Kaalia of the Blast is one of my "lets recreate original commander" decks. The idea is to keep close to the original structure - one commander with the focus of the deck, a supporting commander that could become the main with some changes, and a big dragon in the same colors. And have the game plan of one of the originals, too. So in a way an updated Kaalia with a bit more focus and dedication, but still Angel/Dragon/Demon beatdown. #EDH #MtG
Archive 11.9.2016 - 5.11.2022
Abdel, Agent of the Iron Throne is my latest high-power, near-competitive creation. The deck has a very linear combo plan with a lot of redundancy in the parts, and above all both combo element and combo payoff in the command zone. What is lacking in interaction due to the colors is replaced by resilience. I like linear combo because it gives the game a clear plan and, for example, makes mulligan decisions much easier.
Dargo for the Lulz is a deck that has positively surprised me with how strong it is. I would place it in a similar category as Godo, so definitely cEDH viable. Although the combo is not the commander alone, it only needs one more card (Phyrexian Altar) and it goes off if there are a few Treasures lying around or creatures to sacrifice. And the Plan B with Beatdown also works well.
Board Game Night - How to Do It in Times of Corona?
Well, we found a solution. And it went really well - 6 players were involved, each at home. I had the game and a camera setup to put the image on the internet - and then deliver it to everyone at home with Microsoft Teams. Then headsets and off we went, explaining the game, playing, talking about it together - all of this is also possible during times of social distancing.
I already had the camera tripod, the small swivel arm with phone holder costs 35€ and the phone - you often already have something like that. Then on the phone a small app - "IP Webcam" - with which the phone's camera is accessible via a website. And on the notebook Teams, with which I shared the browser window with all participants. And off we go!
Jhoira, Scrap That! is now my primary deck for cEDH and it has proven to be damn good so far. The deck actually always has a line, can react to almost everything and has good rebuild capabilities. Through multiple overlapping combos, it offers flexible ways to win even through Stax or Hate. And even if I don't win: the deck definitely leaves a lasting impression on the opponents.
Rurik: Dawn of Kiev is a Kickstarter game that arrived at my place a few weeks ago and has since been on the table a few times. Interesting aspects of the game are the action selection with differently rated advisors in a separate auction phase, in which you select the action possibilities and a bit the order in which you execute them, but how strong the action will be depends on the fellow players. The actions are only evaluated in the second phase, where you then have to see how to cope with what you get. The target scores are very close to each other, every point counts. Also very nice game material and a practical sorting insert.
Bears on a Plane is my attempt to build an effective Prison deck in cEDH. First attempts with the deck were accordingly "disgusting". Can only be tested sporadically due to Anger-Management-Issues of the Playgroup ...
Tin Elves - Tin Elves. My last artifact combo deck for Magic the Gathering. Felt super solid in the last game. The deck goes hard on artifact combos, but uses a number of elements that also work super well for an aggro strategy. If my combo pieces get shot down, I just attack with a horde of Thopters. And Emry as Commander helps me get around the Commander tax because her Affinity-to-Artifacts ability is worth its weight in gold in this deck - and since she's also a combo piece, the deck has very good chances of coming back from behind. I'll probably still stabilize the list a bit, but the composition seems to be a real hit. Probably going to Bologna with it.
Wingspan is my new addition from Essen this year (not the only one, but the one I've played so far) and I'm very happy to have bought the game. A tableau builder with cards, where the cards improve the action possibilities - that's already perfect for me. Variable setup, secret objectives and high combo potential in the cards make it even better. And the first games with 2 and 5 players were super exciting. The game offers a nice escalation curve in the game - the rounds have fewer and fewer actions, but the actions themselves get better and better. And when you hit a productive combo, it just feels good. Add to that good quality materials and appealing graphics, this is a slam-dunk for me.
Golos is on a pilgrimage to find the most efficient combos to run in his deck - and I am helping him to achieve his goal. My last decklist, which I am working on. It's going pretty hard towards cEDH. The first games already felt really good, even though a bit of the explosive combo feeling was missing. But that might not be bad in my meta either, we play longer games. Therefore, the list is more focused on answers and less on T2 combo-win. But from what the list does, it fully goes in my preferred direction - not suicide combo, but first see what's possible, then strike when no one can answer enough.
Marvel Champions - Fantasy Flight Games Wow, this is unexpected. It looks very much like another offshoot of the LOTR system, albeit somewhat streamlined at first glance. But if it still achieves the gameplay depth of LOTR, that would be great. I do have a well-running Magic game round now, but for in-between, I always found LOTR quite exciting, as many game decisions (specifically the scenario-specific building of a deck) are very close to Magic.
Wow, Pauper Comes to Paper - with unified legality. Unfortunately, two of my favorite commons are banned: Hymn to Tourach and High Tide. Too bad. But still nice to finally have a unified legality for cards.
The London Mulligan will be the official mulligan in Magic starting with Core Set 2020. Great. We tried it in Commander and it was completely fine. And it was also good in Pauper. Of course, there are certainly a few decks that benefit excessively, but that can be regulated otherwise. The new mulligan simply helps to avoid "non-games" due to multiple bad starting hands. There's nothing more annoying than losing a game in the mulligan because every hand was without lands or only lands.
A Force to be Reckoned With - the new card "Force of Vigor" has just hit two of my decks hard. Jhoira as an artifact storm deck and Paradox Arcum as an artifact combo are both quite dependent on their artifacts and enchantments, such a card can just turn them off. Instant speed. For free. Ouch. If other lists go stronger on mana dorks instead of mana rocks, they have enough green cards to get FoV active. And then I'm out. Jhoira might still be able to hold on, but Storm usually has several vectors, but since artifacts only become instant-speed with Shimmer Myr (and it remains vulnerable as an artifact), Arcum is really hard hit.
May 20, 2019 Banned and Restricted Announcement - Wizards of the Coast just neutralized two of my decks for me - Izzet Blitz needs the free spells to pump its creatures or activate direct damage and Skred Delver needed them to fill the hand in the midgame. Ouch. Okay, lately I've mostly played Tron (or GB Tortex if I was in the mood for wild board states), but still, Skred Delver was always my favorite deck because of its explosive comebacks.
Metaowl is gone
Alright folks, Metaowl has gone all digital today: there was this ancient WP installation running in the background, with various customizations. It was simply beyond saving, getting it to fly with newer PHP versions just takes too much time. I also don't think anyone will notice that the owl is no longer there. It was just a piece of internet history.
I like the new MTG Mulligan variant that is to be tested in London. Definitely, it must be seen whether this does not favor combos too much, but the current mana system and the structure of the current Mulligan simply lead to non-games too often, especially in my favorite format EDH. And it just feels stupid when you have to go down to 4 and still have a crappy hand, or then just scoop - and the others can discard their good starting hands because they would otherwise have a game with N-1 players, where one watches. Of course, in multiplayer, you can directly offer the other a further 7-card Mulligan, but the new variant would not make this necessary - I can always choose the best N cards from 7, so a 4-card Mulligan is bearable.
The Ninth World: A Skillbuilding Game for Numenera is a very strange game, essentially implementing the construction of an RPG character as a game. The character is guided in different directions by different cards, improves basic skills, finds special abilities, and experiences adventures. But everything is very strongly abstracted. For me, the game is carried mainly by the consistent graphics and the fact that setup and gameplay are relatively quick. Solid upper midfield, I would say. But quite usable for 30-60 minutes of time. But definitely not a must-have. And for me already symptomatic of Loneshark Games: the manual leaves much to be desired. It is not as incomplete as that of Apocrypha, but some things you really only see after multiple readings. More care and blind testing could have really helped.
Too Many Bones: Undertow has almost reached the top of my game list after just one playthrough. Essentially, it's an RPG in a box - choose a character, level up various stats, and each character has their own skill tree. Then there's the fact that each character plays completely differently. These characters are then tested in several scenarios with battles against a variety of opponents using a variation of the Hoplomachus combat system. Opponents and your own figures are represented by stacks of poker chips, abilities and actions by dice. Mountains of dice. But due to the many manipulation options, you're not hopelessly at the mercy of dice luck, but always retain a certain degree of control. And all of this is pure gaming fun, especially for me in solo play.
Ever wanted to try something really new and interesting? Petrichor might be just what you're looking for. Where else do players represent competing weather systems vying against each other to provide the best irrigation for crops? Very nice components, a very friendly designed game and an absolutely brutal feel. The cloud systems fight for dominance on the "map", argue about who determines the next weather and stop attacks from opposing cloud systems, all in the fight for points. It almost feels like a wargame. At first, it seems quite complex, as the effects of your own actions always influence several areas at the same time and you practically have to keep all the paths to victory points in mind to avoid falling behind. But after a few actions, you've got it and the game runs smoothly. Replay value is provided by the high variability of the setup.
Architects of the West Kingdom is my souvenir (one of several) from the Spiel 2018 in Essen. I like the graphic style of The Mico very much and the fact that Shem Phillips worked as a developer on it gave me hope. And the game delivers a very good picture. A very idiosyncratic look at worker placement combined with a dual goal path (virtuous cathedral building or thievish withholding and black market trading) provides a lot of fun, at least in our first game. Will definitely come to the table more often, it is not too complex in the actual game, the actions are not huge chains like in Viticulture, but usually directly connected to what you want to do next. Plus the missing blocking and the successive improvement of one's own actions, the capturing of the opponent's workers when they become too efficient, all very interesting action possibilities.
Recently, Iron Curtain has been played a lot at our place. It's almost like a Twilight Struggle as a microgame. 18 cards, a few wooden dice and off you go. Each card can be used for 1-4 (depending on the card) influence dice or for their event, generally it's about influence in countries and regions of the world. And it's impressive how much game depth has been packed into this small box and the little material. Definitely a lot of fun to play. The game is by the same creators as 13 Days, which we also really enjoyed.
Ethnos had been on my wishlist for a while, and I eventually bought it because I wanted a relatively easy-to-explain game for up to 6 players that I can play with any group. Not a long explanation, catchy gameplay (it reminds me a bit of Ticket to Ride, but here influence markers are placed in a country instead of trains on a map) and quick to play. Even with 6 players, we usually finish in one to one and a half hours. And it's really fun. Of course, due to the game concept, you are - just like in Ticket to Ride - strongly dependent on what you draw. But with tactical skill and attention, you can still wrestle a rough direction from chance. The different factions that appear in the game can be freely assembled from 6 out of 12, which can drastically change the game - having Halflings in the game feels completely different (suddenly everyone plays very large combat groups) than, for example, Centaurs (everyone wants some because you can play two or more combat groups). Elves and wizards keep your hands full, dwarves reduce the combat group sizes for points. Very fun and despite the variability, easy to explain.
Renegade is a game by Ricky Royal, one of my favorite board game YouTubers. He particularly enjoys showcasing solo games, and Renegade is an excellent solo game, naturally also playable as a cooperative game with multiple players. Cyberpunk theme, deck-building à la Mage Knight, but with a permanently size-limited deck (always 15 cards). The cards have a dual function (at least the cards you buy into the deck), either commands or events. And actually, buying is always worth it, as you buy directly to your hand, so you usually improve your hand. Additionally, a multi-stage game with intermediate goals that you can achieve for a bonus or ignore against a penalty. All this with a very lean area-control aspect. I really like it.
One Deck Dungeon: Forest of Shadows is another solo game. Okay, you can also play it cooperatively with two players, but somehow it still feels more solo-focused to me. A classic rogue-like, but as a card and dice game. As in the old computer games, you are a single (or two) fighter of different classes who must fight their way through a dungeon, three levels deep, to then face the final boss. Along the way, you defeat monsters and trials and receive abilities, items, or potions in return. In the end, these are of course just more dice and dice manipulations, but thematically it all works surprisingly well and is - despite the manageable number of cards - surprisingly varied.
In my constant search for interesting solitaire games, I recently stumbled upon Wars of Marcus Aurelius: Rome 170-180CE. Hollandspiele is a small but fine wargame publisher that has released a whole series of challenging solitaire games. And with the Wars of Marcus Aurelius, they have, in my opinion, hit a real jackpot: a mix of State of Siege and CDG. State of Siege is characterized by the different fronts that push towards a center and constantly threaten to overwhelm the player. This element is also present here. But while in State of Siege the dice dominate and cards only provide a historical framework, here the cards are absolutely central. The classic CDG mechanism allows cards to be used for ordinary actions or for the printed event. Generally, there are several uses for cards and the player can manage their hand of cards over the seasons of the current year, always considering whether to use or save the cards. Add to this the opponent driven by card effects. Dice are only used to determine conflict victories and there are many ways to influence the dice result. Overall, a really good mix, which, however, comes across as quite challenging, as one quickly loses in the spring of the second year ...
Fields of Green is essentially a reworking of Among the Stars - the same card drafting, the same tableau building, and again the dependencies of the card arrangement for victory points (and there are the same three types of cards with immediate effect, round effect, and end-of-game scoring). But instead of space stations in outer space, here it's all about the fields and the dear livestock. A game vacation on the farm, so to speak. All in a nice package with very clear rules and round sequences and a few new tricks compared to the predecessor game. Unfortunately, just like the predecessor game, it's only for 4 players, but a 5-player expansion is already on the way. For larger groups, however, 7 Wonders remains unbeaten as a drafting game.
I finally got Innovation on the table at the weekly game meetup and must say, I like it. I had only played with a fan-made solo rule before, but with multiple players, a highly interactive game like this is simply better. Exploiting card combos doesn't work as well in solo play, so many interactions fall by the wayside. The game offers a lot of combos and an interesting flow through participating in other players' cooperative dogmas (card effects) and the way affected players are chosen in imperative dogmas. Definitely fun for more, although the game is really very text-heavy and probably only truly great when the games have been played multiple times and know what cards are in play.
'Kernel memory leaking' Intel processor design flaw forces Linux, Windows redesign • The Register - and all Intel-based systems will be slower. 5-30% performance loss depending on the specific workload on the systems. Ouch.
After we had already played the picture version a lot, Codenames Duet came into our collection - a two-person version of Codenames. And it's really fun, though for us only in a picture version. We both found it extremely stressful and unsatisfying with the words, but with the pictures from Codename Pictures it really brings joy. And since it's cooperative, you can quickly take it out when we don't feel like fighting.
Juliana's new favorite game: Battle Line. A classic, in our case with a new graphic design featuring knights instead of hoplites. 9 columns where you play a small "poker" game, the higher combo wins. The goal is to win 3 adjacent territories or a total of 5 territories. Easy to learn, easy to play (we don't play the expansion with tactic cards as it's only available in English). Within a very short time, the game has been played over 100 times and even more by Juliana, because it's the first game she voluntarily unpacks and plays by herself (left hand against right hand). Something that has never happened before. So definitely a quality statement for the game.
Another new addition is Viticulture Essential Edition - purchased on the occasion of a 10-euro voucher from the local game store, chosen because of the number of players (1-6). So far, I have only played it solo, but it works excellently for that. And from what I've seen, I'm already looking forward to playing it in the player round - a well-intermeshed worker placement, where the theme fits quite well with the actions in the game (ok, some details are a bit "creative", but overall the interplay of the actions makes sense). The whole thing then with quite challenging decisions in the game, but not as far as, for example, in Gallerist or similar highly complex games. So really something for the weekly round and not immediately a time investment for the weekend.
Recently, Godforsaken Scavengers arrived from Kickstarter and I tried it out right away. Originally, I only grabbed it because the unusual theme (or rather the style) appealed to me. It's basically a dungeon crawl with character attributes, events, locations, and everything that goes with it, packed into a super compact playtime and wrapped in appealing graphics. So, absolutely great for a quick game, as it hardly consumes any setup and the game itself is quick to finish. It has exactly the right length for the high proportion of luck it takes to survive - if things go wrong, not much time is invested, just shuffle and go again.
Another trade show souvenir is Azul, a nice tile-laying game with a super-friendly (and super-painted) theme: tile laying. The game itself is quite competitive and a lot of fun (at least for me) and has been well received in the board game group so far. I particularly like the short playing time, many games in our collection go beyond the hour and this one can be easily finished in 40 minutes, even with 4 players. In addition, it is super easy to teach to the players and the material is simply great. This will certainly find its way onto the table more often.
Triplock is a new addition that surprised me - I only picked it up because the manufacturer often delivers very interesting games in superb quality and the theme appealed to me (Steampunk world and lock picking). What surprised me, however, was how much I enjoyed it. Essentially, it's a classic memory game - uncovering combinations, remembering the same, swapping and twisting, and at the same time keeping an overview of what is where. A bit like the typical shell game, only as a board game with a story. And it works damn well, also (or perhaps even especially) solo. You happily play several rounds in a row until you've cracked the current scenario.
Nemo's War (second edition) I have now played twice, and it is becoming one of my favorite solo games. It captures the atmosphere of Jules Verne's books well into an entertaining game. Even if, of course, the theme is only carried by the cards and the graphics of the game. The game system is based on a lot of chance, which can be surprisingly well managed. The result is quite a bit of strategy in a yet relatively classic roll-for-success system. The playtime, however, prevents me from getting it on the table more often. Nevertheless, it ranks high on my list.
A few days ago, The 7th Continent finally arrived after almost 2 years of waiting. Wow, it was worth the wait! The game has turned out fantastic and has made it into my top list. If the fun continues, it's a clear favorite for the 10th place. The only thing that could have been left out are the fiddly tiny miniatures, I prefer the cardboard standees ten times more. But the game itself - simply grand. Very beautifully drawn cards, clear symbolism and simple game system - all together form a graphical choose-your-own-adventure game. Looks simply great on the table. In addition, a clever save/restore mechanism makes it trivial to pack away to free up the table (you have to eat sometimes). When continuing to play, there is a bit of sorting work, but it is also clear. And the story you experience is really worth the time you invest. In addition, a series of curses that you can expose yourself to and many adventurers that you can send on the journey, that offers a lot of replay value. Even if you naturally get to know the continent over time, it probably won't get boring. This will bring a lot of gaming fun and for the autumn the next Kickstarter with more curses is already announced. I think I'll be there again.
The Godfather: Corleone's Empire has risen to the top of my list lately - I was immediately interested when it was announced (Worker Placement where you shoot annoying opponent workers?), and when it became available early, I grabbed it. Since then, I've played it with 2, 3, and 4 players and I am absolutely thrilled. Unlike many other Worker Placement games, it is not a multiplayer solitaire, but highly interactive and extremely mean, in parts. Yesterday, I was practically destroyed by theft, extortion, and murder of my people. And that's extremely fun - even if you think you're completely out of it at times, there's surprisingly much potential for a comeback. All in all, definitely a game way up there in my top list.
ComancherÃa: The Rise and Fall of the Comanche Empire recently found its way to my table. Wow. Simply wow. It is a solo game about the history of the Comanche, from their rise as a dominant tribe in the North American plains to their decline in the Battle of the Red River. Interspersed with historical notes, the game offers a very interesting system in which the author also takes the trouble to trace the various mechanics back to historical conditions or cultural peculiarities. And all of this with very solid game elements of extremely good quality (definitely in the premium range for a GMT game). And the game itself? What impresses me most is the very well-developed "AI" for the opponents for a solo game. Usually, the opponents in solo games are relatively simple, more driven by chance, possibly controlled a bit by rule systems. Not in this game, here the opponents are assigned strategy markers that give a rough overview of what this opponent might have in mind next - if he is activated. But even then, a random element is added, in which these strategies can still change in the short term - and you never know exactly how active he will be. The peace plans visible so far can quickly turn into attacks. But what is guaranteed: the more you do yourself, the higher the chances that the opponent will also carry out many actions. So always think about whether the next action will bring you further, or whether the risk of even more opponent activations might be too great. The success check for your own actions is also interestingly structured: it is not simply always just a die that is rolled, many checks go against a chit-pull system, in which successes and failures are taken out of the pool of possible chits (in the case of successes even for a longer time), so that your own successes automatically show in stronger resistance from the opponents (recognizable by the more likely failures due to the change in the composition of the chits). All in all, this gives a very rounded picture of the opponents in the game, who do not simply sit passively around to then strike randomly and arbitrarily, but instead react quite a bit to your own actions. And this without a lot of administrative effort for the opponents. It will definitely come to the table more often, especially since it contains a lot of other game elements that I love, foremost the "technology tree", in which you can equip your tribes with additional techniques and abilities and culturally strengthen them, which allows you to better support your own strategies. Then there are 4 historical scenarios that can all be played standalone (each 1-2 hours) or as a large campaign one after the other (6-8 hours). Then there is a relatively moderate setup, which is not always the case with conflict simulations.
For our weekly game group, I'm always looking for interesting games for 7 or even more players. Between Two Cities only goes up to 7, but offers a very nice game from the beginner class. Not as complex as 7 Wonders or similar, but definitely interesting for a large round. The special point of this game: you play together with your two neighbors. Together with each neighbor, you build a city, but you are evaluated afterwards according to your weakest city. The player whose weakest city has the most points wins. A very interesting idea and brings fresh wind into the round, because the players have to plan together to have a chance, but still compete. And the evaluation of the cities is much easier than, for example, in Suburbia - overall it seems more like a variant of Quadropolis, only with drafting and support for many players.
Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! (second edition) is a tactical conflict simulation of Germany's attack on Russia in World War II. Generally not my favorite topic, but Conflict of Heroes is simply a standout in the genre for mechanical reasons: it has one of the most refined systems for solo play in the area of tactical games. The opponents (depending on the scenario, you can control the Russians or the Germans and let the other side be controlled by an "AI") are controlled via a card system that is situationally built. The cards check various conditions and prescribe actions that the opponent performs - and all of this is placed in the context of the current game situation and the game scenario. This results in surprisingly "intelligent" reactions from the opponents, which make the game absolutely challenging, even when you're playing solo. Additionally, there's the option to use the Firefight Generator to create your own scenarios in a kind of pre-game. The interesting part here: the scenario is set up neutrally, you assemble both sides, but which side you play is only decided at the end. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to set up the scenario one-sidedly, as you would then have to play the weaker side. As a result, the game offers a very high replay value simply because the situations constantly change. And in this regard, it is clearly superior to Night of Man - another tactical skirmish game with a card-driven "AI" for the opponents - where there are only pre-made solo scenarios.
Pentaquark can best be described as "Patience for science enthusiasts." A card laying game with a reference to quantum physics and some interesting included variants. Nothing big or special, just a nice game to kill time in between. Interesting mainly because it is extremely compact and can therefore always be with you.
The Duke is a game that I had lying in the cupboard for quite some time because there was simply no opportunity for it - and I had practically given up on it. Then I planned it for our Mauritius vacation and played it several times with Juliana. It is definitely not Juliana's favorite game, but I had a damn good time with it. Basically, it's a much more variable chess with a certain element of chance. You start with the same - few - pieces on the board and can either move a piece with each move or bring a new piece into the game. To do this, pieces (square tiles with printed movement patterns) are turned over when activated, thus constantly changing their movement pattern. The result is a surprisingly interesting concept with very interesting strategic situations. I don't know if I'll ever get Juliana to play it again outside of beach vacations (for which it is ideal because of its very robust components), but it will definitely stay in my collection.
Yesterday, Mound Builders finally made it to the table. Very exciting. Mound Builders deals with an Indian culture of North America, of which only the burial mounds and a huge city (i.e., the traces of it) remain, but otherwise not much is known - except that they probably dominated North America culturally for about 1500 years. The game belongs to the State of Siege series, games that usually simulate a kind of stalemate. Situations in which enemies penetrate from the outside and must be repelled. In Mound Builders, however, you first build your empire in the first epoch of the game, which is then attacked in two further epochs. And the epochs all play quite differently (for example, the Spaniards are added as a catastrophe in the third). The game is set up quickly and is relatively quick to play once you have the phases down. However, this can take some time because the rulebook is rather unusual. But the effort is worth it if you want an exciting solo game with an interesting theme far removed from the usual. Of course, it is relatively strongly random, because almost every situation is resolved with dice. But this should not deter experienced solo players, as this is rather typical there - especially in conflict simulations.
Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game I've had for a while, but only today had the chance to play it. The game is very similar to Space Hulk: Death Angel, but much more expanded. Even in the tutorial, there is much more decision space and you have much more of a feeling of control. It's fun and the different scenarios promise even more of it. Specifically, the upgrading of action cards looks interesting, but unfortunately is not part of the tutorial. But it definitely makes you want more. Setup is much more than in SH:DA. So let's see how often it actually lands on the table, especially since Arkham Horror LCG is also announced, which goes in a similar direction.
Recently, the German version of Scythe finally arrived at my place, and today it hit the table as a solo game. The material is fantastic and impressive visually. The game itself is also great - essentially a mix of a Eurogame with action selection and a 4X game. The exploration aspect was not very pronounced, the military aspect only moderate, both of which I like. It's about the typical Euro efficiency of one's own actions, but embedded in a stylish frame theme. What excites me is the good design of the player boards, which show possible actions at a glance. And the very fast game sequence during the game with manageable decision-making scope. Great.
51st State: Master Set is one of the newest games from Portal Games and a remake of the old 51st State with all expansions and revised rules. It practically brings Imperial Settlers back to the post-apocalyptic world of 51st State. I really like it. The asymmetry of the factions is not as pronounced as in Imperial Settlers (there by the own card stacks), but the game is much smoother and feels faster and more interactive. And the solo game is easier to play. Overall, I really like it, especially for the solo game even better than Imperial Settlers (although I still have to try the nation-specific AI and the campaign there).
Codenames: Pictures is the sister game of the Game of the Year - only with pictures instead of words. Tried it with Juliana using the two-player rules, and it works surprisingly well. Of course, nothing you would constantly play with two people, but it was just a practice round for the next game night anyway. It will definitely be tried out in the group there.
Red7 is a small and fast game for in between. Ideal for waiting for the food or even on the plane, as it only needs minimal space. And despite simple rules and fast gameplay, it does provide something to think about. Additionally, the game is modular in the rules and can be adjusted in complexity. All in all, a really nice game that will certainly come to our table more often.
Mare Nostrum: Empires finally arrived on Friday after almost a year of extra time. It was one of the more complicated Kickstarters. But the wait was worth it for the game. The components are - as typical for Academy Games - fantastic. The game itself is surprisingly straightforward for a game with this theme (cultures in the Mediterranean region with trade and war) and also plays very quickly. My first solo game (two cultures plus barbarians) had an even for me surprising turn - at the beginning Carthage was ahead, reached 4 wonders (the fifth would have brought victory), but Rome could switch to military to put pressure on trade and secure victory through dominance in the areas of trade, culture and military. Great system and I hope to bring it to the table more often.