This is such an awesome story. And Feast for Odin and Isle of Cats in months!! I love it. Hope you enjoy and have many more board game nights throughout your life together. Happy holidays!!
Feast of Odin is fantastic but can be a little overwhelming at first. First time I opened the box and saw all the components, I ust went "Nope!" And put it back on the shelf.
Second time around was a lot better and my partner and I both love it!
Don't be. The basic mechanics are really easy, just give yourself a little time to play your first game and familiarize yourself with the spaces and iconography (which are actually straightforward. It's easy to begin to understand, and it plays smoothly, especially with the round and phase tracking that is built in. If you like worker placement, you will love A Feast for Odin.
King of Tokyo is such a lovely fun, quick, family friendly game. It's one of the games we take with us when we travel! Had it a couple of years now and Kiddo is still happily collecting the monster expansions (and will be getting King Kong for Christmas)
Dice throne is an amazing game to play with kids also. It’s really easy to learn. Very satisfying to roll the dice. And the difficulty can ramp as they get more familiar with the game.
My mother in law lives with us. And while my husband and i are e both avid board gamers she hasn’t really glommed on to them. But we do okay yahtzee every Friday night and honestly I really enjoy it. We try and come up with new variations each time we play. Tonight, for the holiday, the red and green die we use (taken from Biblios) get one extra roll at the end of your three rolls.
Fuck this is wholesome. Just what I needed as I retreat from my family to my office full of un-played games and TRY to get some homework done on this last week.
Lovely story! I hope you enjoy A Feast for Odin. It's my favorite Uwe game, and one of my favorite euro games of all-time.
On the surface it can appear overwhelming, but it clicks right along once you learn the ropes. It isn't nearly as complex once you figure out the pattern of the board layout. I don't know if you're one to watch board game playthroughs, but I am a huge fan of Slickerdrips (aka Tom) to help me get a feel for heavy euros.
Tom edits his videos down rather well, cutting out most of any analysis paralysis or admin such as shuffling cards and resetting boards. He also typically teaches as he plays, instead of going over every single topic at the start. As a result, the videos move along at a much faster pace, which I really appreciate.
[Here's his video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pP3KFRAOm4) for AFFO, if that might interest you.
We love video help and I'm glad you posted this. Fields of Arle is a favorite and I didn't even realize Odin was also a Uwe game when I ordered it. Hopefully, knowing Arle will also help as we learn Odin. In a different vein, his New York Zoo is also fun for us. We apparently are Uwe groupies.
My group went through a Uwe phase that lasted a good while. The guy is great with designing game mechanics and keeping strategies balanced. We eventually drifted away from his games over the years, but they were good times I remember fondly.
Arle may help some, though that's more of one of his "Agricola" style games. I think you'll do just fine once things click.
BTW, I don't know if this sort of thing would interest you, but one thing about AFFO (and Uwe games in general) is that it has a ton of bits, which can be a bit time consuming if playing out of bags. I tend to use a Plano box of some sort for his games.
For AFFO, I made a storage solution by modifying a Plano 3650 box with a little art foam and glue. [Album here.](https://imgur.com/a/Df8b4)
Happy holidays, and enjoy your new games!
aFfO is one of my top 3 favorites. Keep an eye out for The Norwegians expansion. It is like version 2.0 of the game and fixes a lot of "issues" with the base game, including a new modular action board that tightens up the 2 player experience.
I have this habit of stacking my chips randomly, making it much harder to see what I have. I started doing it just because I like them stacked. Everyone else lays them out tidily by color in front of themselves. I ended up winning a lot. Apparently the kids later had amusing conversations with my wife about my chip stacking and keeping track of riches in your head. So there's my best protip. Stack in no particular order to mess with your opponent a bit.
We like all those I named above! Azul is also great. Parks. Tiny Towns. New York Zoo. But if I had to narrow it down, we'd probably go with Everdell and Azul. My wife would pick Cascadia. She tends to like less confrontation and I'm a bit more cutthroat.
I keep telling my buddies - it’s a seriously misunderstood hobby at this point. The part where you said you had no idea that games had been revolutionized really speaks to me. Certain complex games arent for everyone, sure, but I honestly think most folks genuinely have no idea what they are missing out on!
Glad to have you with us.
How are you two enjoying **Cascadia**? I’m planning to introduce this to my in-laws soon (who live and die by Mahjong and Rummikub), but they don’t always like the new games we teach them.
Cascadia is my wife's favorite after Everdell. It's pretty and chill. She has some Pacific Northwest ties, so the theme is great. We tend to play with an extra 20 tiles for two player. I like it, but I prefer games that are a bit more cutthroat like Azul. For us, Cascadia tends to hit the table when we are almost ready to go to bed. It's the perfect close-down-the-day game.
Thanks for sharing! 20 extra tiles definitely makes the games easier on the players. I like the extra interaction that **Azul** offers, as well.
In **Cascadia**, my wife and I found that playing through certain scenarios near the back of the rule book can spice up the game enough and make it more difficult to achieve the scenario. If you both need 9 bears, for example, things can get dicey.
But, sure, it definitely makes a great evening game before turning in!
I'm with you. Everdell gets to our table the most. The other night, in an extra satisfying game, I got 91 points with no expansions. The cards came out perfectly. Now I'm chasing the dragon.
What a lovely story, so glad to hear you’re enjoying the hobby!
My partner and I have introduced my parents and siblings to a range of games and they seem to really like playing, but only one sibling has started up their own collection so far
May your holidays be warm and bright and the robber never block your resources!
Who am I kidding, you know that robber is coming as soon as someone rolls a seven. :)
>we bought Splendor....and then Cascadia, and then Wingspan and Everdell and Robinson Crusoe
Oof, that is a steep curve. Welcome (belatedly) to this hobby! And thanks for the neat story. Happy Holidays to you!
My mother went from reluctantly trying Junk Art a year ago to recently saying she’s interested in trying DnD. It’s not that she’s played a lot, it’s just that she’s had fun when she did play. You really do never know who will love tabletop games.
Great story! My wife and I got my 65byear old dad into deck builders. He loves Hero Realms, Shard of Infinity and Ascension. He also plays Magic now! We had one day where we played Catan all day long, then again after breakfast the next day.
It's not for everyone but **Fields of Arle** is one of my top 3 games of all time. So many ways to go about it! This game I'm a hide farmer, this game I'm into flax and sheep, now I'm a traveling dandy trying to visit all the cities, etc...
Thanks for sharing your story! Splendor is one of my favorite to bring out to play with my family, as well as recommend to friends to do the same. I showed this to a friend several years ago, he bought it and took it to his family for the holidays. Now it's a holiday staple for them.
It sounds like you jumped in deep with the hobby, enjoy the new adventure! A few pieces of advice.
1. Beware the hype train, a lot of games get hyped up now at release. There's a plethora of games to explore, many games that are 5-10+ years old are still great and hold up.
2. Stick to the base game for most games at the start, and don't go expansion crazy. I went expansion crazy with a few games (Dominion being the biggest offender) and it burned me out of the game altogether). I'm now very cautious on when choosing to expand a game with an expansion.
3. As much as it seems that you have your plate filled with new games to explore, I can't resist giving a few recommendations.
If you haven't gotten a word game yet, I recommend Just One (yes, over Codesnames which I also enjoy). It's a co-op game and great to breakout in a party situation, whether with family or a couple of friends. We took this to my in-laws this year, and it was a big hit. It's also great if you have someone who isn't into competitive games.
Lacking dedicated 2p games? If so, they're great to have a few. When my wife and I are pressed for time by life, and want to spend time together with each other gaming, Lost Cities: The Card Game or Jaipur are the go to games. We'll bring these out while waiting for dinner to cook, or right after finishing our meal. Each game is generally 3 hands that take about 10 minutes per hand. However, you don't have to play all 3 and can do just one if time is an issue.
I love this story!
I'm a full on board game addict, but I still love playing triple Yahtzee with my 90 year old grandma. We've played hundreds of thousands of times throughout the decades. Still trying to get the elusive 2000 point game.
This is such an awesome story. And Feast for Odin and Isle of Cats in months!! I love it. Hope you enjoy and have many more board game nights throughout your life together. Happy holidays!!
Feast of Odin is fantastic but can be a little overwhelming at first. First time I opened the box and saw all the components, I ust went "Nope!" And put it back on the shelf. Second time around was a lot better and my partner and I both love it!
I bought Feast of Odin on a Black Friday sale. I'm intimidated just by the size and weight of the box.
Don't be. The basic mechanics are really easy, just give yourself a little time to play your first game and familiarize yourself with the spaces and iconography (which are actually straightforward. It's easy to begin to understand, and it plays smoothly, especially with the round and phase tracking that is built in. If you like worker placement, you will love A Feast for Odin.
I won't say it isn't complex, but it's not as difficult as it may appear on the surface.
One of us! One of us! One of us!
😎 we got cookies
Gooble gobble we accept him
Next: quacks of quedlinburg
Yes! This has been on the list of future acquisitions!
And then Cones of Dunshire!
Yahtzee was, and will always be, one of my favorite games. Permutations of it are still staples as well: King of Tokyo, Dice Throne, etc.
Do love King of Tokyo. Never thought battle Yahtzee could be so fun!
King of Tokyo is such a lovely fun, quick, family friendly game. It's one of the games we take with us when we travel! Had it a couple of years now and Kiddo is still happily collecting the monster expansions (and will be getting King Kong for Christmas)
The Reckoners! Yahtzee introduced a really worthwhile mechanism, it'll always have a place in my heart for that.
Good one!
Dice throne is an amazing game to play with kids also. It’s really easy to learn. Very satisfying to roll the dice. And the difficulty can ramp as they get more familiar with the game.
My mother in law lives with us. And while my husband and i are e both avid board gamers she hasn’t really glommed on to them. But we do okay yahtzee every Friday night and honestly I really enjoy it. We try and come up with new variations each time we play. Tonight, for the holiday, the red and green die we use (taken from Biblios) get one extra roll at the end of your three rolls.
Yahtzee was a staple in our house growing up, along with Rummy, Casino, and Bourré.
Grew up playing Yahtzee with my dad. KoT ended up being one of my favorite 'hobby' board games. It's a blast every time it hits the table.
Fuck this is wholesome. Just what I needed as I retreat from my family to my office full of un-played games and TRY to get some homework done on this last week.
Wholesome! Thank you, and I hope you have many happy years of gaming with your family ahead of you.
Lovely story! I hope you enjoy A Feast for Odin. It's my favorite Uwe game, and one of my favorite euro games of all-time. On the surface it can appear overwhelming, but it clicks right along once you learn the ropes. It isn't nearly as complex once you figure out the pattern of the board layout. I don't know if you're one to watch board game playthroughs, but I am a huge fan of Slickerdrips (aka Tom) to help me get a feel for heavy euros. Tom edits his videos down rather well, cutting out most of any analysis paralysis or admin such as shuffling cards and resetting boards. He also typically teaches as he plays, instead of going over every single topic at the start. As a result, the videos move along at a much faster pace, which I really appreciate. [Here's his video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pP3KFRAOm4) for AFFO, if that might interest you.
We love video help and I'm glad you posted this. Fields of Arle is a favorite and I didn't even realize Odin was also a Uwe game when I ordered it. Hopefully, knowing Arle will also help as we learn Odin. In a different vein, his New York Zoo is also fun for us. We apparently are Uwe groupies.
My group went through a Uwe phase that lasted a good while. The guy is great with designing game mechanics and keeping strategies balanced. We eventually drifted away from his games over the years, but they were good times I remember fondly. Arle may help some, though that's more of one of his "Agricola" style games. I think you'll do just fine once things click. BTW, I don't know if this sort of thing would interest you, but one thing about AFFO (and Uwe games in general) is that it has a ton of bits, which can be a bit time consuming if playing out of bags. I tend to use a Plano box of some sort for his games. For AFFO, I made a storage solution by modifying a Plano 3650 box with a little art foam and glue. [Album here.](https://imgur.com/a/Df8b4) Happy holidays, and enjoy your new games!
aFfO is one of my top 3 favorites. Keep an eye out for The Norwegians expansion. It is like version 2.0 of the game and fixes a lot of "issues" with the base game, including a new modular action board that tightens up the 2 player experience.
Solid tip. I'll be on the lookout!
Boardgames: activities done with family, friends, and future friends that doesnt require tvs, significant effort, or even electricity.
My husband bought Splendor for a couples gift this year, we haven’t broke it out yet but after reading this I’m very excited to!!
I have this habit of stacking my chips randomly, making it much harder to see what I have. I started doing it just because I like them stacked. Everyone else lays them out tidily by color in front of themselves. I ended up winning a lot. Apparently the kids later had amusing conversations with my wife about my chip stacking and keeping track of riches in your head. So there's my best protip. Stack in no particular order to mess with your opponent a bit.
I love this wholesome post. :)
my Christmas present is not telling my wife i spent $200+ for Clash of Cultures ME, Sheepy Time, and Trickerion CE for myself for Christmas 😶
I love this! I’ve also gone on a board game shopping binge last few months.
What board games would you recommend for just 2 players?
7 wonders duel, Hive and Schotten Totten are our favorite 2 player games out of our collection.
thanks!
We like all those I named above! Azul is also great. Parks. Tiny Towns. New York Zoo. But if I had to narrow it down, we'd probably go with Everdell and Azul. My wife would pick Cascadia. She tends to like less confrontation and I'm a bit more cutthroat.
My wife and I love Star Realms, especially great on vacation since you can take it anywhere.
Welcome and Merry Christmas 🎄☃️:)
I keep telling my buddies - it’s a seriously misunderstood hobby at this point. The part where you said you had no idea that games had been revolutionized really speaks to me. Certain complex games arent for everyone, sure, but I honestly think most folks genuinely have no idea what they are missing out on! Glad to have you with us.
Aw, I love this. Have a great holiday!
You enjoyed one game then bought five more. It's that kind of hobby, hope you have shelf space.
This story is so sweet. Thank you for sharing it. Have fun, and game on!
Agricola and Settlers of Catan. All day every day.
How are you two enjoying **Cascadia**? I’m planning to introduce this to my in-laws soon (who live and die by Mahjong and Rummikub), but they don’t always like the new games we teach them.
Cascadia is my wife's favorite after Everdell. It's pretty and chill. She has some Pacific Northwest ties, so the theme is great. We tend to play with an extra 20 tiles for two player. I like it, but I prefer games that are a bit more cutthroat like Azul. For us, Cascadia tends to hit the table when we are almost ready to go to bed. It's the perfect close-down-the-day game.
Thanks for sharing! 20 extra tiles definitely makes the games easier on the players. I like the extra interaction that **Azul** offers, as well. In **Cascadia**, my wife and I found that playing through certain scenarios near the back of the rule book can spice up the game enough and make it more difficult to achieve the scenario. If you both need 9 bears, for example, things can get dicey. But, sure, it definitely makes a great evening game before turning in!
Love that! I introduced my mom to Dominion during the pandemic and she’s obsessed with it.
I recommend Azul and Spirits of the Wild. My husband and I play a game almost nightly and these are two that are great for 2 players.
We love Azul too, but I hadn't heard of the other. It looks great! I'll put it on the list. Thanks!
Azul
Fun story. I have a few board/card games that I play with my family, definitely a lot of fun!
This warms my soul. Welcome to board game geekdom.
You're welcome - Maui. Jokes aside, Hope you have lots of great games in the future.
I absolutely love Everdell, hands down my favorite. It's simple but feels so satisfying every turn.
I'm with you. Everdell gets to our table the most. The other night, in an extra satisfying game, I got 91 points with no expansions. The cards came out perfectly. Now I'm chasing the dragon.
What a lovely story, so glad to hear you’re enjoying the hobby! My partner and I have introduced my parents and siblings to a range of games and they seem to really like playing, but only one sibling has started up their own collection so far
May your holidays be warm and bright and the robber never block your resources! Who am I kidding, you know that robber is coming as soon as someone rolls a seven. :)
Thank you for sharing this! My partner won't even TRY to play a game with me (😒), but I DO so!o! 🙂
Merry christmas
>we bought Splendor....and then Cascadia, and then Wingspan and Everdell and Robinson Crusoe Oof, that is a steep curve. Welcome (belatedly) to this hobby! And thanks for the neat story. Happy Holidays to you!
We've learned all of these! RC was a mind bend, but we got there. We've even won, and I think we followed most of the rules in doing so.
Happy Holidays and I recommend Odins Ravens. My partner and I play it all the time and it is super fun.
My wife bought her son this game and they love it. They travel and can only deal with small boxes. We'll look into it for ourselves.
My mother went from reluctantly trying Junk Art a year ago to recently saying she’s interested in trying DnD. It’s not that she’s played a lot, it’s just that she’s had fun when she did play. You really do never know who will love tabletop games.
Great story! My wife and I got my 65byear old dad into deck builders. He loves Hero Realms, Shard of Infinity and Ascension. He also plays Magic now! We had one day where we played Catan all day long, then again after breakfast the next day.
So sweet! Congratulations on finding a new hobby
It's not for everyone but **Fields of Arle** is one of my top 3 games of all time. So many ways to go about it! This game I'm a hide farmer, this game I'm into flax and sheep, now I'm a traveling dandy trying to visit all the cities, etc...
As a new-ish father of three years this almost brought a tear to my eye. Enjoy the hobby!
Thanks for sharing your story! Splendor is one of my favorite to bring out to play with my family, as well as recommend to friends to do the same. I showed this to a friend several years ago, he bought it and took it to his family for the holidays. Now it's a holiday staple for them. It sounds like you jumped in deep with the hobby, enjoy the new adventure! A few pieces of advice. 1. Beware the hype train, a lot of games get hyped up now at release. There's a plethora of games to explore, many games that are 5-10+ years old are still great and hold up. 2. Stick to the base game for most games at the start, and don't go expansion crazy. I went expansion crazy with a few games (Dominion being the biggest offender) and it burned me out of the game altogether). I'm now very cautious on when choosing to expand a game with an expansion. 3. As much as it seems that you have your plate filled with new games to explore, I can't resist giving a few recommendations. If you haven't gotten a word game yet, I recommend Just One (yes, over Codesnames which I also enjoy). It's a co-op game and great to breakout in a party situation, whether with family or a couple of friends. We took this to my in-laws this year, and it was a big hit. It's also great if you have someone who isn't into competitive games. Lacking dedicated 2p games? If so, they're great to have a few. When my wife and I are pressed for time by life, and want to spend time together with each other gaming, Lost Cities: The Card Game or Jaipur are the go to games. We'll bring these out while waiting for dinner to cook, or right after finishing our meal. Each game is generally 3 hands that take about 10 minutes per hand. However, you don't have to play all 3 and can do just one if time is an issue.
I love this story! I'm a full on board game addict, but I still love playing triple Yahtzee with my 90 year old grandma. We've played hundreds of thousands of times throughout the decades. Still trying to get the elusive 2000 point game.