I've been having a tough time getting games to the table in recent weeks, and I don't see it letting up for another 4-6 weeks unfortunately.
The biggest reason being we are forced to move. 😥 After downsizing from our big century home at the end of April 2020, and deciding to rent a nice little home for a few years (as we needed the break after a decade of massive changes - mostly in our businesses AND having the goal of living simply), we had a nice little sanctuary to find comfort during such crazy times with the pandemic.
However, here in Canada, the housing market is absolutely insane! So our landlord did a complete 180, jumped on the bandwagon and decided to test the market (getting over $200,000 more than he paid for the home just under 2-years ago.... 😯). The only "comorting thing" is that so many other families are in the same boat we are. We are 100% not alone. Although I'm not sure how people will survive this market. Purchasing a home is drastically overpriced and not worth the cost to purchase, and rents are skyrocketing to unrealistic prices as well.
ANYWAY, all of this unexpected stress and emotions has really hindered my gaming hobby. Not only is getting things to the table increasingly tougher (as boxes begin to pile up, stress remains high and the chaos of 'stuff' begins) but my brain just doesn't have the energy right now. Despite gaming being a stress management tool and mental release for me. I'm itching to get games like Rise of Fenris, Gloomhaven and Caverna to the table, but my brain just doesn't have the capacity right now to make it through a game. 😞 It's kind of interesting being deeper into my hobby now and experiencing these kinds of feelings for the first time with my games.
Thankfully with variety on my shelf, it's been the smaller, lighter games that have been out (still less often than I'd like). Squire for Hire, Dungeon Roll, PARKS, Res Arcana, Majesty: For the Realm, D-Day Dice...to name a few. They've all hit the table recently.
I've also taken advantage of digital games a bit more, to save time and brainpower, but also to explore some new games to see if I'd like to invest in the physical copies after we move and settle in somewhere. I've been leaning more on Steam for this than BGA recently as I don't have the time or patience to play online right now, and I'm becoming more a fan of just being able to pop on the PC and play a game I want to play, rather than waiting for someone to come online to play against like on BGA.
The game I've been most excited to try (as it's been on my wishlist since coming into the hobby 1.5yrs ago) was Viticulture, which is now available on BGA. I watched Rodney Smith's video of how to play the game and immediately knew I'd enjoy it. I purchased it on Steam instead before we left for our camping this past week, and not even halfway into the game I knew this game was rising up my wishlist fast! What's not to like about running a winery!?!? 🍷Plus, I enjoy Stonemaier games.
We got back from the woods yesterday and last night I planned to sit down and purchase the digital version of Aeon's End since the table is unavailable. To my surprise Steam has a massive sale, so I picked up Aeon's End plus these few other games (for a total cost of what Aeon's End regular price is):
... All of which have been on my wishlist for quite some time. 😀 So I was excited to learn and try them out to see if they will end up on my shelf someday.
*Cottage Garden - I forgot was a Uwe Rosenburg game, so I knew JW would be proud. 😊 I definitely want to get the physical copy down the road. It'll be an even more relaxing game at my table for sure.
*One Deck Dungeon - I knew I would enjoy this game, and the digital version has only moved it higher on my wishlist. A nice little solo game, dungeon crawl and dice chucker! Mike, I saw it on your shelf in your post!! I can't wait for it to be on mine as well.
*Potion Explosion - I've had this on my wishlist since playing it on BGA last year, but it remains further down my list for me. The digital version was on sale for $0.79CDN so I couldn't go wrong. I do enjoy the game, but it doesn't speak to me like others so it may stay as a digital copy in my collection instead of taking up shelf space. Unless I see it for a good deal, that is. 😉
Cheers Mike!