My main gaming group, a couple that showed me the real world of board gaming in 2018, put out a call. Our mission? To reduce our shelves of shame.
Game bag at the ready, and a few ‘How To Play’ videos later, I answered the call. By 5 o’clock that evening I was sat down opposite my friends MB and MG, and we were ready to battle.
MEEPLE WAR (2016)
We started the evening with a game that happened to be on their table when I arrived. Once MEEPLE WAR was set up, it looked like CARCASSONNE on steroids, with basic tile placement sprinkled into a war game where you build your town, train your army of meeple troops, and attack the other players until one of you scores 6 VP.
It started slow as a new game, but after a few rounds and the basic ideas under our belts, it turned from a mild exploration game where everyone just passed by and said hello, into an all out conflict with catapults destroying buildings and meeples ganging up on other meeples.
And I especially liked that the four sets of meeples are all different shapes.
Really enjoyed it by the end, despite suddenly watching my lead disappear and my town get completely obliterated.
ME: 0
MB:0
MG: 1
SPLENDOR (2014)
I’ve played SPLENDOR a couple of times now and really enjoyed it. Even just having two players doesn’t change the game too much. It’s such a simple engine builder, and I love how it catches new players out who find the beginning slow. There’s always this moment when it picks up speed and their faces light up at realising it’s now or never to get them points.
I quickly got to explaining the rules, which if you’ve played SPLENDOR, you’ll know only took about five minutes.
I started well again (a continuing theme in this evening of gaming) and was worried that I was being a bad teacher and beating the newbies too easily.
However, I needn’t have worried. After I pointed out to MG, that despite having a fair few cards, he didn’t have any with points on them, he revealed his surprise plan (which to be honest may have even surprised him), and proceeded to collect points after points and received two nobels two turns on the trot.
Suddenly MB and I were left trying to stop him, but he only needed one point to win. We didn’t stand a chance.
ME: 0
MB:0
MG: 2
GHOST FIGHTIN’ TREASURE HUNTERS (2013)
They suggested a co-op game from their collection next and I realised I hadn’t played a team game for quite a while. I think GHOST FIGHTIN’ TREASURE HUNTERS was a recent purchase for my friends, and a bargain too. They pulled it from the shelf with dread on their faces. Not because of the haunted house theme, which I could see from the box art was kiddy friendly.
No. Their fear came from the game itself. It nearly beat them twice already. On easy.
I wasn’t having any of it, and continued to think this way even after they got the board on the table. It looks like a more cartoony CLUEDO. And the ghost figures were adorable. What the hell were they on about?
A quick run through of the extremely simple rules (again, lulling me into a false sense of security) and we were off. Treasure here, ghost there. No problem.
And then I discovered that there was another game in the DNA of GHOST FIGHTIN’ TREASURE HUNTERS. That game was PANDEMIC.
Every time a ghost spawns and it’s the second in the room, it turns into a Haunt; vicious little things, and harder to kill than a standard ghost. And as a Haunt sits there, more spawning ghosts appear and spread around like a softer version of the PANDEMIC disease outbreak mechanic.
All of a sudden, we could see us failing.
However, despite some crappy die rolls, causing a couple of moments where we only moved one space, we somehow got all the gems out with three haunts left in the box by the end.
But it got real close there for a moment. Next time we play, I’ll show more respect for it.
ME: 1
MB: 1
MG: 3
MEGALAND (2018)
While supporting my FLGS with some pick up purchases while they were closed, I was looking for some games to add to my collection that were not on my radar.
I spotted MEGALAND and, despite really liking the art work of Ryan Laukat games, I didn’t have one in my collection. One online order and drive into town later and that was remedied.
Much like SPLENDOR earlier in the evening, this took mere minutes to teach. A simple push-your-luck game where each player gambles any treasure cards they’ve so far collected with another step forward in the level. Could be a plain card which means everyone stays. Or could be a vicious giant rabbit causing one lost heart each.
I ended up laying out each card for the next location and feeling like a BLACKJACK dealer at a casino. Each player waiting with baited breath to see if they’d made the right decision to stick or twist; to return home or go for one more step on the journey.
It’s quick and fun. And it was my only solo win of the evening. Will definitely play this a lot more in the future.
ME: 2
MB: 1
MG: 3
THE QUACKS OF QUEDLINBURG (2018)
From one push-your-luck game to another.
There are a lot of games that I know I want to own as well as play. And then there are games that, while I don’t know if they belong in my collection, I know I need to have experienced them at least once to have any credibility. THE QUACKS OF QUEDLINBURG was one such game, and now that it was in my friends collection, the opportunity had finally arrived.
And what a game. While it may never hit my top 10, I will never say no to playing it at any games night in the future. Such fun.
From the off, I think we all knew that I wouldn’t be adding this to my win list. On the first go, all I pulled out were white tokens. Every single one. My cauldron exploded without any other ingredient going in. My friends were in hysterics as I noted that my luck must have gotten a taxi home without letting me know.
Even with the rat’s tail mechanic to rubber band the scoring a little, I was always playing catch up. I’m not the best at push-your-luck, to be fair. Never been a gambler in any way whatsoever.
And then it was on to the final round of picking. Despite the rules saying that everyone picks together on the final round, one ingredient at a time. I got left behind while the other two made it to the end of their cauldrons. I wanted to stop. I only needed one more white to lose the cauldron.
But they convinced me to go on, pointing out that I was going to lose anyway.
Each ingredient that I pulled that wasn’t that last white was met with thunderous applause and roaring cheers. Each success boosted my confidence. And I clambered my way to the end with a final group shout of Pumpkin!!!
Epic.
Sure enough, I came in dead last. And guess who won? Again.
ME: 2
MB: 1
MG: 4
REEF (2018)
And then it was on to the final game of the night, and my second removed from its Shelf of Shame spot.
I’d spotted REEF very early on in my entry to the hobby. I’m really not sure why I took so long to add it to my collection, why other games appeared and over took it for my attention. But no matter. I finally obtained it at the beginning of April and now we were going to finally try it.
Which brings us to the only disappointment for the evening. While the rules are simple, it took a few goes to get our head around picking up pieces from the top of the card and then scoring from the bottom of the card. There are pieces you’ll need so you’ll have to play the card, even though the opportunity to score isn’t there in your Reef, so it’s about sacrificing one card now to set up that card later, but also making sure that the second card assists with a third card you hold.
Maybe I’ll enjoy it more next time, now that I have a clearer picture of potential tactics in my head. It was far from being a bad game. It just didn’t wow me on the first playthrough like THE QUACKS OF QUEDLINBURG or MEEPLE WARS did.
But some games are like that. Some games hook you right from the first play, while others are slow growing. Let’s see what happens next time.
Oh, and take a stab at who won?
ME: 2
MB: 1
MG: 5
And that was the evening done. So good to get some gaming with my buddies. Four months is a long time not to sit down and have a games night with them. And they were the ones that put me in front of this addiction after all.
Already looking forward to the next one.
Always Play Blue 