Paul Mazzoni

As it turns out, Roll Camera had been on my Wishlist, but I kind of forgot about it. We got a chance to play this cooperative game at Origins, and boy is it punishing. Even on “easy mode”. We failed to make our movie. Every time we took one step forward, it felt like we took two steps back. I love the theme, but coops that feel like you may never win are not my jam. This one is determined by dice rolls, and while there is some dice mitigation, it’s just not enough. It’s worth a try if you’ve never played it, but I’m not clamoring to try it again any time soon. #rollcamera #rollcameragame #games #boardgames #cooperativegames #movietheme #dicegame #dicerollinggame

June 2024 Plays: Had 120 plays in June, which is easily the most this year. Still playing a lot of Captain Flip, and got in some plays of fellow Game of the Year nominee In the Footsteps of Darwin. And then there’s Dro Polter (2nd image), which is a very unique and addictive dexterity game. The online Luxor tournament is finally over. I didn’t like at all how it was done and won’t be doing another. Many of these plays came from being at Origins, where you typically get to play a lot of new games. Had a blast! #juneplays #games #boardgames #cardgames #captainflip #inthefootstepsofdarwin #origins2024 #originsgamefair

Well…I thought I got a picture of the box, but this is Stonespine (not Stonespire) Architects, another game in the Roll Player universe. And folks, it’s a good one! In a just world, @thunderworksgames should have a hit on their hands. If you enjoy card drafting, making connected paths, and “auctioning” off objectives, this is the game for you. #stonespinearchitects #thunderworksgames #games #boardgames #carddraftinggame #objectives #originsgamefair

It’s been a week since I returned from Origins Game Fair, and typically I take a pic of what new games I brought home. This is far fewer than what I’ve brought back in the past when I was a volunteer for Renegade and IELLO (neither of which was even at Origins this year). And that’s fine considering I am overloaded a bit on games. Back then I used to get a lot of free stuff. But this time I got a couple freebies as well! 1. Marabunta and The Vale of Eternity are actually Father’s Day gifts but decided to include them here. Vale I played on Board Game Arena a few times and played it live yesterday (photos to come). 2. Costa Rica (still in shrink) and Joraku were bought through the Origins online free market so I just needed to arrange a pick up time with the sellers and exchange the money. Costa Rica doesn’t rate high on BGG but I’ve always been curious about it as I like push your luck games. Joraku was one always on my wishlist so decided to grab it. It is one of those awkward 3-4 player games, however. 3. Ito and Mind Map are party games, though the former is cooperative and the latter is not. We played Ito and it was fine. I purchased Mind Map with the intention of getting the promo too, but they were out. I wrote Hachette to hopefully get it after the fact, but not holding my breath. Also got that same Codenames pack as a promo from Czech Games Edition booth. 4. Age of Wonders: Planetfall was a last day acquisition that I won in a drawing from Arcane Wonders. It also came with a playmat! Thanks @arcanewonders ! I never played the video game, but the board game got solid reviews. #ageofwondersplanetfall #games #boardgames #gamedrawing #costaricagame #pushyourluck #joraku #valeofeternity #marabunta #areamajority #mindmap #ito #itogame #arcanewonders #hachettegames #originsgamefair #originsgamefair2024

There’s a particular YouTube channel I watch that praises Orichalcum quite a bit, so I was keen on learning this one, though none of us knew how to play. But it’s a pretty straightforward game. What I like most about it are the chunky pieces. It reminded me of a IELLO production, such as King of Tokyo. You are trying to be the first to 5 points. I was trying to do this through defeating monsters, but failing miserably. But there are other ways to achieve points. It’s an odd little game that I would like to try again but undecided on whether I need to own it. Maybe acquire through trade? #orichalcum #games #boardgames #pandasaurusgames #tilelayinggames #dicechucking #originsgamefair #boardgamegeek #newgames #boardgameaddict

Taking a moment to remember some of the “smaller” games played at Origins 2024. 1. Super Kawaii Pets - Not so unique, but very cute artwork. 2. Enchanted Plumes - Beautiful artwork and rather unique, but kind of fell flat. Willing to play again. 3. Surfosaurus Max - Awful artwork. Kind of “negotiation poker”. 4. Butterfly - a classic 5. Remember Our Trip - One I’ve wanted to play for a long time. Drafting/tile placement that is very unique but also pretty strange. 6. Agueda: City of Umbrellas - We rushed through it so never really got a feel for it, but seems really solid. And beautiful components. I pictured the game being a longer play. It’s almost a filler actually. #superkawaiipets #surfosaurusmax #calliopegames #enchantedplumes #games #boardgames #cardgames #butterfly #riograndegames #rememberourtrip #saachiandsaachi #aguedacityofumbrellas #25thcenturygames

I’m wearing a bit thin on roll and writes or flip and writes, but I was always interested in Explorers because of the designer and the glowing reviews from my compadres. This did not disappoint. There are a lot of similarities with Noch Mal mechanism, but the goals are different here. Plays fast and lots of fun. Recommend! #explorers #games #boardgames #ravensberger #burgers #flipandwrite #rollandwritegame #objectives #originsgamefair2024

So yes, I finally got to play Wyrmspan while at Origins. I liked it, but was it a vast improvement over Wingspan? Let me put it bluntly: hell no. If it did address “flaws” of Wingspan, then it simply introduced new ones because overall it felt like the same experience, maybe slightly longer. Would I play it again? For sure! And for me there’s no contest in which theme is better: the one grounded in reality. 😁 Though with all that backstory on the dragons, maybe it’s hard to say which one that is. #wyrmspan #dragons #boardgames #games #stonemaiergames #originsgamefair #actionselection #workerplacement #wingspan

So happy I was finally able to play Riff Raff and surprised to find it in the Origins game library! The best part was watching @dicecorgi successfully catch the falling pieces off our rocking ship, only to find them go flying off the other end as well! #riffraff #riffraffgame #games #boardgames #dexteritygames #originsgamefair #originsgamefair2024 #gamelibrary #opengaming

When we saw this giant-sized Marrakech board at Origins Game Fair, we couldn’t help but play it! Did it make the game more fun? Yes, it did! I’d only played it on BGA, but I kind of want to own it now! It scratches an itch similar to Wandering Towers; it’s good old-fashioned family fun. #marrakechgame #marrakech #games #boardgames #lifesizegames #originsgamefair #rollandmove #takethat #originsgamefair2024

Got a backlog of photos from Origins, so let’s talk Day 3! Stopped at the CGE booth and was a little stunned by this: Little Alchemists. Alchemists is known to be a very heavy game, but one that I very much have enjoyed for years. But never did I expect a kids version. However, this takes one of the most fun elements of Alchemists and makes it the focus of the game - scanning ingredients. There is still publishing theories and selling to individuals, but it’s been much simplified. The game hasn’t been released yet, but it looks like CGE might have another hit on their hands. #czechgamesedition #games #boardgames #littlealchemists #alchemists #deductiongames #appdrivengames #origins #originsgamefair #demogames

Tobagocon 2024 with @botticii , @dicecorgi , and @eljayoh_ is in the books. It took some planning to make it happen, and kind of surreal that it did. I’ll cherish the experience (and the shirt) for a long time. #originsgamefair #games #boardgames #battlecats #tobago #origins2024 #tobagocon2024