New Games (or new to me, at least): Part Two

The mid-year review of new games continues... (here's Part One: A & B)

New Games (to me): C & D

• Carcassonne: Catapult - If you felt like Carcassonne needed more whimsy & a dexterity element, this is for you. Otherwise, it's a pretty expensive way to add a wooden flicking device & a few extra tiles to your Carcassonne collection. (BTW, this is not the worst Carc expansion - that honor goes to The Count of Carcassone.)
• Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune - OTOH, I really enjoyed playing this Carc spin-off/expansion as a stand-alone game... the wheel actually offers some interesting extra choices & not as much random silliness as you'd think. (It is not a roulette wheel but a rondel - that's gamerspeak for "it's actually a cool gaming mechanic, guys.") (Review copy provided)
• Cardcassonne - This makes me sad to say this but the word that popped into my head is "pedestrian." There's nothing wrong with the game - it works - but that's all it does. It's not really a card version of Carcassonne except in theme... it's more of a brinksmanship/press-your-luck card placement game. (Review copy provided)
• Castle Panic - Surprisingly enjoyable cooperative game of fending off monsters... has been a hit both with kids & with gamers. (There are rules included for a LOTR: Sauron-like variant as well as "coop but only 1 player wins" variant - but we haven't played those yet.)
• Catacombs - I keep saying this in a variety of forums, but it's worth saying again: take the dungeon crawl/combat experience of Descent: Journeys in the Dark, subtract 3 hours & add the flicking element from Carabande... and now you have Catacombs. We've had a lot of fun with this one - it's cries out for an expansion!
• Chopper Strike - Finally managed to trade for a copy to complete a set... this is weird combination between checkers & a simple wargame that is made palatable by the very cool two-level board. (In fact, the board & cool minis are my reasons for acquiring a copy of this 36 year old mass market game.) I see this mostly coming out with my boys.
• Claustrophobia - Space Hulk + Kingsburg... really. Impressive game design w/pre-painted minis & easier set-up/tear-down than most dungeon crawl games. Seriously thinking about buying a copy.
• Click Clack - The MSRP is way too high... but if you can get a deal on this very large kids game, it's a lot of fun esp. with the younger set. The pieces are big & chunky... and the board is a huge mass of molded plastic that sits in the box. (Review copy provided)
• The Magic Labyrinth - The winner of last year's Kinderspiel des Jahres deserves every bit of recognition it gets... it's a memory/maze game done with magnets that feels like a combination of the best bits of A-Mazing Labyrinth & Goblin's Gold. It's even fun with adults (if they can relax & enjoy themselves.)
• Dungeon Lords - The rulebook is stuffed full of D&D/WoW-tinged humor... and why not? You're the bad guy this time, using a variety of monsters & minions to defeat those pesky adventurers who keep coming & stealing your stuff. Mechanically, it reminds me a bit of Galaxy Trucker, but the mechanics are more complex and the game is not real-time. Probably my favorite new "think-y" game because of the theme & humor.