Together We Game Alone (Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated)

On Monday night I attempted to embody the rallying cry of the 1 player guild on BoardGameGeek: "together we game alone." If you've been following my blog, you know that I've been working through Clank! Legacy with my gaming group. We had previously booked our next game night for April 6, last night. The problem with that is (in case you haven't noticed) that we are currently working in a very socially distant world because of COVID-19.

Well, we decided to forge ahead anyway! I set up a double camera system so that my friends could see what was going on, but basically I was playing "solo" because I was in charge of every component, every card, every secret, every reading, etc... I don't think you can see any spoilers from this distance, so here is my set up.

Kickstarter Update

We're now three months into 2020 and what a year it has been. I wanted to do a little update about my Kickstarter activity thus far as it relates to my most anticipated games.

The Heroes of Tenefyr Kickstarter has come and gone and they have fully funded. I really enjoyed the print'n'play version I made of this from the last Kickstarter and was excited to get my hands on the full version and the expansion. I would love to have a published copy of this game, but I just can't justify the shipping costs, so I went in for the full PnP copy. I'm glad they were funded again and I'm excited for more adventures in Tenefyr!

Nobody Panic! (Review of My First Castle Panic)

While the extrovert in me is suffering from being cooped up inside for the last several weeks, I'm taking this time to indoctrinate introduce my children into the board game hobby. My girls are four (Winnie) and almost seven (Ardyn) and we actually have played lots of games together. Their favourites are Lemonade Shake Up, Raccoon Rumpus, and Richard Scarry's Busytown: Eye Found It! Game (who names these things???).  With my eldest daughter being almost seven, I wanted to start turning the corner into older games, so for Christmas I picked up My First Castle Panic. This is a (very) scaled down version of the regular Panic Attack (which I've reviewed here and played through here). I have games in my collection that have surpassed Castle Panic as a solo or cooperative game, but it's still a mainstay on my shelf as my wife enjoys playing it and it's still a solid and quick to set up solo experience. I went for this simplified version for the girls' gift because it is (a) cooperative, (b) a fantasy setting, and (c) age appropriate for both of them.

First Time SGOYT Host

If you're an avid visitor to the 1 Player Guild on BoardGameGeek, then you're probably aware of SGOYT. If not, it's an acronym for Solitare Games on Your Table. It's a monthly podcast on the guild where people can post about their solo gaming adventures. It's a great place to see what's hot and to find some hidden gems as well. 

For April, my birthday month, I am hosting SGOYT for the first time! Basically, that means I write a little bit about myself and give away some geekgold if you include a comment related to my them (rebirth) in your post. Or, you can totally ignore me and I'll still like your comment and give you some geekgold if you make me giggle. Check it out here.

Return to Middle-earth (Re-Review of The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth)

Just like many of you around the world, I have been cooped up at home for most of the last week or so. I’ll admit, it’s been nice working from home (although teaching grade fours solely online is going to have its challenges) and being with my family full time. That being said, I know this is a very tough time for many people. My heart and prayers go out to the families of those who have lost their lives or jobs or are running into others difficulties. I hope that by standing together as people across the globe, we can slow this thing down and give our scientists and doctors a chance to fight this thing.

Being stuck in the house has given me a good opportunity to get some solid solo gaming in. We’ve played a few family games - my girls (4 and 6) especially enjoy My First Castle Panic and our storytelling cards - but I’ve spent most of my “me” time in my board game nook (my Bud Hole - please watch The Good Place).

Not All Who Wander Are Lost (Playthrough of The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth)

*Editor's Note: For some reason the photos on this blog post, photos that I took, have gone missing. I will try to figure out what happened.

In the years separating the adventures of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, 60 years to be exact, not much is known about what when. It's entirely possibly, or maybe, somewhat possible, that some of our favourite literary characters traveled together around Middle-earth. Alright, maybe not exactly possible, but not entirely impossible, either. However you want to frame the likelihood of such an event, following is one of those untold stories.

Bilbo, before finally settling down in Rivendell, travels into the lands nearby, where rangers roam. He meets up with one particularly well known ranger, one named Strider. Together, they seek to track down some thieves who have been stealing from Bree and the surrounding areas. As they begin following the clues left behind by the criminals, they were assaulted by one of its members. Strider makes quick work of this ruffian.

Most Anticipated Non-Kickstarter Games of 2020

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth - Hunt for the Ember Crown - Ok, seriously people, is there anyway that we can abbreviate this a little bit? The base game has nine words in the title already and this bumps us up to fourteen. Isn't that like a marketing no-no? Whatever, it still won't stop me from picking this up. Journeys in Middle-earth (check out my review here) was almost the game I've always been waiting for. There were a few things about it that I would have liked to see differently, but I'm still excited to get more content for this one. The miniatures look amazing and, come on, who doesn't want to play as Gandalf?!? Also hat new dwarf looks pretty cool (and you know I'm going to run a purely dwarf team, obviously). Mirkwood is a really interesting and iconic location in Middle-earth so I'm excited to see what kind of trouble we can get up to in there. This one is a must-buy for me.

Most Anticipated Kickstarter Games Launching in 2020

Alright, I'm definitely a little behind on this one because at least one of these games I'm anticipating is live right now. So, I'll start with that one and go from there.

Heroes of Tenefyr - the base game was Kickstarted last year, I believe, and while I didn't get my hands on the whole game, they did have a free print'n'play that I thoroughly enjoyed. You start with a deck of awful cards (as per every deckbuilder ever made) with a special card based on the hero you've chosen. You progress through increasingly difficult dungeons and as you defeat enemies, you rotate the card and add it to your deck (similar to Friday and Goblivion). There's a push you luck element to this game that's different from most deckbuilders, though. During a fight you draw three cards (possibly more based on card powers). Between you and your other heroes (controlled by you or other players), you need to surpass the fight strength of that enemy. Well, if you don't draw a good enough attack with your three cards, you can draw again. And again. As many times as you like. Beware, however, because once you've drawn all the cards in your deck, you become exhausted and must exit the dungeon. Doing this uses up precious time because the big, bad boss is approaching (check out my full review of the print and play here). 

Dial 3-1-1 for a Ridiculous Score (Clank! Expeditions:Temple of the Ape Lord)

I received the Temple of the Ape Lord expansion for Christmas, but this weekend was the first chance I had to play it. In fact, I think this is my first solo game of 2020...yikes...

Anyway, this expansion is not officially covered in the app yet, and I could tell that it, at least the jungle side, was not balanced for solo play.

All Roads Lead to... (Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition)

It was my baby's fourth birthday on the weekend. Does it make me sound old to say that I can't believe how fast the time has gone? It was a very fun, teddy bear themed birthday weekend, but Sunday night ended with Logan and Jenn (brother- and sister-in-law) staying after the kids were in bed. Logan and Sharayah got into a deep conversation, so I looked through the games they brought and forced Jenn to teach me one of their newer ones.