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I have a strange mix of emotions about Christmas this year. After the year we have had, it feels wonderful to have something special to look forward to. However, there is also a pinch of sadness that this year will be different and, like many people, I will not be seeing all of my loved ones. But we need to focus on the positives in these difficult times. I have loved buying gifts for family, lighting Christmas candles, putting up decorations and rummaging through the DVD collection for Christmas classics. I take great comfort in knowing that some Christmas traditions do not change. One of those traditions is certainly the delight of opening a board game on Christmas morning. Part of the day is then spent checking the list of components, exclaiming over beautiful card artwork, and popping out and bagging cardboard pieces with my husband. With that in mind, here is my Christmas Wishlist. Read on to see my must-have board games and expansions for 2020.
Everdell Expansions: Spirecrest and Bellfaire
I am a huge fan of Everdell and it is definitely in my Top 5 games of all time. In this game, players use their workers (forest animal meeples) to gather resources and extra cards, as well as playing a mix of critter and construction cards into their personal city. These cards give players resources, abilities and points.
My husband bought me the first expansion, Pearlbrook, for my birthday earlier this year. This adds the river board, aquatic critters and constructions, and valuable pearls to the game. Although combining expansions is not recommended, I would love the next two expansions, Spirecrest and Bellfaire. Each one adds something different to the game. Spirecrest adds weather cards, discovery cards and large critters, while Bellfaire offers several different modules that you can add to the base game. Everdell is a beautiful game with stunning components and card art, and I will always be eager to play it with any of the expansions.
Mandala
I am lucky to have neighbours who love board games as much as I do. Strangely, we first met because they knocked my husband’s bike over with their car! After he popped round to discuss the insurance claim (yawn!), he came home with a huge grin on his face and exclaimed, ‘They play board games!’ Their shelves, like ours, are groaning under the weight of game boxes and we often lend each other games (and play together in pre-Covid times).
Mandala is a game of theirs that we recently borrowed. My husband and I have a great collection of 2-player games (which has come in handy this year!) and this is one I would love to add to it. In the game, players play cards into two mandalas, either in the shared mountains or in their own fields. Once a colour has been played, it can only be added to. As soon as all six colours are present in a mandala, players take turns collecting cards from the mountain and adding them to their river or cup. At the end of the game, the cards in the cup score points according to their colour’s position in the river.
I like the idea that different colours are different values to each player, and that the players do not actually know which cards are most valuable to them until well into the game. I feel like I have only scratched the surface with my first game of Mandala and it’s definitely one to play again. It’s earned its spot on my Christmas wishlist.
Draftosaurus Expansions: Aerial Show and Marina
The base game, Draftosaurus, is incredibly quick and light to play, but it really is a lot of fun. Players draft dinosaur meeples and add them to different pens in their park. Each pen has a placement condition and scores points in a different way, according to the dinosaurs it is holding – dinosaurs of different species, or couples of the same species, for example. There is also a placement die, and all players apart from the one who rolled it must follow the conditions, such as only being able to place a dinosaur in the woodlands or an empty pen.
There are two expansions coming soon, which I am incredibly excited about! Aerial Show adds pterodactyls and a new mountain zone, while Marina adds plesiosaurs and a new river zone. I’m not sure these expansions will be with us in time for the festive season, but they are high on my Christmas wishlist and I can’t wait to add them to the base game.
Quoridor
This is a game that my husband and I played together at the 2011 UK Games Expo, nearly 10 years ago! I remember really enjoying the game and am surprised that we don’t have a copy in our collection. The rules are simple and the play time is short, making this a perfect game for when you do not want to play something too long or complicated.
There is still plenty to think about in a game of Quoridor. The goal of the game is to get your pawn to the opposite side of the board. On your turn, you can either move your pawn or place a wall. Your opponent is also trying to advance their pawn, so you might place a wall to try and slow them down (you can not completely block them off).
I would definitely like to play Quoridor again. It feels like a bit of a classic and I think we would have a lot of fun with it in our household. Onto the Christmas wishlist it goes.
Wingspan: Oceania Expansion
The base game, Wingspan, is just a pure delight! Everything from the egg miniatures and the birdfeeder dice tower to the 170 bird cards with beautiful artwork is simply stunning. The game itself is incredibly enjoyable. Players play bird cards into their habitats, which allow them to gain food tokens, lay eggs and collect more cards. The more birds there are in the habitats, the greater the rewards.
I’ve added the Oceania Expansion to my Christmas wishlist in the hope it will be with us in time for Christmas. It features the birds of Oceania, as well as new player mats and a new food type. I’m excited to see what these new elements bring to the game, and I’m glad that it is compatible with the European expansion.
Ginkgopolis
Just a short note about this game because it has been high up on my husband’s wishlist for many years. We were able to play Ginkgopolis once a few years ago because a couple in our local game group had a copy. I have wanted to play it again ever since, but it has been out of print. Luckily, I think the reprint is due any day now. Hopefully, this is a game we will be playing much more of next year.
So that is my 2020 Christmas Wishlist – a mix of new games and expansions for some of my favourites. Even though Christmas will be very different this year, I am looking forward to it and hope to play lots of games. Thanks for reading – Happy Holidays!