A Tale of Two Meeples
Fair point, I like certain mechanisms in some games and hate them in others. Rondels are rarely good for me though I've not minded them on occasion. Sorry to make the question tough!
A life of cuddling up at home with piles of books and only venturing outside to get more? Count us in!
A Place for All My Books is a cosy game about curating the ever-growing collection of books in your apartment, admiring your handiwork, and picking up some points and other neat stuff along the way. If you need more books, you can spend some of your limited energy to venture out to the library or bookstore and fill your backpack with piles of happiness.
It’s a clever mix of worker placement, resource management, and spatial puzzle. But let’s be honest, it’s the theme that really shines through here!
We love how it uses the idea of books energising you, charging you up, ready to face the world, and how a day's shopping, no matter how many great finds you make, can deplete your reserves and leave you wishing for home. It's something we've both experienced in real life and the designers have captured it perfectly.
You earn most of your points from goal cards, which you complete by stepping back and admiring the piles of books you’ve managed to acquire. This seems very on point for board gamers… after all, who hasn’t spent an afternoon just staring at how good their shelves look!
We (read: Steph) often struggles with spatial puzzles, and this was no exception. While the goal cards are quite simple, like “have three stacks of three each with a green book on top”, you are limited in the actions you can take to rearrange the piles, so it still caused a bit of decision paralysis.
The production is great and is elevated by the teeny, tiny, wooden book tokens that are very tactile and bring something to game that just wouldn’t be quite the same if they were cardboard chits. Someone (read: Andrew) spent way too much time trying to line them up straight, just like he does to the books on our shelves at home!
We’re glad we got a chance to check this out (like a library… get it!) and would definitely recommend it to all the booklovers out there!
#boardgames
A Place for All My Books is a cosy game about curating the ever-growing collection of books in your apartment, admiring your handiwork, and picking up some points and other neat stuff along the way. If you need more books, you can spend some of your limited energy to venture out to the library or bookstore and fill your backpack with piles of happiness.
It’s a clever mix of worker placement, resource management, and spatial puzzle. But let’s be honest, it’s the theme that really shines through here!
We love how it uses the idea of books energising you, charging you up, ready to face the world, and how a day's shopping, no matter how many great finds you make, can deplete your reserves and leave you wishing for home. It's something we've both experienced in real life and the designers have captured it perfectly.
You earn most of your points from goal cards, which you complete by stepping back and admiring the piles of books you’ve managed to acquire. This seems very on point for board gamers… after all, who hasn’t spent an afternoon just staring at how good their shelves look!
We (read: Steph) often struggles with spatial puzzles, and this was no exception. While the goal cards are quite simple, like “have three stacks of three each with a green book on top”, you are limited in the actions you can take to rearrange the piles, so it still caused a bit of decision paralysis.
The production is great and is elevated by the teeny, tiny, wooden book tokens that are very tactile and bring something to game that just wouldn’t be quite the same if they were cardboard chits. Someone (read: Andrew) spent way too much time trying to line them up straight, just like he does to the books on our shelves at home!
We’re glad we got a chance to check this out (like a library… get it!) and would definitely recommend it to all the booklovers out there!
#boardgames
I love worker placement in games, and even though I'm fine if it's just the basic place worker, take action style implementation, I'm even happier when a designer manages to do something special with it.
One of my favourite examples is Creature Comforts. It makes you pay for the action spaces you want to use with dice, either from your personal or a common pool, but it makes you place your workers before all of them have been rolled!
This introduces a big gambling element to the game, and to me feels a bit like you're playing Texas Hold'em Poker. You only get to roll two dice before deciding on your moves for the round, and then you hope the rest fall your way so you can activate the locations you picked.
I absolutely love the feeling this mechanism gives me. It's one of constantly being on the ball, trying to calculate the risks versus the rewards of each move, and of working out when to play it safe versus when to take big risks.
Funnily enough, I did not expect anything near this from the game when we first tried it. With the cutesy theme and artwork I thought it would be a very standard, lightweight Euro, and don't get me wrong, it's not heavy. What it is though is clever, and that's why our play count is well into double digits!
Is there a mechanism you love? We've love to hear about it.
#boardgames
One of my favourite examples is Creature Comforts. It makes you pay for the action spaces you want to use with dice, either from your personal or a common pool, but it makes you place your workers before all of them have been rolled!
This introduces a big gambling element to the game, and to me feels a bit like you're playing Texas Hold'em Poker. You only get to roll two dice before deciding on your moves for the round, and then you hope the rest fall your way so you can activate the locations you picked.
I absolutely love the feeling this mechanism gives me. It's one of constantly being on the ball, trying to calculate the risks versus the rewards of each move, and of working out when to play it safe versus when to take big risks.
Funnily enough, I did not expect anything near this from the game when we first tried it. With the cutesy theme and artwork I thought it would be a very standard, lightweight Euro, and don't get me wrong, it's not heavy. What it is though is clever, and that's why our play count is well into double digits!
Is there a mechanism you love? We've love to hear about it.
#boardgames
yeah I can't deny the impact, but I much prefer not to play it if I can avoid it!
Confession time. I've been fishing exactly once in my life and the only things I caught were a chunk of cement and a 9 volt battery. Not exactly a tasty dinner right?
Thankfully my luck was much better in Lure, from Allplay. We got to try this recently at a gameday and had a lot of fun with this dice rolling, card collecting, fishing themed game
You play by secretly choosing which dice from your pool you want to roll, then revealing them. Whoever chose the fewest gets the first chance to catch the fish by meeting the requirements they each show, but you also reduce your chances since many fish want specific dice values.
We loved how quick this was to set up and learn, and how even with a simple game there were some great decisions to make. My dice voodoo came into play the first game, giving me a big win over Steph, but she made a strong comeback and claimed the second game.
While it's not push your luck in the traditional sense, it certainly had that feel to it because you needed to weigh up going first against giving yourself the best odds of reeling in that catch. The addition of a couple of one-time use special dice and lures to help you catch up when you've done badly added a little bit extra to the game, and we were really happy to have tried it.
#boardgames
Thankfully my luck was much better in Lure, from Allplay. We got to try this recently at a gameday and had a lot of fun with this dice rolling, card collecting, fishing themed game
You play by secretly choosing which dice from your pool you want to roll, then revealing them. Whoever chose the fewest gets the first chance to catch the fish by meeting the requirements they each show, but you also reduce your chances since many fish want specific dice values.
We loved how quick this was to set up and learn, and how even with a simple game there were some great decisions to make. My dice voodoo came into play the first game, giving me a big win over Steph, but she made a strong comeback and claimed the second game.
While it's not push your luck in the traditional sense, it certainly had that feel to it because you needed to weigh up going first against giving yourself the best odds of reeling in that catch. The addition of a couple of one-time use special dice and lures to help you catch up when you've done badly added a little bit extra to the game, and we were really happy to have tried it.
#boardgames
There are not many games where Steph consistently wipes the floor with me, but Delta Rummy from @deltaphasegames is one of them!
This game pays tribute to Rummy, the classic card game, but takes those familiar concepts and gives them a modern spin by adding a marketplace where you can bid for specific cards each turn, using the cards from your hand as currency.
Points are scored by forming sets and runs, with runs being harder but worth more. There are some sweet bonus points on offer for getting eight cards in a collection, and it’s not unusual to have scores in the hundreds.
At two players you have a lot of control over what you get from the market. If you bid with a high card, you're likely to get first pick and can take exactly what you need. If you have the lowest bid you get all the cards in the market as a consolation prize, including the card the other player bid with.
We really like this mechanism, because you not only have to decide which card to give up, you have to decide if you want to win or not. Sometimes losing the bid can be very beneficial, especially if you like the look of all three cards.
Steph, whose advice is far more valuable than mine here, recommends playing out cards as soon as you can, then adding to them later, rather than trying to get a big collection in your hand first. It helps to cycle cards out so you can draw new ones, and it makes sure that you don't run out of time to put them out (yeah, I've done that at least twice now!)
Even though I continue to lose, I really enjoy the game. It plays quickly enough that being crushed doesn’t feel too bad, and there are lots of interesting little moments in it. It’s also pocket friendly, so we can see this one being a favourite outside the house a well.
If you’re after a copy you can get it directly from the Delta Phase Games website at https://www.deltaphasegames.com/. Thank you to Eris, the designer, for giving us a chance to try it out!
#boardgames
This game pays tribute to Rummy, the classic card game, but takes those familiar concepts and gives them a modern spin by adding a marketplace where you can bid for specific cards each turn, using the cards from your hand as currency.
Points are scored by forming sets and runs, with runs being harder but worth more. There are some sweet bonus points on offer for getting eight cards in a collection, and it’s not unusual to have scores in the hundreds.
At two players you have a lot of control over what you get from the market. If you bid with a high card, you're likely to get first pick and can take exactly what you need. If you have the lowest bid you get all the cards in the market as a consolation prize, including the card the other player bid with.
We really like this mechanism, because you not only have to decide which card to give up, you have to decide if you want to win or not. Sometimes losing the bid can be very beneficial, especially if you like the look of all three cards.
Steph, whose advice is far more valuable than mine here, recommends playing out cards as soon as you can, then adding to them later, rather than trying to get a big collection in your hand first. It helps to cycle cards out so you can draw new ones, and it makes sure that you don't run out of time to put them out (yeah, I've done that at least twice now!)
Even though I continue to lose, I really enjoy the game. It plays quickly enough that being crushed doesn’t feel too bad, and there are lots of interesting little moments in it. It’s also pocket friendly, so we can see this one being a favourite outside the house a well.
If you’re after a copy you can get it directly from the Delta Phase Games website at https://www.deltaphasegames.com/. Thank you to Eris, the designer, for giving us a chance to try it out!
#boardgames
Looks fun though!
We've played Amsterdam too and preferred Macao. It just feels more streamlined. If I can't find Macao it may be the only option but would prefer the OG
We really enjoyed Feast and Rococo. Need to hunt down our own copies now! Glass Road was much lighter than I expected, had heard it was tough to learn.
It's the game that everyone knows. Everyone is likely to have played it at some time on their gaming journey. And for us, it just doesn't hit. What are we talking about? Catan of course!
Now we don't really want to hate on games. We're all different and different things appeal to different people. We're sort of lucky in that our own gaming tastes are pretty similar and we don't often have games that one loves and the other doesn't. So if we don't like something, we usually don't have to play it again. But then there's Catan.
It's one of the OG gateway games, so those on the outskirts of the hobby may have heard of it and want to give it a try. So we'll play. There are people that absolutely love the game and don't get to play a lot. So we'll play. If it makes other people happy, we'll play. Though we'll complain a lot about it too!
While we can appreciate what Catan has done for the hobby, it's not a game we reach for. There's the luck factor - or bad luck factor if you're Steph! You can have your settlements on the most common rolls and still not roll what you need. Then after rolling nothing but 3s you think you may as well build a settlement there… well the 3s will dry up and you'll still get nothing!
Andrew is the sort of person that in a group situation everyone will gang up on. If you need to move the robber, you will definitely move it so it impacts one of his settlements. This is the way. With the robber always in the way his dice voodoo powers don't stand a chance!
After a game of Catan, you're left with two very grumpy meeples, telling the same tale…. "I hate Catan!" Yet, we still occasionally come back to it. So do we really hate it? Or do we just love hating on it?
#boardgames
Now we don't really want to hate on games. We're all different and different things appeal to different people. We're sort of lucky in that our own gaming tastes are pretty similar and we don't often have games that one loves and the other doesn't. So if we don't like something, we usually don't have to play it again. But then there's Catan.
It's one of the OG gateway games, so those on the outskirts of the hobby may have heard of it and want to give it a try. So we'll play. There are people that absolutely love the game and don't get to play a lot. So we'll play. If it makes other people happy, we'll play. Though we'll complain a lot about it too!
While we can appreciate what Catan has done for the hobby, it's not a game we reach for. There's the luck factor - or bad luck factor if you're Steph! You can have your settlements on the most common rolls and still not roll what you need. Then after rolling nothing but 3s you think you may as well build a settlement there… well the 3s will dry up and you'll still get nothing!
Andrew is the sort of person that in a group situation everyone will gang up on. If you need to move the robber, you will definitely move it so it impacts one of his settlements. This is the way. With the robber always in the way his dice voodoo powers don't stand a chance!
After a game of Catan, you're left with two very grumpy meeples, telling the same tale…. "I hate Catan!" Yet, we still occasionally come back to it. So do we really hate it? Or do we just love hating on it?
#boardgames
What did you play this month?
Blink and you'll miss it, the first month of the year is over. Our January plays are always aided by a little bit of time off work at the start of the month and a three-day convention at the end.
Highlights for the month include:
- Macao: beautiful and beige, just what a Feld game should be. Now if only we could find a copy!
- Uwe Rosenberg games: we learnt At the Gates of Loyang, Glass Road and a Feast for Odin. All different, but all good, and far less intimidating than we thought.
- Rokoko: loved the theme and the gameplay, even without the deluxe components this was a hit.
We hope you had a great month of gaming! Let us know if you want to hear more about any of these games. #boardgames
Blink and you'll miss it, the first month of the year is over. Our January plays are always aided by a little bit of time off work at the start of the month and a three-day convention at the end.
Highlights for the month include:
- Macao: beautiful and beige, just what a Feld game should be. Now if only we could find a copy!
- Uwe Rosenberg games: we learnt At the Gates of Loyang, Glass Road and a Feast for Odin. All different, but all good, and far less intimidating than we thought.
- Rokoko: loved the theme and the gameplay, even without the deluxe components this was a hit.
We hope you had a great month of gaming! Let us know if you want to hear more about any of these games. #boardgames
Can you find my cat?
Last year we took a look at a preview version of Cat Spotting, a series of fun two player micro games rolled into one tiny package. The same components are used each time but the rules change depending on how you want to play. You can play head to head or even co-op, so there's always the purr-fect mode to suit your mood!
The final version of Cat Spotting is out of the bag, and we've had a chance to play some more. With extra cute cats and more crowd cards, all in a neat little box, there's plenty to explore. We've tried most of the different modes and each have our favourites.
For Steph, it's all about speed, so the basic game is the way to go. Scanning the crowd cards quickly and finding those felines is such a rush. It's the competitive Where's Wally game that you never knew you needed! And when you're up against an opponent that seems to channel the sloth from Zootopia… you win quite a lot!
For Andrew, having less crowd cards to contend with made it easier. The Cats on the Table variant, where you search for cats on a single crowd card, rather than the usual three, was a much better option and gave him a win (it has to happen sometimes!).
You can pick up a copy meow at https://tototam.com.au/ and at selected retailers around Australia.
Thanks to Jason for sending us a copy to check out. #boardgames
Last year we took a look at a preview version of Cat Spotting, a series of fun two player micro games rolled into one tiny package. The same components are used each time but the rules change depending on how you want to play. You can play head to head or even co-op, so there's always the purr-fect mode to suit your mood!
The final version of Cat Spotting is out of the bag, and we've had a chance to play some more. With extra cute cats and more crowd cards, all in a neat little box, there's plenty to explore. We've tried most of the different modes and each have our favourites.
For Steph, it's all about speed, so the basic game is the way to go. Scanning the crowd cards quickly and finding those felines is such a rush. It's the competitive Where's Wally game that you never knew you needed! And when you're up against an opponent that seems to channel the sloth from Zootopia… you win quite a lot!
For Andrew, having less crowd cards to contend with made it easier. The Cats on the Table variant, where you search for cats on a single crowd card, rather than the usual three, was a much better option and gave him a win (it has to happen sometimes!).
You can pick up a copy meow at https://tototam.com.au/ and at selected retailers around Australia.
Thanks to Jason for sending us a copy to check out. #boardgames
What do you do when your dinos are hungry? You feed them of course!
Sugarrr!, from @deltaphasegames, puts you in charge of collecting and feeding ravenous, fruit loving dinosaurs. With names like sPINEAPPLEsaurus and TriPEARatops, these prehistoric behemoths each want a specific type of fruit.
Both fruit and dinosaur cards are obtained by adding matching cards to one of the five columns that make up the play area. If the last card you play matches the number of cards in the column you add them to your fruit pile, if not you get to collect a dino scoring card instead.
While the rules and gameplay are straightforward, we were pleasantly surprised by how much strategy is needed to do well. It’s not just about grabbing what is in front of you at the time, but about thinking ahead and setting yourself up for future turns.
For a game involving dinosaurs it’s not overly aggressive, these are herbivores after all! That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few ways to mess with the other player indirectly, and much to my disgust Steph managed to find them all very quickly!
We’ve had our best scores by striking a good balance between the fruit and scoring cards. My first game I neglected the dinos and while I had a huge pile of fruit it didn’t matter because without a matching multiplier it was fruitless!
We’ve enjoyed it a lot at two players. The market and columns don’t move that much between turns, which helps you to plan ahead. There are also plenty of dinos to go around and since there’s only one other person going for them you can usually grab at least one of each colour.
It’s been rawr-some fun so far and it’s one we’re keen to play more of. If you’re after a copy you can get it directly from the Delta Phase Games website at https://www.deltaphasegames.com/.
Thank you to Eris, the designer, for giving us a chance to try it out! #boardgames
Sugarrr!, from @deltaphasegames, puts you in charge of collecting and feeding ravenous, fruit loving dinosaurs. With names like sPINEAPPLEsaurus and TriPEARatops, these prehistoric behemoths each want a specific type of fruit.
Both fruit and dinosaur cards are obtained by adding matching cards to one of the five columns that make up the play area. If the last card you play matches the number of cards in the column you add them to your fruit pile, if not you get to collect a dino scoring card instead.
While the rules and gameplay are straightforward, we were pleasantly surprised by how much strategy is needed to do well. It’s not just about grabbing what is in front of you at the time, but about thinking ahead and setting yourself up for future turns.
For a game involving dinosaurs it’s not overly aggressive, these are herbivores after all! That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few ways to mess with the other player indirectly, and much to my disgust Steph managed to find them all very quickly!
We’ve had our best scores by striking a good balance between the fruit and scoring cards. My first game I neglected the dinos and while I had a huge pile of fruit it didn’t matter because without a matching multiplier it was fruitless!
We’ve enjoyed it a lot at two players. The market and columns don’t move that much between turns, which helps you to plan ahead. There are also plenty of dinos to go around and since there’s only one other person going for them you can usually grab at least one of each colour.
It’s been rawr-some fun so far and it’s one we’re keen to play more of. If you’re after a copy you can get it directly from the Delta Phase Games website at https://www.deltaphasegames.com/.
Thank you to Eris, the designer, for giving us a chance to try it out! #boardgames
Welcome to the neighbourhood!
As a huge fan of playing The Sims on PC, the boardgame intrigued me. Could they possibly capture the feel of a video game that is meant to simulate life, in about 15 minutes… with cardboard?
The Sims Board Game is a 2-5 player game that has you visiting locations and collecting SIMbols to achieve your aspiration. Along the way you'll hopefully attract some iconic SIMS and interact with your fellow players, though you never know how this will go. Once someone gets to 8 points, that's it, they win!
In terms of gameplay, it's very SIMple. Just pick a location that you want to visit, lower the associated need, and collect a matching card from the display. It was easy to learn ourselves and we found it easy to teach to new players too.
There is a fairly big luck factor in the game, you'll start with two home and two aspiration cards and you'll need to choose one of each. Your home with give you a SIMbol, and if you're lucky, you'll have a SIMbol that matches to at least one of the aspirations you hold to give you a head start.
We've played at both two and four players. While the gameplay and set up don't change, there is less interaction at two. It has been rare for us to both visit the same location, so the interaction die has gone largely untouched. Holding onto those Iconic Sims is also easier in a two-player game, as the chaotic "Iconic Sims Move" action doesn't have quite the same impact as it does with more players.
The artwork features locations, items and SIMS from the game, so there is a wonderful sense of nostalgia for those that know it well. Having to adjust your needs as you visit locations also captures the essence of The Sims.
It's been fun spending time in the world of The Sims, bringing back lots of core memories from many years of playing on PC. Thanks to @asmodee_anz for providing a copy for review.
Dag Dag!
#boardgames
As a huge fan of playing The Sims on PC, the boardgame intrigued me. Could they possibly capture the feel of a video game that is meant to simulate life, in about 15 minutes… with cardboard?
The Sims Board Game is a 2-5 player game that has you visiting locations and collecting SIMbols to achieve your aspiration. Along the way you'll hopefully attract some iconic SIMS and interact with your fellow players, though you never know how this will go. Once someone gets to 8 points, that's it, they win!
In terms of gameplay, it's very SIMple. Just pick a location that you want to visit, lower the associated need, and collect a matching card from the display. It was easy to learn ourselves and we found it easy to teach to new players too.
There is a fairly big luck factor in the game, you'll start with two home and two aspiration cards and you'll need to choose one of each. Your home with give you a SIMbol, and if you're lucky, you'll have a SIMbol that matches to at least one of the aspirations you hold to give you a head start.
We've played at both two and four players. While the gameplay and set up don't change, there is less interaction at two. It has been rare for us to both visit the same location, so the interaction die has gone largely untouched. Holding onto those Iconic Sims is also easier in a two-player game, as the chaotic "Iconic Sims Move" action doesn't have quite the same impact as it does with more players.
The artwork features locations, items and SIMS from the game, so there is a wonderful sense of nostalgia for those that know it well. Having to adjust your needs as you visit locations also captures the essence of The Sims.
It's been fun spending time in the world of The Sims, bringing back lots of core memories from many years of playing on PC. Thanks to @asmodee_anz for providing a copy for review.
Dag Dag!
#boardgames
The times, they are a-changin’, especially for the Clans of Caledonia.
Industria, the first expansion for this classic game, brings the industrial revolution to Scotland, and with it a host of modules to enhance the base game
Many of these consist of adding more variety for those who’ve played the original a lot. You get new tiles of every type, including ports, map tiles, and clans
Those wanting something totally different aren’t left out, with endgame scoring tiles, a preview board for export contracts, farmers markets, and the biggie - trains have come to the highlands!
Everything including the base game fits into the expansion box, which comes with the best insert we’ve seen, and even though it’s touted as a ‘big box’ it doesn’t feel oversized or waste any space
The new tiles take pretty much no effort to learn and can easily be mixed into a normal game. They don’t totally reshape the game, but instead build on what already works and offer new experiences, especially the clans
The train module, which comes with its own board, adds new goals and milestones to complete. It makes the game a bit more complex, but we love how it adds a sort of pick up and deliver mechanism to the game as well as a bunch of new ways to score
Being able to use the goods you produced on the main board for something other than export contracts is fantastic, and we like how making deliveries unlocks other scoring opportunities. Beware though, as too much focus on this part of the game can leave you woefully behind come scoring time!
We’ve still got a lot to explore, and it’s going to take many more games to see it all, but so far, we’ve been very impressed. Everything works well together and even with multiple modules thrown in it’s a smooth process. Being able to pick and choose what you add to each play is great, and we’re really looking forward to trying the rest of it
Thanks to @karma__games for letting us check out Industria
#boardgames
Industria, the first expansion for this classic game, brings the industrial revolution to Scotland, and with it a host of modules to enhance the base game
Many of these consist of adding more variety for those who’ve played the original a lot. You get new tiles of every type, including ports, map tiles, and clans
Those wanting something totally different aren’t left out, with endgame scoring tiles, a preview board for export contracts, farmers markets, and the biggie - trains have come to the highlands!
Everything including the base game fits into the expansion box, which comes with the best insert we’ve seen, and even though it’s touted as a ‘big box’ it doesn’t feel oversized or waste any space
The new tiles take pretty much no effort to learn and can easily be mixed into a normal game. They don’t totally reshape the game, but instead build on what already works and offer new experiences, especially the clans
The train module, which comes with its own board, adds new goals and milestones to complete. It makes the game a bit more complex, but we love how it adds a sort of pick up and deliver mechanism to the game as well as a bunch of new ways to score
Being able to use the goods you produced on the main board for something other than export contracts is fantastic, and we like how making deliveries unlocks other scoring opportunities. Beware though, as too much focus on this part of the game can leave you woefully behind come scoring time!
We’ve still got a lot to explore, and it’s going to take many more games to see it all, but so far, we’ve been very impressed. Everything works well together and even with multiple modules thrown in it’s a smooth process. Being able to pick and choose what you add to each play is great, and we’re really looking forward to trying the rest of it
Thanks to @karma__games for letting us check out Industria
#boardgames
If it ever happens it's a deal :)
We've still only played at conventions, one of these days might grab a copy for our collection!
What did you play this month?
We shared our yearly stats a couple of days ago, so there's not a whole heap left to add, but this is what we played in December.
It was a busy month and we hadn't found much time for gaming before Christmas, but we've sure made up for that since then! We learnt Maple Valley, a new addition to our collection, on Boxing Day, plus have managed to get a different bigger game to the table every day since.
Are there any of these games you’d like to hear more about? Let us know!
#boardgames
We shared our yearly stats a couple of days ago, so there's not a whole heap left to add, but this is what we played in December.
It was a busy month and we hadn't found much time for gaming before Christmas, but we've sure made up for that since then! We learnt Maple Valley, a new addition to our collection, on Boxing Day, plus have managed to get a different bigger game to the table every day since.
Are there any of these games you’d like to hear more about? Let us know!
#boardgames
We've done it! We've (almost) survived 2025 and we're looking back on our year in games.
This year was the first year we set ourselves proper challenges, with the biggest one being to play through every game in our collection. It was both tough, as it meant a lot of relearning and constant pressure to play different games, and rewarding, because we had a great time revisiting some forgotten gems.
Our other unofficial challenge was to play as many Stefan Feld games as possible, finishing the year having played 18 different games. We've loved seeing the different designs and have even spent the last week trying to get some of them back to the table for round 2.
We've had a lot of fun gaming with friends, old and new, and have had some great convention experiences. From practising our sales pitches in Modern Art to exiting the rocket a little too soon in MLEM, the banter and the laughs made the gaming even better.
Some highlights for the year:
Best Replay: Obsession
Best New to Us Game: Viticulture
Best New to Us Feld: A - Aquasphere, S - Amerigo
We hope that you've enjoyed your gaming experiences for the year and we wish you happy gaming in 2026!
This year was the first year we set ourselves proper challenges, with the biggest one being to play through every game in our collection. It was both tough, as it meant a lot of relearning and constant pressure to play different games, and rewarding, because we had a great time revisiting some forgotten gems.
Our other unofficial challenge was to play as many Stefan Feld games as possible, finishing the year having played 18 different games. We've loved seeing the different designs and have even spent the last week trying to get some of them back to the table for round 2.
We've had a lot of fun gaming with friends, old and new, and have had some great convention experiences. From practising our sales pitches in Modern Art to exiting the rocket a little too soon in MLEM, the banter and the laughs made the gaming even better.
Some highlights for the year:
Best Replay: Obsession
Best New to Us Game: Viticulture
Best New to Us Feld: A - Aquasphere, S - Amerigo
We hope that you've enjoyed your gaming experiences for the year and we wish you happy gaming in 2026!
It's time for Mystery Monday again and this week the theme is Luck.
We've mentioned Andrew's dice voodoo before. Well the first time we played this game he managed to win before anyone else even completed a single card! It's got to be luck… right?! Can you guess which game this is?
#boardgames
We've mentioned Andrew's dice voodoo before. Well the first time we played this game he managed to win before anyone else even completed a single card! It's got to be luck… right?! Can you guess which game this is?
#boardgames
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Server: https://mastodon.social
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