Evolution is pretty good

I like Downforce and constantly have games of it going on BoardGameArena

Went to the 2021 edition of a board game convention earlier this month. For obvious reasons, it was a lot more understated than previous editions.

Outside of the games I signed up for, I didn't really play anything that was new to me, which was fine. It's been awhile since I've played real life board games, so I didn't mind playing something I was familiar with.

2017 report
2018 report
2019 report

Friday:

The game I had signed up for (Nusfjord) got canceled because the GM decided not to come on account of rising COVID cases. Was looking forward to that one. Just played a game of Terraforming Mars, which is always fun.

Nevada City (BGG link) - Plays like a mixture of Le Havre and Agricola, while being not as good as either one. The dumbest part was the secret goals we all had. They were worth thinks like 6 points if you had the most of a certain thing, 4 points for 2nd most, etc. But by the end of the game, we were putting down stuff like 10 point buildings. So these goals that we've been holding onto the entire game are absurdly underpowered. That's a lot of complaining, but that aspect really annoyed me. Rest of the game is fine, but nothing special. First impression: C

Saturday:

Underwater Cities (BGG link) - Was not a fan of the 8AM start time, but was really looking forward to this. I'm a sucker for city building games, and the theme seemed cool. This did not disappoint. Network building, just enough player interaction, many possible choices, relatively simple-ish rules. This was great. The one downside is that it took a long time, so it might be difficult to play this on a regular basis with people. Otherwise, I'd get this in a heartbeat. First impression: A+

Western Legends (BGG link) - This was the game I had the biggest question mark going in. The reviews I saw were good, but I was unsure about the sandboxy style. But I figured there was no better time to get out of my comfort zone and give it a shot. Unfortunately, this was definitely not my thing. Way too much randomness in the fights and the poker game sucked. Also there are goals that get awarded during the game that are impossible to get by the time it's your turn again, and they often come with punishments for those who don't complete them. I'm glad I gave it a shot, and the group I had was fun, but I don't imagine I'll be playing this one again. First impression: D

The Isle of Cats (BGG link) - I love cats, so I had to try this. First off, cutest meeples ever. In this game, you rescue cats onto your boat. These cats are in the form of Tetris style pieces that you assemble onto your board. Each round, you draft cards that dictate how many cats you're able to rescue, as well as other things like end of game goals. This is a fun light/medium weight game that I imagine would be popular with kids. First impression: A

Sunday:

Tigris & Euphrates (BGG link) - This is a classic that somehow I've just never played before. It's a game of tile placement and area control. The theme is very weak, but that doesn't really bother me. The artwork was really dated. It's possible this was an early edition, but the game was super ugly, especially in comparison to stuff like Isle of Cats or Underwater Cities. Still a solid game though. First impression: B

Had a longer drive home, so that was pretty much it. Had a good time. Hopefully we're done with COVID for the 2022 edition.

Thanks for trip report and I’m jealous you got to go play

We had one in October but I didn’t go bc kids not yet vaccinated.

Now they’ve got jab 1 and get jab 2 next Friday so we will be going next year, tho it won’t be February like usual but March/April and then October (so only 2 not 3 next year)

I’m hoping come 12/17 when they are fully done that the local game nights at restaurants still happen so we can go play some.


Otherwise been playing games at home sometimes:

Godfather
Terraforming Mars
The new Terraforming Mars 2 player game (forget name)
Yokohama Duel
Thunderstone Quest
Codenames
Istanbul
Splendor
Orleans


Most of my time has been dedicated to nfts this year, but I need to get back to playing online some. Let me know if you wanna get on TT Simulator sometime and play a game.

Yeah I've got a copy of Tigris & Euphrates in the closet. Enjoyed it back in the day, played it a few times but it didn't find its way into the rotation.

But to show how much of a classic it is...

https://web.archive.org/web/20090205...owse/boardgame

oldest BGG rank I could find and it was #5 with 1-6 all classics and at least 5 years newer at that point.

So yeah its BGG 95 now, but the fact you still rate it a B. Pretty sure the copy I have is the same ugly artwork these days

Great report. Even as an early bird, I find 8am board games kinda weird!

I've played isle of cats many times and just find it fun. It's gone mainstream it seems because it's at target.

If you haven't been on BGA lately, they've put up quite a few new games.

Tapestry
Agricola
Imhotep
Gaia Project
Splendor
Azul
King of Tokyo
Castles of Burgundy
Lost Ruins of Arnak
Beyond the Sun

And a bunch more.

Oh wow

Tapestry is one of my fave games

I haven’t been on BGA since our last game; need to get back on that

Teotihuacan?

Sure, invite me

Would play just about anything on there.

I'm terrible at Teotihuacan, but would still play.

I've only played Beyond The Sun once, but found the concept pretty intriguing.

I've bought a bunch of ipad apps over time. Enjoy pass and play with the wife. Mystic vale is very well designed, better in app form than real life. Chaterstone also worth it if you have someone to play with. Lost cities is free every now and then.

Any android or Apple apps that are ports of boardgames and are worthy of praise can be added into this thread

I still accept recommendations for single players apps. I could use some new challenges

Thanks Gabe.

Waterdeep app is also good. I think that game use underrated. Expansions not great, though.

A bunch of board game apps just dropped on sale

Hi guys

A bit of shameless self-plug, but I'm also genuinely hoping this is something that people would want to watch

Me and the wifey just made our very first board game video: A top 10 list of our favorite games from 2021. We actually got so hooked making this that we've made a challenge to play 50+ board games from 2021 and make another video, ranking all of them (from lowest to highest average ranking).

Anyways, as this is our very first video I am also eager to hear any and all feedback and critique that you guys might have. If this is not a kind of content you'd want to see more of, is there anything we could change or add to make it so? And/or is there anything that you like and want more of?



(If you're wondering why this is coming out now, the answer is baby )

Nice; I’m out of the loop so was good to see new games

Sleeping Gods and Mind Mgmt look good

Mind MGMT especially since I still have to work my way through 7th Continent and Tainted Grail before getting another narrative game.

A bit upset it is too late for even the new reprint kickstarter as I’d want the deluxe version of Mind MGMT so gotta try to hunt down a copy now.

I haven’t watched a lot of these videos to give much in the way of pointers. It seemed good from what I watched. I liked when you showed the game components, etc so I could see what the game looked like and get a feel for how euroy it is

Sleeping gods is damn pricey

Looks a bit derivative of dice tower?

I could see just picking your best new game in certain categories, but maybe that's worse overall. (coop, most fun, two player, etc.

I watched, thought it was good. I like two-person reviews so there's always some counterpoints, for instance why the wifey didn't like Mantis Falls.

Agree with more shots of components/boards, always like to know if I'm getting a game that it is well put together/well detailed.

Ultimately with my collection I'm always looking for 1-2 standout performers in each category.
I want to have a couple solid worker placements, maybe one solid tileplacing, couple two players, couple party games, etc. so always something available for the situation.
What I'd like to see from reviewers is more "this game compares similarly to X, Y, Z, so you might like it if you like those." Or as a way of saying, it's a little too similar to some stuff that you might already have.

Thingyman, thanks for posting this!

They're super solid, and Mind MGMT definitely deserves a space in every hobby gamer's collection imo

Ah, that sucks, they're not allowing late pledges?

It is indeed. But trust me, if you end up liking the game, there is ridic amounts of content. One campaign is 18 hrs and after that you've explored 15-18% of the base game.

It is def similar to DT's top lists and I guess they popularized it - everyone's doing them

I'm addicted to watching top 10's and yeah, we will def be making more using some of those categories you mention.

They are for sure not unique though. One of the unique things I do want to make, however, is Let's Play a Turn where I play through a single turn or two of a game to give people an idea of whether it is for them. It's something I miss myself. When I want to research a game there are full rules teaching videos or a full playthrough. That takes way too long when I just a want a feel for the game. Similar to what trailers are to movies.

Thanks

Agreed. I will def add even more shots of the games.

And the last point I actually feel the same. I forgot that I wanted to include that as a regular part of the format, thanks for reminding me.

You're very welcome! It was very fun making the video, so as long as just a few people are interested we will definitely be making more

Really good video, Thingy. You and your wife work very well together on camera.

Thingyman & Thingywoman

Nice job. Presentation was solid. Would watch more.

I guess the thing that kept me from enjoying this more is that (mostly because pandemic has kept me from playing a lot IRL), I haven't played any of them, or even heard of most of them.

So it was more difficult to really get invested, especially without a base knowledge on the types of stuff you like.

I guess I'd like to see something like your top XX games of all time to solve that issue, especially if broken down by player count. There are a lot of games that say "2-5 players", but it's really more like "great with 4, good with 3, iffy with 5, and terrible with 2".

This is an interesting concept, and something that I think would be very difficult to do well.

Good luck pulling it off.