Being new to the Comic Book Yeti team, I’ve loved taking the time to chat in our Discord and getting to know everyone. As most conversations go for me, I asked each of them what their favorite board game is. I thought it would be fun to learn more about these wonderful people and maybe even to broaden their gaming spectrum with recommendations for other games.
Wells: Reviews Editor
Mysterium (Livellud)
“Mysterium is a cooperative murder mystery game that will test your friendships in a positive way! Unlike Mario Party, where the goal is to frustrate, swindle, and rip off your friends as much as possible only for victory to be randomly signed anyway, Mysterium uses your shared experiences to bring friends together and solve a common problem using abstract art and nonsense logic.
Casting the majority of players as psychic detectives and one as a murder victim, each player must work together to solve their own unique scenario, Clue style. Who dunnit, where, and with what, and then decide at the end which scenario is the real one to win or lose as a collective. The victim, unable to speak, assists the detectives by giving them "psychic visions" in the form of cards with abstract, interpretable art.
The beauty of the game is in using your real life relationships to interpret the cards, unpacking how your wordless friend and ally might be interpreting the card and using their feedback to inch closer to the solution. It actively rewards inside jokes, personality quirks, and shared understanding and uses just enough flavor elements, like the plastic crows and grandfather clock countdown timer, to engage the group and create a palatable sense of immersion.”
Purchase Mysterium: HERE
Dan's Recommendation:
Reading Well's reasoning for picking Mysterium brings to mind another game that uses abstract nonsense art cards. Dixit, published by Livellud as well, is a competitive game where a clue giver gives one word to describe the card they are playing. Then each player adds a card of their choice that they think other players would pick as the clue givers card. Points are given for which cards are picked.
Purchase Dixit: HERE
Small World (Days of Wonder)
"Small World is the game you play if everyone's getting a bit too chummy and you need to take them down a peg. Using all your favorite fantasy races and tropes, from Hobbits and Trolls to Amazons and Mermaids, you and your friends will go head to head to conquer a map that feels just a bit too small for everyone to get along peacefully.
Every race has unique powers and is randomly matched with a secondary unique ability, which are then drafted by players at different stages of the game. This gives every game a different feel and outcome, yet it somehow never feels unbalanced. There's not one go-to race or power combination that auto wins the game and point totals are usually pretty tight all the way to the final round.
A fantasy war game constructed of dozens of little skirmishes, confrontations, and plans, it's a colorful and mechanically rich experience that stays fun the first and hundredth time you play it! It's easy to wrap your head around but deep enough to dive into. If you like the hypothetical idea of Risk or Axis and Allies, but hate everything about actually playing those games, Small World might be the world conquering PvP strategy game for you!"
Purchase Small World: HERE
Dan's Recommendation:
Area control isn't a mechanism that I tend to gravitate towards in my board game preferences. But I think Root may be a good one to look into. Each player takes control of a faction, but this time instead of Fantasy tropes in Small World, you are woodland creatures. Each faction has their own powers and abilities and objectives to win. I've only played once and while it took some time to get into the flow, I still enjoyed my play. I've also heard that the app is very well done and a great way to play the game.
Purchase Root: HERE
Jimmy: Senior Contributor & Co-host of the Cryptid Creator Corner Podcast
Love Letter (Z-Man Games)
"This is my favorite tabletop card game, hands down. It's easy to learn and fast to play. You need 2 to 4 players and it's great for ages 10 and up. I recently played with my 11 year old daughter and she destroyed me, winning 3 games in a row. Love Letter is described as a game of risk, deduction, and luck. The concept of the game is that you need to rely on others to deliver your love letter to the princess. Each player is dealt a card showing a character and a number. Characters include a guard, priest, baron, prince, king, and princess, among others. During play, when it's your turn you draw a card and then from the 2 cards in your hand you discard one and perform its action. For example, the priest card lets you look at someone else's hand, the baron allows you to compare hands with another player and the lower number is out of the game. The object is to knock the other players out of the game or survive with the highest number card. If you win a round you get a victory token and the first player to achieve the designated amount of victory tokens wins the game.
Rounds of Love Letter tend to go quickly. I have definitely knocked another player out on my first turn. It's a great game to either start game night, because folks can play a few rounds fairly quickly, or to end game night because it's easy to explain and no one has to get through a big rule book to play one last game before everyone calls it a night. There is also a Star Wars version called Jabba's Palace that I love. The game mechanics are essentially the same, although there is an added element that includes a mission objective that can get you a victory token even if you don't win the round.
I have so much fun playing Love Letter. The cards can be adapted to almost any property and I hope Z-Man Games comes out with many more sets."
Purchase Love Letter: HERE
Dan's Recommendation:
Small card games that are easy to learn and fast to play for Jimmy. How about we go with Coup from Indie Board and Cards. Another deduction card game that adds bluffing into the mix. Players start with two cards and two coins. You declare which card you have to do the action of that card. But are you telling the truth? Get caught lying and you lose a card. Tell the truth and your accuser loses a card. Be the last player with a card and win the game.
Purchase Coup: HERE
Al: Webcomics & Manga Editor
Tsuro (Calliope Games)
"Tsuro - or as my family calls it, Chill Chutes and Ladders - has become a holiday and get together staple of every event that I attend. We play it for hours without getting bored. It's a simplistic and chill game that anyone can pick up easily, but it requires a bit of strategy and planning to really become a master of. No two games are the same, which makes it even better, and the aesthetics of the game are absolutely stunning from the pieces to the board itself. It also allows 2-8 players at a time, so it works for a variety of groups!"
Purchase Tsuro: HERE
Dan's Recommendation:
So you want a chill game with good aesthetics? Tokaido fits the bill. Stonemaier Games recently acquired the rights to this mother of all chill board games. "Travel the famed Tokaido road, visit hot springs, try new food, and paint landscapes." I mean, doesn't that sound pleasant. Now you are scoring points and there can be an element of "take that" to this game by blocking your opponents access to spaces they need to get to, but with so many other options of spaces and their actions, it's not too bad.
Purchase Tokaido: HERE
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