Shelley and I have great fun with the latest alea/Stefan Feld release, and enjoy figuring out color percentages in Wolfgang Warsch's latest card game

Carpe Diem by Stefan Feld from alea/Ravensberger

and

Illusion by Wolfgang Warsch from NSV

Shelley and I have some fun with two more Stronghold releases, then go through the second half of the 1000+ games on BGG's Essen Preview (M-Z).

Paper Tales by Masato Uesugi from Stronghold Games

Terraforming Mars: Prelude by Jacob Fryxelius from Stronghold Games

Shelley and I have fun with the third game in Uwe Rosenberg's Tetris-piece trilogy from Stronghold Games

Spring Meadow by Uwe Rosenberg from Stronghold Games

and then dive into BGG's Essen Preview list for a look at what's piquing our interest from publishers A-L.

Must Haves:

Carpe Diem - Got a chance to play this and we review it on Ep. 643

3X8 - Amigo card game that I already got through amazon.de

BiberClan - Amigo card game

Karate Tomate - Another Amigo card game!

Lifestyle - cards, dice & tokens from Amigo (already got it)

One Week Ultimate Werewolf - Played once, look forward to more!

Ultimate Werewolf Legacy - Seen it, but haven't played. Gorgeous!

Newton - Great buzz/Tzolkin designers

Underwater Cities - Vladimir Suchy, designer of Pulsar, etc.

Altiplano: The Traveler - Expansion for one of our favorites from 2017

Manitoba - More dlp goodness

Valparaiso - Designer of Altiplano

Dixit 10th Anniversary - New Cards!!!!

Shelley and I have a great time building Roman numerals in the fun 'end of the night' title

Roman Poker by Johannes Krenner and David Parlett from Amigo

and then scramble for building sites that others will then pay to use in

Little Town Builders by Shun from Studio GG

Shelley and I have a wonderful time making bus routes, then a less than wonderful time sailing down part of the Mississippi, and end with a reflection on a great area majority under-appreciated classic.

Let's Make a Bus Route by Saashi from Saashi & Saashi

Broadhorns: Early Trade on the Mississippi by Jim Harmon from Rio Grande

and

Kreta by Stefan Dora from Goldsieber - a classic that would be a solid choice for re-publication

A great way to end the Meeplefest episodes!: Analysis Paralysis, should BGG have an ability to rate other gamers? Denis gets in a rant or two, and then games we loathe and love.

Our second to last part of the conversation of the gang around the table at Meeplefest 2018. The Hunt family, Tom Lehmann, Mark Johnson, Denis, Ric, Shelley, Candy, Doug R. and the gang discuss information placed on boxes and dealing with analysis paralysis.

Along with the usual crew of Ric, Doug R., Shelley, and Denis, designers Tom Lehmann, Candy Weber, Simon Hunt, John Shulters and Sarah Graybill join the gang at the table as the conversation turns to where and when we play, thoughts about design and analysis of the choices designers make.

Concordia

Quacksalber von Quedlinburg

Japanese games, origin stories of newbies around the table...it's all here for Night 2 of Meeplefest, Part 1.

Let's Make A Bus Route

Metro X

Ticket to Ride

Settlers of Catan

Grackles

Azul

Matt Leacock joins the table as we continue our discussion of games we've been enjoying (or not), along with comments on the SdJ and KedJ winners and nominees. Some of the new Roll and Write (or Draw and Draw) games also get a mention.

Pandemic Legacy Season 2

Forbidden Sky

The Mind

Quacksalber von Quedlinburg

MetroX

Welcome to...

Let's Make a Bus Route

The gang is once again around the table at Meeplefest for the first of multiple conversations about the games we play and the hobby we love. This week we focus on some of the fun titles we've been playing, as well as talking about Kickstarter (a perennial topic). Join Ric, Joe, Doug R., Candy, Denis and Shelley for this first 1/2 of the Night 1 conversation.

Shelley and I try to enjoy the luck-fest dice re-working of Istanbul, then work our farms a la Agricola in a cousin of that now venerable title (that's Uwe Rosenberg Approved!)

Istanbul The Dice Game by Rudiger Dorn from AEG

and

Lowlands by Claudia and Ralf Partenheimer from Z-Man Games

Shelley and I go lighter this week, having some fun exploring the streets of the lower half of Manhattan in

Ticket to Ride New York by Alan Moon from Days of Wonder

and

Splendor: Cities of Splendor by Marc Andre from Space Cowboys

Shelley and I have fun seeing which bird type comes out on top in

Birdie Fight/Songbirds by Yuo from Kocchiya

and finish off the campaign of

Charterstone by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games

Shelley and I have a great time cooperatively building with blocks and cardboard, then tackle the first 6 games of a legacy title:

Menara by Oliver Richtberg from Zoch

and

Charterstone by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games

Shelley and I struggle to enjoy two otherwise beautiful games:

Photosynthesis by Hjalmar Hach from Blue Orange Games

and

The Island of El Dorado, a Kickstarter game by Daniel Aronson

Before that discussion, though, we talk about a few of the games we enjoyed playing with visiting friends:

StreamRollers (previously discussed) from Stronghold Games

Han (also known as China & Web of Power) from Michael Schacht and Abacusspiele

Viva Pamplona by Wolfgang Kramer

This week Shelley and I try out a game of face comparisons with her entire family, then spend time building our separate Queendoms

FaceCards by Leo Colovini from Ravensburger

and

Queendomino by Bruno Cathala from Blue Orange Games

Shelley and I roll and write our train routes to set up deliveries, then go head to head in the sequel to The Game.

Steamrollers by Mark Gerrits from Stronghold Games

and

The Game: Face to Face by Steffen Benndorf and Reinhard Staupe from White Goblin (and others)

Shelley and I work to help characters of fables and legends fulfill their quests, then become citizens of the ancient city of Palmyra and work to build monuments, get rare goods, and fulfill the ruler's missions.

Woodlands by Daniel Fehr from Ravensburger

and

Tadmor by Gianluca Piacentini from Gotha Games

Shelley and I hire then raid villages, then get respect for spending money and somehow keeping what we spend!

Raiders of the North Sea by Shem Phillips from Renegade Games

and

Mercado by Rudiger Dorn from Kosmos