Tag: board games
Top 10 games I played for the first time in 2017

Top 10 games I played for the first time in 2017

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Two thousand seventeen was wonderful, eventful, insanely busy, sometimes rage-inducing, and now peaceful and calm because I’m really looking forward to 2018 — on to better and bigger things, right?  I’m grateful for the support of my friends and family, and the board-gaming love from all you guys! Thanks for being amazing and for letting me share my board-gaming adventures with all of you.

But before we get started on my top 10 list of games I played for the first time in 2017, I do have two honorable mentions: Whistle Stop and Fire in the Lake. Both were worthy contenders — for different reasons — in a year very full of gaming.  Whistle Stop is a pick-up-and-deliver train game that is strategic yet won’t burn your brain, like with some other train games. And with Fire, it’s a gorgeous and highly strategic war game that’s my new favorite COIN by GMT Games. So now on to my top 10 list …

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Azul: A puzzly mosaic of beautiful tiles

Azul: A puzzly mosaic of beautiful tiles

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Even though I played Azul twice at BGG Con 2017, I didn’t buy it until I saw it at my local game store back at home. It’s a great puzzly game with fantastic components. Judge me if you want — I love, love pretty games. But I’m not going to love a game just because it’s gorgeous. It has to have some substance, too. I’m not that superficial. Sheesh.

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Lorenzo Il Magnifico is … well, magnificent

Lorenzo Il Magnifico is … well, magnificent

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I was out of town last weekend for a wedding and of course, I had to stop by the local game store. I popped into Great Escape Games  in Sacramento and picked up Lorenzo Il Magnifico. My guys and I got it on table this past week, and they all thought it was great. It’s a crunchy and tense euro, and can be played in about two hours, perfect for my group on a weeknight. I’m so glad I bought it!

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GMT Weekend at the Warehouse

GMT Weekend at the Warehouse

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About three hours north of Los Angeles is Hanford, California, home to GMT Games. GMT Games has been making quality strategy games for over 26 years. Twice a year, they hold a convention called “Weekend at the Warehouse,” where gamers literally sit for four days in the company warehouse, among rows and rows and towers of GMT cardboard gloriousness.

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Rincon Games: Tucson’s board game convention

Rincon Games: Tucson’s board game convention

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I went to RinCon for the first time last weekend down in Tucson and had an amazing time! I drove up Friday night to spend the night there so that I can game early in the morning. For those who know me in real life, I am so not a morning person and didn’t want to bother getting up early Saturday to make the 2-hour drive from Phoenix. I only got a day pass for Saturday. Next year, I hope to make it for the whole weekend!

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Cthulhu Wars: Time to wake the Great Old Ones!

Cthulhu Wars: Time to wake the Great Old Ones!

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I recently got a copy of Cthulhu Wars, a game I’ve been obsessed about since BGG Con 2014. Only one of my gaming friends owns this game and unfortunately he lives quite a distance from me so I don’t get to play Cthulhu Wars as often as I like. The last time we played it was at Friendship Con, our annual mini-convention in which we play Cthulhu-theme games and others. If you look closely, our T-shirts were even designed with official art of the different factions from Cthulhu Wars. For those of you guys unfamiliar with this game, it’s seriously epic.

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Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection

Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection

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Happy Fourth of July, America! The guys and I gathered last weekend to play Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection, designed by Harold Buchanan, who I met at Strategicon in Los Angeles at the end of May. My friends and I love playing war games, and this is the third in the COIN series that I’ve had the chance to play. The previous two are Falling Sky: The Gallic Revolt and A Distant Plain.

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Arizona Con Gamer Garage Sale

Arizona Con Gamer Garage Sale

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It’s super duper early Saturday morning in Chandler, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, and a neon-pink sign in the church parking lot that says “Sellers” points people toward a building on the back of the campus. Outside the auditorium, another sign greets you: “Welcome gamers!” Today is Arizona Con.

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Come fly away with me in Celestia!

Come fly away with me in Celestia!

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I had so much fun playing Celestia at BGG Con last November that I bought a copy there. I mean, seriously, who can resist that adorable aircraft? Plus, I’m always on the lookout for fun games that can accommodate a medium-sized group of gamers. Celestia is a fun 30-minute push-your-luck game that plays 2-6 players. You are traversing the clouds of the kingdom of Celestia, and the adventurer who travels the farthest on multiple journeys wins the game.

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