IN: Steve & Sandy, Sean, Armando, Matt, Zach, Chris, Ethan & Amy, Reimi, Nicole, Julie, Danny, Rob, Lauren,Sean K, Kate, Wes

Just One (led by the group) 2018 cooperative party game in which gamers play together to discover as many mystery words as possible. The members of the team try to offer the best clue to help their teammate guess the word correctly. Be unique, as all identical clues will be cancelled! A complete game is played over 13 cards. The goal is to get a score as close to 13 as possible. In case of a right answer, the players score 1 point. In case of a wrong answer, they lose the current card as well as the top card of the deck. Thus losing 2 points. In case of lack of answer, the players only lose the current card, and therefore only 1 point.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/254640/just-one

Mistborn: the Deckbuilding Game (led by Matt) 2014 John D Clair ( Cubitos, Space Base, Mystic Vale, Ecos, Dead Reckoning ) designed standalone deck-building game in which players “purchase” cards as they play to build and improve their deck. “Burn” metals to activate cards. Each metal has its own strengths: damaging opponents, earning mission points, and manipulating allies. There are multiple ways to win! Players try to defeat their opponents in furious allomantic battles or complete a series of perilous missions before their enemies do. The game is based on the hit Mistborn novel series by Brandon Sanderson and takes players into the world of Scadrial! 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/422780/mistborn-the-deckbuilding-game

Bosa (led by K-ban) 2024 very accessible drafting and tableau building card game.  Be the player with the most points by strategically placing building cards into your 4×4 townscape to gain coins, resources, and points. Each building will have an action that you take in the order of placement in the row or column that you choose. You also select 2 of the 4 goal cards to score extra points at the end of the game. If you like Point City, Middle Ages and Splendor, this 45 minute Gateway game will appeal to you.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/416281/bosa

Faraway (led by Chris) 2023 runner up Light Game of the Year as voted by BGG users. Players will play square cards as a row of 8 in front of them, from left to right. These cards represent the regions they will come across while exploring the lands. Characters on these cards will grant players victory points, but only score VPs if later cards fulfil the conditions they demand. At the end of the game, players walk back the same way, scoring cards in the opposite order you played them. There lies the heart of the gameplay. Throughout the game, the cards you play will serve both to set new objectives, and to meet the ones you played previously. On each turn, players select one region card from a hand of 3 and a clever priority system governs replenishment drafting. The first play in this 30-minute gem of a filler will likely make your head implode, as you wrap your brain around simultaneously thinking both forward and backwards on your journey to score VPs. The second play is generally one of those ‘aha’ moments when things click.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/385761/faraway

Middle Ages (led by Armando) 2024 4X set collection and drafting game played over 16 rounds that reimagines Mark Andre’s (Splendor) “Majesty: For the Realm”, using the drafting system that was popularized in KingDomino with interlocking tiles instead of cards. Players draft  fields, farms, villages, forts, markets, barracks, churches, and palaces. Each tile features its own scoring system as well as income, yet is linked to others. Players can see available rows of tiles to draft, as well as events 3 turns ahead.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/403754/middle-ages

Power Grid (led by Zach) 2004 Friedemann Friede (he of the green hair) classic network building and auction game that has spawned several editions and many expansions. The objective is to supply the most cities with power when someone’s network gains a predetermined size. Players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then bid against each other to purchase the power plants that they use to power their cities. However, as plants are purchased, newer, more efficient plants become available, so by merely purchasing, you’re potentially allowing others access to superior equipment. Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials (coal, oil, garbage, and uranium) needed to power said plants (except for the ‘renewable’ wind farm/ solar plants, which require no fuel), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

Ticket to Ride: London (led by Nicole) 2019 stand-alone game with double-decker buses, that features the familiar gameplay from the Ticket to Ride game series — collect cards, claim routes, draw tickets, earn bonuses — but on a scaled-down map of 1970s London that allows you to complete a game in no more than 15 minutes.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/276894/ticket-to-ride-london

Ra (led by K-ban) 1999 Knizia auction and set-collection game with an ancient Egyptian theme. Each turn players are able to purchase lots of tiles with their bidding tiles (suns). Once a player has used up their suns, the other players continue until they do likewise, which may set up a situation with a single uncontested player bidding on tiles before the end of the round occurs. Tension builds because the round may end before all players have had a chance to win their three lots for the epoch. The various tiles either give immediate points, prevent negative points for not having certain types at the end of the round (epoch), or give points after the final round. The game lasts for three “epochs” (rounds). Easy to learn but a challenge to play well.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12/ra

Survival of the Fattest (led by Armando) 2024 action selection, hand management game where players take the role of a woodland critter and use their unique tricks and abilities to forage for food. Spend one’s gathered food to complete delicious recipes from the Market for in-game bonuses and end-game victory points. After 3 seasons, whoever has fed their critter and accumulated the most victory points will be declared the winner!

Steve