Glasgow should get it’s own DLC for Mini Metro ;)
Mrwhostheboss video about Temu made me unsubscribe. Felt more like advertisement than anything else.
The worst thing is even in more expensive cars, like a BMW the interfaces or touch screens feel like operating a touch face from the early 2000. The turning button navigator in BMW felt like a joke to me first time I drove one. Would rather avoid such displays and connect my phone for navigation than use this
This week was a good week. I have three wins to report.
Order by importance of the win:
Twilight Imperium - how did I manage to win? I still have no idea. This game is so long and it was my second time playing it. Four Player table. It is nicely asymmetrical and way too many factions to understand there balance playing it once a year. It is an ok game. But why do people like this game so damn much? The art is nice.
Root - Vagabond for the first time and won the game. Still prefer the other factions cause I like the war aspect of the game.
Heat - it is a race game. And I won. The review from shut up and sit down really captures the essence of the game. It is nice and a light game. Only half as lovely without Dutraits art. I was glad someone else moved the bots, cause this I didn’t quite catch yet. Would love to play with six players.
Foodchain magnate - oh, did I lose. This game gives no room for failure. It is tight and needs lots of planning. The old art style I really like. Nat a game I need to replay.
My favourite cheap accessory is silicone muffin cups. Available in multiple colours. Fits all your different resources. I think nearly every second person in our club has some. Extra nice: cups with a fold halfway up. Perfect to make half cups for fewer recourses. When not in use, make cupcakes.
Saturday
We arrived by car and got easy to the parking lot and only waited 20-25 min to catch a bus to the fair. I thought it was quite well organised for such a busy day. First hall we entered was 3. The hall for expert games. It was so damn crowded! The mood was good. People were asking were you found certain games. They sold the Voidfall galactic Box. A statement piece on your shelf.
The app to navigate through the Spiel was well thought out and helpful. Had everything written you needed to know. But can we please talk about the art they used?! AI pics of people playing with too many fingers? Artists are so important to game development and they advertise with bad art? Really puts me off. Use AI but please use it sensibly.
Unconcious mind and Floe - hands on a Kickstarter I backed and want to back was really cool.
Gay Sauna - as they explained to me: a WWII worker placement 😅 I am not a dungeon crawler fan but have people to try it out with. Let’s see if it is just a joke game or fun after all.
Nemesis I saw the prototype for a new one passing by. I am intrigued what new stuff they add after two pretty similar games (in my opinion)
The end I only bought few games, maybe because my main focus where the upcoming kickstarter
Arborea -backed and picked up
Satori - they explained it so nicely and with so much energy. Second game will be played tonight
Bitoku expansion - we finally have sticker for the meeple. Haven’t played yet but the cards which add drama do interest me.
The labours of Hercules - on bgg it has a lot of negative reviews but the art is nice. With the revised rule book it could be fun. Haven’t played yet though.
Radlands - my personal favourite 2 player game. Tower defence with cards. Design a mix of borderlands meets Mad Max
Aeons end - not two players but works really well at 2. coop card game against a nemesis. Multiple expansions available. Many characters and card combinations. This game is a close second in my two player list.
Shadows of Kyoto - a game from emporers4, and I have to admit I like their games. Two player slightly asymmetrical trying to get your spy to your opponent site or try to catch their spy.
Hanamikoji - trying to get the favours on the right site with only four possible turns. Kosmos has it too, and it is language independent, no need to get it from Taiwan if you have better access through them. Geisha‘s road is pretty similar.
Shottentotten - name could be more sensible but a quick to learn Poker with multiple games one plays at the same time
Finally I had the time to play the new games we got at the Spiel
Arborea - 3 this week, 4 games in total. Played with 2 and 4 players. I am so glad I backed it. The mechanics of the game are pretty unique in my collection. Putting workers in but not immediately activating them and hoping they will be pushed further until it is your turn again is exciting and interesting player interaction. The shared resources I like most. I like the idea to produce and if you can’t or don’t want to use them the player is rewarded with points. The owls seem very powerful, hard to get but work nicely if you have your gift set-up up and running. I haven’t tested the rule cards yet, but they could add a little twist to the game. The midnight expansion is cool, need to use the fish more next time.
Satori - from a score board of over 300 we come to max. 40 points. It is cute, shared workers with few possibilities and each time you do a combo you feel like a pro. I like that you can annoy your opponents with evil moves. With 2 players the board is a little bit restricted. Would like to test with more players.
Eleven - well. I am not into sports, the flavour seems nice. The game play is meh, in my opinion. The matches are too fiddly in my opinion. An overlay for the cards with markers to show if a goal was scored would be nice.
Witcher the old world retail edition - I do like the card combo effect. The little links to do combo attacks. The flavour text is loosely webbed into the game. The text reads nicely (German edition). Player dice poker against the other players is like real gambling and as far as I know there is no way to cheat (yet). The end came a bit sudden (2 players). Would like to test with more players.
Drums of war - what a downer. I either don’t understand the game or it really is a lame game. Didn’t like it. Art work is okish.
Bite - cute quick game with high value double sided paper tokens. Easy to learn. Hard to master. A good small game.
I am still on a boardgame weekend, but so far I have played this week Root twice. I have never seen the board so dominated by the Lizard Cult. Followed by the Riverfolk. Both players played Root the first time and played each faction really well. The Riverfolk was the perfect car(d) dealer from the start.
Treehouse Diner: cute but one bad decision killed the game for me 🥲
Bitoku: still a cool Game
Temple of Secrets
Fake artist
The week started with
Flamecraft. Still cute. Still like the game.
Thursday a brand new Kickstarter was played:
Voidfall. We only managed 2/3 since it was for all players their first game. Once you get the hang of the game each turn plays smoothly.
Cabo. There is always time for a quick round and the opportunity to play a kamikaze move. And fail miserably.
Fort. Introduced the game to two new groups. Everyone just likes this entry friendly game.
Terraforming Mars. When is the right time to buy into the goals? I still don’t understand it 🥲
I am the same. I prefer Ares. It is so much better in my opinion.
Before I tell you the games I regret let me tell you: I recently got into Netrunner. I am 100% overwhelmed (never really played MtG). But I am so grateful for Jinteki. Through some luck I met a very experienced player who takes my hand and shows me all the things one doesn’t know if they have never played living card games/tcg. I also infected some friends of a friend and we only play online due to distance. I am in my 30s and feel so excited for every game. Maybe go on netrunnerdb take a prebuilt get a couple of runs and get excited by playing. My preach is over, now to you question: Most times I was lucky with my blind buys. Oath, CloudAge etc. Games I don’t really like such as Celestia many of my friends enjoy so I keep them. Games I hated first but initially did not buy like Root and Bora Bora I gave a second try years later. Then I started to enjoy them. Maybe because I got more experience and for Root I embraced the chaos. Now I am a proud owner of all but the Clockwork expansions. It sucks spending money on something you looked forward to. The good thing is you can always revisit, resell and regift.