TI is a great game, my group finds the time to play it multiple times a year.
As you’ve found, rocketing off to a massive lead quickly consolidates the rest of the table against you!
I’m off to play some Brass:Birmingham. Except me, It seems everyone in my extended group prefers it over Lancashire. I prefer messing around with ports rather than teleporting beers. Of course, Birmingham does have to added benefit of hearing kiwis try to pronounce Uttoxeter, so it’s all good.
I think I’ve seen people wearing t-shorts for it, actually. We’re you and your wife Team Jacob or Team Other Guy?
We tried TI4 with six players via VASSAL this fall. I’ve never been a huge fan of the TI system; there’s always been something slow and stolid about it to me. The same group (plus one) is playing Advanced Civ right now, and I think they will end up being the same number of sessions. But I am finding the time with Advanced Civ far more profitable, even though it’s the same cycle of boom and bust each turn. But that’s me…most of the group is agitating to play again.
My argument with TI is you can be having a whale of a time, but the VPs are kept behind gates over there, so you have to start doing that stuff instead. Most of the ways to earn VPs don’t feel organic to the game, never mind fighting over a planet that sounds like an antidote for heartburn.
All ten cases of Sherlock Holmes’ Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures set done. I can cheerfully say the JtR cases are excellent, four of them in a linked campaign of sorts, as you try to hunt down saucy Jack. Because they’re new, they’re well-constructed, thoughtful, and slightly different in character, and they’ve obviously been playtested competently. The other six cases however are an enormous mixed bag, some good, some bad, marred with missing characters (one character in a case literally disappears, presumably forgotten about), absolute nonsense offered as advice (“Ignore motive, it only distracts you from the case.”), enormous plot holes, and just outright missing information. It’s a shame they didn’t take more care with this re-issue of these cases. Enormously enjoyable all the same, but we have sat around after completion for an hour or so, and done nothing but rip the piss out of whoever put this or that case together for their complete lack of perceptible work ethic. In a game entirely about logical deduction, it’s just not welcome.
Here is my “New to Me - February 2021” post, with two games that I played on Boardgame Arena.
Hopefully there will be some “on the table” games in March!
Here where the bullshit never ends, I’m still stuck with 2P games, and no other options, and I got a bundle of smaller games recently. Suffer with me, please.
The best thing about Skulls of Sedlec is it’s small, portable, light, and literally fits in your wallet. It’s a lean little puzzle game, with difficult decisions that inevitably end up rewarding your opponent but how much, I ask you, just how much, is a hard line to walk. It’s about 20 cards, they still fit in the wallet sleeved, as does the rulebook.
That aside I picked up The Great Dalmuti, bafflingly D&D themed for some reason?
Revised edition of Air, Land & Sea.
Spicy! For up to 6 players, still works at 2, but becomes a they-know-that-I-know-that-they-know-I know-they-know experience, which is still fun, trick taking with lies.
Twin Win & Ice Dice.
Oriflamme Ablaze.
This was worthy of enough of a lol that the heart reaction didn’t do it justice
My wife and I have been playing The Game. It is by no means exceptional, but I do applaud any brain that can think of an interesting game with a deck of cards numbered 2-99. As a plus, we can play a couple games in 15 minutes. We still haven’t beaten it, but we’ve gotten down to 2 cards.
We won’t see it in the UK for a good while probably, but there’s going to be an official mat for Dune at 135% size.
Oh God I need it.
Additionally, I know I have a lot of growing as a person still to do, because I’m watching UK board game reviewers complaining publishers aren’t sending them games for free any more, since Brexit, and it’s fucking delicious. You can always buy the games, gents.
I am currently tossing up between two kickstarters. The first is Stellaris - $190US all in. Looks like it has legacy functionality and complex story telling over time.
The second is Everdell - $190US all in as well. Game that appears well loved, pretty theme, and already exists. That price also includes like 6 expansions, so seems like a lot of variety.
Any thoughts team? I probably shouldn’t do both…
No rulebook for Stellaris, so no backing from me. To essentially not have a game at the point of launching a KS is fucking bonkers.
The Stellaris Kickstarter gave me red flags too. 2 hours to play a 4x doesn’t seem realistic, specially when it’s base 4 players but goes up to 6.
I hope they nail it, but there seems to be so many unproven mechanics that raise big question marks for me.
Loving The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine.
The 4 husbands, started it during holiday break and really liked it. Didn’t get a chance to play again until last weekend. We started again and are keeping score this time. Still wonderful. And there is a sequel (The Crew: Mission Deep Sea) coming out in July, so now we have a deadline!
Been playing a lot of Carnegie on BGA and enjoying it enough to drop $78 on the Deluxe Edition in cardboard… which I’ll probably never get to the table…
It is a handsome game that will look good on the shelf 
It is also a good game, The “BGA instead of demos at Cons” move has worked a treat.
Further justifying my decision to avoid Stellaris.
What is this mess even?
It’s meant to be an overview of the Stellaris board game.
