Tag: pax pamir

Consimworld 2024: After Pablo, Crisis: 1914, Red Dust Rebellion

Consimworld 2024: After Pablo, Crisis: 1914, Red Dust Rebellion

Every summer for the past few years, when the Arizona heat is often at its most brutal, I take a week off work to attend Consimworld in Tempe. The laid-back convention has consistently been one of my favorite cons, a weeklong event where you’ve seemingly got all the time in the world to play anything from a historical game to a trick-taker. This year CSW was held on July 12-20, 2024. 

Consimworld took place on July 12-20 this year at the Tempe Mission Palms.

Saturday, July 13

My first day at Consimworld was that Saturday, and I taught a 3P game of White Castle to buddies Mark and Dan Bullock, who was in town for the con. I’ve been playing this game a lot for the past few months.

Me making Mark and Dan take photos!

I really enjoy White Castle, and we all decided to play the game again now that everyone knew what the rules were.

One of my recent favorites: White Castle! (Not a hamburger game)

The filler game of this convention, and a delightful gem of a game overall, is Cat in the Box. It’s a trick-taking game where you declare the suit as you play it. Each game is such a clever puzzle where you try not to cause a paradox by being unable to play a card because someone else had already claimed it on a previous turn. 

See how there’s no colors on the cards? In Cat in the Box, you pick the suit when you play the card.

We then played another trick-taking game, Joraku. I really like how this trick-taking game incorporates area control with a map, with each section of the map changing value as the game progresses. By the end, soldiers are making their way toward Kyoto, the highest-value sector at the end. It’s a neat small-box game.

In Joraku, soldiers are making their way left toward Kyoto to score.

Sunday, July 14

We started the day with After Pablo, a unique game dealing with the aftermath of Pablo Escobar’s death. Yes, that Pablo Escobar. The Mexican and Colombian cartels are trying to gain control of the drug market and smuggle the illegal white powder into America. There’s area control, market manipulation and hand management, as smuggling the goods across the border requires certain cards that match the mode of transportation available at the checkpoint. You also want to avoid going to jail, as your cubes will get caught up on the “jail track.” Best to find that lawyer to get you out sooner than later! Such a weird game, and I mean that in the best possible way!

Running a cartel is hard work! Pablo Escobar knew what was up.

We then had lunch at our usual Mexican food spot across the street: Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. The margaritas are pretty nice.

The gang’s all here! Dan, Mark and Cory Graham and I all go to Fuzzy’s every year.

Next up was a game of Pax Pamir. This is one of the games we play at every Consimworld, and there is something so chill about playing a game you’ve played before, especially when you win on the last turn because the last Dominance Check is worth double the points. 

I finally got a chance to bust out my copy of this game!

We then played Dan Bullock’s new prototype: Fruit. I played this game at Circle DC and each play of it has been memorable! Fruit is about United Fruit’s banana trade and its economic and political effects on Latin America during a period of 50 years in the early 1900s. We played this game twice during this year’s CSW. I really enjoy having secret priorities and trying to sus out who has a stake in which country, all while trying to keep countries afloat or not, so that they can possibly complete their national objectives. “There’s always grievances in the banana stand,” they say! 

Dan Bullock’s gorgeous prototype. It’s also helpful for learning the geography of Central America.

Sunday night was the opening reception, as well as a raffle for all the conventiongoers! I did not win anything though. John Krantz, founder of the convention, likes to update us about the state of the con and other news.

A crowd shot of the Consimworld conventiongoers.

Monday, July 15

We started Monday with another convention classic: Maria! This 3P game based on the War of Austrian Succession, and, even though I feel like it was my best showing in the game as France and Bavaria, we still lost in turn 7 to Prussia, Saxony and the Pragmatic Army.

I love Maria! If anyone knows of a copy for sale, hit me up!

We then played Dynasty: The Era of Five Dynasties. Players spend action points to expand their military, build armies, collect taxes and play event cards. Ultimately, they are trying to overthrow the emperor, who has a different set of actions for the game. 

In Dynasty, you’ve trying to overthrow the emperor — but then you’ll get a target on your back.

Lastly, we played another convention favorite: Dominant Species Marine. I like how you’re limited to taking action spots underneath ones you’ve already taken, so timing is critical in the game, unless you gain a special pawn because you have a majority. Such a good game, but dang, it’s hard to stay alive and dominant in the ocean! 

Always a good time playing this game! And the board is just so pretty to look at.

Tuesday, July 16

Our first game of the day was a demo of VUCA Simulations’ new game: New Cold War. They had a gorgeous prototype at the con of a world map.The game is a card-driven game about the global geopolitical events from 1989-2019. Players are one of the four world powers: Russia, China, U.S. and EU, and you get three cards each round to play, with objective goals you can score during each round. The world powers are somewhat aligned, but ultimately, it’s each world power for themselves. I completed two objective cards so I was able to win on the 8th turn. Go, EU!

VUCA Simulations was at the convention, and I got to demo their newest game: New Cold War.

I then successfully took a game off my Shelf of Opportunity. My husband owns Fate of the Elder Gods, but I had never played it before. Dan and Cory both thought there was a really interesting mechanism in the game, the one where bad things could occur if an opponent did a specific thing at a very specific time. The game is set in the Cthulhu world, and you’re a cultist trying to summon a Great Old One by collecting spell cards and traveling to locations on the altar board. It’s a neat system playing matching spell cards to go to the location you want to activate and place your cultists. The game comes with lots of colorful minis, too! 

First time playing Fate of the Elder Gods! I could not summon my Great Old One fast enough.

The last game of the day was Crisis: 1914. I was super excited to play this game, which just came out. In June 28, 1914, the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, Sophie Duchess of Hohenberg, plunged Europe into a diplomatic crisis that turned into a war that engulfed the world. Players are using their diplomatic pressure to score prestige, and most importantly, prevent WWI from happening. Crisis: 1914 is a card-driven tableau-builder for 1 to 5 players. The game is so incredibly tense in its card play, yet accessible at about a two-hour run time. 

Trying to stop World War I from happening in Crisis: 1914.

Tuesday night was a treat as the guys and I went to UnderTow in Phoenix. It’s a dark immersive bar that’s Tiki themed like you’re sitting in a cargo hold of an old-world ship, complete with all kinds of sounds: a creaky boat, rain and thunder, and the occasional cannon explosion. I liked how the portholes made it seem like you’re sailing the seven seas!

We had such a fun experience at UnderTow!

The drink menu, which was printed in this fun old-time pirate-ship map, offered all types of artistically crafted libations. I made reservations a month prior, and each reservation is a 90-minute seating. What a fun night out! 

Looks at this gorgeous drink!

Wednesday, July 17

Wednesday morning started with another playtest of Fruit. And then we played Let’s Make a Bus Route. I love this game and have played it often already ever since buying it from Japan in June. It’s a roll and write where you’re completing bus routes on the same map as everyone else. You score points for picking up commuters and tourists, as well as elderly passengers, and taking them to see what they want to see. But if you circle back onto a street that someone’s already marked, you’re creating traffic. It’s fine to create traffic but don’t be the person who creates the most traffic, as that’ll be negative points at the end.  

I bought this charming roll and write from when I went to Japan in June.

I then taught a game of Dune: Imperium with the Rise of Ix expansion. Dune: Imperium is such a perfect game, and even though there are a few expansions of the game, I like Ix the best. I love having those airships out, and it doesn’t overly complicate the game like the most recent expansion of it does, in my opinion. Don’t at me, people! 

I really like the Rise of Ix expansion for Dune: Imperium.

We then ended the day with another game of Let’s Make a Bus Route and Cat in the Box, which is most definitely the filler MVP of the convention. 

Thursday, July 18

On Thursday, I had time just for one game: Red Dust Rebellion, which should be released at the end of the year. You all know I love me some COIN, and this latest COIN is set on Mars! How cool is that?! There’s even a haboob chit, which is another name for a dust storm, something us Arizonans are very well acquainted with, that occur on Mars.

Red Dust Rebellion is the new COIN game from GMT that’s coming out at the of this year.

Red Dust Rebellion tells the story of the Martian revolts of the 2250’s and the rise of Martian nationalism. The four factions are Martian Government, the Corporations, the Red Dust Movement, and the Church of the Reclaimer. As with other COINS, some of the factions are semi-allied, but the Church of the Reclaimer plays completely different than any other faction I’ve encountered. The Church of the Reclaimer can actually spend its hand of cards to skip the line to take a turn! I also learned about the Aldrin Cycler, because it really does take that long to ship supplies from Earth to Mars, a neat mechanism that the Corporations, which are Earth-controlled, must contend with. I’m so looking forward to this game!

It was so fun playing with Kai Jensen and Jeff Carr!

And that was the last game I played at Consimworld this year. I enjoy everything about Consimworld – the length of it, the convenience of the con in relation to walk-able restaurants and transportation, and just the overall chill vibe of it. It’s what keeps me coming back every year to hang out with friends and play games. And maybe next year will be the year I’ll try a Monster Game!

The main ballroom at Consimworld.
Consimworld 2022: Wargaming in the desert

Consimworld 2022: Wargaming in the desert

A week before Consimworld, I had mentioned on Twitter that I was excited for the con, and someone had asked if there were any games I was looking forward to playing, and friends, I didn’t have an answer. I felt a little disconnected from the wargaming community this past year, and me not being able to answer that question created a little bit of anxiety, with various thoughts swirling around in my head, the loudest one that said, “do I belong here at this convention?”

Well five days of nonstop gaming in Tempe from Aug. 27-31 shut down my fears about that and I ended up having a wonderful time! There are so many different games you can play in the wargaming sphere, from megagames that last multiple days (something I hope to get into next year!) to 2P card-driven games that can be played in under an hour. Plus, a small highlight of attending an Arizona con during the summer is hearing Midwesterners say, “Oh, 100 degrees isn’t so bad!” when we’re walking to dinner. That #desertlife!

The main room at Consimworld at the Tempe Mission Palms hotel.

My buddy and game designer Dan Bullock arrived on the Friday the day before the con so we did some pre-gaming with a 2P game of Squaring Circleville. I really like the rondel mechanism of this game! My husband usually teaches this game, so I was a little unprepared for teaching it but we got through another enjoyable game of it. 

We’ve succeeded in Squaring Circleville, a real town in Ohio that the game is based on.

Aug. 27

This was the first day of Consimworld! Here’s Dan and me arriving bright and early for gaming!

Dan and I are ready for all the gaming! This was taken before temps hit 110 degrees. It was a hot week!

We started the con with a 3P game of Passtally. This quick filler is such a brain burner! I finally own a copy of it, after playing it at BGG Con Spring eons ago! This is a tile-laying game in which you’re building routes to connect to your markers. You can also build on top of other tiles, which elevates this cute game into super crunchy puzzle. For each turn, you get VPs based on how many tiles your route goes through — horizontally and vertically! 

Passtally is so pretty yet will probably melt your brain.

I then busted out my new copy of Twin Palms, a game I first played at Dice Tower West 2022. I backed the game on Kickstarter and it arrived the day before Consimworld. What luck! Twin Palms is a neat trick-taking card game, where you play pairs of cards and there are only 1-3 suits in the game, depending on player count. The highest pair of cards are determined by a hierarchy of pairs and/or suits, and you may bet before each turn how many tricks you’ll be able to take. It’s a neat twist on an otherwise very familiar mechanism. 

I love the cool retro artwork for this trick-taking game with a twist.

Next up was Pax Pamir. This is a game we play at every single Consimworld, but I am still not very good at it. Players are purchasing cards and creating their tableaus, while trying to gain control of territories at the right moment.  Every game I’ve played is so different. I’m hoping to get my copy from their Kickstarter soon, so maybe there’s a chance for me yet to improve my game! 

Pax Pamir never disappoints! I can never get enough of these components and linen map.

We then played A Study in Emerald, a grail game that’s, for the lack of a better word, insane. The Great Old Ones have taken over the world, and historical figures from the 19th century are either Restorationists fighting against the creatures or Loyalists attempting to defend the status quo. There’s a giant map of Europe, and players are depositing influence into various locations to attack monsters and/or gain cards. There’s hidden roles, deck-building, area control, and possibly zombies! Paranoia is at an all-time high, and when certain markers hit the end of their tracks, the teams compare scores and the side with the lowest score automatically loses. It is quite the experience, and I’m still not sure I’m describing the game correctly! 

A Study in Emerald is quite the experience! And sometimes there are zombies.

The last game on Saturday night was Crescent Moon. This is a new asymmetric area-control game set in the 10th century Middle East, which is laid out in a very small hexagonal-tile map. There are five different factions, and each faction takes 4 actions over the course of 3 rounds, making it a total of 12 actions total. There just aren’t enough actions to do everything you want to do. Each faction has a very clear objective, and the player guides clearly explain what that is and how to best go about your relationship with other factions. And while there are some similarities to Root, there’s a lot more wheeling and dealing to negotiate with your neighbors while you work toward your win conditions. 

A lot happens on this small map for Crescent Moon.

Aug. 28

Sunday began with an epic game of Dune! It was my very first game of this, and we had a complete game with 6 players. I played as the Harkonnen, which excels at treachery, so basically the complete opposite of me in real life. The game plays out over 10 rounds, unless a win condition is triggered (controlling a certain number of strongholds) beforehand. The Dune planet is represented on the main board as a giant circle separated into sectors. At the start of each round, the storm moves, spice shows up on the board and the sandworm can appear to wreak havoc on players’ troops. There’s also battles, which players set up secretly with cards and leaders in their hand and discs showing the number of troops they want to commit. There are also traitor cards, which allow you to activate an opponent’s leaders to immediately lose your conflict. This game is so fun! 

The spice must flow! But watch out for the storm and sandworm — they’re both pretty treacherous.

I would totally love to play this again, especially because I nearly won and lost in the same round! During Round 8, I had a traitor leader card of my opponent I was battling, and I had a 50/50 shot of him using that leader. Unfortunately he didn’t! And I almost lost b/c if I had won that battle, the Bene Gesserit would’ve stolen my victory from me because they had made the prediction (at the beginning of the game per their faction power) that the Harkonnen would’ve won in Round 8. 

We then played La Belle Epoque, a euro-ey cube-pushing wargame. In this game, Central Empires, France, Great Britain and Russia compete with each other to gain control of countries across Europe during the time between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the start of World War I. The game continues for 9 turns, separated by 3 eras, in which the game could end anytime during the 3rd era with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

We all were learning La Belle Epoque together. It’s a cube-pushing euro-y wargame.

We then ran into Bobby Factor, and it was such a pleasure meeting him in person and gaming all week! He has so many hilarious stories, ones that he’ll love sharing if you ever end up at a convention with him.

These fun guys! From left, Dan, me, Cory Graham, Bobby Factor and Sobhi Youssef.

Aug. 29

Monday began with a game of Dominant Species: Marine. I love, love this game, and I think I played my best game yet! (I came in second, fyi, as the reptiles. Please cheer for me.) I love the worker-placement mechanism of this game, with the limitation that you can only place your worker on a space after your last one on the board, meaning you can’t take an action you’ve already passively skipped. But once dominate in an element, you take a special white pawn that allows you to break some of the worker-placement and unlock some extra action spaces, but most importantly, it allows you to take an extra action before you spend your turn recalling your workers off the board. 

I love the Dominant Species: Marine’s board and color scheme.

I then played a prototype of Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India 1290-1398. One of the designers Cory Graham is local, and I had a great time gaming with him all week. This COIN-inspired game is so, so good, and I think will usher in a new wave of more accessible wargames. The game is currently on GMT’s P500, and it’s the first game of their new Irregular Conflict Series. Vijayanagara is a 3P game that plays out in about 2 hours, with little downtime for everyone. Players take on the roles of the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Kingdom and the Vijayanagara Empire, and like a COIN game, there’s a deck of cards that determine which two factions can take a turn. But unlike a COIN, the third faction can take a limited command and is still eligible for the next turn. Plus, a good number of events on the cards make it appealing to take the event instead of a full command because it allows your faction to stay eligible, a new twist to other COINs. I can’t wait until this game comes out. 

I really enjoyed playing Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India 1290-1398. I can’t wait until it’s out!

Aug. 30

Tuesday began with a quick game of Dan’s card game Bowie where you’re playing as four different David Bowie personas trying to stay alive while earning points for recording music. Meanwhile various threats, dark princes and figures of the occult going after them. If any of the Bowies die, everyone loses. 

The Bowies must work together so one of them doesn’t get killed.

We then played Dan’s prototype of Blood and Treasure, a game about the U.S.-Afghan War and the contractors who would profit from it. Players are secretly bidding for market contracts but the trick is you want to bid lower than your opponents but enough so that you’ll receive the cash from your bid. That money can then be used to bid on other contracts but also gain extra pawns to take more actions. Your company will also need to diversify in various industries so that you can collect more contracts and put cubes on them so that when it’s inspection time, you won’t get penalized for non-activity on the contract. It’s an unflattering look at the U.S. government, a unique departure from your usual wargame themes. 

I played a 3P game of Blood and Treasure, a game about American contractors during the U.S.-Afghan war.

Next up was Flashpoint: South China Sea. Harold Buchanan designed this game in the GMT Lunchtime Game series (games that can be played under an hour for two players). I had a chance to playtest this years ago at a previous Consimworld, and I’m so happy to see his design here on table! It’s another accessible wargame that borrows the card-driven game mechanism for its gameplay. Players take on the role of China vs. the U.S., and the game begins with secretly bidding VPs to go first. Players then place economic and diplomatic influence across various regions and countries in the South China Sea to score for VPs each round. I’ll be doing a more in-depth review of this game soon! 

Flashpoint: South China Sea is 2P game that simulates the complex geopolitical contest currently taking place in the South China Sea.

I then played a quick game of Watergate. This is such a tense 2P game, also one that plays in under an hour. One player plays the side of a Washington Post Editor trying to connect Nixon to his informers, while Nixon is trying to hang onto his presidency and not be forced to resign. The cat-and-mouse feel of this game makes this game so good and enjoyable to play. 

Watergate is so tense! Every small move could have giant consequences in this game.

Lastly, I ran a game of Battlestar Galactica, a tradition for Consimworld. This is my absolute favorite game and each game is so much fun, even if us humans lose! So say we all! 

It was such a joy gaming with Harold Buchanan (left) and Bobby! My buddy Mark (back left) joined us for this game.

Aug. 31

On Wednesday, we played a game of Angola. I first learned this game last year (and it was one of my top games that I played in 2021) and have been looking forward to playing another game of it at this con.

Playing Angola a second time, I had a much better grasp on the game. But we still got outmaneuvered!

I played as the FNLA this time around, and it was nice not having to use the blank cards during your turn. I started out strong, getting lucky with the random start of most of my troops being in the north, but then I just got closed in on by FAPLA and by a few turns in, our side had lost the game. Still a great experience (it took most of late-morning to early evening), and I learned a thing or two about clipping chits. 

A similar photo like this got roasted on Twitter because some of the chits were not clipped! The horror!

I then played the working prototype of Forward Ever by designer Sobhi Youssef. This game is set during the U.S. invasion of Grenada, and it’s a trick-taking game where you’re placing influence on the board.. We got through a couple rounds of the game before Sobhi took some notes from some of the players’ feedback. 

We played Sobhi’s prototype for Forward Ever.

Sobhi is also designing After the Last Sky, set during first Palestinian Intifada from 1987-1993. I, unfortunately, didn’t get a chance to play his prototype. Hopefully I’ll get a chance next time we all meet again. There’s been talks to meet up at Harold’s convention in San Diego in November: San Diego Historical Con! I’ve already purchased my ticket for it. Looking forward to more wargaming then! I’ve only ever attended the convention online during the pandemic.

I’m hoping to get a chance to play After the Last Sky next time Sobhi and I are at the same convention.

By then, it was Wednesday evening. We all then thought we were going to do more gaming but instead winded down at a local Mexican place across the street from the hotel, partaking in food, drinks and great conversation. And that was a great ending to my time at Consimworld.

Cheers, Dan! We took a celebratory shot in honor of Dan’s birthday!

During the con, I played 16 games, 17 if you count Squaring Circleville the night before. The convention continued until the following Saturday, but I couldn’t stay the whole week because I had to get ready for another convention. (That post will also be coming down the pike). The only game I purchased during the convention was The Chase of the Bismark, designed by VUCA Simulations, which had a booth at the con.

There was a demo copy of this game during the con. It just looked so awesome!

I enjoyed playing all kinds of games: some new, some old, some under an hour and others that lasted a big chunk of my day. I met some lovely gamers and game designers, and learned more about design and the publishing process during my week with them. Thanks, Consimworld, for having me this year! It’s been a blast! See you next year!

Top 10 games I played for the first time in 2019

Top 10 games I played for the first time in 2019

Happy 2020, folks! Hope you all have recovered from the hectic holiday season! I know I have! I took one of the longest work breaks for a while as I traveled to Tennessee and Los Angeles to visit family, and then spent a few days at home recovering from all of that. Last year was a year of personal and professional milestones, as well as experiencing joyful memories of seeing friends and loved ones happy and healthy. And, of course, playing lots of board games with all those people! 

Without further ado, here are my top 10 board games that I played for the first time in 2019. 

10. Gandhi: The Decolonization of British India, 1917 – 1947

Gandhi is Volume IX from GMT’s COIN series, which stands for Counter Insurgency. I do love my COINs, and this one especially stands out. Gandhi takes us to India for a detailed look at the final decades of the British Raj. This is the first COIN to include nonviolent factions, which offer a unique perspective to these types of wargames. 

Gandhi is the latest COIN game from GMT Games.

The are four factions: the British Raj, the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League and the Revolutionaries. The Congress and the Muslim League are the two nonviolent factions, and like most other COINs, factions somewhat work together until they don’t in order to meet their win condition. The map is beautifully done, and the game allows wargamers to study this historic period of European imperialism. 

9. Gugong

I did a review on Gugong on Episode 58 of The Five By. It is one of those games that caught me by surprise early in 2019 by having a little bit of everything. It has hand management, set collection and worker placement, and plays 1-5 people. In Gugong, the emperor is working hard to ban corruption within the country, and the highest officials of the Forbidden City would pretend to uphold that ban on corruption by accepting gifts from petitioners instead, and returning a gift of a seemingly lower value. Players do this by playing a card from their hand to activate a location on the board. 

I love using cards to activate locations in Gugong. It makes you to manage your hand well.

Players in Gugong also have to manage their supply of workers with the general supply, which replenishes at a different rate each round. The components are great, and the game scales for all players, with its two-sided board and solo variant. The game also comes with all sort of meeple shapes for various locations on the board.  

8. Just One 

Just One is my party game of the year. It’s so simple to jump into, it’s co-op, and it plays up to seven people! You never quite know if word games will be a hit with various gaming groups (I’m looking at you, Codenames), but Just One has never failed me. In Just One, the group is trying to get the active player to guess the clue on the card by writing a single word associated with it. Before the active player opens their eyes, the group reveals their word, and if there are duplicate copies of a clue showing, they are eliminated from being shown to the active player. The active player then opens their eyes to see the remaining clues and tries to guess the word. 

Can you guess the clue in our Just One game? If you guessed pole, you’re correct!

I particularly enjoy when the group starts finding their groove after a few clues, and the game evolves into a metagame because people start assuming what everyone else will write based on their personalities. And everyone totally loves having their own dry-erase marker and nameplate to write answers on. 

7. Escape Plan

We’ve all watched countless heist films. A group of skilled individuals lay out a plan, execute said plan and grab the loot. And then what’s the saying? The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Well, then shoot, Plan B. Hide the loot and lay low — for now. But now the time is up, and we’ve all got to grab our hidden loot and get out of the city.

Your mission is to escape the police in three days!

Welcome to Escape Plan, designed by one of my absolute favorite game designers Vital Lacerda. Escape Plan picks up right this moment of the heist narrative: players have three days to evade the cops, get their money and get the heck out of the town. This is by far Lacerda’s lightest game, but it’s still just as tense as his other games — and you never, ever have enough actions to do what you want to do. Just remember: don’t get caught. 

6. Abomination

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein is a worker placement game that’s strategic and fun, and, surprisingly, oozes with a unique theme that even a sometimes curmudgeonly eurogamer like me can appreciate. In Abomination, scientists are working in Paris to “collect” muscles, organs, blood and bone, and the occasional animal part when really, really needed it. And I say “collect,” because what you’re really doing is raiding hospitals, morgues, cemeteries and other suspicious Parisian locations for the freshest cadaver parts required to create your very own monster! 

Just collecting some body parts in the lovely city of Paris!

The game is great for horror fans and heavier gamers alike but even though the box says 60-120 minutes, I cannot imagine ever getting through a game in under two hours. The 12 rounds take a while — even though there are events or cards that can move the round marker meeple forward — and there are a lot of difficult decisions to make, with decomposition of body parts creeping up on you.

5. The Quacks of Quedlinburg

Quack, quack! And not the bird variety. In The Quacks of Quedlinburg, quack doctors are conjuring up potions by blindly pulling ingredients from their potion bag and adding them to their cauldron. If you don’t bust during a round, you gain VPs as well as the option to purchase new ingredients to throw back into your bag and play a new round. 

We are all quack doctors drawing ingredients from a bag to make potions!

This push-your-luck game is super fun and super addicting, and, surely, you won’t bust when you have a 1 in 10 chance of drawing the one ingredient that will cause your cauldron to spill over. But of course, you manage to pull out that exact piece EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I love this game so much that I even purchased the cloth bags and plastic bits for it via the BGG Store even though I rarely deluxify my games. This game is just delightful. 

4. Wingspan

We can’t talk about last year without adding Wingspan to this list. This game for me — and what is represents — is peak 2019 inspiration. Seeing a female gamer design her own game based on her own interests with a well-known publisher hit the large stage, take flight and soar — pun intended — is exactly what the board game industry needs more of. 

Wingspan is just so lovely to play and look at it. The giant blue bird is something I added to my game though as a first-player token.

Representation 100% matters, and I’m always beaming with pride when I show this game to casual gamers and explain Wingspan’s backstory. The game has enabled me to invite even more casual games to take the next step up in strategy games because of its presentation, subject matter and play style. I’d love to see more success stories like this. Plus, OMG the eggs! 

3. Watergate

Watergate, a historical subject that’s near and dear to my heart, is one of my favorite games of 2019 and I believe the best 2-player of the year. In this day and age, there is something so supremely satisfying about stopping Nixon. But what I particularly love about this game is that you and your opponent can play a game and then switch sides and play another game immediately — and it still hasn’t taken up your entire evening. 

Watergate is my favorte 2P game of 2019.

Watergate fits in a small box and can easily be set up and taken down. I love seeing all the historical figures brought together in this tug-of-war game that is easy to get into. The rulebook and the text on the cards are well done, and there’s even a lot of supplemental information about the presidential scandal in the back of the rulebook.

2. Dead Man’s Cabal

Skulls, skulls and more skulls! While Dead Man’s Cabal comes with a giant sack of bones, it’s the clever and unique game play that makes this game one of my favorites of the year. Players are working to collect and perform ritual cards that score VPs by collecting required skulls at various locations in the game. 

Look at all these awesome skuls!

During a player’s turn, they take a private action and everyone else can take a public action based on skulls in play. Also, you can only activate locations on the board based on what skulls you have in your supply. It’s this midweight interconnected puzzle of skull collection in a 60-minute game that scratches my Vital Lacerda itch. The game has fantastic components, and did I mention it comes with a bag of plastic skulls? What else do you need?

1. Pax Pamir

And now we’ve hit No. 1. Pax Pamir was absolute love at first play at Consimworld. Oh. My. Goodness. Look at those gorgeous components. I’ve played other games in the Pax realm, Pax Porfiriana and Pax Renaissance, and while I enjoyed both of them a lot, the game ALWAYS seemed to take so much longer to explain than the actual game itself. 

I can’t say enough good things about Pax Pamir. And look at how gorgeous that is!

But that’s not the case with this second edition of Pax Pamir. The added map and individual player dials make this game much, much easier to visualize which faction is dominating. During the game, players are buying cards to expand their tableaus. These cards allow them to take actions to strengthen their factions and armies. Players score points when a dominance check occurs. The game comes with so many cards, which keeps each game fresh every time. Pax Pamir (second edition) is my game of the year, and my only regret is not securing a copy for myself. It is, sadly, sold out. Someone hook a lady up!

And that’s my top games of 2019. What are some of your favorites that came out last year? And what are you looking forward to playing in 2020?

Consimworld 2019: Wargames in Arizona

Consimworld 2019: Wargames in Arizona

Do you like wargames, whether COINs or the hex-and-counter variety? Well, you need to come down to Consimworld! This 8-day wargaming convention happens every year in Tempe, Arizona, literally in my very own backyard. I love attending this convention every year it allows me to play some games that normally wouldn’t come out at other conventions, plus I get to hang out with some of the wargaming legends!

Look at all that cardboard, plexiglass and chits! Gaming is officially underway.

Consimworld was June 22-29. Sorry for the delay of this post; it’s been a whirlwind few weeks. Consimworld is located at Tempe Mission Palms, and the location is so convenient. You don’t need a car as the hotel provides a shuttle to the airport, or you can take the light rail to it. The best part too is that there are plenty of food options in walking distance. (I’m giving a lot of other conventions the side-eye here.)

I arrived on Day 1 and learned to play Maria with my buddy Dan flew into town from Milwaukee. This 3P game is so freakin’ awesome!  It’s set during the War of the Austrian Succession. One player is Austria, the second player is France and Bavaria, and the third plays as Prussia and the Pragmatic Army. Each army has their own set of cards, and armies battle each other based on the suit of the location they’re fighting from. You have to manage your card hand, as well as ensuring your troops are still within range from their supply line. I really want to get a copy of this game!

Maria is such a great game! It’s a 3P wargame, where battles are resolved based on the suited cards your hand and which suitted terrain you’re sitting on.

Dan then showed me his game that’s he’s working on. It’s an Age of Sails wargame that plays in about 2-3 hours set during the Battle of Virginia Capes, a crucial naval battle during the American Revolutionary War. One player plays as the French, and the other as the British, and they move and position their boats along a checkered board (in accordance with the wind direction), and they take turns battling each other. You then both secretly decide which order your ships will fire, and you roll dice to fire upon your enemy.

Dan always has the fanciest prototypes! Here are the ships battling each other out at sea.

Hit points are marked on individual boat cards and designated to an area on your boat based on your opponent’s directive, which makes for interesting player decisions of how to allocate damage. If your boat can no longer move, then it’s removed from the game. The French are trying to last 12 rounds — which killing British ships shortens the game — while the British are trying to move up a track by destroying French ships. The game was tense and super fun, and I liked being able to allocate where on my enemy’s boat they should mark the damage. (It’s like a wargame roll-and-write!) I’m crossing my fingers that it gets picked up by a publisher.

Dan created these ship cards that you mark you hit points on with a dry-erase pen. If your ship can no longer move, it’s out of the game.

Next up was Fire in the Lake. The last time I played Fire in the Lake was at last year’s Consimworld. Man, I was so rusty! And the last few times I had played as the NVA (because I like red), but this time, I played as the VC for the first time, and it took me a bit to start terrorizing and spreading out my VC guerrillas. This game lasted way late into the night, and we had to call it. It looked like the Americans were winning.

Fire in the Lake has the most vibrant board and is one of my favorite COIN games.

Day 2 began early by cracking open Gandhi. Fire in the Lake ended so late on Saturday night that it was a quick turnaround for a 9 a.m. game of Gandhi, one I had briefly looked over the rulebook, but luckily another player read the rulebook as well, and we all decided it was going to be a learning game that morning.

Gandhi is the latest COIN game from GMT Games.

I had been excited to see how a nonviolent factions play out for a COIN, and was equally surprised to see that two of the factions do not have any currency. The British Raj’s actions are tied to the Restraint track, and the Revolutionaries’ actions costs resources. I played as the British and particularly liked being able to affect how much my actions cost. I plan to write more about this after a few more games under my belt. All I can say is this: Gandhi is a great COIN and seems more accessible than the other ones. Here’s me playing Gandhi:

I then played the first of many games of Pax Pamir (second edition) this convention. Oh. My. Goodness. Love at first play! I’ve played Pax Porfiriana and Pax Renaissance before, and while I enjoyed both of them a lot, the game ALWAYS seemed to take so much longer to explain than the actual game itself. And especially with Pax Porfiriana, it was difficult to visualize and keep track of who is dominating what.

Look at these amazing components! Pax Pamir is really well done.

That’s not the case with this second edition of Pax Pamir. The added map and individual player dials make this game much, much easier to see which faction is dominating. The components are gorgeous, and each game I’ve played of this has been different. There are just so many cards, and I ended up playing this game two more times during the course of the convention. I played it as a 3P and as a 5P. I think Pax Pamir plays best at 4P, even though I did end up winning my 5P game.

I absolutely cannot get enough of Pax Pamir! I wish I owned a copy of this game.

Saturday night ended with another awesome game of Battlestar Galactica. This is the second year in a row I’ve played with Dan, Mike, Harold and Jordan. We even got Kurt into the mix! These guys are always so much fun! I became a cylon sympathizer during sleeper, and despite two cylons and me as the sympathizer, we still lost to those awful humans. The worst!

These guys are so much fun! I look forward to avenging my loss next year!

I took a day off on Day 3 since it was a Monday. I played a quick game of Sekigahara, and by quick it was about 2 hours. The game continued through all seven weeks and came down to victory points. I love this game so much!

My favorite part of Sekigahara is the hidden info of which armies are going toward you.

I then played my other two games of Pax Pamir at the various player counts. I then got a chance to play Rococo. It’s a shame that this game isn’t more widely available! It’s a deckbuilder about making dresses. Players collect materials at various locations on the board, and ultimately, it’s an area control game in regards to where you display your dresses and coats. The game plays out over seven rounds. 

Making dresses in Rococo can be cut-throat!

In the middle of Rococo was the welcome ceremony. John Kranz took time to welcome everyone and give expo updates. Altogether, over 350 people had signed up, with more than 60 newcomers. Very cool! He also highlighted those who came from afar — some as far as the Philippines and Bahrain! That’s super neat to see people travel for all the wargames!

Everyone’s all gathered! John Kranz likes to give updates about the convention, and there’s a giant raffle at the end of this meeting as well!

One slide featured a nice tribute to my buddy Tom Wells. I miss gaming with him; there was never a dull moment gaming with him.

I finished Monday night with another tense game of Maria! My buddy Mark and I did better this time, but Dan still beat us. (It’s one of his favorite games, after all.)

Dan and Mark are too much fun! Dan and I are heading to SD Historical Con in November. I’m looking forward to that!

The rest of the week I worked during the day but I stopped by afterwards to get in a game or two. On Tuesday night, I got a chance to play a prototype of Barrage. What a clever eurogame with very specific spatial and timing quality to it! You are all companies trying to harness the power of water to get electricity. You have to build dams, conductors and power factories on this hill so that you can capture that energy as water flows down.

There’s an intricate network of how things need to be powered, and when you spend resources to build your buildings, they’re locked up on this wheel on your personal board, and they can only become available to you again when you build more buildings, which you probably won’t be able to do since your resources are tied up in this wheel! What a dilemma! You can, however, spend actions on this main board to move that wheel along. The main board is where the majority of the worker placement happens.

Stuff rolls downhill! Here are are trying to harness the power of water, and hoping someone’s dam doesn’t get in your damn way.

Each player has a team of engineers, and you can allocate however many you want to an action spot when it’s your turn. Players take turns placing their engineers until they’re have no more workers and must pass. So you need to manage your pool of engineers with the actions you want to do, while also trying to complete objectives during each round. Lastly, the last piece of the puzzle is that water isn’t always available each round. It will flow according to the cards drawn, and if someone else’s dam blocks water flow to your buildings, well, that’s a damn shame.

On Wednesday, I fangirled sooooooo hard. I got a chance to sit in as the awesome Mark Herman taught one of his games, Pericles: The Peloponnesian War to John Butterfield, Nick Karp and Bruce. They all go way back to Victory Games, and it was like being among the wargaming legends.

Here’s me being chill, even though I’m fangirling so hard inside.

Mark taught one round of Pericles, and I jumped into a second round, (holding my own I might add!) and pushing the Demogogues forward. It was great hanging out with them and hearing about old industry stories.  Also, achievement unlocked below: my dinosaur dress got into a C3i report!

The last night I attended Consimworld, I played Root twice, first with Kurt and Jordan, and then we picked up a fourth player for our second game. Kurt LOVES, LOVES Root (and if you want to be highly entertained, next time you see Kurt at a convention, ask him about COIN games.) 

Our first game of Root that evening. I won as the cats!

And just like that, an entire week of wargaming ended. I always have such a great time at Consimworld, and I always feel included among all the gamers here. That said, I’d love to see more younger folks here, especially more women and people of color. If you’re interested in these types of games, please let me know and maybe we can schedule something special for next year. I’d love a chance to teach some of these heavy games! Save the date: next year’s convention will be June 6-13, 2020. You’ll find me in the back with some giant tweezers pushing some cardboard chits.

Thanks for having me, Consimworld! Can’t wait until next year’s con!