Actualol Newsletter - November 2021 (Patreon)

Buenos dias benevolent donors!

And thank you to all the new patrons! Welcome to your first Actualol newsletter.

This month saw a review of Cascadia, a pledge drive, and the first part of my Top 50 series. And I spilt the beans on myself in the 5 Games for Doomsday podcast.

In this newsletter, I’m sharing my Top 100-96 games of all time.

Actual News

In case you missed it, you can now save money (and help me) by paying your Patreon pledge annually instead of monthly. See this post for more details.

And make sure to vote in the poll for your favourite types of Actualol video. There’s been some interesting results!

Actual Life

At the start of the month, I went to Lobstercon, our convention by the sea in Eastbourne - my first convention in two years. 

The English Seaside:

It was so nice to slip back into the familiar routine, I almost felt a fondness for our dilapidated 19th century hotel!

It was great getting to play with old friends and pick up where we left off. There’s an intensity to a convention that you can never recreate at home. Everyone is there to PLAY GAMES and you really do. I was exhausted by the end of it, but it was worth it.

The highlights were few - Bad Company is a fun dice game which I’m sure I’ll review, and Poetry for Neanderthals was perfect late night silliness, after some Shifty Eyed Spies.

The games that didn’t hit the mark for me were TEN, Streets, Lawyer Up, Fire and Stone. I’m still on the hunt for my games of the year, because I haven’t found many!

Top 100-96 Games of All Time

I’ve put links to old videos where I’ve talked about these games before.

100. The Resistance

A game that I wish I played more, but a game I will only play with certain people. I love social deduction games, but I only love them with people I know, who won’t make it awkward by getting angry or upset, or taking the game too seriously. Playing social deduction games with the wrong people have been some of my worst experiences in gaming.

The Resistance was my first, and it’s still a classic. I’ve enjoyed Secret Hitler too, but again - I’ve not played it enough. And I’ve recently tried Quest, which is the new Avalon (which was the new Resistance!), and it could end up overtaking The Resistance, for its pure simplicity. If I ever get to play it enough!

99. Hab & Gut

You would struggle to make a game that looks drier and more outdated than Hab and Gut, but it really is neither of those things!

You’re trying to influence the market to make the stock you own worth more, and sell it at the right time. The twist is that you share two hands of cards with your neighbouring players, so you can see half of what they can do.

The other twist is that you have to give money to charity in secret, and the player who donates the least cannot win the game! I LOVE rules like that.

Unfortunately it’s out of print, although BGG forums suggest it’s coming back soon. Alternatively, there is Divinity Derby, another great game by the same designer, which uses the shared hands idea in a racing/betting game.

98. Dungeon Fighter

This is possibly the silliest game in my Top 100. It’s a dexterity game where you have to throw dice onto a big target board, trying to hit the right spots. The reason I love it so much is that it’s really hard, and you’re playing cooperatively so you’re really rooting for each other to pull it off, and it feels great if you do.

AND, the game makes it more of a spectacle by challenging you to do things like throw it with your eyes closed or spinning around before you throw.

The original game was overwrought with admin, so I’m tentatively excited for the upcoming, streamlined version which hopefully gets to the action even quicker.

97. Fugitive

So many two player card games have a similar feel, but this one is distinct because it’s a hidden movement deduction game. And the cat vs mouse asymmetry means it feels like two different games depending on which side you play.

I love the Fowers Games heist thematic world and Fugitive is a great extension of that. I would love to see Tim’s take on a wider hidden movement game with a map.

96. Concept 

This perhaps unfairly lives in the shadow of Codenames and Just One, but it is one of the original guessing games, and one that I’ve had loads of fun with in the past.

You are trying to communicate something e.g. “Jurassic Park”, by putting cubes on the board of concepts, linking simplistic icons together. Jurassic Park could be “Film, Animal, Death” etc.

I enjoy that giving clues requires some creativity and problem solving. And guessing has this really satisfying moment where you’re staring at this alien language and suddenly it clicks and you feel like a genius.

New Arrivals:

• Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy
• Game of Thrones B’Twixxt
• Brian Boru: High King of Ireland

Games I’ve Been Enjoying:

• Bad Company
• Poetry for Neanderthals
• Patchwork (on BGA)

Song of the Month: On The Other Side by Blanco White

Video of the Month: Every British Advert Is Like This

Now Watching: Kim’s Convenience

As it’s the 1st of December, it’s time to share my handmade Christmas Spotify playlist Jon’s Christmas Crackers, which I’ve been fine tuning every Christmas for 10 years.

Wishing you an advantageous advent,

Actually Yours,

Jon