Games played in January

I've been slacking off my monthly write-ups for a bit. I want to get back into the rythm so expect my writeup for February much faster than this one.

Lands of Galzyr (5 plays): Although produced as a boardgames, this is a sandbox, choose-your-own-adventure, interactive fiction. The writing is excellent, locations can (temporary change) and your actions have consequences (eg I started a big fight between two opposing factions which 2 plays later I regretted ;-) ). People always point out replayability, well this game has 385 scenes and in one solo game you play 8 of them so you can do the math. And the scenes have sub-scenes depending on the weekday or year season. But at the end, it's just a joy to explore the world and enjoy the stories.

Eila and Something Shiny (6 plays): Played through the whole story in one Saturday evening. It was a fun ride and I liked the emerging story and the mechanisms. I can understand the mixed feelings people expressed on the endings (no spoilers).

Lacrimosa (1 play): This kicked back in my love to play dry euro games solo. I happily play dry euros each Thursday with a group but want to focus on other games when playing solo. But I really enjoy this euro solo. The AI os a simple point generating, getting in your way one. I enjoy these as they're simple to manage, give you just enough interaction and a goal to reach.

Hadrian's Wall (2 plays): I'm puzzled with this game. I enjoy going through the motion and puzzling out how to get the maximum out of your turn. But I have no idea if there's any strategy. I'm probably missing some click in my head but until then I'm less motivated to pull it out.

Dark Venture (1 play): Played this again to validate if I want to back the expansion on Kickstarter. I decided to back it although with some reservation. The game world pulls me in but the mechanics and some of the components are a bit off. Once the expansion arrives, I plan to make a descent storage solution and a descent personal aid to improve the game play.

Unsurmountable (1 play): Scott Almes is hit or miss in my book with currently more misses. Unsurmountable is for the moment ok and I do want to explore the game more. It could go either way.

Meadow (1 play): Tried out the Downstream expansion solo. The expansion adds a significant amount of table space with an extra board but it's worth it as it nicely complements the base game. It's one of the few euro games I want to play solo even though it's beat your own score.

Quest for the Lost Pixel (4 plays): I received the final Deities of Time expansion and now my most expensive game I own is complete. I sometimes want to write about "boardgames and economics" as this game illustrates perceived vs material value. Anyway, Pixel is one of the few games I house ruled and with this expansion I can happily go back to the official rules.

Skulls of Sedlec (3 plays): One of the better PnP puzzlers. Well worth the effort in printing and cutting the cards.

Astroforce: The Dice Game (1 play): My daily dose of Astroforce, nuff said 😀

See you soon!