Before we get on with the main post a little life update considering I have been sharing on that side more than usual lately.

Yesterday I tested negative for the second consecutive day using a Government/NHS sanctioned/approved lateral flow kit.

Which under the current guidelines means I am allowed to rejoin and once again become a productive member of society. It also means I’m all go for the gaming sessions at the end of the week.
Rest assured I’m still going to be testing daily (while it’s still free to do so). 

My big game challenge only has nine games in it. And what I’m thinking is now a ridiculously short time scale, with a deadline of the end of this year to play them all.

As you can see I’ve only played two of the games on the list.

I am not confident this challenge will be completed by then.

I am hoping that Star Wars Rebellion, Scythe and Xia: Legends of a Drift System will be ones I get to play with Nathan. Only Rebellion is a true two player game. Which will be perfect for us. However although both of the other two games are better with more players. I think Xia most definitely with it’s npc ships controlled by players will be just as much fun for him.

Looking at my stats I have played Scythe as a two player game. Both times with Jeff. Plus it looks like they were early games. If not learning games. However these two plays would have been on the full game board. Since then the modular game board has come out that makes the map much tighter at lower player counts. I think promising a different experience.

I think meeting the challenge with the remaining games will be easier with our new hosts for our gaming sessions the Wisbech St Mary Sports and Social Club. I don’t think getting players for the games will be an issue either. The main issue will be co-ordinating schedules for players to meet up and play.

Plus I’d want to get the games already played back to the table. And that’s the age old problem for gamers, too many games, not enough time to play them. So often we have great games just sitting in our collections feeling unloved and unplayed. It’s why I’ve set up challenges like this one to help get some of those games back to the table, getting some of that love back.

With the imminent pre-order date creeping up on us for the Stonemaier Games remake/reprint of Libertalia called Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest.

A game I’m pretty excited about. The design diaries and review videos (Watched It Played, and GameBoy Geek mainly) sold me on it. I hadn’t played the original. But boy does this look like a great game.

I thought it was time to look at how many games I actually own from Stonemaier Games.

Amongst my gaming friends I do have a reputation as being a bit of a fanboy. Some of our friendly banter might include them using this snippet of information to good effect. Why Jamey did you have to say you like Barenpark? Why?

I’m also a Stonemaier Champion (which one or two of those banter loving friends have made use of in the past) which has one or two benefits, with the addition of supporting Jamey’s YouTube channel.

So here is the current list of games that I own by Stonemaier Games. It doesn’t include expansions naturally. But just assume if there is an expansion for the game that I have it!

Now how many guessed I had just 6 Stonemaier games?

Shall I rank them in order?

1. Scythe – still my favourite game of all time. I think the only things I don’t have for this are the realistic resources (not a fan of them) and the metallic mechs (one day when I can afford them). And can you believe I still haven’t introduced my son to this game?!
2. Wingspan – very close call between this and Tapestry. Depending on the day I think about it they can easily swap places. Must remember never play as a 5 player game it’s too long.
3. Tapestry – a marmite game for many. But I love it as do those in my gaming group that have played it (even Jonathan liked it).
4. Viticulture – one of my favourite worker placement games, especially with the Tuscany expansion.
5. Rolling Realms – a really nice roll and write. One of my current favourites (see previous post).
6. Charterstone – we never got to finish this legacy worker placement game, which is a shame. I did enjoy it. Must get the reload pack and start a new game.

Which is your favourite Stonemaier game? I know the answer from Jonathan.

UPDATE 21/02/2022: I was playing with the insights feature of the bgstats app and realised I could produce the following insight to this post showing the all time stats for just these Stonemaier games.

I’d like to say yesterday was an interesting day and also my first day taking an LFT on the road back to civilisation.

However it wasn’t. It was a very painful day where taking an LFT was the last thing on my mind or actually do able.

Within minutes of waking up a pain on my right hand side started and it got worse and worse. The pain was so bad I was sweating, and being sick from it. I’d got a gallstone. A large one guessing by the pain.

I have a high tolerance for pain. But this pushed the limits even for me. I eventually called 111, and whilst on the phone to the local on call doctor I was throwing up. Her advice call an ambulance.

So I did. However the ambulance service decided I wasn’t a “priority” for sending an ambulance and should make my own way to A&E. Which might involve calling my doctors surgery to see if they could help get me to hospital. I certainly didn’t have the money for a taxi.

Whilst rolling on the floor in agony (and that word doesn’t not even come close to describing the actual pain) trying to think clearly what to do, who I could call, about half an hour or more had passed and the pain level dropped!

Another area of my anatomy then also started to hurt.

All of the above was over about a four to five hour period.

Now I was dealing with a painful side and a bladder area also in pain. And also screwing up the messages to my body about when I needed to go. I was regular up and down trying to go.

But at least with the new “lower” pain levels I was able to drift in and out of sleep during the afternoon. The pain finally stopped around 8:30pm. Gone just as quickly as it had started.

Looking back it wasn’t just a big gallstone that I passed but a few smaller ones too. Luckily for me. I don’t think I could have done a second large gallstone.

But enough of my medical problems, and over sharing. Let’s talk roll and writes! There is no relationship between the two. No easy way to segway into the rest of the post. So let’s just change the subject totally.

I enjoy roll and writes. I like the puzzly nature of them. They do tend to be a communal solitaire game with very little player interaction. Although some decisions you make like die selected may have an impact on the other players. But that’s the closest you get to “interacting” with other players. I think they can all be played solo as well. But I’m not big on solo game play. Besides one or two of them have app versions that more than replace that side of the game.

Below are the eight roll and writes in my collection.

I have played all of them bar one, Rome and Roll. From my understanding it’s probably the heaviest roll and write going. I’m hoping to get it to the table with Jonathan one day for a learning game. It’s on a couple of my bgstat challenges.

Probably the “funniest” one in my collection is That’s Pretty Clever. But not funny haha, more funny how I was introduced to the game and by whom.

I was first introduced to That’s Pretty Clever at UKGE 2018 by Jonathan during a gaming session at our hotel. It was his copy we were playing.

The funny bit to me is Jonathan isn’t a big roll and write fan. Yet I believe he still has this in his collection (but I might be wrong on that, I don’t remember him selling it on). And he introduced me to the game.

I like to think that each of the roll and writes I own are different from the others in some way (Qwinto and Qwixx might be the exceptions).

Currently my favourite two are Rolling Realms and Three Sisters. It’s just coincidence that these are also my two most recent additions.

I started adding tags within the bgstats app that I use to record games played, and keep a track of my collection.

The first tag I added was a 2 player tag for those games that play just 2 players. You saw the result of that in yesterday’s post as it helped me choose the games I would have taken to the 2 player game session.

I added three more tags today. The first is the basis of today’s post.

I knew I had more than one copy of Love Letter. But not this many!

It’s funny how things soon mount up.

I’m too lazy to type out the names manually so here is a screen shot of them from the bgstat app.

What is it about Love Letter that I like? It’s such a perfect “micro” game. 16 cards, quick to teach, and play. There is so much depth and decision making to do based on which card to play, and what cards have been played. Plus it’s fun!

So why do I have so many copies? Apart from a couple of them that are just basically alternate art versions of the original game. Each version brings a new twist to the core game play. Whether it’s the gaining an extra point for guessing another players card in Love Letter Batman, or the card zero in Love Letter Hobbit (one of a couple changes) to the Archer one that brings the removed card from the game into the game play. Plus the theme often comes into why as well. Or my reasoning for getting the second edition is the fact it now plays up-to 6 players in a handy pocket friendly edition (unlike the Premium edition).

I think Love Letter Batman is still my favourite of them all.

Although the Archer and Hobbit versions are vying for second place. But Jabba’s Palace might be leap frogging them both.

What do you think of Love Letter? Which is your favourite?

The Friday 2 player games evening has been cancelled due to lack of interest and one or two others that were going having to drop out.

It would have been nice to have seen it going ahead.

It is what it is.

But seeing as I have a bit of time on my hand for a couple more days before I can start testing. I thought why not share the list of games I would have taken with me if I was able to attend this Friday.

I have about 30 games in my collection that I have tagged as 2 player only. Which includes one or two like Santorini or Star Wars Rebellion that technically can play more players. But playing more than two is a kludge. They are really 2 player games, and play best at that count.

A couple of the above have new expansions (can the Targi expansion be called new considering I’ve had it for a year or so now?) I want try with them.

The others are just favourites that have been away from the table for way too long. Although I do play Lost Cities a lot using the rather excellent app against friends.

Oh and sorry for the click bait post title. I know I’m better than that.

It’s Nans birthday today. The first since she died.

She would have been 95.

To mark the occasion and to celebrate her memory we got Nan some flowers.

I still miss her everyday.

I thought the wolf pack left pretty big holes in my heart but nothing compared to the one left by Nan. At least they are looking after her for me.

Earlier today on Twitter Osprey Games asked an impossible task?

Obviously my first reaction was to call it out as crazy talk.

But Osprey Games or their intern running their social media said to “Consider it a new year spring clean”.

Where do you start? Especially when (according to the bgstats app) I have 282 owned games! Yeah you read that correctly. I still find it hard to believe. I look at the games and think “never that many”. But apparently there is.

Do we get the game plus the expansions? That could affect the choices.

Well Scythe would have to be one of them. After all back in 2017 (iirc) that was my number 1 game of all time. And I don’t think that’s changed.

I think Wingspan would make the final five. And that ticks the engine builder box.

Magic the Gathering or more specifically my Commander decks would be on the list. Using the precons makes it like a board game!

Dune Imperium would kill two birds with one stone of deckbuilder and worker placement. As we know it edges it over Lost Ruins of Arnak for me.

The final slot has to be D&D. But this could easily be any one of the RPGs that I own. Although with my “library” of D&D books it does have the edge over the others.

But there are so many other games that I own and love playing, such as Twilight Imperium 4 or Tapestry. Or how about Lost Cities, Santorini or Onitama? How could I leave them out?

That’s why this is so impossible to do. I have so many great games that I love playing.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from myself, Nathan, Mum and obviously our benevolent overlords, the apex predators, the cerebral assassins, Nico and Loki – attack chihuahuas.

We hope you have a great day with loved ones.

It’s been a day or two since the last post. Nothing much gaming wise has happened.

Well that’s not entirely true. Jonathan and I have had a chat about Fenland Gamers stuff last Saturday when we met up for a handing over of a boardgame. But I’ll probably cover the conversation in another post at the appropriate time.

The big take home from the above is what was boardgame I handed over to Jonathan?

At the start of the week on the BGT&C UK Facebook page we both belong to a copy of Via Nebula came up for sale. I knew Jonathan had been after a copy. So I grabbed it before anyone else could. Games go ridiculously quickly on this page. Especially if they are out of print (like Via Nebula is) and at a reasonable price. I couldn’t wait for Jonathan to see the post. It could have been sold.

I then contacted Jonathan to let him know what I’d done and to check if he wanted it! Yep I know a bit risky doing it this way round. Especially since I already own the game. But if on the remote chance Jonathan didn’t want it I could easily have sold it on. Luckily I’d called it correctly and Jonathan did indeed did want it.

So that was the game I was handing over last weekend.

This is a good example also of how you can tell just how much another person likes a game of yours after playing it.

Yes they may of had an enjoyable experience of the game. And indeed like it a lot and want to play it again.

But you know they “really” like it, when they add it to their wish list or buy it straight away.

I’ve been known to have done this myself once or twice in the past. Viticulture is definitely one example that comes to mind.

I am a creature of habit or more routine. Every now and then that routine changes.

With my new temporarily employed status and the early starts my morning routine has changed.

The time of morning I get up the last thing on my mind is making coffee! Shocking revelation I know. I barely manage a few mouthfuls of my current food addiction over night oats.

My morning caffeine fix was a cup of Kenco vending machine coffee once I got to work. The experience isn’t good.

So I bought the coffee equivalent of a teas-maid (as my friend Duncan calls it) a coffee filter machine that uses a travel mug instead of pot/jug and has a timer.

The night before I set everything up, grind the beans, put in the filter, top the water up, and set the timer for 4am (I said I’m up early!)

In the morning the only thing I have to do is add milk and go!

Oh what has the blog post title got to do with things? Nothing but I had to think of something to put!

This afternoon my Nan passed away in her sleep, in her home and bed.

Heartbroken.

Love you Nan you leave a big hole behind in my heart.