The ATTAs are given to games in four categories: Early Gamers, Casual Games, Strategy Games, and Complex Games. The committee voted for one Winner, two Recommended, and two Nominated games in each category.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
Every time I read the title of Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, I can’t help but think of the Chairman of the Board, Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. This is the standalone sequel to the monster hit and award winner Azul and it’s more of a gamer’s game.
My friends Sangwon and April taught the game today and I liked it, but it didn’t wow me like the Azul did after the first play. Stained Glass of Sintra is a more gamer-fied version of Azul, with variable player boards, trickier scoring rules, and even harsher penalties. The same main mechanism from Azul is here: different color tiles are on the coasters/factories and you select one color and push the others into the center.
You’re still collecting sets of tiles to complete lines on your board, but it’s not as easy as Azul. Here, you’re trying to complete columns and you’ll score based on the column, any previously completed columns to your right, and any bonuses based on the current round.
I liked that this game only lasts six rounds and the more intricate scoring rules are a nice twist. I still prefer Azul’s more streamlined game play, but Stained Glass of Sintra is one that I’ll happily play again when I’m for more of a challenge. And I’ll always think of that classic crooner.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
NMBR 9 was an instant favorite last year with my gaming buddies, non-gaming friends, and family. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle with a little math thrown in for scoring.
The numbers 0-9 are represented by funky shapes and there’s a deck of cards with two copies of each number. Each turn a random number is drawn and you have to place it in your playing area. You want to build your puzzle as high as possible since you’ll get more points the higher a number is.
In tonight’s solo game picture above, the number 9 is on the third level, so I scored 27 points since you multiply the level times the number you placed (the first level of numbers is worth nothing, the second level is multiplied by 1, the third level is multiplied by 2, etc.).
The only rules of placement are any piece you place must be adjacent to a piece already placed, and when you build anything on level two and above, your piece must rest on at least two different numbers. This is tricky since the numbers are so oddly shaped that you’ll often have spaces in between some and you can’t have any empty spaces below your pieces. When you go place the current number you’ll find yourself trying desperately to follow the placement rules, then grumbling when you have to place it one level lower than you wanted and then scoring fewer points.
So, it’s basically multi-player solitaire, but that’s fine by me. I love the challenge of trying to score optimally based on what tiles are randomly called out. It’s like bingo, but with far more satisying game play.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
Almost two years ago I played Azul for the first time. It was insta-love: Azul was an abstract game with simple rules, a quick play time, and more strategy than expected. According to BG Stats, I’d played the game 55 times before today.
In Azul you’re a tile layer decorating the king’s palace walls. The theme isn’t relevant to the game play, though. Just know that those solid plastic pieces that look like Starburst aren’t meant to be eaten and you’ll be okay.
On your turn, select a single color of tiles from one of the coasters (aka “factories”) and add them to your board. You and your opponents repeat this until there are no more tiles, then you’ll move to the scoring round. If you’ve completed a row, then slide one Starburst, er, piece, to the right on its designated spot on your wall. Discard the other tiles.
You’ll score one point per tile you’ve added to your wall, gaining more points if they’re adjacent to previously placed tiles. Continue playing rounds until someone finishes a horizontal row. At the end of the game you’ll gain bonuses for collecting a complete set of one color and any rows or columns you’ve completed.
The best part of Azul is its simple turn structure and depth of strategy. At first you’re simply gathering tiles, hoping to line them up and/or collect enough for bonuses. But then you realize you can hate draft against your opponents, taking tiles that help you, but also hinder their own walls. You’ll also start figuring out ways to connect rows and columns that’ll earn you more points.
Until today I hadn’t played a solo game, but thanks to this solo variant I found via BGG, I was able to knock out a game by myself in 15 minutes. The dummy player uses a simple set of rules that neatly mimics a human opponent. And since the game lasts only five rounds, you’re hard-pressed to maximize your scoring opportunities during each turn.
Do you play solo variants of board games? Let’s talk about them on my Twitter feed!
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
Tonight I just had to play a solo game of Shards of Infinity tonight since I reviewed it for the most recent episode of The Five By (go here to download). While the base game didn’t have a solo option, the Relics of the Future expansion added solitaire rules.
Like other deck-building games, Shards of Infinity follows the basic script: each player has their own starting cards, plays five on their turn and spends resources to gain more cards from the display or deal damage to their opponent. What Shards does so well is get to the heavy action right away: instead of a slow churn to improve your deck, Shards gives you a chance to start hitting those big combos after only a few turns.
Go listen to the episode to learn more about the game and hear my thoughts. I’ll be back tomorrow with another post about another game.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
Last month my buddy Daryl introduced me to Spirits of the Wild, a two-player game by Mattel. Yes, that Mattel. The company known for toys, but not for board games. They release popular games like Uno and Apples to Apples, which are perennial big sellers, but not the type that hobby gamers are too interested in playing.
With Spirits of the Wild, my opinion of Mattel has changed. This two-player set collection game reminded me of the excellent Herbaceous, which I absolutely loved. Like Herbaceous, you’re trying to collect different types of sets, like all gems of one color, all gems of different colors, pairs of colors, etc. Each are worth different points depending on how far you get in completing them.
The theme is something about animals and their spirits, but it’s secondary to the solid game play of Spirits of the Wild. You and your opponent each have the same set of action cards. Choose one and perform the action, which can be taking a stone to add to your scoreboard or adding stones to the supply, or a mix of the actions.
After you’ve taken three actions, you may reset your actions and take one of the special actions that cycle through the game. I like the action that gives you an immediate extra turn.
When one of the “bad” gems shows up, you can add that to your board, thus blocking off that section, but also giving it double the points at the end of the game. When the fifth bad gem shows up, the game ends.
I liked Spirits of the Wild from the first turn I played. It reminded me a lot of Herbaceous, with its style of set collection and that little bit of push-your-luck. This game, though, has a little take-that, especially when you place the coyote on your opponent’s board. The coyote is triggered through certain card actions and it blocks your opponent from placing gems in one of section of their board. To move the coyote, you have to use one of those card actions.
It plays in about 15 minutes and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Games that are easy to learn yet provide a deeper experience than other 15-minute fillers can go a long way in establishing Mattel as a quality board game producer.
Spirits of the Wild is sold at Target for $15 MSRP and you can get it for cheaper since Target regularly discounts its merchandise. No matter what price you pay, though, Spirits of the Wild is a bargain.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
I was bummed when I missed the Oaxaca Kickstarter last year. I loved the theme and I’m a fan of dice-chucking games, but for some reason I didn’t back it. Thankfully, my buddy Ben was kind enough to trade a few games with me and Oaxaca was one of them.
In Oaxaca you’re a craftsperson making goods to sell to the tourists. You do this by rolling dice and either gathering raw materials or to crafting goods. When you gather, you’ll draw cards that match the good you’ve rolled. When you craft, you’ll get one step closer to crafting a good that gives you victory points and either ongoing or one-time abilities.
This is a light dice-chucking engine builder and tonight I solo-ed it for the first time. I appreciated the different ways you could mitigate dice rolls by either using a special ability or by using two dice to set one to the side you want.
The solo game caught me off-guard with how fast it played. It’s no more than a 15-minute game that adds a few solo mechanisms while keeping the game play intact from the multi-player game. Some people don’t like the beat-your-own-high-score style of solo play, but I’m fine with it. While the game isn’t a brain burner, it is certainly a solid engine-builder that should appeal to a bigger audience.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
With cute art and a title that’s both clever for non-gamers and inside joke-y to gamers, Point Salad is a wonderful filler game that has seen lot of table time lately.
Point Salad didn’t wow me when I first heard of it earlier this year, but at my buddy Patrick’s birthday last month I got to play a game and was immediately hooked. In this deceptively simple set collection game, you’re trying to score the most points in your salad/play area.
On your turn either select any two vegetables from the two rows available or select one scoring card from the single scoring card row, then place in your play area. What’s clever about this game is each card is double-sided: one side is a veggie while the other side is a scoring condition. When veggies are taking from the display, scoring cards are flipped to their veggie side to refill the display.
It’s a simple yet effective mechanism that forces you to make a decision every turn: are one of the scoring cards something you want? If you don’t take it, then it’s most likely going to be gone by the time it’s your turn again. Now, if you do take it, then will you be able to grab enough veggies to score?
Each scoring card is different, so every game you’ll be trying to collect something else. Cards give you points for certain veggies, certain combos of veggies, the most veggies of one type, etc. One other small yet useful optional action each turn is the ability to flip a scoring card to its veggie side. This allows you to make use of any “dead” scoring cards if you haven’t been able to collect those veggies.
For a quick game (no longer than 20 minutes at the full six-player count; I’ve played two player games in 4-5 minutes), Point Salad offers a nice bit of tension and tactical decision-making in a short amount of time. I like to joke that it should be titled, “Point Salad: The Hate Drafting Game” since you’ll draft a lot of the cards your opponent to your left may need to fulfill their scoring goals.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
I had a great day filled with gaming yesterday, playing 7 Wonders Duel: Pantheon, Shards of Infinity: Relics of the Future, Troyes, Point Salad, and Tapestry. Today I didn’t game until the very end of the day, after a fun day date with my wife as we celebrated Philippines Cultural Day at the USC Pacific Asia Museum. It was a wonderful event highlighted by performances from local music and dance groups. We’re big fans of cultural events like these, especially when they’re focused on our shared heritage.
Two other highlights from our day: I scored a brand new copy of Time of Crisis from a local gamer I’d met on Facebook. This is a wargame I’ve been wanting to play based on a recommendation from my friend Meeple Lady. The other highlight was meeting up with our friends Geraldine and Mike, who are known as To Live And Dice In LA on Instagram. They’re a lovely couple and Michelle and I instantly bonded with them when we all hung out earlier this year (I’d met them last year at Strategicon). We caught up with each other over delicious fried chicken at Crack Shack, which is one of my favorite restaurant names ever.
Back home I caught up with some work before playing a quick game of Mint Works. I’ve loved this worker placement game since I snagged a used copy two years ago. The game fits in an Altoids-sized tin and your workers are little wooden pieces that look like Altoids. There are action cards that you place your worker on to perform the action. Basically, you’re trying to buy plans for buildings, then constructing them in your neighborhood to earn points. The first player to seven points wins.
It’s an extremely fast game (my solo game lasted all of five minutes, in a loss to one of the AIs), and I love how it feels like a bigger worker placement game. Everything is stripped down to the basics, but there’s still some of the feeling of the bigger worker placement games and you can plans to block your opponents from spaces.
I love the idea of small-box games like this (and Deep Sea Adventure from Oink Games and Tiny Epic Galaxies from Gamelyn Games) and I’ll never turn down a play, thanks to their quick play time and solid design.
I’m posting about a game every day in September! Here’s a link to yesterday’s post.
Let’s cut to the chase: Yes, Tapestry is fantastic. Although I haven’t received my shipping notification yet, my friend Jin received his copy today and within an hour we met up and got a four-player game in with our friends Jose and Amanda.
Now here’s the thing about Tapestry. If you’re a Stonemaier Games fan I’m almost positive you’ll love it. Like other games in their small-but-impressive catalog, Tapestry is smooth-playing and a gorgeous production. The player boards and reference sheets explain everything you need to know about game play. I love that.
I don’t think it’ll have the mass crossover appeal of Stonemaier’s other huge hit of 2019, Wingspan. Tapestry is a gamer’s game and isn’t meant to appeal to everyone. But what I love about Tapestry is that for a midweight game it doesn’t feel like it. It plays lighter than you’d expect, but as you reach the second half of the game it feels a lot deeper than that first round of basically collecting your income. I’m excited that this may be casual gamers’ gateway into heavier games.
I know I just said Tapestry won’t have the crossover appeal of Wingspan, but I’m not making any predictions. If there’s one thing I learned after initially dismissing a game about birds, it’s never bet against Stonemaier.
