Rising Sun
I was a little intimidated by Rising Sun when we started to go through it. It’s a huge box with a ton of intricate, beautiful pieces and it felt like there were a zillion rules and options. But, as we got going through the first season, I was able to settle in and follow along for a pretty satisfying gaming experience. Each player controls a clan in Feudal Japan with unique abilities and attempts to occupy and defend multiple provinces. Players can ally with each other, but also betray each other. There are several ways of gaining victory points, but winning wars is probably the most consequential. The war phase is a fun mechanic; there’s a bit of bluffing as each player makes hidden bets for how much resources they gamble on various components of the war. Fun, well designed game!
Bandido
This is a small, cooperative card game where each person has a set of tunnels, and the group is trying to make sure the prisoner cannot escape by ending or connecting each tunnel. We played a couple times and we were disappointed by how easy this was. Meh.
Scout
An interesting, competitive card game. There’s a thin story veneer where each player runs a rival circus, and tries to either put on the best act or scout another circus’ performer. It’s not really that important to how the game works. Each player has a hand of cards, and each card has different numbers at the top and bottom, and the order of the hand cannot change except at the beginning of play. Players try to put down straights or matching combinations, while other attempt to beat it or take (scout) cards. It’s a pretty fun mechanic!
Gelatinous
A quick, silly dice game where players try to roll 3s and be the first to build their “gelatinous cube” out of their green dice. It’s not exactly a game that game night would revolve around, but it’s a fun appetizer.
Beacon Patrol
Roughly speaking, this game looks is cooperative water-based Carcasonne. Players assemble waterways and coastline together. The goal is to max out the number of points by surrounding tiles on all sides, with bonuses given for tiles with lighthouses or buoys. Lighthearted and straightforward.
Exit the Game
I played a couple Exit games this year with friends, Kidnapped in Fortune City and The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes. They’re pretty fun, and take roughly 2 hour or so to complete. These games are non-reusable; players usually need to make cuts, folds, or marks on the materials, which means they’re one and done. Each game has different difficulty ratings, and the ones we played were 3 and 3.5 out 5 difficulty. The storyline is pretty fun, and our games had a mixed bag of puzzles; some are straightforward, some are quite clever, and occasionally there’s one that’s a bit cumbersome. But, I definitely felt like I got $15 worth of joy for an evening.
Magic Puzzle
This isn’t a board game, but I’m going to write about it anyways. The Magic Puzzle company churns out some amazing jigsaw puzzles. The artwork is brilliant and fun to explore. The quality of the pieces and the packaging is top notch. The puzzles (at least the ones I did), had a variety of fun, quirky piece shapes. It includes a game to find certain objects within the puzzle. And, there’s also a secret to unveil at the conclusion of the puzzle! This is probably the most fun I’ve had constructing a jigsaw puzzle.
Courtisans
In this quick, 30 minute game, players draw 3 cards of different houses. With each card they must opt to put one card in positive/negative graces, hold one card, and give one card to another player. Players earn points at the end if they possess cards of houses in good standing. There are also some secretive cards that are played face down, and other cards that facilitate eliminating other cards. The game mechanic essentially allows for alliances, backstabbing, etc. It’s pretty fun! Also the cards are beautiful.
Smug Owls
In this fun party game, cards are drawn that form a riddle, and the players have to think of an appropriate answer. The last person is the judge and doles out points. I enjoyed this one a lot. There’s some randomness, but the creativity really comes from the players as opposed to hoping you have a funny card in your hand like in Cards Against Humanity or Joking Hazard. The judge also has the flexibility of giving out 3 points however they see fit, whether its all to one person, or split among others. Clever!
Everyone Else Thinks Game is Awesome
This is a trivia game, that’s probably a little more fun than Trivial Pursuit, and has a theme of climbing the ladder in academia. All player get to answer all the questions, so you’re not just waiting around for your turn. But, some of the token mechanics are a little slow and clumsy. A solid trivia game nonetheless!
Don’t Get Got
A fun party game where everyone gets random secret missions like “Get someone to say sugar” or “Hide this under food and get someone to reveal it.” This is a fun bonus activity for a multi-day excursion.