Second Star to the Left

Category Archives: Bring it to the table?

And so it begins

Posted on Posted in Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Miscellaneous thinks and thoughts, Tile Placing, YouTube .

After months (years?) of thinking about creating YouTube content, I finally took the plunge. It’s a lot of fun and I am happy to finally be started but it absolutely makes me appreciate the work that everyone puts into making these just so I can sit down with a cup of tea in the morning and watch boardgame content and have fun. Also, apparently, once you make one, you are supposed to make more!

So we’re off and we hope to put out two a week (Mon, Fri). We’ll see how that works out and I’m sure there’ll be some hiccups along the way but I’m really happy to finally be started!

After a “no buy June,” we pretty much broke the bank in July. Which immediately led us to join in a no buy Aug/Sept challenge. I’ll talk about that a lot more on an upcoming video (see how I can do that now?!)

But no buy months mean that I can do what I always say we should do – play your shelves. We have all of these beautiful, intriguing games sitting on our shelves and they seem to only get a play or two before the new, shiny games come in. For some, that’s fine I guess. Those are the games that are likely to get culled. But for others, we really enjoy them and I want to play enough to form strategies, to share them with other people, to not have to keep checking the rule book.

This month, we played a lot of Silver, NY Zoo, Botanik, and Skull King. Small games that we know and love and it was great! It was relaxing to sit down and just enjoy games that we love. We love them so much that most of them will be getting a video. We got to teach a few of them to people as well!

We also tried out a number a new games, which is a good thing considering how many we bought this month! Some of our favorites were Brew, Fort, and Paris: la Cite de la Lumiere. I can’t stop thinking about Paris. It is a puzzle layered on top of another puzzle, with side quests for scoring. It’s 2 player only and it is a brilliant gem of a game.

The bizarre thing about recording episodes is that now when I am playing a game I love, or trying a new game, I am always wondering if I want to make a video. My brain doesn’t seem to turn that off any more. Right now, that is a lot of creative fun, but if it ever makes fun into drudgery, then we’ll go back to just enjoying everyone else’s lovely hard work.

If you want to take a look at any of the content that we create, you can find me here

2nd Star Review – Tapestry

Posted on Posted in Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Civilization building, Second Star Reviews .
Ready to take on the world

This beautifully woven game has been sitting on our shelf waiting its turn for way too long. Quarantine time means game time and in this case, it means a bit of civilization building with Jamey Stegmaier’s Tapestry.

I admit it, I am a very tactile game player. I very often judge a book by it’s cover or a game by its components and Tapestry had us at hello. Fortunately for us, the content was equally as engaging. We spent a few hours planning out our own paths to victory as we balanced each developmental track and created our own rich Tapestry of civilization.

2nd (two player rating) – Given our current social distancing situation, a two player game was our only option but that was just fine. Like most euro games, there wasn’t a great deal of interplay. We enjoy these kinds of parallel play games but it may be a drawback for others. I would like to see how this plays with 3 or 4 players but it is a solid game at two players. 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

S (setup, take down, instructions) – Set up and take down are a bit involved but the instruction sheet (which is lean and light) does a good job of laying out the process. The civilizations sometimes have they’re own instructions and we stumbled a bit setting those up. Once we played a few rounds, things made perfect sense but the first round was a bit of a test run. While I adore all the components, be prepared to leave some time for setup and take down. 3/5 🌟🌟🌟

T (tactile, components, artwork, etc.) – I’ve already mentioned that I was sold on this game on artwork and components alone. Add an insert to that? Perfect. The iconography on the board is so easy to understand that after the first game you will not even need to instructions to get things ready. The houses, markets, armories, and especially the landmarks make this game sing. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A (action, mechanics, general gameplay) – Like I mentioned earlier, this is a bit of a parallel play game. The military track adds a bit more back and forth, and I would imagine with a higher player count, that would come into play a bit more, but we were busy building our own separate worlds. This works great for us. Once again, the first game was definitely a trial run but once we got moving everything made sense both for gameplay and thematically. Play it out and have a look at the end game and it will work out just fine. 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

R (replay factor) – With all of the different option for civilizations and paths forward this game will only improve with replay. We are already looking forward to getting it to the table again. I am also looking forward to sharing it with other gamers. Now that we’ve played, it will be a piece of cake to teach. 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Final Thoughts – We are going to be biased when reviewing this game as we were part of the target audience to begin with. But objectively, this is a solid game if you love puzzling out civilization building games, deciding which track to advance, and where to expand your territory. If you are looking for a bit more of a take-that game, this might not be your choice. For us, this one finds a permanent home in the collection. 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tapestry
Setting up civilization
A bit of thematic fun

2nd Star Review – Tiny Towns

Posted on Posted in Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Second Star Reviews, Uncategorized .

Sure it’s fun to be one of the cool kids, to get in on the next fun thing right at the beginning. But there’s always the risk that the hype is much bigger than the game. Not here – Tiny Towns is as big as the hype. This is easily my favorite game to bring to the table for a quick little puzzle right now. It’s accessible without being simple. It’s beautiful without being busy. It’s a puzzle that just makes you want to try again, and again, sure that you can do it just a bit better the next time around but without being so frustrating that you don’t want that next time around.

2nd (two player rating) – Tiny Towns works very well with 2 players. There can be a bit of a “take that” element if you are paying close attention but more often than not, you are so focused on your own little puzzle that that isn’t the case. It is the most interactive solitaire I’ve played and I say that lovingly. It’s a puzzle and while you get to share (and enjoy) others joy and frustration, you are, in fact, mostly building away happily on your own little plot of land. That said, the solo variant is one of the most fun solo games I’ve played. 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

S (setup, take down, instructions) – Set up and take down are very simple. Each player gets their own tiny plot of land and the buildings are put into a common pool. I do wish that there were containers instead of ziplocs just to keep things under control a bit more, but that is a bit nitpicky. Shuffle up the cards and start building. Easy peasy. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

T (tactile, components, artwork, etc.) – Just look at those colors! Not your standard primary palette. And blissfully not the retro 80s palette I’ve seen just about enough of. But beautiful, muted, warm, colors. And the buildings?! Farms, taverns, cottages! C’mon, you know you wanna try and stack them. It was the components that drew me to this game in the first place. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A (action, mechanics, general gameplay) – The action is simple. Call out a material type, place on the grid. But the planning is the puzzle. This game takes about 5 minutes to teach but I could try and beat this puzzle for hour at a time. There is no AP because you HAVE to place the piece that was chosen. We do like the variant method where the cards decide. Helps to make it more of a group game as you suffer together when that third glass card is flipped over. Where is anyone going to place that?! 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

R (replay factor) – As I’ve already mentioned, the simple joy of trying to best your last attempt would be enough of a replay factor. But add to that monuments (goals specific to a single player) and random shuffles of common buildings and this game will only improve replay after replay.

5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Final Thoughts – When the only things that disappoints you about a new game is that it isn’t as small a box as you were expecting (Tiny Epic games have completely spoiled us), there is really nothing to complain about. If you’re up for a pretty puzzle that will make you want to try again and again to get just one more tavern, just one more cottage, then don’t hesitate. If you are not a fan of working on puzzles side by side with other players then you might want to think about it. Go play at a friend’s house or your FLGS and then make your decision. For us? This is going to be one of our 10 in 10 games this year. We’re already at 9. 4.8/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

2nd Star Review – Lovecraft Letter

Posted on Posted in #newboardgametuesday, Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Card Game, Second Star Reviews .

Sure you could look at this as too much of a good thing. But you could also rejoice in two of your favorites being blended to create something that works better together. “You got Cthulhu on my Love Letter!” “No, you got Love Letter on my Cthulhu!” *cue music* (No? Just me? No one else remembers the Reeses Peanut Butter cups ads from way back when?)

The truth is, that I initially balked at both another Love Letter version and the idea of one more obligatory Cthulhu themed edition of a classic game. But look at this beautiful game – Tarot size cards, included sleeves, heavy poker chip style markers. Jump in, bluff, deduce, and go a little insane.

2nd (two player rating) – Like all Love Letter games, this works fine with two people. Fine but not optimal. The deduction becomes mere card counting (especially with some cards face up in original discard) and the chances that you will have a shortened round dramatically increase. But, the theme means there are more cards in the deck, making it harder to count, and that insanity might come into play. While I prefer this game with 3-4, it’s still a favorite at 2. 3/5 🌟🌟🌟

S (setup, take down, instructions) – This game couldn’t be simpler. It’s a small deck card game and set up takes less than a minute. Just remove a few cards from the deck and you’re off. If you’ve played Love Letter before, the instructions are almost unnecessary (aside from the few changes for insanity) and if not you’ll be playing quickly. The reference guide is clear and well organized so no wasted time flipping through to find answers. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

T (tactile, components, artwork, etc.) – This game is a large spooky step up from ordinary Love Letter. The deluxe, book style box is sturdy and well designed. The cards are perfect Lovecraft – and did I mention the free sleeves?! It is such a pleasure to play that I think it gets to the table just so we can enjoy the feel of the game some nights. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A (action, mechanics, general gameplay) – If you’ve played Love Letter before then you are familiar with the deduction style of the game. If you’ve played anything Cthulhu before, then you know that your sanity will be at risk. These work together very well to add a bit of push your luck/chance to the base game. If you are playing as “insane” at any point during the round, you will need to make a sanity check before your turn. Luck to choice ratio is pretty well balanced but does lean a little towards luck in a two player game. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

R (replay factor) – This game is on our 10 games played 10 times list for 2018. I am confident that we will blow past that goal easily. It’s a great warm up game or a quick filler. It’s also a great way to introduce someone to Cthulhu games before diving into the complicated fun that some of the others can be. Removing some cards at the beginning of each round keeps things different every time. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Final Thoughts – We were bound to like this as we are fans of both Cthulhu and Love Letter. Our concern going in was the over-saturation of both of these on the market. Did we really need another Love Letter? How much Cthulhu is too much? But this small box game is worth taking the chance. The theme makes an already strong starter game even stronger. Plus, who doesn’t need to go a little insane every now and then? 4.6/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

2nd Star Review – Arkham Horror Card Game

Posted on Posted in #newboardgametuesday, Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Card Game, Deck Builder, Second Star Reviews .

Let’s start off the New Year with our first #newboardgametuesday. (I will eventually come up with a snappy hashtag for that but right now all the good ones are leading to places we definitely don’t want to go.)
Cthulhu is always appealing to us over here. The catch is, it is a bit overused and often just tacked on to a generic game to sell a few more copies. Look how many popular games have a Cthulhu edition. But this game is built around the creeptacular, Lovecraftian mythos that is Cthulhu. It hovers between deck builder, tile laying game and RPG and does it eerily well. Our first try was filled with chaos and death…and we can’t wait to try again. Your character continues on battered and insane from one challenge to the next, campaign style, so choose wisely. How many games have you terrified of tentacles reaching up from the risers on the stairs? Wondering what would be digging its way out of the cellar floor?

2nd – (2 player rating) Being a co-op, I can imagine that this would work well with any relatively small number of people but with two? This game was quick and extremely challenging. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

S – (setup/takedown/instructions) This is where this game suffers a bit. Setup, especially the first time, is fiddly at best. The cards are numbered but the numbers are so microscopically small, that reading them was exhausting. The cards need to be returned to numerical order after play (with the exception of those in your character decks) in order to make setup possible for the next round. Once you’ve run through the setup once, I’m sure that it will run much more smoothly but it is a long process. 3/5 🌟🌟🌟

T – (tactile, components, artwork, etc) The artwork and components are what we’ve come to expect from Fantasy Flight games. Solida quality. Appealing art. The spice text on the cards and in the books was genuinely frightening, and is what makes the game veer into RPG/storytelling territory. Moving through the story, exploring the rooms, playing through the encounter cards, was deliciously tense. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A – (action, mechanics, general gameplay) This is a combination, card game, area exploration, deck building horror game. While there is luck involved (blind draw of situations and ghouls, etc) your actions and choices have very definite consequences. 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

R – (replay factor) The replay factor is average with this game. You would be going through the same scenarios, the spice text would remain the same, but the creatures and challenges you’d face would change every time. Also, it’s a campaign style game, making it unlikely that you are going to play the same scenario in back to back plays. 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Final Thoughts – We held onto this game for longer than we should after PAX Unplugged before playing it. We watched reviews. We watched tutorials. It all seemed a bit complicated. Don’t make that mistake. Put it on the table, follow the setup and just dive in. It is very intuitive and you’d be missing out on some creepy good fun by procrastinating. If you are a fan of Lovecraft, this is one of the best thematic applications that we’ve played. Exciting, tense and a good time – and that’s with our characters not even close to surviving. 4.4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Kodama: The Tree Spirits (2nd ed) – 2nd Star to the Left Review

Gloom in Space – 2nd Star to the Left Review

Posted on Posted in Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Card Game, Second Star Reviews, Storytelling .

Take one of the best storytelling card games out there and add a dash of sci-fi fun.  That’s the idea behind Gloom in Space.  There’s Star Wars, Space Odyssey, Firefly, Star Trek, and many more inside jokes to bring out the evil laughter as you try to inflict as much Gloom as possible on your crew before their inevitable demise.  What could be more fun?

Given that we’re already fans of the Gloom series, it was a safe bet that we’d like this game.  What we didn’t anticipate was that it would become our favorite title in the series. That’s right.  Favorite.  Take that Munchkin Gloom.

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Saboteur: The Duel – 2nd Star to the Left Review

Posted on Posted in Board Games, Bring it to the table?, Card Game, Second Star Reviews, Tile Placing .

Dwarves working against each other down in the tunnels, battling trolls and cave-ins, to grab the most gold? We’re in.  Wandering about PAX East, we were immediately drawn to the artwork of Mayfair Games’ Saboteur: The Duel.  The two previous incarnations of the Saboteur title looked intriguing but The Duel was the two player version making it much more likely that it would get to the table.  The Duel is a quick playing, tile (card) placement, hand management game that had us laughing as we threw trolls and rock slides in each other’s path.

Saboteurduelcover

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Evolution – 2nd Star to the Left Review

The Bloody Inn – 2nd Star to the Left Review

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