Ten games I'm looking forward to playing
With summer halfway over, it's time for regular game nights to resume.
Hello! Last time we talked, I was on the verge of reaching 500 subscribers. Well, thanks to all of you, I’ve reached that mark and then some — which really is quite exciting. Thank you!
If you’d like to help me celebrate, I’d love to send off some Don’t Eat the Meeples stickers to you. Just send me an email by replying to this newsletter with your address and I’ll get them off before too long.
Not this week, though, because I’m actually away from home as I’ll be attending a trick-taking convention in Utah (TTUTCON — are you going? Shout if you are!) this week. It’s two days of open gaming focused solely on trick-taking, climbing and shedding games. It’ll be good fun, I suspect.
At any rate, traveling again has me thinking more about the games I’d like to play more once I’m back home, not least because I haven’t been playing all that many games. Some, sure. And plenty on Board Game Arena. That’s what I’ll be talking about in this issue, then: games I’d like to play. After all, summer is in its back half, kids are starting to go back to school, and travel plans are ending. It’s the perfect time to organize a game night or three.
Five games I haven’t played much or not at at all that I’d like to play sooner rather than later
Rolls right off the tongue.
Arcs — A sci-fi strategy game with a bit of trick-taking and a campaign? I’d like to find the right group for this one. Designed by Cole Wehrle, published by Leder Games.
River Valley Glassworks — I’ve played a lot of this one on Board Game Arena, and it appears pledge is close to fulfillment. It’s a nice little semi-abstract sort of in the vein of Azul. You can actually pick it up at Target, apparently, though without some of the fancier pieces you can get from Allplay directly. Designed by Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle.
Burgle Bros 3 — this one’s further out for getting to the table, but it’s exciting all the same. I’ve been a fan of designer Tim Fowers’ Burgle series for a long time, and the third iteration seems to twist the formula a bit. Designed by Tim Fowers, published by Fowers Games.
Tango — A copy of this one came in just a few days ago. Maybe one of these days I’ll write about two-player trick-taking games. This is one of those. Designed by David Harding and Matt Sims, published by Grail Games.
Seers Catalog — I love trick-taking and climbing/shedding games (can you tell?) and this one has a delightful twist: You don’t want to be the first player to shed your hand, because you’ll earn points for the highest-value card in your hand — but only if have fewer than six cards remaining. It’s super neat. I’ve actually played this once, but I’m itching to play again. Designed by Taylor Reiner, published by Bezier Games.
Five games I’d like to play again soon
Spirit Island — It’s been a bit since we’ve played Spirit Island, but I’d love to sink my teeth into this cooperative giant some more. There are so many combinations of powers with which to play, and I want to dive into some of the more complicated offerings. Designed by R. Eric Reuss, published by Greater than Games.
For Science! — While I’m thinking about R. Eric Reuss, I’m reminded of For Science!, one of the most highly unusual real-time dexterity cooperative games on the market. I think I’ve got just the group for this. Time will tell. Designed by R. Eric Reuss, published by Grey Fox Games.
Heat: Pedal to the Metal — This was one of the hottest games last year, and I sort of brushed it aside after my first play, preferring instead the earlier and simpler Flamme Rouge, which remains a truly excellent bicycle racing game. I want to give Heat the honest shake it deserves. Designed by Asger Harding Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen, published by Days of Wonder.
Through the Desert — It’s not so long ago that I last played this Knizia classic, but I want to dig in more. It’s remained one of my favorite games for a long time: Why? Designed by Reiner Knizia, published by Allplay.
Power Grid — I don’t think I’ve played Power Grid in at least five years. That’s a bit sad, isn’t it? This network-building auction game is a real treat, and it gets just a bit mathy at the end. Maybe I’ll play against a couple of robots, I don’t know. Hmm. Maybe I should play it as a bit of a 20th anniversary celebration. Designed by Friedemann Friese, published by Rio Grande Games.
Well, that was short! Under 1,000 words. New ground over here. Again, thank you for reading and subscribing. I’m looking forward to continuing to publish this little newsletter, and I hope you look forward to reading it.
Over the next two weeks: A Trick-Takers of Utah report (🎉) and a look at some great games from 2004. I don’t know in which order those will come to fruition. Just wait and see!
Arcs is very good!
I totally want to play Arcs! However, its unclear how well it is w/just two players. My husband is my main gaming partner and it is unlikely I will ever play at a higher count.