BoardZGamer

After wrapping up April's #boardgameintentions post, I wracked my head about what I wanted to achieve in May. I've really been wanting to dive into a campaign game, but most games scare me with the sheer number of components. I then realized I had received this little box in the mail not too long ago that would be perfect. Now, I haven't played Gloomhaven or Frosthaven despite owning them, but this feels like the best way to experience a campaign without feeling the pressure of taking out a massive box. That, and I can play this by myself, so I don't have to wait on anyone to progress through the game. If this game goes well...I may even have to dust off the big boxes and find some players, though let's not think too far ahead. To sum up, my intention for this month is to play through as much of Gloomhaven Buttons and Bugs during the month of May. I'll try to provide updates when I can, but I am excited to give this tiny little box a try. What are your #boardgameintentions for this month? Thank you @oohboardgames for the 💡

It’s the end of the month, so it’s time to update you on how my #boardgameintentions went, I have good news and bad news. Let me start off with the bad news. I did not get a chance to play John Company 2nd Edition (JC2E) with the gaming group.  I know, I was so excited with April 12th as THE DATE to play, but I underestimated how complex the game was.  Though the 24 hour tabletop session went well, I just couldn’t learn JC2E fast enough to play on the day of. *sigh* The good news, I did learn how to play JC2E and completed a solo run of the 1710 scenario (using three families) and it was revolutionary. I still want to do another solo run to make sure I understand the flow, but I feel super excited to get it to the table soon. I won’t go into too much about the game as I want to cover it properly, but I feel like I witnessed a work of art. You can look forward to a future post once I’ve had the chance to play it with people. Now, despite the unmet goal, I was able to learn my first complex title. I’ve always felt an aversion to learning rules, as reading rulebooks have been tough for me. It’s like swimming through a swamp with no goal in sight. I know, weird analogy, but maybe some of you can relate.  Anyway, with the effort I put into learning JC2E, I’ve been able to get over the rulebook hump, and learning doesn't feel as daunting anymore. I did use a few videos, but reading the rulebook with the components setup in front of me helped reinforce my learning. I also wasn’t pressuring myself to get the rules right, and instead, just jumped into trying moves, correcting myself as I played.  This took so much pressure off of me, and made learning a lot more fun. By learning JC2E, I’ve been able to gain tricks to make learning rules a lot easier. All in all, despite my main goal of #boardgameintentions being unmet, I learned a lot about learning rules. This has helped me feel more comfortable in getting more games to the table. That feels like a pretty good compromise and get's me even more pumped to play JC2E.   How did your #boardgameintentions go this month? Thanks again to @oohboardgames for including me in the hashtag!

Faraway puts you in the shoes of a traveler, trying to achieve the most fame.  You'll be planning your trip, figuring out which resources you need to achieve certain quests. Once you've made your plans, you then go on your journey to see what you can achieve. Will you be the greatest traveler known by all in Alula? This game is such a unique set collector. You play the main cards from left to right, and score from right to left.  Any resource requirements for a quest must be met in order to gain fame, so you need to play cards in a way that have you gaining those resources before the quest is revealed. I love this nuance of scoring in reverse because you only have a set number of cards to play with, and each card you place may tweak your plan as you may not get the exact card you need. There are sanctuary cards you get that act as permanent resource boosts and potential scoring opportunities, but the game itself is still a brain burner as you are trying to make it work with what you get. I had a situation where I placed a card with a high resource requirement at the start of my game, hoping that I would gain enough cards to have the resources required for when I scored.  However, I rarely pulled enough and ended up pivoting by playing other quests that would score me points to make up for it.  Since you draft a card every turn after placing one down, you have limited options and need to strategize on which cards to play first. You also have to balance playing a card down that will let you draft first, as turn order is based on the card's number you have played. The lowest number will draft first, so you may play something mediocre to get first pick. So much strategy in such a small box. When scoring comes around, it's so satisfying to see a chain you planned backwards actually work out.  It's also hilarious to see when a chain doesn't work. You keep flipping realizing slowly that you messed up. The game initially feels a bit abstract, but once you get to scoring, the game comes together and shows you why it's worth it. I adore Faraway.  It has beautiful art, and is a breeze to set up, but the game has an amazing complexity that feels crunchy.

Fellow City Planners, would you be willing to set some time out of your busy schedule to help some small creatures build a “Tiny Town” in order to band together against the looming threats of predators? We need you! Welcome to Tiny Towns! A game of abstract city building and pattern puzzling. When I first found this game, the colourful box, and cool meeples stole my heart. You start off with a 4x4 grid, where you can place resources and future buildings. The game lists out the options through different cards and their abilities/scoring requirements. The first player will then choose a resource and everyone will have to place the resource on their board. Turns keep going until you are able transform a combination of placed resources into a building. The more you play, the harder it gets to find spots to place resources, leading you to pre-plan moves so you can get the best placements. Sometimes, you’ll get a string of resources you can’t use at all, which will clog up spaces on your map. If you can’t construct a building, or there are no more spaces, that’s becomes your town. This game is all about using what you can to get the best benefit/score possible. The game also has various buildings with unique abilities to keep the experience different. There are also monuments that can give you player specific abilities once built. These can change the game state. Now certain building interactions can be better than other buildings, so you may have games where a particular set of buildings are focused on. However, the resource choice can really make or break the strategy. It’s super beneficial to look at other maps and see how you can deny resources to make the slight lack of player interaction, a bit better. Overall, I found Tiny Towns to be a great introductory game for people who want to play something tactile and cute. The puzzle the game creates is also really interesting, and depending on the people you play with, can become quite complex. The game does lack player-interaction, but this can be circumvented by paying attention to other people’s boards, unless you don’t want to be that mean.

What if the solar eclipse today in North America turns red and a massive spire pushes its way out of the ground, destroying your city? You awake to find dust and debris everywhere, and a letter from your last living relative. They mention they have run away like a coward, and believe that you can save the people trapped in this spire. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen, but if that sounds enticing to you, then I have a game for you. Welcome to Spire's End, a choose your own adventure game where you and one other will journey and run into unnatural surroundings, find items that may benefit you during your adventure, or fight creatures that are beyond your comprehension. The game has many different paths but death is inevitable. The art with it's black, white and sharp red detailing drew me in. It felt mysterious, dark, and right up my alley. Opening the game, I was greeted with a deck of cards. The primary game loop is to flip a card, read it, and either make a choice, or take part in an encounter. I love that the gameplay is built into a deck of cards and a few components. I played this co-op, where each of us shared a character. Combat is interesting as stronger actions require you to sacrifice HP, then roll to see if you hit. You then roll to heal HP points, or cleanse any status effects. The balance of dealing tons of damage while also having enough HP to stay alive was engaging and challenging. You also have to make decisions on how you'll use your allies. This game has some replayability as many of the paths are locked during your first run. However, playing through this game in one sitting could sour the experience as it can start to feel repetitive. The game can be confusing when keeping track of status effects as there are numerous, but all are listed on a card to reference as you play. If you like quick visits to a dungeon while not wanting to commit to a full campaign, this is for you. If you’re not into the drab and dark adventure stories, then it might be a skip. I found it fun at two, though this can be solo'd and it got me excited to try Spire's End: Hildegard and the future game Rangitaki, both based on characters you play as in Spire's End.

Super grateful to have been included in #boardgameintentions ! I've recently been trying to be a bit more in tune with the community instead of just making a post once in a while and liking your posts as I see them. Hopefully, this is one step forward in the right direction! So what is #boardgameintentions ? Well, let me explain. @oohboardgames , the creator of the tag, has set out to ask the masses a question, what is your intention this month in the boardgaming hobby? At the beginning of every month, the partakers of the tag will put out their monthly intention, while commenting on how they did during their previous one.  It's about having fun while getting things done! My personal intention for April...is to finally get this beast of a game on the table.  Ever since I received the kickstarter, I've kept it locked away in my archives in the hopes that it will somehow get itself setup, teach me the rules, and play with me so I can experience the magic of Cole Wehrle and @wehrlegig_games . Reality is not so simple. However, I had the chance to meet a community of boardgamers that have been super into many different genres and complexities of gaming.  It's been such a blessing to be able to join them and finally play the games i've been collecting. During one of our conversations, someone had shared their thoughts on playing Pax Pamir Second Edition, and added that they wanted to play the newest version of John Company.  This was the moment I'd been waiting for. I immediately informed them that their luck was about to change. So, all I have to do now is learn the rules, go through the game, and set a date this month to play. Again easier, said than done. Though, this month on April 12th, @woodforsheep is hosting a 24 Hour gaming event as apart of #ExtraLife 's celebration of Tabletop Gaming. I thought it would be the best time to get it played since we'll have plenty of time to get into it.  The event is also raising money for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto through raffles, so that's cool too! So now that there's a tentative date, will I be able to get the game played? Wish me luck!

Got a chance to visit @imaginaire.86 store at the @cfrideaucentre during my trip to #Ottawa . I was in awe at how much cool stuff they had...but I had to highlight the amazing #boardgames I saw. I recommend a visit if you ever end up in Ottawa and are a fan of all things #popculture culture.

@breakoutcon 2024 was great. I got a chance to see tons of cool games and meet great people. Today's post is about one of those experiences. As I walked through the halls, I was drawn in by a game called #Drakenvale . It's a semi co-op sandbox RPG boardgame where you and 4 others explore a fantasy world fighting monsters, discovering treasures, exploring cities, and becoming heroes of legend. I had met the designer Chris Macdonald (@worldwieldergames ) who invited me and a few others to try the game but due to my anxiousness, I decided to watch the game instead. Little did I know I would become completely immersed in it. You start by picking a character with their own unique abilities and play-style. Every turn, you choose to move into a location on the map. If you’re in a city, you can take actions to help your character. If you’re in a region, you’ll draw cards that act as different encounters. You might find treasure, secret relics, or end up tussling with a monster. You take turns until one person hits 30 points which triggers the boss encounter where everyone will have to work together to defeat the boss. Once defeated, the person with the highest victory points wins! I loved the fantasy setting as everything felt meticulously thought out. A boar attacks you, you defeat it, and it goes into your inventory to either become a snack or be sold for coin. If you’re in town, you can go to an inn to tell stories and that pays out in coin. Meanwhile, a Kraken and Dragon are still out in the world. It was like watching a game of D&D play out but in about 2 hours. Drakenvale’s strength is its immersion but it also contains deep strategy as you play against other hero’s and race to be the one with the most victory points. A quick shout out to Chris for teaching his game and making us immediately feel comfortable in the world he crafted. He was super open to feedback and walked us through design decisions in the game. It was inspiring to see his passion project come to life! It's still a prototype but can be played on TTS, so definitely try it out as there is a ton more to explore! I’m excited to see how Drakenvale evolves as more people get to experience it.

Have you ever missed out on a rule that really ruined an experience? Well, I did when playing Paperback. Let me explain. Before I continue, let me give you some context as to how Paperback works. In Paperback, you start with a deck of base letters and fame cards that you use to craft words. Each letter has a score value and once a word is crafted, the score value is added together and used to purchase cards from The Offer. The Offer contains letters with different abilities and fame cards. The fame cards are worth fame points, and this is what you want to collect. You take turns until either the common letter cards or two of the four fame card piles are empty. This triggers endgame and the player with the most fame points at the end of the game wins! We started playing Paperback after I did the initial setup. I had read the rulebook through and decided to prep and teach the game. The game was meant to last 45 minutes but we ended up playing for almost 2 hours. We couldn’t believe the latter half of the game was so long. My wife was devastated. She picked this game out for us because she loves word games, and to see it be a slog was disheartening. As I cleaned up after the game was over, I noticed a chart on the Fame Card divider. This chart listed how many fame cards should be out per player count, and I let out a huge “Oh”. My wife runs back in and looks at me dead in the eyes, and I had to break the unfortunate news. I had setup the game for 5 players, instead of 2. Sorry Paperback! The game is actually really interesting. It can be tricky as you try to maximize the number of options you have per turn. The abilities were cool as they let you draw more cards, remove unwanted cards from your deck, and potentially hinder the other player. Balancing all of this out while aiming for the fame piles was a welcome challenge. There were a few issues with the rulebook (in my edition) and the score vs. value on cards always confused me during my first few turns. I have now delegated myself to having the rulebook during my teach, so I don’t miss anything. For my wife, she’s agreed to try Paperback one more time, but she needs a bit of a break.

I recently attended a boardgame night at @woodforsheep hosted by @crittako and had a great time! I brought the Vale of Eternity after reading the rulebook as I thought it was quick yet interesting card game. After my group played the game, everyone enjoyed it and we were all curious about the card synergies. Let me tell you about it. The Vale of Eternity is all about drafting creatures and using their abilities with the focus of scoring a ton of points. The game starts off as being pretty restrictive, as you only have a few magic stones, one zone to work with, and creatures with limited capabilities. However, as the rounds progress, you get more zones while abilities start to synergize with other cards to earn you tons of rewards, including points. The game progresses until a player hits or passes 60 points, or the 10th round is completed. The player with the most points wins! I love the drafting mechanism. You draft by placing a wooden disc on a card you want, then it passes to the next player. When you get to the last player, they pick two cards, and it reverses back. This creates a sense of tension as you wait and hope your card doesn’t get chosen. Creature abilities also feel varied between each family/creature type. Some creatures have one-time abilities that can give you a big boost, while some work through rounds but end up being beneficial in the long-run. It’s really interesting to try and figure out combinations that work well, and playing with the same group of people make the card play challenging as you get dealt different cards every play. Now the game does have a level of player interaction through the drafting, and there are also certain ability cards that let you pop a monster on another player’s zone, but overall player interaction felt minimal from the few plays I had so far. The game board is also really cool, but made the ability to read cards a bit tougher as cards usually get placed in all sorts of orientations. However, this was a small gripe in an otherwise fun game. The Vale of Eternity is a really cool card game. This small box packs amazing synergies, and keeps you strategizing on the fly. Have you tried The Vale of Eternity?

I just discovered the Game Brain Podcast! They are an amazing group of boardgame players making passionate content about the hobby! This post was inspired by Episode #205 : How to Choose a Game for Game Night which dived into the complexities of game nights. Listening to them discuss the topic made me realize I had a recent game that everyone enjoyed during my recent game night. So, I decided to focus in on that for today! The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine is a co-operative trick taking game for 3-5 players, where each player has to work together to win certain tricks in order to fulfill the teams combined tasks! The complicated part? You can’t talk about the cards in your hand while you play. Now why did I choose The Crew for game night? Well, when I have a group of people who want to get into the action right away, I always try to pick games that will be quick to learn, easy to play, and have an interesting enough gameplay loop, it’ll keep them wanting more. It’s about making the game feel less daunting while also having them get into the mood to play more games. The Crew is the perfect box with a teach that lasts about 10 to 15 minutes, or is even shorter if players know trick taking. The only complexity was understanding that the task cards you get mean that you have to win a trick with that card in it, rather than playing the card from your hand. Rounds also whizz by, and the increasing complexity of different missions make the game all the more exciting. Now, there is a communication mechanic where you can play a token on a card in your hand which will indicate whether you have the highest or lowest of a suit, or just that one card of the suit. But there are still great moments where everyone stares at one player as they lay a card you all knew they shouldn’t have. It’s an absolute treat. So, if you have a game night coming up, give The Crew a try! It could be a great introduction for your game group that they go “What’s next?”. Big thank you for helping me incite this little brain burst @gamebrainpod ’s. Can’t wait to listen to more of your stuff!

This is an Ekenabben from @ikeacanada , my new boardgame display device. Now, I know it's not a Kallax (which is the holy grail of boardgame storage) but this was cheaper and smaller and perfect for crowd control, boardgame control? Anyway, you’re probably wondering “is this your entire collection?” No, in fact, I have been slowly adding up my collection on @boardgamegeek to figure out how many actual games I have. So far, as per my BGG count…it's at 343 owned…and that's without expansions...and I’m still counting. WELP. Okay, your next question is probably “Have you played through all of them?” Well, some of them, BUT NOT ENOUGH! When I first started buying boardgames, my goal was to play them with my friends and family, like all of you. However, I realized rather quickly that most of them don’t like boardgames that get DEEP (Euro’s anyone?). Which is fair, but sad, but fair. Then I saw shiny boxes and resistance was futile. Now, I am here. Just when I thought that was going to be it, I decided to try Instagram. It’s been really helpful in addressing the major issue. PLAY YOUR GAMES. Being able to track my journey and share in the passion of boardgames with all of you has been awesome! I also get to learn more about photography which has been great! But yeah, I really need to play through my collection, so no time like the present. So…it may take me actual years, but I’ll try to get through as much as I can…or cull anything that is collecting a bit too much dust. I can’t promise I won’t get anything new and shiny…but I’ll try for the sake of my sanity. So…how's your collection? Are you trapped in a never-ending battle of your wants and needs like me, or do you have strict laws that keep your hobby from getting out of hand? This is also my long-winded way of saying THANK YOU for following this hodgepodge of a profile. I can't promise anything but I hope you stick around to see how this all goes!