So far in 2015, I have played 28 unique board game titles. Of those, 7 are titles that I previously listed in Games I played in the summer of 2014:

• 7 Wonders
• Hanabi
• Lord of the Rings: The Board Game
• Love Letter
• Puerto Rico
• Settlers of Catan
• Small World

And 4 are titles that I listed in Games I played in the fall of 2014:

• Alien Frontiers
• Bang! The Dice Game
• Machi Koro
• Village

New experiences

Of the 17 remaining titles, 6 were new games that I played for the first time this year. They are:

• Castles of Mad King Ludwig – The box has a beautiful picture of Neuschwanstein Castle on it, but this is not indicative of the gameplay. Each player has different requirements for how they build their castle. The better they are able to fulfill these requirements, the more points they will get. Manage your money well by purchasing the rooms that give you the most bang for the buck, and you may have the highest score (if not the most beautiful castle) at the end of the game. A very fun game, though slightly on the long side.

• Coup – Each player has two cards, indicating what abilities they have in the game. The catch is that you can lie about which cards you have, and perform abilities associated with a card you don’t possess.  If someone challenges you and catches you in a lie, then you lose a card. On the other hand, if you were telling the truth, then the challenger loses one of their cards. Lose both of your cards and you’re out of the game. The last player standing wins. Short and fun, this game is always popular.

• Red 7 – Very unique. This game is just numbers and colors, but there’s a ton of strategy. Each color indicates a different win condition. Maybe you need to have the highest card, or maybe you need to have the most of a single number or color. Either play a card or change the goal each turn. If you aren’t winning at the end of your play, then you’re eliminated. If you are the only player left, then you win. This game can be played at various levels of complexity, making it ideal for beginners and experts alike.

• Suburbia – This is designed by Ted Alspach, who is also the designer of Castles of Mad King Ludwig. While the games are similar, they are certainly not the exactly the same. Buy buildings and other locations with which to build your town. Manage your income and your population well, and you will end up with the highest score at the end of the game.

• Ticket to Ride: Team Asia – Yes, I have played Ticket to Ride many times, and on many different maps, but this is the first time that I have played with teams. It works surprisingly well. The team that cooperates the best will be triumphant.

• Tragedy Looper – I am the bad guy, trying to make some tragedy happen. My opponents are the protagonists, trying to prevent the tragedy. I will succeed, and they will fail. The tragedy will occur. However, the protagonists are able to go back in time and try again. Use deductive reasoning to figure out what the tragedy is and how to prevent it. I love this game, but I haven’t yet found anyone else who enjoys it as much as I do.

Old favorites

The other games I have had in my collection for a while, and keep coming back to. They are:

• Animal Upon Animal: Balancing Bridge – Roll the die to pick an animal to add to the pile. Get three specific animals together to win. This game works great for adults and children alike.

• Tales of the Arabian Nights – This is more of a shared experience than a game. Winning or losing is almost completely meaningless. It’s the journey that makes this game fun. Draw a card and consult the manual to determine your foe. Decide your response to the challenge, and discover the results. It’s almost always a surprise. This is somewhat like a Choose Your Own Adventure book that you all experience together as a group, and it’s Nora’s favorite game.

• Defenders of the Realm – This game isn’t mine. It belongs to my sister, Laurel, and I’m always excited to play it with her. All the players work together to defeat the evil hordes plaguing our realm. It’s a difficult task. So difficult, in fact, that after several plays, I still have never won the game once. I have fun trying, though.

• duck! duck! SAFARI! – This box has several games in it, and several rubber ducks as well. Each duck is a different animal: Elephant Duck, Zebra Duck, Monkey Duck, and so on. My favorite game is a race that has surprisingly deep strategy, despite the cute trappings.

• A Few Acres of Snow – This game is a recreation of the French and Indian War of the 18th century. One player controls the French troops while the other controls the British. Ally with the Indians and raid or attack your opponent. Each side has different goals, and different means to those goals. A Few Acres of Snow is a complicated but rewarding game.

• Nuns on the Run – Another many-against-one game, Nuns on the Run is very different from Tragedy Looper in both mechanics and theme. One player controls the older nuns: the Prioress and the Abbess. The other players are novices, trying to sneak through the abbey on various missions without getting caught. I absolutely adore this game, but because of the complexity involved, there are very few people that I am willing to play it with.

• The Resistance: Avalon – Each player is a knight and is either loyal to King Arthur or a follower of the evil Mordred. All the knights go on quests, and the evil knights secretly subvert the purposes of the good. If the good guys can ferret out the evil spies, then they will succeed in their quests. Otherwise, evil will triumph. This is a very short and fun game, but it requires a minimum of five players, so I don’t get it to the table too often.

• Sentinels of the Multiverse – Each player is a different comic book hero, and all the heroes work together to defeat the evil villain. Strategies vary greatly from one hero character to another, and also from one villain to another. The heroic team that can best work together, making use of the strengths and abilities of each member, will successfully defeat the enemy.

• Space Cadets – You are all cadets, learning the ins and outs of controlling an intergalactic space ship. Unfortunately, your services are required well before any of you have achieved competency. You are to be sent, wholly unprepared, on a deadly mission. Each player has a role: Engineering, Weapons, Sensors, Helm, etc. All the roles must cooperate to be successful. This game does an excellent job of making you feel like an incompetent fool who is in way over your head.

• Timbuktu – Lead your caravan of camels through the desert, avoiding thieves along the way, to deliver goods at your destination. Use deductive reasoning to determine when and where the thieves will strike. The player who ends the game with the most valuable cargo of goods will win.

• Whist – This is a classic Bridge-like, partner-based game for four players. I have consistently played Whist with my family since I was a child. I have never met anyone else who knows how to play, but whenever Marlene and I get together with my parents, it is one of our favorite activities.

– danBhentschel

This fall, I played a total of 18 unique board game titles. That’s more than one per week! Maybe I should cut back a bit… NAH!

Repeats of recent plays

Six of those 18 games I have already discussed in my summer gaming article. Those games are:

• 7 Wonders
• For Sale
• Rampage
• Settlers of Catan
• Splendor
• Star Realms

New experiences

Five games in the list were new to me, and I learned them for the first time this past season. They are:

• Bang! The Dice Game – There are three teams in this game: the good guys, consisting of the Sheriff and the Deputy, the bad guys, consisting of the Outlaws, and the Renegades, who play every-man-for-himself. The hitch is that all the roles are hidden except the Sheriff. Who should you shoot at? Kill the wrong person and you might sink your team’s chances of winning. Very fun with enough people. I’d be willing to play this again any time.

• Blue Moon – This is a unique card game by designer extraordinaire, Reiner Knizia.  I only played it a couple of times, and I’m not sure that I completely get it, but it is intriguing. One neat feature is that it’s an asymmetric game, meaning that the two players have completely different cards from each other. This forces the competitors to adopt distinct strategies.

• Machi Koro – I really like this game. It plays fast, and feels like a very light version of Settlers of Catan. Unfortunately, every time I play it with someone they don’t seem to be as enamored with the game as I am. I’ve tried it with several groups, and my impression is that everyone thinks it’s just “okay”. Oh well. I’m going to keep trying because I like it.

• Village – Winner of the Essen Kennerspiel Des Jahres award in 2012, Village is a beautiful, intricate, deep game that is surprisingly easy to learn. It can feel a bit morbid because your people are constantly dying throughout the game. In fact the game doesn’t end until a certain number of people have expired. It actually works really well, though, once you wrap your head around it. I look forward to many more plays of this one.

• Xia: Legends of a Drift System – This game is getting a lot of buzz in the industry right now. Hot off a successful Kickstarter campaign, it’s quite popular, and for good reason. The components are top notch, and while the mechanics are a bit clunky, the breadth of options available to you makes for quite an immersive experience. Games can run a bit long, but that’s a minor flaw in an otherwise stellar (literally) game.

Old favorites

The other seven games in this list are old favorites that I was happy to get back to the table again this past fall:

• Alien Frontiers – This is a very difficult game to summarize. You roll dice, and the numbers you roll will determine what actions you can take on your turn. Unlike most die-rolling games, though, there’s not much luck involved. Any roll can be useful. It’s just a matter of figuring out how best to utilize what you get. A very tactical game with loads of options.

• City of Iron – Beautiful artwork and deep, rewarding gameplay are what come to mind when I think of this game. I haven’t gotten it to the table as often as I’d like. It takes a bit longer than most games I play, pushing 3 hours, but the experience is so engrossing that the time flies by quickly.

• Dominion – I’ve probably played more games of Dominion than any other game ever made. There was a time when I would play this a dozen or more times in a given week. When I first bought the game, I pulled an almost-all-nighter playing it over and over again. I’ve cooled off on it a bit now, after several years of near-constant play, but I still am always happy to pull it out for a quick game.

• King of Tokyo – It’s like Yahtzee, except with monsters fighting each other in Tokyo. Roll the dice, trying to get sets of various symbols to earn points, attack your opponents, heal your monster, an purchase power-ups. The last monster standing wins.

• Lost Cities – Another Knizia gem, this game is one of my favorites for a quick, tense two-player match. It’s super easy to learn, but the play is so deep, it’s surprising – literally! No one has ever fully grasped the strategy on the first play. That’s okay, though. With games done in 10-15 minutes, you can always try again.

• Robo Rally – Robo Rally is pure insanity. Each player programs his or her robot’s movements five turns in advance, then the players reveal and execute their programs simultaneously. You thought you were headed for that repair point? Too bad. My robot bumped into you and pushed you onto the express conveyor belt. Now you’re headed right into a pit. Loads of fun.

• Ticket to Ride – Only 10 years old and already a classic, Ticket to Ride is the one game in this entire list that I’d say, without reservation, everyone should play at least once in their lifetime. It’s a beautiful game, both in appearance and design. It’s easy to pick up, but challenging to master. Most importantly, it’s very enjoyable to play.

– danBhentschel