Everything including the kitchen sink... but with special attention paid to board games, Jesus Christ, my family, being a "professional" (and I use that word loosely) Christian, and the random firing of the 10% of the synapses I'm currently using.
A re-imagined version of the classic dice game To Court the King - imagine Yahtzee crossed with Magic: The Gathering. You use dice to obtain card powers in order to manipulate dice to obtain more power (and dice) to finally win the favor of the Pharaoh.
Tips & Tricks:
You need dice - and a few manipulation powers. Going the other way (dice manipulation powers and a few extra dice) will lose you the game.
The game works well with 2-4 players.
The variability introduced in this version is excellent - each game has its own feel.
I do wish I'd sprung for a second set of dice... with 4 players, you have to do a lot of trading around of base dice.
Extras
I had the privilege of Tom Lehmann (the designer) showing me the unpublished expansion for To Court the King some years back... many of those great ideas ended up in Favor of the Pharaoh.
This is the first of seven (7!) Lehmann designs on my list.
Imagine taking the asymmetrical structure of the classic game Space Hulk (hordes of bad guys vs. a small band of heroes) and cross-pollinating it with some very clever dice mechanics (one even borrowed from the much-loved Euro game, Kingsburg)... and then packing the box as full of high-quality components as possible. And there you have it.
Tips & Tricks:
Both players (the good guys AND the bad guys) have to carefully manage all of their resources - each of them has some pretty nifty "powers" but almost all of those are limited in their use.
Not unlike the original Space Hulk board game, sometimes winning is just taking out as many bad guys as possible before you go under.
Extras
The playing time for Claustrophobia is almost always less than an hour... and, with a few exceptions, it's pretty easy to set up as the caverns will be explored and the game board laid out as you play.
Warning: this is probably the "darkest" game I own (thematically)... this is not for everyone.
The De Profundis expansion has a lot more scenarios, some new monsters & heroes, and a bunch of new tiles & cards... and, as per the designer's wishes, does NOT make this a multi-player game. (Croc - yes, that's his moniker - was very clear that he'd designed a two-player game and that putting more folks around the table would mess up the design.)
The Furor Sanguinis expansion adds a new "faction" - well, to be accurate, giant lizard/demon bad guy. We've had a lot of fun with it.
Yes, I know there's a (relatively) new edition [circa 2019]. But this is the one I own.
Have a massive multiple armada space battle... in 60 minutes. With almost no luck.
Tips & Tricks:
Important safety tip: I was a long-time playtester on this game... it's not my baby but it certainly feels like it.
I do wish the colors of two of squadrons in the blue fleet weren't so dang close. I need to use a Sharpie to mark one of them.
Like Catan, initial placement is important. You have to make wise choices based on your special power and your judgement about the relative aggressiveness of your closest foes.
Extras
I wrote an ode to joy about the publication of Battle Beyond Space on my blog back in 2009.
The inscription on my "thank you for playtesting" copy of the game...
A splendid road rally race that's fraught with luck... and some actual decision-making.
Tips & Tricks:
You can't make it to every prize ceremony - so don't even try.
Deciding when to cut & run - or at least leaving yourself that option - is one of the keys to winning the game.
Extras
This is probably the lowest ranked game (BGG-wise) on my Top 100 - and frankly, I think that simply indicates that my list is superior to the opinions of a whole lot of other people.
The fourth installment of my top 100 songs - and, yes, there's two songs by the same artist off of the same album. (The whole album is just that good - even 40 years later.)
There are some great break-up songs… but none that make me laugh as hard as this one - "Sorry when you want to yell I just can't hear your shouts / Now I live so far away, wish I could help you out / But I realized I'm no punching bag, and I know you hate that / So now you'll have to do without, or get yourself a cat".
This pop-y highly danceable song about confusion and hope lands not because Chevy Chase is in the video but because of the stunning musicianship on display.
I first heard David Wilcox on an NPR radio show performing some of his songs in the studio… and promptly drove to a record store and bought his album. Such an amazing storyteller.
There's a lot of mystery about the title of this song (which was relegated to the Rattle & Hum album without appearing in the film)… but this declaration of love (to God? to a woman?) grabs me.
Yes, another song off "Romeo Unchained"… this plaintive song about the loss of a relationship has been covered by a number of folks (Glen Burtick, ALIAS, What If, etc.) but I still think this is the best version.
I've played this over & over and I'm still intrigued each time. How far can I push my luck? Should I play aggressively or defensively? For such a simple game, it continues to draw me in. (Probably doesn't hurt that the production of the game is gorgeous.) Now, it's not that I win all that much. My wife is a pro... and my oldest son gets better every game we play.
Tips & Tricks:
I know some people don't like the big cards or the board... but I do.
Good Lost Cities play is based not only on the cards you draw but also on the play of your opponent. It is a game about reading their plan as much as executing your own.
Lost Cities spawned a whole series of games:
Keltis & it's uglier cousin, Lost Cities: The Board Game (I enjoy them both)
Keltis: Die Orakel (which I have not played)
Keltis: Der Weg der Steine (which I like a lot... hint hint)
Keltis: The Dice Game (so-so)
Keltis: The Card Game (decent - but I like Lost Cities better)
Lost Cities: Rivals (which is very good!)
Lost Cities: Roll'n'Write (which is decent as well)
Extras
Here's a link to what I wrote about Lost Cities for The One Hundred...
This three-handed trick-taking game resets trump on each and every trick - and yet the unique scoring system (with bargain piles and junk piles) is surprisingly easy to understand. It's just difficult to play well!
Tips & Tricks:
There is a memory element to the game - but you can refresh your memory between hands.
The game will play with four players - but three is the number you really want.
Don't be ashamed of a low score - it took me 2-3 games to get a positive score.
Extras
This game also ended up on Chris Wray's 20 Favorite Trick-Taking Games list for 2024 over on the Opinionated Gamers site. "If I could pick one game that is undervalued by those newer to the trick-taking obsession, it is Bargain Hunter. The game is a masterpiece!"
not sure it's in print, but relatively easy to find copies online
Why It's On The List
One of the best examples of a game design integrating theme & mechanics - drawing tiles from the bag "feels" like archaeology. As well, the use of the "time cost" mechanic makes the game fluid & gives each player a plethora of tactical options.
Tips & Tricks:
The tile bags are a marked improvement over the card decks from the original version of this game, Jenseits von Theben.
If you're not going to collect the lecture series cards, just make sure no other person hoards them - that's some big points out there on the rubber chicken circuit.
I like to jump out with one or two quick expeditions to harvest a few easy artifacts (and have a variety of colors for the various exhibitions) - but there's something to be said for making sure you have a couple of assistants & shovels before you do any serious digging.
Don't forget about the bonuses for highest level of research into each site!
follower of Jesus, husband, father, "pastor", boardgamer, writer, Legomaniac, Disneyphile, voted most likely to have the same Christmas wish list at age 58 as he did at age 8
