Comments on: Revisiting the Best Board Games of 2020

By: Nick Murray

Nick Murray — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 08:32:15 +0000

In reply to Justus.

Great suggestion, thank you! It was a little more difficult to elaborate in this type of article just because I’m trying to succinctly cover a whopping 60 games. Plus I have provided those kinds of details in previous posts, and I avoid repeating myself for the sake of people who follow everything on our site. But another person on reddit asked for my opinion on alternatives to Dice Throne, so here’s what I just said to them:

Over the years, we probably played and enjoyed 15 or so games of Dice Throne before trying Adventures and becoming disillusioned with the series. Adventures was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back, but ultimately when Unmatched released, I found that I preferred it to Dice Throne (I found the characters and the gameplay to be more interesting).

And then eventually I tried Summoner Wars (Second Edition) and Blue Moon Legends and preferred both of those to Unmatched (both are more strategically satisfying and mechanically sound IMO, even if their presentations aren’t as solid as Unmatched).

But, here’s a good plot twist for you… I just received Radlands from Roxley Games today (same publisher as Dice Throne with a similar 1v1 dueling vibe). We played it tonight, and it was super impressive. So far we’ve seen elegant gameplay, tight competition, and meaningful variety. It’s a gorgeous production in a compact box for a super reasonable price ($25 MSRP for the standard edition). I only have one play under my belt, but it appears that this one will rank right up there with Summoner Wars and Blue Moon Legends for me.

By: Justus

Justus — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 08:15:05 +0000

A small suggestion: whenever you write something like “I eventually realized that other dueling games pack a bigger punch” (that’s just one example but it happens a few times in the post) it helps the audience if you give some examples of games that prefer instead. Not only does it help them calibrate better (“he thought THAT was better?”) but it also helps others find games to their taste. Like, I’m currently looking for a dueling game pack — and I’m also hesitant about yahtzee-like mechanics — but all I know is what not to try…not what to actually try.

By: Nick Murray

Nick Murray — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 02:39:34 +0000

In reply to Erik J.

Ah man, all you guys have 18Chesapeake (Eric does as well) and went on playing without me! I may have sold Scythe, but I did just acquire the Eclipse playmat 😎

Yeah it sucks to be here where the weather was 77 today. Rough stuff.

I gotta play Smartphone Inc again. Maybe with a couple more plays it’ll break down my hard outer shell and find a place in my heart.

By: Erik J

Erik J — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 02:12:32 +0000

Straight shocked to hear that you sold Scythe! Shocked I say!

Regarding 18Ches, you shouldn’t have left! I heard Josh got a group to play and it sounded like they had great fun, and I’ve got a copy on my shelf as well. You know you miss us and the Ohio winter, Nick… 😉

Smartphone is an interesting one. I *really* enjoyed it, but I too hate pervasive phones and inescapable social media. There’s a time and a place, and they are not always and everywhere. And I’m a big theme guy with games. So why was I able to overlook the theme and just enjoy the game? I dunno! Mysteries.