A Wasteland of What Could Have Been

Creative Fiction(ish) Stories

As I've mentioned in my previous post, today is going to be a bit more of a creative story involving my interactions with a very well-known and highly rated game here on BGG. Obviously I haven't had to fight radscorpions that came from the nuclear blast that destroyed society as we know it (or maybe I have... who knows), but my thoughts and feelings about the game below are fairly accurate. I hope you enjoy the tale and continue to leave your comments below.

From The Ashes

I'm not sure what happened that day. One second I was driving along, listening to the latest song by some random artist that no one had heard of (I blame Spotify for that one), and the next, I was waking up sitting on the side of the road with a huge gash on the side of my head, blood having been crusted over my left eye. It took me some time to clear the blood away from my eye so I could see again, but when I finally got it all open again, I was greeted by a wasteland that sat before me.

Everything I knew and loved in the familiar area was gone. No more were there green trees lining the highway and skyscrapers dominating the horizon as I looked across the river. The bridge too that had once stood proudly over the river was now gone as well, missing half it's support pillars and the what remained of the bridge being crashed over by a raging river that looked as red as the sky above me.

Those first days were the hardest for me. I had somehow survived some kind of catastrophe, but the biggest one came when I made my way to what had been my former home. My wife and two daughters were gone and what had been my beautiful home was now a hole in the side of the hill on which it was set. I spent several days looking around the area for any sign of what had happened to my family, but it became increasingly apparent that they had either been wiped out by whatever had caused me to black out that previous day, or were gone.

I was alone in a desolate world that had been ravaged and destroyed, by what I would later learn was a nuclear blast that had been accidentally set off by some idiot thinking he had pushed a button for a soda machine. I have no idea why all our codes were stored in a vending machine in some backwater town in what used to be Nebraska, but with the push of one button, the world we knew it was gone. The initial bomb set off a chain reaction that somehow spread through every bomb on the planet and despite the best efforts of the military, every single goddamn one had gone off.

Details are still spotty about what caused the chain reaction since information is not being shared beyond what you hear at the local watering hole, but the general consensus is that there was some bug in the code of whomever had placed that vending machine in the government building that infected all systems across the earth. No really knows why the codes were in a vending machine, but from what we could piece together after the blasts (or from what I was able to learn) it seemed that it was supposed to be a joke for a board game release, but ended up connecting with actual nuclear launch systems, resulting in the complete destruction that I had awoken to.

Naturally, I wasn't aware of what had happened when I was scrambling to find any remnant of a clue of what happened to my family, but I learned of it as I wandered the wasteland after I gave up after a week of searching. I was able to scrounge up some old cans of some unidentified meat (I think it was tuna, but the red glow it emitted didn't give me much of an idea of its providence) and set across the wasteland that used to be my beautiful home. I think there was something in the food that I ate as once I had done so, I found myself finding that my eyesight had become significantly better and I could run for several tens of miles without getting tired.

I used my newfound endurance and perception to scour the world around me, avoiding interacting with people when I could avoid it, getting information from others when I couldn't, and fighting off those who sought to take what little possessions I had scrounged up on my travels. Nights were the worst as that was when the radscorpions, giant arachnids that had been mutated by the radiation in the air, came out. My first encounter with them resulted in a nasty sting to my arm that left it numb and useless for several hours, but I managed to kill the beast that stung me. Its meat was tender and the carapace acted as a decent armor for me, but I still tried to avoid the irradiated monsters as much as possible, especially during the night when they blended into the black night.

The Gangs of the Wildlands

My first encounter with the Board Game Gangs came several months after the blast. I at first thought that it was a joke as someone had spray painted "TERRITORY OF DA ARK NOVAS! KEEP OUT UNLESS YOU WANNA SAVE DA ANIMALS!" I scoffed that someone had chosen to name a game after a board game, even one that had been highly enjoyed before the collapse of society, but as I made my way further past the sign, I saw signs of human activity, and ones that didn't give me much hope.

Spray painted on signs at varying intervals on the road that I now ran were various phrases like "Death 2 the Brass Gang!" or "Conservation Rox!" More references to other "gangs" were strewn around the road and as I proceeded beyond each one, they only increased in frequency. I saw a rock that had been chiseled with "Gloom-Broken" and another sign that read "Terraform This" with a rude gesture painted underneath. It had been some time since I had a good laugh, but the signs referencing old games from before the collapse really threw me for a loop and I thought that I had stumbled into a giant practical joke.

My laughter would soon die as I came upon a camp that seemed to be decorated with an animal motif and had armed guards sitting outside the "gates" (it was more of a palisade wall with an opening that functioned as a gate) wearing full body paint that seemed to be inspired by animal patterns. One was painted with a pattern resembling a giraffe and the other seemed to have a tiger motif with her paint. They greeted me cordially enough and inquired why I was proceeding through the territory of the "Novans." I found out later that had I been wearing any inspiration from another game (such as an oversized dragon, or a rebel symbol from Star Wars) I would have been attacked without any hesitation and was glad that I was wearing my salvaged leather jacket and jeans as that was all I had found that could weather my travels.

I learned that much of the surrounding area had been split up into territories with gangs that flaunted their preferred game as their name and fought anyone who disagreed with them. The Novans had a tentative peace with the "Dellians" (they loved Everdell) and the "Rangers" (big fans of PARKS) but were at odds with the "Martians" (fans of Terraforming Mars) and were in open war with the "Spiriters" (which I later learned were a combination of fans of Spirit Island and Mysterium). There seemed to have been some conflict that had been set off between the factions but no one in the Novan camp could explain what had set off the conflict. They of course were fans of Ark Nova, hence the animal motif with all of their buildings and paints.

After some time spent with the Novan camp, attempting to learn as much as I could about the incident that had occurred that resulted in the bombs going off, I found out much of what had led to the destruction of civilization as I knew it. There were still details that were spotty, but as I learned over the course of my time with the Novans, I had actually been knocked out for far longer than I originally knew. Somehow between the blast and other factors that I wasn't fully aware of, I had been unconscious and incapacitated for more than ten years. When I had awoken at the edge of the bridge, a decade had passed without my knowledge.

This new knowledge helped explain why everything that I loved and knew were gone and how in the course of a few months, entire gangs (and supposedly societies) had arisen based on the concept of which board game was considered "best." The Novans provided me with some food (all vegetarian as they were all about "conservation" of whatever animals were left after the blast) and I thanked them for their hospitality, but turned down all attempts to get me to play their game. I had found myself in the middle of a conflict that I was not ready to leap into the middle of.

Scythe-ing Through My Excitement

The next few weeks were eventful as I tried to pick my way through the various territories that had been claimed by the major gangs. It seemed as if each territory often fluctuated in size and I saw many references to other gangs, but managed to avoid any confrontation by groups by sticking to avoiding the road which seemed to be a thoroughfare through the board gang territories. Most of the territories had the hallmarks of the games that they attempted to emulate, but some left me wondering.

The Martians had done their best to transform the territory that they claimed into red dirt, seemingly transporting in red clay to cover the ground and give it a Mars-like feeling. The Rangers had done as much as they could to transform their territory into something resembling an old growth forest with saplings and giant wooden standees attempting to recreate the majesty of the redwood forests, albeit in a simple two-dimensional manner. Several skulls and odd flowing fabric tacked onto posts confused me for a while, but I soon learned that it was the territory of the Spiriters after an encounter that would change my perspective significantly.

There had been one motif that seemed to be everywhere, but I couldn't place what game that it was claiming to laud. A scythe placed over a red star confused me as I couldn't figure out what it was referencing and it seemed to be everywhere I looked. Even on signs that had been placed by other factions, it could be found hidden in corners, on the rear of the sign, or carved into a nearby rock, the symbol was everywhere. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to where it was placed, only seeming to be put in every location possible without being overtly specific about anything but attempting to be as covert as possible.

There seemed to be no territory associated with the symbol as every territory that I had passed seemed to have distinct motif to show what gang was there, but I had never seen anything to associate with the scythe/star combination. As I passed through a particularly mountainous area, I came upon a cave that seemed to be deserted upon first glance, but upon further inspection, I was grabbed from behind and had my head quickly covered by a bag. My hands were tied and rather than attempting to struggle, I let myself be led further into the cave, which I could feel the air grow cold and stale as we proceeded deeper into the cavern.

When the bag was removed and my vision adjusted to the dim light of the cavern that was lit by torches interspersed on the wall, I found myself surrounded by a group of thirty to forty individuals that wore hooded robes of five different colors. There seemed to be an equal amount of each color, as they were arrayed in colors of white, black, blue, red and yellow, each with a symbol that seemed to have been meticulously sewn into the robes themselves. As I looked around the chamber that I had been transported to, a figure in a black robe stepped out of the group surrounding me and whispered "Welcome to the Brotherhood of Scythe."

The mysterious figure continued their whispering, giving me no indication if the individual that stood before me was male or female, and because the robes were long and flowing, no discernable body shape could be determined. The hood covered the face of the individual completely, obscuring any and all facial features in shadow that was only compounded by the dim light. The figure continued to whisper to me in hushed tones explaining that I had been taken in to learn the beauty of Scythe as it was the truly best game that had been created. Hushed whispers from the group around me agreed with the speaker and provided an eerie echo to what the figure spoke of the game.

As I sat, transfixed by the strange nature of the situation that I found myself in, a table was brought before me with the aforementioned game already set to play. As I attempted to refuse to play, something sharp and pointy was placed in my back, informing me that I would be unable to leave without playing the game. I looked at the pieces that had been placed on the board and chose my faction and proceeded to attempt to learn how to play the game via the whispered instructions to me by those who sat around watching me play against three others that had sat down at the table to play with me.

As I played the game, I found myself increasingly frustrated with what the game could have been. It seemed that I should be able to use my mech pieces to dominate and destroy any who stood in my way on the map, but I was informed that rather than direct conflict, the pieces were used to intimidate and redirect my opponents. On and on the game played and I found myself unimpressed more and more with how it played. The voices that had spoken of the game to me spoke of it with reverence, but I found that it did not seem to be the holy grail that this group claimed it to be. I chose not to speak my mind however as I knew the perilous situation that I found myself in.

As the game concluded, I had lost to one of the members of the Brotherhood, but I plastered a fake smile on my face and lauded the game that I had been forced to play. Despite feeling that there had been so much potential to be more, I nevertheless gave a glowing review of the game which seemed to satisfy my captors. As I was asked to join the Brotherhood and pass the knowledge of the game to the gangs that surrounded the area, I noted that the robe on one of the arms of an individual had slipped to their elbow revealing a tiger-stripe pattern.

As I found that my eyes had adjusted to the light over the course of the game, I found that I could make out features of some of the figures that surrounded me and saw several had specific items related to a number of the gangs under their robes. I began to realize why the Brotherhood of Scythe had remained secretive and not claimed their own territory: they were a combination of all the other gangs and had members from each other gang but needed to remain secretive lest they be found out by their respective gangs.

Armed with this knowledge I managed to barter my way out of the cave by promising not to share the secret of the Brotherhood with any of the other gangs. There were several close calls where I thought that they would not follow through with their side of the deal by letting me go without joining, but my silver tongue won the day and I escaped without being indoctrinated into the Brotherhood.

Thunder on the Horizon

As I made my way out of the territories of the gangs, I began thinking about my time in the board game wasteland. There was so much chaos, all in the name of choosing the best board game ever. It was strange to me that a society that had been so civilized had fallen into fractionality, but as I thought more and more, I realized that in the time before the fall, society had too been fractional and diverse as well as opinionated on everything that came to the table.

My wanderings soon led me to an old dilapidated garage that held numerous old vehicles that to my surprise still held some gasoline in them. Further exploration of the area led me to a reservoir of old gas tanks that still held the precious liquid. As I viewed my bounty, an idea came to my head that required immediate follow up. I began to reinforce the vehicles with various armor pieces, creating a destructive monstrosity on wheels that I could use to create my own gang.

Soon all would know the glory of THUNDER ROAD and would soon tremble at the sound of the roaring engines of the THUNDERERS! WITNESS ME!!!

~End.~

[Insert Final Thoughts Here]

This was a really fun idea that was provided on a comment with my previous post. It was so much fun writing a short story about a dystopian wasteland ruled by gangs that were based off board games. Obviously there's far more worldbuilding that could be done, but I wanted to keep this post shorter since I didn't include anything beside the story. I love the idea of creating stories based on different genres and would like to pose a challenge for myself: if there's a concept and genre you would like to see me attempt with one of these posts, feel free to comment and I'll do my best to meet the challenge.

Give your thoughts: What are some games that you've had highly recommended to you, but upon playing them, you've been unimpressed? How do you respond to someone's glowing view of the game when it's not one you share? Has the opposite happened to you: you've been excited about a game but the group/individual that you introduced to the game was not as impressed with it or downright hated the game?

Thanks for coming on this wild ride with me and I'll be back on Friday with some gameplay reviews. Remember to hit the green thumb if you liked this post and subscribe to the blog if you want to read my other weekly ramblings that happen thrice a week. I appreciate each and every one of your comments and hope that you all have a wonderful rest of your week!

^ a big shoutout to Gerry H (Iftut) for the inspiration for this post!

Thanks!

~Josiah - (LinkToDarkness) 

 *Originally posted on BoardGameGeek 3/4/2024*

Drafting a Winner

Mechanical Breakdown

As with all of these, I'll start my initial post with the definition here on BGG regarding what Open Drafting is, followed by my own definition for further clarification on drafting, concluding with my top 10 recommendations for games that have the drafting mechanic.

According to BGG, Open Drafting is defined as "Open Drafting is used in games in which players pick cards (or tiles, resources, dice, etc) from a common pool, to gain some advantage (immediate or longterm) or to assemble collections that are used to meet objectives within the game."

In layman's terms, Open Drafting is a mechanic where an open pool of resources is available for players to pull from, usually some kind of bank, that then allows them to help work towards a final objective. Some games incorporate the drafting mechanic into a tableau/engine builder, which I note below, and others utilize the mechanic to build a player card deck, or even get drafted directly onto player boards. Usually open drafting is paired with a few more mechanics as often times it's not viable on it's own

It should also be noted that open drafting differs from closed drafting in that players know what cards/tiles/resources are available to draft rather than something like Tri-Ominos which utilizes face down tiles in a shared pool that players pull from. Other examples of closed drafting include Sushi Go Party! (where players draft from shared hands that change as they are passed around the table) and Terraforming Mars (which involves players drafting from a group of four privately drawn cards).

Open drafting on the other hand allows players to directly see what is available for purchase or pulling. Ark Nova for example has a shared resource board which players can take cards from on their turn that then is refilled once cards are pulled. The Castles of Burgundy too has a shared resource board that players can take tiles from to fill in their own personal board. The idea with open drafting is that cards/resources/tiles are able to be seen by everyone and ultimately require players to adjust strategy if/when an item that they want is taken by another player.

#10 - Queendomino

What do you draft? Players take turns drafting both dominoes from a shared pool as well as receiving opportunities to purchase tiles from a store of tiles.
Total Plays: 1
What I Like About It: So this one is a bit of an odd one out game. I've only played the game once, yet with how many time's I've played dominoes and other related games, I feel like I had a bit of a better feel for the game despite it being my first time playing. Queendomino takes the tile-laying, kingdom-building idea from Kingdomino and adds in an additional layer of depth with the addition of towers, guards, villages, a queen and a dragon. Kingdomino tasks the players with building a 5x5 grid with tiles with one of six separate territories (grass, field, forest, mine, wasteland, water) but Queendomino adds a seventh territory (village) as well as some additional depth with the added features taking the game from a simple domino laying game to a more strategic, in-depth build with the dominoes.

I love the idea of using the various meeples to draft tiles each round and depending on which tile is chosen, allows for that player to choose earlier or later in the next round. If a player chooses the top tile, it tends to be worth less, but allows the player to choose first the next round from the tiles that are laid out in preparation. All players are able to see what is going to be available the next round, which further influences their choice for which tile they take the current round as it might result in a tile that they really need being taken by another player.

The addition of the village tiles being added to the game allows for additional depth as players have to choose whether to take a tile that might provide end-game bonuses (such as additional points), or immediate bonuses (such as a tower that would allow them to have the queen visit their kingdom or a guardsmen who can gather taxes). There's even a dragon that allows the player without the queen to destroy one of the village tiles on offer in the store, which are placed in descending order of cost. It might be advantageous for a player to destroy a powerful village card that costs only 1 coin that might allow their opponent to score some significant points. There's a level of strategy beyond a simple domino game that takes great advantage of the drafting mechanic along with a very well done "catchup" mechanic as well.

Queendomino is a bit more difficult to learn than it's predecessor, Kingdomino, which might be difficult for younger or new players to learn. While it was easy to learn for me, I personally like to play heavier games so the additional rules were not too much to add on, despite not having played Kingdomino before. Newer players might benefit from playing Kingdomino before they attempt to play Queendomino however as it does add several additional actions that could be tough to play with for younger kids.

#9 - Wingspan

What do you draft? Players are able to draft one of three cards available in a shared tray as well as blind draw from a deck of bird cards. This tray is refilled at the end of a player turn allowing all players to choose from three birds at any given time. Players also are able to draft dice listing potential resources into their personal pool. Once the remaining dice have only one resource showing, all dice are rerolled to provide a different set of resources.
Total Plays: 2
What I Like About It: It is hard to pin down exactly what makes Wingspan such an excellent game as it is absolutely more than a sum of it's parts. The drafting mechanic is used twice in the game, both with bird cards and resources, which gives the players quite a bit of choice when playing. The engine building mechanic included in the game also allows for potential multiple draws of either resource (cards or dice) and the large number of available birds (in both the base game and the numerous expansions) resulting in wildly different games. Wingspan takes all of these mechanics and presents them in an extremely well-crafted and well-built game, ultimately resulting in something that is not only popular here on BGG, but also in the wider commercial realm.

If I had to play Devil's Advocate for a brief moment to put a damper on why this isn't higher on my list, there are two things that I take issue with in the game. One of which is subjective, and the other a bit more objective, albeit with a hint of my opinion. My first complaint about the game is the theme, which of course is very subjective. I love the idea of birdwatching, but for me it doesn't really catch my attention. It's an interesting and wide field that allows for the publisher to make tons of expansions (more on that in a second), but it just doesn't speak to me as a gamer more interested in a fantastical/science fiction realm for my games. My second complaint is that the game feels much better with the inclusion of the Oceana Expansion as it adds in nectar, which acts as a wild resource. The other expansions add in additional birds and rules, but the nectar, after playing the game with it included, seems like it should have been a base resource as it adds so much more variability when playing the game. It's not too often that I run into a game that feels incomplete without an expansion, but I would not purchase a copy of Wingspan without the added Oceana Expansion since it adds so much more to the game.

#8 - Azul

What do you draft? Players take turns drafting beautiful resin tiles from included cardboard circles, or from the "floor" of the factory to add to their player boards. The tiles are refilled each round until a player completes one row on their player board.
Total Plays: 10+ (8 logged on BGG, but multiple games before I started logging plays)
What I Like About It: Azul is a beautiful game. There's no denying that the game itself is extremely well designed and utilizes excellent pieces for it's board. The resin tiles feel premium despite being included in the base game and make me wish that more games would take the resin approach, despite knowing that it would drive up the cost of the game significantly. Azul is simple to learn, but difficult to master, especially with the random bag draws that players use to set up the various "factory" tiles a the beginning of each round. Each round players take turns from choosing a color from the available factory tiles (which each hold four tiles of varying colors) and adding them to their player board to be laid at the end of the round as long as the row has been filled. The player boards also come with double sided boards allowing players to choose a standard layout or make one of their own, adding additional depth to the game.

To continue my trend of listing caveats for the game, it would be that I am slightly frustrated that the player boards themselves are not double layered to keep tiles in their respective location. It wouldn't have been that much more of a cost to double layer each side to prevent the tiles from moving around on the boards. Surprisingly enough, the publisher has chosen instead to offer a plastic overlay for player boards to keep the tiles in place as an "Expansion" that costs an additional $15 MSRP. There is an additional set of boards included, but shelling out $15 for plastic overlays that should have been included in the base game, or better yet have double sided boards, feels wrong to me and more of a cash grab than anything.

I will say that I appreciate that each other game in the Azul line is it's own standalone game with it's own variation on the Azul formula. Each of the sequels (Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, Azul: Summer Pavilion, Azul: Queen's Garden, and Azul: Master Chocolatier) all have their own twist on the familiar tile drafting formula from the original game, yet feel distinct enough to warrant their own game. While Azul doesn't always hit the table as much as it used to, it still remains a favorite part of my collection as it was one of my first tile-laying games.

#7 - Splendor

What do you draft? Players draft either tokens or cards in this excellently designed drafting engine builder.
Total Plays: 7+ (7 games logged but more played before I started logging plays)
What I Like About It: If you had to ask my wife Sarah what her favorite game was before I introduced her to Everdell she would have hands down said that Splendor was her favorite game. Even after I found a winning strategy and defeated her four times in a row with that strategy. She loves the engine building mechanic of Splendor and the variations that it has on each setup. This probably is our most-played game in our collection with just the two of us playing and it's easy to see why. The game itself is simple in it's turn: players can choose three different colored gems, two gems of one type (as long as 4+ gems remain), reserve a card and gain a coin (a wild token) or purchase a card. There are a few additional rules, but the game itself is that simplistic to learn and surprisingly deep to master. Even with a strategy to play the game, I often find that Sarah and I remain fairly close with our wins against one another.

While I have yet to play with the expansion for the game, I still find myself enjoying base Splendor immensely. Each time I play I find that there's some new strategy involved that I have to counter Sarah with and I still find myself losing games to her regularly, which always is a surprise when she reaches the required 15 VP without me paying too much attention to her strategy. I do like that the expansion, Splendor: Cities of Splendor adds in four separate mini-expansions to the game, and while I've heard that not all are winners, it does add some additional variety to the game beyond the base game.

The cards and tokens themselves are also excellently designed and produced. Each of the gem tokens is a heavier weight poker chip, providing a nice and satisfying "clack" when being placed on another chip or providing a nice weight when picked up. The cards are also very nicely produced, and although they do not have a linen finish, still feel excellent on mid-weight cardstock with vibrant colors. Visiting nobles are printed on cardboard tiles that have a nice, stable feel to them as well.

My only complaint about the game is that the insert for the game makes it feel a bit too big. There's a lot of wasted space with the insert and although it fits every component very nicely without any additional give for the components, it results in a box that feels slightly larger than it should be. When adding in expansions, the box size works well, but the base game has quite a bit of underutilized space that results in quite a bit of empty air in the box.

#6 - Cascadia

What do you draft? Players take turns drafting biome hexes paired with an animal tile to place on their personal player board.
Total Plays: 20
What I Like About It: Cascadia is an excellent tile-laying game that challenges players to create the most harmonious biomes pairing them with varying objectives for each of the five included animals. If the varying setup and changing tiles weren't enough to draw you into this clever puzzle game, the included scenarios, achievement, and achievement tracker should be more than enough to convince you to add this game to your collection. There is a reason that Cascadia currently sits at #45 on the BGG rankings: it's an excellent game that is light enough to teach new players, but has an absolutely massive amount of replayability and depth of strategy to it. While many drafting games can result in some "take that" mechanics, Cascadia manages to avoid that very well by having player interaction limited to potentially having a desired tile/animal combo taken by someone else.

To add a negative caveat to this game, I will note that the included storage solution for the game leaves quite a bit to be desired. With only a simple "W" cardboard insert that contains two trenches to store all other components that are kept in plastic bags, I find myself wishing there was a better solution for storage. I would personally prefer to 3D print something, but at this time don't have a reliable source of materials or time to print something to include in the box.

Overall, Cascadia has astounded me with how well it plays. Because the game is designed with a solo/solitaire play in mind, even with a larger group, it can be played well at a one-player count as well. It definitely is vying for my favorite solo game of 2024, especially after 20 plays, making it the third most played game in my collection.

#5 - Dice Forge

What do you draft? Players can choose to choose to draft available cards on the shared main board or choose to draft a new dice face which can then be "forged" onto their own personal dice.
Total Plays: 5
What I Like About It: I love the "forging" mechanic that comes with this game as it's quite unique. While there are many dice chucking games, there are currently only 12 separate games listed on BGG that have dice with swappable faces listed as a component contained within, making Dice Forge an extremely unique game on this list, and even on BGG. It's such a clever mechanic that players can utilize to their advantage, especially when the cards that are set up can vary from game to game. I also a am a big fan of the theming of the game, as it utilizes subtle Greek hero theming in the game, with cards such as satyrs, hydras, and minotaurs, without being overtly specific with where the influences came from. In fact, it wasn't until I started really looking into game themes that I realized after several plays of Dice Forge that it was a Greek Theme.

The caveat with Dice Forge is one that should be noted with any dice throwing game: because you are rolling dice, you might have varying results with your games. There are numerous reviews on BGG that point out the random nature of dice rollers and how reviewers felt that the dice that they upgraded never really utilized the upgraded faces. I personally have never felt that I didn't reap the rewards from the dice that I had upgraded, but I also will note that I am very specific with which dice I upgrade, resulting in dice that tend to be much more powerful due to the various faces included.

I personally think that choosing which faces to upgrade (removing the old face and "forging" on a new one) is part of the charm that the game exudes and results in wildly different dice for each player making strategies grow and evolve as they are upgraded. While I have found that sometimes the dice that I roll do not end up on an upgraded face, there has never been a time where I've gone an entire game without rolling an upgraded face. Your mileage may vary with this game, but I personally think it's a really fun and unique game that I've been able to add to my collection.

#4 - Gizmos

What do you draft? Players draft both upgrade cards and "energy" orbs, either from available current resources or from a blind pull.
Total Plays: 1* (*1 game played, 1 game watched)
What I Like About It: I have a good friend with whom I play games with weekly who referred to the game as "Splendor 2.0" and was extremely intrigued as I loved Splendor, but found it too light sometimes. The idea of playing a game that was essentially an upgraded version of the game intrigued me and I was all in when I found out that I could play it for free at a local Board Game Café. When I played the game with my friend, I had to agree with the assessment: the game definitely felt like a "Splendor 2.0" in all but name. It was an engine-builder that had several additional available actions, all of which could be "upgraded" (as players are building a machine) to give each action more bonuses through the game. Like it's predecessor, Gizmos ends after a set goal (rather than points it ends after 16 "upgrades" are obtained by one player) and then points are totaled. However, I found that the game had more depth to it that it's counterpart and while I could come up with a strategy to win 6-7/10 games of Splendor, I didn't feel that way about Gizmos.

Going into the negatives of the game, one caveat being that the components of the game, while decent, did feel a bit cheap. It was likely done to reduce overall cost of the game, but I found that several components seemed to have warped after plays from other people and the reservoir for the energy orbs was a bit fiddly at times and several orbs were lost underneath it through the play of the game. The game also is heavily reliant on availability of cards, as is Splendor, so draws for those cards could make or break a strategy. The game does however have a solution for that, allowing players to "research" (draw X cards and pick one) cards from the pile, which does mitigate the card availability concern slightly.

#3 - Everdell

What do you draft? Cards from a shared pool of available cards as well as blind draws from a shared deck of cards.
Total Plays: 15
What I Like About It: I was hesitant to keep Everdell on this list since I referenced it in my previous post about variable setup. I was attempting to vary the games that I have on this list for more variability, but after thinking about it, I just couldn't keep the game off the list since it's one of my favorite games to play. While card drafting does rely on specific abilities on each of the cards played (and some player powers when integrated), there is also an opportunity once a game for players to pull from the shared card pool in the "Meadow." Each game that I have played of Everdell has had wildly varying availability for the cards available to pull resulting in very different strategies played each game.

I will note that a caveat with Everdell is that once players are familiar enough with the game, they have a distinct advantage over newer players as they know card abilities and are better able to design their cities using the synergies. Some of the expansions mitigate that, but experience will always win over no experience, resulting in a game that might be difficult to play with a newbie unless significant help is provided by a veteran player.

This doesn't lessen my opinion of the game as I love playing Everdell with Sarah and it easily has become one of our favorite games to play when we have an hour or two (or three) to spare at the end of a long week. It's a nice relaxing game and the artwork and play of the game is something that keeps drawing us back for more and more.

#2 - Wyrmspan

What do you draft? Players take turns drafting both dragon and cave tile cards available in a six card (three of each) shared pool. Players can also pull cards from both decks for a blind draw.
Total Plays: 2
What I Like About It: While my referred to Gizmos as "Splendor 2.0", Wyrmspan for me feels like "Fantasy Wingspan 2.0". I love that the game takes the engine-building of the original game and gives it a twist with dragons and makes it slightly more complex. Gone are the randomized rolls that come from the dice that you draft and now players get the choice of what resources are obtained. It still retains the same concept of drafting and placing dragons, but also adds an excavation action that allows players to draft and play various cave tiles for a one-time benefit. It also has the excellent art by Clémentine Campardou which I absolutely adore for each of the 183 included dragon cards.

Back with some caveats, we have the caveat that comes with many card drafting games: based on the cards pulled for the main bank, there could be a significantly different game played based on what is available. Several users noted that they didn't see to many different dragons during their plays of the game and that the cards remained on the bank unchanged for the rounds. I personally haven't noticed the cards sitting in the bank and felt like we went through them quickly and the refreshing each round helped to clear unwanted cards. It also is a bit more mechanically heavy than Wingspan resulting in a game that might be slightly more difficult (albeit not by much) to teach new players. My own personal caveat is that the game does not have any insert included in the box and pieces (while bagged they still float around in the box) and it's disappointing that such a great game doesn't do anything to keep it's components safe. I'll have to get an insert for the game later, but it's one of my biggest frustrations with modern games.

#1 - Clank!

What do you draft? Cards, cards and more cards to build your own personal deck.
Total Plays: 11 (9 base Clank! and 2 Clank! In! Space!)
What I Like About It: So this game series has shot to the top of my favorites list over the last few weeks. The clever gameplay, deck-building elements, and especially the included solo mode implementation on the free Dire Wolf Games makes this one of my favorite purchases over the last year or so. Base Clank! has gotten a massive 7 plays in only 19 days (the only one that I've been quicker with was Welcome to the Moon) and the combination of very tight gameplay with a shared card pool to purchase cards from that also acts as the impetus for the dragon attacks makes this one of my favorite games to play recently. There's also a bit of a push-your-luck element to the game that I love as you can choose to go deeper into the dungeon for a better artefact at the risk of losing it all when the dragon attacks. Now that I know how better to build my personal deck, I find that any trouble that I run into generally becomes my own issue of building my deck and my own choices rather than one with how the game is played.

My caveat that I will note is twofold: the first game that I played, I was not impressed at all. Both my friend and I played the game and ended up being taken out by the dragon in the depths, resulting in a total loss for the entire game. It wasn't until after that we realized that there were two decks from the expansions also included in the game, which might have altered how things went for us (more on that play on this post here). I also will note that with only two sides to the main board included in the base game, veteran players will have an advantage over newer players (this is somewhat mitigated by the modular boards of Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure and Clank!: Catacombs). However, due to the nature of the game, this is also somewhat helped by the randomized nature of the cards and secrets on the board. Just be aware that first-time players should receive some helpful tips to make their journey into the dungeon more enjoyable.

What Didn't Make The List

There were quite a few games that I thought about including on this Top 10 list, especially since there was some crossover with my previous list about Modular Setup. Some other great games that have an open drafting mechanic include Calico, Ticket to Ride, Near and Far, Roll Player, and Sagrada. While each of them have some excellent mechanics, I either haven't played them enough (only one play for Near and Far, Sagrada, and Roll Player) or the gameplay just wasn't good enough for me to post on this list (I enjoyed the games listed here more than Calico, and Ticket to Ride). However, in the effort of trying to provide as many options, I thought that I would include them on the bottom of this post as well as they may be something that you prefer.

Open Drafting is such a great mechanic as it allows players to develop a strategy based on the cards/resources/tiles that are revealed and available at the time of their and other player's turns. Naturally many times the cards that players want will be taken by others, resulting in updating and reevaluating strategies based on the newly revealed items making for a constantly fluid and changing game. Open Drafting, when done correctly, can make for some excellent games and usually avoids a "take that" back and forth, although if a group is competitive enough, that most likely will always come up (my family is super competitive so I doubt I'd ever be able to make it through a game without something like that happening).

On Wednesday, I'll be doing a bit more of a "creative" post on a specific game (that sit's very high on the BGG Rankings) that just didn't really catch my attention. It's going to be more akin to my previous Wednesday post, but I'll try to not let my creativity monster run away with me this time. No promises.

With not really much of an idea of what to do on Wednesday, I crowdsourced my issue to my wonderful wife, Sarah, who suggested that I write some posts about two-player games and how specific games feel with two players versus a larger count since we're often playing with each other, or I'm playing with one other friend. I may take up that idea for Wednesday, but we'll see if I have any more "Creative Writing" posts for the next few weeks. I'm sure that I can churn something out.

Give your thoughts: What are your favorite aspects about open drafting? Do you prefer games with open or closed drafting, and why? What are some games that I didn't mention here that you've enjoyed playing with an open drafting mechanic? What are some games that you've played that have the mechanic, but fail to implement it well and how could they have done it better?

Thanks so much for your thoughts and interactions here on this blog. Every comment is appreciated and the thumbs up are even more so appreciated. As I've noted in past posts, I hope to foster a positive community engagement here on BGG and want to welcome anyone to join in on the discussion, so if you like the post, please give it a green thumb to make it more visible.

Have a wonderful week everyone and keep on enjoying and playing those games!

*Originally posted on BoardGameGeek on 1/4/2024*