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Best New to You of 2017?
- Legomancer
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- D10
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- Dave Lartigue
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This hasn't really been a blow-me-away year. Last year was Terraforming Mars, which is still going strong for us. Nothing has come close to that for me. There's been some stuff I liked okay, but I haven't really found anything that stands out as truly special.
If I had to pick something right now, honestly it'd be Time Stories. That's the game we've had the most fun with, despite it being a weird outlier of what I might normally go for.
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- hotseatgames
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- D12
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- SuperflyPete
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- Salty AF
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- SMH
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Mare Nostrum Empires: Fantastic game. Maybe the best combative civ builder I’ve played.
Doom Realm: Free “roll and write” solo game that is exceptionally fun and engaging.
Gang Rush Breakout: Stupid fun that has strategy but isn’t too heavy. Great bits.
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- Jackwraith
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- Ninja
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- Maim! Kill! Burn!
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Sekigahara. Finally traded for a copy and really enjoyed the few games we've gotten in. The setup seems overly similar at first glance, but there's a lot of variation that the card draws present.
Zimby Mojo. It had a lot more depth than I was expecting and the transformation from a semi-coop to a no-holds-barred slugfest halfway through is excellent.
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I second the nomination of Mare Nostrum: Empires. I've had a blast with that one every time it's come out.
I also love TechNo Bowl, but I can't get it to the table often enough.
Secret Hitler has been a fun hit, but I'm not sure if it would crack the top 5.
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My pick for Best New to Me in 2017 is Saltlands. The visual design is excellent and evocative, and the combination of mechanics is novel, especially the wind movement rules. The road warrior setting has been tragically ignored by most game designers, and Saltlands is a pretty solid game. However, the pace of the game can be a bit slow for the theme, with a bit too much open information on the table and not enough randomness.
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- Sagrilarus
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- D20
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- Pull the Goalie
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Shellhead wrote: My pick for Best New to Me in 2017 is Saltlands. The visual design is excellent and evocative, and the combination of mechanics is novel, especially the wind movement rules. The road warrior setting has been tragically ignored by most game designers, and Saltlands is a pretty solid game. However, the pace of the game can be a bit slow for the theme, with a bit too much open information on the table and not enough randomness.
Had me until those last three words.
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The Godfather: Corleone's Empire - This is the game that I'm currently most enamored with. Stunning production, super clean design, fuckery aplenty, and just a tense exciting game each and every time. As someone who had zero interest in the theme, I bought this solely on the strength of the designer. Easily one of my favorite worker placement games and currently my favorite game of 2017.
Dungeon Degenerates - I've already played this one four times since it arrived a couple weeks ago and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite adventure games. The setting of this game is so rich and layered with pure ridiculousness that I can't help but be smitten with it. The rulebook is a touch obtuse, but once you've sorted things out the gameplay is perfect. Adventuring feels dangerous, but your objectives are clear. I like how much freedom it gives you in terms of completing your goals. One of the few games I'd actually considered playing an entire campaign with. This is also the best looking game of 2017.
Whitehall Mystery - I'm a hidden movement junkie and this distilled version of Letters from Whitechapel is a big winner. It cuts straight to the bullshit and the game is exciting/intense from the word, "go". The ruleset is almost at a mass market level instead of your typical hobby game and you could introduce this to anyone. Love it. A no brainer for anyone who enjoys this genre.
Need more plays:
The Thing - I loved this when I played it at the most recent Trashfest NE. It completely nails John Carpenter's "The Thing" in every way imaginable. Dying to try this one again, but it really needs 6-8 people to shine.
Near and Far - This is probably Ryan Laukat's best design. It's mixture of Route Building, Party Assembling, Paragraph Reading, and Exploration feels like the boardgame equivalent of the mighty platypus. I need to play this one a few more times, but my initial exposure to it has been very positive. The world that Laukat has been carefully curating over the his past few games is interesting and filled with wonder.
Wasteland Express Delivery Service - A pick up and delivery game with an evocative setting and interesting mechanics. Initial impression was stellar and I was shocked at how mean and lean it felt. Despite that the game gives you a robust amount of options. A mixture of Firefly with elements of Blackfleet that has been steeped in Mad Max...it's hard to not fall in love. I probably wouldn't play it with more than 3 people, but as a fan of the genre I'm ready to try it again.
Stuff I'm still hoping to play:
Dinosaur Island
Bunny Kingdom
Sidereal Confluence
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- hotseatgames
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- D12
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Deck builder meets war/euro hybrid. Tight rules, plays fast . Check it out.
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- SuperflyPete
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- Salty AF
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- SMH
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Totally forgot about Zimby. That game had some issues with length but fuck is it fun.
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