Shelley and I enjoy another dicey roll & write with fireworks in

Lanterns Dice: Lights in the Sky by Chris Bryan from Foxtrot Games and Renegade Game Studios

and then we become masters at harvesting, making, and selling tea in

Formosa Tea by Chu-Lan Kao from Soso Studio and Tasty Minstrel Games

Shelley and I join Darwin on his scientific journeys around the Galapagos Islands for

On The Origin of Species by Gerard Ascensi and Ferran Renalias from Mont Taber

then drift through the clouds in hot air balloons to discover new lands in

Die Inseln im Nebel by Volker Schächtele from Schmidt Spiele

Shelley and I attempt to build up our Medieval cities to defend against invading hordes in

Paladins of the West Kingdom by Shem Philips and SJ Macdonald from Renegade Game Studios

then head to late 19th/early 20th century Paris to learn from the master painters and attempt to gain experience as an artist in

Colors of Paris by Nicolas De Oliveira from Super Meeple

Shelley and I find our way back to Renaissance Florence for a third version of Florenza, this time with DICE, in

Florenza Dice Game by Danilo Festa and Stefano Groppi from Post Scriptum and Placentia Games

and also take an extended journey through Medieval-esque realms to Newdale in

Expedition to Newdale by Alexander Pfister from Lookout Games

Shelley and I spend part of this week in southern France taking photos both from our scooter and with a drone in

Walking in Provence by Wei-Min Ling from Emperor S4

and then we head to ancient Egypt to gather resources and gain influence over the gods in

Pharaon by Sylas and Henri Pym from Catch Up Games

Shelley and I paint and sell our Impressionistic art to buyers in

Montmartre by Florian Sirieix from Blam!

and then put on post-modern circus performances in

The Magnificent by Eilif Svensson and Kristian A. Ostby from Aporta Games

Shelley and I work against the clock and try to save a patient in

Doctor! Doctor! by Robert Couch from Indie Boards and Cards

and then try our hands at building our own Medieval villages in

Era: Medieval Age by Matt Leacock from eggertspiele

Shelley and I get yet another roll and write to the table

Dizzle by Ralf zur Linde from Stronghold Games and Schmidt Spiele

and then get out a BIG box for some card crafting and way too much luck in

Edge of Darkness by John D. Clair from AEG

Shelley and I trek through some beautiful National Parks in

PARKS by Henry Audubon from Keymaster Games

then have fun building an Italian city while also getting resources from its countryside in

Ragusa by Fabio Lopiano from Capstone and Braincrack Games

Shelley and I take on an award-winning party game, along with two "write on your player board" titles:

Bloom by Wouter van Strien from Gamewright involves rolling & writing

Welcome To... and its expansions by Benoit Turpin from Blue Cocker Games involves drawing and drawing

and

Just One by Ludovic Roudy and Bruno Sautter from Repos gets us partying it up with words!

Shelley and I build some card tableaux this week as we try out a smaller card game with some card orientation to ponder in

Vadoran Gardens by Frank West from The City of Games

and then play with marbles and use them to 'build' cards into our tableau in

Gizmos by Phil Walker-Harding from CMON Limited and many others

Shelley and I have a great time as art dealers working the market and displaying great paintings in

Promenade by Ta-Te Wu from Sunrise Tornado Games Studio

then attempt to paint masterpieces in the less-good

Atelier: The Painter's Studio from AEG

Shelley and I spend some time discussing moving goods by camels while trying not to get precious objects stolen from you in

Caravan by Joseph Huber from Rio Grande Games

then have some fun running competing taverns, upgrading our places of business through deck building, puzzle piece flipping, and dice drafting in

Taverns of Tiefenthal by Wolfgang Warsch from Schmidt Spiele

Shelley and I get to Japanese building games this week as we delve into mall building in

HYAKKATEN by Takeshi Okusora from NSG Kurieito

then look into the Japanese rendition of building railroads here in the US in

Across The United States by Hisashi Hayashi from OKAZU Brand

Shelley and I spend some time in late 19th Century Brussels, gaining influence with aristocrats, buying art, building buildings, and placing cards in an array in

Bruxelles 1897 by Etienne Espreman from Geek Attitude Games

and then head further back in time to a card-game version of Lorenzo il Magnifico

Masters of Renaissance by Simone Luciani and Nestore Magone from Cranio Creations

Shelley and I get another 'draw and draw' title to the table with

Silver & Gold from Phil Walker-Harding and Pandasaurus Games

then try something more meaty by heading to 19th Century England in time for the World's Fair in

Crystal Palace by Carsten Lauber from Feuerland Spiele and Capstone Games

Shelley and I get a classic game off the shelf with new maps and cool wrinkles that affect play with

Carcassonne Maps by Klaus-Jurgen Wrede from Hans im Gluck

Great Britain

France

Benelux

Iberian Peninsula

Germany

and then delve into the BIG BOX new permutation of Orleans

Orleans Stories by Reiner Stockhausen and dlp Games

Shelley and I celebrate her birthday early with some smaller and shorter games, along with some discussion of games she's been playing with her students in class:

Qwixx on Board by Steffen Benndorf & Reinhard Staupe from NSV

Anubixx by Steffen Benndorf, Florian Ortlepp and Helmut Ortlepp from NSV

Te oder Kaffee by Heike Risthaus and Stefan Risthaus from Ostia Spiele

Glisse Glace by Corentin Lebrat, Ludovic Maublanc and Theo Riviere from Djeco

Tulum by Harmut Kommerell from Djeco

Potomac by Geoffroy Simon from Djeco

Twisty by Faouzi Boughida from Djeco

Chop Chop by Alexandre Droit from Djeco

Shelley and I draw and recreate art this week with two art-focused games:

Pictures by Christian and Daniela Stöhr from PD Verlag

Artbox by Artem Lis from Jet Games Studio and Lavka Games

and THEN spend time hiring artisans and other famously creative people in

La Stanza by Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade from Quined Games

Shelley and I have a great time planting our flowerbeds, collecting gnomes and caterpillars, and placing butterflies in flowers while playing

Papillon by J.B. Howell from Kolossal Games

then get abstract and we place tiles in our own displays and try to race to get rid of our tokens in

Nova Luna by Uwe Rosenberg and Corné van Moorsel from Edition Spielwiese, Pegasus Spiele and Stronghold Games