After we had already played the picture version a lot, Codenames Duet came into our collection - a two-person version of Codenames. And it's really fun, though for us only in a picture version. We both found it extremely stressful and unsatisfying with the words, but with the pictures from Codename Pictures it really brings joy. And since it's cooperative, you can quickly take it out when we don't feel like fighting.
Archive 2017
Juliana's new favorite game: Battle Line. A classic, in our case with a new graphic design featuring knights instead of hoplites. 9 columns where you play a small "poker" game, the higher combo wins. The goal is to win 3 adjacent territories or a total of 5 territories. Easy to learn, easy to play (we don't play the expansion with tactic cards as it's only available in English). Within a very short time, the game has been played over 100 times and even more by Juliana, because it's the first game she voluntarily unpacks and plays by herself (left hand against right hand). Something that has never happened before. So definitely a quality statement for the game.
Another new addition is Viticulture Essential Edition - purchased on the occasion of a 10-euro voucher from the local game store, chosen because of the number of players (1-6). So far, I have only played it solo, but it works excellently for that. And from what I've seen, I'm already looking forward to playing it in the player round - a well-intermeshed worker placement, where the theme fits quite well with the actions in the game (ok, some details are a bit "creative", but overall the interplay of the actions makes sense). The whole thing then with quite challenging decisions in the game, but not as far as, for example, in Gallerist or similar highly complex games. So really something for the weekly round and not immediately a time investment for the weekend.
Recently, Godforsaken Scavengers arrived from Kickstarter and I tried it out right away. Originally, I only grabbed it because the unusual theme (or rather the style) appealed to me. It's basically a dungeon crawl with character attributes, events, locations, and everything that goes with it, packed into a super compact playtime and wrapped in appealing graphics. So, absolutely great for a quick game, as it hardly consumes any setup and the game itself is quick to finish. It has exactly the right length for the high proportion of luck it takes to survive - if things go wrong, not much time is invested, just shuffle and go again.
Another trade show souvenir is Azul, a nice tile-laying game with a super-friendly (and super-painted) theme: tile laying. The game itself is quite competitive and a lot of fun (at least for me) and has been well received in the board game group so far. I particularly like the short playing time, many games in our collection go beyond the hour and this one can be easily finished in 40 minutes, even with 4 players. In addition, it is super easy to teach to the players and the material is simply great. This will certainly find its way onto the table more often.
Triplock is a new addition that surprised me - I only picked it up because the manufacturer often delivers very interesting games in superb quality and the theme appealed to me (Steampunk world and lock picking). What surprised me, however, was how much I enjoyed it. Essentially, it's a classic memory game - uncovering combinations, remembering the same, swapping and twisting, and at the same time keeping an overview of what is where. A bit like the typical shell game, only as a board game with a story. And it works damn well, also (or perhaps even especially) solo. You happily play several rounds in a row until you've cracked the current scenario.
Nemo's War (second edition) I have now played twice, and it is becoming one of my favorite solo games. It captures the atmosphere of Jules Verne's books well into an entertaining game. Even if, of course, the theme is only carried by the cards and the graphics of the game. The game system is based on a lot of chance, which can be surprisingly well managed. The result is quite a bit of strategy in a yet relatively classic roll-for-success system. The playtime, however, prevents me from getting it on the table more often. Nevertheless, it ranks high on my list.
A few days ago, The 7th Continent finally arrived after almost 2 years of waiting. Wow, it was worth the wait! The game has turned out fantastic and has made it into my top list. If the fun continues, it's a clear favorite for the 10th place. The only thing that could have been left out are the fiddly tiny miniatures, I prefer the cardboard standees ten times more. But the game itself - simply grand. Very beautifully drawn cards, clear symbolism and simple game system - all together form a graphical choose-your-own-adventure game. Looks simply great on the table. In addition, a clever save/restore mechanism makes it trivial to pack away to free up the table (you have to eat sometimes). When continuing to play, there is a bit of sorting work, but it is also clear. And the story you experience is really worth the time you invest. In addition, a series of curses that you can expose yourself to and many adventurers that you can send on the journey, that offers a lot of replay value. Even if you naturally get to know the continent over time, it probably won't get boring. This will bring a lot of gaming fun and for the autumn the next Kickstarter with more curses is already announced. I think I'll be there again.
The Godfather: Corleone's Empire has risen to the top of my list lately - I was immediately interested when it was announced (Worker Placement where you shoot annoying opponent workers?), and when it became available early, I grabbed it. Since then, I've played it with 2, 3, and 4 players and I am absolutely thrilled. Unlike many other Worker Placement games, it is not a multiplayer solitaire, but highly interactive and extremely mean, in parts. Yesterday, I was practically destroyed by theft, extortion, and murder of my people. And that's extremely fun - even if you think you're completely out of it at times, there's surprisingly much potential for a comeback. All in all, definitely a game way up there in my top list.
Comanchería: The Rise and Fall of the Comanche Empire recently found its way to my table. Wow. Simply wow. It is a solo game about the history of the Comanche, from their rise as a dominant tribe in the North American plains to their decline in the Battle of the Red River. Interspersed with historical notes, the game offers a very interesting system in which the author also takes the trouble to trace the various mechanics back to historical conditions or cultural peculiarities. And all of this with very solid game elements of extremely good quality (definitely in the premium range for a GMT game). And the game itself? What impresses me most is the very well-developed "AI" for the opponents for a solo game. Usually, the opponents in solo games are relatively simple, more driven by chance, possibly controlled a bit by rule systems. Not in this game, here the opponents are assigned strategy markers that give a rough overview of what this opponent might have in mind next - if he is activated. But even then, a random element is added, in which these strategies can still change in the short term - and you never know exactly how active he will be. The peace plans visible so far can quickly turn into attacks. But what is guaranteed: the more you do yourself, the higher the chances that the opponent will also carry out many actions. So always think about whether the next action will bring you further, or whether the risk of even more opponent activations might be too great. The success check for your own actions is also interestingly structured: it is not simply always just a die that is rolled, many checks go against a chit-pull system, in which successes and failures are taken out of the pool of possible chits (in the case of successes even for a longer time), so that your own successes automatically show in stronger resistance from the opponents (recognizable by the more likely failures due to the change in the composition of the chits). All in all, this gives a very rounded picture of the opponents in the game, who do not simply sit passively around to then strike randomly and arbitrarily, but instead react quite a bit to your own actions. And this without a lot of administrative effort for the opponents. It will definitely come to the table more often, especially since it contains a lot of other game elements that I love, foremost the "technology tree", in which you can equip your tribes with additional techniques and abilities and culturally strengthen them, which allows you to better support your own strategies. Then there are 4 historical scenarios that can all be played standalone (each 1-2 hours) or as a large campaign one after the other (6-8 hours). Then there is a relatively moderate setup, which is not always the case with conflict simulations.
For our weekly game group, I'm always looking for interesting games for 7 or even more players. Between Two Cities only goes up to 7, but offers a very nice game from the beginner class. Not as complex as 7 Wonders or similar, but definitely interesting for a large round. The special point of this game: you play together with your two neighbors. Together with each neighbor, you build a city, but you are evaluated afterwards according to your weakest city. The player whose weakest city has the most points wins. A very interesting idea and brings fresh wind into the round, because the players have to plan together to have a chance, but still compete. And the evaluation of the cities is much easier than, for example, in Suburbia - overall it seems more like a variant of Quadropolis, only with drafting and support for many players.
Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! (second edition) is a tactical conflict simulation of Germany's attack on Russia in World War II. Generally not my favorite topic, but Conflict of Heroes is simply a standout in the genre for mechanical reasons: it has one of the most refined systems for solo play in the area of tactical games. The opponents (depending on the scenario, you can control the Russians or the Germans and let the other side be controlled by an "AI") are controlled via a card system that is situationally built. The cards check various conditions and prescribe actions that the opponent performs - and all of this is placed in the context of the current game situation and the game scenario. This results in surprisingly "intelligent" reactions from the opponents, which make the game absolutely challenging, even when you're playing solo. Additionally, there's the option to use the Firefight Generator to create your own scenarios in a kind of pre-game. The interesting part here: the scenario is set up neutrally, you assemble both sides, but which side you play is only decided at the end. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to set up the scenario one-sidedly, as you would then have to play the weaker side. As a result, the game offers a very high replay value simply because the situations constantly change. And in this regard, it is clearly superior to Night of Man - another tactical skirmish game with a card-driven "AI" for the opponents - where there are only pre-made solo scenarios.
Pentaquark can best be described as "Patience for science enthusiasts." A card laying game with a reference to quantum physics and some interesting included variants. Nothing big or special, just a nice game to kill time in between. Interesting mainly because it is extremely compact and can therefore always be with you.
The Duke is a game that I had lying in the cupboard for quite some time because there was simply no opportunity for it - and I had practically given up on it. Then I planned it for our Mauritius vacation and played it several times with Juliana. It is definitely not Juliana's favorite game, but I had a damn good time with it. Basically, it's a much more variable chess with a certain element of chance. You start with the same - few - pieces on the board and can either move a piece with each move or bring a new piece into the game. To do this, pieces (square tiles with printed movement patterns) are turned over when activated, thus constantly changing their movement pattern. The result is a surprisingly interesting concept with very interesting strategic situations. I don't know if I'll ever get Juliana to play it again outside of beach vacations (for which it is ideal because of its very robust components), but it will definitely stay in my collection.