11/20 Featured Games

Hey everyone!

As mentioned last time, we will be having game night tomorrow, November 20th, at 6:30 PM rather than our regularly scheduled meeting on the fourth Friday of the month.  In December, again due to the Christmas holiday occurring on the fourth Friday, we will be meeting the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month.

This Friday, in honor of the tragedies that occurred in France, we will be playing games that in some way involve France!  Due in part to the prevalence of European designers there are a lot of games that involve European nations and France is no exception.

In no particular order, here are some of the games that will definitely be there and ones that hopefully some of ya'll will bring if you own them!

Castles of Burgundy

Burgundy is a region in Eastern-central France and is the geographical center of this very highly esteemed Euro-game by Stefan Feld.  To be honest, the theme here is a bit light and you never necessarily feel like you're specifically in France, but nonetheless it's in the name!  In this game players build up their 14th century estate filling it with farms, cities, castles, trade centers, and more, all in an effort to earn the most points.  The dice-action system in this game is extremely fun and engaging and this still rates among the best Euro-games despite its age.

Carcassonne

Carcassonne is one of the most popular games of all time.  A classic from earlier in the 21st century, Carcassonne is a family-level tile laying game where players lay out pictures of a medieval French landscape, connecting the edges in a domino-esque way, trying to score the most points.  It is an easy game to grasp and is very enjoyable.  We own the Big Box edition as well as Winter Carcassonne so there are plenty of ways to play!


Olreans

Orleans is a very popular game that recently was released.  It is a 'tile drawing' game and is somewhat unique. This format is similar to a game like Dominion, a popular deck-builder, but rather than building up a deck of cards, each player builds up a bag of various chips, each personally selected to add to the bag.  Throughout the game the player draws these, developing his strategy based on what tiles were placed in the bag.  It is an interesting system in a very accessible and enjoyable Euro game.  Note - I do not personally own Olreans but I'm hoping one of our regulars does and will bring it!

There are a number of other games that either directly involve France, include France as a country on a map or playable faction, or are designed by French composers.

So invite your games and bring your French games!

Upcoming Session Dates

Hi everyone!

You may have noticed that if our sessions continued on the scheduled dates, we'd run into a few conflicts.  First, the fourth Friday of November is the day after Thanksgiving and I suspect many people (myself included) will be travelling.  Second, the fourth Friday of December is Christmas Day - obviously we aren't having it on Christmas.  So, to alleviate these conflicts, I have changed the dates of game nights in November and December.

We will be meeting on the following nights:

November 13th (this is the normal first meeting of November)

November 20th

December 4th

December 18th

These will all be at the normal 6:30 PM time and go to roughly 11:00 PM.  I will be getting a key from the church soon which means that 11:00 PM will become a bit softer of a cap if we want to go later.

For this upcoming session on November 13th, we will be featuring a very unique kind of game:  ASYMMETRICAL games!  Most games are symmetrical, meaning that all of the players have the same options available to them (mostly) and are all trying to achieve the same things.  For example, in Monopoly all players are trying to earn the most dolla billz.  In Settlers of Catan (or Catan as the cool kids call it now) everyone is trying to earn victory points.  In the games I will list here, players not only have unique abilities, but in most cases also are trying to achieve victory in different ways.

So, here are my top 5 favorite asymmetric games!


5.  Eclipse

Eclipse is a very fun space exploration game (4x).  Each players takes control of a unique alien power, each of which has very different special abilities.  While in this game players ultimately have the same victory conditions, the way these different aliens play out is vastly different, particularly when adding in any of the expansion aliens.  It's a great combination of both economic and conflict gaming and can play as many as 9 players with the expansion, which actually isn't as tedious as it initially sounds!  This is a great game and while the buzz has died off a bit it is still excellent.

4.  Letters from Whitechapel

This game is one of the most played games for my wife and I the year we got it - she loves deduction games and I love any game she wants to play.  We played this a lot with a variety of player counts and generally had a great time.  Our only problem is it can definitely get long, particularly if the investigators are methodical and slow, which the game requires to an extent.  In this game one players plays as Jack the Ripper, slowly terrorizing London, and the rest are the police investigators.  Each round Jack commits a murder and must return back to his hideout before the police are able to either surround him or accurately guess which space he is currently on.  It is a very tense game, particularly for Jack, as he races home and tries to avoid the police.  Each round he must return to the same location so the cops can slowly triangulate where exactly he's going.  Great game!

3.  Specter Ops

Since receiving Specter Ops, our famchallenging for the agent and we have a losing win ratio as such. Very fun game and very easy to learn and play.
ily has barely played Letters from Whitechapel.  That's because Specter Ops has all but replaced it for us.  The primary reason for this is it can be played in half the time.  Now, despite a similar sounding game, it really feels pretty different as this is much more fast paced.  In this, one players is an agent sneaking around some facility, trying to complete objectives.  The rest of the players are hunters trying to find and kill the agent before he can escape - think Metal Gear Solid the boardgame.  It's fast paced and tense as the hunter ducks around corners, uses special weapons and abilities, and does his best to outsmart his opponents.

2.  Terra Mystica

Generally I tried to keep games on this list that had variable win conditions, but honestly there's only so many that I own and are reasonably lengthed for this game session (hence Here I Stand not being on this list, nor any of the COIN games).  This is the quinitissential 'special powers' Euro-game.  Players each take on a different (very different) fantasy race, each with very unique powers and player boards, and try to gain the most points by expanding their civilization in this ever changing world.  Throughout the game players will shape and change the terrain features of the world, making it so their race can flourish
.  There is a lot of strategic and tactical thinking and next to no luck present in this game.  This is a heavy game and with four players can run a bit long, but it is a very deep and rewarding experience nonetheless.



1.  Fury of Dracula

Okay so I'm cheating by putting this as number 1 as I actually haven't played it yet, but I expect to before next Friday and I'm 99% sure this will become my favorite asymmetric game (aside from Here I Stand).  It has everything I want - one vs. all mechanics, deduction, a cool creepy theme, a really cool sounding name, lots of powers and narrative events, and plus it looks awesome.  The new third edition by Fantasy Flight just released and it looks amazing.  One player is Dracula, the others are vampire hunters trying to track him down and kill him before he can take over all of Europe with his evil, brooding ways.  These are sparkly vampires with skinny jeans, they're cool, traditional vampires ready to do all sorts of bad things, but be super cool doing them.

Of course any games are welcome, particularly if they match theme!  Bring some games, bring some friends, and be ready to game on November 13th!

10/23 Game Night!

Hey everyone!

My apologies I haven't updated the blog in a little while - we haven't had a game night in almost a month due to a church event and the one before that I was out of town for!  

This upcoming Friday we will be hosting another game night and given its proximity to Halloween we will be playing a variety of horror themed games (with varying levels of actual scariness).

As such, here are my top 5 favorite "horror" themed games with some others listed at the bottom that we'll also have.

5.  Betrayal at House on the Hill

The first game we'll have available is one we'd be seriously amiss for not mentioning.  Betrayal at  House on the Hill is the quintessential Halloween game.  Strictly speaking it's not the best game in the world - the mechanics can be weird and every now and again you'll get a scenario that just breaks, but the theme is exactly what you want on Halloween.  The players all start on the same team but midway through exploring the creepy old house one of the players betrays the rest, each time with a different randomly determined scenario.  It's made even more fun when played in a dimly lit room with a creepy ambiance.

4.  Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter is the unofficial game of the year of 2014.  It was wildly popular and still is doing quite well for itself.  In this game, a group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse (what else?) have banded together for survival.  Each game features a different scenario goal and each player has their own personal agenda as well, including the potential that one player has a secret 'traitor' agenda to sabotage the main goal.  The game is highly thematic and very well designed.  It also gives a very great zombie feel, particularly with the use of the story-driven 'crossroads' deck that gives players interesting choices to make.


3.  Ultimate Werewolf

I love Ultimate Werewolf.  It is my favorite social deduction game that takes less than 3 hours (lookin' at you BSG) and I think that is largely because of how much fun I have moderating it.  Watching it all unfold knowing who everyone is is rather fun and interesting - it's like a social experiment I get to create and watch.  In the game, players are either werewolves or villagers with a smattering of special powers thrown in.  The entire game is discussion and accusation, pinning the players against each other trying to determine who is who.  The villagers win by killing off the werewolves.  The werewolves win by eating the villagers.  It's a great time.  We will be playing a game of this as our evening winds down (probably multiple games) so plan accordingly!

2.  Mysterium

To call Mysterium a horror game is a bit generous - it's not really scary.  However, the theme itself is rooted in the idea that the players, except one, are paranormal investigators seeking out the clues of a cold case murder trial in a big creepy mansion.  One of the players acts as the ghost of the victim who, by use of extremely surreal cards, gives the players 'visions' and clues (silently) to lead them toward the murder, location, and weapon.  This game is an interesting and unique combination of mechanics that just works extremely well.  It plays great with a full player count of 7 and is one of the most popular games on 2015 thus far.  The new American edition is gorgeous!

1.  Eldritch Horror

Finally, Eldritch Horror is my finally horror themed game.  I probably like other games better on this list overall, but as far as a Halloween themed game is concerned, this one takes the cake.  Set in the Lovecraft universe of Cthulu, a team of investigators is trying to save the world as one of the monsters (I forget their real names - I'm not that into Lovecraft or Cthulu) tries to destroy/eat/burn it.  You move your characters all over the map of the world, encounter very story-driven elements, and all around have a great time.  It's a somewhat heavy game that can take a few hours but it's worth the time.  The only problem is I don't own it and neither does GCOM so unless somebody else brings it (hint hint) we won't be able to play it.  Nonetheless, I wanted to mention it since it's such a great game.

We will have other horror themed games there as well, including Zombicide, Ghost Stories, Witch's Brew, Shadow Hunters, Fearsome Floors, Terror of Meeple City, and more.  Don't be intimidated by the scary theme - the games are generally fun and light-hearted with just a touch of the horror.  Bring some friends, bring some family, bring some strangers, bring some zombies, or bring the ghost of a cold case murder - either way, bring somebody!  And be ready to have a good time!

September 11th Session Preview

Greetings!!

This upcoming Friday will be our regularly scheduled gaming session at 6:30 PM at The Church at Severn Run.  We are very excited to kick off September and the fall season with some games.  We've been very happy about the attendance over the summer months as people travel and hope to see everyone mor
e regularly now that summer is coming to a close and fall is upon us.

To correspond with the turning seasons, we will be featuring games that involve seasons in some capacity!  As had been done in the past, below are my person top five favorite games that involve seasons:

5.  Kingsburg

Kingsburg is actually a game I'm getting just a touch burnt out on because we've played it so much.  This is my go-to 'next level' game.  In other words, if I'm gaming with people who have become comfortable with games like Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and the like, then this is the game I'll teach them as it's just one step above those games in complexity.  Honestly, it's easy enough that I could probably use it as a gateway game, but there's just a little bit more planning involved in those other games.  The game itself is very fun, particularly with the expansion - players roll dice and then use those dice to influence various advisers in a fantasy ruler's court.  The goal is to collect resources and use them to build structures, both for the purpose of gaining points but also to gain special powers.  The game is played over five years split into seasons and in the winter of each year a monster attacks the town - hopefully you've built the necessary defenses!


4.  Agricola

This is an extremely beloved game in the gaming community and still rests in the top ten of BGG's rankings.  I believe it spent some time as #1 several years ago but could be mistaken.  In this game, players take control of farms in the 14th century, which doesn't sound particularly exciting, but it really is.  The game is somewhat puzzly and is certainly a challenge, particularly as every harvest season you have to feed your family or you take 'begging cards,' which are essentially negative points.  Resources are tight and so is are points in this game!


3.  Viticulture (Collector's Edition)

I was fortunate enough to back the Viticulture Collector's Edition on Kickstarter and have been thus blessed with a beautiful edition of this game and its expansion, Tuscany.  This game is fantastic - players take control of Vineyards and tussle to be the most influential.  They grow grapes, make wines, upgrade their tools and buildings, and sell their goods.  It's a really tight game with an exciting point-based conclusion.  The expansion really increases the quality of the game as well, including the awesome metal coins.  The game is worker-placement based and the placement options change with each season.



2.  Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

This is my favorite pure cooperative game.  It is based on the book Robinson Crusoe, though it also ties into other similar novels, including the Swiss Family Robinson.  In fact, some of the scenarios also are based off of films like King Kong and Indiana Jones.  Player team up to survive on a remote, tropical island, trying to survive and complete the mission prescribed on the scenario card.  Some of the scenarios are quite challenging and the game's mechanics tie in incredibly well with the theme.  One of them is that each round, depending on the season, weather dice are rolled to simulate monsoons and snow storms.   This is a really fun game.

1.  Caverna

Finally, we have my favorite season-based game:  Caverna.  Caverna is Agricola's sequel and, in my opinion, is its superior.  I really enjoy the sandbox nature of Caverna, where there are a plethora of options and each game beckons to try something new.  In this game the players are
Dwarven cave farmers trying to make their way in the world.  Not only do they develop farms as in Agricola, but they also build mines and rooms inside of their cave dwellings.  There are endless combinations of rooms and strategies to try out and try build the best Dwarf farm.

In addition to these games we'll have the full table available as well with games to borrow.  And of course, don't feel limited to these - bring whatever you want to play and have fun!!!

See you all on Friday,

Lee

8/14 Session - It's Convention Season!

Greetings friends!

This time of year is one of the most exciting for gamers - it is convention season!  The two biggest American conventions occur during the summer months with Origins in Columbus, Ohio and Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Thousands of gamers go to these events and play new games, see events, meet designers, and generally spend a lot of cash on the latest games.  It is also worth noting that going on right now in Lancaster, PA is the World Boardgaming Championships - a great little convention that gets a lot of help from members of GCOM, the Games Club of Maryland (to which we are proud members).  If you're ever free in August and want a closer, less populated convention this is a great one.

Whether you've gone to these conventions or not, we're going to be treating this as a chance to bring the newest games you've picked up to game night!  You're of course welcome to do this anyways (and probably already do if you're a regular), but this week in particular I think it'd be great to bust out some of the latest games of 2015!

As a preview for some of the available games, here are some of the new additions to the Nicholas Family game collection....

Specter Ops

Specter Ops is a fantastically exciting game!  One player plays the "Agent" and the rest play the "Hunters."  The Agent runs around secretly trying to complete objectives and escape while the hunters are trying to kill the Agent.  The Agent does not appear on the board but the Hunters do and can only see him if the Agent is within line of sight.  This game is everything we hoped it would be - it is action packed, there are special player abilities, and the components are very well done!

Forbidden Stars

Forbidden Stars is one of the highest rated games released this year!  Published by Fantasy Flight Games, it is an epic space conquest game.  This game is very much the spiritual successor to the classic Starcraft Board game.  It features smaller army and fleet counts and a very interesting, deck-building based combat system.  Players can upgrade their actions available to them and each faction is completely different in its units, combat cards, and special abilities.  The miniatures are also different for each faction and look fantastic.  This game can be long - 2-3 hours with three players, 4 hours or so with four, but very much worth it.


Just as a final reminder, this upcoming game night is on August 14th, not August 7th.  Remember, we meet on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month - not every other Friday.

What games did you get this summer?  Post them in the comment and bring 'em to Game Night!

7/24 Game Night!

Hi everyone!

I hope this finds you having a delightful summer and that you've enjoyed the past couple of sessions!  I have been absent for a little while due to my summer travel schedule (I'm a teacher and take full advantage) however that time has now passed and will be at game night for the foreseeable future, including this upcoming session!  As such, we will be having a theme and showcasing some featured games!

Now, this theme is going to seem a bit self-serving and that's fair - it absolutely is.  However, if you're married you understand that you take every opportunity to add some brownie points to the bank.  This upcoming session just happens to be on me and my wife, Beth's, anniversary - our fifth year!  Don't worry, we plan on finding a different day to celebrate so I'm not blowing her off to play games (otherwise I'd have to live at the church).  However, since that is the day, our theme for this upcoming Friday will be my wife's favorite games (they're mostly good).

So, without further adieu, here are Beth's Top 10 Favorite Games:

10.  Dutch Blitz

I'm not going to lie to you, I do not like this game.  It's kind of a weird, cultural thing from my wife's PA Dutch-ish heritage.  It's kind of like solitaire, but with more people, and really fast.  You are trying to clear your stack of cards out before anyone else does.  You then get points for the different cards you've played and (the people who don't finish point lose points for cards still in their stack).  After several rounds whoever has the most points wins (or you play to a set limit).  It's fast and if you're into light card games (I'm not) you'll probably enjoy it.


9.  Defenders of the Realm

This is the only cooperative game on Beth's list of her favorite games, probably due to her tendency to be ridiculously competitive.  This game gets some flak for being 'too similar' to Pandemic, but I don't think that's fair.  This game has players taking control of typical fantasy-esque classes (mage, paladin, knight) to defend the realm (go figure) from baddies.  Orcs, demons, zombies, and dragons are all besieging Monarch City (at the same time, no less!) and their leaders must be killed.  This game can be challenging, especially when using the Dragons expansion, and it is quite fun.  It also plays up to 6 which is pretty high for a cooperative game.

8.  War of the Ring

This game is so high because my wife and I are big Tolkien fans.  It'd probably be higher if we actually played it more often.  Nonetheless, it is a great game and one we both love.  This game technically plays 2-4, though it's really a two-player game that they allow you to break into teams.  One side plays the Shadow, the other the Free Peoples.  The Shadow wins by either conquering the world or corrupting the Ring-bearer, the Free Peoples win by either defeating the Shadow in military victory or destroying the Ring (more likely).  It's a beautiful game that genuinely captures the spirit of Tolkien - an impressive feat!

7.  The Resistance: Avalon

The Resistance: Avalon is a fast social-deduction game in which players are attempting to complete missions for King Arthur.  Unfortunately, some of the players are secretly evil and are working to thwart the missions.  This game is pretty quick and does not involve player-elimination (unlike its counterpart, Ultimate Werewolf).    There are also some interesting roles that come with the game, including that of Merlin - who knows everyone's allegiance but has to remain hidden himself from the evil players.

6.  Carcassonne

This is a light tile-placing game.  It has been a fixture in the gaming community for over a decade.  There are dozens of expansions and variants and rightfully so - it is very fun.  Each turn you lay a piece down, try to complete 'features' on a map, and score points.  It sounds kind of boring but it's really very fun.

5.  Splendor

Splendor is one of the most popular games of 2014!  Many people thought it should have won the Spiel des Jahres in 2014, however Camel Up took the prize instead.  This is an incredibly basic card game in which players are buying cards with cool jewels.  The cards make buying further cards easier, wit the goal of buying more expensive cards asnd collecting sets.  Easy, fun, and fast.

4.  Trajan

After a series of shorter, more simple game, we get Trajan - a heavy Euro!  Trajan is a game that is supposedly about the Roman empire, but honestly the theme is pretty pasted-on.  By Stefan Feld, this game involves a very interesting mechanic that is similar to the classic game mancala.  Players manipulate beads to determine what actions they take by moving them around a wheel.  It's very interesting and thinky!    This isn't her favorite Feld game, nor is it mine, but it is a very good one.

3.  Ticket to Ride: 10th Anniversary Edition

And here we have Beth's favorite gateway game!  You probably know what Ticket to Ride is.  There are trains.  There are cards.  We have the 10th Anniversary
Edition.  Good times.

2.  The Castles of Burgundy

The Castles of Burgundy is Beth's favorite Stefan Feld game (who is her favorite designer).  This game, like his others, is a bit light in the theme department, but makes up for it with extremely strong mechanics.  In this game, you are developing a 15th century estate in France.  You're building farms, buildings, developing science, and shipping goods.  It might sound a bit boring, but this is a great game.  There is dice-rolling, tension, and some very interesting scoring mechanics.


1.  Five Tribes

And finally we have Beth's favorite game - Five Tribes!  This won many 'strategy game of the year' awards this past year and rightfully so.  It was my personal favorite game of the year as well.  This is a fantastic and beautiful game by Bruno Cthala in which players manipulate meeples in (another) mancala-esque way to earn the most points.  The strategies are varied, there are unique powers that can be bought, and the components are gorgeous.  Its hard to describe this game in a way that actually communicates how much fun it is!   If you haven't tried it, you absolutely should!

Well there you have them!  Beth's top 10 favorite games!  She has pretty good tastes.  As always, you are more than welcome to bring and play your own stuff - especially since she might not even make it!  Nonetheless, if you seem some games here you've been hankering to learn or play, we'll definitely have them available for you.

Invite your friends and family and hopefully we'll see you on Friday!

-Lee

Hello everyone!

This is a less detailed post about our upcoming session that normal.  Our next session is in two days on Friday, 6/26 at 6:30 PM in the normal spot at The Church at Severn Run!  We are just as excited as ever for the game night, however as I will not be there, we will not be having a theme.  Other members are stepping up to get game night prepared and run the show so we will have plenty of games.  You can also help by bringing your favorites as well as your friends to play them!

Hopefully we'll see a large crowd out on Friday evening!

Many blessings,

Lee

6/12 Session Preview

Hello!

This upcoming Friday, 6/12, is our regularly schedule session at 6:30 PM.  Remember, our game night does not meet every other Friday, but rather specifically the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.

This upcoming session will be on the same evening of the premier of JURASSIC WORLD.  Now, I'm super excited about this movie and as such I thought we should theme are games around it.  Unfortunately there aren't a lot of specifically dinosaur games (in fact the best one, Dominant Species (which ironically doesn't have actual dinosaurs), I don't own) so I thought I'd expand it to games that involve animals.

As with all of our other sessions, this is a great time to bring friends and invite new folk, so get the word out that we're having a fun game night!

Below are some of the games we'll be playing, presented in the form of my top ten favorite animal-related games.

10.  Hey! That's My Fish

Okay I'm not going to lie, there were only about ten games I own that directly involve animals.  This is a fine little game, but normally one so light wouldn't make any top ten list of mine.  That being said, this is a cute little fifteen-minute filler game that has players taking control of adorable penguins who want to eat the most fish.

9.  Zooloretto

This is a very popular gateway game - in fact, it won the Spiel de Jahres.  Players take control of a zoo and fill it with various animals, receiving points for the different combinations of animals in their pens.  It's cute and great with kids.  It's also very easy!

8.  Takenoko

If any one of these games is going to be described as 'adorable,' this is it.  It has gorgeous artwork, complete with a little painted panda miniature.  In the game you are trying to earn the most points by moving the panda, moving the gardener, and creating a beautiful farm of bamboo.  The game is very simple and does not take particularly long - the real draw here is the gorgeous components.


7.  Evolution

This game was put out on Kickstarter last year by North Star Games who famously produce party games.  Their first foray into strategy games was very successful.  While Evolution wasn't a smash hit, I thought it was a great little card game - particularly since I got the kickstarter rewards which include very cool dinosaur boards and a brontasaurus miniature as a start player token (see, dinosaurs!).  The game play is very fun - you create species of animals and give them various traits in order to be the one that ends up on top.

6.  Agricola

Agricola spent some time as #1 on BGG's ranking and has been in the top 10 for as long as I've been into gaming.  It is Uwe Rosenburg's breakout hit that launched several similar-ish games (one of which is on this list).  In this game you take control of a 14th century farm (15th? 13th?  It's old).  You're trying to create the best farming operation via having active livestock, developed structures, and viable crops.  It is challenging game that can be somewhat puzzly.  It's a superb game and is very worthy of playing!


5.  Camel Up

We have featured Camel Up before as it is a fantastic game.  It won the Spiel de Jahres last year and I think it was very worthy of that.  If you're into gambling at all, then this will be a fun experience for you - in this game you're betting on a camel race!  It's basically as exciting as American Pharaoh winning the Triple Crown.  It's crazy and silly and the camels on occasion
are known to jump on each other.


4.  Dungeon Petz

Dungeon Petz belongs in a category of games called "games I love but never play."  It is a tragic group.  I really enjoy Dungeon Petz.  My wife got it for me for my birthday last summer.  We played it three times in a week.  We haven't played it since, which is a shame.  Despite its cutesy theme - each player runs a pet store that sells monsters to the evil villains who own dungeons - it is actually a relatively intense Euro-game.  It can be very thinky but I think it's wonderful.

3.  Ultimate Werewolf


I'm not going to lie - I look for any excuse to put Ultimate Werewolf on this list.  I love moderating it.  I enjoy putting together interesting character combos and watching everything unfold from an omniscient eye.  In werewolf, players secretly are either villagers or werewolves.  Villagers want to find and lynch all of the wolves - the wolves want to systematically eat all of the villagers.  It is very similar to games like Mafia and does involve player elimination, which is why I like to save it for the end as it gives players a chance to pack up and leave when they've been eliminated.  We'll try and get a game or two of this going around 10:00 PM.

2.  Robinson Crusoe

This is our only cooperative game on our list and it is my absolute favorite of that genre.  Robinson Crusoe is loosely themed on the novels but really it takes simply the 'stranded on a deserted island' format and applies to many scenarios.  Different scenarios include spin-offs of King Kong, Indiana Jones, Swiss Family Robinson, and of course Robinson Crusoe.  On the island the survivors are constantly harassed by calamities, including the wildlife.  Often they will also go hunting the wildlife (see how it's connected to the theme?) in hopes of survival.  It's a challenging game that is just dripping with theme.

1.  Caverna

Caverna is my favorite Euro-game and is one of my favorite games of all time.  It is the sequel
to the aforementioned Agricola, however in his game rather than being boring people-farmers the players are Dwarfs-far
mers.  They have free reign to build of their cave and their farm as they see fit and score points at the end for the most flourishing.  Unlike Agricola, which is more like a puzzle, Caverna is a sandbox.  All options are always available.  Each game I pick an interesting route and run with it, occasionally allowing for opportunities to mold my plans.  Sometimes I love the puzzle games, but in this case I find the sandbox nature such good fun.

5/8 Recap and 5/22 Featured Games

Greetings!

This past session was another enjoyable night of gaming!  For whatever reason it ended up being our lowest attendance in our short existence but we still saw 15 people come and play games.  It was space night and that was almost exclusively what was played!  We played X-Wing, Dune, and Battlestar Galactica (as well as Ticket to Ride - not a space game, but still fun).  Fun was had and if you didn't make it out that's too bad because it was a good time!

This upcoming session will be on Friday, May 22nd at the normal time AND I think we'll finally be back in the primary atrium.  As this day is our closest session to Memorial Day, our theme is going to be games with direct militaristic conflict (we'll shorten that to "Conflict Games.")  I am specifically not using the term "War Games" because this generally has a specific connotation of very heavy games that involve chits, counters, sometimes cards, lots of dice, and very long rulebooks with a plethora of exceptions.  While all of these essentially involve war, only a few are 'war games.'  If you're new to gaming that might be a bit confusing, but don't worry about it.  Essentially, these games all have fighting.

Now, if you're not a big fan of these kinds of games, whether because you're more of a 'euro-gamer' or because you just don't like the violence, fear not!  We will have plenty of other games available to play!

Here are my personal 10 favorite Conflict Games.  I doubt we'll play more than a few of these, but you can count on them being there and being available.  If you are really interested in learning or playing one of these, please say so in the comments or let me know via email and I'll be sure to look for others to join, particularly some of the longer ones.

10.  Small World

Small World is one of the most basic conflict games.  It has players taking control of different fantasy races randomly combined with some special attribute.  Players vie for control of a world that is far too small and at the end of the game the person with the most points win.  I'd consider this a gateway game because its rules are relatively straightforward and its pretty easy to pick up.  This is a great one if you've got friends interested in Risk but haven't tried anything newer!

9.  A Game of Thrones (Second Edition)

Based in the land of Westeros, this game by Fantasy Flight has grown quite popular.  In many camps it is the modern replacement of the classic Diplomacy.  Like the novels, this game features backstabbing, temporary deals, and drawn-out story-lines.  Each players takes control of one of the Houses of the land (Lannisters, Starks, etc.) and try to control the required number of strongholds through a combination of military prowess and diplomatic savvy.  The game can be long - 4 hours or so, so if you wanna do this it'll take up the whole evening.  It is definitely possible, though to get this in.

8.  Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization

Okay so I'm mostly putting this on here to make our Euro-gamers happy in the midst of all these war games and ameritrash.  Through the Ages has been in the top 3 of BGG's rankings for as long as I've been into boardgaming.  It is basically Sid Meier's Civilization III the board game (even more-so than the actual Sid Meier's Civ Board Game).  The focus of this is more the economic resource management and the engine building of your civilization, however military plays an important role, even though its abstracted through a generic 'military' rating rather than an actual board with troops.  This game is fiddly and I vastly prefer to play it online, however it is still a great game and a very satisfying heavy Euro.

7.  Memoir 44

This is another very straightforward and accessible game.  Memoir 44, by Richard Borg, is tactical skirmish-level game that re-enacts different battles of World War 2, in particular the various battles of the Invasion of Normandy.  The game is simple, fast, and fun.  Days of Wonder as known for its games beautiful components and Memoir is no different - excellent board, nice cards, and awesome miniatures.  It's a very enjoyable experience for two players!

6.  El Grande

Yet again this one technically isn't a conflict game - you don't actually kill each other's troops in this game.  Rather, this is the father of area-control games.  Players control various powers in Spain and issue their caballeros to different regions of Spain, attempting to score them at the right time by having the most caballeros there.  The interplay between cards, bidding, and turn order is superb and this classic game from 1995 still is among the best.  If you haven't tried it, you owe it to yourself to do so!

5.  War of the Ring


This is my favorite game of all time.  Why isn't it higher?  Because I think other games bring about the 'conflict' aspect in better ways.  That being said, War of the Ring is gorgeous.  It is essentially the Lord of the Rings in board-game form.  The designers' love for Tolkine shines through and this game perfectly encapsulates his essence.  One side takes control of the Shadow, the other the Free Peoples.  The Shadow wins by either controlling a set amount of Middle-Earth or corrupting the Ring-bearer.  The Free Peoples win by capturing a portion of Middle-Earth or destroying the ring.  There is so much tension and excitement in this game and if you're a Tolkien fan this is absolutely a must-play.  Oh, and it's based on the books, not the movies - this game in no way tried to make money by printing a bunch of pictures of Orlando Bloom.

4.  A Distant Plain

There are some people who would say that A Distant Plain, by Volko Ruhnke, fits in the same category as El Grande - area-control, not direct conflict.  Technically they'd be right as it is much more heavy on controlling areas than actually fighting each other.  This game re-enacts the modern war in Afghanistan.  It is part of GMT's "COIN" series (Counter-insurgency) and is the third of four games in it.  The other ones are Andean Abyss (Colombia), Cuba Libre (Cuba), and A Fire in the Lake (Vietnam).  Each game is similar - there are four factions, to are insurgents, two are counter-insurgents.  All four factions play asymmetrically and have unique victory conditions.  In A Distant Plain, the four factions are the US/UK Coalition, the Afghanistan Government, the Warlords, and the Taliban.  The theme here can be a bit touchy as its such recent history, but the interplay between the factions is superb and the game teaches you so well how convoluted the political struggles in Afghanistan really are.   This game is meaty and is certainly not for novices to board-gaming, however if four people are interested I would love to see this hit the table as it is superb.

3.  Fief: 1429

This game is happening.  For sure.  Why?  Because it just came out, I just got it, and it looks amazing.  I haven't played it yet so it's a bit presumptuous for me to put it so high, but I think it might go even higher by the time we're done.  In this game players take control of various noble houses in France (circa, you guessed it, 1429).  Like A Game of Thrones, players use military skills, diplomacy, and economic management to earn their way to victory.  They also can elected as Pope and who wouldn't want to be Pope?!  Academy Games knocked it out of the park with the components - they're very pretty - and this game has glowing reviews.  I'd love (really love) to set this up and play it at our next game night!

2.  Twilight Struggle

This game is about the Cold War.  One players is the USA, the other the USSR.  It is ranked #1 on BGG's ranking list and has been for a while.  It is much deserved.  This is one of my favorite games and it perfectly captures the feel of the Cold War.  Through card-play a
nd area control there is constant tension, constant paranoia, and constant reacting and over-reacting.  This game is for two players and is really best when played with somebody at the same experience level - i.e. if two newbies want to learn.  Few games can compare to this one so if you haven't played it yet, bring a buddy and let me teach you!

1.  Here I Stand

This game won't get played at game night - it takes way too long.  A full game can last around six-eight hours, not counting explanations.  It's very complicated and while I think I can teach pretty fluidly, it's really something you plan a whole day around.  That being said, I wanted to list it as number one because I think it's the best combination of asymmetric play, military strategy, card management, and diplomacy that I've seen.  I've only played it once and it was terrific fun.  As far as overall games go, I actually like both War of the Ring and Twilight Struggle better, but as far as 'conflict' driven games go, I think this captures that nuance the best.  In this games six players take control of key players in the Wars of the Protestant Reformation: Britain, France, Spain (the Hapsburgs), the Ottomans, the Papacy, and the Protestants.  Like the other games, players try to achieve victory by completing their specific victory agendas and using their allies as spring-boards for their own success.  Even though it won't hit the table at game night, let me know if you ever want to get a game of this going some time and I'll add you to my 'interested' list!

Summary

I realize these kinds of game aren't everyone's cup of tea, so if you want to bring other kinds of games you are more than welcome to.   However, like I said before, we will definitely have these available to learn so if you've been meaning to try one, get on out to Game Night at Severn Run and learn one or two!

Invite your friends and family!  Hopefully we'll see ya'll out on 5/22!