One thing that is fascinating about the world of board games is just how much there is to enjoy! I love things like art and theme, and really enjoy everything that creatives bring to the table in terms of board gaming. Today, we’re finally getting a good look at what I love about board games (much like you got from Scott and Marti when they started the blog back in March).

What are your favorite game mechanisms? My favorite game mechanisms are deckbuilding, tile laying, worker placement, and “all of the dice.”

What game are you most excited for in 2017? Even though 2017 is almost over, there are still a few games that either haven’t come out yet or that we haven’t gotten to the table yet. They include Downforce by Restoration Games a racing game utilizing cards, bidding, and variable player powers, NMBR 9 by Z-Man an abstract polyomino placement game, Hardback by Fowers Games a deckbuilding word game, and Charterstone by Stonemaier Games a village building, worker placement legacy game. Also, just about any new release by Renegade Games would be on this list.

What are your top five favorite games? I’m not the best at ranking things. This list was very tough for me to rank. I love games and for the most part I either love a game, like it ok, or the game isn’t for me. If you were to look at my BGG rankings you would see that the majority of our game collection is ranked between an 8 and a 10. I’m not the best at being critical.

1. Sagrada – This game is amazing! It is charming, delightful & gorgeous, perplexing, and really thinky; all in less than 30 minutes for 2 experienced players. You are drafting dice and trying to construct the best stained glass window. It’s quite a challenge to place all your dice correctly & not use all of your tokens on the tool cards. The tool cards allow you to ignore certain parts of the rules for one die placement per tool card you utilize. I love how it felt like a puzzle & at the end, you have this visually enticing stained glass window made of red, yellow, green, blue & purple dice. Even if you don’t score that many points, you still have a wonderful outcome. If you want find out more about Sagrada, Marti & I did a Demo Duo article back in July.
2. Carcassonne – Tile laying is very calming to me. The theme of building the countryside is also very relaxing. Trying to put all your cities, roads, and farms together is sometimes a challenge. The puzzly aspect of Carcassone is another reason why this is my number one game. Some people play Carcassonne in an attacky way, but we don’t. It helps add to the relaxation provided by playing Carcassone.
3. Clank! – Deckbuilding, Push your luck, and Dungeon Crawling all in one! Deckbuilding is one of my absolute favorite game mechanisms. In Clank!, the goal is to escape the depths with the most treasure and points. But you have to watch out for the Dragon, Niki. She climbs up the rage track throughout the game and could eliminate you from the game if you don’t emerge from the depths in time. I love the theme and how the game mechanisms are all integrated. The art is great. Clank! takes standard deckbuilding to the next level.
4. Kingdomino– Often, Marti and I do not have as much time to play games as much as we would like for one reason or another. Kingdomino gives you a similar feel to Carcassone in around 15 minutes. You are trying to build the best Kingdom on a 5×5 grid by laying out your dominoesque tiles, connecting like landscapes to earn points. So many things are delightful about this game; the art, the gameplay, the calmness of tile laying. Kingdomino rightfully won the Spiel de Jahres, the German award for the Game of the year this past July.
5. Champions of Midgard – The art, custom dice, overall feel of the game is great. Champions of Midgard is a very thematic worker placement game that has lots of dice rolling. You are fighting various monsters throughout the game, attempting to become the new leader of the village. Both the expansions, Valhalla & Dark Mountain are amazing, give you more options, and add to the total game experience.

What are your favorite podcasts or video reviewers? Marti and I listen to a lot of podcasts. We don’t watch videos as much as we used to, because life is busy. The Dice Tower and Rahdo are still top favorites of ours in podcasts and videos. I also enjoy (in no particular order) Mile High Game Guys, Board Games in Bed, Greatway Games, The Five By, Our Turn: Women in Board Gaming, Rolling Dice And Taking Names, What Did You Play This Week (WDYPTW), The Dukes of Dice, Board Games with Panda, Board Game Blitz, Low Player Count, and the Broken Meeple. Video favorites include To Die For Games, Watch it Played, Meeples Included, and The Family Showdown.

Game on!
Sarah