Look back July 2016!
Just because a game has been reviewed doesn’t mean it should just be forgotten about, right? So we’re going to start taking a quick look back at the many games we’ve reviewed over the last year or so. Do they still get played (and a no doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, life is busy and there are lots of games after all!), do I want to play it more? Does my review, looking back through the mists of time, still ring true? Let’s go back all the way back to where I started in the summer of 2015…
Splendor
One of my girlfriend’s favourite games, Splendor is an engine builder in its purest form. Ostensibly putting you in the role of gem merchants, it is a game of buying cards, that help you buy other cards and so on until you’re grabbing cards for free, all while chasing the attention of the various nobles and maybe one day dreaming of opening your very own jewellers in the big city…. While it is a little dry for some people’s tastes, I never play a game without feeling like I’m in a tense race to the finish! A great game that will be staying on my shelves for a long while yet!
Lords of Waterdeep
Lords of Waterdeep remains one of the better introductions to worker placement games; the objectives are simple, the mechanics are smooth and easy to follow, and the game has a satisfying ramping up of pace as you go along. It’s theme however, is non-existent, being purely a case of collecting cubes to fulfil objective cards. Yet that doesn’t detract from the experience for me. I would still be happy to play this, and I’d love to try out the expansion, Scoundrels of Skullport, which I hear adds a lot to the game. Generally though, I’ve moved on to more complicated games, to newer releases and since I don’t own a copy, the Lords of Waterdeep haven’t been out in my presence recently.
Love Letter
Oh Princess, she that launched a thousand micro games… I, along with so many others I’m sure, played this to death when we first found it. Guarding at Princes, Princing your Princesses, or just Handmaiding. One of my favourite plays was to Baron with a Handmaiden, risky, but oh so sweet when it worked. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then it’s time for you to discover the awesome challenge of sneaking your love letter to the Princess and watch as all manor of nouns become verbs. Still an awesome game, even if it doesn’t get played as often as it used to.
Sushi Go
With the recent release of Sushi Go Party, how serendipitous it is that I look back at the original, Sushi Go! What a fantastic filler, a fantastic gateway and a brilliant first drafting game. A simple balance of risk and reward and getting in the way of the players sat next to you, just like any trip to the sushi bar! I still love a game of this now and again, and I’m very excited to get to sample the expanded menu of cute sushi pieces in Sushi Go Party!
Tsuro
What a classic! For what is absolutely an abstract tile-laying game, Tsuro somehow manages to give me a sense of drifting peacefully above the clouds… until the other players get too close! In it you are all flying dragons, adding tiles to the board to extend your path, the aim simply being to stay on the board the longest. It is a wonderfully simple game, fits nicely as a filler and can accommodate up to 8 players, a real rarity! I never feel like playing more than one or two games of it at a time, but it still makes it to table semi-regularly even after all this time. A definite keeper.
Jaipur
My very first review! Jaipur is a neat 2 player game of camel management. Also some occasional thing about gathering goods but at its furry, slightly smelly core, it’s all about camels. Jaipur is regularly pointed at as one of the best 2 player games out there and I can totally see why. Elements of pushing your luck, some hand management and a wonderfully simple rule set, plus it’s not particularly confrontational as some 2 player games can be, making it almost perfect for couples. Except this (my?) couple. My girlfriend is kind of unforgiving when it comes to strong elements of luck and Jaipur most certainly has a strong element of luck, so much so they recommend you play best 2 out of 3. I can forgive it, as it’s a quick game, but it’s not seen any play recently under the circumstances!
What are your thoughts on these games? Are they still being played on your table? Let me know in the comments!
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