What We Played This Week

Board Games We Loved, One We Didn’t & Cards Traded Under the Table

We didn’t play as many games as we wanted to last week, but we did get some good gaming in over the weekend. Well... what counts as good gaming these days.

D.J. didn’t record all our scores in BG Stats, so I’m sure we’re missing a couple of smaller game plays. We did manage to get three games onto the table that we had either never played in person or had left sitting on the Shelf of Shame, so I consider that a huge win.

Cozy StickerVille and Farmer Dill

One weeknight, we played Cozy StickerVille. I’ll be damned if I know which night it was, but we finished Year 2. It was a successful year, and we ended up engaged to Farmer Dill. I just can’t get over how darling this game is. The kids hate that I won’t let them sticker the board, but Cozy StickerVille allows you to play through the game twice. They can sticker the other side of the board when we go through the campaign again. Mama gets the first side.

Friday Night: Snacks, Splendor and Cheating

On Friday night, we picked up The Silk Road expansion for Splendor. We almost always have a game of Splendor going on Board Game Arena, and we recently tried one of the expansions. We loved it, so obviously we needed it for our physical copy too.

The only problem is that it doesn’t fit very well in the original box. Now the teenager will be tasked with 3D-printing an insert...after he finishes the Hot Wheels holders he’s been promising me. I bought 15 more of those damn cars last night. Mama needs her doohickeys so she can hang up her cars!

After I figured out dinner Friday night (we had girl dinner, which was basically a bunch of snacks), we played the new Splendor expansion and Sabobatage. I can’t remember what else we played that night, but we were all tired, so we eventually switched to playing games together on BGA from our tablets.

Let me tell you, Sabobatage can be meeeaaannnnn! These kids had a personal vendetta against D.J. and I. Sabobatage is normally played until someone creates five drinks, but we played the shorter version where you only need to collect three.

It was still taking for-fucking-ever, so D.J. and I traded a few cards under the table. We were finally able to finish the game and move on to Splendor.

Don’t tell the kids.

Saturday: A Few Long-Awaited Games

Saturday mornings are usually reserved for our chores for the week. I managed to finish mine early-ish, so we were able to table a couple more games. Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains was the first game we played, and it was actually initiated by the teenager, which was pretty cool. In my review of Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains, I mentioned that he isn’t a fan of the original Forest Shuffle. Having him ask to play this version made my heart happy.

We’ve played Pirates of Maracaibo on BGA too many times to count, but we were finally able to get our physical copy onto the table this weekend. D.J. and I played one game together, and then we bribed the teenager with snacks to play another game with us. By the time everything clicked for him, the game was almost over and he was ready to play again. We started another game with him on BGA and moved on to our next physical game.

Next up was Pokémon Splendor. If you haven’t seen this version, you NEED TO FIND!!! Especially if you already like Splendor. It is the CUTEST version of the game. I’m not sure why its picture didn’t save to the grid (D.J., I blame you), but instead of collecting gems, you collect Poké Balls. You trade those Poké Balls in to “catch” Pokémon. And, instead of simply collecting higher-scoring cards until you reach 16 points, you collect more cards to evolve your Pokémon. As you play, you’re also completing a Pokédex.

Anthony wants us to spend an entire day playing it repeatedly, starting over each time until we complete the Pokédex in one day. I am completely down for that challenge.

Finding enough time to make it happen, however... well, that’s a whole different story.

We ended Saturday night with a round of Aeon’s End Legacy. I honestly didn’t think I would enjoy this game as much as I do. It’s a cooperative deck builder, and “firefighting” games usually aren’t for me. They give me too much anxiety. Pandemic, for example, can stay right there in the store. I do not need that kind of stress in my life.

Aeon’s End has some firefighting elements because the Nemesis is constantly coming after you, but it still feels like we can fight back and actually do something about it.

I also really enjoy the turn sequence. Instead of simply moving clockwise around the table, you shuffle a small deck of turn-order cards. Each player gets a turn during the round, there’s a wild card that allows us to choose someone to take an extra turn, and the Nemesis gets two turns. Because the order changes every round, you never know exactly when everyone will act. It keeps things interesting without making me want to flip the table.

Since it’s cooperative, the cards we play can also help one another. We can work together and become stronger as a team instead of everyone playing their own completely separate game. I’m really excited to finish the campaign.

Sunday: Cozy Games Before the Heavy Stuff

Sunday was when we got most of our gaming in for the week. We played Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains, Tapestry, Barcelona, Bonsai and Frosted Blooms (or, as it’s known in our house thanks to Anthony, Frozen Flowers).

We like to start with something light on Sunday mornings while we wake up and sip our coffee. This Sunday started with Bonsai. Talk about a cozy game. The actions are simple: take a card and the tiles associated with its position, or use your turn to build your tree. I think the game technically calls that “meditating,” but whatever, it’s building a tiny tree, and it’s adorable. You score points for leaves, flowers and fruit. Some cards give you bonuses, while others allow you to keep more tiles or place additional tiles. You can also claim bonus cards by meeting certain conditions for additional end-game scoring. Once you reach the end of the deck, the game is over and everyone calculates their score. Then you secretly judge one another based on whose bonsai tree looks the best.

I recently discovered that there are wooden tiles available for this game. They’re only $15, too. I see those in my very near future.

After Bonsai, we played Frozen Flowers, also known by its actual name, Frosted Blooms. I first heard about this game on BGA. I’m not sure how I missed it before then, but OMG, am I happy we played it. It took me a minute to figure out some kind of strategy, but it’s difficult to have one set strategy because the bonus tiles change from game to game. Sometimes you want to group a bunch of the same flowers together. Other times, you want several water spaces connected. Then there are games where you need to leave room for dudes, barns and windmills.

When you place a dude, you earn a coin. Choosing your landscape tiles feels a little Patchwork-y because the available tiles are arranged around the board. You choose one from the circle, but if you skip over another tile to take the one you want, you have to pay a coin. That’s where the dudes come in handy. However, coins are also worth points at the end of the game, and they can make or break your final score.

Frosted Blooms is another wonderfully cozy game, and the production is beautiful. The cards have gold foil, and there is shimmer everywhere to mimic that “frosted” look.

Horrible picture, but you can kinda see what was going for here. Check out my Instagram for some better photos.

Finally Getting Tapestry on the Table

Then the “heavy” gaming started. We FINALLY got Tapestry onto the table. We’ve played a few games on BGA, so we both already understood the mechanics and how everything worked. Still, getting to play the physical version, see everything laid out together and avoid straining my eyes while staring at a tablet screen made the experience so much better.

The resource tracks were especially nice because I didn’t need to keep a billion little pieces spread out in front of me. Jamey makes such nice games. I really liked the grippiness of the player boards. That little bit of texture went a long way in keeping the components from sliding around.

There are also so many choices. I thought I might struggle with a little analysis paralysis, but the cheat sheets that come with the game explain each space and all the iconography. They made everything feel surprisingly breezy. I’m excited to get this one back onto the table, and hopefully convince Anthony to play it with us.

Barcelona: Beautiful but Boring

We took a little break, I took a nap, and D.J. read the rules for Barcelona and set everything up. The game is beautiful, especially the box art. There were sooo many pieces on the table that it initially looked pretty overwhelming, but the gameplay itself ended up being fairly simple. Maybe too simple.

We had to take a break between the first and second rounds. Even after returning to it, we were both completely underwhelmed. There were a lot of rules, pieces and things happening on the table, yet somehow the entire experience was just kind of... boring.

After we cleaned everything up and recorded our scores, D.J. and I looked at each other and agreed: it wasn’t worth keeping.

Barcelona is going into the sell pile. If someone else already had it set up and asked me to play, of course I’d jump right in. I just don’t feel the need to own it, store it or set up all those pieces myself.

A Pretty Successful Week of Gaming

Overall, it was a great week for family board games! This weekend, I’m hoping to pull at least two more games from the Shelf of Shame or games we’ve played on BGA but haven’t tried in person yet, and finally, get them onto the table.

Which game from this list would you most want to play? And why is it Pokémon Splendor?