Day 10 of our Christmas Giveaway!!
Our 2nd Favorite Game is here, just in time for some last minute Christmas Shopping :-)
Let us know which ones you love (or hate!) in the comments for your entry to tomorrows giveaway.
Top 12 Favorite Board Games
Number 2
Jordan Bird
Let's make a Potion!
Quacks of Quedlinberg is a fantastic game for anyone - whether you're playing with a group of friends or family, young or old.
Each turn you'll be drawing potion ingredients from a bag and adding them to the potion your brewing - the more ingredients, the more powerful the potion and the more money you'll get to add new ingredients to your bag!
But watch out! Some of the ingredients explode if you have too many of them!
This is the key decision every round of the game - are you safe to draw out one more ingredient? Is it worth the risk of exploding and losing your potion for the round??
Because if you had just one more lucky draw, your potion would be that much better.... :-)
Jordan's favorite memory of this game:
My brother brought Quacks of Quedlinberg on our last family vacation, after I had passed it up for a year thinking that it looked too odd.
I was so wrong, this game is fantastic!
We ended up playing it almost every day, multiples times a day, with whoever was around when we started setting it up.
Sometimes it would be all adults, trying to outplay each other and find new strategies to win.
Other times my nieces and nephews would jump in and we would all be pushing our luck like crazy, almost always adding more ingredients until we ended up exploding!
Regardless of who was playing, or how competitive we were being, every game we played was a ton of fun and Quacks is my go-to recommendation for anyone looking for a new family game this year.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Family Games - (Catan, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
This game is great for:
Family Game Night
Board Game Night
Holiday Get Togethers
Babysitting or playing with Kids
Zach Bird
Zach's favorite memory of this game:
No favorite times, each time is just a good playthrough. I enjoyed when I was able to chain together an ingredient that lets you look at the next 4 ingredients and place one of them into another ingredient which copies the previously played ingredient.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Family Games - (Catan, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
Deck Building Games - (Dominion, Legendary, Mystic Vale, etc...)
This game is great for:
Family Game Night
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers)
Holiday Get Togethers
Couples / Game Night with your BFF
Skyler Hanks -
Hopefully we'll have a catch-up article that is just Skyler's Top 10!
Will Sawyer
The slow buildup and combo chasing of this game is great. There are a lot of unique abilities and effects on cards that can allow you to min-max your park in an aspect you wish (getting more DNA, maximum Workers, keeping Hooligans out while scoring for all of your Patrons, etc.). Min-maxing is my thing, and this game heavily favors those who plan ahead.
The aesthetic is nothing to laugh at either (well, it kind of is I guess). It's got an extremely self-aware 90's vaporwave theme that is somehow both a reference to Jurassic Park, and helps give it its own identity away from the franchise. This game is a cool callback, without being a blatant ripoff.
My final favorite aspect is how little downtime there is. The first half of each round is turn-based, which still requires your full attention as players draft out options like DNA, Dino Blueprints, additional Workers, and loads more. Afterwards, players work at the same time taking their required actions on their personal player boards. This allows for fluid gameplay that never leaves you board, until that one guy at the table gets analysis paralysis that is.
The two player version of this game (Duelosaur Island) is essentially the exact same game, with a few minor rule tweaks to make it two-player friendly. I've never before played a two-player version of a board game that felt as full and complete as the original game.
Will's favorite memory of this game:
It was the closest game of my life as I was still in the running to win against my girlfriend, something that I had yet to do with Dinosaur/ Duelosaur Island. I ended up choosing to buy a more expensive option for a rollercoaster that fit slightly more Patrons in my park, and ended up winning me the game by a single point, that was won by a Hooligan sneaking into her park. I've never been so stressed over the outcome of a board game.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Family Games - (Catan, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
Strategy Games - (Stone Age, Agricola, Terra Mystica, Scythe, etc...)
This game is great for:
Family Game Night
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers)
Couples / Game Night with your BFF
Joey Wheeler
Each character is built to play and feel uniquely like that specific hero as you play the game. Iron Man is very weak until he puts on his armor. Black Widow is sneaky and likes to set up traps with her cards. Dr. Strange has super powerful magic cards he can use. I just love how each character uses the same core rules and mechanics but is designed to feel unique at the same time.
I also love how easy the game is to set up and play. You pick your heroes, you pick your villain, and you fight! The Rise of the Red Skull expansion added the first campaign that the game has seen which adds even more variety and replayability to an already replayable game.
I've played this game with so many different people and each person I've played with has found something in the game that they like. People who like card combos and other card games like Magic have loved the deck construction and combos they can build into their hero deck. People who love co-op games find this to be a great new co-op option. People who love narrative games have loved the small narratives that build from each individual game. It's been one of my favorites to both introduce to people and experience again with those close to me.
Joey's favorite memory of this game:
I remember a game where I was Thor, and my friends were Hulk and Dr. Strange. There was one turn where all three of us seemed to line up the stars perfectly and have insanely awesome turns for us. I managed to take out a couple enemies with a Mjolnir hammer throw and smacked Taskmaster upside the head at the same time. Hulk did what he does best and SMASHED hard for almost double the damage I had done. We thought there was no way that Dr. Strange could top the turns that we had, but he managed to cast his spells and draw 9 cards off the top of his deck and use them to cast even more spells to end up stunning Taskmaster and dealing a whopping 21 damage! It was such a memorable turn.
I've also seen a turn on the opposite side of awesome where Kang the Conqueror managed to complete his scheme of global domination in one single turn after my wife and I fought him through several different timelines. He had enough of us and snuffed us out before we could do anything about it. Despite the loss it still gave us a great memory to talk about.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Co-Op Games - (Pandemic, Unlock, etc...)
Deck Building Games - (Dominion, Legendary, Mystic Vale, etc...)
This game is great for:
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers)
Couples / Game Night with your BFF
Chris Fajardo
A living card game that is only getting better with every release. Explore the eldritch world or Arkham while searching for clues to stop the next horror from destroying everything. This card game has a ever growing card pool to choose from, making each playthrough unique and a fantastic challenge for any group of players. Each deck you build helps you fight, investigate, and survive the horrors that await around each turn.
Chris' favorite memory of this game:
The final leg of the first campaign I finished, the lead of the group said "I have never beaten this final boss before, it's impossible to beat." Well, with the strength of a boxer in our group and my sacrifice to distract the horror, we managed the impossible. The cost was great and we all suffered greatly, but I don't think I have ever felt so satisfied with a win before. A true masterpiece of a game, I highly recommend for anyone who likes to optimize for challenging gameplay.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Co-Op Games - (Pandemic, Unlock, etc...)
Card Games - (Scum, Dalmuti, Uno, etc...)
Deck Building Games - (Dominion, Legendary, Mystic Vale, etc...)
This game is great for:
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers)
Couples / Game Night with your BFF
Spencer Martin
Betrayal at House on the Hill has been my go to game for years. It is a perfect balance of simplicity and unique gameplay. You explore a haunted house with your friends, trying to survive the horrors lurking under each tile. If you like spooky games (but not TOO spooky) this is what I recommend.
Spencer's favorite memory of this game:
One unique aspect to Betrayal at House on the Hill is written right in the name; betrayal. One player secretly betrays the rest of the explorers, and the team must defeat him before he grows too powerful. Betrayal at House on the Hill Is especially appealing to me because of the nature of sabotage you can employ as the betrayer. You have to try and outsmart your friends to prevent them from escaping the evil house on the hill!
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Family Games - (Catan, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
Co-Op Games - (Pandemic, Unlock, etc...)
This game is great for:
Family Game Night
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers)
NOW!
The moment we've been waiting for!!
10 Winners for Day 10
Waidon Nielson
Andy Marsh
Brian Jordan
Luiz Silva
Yme-Loc, Jordan (Discord)
Darren Bowden
Redick Bickmore
Rebecca Hinchcliff
Byron Glad
Devin Whiting
Congrats!!
We'll have a $20 Gift Cert with your name on it waiting for you or, if you're staying in for COVID, you can call in and we'll add the credit to your account.
Make sure to visit or call soon - If your gift is unclaimed by Christmas, it'll be "re-gifted" to another winner!
Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas to you all again, we'll see you tomorrow :-)
