Sunday, January 31, 2021

Top 10 Games of 2020

 

I have put together my top 10 games for 2020.  Note that these are games that I have played for the first time in 2020, not necessarily games that were released in 2020.  With all the games that I already have, I got another 20 games plus expansions last year.  Some were gifts, some were purchased at the thrift stores, and some were new.


2020 was quite the odd year.  Even though we spent most of the year quarantined, and our entertainment and social obligations were limited, we did not play a lot of games.  I am going to have to put more effort in playing through more of the games with a 1 player variant in the new year.


The new games were: Batman Miniature Game 2nd edition – The Dark Knight starter, Blood Bowl Second Season, DC Universe Miniature game, Fallout Shelter, Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, Gaslands – Refueled, Godzilla: Tokyo Crash, Pandemic: Hot Spot – North America, Rebels and Patriots, Speed Freeks, The Fantasy Trip – Melee/Wizard, Unmatched – Battle of Legends, Unmatched – Bruce Lee, Unmatched – Cobble and Fog, Unmatched – Jurassic Park – Ingen vs Rapors, Unmatched – Robin Hood VS Bigfoot, Warhammer 40,000 – 9th Edition Recruit starter, Zona Alfa.

 

The ones I picked up not new were: Clue Mysteries, MLB Sports Clix.

 

A lot of these did not hit the table this year.  Some games from previous years were finally played.

 

Games that I played for the first time that did not make my list were:

Legends of the Old West – basically Specific Fish.  Apparently also known as Authors.

 

13 – Fluxx: the Board Game – I found that it slows down the wackiness of Fluxx too much.  The extra complexity of moving the pieces to get the pairs for the goals becomes too much when mixed with the randomness of the rest of the cardplay.  Other players mentioned that they liked it better than the card game.  Further plays may improve. 

 

12 – Kong: Skull Island – This is not a good game.  There are many pieces on the board which serve no in-game purpose – like the wall, ship, Ann, building, and the Kong figure.  There is not much to the first part of the game where you try to capture Kong, and less to the second part of the game where you move around a circle and try to land on one of three spots when it also does not contain an airplane.  None of the 3D parts of the game have any play value, but it does make the game look like it should be more.  The mix of cardboard used in the building and ship is frustrating.  Still, it’s over quick enough, and I would play again if the kids really wanted to.

 

11 – Geek Out! – a trivia game where they don’t actually give you the answers.  You need to agree on the answers or have some way of looking them up.  Seems like it could play very quick or very long depending on the skill of the group.

 

10 – What Do You Meme? – Another game where you have to choose from among the other player’s submissions using pictures for the first card.  It includes the option for Freestyle – which allows the player to submit their own meme, a feature I did not care for.  It was a hit with the younger crowd but, I still prefer Apples to Apples.

 

9 – Skip-Bo – very similar to Double Solitaire but can play more players.  For what it is, I prefer Double Solitaire.

 

8 – Disney Treasure Planet – a kid’s game in two parts.  The first is a quick modified roll and move to get to the planet.  The second part, to escape the planet, is brutal.

 

7 – The Incredibles – a simple kid’s game where you make your moves to collect a controller and get close to the omnidroid to deactivate it.  At the end of your turns, you drop a dice down the chute and the pieces that get hit by it move back.  Simple game but an impressive board. 

 

6 - Bommerz over da Sulphur River – I was able to play this solo.  Easy enough but a lot of dice rolling.  Would be better against an opponent.

 

5 – Century – Spice Road – another engine builder, with some lovely metal coins. 

 

4 – Star Wars Destiny – a collectible dice and card game.  It’s fine but a bit too complex for a gateway game.  It’s not bad once you have it explained to you but some people find it hard to pick it up from the rules alone.

 

3 – Fallout Shelter – A worker placement game based on the App.  There are a lot of rules for the different situations but, by the second turn you pretty much have it down.  It moves along quickly and does not drag on too long.

  

2 – Monopoly Empire – It streamlines much of the play for up to 4 players.  It removes the player elimination, and shortens the length significantly but does away with houses and hotels.  It’s a nice version to expose those people who are anti-Monopoly to a version that might be fun enough to get them to try an actual Monopoly game.

 

1 – Samurai Jack: Back to the Past – You play as one of 5 sidekicks helping out Jack against Aku.  You have to move along a path, collecting support cards and keeping Jack company.  If left alone, Jack loses a bit more sanity to Aku.  If Jack loses all his sanity, you all lose.  You play three rounds of the path, fighting a boss at each round, with the final boss being Aku.  The sidekick with the most honor wins.  It takes a bit to get used to, and the rules could be a bit clearer – a lot of rules are only mentioned in the examples.  The figures are great.  As a fan, it’s a great experience.

 

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Books read - September to December 2020


Sept

Fletch’s Fortune by Gregory Mcdonald

Warhammer 40,000 (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham

Die Trying by Lee Child

Tripwire by Lee Child

No Middle Name by Lee Child


Oct

Imperial Armour Apocalypse by Warwick Kinrade and Alan Bligh

Imperial Armour Apocalypse II by Alan Bligh

 

Nov

Harry Potter: Film Wizardry by Brian Sibley

The Gold Standard: Rules to Rule By by Ari Gold

Echo Burning by Lee Child

Without Fail by Lee Child

 

Dec

Persuader by Lee Child

One Shot by Lee Child

The Hard Way by Lee Child

Rebels and Patriots by Michael Leck & Daniel Mersey

Zona Alfa – Salvage and Survival in the Exclusion Zone by Patrick Todoroff

 

 

 

 

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Figure Painting Total - December 2020

 It was certainly an odd year. We weren’t able to play much due to the lockdowns but, with the extra money I had left over, I picked up a lot of DC Universe sets. I even started picking up some figures for Dracula’s America. I’m looking to pick up some more sets for Dracula’s America in the new year as well as more Blood Bowl teams. I will probably get a few more DC Universe figures and maybe some 40K Ork vehicles for Speed Freeks.

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I bought more figures than I painted, but I did paint a fair amount of figures. Now that I’m set for paints and brushes, I’ll continue on painting the Dracula’s America, Marvel and DC Universe figures, as well as more figures for the Batman Miniature Game. I’m going to switch over to Blood Bowl with the new set in the hopes of being able to get in some games.

If I’m well caught up and still seem flush with cash, I might even take a second look at the Marvel Crisis Protocol set.


Bought

Blood Bowl Second Season boxed Set – 30

Warhammer 40,000 Recruit starter – 20

BM – Bird & Mercs – 4

BM – Joker & Clowns Starter set – 4

BM – Riddler Crew starter set – 5

BM – Calendar Man – 1

BM – Catman – 1

BM – Tumbler & Batpod – 2

BM/DCU Batman (batswarm) – 1

DCU – Apokolips Invasion Force – 6

DCU – Superman (Black Suit) – 1

Dracula’s America – Shadow Dragon Tong – 9

Wild West Wizard of Oz – Tin Man – 1


Painted











BM – Dynamic Duo (Robin) – 1

DCU – Doomsday - 1












DCU – Black Adam – 1

DCU – Shazam – 1

DCU – Uncle Dudley – 1












BM/MU – Arkham Knight – 1 – painted as Winter Soldier

MU – Drax – 1

MU – Gamora – 1


Dec total – figures bought 74, figures painted 8


Running total 2020 – figures bought 256, figures painted 101