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Taco's ranking of new to him games of February 2016

3/8/2016

February may have been a shorter month but I still managed to get 8 new games in this month. Two of those games have now become my addiction in some form. Majority of the games this month were games that I reviewed, but the top three will surprise you. As my pile of new games grows I look forward to the next few months of new games. One day I hope to catch up on the stack. This month I have two questions for you. How many games are on your shelf that have never been played and Which do you want to get on the table the most? As usual I look forward to hearing what your favorite games of February were. Thank you for reading.

#8- Apollo XIII
Published by: Passport Games Studio
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-apollo-xiii

#7- Cafe International
Published by: Rio Grande Games
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-cafe-international

#6- Temporum
Published by: Rio Grande Games
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-temporum

#5- Titan Race
Published by: Passport Games Studio & FunForge
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/category/titan-race

#4- Nippon
Published by: What's Your Game?
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-nippon

#3- Deus
Published by: Asmodee NA

Deus was one of those games that I had picked up after it was released and heard great things about but just never seemed to hit the table. I am so glad this finally hit the table because it was a lot of fun. This area control game has players making offerings to the different Greek Gods and performing actions from the offerings and also from cards that you play to upgrade your civilization. The modular board allows for many different set ups, which in turn makes every game feel different. This was very easy to learn and teach. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes area control games or civilization building games. This is also a great game to introduce new people to those type of games. I really look forward to playing this more and is a great addition to my collection.

#2- Patchwork
Published by: Mayfair Games

I had heard many great things about Patchwork and how couples really enjoy playing it together. Well I am not in a relationship and do not care one bit about quilting, so I ignored everyone. Then recently the digital form came out for Patchwork and well I am addicted. After my first day of playing it on the tablet, I ordered a physical copy and got one for a friend as well. Yep who knew quilting could be so much fun. This game combines Tetris and a light economic game to make a really fun combo. I have only played the physical copy a few times but I am completely addicted to the digital version. The goal in Patchwork is to have the most buttons (currency) at the end of the game. You lose buttons for any holes you have in your quilt. If you like puzzle type games, I would definitely recommend either downloading the digital game or picking up a physical copy. I think I may be quilting in my sleep.

#1- Dice Masters (Marvel and DC sets)
Published by: WizKids

When I was younger Pokemon the card game came out and I had to catch them all. I enjoyed playing against my friends and building decks. I even went to two tournaments, one of which was my first Gen Con in Milwaukee. Slowly I couldn't keep up with all the new releases and my group of friends moved on to board games. Since then I avoided anything collectible and most two player card games. I saw reviews on Dice Masters when it first came out and I enjoyed Quarriors , which it is loosely designed from. I stayed away and turned a deaf ear to the enjoyment because I did not want to get into a collectible game. Well I blame Rodney from Watch It Played, because I watched the Dice Master episodes and decided to give it a try. I love the ability to combine characters from Marvel and DC together. Dice Masters scratches that itch I had back in the Pokemon days. I didn't realize I missed it but I really did miss two player competitive games like this. I have already hooked a few So1ks members into playing as well and we can all share the same set which is nice for my wallet. I do worry that so many sets are being released but I will enjoy the wave of fun while I can. I enjoyed Dice Masters so much that I am already planning on doing a few events at Origins. Hopefully I see you there.

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12 Games in 2015 that you may have forgotten or missed

2/10/2016

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Everyone one for the most part agrees that 2015 was a huge year for board gaming. We saw huge hits in Pandemic Legacy, Blood Rage, Time Stories, and Codenames. You could have easily separated 2015 in half and still had 2 great years. Unfortunately, due to so many great games, some may have been overlooked or forgotten. This was not due to them being bad games but rather when they may have been released or got lost in the Essen flood of games. Here are 10 games that I felt deserve a second mention as they were all really good games. The games are not listed in any particular order.

Taco

Elysium
Published by: Space Cowboys and Asmodee NA

This had the misfortune of being the other game Space Cowboys put out before Time Stories. Elysium is a unique card game that can be played in approximately an hour. Cards have great art and an insert that actually works! This set collection game has some great strategy that will leave you shaking your head on what you should do. There is enough player interaction to keep everyone involved at all times.

Voyages of Marco Polo
Published by: Z-Man Games

Voyages of Marco Polo was my Euro game of the year. This may have fallen off many peoples radar due to being released early in the year and selling out. This dice worker placement game has similarities to other great games such as Alien Frontiers. I enjoyed Voyages of Marco Polo more because of the player powers, traveling to different cities, and various paths to victory. If you are a Euro style or worker placement fan, you should play this as soon as you can.

Viceroy
Published by: Mayday Games

Viceroy was my favorite game that I played in the first half of 2015. This card pyramid building game combines some interesting elements. Auctioning to receive cards each turn using gems in a secret bid was an interesting system that was hit or miss with players. There were great decisions in figuring out which card your going to place due to card abilities and matching gem colors. Viceroy's engine building made you really think ahead of time on which strategy you wanted to go with. There were many paths to victory and games were usually close. The art on the cards is very good.

Dice City
Published by: AEG and Artipia games

Dice City was released around Essen and had great success. Due to all the big releases this did not get as much notice as it deserved. Dice City replaced Machi Koro for me. I was a huge Machi Koro fan and Dice City impressed me that much. This light civilization building game has players rolling dice and using the corresponding buildings that are in that certain dies location. You can attack other players if you want or focus on your own city. Easy to teach and learn. This is a great family game for all to enjoy.

Dark Moon
Published by: Stronghold Games

Dark Moon is a commercial release of the popular BSG Express PnP game. Dark Moon is a co-operative game with a hidden traitor element. You are trying to keep your space station in tact while some members of your crew may be infected. Players are rolling dice to repair the station, taking care of urgent missions, and for your voting. A vote may hinge on you have the right color die. If you do not have it, will make you a suspect as an infected player. Tension is high and with the station falling apart can you survive?

Favor of the Pharaoh
Published by: Bezier Games

The best way I can describe Favor of the Pharaoh is that it is Yahtzee with special abilities. You will spend the whole game preparing for the end roll. You need to balance having a lot of dice, types, and abilities to win this game. Released around Essen time, this family game did not get much press, but I recommend it if your family enjoys dice games.

Tides of Time
Published by: Portal Games

Tides of Time is a 2 player game that has players drafting cards back and forth to collect cards to meet goals for points. The goals are on the cards that you are collecting for symbols. Trying to get the most out of each card is very huge in this game. One of my favorite games that came out of Gen Con this year and has been a hit for everyone I introduced to it. The art is outstanding and could be on someone's wall as a painting. 7 Wonders Duel came out and took the attention from all the other 2 player games. 2015 was a great year for 2 player games and this was most certainly one of them.

DragonFlame
Published by: Minion Games

DragonFlame was a game that I had not even heard about till I was sent a review copy. DragonFlame takes a fresh look at mixing auction and area control mechanics with set collection. Players will be collecting gems and treasure, while also burning the towns. If you do the most burning in a town, you get victory points, but if the town is not fully burnt down it is worthless. In the auction cards are placed face up and face down leading to some tense decisions on which pile you want to take. Take the wrong one and you could end up with negative points. Compact game that is very fun to play.

Between Two Cities
Published by: Stonemaier Games

Between Two Cities was a kickstarter game that had players building cities with the players next to them. You had to work with the players next to you but also not help them out too much. You score the weaker of your two cities and the player with the highest points for a weaker city wins. Between Two Cities is all about balance and how to best maintain it. You can play solo or up to 7 players. Very quick set up and no down time makes this a hit for larger groups.

Starfighter
Published by: Ystari Games and Asmodee NA

Starfighter is another 2 player game that was released around Gen Con that really got barely any attention. You are a commander of a capitol ship and sending out fighters to protect your ship against the other player. Each player can adjust their board position and cards will move around the board including flipping over or turned 180 degrees. This has a classic arcade game feel that will appeal to some. Lots of combos and decisions that make this very enjoyable in a short period of time.

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Taco's ranking of new games to him in January 2016

2/2/2016

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Welcome to a new year of gaming. I predict that 2016 will be an even bigger year than 2015! Hard to believe but I have a gut feeling it will be huge. January started off the year with some excellent games I have never played before. The top 5 or 6 could easily be on a top 10 list for the year, in fact a few did make my list of top 25 of 2015. This month saw a lot of heavier euro style games and were of great quality. If this is a preview of what I have to look forward to in 2016 I will be a very happy gamer. I look forward to hearing what your favorite new to you games were for the month.

#9- X-Men Mutant Revolution
Published by: Wizkids
# of players: 3-4

This was my most disappointing game of the month and possibly of games that came out in 2015. I love the X-Men and the one thing I did enjoy about the game was all the various X-Men and students available that I recognized. The gameplay was kind of bland and the dice were especially cruel. The game lasted close to 3 hours and felt longer than that. I ran away with the victory and no one else was even close. I hate giving a comic game a pass, but I will not play this again.

#8- JunKing
Published by: Junk Spirit Games
# of players: 2-6
Review link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-junking

Junking was a enjoyable family game. I would personally not want to play it on my game night with my buddies, but if I am playing games with kids, then this would definitely be a good choice.

#7 Helionox: The Last Sunset
Published by: Mr. B Games and Zeroic games
# of players: 1-2 (3-4 with a second copy)
Review link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-helionox-the-last-sunset

Helionox was a unique deck builder that added a movement aspect. I liked the decision making into buying new cards or focusing on overcoming events. The game played very quick which normally I would love but in this case I wish the game lasted slightly longer. If your a fan of science fiction or deck builders, please give this a chance.

#6- Mage Wars: Academy
Published by: Arcane Wonders
# of players: 2
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-mage-wars-academy

Mage Wars: Academy is a game that simulates being a mage better than any other game I have played. I usually do not enjoy 2 player CCG type card games, but this was very good. Mage Wars: Academy is not a CCG but plays like those games in many ways. The binders that are included were a great touch of immersing you into this game. If you find this theme enjoyable or have been looking for a jumping point into the Mage Wars universe, this is your game.

#5- Nations: The Dice Game
Published by: Lautapelit.fi and Asmodee NA
# of players: 1-4
Jordan's review: http://www.so1ks.com/jordan-knows-games/jordan-knows-games-review-of-nations-dice-game

I like a lot of the games that release a dice version of the original. The dice version a lot of times can be hit or miss and be completely different from the original. Nations: the Dice Game I actually prefer over the original. This is less complicated to explain and takes about half the time as the original. Nations: the Dice Game keeps the flavor of the original with completely new dice mechanics. Plenty of strategy with a bit of luck of the dice. If you enjoyed the original or love dice games then you should give this a try soon.

#4- Dice City
Published by: AEG and Artipia Games
# of Players: 2-4

Dice City was played very early in the month and I am glad I did finally get to play it. Dice City was played as I was finalizing my top 25 of 2015 list and Dice City and the next game made me redo my list. Dice City is another civilization dice game, but this is more in flavor with Machi Koro. In fact, Dice City has now replaced Machi Koro in my mind. Very fun with a little player interaction. Every die you roll will help you in some way. This is how a dice game should be done.

#3- The Gallerist
Published by: Eagle-Gryphon Games
# of players: 2-4

This was one of my first heavy style worker placement game. The theme came off great and was an instant hit for me. Everyone was close in victory points at the end and you always felt like there was something you could do. Lots of critical thinking and some humor as we made fun of some of the art. Everyone wanted to kill an artist so their art got more popular. (you don't get to kill artists) The components for this game were great. Highly recommend to anyone that enjoys worker placement games.

#2- Signorie
Published by: What's Your Game
# of Players: 2-4

I am actually not going to say much about Signorie as my review will be out this week for it. Obviously by the position in this list you can tell I enjoyed it a lot. A great medium difficulty worker placement game that puts you in charge of a family in 15th century Italy. A great start for euro style games in 2016.

#1- Viticulture
Published by: Stonemaier Games
# of players: 2-6

I am upset it took me this long to play this great game. The theme is felt in every aspect of the game and I now feel I have a shot at running a vineyard. Port el Taco? I think it could make a great wine. Mechanics played out very smooth and was a very easy worker placement game to teach. I can not wait to play with more of the Tuscany expansion added to it. There is so much in this game to explore. The components are above any other euro game I have played. If you are a fan of worker placement games then you should have already played this game. If you have never played a worker placement game, then this will turn you into a fan of one.

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Taco's ranking of new to him games of December 2015

1/12/2016

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December was a slower month for new games for me sadly. This month you will see lots of expansions on the list and you may be surprised by some of their rankings. 4 of the games on this list made my top 25 of 2015 list in some way. I look forward to seeing what everyone else played this month that was new to them.

Thank you for reading,

Taco

#10- House Rules
Jordan will be posting a review soon on this game so I wont go into any detail. This ranked low to me because it reminded me a lot of games like Fluxx. I am not a fan of games that can take anywhere from 5 minutes to over an hour. House Rules is interesting in the way that the cards will be dry erasable so that you can make up your own rules and changes.

#9- Epic
Published by: White Wizard Games
Review link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-epic-card-game

#8- Nyet!
Published by: Iello Games
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-nyet

#7- Rum & Bones: Mazu's Dreadful Curse
Published by: Cool Mini or Not

This is probably the biggest surprise on the list. I love Rum and Bones, but this expansion has in my opinion some balance issues. The issue manly is with the ships and how the Kraken ends up attacking your opponent more than the minions on your Mazu ships because of the layout. I still enjoy the new characters and will look into ways of evening out the boats.

#6- Welcome to the Dungeon
Published by: Iello Games
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-welcome-to-the-dungeon

#5- Empires: Age of Discovery
Published by: Eagle-Gryphon Games

Fun worker placement game that looks like it should be a game of Risk. A lot of interesting ways of getting victory points in this game. I have only had to chance to play this once so I can not say too much about it, but I did enjoy the one play through.

#4- Roll for the Galaxy: Ambition
Published by: Rio Grande Games

Expansion for one of my top 5 games of 2015. Ambition adds black dice and objectives that add a little extra to the game. I like this expansion for the fact it doesn't change the original but rather adds to or enhances the core game. Very fun expansion that I will play with anytime I play Roll for the Galaxy.

#3- Legendary Marvel: Secret Wars Vol. 2
Published by: Upper Deck Entertainment
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-legendary-marvel-secret-wars-volume-2

#2- Star Realms: Colony Wars
Published by: White Wizard Games
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-star-realms-colony-wars

#1- Simurgh
Published by: NSKN Games
Review Link: http://www.so1ks.com/tacos-take-reviews/tacos-take-on-simurgh

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Taco ranks his new to him games of November 2015

12/7/2015

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Welcome back winter! Your cold weather brings my friends indoors, which means more gaming. This month I have 12 new games I played. Rankings were super tough this month and I would recommend playing 11 of the games on this list. Many of them will end up on my best of 2015 lists. I hope you all got to enjoy playing games this month as much as I did. Quick Note: If you click on the picture of a game it will either take you to my thoughts on the game or the game's boardgamegeek page.

#12 RYU by Asmodee

#11 Takenoko Chibis (Expansion)

#10 Queen's Necklace by Cool Mini or Not

#9 Incan Gold by Eagle Games

#8 Elysium by Asmodee

#7 Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition) by Fantasy Flight Games

#6 Scoville by TMG

#5 Favor of the Pharaoh by Bezier Games

#4 Between Two Cities by Stonemaier Games

#3 Voyages of Marco Polo by Zman Games

#2- 7 Wonders Duel by Repos

#1 Blood Rage by Cool Mini or Not

Blood Rage Squeaked out a very close battle for number 1. The hype for Blood Rage was crazy and I was worried that it could never live up to what everyone was saying. I was very wrong. Blood Rage met the hype and sent it to Valhalla. Excellent minis, fast fun game play, and surprisingly easy to learn and teach. Blood Rage will be a contender for many of my best of 2015 awards.

All that is left of 2015 is December. I still have a lot of 2015 games to play before the year is done. I look forward to the challenge and the rankings for next month. Till then I hope you all get to play lots of fun games.

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Taco ranks his new to him games of October 2015

11/12/2015

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I did not get in as many games as usual this month. What I did get in was very good. Looking at the list the majority of the games in it could easily be a contender for top game of the month in any month this year. The one that got it deserved it for being unique, fun and flawless execution of the style it was going after.

#7 Secret Directive

#6 Legendary: Marvel Secret Wars Vol. 1

#5 CV: Gossip Expansion

#4 Awesome Kingdom: Tower of Hateskull

#3 Taverna

#2 Pandemic Legacy

#1 Rum & Bones

Why is Rum & Bones is #1 for October: I really enjoyed playing Rum & Bones. This is the board game version of League of Legends MOBA style game. I was very addicted to League of Legends for the greater part of two years and this game felt as if I was playing a head to head game of it in person. Each character feels unique despite all being pirates. It was surprisingly easy to pick up and play and had plenty of risk and reward type strategy to it. This is currently my number 1 game for 2015 but with devoting November and December to catching up on all the games of 2015 we will see if it can maintain that title. Jordan should be doing a review for Rum & Bones sometime in November and look forward to seeing what he thought of it.

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Taco's Top 10 Comic Book Board Games

10/19/2015

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Comic Book movies have been huge box office hits in the theaters. Some of the best cartoons are taken from the pages of our favorite comic books. What about board games though? Recently there has been a surge of games with the comic book theme, but are they good? We usually can at least list 1 or 2 we really enjoy and you will most likely see them on this list. While making this list I realized we are sorely lacking in strong comic book board games. That is not to take away from the games that did make the list, but rather a challenge that I hope publishers will take on. Besides a few on the list the comic book theme is mostly just pasted on. The lack of worker placement or co-op with traitor element type games surprised me. Anyways the games on the list in my opinion deserve to be there. Each will bring fun to the table in different ways. Some are out of print and some are modern day hits. I hope you enjoy the list and please share your comments. I look forward to hearing them.

#10- Dice Masters (DC & Marvel)

#9- Heroes Incorporated

#8 - Heroes Wanted

#7 - X-Men Alert!

#6 - X-Men Mutant Revolution

#5 - DC Comics Deck-Building Game Series

#4 - Legendary Marvel Series

#3 - Heroscape Marvel: The Conflict Begins (sadly never contiuned)

#2 - Marvel Heroes

#1 - Sentinels of the Multiverse

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Taco's Top 10 Board Game Expansions

10/5/2015

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I am guilty of many board game related stereotypes. A big one is that I buy expansions for basically any game I own. I have tried to slow it down over the years to no luck. Looking at my collection I decided to do my top 10 expansions. This was a much larger task then i thought it would be. After I finally narrowed it down to ten I had to decide how to rank them. The factors that weighed the most for me were does it make the game better, does it add a lot of replay to the game, and how often does it hit the table. These ten really could have been anywhere on this list which really shows how good all ten of these expansions are. I would not play any of these games without the expansion after playing it with and without them. Enjoy my top 10 board game expansions.

#10 - 7 Wonders Cities

#9 - Ticket to Ride: Asia

#8 - King of Tokyo: Power Up

#7 - Tuscany: Expand the World of Viticulture

#6 - Core Worlds: Galactic Orders

#5 - Legendary: Dark City

#4 - DC Comics Deck-Building Game Crisis Expansions 1

#3 - Machi Koro: Harbor Expansion

#2 - Dominion: Prosperity

#1- Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport

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Taco's Top 10 New to me Games of September 2015

10/3/2015

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Welcome to my first top 10 list of new to me games for a month. Each month I will bring you a ranking of the top 10 games that were the first time I got to play them. I would really appreciate to hear everyone's top new games they got to play. This month saw 1 game that I am sure will probably end up on my top 10 games that I enjoy playing and at least 2 on my top 10 games of 2015. Look forward to the comments.