For Sale

(led by Drew) 1997 Stefan Dorra single deck auction game. One of the best openers/closers of all-time as it packs a wallop in only 10-15 minutes.

Power Plants

(led by Sean) 2022 combination of tile laying and area control. Players are wizards growing a shared garden of magical plants with rivals. Each turn, one chunky wooden patch tile ( from your hand of 2) gets added to the growing garden for either its dynamic “plant” power or activates all the tiles it touches for their slightly weaker “grow” powers. As the fields expand, you strategically deploy your sprites to gain control of more and more of the fantastic flora.

Modern Art

(led by Drew) 1992 Reiner Knizia classic auction game. Five different artists have produced a bunch of paintings, and it’s the player’s task to be both the buyer and the seller, hopefully making a profit in both roles. Players put a painting from their hand up for auction each turn by one of the 4 methods. Players receive the proceeds if another player buys the painting on offer, but must pay the bank if purchased for himself. After each round, paintings are valued by the number of paintings of that type that were sold. The broker with the most cash after four rounds is the winner.

Honey Buzz

(led by Armando) This 2020 worker bee placement game has players expanding their personal beehive by drafting various honeycomb tiles granting actions that are triggered throughout the game. Each tile represents a different action. Whenever a tile is laid so that it completes a certain pattern, a ring of actions is triggered in whatever order the player chooses. A tile drafted on turn one could be triggered up to three times at any point during the game. It all depends on how the player places their beeples (bee+meeple) and builds their hive. After all, in the honey business, efficiency is queen.

As you continually expand your hive, you’ll forage for nectar and pollen, make honey, sell different varieties at the bear market, host honey tastings, and attend to the queen and her court. There’s only so much nectar to go around, and finding it won’t be easy. Players will have to scout out the nectar field and pay attention to other players’ searches to try to deduce the location of the nectar they need for themselves. 

Mangrovia

(led by K-ban) 2014 sleeper area control/role selection/hand management game set in a world of Mangroves.  The clever role selection mechanism allows players to choose two different bonuses/actions as well as the turn order in which they want these actions to be carried out — all by placing just one bowl-shaped wooden marker. Players can place huts onto spaces on the board that require either numbered cards or amulets but must match the terrains favored that turn by the Birds of Paradise. VP awards include pluralities in overlapping rows/columns, and bonuses from two separate areas on the board. This is a very approachable, unique gateway mid-weight game.

Tsukiji

(led by K-ban) 2017 market manipulation game set in the Tokyo fish market, where players try to secure the most valuable fish for their restaurant while on a fixed budget.

Steve