Final Friday Top Five!

Final Friday Top Five

Board Games

Ok - so this theme is not so watery, but has anyone else's board game play increased exponentially over lockdown? Mine certainly has. Thanks to Table Top Simulator and Board Game Arena I have not only been able to learn new games but stay in touch with fellow gamers. While the rest of the world may be chomping at the bit to return to "normal", I have actually quite enjoyed my time in lockdown. Sure, it has been difficult in some ways and the never ending anxiety fueled by death tolls has been terrifying. But having the chance to connect online and further my love of board games has been something I have cherished.

Because of the online medium, some of the games I am choosing have not actually been played "in the flesh" but that has not diminished my love for them. So, without further waffle, here are my top five board games! (Just a note before I start: "board game" is being used as a general term for table top games. Therefore, I am not breaking the rules by having card games in my list.)

5. Carcassone

This is a game I have discovered recently and never played the actual, physical game. Honestly, I am a little afraid to because, without a computer doing it automatically, the scoring seems impossible to keep up with! This is a world building game: you build roads and cities, completing them score you points. There are various expansions which include specialised meeples, dragons, and rivers which makes it feel like a different game every time I play. With it being on Board Game Arena and a premium game, I am at the whim of whoever it is who starts the table. But I honestly do not mind. It's a very satisfying game to play and when you find that tile which fits perfectly it feels like the planets have aligned! Especially when you have been waiting for it for ages.

It's a good game to introduce you to longer play and strategic thinking because it can take a good chunk of time to play and is relatively easy to pick up. So once the mechanics are down, you can spend more brain power thinking your way around what everyone else is doing. Or you can play while you sew and barely pay attention, which is what I do.

4. Villainous

I was introduced to this game by my sisters and brother-in-law via TTS. It. Is. Beautiful. Disney Villains have often been more appealing to me and my family, than their princess counterparts, so this obviously appealed straight away! This is essentially a deck building game where you play as a villain and are trying to defeat your hero. I played as Ursula the first time, naturally. It took a little time to get my head around the mechanics but once I picked it up, it was so much fun. And it has great replayability too, there are a whole ruck of villains to pick from - original, expansion, and fan made!

This is definitely on my "to buy" list, among many others, and I am looking forward to working my way through all the villains. So far I have played as Ursula and Oogie Boogie, against Hades, Hans, Dr Facilier, Shere Khan, and Rattigan.

3. Big Book of Madness

I have something of a love/hate relationship with this game. I love playing it for its artwork, co-operative play, and magic but I hate that we never win! The Big Book of Madness has defeated me and my friends every single time. The worst bit is we usually come so close, like get to the last page and would win if the spells were the other way around close.

It is a co-operative, deck building (of sorts) game. It's one of those four ways to lose but only one way to win games. You work as magical students trying to defeat this evil spell book you accidentally opened before it kills you or drives you mad. You collect elements, cast spells, and use the elements to defeat the attacks coming from the book. The book is different every time, as the pages are randomly generated, and the game gets progressively harder as you go on. Honestly, this game has so much going for it. I'm looking forward to the day I can play it in person with my friends again - one day we will win!

2. DragonHeart

This is a beautifully simple card game I discovered on BGA. Aim of the game: get the most points. How: by collecting cards from the board by defeating them by playing the cards in your hand. Ok, so that sounds complicated, but the board has these handy little arrows. It really is so simple. And quick. It's my go-to "I have five minutes and my brain needs to reset" game.

It has dragons, it has badass huntresses, it has trolls and sorceresses - what more could you want from a simple game?

Honourble Mentions

Sushi Go!

Takenoko

Pandemic

Potion Explosion

Bubblee Pop

My goodness, the list goes on...

1. Star Realms

This is my favourite game. Carole introduced it to me towards the end of last year when we had a girly game session. Since, I have gained the core pack, an expansion, and a gambit set. I will teach this game to anyone who sits still for long enough. I took it with me when I visited my sister in Oxford, I showed it to my brother-in-law on TTS while my sisters were away from the simulated table, and I even taught it to my cousin on the day of writing! Best bit, is my partner enjoys this game too. He may win every time, but it's still good fun.

It is a space themed deck building game where you are trying to defeat your opponent and reduce their alliance points (health) to zero. You can buy ships, outposts, and bases which provide you with more coins, attack power, and occasionally health. There are four factions: Blob, Machine Cult, Star Empire, and Federation. Each has their advantages but the Blob faction are my favourites because they look like fish! Honestly, there's a sea turtle, basking shark, and a manta ray!

Star Realms is an easy game to pick up and, especially with the expansions, has great replayability. We have even taken to varying the rules and game play to mix things up a little. The artwork on the cards is fantastic. And if space ships are not your thing, White Wizard Games also do a game called Hero Realms. It is essentially the same game but with wizards and magic instead of space ships.

Which are your favourite games? How have you been playing? And if anyone fancies adding me on BGA, my user name is BobbetyBobbety - I am always happy to play a game! :)

Listening to: Tortall & Emelan