Carcassonne Big Box

When we first started gaming, one of our first purchases was Carcassonne, but we almost always play the base game or one of the stand-alones.  But this year we finally got through ALL the expansions. So here are my thoughts!

Base game: This is such a great, simple game.  You can teach it in 5 minutes and everyone loves its.  Only issue is that it takes a lot space. 

Inns & Cathedrals: There is very little here.  It is to throw in if you want a few extra tiles and things going on.

Traders & Builders: I love the builder. You can really run the board if you use him right.  I think this is a cool expansion if you want a little harder game.

Bridges, Castles & Bazaars: This is neat as it allows to put roads where there are none, but is gets complex fast.

Abbey & Mayor: The abbey is cool as it allows you to fill a hole, but honestly this is just so much complexity the games doesn't need.

Princess & Dragon: We HATE this one.  It is so punishing and it makes the games SO MUCH longer.  We will probably never use this expansion again. 

So the gist here - I like the first I listed. I would use them again. We might never do the others.  The next two are okay, I would play them. I'm not sure I'd ever play that last one unless I had to for some reason.

Viticulture Tuscany

We just finished going through all of the Tuscany expansion for Viticulture.  Here is my thoughts on each of the expansions. Tuscany is in "tiers" so that's what I sorted by.

Tier 1
Mamas and Papas: this is the BEST thing ever.  Seriously.  BEST THING EVER.  Everyone starts with their unique set up and you get to pick if you want an upgrade or more money.  This is Ray's favorite part.

Property: This is also really cool because is allows you to give up a field to get your structures built and then you can buy it back later!

Patronage: This is pointless.  Maybe in a larger game (we play it two player 90% of the time), it would matter more, but not in a 2 player.  We did it once, never have used it again.

Advanced Visitors: This is cool. I love more visitors. But you can't play them with the regular ones. You have replace them.  These are too much more powerful than the "regular" cards. I alternate these with the Moors/Rhine expansions and never use the base visitors anymore.

Tier 2
New Visitors: Same here - don't mix.  I have these mixed in with the Rhine and Moors expansions and, as I said, I alternate with the advanced.

Extended Board: I like this, Ray doesn't.  It adds in all 4 reasons and "stars" which you can get victory points from at the end of the game (its area control). I just love the big board with the new wake up chart which you get a lot more bonuses from. 

Special Workers: These are really cool. At this point, we've used all but the innkeeper (because you can't use her 2 player) and some are definitely more powerful than others, but I love the variety.

Structures: I love this expansion.  I like building my own little spots or having a cool power. 

Tier 3
Mafia: Much like Patronage, this might be useful in a larger game.  We played it once, never have used it again.  It is all about getting the best "gift," but again it a 2 player it just isn't that exciting.

Arboriculture: We hated this. Like really hated it.  To get the "benefit," it is very punishing and it just felt like you never had enough time to do all the stuff you wanted each turn when you trying to do any of it.  I like the took new vines you can put on your field, but the morale just sucked.  We did it once, will probably never use it again.

Formaggio: This was better than arboriculture, but still not great.  Again, it was just too much to do so it felt that you were always stuck trying to catch up to get anything done. But it wasn't punishing so this was better than the other one.  We would play this again, if we felt like it for some reason, we wouldn't the other. 

So the gist - Tiers 1 and 2 are awesome. I could have went without Tier 3. 

Wharfside

 

We backed this on Kickstarter and it arrived about a week ago.  We LOVE Fleet,  but honestly, even with the robots (which work really well for robots), it isn't a great two player game.  You can (and we do) play it two player, but it is better with more. This is a GREAT two player game. I love how the markets change automatically.  This is a simple game, but there is plenty of strategy here. It also isn't that long, which makes it great to pull out for a quick game. 

 

I do wish the captains added more variety in that it really changed your overall strategy, but that's my only "complaint."  We played two games of this, both were close (we each won one).  The rules are easy to pick up, even for someone new to gaming (I would say this is easier to learn than Fleet).  Plus just like Fleet the cards are GORGEOUS!!

Viticulture

 

I have been super excited to try Viticulture and we recently purchased it and just got it to the table about a week ago. It was SO great.  I was so excited that this lived up to the hype in my mind.  We will definitely be purchasing the expansion!  First, I like that this is a "different" theme - the wine making theme comes through really well.  Second, it plays well at two player, but I think it will also do well in a larger setting.  Last, the components are gorgeous and the mechanisms all work really well.  This is not a beginner game, but it is also not super hard to learn to teach.  Definitely worth the purchase price!

Ticket to Ride Switzerland

We bought this recently, based on the fact that Tom at the Dice Tower said it was great for two player.  It really was a fun little version.  The fact that there are more "open" destinations that you can go many ways on was very interesting!  And the board is definitely tight at two, we both had to go around a couple of times! This is a great find, easy to play, as all the Ticket to Ride games are, and great for that two to three player group, which we do a lot of.

Therapy the Game

So my sister in law found this at a thrift store and being that's she's a psychologist, she had to have it. This is an 80s game and therefore has many of those pitfalls (roll and move, needing to be on certain spaces, etc.), but yet if you take this with a grain of salt and play for fun (meaning don't get all serious about the answers to the personal questions) and augment a few rules, it really is a bunch of fun.  So this has a trivial pursuit like mechanic in that you are moving around a board, collecting patients, which you get by successful "therapy."  Therapy is when you ask a question to someone and they write down their answer (so like how would you rate your self-esteem from 1 to 10) and you also write it down. If you are get it right, they are "cured."  (you get a 1 point leeway on each side for the numerical ones, so like if their answer as 8, you could put 7, 8 or 9).  You also do group therapy where they write it down and then the rest of you come up with an answer.  The one caveat here is you do need to know each other!  We had a bit of an issue with that with one person only knowing one other, so that was a bit hard at times.  We did change the rule where we never took away pegs (to shorten the game).   

Parfum

This is a great game and I love the theme - perfume making!  I feel my husband got a bit shafted this year...he was running around Origins, buying "girl" themed games - I wanted both this and Rococo! 

 

This is a nice worker management game, not too heavy, but not super light either.  You bid on turn order and, based on how early you go, you get less actions.  So the later you go, the more actions you get....but then you might not get the good customers or the good perfume options.  If you are in the lead, it doesn't matter...you pick last and get's what left.  You actually roll dice to see if your perfumes take and you actually get nothing.  I really enjoy that this is a fun, different theme that really appeals more to the female audience.  While Ray and I have played this, I have also been playing with my sister-in-law and mother (as you can see here).  Lots of fun!

 

This does work pretty well at two player, but having now played it three player, it is better with a larger group. Much more competitive!

Kingsburg

Yes, that's really Kingsburg under the cat!  She was playing I guess!  We removed her to finish the game.  She was not amused.

 

If you haven't already played it, Kingsburg is a great dice management game. What is cool is that you role and then use the dice totals to "influence" various advisors to get your resources.  You can always build one building, but you have to get the resources first, which can be quite tricky. You also have to worry about the end battle of each round, meaning you also need to think about military strength.  This is a great little game, quick and easy to play two player. 

 

I'd avoid the cat in the game though.

Rococo

 

I was super exited to play this game and it didn't disappoint.  It worked really well two player and I think would scale up rather well. I loved all the options there were the game, there was always a bunch of choices and so you never felt you were "stuck" with anything.  There is a lot of depth in this game,  yet it isn't hard to learn.  I also really enjoy different themes and so really got into the whole dressmaking thing.  It doesn't hurt that this is more of a "girl" theme, but even Ray really enjoyed the game. 

 

There are a lot of pieces, but the components are decent quality and the rules aren't bad to work through either.  Definitely a game I am looking forward to playing more of. 

Castles of Mad King Ludwig

So I was SUPER excited about this game - Castles of Mad King Ludwig.  It is made by the same people who did Suburbia, which I love.  As in ADORE.  So I really wanted this, which was similar but you are building a castle.  And it was COOL! And look...our "finished" castles!  I did want it to go a little longer....so I could build a larger castle! 

 

We played this two player, which was okay, but it would be better with more since you take turns as a "master builder," and setting the prices.  Suburbia is a great two player game, but this really isn't. IT was fun and I think it will even better with 3 or 4 so the master builder function works better. 

 

Fresco

 

This is a really cool worker placement game where you are painting a large fresco.  It is pretty simple, but has a nice depth to it.  Mixing the colors is quite fun!  We actually got this really cheap at Barnes and Noble, but I just love anything with a different theme.  The theme here is great and a lot of fun.  We've played this two player quite a few times, but I think it will be better with more because then there is more competition for the various resources and placement. 

Munchkin....

So we own a lot of Munchkin versions...we have played a lot of versions.  There are some great ones out there and this is just a fun game as the cards are plain silly.  For us, one main issue is that this does NOT play well at two player.  So we don't play it a lot on our own because, well, why...there are so many games that DO play well at 2 and this isn't one of them.  What this is is a great game for a group. We've just recently played this is twice with 6 players and once at 4.  This reminded me of why I enjoy the game. That it is very fun in a large group where you can take turns helping/hurting each other's character. You also see a lot of cards, which is nice, as they are half the fun.  We played Cthulhu, Star and Christmas. 

What I was reminded of tonight (Star Munchkin in case you were wondering) is one thing I don't like about the game, at any level.  That eventually you are all at about 8 and 9...and someone will win...and it is just a waiting game on who it is because you are waiting for someone to get a low enough monster that no one can stop them...and the game often goes on a round or two more than it "needs" to while you wait for this to happen.  And most of the table is just wanting SOMEONE to win, they don't care who anymore....and that isn't fun. So for me, the first 90% is super fun...and the last bit is just kind of like "get it over with." I wish there was a way to get rid of that last little bit. 

Catan and Catan Histories

We recently played Catan, the Ancient Egypt edition.  Now I like Catan...Ray doesn't. It isn't that he hates it, just that he feels it is too long for what it is (for instance with 4 players, Egypt took us 3 hours).    I like base Catan and I enjoy the various expansions (I think the seafarers one is pretty cool), but I really enjoy the historicals.  So I wanted to tell you about the ones I like/don't like of those. 

Now Trials to Rails (the American one)...I want to like this one. Seriously, I did.  But I don't. It is long and repetitive and the mechanics just weren't well thought out/executed.  There are some cool features, but it just isn't that good.  We ended up selling this one.  From what I've seen/heard, the European one (Merchant of Europe) seems to be very similar, so I haven't even tried it.

We do have Struggle for Rome, which I really like. I like that there are two stages of the game...you are wandering, then settle down. I think this really helps and makes this a cool, and unique, version.  I think this is worth picking up and trying.

I also think the new Ancient Egypt one is as well.  Now this comes with the base game in essence, but I have no idea why you'd want to play it. We did the Great Pyramid one and that was fun. I like the addition of the Nile, the God cards, the Great Pyramid.  My biggest "beef" with the game is that the components just aren't up to snuff...and given the price point, they should be.  So that was a major disappointment...the Great Pyramid was well....pathetic. 

My husband's (who doesn't like Catan much as mentioned) favorite is Catan Germany, which was one of the Geographies.  I think the rest ended up just being maps. The production value here is EXCELLENT and the game is fun, the landmarks are just cool and the map is very true to Germany. 

We also have a few random maps, which are just fun to have around. 

We also have played Star Trek Catan and have the extra maps, really this is just a re-theming, no new additions. 

There are two card games: Rivals and Struggle. Rivals is just two player and has a TON of expansions. My biggest beef is that this pretty long and takes a TON of room to play. I like it, but I wish it wasn't so cumbersome to set up/play.  Struggle plays 2-4 and is much more compact....this is the one we still own (we gave the other to my brother). It is fast version of Catan and relatively simple to set up/play. 

Our Airplane Game: Brave Rats

A couple of months ago I challenged Ray to find me a game we could play on the airplane (or in another small space).  The idea was this would have be very compact, very portable and fairly easy to play.  We found BraveRats.  This is quick and easy and only 16 cards.  That's it.  It is pretty much War with special powers.  You play cards simultaneously, out of a deck of 0 to 7, where each has a "special" power.  It takes no room to carry, no room to play and doesn't take a lot of brain power to play. Each game only takes 5 minutes.  Perfect carry-on material!

Underrated Dice Bulding Game: Airships

 

Airships is a game that Ray and I just love, but it seems to have flown under the radar and very few people know it.  You can't find good review of it and there are online video reviews (at least in English, I did see one in Spanish).  And I will be the first to admit the rulebook sucks.  There are like 6 copies of it, in 6 languages...I am assuming the original is probably the best, but the English isn't so great.  In addition, even with a better translation, it still is really hard to wade through.  Ray and I probably played it about 4 times before we figured out all the rules and we just learned a new (kind of major one!) tonight! 

 

This is a dice building game and with the craze for dice building games (Quarriors and Marvel Dice Masters), a game like this should appeal to all those dice crazy people.  So I'd really like to see all those dice people give this a try.  It is a solid dice game, with a nice combination of luck and skill.

 

The idea is that your country is building airships and you are picking up different cards, by rolling dice, that give you  better dice and better aids in rolling those dice, that allow you to build the various airship and then the Hindenburg. When you have with built most of the airships of the entire Hindenburg, the game is over and you count VPs.  The mechanics, once you figure them out, are relatively simple and the components are decent quality.  This is a game we have gotten a lot of play out and plan to continue to play into the future. It has been playing very well for us at 2 players, we have not yet played it with any larger group.