In February, I managed to play 27 games of 24 different titles, 10 of which were new to me. The new games were:
20 Express – Simple game of drawing number tiles from a bag and marking the numbers on a score sheet so you get strings of ascending numbers, with longer strings scoring more points. Nice puzzle with a Take It Easy feel.
Automobiles – Very clever bag building game crossed with a racing game, where you use cubes drawn from a bag for movement and to improve your car’s capabilities. Lots of variability in the improvement cards that can be used each race means that the game will play differently every time.
Burgle Bros – Co-operative game about a heist where you are robbers trying to explore a building and make off with the contents of a safe while avoiding the guards and various alarms. Very good and plays well solo.
The Grizzled – Another co-operative game but with an unusual theme of simply trying to survive the First World War. Very tough to beat, you try to get cards out of your hand and deplete the draw deck before the morale deck runs out. Very enjoyable.
Isle of Trains – Little card game with lots to think about with multi-use cards. Build up your train, load stuff onto it and fulfil contracts but helping your opponent can also help you.
Octodice – Dice game where you combine pairs of dice to do stuff on your score sheet with a view to scoring the most VPs you can over 6 rounds.
Paperback – Deck building game combined with a word game. Works really nicely and has a strong Dominion-like feel.
Peloponnes: The Card Game – Streamlined version of the board game that is very close to the original but with more less predictable disasters. Still a tough balancing act.
Push It – Very portable dexterity game where gameplay couldn’t be simpler. Flick your wooden discs to get as close to the target disc as you can. Good fun.
Steam Time – Game about travelling through time on steam-powered airships with a view to completing expeditions, upgrading your airship, accomplishing missions in order to amass the most VPs after five rounds. Very good with lots of choices to make on your turn and multiple paths to victory.
I sold 7 games and added 6 new games to the collection: 20 Express, Automobiles, Burgle Bros, Isle of Trains, Paperback and Steam Time. My total collection stands at 620.
My unplayed list is down from 19 to 15, and my Game of the Month was a very tough choice as Automobiles, The Grizzled, Burgle Bros and Steam Time were all very good. However, I have to pick one so let’s go for Automobiles, an excellent blend of deck (bag) building and race game.
