Gaming

Lately our group has been playing a lot of Betrayal at House on the Hill, wish I would have got a copy of Betrayal Legacy when it was in print. Other ones in the current rotation are Root (which I adore), and Call to Adventure. I really want to give Twilight Imperium a go, but I haven't convinced enough friends yet haha.

We've really been enjoying Distilled a lot. It's really engaging. The irony is that it's really hard to play while drunk, but the theme of the game is distilling alcohol, so you have to drink while playing... Right?

I've also found a little indie card game called Wizards of the Grimoire that is absolutely fantastic. It scratches that Mtg itch, but without all the being poor part.

My single favourite board game is the Game of Thrones. No dice. No luck. Pure tactics and the occasional alliance.

I have apparently terrible luck so games that involve dice, especially d6's do not interest me.

Some of my favourites right now:

-Wingspan: 1-5 player game about birds from all over the world (with the European, Oceania and Asia expansions). Build up your board of birds and make future actions you take have more effects. There's a solo mode and Asia expansion introduces a special 2 player and 6-7 player mode. As a birder myself, can't recommend this game enough.

-Parks: Small but in depth 1-5 player game about exploring US national parks. You buy gear and set your hikers off on a trail that changes every round, to collect tokens and visit national parks. Games last up to an hour that feels like it flies by. Box design is the best I've seen, everything just fits together perfectly in a tiny box, making it much easier for travel.

-Terraforming Mars: Most complex game I own, for 1-5 players. Games can take 2-4 hours sometimes. You play as a corporation and compete with others to terraform mars the fastest. You raise the three global parameters (temperature, oxygen level and water) and increase your terraforming rating, all while managing your resources by playing various project cards. Has a challenging 1 player mode where you're racing against the generation counter to terraform mars in under 14 generations. Expansions are a bit expensive but I can recommend Prelude and Hellas & Elysium, for extra cards that can be played at the start of game to kickstart your resource generation, and a double sided map you can use as a replacement for the base game board.

Other notable mentions are 7 Wonders, Tokaido, Mystic Vale and Ticket to Ride

I bought Gloomhaven right at the beginning of the pandemic, and my roommates and I spent basically that whole summer playing together. We still keep in touch by playing the digital version as our schedule allows. So that one has a special place in my heart.

I have a huge shelf of shamepportunity (see what I did there? Now no one can correct me! 🤣) what I like vs what I get to play with my friends/SO vary greatly.

Some of my favorites

• Undaunted Normandy
• Trails (my SO and I play this one a lot at bars)
• Tak, a lovely abstract strategy game
• Spire's End and Spire's End Hildegard
• March of the Ants
• Cosmic Frog

7 Wonders Duel, Mage Knight, Aeons End, Pandemic, Batman Animated Series and DC Deck Building Game are some of my favorites

Villainous

Camp Grizzly

Tales of the Arabian Nights (It's long but so fun)

Everyone is John (not really a board game)

Gloom

Dixit

Mysterium

Dread (role playing game with Jenga tiles)

Talisman

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (Easier to play the digital version on Steam because it is murder to set up but it's very fun)

Tokaido

Wingspan

My SO is much more into boards games than I do, but I really like Kingsdomino. It's quick, requires a little bit of strategy, but not too much as I don't like thinking when playing, so that suits me. I also love Unlock, but that's the same genre :p

I have spent more than I care to admit on several different versions of Zombicide. Admittedly, I also enjoy painting the mini figures, but the game itself is a nice experience, where you get to roll a lot of dice and kill some zombies!

My favorites shift far too often, but Twilight Imperium and Merchants & Marauders are aleays ones I get to the table when given the chance.

Is there any love for solo? I like games with quick and easy set up: Agropolis, Cartographers, Voyages, Aquamarine. Sometimes Spirit Island (still learning how to play). When I have time and I am in the mood, I play solo RPG, but that's a different subject.

My favorites in no particular order:

Dune (either the original AH edition or the 2019 GF9 edition)
Battletech
Descent (first edition)
Mage Wars Arena
Battlestar Galactica
Food Chain Magnate
Scythe
Blood Bowl
Twilight Imperium (fourth edition)
War of the Ring (second edition)
Millenium Blades
Exceed
BattleCON
Cosmic Encounter
Sidereal Confluence
Sekigahara
Triumph & Tragedy
Iron Ships & Wooden Men
Cloudspire
Forbidden Stars
Go

We love Villainous. Azul is awesome, I quite enjoy Quacks of Quedlinburg myself.