24 at the UNO Park Community Center in North Adams, honoring prolific German game authors Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling – both alone and together.

Welcome to Kelby on his first visit.

Take 5/6 Nimmt/Category 5 2X (led by Armando/K-ban) 1994 classic card game 6 Nimmt that accommodates up to 10 players – and the first game we played together at Purple Dragon Games back in June 2021. In all editions the 104 number cards are shuffled with four cards face-up dealt to the table to start the four rows with players being dealt a 10-card hand. Each turn, players simultaneously choose and reveal a card from their hand, then add the cards to the rows, with cards being placed in ascending order based on their number; specifically, each card is placed in the row that ends with the highest number that’s below the card’s number. When the sixth card is placed in a row, the owner of that card claims the other five cards and the sixth card becomes the first card in its row. In addition to a number,  each card has a point value. After finishing ten rounds, players tally their score and see whether the game ends. (Category 5 ends when a player has a score greater than 74, for example, while 6 nimmt! ends when someone tops 66.) When this happens, the player with the fewest points wins!

Big Boss (led by Sean) 1994 game where Herr Kramer pays homage to Sid Sackson’s Acquire on a linear board with corporations instead of hotels and the ability to build up as well as to sprawl. Mergers make most of the difference towards victory. Shares multiplied by their ending value comprise the majority of your earnings. Great chunky 3D buildings. The progression for chain building games went from Acquire to Big Boss to Big City to the current Foundations of Rome/Metropolis. We played on the original 1994 edition. There is a 2023 reimagined edition with slightly modified rules currently available.

Azul 2X (led by Tim/Nicole) 2017 tile drafting and pattern building game, where players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they’ve placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player’s score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Azul won 2018’s SdJ and several other major awards. This was the first in a series of four Azul games – Stained Glass of Sintra, Summer Pavilion and Queen’s Palace being the others.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul

Miyabi 2X (group led) 2019 tile drafting game where players draft tiles representing Japanese garden decorations/items and place them onto their garden grid board. There are both row and column restrictions for placement and in-turn scoring that rewards building on higher levels. End game bonuses for most and 2nd most for a given row complete the scoring. A relaxing puzzle game, but only the base version was tried. There are multiple expansions that raise the complexity level.  

That’s Life (led by Nicole) 2005 roll & move game. Tiles are laid out in a continuous path, with the tiles either bearing a clover or being numbered -10 to +8. Wooden guards are placed on the clover tiles and two of the positive tiles. Each player has three tokens (two in a five- or six-player game) that start at the beginning of the path. On a turn, players roll the d6, then move one of their pawns that many spaces down the path. If one’s pawn is the only one on a tile when you leave it, it is collected, which shrinks the path on which everyone is moving. If a guard is still on a tile when you leave it, you do not collect the tile. If any player’s pawn is on the same space as a guard, you can move that guard instead of moving one of your own pawns, possibly setting someone else up for misfortune on a future turn and possibly setting yourself up for good things — as long as no one else lands on your tile! Once a player’s pawn reaches the final space on the path, that pawn is retired from play. Once all pawns are retired, players tally their points, with each clover you possess turning a negative tile into a positive one. High score wins!

Linko/Abluxxen (led by Zach) 2014 shedding card game where players take turns playing number cards, and the more cards of the same number played the better, as cards score points at the end of the game. If someone else plays the same amount of cards with a higher number, however, your cards get nicked! Stealing cards can be good, but if they can’t be used later. If one ends the game with cards in hand, they’ll cost points.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/153065/linko

Tikal (led by Matt) 1999 game where players explore Central American jungles in search of lost temples and the treasures within. Players send their team of explorers into the jungle, exposing more and more of the terrain. Along the way, they find temples that require further uncovering and treasures. Players attempt to score points for occupying temples and holding onto treasure. Tikal introduced the mechanic of budgeted action points and continued it in Java, Mexica and Torres. Players are bestowed 10 action points each turn to spend as they see fit across a select number of actions, each costing a certain number of points. Using these action points players will perform a combination of actions to move their explorer pawns around the jungle terrain, collecting artifacts or clearing the undergrowth to reveal temple layers. Since Tikal is an area majority game, all these actions funnel towards claiming temple majorities with player pawns and set collection of artifacts.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54/tikal

Maharaja: Palace Building in India (led by Zach)  2004 game that utilizes elements of area control and simultaneous action selection. During the game, the players take different roles and travel from city to city in India. Their architects build palaces and houses for the Maharaja. Of course, building a palace is expensive. Therefore, it is important to earn enough money in the cities. The first player who builds seven palaces is the winner.

Players choose their actions simultaneously, but reveal and resolve them in turn. Actions include generating money, building houses or palaces, manipulating the Maharaja’s movements, and choosing new architects (each architect has a unique power, but the more powerful ones come further down the turn order).

At the end of each round, the Maharaja scores the city he is currently in based on the number of buildings, and players receive money accordingly. He then moves to a new city.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9440/maharaja-the-game-of-palace-building-in-india

Caldera Park (led by Nicole) revision of 2021’s Savannah Park in 2022 changing the terrain, placement/tile selection mechanism while retaining the herd multiplied by water hole scoring but adding geyser, waterfall, river and terrain bonuses. The two designs feel different enough to own both but Caldera Park will appeal more to gamers while Savannah Park will appeal more for casual and family gamers. It has a partial resemblance to the 2023 SdJ winner, Cascadia.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/367047/caldera-park

Immortal (led by Armando) 2025 tile placement game where players arrange flowers in a graveyard by placing tiles according to the rules, adding new flowers only to a single row or column at a time. The first player to place all their flowers is the winner! Some say there is a similarity to QWIRKLE.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/429515/immortal

Asara (led by K-ban) 2010 worker placement, set collection, set collection and hand management game. Players take on the role of a wealthy builder competing to bring the most prestige to their name through constructing the largest and most ornate towers in the city. The game is played over 4 rounds (years), during which players will be acquiring the pieces for their towers and assembling them.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72991/asara