March 2017 roundup

Oops, I forgot to post this last month but better late than never.

March proved to be a very light month for gaming as I only managed to play 14 games of 10 different titles, with 5 of them being new to me. The new games were:

== NEW GAMES ==

Unlock! – 3 plays –  8 
First Published 2017

Although we tried the tutorial in February, I’m classing this as new this month with us trying two of the three scenarios in the box and the bonus print and play. This is a very good escape room style game which integrates an app very well. Even though you can only play each scenario once, if they can release each one for about a tenner, I still think it’s reasonable value.

Twenty One – 1 play –  8 
First Published 2017

Another roll and write game and I enjoyed this one a lot (but I do have a tendency to enjoy this type of game anyway). Sort of a race to complete your rows quickly but judging whether to wait for an exact hit or cut your losses is a nice dilemma.

NMBR 9 – 1 play –  7 
First Published 2017

Fun tile laying puzzle where everyone is using the same tiles to create their own individual multi-level structure where points are scored for pieces not on the base level. However, you need to create sufficient space on the base level to support pieces above the base. Simple, good fun and short.

The Oracle of Delphi – 1 play –  6 
First Published 2016

This is a provisional rating as this turned out to be an incomplete play. Use dice to move around a map, accomplishing tasks for Zeus in a pick-up and deliver approach. The number of possible actions for your dice is very high so you’re always likely to be able to do something but whoever does things most efficiently will win. Not bad but I need to try again to see if I like this enough to hang onto it.

Twins – 1 play –  5 
First Published 1996

Wow. We played this three player and it just didn’t work for us. The fixed closed economy was a problem because unless you played recklessly, you didn’t seem in danger of going bankrupt (which is what triggers the end of the game). It might work better with six but I felt there needed to be a way of money going out of the game, such as a tax of one coin per player at the end of each round.

== OTHER GAMES PLAYED THIS MONTH ==

3x Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
1x Dream Home
1x Spot it!
1x Schotten Totten
1x Elevenses for One

Still enjoying HP: Hogwarts Battle (and Becky loves it). Managed to get through Book 4 so three more to complete it. Interested to see there’s an expansion in the works.

== STATE OF THE COLLECTION ==

I added 7 new games to the collection and reacquired 1. The new additions were: Elevenses for One & Bowling Solitaire, Haru Ichiban, Unlock, Saboteur: Das Duell, Twenty One, NMBR9 and Unfair. My total collection now stands at 582.

My list of unplayed games has risen by one from 17 to 18 and my Game of the Month was Unlock.