Monthly Rambling: Boardgames I Don’t Play But Won’t Sell
BoardGameCo just released a video about the "10 Games I’m Not Playing But Refuse To Get Rid Of" and I thought I would do a take on my own collection. The criteria I set was the least played boardgames that I have had for at least 5 years in my collection.
GRASS (Plays: 2)According to the box, this "Intoxicating New Card Game" where Players are cast as dope dealers, was nominated in the Top 100 Favourites of Games Magazines from 1980-1986. Not to knock on Grass but the game, similar to games like Old Maid and Happy Families, suffer from lack of strategy and winners largely benefitting from personal luck. Nevertheless, the theme and a higher Player count of Grass makes for an interactive game as long as Players don’t mind poking fun at one another and of course, the pot theme doesn’t put off anyone. I won’t get rid of Grass for largely two reasons, one being the sentimental memories of playing Grass with my siblings, and I’m not sure anyone would want to buy a game like Grass anyway.
KINGS OF AIR AND STEAM (Plays: 3)It’s pick-up-and-deliver with air ships in a steam punk universe that comes with SEVEN unique Player powers! What’s not to love? Well… the Player powers are not as balanced as one would hope and the game skews towards the tactical at higher Player counts. Perhaps like Martin Wallace’s Via Nebula, games of this genre don’t tend towards the mainstream audience which is why it is less well known. I keep saying I need to play more of this game, just not sure why it can’t hit the table more often.
DUNGEON PETZ (Plays: 3)Surprisingly one of my least played Vlaada Chvatil games despite it being one of my favourite of his designs. Known for designing his games to not only ooze but drip with theme, Dungeon Petz had just the right ratio of rules complexity to theme. There is a BGA implementation online of the boardgame and I have tried it but sadly at this stage, the BGA version makes the production quality of the boardgame look like a cheap knock-off. I love Dungeon Petz (especially the pets!), but I feel that I’m saving to play this with my siblings again one day.
CLANS OF CALEDONIA (Plays: 3)I took a risk on Clans of Caledonia when it first came out at Essen Spiel 2017. I would absolutely love to play this game again provided that nobody plays the whiskey drinking Clan Mackenzie. I strongly suspect that Clans of Caledonia suffers from comparisons with Terra Mystica and its younger cousin Gaia Project, both of which I have not played. But the contracts and economic market in Clans of Caledonia are incredibly well done even if not entirely unique. I am just suffering from a non-heavy boardgaming group at the moment.
TROYES (Plays: 4)Troyes was the first boardgame in my collection that utilized dice as workers and has yet to be eclipsed by other boardgames with a similar mechanic. It was cutthroat, clever, mathematical and cleverly incorporated risk taking. Each session with Troyes holds a special place in my memories and honestly the real reason it is hard to table is probably because it is a bit of a lengthy teach and at the same time a bit too true to the medieval art form. Definitely wish I could play more of this.
ORA ET LABORA (Plays: 4)I think Ora Et Labora still holds the title for 'Highest Number of Resources in a Boardgame' at 24 different resources. The number of interactions between resources, buildings and settlements was so convoluted that they had three different appendices for it. It really felt that anything was possible in terms of engine building and that was not even the only way to score points in the game. Planning out your settlements in an optimal manner could lead to massive scores as well. This might be my favourite Uwe Rosenberg game and it is not leaving my collection.
ORLEANS (Plays: 4)Orleans always felt "lacking" without the Trade & Intrigue expansion. Unfortunately, it took so long for me to get the expansion due to lack of availability that by the time I managed to get it years later, the fire for it had died out somewhat. I have played it with the expansion and it is everything I imagined Orleans should be. The collection being the size it is, Orleans does need to compete for table time with the new stuff.
Whilst I would gladly sit down to play any of these listed boardgames, I am happy to let them have a space in my collection even if I don’t manage to. And I realize it is because there is something special in the DNA of these boardgames that gives it the staying power.
Until next time, keep calm and play better.
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