November 2017 roundup

During November, I managed to play 22 games of 21 different titles, with 4 of them being new to me. The new games were:

== NEW GAMES ==

Nemo’s War (second edition) – 1 play –  8 
First Published 2017

This is an excellent solo exploration game based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, with a nice dice gambling mechanism for the various encounters that take place. Really enjoyed this and with four different motives to try, you’ll play differently each time. Also, thumbs up to Victory Point Games for quickly sending me a replacement board as my original was badly misaligned.

Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama – 1 play –  8 
First Published 2017

I never tried the original Avenue but jumped on the Kickstarter for Kokoro (which I rarely do these days). Kokoro is very good and presents you with a nice puzzle with a gambling element regarding whether or not to forego a turn to peek at the next destination card.

Century: Spice Road – 1 play –  7 
First Published 2017

I’m not sure whether I really like Century: Spice Road or whether it’s just a bit too bland. Now it doesn’t normally bother me but this just seemed like the resource conversion process was too drawn out – one conversion in a process that might take several to achieve what you wanted made the game drag a bit. Turns are quick so it comes round without any downtime but the incremental actions were too small for me. Still, I enjoyed the game and do want to play it again.

Fast Forward: FLEE – 1 play –  6 
First Published 2017

This is the htird in Friedemann Friese’s Fast Forward series and is a co-operative card game where you are trying to avoid being captured by the monster. It worked well but I must have been lucky because I won on my first play through. And, having won while know ing what cards are coming up means I’ll probably not need ever to play it again.

== OTHER GAMES PLAYED THIS MONTH ==

2x Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
1x NMBR 9
1x The Lost Expedition
1x Coconuts
1x Numeri
1x Raj
1x Würfelwurst
1x Stop it!
1x Schollen Rollen
1x Rumpelstiltskin
1x Take it Easy!
1x Say Anything
1x Loony Quest
1x Snake Oil
1x Super Cluedo Challenge
1x Zombie Dice
1x Tsuro

We finally won game 7 of Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle this month which was a nice achievement and Becky’s already reset it so she can play the whole series again with her friends. Looking forward to the Monster Box expansion when I can get hold of a copy for a reasonable price. Super Cluedo Challenge was a nice nostalgic return to the table – not sure but it’s probably 15 years at least since I last tried it. And it was also good to get Loony Quest played again as it is really good fun.

== STATE OF THE COLLECTION ==

I added 5 new titles to the collection and passed 4 on to the local charity shop, which means my total collection now stands at 514. The new games were: Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama, Dream On and the three Fast Forward games: Fear, Fortress and Flee.

My list of unplayed games rose slightly from 9 to 10 and my Game of the Month was Nemo’s War: Second Edition.