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All of the BGG Spring Awesomeness 2023!!!

Posted by Steph

Conventions

07 Jun 2023

Steph Hodge

(punkin312)

United States
Tennessee

Well, it's no Ginkgopolis...

Please thumb deserving posts

Hia Everyone!

Welcome to BGG Spring!

BGG Spring is special for a lot of reasons. The first reason is that on display are all of the Spiel-nominated games that anyone can just sit and play. It is sort of like the "Hot Games" area found at BGG Fall, but it is just for the Spiel, Kinderspiel, and Kennerspiel des Jahres nominations.

The second reason I love spring is the annual storage sale. The BGG Library culls about 1000 games each year and sells those games to attendees. All of the money earned from this event is donated to the charity Cafe Momentum. More games for me to buy and try out all for a good cause!

The third reason is for all the friends and games! I am sure there are a lot more... but on to the games!

The first game I wanted to highlight in this blog is Challengers! 2. I first learned this game back in April but I wasn't able to talk about it since it hadn't been announced. Fortunately, it has now been announced and everyone can sing the praise.

Since Challengers is nominated for Kennerspiel it was a perfect opportunity to show off Challengers 2 which was provided to me by Z-Man Games for this special event.

Challengers 2 is basically more of the same. It is a stand-alone game where 8 people can play. There are all new decks. The best new feature is the cool player powers everyone will get to use. There are a few tweaks that have been updated since Challengers like the dog card has an ability. But in Challengers 2 extra dog cards are provided for your Challengers 1 set.

Another mode you can now play is the Giga Tournament! You can combine two sets of challengers for one big 16-player experience. The winner and runner-up will now take on an opponent from the other table and then the winners of those matches will face off for the crown.

We made a 14-player game happen during BGG Spring and it was EPIC!

The only available challengers were the tables for the Spiel Des Jahres area so we took over the back of the room and got everything set up. We found willing players. Michael ran the normal Challengers table with 8 new players. I ran Challengers 2 with 5 experienced players and 1 who was just learning. I tried to help everyone where needed. Michael's table was LOVING it and everyone was intense and standing and all around enjoying the game. My table was already pros so I didn't have much to worry about or help with.

The final matches were great and everyone loved it. The player powers were a big success for everyone as well. I made sure to give the new players the easier-to-follow powers so there would be fewer questions.

We were also able to play another 6-player game of Challengers 2 with Aldie which was so much fun. This game is just great and always a winner.

I am so happy we were able to show off the game and find some fans. It is a great convention game since you have an abundance of players all around and can usually find willing participants. Challengers was a huge hit for me last year and this second game is just as awesome as the first one. Definitely worth checking out. I know I am anxiously awaiting the final product!

Microbadge: All the Meeples of the Rainbow blog

The first game of the con that I was able to play was a 2-player game of Ark Nova.

Because I can never get enough Ark Nova, I was just looking around and seeing all these tables playing it that I missed out on, I saw someone carrying the game I asked if he wanted to play and sure enough I was able to find a game!

I love this game and will definitely seek it out whenever I get the chance.

During the convention I was able to teach Carnegie twice!!

This game is just SO DANG GOOD!!! I will always want to play it even if it means teaching it over and over again to willing players.

The first time I taught it I checked it out of the library and just carried it around with a player's wanted sign. I found a new friend Scott who I ended up playing several games with later in the con too. He had just ordered the game but didn't play so was looking to learn.

He loved it! I did a good job teaching I guess because the next day I saw another guy walking around with Carnegie in his hands and I basically invited myself to join their game. I taught that game as well and we were only 3 players. Scott then joined in as a 4th player.

I love when I teach games and people love them enough to play again the next day! Carnegie is one of the best games to come out in recent years and I will be singing this praise for a long time. I got in 2 games! I was so happy playing this again.

New friend Scott said he had only been playing games since October and that BGG Spring was his first convention. I was impressed by his breadth of knowledge about board games in general and that he is already on the track to culling his collection as he refines his tastes. I think it took me about 4-5 years before I was ready to cull a game.

He had a long list of games he wanted to learn so I ended up teaching him another one of my favorites A Feast for Odin.

The table next to us had it set up but was just starting Ark Nova with 4p, so they let us borrow the table and game so I could teach him. I was able to teach and play in a couple of hours and the game of Ark Nova next to us wasn't even halfway, I don't think. It was looking rough over there but they seemed to be enjoying it.

I think he ended up enjoying Odin, but not sure it was a favorite. He was definitely pleased to have learned it and I was excited to get to play! Always a game I would want to get to the table whenever possible.

I later wanted to teach Scott Mosaic, but there were no copies to be found so we got to play Space Station Phoenix.

This was a 3-player game since Michael was around to join in!

I have been loving my plays of this so was excited to play it again. I love seeing all the different hubs and possible strategies. I just can't help but build my station each game. I try to focus on that and it has often won me the game. I won by a landslide in this game. I think Scott still enjoyed it though.

Still glad we got to play!

Later in the convention, I was looking for a game and Michael was in a Battlestar game so I ended up teaching Tiletum to 3 players.

It was definitely a long and rough game since the actions were entirely clear to some and the AP was definitely present.

I tried to be as quick as I could on my turns since I basically knew what I wanted to do anyway.

I got behind early and couldn't get up in the turn order so it hurt my gameplay in general. I definitely didn't win that game! Still, always a good one to get to the table.

Nominated for Kennerspiel Des Jahres is the fabulous Planet Unknown.

I love that this was set up on so many tables and that so many people got to check it out and play during the convention.

I taught the game twice and the first time I played the basic board like everyone else. The second time I played advanced board and tracks and it definitely leveled the playing field a lot!

This is a game that can be taught and played in 60 minutes with any player count up to 6. It is just brilliant and everyone needs to play it. I actually love Challengers as well, but I hope this one wins the award. It would be super well-deserved.

Again, this is a game I wish I just got to the table more so I was happy to play it twice during the convention.

Nominated for Spiel Des Jahres is one of my absolute favorites from last year called Next Station: London.

This game should absolutely win the award because I love it so much! I wonder if I love it because of how amazing it is on BGA? I don't know, but I love playing it in person and online so whatever way works!

I taught the game twice including once to Candice. I think this was the only game we got to play this time around, but she dug it. I am not sure anyone loves the game as much as I do, except for all the fanatics on BGA. Anyway, I hope this one wins!

Aldie was checking out the Kinder games and asked if I wanted to join. Michael was cold and ran to the room to get his hoodie and missed out on Carla Caramel. New to me!

This is a game for like 3-year-olds and it shows. There are no real choices and Michael is glad he missed out on this one. Really nothing to write home about. I am a bit surprised that it was nominated for Kinderspiel. I didn't care for it.

Next up was Mysterium Kids: Captain Echo's Treasure. New to me!

This was my favorite of the bunch. I love the Mysterium games. This is different because in order to give clues you have to with sound and not sight using a drum. It was really interesting. You can make the difficulty harder. I think that it might feel similar from play to play, but it was a neat game.

The last one was called Gigamons. New to me!

This kid's game is a take on memory. When you make a match you will claim the tokens and possibly have an action to do. You are trying to collect 3 tokens of the matching type in order to claim the big standee gigamon.

It is once through the tile deck and the game will end. It was fine, and I can see the appeal if you are a kid. My guess is that this one will win Kinderspiel. Not a game I would have to return to though.

The first night of the con Aldie had nana to play. I think we played 3 games of it. We were playing with 5 people and I could tell even on the first night of the con people were tired. There is a memory element to the game, and if you can't remember information, you won't do very well in nana.

We were all laughing and having a good time though. It's a cute little game.

Because we were enjoying nana, Aldie went to get That's Not a Hat. New to me!

This is a pure memory game. You only have to remember the cards on the table. They will be moving left and right and when it shows up in front of you, you will have to try and remember if what that person is telling you is true. You can just accept it and all is merry but if you forget and get called on it, then you will lose a point. You don't want to get it wrong!

It is silly fun for late-night gaming and we had a blast.

Aldie wanted to play one more game called High Score. I learned this a while back and didn't love it, but also didn't mind playing again.

Silly push-your-luck dice game. I think it just drags on with 5 players so I would choose to play it with fewer players next time. It is a fine game though.

A lot of the convention I was just wandering around looking for players wanted flags or teachers wanted flags so I could help teach games. I taught A LOT of games.

I was pleased to join in on and teach Akropolis as one of the first official games of the convention. I got to meet new friends Mike and Brandon who are regular Spring attendees. I am so glad I got to hang out with them and become friends with them.

Mike has an Etsy store for his woodworking Dice towers and meeple trays and more!

Mike was telling me that he comes to the con every year and gets people he plays with to sign the dice tower that he made. Super friendly and inviting.

I was so pleased I got to play this game with them and teach them another one the next day. Mike was so nice and thanked me for teaching some games by giving me a dice tower and the meeple trays he was using! I love them so much!! I made him and Brandon both sign the tower too.

Definitely a cool highlight from the convention, so I am really happy I sat down for a great game of Akropolis! Always a winner when I teach that one!

Trays

You can find his store here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1473148550

I was invited to play a game of The Lost Code. New to me!

I love deduction games so of course I wanted to play this. it was clear that the guy teaching the game loves deduction games too and is very good at them. The other guys were not the best at deduction games.

I found this game to be pretty punishing if you aren't good at the genre. Even though I am pretty good but I couldn't catch the leader once we hit a certain round. Not sure this is a game I would seek out for the collection.

I got to play a few games with Bethany and Aron! YAY! Finally, we found some time to play and they were willing gamers. I picked out som good ones I thought they might enjoy. We started with Savannah Park.

I wasn't sure if their son would join in and this is a good one for the family. He ended up not playing with us, but we still carried on and played because it is a fun game!

Next up was Nidavellir. Any chance I get to teach this one I will! Such a fantastic game from last year and one I will be playing for a long long time to come. It is already a classic in my book, I love it so much! Everyone really liked it too, so it was a success.

Finally, we played a 5-player game of Marvel: Remix.

Pretty sure this didn't go over very well, but at least it was fast and harmless! They can't be winners (even though it is a winner to me!)!

I went along to help sort the Storage Sale games and afterward, I asked Aldie if he wanted to play a game. He chose a few off the shelf Fresh Fruits was the first one. New to me!

15 minute timer on the box, and thank goodness since it was just not a good game. Everything is so limiting in this game since you need to have a specific order of fruits and specific locations. Eh - give me Kingdomino any day of the week over this one!

Next up we played a 6-player game of Not That Movie!.

This game is always a crowd-pleaser. I really wish they named the game differently. I know this would win some party game awards if people could find it and play it. It is just so much fun and I would highly recommend it to everyone!

Later in the convention, we were waiting on a specific time since things were shutting down. But we had a few hours and so we played a few games with Lee and Steven.

lee had a game called 静かなる論理 (Quiet Logic). New to me!

This is definitely more of an exercise than a game. It is a 9-card micro game with double-sided cards. Your goal is to figure out the card that is missing from the table. It is a tough logic puzzle and you will sit in silence until someone thinks they have it and will check. It is silly but I liked trying to figure it out.

Steven had heard about KuZOOkA and wanted to learn more about it.

Well, I was the perfect person to ask! I have been LOVING my plays of KuZOOka and Michael has also been enjoying his plays. Fortunately, I have gotten to play it at nearly all the conventions this year and I will hope to keep playing!

So much fun! We lost so hard but we had a great time losing! I only wish I played it more during the con, I just didn't think of it!

The game I checked out of the library was Swindler. New to me!

I love the push-your-luck element in the game, but I also haaate it! It is frustrating when you can't pull anything right and you are really really badly losing the game. It is tough, but I can see the fun in the game. I would just say I would rather play Thebes.

Trae invited me to join him and Mariana for a game of Waters of Nereus. New to me!

It was nice not to have to teach a game, but it was extra nice that i got to play with Trae and Mariana for the first time ever! I have known them a while but we never caught a game together before now.

This is a cute simultaneous action selection game where you are collecting treasures to unlock cool things! It was cute and fun. Not sure why I hadn't heard of it before, so I was glad to learn a new one. It was fun.

It was really close to closing time, but I still invited myself to a game of The Isle of Cats.

Definitely a game I don't get to the table enough but I always enjoy my plays!

I just love those polyomino cats! It was a great way to end the con.

BUT WAIT! There is more! After dinner and basically, everyone had left. Around 11pm Mihir was still awake and ready to show his prototype to me and Michael. His Prototype called Raas: A Dance of Love. New to me!

This is a beautiful prototype he has made. Dice everywhere that you will be drafting from the board. It is very puzzly and you will want to figure out the best path to get what you want and need as well as find the love connections. It is pretty cool and I think the theme is unique and vibrant. I am very much looking forward to the final production if Mihir can work out a deal with a publisher!

THAT was a great way to end a convention. So much fun.

Monday night late at night we nearly shut the room down but still 3 tables were going! Until next Spring!

Don't forget to pick up my Awesome Gaming Calendar 2023! https://stephsshop.ecwid.com/

Thanks to Dfube, I now have a chance to sell some cool All the Meeples of the Rainbow shirts!
If you enjoy the blog and want to support me and my good friend Dfube you can check them out here: https://itsyourroll.games/collections/all-the-meeples-of-the...

New to the Collection:
I basically bought out all of the remaining Storage Sale items... it was nuts!

Thanks for following along!

Happy Gaming!!!

-Steph

All images in this post are copyrighted, owned, and controlled by Steph Hodge Photography, unless otherwise noted.
Please contact me if you would like to purchase or use my images in any way.
Disclaimer: I am a contract Employee of BGG. I review games that are provided by the publisher. I am not compensated for my blog content.
Thank you.

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Wed Jun 7, 2023 11:00 am

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The Glorious Gathering of Games and Gamers!

Posted by Steph

Conventions

01 May 2023

Steph Hodge

(punkin312)

United States
Tennessee

Well, it's no Ginkgopolis...

Please thumb deserving posts

Hia Everyone!

Don't forget to pick up my Awesome Gaming Calendar 2023! https://stephsshop.ecwid.com/

The past week and more I was fortunate to spend my time at The Gathering of Friends where I got to play 83 games and learn 50!

It was an epic week of gaming and hanging out with friends. Definitely one of the best weeks of the year and I always look forward to attending.

Since I will be featuring most of these games in my new-to-me blog post, I won't get into most of the games in detail, but you will get a lot of photographs and a few fun session reports.

I think one of the biggest games of the con was Hooky.

This game was being played all over the Gathering. I saw it at least once a day and on multiple tables often. Hooky is a game that was designed by James Miller who passed away suddenly last year. It was designed for the Friends of Aseema organization dedicated to supporting the Aseema Charitable Trust of Mumbai, India. All of the kids' names in the game are actual names of kids in the program. How sweet!

Hooky is a deduction game where you are trying to figure out the 3 kids that are playing hooky.

Each kid represents a letter A-Z and each player will have a hand of letter cards.

During the game, you will ask other players a 5-letter word and they have to tell you how many instances there are in the word they have in their hand of letter cards. For example, if you gave the word hooky and you only have the letters H and O then you would say qty 3.

You get to hear all the other clues and you just try to deduct the information.

This game is easy and smart. I really like the deduction aspect of the game. In both games I played so far, I really thought I had it all figured out, but I really didn't. It is a challenge!! Deduction games are always on my to-try list.

Michael and I got to play it on the live stream last night! I hope we can show this one to many more people. We both really enjoy it!

Smoox was here!! He wanted to show me the newest game coming from TBD and is currently on Kickstarter called Taiwan Night Market.

Since you need more players to really get the full experience we played 4 player game with Jason.

In Taiwan Night Market, you are trying to set up stalls to gain customers. The bigger the stall the more customers you could attract and the greater payout you can gain.

The first thing you do is bid for different plots to set up shop. You can win up to 2 locations each round and set up a shop. With the expansion that is still in development, you can also gain a benefit that will help during the game either as a one-time bonus or an ongoing bonus.

You want to bid as little as possible to try and win the best plots. If you can join your plots together to create one big storefront then you will gain more income from the customers. The bigger the better! You also have to plan for the different customers that are en route down the path. You will have some secret knowledge of who the customer will be.

The game is vicious and is not for the light-hearted. You will have to dig in deep and take what you can when you can. Don't let players get a good deal on good plots. It kind of reminded me of Chinatown with how mean it can be.

I like the easy rules, I like the bidding on different plots, and I wish there was a bit more control over the customers and how they visit shops.

Since we played it once late at night, I really need to play it again soon now that I understand the flow better. I am so glad I was able to try it out and get in a game with Smoox. Always a fun time playing with him and seeing his new games! be sure to check out the Kickstarter.

I was so excited to check out In the Footsteps of Darwin and I saw it on the stacks to play so I pulled it out!

I knew this would be a lighter game so suggested it later at night when we were all a bit brain-dead.

Sure enough, this was a pretty easygoing game and so very beautiful. I swear all French publishers/games are the most gorgeous games out there. They value beautiful artwork and this game is stunning.

In the game, the boat is moving around the 3x3 grid of tiles. When it is your turn you will select one of the tiles in the row where the boat is and depending on how far in you take a tile, you will move the boat that many spaces for the next player.

The tiles you collect will go into your journal and you will want to collect many types of animals from all continents. If you can collect the same type and same continent you will collect scoring tiles that will help you score even more points.

This game is elegant and relaxing. Can you collect the tiles you are shooting for or will others swipe them away before you can reach them? It is simple but also a game you will remember.

I really enjoyed my first play and will be looking forward to playing it again really soon! I definitely recommend checking it out.

Got to check out a new party game called Zero to 100.

We had 6 players and 3 teams of 2. The idea is to get rid of all of your cards. The cards have a question on one side and a number on the back. The goal is to select one question that you think the answer is the closest to the number in the center of the table.

If you have the answer farthest away you will have to take a new question card and your answer becomes the new number for the center.

It is a small box game and sort of reminds me of Wits & Wagers but plays out much quicker.

I have had a great time playing the few games I have played so far including our play on the Livestream. This is definitely a keeper and one I hope they make a bunch of expansions for! They have to!

Designer Dávid Turczi was insistent that we try out his new game called Voidfall. New to me!

This is a HUGE game with a lot going on. I think there are approx 1 billion icons. I think at one point David said that there was an icon guide that was 4 pages long... I mean wow it is a lot to look at. Sort of reminded me of the big heavy Lacerda games. This game was created for those fans.

Voidfall is really a Euro-y monster. There is hand and resource management as well as some area control and civilization building. It is a beast and it took David 2 hours to teach us the game the ins and outs.

There are a lot of great mechanics in the game and I really enjoyed a lot of what I was doing, but it is just A LOT. A 2 hours rules teach is too long for me to really get into the game well enough and enjoy my time. That said, I would give it another go, but it might just be too much for me in the end. Hard to say at this point, but I think this game will do well for those who really want to dig deep into a game. There is a lot to unfold and discover here with so much replay in the variable setups.

One of the last games we played during the con was Stationfall. New to me!

This is a game I have been hearing a lot about recently. So many of my friends have been enjoying it and I knew that this was a game Michael would absolutely love.

I was so happy to catch Geoff before he started up a game so we could join in. I love learning games from Geoff because he knows all the insides and outs. When Geoff loves a game he LOVES a game. This is a game Geoff loves and he decked it out in awesomeness.

I think Geoff said he played it 7 times during the convention so he was showing it to everyone.

Stationfall is a game where everyone has their own objectives. Since there are so many characters on the ship, you don't really know who is who and each game will be different because you can mix and match the different characters.

Since you have a choice of roles in the game, you will also have friend that you either have to try and eliminate or save.

Each turn you will do 2 actions with one of the characters on the ship, it doesn't have to be your own character either. Ideally, you will keep your role hidden so people don't know what your actual objectives are.

This is a game of chaos. Toward the end of the game, you will want to reveal your role so others won't be able to use your character to take actions since they will often be against your objectives.

I didn't do too badly in my first play, but I thought it was pretty obvious what I was trying to do. It wasn't obvious to everyone else though. The game is super challenging. I am just not good at getting things done in a discrete manner.

As I expected this is a game Michael absolutely loved! Totally right up Michael's alley. I enjoyed the game well enough and would definitely want to play again. It is a solid game and is perfect for the right time and place. I am not a super fan like Geoff or Michael, but it's good.

We had an epic 5 player game of Linko!.

This game continues to provide the laughs and the fun. It is easily one of the best card games I own and will always play it. Poor Larry and his 3s. It will forever be an ongoing joke. So good!

I got in 5 games of KuZOOkA! I was super pleased that Geoff and everyone loved it so much. I saw it getting played a lot during the con. I am so happy I brought it to teach everyone. It is a fantastic game and deserves the love!

Aldie wanted to show me a new party game called Sides.

It is a cooperative game in the realm of Just One, where you are trying to clue in the word on the card to the guesses using another word that starts with specific letters in the lineup of cards. It is tough but totally fun. I enjoyed my few plays.

I got in 4 games of Tichu! MOAR TICHU!

A game I knew Michael would enjoy that we had to play was Ready Set Bet. We had a big group playing which makes it even more fun.

When I play this game I clean up big or I end with nothing. This time I was the big winner with over $100. Gotta get that payout whenever possible. I like the side bets which can pay out big if they hit.

Always fun playing this one.

Thanks Scott for the image!

The time has come when I learned Michael's all-time favorite game called Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game.

I wanted to play this game with a great group and I knew I would get a great group during The Gathering.

Michael and I recently watched through all of the series so I was ready to go. I got to play Adama and he is just the best. The game is better if you do know the show, but it is also very thematic so if you don't know the show you will get a good feeling for it.

The game is really good, but for me, I am really not into buffing and trying to figure out the bad guys. Getting backstabbed isn't fun for me. I am definitely mixed on how I feel about this one.

I always love playing new prototypes by Richard Breese and this year I got to try The Glade. Puzzly new game in the realm of Qwirkle.

The Transcontinental

Pick-a-Pepper

Magic Trick

Wolfgang always loves to play A Feast for Odin and knows that I will definitely play with him! Love getting in more plays with all expansions. Love love love it!

insect inc.

Unicorn Fever

David wanted to play Mosaic: A Story of Civilization late one night and why would we disagree!? Such a great game and I am glad we were able to get in at least one game of Mosaic.

Applejack

Aegean Sea

Balloon Pop

Lisbon Tram 28

Candice wanted to teach us Sol: Last Days of a Star.

Fujiyama

Where there is Stefane there will be a game of 7 Wonders: Armada. We love it! I taught Armada to everyone since it had been a while or they hadn't played before. It was an epic 6 player game and I am always thankful to play in the world championship!

Roll 'em Fold 'em

Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum

The Green Fivura

A favorite from this year I got to play IN PERSON which is Rauha! We played with 5 players and it didn't go over well. I will say it is better with 3, but I still love it and definitely need a copy.

A Walk in the Park

Been wanting to try Caldera Park since I heard about it. I love Savannah Park and this is very similar but different. Very much enjoyed it!

A favorite from last year that I taught to Edward called Next Station: London. A game I wouldn't turn down!

Annual game of Das Labyrinth des Pharao that Dan and I managed to get in!

Citytrip Brugge

Octiles

Clever 4Ever

Smoox gave me a special boardgame edition of Vegetable Stock so I had to play that a few times and there is always time for regular Vegetable Stock too. Such a great game!

Not That Movie!

Joe mentioned he wanted to play a game of Ark Nova with me!

We played a 2 player game and it moved along nicely. He had a lot of power in the early game but I think he ended up petering out a bit so I had a good comeback. It was close though!

Nemesis

It was another EPIC game of Nemesis! I am glad we got in at least one game. I always ask Scott to play since he loves it too. Michael loves running games of nemesis so that is fun. I saw it being played earlier in the day with newbies. Both of them wanted in on a second game with us later that night. Everyone played well together and 4/5 players won the game. The one player that didn't win wanted me dead! How rude.

Turn 3 the Queen was out and dead. We were on it. If the queen shows up early, I feel like we have a better handle on the situation. It worked out.

King's Pouch

We really enjoyed Encyclopedia enough to buy it during the flea market!

Dorfromantik: The Board Game

Beneeta insisted we play a game with her reallllly late one night so I suggested Marvel: Remix.

Tick-Tock Orders

Karambolage

The very very cute かばんにいっぱい (Through the Woods)

Berried Treasure

nana

Friedemann Friese comes to the states and visits B&N and picks up a bunch of games. I had the pleasure of playing all those games with him in an epic gamenight. We played like 10 games and as a bonus they were all terrible so Friedemann left them with me to take.

Okay, they weren't all terrible, but a lot of them aren't games I will be revisiting. I will have my full evaluation in my New to Me blog next week.

Even if the games weren't the best, we had a great time playing them and we laughed a lot. It was one of the best nights of gaming I had during the whole Gathering. So much fun!

we started with Tortuga

Pigs on Trampolines

This game was the most fun we had from the stack. I loved playing this quick dexterity game trying to bounce pigs into the center. So cute!

Ghosted

Agatha Christie: Death on the Cards

I had to play the murderer! Man, that is a hard game to do well at if you are the traitor.

Really Loud Librarians

The Number

Little Tavern

I got to teach The Magnificent and I love this game so much!! Always happy to play this one.

Bullet♥︎

Delicious

Pilgrim

I got to be on the trivia team with Michael, Shrey, Brian, Joe H, and Scott! We did fairly well. Always a fun event put on by Dan and Rachel.

Here are some fun pics from around Niagara Falls!

Michael and I went Minigolfing with a cool magic theme and fun music. It was great!

Ryan and I always have to take a convention picture, this is what we came up with this time!

Other fun photos!

Thanks to Dfube, I now have a chance to sell some cool All the Meeples of the Rainbow shirts!
If you enjoy the blog and want to support me and my good friend Dfube you can check them out here: https://itsyourroll.games/collections/all-the-meeples-of-the...

New to the Collection:

Thanks for following along!

Happy Gaming!!!

-Steph

All images in this post are copyrighted, owned, and controlled by Steph Hodge Photography, unless otherwise noted.
Please contact me if you would like to purchase or use my images in any way.
Disclaimer: I am a contract Employee of BGG. I review games that are provided by the publisher. I am not compensated for my blog content.
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Mon May 1, 2023 11:00 am

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One Amazing Retreat to Gamers Ranch for the FIRST EVER A.T.O.M. - 2023

Posted by Steph

Conventions

10 Apr 2023

Steph Hodge

(punkin312)

United States
Tennessee

Well, it's no Ginkgopolis...

Please thumb deserving posts

Hia Everyone!

I was invited to A.T.O.M 2023 a new retreat that was held by Queen Games, Eagle-Gryphon Games, and Inside Up Games. It stands for Agora for Tabletop Opinionated Minds.

A bunch of content creators were invited to partake in this fabulous weekend at the Gamers Ranch in Bland, MO. The Gamers Ranch is a super cool place that sleeps ~30 people and it has everything from a huge library of games, miniature painting, legos, pinball, and anything geeky to fishing by the lake and disc golf. The place is huge and makes for a fantastic getaway with your 30 closest friends.

We had a fantastic group of gamers join us this weekend.
Eagle-Gyrphon Games - Randal Lloyd and Vital Lacerda to help show off his upcoming designs.
Queen Games - Travis Reynolds and Dave
Inside Up Games - Conor McGoey and Chris Walters

Content creators who came were

All the Meeples of the Rainbow - Me and Michael
Blue Peg Pink Peg - Robb & Christina Rouse, and Brandon Nall
Board Game Coffee - Mark & Brittany Maia
Danielle Standring
Grant's Game Recs - Grant Lyon
Little Meeples - James Correia
Man VS Meeple - David & Elisha Waybright, Ryan Schoon, and Emily Adrulis
Our Family Plays Games - Mik, Starla, & Grant Fitch
Rolling Dice & Taking Names - Marty & Vanessa Connell
Tantrum House - Will Meadows and Jonah Dew

During the weekend, I managed to play 30 games and learn 12! I do think I played more than any other person, mostly because I am crazy and wanted to take every second I could to enjoy my time.

The weekend was for learning about the new games coming from each of the publishers and forming bonds with new friends, and of course, creating content. My content has always been pretty straightforward. I write about the games I play, everything else I do is gravy. My goal is to always PLAY ALL THE GAMES! Most of you know this by now, so it is no surprise.

During the weekend, it was fun to see others have tripods up at all times and record videos for all the different events we had, and host different interviews. Make sure to follow along with all of the cool creators I listed above to see the amazing content they have created and will continue to create.

In this blog post, I plan to highlight several of the publisher's games, but of course, I played others as well, so I gotta cover everything! But first here are some cool group shots and other pics from Gamers Ranch! 10/10 location, everyone needs to visit!

Michael and I drove through St. Louis to get to the Gamers Ranch. I had to grab a pic of the arch! I hadn't seen it before.

Tons of cool pics from the weekend! Thanks to many creators for letting me use their pics of me to show off some of the fun happenings.

(photo credit Little Meeples - above)

(photo credit to Ryan Schoon - above)

(photo credit Little Meeples - above)

Lacerda signed all of his games in the library!

We played a group activity called Mall Night Long which has everyone divided into 2 teams. As a group, we had to decide on various answers together. It is definitely a party game supposed to be like a game show. Tons of categories. It was a neat exercise but in general not my type of thing. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

Did someone say Karaoke? Well, Michael and I love to sing so we joined in on the fun for that event. I think everyone voted that Michael won the best song performance with a little Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Maybe 8 pinball machines were available to play. I tried most of them, but I am just not very good at them. I was definitely decent at this Star Wars table though. I played that one the most.

(photo credit to Ryan Schoon - above)

Late night Saturday night, Will and Jonah ran Kahoots for anyone who wanted to join. Kahoots is more my jam since it is always fast and multiple-choice. I loved that they created a few board game-themed games and I did end up winning the Board Game Covers. I wasn't even close to winning the other games we ended up playing. I really do enjoy Kahoots though! I remember playing it at Tantrum Con a few years ago and it was a blast.

Inside Up Games was there showing off a bunch of games and their featured games were Earth, Draft & Write Records, Perch (prototype), Shank (prototype), and the first one I am about to talk about called Terminus. New to me!

Terminus is their biggest/heaviest game to date and is currently on Kickstarter now. (Don't wait, back it now!)

Terminus is a rondel game where you are managing resources to build routes and stations to gain points from objectives. The goal after 3 rounds is to have the most points.

Each round consists of 3 laps around the board. You can move as far around the board as you want when it is your turn, but obviously, the further you go the most spaces you skip over and the faster the round will end for you. A lot of actions will cost resources or money, so it is vital that you maintain your money and that you pick and choose what you want to do wisely. Each location space has a choice of 2 or 3 possible actions to do, but you can only ever select one action to take, even if you want to perform everything there. These are the tough choices.

As the game plays out, there will be development showing up on the game board and if you have a lobbyist there you will have even more choices for specific locations, and they are often better than the general actions. It is nice to have those small extras to think about.

The resources are in a market structure and will be cheap for the first players to get there, but as resources get bought they will be more expensive, however, as they are spent they become cheaper again.

This is a game all about optimization and opportunities. You need to grab cheap resources when possible because everything is useful in some way! Points are hard to come by so you really must plan for gaining those points and you simply can't do it all. There has to be a focus.

Our play during ATOM was a brutal 4 player game. We all started in a central location except Dani who was close to the center but not exactly the center like the rest of us. We were cutting each other off left and right. I was laser-focused on what I was trying to accomplish and managed to get it mostly complete until the very end when I was shut out of everything I needed.

Let's just call this first play a learning game for all of us. Michael did end up winning because I wasn't fast enough to take the location I needed and that he also needed. I didn't deny him, and I should have rushed it. #mistakesweremade

Since that one play, I have played it twice more since I was able to take a prototype home with me. I taught the Tuesday night group and it went over very well with 3 players. I have to say, for my play style, I much prefer Terminus with a lower player count. I think both Amy and Wendy enjoyed the game I taught and would both play it again.

Michael and I then played it on our Livestream (videos below) and that also altered Mciahel's opinion of the game slightly. We both agree with fewer players suit our play style more. When you play 4 or 5 players the board is super tight and very cutthroat. Sure, many groups out there will enjoy that player interaction, but it is a bit much for my taste. I like the board being a little more open and you can sort of play your own game without worrying too much about the other players.

In any case, I have really enjoyed my plays so far and it is a beautiful game. I am very excited to see this one come to life during the Kickstarter and final production. Definitely worth checking out.

(photo credit to Will Meadows - above)

Queen Games was there featuring the City Collection including Marrakesh (Regular and Essentials Editions), Cuzco, and the one I am about to talk about called Vienna. New to me!

I first played La Isla back in 2014 when it came out. I didn't think much about it since, but I was still very interested in checking out the new Vienna which had a major facelift in both cosmetics and mechanics.

Vienna is now a bigger game in terms of actual size, but also gameplay. In Vienna, players are spies trying to collect artifacts. If you can gather the most points at the end of the game you will win.

The coolest and most challenging aspect of this game is the multi-use cards. Each turn you will grab 3 cards and allocate them to your board to either use for the ability at the bottom, for gathering a resource, or for pushing the artifact track. The artifact track is increased the artifact's value at the end of the game and also triggers the detective to move along the roof which will eventually trigger the end of the game.

Each turn once you place the cards, you will activate them in order. You can have up to 3 cards in your supply with the powers. You will also have to replace a card each turn. Picking and choosing these powers is critical to gaining combos and rewards for your turns. It is always fun to try and find the best cards, and make sure you keep the ones that are really helping you during the game.

After you do that, you will gain one resource from your second card selection. The third thing you do is either send out your guy to a city location or gather 2 identical resources. Generally, you send your spy out and you can gain or complete missions if you are in the right type of city location. Finally, you will advance an artifact track.

When you place a guy in space, if you have enclosed an artifact with your guys in all surrounding locations, you can claim the artifact and some points.

Artifacts are critical to your success, so you want to gain them whenever possible.

This was a game Michael and I learned just for 2-players. I am sure with more players involved the board will get a bit more crowded and the race to collect artifacts will be tighter. I really enjoyed the 2-player game though. I liked not being pressured to get things done as quickly.

We were also playing with the advanced rules that give a little more to think about during the game. You can also gain upgrades which help with the random card draw a little.

Michael did end up kicking my butt. Michael found some killer combos and scored so many points off of his ability cards. I was lagging behind, but still did okay.

I think this is a great addition to the city collections. I can't speak to the actual differences from this and La Isla, but the games are very different from what I remember. Super pleased that we got to check it out. It ended up being Michael's top favorite game that he learned in March! Definitely worth checking out. You can even Late Pledge for Vienna and Cuzco on Kickstarter now!

Eagle-Gyrpon Games flew in the man himself for this special event so Lacerda was teaching a bunch of his prototypes including, Inventors, Speak Easy, and the one I am about to talk about called House of Fado. New to me!

Many people have heard about Bot Factory (more on this game below), and how Bot Factory is like a bite-sized Kanban: Driver's Edition. Well, I am here to explain that House of Fado is like a bite-sized The Gallerist.

It has been a long time since I first played Gallerist (THAT'S HOW I MET SHREY!!!) so I can't speak to the actual differences, because I know there are a lot of differences. However, House of Fado is a beautiful new game.

I first learned what Fado even was from Fado: Duetos e Desgarradas a small card game and found it intriguing because I didn't know this type of music existed. I love learning about different cultures, so this game, like all Lacerda games, is heavily thematic.

During the game, you are looking to gain the most points by gaining stars and increasing your musical talents, and creating buzz for the artists with the billboards. While the game is going to abruptly when once 3 stars are taken, there is still a final scoring that will happen and you will add up all of your points. I love that it is not a race!

You will start the game with 3 player pawns that will move around the board taking action. You only ever activate one action on your turn, and you cannot visit a site where you already have a pawn. Like in Gallerist, when you go to a location and bump someone off, that player can gain a small benefit, if there is a benefit to gain. Each space will have a possible reward to gain, but sometimes it will cost money or might not be an action you care to perform.

My recollection is that you have only one pawn in Gallerist that is moving around the board. I love that in this there are 3 pawns you can choose from. This way, you can choose to leave someone in place if you were hoping for a particular reward, someone will eventually kick that pawn out.

Well, what are you doing in the game? The game is focused on your restaurant and the various musicians you can recruit to the band to help draw in customers. You want to bring in customers and those customers will buy your food and give your musicians some encouragement.

Musicians are costly though, the more experienced they are, the more money it will cost you to hire them.

Once you have a full restaurant you might select the action to close the place, and everyone leaves. At that time you can fire the musicians for fame, or you can keep them around and see them gain experience the next night.

If you have a critic in your restaurant, then you will level up the quality. The more you level up the more you can charge per plate of food and possibly earn a gold star if you level up high enough!

During the game, you will also work on different music pieces that will be worth points at the end of the game, and the first to complete 3 will gain a star. You might also advertise your musicians and that will gain you a lot of points at the end of the game for a small area control aspect. If you ever level your musician up to level 6 then you immediately gain a star for that type of performer.

There are a possible 5 stars to be won in the game, and they are all big points if you can manage to get some, but again, the game is only until 3 stars have been claimed.

The game is smooth and IMO ready for production. It just needs some spicy artwork, but I think this was a super solid game. had we actually played this one in March, it would have easily made my Top 10 list.

I loved getting to play this one with Michael, Mik, and Starla. We had a bit of a breakup in the middle of the game because of the various content creation happening. But, we were able to complete the game. I just think it went a little long because of the interruptions. Starla didn't care for the game, but I really liked everything about it. Of course, the first play is always going to go sideways since some rules were still in flux and/or missed when explaining happened. We got the gist and that is what counts. I certainly know enough that I will want to own this game.

The play is supposed to run for about an hour. So it is a bite-sized Lacerda game with lots of hard choices. I honestly LOVE that he has decided to create this smaller line of games. They are so accessible and fun to play. This is one everyone should be excited for! Now to move on to Bot Factory!

(Photo credit to Blue Peg Pink Peg - above)

I got to check out Bot Factory. New to me!

This is a new game from Eagle-Gryphon Games. This is the bite-sized Kanban. In this game, you are trying to gather bot parts and create robots! You are looking to have the most points from the different robots you create and the contracts you fulfill.

It is compared to Kanban because of how you move your worker around the board. There are 4 locations and you have to move to a new location each turn. There is Sandra moving around to also mess with the different locations.

The boards all activate in the line order, like in Kanban. For each board if you are going last you are likely getting a better reward, but what you hope to do might be taken by other players. It is a balancing act.

This is one that I got to play with Ryan, Emily, and Dani. I think most had played before so I was just picking up what I could from the sporadic rules taught. I was able to figure it out after being screwed over by Sandra one round. Still seemed to work out since I was able to trigger the end of the game and come out on top. #mistakesweremade? This is definitely one I will want to play again. I think it is special and a great take on Kanban.

I really enjoyed this one. I was happy to take home a copy of the game and show it to Michael. And our copy was Signed by Lacerda, it is a treasure now! Super nice game!

When we showed up, it was just in time for the introduction meet and greet followed immediately by a game of Shank! New to me!

This is a new hidden role, a social deduction game from Inside Up Games. Since it is still in super early prototyping phases, the theme is subject to change. He wanted everyone to play this game a few times to get a feeling for it so we could provide some feedback.

The game has many layers, but the way it is right now, either team could win if they take out the other team's boss, or the guards will win if there is a harmony of sorts and both teams are even playing field.

Depending on your role you will have contraband or shanks and only specific players can use such items to hopefully gain information and make an attack happen.

In order to figure out everyone's gang you will have hand signals that you will use to know which side you are on. Of course, the guards are watching your every move and you have to be sneaky.

You get the idea of how this plays out.

In general, this isn't my type of game. I didn't care to share information with anyone since I didn't know who to trust. No one would trust me anyway. It is just a very difficult game for me since I don't like sneaking around and trying to lie to other players. It just doesn't make me feel good when I play games like this. It is not a game for me, and that's okay. There are plenty of gamers out there who will really enjoy it. If you are a fan of Two Rooms and a Boom, for example, I think this would be a great fit.

I believe this is going to Kickstarter in the Summer. So if it sounds like a cool game for you, be sure to check it out! Sign up for email updates with Inside Up Games.

Conor has been really busy at Inside Up because he had a lot of games he was showing off. I managed to get in ONE MORE play of his titled Draft & Write Records. New to me!

As you might guess from the title of the game, this falls in the roll-n-write category, but you are drafting cards instead of rolling dice. The only other draft and write game I can think of is Australia, which I love, of course.

Drafting cards is always one of my favorite mechanics. This game has many avenues for success, but when you draft the band members, you really want them to form harmonies with each other since you will unlock cool bonuses. Yes, you can get some serious combos going on with this game!

I love the hidden and common goals to shoot for. I love the different paths to take to gain rewards and bonuses. There is just a lot to really enjoy about this one.

We played with 6 players and it was fairly quick. Everyone drafts a card and it moves along nicely. I had the fatal error of not getting a lot of band members and that cost me a LOT of points. I didn't focus on that as much as I should have, but I was also trying to gain a bunch of harmonies, which I also failed at.

Turns out Randal is PRO at this game and scored x5 my score... yep, all of the girls playing scored 25 each, so we were tied for last. Randal was pro at 123 points. It was rather impressive but he managed to get a ton of extra bonuses. He showed us how it was done.

Even though I lost I still had a blast and look forward to playing it again really soon! Definitely one to seek out!

One table had finished up playing Let's Go! To Japan and I asked them to leave it set up so I could learn it. New to me!

This was a prototype that I was hearing a lot about since it is/was on Kickstarter.

In Let's Go! To Japan, players are drafting cards in a weird but interesting way. These cards represent the activities that you will do on your trip to Japan. If you plan everything perfectly, you will gain sweet bonuses and use a few train tokens. If you plan so you are visiting Tokyo and then Kyoto and back again, you will have to figure out how to get a bunch of train tokens to make those trips.

Lining everything up is a great idea, if you can manage it.

The cards you draft can go into any day column, but once a column has 3 cards, you can't add more to that day. The final stop each day will have special rewards if you meet those conditions.

Basically, there is a lot to plan for and try to accomplish in the cards you are drafting.

Michael and I played a two-player game and we both really enjoyed it.

One night we were playing some dex games and Emily suggested we try out the new Nekojima and I said "A New Dexterity game, YES PLEASE!" New to me!

This one is/was on Kickstarter and was an early prototype.

The game has one loser and everyone else wins, because if you knock over the towers or touch wires or poles to each other, you will lose.

Each turn you will roll the dice that those dice will depict the districts you need to play poles. Sometimes your opponents will have to select the region for you. Then you have to pick a cube from the bag to tell you which color wires you have to place. They have varying lengths of wire and all of the pole lengths are also different.

You can stack poles on poles when you place your new poles.

If you pull a black cube from the bag you have to make someone place a cat tile on the wire on their next turn.

It is a tough game. We ended our first play of it rather quickly when everything fell over by Emily's hand. We had to immediately play again.

In the second game, you can probably tell by the photograph that I lost. We managed to get MANY poles place and we had quite a structure. It is impressive how this game can grow and be so interesting.

I loved this and I rated it very highly for my New to Me March list. I love dexterity games and this one felt fresh, and as always, it is just pure fun. I love the poles and how the wires are thick so you can manipulate them slightly.

For me, this just works and I will definitely be looking for a copy when it drops. So happy we played it!

Mik and Starla were interested in playing a game, so I had Michael check out the rules for Splendor: Marvel. New to me!

Spendor is always a nice game to play. recently we have been playing Splendor Duel, so it is interesting to play this new Marvel game.

It plays just like Splendor, but there are a few added mechanics. You are trying to collect Avengers symbols, and you will need 16 points which have to include all of the gem colors in your possession.

Mik was so funny, when he collected the 3 Avenger symbols first he whips out his phone and plays the theme song. Immediately followed by Starla gaining 4 Avengers symbols, but he wouldn't play the song for her. So much Drama, but it is all in good fun!

In our game, it was a close race between me and Starla. I needed just 3 points and any purple card would have done it. Michael kept hate drafting those purple cards away from me since he knew I needed them.

I didn't win that game. Starla is the true Avenger!

Another game I saw on the shelf that I wanted to try was Dog Park. New to me!

I have seen this a lot on social media so wanted to check it out. I was pleased that Christina and Brandon were interested in learning it as well!

This copy was the super shiny deluxe game with dog trays and bigger meeples.

Dog Park is a light/relaxing game. While it is different from Wingspan it still gives me that vibe. I feel like if you enjoy Wingspan you will enjoy this one. The drafting of the dogs is clever and I like that they have unique powers.

I was spending too many points on trying to get the dogs I wanted and I was always so far behind. I definitely knew there was no way that I could pull out the win. Michael did end up winning. I guess he knew what was up!

Overall this is a very nice game and I would definitely give it another whirl. Beautiful game and a game dog lovers will enjoy.

(Photo credit to Blue Peg Pink Peg - above)

I have been super excited to check out Turing Machine! New to me!

We needed a quick game before dinner and decided this was a good one. We invited Emily to join us since she loves the game and is apparently VERY GOOD at it.

We just played the intro game and learned it. Of course, Emily got it in 4 clues, I managed to get it in 6 clues and Michael had messed up one of the answers so it was definitely a learning game.

if you aren't familiar with Turing Machine, you are trying to deduce the 3-digit number with the guesses you do and the information you gain from those guesses.

This is a game I definitely want to play more of! I really enjoyed it and look forward to playing it again! I can see why Emily loves it so much. I also want to check out the cooperative mode!

The first game we played during the con was a new race game called Dodos Riding Dinos. New to me!

I am generally not one for racing games but since we had a large group of 6 players it felt like a good time to play it!

It is a super simple simultaneous card selection to gain rewards and hopefully move along the track. There is some dexterity involved and it is just once around.

Not generally a game I enjoyed, but it was fine to try it out.

(photo credit to Ryan Schoon - above)

I wanted to play something I was familiar with so I grabbed Mik to play a quick 2p game of Woodcraft.

This has been a recent favorite for me, so I have been trying to get it played as much as possible. Mik said that he had just learned it so was ready to go. Perfect!

I was getting some sweet combos and I managed to get a lot of cards out early and everything seemed to fall into place. Mik just said "That's how Starla does it." I kicked butt, but Mik still had a good time!

One of my favorite memories was when I played Furnace with Michael and Mik.

This game stands out for me because Lacerda walked by and said... "no, no, this game is too hard for me. There is too much planning and too many possibilities." I mean, what? This is Vital Lacerda talking... haha it is too funny and a quote I will always remember.

Furnace is great and even better when everyone already knows it so we can just dive in and play. Michael did end up winning this game by a few points.

I managed to twist Ryan's arm on Sunday morning to play ONE MORE game. I chose to play Ark Nova. He knew the game, of course, so we were able to knock out the game in under an hour. It was speedy!

People were waking up after we finished and didn't believe that we had played Ark Nova so early in the morning.

Hey, I take any opportunity to play games even if it means being a little tired.

Ryan crushed me, but I had like no income. It was rough, but still so much fun. I love this game so much!

Oh, the late-night dex games. I am always down for the dexterity games and especially Hamsterrolle!

We had to play it twice since I was teaching Emily how to play and she insisted that we play a second time.

#classic and always fun!

My newest edition to my Quiver is Vegetable Stock and I have been playing it every chance I can.

This is a brilliant 5-minute game. Probably my favorite 5-minute game at that. We ended up playing with 5 players and I think everyone enjoyed it.

If you haven't played it, I definitely recommend it.

If Vegetable Stock is the king of 5-minute games then Walkie Talkie is the king of 2-minute games.

We ended up playing 4 times because everyone wanted to try it so people jumped in and out of the games. It is hard to sit by and watch so you just play again!

Not sure the game was a hit, but I am also not sure it wasn't a hit! Still, 2-minutes is a small time investment - just play!

More great games from the Quiver to pass the time. We played Illusion. I kept trying to pick games that Ryan hadn't played before.

This is always a crowd-pleaser and so quick! I dunno why I always lose.

I managed to get in two games of Tichu.

YES! We found willing players! Will had forgotten how to play, but we were able to teach and play. It was a super close match between me and Michael and Will and David. I really wasn't sure who would win since we were tied most of the game.

In the second game, I partnered up with Elisha and we rocked it. She was a kick-ass partner and we had a blast.

I am always down for some Tichu! So great to find other players.

Another game from my Quiver I got to pull out and play a few games of was Ohanami. This game is always easy to teach and play. Hey, I taught Lacerda a game, I feel like I accomplished something.

This is a game to play at any time.

I wanted to play everything, but alas, the weekend was too short and I couldn't play them all! smh.

There were a few Lacerda prototypes I didn't get to check out but I snapped a few pics of Inventors and Speak Easy. They were both getting a bunch of positive feedback, so for those fans out there, you will be pleased to hear that!

I also didn't get to play the new Marrakesh Essentials Edition but I took a pic. This edition fits in a square box and just reduces the size of everything to make a price point for those who don't want to spend a lot of money on the big box. I do love Marrakesh so I hope everyone can check it out!

To close out the weekend, we all just hung out on Sunday before we hit the road. It was fun just to chill and chit-chat with everyone before we parted ways.

I had an amazing time and I really felt that we have a close-knit bond because of the time we spent together.

Why can't everyone live closer?? I would love to play with everyone on the regular.

A huge Thank You goes to the publishers who hosted us and invited us to be a part of this fantastic group of content creators. I really had a great time and hope they continue to have retreats like this again, with or without the same creators coming back.

I will leave you with some other content that has already been shared.

Thanks everyone for reading this far down!

Our Family Plays Games put out a really awesome recap from their time at ATOM!

Grant did a really cool video if you wanted to check out what he has to say!

Don't forget to pick up my Awesome Gaming Calendar 2023! https://stephsshop.ecwid.com/

Thanks to Dfube, I now have a chance to sell some cool All the Meeples of the Rainbow shirts!
If you enjoy the blog and want to support me and my good friend Dfube you can check them out here: https://itsyourroll.games/collections/all-the-meeples-of-the...

New to the Collection:
Bot Factory!

Thanks for following along!

Happy Gaming!!!

-Steph

All images in this post are copyrighted, owned, and controlled by Steph Hodge Photography, unless otherwise noted.
Please contact me if you would like to purchase or use my images in any way.
Disclaimer: I am a contract Employee of BGG. I review games that are provided by the publisher. I am not compensated for my blog content.
Thank you.

26 Comments

Mon Apr 10, 2023 11:00 am

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Granite Game Summit 2023!! AKA STEPH'S BIRTHDAY CON!

Posted by Steph

Conventions

20 Mar 2023

Steph Hodge

(punkin312)

United States
Tennessee

Well, it's no Ginkgopolis...

Please thumb deserving posts

Hia Everyone!

Don't forget to pick up my Awesome Gaming Calendar 2023! https://stephsshop.ecwid.com/

YAY! I love going to Granite Game Summit since it falls on my birthday! I always choose to play my favorite games. I didn't want to learn new games but play games I was fond of. Super happy I got to share time with friends and of course, get to visit family for my trip up north. Here is the rundown of the games I got to play!

I was pleased to get in 2 games of Mosaic: A Story of Civilization.

I was teaching two groups the game and everyone seemed to be enjoying it. The first game I managed to grab an achievement on the first turn. The second game was much different and no one picked up an achievement until like 4 or 5 rounds in. Just depends on what you can collect. I like how you have to change up the strategies depending on those goals.

Such a great game and I am glad I got to play it twice!

I got to teach a game of Woodcraft. Soooo happy to get this to the table again. It is a game that you will have to judge your next move based on your options. I like being tactical and planning on your feet that this game provides. It is satisfying.

Since it was my goal to play games I already knew I chose The Castles of Burgundy to play next.

Dan proceeded to kick my butt, but that was expected, I had the hardest board and didn't close nearly enough regions in the first few rounds. #mistakesweremade.

I got in a game of Gaia Project and basically played on hard mode.

Since I was playing grey I read both powers. I had it in my mind that when I reduced my structures I had to advance on the lowest track, but I could have advanced on any track. It meant that I could have had a lot of cooler abilities throughout the game.

I still managed to win though, so it worked out, even on hard mode.

A game I don't nearly get to play enough was Seasons.

I love that is is on BGA since the upkeep is pretty crazy when playing IRL. So, it takes a lot longer to play in person. I still love it and will play whenever someone wants to.

Dan wanted me to bring along Velonimo to play. It was pretty successful. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I am still liking it. I think I have played it 3 weeks in a row. It just seems easy to get to the table and it has been fun.

Since we had so many people, we chose to play The Great Split.

I figured Kim would enjoy it and she did. I definitely have been enjoying this I-Split-You-Choose game! I like the hard choices.

Dan wanted to try a game called Gadget Trick. New to me!

It was only one hand and Kim and Joel went to get lunch so we played. It felt chaotic and had too many different goals to meet. You are at the mercy of your hand. It was only one hand so I guess it was harmless.

Kim came back so we played our annual game of 7 Wonders.

Kim told me she hated Rhodes and I concur. That is one of the hardest wonders to play as. If I am that wonder then I usually don't even try to use the board or I would end up losing. It is tough. I did well with Giza and won.

Since we had a full boat of people we ended up playing Ready Set Bet.

The first time I played this I scored 0 points. I had no money at the end. First round this time I had no money.

I picked up a few bucks in the 2nd round and lost most of that in the 3rd round. The final round I went all in on one horse and one bet that it would be a close finish. I ended dup winning over $80 in the final round and blew everyone away.

So turns out I either lose big or win big in this game.

I definitely recommend getting the app and an iPad to run the app. Fun game.

We played a couple party games next Green Team Wins & Fun Facts.

I knew they were games Kim would enjoy playing and that held a bunch of players. We just used the Green Team Wins boards to play Fun Facts.

I had a great time and really enjoy spending my time playing.

Also tradition to play a few of my fav 5/6 player games so we played Medici.

It was a weird game since a lot of the time we were just sending 1 card around for the bid and it often meant people were getting what they wanted. Always an interesting game.

The next one we got to the table was Show Manager. I seemed to be ahead of the pack for most of the game so I was grabbing the cards that others wanted and it was going well for me. I think I scored my best score ever. This is not usually a game that I win, so it was a nice change.

Recently, I got to try the new Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector's Edition and saw it was available to play again. I made a point to get it to the table.

We played with the towers too. Gees I played so poorly. I just didn't get the tiles I needed or wanted. I wasn't focused on the things I needed to be. I super lost this game but it just give me the drive to get it to the table more. Such a great game!

We finished the night with a game of Hadara.

I also just learned that it showed up in Alpha on BGA! So happy it is more accessible. I know it is also on Yucata, but I like the sync playing, it is just so much smoother and faster. Always happy to get this to the table.

Played 5 Minuten Puzzle a few times and it is always a nice filler game. I got a pretty terrible score but still enjoy the challenge.

Dan suggested we play a 2-player game of Ark Nova. I won't turn down the chance to play Ark Nova! Dan usually beats me in the past when we have played.

It started out really well for him since I was going for larger animals that were harder to get into play. I had the better end-game strategy since he petered out and managed to win. We were both positive though, so it was a close race.

A quick game of Savannah Park was in order.

Everyone is excited to try the new Caldera Park to see what the differences are. I am sure I will like that one as much as Savannah park. I also think I might have scored my best score ever in Savannah Park with 167! I wonder if anyone has scored better than that!?

Got to play another favorite. Carnegie. Each time I play it I am reminded how much I love it. I was sad to hear my normal Tuesday night group got it to the table last week when I was away so I missed out on another chance to play it. It is a game I just want to keep playing. It is a brilliant design and I love it so much.

Dan made me learn アメノキリフダ (Heavenly Trump). New to me!

While it is very pretty, it is a chaotic mess that wasn't for me.

Always great to get in a game of Ohanami.

I am thinking this should be the other game I just travel with at all times. I keep Tichu with me wherever I go, but I think Ohanami should be with me at all times. It is a game I would never turn down. It is fantastic.

Always happy to play games on my birthday and get to hang with Kim. The flea market was great too since I was able to pick up way too many games, as expected. This was a super fun con and I hope to keep coming back to it when I get the chance.

Thanks to Dfube, I now have a chance to sell some cool All the Meeples of the Rainbow shirts!
If you enjoy the blog and want to support me and my good friend Dfube you can check them out here: https://itsyourroll.games/collections/all-the-meeples-of-the...

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Thanks for following along!

Happy Gaming!!!

-Steph

All images in this post are copyrighted, owned, and controlled by Steph Hodge Photography, unless otherwise noted.
Please contact me if you would like to purchase or use my images in any way.
Disclaimer: I am a contract Employee of BGG. I review games that are provided by the publisher. I am not compensated for my blog content.
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Mon Mar 20, 2023 4:00 pm

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Mayor Steph Reporting for Duty from TGD 2023!

Posted by Steph

Conventions

15 Mar 2023

Steph Hodge

(punkin312)

United States
Tennessee

Well, it's no Ginkgopolis...

Please thumb deserving posts

Hia Everyone!

Don't forget to pick up my Awesome Gaming Calendar 2023! https://stephsshop.ecwid.com/

TGD has come and gone! It was so much fun though and so many great games were played!

Steph for Mayor! I even got a cool sash!! Thanks TN Game Days for this honor! Oh, I wore that sash the whole weekend! It was a special way to celebrate the convention. Thanks to all those who helped support Extra Life which gave me this special title!

On Saturday there was a special event next to the gaming hall... I think it was a military ball and everyone was dressed up. I definitely felt out of place when I had to walk through the halls! It was cool though.

First game of the con was a quick game of Qawale.

I somehow won this game. I won because I had more experience so it was sort of cheating.

The game almost ended in a draw though since we were nearly out of pebbles.

So easy to pull out the short abstracts from Gigamic so I was glad to get this back to the table again.

Since Michael was around we learned a bunch of games once we set up the for-sale booth.

The first game that we learned was Darwinauts. New to me!

I bought several games that I knew I wanted to play before deciding on selling them or not and this was one of them.

This is definitely a game with flaws. Weak get weaker and strong get stronger. It doesn't work because you can gather resources and then claim the location you just left. I was behind the whole game so it wasn't a surprise when I lost by over half the amount of points.

Yeah, the game is interesting in concept but I didn't have fun playing it.

Next up was a HUGE BOX called Push a Monster. New to me!

Why does it have to be a huge box. So many people have heard of (and LOVE) a game called Kabuto Sumo, but Push a Monster came first and it is SO MUCH BETTER.

I saw the box and said oh this looks like Kabuto Sumo and said to myself it might be good.

Yeah since there is an actual game and an actual ending here, it was great. It is a perfect game for kids and works so much better with the rules it has. If you are a fan of kabuto Sumo I would definitely look into this one.

I am just shocked I hadn't heard of this one, but I would recommend it.

Next up wa another kids game called Glücks-Piraten. New to me!

Roll n move your way to victory. It was fine for kids but really not for gamers.

Michael and I tried Empire Engine. New to me!

This came out when Microgames were big, but micro it is. Not many interesting choices and a lot of take-that. I just didn't feel like I had a lot of control.

Eh, it was a game and I was glad when it was over.

Jason was around and was interested in playing Fjords. New to me!

I mean it is interesting how you have to play out the tiles in a certain way to then later gain control over the lands. I like that the game is played in 2 phases, kind of like Blue Lagoon.

The game was fine, but I ultimately traded it to Jason for his copy of Vinyl: Jukebox which I hope to try in the coming months.

Archive for Conventions

All of the BGG Spring Awesomeness 2023!!!

The Glorious Gathering of Games and Gamers!

One Amazing Retreat to Gamers Ranch for the FIRST EVER A.T.O.M. - 2023

Granite Game Summit 2023!! AKA STEPH'S BIRTHDAY CON!

Mayor Steph Reporting for Duty from TGD 2023!