GamesReviews written by WadeMonnig
My first few plays of Stamp Swap were pretty rough but, after returning to it over and over, we smoothed out the rough patches and I came to appreciate it. I just wonder if other players will give it that leeway. Even if you are fan of collecting stamps, the execution of the game doesn't emphasize that hobby. I'm not sure how many gamers are going to persevere though a game when the net result is that it's “Perfectly Fine.”
Tulikko is an almost perfect mixture of challenge, excitement, and replayability. Games are brisk and are usually completed in about 20 minutes. Just like something along the lines of Splendor, most games of Tulikko end with the other players going “Ah, if I only would have had one more round, I could have...” because the game just flows effortlessly.
Wingspan Americas adds a bit more gameplay, a healthy dose of new birds, and a great representation of Hummingbirds to base Wingspan. The only real “downside” is that games will take a bit longer.
Tatsumi hits as a pleasant distraction but misses as a tactical abstract.
I'm Out is one of those great card games that hits on a higher level than it initially appears while still being dead simple enough that you can teach it and play it with virtually anyone. Break this out at game night and you'll be shedding cards like a tree sheds leaves in Autumn...but without all the messy clean up.
CMYK once again adds a stellar release to the Magenta Line. If you are cool with the four or six player restriction, the Team Play of Duos is a blast. And it's a bit less of “This is the proper play” than you would find in something like Hearts, so it should keep Aunt Shirley in Mom's good graces.
If you are an experienced Exit fan, Dead Man on the Orient Express is good entry into the series. If the added bonus of “solving” a murder appeals to you, that bumps it up a notch. This one is for seasoned Exit veterans.
There are definitely shades of Kingdom Death Monster and Gloomhaven found in Stonesaga. I just wish it “got cooler” faster. It takes many multi-hour adventures to even scratch the surface of Stonesaga and we felt the slow, deliberate pace was a bit too much of “Crawl before you can walk” when we really wanted to be stretching our legs.
The Bremen/Manhattan map pack is a low cost solution if you are looking to put the light back into the eyes of Power Grid players. It only takes a few minutes to explain the various differences and veteran players will slip right into playing but also be delighted by the tactics required to sync with the changes.
So, tune up your linguistic talents so that you can No Thanks is as many ways as possible during a game. A 24? ¡No Gracias! A 22? No Grazie. A 35! No Merci! Of course, No Merci! tickles my double entendre funny bone and is my personal favorite. (Neck and neck with “Fuck right off.”) If there is such a thing as a “Classic Feel Bad Filler” No Thanks is that game.