Shelley and I had some fun with a couple of dice games that Belgian friends Surya and Miriam brought with them on a California visit.

Strike by Dieter Nüßle from Ravensberger

and

Dice Stars by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc from Matagot and Wizkids

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Shelley and I spend this episode going through the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres nominees and recommendations with our initial thoughts.

Spiel des Jahres Nominees:

Kingdomino by Bruno Cathala from BlueOrange and Pegasus

Magic Maze by Kasper Lapp from Pegasus and Sit Down!

Wettlauf nach El Dorado by Reiner Knizia from Ravensburger

SdJ Recommended:

Deja Vu by Heinz Meister from Amigo

Dodelido by Jacques Zeimet from Drei Magier

Fabled Fruit by Friedemann Friese from 2-F Spiele and Stronghold

Klask by Mikkel Bertelsen from Competo and Game Factory

Shiftago by Frank Warneke and Robert Witter from WiWa Spiele

Tempel des Schreckens by Yusuke Sato from Schmidt

Word Slam by Inka and Markus Brand from KOSMOS

Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominees:

Exit: The Game by Inka and Markus Brand from KOSMOS

Raiders of the North Sea by Shem Phillips from Garphill Games

Terraforming Mars by Jacob Fryxelius from Stronghold

Kennerspiel des Jahres Recommended:

Captain Sonar by Roberto Fraga and Yohan Lemonnier from Matagot and Pegasus

Big Book of Madness by Maxime Rambourg from Iello and Heidelberger

Great Western Trail by Alexander Pfister from Stronghold, Eggertspiele and Pegasus

The Grizzled by Fabien Riffaud and Juan Rodriguez from CMON

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Shelley and I return to Yokohama this week, then explore building with numbers!

Yokohama by Hisashi Hayashi from Tasty Minstrel Games

(originally discussed last August on Episode 527)

and

NMBR 9 by Peter Wichmann from Abacusspiele

Enjoy!

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Shelley and I take advantage of some great deals on Queen Games and let you know if they're worth the VERY low price of admission:

High Tide by Dirk Henn

and

London Markets by Michael Schacht

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Shelley and I jump back into Orleans, a game we enjoyed from a couple of years ago to try out a couple of the first expansion's modules (and talk about the base game a bit more), then check out a very green card game from Stronghold Games!

Orleans + Orleans Invasion by Reiner Stockhausen, Inka Brand and Markus Brand from Tasty Minstrel Games

and

Fuji Flush by Friedemann Friese from Stronghold Games

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Shelley and I take a gander at another Queen deal from Amazon, as well as a solid new card game from one of our favorite designers.

Liguria by Alessandro Zucchini from Queen Games

and

Das Vermächtnis des Maharaja by Michael Schacht from Abacusspiele

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Shelley and I check out a game on wine making, then see how well the first Mystic Vale expansion works, especially given Shel's love of the original.

Vignobles by Fabrice Arcas and Guillaume Peccoz from Ludocom

and

Mystic Vale: Vale of Magic by John D. Clair from AEG

Enjoy!

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Shelley and I try out two games that it turns out she didn't like at all.

Freaky by Leo Colovini from Amigo

and

Da Yunhe Der Grosse Kaisercanal by Bjoern Mueller-Maetzig from Müller-Mätzig Spiele

Enjoy!

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Tony Boydell joins me for the third April in a row to discuss some of the games we've played since Essen, as well as reflecting on the publication of his latest, Guilds of London.

Games discussed:

Round House from EmperorS4

Adrenaline from CGE

Scythe from Stonemaier

Terraforming Mars from Stronghold Games

Mondrian The Dice Game from Tranjis Games

Feast for Odin from Z-Man/Feuerland Spiele

Cottage Garden from Edition Spielewiese/Stronghold Games

First Class from Hans im Glück/Z-Man

New Bedford from Greater Than Games

Fabled Fruit from 2F-Spiele/Stronghold Games

Here's a link to last year's episode (Episode 511):

http://garrettsgames.com/garretts-games-511-tony-boydell-of-surprised-stare-games

and the one from 2015 (Episode 458):

http://garrettsgames.com/garretts-games-458-tony-boydell-and-favorite-game-plays-from-2014

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Shelley and I tackle the fantastic BIG game from Stronghold, and then a mini game from OSTIA Spiele:

Terraforming Mars by Jacob Fryxelius from Stronghold Games

and

Visby by Stefan Risthaus from OSTIA Spiele

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Shelley and I talk about the latest from Stefan Feld, then delve into another heavier Essen release from a Taiwanese publisher.

Oracle of Delphi from Pegasus and Tasty Minstrel by Stefan Feld

and

Round House from EmperorS4 and designed by Eros Lin and Zonh-Hua Yang

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Shelley and I get another GREAT game from Essen 2016 to the table - addictively playing it MANY times in a row, then throw in a dessert micro game for good measure.

Ave Roma by Attila Szögyi from A-Games

and

Tallinn by Stefan Risthaus from Ostia Spiele

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Shelley and I get a chance to talk about the new Bezier revamp of Jeff Allers called New York Slice, then have a great time playing What's Your Game's fantastic Essen 2016 release Railroad Revolution.

New York Slice by Jeff Allers from Bezier Games

and

Railroad Revolution by Marco Canetta and Stefania Niccolini from What's Your Game

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Shelley and I check out a game that flew under a lot of people's radar at Essen, then get the card/game version of a fantastic title from a couple of years ago to the table:

Rhodes by Pieter Boots from The Game Master

and

First Class: All Aboard the Orient Express by Helmut Ohley from Hans im Gluck

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Shelley and I tackle something BIG as well as something lighter with

Solarius Mission from Spielworxx and designed by Michael Keller and Andreas "ode" Odendahl

and

Herbaceous from Dr. Finn's and Pencil First Games, designed by Eduardo Baraf, Steve Finn, and Keith Matejka

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Shelley and I discuss our plays of Codenames Pictures, the sequel to CGE's bestseller, then talk about the HUGE Z-Man/Feuerland release Feast for Odin.

Codenames Pictures by Vlaada Chvatil from CGE

and

Feast for Odin by Uwe Rosenberg from Z-Man/Feuerland Spiele

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Shelley and I get

Schwupps by Michael Feldkötter from Amigo

and

Colonists by Tim Puls from Mayfair

We liked ONE of them!

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Shelley and I delve into our list of games released and played in 2016 now that we have most of the ones we needed to get to under our belts. Here are our lists, and listen to find out our reasoning behind our choices:

Shelley's List:

1) Scythe

2) Mystic Vale

3) Yokohama

4) Ulm

5) Round House

6) Lorenzo il Magnifico

7) Kanagawa

8) First Class: All Aboard the Orient Express

9) Terraforming Mars

9.5) Coal Baron: The Great Card Game

10) Cottage Garden

Honorable Mentions: Colony & Great Western Trail

Doug's List:

1) Scythe

2) Yokohama

3) Terraforming Mars

4) Colony

5) Great Western Trail

6) Cottage Garden

7) First Class: All Aboard the Orient Express

8) Ulm

9) Mystic Vale

10) X Nimmt!

11) Round House

Honorable Mentions: Castles of Burgundy Card Game & Honshu

Disappointing Releases:

Blood Rage - Hated this one...

Oracle of Delphi - I will play almost any other Feld over this one.

Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: UK & Penn - Takes the joy out of the game IMO

Bohemian Villages - Just not fun after the GREAT Orleans

Adventure Land - Good to see HABA entering the family market, but this odd, plodding and just not fun game wasn't a good choice. Karuba, their other Essen 2015 family release IS worth your time.

TIME Stories - I see its appeal, but feel it's not worth the price of admission...

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Shelley and I try out 2 family-style games that will still appeal to the gamers listening:

What's Up by Dennis Kirps and Jean-Claude Pellin from Strawberry Studio

and

Santorini by Gordon Hamilton from Roxley Games

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Shelley and I cover three games that just didn't wow us.

Waldgärtner by Claas Fischer from Edition Essentia

Inis by Christian Martinez from Matagot

Dokmus by Mikko Punakallio from Lautapelit

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