What We’re Playing – June 11th 2020

Each and every Thursday, the DWP crew takes an internal poll on the highlights of our gaming week. Their findings are below for your consumption!

Matthew R starts things off for us:

I got in a few rounds of Blood on the Clocktower that a group of friends and I played over Discord. The social deduction game that was recently reviewed by Kohava M, offers interesting twists from Mafia/Werewolf and works well remotely, as long as you have a good moderator (thanks Dmitri).

I also finished the Charterstone campaign I had been playing with four friends through the Steam app. I love Charterstone, and the app does make many of the aspects of the game easier. There were a few glitches in the program though, as many times people would have to leave the game, come back for it to register it was their turn. I’d also appreciate it if the game had a play log, so you can keep track of what people are doing on their turn, as I found it went too quickly to see what people were doing.

Also in the digital realm, Nicole H revisited an old favourite:

I got to play Glen More on Yucata! It’d been so long. It’s still such a terrific game – I need to seek out some info on the updated one as I’m curious what’s going on in that one.

Moving to the physical gaming table, Sean J enjoyed an older classic, as well as a newer hit game:

This weekend I played a number of games, but two stood out for me. I was able to continue a five-player King’s Dilemma campaign, and I have to say it’s a heck of a lot of fun. It’s a story that continues to change and evolve and alliances are made and broken along the way. Can’t wait to see where else this game goes. The second game that stuck with me was The Downfall of Pompeii. This is a game I’ve seen for years, but was never compelled to play. Maybe it was the terrible cover art, maybe it was the 3D volcano, but for whatever reason, it never hit the table. Let me just say, I was so wrong! I really love how this game works, and how it’s divided into two halves, first populating the city and then trying to escape it. There is a ton of potential to screw over your opponents and make interesting decisions along the way. Now I just have to track down a copy for myself!

Cult of the Old’s Steve T went back to a great evergreen title:

I’ve been playing a fair bit of Stone Age this week. It’s a great dice-driven worker placement game, where players control a family of prehistoric people, trying to thrive better than any other family in the village. By having the most successful family, you earn the position of village chieftain. The dice are one of the biggest mechanics in the game, but it’s designed with ways to mitigate the randomness of the rolls.

Billy C fixed his lure, cast his line, and reeled in this great game:

I used my need for self care during the pandemic as an excuse to pick up a copy of Coldwater Crown, a lovely little fishing game. A light worker placement game with easy rules and mechanics, it is a wonderful game to knock out in an hour.

Using a worker placement mechanic similar to Raiders of the North Sea, it functions on a “place one, pull one” system (I don’t know if there is a name for that mechanic). The game is all about optimizing your turns so you can get as much done with each action. It has set collection elements and end-game awards. The real joy, though, is the inventory system. Through the game you have to manage your tackle box. Empty your box: catch a fish. The more stuff in your box: the more valuable your actions are. The game is constantly pushing you to empty AND fill it, and deciding when to do each is a DELIGHT.

As for myself (Jon-Paul D), I’ve been pondering how to play socially distanced games, at a table, with my regular gaming friends in Nova Scotia. Last week, we sat together outdoors and tabled the 2011 Spiel des Jahres winner Qwirkle, splitting the tiles as evenly as possible at either end of a six-foot long table. If you’ve not played before, think Scrabble with colourful symbols instead of letters! It worked out quite well, especially since I claimed the victory!

Two other notable plays for me, both for research purposes – Jeju Island shares some elements with a game design I’m working on, and really helped to get my creative gears churning. It almost feels like a game of musical chairs, with maximum set collection being the ultimate goal. The other was 2018’s Chai, which I played in preparation for an upcoming article about hot beverages in gaming. It’s positively delightful in presentation, and as a die hard Ticket to Ride fanatic, this game scratched a similar itch!

Now it’s your turn! We’d love to know what games made you most happy over the last week. Fill us in on the details through Facebook or Twitter!