Shelley and I tackle a literally HUGE game this week...it's so big it deserved its own show!

Foundations of Rome by Emerson Matsuuchi from Arcane Wonders

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Shelley and I take a break from reviews to reflect on our favorite Roll & Write or Draw & Draw games, a newer genre that certainly has exploded in the past few years.

Shelley's Honorable Mentions:

Silver & Gold by Phil Walker-Harding from NSV

On Tour by Chad DeShon from Boardgametables

Shelley's Top 5:

5) Explorers by Phil Walker-Harding from Ravensburger

4) Hadrian's Wall by Bobby Hill from Garphill Games, CMON Global & Renegade Game Studios

3) Second Chance by Uwe Rosenberg from Edition Spielwiese and Stronghold Games

2) The Clever Series (Ganz Schon Clever/That's Pretty Clever, Doppelt so Clever/Twice as Clever, Clever Hoch Drei/Clever Cubed) by Wolfgang Warsch from Schmidt Spiele and Stronghold Games

1) Welcome To... (+New Las Vegas, The Moon, etc.) by Benoit Turpin from Blue Cocker Games and Deep Water Games

Doug's Honorable Mentions:

On Tour by Chad DeShon from Boardgametables

Let's Make A Bus Route The Dice Game by Saashi from Saashi & Saashi

Doug's Top 5:

5) Biblios Quill & Parchment by Steve Finn from Dr. Finn's Games

4) Trails of Tucana by Eilif Svensson and Kristian Amundsen Ostby from Aporta Games, Matagot, and Pegasus Spiele

3) Hadrian's Wall by Bobby Hill from Garphill Games, CMON Global & Renegade Game Studios

2) The Clever Series (Ganz Schon Clever/That's Pretty Clever, Doppelt so Clever/Twice as Clever, Clever Hoch Drei/Clever Cubed) by Wolfgang Warsch from Schmidt Spiele and Stronghold Games

1) Welcome To... (+New Las Vegas, The Moon, etc.) by Benoit Turpin from Blue Cocker Games and Deep Water Games

Other Roll & Writes/Draw & Draws Mentioned at the top of the show that we have played & reviewed:

Isle of Cats Explore & Draw

Three Sisters

Cartographers & Cartographers Heroes

Rustling Leaves Blatterrauschen

Patchwork Doodle

Qwixx/Quixx on Board

Divvy Dice

Anubixx

Hex Roller

Bloom

Brixx

Encore!

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Shelley and I get heavy as we wander downriver in

Boonlake by Alexander Pfister from Capstone Games and dlp Games

then we get dicey as we attempt to raise our levels and take over lands in

First Empires by Eric B. Vogel from Sand Castle Games

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Shelley and I delve once again into Dr. Knizia's legacy game, talking about the latter chapters of

My City by Reiner Knizia from Kosmos

after we spend some time with the little brother of Isle of Cats - this week it's

Isle of Cats: Explore & Draw by Frank West from City of Games

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Shelley and I discuss the first 1/2 of

My City by Reiner Knizia from KOSMOS

(with a few spoilers), but first we tackle the FOURTH in the Azul series

Azul: Queen's Garden by Michael Kiesling from Next Move Games

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Shelley and I return to Victorian England this week for a look at the Upstair/Downstairs and Wessex expansions for

Obsession by Dan Hallagan from Kayenta Games

then we head out into the garden and work with corn, beans and pumplins in the new roll & write

Three Sisters by Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle from Motor City Gameworks and 25th Century Games

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Shelley and I put on our "Where's Waldo?" hats to solve some crimes in

Micro Macro - Crime City by Johannes Sich from Edition Spielwiese and Pegasus Spiele

the head back to Victorian England and become landed gentry courting the Fairchilds in

Obsession by Dan Hallagan from Kayenta Games (KG)

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Shelley and I enjoy a 2-player-only game of competing groups of thieves stealing precious artifacts in

Caper: Europe by Unai Rubio from Keymaster Games

then we head back to

The Isle of Cats by Frank West from City of Games

to explore some of the recent expansions, including the Boat Pack, Kittens & Beasts, and Kickstart Expansion 2

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Shelley and I get another BIG game to the table this week, delving into zoo building and animal acquisition in

Ark Nova by Mathias Wigge from Capstone and Feuerland Spiele

then we check back into

Paris: La Cité de la Lumière by Jose Antonio Abascal Acebo from Devir to see how the Paris: Eiffel expansion works with the base game

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Shelley and I take on the BIG, colorful new Devir game

Bitoku by Germán P. Millán from Devir

and then finish up our discussion of

Welcome to the Moon by Alexis Allard and Benoit Turpin from Blue Cocker and Pegasus Spiele

with a discussion of how the campaign mode works

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Shelley and I continue our in-depth exploration of

Welcome to the Moon by Alexis Allard & Benoit Turpin from Blue Cocker Games and Pegasus Spiele (boards 5-8)

and then head back into the Middle Ages in Italy with

Citta-Stato by Simone Cerruti Sola from Giochix.it

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Shelley and I take our first journey to the moon this week in

Welcome to The Moon by Alexis Allard and Benoit Turpin from Blue Cocker, Dude Games, and Pegasus Spiele

then we look back on an alternative reality when otherworldly helpers lent a hand to establish humanity's biggest projects in

Origins: First Builders by Adam Kwapinski from Board&Dice and CMON Global

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This week Shelley and I duel by making llama deliveries in

P'achakuna by Stefan Kraft and Moreno Vogel from Treecer

then make more elaborate deliveries from our farms to town in a re-review of

La Granja by Adreas 'ode' Odendahl and Michael Keller originally from Spielworxx and recently Kickstarted from Board&Dice

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Shelley and I reflect on our plays of 'new to us' games in 2021 and choose our favorites (though we forgot one that both of us would have added to our lists!).

Honorable Mentions (Shelley):

Nidavellir by Serge Laget from GRRRE Games

Ten by Johnson, Melvin & Stankewich from AEG

Juicy Fruits by Christian Stöhr from Deep Print Games

Meadow by Klemens Kalicki by Rebel

Nanga Parbat by Steve Finn from Dr. Finn's Games

Honorable Mentions (Doug):

New York Zoo by Uwe Rosenberg by Capstone Games and Feuerland Spiele

Cascadia by Randy Flynn from Flatout Games and AEG

Llamaland by Phil Walker-Harding from Lookout Spiele (we may have said that this was by Uwe - oops!!!)

On The Underground by Sebastian Bleasdale from Ludicreations

Maglev Metro by Ted Alspach from Bezier Games

Shelley's Top Ten:

Point Salad by Johnson, Melvin, & Stankewich from AEG

Evidence by Orestis Leontaritis from Edition Spielwiese and Pegasus Spiele

Hadrian's Wall by Bobby Hill from Garphil Games and Renegade Game Studio

Project L by Mikes, Soukal, & Spanel from Boardcubator

Praga Caput Regni by Vladimir Suchy from Delicious Games and Rio Grande Games

Explorers by Phil Walker-Harding from Ravensburger

Savannah Park by Kramer & Kiesling from Deep Print Games and Capstone Games

Mini Express by Mark Gerrits from Moaideas Game Design

Flourish by Wilson & Wilson from Starling Games and Matagot

Doug's Top Ten:

Café by Costa and Rola from PYTHAGORAS

Faiyum by Freidemann Friese from 2F Spiele and Rio Grande Games

Praga Caput Regni by Vladimir Suchy from Delicious Games and Rio Grande Games

Meadow by Klemens Kalicki by Rebel

Flourish by Wilson & Wilson from Starling Games and Matagot

Project L by Mikes, Soukal, & Spanel from Boardcubator

Let's Make A Bus Route: The Dice Game by Saashi from Saashi & Saashi

Point Salad by Johnson, Melvin, & Stankewich from AEG

Mini Express by Mark Gerrits from Moaideas Game Design

Hallertau by Uwe Rosenberg from Lookout Spiele

(and we both would have included Witchstone by Reiner Knizia from R&R Games in our Top Tens if we both hadn't had a brain fart)

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Shelley and I get the expansion to Dune: Imperium to the table

Dune: Imperium The Rise of Ix expansion by Paul Dennen from Dire Wolf and Legendary

and then get our potions going in

Brew by Stevo Torres from Pandasaurus Games

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Shelley and I enjoy two games set in the future

Cryo by Tom Jolly Luke Laurie from Z-Man Games

and

Dune: Imperium by Paul Dennen from Dire Wolf and Asmodee

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Shelley and I spend time playing games set in the past with 2-word titles. First, we head to New Jersey to design one USA's first vacation spots in

Cape May by Eric Mosso from Thunderworks Games

then we head over to southern Germany to become craftspeople in

Glass Road by Uwe Rosenberg originally from Z-Man Games and now re-released by Capstone Games

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Shelley and I place tiles in a beautiful square in Lisbon in

Rossio by Orlando Sa from Pythagoras

then harvest crops, play the markets, and develop apprentices in

Key Market by David Brain from R&D Games

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Shelley and I move animals around the savannah in

Savannah Park by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling from Capstone Games and Deep Print Games

then we attempt to strategically draft tiles to build our fields in Key Harvest by Richard Breese from R&D Games and Rio Grande Games in 2007

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Shelley and I try out the latest Dr. Reiner Knizia title as we wander the jungle doing research in

Sumatra from Ludo Nova

then check out the revamped game of inner and outer struggles - but now with hexes and set in ancient China

Yellow and Yangtze from Grail Games

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