This installment of the Board Game Night Playlist is all about money. This set of games is all about stacking that paper, making it rain and stacking more paper so you can make it rain again. The most obvious choice almost didn’t make the cut, but there are some lesser known games that really make this list pop. Time to get out your wallets and let the money fly!
The inclusion of Sushi Go onto this list even caught me by surprise. Though the review only recently went live, I’ve had this game for a few months now and have played it a lot. In most cases, the game worked well, though it wasn’t anything that blew me out of the water.
That is, until I broke out it out with my coworkers. Maybe it was just the crowd that I played it with, but the game shined that night in a way that I didn’t think it could. On that night, the sushi moved around the table for hours as my coworkers wouldn’t stop playing it. Whether it hits that super nova level of awesome again remains to be seen. However, even at it’s “worst”, the game is still going to be fun any time you break it out. Congratulations Sushi Go for making the list!
Check out the full list of Awesome Board Games You Should Play!
As a huge fan of XCOM and of board games, picking this one up was a no-brainer. But would it be good? After playing it a bunch over the past week or so, I’m happy to say, “Yes!” XCOM: The Board Game does a great job of providing players with an all-around essence of the video game in a format that’s better suited for the tabletop.
Some traditionalists may have grave concerns over the game requiring a digital app to play it, though the app really adds to the experience. You get a great tutorial, variable set-ups and a dynamic turn structure that would be a nightmare to recreate with physical components. The app really takes the game to the next level and wouldn’t be nearly as cohesive without it. Glad to add this one to the list!
Check out the full list of Awesome Board Games You Should Play!
Aliens are hell bent on taking over our planet, but to quote Will Smith from Independence Day, “Welcome to Earth!” In XCOM: The Board Game, you and your fellow teammates will square off against the extraterrestrial threats on multiple fronts. This particular conflict may not be completely new to you, as this is a licensed board game based on the hit video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Nonetheless, it brings something very alien to the table for gamers of all sorts (pun intended), as it’s one of the first board games that needs to be played alongside of a digital app. Should you suit up for what might be Earth’s last stand?
One of the best reasons to play board games at Snakes and Lattes is that you’ll always have access to a board game guru. With their vast knowledge in games and experience in teaching games to others, they always seem to teach me a new game in a matter of minutes, versus the hours it usually takes me to fumble through manuals and online tutorial videos. If it were possible, I would want to have access to one of their board game gurus at all times so that they can teach me a new game anywhere.
The harsh reality is that this will never happen. Most of the time, I’m going to have to figure things out on my own or with Steff. In order to avoid placing the burden of learning games the hard way on others, I usually take the time to workshop a game alone or with Steff so that we can make the learning experience better for others.
Ever since the advent of Dungeons & Dragons (and probably even before that if you look hard enough), the Medieval era of history has been mined by board games countless times. Even though I’m generally not a fan of medieval fantasy in any medium, I’ve played and enjoyed enough board games set in this era to fill out this playlist. Heck, I even included one extra because I couldn’t make it fit within the main list. If you’re in the mood for some medieval action, try these ones out!
Despite being the winner of the 2014 Speil des Jahres – the most prestigious award in board games – the thought of betting on racing camels didn’t sound all that riveting to me. On a lark, I tried it out with some friends at Snakes and Lattes and it really caught us off guard with how fun it is. Camel Up mixes together a unique take on the roll-and-move mechanic along with different ways of betting on the race that make every race exciting and silly. It does scale well, as the game claims to support from 2-8 players, though I think it works best with 3-5. I’m not qualified enough to say whether Camel Up deserves to be a game of the year champion, but it’s certainly earned a spot on my list of Awesome Board Games You Should Play.
Making its debut in 2014, the Dice Masters series of games won me over in a huge way with Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men. Once I got a hang of it, I found the game to be fast and entertaining while keeping the spirit of the characters intact through their card abilities and generally-excellent dice designs. It also didn’t hurt that the game is generally sold at a very attractive price point. That said, I also had a few problems with the terrible paper bags that are used to contain dice and the fact that only one playmat came with the game as a centrefold in the manual.
Next in the lineup is Marvel Dice Masters: Uncanny X-Men. Fully compatible with all Dice Masters games, this starter set has the same general pros and cons of the original, including those crappy bags and only one playmat in the middle of the manual. The key difference is that the game comes with a new set of basic action cards, character cards and character dice.
Given the chance, I will sing the praises of the Yomi series every chance I get. Compared to anything else on the marketplace that is trying to replicate the Street Fighter experience in tabletop form, Yomi crushes them all. I love the core concept of Rock Paper Scissors combat, which is an accurate analogy for how fighting game combat works. I love being able to manage all of the different maneuvers that each character has and the nuances that make them different. For the hardest of hardcore fighting game fans, there are so many nods to how a real fighting game plays that it scratches the exact same itch for me.
Despite that, this marquee title from Sirlin Games suffers from a steep pricing challenge. The complete first edition, packed with 10 characters and two playmats, will set you back about $100 if you’re lucky enough to find it nowadays. I’m certainly glad to have it, but it’s a very difficult proposition for even the most enthusiastic customers. Instead of anchoring the series down with a complete big box – and potentially an even bigger box with the additional 10 expansion characters on the way – Sirlin Games is moving in a different direction.
In Third Person 