Aquablak

Has anyone played Roll for the Galaxy? I'm debating acquiring it in a trade for Viceroy, which I have yet to play, but RftG has such good reviews, I'm tempted to make the swap. Opinions?

@yothatlimp:

Thanks for the input! See, this is what I'm thinking for Caverna. Without an insert like that, I think the game would be too daunting to break out very often. I think I'm going to do it....

CheapPoison, Caverna looks awesome, and by all accounts, it's a great game; however, if you're looking for more of a "gateway" worker placement game, I think that Lords of Waterdeep is amazing. Very simple to learn, teach and play, and it's got a fun theme.

Another worker placement game that I will be getting over the holidays is Viticulture: Essential Edition. I've heard great things about it, and I'm looking forward to it. I like that it plays up to 6 people.

For those discussing Arabian Nights, Above and Below seems to be a very cool game that boasts fun story-based decision making, wrapped around actual gameplay mechanics. I'm very interested in this game, but I probably won't be able to justify buying it for months. Still, it's in my top 5 most wanted list. :)

Have any of you ever bought a custom game insert? I will be getting Caverna over the holidays, and I'm seriously considering getting this one from Broken Token. I'm in Canada, though, and with shipping it will cost me close to $60 CAD!

Caverna is a monster of a game, with piles of tokens and tiles and cards. I honestly think that if I had a custom insert, the game would see the table much more often, as set up and gameplay would be much quicker and more enjoyable. Am I crazy for considering this? I know that plastic tackle boxes are a possibility, but I don't think they'd be nearly as pragmatic.

I played a 6 player game of Sheriff of Nottingham a couple weeks ago, and it was a blast. We had to find something to use for a bag for the 6th player, but it worked just fine.

I've got a handful of exciting games on my Christmas list, so hopefully I'll have some fun new impressions in the new year. ;)

Not at all.

@captain_insano: Sounds really cool, but almost too involved, potentially (for my group). How long did your game take? I guess a first time is going to take much, much longer than it normally would. They say 30 minutes per player, although that sounds a bit on the low side. Did your wife enjoy the game? My girlfriend would certainly find the theme and design intriguing.

Another thing that concerns me about Agricola/Caverna is the table space it seems to take up. It looks extremely fiddly and spacious. Not a concern for everyone, but I don't have a large table at the moment.

I'm considering getting the two player Agricola: All Creatures, Big and Small, for the shorter play-time and smaller footprint.

I think you made a good call with your game choice. I'm curious about Five Tribes, but it's lower on my list right now, unless I spot a big sale sometime.

What did you end up going with from this list? Any? I've got Imperial Settlers, but I've yet to get a game in. I'll report back when I do. I think Agricola looks great. Caverna looks even better, but it's so expensive. I'm not sure I'd be able to get either to the table much, so I've held off on those two.

I've been 'researching' a lot online recently, and I'd really like to get The Castles of Mad King Ludwig next. Suburbia is a close second, but I think I'd like Castles more.

Shadowrun (yes, really) - I wish we'd see another one of these, with higher production values. It's vastly underrated, in my opinion.

Call of Duty: World at War (yes, really) - I love this game's multiplayer and its maps. It's probably still going, but it was completely unplayable the last time I tried it.

I have a FB account, and I've slowly transitioned it to a place where I can keep up with artists that I follow (I'm an animator/artist), and it's okay for that, although there are far better places for that, even (Tumblr is my favourite). I never post, and I never share personal photos, because I don't trust FB with information, etc. for security reasons, plus, more than half the people in my "friends" list aren't even my friends. It's filled with people I used to go to school with, etc., whom I wouldn't even go say hi to, if I saw them in public. I don't say that to be cold or harsh, but most of us don't actually mean anything to one another in real life, and I would guess that that's how it is with many people on social media. We're all just numbers and "likes" to each other, and it's unhealthy and un'real.'

I say go ahead and stay away from FB. There really isn't anything worthwhile in it, and there are so many things and people that are far more worthy of your time and mind-space.

@d_breeze: I'm very interested in Terra Mystica and Suburbia. Those two are high on my next purchase list.

I finally played a couple games of King of New York. It's definitely better than King of Tokyo, but I've played so much of Tokyo that I feel a little burnt out on the King games in general.

I played a couple matches of Lanterns, and so far I think it's just okay. It's very simple, and the scoring is a little strange, with someone usually winning by either one or a bunch of points. One person will typically either garner one more scoring token, or a token with one higher point value. It's a bit unsatisfying, although I've only played it two player, so maybe it's better with more.

Got two plays of Sheriff of Nottingham in recently, and it's all right. I'm not sure that it'll be a big hit with my group, but we'll see.

Robinson Crusoe continues to impress. I finally got a solo victory on the first scenario, Castaways!

Next up on my play list will be: Eight Minute Empire Legends, Imperial Settlers, and Viceroy.

Has anyone played Escape the Curse of the Temple? Someone offered the game to me in a trade, but I don't think I like the soundtrack element to the game. I understand why it's there, but I'd much rather have some other, non-digital, contrivance to indicate a passage of time.