Actualol Newsletter - March 2021 (Patreon)

Hey there patreo-peeps,

Something amazing has happened. We’re now allowed to spend time with other people outdoors, and as if by miracle, the sun came out and gave us a 23C (73F) day in an otherwise cold March.

I made the most of the opportunity and played some games outside with Ben (of VLOG fame). It felt like I was on holiday and it was a much-needed reminder of what life will be like again soon.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my collection - it’s a relief to have a popular video on the channel again. I’ll be following it up with my Top 5 Games of 2020 soon, so in this newsletter I’m sharing my picks for 10 to 5.

Top Games of 2020 - 10 to 5

I long debated making a Top Games of 2020, hence the belated release. It wasn’t a strong year for games and I didn’t feel like there were ten that were worthy of mention, especially in comparison to the quality of games in previous year’s top tens.

A lot of the games that I fell in love with in 2020 were actually titles from 2019 which I was trying for the first time. It felt wrong making a Top 10 of 2020 filled with titles from the wrong year.

So this year my video will focus on my Top 5 - five games that definitely deserve their spot. And I’ll share the other five with you here:

10. There are quite a few 2020 games which almost made this list, but I haven’t played them with enough people to be certain. My Farm Shop, Gods Love Dinosaurs and Meeple Land all deserve an honorary tenth place spot.

But among them all, Nidavellir is the game that stands out. It’s an really interesting auction game with a theme so soul-suckingly pointless that I don’t even want to mention it.

Ok fine, you play as fantasy dwarves. Are you happy? I’m not.

Your goal is to recruit them to your (insert annoying name for a group dwarves) to get the most points. Each round the dwarves will line up in the local pubs and you will bid on them, as was foretold in the scripture, probably.

You bid in secret, by assigning a coin to each pub. Then reveal, and the player who bid the highest gets first pick. And each dwarf type scores in a certain way - but generally, the more the better.

The bidding is made more interesting by the ability to forgo a bid and instead upgrade your coins so that you can bid higher next round. If you don't keep upgrading, you'll never get first pick on anything.

It is hopefully testament to my integrity that I found a really fun game amidst the thematic wasteland. I look forward to trying it in real life with a bigger player count, because I expect it to shine.

9. Lockup was a pleasant surprise from 2019. After I’d made it through all the obvious games I wanted to try out on Tabletop Simulator, I decided to give a chance to games I had ignored.

My initial response to Lockup was:

But if you look past the fantasy ketchup - which is very easy, because it’s a completely pointless affectation - Lockup is rather nice.

You send out your thugs into different parts of the prison to collect resources which you will use to build weapons and recruit goons to get points. The fun is that you’re fighting over these resources, so you have to decide how big a force of thugs to send to a location to ensure you’ll get it.

You can assign two thugs face down which creates an air of mystery around what you’re up against. And I really enjoy the fierce rivalry over getting what you need. The only downside to Lockup is it feels like it lasts one or two rounds too long.

8. I never should have listened to the LAMA haters, but I did and I let 2019 pass without trying the game. Lesson learned, Reiner Knizia is a genius and I apologise for doubting him.

I’ve never had an UNO phase in my life, I was either too young, too old, or too British to experience that wave. But I get the appeal of a brainless card game for certain social situations. LAMA takes that idea and adds just enough brain to keep me entertained.

You’re trying to get rid of your cards first. But you have little control over whether you will. If you can’t play the same or consecutive number you must pick up. OR you can pass out of the round, taking your current hand as minus points. Often that’s the best move. And if everyone passes you could saddle one player with some serious minus points.

But, if you do manage to clear out your hand, you can give back ten minus points so there’s a huge incentive to stay in. And therein lies the genius. Don’t listen to the haters, this game is the best at what it does. I’ve just picked up LAMA Party and I can’t wait to try that one too.

7. Smartphone Inc was the biggest surprise of the year. I can’t play every game, and I usually decide to skip something based on a BGG description or someone else’s review. An “economic simulation eurogame” did not sound like my sort of thing. What they’d neglected to mention is that it’s much more interactive, and lighter, than most eurogames.

It feels like running a business - deciding what price to sell your phones at to undercut your rivals. Investing in technology to attract more customers. And expanding to new territories. 

I loved how well the mechanisms fit its theme. But mostly I loved how competitive it felt. If more eurogames were like this, I would play more eurogames.

6. Blitzkrieg is another gem from 2019 and one I really should have tried sooner. It’s a two player World War 2 game condensed into something brilliant.

The board is divided into the five theatres of World War 2. And each turn you must put a token into a campaign to swing things in your favour. You only have three tokens to choose from, and you won’t always have the ones you need.

Once a line is filled, that campaign is complete - and the points will go to the side who is currently winning in that theatre.

What makes the decisions so interesting, is that each battle space gives you a special ability. Such as researching better weapons for your bag, or bombing your opponent so they have one less token to choose from. The temptation of the more powerful abilities can distract you from securing a victory where you need it.

Blitzkrieg is pure excitement. The threat of being bombed out of the game is real, or being overrun in a theatre so that they take all the remaining spoils. And you get all of that from such a simple, clean ruleset. I will definitely be talking about this one in a video in the future.

Games I’ve been enjoying lately

• Shobu
• MicroMacro: Crime City

New arrivals

• Half Truth
• Unmatched: Battle of Legends
• Fiesta De Los Muertos

Song of the Month: Daydream by The Aces

Now Watching: Superstore, Little Voice

I hope the sun is shining for you soon, whether literally or figuratively,

Actually yours,

Jon