August 2024
Welcome board game fans! With the Paris 2024 Olypmics underway we thought we should bring you our guide to setting up a “board game olympics” for your family and friends! We also list three latest additions coming to the library in August and bring you an in-depth review of Architects of the West Kingdom as well as the excellent two player game BadLands.
Happy board gaming!
Host Your Own Board Game Olympics with My Board Game Library!
If you’re looking for a fun and unique way to spend quality time with family and friends? Why not host a Board Game Olympics?
Compete in different gaming disciplines, just like the Olympics, but from the comfort of your home! Gold Silver and Bronse can be awarded for winning games or based on the highest scoe achieved. Here are five categories we suggest:
1. Strategy and Tactics
These games are designed to challenge your planning and decision-making skills, favour strategic play and seek to minimise luck during play. In this Category (and keeping it family/beginner firendly) we would suggest classic games like, Catan, Ticket to Ride, Risk, or modern worker-placement games like Architects of the West Kindgoms (see our review below) or Champions of Midgard.
2. Dexterity and Coordination
This category is all about games that your hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, or a steady hand. Some favourites: Jenga, Dobble, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Cobra Paw, Rhino Hero, Junk Art and Klask to name a few.
3. Puzzle and Logic
Engage your brain with games that require logic, pattern recognition, spatial reasoning or problem solving. Some excellent titles for those seeking to go for gold in this category are: Azul, Carcassonne, Mysterium, Cascadia, Planet Unknown, Calico, and even the Exit: The Game series (awarding points for fastest completion and fewest hints used).
4. Racing and Speed
Feel the thrill of the race with games that require not jsut strategy but also quick thinking and fast decisions to get you across the finish line before the other players. Some of our favourites include Scrap Racer, Flamme Rouge,
Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Camel Up and The Quest for El Dorado. Though even a traditional game of Cribbage should not be overlooked in this category!
5. Cooperative Play
In the board game equivalent of team-sports we suggest a selection of cooperative play games which foster teamwork and communication and requrie players to work together to overcome challenges and achieve a common goal. If you have a larger group split into teams of two or three players. All players on a team that succeeds on their first attempts will win Gold, with a Silver for success on the second attempt and so on. Some excellent fast-playing cooperative games include: Pandemic, Forbidden Island, Castle Panic, Codenames, and The Crew: Quest for planet nine.
To get started visit My Board Game Library and browse through our collection. You can rent or buy the games for your “board games olympics” game nights or weekend.
Other categories such as Party Games or Word Games may also make for fun olympic events - feel free to get in touch and we’ll be happy to reccomend games in these categories!
Then gather your friends and family, hold a grand opening ceremony (optional) and let the games begin!
We are pleased to bring you no less than four new additions to the library!
Here is a quick overview of each game we’re brining into the fold, which you will be able to add to your rental playlist from this month.
San Francisco
Design a beautiful city in this game by one of the most successful game designers, Reiner Knizia. In San Francisco, your goal is to create the best redevelopment plan for the city. Race against the other players as you design districts, take on new projects and construct a system of cable car connections. Will your new vision of San Francisco earn you the most prestige and recognition as a renowned urban planner?
Radlands
Radlands is a competitive, two-player, card game where players, as the leaders of their respective post apocalyptic group of survivors duel to neutralise their oppornents camp sites while protecting their own. Cards can be used as instant effects or to lay the foundations for a longer term strategy that exploits powerful combo-effects. The main resource in the game is water which players spend to play and activate cards. the game is easy to learn and teach but impressively difficult to master and players will have to carefully decide how best to manage both their water and card supplies.
Wyrmspan
Build a cavernous sanctuary for dragons of all shapes and sizes in this spin off game from the ever popular Wingspan game. Excavate a hidden labyrinth on your land to attract the dragons to roost in the sanctuary you’ve built for them. The more dragons nesting in your grottos the more powerful the chain of effects that will be unleashed each time a grotto is used. In this way you build an engine of increasing power in the hopes of scoring the most points with the Dragon Guild. Fans of Wingspan will find Wyrmspan game both familiar in its mechanics but also satisffylingly different in its unique elements. (Having said that, this is a standalone game and new players don’t need any prior knowledge or experience with Wingspan to play this game.)
13 Words
13 Words is an idea-association party game where players try to guess the team Captain's choice for the most obvious link between a central key word and one of the 12 outer words surrounding it. Each player who guesses correctly wins a star, and the Captain gets a star as long as at least one player earned a star in his/her round.
The word card matching the Captain's choice is then flipped and placed in the center and the next player clockwise becomes the new Captian. Players now try and match the central word to the new Captain’s choice from the reamining 11 outer words and so on with each round offering fewer words to associated to the central word. The game is played cooperatively with the team as a whole trying to score as close as possible to the maximum possible number of stars.
Review:
Architects of the West Kingdom
S J Macdonald, Shem Phillips
1-5 Players
90 minutes
In Architects of the West Kingdom players take on the role of royal architects in the 9th century, trying to impress the king by building structures and contributing to the construction of the great Cathedral.
In an original spin on worker placement strategy games, each player has 20 workers to start with and workers are NOT returned at the end of each round. Instead they stay in place until captured or recalled. A location with workers on it grows in power each time it is used by that player. This forces players to think about timing as a key element of their strategy (e.g. when to push for the most resources and when to bring workers back so as not to run out.). Players also need to keep an eye on the pace at which their opponents are building so as not to get left too far behind.
Another clever twist is the use of a virtue system that enables or disables certain elements of play based on how virtuous a player’s actions are deemed to be. Dodgy dealings in the black market may net you some quick resources but could cost you points if you fall into debt or prevent you from contributing to the construction of the Catherdral as this is only available to those with at least a minimum level of virtue! (Conversely the black market actrions are not available to the very virtuous.)
The main way to score is by building structures (either by playing building cards or advancing work on the Cathedral) and for many building cards you will need to recruit apprentices with the requisite carpentry, tiling or masonry skills. We found the game plays best at the 3-4 player count though a solo mode is available and quite enjoyable. (If playing with two you may wish to consider adding in the automa opponent.)
Overall, Architects of the West Kindom is a clever twist on worker placement games and is sure to appeal to fans of the genre. It is a solid mid-weight game that is easy to learn and offers a decent blend of strategy and tactics.
We give the game a rating of 4/5 meeples!
(Architects of the West Kingdom is available to rent from our library or purchase from our online shop.)
Review:
Radlands
Daniel Piechnick
2 Players
30 minutes
Radlands is a fast-paced and strategic two-player card game set in a post-apocalyptic world. Gameplay revolves around managing limited resources, primarily water, and making tough decisions with a small hand of multi-use cards. Players draw cards from the same deck in an attempt to fortify and protect their three bases while at the same time trying to neutralise those of their opponent.
Players must constantly decide whether to attack, heal, or build their frotress. The game is highly tactical, and each turn feels like a challening new puzzle to solve. Also, the games are quick - leaving you wanting to go again!
With over 5000 possible combinations you’re unlikely to play exactly the same game twice. Perhaps one of the best qualitivies for a card duel game of this nature is that players draw from the same deck, there is no deck construction; players simply shuffle the 66 card deck and start playing.
Even players who usually avoid head-to-head card games may find this one engaging and enjoyable, this is due to the strategic depths combined with fast play - not to mention the satifsaction of setting up and unleashing powerful combo effects!
The art is exceptional, brilliantly combining humour with thematic elements, and the production quality is top-notch.
Radlands is fun, easy to learn, and endlessly replayable in the category of two-player games we give it fop marks!
(Radlands is available to rent from our library or purchase from our online shop.)
Setting up a Rental Playlist on My Board Game Library lets you play many different games without spending a fortune! It’s wafantastic for adding variety to your board game group without having to invest the full cost of a game.
Renting our board games is a great way to try games before deciding if you want to buy them. That way your personal collection contains only the games you really love!
Renting from My Board Game Library means you’ve no need to store a large (and mostly un-played) game collection. You just return the games when you're done playing them, revclaiming that storage space for your home!
If you have any questions, suggestions or would like more information on any of the games mentioned in this newlsetter just drop us a mail and we will be happy to help.
It’s all part of our friendly service!
support@myboardgamelibrary.com
““Laughter is the key ingredient for a successful game night.””
– Anon.
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