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For someone like me, with an addiction to buying board games, it can be very hard for my friends and family to identify good board games to give to me at Christmas! However, during November and December I try really hard to not buy too many games and to keep a Christmas wish list, for different Secret Santa gift exchanges and for anyone else who feels generous and wants to buy me a game at this time of year.
This year my list includes a lot of new Essen releases, some of which may not be released in time for Santa to load them on his sleigh, but here are five games that are definitely available and that I’d be very happy to see wrapped up under the tree this year!
Fabled Fruit
Fabled Fruit is the first in a line of ‘fable’ games – a new concept from prolific designer Friedemann Friese. We got the opportunity to play this card game at a board game café recently and really enjoyed the experience. Game one is a simple card game where you are taking one of the available actions each turn to manipulate the fruit cards in your hand to enable you to make different juices with your different fruit combinations.
However, the fabled system means that the game evolves. During play you bring out more action cards from the deck and at the end of each game, the game state is saved so that that’s how your next game begins. We’re really excited to explore this system more in Fabled Fruit and also to try the new fable games – Flee, Fear and Fortress.
Magic Maze
Magic Maze is another game we’ve had the chance to play on a couple of occasions, however the second time we played it was a massive hit and that’s what has placed it firmly on my wish list. In Magic Maze you’re working cooperatively to get four fantasy characters to collect items and escape from a shopping mall. The theme is slightly odd, but the mechanics are fantastic. The game is a timed game and rather than each taking control of a character you are each taking control of different kinds of movement, up down, left right, escalators and portals.
We love cooperative games, we enjoy real time and this game was great with friends, even those not that familiar with gaming. It has none of the downfalls of cooperative games where one player takes over and it even cures slow players – I can’t wait to play more Magic Maze and if Santa gifted me the new Maximum Security expansion too, that would be great!
The Voyages of Marco Polo
Sometimes you play a game at a board game club and you think it’s fantastic. Then it goes out of print for one or two years and you still remember that it’s fantastic but you can’t remember why…that’s how I feel about The Voyages of Marco Polo. Then you tell your wife that you really want to buy The Voyages of Marco Polo and she asks you why and you have to confess that you don’t know why, so instead of making an impulse purchase you put Marco Polo on your Christmas wish list!
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a game I’m reluctant to buy for myself and sometimes that is why games end up on my Christmas wish list. The reason I’m reluctant to buy it is because we have a pre-order of the newer implementation, First Martians, which just arrived at our doorstep. We chose First Martians because Amy prefers the theme, but I’d still like to try the original. Robinson Crusoe is a notoriously difficult cooperative game, but that’s no bad thing in our house and I’d be very happy to have it in our collection.
Unearth
Unearth is a game I haven’t had the opportunity to play since it was released earlier this year. It was on my most anticipated list for releases at Gen Con 50, but I’ve been waiting to play it since. The main reason I’m attracted to the game is its beautiful artwork – I just love the geometric style. I like dice placement, but I am slightly concerned by comparisons to Smash Up, so for me it’s a game I have been nervous to invest it, but sometimes a gift is the opportunity to take a punt on a game.
Since I’ve not seen any copies in my gaming circles, it would be a chance for me to try Unearth.