Bonus Update: Things to Do while Social Distancing - Board Games Part 1 (Patreon)

This time I thought I would make a few recommendations for board games that you can play  if you're social distancing with other people/family living in your home that you can play with (as we have here) or you can play on tabletop simulator (feel free to arrange games via the discord, if there is enough activity I will set up more voice channels!) 

I will do a set of Solo games later, but until then here is a bunch of games all from different styles of play.  I will include links to the Board Game Geek entry in the title for each and to either online copies or Tabletop Simulator workshop items where appropriate at the end of a section.

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein 

• Type: Worker placement (Euro)
• Playtime: Long (2-3 hours, with a shorter variant available at the PlaidHat website)
• Players: 2-4 

This moderate to heavy worker placement game takes place in the City of Paris, you are one of several scientists who has been offered, bribed, blackmailed or cajoled into building an heir for Frankenstein's Monster before Captain Roberts catches up with the beast and slays it once and for all (having changed his mind after the book).

You will do this by harvesting body parts from cadavers in various states of decay from buried bones all the way up to freshly murdered by your own hands. Gaining the expertise required to understand how to complete the task ahead of you and then stitching it all together before bringing your creation to life.  Your wealth, humanity and reputation are all at stake during this game and they can change depending on your actions. 

Or you can choose to betray the monster and seek to undermine everyone else's efforts while helping the Captain as much as possible. Just beware, if the monster finds out what you're doing, there will be punishment.

This is a lengthy, absorbing Euro is full of theme, competition and hard choices. It's macabre and grim throughout - something many "horror" board games fail at and it is unusual to see a Euro with so much theme. Just be warned, it is a very long game and your first play through could easily land at 3-4 hours or more.

Tabletop Simulator Workshop File is here.

Root 

• Type: Wargame
• Playtime: 1 to 2 hours.
• Players: 2 - 4

Root is something that I believe every board gamer should experience a few times in their life. 

At its heart the game is an asymmetric war game with multiple different factions, each with an entirely distinct and unique playstyle. The Marquise de Cat plays most like a traditional Real Time Strategy game, building locations that create troops and using them to conquer locations. In contrast, their rivals the Erie Dynasty is an exercise in pre-programming actions and building a longer and longer chain (until it collapses and you devolve into anarchy for a turn). The Woodland Alliance in contrast has almost no presence on the board to start with, they seek to build sympathy before springing up multiple camps everywhere.  And if the experience of playing wargames doesn't interest one of your players then they can play the Vagabond, a wandering adventurer who potters about the place clearing caves and swapping siding with the other factions as it benefits them.

Root is a masterpiece of asymmetric play and is a joy to experience and learn, however once you have mastered a faction the shine can come off the experience, but you can then move on to a new faction and a new combination of factions, which makes the game fresh and deep once again.  So it has limited replayability for players who like a novel experience every time (and enjoy being surprised), but if you enjoy the skill involved in what is a very brutal and deep wargame despite the cutesy theme - then there is so much to offer here.

There is a solo/cooperative mode vs. an automated Marquise, which is fine for the occasional game, but it's not varied enough for repeated play. 

Tabletop Simulator Workshop File is here. It has the expansion, which massively increases the replayability of the game through the addition of two new factions. Something Root needs a lot is new factions to help refresh the experience after you've 'solved' the previous ones.

Terraforming Mars 

• Type: Engine Building Card Game
• Players: 2 - 4
• Playtime: 1-2 hours.

You are probably already aware of this one, but if you are not; Terraforming Mars is the latest in a long line of card engine based games that also includes San Juan, Race for the Galaxy,  Saint Petersburg and the absurdly rare Glory to Rome.  These are games where you draw and play cards in order to build up an engine and eventually use said engine to generate your victory - in the case of Terraforming Mars however the twist is that you are working together with all the other players to make Mars habitable, you just need to be better at it than anyone else at the table.

The game can feel a little overwhelming to learn, but there are multiple tutorials out there online (including one in the game linked below), and the game flows well when you are used to it. The main issues here are component quality, which require third party solutions to solve. The player boards in particular are frankly awful.

However, all of the above mentioned games are worth a look, each one is a delight in its own kind and you can spend hours and hours playing them. Back in my university days I was known as being a really hard to beat Race for the Galaxy (RtfG) player (in 2 player heads up, not multiplayer) and many an hour was spent facing others who were up to the challenge (I lost to only two people in my Uni time! I am not that good anymore, very out of practice). I adore these games because of the momentum gathering way you construct your engine, it's something I like about Kingdom Death as well and I think the skills I learnt from RtfG translated across into how I approach that game - I am happy to invest in slower stuff early on if it pays off big later (Music innovations).

The Tabletop Simulator Workshop file (English) was taken down, because there is an official online version of the game located on steam here, it's quite good, especially for automated solo runs.

Race for the Galaxy also has an online version, I did like the solo version of that game and this might be a great place to play it.

Galaxy Trucker 

• Type: Timed Puzzle building & Racing Chaos
• Players: 2 - 5 (with expansion)
• Playtime: Fast - 30mins to an hour per game.

In this frenetic two phase game, players will build their space ship from a bunch of face down tiles, connecting like parts and setting up rockets, guns and shields in the right orientation in a race against each other to complete their spacecraft first.

Once you have constructed your craft, you pilot it on a simple race track, laughing at the misfortune of others all the way as their ships get torn apart because of shoddy workmanship or bad luck, at least until its your turn to get blindsided by the one event that could actually hurt you, and then your ship is down to nothing but two turntables and a microphone.

This game is just a lot of fun, the combination of competitive puzzle building and then seeing how your creation survives on a track of pain creates some joyous experiences.

The steam version of the game is super cheap, comes with one free expansion and worth a look!

Gremlins Inc.

• Type: Roll, move and do stuff to gather points.
• Players: 1 - 5
• Playtime: Varies, 30 mins to a couple of hours

The first of two wholly computer based games on this list, Gremlins Inc. is best described as 'Monopoly, but with Gremlins and not shit'. You play one of several different Gremlin characters, each with their own special abilities and rules; and you aim to get a certain level of score before anyone else manages it. 

Movement is an innovative variation on rolling a dice, you have a hand of cards that can either be played for X movement pips (most are 1-3, with 4+ being more powerful and harder to get cards) or cashed in at a certain location for a bonus. This bonus may give you points, votes, malice or some kind of ability that can be one off or even a lasting buff.  The game is fast, it's nasty, mean spirited and filled with the kind of take that you would expect from something that is a thinly veiled jab at capitalism unchecked. 

It's not the deepest of the games on this list, but it is easy to play both solo vs. relatively intelligent AI or online (both ranked and unranked) and it also has a lot of challenges to keep one engaged and returning for more and more games. Roll & Move stuff is not my cup of tea, but the way that Gremlins gives you (some) control over how far you move and even where you choose to move - in addition to a bunch of hearty bribes, mayhem, meanness and just plain old fun - keeps me coming back for the occasional bash. Fun solo, more fun with others, amazing fun in a discord call with people you know - as long as you can take being sent to prison for the fifth time 'because it's funny' in your stride.

On Steam at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/369990/Gremlins_Inc/ 

Armello 

Players: 2 - 4

Type: Adventure

Playtime: 2 hours (ish?)

The second purely digital game on this list, in Armello you are one of several animal adventurers, seeking the Sword of Martin in order to save the Abbey from Cluny the Scourge... Wait, no, that's the plot of Redwall.  

No, in Armello your aim is to ultimately become the Queen or King, by gathering power through adventures. You will battle monsters, find treasure and level up in a traditional RPG(ish) style. If you've not seem someone like TotalBiscuit (you're still missed) or the Northern Lion Super Show play this game, it is worth checking it out, just the play throughs alone are hugely entertaining.

This game sits in the same genre as games like Talisman, Elder Sign, Arkham Horror and so on, but because of its aim at being digital from the outset it makes a great use of the medium and feels like it could never really be a true board game. 

If you like the theme, or enjoy this style of game, it is a gem.

Robinson Crueso: Adventures on the Cursed Island 

Type: Cooperative Adventure/Survival

Players: 1 - 4 

Playtime: 1 - 2 hours

RC is more of a 'shell' than an actual single game experience, across multiple scenarios you will explore an island, but in each individual scenario the goals and focus are different, the traditional first scenario has you trapped on the island and building shelter plus a big fire to signal for rescue. But other scenarios include exorcising evil from a cursed island, settling down to live for good, hunting treasure in a volcano or even exploring the home of a suspiciously large ape. This variety, in addition to a very harsh and demanding balance of needs creates multiple unique experiences.

The main thrust of the game is in essence a worker placement variant. Each player has X number of actions they can engage on various activities across the island, you may be dealing with whatever random threat turns up, being mauled while hunting a Jaguar (as I was last night), building shelter/useful tools, gathering supplies, exploring or even taking time to organise the camp and bring cheer to everyone. It depends what the pressures and needs the game is placing on you at a given time.

And boy, what pressures this game has, in addition to the need to eat every day, you are also required to manage your health, morale, protect against weather, wandering animals and even deal with bad fortune such as a tree landing on you. This game places a bunch of different critical situations in front of you and then says 'hey solve all of these, but you only have enough time and resources to solve most'. 

It's fun, evolving and almost always a challenge, especially when you're dealing with Jenny, ugh. She's such a Karen.

Steam Workshop is here.

Mice & Mystics / Stuffed Fables 

Type: Cooperative Adventure

Players: 2 - 4

Length: Multiple sessions 1-2 hours a piece.

Finally, for those of you who have younger children at home, this could be the opportunity to get them into miniature based board gaming, either with Mice and Mystics or Stuffed Fables.  These two games have a more child friendly theme than most other dungeon crawl style games and the models are a delight.

In Mice & Mystics you and your little ones take the part of Prince Collin and his band of misfits, shrunk down and turned into mice by the evil Queen this is a classic tail of adventure and revenge. I mentioned Redwall above and it is clear that this game owes a debt to that series for its existence, but it is its own thing. 

Stuffed Fables puts the players in the role of stuffed toys looking to save their owner from an evil mastermind. The board in SF is smaller than in M&M resulting a tighter, contained experience per scenario - it has less of the wonder of exploration and potentially branching paths, but a more focused and tight experience.

Younger players may need help understanding where they can move and what is best, but they will enjoy rolling the dice and smashing the baddies a lot. And best of all, for the painters amongst you, both these games have decent quality PVC minis to paint. 

For the older player there is a re implementation of this game in Comanauts.

Mice & Mystics is here.

Finally, check out Haggis if you're looking for a sharp 3 player card game.

KD:M update tomorrow as usual.