by Steph
Please thumb deserving posts :)
Hia Everyone!
It's Friday!! Every Friday you can join me on my Twitch Channel (twitch.tv/boardgamersteph). Join me at 2pm Central! Today we will have a sponsored stream from Rebel Games!
From Wednesday we played:
Almanac: The Crystal Peaks
Youtube Video
Allegory
Youtube Video
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This past weekend Michael and I took off for Lexicon Gaming Convention in Lexington KY!
We got to see some friends and meet some new ones! During the con, there were tons of events to attend and play to wins to play. Several vendor booths scattered around and tons of huge blow-up balloons! I took a pic of the dragon since he was super cool.
No one was running a VFM or Flea Market, so I tried hosting my first VFM event and Flea Market event. I am not sure many people knew what that was, but some people participated. It ended up being pretty successful and I am glad we were able to make it work in the end.
Michael and I got to the con Friday afternoon and found Eric to play some games with. We sort of forced him to play off of our unplayed shelf collection so I could see if those games should enter the flea market the next day. We brought along many 3+ player games since those are the hardest games to get off the shelf.
The first game up was
Arma.
New to me!I have had this on my unplayed shelf for a long long time! I didn't even know what type of game it was but turned out to be a simultaneous card selection gameplay. Pretty simple card game actually with some neat card abilities.
In 30 minutes we were able to play through the game with ease. I was definitely glad to finally get it played. I am happy that I did play it vs just selling it.
I don't think it is a keeper in the long run since it is fairly forgettable, but I would be happy to play it again.
[microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628]I didn't really know how Lexicon worked and didn't know about the Adult Game Nights they have in the main ballroom so we ended up getting kicked out of there a bit earlier than anticipated. That meant we didn't get to play a full game of
Downfall.
New to me!We took a LOT of time punching the game (there is SO MUCH STUFFFFF) and Michael went through all the rules. There were 4 of us playing and the rules were quite hefty.
Once it was all said and done, everything was very clear and the player boards/aids were fantastic in giving all of the options.
Downfall is a pretty big sprawling game with exploration, card drafting, resource collecting, and survival. Probably some combat too, but we never got that far into the game to start up a war.
Right off the bat, it gave me Eclipse vibes, but it is pretty different.
From the few rounds, we did get to play, there were certainly many choices to consider and paths to try. It was pretty clear that I needed to gain resources so all my guys wouldn't die off, but I ended up using the resources for other things. Basically, it was a great learning experience so I know what not to do next time I play if I play again.
I always love card drafting so that is a great feature in the game, and it keeps you on your toes to take the best possible cards since you might not see them again!
Anyway, we didn't finish the game, but I definitely got a feeling for the game and how it plays out. I do think I could easily return to it and play. I could see trying it again, but I don't really think I would ever choose to play it over a game like Eclipse which is just amazing.
[microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628]Eric was up for a bunch of the oddball games and chose to play
Muscat.
New to me!I picked this up at BGG Spring Sale sometime long ago. Skinny box game with an interesting look to it, I am always interested in trying.
This is an abstract area control game. It has a rock-paper-scissors mechanic for winning an area and the 2 winning tiles will get to advance into the next region and so on. Timing is everything and super important. Knowing when to take the hit and when to advance further is pretty critical.
I had a pretty good time playing this one and I think I will end up keeping it. I didn't win this game at all. Eric killed us with 64 points. I did manage 2nd place with 49 and Michael was at 48. Getting last say was pretty strong, that is for sure.
Anyway, I would definitely play this game again. I think Michael liked it more than I did, which is surprising since he doesn't generally like abstract games so much.
[microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628]I wanted to check out
Bad Maps.
New to me!Bad Maps is a game I have had on my unplayed shelf since BGG Con when it was a freebie.
One of the few Floodgate Games I haven't played so I was looking forward to checking it out.
Bad Maps is a community programming game about moving the workers around the island to try and get the buried treasure. Everyone has the same movement cards, but some of them will be played facedown and you can't really tell who is going for what since all of the goals are hidden.
You can really mess with people's day if you screw up the worker who they want to win the phase. Sometimes you will get a goal card where you want a person to be in the last place, so maybe that would be in your favor then.
For me, I am not very much into programming, especially with everyone's own agenda. While I didn't have any mechanical issues with the, it was more of a personal preference.
I thought it worked as a game and I can see any number of people enjoying this one. I would just prefer to play a cooperative programming game like Mechs Vs Minions or Quirky Circuits. Definitely still glad to have played it though.
[microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628]Friday night ended with a game of
Stop Thief!.
New to me!I had never played the original, but Michael had and knew all about it. This new edition had been on the unplayed shelf for a bit and now seemed like a good time to try it out.
Now you can use an app to keep track of the thief that is on the loose. There are a million ways to customize the gameplay and difficulty using the app, and that is super cool!
The game is played over a number of rounds where the players will move around the board listening to the app to help hint where the thief is so they can make an arrest and gain the cash prize. The game I played until someone hits $35 I believe it was.
Since we were playing on normal mode, it did seem a bit easy to find and capture the thief. There were SEVERAL times that Eric make a wild guess that happened to be correct and he absolutely destroyed us in the end. I managed to have a lucky guess and some good cards that gave me clues to help locate the thief, but it wasn't enough to even come close to winning the game.
Eric ended up winning with 40 and Michael was second with 20! I was a low last 10. I couldn't get around the board fast enough to make a difference most of the time.
I like the game and I like what it is doing. The use of the app was nice and I like how you can really change it up from game to game. Might get a bit too repetitive but I definitely want to give it a few more plays to see how it turns out in the end.
So far so good and it even hit the keep pile!
[ImageID=6311247 medium rep]
[microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628][microbadge=45628]Monday I will have Part 2 for everyone! Stay Tuned! Have a great weekend!
New to the Collection:
Subatomic
Thanks for following along!
Happy Gaming!!!
-StephAll images in this post are copyrighted, owned, and controlled by Steph Hodge Photography, unless otherwise noted.
Please contact me if you would like to purchase or use my images in any way.
Disclaimer: I am a contract Employee of BGG. I review games that are provided by the publisher. I am not compensated for my blog content.
Thank you.
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