Only a few rules and caveats about this post. None of these games (that I know of) are way out of print. They may be between printings but they’re largely available.
- The Masters of Renaissance: Lorenzo Il Magnifico – the Card Game – That was a mouthful. As soon as I saw this game in action, I knew I wanted to play it. The puzzle of which marble to pull to get the optimum resources vaguely reminisces Potion Explosion. The big difference between the two is the card engines you build from those resources. I do find it funny that they dub this “The Card Game” when the actual board game contains more cards!
- Keyflower – I owned this when I FIRST got into the hobby. I bought it because it looked like a meatier Catan. After reading the rules I realized my family would never play it (I hadn’t discovered my local game group yet) so I eventually sold it. Now I want to finally play this gem to see if it’s something I should own (again).
- Clash of Cultures – I LOVE civ games. It’s too bad it’s so hard to get people to play them. I would already own this one if my shelf of opportunity weren’t already littered with similar titles. The main draws of this one are the intuitive sounding tech tree and the fact that there is an actual, physical board to explore (unlike Nations or Through the Ages).
- Prodigal’s Club – Suchy designed two of my Top 10 games of all time (Underwater Cities and Pulsar 2849). That alone makes me want to play all of his games. The theme of trying to spend all your money or influence sounds super unique. This one promises to do some things a little different from your standard Euro.
- At the Gates of Loyang – My desire to play this one lies almost entirely in the recommendation from a fellow gamer whose tastes align almost exactly with mine. She taught me Russian Railroads last year at a local con and it quickly became one of my favorites. That and the designer (Uwe Rosenberg) crates well loved and respected designs. I’ve done very little research into the actual gameplay of this game, but I rarely hate mid-weight Euros of any kind.
- Trickerion – I love a good heavy Euro. I don’t own this one yet because of the complexity. I actually owned another of their games (Cerebria) and sold it thanks to the lack of prospective players. The art oozes theme. Essentially playing out the movie, The Prestige, sounds like a lot of fun.. I know this game has some detractors in the community, but I still want to give it a go.
- Argent: The Consortium – Grown-up Harry Potter? Yes please. I’m not entirely sure about the whole “deducing what the scoring conditions are” things in this one but the theme and gameplay sound fantastic. I can’t wait to vie for the position of headmaster at a magical academy!
- Dice Hospital – This one makes the list because it might be a meatier game my wife would play. Games centered around the medical field maker her more interested to play. That and I LOVE dice placement games.
- Agricola – Agricola is one of those games I feel like I have to play at some point just because its such a classic. Nothing about the game overly excites me. I’m not always a huge fan of punishing games and farming games are a dime a dozen. But enough people love this game that I feel obligated to get it to the table at some point.
- Star Wars: Outer Rim – Another theme I love. I’ve heard this is sort of like Wasteland Express Delivery Service with a Star Wars theme. I can’t wait to get the Millenium Falcon and tear up the galaxy with my loyal Wookie by my side!
