Catching Up on Games (3/22/26)

Despite how long it’s been, there isn’t an overwhelming number of games. We had a few missed days, and one of our days got turned into a movie day instead since the person who picked that day wasn’t feeling liking picking a game.

I was actually the one who recently suggested that if there’s time and no second/third game picked, we could watch a movie instead. I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to watch stuff lately (I’m not as much of a movie person as I used to be), and one of our players use to be huge into movies before board games became his main hobby. And there are tons of movies we’ve talked about watching, but never got around to organizing a movie night (travel distance is a little inconvenient).

In other news, I’m still making the finishing touches on Winds of the North, and I’m really happy with where it’s at and how these last adjustments improve things overall.

BattleTech CCG

This was our first time with the new fan-made decks. They were certainly more fun than the random pile of cards I had previously! This was our closest game yet, easily. My friend is still getting the hang of it, but has come a long way.

I’m glad I went ahead and bought a bunch right away. These will last me a long time.

BattleTech CCG: 9/10. A favorite.

Star Wars: Unlimited

We played our “new” sealed decks (we’re quite behind the releases, but that’s okay). I’m really enjoying the theme and gameplay of pilots.

It’s kind of funny that SW:U and Gundam ended up doing almost the exact same mechanic for their pilots, which are like old-school Magic creature enchantments. But modern games have reined in removal, so it’s less punishing. Pilots are also generally pretty cheap to play, and in SW:U, you can easily gauge when it’s safer to play one.

I’ve got a box of the base set waiting in the wing, and we both want to play some of Secrets of Power. The political stuff sounds interesting, and we both loved Andor.

Star Wars: Unlimited: 9/10. Still going strong for me.

Magic: The Gathering — AtLA

This was my friend’s first taste of Magic, and the first paper match for me in many years. We played a quick round with the demo decks before mixing jumpstart decks. These are, of course, very under-powered decks and easy to pilot. I had considered getting a box, but I don’t know that Magic is going to hit the table that much. Maybe some other time.

Magic: The Gathering: 8/10. A classic game and excellent set.

The One Ring RPG (Strider Mode)

I continued my solo campaign. This session was the journey session. A really good roll got me there in just two attempts. I did a bit of journaling of the travel and setting the scene of my arrival, but next time is the confrontation with the antagonist of the adventure. I’m hoping that once I’ve gotten Winds of the North finished, I’ll have more time for TOR.

The One Ring with Strider Mode: 10/10. One of my new favorites that I can’t wait to get back to.

Xia (plus expansions)

This moved up to my brother’s #1 game, so it’s hit the table frequently. The expansions help a lot by smoothing the chaos and giving the player more agency. It’s still a lot of randomness, and the missions are still a huge pain to try and do, unfortunately. For two of us, it’s a fine game but still a pretty rough experience. Some games, we don’t really get to play.

Xia: 7/10. It’s fine but I wonder if this one might slip down to a 6 for me.

Viticulture (plus Tuscany)

Despite how often my friend picks this game and obsessed over it at one point, it’s not even in his top 25 (though I’ve ribbed him on his ranking practices before). For me, I really enjoy several aspects of it, and Tuscany improves a lot. However, card draws are still going to be quite swingy, especially for how powerful the cards are. We played with an alternative deck, and I liked how the cards worked; there were a lot fewer ways of just accumulating points through cards, and more focus on actually making and selling wine. I look forward to trying the new board, as well.

Viticulture: 7/10. A solid game, even if it’s not one of my favorite themes.

London 2nd Edition

We’ve played this one a few times, and I still enjoy how clean it is for a pretty crunchy economic game. The poverty cubes got me this time. I just couldn’t get the cards I needed to get it under control.

London: 7/10. A quick, crunchy economic game.

Splendor: Pokémon

This was our second game of the Pokémon version. I love what this version does to Splendor to add a bit more theme and more interesting decisions. I’d love an expansion to it, but I don’t see that happening. I really wanted to get a venusaur but wasn’t able to get things lined up just right.

Splendor: Pokémon: 7/10. A much more fun version.

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