New Year. New Games.
Posted by GamePlaya on 2018.01.10
OK, we're already well into 2018. You should have had time to play that new game you got.
What did you get? What do you think of it?
What's your top-ten list of 2018?
Too soon?
I played
Ethnos with my kids a few nights ago. It was all our first time, and it went smoothly. The game is easy to play, and I expect winning tactics and strategies will have to be parsed over the course of a few games. There is good variability to this one, so your path to victory could be different each time you play.
Whenever I start playing a new game, I begin by viewing how-to-play videos. It usually takes just one video, rarely two or more, for me to get a firm grasp on the concepts, rules, and game-play. There are so many great resources on the Internet, you can learn any game in under an hour. Sometimes, if the game is particular rules-heavy, I'll watch a game-play video, just to watch the game in motion. Otherwise, I like my first experience with game-play to be right in front of me, on the tabletop.
Getting a new game to the tabletop is a great experience. It's like opening a treasure chest-- what's inside could lead to hours of joy (or misery). It's time to punch out all the pieces, handle and examine the miniatures for the first time, and unfold the game board for the first time. It's possible that opening a new game is better than experiencing a new car.
Once the game is open and out, my first goal is to simply explore it. I like to get familiar with it without worrying about winning. I want to see how it works, take it apart and see what makes it tick. I might choose a strategy, or I might play it loosey-goosey, all for the purpose of seeing how one part affects another which affects another.
I hope to be playing some new-to-me games this first quarter of 2018, including
Kingdomino,
Viticulture EE, and
Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
Let me know what's on your list for 2018, and we'll see you at the table!
