Happy Friday, Hoddlers! Yesterday’s Hoddle was about browser games and it was super fun. So let’s make today about board games. I’m a big board game fan that doesn’t get to board game much these days, due to lack of time, health, and just not having a reliable gaming group available to me.
My wife also likes to play board games quite a bit, but she’s pretty particular about the kinds of games she likes — not into the heavy tactical stuff, or campaign-style games, and the theme really, really matters. Doesn’t matter how much fun a game is to play, because if it features zombies or horror themes, she’s out. So we stick to semi-casual games these days, when we do play, and frequently they’re two-player games.
Here’s a few of the games we have been playing lately, when we play. I admit they’re a bit basic, but I’m a casual gamer. Drop your favorite casual games in the comments.
A two player analog Tetrus board game that’s about quilting? Shut up, it works and is one of the more fun casual two players games I’ve played in a long, long time. You draft polyhedron shaped quilt patches and place them on your grid board to form a patchwork quilt, collecting button tokens along the way that earn you points.It’s easy to learn, fast, and satisfying, especially when you land that perfect shaped piece to complete your goal.
A draft-and-play game based around the acquisition of colorful gems, Splendor has near infinite replay value because of the way the game is set up with lots of variations and changes that can impact how you play. You spend colored tokens which you draw from a supply to purchase gem cards in three tiers, with the bottom tier being the cheapest and the top the most expensive. It’s an engine-building game and you are trying to get enough gems in your deck that you can afford the really expensive and maximum point-gaining cards. It’s fun, easy, and fast. Even my kids figured it out as pre-teens and regularly trounced me once they got going.
I’ve only played this a couple of times but I bought it the day after it was taught to me. You are crafting a wildlife habitat and score points by drafting animal cards that play resource tiles in a particular pattern, so you have to be careful of which cards you draft and how they fit into your resource board. There’s a 3D element to it as well, and the card artwork is pretty unique and really fun. There’s strategy, but you’re mostly concerned about your own board compared to others. It fits in well with other animal games like Wingspan and Cascadia, but it’s more casual than either.
Want a single player board game? I have a good one for you. You are the final girl in a slasher horror movie, and your job is to kill the evil murdering villain and rescue as many of your friends as you can before you kill the baddie, or the baddie kills you. It plays on 1980s horror movie tropes where the one victim turns out to be the hero of the movie, but it’s HARD. You purchase a core box and one of dozens of expansions or themes that imitate classic horror movie genres like the slasher film set at the summer camp, the sci-fi Aliens-style epic, etc. You can play it solo, or with a group with you all collaborating to decide what moves to take.
What games have you played lately? Have a great weekend!
Song of the Day: “Pudding & Pie” by The New Mastersounds