Our lovely DWPeeps are back again, with a weekly roundup of tabletop play reports, either responsibly bubbled with humans around a table, or digitally through the various platforms of gaming goodness. Join us for another journey…

KIMBERLY T:

I’ve been playing some amazing games this past week: Obsession, New York Zoo, and The Castles of Tuscany. Obsession is a strategic game of pride, intrigue, and prejudice with an out-of-this-world theme. I can’t wait to plan my next croquet or riding activity with the goal of wooing the eligible heir/ess! And then there’s Uwe Rosenberg’s new tile laying game that I just can’t seem to win. New York Zoo asks players to balance their growth of six different animal types and fill their individual player boards with a variety of pens and attractions. It’s light, fun, and easily shareable. Lastly, The Castles of Tuscany is a stand alone game variation on The Castles of Burgundy. If you’re familiar with The Castles of Burgundy, Tuscany will be easy to learn and you’ll want to play another game right away. I love how there are special ability tiles that make future turns more beneficial and it’s a race to gain victory points during three different scoring phases. LOVE!

DAVID W:

Illusion was a big hit with my mom this week. No big surprise, because she really likes the Timeline series–but I was proper chuffed at how good she was at it. We played the equivalent of two full games and it was neck-and-neck the whole way! Normally word games are her thing. Who knew she had such good spatial reasoning?!

NICOLE H:

I’ve also had a couple of games of Castles of Tuscany, and it’s quite enjoyable – a very accessible version of Burgundy. Sort of a Ticket To Burgundy, if you will.

I tried out Dominations too, an interesting little tile laying and resource management type game. There’s a lot going on and a lot to consider, so it can be a little fiddly on Tabletopia – but I’d like to try it again if I can in person.

SEAN J:

I got to try two new-to-me hidden movement games (which happens to be one of my favourite mechanics). We played Fury of Dracula, which I really enjoyed. We managed to track down the Count and drive a stake through his heart, so that was satisfying. Later, we played the excellent Letters from Whitechapel, and I have to say, I loved it. I can see why this game has such a good reputation. It’s like Scotland Yard, but with a little more meat to it. I can’t wait to play again.

MATTHEW R:

I played Floor Plan, a new roll and…draw… game in which you are playing an architect mapping out the interior and exterior of a house. A friend of mine set up the game through Google Sheets and we played asynchronously. Each turn everyone can either build a room or draw two features. You score points by meeting certain objectives. I was not the most efficient at scoring points but I enjoyed the experience and actually coming up with an idea for a house. As you can see in the picture I mapped out a nice lap pool, which I wish I had in real life, well during the summer at least. I think Floor Plan can both be enjoyed as a strategic challenge and a fun activity.

JON-PAUL D:

My birthday was last weekend, and my wife managed to surprise me with a game gift that wasn’t on my radar at all – Cosmic Encounter Duel! Through some mechanical sorcery, the game manages to capture the spirit of the multiplayer original, with players competing to be the first to control five planets. Instead of negotiating with a table full of other players, players do a quick blind bid of attack/defend tokens after ships are committed to a planet. This helps to recreate a bit of the chaos of the 1977 classic, and I quite enjoy the experience!

Thank you for joining us for another week of gameplay group hugs! Be sure to also check out Nicole’s thoughts on Trails of Tucana, which dropped earlier this week.