Happy Holidays All!
Sorry about skipping Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas - it was our first day off since the holiday madness began and I just couldn't bring myself to power up the PC and all of the attendant nonsense that comes along with it (email, facebook, discord, etc...)
Without further delay, here are the Top Board Games as chosen by our Staff!!
Let us know which ones you love (or hate!) in the comments for your entry to tomorrows giveaway!
Top 12 Favorite Board Games
Number 12
Dude
Jordan Bird's (Hey! That's me!) 12th Favorite Game(s!)
Game: Dude / We Didn't Playtest This
What Jordan enjoys most about this game:
Both of these games are just an absolute blast - a chaotic mess that is a ton of fun with whoever you play with.
In Dude, like Happy Salmon, you are trying to match cards with other players, but all you can say is Dude & Sup. Trying to say the word Dude with enough variation to find a match is a blast - and I'm too lazy so I enjoy it more than Happy Salmon :-)
We Didn't Playtest This At All is quick simple fun at it's finest.
The point of the game is to win, you win by not losing.
Draw a card, play a card, do what the card says.
Sometimes you'll get knocked out because you're wearing jeans, or you lost at Rock, Paper Scissors. Other times you'll win because you're the shortest (or tallest!).
When you have a winner (sometimes in less than a few minutes!), shuffle up the cards and play again - over the course of the night, grudges and favors will start to play a bigger role in the game than the cards themselves :-)
Jordan's favorite memory of this game:
My favorite time playing Dude was at one of our staff meetings - it's an incredible icebreaker that anyone can enjoy!
We Didn't Playtest This At All has too many good times to remember them all, but by far my favorite card in the game is a super sneaky one. It says that the next time a player would win, they lose instead - and you can play it even if you've lost! Always great to see another player snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Party Games - (Telestrations, Code Names, Apples to Apples, etc...)
This game is great for:
Holiday Get Togethers
Starlink
Spencer's 12th Favorite Game!
Game: Starlink
What Spencer enjoys most about this game:
Starting simple with this family game with much in common with pictionary and other similar draw and guess games... but with a twist! You are trying to create a picture that players can guess by connecting stars together!
Spencer's favorite memory of this game:
You can get some pretty interesting guesses when playing a draw and guess style game, and Starlink makes all the more interesting! Because you are limited to drawing only straight lines using the stars on the board, your pictures become unique to say the least. In one game with my family no one could guess what I had drawn (a crown) and when my card was revealed, we couldn't stop laughing at the guesses that were made!
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Family Games - (Catan, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
Party Games - (Telestrations, Code Names, Apples to Apples, etc...)
This game is great for:
Family Game Night,
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers),
Holiday Get Togethers,
Babysitting or playing with Kids,
Couples / Game Night with your BFF
Mystic Vale
Joey Wheeler's 12th Favorite Game
Game: Mystic Vale
What Jordan (Joey) enjoys most about this game:
Building up combos of cards that I am excited to see turn up during the same hand of cards and building my deck in a way that lets me flip up almost my entire deck during my turn!
Jordan's favorite memory of this game:
It is always fun to see my dad flip up cards and count up his mana only to find that he is one mana shy of buying the card he wants (it is not fun when this happens to me though!). This leaves him with the tough choice of deciding whether or not to push his luck and flip up his next card with the risk of busting or to play it safe and buy another cheap card that won't help him out to much. The combination of Dominion deck-building mixed with Blackjack style push your luck is always a great combination of mechanics.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Deck Building Games - (Dominion, Legendary, Mystic Vale, etc...)
This game is great for:
Family Game Night
Board Game Night (Friends/Other Gamers)
Santorini
Will's 12th Favorite Game
Game: Santorini
What Will enjoys most about this game:
Santorini is great because it's a very simple concept that holds a surprising amount of depth. Your potential plays are laid before you like a thought provoking discussion that opens up possibilities, without causing analysis paralysis. Adding the God Powers on top of it all gives the game an entirely new dimension as well, that makes each game unique, allowing for a large amount of re-playability (434 unique two player games if my math is correct).
Will's favorite memory of this game:
During one game with a friend, I was so focused on trying to block her from building her next layer that I inadvertently trapped one of my Builders, making it impossible for him to move or build. My arrogance and hubris was my downfall, my greed knowing no bounds. To this day, I still periodically lose games to myself.
Recommended for anyone who loves:
Two Player Games
This game is great for:
Babysitting or playing with Kids
Couples / Game Night with your BFF
Missing from today - Chris, Skyler & Zach
We'll get them to submit their favorites and catch up next time. :-D
NOW!
The moment we've been waiting for!!
Winners for Day 1 & 2 -
Worthy G
Gabriel Rivas
nickakcarlson
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 :-)
