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It is already May, April went by so fast and what a month it was for board gaming! Check out what our bloggers have been playing throughout April.
Luke Pickles
Where to start in this month of gaming? April seemed to fly by but there was still plenty of time to play. Let’s have a look at the games I played the most this month. The Adventures of Robin Hood hit the table for the first time, fresh from a Zatu subscription box, and boy was it a surprise! I guess I’m a narrative gamer now because I just wanted to crack that little book and keep on reading. The story progression is just fantastic and the whole system is sure to keep me coming back for more.
Then there were several plays of Lost Ruins of Arnak – a game which had passed me by initially but now I’ve given it a go, I can see what I’ve been missing. Deckbuilding and worker placement are two of my favourite mechanisms and when combined with resource management, you get Lost Ruins. Beautiful art and I think hugely boosted by the expansion, Expedition Leaders.
There was also time for some newer editions – Betrayal at the House on the Hill 3rd edition came out this month and, whilst there are a lot of throwbacks to the previous editions, the game is still fresh and a great addition to my collection.
Finally, Viscounts of the West Kingdom finally hit the table. A rondel deck builder in the brilliant West Kingdom series that we played… very wrongly. But that’s ok! Now we have to go back. And if you want something quick, light and small, I can highly recommend Hero Realms, a fantasy deck builder and cousin to Star Realms. Both games are great and I played them both this month, but I just like the fantasy over the sci-fi. Apparently deck building was a thing this month for me.
Favouritefoe
I love train games! And when combined with flip and write convenience (think the amazing Metro X!), that’s potential for some special gaming sauce right there! So, when we spotted the colourful, budget friendly Next Station London, it was instant attraction!
In the game, you’re in charge of redesigning a 4 line underground system in London. And having spent years commuting on the actual Tube network, I’d say we networking obsessed gamers could definitely do better! You score points based on how many stations you connect to in your busiest zone, how many colour based interchanges you establish, how many districts you reach, and how many tourist sites you pass through.
You also get points for crossing the Thames. If you add in the two advanced game expansions, there are two extra scoring objectives per round as well as the opportunity to use colour based one-off bonus powers during the game!
The rules are very simple. Every round you flip over cards from the stack of station (pink) and street (blue) cards. You then connect your current coloured line to the symbol shown on each consecutive card. You can only connect to a new station from either end of your line using the prescribed paths, and lines of different colours cannot cross – they can share stations but must not get into a knot!
If you can't access that symbol (or you don't want to), you do not connect. The current round ends when 5 pink station cards are revealed, and you score that line before moving on.
This is a lovely, quick, colourful, portable multiplayer solitaire game. It has just enough crunch for when you need a hit but not a hard one! Having now played at home and away, it’s quick to the table and packs away in its magnetic box in seconds. With its bold simple styling, only 4 lines and 12 cards, we thought it would be super easy. But it has some fun thinkiness. Planning ahead to the next colour and potential line paths is definitely key. A great game to pack and play, and I can’t wait to try it solo!
Nick Welford
It’s been a busy old month of game playing for me! The company I work for finally announced our next Kickstarter - Moon, the third game from Haakon, designer of Villagers and Streets. I’ve been mainly playtesting the solo mode, and I think people are in for a treat. I’m biased but it’s Haak’s best game yet.
The best of the month for me was Dead Reckoning. Within the first three turns, I had huge remorse for not backing it. Thankfully it returns to Kickstarter this summer! The game is a unique take on deck-building that uses sleeves and transparent cards similar to Canvas and Mystic Vale.
This means you have the same 12 card deck the whole game but thanks to upgrading cards with transparent sections they look nothing like they did at the start. And because they represent your crew it really adds to the theme. I loved pirating and will definitely pick this one up.
Mille Fiori is a game I’ve played four times now and one that should be getting more love! It’s simple to pick up and play but has a great decision space. My review will be coming shortly but it’s a tile-placement game across 5 areas that score in different ways. You draft cards which dictate where you can place your tiles and make some mega combos. It’s super satisfying.
A game that really surprised me was First Rat. I assumed it would be a light family affair. And it some ways it is, but there is a lot more to it than I had thought. It went down so well on game night that it immediately got set up for a second play! You are essentially racing to send your rats to space but there are multiple small scoring tracks that give you other options to score and win! Brilliant stuff and highly recommended!
Matt Thomasson
Another month has gone by and it is time to take a look at the games that I have been playing in April. April has been a good month, there have been a lot of top quality games hitting my table.
I received my pre-order of Ark Nova and have racked up half a dozen plays in just a few weeks. Build a modern day zoo with a cool action selection mechanism, cool card combos and fantastic solo play. Love this game and the stories that it sells. I like that the game is not just about generating as much money as possible but is also about conservation, protecting wildlife and releasing them back into the wild.
Increasing your appeal track attracts the public to generate money, releasing animals and contributing to conservation projects increases your conservation points. When these two tracks cross, the end game is triggered. It can be a bit long with higher players and this is a downside of the game, but two players and solo is where the game is for me. Love it.
Everyone probably knows by now that I love Marvel Champions, at over 200 plays it is my most played game ever. I received Sinister Motives, the next big box campaign, and I have been working my way through it. I think this is probably my favourite campaign to date.
Plays as Ghost Spider (Gwen Stacy) and Spider Man (Miles Morales) and take on some classic Spider Man villains like Sandman, Mysterio, Dr. Octopus and Venom. This is a great addition to the game and I can’t wait to start building some new decks and taking on other villains.
Other games hitting my table include Aeon’s End, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, Tranquility, Pret-A-Porter and Genotype. Like I said, some great games have been hitting the table.
Neil Proctor
April has been incredibly busy both at home and work so thank goodness some brilliant shorter games have been released and I discovered a classic quick playing race game.
Flamme Rouge has been out for several years but I had never had a chance to play it until now. I finally picked up a copy and immediately fell in love with its simplistic representation of riders getting more tired as the race goes on.
Every race is always exciting right until the end and I have had great success teaching this game. With the Pelaton expansion it adds AI riders which makes this game even more playable at 2 or 3 players. The Meteo expansion adds weather and the possibility of crashes occurring, however, neither expansion increases the complexity by very much.
Get on Board arrived this month and my previous excitement for this flip and write was fully justified. The central map that all players use is a fantastic idea and the components are of high quality. The two to three player New York side is a tight squeeze and every bus route decision you make matters. On the London four to five player side it feels very large at the beginning but by the end you are fighting over road space. Plays really quickly and has a high replayabilty.
My most recent purchase Kohaku has already become a household favourite. This is a simple tile laying game about building a Koi pond. The game is beautiful and so relaxing to play and you come away feeling very Zen. There is a brilliant and simple mechanism with the central board for the drafting which keeps your choices fresh from the start to the finish.
You don’t really know who has won the game until the end and in reality it doesn’t matter because everyone would have made a beautiful pond in front of them. I highly recommend this game to anyone that likes tile laying games.
Hopefully next month I will be able to get a few longer and more complex games to the table, but if I don’t it would be okay as all three of these games are brilliant.