Shelley and I get our 19th Century industrialist hats on, building factories and funning them to the best of our ability in

Furnace by Ivan Lashin from Arcane Wonders and Hobby World

then we head to ancient Egypt to try our hands at building some of the world's wonders in

Egizia by Acchittocca (Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, Stefano Luperto, and Antonio Tinto) originally from Rio Grande and Hans im Gluck, but re-released recently by Stronghold Games and Matagot

💾

Shelley and I build our lands out and UP as we herd llamas and try to claim points in

Llamaland by Phil Walker-Harding from Lookout Spiele

then we get abstract and push our luck, drawing cards and bidding in

TEN by Molly Johnson, Shawn Stankewich and Robert Melvin from AEG

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Shelley and I roll and draw our way through the four seasons using arrays in

Blätterrauschen by Paolo Mori from KOSMOS

then we plan our actions by building in our cauldrons to develop energy, move crystals, enlist our witch clan, and gather potions, etc. in

Witchstone by Dr. Reiner Knizia and Martino Chiacchiera from R&R Games and HUCH!

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Shelley and I head below the depths to buy and conquer land in

Aquatica by Ivan Tuzavsky from Cosmodrome Games and Arcane Wonders

then return to the farm for a re-review of a game from 2012, working hard on rival farms to raise our crops and animals (sound familiar?) in

Farmerama by Uwe Rosenberg from Ravensburger

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Shelley and I check out the third game in the Clever series of roll & writes:

Clever Cubed or Clever Hoch Drei by Wolfgang Warsch from Stronghold Games and Schmidt Spiele

and then we try out a new draw & draw exploration game

Explorers by Phil Walker-Harding from Ravensburger

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Shelley and I have fun making beautiful koi ponds in

Kohaku by Danny Devine from 25th Century Games

and then we ply our trade on the grand Mississippi in

Riverboat by Michael Kiesling from Mayfair Games and Lookout Games

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Shelley and I get a new title to the table that's set in post-Gold Rush San Francisco,

Embarcadero by Adam Buckingham and Ed Marriott from Renegade Game Studios

then get a classic out of the closet to make sure it remains as vital as it has been in the past

Qwirkle by Susan McKinley Ross from Mindware and Schmidt Spiele

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Shelley and I spend this week going through the second half of my curated list of games arriving at Essen 2021 in less than 2 weeks. Here's a rundown of the games discussed (organized alphabetically by publisher):

The Game Master

• King of the Valley

Geek Attitude Games

• Magellan: Elcano
• Pessoa

Giant Roc

• Origins: First Builders
• Tabannusi: Builders of Ur

Grail Games

• Hibachi

Granna

• Gutenberg

GRRRE Games

• Nidavellir: Thingvellir

Hall Games

• Bonfire: Trees & Creatures

Helvetiq

• Save Patient Zero

IGAMES

• Settlement

Jolly Dutch Productions

• Polders: Flip & Write

Kobold Spieleverlag

• Village Green

Kolossal Games

• Almanac: The Crystal Peaks

KOSMOS

• High Score
• Kingsbridge: Das Spiel

La Boite de Jeu

• It's a Wonderful Kingdom

Looping Games

• 1923 Cotton Club
• Journey to the Center of the Earth

Ludonova

• Shinkansen: Zero Kei

MEBO Games

• Lisbon Tram 28

Next Move Games

• Azul: Queen's Garden

Oink Games

• Hey Yo
• Moon Adventure

Plan B Games

• Equinox

Portal Games

• Dune: House Secrets

PSC Games

• Caesar! Seize Rome in 20 Minutes
• Rome & Roll: Gladiators

PYTHAGORAS

• Café: Expresso

Schmidt Spiele

• Clever hoch Drei: Challenge

Sit Down!

• Dive

Spielefaible

• Schichtwechsel: Die Förderung

Spielworxx

• Squaring Circleville

Studio Stratosphères

• Velonimo

💾

This is Part 1 as Shelley and I go through BGG's Essen Preview after I spent some time curating the list. Here are this week's titles:

The following are listed by Publisher, as that's the best way to find them if you are actually going to the fair.

AEG

• Cascadia

All or None Games

• Betwixt and Between

AMIGO

• Tulpenfieber

Aporta Games

• Bad Company
• Trails of Tucana: Ferry Expansion

Arcane Wonders

• Furnace
• Picture Perfect

BLAM!

• Caraventura: Oklahoma, Lhassa, & Vinland

Blue Cocker Games

• Welcome to The Moon

Blue Orange Games

• Neoville

Board Game Circus

• Four Gardens

Bombyx

• Garden Nation
• Nicodemus

Bright Eye Games

• Termite Towers
• Waggle Dance

BYR Games

• The Belgian Beers Race

Capstone Games

• Glass Road
• Imperial Steam

Catch Up Games

• Sobek: 2 Players

Chilifox Games

• Riverside

Cranio Creations

• Eriantys
• Golem

Delicious Games

• Messina 1347

Demonic Games

• Goetia: Nine Kings of Solomon

Devir

• Bitoku
• LUNA Capital
• Paris: Eiffel

dlp Games

• Boonlake

Dragon Dawn Productions

• Factory 42

dV Giochi

• Wonder Book

eggertspiele

• Great Western Trail (Second Edition)

Feuerland Spiele

• Ark Nova

Funnyfox

• Almadi

💾

Shelley and I head out on the hiking paths in

TRAILS by Henry Audubon from Keymaster Games

then head back to the 19th century and a rather dirty industry in

Coal Baron: The Great Card Game by Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer

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Shelley and I set out to explore parts of the world this week in

Lost Explorers by Cédrick Chaboussit from Ludonaute

and then focus on the African continent in

Africana by Michael Schacht from ABACUSSPIELE and Z-Man Games

💾

Shelley and I head to ancient Babylon to build the hanging gardens in 2007's

Amyitis by Cyril Demaegd from Rio Grande and Ystari

then we head north to the Pacific Northwest to build lands and populate them with animals in

Cascadia by Randy Flynn from AEG and Flatout Games

💾

Shelley and I go to taverns and draft the help of dwarves in

Nidavellir by Serge Laget from GRRE Games

then get abstract with polyominoes with

Project L by Michal Mikes, Jan Soukal, and Adam Spanel from Boardcubator

💾

Shelley and I check out new iterations of some of our favorites this week, trying out the new version of Let's Make A Bus Route

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

and then we were happy to receive a copy of the excellent re-issue of On The Underground

On The Underground: London & Berlin by Sebastian Bleasdale from LudiCreations

💾

Shelley and I check out the 'card-game' version of Terraforming Mars (one of our favorite heavier titles of the past few years):

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition by Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius, and Nick Little from Stronghold Games and FryxGames

then go back to one our first heavier titles when we were just getting into boardgames

La Città by Gerd Fenchel from Rio Grande Games, KOSMOS, and ABACUSSPIELE

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Shelley and I enjoy some fruity goodness this week, looking at

Juicy Fruits by Christian Stöhr from Deep Print Games and Capstone Games' new family line

and then check out

Finca by Wolfgang Sentker and Ralf zur Linde by Rio Grande Games

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Shelley and I were fortunate enough to travel to Portugal this summer and returned with an awesome card game that's well worth hunting for

Café by Rôla and Costa from Pythagoras Games

and then we pull a favorite HEAVY game off the shelf designed by two Portuguese friends whom we had the great fortune of spending time with

Nippon by Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade from What's Your Game

along with its small expansion Nippon: Keiretsu

💾

Shelley and I get a chance to play a cool new forthcoming game from Mebo Games

Lisbon Tram 28 by Pedro Santos Silva

then we pull a classic of camel caravan building to which we have referred often

Through The Desert by Reiner Knizia from Kosmos, Fantasy Flight Games, and Z-Man Games

💾

Shelley and I compete to build our zoos the fastest in

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

then we head Down Under to check out new birds and interesting modifications to rules in

Wingspan: Oceania Expansion by Elizabeth Hargrave from Stonemaier Games

💾

Shelley and I check out a "new to us" game from BGG's store:

Legacy - The Testament of Duke de Crecy by Michiel Justin Elliott Hendriks from Portal Games, IELLO and Pegasus Spiele

then we do a re-review of another Feldian classic

In The Year of the Dragon by Stefan Feld from alea, Ravensburger, and Rio Grande Games

💾