One thing I haven't been able to mention is the games I purchased at Origins. As you look through this list keep in mind that I budgeted myself at $150 and reached that limit exactly.The game I purchased that's been getting the most plays is Battlelore. I haven't played every scenario yet but it has been a great, simple tactical game. Since the scale is roughly skirmishes it plays very quickly for a basic wargame. I also got the Call to Arms expansion and Hill Giant figurine but haven't been able to dig into them.
I've only gotten in one play of Reef Encounter but I enjoyed it immensely. It did take a full game for me to finally grasp all the nuances of this surprisingly complicated area control game. I'm looking forward to playing this again since it does take time to develop an understanding of it.I've enjoyed the new Fantasy Flight edition of Arkham Horror quite a bit but I've been hesitant to add too many of the expansions. A game can get bogged down if too much is added to it. I finally obtained The King in Yellow which mainly adds more encounter cards and effects but also adds a play that can bring the game to a sudden end.
Thanks to the recent Hasbro reprint I obtained a copy of the plastic 3M edition of Acquire at about a third of the price that it would have gone for six months ago. I never played this classic before and I found it to be a tough challenge to choose where to invest.The other old 3M game I obtained was Speed Circuit (though here I got the Avalon Hill edition). In this case it was missing the rules and some of the pieces but substitutes are easily available on Board Game Geek.
I haven't had a chance to play it yet but the game that I'm most looking forward to digging into is Hammer of the Scots. I have been hearing about this strategic game that uses blocks to provide fog of war for years. Hopefully I'll finally get a game in this weekend.Despite being designed for miniatures Babylon 5: A Call to Arms contains enough counters to play out most fleet combat scenarios (there's roughly twenty sheets of heavy counters). So far I have only read through the rules but I wasn't impressed enough to push it to the table. I may eventually try a few solo scenarios but I don't have much hope for it. Also, the fact that I got two things titled "A Call to Arms" is just one of those weird coincidences that color our lives.
Ricochet Robots is a game that divides people. There are those who love it as a logic puzzle and those who hate it for the same reason. I got my copy because I was certain I would be in the first category. Still haven't had a chance to play a game of it year but hopefully soon.I gave up my Magic cards around the time that the initial bubble burst but I wanted a few to play with so I bought a box of a few thousand random cards. Yeah its all going to be junk but since I don't care about playing competitively I have enough to stick with for now. I did have to ask them for some land to play with when I purchased the box.
I don't buy a lot of RPG's since I never have a chance to play them these days but I did get a few books while I was at it. The first is Silver Age Sentinels in the tri-stat edition. Since I obviously have an affinity for superheroes this was a natural choice. In addition some of the designers of it are currently working on the Champions MMORPG which I am very likely to play which made me interested.I also obtained three Transhuman Space books: In the Well, Under Pressure, and Personel Files. I found Transhuman Space setting to be one of the more well defined science fiction settings with the concept of a human society right on the brink of singularity. These three books just about wrap up the set for me.
The first game I got as part of the Rio Grande give away in the Board Room was Guatemala Cafe. It sounded like an interesting light game but I don't expect to get around to playing it any time soon.The other free game from Rio Grande was Halli Galli which I have little interest in and will probably give away as a gift.
I purchased Maginor at the auction thinking it was another game (I was thinking of Magdar from the same publisher and the box was covered by the auction slip so I couldn't see the art). As a result it's low on my list of things to play but I may get around to it at some point. I really don't know much about it other than the fact that it isn't that popular of title.
I won two games in the Board Room drawings and neither of them are worth it. Crocodile Pool Party is a game rightfully considered the worst of Kosmos's two player series. It's nightmarishly terrible and I won't even be able to give it away.The other game I won was Tricky Town which appears to be a simple roll-and-move children's games. It's another one that's going out as a Christmas gift.
