WHAT HAVE WE BEEN PLAYING – July 23rd, 2020

Another week, another round of memorable game play reports from the DWP crew! Let’s jump right into the good stuff…

Jon-Paul D:

After years of anticipation, I finally had the opportunity to play Container! Players are producing, buying, selling, and shipping containers, and in so doing create a living, breathing economy. As dry as the theme might seem on the surface, this game is incredibly interactive and there is almost never a moment to stop crunching numbers and planning for the next turn. One of my favourite game plays of 2020 so far!

Nicole H:

I played 6 Nimmt and Hadara with Sean and David this week! Sean has some sort of strange 6 Nimmt mojo that I believe he hid from us when we played. I lost quite spectacularly. Hadara has a great implementation newly added to Yucata.de – it’s a great game (Sean reviewed it here), so we played a game of that while we chatted and somehow again Sean crushed us!

David W:

I played Fort with my partner Claire last week and though we didn’t finish the game I have to say I think it lives up to expectations. So many interesting decisions! I’ll be doing a deeper writeup for DWP next week but for now if anyone’s interested they can check out the video I made for it in my capacity as “Boardgame Concierge” for 401 Games.

Sean J:

I had another excellent and successful teaching session of Quacks of Quedlinburg. While the box art leaves a little to be desired and the potion boards are a little overwhelming at first, I have never taught this game without people loving it. In fact, most people who’ve learned it from me, went out and bought their own copy shortly afterwards. This week, I got to try out some new ingredient combinations that I hadn’t in the past which led to some interesting strategic decisions. I am not good at Quacks. I actually rarely win, but I love to play it and was happy to have the chance this past week.

Kimberly T:

I played a new game that demands several attempts as it probably induces the AP in even the clearest thinker. It’s called In the Hall of the Mountain King and I really enjoyed it’s simplicity in turn options, but the choices abound once you’re in the thick of it. It’s hearty, but wow. In the Hall of the Mountain King is a really smart resource management and tile placement game. Particularly appreciated by me and my husband was that the game played like it had been rigorously game tested: all those strange questions and situations regarding equity/fairness in play had been thought of and I can’t wait to dig in again with a different strategy and with more players. Plus there’s a lot of stuff in the box!

Billy C:

Been playing some of my new expansions, working through my shelf of shame. This week it was Lorenzo il Magnifico: Houses of Renaissance, a lovely expansion for a great strategy game. Lorenzo is a worker placement game that uses dice as a worker, but with a twist! A single set of dice is rolled for everyone, so each player has the same workers to plan around. There is set collection, worker placement, point salad, and plenty of interesting choices. The expansion drastically opens up the options available for you, giving four new spots to place workers without taking anything away from the stress and crunchiness of trying to get as much done as you can in too little time on a crowded board. While Lorenzo was already a title I enjoyed for the choices it offers, I cannot wait to continue to table it with the Houses of Renaissance.

And that brings us to the end of another exciting encapsulation of our favourite gaming experiences from the past week. Did you spot any games that may have previously missed your radar? Let us know on social media – Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook!