Everything including the kitchen sink... but with special attention paid to board games, Jesus Christ, my family, being a "professional" (and I use that word loosely) Christian, and the random firing of the 10% of the synapses I'm currently using.
A slightly more gamer-y 7 Wonders-ish card drafting game of civilization building... but that description sounds like damning with faint praise. The major difference is that you’re drafting a set of cards that you then use as resources (discarding them) or construction (building them) - the interplay can be fascinating and fast-moving... with the right players.
Tips &Tricks:
Creating production is key to winning... but you can make a huge production engine that doesn't generate a lot of points if you're not careful.
Learn when to give up on a card - preferably before you've invested too much in it.
Easy to forget rule: when you discard a card in your construction area, the resource pictured on the card goes to your civilization card - it's not used on another card in the construction area.
The main expansion offers some really interesting cards to mess with producing and scoring... and does so without doing any damage to the base game system.
Warning: a single AP player can slow this game to a crawl.
I also reviewed the newest game in the Wonderful universe, a 1-2 player stand-alone named It's A Wonderful Kingdom. (Second warning: this review contains a lot of Princess Bride references.)
The solo mode is very good - especially when you use the scenarios.
My younger son is a savant at this game... the student has become the teacher.
out of print (but new version is sort of available)
Why It's On The List
Designer Wolfgang Kramer took his classic 6 Nimmt game & converted it into a delightful hoot of a board game - and one I'd rather play than the original card game.
Tips & Tricks:
One of the key decisions in the game is "when do I buy more tiles"? Making that decision correctly gives you a better chance at victory.
There is actually more visible information in Tanz than in a standard game of 6 Nimmt... and the ability to pull back tiles when you step in the poop can really mess with what happens next.
Extras
You do not need to have played 6 Nimmt/Take 6 in order to understand "The Dance of the Bulls". Everyone is pretty clear that you don't want to step in the poop.
A new 6 Nimmt board game was released in Germany back in 2019... while I enjoyed it, I like this one better.
There is a new English/Korean version named Dance of Ibexes... but I haven't seen a copy yet.
This is the third of five Wolfgang Kramer games on this countdown.
Andrew Parks created a space empire-building deck-builder - and combined it with a tableau system for deploying units that makes this game both deeply strategic and a challenging puzzle. And then he created three(!) incredible expansions that make the game even better!
Tips &Tricks:
I think the original Core Worlds game is a solid 7 - but when you add the first expansion (Galactic Orders), it's jumps to an 8 (or maybe even a 9). And the second expansion (Revolution) just locks that high rating into place!
The game has enough components for 5 players... but I prefer it with 2-3, as the pace of the game is quicker.
Building combos is important - as is managing expectations. You will not be able to do everything you want, so you will need to prioritize your energy and actions near the end of the game to bring in victory points.
Extras
The VERY recently released Nemesis expansion is an excellent solo mode for the game.
I wrote a big review of the two expansions for the Opinionated Gamers website.
I'd also be remiss if I didn't recommend the newest game in the Core Worlds family, Core Worlds: Empires... thematically set in the same universe - but using a worker placement mechanic as the victors work to solidify their holdings. (Note: I was a playtester for both Empires and the Nemesis expansion.) There is actually rules to play a campaign consisting of a game of Core Worlds which affects your starting position in Core Worlds: Empires!
This is the first of two games designed by Andrew Parks on my top 100 countdown.
For a game of space conquest (complete with a tech tree), it zips along at a blistering pace. Turns are short, decisions are tricky, scores are close, and there are multiple ways to victory. Plus, you get to flick stuff!
Tips & Tricks:
As much as I love flicking games (Catacombs, Carabande, etc.), the flicking here is not the whole game - it's just a part of a much larger space-empire building game.
The game scales really well from 2-4 players - which is odd, considering it has a four-quadrant map.
There are even some official variants for the game posted on the Geek... both of which are quite good.
Combat is NOT the most important thing in the game. While you can't ignore it, it won't win you the game by itself.
Extras
My Opinionated Gamers review of Ascending Empires... with lots more information and my thoughts on all the whining about the puzzle-cut boards.
Knizia at his dice-y best... it's an excuse to make gladiator movie jokes & beat on your friends for fun & profit.
Tips & Tricks:
It's OK to make a crazed run at a dangerous animal on your turn - esp. if you're down to your last 1-2 gladiators in a group. If you win, you get the big "kill". If you lose, the points don't go to another player.
You don't need to have a bunch of spears or tridents, just more than the other player. Don't get obsessed with them.
Shields are good... there are only 8 in the game. You should draft shield-bearers first.
Extras
There are people who've run computer simulations to figure out the best possible teams for the game - ignore those people. They suck the fun out of everything.
It takes the classic game (Monopoly) and makes it extremely gamer-friendly by adding Cosmic Encounter-ish roles, a variety of choices for building, and a great victory point system that lets you stop the game at any point and declare a legitimate winner.
Tips & Tricks:
Basic Monopoly strategy still works with Tropical Tycoon... but there are major new considerations when you are building on monopolies. You can build for cash or for points... or for some balance point in between.
The more people playing, the more careful you have to be about how you make trades. Some of the cheaper properties can be converted into pretty powerful income streams if you plan correctly.
Extras
The only problem I can see with the game is the need for a DVD player - all of the card draws/random events are keyed off of the DVD. That said, it works really well without being overly intrusive. (Yes, the "funny" stuff gets old the 2nd or 3rd time you hear it - but it still works.)
It doesn't so much simulate soccer (like Pursue the Pennant attempts to simulate baseball)... instead, it uses a backgammon-ish mechanic to simulate the feel of a soccer game - and does so brilliantly.
Tips & Tricks:
Like playing backgammon, winning at StreetSoccer is as much about the position you leave yourself in as well as pushing hard to score...
And like backgammon, what appears initially to be a random dice game actually reveals itself to be a very tactical game of risk & probability.
Extras
There are three different online PBEM versions of StreetSoccer... the one I used to play on (a lot!) was Little Golem.
follower of Jesus, husband, father, "pastor", boardgamer, writer, Legomaniac, Disneyphile, voted most likely to have the same Christmas wish list at age 58 as he did at age 8
.jpeg)
