2026 Session Reports

10/7/2026 – Berkshire Gamers Session Report #26-40

24 at the UNO Park Community Center on 10/7 for a request night.
10/7/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center
IN: Steve & Sandy, Norm & Hope, Jason & Sarah, Fred & Janet, Tim, Armando, Nicole, Matt, Amy, Chris, Julie, Reimi, Tony, Rob, Danny, Cady, Ruth, Kenneth, Carol, David
ON OUR TABLES:
Take It Easy 2X (led by Nicole) 1983 puzzle game that is a true multi-player solitaire, in which each player individually completes a hexagon-shaped board with spots for 19 hexagonal tiles. We played 2 rounds of the base game There’s no limit to the number of players provided there are enough copies on hand. One person (the caller) draws a tile randomly and tells the others which of the 27 tiles featuring colored/numbered lines crossing in three directions, with numbers from 1 to 9, it is. “The 9-8-7,” for example. Each player then chooses which empty spot on their own board they’ll play the 9-8-7. This is repeated until the boards are filled.

The idea is to complete same-numbered lines across one’s board. Scoring is calculated by multiplying the number on the tile with the number of tiles in the completed line. A complete column of three 9s is worth 27, for example…but a lot of players will hope for five 9s to fill the big column down the middle. It is often compared to Bingo because of the familiar pattern of a number being called and then everybody looking at their cards to play it, and then scoring if a line is completed. But that’s as far as the comparison goes. Bingo is sheer luck; Take It Easy is a game of skill. 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128/take-it-easy

Torch Lit (led by Armando) 2024 trick-taking game where players must decide when to win tricks and when to increase the value of the number of tricks they think they might take. However, points are limited, so if any players end up taking the same amount of tricks, they must divide the points among themselves. After 3 rounds of play, the player with the most points wins!
Players are adventurers who dream of delving into a monster-packed dungeon and returning home to bask in fame and fortune. However, choosing the right dungeon can be tricky. Some have barely any monsters, while others are teeming with adventurers eager to split the spoils. And lurking behind it all is the fickle Dungeon Warden, forever tugging at the strings of fate. It’s no wonder adventurers carry a torch to light the way.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/433205/torchlit

Root (led by Matt) 2018 asymmetrical area control game with a cute animal façade. It is a game of adventure and war in which 2 to 4 (1 to 6 with the ‘Riverfolk’ expansion, 2-6 with the ‘Underworld’, or ‘Marauder’ expansions) players battle for control of a vast wilderness.  Every faction is genuinely unique in how it operates and scores points. The woodland conflict is very immersive and amusing, as each player has unique capabilities and a different victory condition. 
Kudos to Matt for teaching the game to a quartet of eager gamers, without playing it himself.
Twinkle Twinkle (led by Tim) 2025 tile-laying game where players fill their star chart with clear plastic tiles, trying to connect constellations, build belts of asteroids, collect comets, pick up planets, and study them with satellites. Take care with those pesky black holes – unless one has a perfect spot for them.

Constellations, asteroids, comets, planets, and black holes all score differently! The 10 modular scoring conditions in the box, allow for mixing and matching for 32 different setups. Whoever finds their highest score in the stars wins.

The game features an optional scoring app that allows you to point your phone at the board and watch it magically tally up your points!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/408280/twinkle-twinkle

Mangrovia (led by K-ban) 2014 hidden gem featuring 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 mid-weight game.
Courtisans (led by Armando) 2024 card game of influence and intrigue where players receive and play three cards on each of their turns. One is played at the Queen’s table to sway a family’s influence, whether in a positive or negative manner. The two other cards are played to a player’s own tableau and one to an opponent’s tableau. Cards in one’s tableau can be worth positive or negative points, depending on their family’s end game status at the Queen’s table. This filler packs a wallop in 30 minutes.
Creature Comforts (led by Tim) 2022 push your luck, set collection and open drafting game, where players are animals and spend the Spring, Summer, and Fall gathering different goods from the forest and spending them to collect items that will make their home more inviting while the world outside is covered in a layer of snow. Each round players send family members out to various locations in an attempt to gain supplies. If they fall short of their goal, they’ll learn a lesson and be better prepared next time. The family that has created the most comfortable den wins the game.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/304051/creature-comforts

Positano (led by Nicole) 2025 drafting and building placement game where players are builders in Positano, Italy, a village stacked upon a cliffside overlooking the clear blue sea. Each round players bid on three simultaneous auctions determining the size, quality and location of their new resorts on the three dimensional cliffside board.

Quality resorts will earn the most points, but only if players have a clear view of the sea!

BID – Players will simultaneously choose and reveal bid cards at the start of each round. Players must balance how they prioritize the auctions and the tiles they hope to draft!

DRAFT – Based on their bids, players draft tiles from the bid board. Their tiles determine where on the cliffside they can build that turn, how many building blocks they add to their stockpile, and the quality of their new construction.

BUILD – Compete for seaside views as players build in three dimensions on a tiered cliffside!

SCORE – players score points for having quality buildings with a clear view out to sea, but also for collecting gelato and capitalizing on the public goal cards! 

We used the crowded cliffside expansion which expands the game from 16 to 25 plots and from 4 to 6 players – as we had 5 players.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/383190/positano

Liar’s Dice/Bluff/Perudo 3X (led by Tony) 1800 South American bluffing dice game where players are given five D6 and a cup to roll and hide them with. Players make successively higher declarations regarding the results of all the dice remaining in the game, e.g. “there are ten sixes”. However, someone can always contest the bid. When that happens, all the dice are revealed and either the bidder or the caller loses dice, depending on who was correct. The last player with dice is the winner.  A wonderful closer, as those eliminated can go home. We played on the Playte Korean set that uses the space saving L-Board configuration.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/45/liars-dice

Storm Raiders (led by Armando) 2025 Shem Philips drafting, set collection and pick up/deliver game, where players compete to have the most prestige by game’s end. Storm raiding is a perilous task, filled with many dangers – the most devastating being the mighty Rift Storm that encircles the many islands. Players will want to stay close to the storm, without being overcome by its immeasurable force.

Prestige is gained by salvaging wreck sites, fulfilling contracts, acquiring crew, upgrading their vehicles, and earning medals. Players will be drafting dice each turn to either travel using their trike, plane, or sub, or to instead take some much-needed time to rest and repair their battered vehicles.

After 6 rounds of traversing the splintered landscape, players will add up their prestige points to determine who will be remembered as the greatest Storm Raider of their time.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/386447/storm-raiders

Steve

24 at the UNO Park Community Center on 10/7 for a request night. 10/7/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center IN: Steve & Sandy, Norm & Hope, Jason & Sarah, Fred & Janet, Tim, Armando, Nicole, Matt, Amy, Chris, Julie, Reimi, Tony, Rob, Danny, Cady, Ruth, Kenneth, Carol, David ON OUR TABLES: Take It Easy 2X (led…

24 at the UNO Park Community Center on 10/7 for a request night. 10/7/2026 @ UNO Park Community Center IN: Steve & Sandy, Norm & Hope, Jason & Sarah, Fred & Janet, Tim, Armando, Nicole, Matt, Amy, Chris, Julie, Reimi, Tony, Rob, Danny, Cady, Ruth, Kenneth, Carol, David ON OUR TABLES: Take It Easy 2X (led…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *