It's Halloween tomorrow (and today in France they are suddenly making a big fuss of it after years of failing to give it public traction), so Dreadful Meadows gets the first place! In this game of tile laying and worker placement, you manage a garden where you grow a curious crop of creepy candies. To be Kickstarted at some point!
Still in a horror mood? Then dive straight to Hell with Tartarus: Longo Itinere, a dungeon crawler featuring mazes and dexterity elements! And PixelArt. Scary and gorey PixelArt. I guess, because there aren't any pictures.
Since we are speaking about Hell and random mythology references, you may know about the legend of Ceres, whose daughter Prosperine got raptured by Hell god Pluto. Ceres, devastated, let all nature faltered with her sorrow. To avoid disaster, Prosperine was sent back on Earth half the year, so nature could relive every Spring, before being summoned back to Hell with Fall's coming. Well, Ceres is also an asteroid's name, and in the game of the same name, you want to make it profitable for your own mining corporation. Expect worker placement and business profits. Thankfully, there's always an Euro space-themed game in these lists. Of some things you can never have enough.
Another obliged trope: the game about Earth. This time it's all about diversity and "flowing resources", whatever that means. It's an engine building game with plenty of cards.
In the same "biodiversity" vein comes Rainforest City, in which you repopulate the Singaporean natural landscapes with plants and animals. I don't quite get it but it's from the guys that made Plantopia.
And a historical game! We need the historical game to complete our Bingo row! So here comes A Tale of Bravery, a legacy game full of standees set in Medieval Great Britain, and featuring the occasional dragon.
What, you are disappointed? You wanted something more accurate? More in line with the latest historiography that ditches hagiography in favor of the study of economics and the daily life of ordinary people? Pfff... You are a boring lot at times. But I have just what you need: Parade of the Bruges Fool, set after the revolt of 1488 against Maximilian. Now you want to calm him down and court his favors because that's what any sensible person does. Beyond the story it's a game about pattern building and hand management.
No, you are not the kind to kiss the feet of your leader to get a few crumbs of their riches? You prefer to rob them! So let's go for The Heist! It's a deduction and real-time game, with an app. And the bank turns out to be a bank... of hackers! If this joyous nonsense seems alluring to you, have a look!
Ah, sometimes these convoluted themes and app-driven new shining games tempt me to gie up on everything and go for a Road Trip. At least it's only 18 cards, and it fits in a pocket. Alongside my umbrella, masks, chips, tissues, and whatever else I usually have in my pocket. Thankfully I didn't ask Gollum the same riddle Bilbo did -with all the messy stuff I have in these, the chump had good odds to guess something right.
Another game to put in my pockets (or more likely in yours), Motley Dice. I know we have Tin Games fans here. Any chance they enjoy jester costumes, as well?
And to close the trilogy of Pocket games, Nuuk, already mentioned by Cadet Stimpy, has now a BGG entry. KS is coming soon, but I'm not sure if there is any option beyond PnP. It's a game where you trade stuff to get money.
Now I'll reward those who read to the bottom of the post with great, juicy news: the legendary pool building game Puzzle Strike is receiving a sequel: Puzzle Strike 2. I've heard all but good things about the first one, but it got dropped from my wishlist after I realized that a) it was impossible to find and b) I couldn't get past the art. At least the second volume solves one of these issues.
I'll end with the BGG entry for the Too Many Bones pop-up adventures book, The Automaton of Shale. Here again, these news are not so fresh. But we now have a better picture!
LOL! I just got Road Trip. Haven't played it, yet, of course, but I've actually been to 6 of the places. 😀 I'm goin' for Nuuk, I think. I like the Art/Icons and I'm really tryin' to get a substantial number of games that are very small. I may be livin' under a bridge (or in a Concentration Camp 😥) in the not too distant future, so I need to downsize, without further delay.