Countdown to Gen Con 2020: 90-81
This set of ten features quite a few games that we purchased recently. We bought a few games from IELLO, and were able to support our FLGS in the process. We also bought a discounted bundle from Deep Water Games. We figured they would at least provide some entertainment while we were stuck inside, but so far we've liked them all! Games Featured:
Day 90: King of Tokyo: Dark Edition
Day 89: Charterstone
Day 88: Hanamikoji and Jixia Academy
Day 87: Gravwell
Day 86: High Risk
Day 85: Tokaido
Day 83: Shadows in Kyoto
Day 82: Little Town
Day 81: Shakespeare
King of Tokyo: Dark Edition is BEAUTIFUL. We've been fans of the game for quite some time, as a light-hearted diversion from our more intense games. The new edition adds some features to better balance game play, and tons of new art. Matte blacks are splashed with glossy neon, resulting in frame-worthy components. You can take a look at the assets and experience the game play on Tabletop Simulator, but it's no substitution for owning the physical game!
Our bundle from Deep Water included both Hanamikoji and Jixia Academy. We had no idea that this was the same game with different art. Hanamikoji features women on the cards, and Jixia has men. It's a simple but strategic game, much like Onitama. We think there's something Euchre-ish about it... if you enjoy that card game, you should definitely give this a try.
We haven't played Charterstone since finishing the campaign, but we've given the digital edition a try and have been impressed. We could never otherwise imagine affording endless copies of a Legacy game, just so we could keep trying new tactics to see how the game is shaped. Shakespeare, Attack on Titan, High Risk, and Little Town have all only been played once. The first two just don't happen to work their way into the rotation, and the last two are brand new and will probably be played quite a bit.
Tokaido and Gravwell have both been played frequently. We bought the collector's edition for Tokaido, but elected to keep our standard edition. The same may be true for King of Tokyo... we still opened both, but there's also a temptation to keep the special editions, well, special.