4/8/2026 – Berkshire Gamers Session Report #26-14
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24 at the UNO Park Community Center in North Adams for an evening of games about the Birds & the Bees (and other insects, especially ants) plus one game rated 8.0+ by BGG users since the date ended in an ‘8’.
4/8/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center
IN: Steve, Sean, Tim, Nicole, Anna, Matt, Armando, Zach, Amy, Chris, Norm & Hope, Kenneth & Rachel, Elliot & Lauren, Samuel & Ruth, Rob, Danny, Julie, Reimi, Sean K, Cady
ON OUR TABLES:
Bites (led by K-ban) 2020 reimplementation of Big Points adding theme and variable goals – ants collecting food along a path for set collection points. During setup, a trail of food is laid out. On each player’s turn, they can move any ant to the next food in the trail that matches their color (red ant to apple, purple ant to grapes, etc). Then the player takes the food token directly in front of or behind the ant, saving it to score at the end of the game.
However, players don’t know for sure how much the food is going to be worth until the matching ant makes it to the ant hill at the end of the trail. This creates shared incentives as players work together to advance some ants and hold others back.
Along the way players also have the chance to pick up chocolate, which can be turned into special actions, and wine, which provides a way to score bonus points.
There are four decks of cards that define the rules for the game. Each game, one card is chosen from each deck to provide a unique combination.The “rule decks” are:
- Ant Hill – Food tokens are worth more points if the matching ant gets to the hill FIRST. Or, food tokens are worth more points if the matching ants get to the ant hill LAST.
- Wine – The wine tokens have a different way of scoring in every game.
- Chocolate – The chocolate tokens provide a different special power in every game. And, the best way to use that power will change based on the other special rules in play.
- Variant – One special rule that applies to this game which offers an extra twist.
Pollen (led by Sean) 2023 retheming of Knizia’s 2009 ‘Samurai: The Card Game’ that excels with 3 players. This is a pretty tight and simple area-majority card game (or actually a tile placement game) with funky end-game scoring featuring a typical Knizian twist.
Player’s goal is to collect three different types of tokens (representing butterflies, bees & June bugs) in order to have the majority in two, but players need at least one majority to be eligible to win. This is accomplished by playing cards around tokens that represent pollinators, once a token is fully surrounded with 4 cards, the player with the most matching icons gains the depicted token. The card set is the same for each player with cards influencing one type of token or all three, thus when to play the stronger cards is important as is keeping track of who has what majority.
The parent game, Samurai, is currently being crowdfunded, re-themed as Hanami (which I’ve pledged) with relaxing picnic lunches among the cherry blossoms and paper lanterns of Tokyo city parks or the lush countryside of Japan. It brings new strategies and two distinct ways to play: The Japan map allows players to enjoy the classic Samurai ruleset, and the Tokyo setup gives players new challenges, new abilities, and new tiles.
March of the Ants (led by Matt) in this game from 2015, players create a shared meadow by sending ants to explore it, revealing and strategically placing two dozen unique tiles. Populate new territory by breeding larvae and marching one’s ants onto collection sites. Forage for Event Cards like Strange Appetite, Cold Snap, and Fungal Outbreak to impact the entire board – or just one unlucky opponent. Mutate your colony with special Evolution Cards. Emerge triumphant by scoring Colony Points as your ants explore and control the Meadow.
Wingspan (led by Rachel P.) 2019 drafting and set collection engine builder that won the Kennerspiel des Jahres (German gamers game of the year) Players are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to their network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of a player’s habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth:
- Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower
- Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colors
- Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them
The winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds.
Wingspan European Expansion (led by Nicole) 2019 first expansion to Wingspan, increasing the scope of the world to include the regal, beautiful, and varied birds of Europe. These birds feature a variety of new abilities, including a number of birds with round end abilities, abilities that increase interaction between players, and birds that benefit from excess cards/food. Along with the new bonus cards, they’re designed to be shuffled into the original decks of cards (and cards from future expansions).
It also includes an additional tray for storing the growing collection of birds (past, present, and future), as well as 15 purple eggs, extra food tokens, and a colorful new score pad designed for both multiplayer and single-player scoring.
Meadow (led by Anna) 2021 is an engaging set collection game with over two hundred unique cards containing hand-painted watercolor illustrations. In the game, players take the role of explorers competing for the title of the most skilled nature observer. To win, they collect cards with the most valuable species, landscapes, and discoveries. Their journey is led by passion, a curiosity of the world, an inquiring mind, and a desire to discover the mysteries of nature. The competition continues at the bonfire where the players race to fulfill the goals of their adventures. Players take turns placing path tokens on one of the two boards. Placing a token on the main board allows the player to get cards, but playing them requires meeting certain requirements. Playing a token on the bonfire board activates special actions (which helps to implement a chosen strategy) and gives the opportunity to achieve goals that provide additional points. Throughout the game, players collect cards in their meadow and surroundings area. At the end, the player with the most points on cards and on the bonfire board wins.
Meadow also includes envelopes with additional cards to open at specific moments.
Micropolis 2x (led by K-ban) 2018 Bruno Cathala (King Domino, Five Tribes, Mr Jack) Ant game of drafting 10 tiles to score the most points in multiple categories. Each player starts with a central location that will be surrounded by ten tiles over the course of the game, with the tiles being connected by a series of tunnels. Over ten rounds, players draft tiles one at a time, with the player with the largest army going first. They can take the first tile in line, or place an ant on each tile they want to pass to get to something better. The tiles have various roles on them: Queens, who if alone can improve their space; Nannies who give players extra ant soldiers; Architects who let players take any tile for free; Warriors who attack the first player; Generals who manage the movement of your ant soldiers; and Fruit gatherers who collect fruits, which score based on the variety players have. Ants at the end of the game are worth one point each, and whoever has the largest army earns an additional 5 points.
Sisimizi (led by Nicole) 1996 Alex Randolph design, where players are competing ant colonies that are attempting to link all of their ant mounds together. Players attempt to create chains of ants from one ant mound to the next while also trying to cut off other players’ chains.
Flutter (led by K-ban) 2024 crowdfunded game about pollinators where players place uniquely shaped tiles, aiming to match petals and grow flowers. But it doesn’t end there – it’s about nurturing the ecosystem by providing the right flowers to each fluttering critter, spreading their rich pollen throughout the meadow. This is accomplished by strategically enclosing tiles, boosted by clever use of a player’s bee token. Once the supply rondel is running low, and a single stack of tiles is emptied, the game comes to an end. The player with the most pollen at the end of the game will be crowned the winner.
Beez (led by Nicole) 2020 opulent board game where players compete to optimize their flight plans to secure nectar for their hive. Be careful of the other bees as you will compete with them over a set of public and private scoring goals. The 3D bee miniatures are beautiful as are the honey/nectar player boards. There is a small spatial awareness learning curve but this is a very good gateway game.
8.0+ Game played
Viticulture: Tuscany (led by Tim) 2016 expansion for Viticulture which features the three most popular expansion modules from the original
expansion:
- Extended Board: New game board featuring four full seasons for worker placement.
- Structure Cards: New cards that players can build to supplement their existing structure figures.
- Special Workers: New workers with their own special abilities, which players can train.
Tuscany Essential Edition is recommended for use with Viticulture Essential Edition, but it is compatible with older versions of Viticulture as well.
Other Games Played
Vivo (led by Zach) 2024 trick taking card game, where each round starts by revealing a harmony type (Solo, Duet, Trio, Quartet). The harmony determines how many suits must be played in the trick—not being able to is considered playing “off-harmony,” making that player ineligible for points. At the end of the trick, the player who played the highest on-harmony card scores two points, and the lowest on-harmony card scores for the value of that card (those bass notes are so important!).
Steve
24 at the UNO Park Community Center in North Adams for an evening of games about the Birds & the Bees (and other insects, especially ants) plus one game rated 8.0+ by BGG users since the date ended in an ‘8’. 4/8/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center IN: Steve, Sean, Tim, Nicole, Anna, Matt, Armando, Zach,…
24 at the UNO Park Community Center in North Adams for an evening of games about the Birds & the Bees (and other insects, especially ants) plus one game rated 8.0+ by BGG users since the date ended in an ‘8’. 4/8/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center IN: Steve, Sean, Tim, Nicole, Anna, Matt, Armando, Zach,…