moving better. I really like the storybook aspect, and I think my 7yo is enjoying the writing. It seemed like the older one found the story a little "kiddy," but she got into the gameplay. We'll see how it goes next time...

[tylertoo]

At my prodding, my wife and college-age daughter have slowly moved up from simple fare like Ticket to Ride and King of Tokyo to somewhat deeper games. In the past year they both became addicted to Viticulture (Essential Edition), and our daughter has proven to be quite the strategic thinker, beating both of us regularly. It was our go-to family game during all of 2021.

For Christmas this year, I spent a good amount time trying to figure out what game to get them, and settled on Obsession. My wife loves Jane Austen films and Downton Abbey, so I thought the theme would grab her. And the worker placement and engine building aspects of the design bear a general similarity to Viticulture. Still, you never know if a game will live up to the hype.

And... they loved it. I had taught myself the game first by watching a couple of videos, then played through a two-handed game myself (not the solo variant). So when we sat down Saturday to learn it, I knew it pretty well, which also helps 'sell' a game. They immediately 'got' the concepts and flow of game play, and we ended up playing through to the end during that learning session. In fact, it was 10pm when we were about to begin the final season, so I proposed that we stop for the evening, but they both insisted we keep going to finish.

So it was a big hit, and Obsession could very well replace Viticulture as their gaming obsession.

[AWS260]

Yesterday I played Townsfolk Tussle for the first time. This had completely missed my radar when it was on Kickstarter, and to be honest I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought - co-op boss-battlers aren't really my cup of tea. But a friend backed it, and last night was a ton of fun.

The theme - Cuphead-style cartoon violence - is distinctive, funny, and really well-executed. The flavor text and the art are excellent and reflect the mechanics really well. A dangerous flail does a lot of damage, but you risk hurting yourself. Possessed by a ghost? It will occasionally take control of your body and make you punch yourself in the face.

When we were close to losing our last boss fight, one of my friends revealed a card showing that he had secretly strapped dynamite to me before the fight started. Since I was standing next to the boss, he detonated the dynamite, seriously damaging the bad guy but knocking me out for good. (We lost anyway, so my involuntary martyrdom was in vain.)

In retrospect, Townsfolk Tussle isn't the most amazing design. The decision space is pretty small, the best move is often obvious, and there aren't a ton of opportunities for really clever plays. But the balance and pacing are great, and it's such a creative setting. Very fun.

[hepcat]

Zarathud, Seppe and I played Townsfolk Tussle on Saturday and had a blast. It's just such a fun game.

It's easy to teach, generates great stories, and has a surprising amount of decision making for such a simple game.

I spent my game waving around a beehive on a stick (note: bees will attack you as well), shoot a five foot long blunderbuss at an outhouse so I could damage everyone near it in the ensuing sh#t storm, and trying to use a rubber bat as a weapon.

It really is just one giant looney tunes vignette.

[YellowKing]

Yeah I'm a bit bummed I didn't back Townsfolk Tussle (though they are doing a reprint KS this summer).

The reason I passed initially is that I'd primarily be playing it solo, and at the 1-2 player count it just didn't have a lot of meaningful decisions (hepcat, in re: to your experience, I think 3+ players is where the game shines). If you're at range, attack at range, if you're close, attack close. Rinse, repeat. I played a bunch on TTS both solo and with a buddy of mine, and ultimately just found the player agency lacking.

However, I truly think my love of the theme would have negated those complaints, particularly with a much larger pool of bosses to draw from in the released game. It just feels like a game I'd like to own - the minis, the concept, etc. I should have listened to my gut, as I keep finding myself going back to the TTS demo from time to time just to immerse myself in its world.

At any rate, I'll be backing it for sure on the next edition, and not second-guessing myself.

That provides a great transition into what I played last night, which was the first scenario of Vagrantsong. I've mentioned this one before back when I pre-ordered it, but this is the first time I got to experience playing with other people. Our game group was waylaid by sickness, so we jumped online to try the TTS demo.

There have been a lot of comparisons to Townsfolk Tussle since it features a similar '30s cartoon aesthetic and is a boss battler at heart, but it's much more of a campaign-style narrative adventure with some interesting mechanics. The primary gimmick is that tokens the players draw from the bag are used for beneficial effects, but the same tokens are drawn by the bosses to perform attacks. So there's some neat strategy around keeping tokens out of the bag that correspond to the nastier boss attacks.

We had a great time with it, and I'm really looking forward to getting the physical copy in my hands. It was initially due out in December, but shipping woes have kept it in limbo. Latest word is either late this month or February, but I would not be surprised if it got pushed out farther.

[Zarathud]

I backed Townsfolk Tussle solely because of Alex Radcliffe’s reaction on boardgameco’s YouTube channel. Very happy I listened.

I held back despite his high praise of Mythic Mischief because abstracts are a harder genre for me.

[hentzau]

I had backed it, but backed out of it. Kind of wish I had based on what you guys are saying.

[coopasonic]

Colony- Nothing I ever would have picked to play. I guess you would call it an engine building game, but with dice rolling and drafting to screw you over. I liked it and would play it again, but I wouldn't buy it.

A little over 5 years later, I finally gave it a second play. I was gifted it a LONG time ago and just took the shrink wrap off last night. Two players with my 15yo, playing the suggested starting cards. It felt familiar, but my son was mostly board. Space Base moves a lot faster and you don't have to keep as much information in your mind, so I am pretty sure he'll want to stick with that for his dice rolling engine building fun.

[hepcat]

For fans of the great WWII card driven war game Undaunted, the new Reinforcements expansion is out. It includes solo and coop rules, as well as a bunch of new toys for your squads. You can get it through Walmart.com for 25 bucks. That’s what I did. Not sure if the price is a mistake, or they’re running some sale. But they honored the price for me. Even coolstuff and gamenerdz can’t match that.

Oddly enough though, they charge almost double of anyone else for the two base games.

[Skinypupy]

When I stopped into the game store to “just browse”, I certainly did not expect to be coming home with the new Return to Dark Tower. Curse you, weak willpower…

Outside of Dungeon!, the original Dark Tower is the game I spent the most time with as a kid. I wouldn’t even bother to set up the board, I’d just sit in my beanbag chair with the mechanical tower for hours on end fighting Brigands and haggling with Merchants. The sound effects are seared into my brain.

I somehow managed to resist the Kickstarter, but when it was right there on the shelf (and me with a $100 bill from the in-laws Christmas present burning a hole in my pocket), the overwhelming nostalgia finally won out.

Just watched Rodney Smith’s walkthrough, and will be jumping in once the kids are in bed. Will report back later.

EDIT: First two solo games in the books, and I think it's absolutely fantastic...with a caveat. If you don't like app-driven games, this will do nothing to change your mind. The tower actually connects to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, and is driven by the app. To me, it perfectly captures the feel of the original where you hear it whirring inside and wonder with bated breath what's going to happen when it stops. Time will tell if it becomes gimmicky, but the first impressions were that the titular tower itself is brilliant.

The actual gameplay is very solid, combining exploration, character building, resource gathering, and questing. It's relatively simple on the surface, but requires significant strategy as you decide how to approach the given goal. In my two games, the first saw me only battling two enemies and building my strength by buying up treasures, while the second game had me building a army that could withstand large casualty counts because it was so large, then tearing through every mob in sight. With multiple bosses, goals, and monsters that can be randomized, it feels like there will be a ton of replayability.

Little B 12.11 watched me play, and is absolutely hooked. We set up a 2-player game for tomorrow, and she's incredibly excited to give it a go. She was absolutely fascinated by the tower. Been a long time since I've seen a reaction like that from her.

It's exactly what I was hoping for. Nostalgia that hits me right in the feels, modern technology that's fun and unique, and simple enough to easily grasp but enough strategy to be interesting. Really, really positive first impression.