Author: Dave Rathbun
2023 20×5 Final! Bonus 12×1 Update
I completed my 20×5 for 2023! Woo! I actually finished it all up at the fall Board Game Geek convention, getting in my final plays of Petrichor as well as Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy. If you have never been to a BGG gaming event, it’s worth making the trip. Which, for me, is a short drive down I-35 so there’s that… Continue reading “2023 20×5 Final! Bonus 12×1 Update”
2023 20×5 Mid-Year Report
I have had an interesting time on my 20×5 for this year. I actually set two goals – a 20×5 and a 12×1. The 20×5 is something I have done and enjoyed the past two years. The 12×1 is designed to get one unplayed game to my table each month and see how that goes. So far, so good! Continue reading “2023 20×5 Mid-Year Report”
First Impression: Underwater Cities
Short answer: Yes. Read on for my first impression after two plays. Continue reading “First Impression: Underwater Cities”
2022 20×5 Review
In 2021 I set up a 10×10 goal for board games. It was fun, but I didn’t actually complete the goal of playing 10 specific games 10 times over the year (made it to 72). I still had a successful gaming year (played 174 games, many of which were not on the 10×10) but I didn’t like the fact that I “failed.” In reviewing my gaming history for the year, I realized I had a lot of games I played 4-6 times. Hm. A 10×10 results in 100 games being played. A 20×5 also results in 100 games being played, but with more variety. I decided to try that for 2022. I thought I made the concept up. I didn’t. 🙂 There are plenty of different configurations that people use; a 10×10 just seems to be the most popular.
How did my 20×5 go for 2022? Fantastic! Not only did I finish, but I had my best gaming year ever since returning to the hobby. Continue reading “2022 20×5 Review”
First Impression: Sovereign Skies
A long time ago in a…Nope, not that either.
So say we all? The spice must flow? Game over man? Okay, that’s enough.
There are lots of space franchise properties. There are even more games based on those properties. This is not one of those games, and that’s just fine with me. Note: I will be talking about only the base game. There are two card-deck expansions and one additional mini-expansion that allows you to add player-specific unique abilities that I won’t talk about here. Continue reading “First Impression: Sovereign Skies”
First Impression: Whistle Stop
The golden age of railroads has begun! Whistle Stop takes us back to when the Golden Spike was used to signify the joining of the East Coast with the West Coast, a time of amazing technological innovation. In this game players are railroad owners attempting to leverage the new coast-to-coast market. We pick up supplies, and drop them off either at towns or destinations on the West Coast. Trains are fueled by coal, and carry timber, cotton, gravel (common resources) as well as cattle, whiskey and steel (rare resources). Special stations (like the General Store or Coal Mine) help us along the way.
This game has been on my “Shelf of Opportunity” for over a year. Not too long ago that finally changed. How did the game go? Was it fun? Would I play it again? Continue reading “First Impression: Whistle Stop”
2022 20×5 Progress Update
Last year I did a 10×10 for the second time. Both times I felt a bit let down at the end. The first reason was I never managed to complete the 10 games I committed to play 10 times. The second reason was I knew I was playing more than 100 games during the year, and just wasn’t getting credit. This year I fixed that. 🙂 Instead of a 10×10 I created a 20×5 goal sheet. I listed twenty different games with the goal of playing each of them at least five times. It has been so much better!
I think the main reason I have enjoyed it more is the variety. Instead of looking at my list and thinking, “oh, wow, I have to play that game again?” I can look at my list and pick from twenty different options. I was also able to involve some other folks in the process. Specifically, I asked my younger son if there was a game he would like to play with me this year and he selected Chess. So yes, we’ve played that at least five times this year.
It did not take me long to realize that a 20×5 suits me better. I will be doing the same strategy going forward.
What else made my 20×5 this year? I carried over some old favorites like Wingspan and Cascadia and Azul. I added some games I just purchased this year like Bumúntú, Fae and Chai. I finally got to learn and play Everdell and Quacks of Quedlinburg. At the current time I have 19 games on my list (the 20th is a “to be named later” slot) and have played almost all of them five times. Here’s the actual list and status.
- Azul played 6 times
- Wingspan played 6 times
- Cascadia played 11 times
- Quacks of Quedlinburg played 19 times
- Merchants of the Dark Road played 6 times
- Tekhenu played 8 times
- Village played 6 times
- Chess played 8 times
- Scythe played 4 times
- Fae played 9 times
- Stone Age played 6 times
- Everdell played 4 times
- Bumúntú played 6 times
- Tsuro of the Seas played 5 times
- Whistle Stop played 5 times
- Chai played 9 times
- Downfall of Pompeii played 7 times
- Under Falling Skies played 5 times
- Dwellings of Eldervale played 3 times
- To Be Named Later!
So that’s it, that’s how my gaming year has gone so far. How about you? Do you do a 10×10? Do you like the idea of a 20×5 or not? Let me know in the comments. 😎
BGG Spring 2022! My First Time!
This year for the first year ever I attended a formal BGG (Board Game Geek) event. I was able to snag one of the last tickets ($75 if you’re wondering) and got connected to someone with a hotel room for me to crash in for a few nights. What is BGG Spring?
Fun. Squared. Fun Squared Squared. In other words, a bunch of fun.
It’s basically an event where you can see some new games, shop at the exhibitor hall, but most importantly you can play games. New games, old games, complex games, simple games, it doesn’t matter. Board Game Geek provides a bunch of games from their library, or you can bring your own. (I did some of both.) During the four-day event I played a couple dozen games, some of which went for hours and hours.
I played Merchants of the Dark Road twice. Tekhenu and Everdell were two other games on my list that I wanted to play, and I managed to do both. I had three goals for the event: Play some games I knew (and could help teach), Play some games I own but haven’t played yet, and Play some games I have never heard of. I did all of that.
Games I knew (and taught) included Chai, Whistle Stop and Merchants of the Dark Road. Games I had in my library but had not played included Tekhenu and Everdell. I had hoped to learn one Lacerda game (he’s notorious for designing complex games) and I didn’t manage to do that. But I did play several games I picked up at the Virtual Flea Market including Crusaders and Fae.
Yes, the event cost me $75 (plus some hotel costs…I brought my own food). But as a door prize I got a copy of Zapotec and as a first-timer a bonus copy of Wingspan. The first is roughly a $35 at most online game stores, and the second is $45-ish so basically I paid for two games and got to use the game library and hotel facilities for free! Woo!
BGG has a fall event as well. It runs a few days longer, is a bit more expensive ($150), and takes place just before Thanksgiving. Since I normally reserve my vacation time for family at that time of year, I don’t think I will plan on going to the fall event. But I am already thinking about what games I might try to play next Spring.
Abstract Night!
Yesterday I had a dentist appointment. (Yay) It went well, but they wanted to repair/replace some older fillings. (Yay) As a result, I came home with a sore jaw and numb gums and not much interest in returning to work for the day. Instead, I spent the afternoon trying to figure out what to eat. And playing a series of abstract games with my son. Yay! And I mean it this time. 🙂
We played a series of games, some of which I had not played in a very long time, or in some cases ever. I like the concept of abstract games…Quarto remains one of my favorites. But I have other games from the same company as well as some others. We played:
- Quarto Three times
- Quixo Three times
- Pylos Three times
- Batik Twice
- One Up Three times
One of the above items is not like the others. All of the games listed are from a French company named Gigamic except for One Up which comes from Family Games instead.
Gigamic is one of my favorite abstract game publishers. Their games are all (in my experience) very high quality with sturdy wooden pieces. I have probably played more games of Quarto than any of the others. It involves trying to get four pieces in a row that share an attribute (height, color, shape, and density). Quixo was relatively new (I might have played it once or twice before). It starts with a 5×5 grid of blank cubes. On a player turn, they pick up a cube from the edge. If it is blank, turn it to their symbol (X or O). Finally, move the cube to another position where they can slide it in and cover the blank spot they created. The goal is to get five in a row. Pylos involves stacking wooden balls into a pyramid. The person to place their token last, wins. I think we were doing something wrong because the second player always won that game. I am sure there is a rule we were misinterpreting somewhere. Batik is a fun and more casual game. Each player owns a set of wooden pieces of different shapes. Players alternate dropping shapes into a container (two sheets of Plexiglas with a gap between them). The player who has the first piece to extend beyond the top of the container is the loser.
All of these Gigamic games are fun, quick, easy to teach, and in some cases surprisingly deep as far as the strategy required (or allowed). The are all two-person games as well.
On the first round, each player gets to move only one token. On the second round, each player gets to move two tokens. On the third round, three tokens. I think you can see where this is going. 😉 The game tops out at ten moves, but I would think it would end with four-in-a-row before someone needed ten turns.
All of these games offer different scenarios, each requiring a different type of thinking, are easy to teach, and — most importantly — are fun to play. And they don’t require you to have a dentist appointment on the same day to play.
What are some of your favorite abstract games?