Die Saulen der Erde: Die Kartenspiel (Pillars of the Earth: The Card Game) was an interesting trick-taking game, where the cards you won allowed you to gain resources which could be converted to VPs. Wasn’t quite sure how much control you could have but the idea behind the game was pretty sound.
Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game was played twice during the month (both two-player) and was very involved with lots to explore, although the length of the game means it may not get played quite as often as it might. However, a very enjoyable game.
Famiglia is a very clever two player card game of hand management that plays in about half an hour, designed by Friedemann Friese. Working out how to manipulate the cards in your hand and those on the street (the table) was the key here and there seems not to be one set path to success.
Jamiaca is a good family game of pirating and trying to race round an island while holding onto your stash of treasure. The combat was fun, although our game took just a bit longer than the game warranted, although that really is down to how the players choose to play. A bit too cagey, our lot.
I finally got to play Navegador but just as a two-player and I suspect it would be more interesting with a greater number of players. However, it worked fairly well as a two-player and again there looks to be plenty of options to explore with this game.
However, my pick for Game of the Month ended up being 20th Century, the latest by Vladimir Suchy. The dual auction system worked well and judging how to control your garbage needed quite a bit of thought. Our winner took a gamble that paid off but I’m sure the rest of us will have more idea next time of how aggressive or conservative we need to be.