What a week! The holidays are over, work is back in full swing, and even the hockey season is charging ahead, go Amerks! But amidst the busy routines, one thing remained a joyful constant: board games! We managed to sneak in at least one game every single day! Some quick, some long, some familiar, some brand new. It was a week that left us grinning, strategizing, and yearning for more.
49 games in 7 days, that's the official count. But the numbers pale in comparison to the warmth, laughter, and friendly competition that filled our gaming time with the wife and friends. We journeyed across the Northeast in Ticket to Ride Legacy. Thursdays was our peak, a 13-game marathon that started with a light and breezy Codenames Duet breakfast and ended with the learning of the beautiful new card game, Romi Rami.
Speaking of new card faces, along with Romi Rami, Knarr joined our table for the first time. Amidst the new, we rediscovered old favorites. Codenames Duet and The Fox in the Forest emerged from the shelf of shame!
The Fox in the Forest brought back a flood of memories. This was our very first two-player card game. We played it daily for months. The spades-like feel is so addicting.
This week's experience got me thinking: have you rediscovered a game you shelved or gotten rid off?
Here's to another week of rolling dice, flipping cards, and forging memories, one roll, one trick, one game at a time!
Happy gaming!
The Games Played
Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig (3-7 players, 60 mins): Build two castles at once. The hard part? Must construct them in a way that one doesn’t outperform the other because you score for the lowest of your castles. Played a game of five, my partner to the right won. UGH! Katie, she did so well
Codenames Duet (2 players, ~20 mins): I love and hate this game. I am terrible at it; therefore, I don’t like playing it because I usually am the one that makes us lose. I love it because it’s so challenging and fun. We played it 8 times, and won twice. That’s an improvement, right?
Copenhagen (1-4 players, ~60 mins): I love it when friends request a game that we’ve taught them a while back. This was the case with Copenhagen. Played it at 3 and barely lost. This game is a polyomino where you are trying to create the best front building. You get more points if you get more windows, it sounds easier than it is.
Curios (2-5 players, ~15 mins): This game made a comeback. We played it three times, and I can’t wait to bring it to the table again. In this game you are a rogue archeologist, but you have to use bluff and deduction to ensure your gems provide you the most points at the end. This game was recently implemented by Wonder Woods. They play basically the same, but! Curios comes in a metal tin box.
Farkle (2-6 players, ~15 mins): Push your luck with six dice to be the first one to exceed 10,000 points. Almost won! I broke the 10K and while we finished the round, my friend beat me by 300 points. What a game! This is our night cap. We even have sweatshirts.
Flotsam Fight (2-6 players, ~30 mins): Pick a boat and get rid of your treasures. Make sure to not get caught with the highest treasure in hand! I did not do well in our 3 player game.
Hens (2-5 players, ~30 mins): I love this game more and more each time we play it. Check out my review to learn more. Won 1 out of 3 on a two player clucking intense set of games.
Knarr (2-4 players, ~30 mins): This one was new to us. You are trying to assemble your Viking crew to explore and take over the world of trade. Lost at a player of two. Can’t wait to try it again!
Kluster (1-4 players, 10 mins): Abstract strategy game where players place magnets inside a delimited cord trying to not have the magnets collide. First to run out of stones, this week I once again won the game!
Mists over Carcassonne (2-5 players, 30 mins): Expansion or standalone Carcassonne that adds fog tiles and hidden features, creating a more mysterious and tactical experience. Played at 5 players. We barely passed level three!
My City (2-4 players, 20 mins): Card drafting and tableau building game where players design their own city districts. Played the last round and won 1 of 3. Even though I won 10 out of the 24 total chapters, I won the campaign. We played this game as the standalone version, and loved it equally as much!
Next Station: London (1-4 players, 30 mins): Draw the best London Underground network, connecting stations, tourists traps and crossing the Thames. Played it once, and I lost by a few points
Nmbr9 (1-4 players, 20 mins): Stack your numbers higher and higher to score more points. The catch? Can’t leave any gaps and cannot and a number must be touching at least two different numbers. I love this game and barely won at a 3-player game
Number Drop (1-6 players, 20 mins): Picture Tetris and Soduku’s baby. This is a dice drafting game where players roll and manipulate dice to score points based on the shared tetromino. Played it at 3 and 4players. Lost all three times
On Tour Europe (1-8 players, ~20 mins): Plan the best route for your band by rolling two dice and flipping three cards. I came so close to a game against my wife. This was our first time doing the Europe tour, and I loved it!
Point City (1-4 players, 45-60 mins): City-building card game where players draft and play cards to construct buildings, score points, and fulfill contracts. Came in second place out of 4 players.
Railroad Ink (1-4 players, ~30 mins): Roll-and-write game where players draw dice-inspired train and road routes to score points. Played at 4 and 3 players, lost both times.
Sea Salt & Paper (2-4 players, ~30 mins): Origami marine looking cards. The game is beautiful, simple, yet super strategic. You are trying to assemble your cards by placing effects and deciding when to end the turn. We played two games. One at 2 and one at 4. I lost both times!
Space Base (1-5 players, 45-60 mins): Dice drafting and engine-building game where players build space stations and roll dice to earn resources and activate abilities. Played at 5 lost by 1 point! The game was so intense. I loved it with five players.
Spots (1-4 players, ~25 mins): roll and place dice to complete the most adorable dog cards. I won at a game of 3 and lost at a game of 4!
The Fox in the Forest (2 players, ~30 mins): Spade like game where you are taking tricks. You must win more or less than your rival. Gotta be careful! If you get too greedy, you will not score points in the round. This is what happened to me: I thought I had it, but I got too greedy, and that cost me the game. It was a close one, though! I'm craving revenge.
The Game (1-5 players, 10-20 mins): We squeezed in a few tense rounds of this cooperative card-playing challenge. With its ever-escalating difficulty and nail-biting decisions, The Game never fails to put our teamwork to the test. One minute we're celebrating bringing the piles up or down by ten, the next we're scrambling to recover from a devastating setback. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, and I wouldn't have it any other way. We played it with five players and were not successful.
Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West (2-5 players, 60 mins): Our campaign through this Wild West-themed Ticket to Ride adventure continued. I came in third place in a game of four. We just finished the third year and will be expanding our horizons on our next play. I will reserve any spoilers until we finish the campaign!
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