Another great second half to the month. Let’s get straight into what hit the table.
The rule of cool. The one rule to play these sort of games by. I’m happy at the end of the game if I’ve done something cool. Winning is a bonus. Having fun, and a good time the priority. Throw in a bit of banter, and some politicking and bargaining, and you have the recipe for a fun Twin Suns or Commander session. How Simon ended up winning a game after I wiped out all his ground units with a Turbolaser Salvo, leaving him with nothing I don’t know. But somehow after all the dust settled he ended up the victor! I even was allowed to attach a Darth Vader leader to The Death Star and use its ability for the first time ever. I still lost! But it was cool to do that. Especially when one of the other players cottoned on to what I was about to do with Vader and the Death Star.
Innovation: wow four players is mad! And mean!! But still great fun. However I’ve also now played it at its full player count of five. This five player game gave me some firsts whilst playing. In the previous games I’ve played we’d never got to the tenth age, let alone the eleventh. But in this one not only did we get to those ages we decked out the eleventh age, ending the game. I’d also never seen a self-executing card, or used the chain rule. But because we hit the later ages I got to see the mechanic and the rule used. These later age cards are insane! Some even had instant win conditions. The game also ended in a first, a draw! Two players (I wasn’t one) same score, tied on the tie breaker with an achievement each, so it was a rare draw.
Acquire 60th Anniversary edition: such a great game. And the game that started my Sid Sackson fanboyism.
Targi: love this two player worker placement. But sadly like all my two player games doesn’t get the love it deserves.
Three Sisters Harvest edition: still my favourite of the series of games. We played game one which is just the original game. Next time with Dave we’ll start the campaign, which breaks things in gently.
Alice’s Garden: I liked this tetranome tile drafting game. Well I enjoyed it. But after finishing the game I was left feeling a little underwhelmed.
Streets: This game is growing on me.
Tikal Legend: a two player learning game. This was Marcin’s kickstarter copy that had all the bling. It’s a table hog for sure. The board is massive. The drafting was interesting, not just for tiles and cards, but action points, and start order. It does leave an interesting choice particularly if there is a card or action point amount you really want. The intermediate scoring on the appearance of volcano tiles and how that worked was interesting with players getting action points to spend before they scored. The iconography took a little while to get used to, especially on the player aids. Not a bad game at all. But I wouldn’t want to play it with anyone that suffers from ap. Despite all the bling they skimped on the card reference sheet, only providing the one.
Hanami: just great tactical fun.
Venture: wow! Another Sid Sackson classic. A four player game. Not overly complicated but boy is there some tough decisions to make. We liked the game a lot.
New Arrivals
It seems I’ve been on a bit of a Sid Sackson fix.
- Sleuth
- I’m the Boss!
- Focus
- Venture
- Can’t Stop Express
- Compile Main 3 plus Aux 3 and bonus promo event kit pack
- Ra the dice game (kickstarter)