Kind of. Though it should have been ignited again by the Big Box collector’s edition that hit Kickstarter (that’s the version my friend has) a couple of years ago.
It’s not a “great” game but it’s certainly serviceable.
Fury of Dracula is great and may be my favorite hidden movement game, but it can take quite some time and ideally plays with 5, so it rarely sees the table. That said, it is a good Halloween game so maybe I should organize a game night soon…
I don’t get the Kingdomino hype, but I don’t really like most abstracts so that could be why. There are decisions to be made, for sure, but it continually bores me.
I own Imperial Settlers but have only played a couple times, and not for a while. It was fun but it is not fresh enough in my memory to comment more.
And Summoner Wars is a masterpiece. I personally think it is the best ever mage vs. mage duel kind of game, but there is also an argument to be made that it is one of the best ever small skirmish war games😄. The armies were all unique and fun to play and the deck building offered interesting options without turning it into a game of who-can-build-better. The app was fun, too, though rough as it was one of the earlier iOS board games. It is more or less dead now, having been pulled from the store. I’ve got the Second Edition but haven’t got to play it yet. From what I hear it may have improved on the already great original.
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Wow, thanks for all that!
I really appreciate you checking it out and commenting.
I want to like Summoner Wars but only having the app to go by, I just can’t figure it out.
Same. I’m with Mirefox about FoD (second edition with fixes is my favorite) and the King/Queen Domino hype, but I bounced off Summoner Wars pretty hard after playing the physical game and the app. It reminded me of Oath in the the mechanics kept me from believing in the world and getting into the lore. I’m not sorry I supported the designer but I guess skirmish games aren’t for me. I’m having no luck with Warhammer Underworlds either.
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I’m going on a big extended family vacation next summer and I’m trying to brainstorm some game ideas. Some of us are gamers, some aren’t; some of us have plenty of free time, others have many small children.
Anyways, I think I’ll moderate some games of Werewolf if we ever have a night when we are all together but I was also thinking of bringing along a few very small solo games that anyone can pick up at any time to try and set a high score. I’ve been considering Palm Island or Squire for Hire but I would love other suggestions. Just remember the size restriction.
Food Chain Island.
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Sprawlopolis is the usual recommendation in the ultra-small solo category. I am, for some reason, completely horrible at it. In very small games that work well with gamer and non-gamer family, I’d suggest a bluffing game—I’m partial to Nessos (perfectly playable with a regular deck), but Skull, Cockroach Poker, and In Vino Morte seem similar in experience and appeal. The Unlock games are also very promising for that context.
Going a little larger, For Sale is still a brilliant auction game for a moderately large group, Hive Pocket is a solid 2-player abstract, and lots of rolls-and-writes/flip-and-writes are crowd-pleasing and svelte (and soloable). Black Sonata is a wonderful solo game in a modest box which is particularly nice for not making you feel like your theme is juvenile. Finally, Set has the virtues that is is playable by any number, allows players to enter and leave without disrupting the game, and is as fun to learn as to play—it’s just a simple visual puzzle, but so low-friction.
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Finally finished the last post in the BGG Top 300 series. This is for #210-201 and there are some games I’ve played!
Including a favourite.
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I own Seasons but have only played it once. I liked it but for no real reason it has been collecting dust. Now that my kids are old enough to understand card games a little more I really need to get it to the table.
Hero Realms is great but maybe redundant, depending on what you are looking for. The class decks and co-op make a great game even better, but you can get that in Star Realms now, too. I think the only things that would tip the scale towards Hero Realms at this point are of someone much prefers the fantasy theme or if someone wants more than 2 players out of the box. Look out for this one on mobile very soon.
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Hero Realms just clicked for me more than Star Realms. I don’t know if it is the theme or the play (thought I would have a hard time explaining why the play is different). Maybe it is leveling up your character and that different classes play differently. I’ve only played the first campaign (which was fun) and one of the automatic challenge cards.
The Hero Realms app is looking great. It incorporates the leveling up aspect as a major part of the game Looking forward to more campaign style play and co-op battles in future updates. I do wish I could do a co-op challenge using two of my characters instead of requiring asynchronous play.
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Most of my games of a distant plain end with the coalition doing the bare minimum to win then buggering off en masse, leaving behind a shredded Afghan government meat shield. If the coalition don’t time that right then the taliban simultaneously terrorise half the country and win.
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Good stuff. Onitama bounced off me a little, but I’m also not a big fan of abstracts. I can see where those who like the genre would like the game, though. I did get into a couple near-stalemate situations, though, where we more or less cycled our pawns around, neither willing to take the all-in move.
Lost Cities is great and is a great testament to Knizia as well. I’m always impressed when a designer can take a minimalist approach and design an agonizing game. Lost Cities is little more than a deck of cards (ok, a few tweaks away at least) but can produce some agonizing decisions. I recommend Arboretum as well for anyone who likes Lost Cities. It’s got a similar method of forcing you to agonize over what to play and when.
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I love Arboretum!!!
I even reviewed it. 
Thank you for checking out the post!
Always appreciate your comments.
Onitama’s broken IIRC. Abstracts are really difficult to design well.
Lost Cities is a classic.
Ares Expedition is okay. Never going to choose it over TFM. The central board is laughably vestigial and becomes more so the more I play it.
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Oooooooooo nice!!!
I’d love to play Unfathomable.
So for me, just posted a review of the tableau-building card game, The City.
A review a year in the making!
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Does The City have any player interaction beyond the 50 victory point clock? Like cards that can affect another players tableau or benefit from something they have played?
There are a couple of cards that score/draw cards based on every something, rather than just your something.
But it is pretty non-interactive overall.
I think I will add that to the review. Should have included it. Thank you!
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