What We’ve Been Playing October 2020

Rachel Page

Being in Tier 2, the main requirements for games in our house this month have been two-player and not too competitive. When you are mostly inside, it is better not to fall out. Here's what we've been playing.

First, Spirit Island has been one of our go-to games. It is co-operative, so it is less likely to end in tears. An island is being run by Invaders and it is your job as the Elemental Spirits to try to scare them away. The board changes each time you play. There are multiple character options. Each character requires different tactics. It is the variation that makes the game stay interesting and fresh. You can focus on amassing fear among the Invaders or causing as much destruction as possible. Either way, a little cathartic malice helps in times like these.

For something competitive, Quacks of Quedlinburg has done us nicely. You are charlatan doctors creating a new potion every round and praying that your cauldron isn’t going to explode in your face. It is competitive, as you are playing to see who can get the most victory points, but that isn’t the game’s main focus. Each player has a cloth bag full of ingredients. You pull them out at random and place them into your cauldron. This blind selection means you don’t know when your potion will explode. It is a game of chance rather than competition. Of course, there are statistics and probability involved, so it isn’t just blind luck. The thing that stops you winning is your own hubris rather than the other people.

Finally, we are battling through our Eldritch Horror campaign. The game is co-operative, difficult and addictive. We keep losing and having to start again. One day, we will win, but it is probably not going to be any time soon…

Ben Herbert

Potion Explosion has taken hit app games like Candy Crush and successfully made them into a great, competitive, and visually impressive board game. Players create potions by collecting ingredients from a shared area and adding them to flasks. This area takes the form of a slanted tray full of coloured marbles. The aim of the game is to remove a marble in such a way that other marbles of the same colour collide. When they do the potion ingredients explode, allowing you to take those ingredients too. Try to chain explosions together to maximise how many ingredients (marbles) you get for your potions. Then use those potions to unlock special actions. Use special actions to create even bigger and more satisfying explosions. Potion Explosion requires forward thinking to hit the big scores and is a wonderfully tactile and engaging game for all the family. A perfect choice for Christmas gifts.

Caylus wasn't the first worker-placement game, but it was the game that lit the fuse to the explosion in games using that mechanism. If you like your games mean, then preventing your opponents taking actions that they have already paid for might be up your alley. Players compete to build buildings, gain resources and win favour with the king all while doing whatever it takes to keep their competitors at bay. Caylus is great for fans of unforgiving strategy games.

Nova Luna didn't get the fanfare most Uwe Rosenberg games tend to get. But it feels like the spiritual successor of Rosenburg's Patchwork. In this tile-laying game, players compete (or play solo) adding available tiles to their tableau. Each tile costs time, meaning the player has fewer turns if they go for expensive tiles. Each tile also gives you new objectives while contributing to existing ones. Clever time management and tile-placement will win the day here, and I recommend it for couples.