Posted by Despite my travels and terrible jetlag upon returning to Australia, we managed to play a lot of games in December. We had many new ones we’d bought in November that we hadn’t played because I’d been away. It was wonderful to be home with Josh again and dive into the new pile.
New Additions
Even with the big haul in November, we added a few new games to our collection in December. We picked up:
- Fugitive
- Gloomhaven (pre-ordered)
- Imperial Assault: Kayn Somos
- Imperial Assault: Hired Guns
- Imperial Assault: Rebel Saboteurs
- Word Domination
We love Tim Fowers’ games (Burgle Bros forever!), so we’re super-excited about finally playing Fugitive. We realized recently that his games are available to ship from warehouses in Australia, so we must have them all. We picked up Word Domination, too, because who doesn’t want a word game where you play a 1970’s era villain?
We also caved and pre-ordered Gloomhaven as we watched the Shut Up & Sit Down review over the holidays. (We literally paused the review to place the order.) Of course that one is never making it to the pub, but you can bet we’re going to review it here, too, once we get our hands on it.
All the Games from December
We played 26 different titles in December:
- Android: Netrunner
- Burgle Bros
- Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck
- Hive (now with Pillbug!)
- Imperial Assault
- Kingdomino
- Legend of the Five Rings LCG
- Lovecraft Letter
- Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City
- Neuroshima Hex
- Ninja Taisen
- Paperback
- Patchwork
- Queendomino
- The Quiet Year
- Samurai Spirit
- Schotten Totten
- Skull
One of our favorite tiles from Queendomino. - Splendor
- Ten Candles
- Tides of Madness
- TIME Stories
- TIME Stories: A Prophecy of Dragons
- VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game
- Welcome (Back) to the Dungeon
- Zombie Dice
Of those 26, ten were acquired last month, so we’re catching up on our new games nicely. We replayed some old favorites, too, some with new expansions. The Pillbug expansion for Hive is wonderful and will certainly get a review of its own. We also thoroughly enjoyed A Prophecy of Dragons, which is the second TIME Stories expansion we’ve played.
Venues
We visited five different venues in December including two of our local faves, Bar Josephine and Creators Lounge in Footscray. We made a day trip up to Holgate Brewhouse in Woodend, as well, which always makes for a great afternoon.
We also played a few game sessions at Captain Melville, which was a bit of a revelation. Excellent beers on tap, good lighting, and largish tables. We played a memorable game of The Quiet Year there, which I plan to review soon.
And finally, since we visited Canberra, we hit up one of our very favorite places ever: BentSpoke Brewing Co. We spent most of the afternoon there on Christmas Eve day, catching up with friends, drinking incredible beers, and playing games.
Favorite Games and Sessions
Oh, so many, but if I have to choose…
When I was in the US, one of my best friends there picked up TIME Stories having never played it before. I’ve played the base game twice now, but couldn’t resist playing a third time with her. I suspected she’d love everything about it and I was right. We had such a fantastic time. I never expected much replayability from that game, but seeing her experience that content for the first time was a total joy.
My other favorite sessions involved our two most-played games, which were tied for total number of plays. The first was Patchwork, which I brought back from the US. I’d played the app loads of times, but had never experienced the analog game. SO FUN. Josh and I brought it with us when we spent Christmas with his family, too, so we could introduce them to it, too. Its stellar rating on BGG is completely justified.
The game that tied Patchwork for most plays was Star Wars: Imperial Assault. I’d played this a couple times before, but this was my first go with the new Legends of the Alliance app, which allows you to play cooperatively. Josh and I played long, back-to-back sessions during the long weekend over New Year’s and had such a brilliant time.
The app changes the feel of the game a bit, but I love that it makes the game completely cooperative. I was surprised by how immersive it was, too, compared to my other experiences with the game. Josh and I ended up playing two characters each and by the end, I was quite attached to them. I have to admit that even though we played some marathon sessions to smash through all the currently available content, if there’d been more, I’d have wanted to keep going. I love a good dungeon crawl. I was so very happy to be home with Josh again, too, enjoying long days of gaming and spending time together. Very much looking forward to 2018. ❤
Happy New Year, everyone!
Pint-Sized Games 