Aaron Leahy

🇬🇧🇺🇲 When a game just works.. That game most recently for me for A Feast for Odin or AFFO, but that to me sounds like UFO! But A feast for Odin is a worker placement game for 2-4 players designed by Uwe Rosenberg and published by @feuerland.spiele I played it over the weekend and it's literally all I've been thinking about, okay I've also been thinking about Elden Ring, but that's a different story all together. Have you played A feast for Odin? What did you think? I may have bought the expansion too.. oops.. Disclaimer: I was not paid for this content and this is my own copy of A Feast for Odin and expansion. #bgg #boardgames #boardgamer #boardnotbored #boardgameaddict #boardgamelife #boardgamegeek #geek #boardgamesofinstagram #brettspiel #boardgamecouple #BoardgamesUK #analoggamer #tabletopgames #tabletopgamer #bordspellen #brettspiele #spiel #microinfluencer #braetspil #brætspil #meeples #playmoregames #boardgamenight #boardgame #boardgamecommunity

🇺🇲 Let's Build a village of Critters!🇬🇧 This weekend we finally played Everdell from @starlinggames and designed by James A. Wilson. We were sent a copy of Everdell by @kienda_uk Everdell is a worker placement game in which you are using resources to build a village of critters and construction. You will be the leader of a group of critters intent on rebuilding the valley of Everdell. Everdell combines worker placement with tableau building, as on your turn you'll be either placing a worker, playing a card or prepare for the next season. There's such an array of bonuses, abilities and special actions that can be used to work towards public events. It's simply a gorgeous game that presents you with three options on your turn and it's how you use those options to score points that matters. I can't wait to play this gorgeous game again. Everdell is available from @kienda_uk (link in bio) Disclaimer: I was not paid for this content, but was sent a copy of Everdell by Kienda #bgg #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamer #boardgameaddict #boardgamelife #boardgamegeek #geek #boardgamesofinstagram #brettspiel #boardgamecouple #BoardgamesUK #boardgamebox #tabletopgames #tabletopgamer #gamenight #brettspiele #spiel #microinfluencer #braetspil #boardgameart #meeples #playmoregames #boardgamenight #boardgamenights #boardgamecommunity #boardgamereel #boardgamelovers

Have you played Harmonies? Harmonies from @libellud and available from @kienda_uk is an abstract game that's filled with stunning artwork and components, too! (Minus the cubes and cardboard quality).. you're aiming to bring the world into harmony through achieving different placement goals in the aim of scoring victory points! It's super simple to teach. On your turn, pick all 3 from a spot on the central board, and place them onto your own board. Although each piece does have a restriction of some sort e.g. water can only be directly on the ground floor, whilst trees can be built up over several turns to score more points. Meadows can only be placed on the ground floor, but they want to be in groups for maximum points! This was a game I instantly fell in love with, and I considered whether this was a Cascadia replacement, but they are distinctive enough to warrant keeping and playing both. Although I have moved Nova Luna on, and I may replace that with pipework or another game. As someone who keeps a robust 40 collection and operates a 1 in, 1 out rule. Every game matters! Have you played Harmonies? #boardgamesofinstagram #ukbgreviewcircle #boardgamesuk #boardgamegeeks #boardgamecollection #boardgamer

Sunday morning Dominion available from @kienda_uk (they'll sell you the game, not the morning!) Dominion is a game, I love and hate, I go through phases of craving Dominion, and then after a few games. I feel somewhat satisfied and don't feel the need to return again. Maybe it's because I always lose, or maybe because we tend to go with a very similar market setup. Or maybe, just maybe we need an expansion? I find Dominion has this strange curve of engaging, engaging to oh rubbish turn rubbish turn, disengaged, couple of good turns back to be engaging. I get that it's a deck Builder, but it's filled with a host of highs and lows that I guess on average are just average? Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a game of Dominion, but I can't help but feel my expectations for the level of enjoyment I want to get the game aren't often met. There's one or two games, where it's felt awesome and fun, but otherwise, it feels samey. However, I'd probably never turn down a game of Dominion. Am I weird? Probably.. #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgamesuk #brætspil #dominion #cardgamesofinstagram

Best Victorian themed board game ever? That is the discussion for this week's #thematicthursday as this week's theme is Victoriana selected by @thetoyscoo next week's theme is home by @rolldraworplay For many, Brass Birmingham from @roxleygames is the best ever board game, and for me, it's one of my favourites. It's hard, though, to put an order to my favourite games. One day, it could be Brass Birmingham. The next, it might be something else. For a long time Blood Rage held number 1 spot and then I realised I hadn't played it in about 2 years, and after playing it again, I didn't understand why I loved it as much as I did. Well, I think it's because of the gaming experiences around the table with the people around the table that Blood Rage created, not the game itself, so to speak. Brass Birmingham is effectively a big efficiency puzzle in which you need to maximise your industrial engine to generate as much points as possible through cumulative money generation, however, money isn't worth a thing at the end of the game. So hoarding money is not an efficient strategy either. In fact, if you're hoarding money, you're probably going to lose! As you need to spend to accumulate. My current go to strategy is an early reliance on Iron deposits, and then upgrading my way up several of the manufactured good tracks to place it generally serves me fairly well, although becomes reliant on others building iron in the rail era. Do I need to mix it up? Probably. Have you played Brass Birmingham? Or How about Brass Lancashire? Available from @kienda_uk Join in thematic Thursday and share your favourite themed games! If you'd like to see a theme included, please comment with your suggestions. If you'd like to be part of the Thematic Thursday chat, please let me know.

Shores of Tripoli, like other @fortcirclegames comes with an overwhelming amount of historical background included in a supplementary booklet. Shores of Tripoli is about the Barbary war between the Americans and Pirates of Tripoli. With one player playing as the Pirates and the other the Americans, each player has different goals which means it won't so much be an all out conflict for a central location as the pirates seek to claim gold and sink ships. Whilst America is seeking to almost "impose" peace through eradicating pirate ships and attack central locations, which are determined by the treaty cards. Alternatively, the Americans can win by overthrowing Tripoli. There is a real sense here as the Pirates that you're not so much on the back foot, but your game plan is to almost annoy the American player, raid their ships and hope your defenses hold out. It feels like there's a definite cross-over point when raiding no longer feels like an option, and you'll need to actively focus on your defences. Whilst as the American player you are trying to continously eat away and slim down the defenses at the harbour and at Tripoli, so you need to not sit back too much, as much as you want to build your forces, you'll need to be mindful of raids and by applying pressure to the harbours of your opponent. That pressure slowly eases. And that build up, is incredibly satisfying, and each game has that same sense of escalation.As the Americans, if you find yourself subject to successful pirate raids you are very much forced to race for Tripoli, whilst as the Tripoli player, watching a growing sea of ships amass, means you need to shore up those defences. Want to read my full review? It's available in my blog (link in bio) Want to buy Shores of Tripoli it's available from @kienda_uk #bgg #boardgame #boardgames #boardgamer #boardgameaddict #boardgamelife #boardgamegeek #geek #boardgamesofinstagram #brettspiel #boardgamecouple #BoardgamesUK #boardgamebox #tabletopgames #tabletopgamer #gamenight #brettspiele #spiel #microinfluencer #braetspil #boardgameart #meeples #playmoregames #boardgamenight #boardgamenights #boardgamecommunity #boardgamereel #boardgamelover

Hey hey! Its Friday-eve, otherwise known as Thursday, which means of course it's #thematicthursday and this week we're talking Jewellery. I was a bit unsure as to what game I'd choose, thinking that maybe I'd choose Splendor Duel, or Splendor or Crown of Emara, but an improtu coffee date meant that Jaipur made it to the table! Jaipur available from @kienda_uk is a set collection games in which you are seeking to sell different goods to earn points, with the more of the good you sell, the better the set bonus is! Sell 5 rubies and you'll take a 5 value bonus tile (which are probably the highest scoring tiles!), only sell 2 rubies and that means no bonus for you. Jaipur is one of those games that almost every decision feels like you could be enabling your opponent, if you choose to sell, you could leave goods in the central displag, take a good from central display, you might reveal a good that completes a set your opponent was waiting for. It creates a decision space where every decision feels like it matters and I love that! This week Jewellery was selected by @boardhoardscored Next week is Victoriana selected by @thetoyscoop Join in thematic Thursday and share your favourite themed games! If you'd like to see a theme included, please comment with your suggestions. If you'd like to be part of the Thematic Thursday chat, please let me know.

Cartographers but more? That is how, Stonespine Architects from @thunderworksgames and available from @kienda_uk was recently described to me as, Cartographers but with a sprinkle of just “more”. And I’m not sure how that conclusion could be drawn when you contrast a flip and write against a card drafting game, that probably feels like it borrows more mechanically from Roll Player than Cartographers and definitely more a 7 Wonders vibe. Stonespine Architects, sees you play as a minotaur, because everyone knows that a minotaur makes the best dungeon builder! And your tasked with building a new dungeon. In all honesty, the theme is here nor there and I wish it came through more strongly, as it's just a drafting game at its core, wrapped around a space optimisation, puzzle type game, which doesn’t do anything fundamentally new or different and I think there may be a bit too much sprinkling of luck! Stonespine Architects is breeze to teach, draft a card, place it, repeat. Market phase (taking money equal to those showing at the bottom of your newly placed cards + treasures chests), spend money on new traps, monsters and the like, obtain a new challenge (goal) card, and then clean up! Each chamber card that you'll draft, usually comes with a door and a path, although some do end on the tile. And some will have elements, which could be monsters or traps, or treasure chests, and every card will have a gold value (which could be 0!), all of these link into challenge, goal or blueprint cards that you are trying to work towards. And herein lies my first real challenge, there is no way to swap in or out cards in your hand or board, so if you get a bad hand, and considering how important placement can be, you are at the whims of luck! It's enjoyable, but whether that will hold up for repeated plays, is a completely different question, after a handful of plays, I feel like I’ve seen all it has to offer (I probably haven’t seen all the goal cards) and there’s just not that same level of satisfaction that say Splendor has, which keeps me coming back. Want to read my full review? There's a link in my bio. Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Stonespine Architects.

Did you know that Instagram on average shows my content to less than 1% of my followers? And what better way to celebrate than a Boardgameoverlord Present! 🌎Worldwide 🌍 I was recently sent The Secret Flower from @origame.co to review, you can read my full review on my blog! But here's just a snippet: "The secret flowers closest comparison is probably the button shy wallet games and feels in part due to the theme similar to Tussie Mussie. And it probably fits into that range fairly well. The Secret Flower feels that it could fit into the Cooperative two player experience like FUSE, the Mind and Stew." Want to win a signed copy of The Secret Flower? All you need to do is 1) read my review (link in bio) 2) follow me the @boardgameoverlord 3) comment below "read" and tag a friends The boardgameoverlord present will close on 23:00 GMT 25 June. We'll pick a winner via a magical random bot on or around 26 June. Boardgameoverlord is not responsible for any damage or loss of the prize caused during shipping. Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of The Secret Flower to review and this is the signed (by the designer) review copy. This post is not sponsored by Instagram or Meta. Please note that this is our only account. We will contact the winner via DM, and they will have 24 hours to claim their prize. We will not contact you via another account. If you do not like the terms of this, please do not enter. If there is no response within 24 hours, we will choose a new winner. #ukboardgames #boardgamecollection #boardgamegeek #ukreviewer #ukbgreviewcircle #boardgamecommunity #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgamer #boardgamerevolution

How has it been two weeks since the @ukgamesexpo ? But somehow it has, and here we are reminiscing about the upgrades I couldn't find! I was after a set of metal coins for A Feast for Odin from @zmangames_ And luckily A Feast for Odin fits for this week's #thematicthursday which is Campfire as selected by @campingmeeple A Feast for Odin is one of my all time favourites, and on my opinion a bazillion times better with the expansion, the expansion changes the game up so much it feels familiar but so different. I don't think I'd go back to playing without it. It's a huge plus that the Expansion is finally on @boardgamearena if only as an alpha, but it means I can scratch that digital itch too! Anyone for a game on Boardgamearena? Next week is Jewellery selected by @boardhoardscored Join in thematic Thursday and share your favourite themed games! If you'd like to see a theme included, please comment with your suggestions. If you'd like to be part of the Thematic Thursday chat, please let me know. A Feast for odin is available (sometimes) from @kienda_uk

Looot from @gigamicworld and distributed by @hachetteboardgamesuk took the @ukgamesexpo by storm after a sell-out! A spatial puzzle that has an added mini game of the main board, so is that a game within a game? But I bet you never thought anyone would contrast Looot to spicy chicken wings! But here goes, Loot is like a spicy chicken wing that slowly warms your taste buds as the Spice warms your inners? But not the super spicy type, more the pleasant warming, just on the edge of too spicy ones. If that isn't a testimonial for the quality and depth of my reviews, I'm not sure what else will sway you! Looot gets an easy Play if you like Calico, Cascadia, Harmonies recommendation, I was edging towards a Buy or Play, however, if you don’t like optimisation puzzles or largely un-interactive games, this probably isn’t going to do it for you! You could say Looot is a multiplayer solitaire resource efficiency game that could be crippled by analysis paralysis. As you can place next to any Viking. But equally, you could argue that it creates competition for spaces, as some resources become critical to players' game plans. For me, this is a puzzle game that throws another game on top, you’ve got the central board competition combined with the individual puzzle of your own board. And if you’re a fan of games with that spatial planning like Azul, then it's hard not to recommend Looot. Want to try Looot invite me "sardonic wolf" on Boardgamearena! Hopefully soon available from @kienda_uk #boardgamegeek #boardgamesofinstagram #boardgamecommunity #boardgamecollection #BoardgamesUK

Somehow we're always on Thursday! And this week for #thematicthursday we're talking Castles, as selected by @spaghettiandmeeples I had to pick the classic that is Carcassonne available from @kienda_uk who doesn't want to build a French castle? I did consider Vampire Village from @hachetteboardgamesuk but after playing it 5 times last weekend, I didn't take a single photo! Carcassonne to me is a game I'll only play if we're playing with the three tile variant, e.g. you always have three tiles in hand. One tile at a time just feels like there's too much luck of the draw. Next week, Thematic Thuraday is getting toasty and visiting campfires by @campingmeeple Join me in Thematic Thursday each and every week! If you'd like to join the Thematic Thursday chat, please just ask :) Have a great Thursday!