Recap

September Board Game Recap

In September, we played 45 different board games from new releases to old classics. Here are our picks for the best games we played last month.

Monthly recaps are to help you know about all the games we played in the past month, share our favorite games, as well as give out some end-of-month awards. Not all of the games we play make it onto social media or the blog so this is a fun way to show you what we have played behind the scenes and which games left an impression.

Check out our previous month’s recaps:
2022: Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug.

September Games Played

Make sure to let us know on Instagram or TikTok which of these games you want to hear more about!

Kelsey’s Favorite Game: 5211 Azul Edition

5211 may be our new go-to game to play with our parents!

It is easy to teach, and quick to play, and since it’s just cards, it feels familiar. We recently posted a full review on this one, and the whole family loved it. Because of its wide range of appeal, we also added 5211 to our travel case so we can take it with us to introduce it to everyone we visit.

There are two versions of 5211, the original and the new Azul Edition. Both play identically. I’ve linked Azul in most cases as it’s the game we have pictured, but again, both games are the same, just different art.

Adam’s Favorite Game: Next Station London

I have played a few underwhelming “roll-and-write” style games of late, and I was questioning if I was burnt out on this style of game. Then I played Next Station London, which was the most played game of September. I talk more about this game below, but Next Station London hit the sweet spot for what I want out of my “flip and write” games.

Kid’s Favorite Game: Magic Mountain

What was meant to be one quick game with my five-year-old on Saturday morning led to 8 games back to back with everyone in the house wanting to play. I love how this straightforward Plinko-style game is playable either cooperatively or competitively. The cooperative game allowed me to play with our two youngest (3 & 1) while they learned basic game skills. Then the competitive game was so fun that Kelsey and I played the game just ourselves to determine who was the ruler of the Magic Mountain.

Magic Mountain is a perfect gift for kids because you can have it open, set up, and playing in under three minutes.

End of Month Awards

Best Surprise for Kelsey: 3000 Scoundrels

I had zero interest in this game since I am not personally interested in western theme games or the art. (A large disconnect between my tastes in gaming themes and my husband’s who was over the moon with everything 3000 Scoundrels and it’s comic style art presented.) Once I got over its incredibly unappealing exterior, inside I found much of what I love! enjoyed the game’s card crafting mechanism and simple bluffing elements. We have only been able to play a two-player game, but I see a lot of potential for it to shine with 3 or 4 players and am looking forward to playing it with more players soon.

3000 Scoundrels will be released in October. Click here for Pre Orders.
Keep an eye out for our full review next month!

Best Surprise for Adam: Wildstyle

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this real-time set collection game with area control for scoring. I thought whoever played the fastest would win, but that style of game doesn’t appeal to me that much. However, this one was a big surprise, and the whole family enjoyed it. I recommend checking this one out if you like real-time games.

Favorite Expansion: Quacks of Quedlinburg: Herb Witches

Quacks of Quedlinburg continues to be my favorite game I have never won, and the Herb Witches add more new ways for me to lose, only now by way more points. My favorite new feature is the Witches’ powers. These are three one-time events in the game that are super powerful if you time your use of them right. I struggled with (and loved!) the decisions to use it early to get an advantage, or wait for when it would be more powerful, but I won’t have the advantage as long. Needless to say, I will need to keep playing this one to get the timing right.

Best Abstract Game: K3

We have played a lot of great abstract games lately. (Like Quoridor and Quarto.) Like most great abstract games, upon reading the K3 rules, you think it will just be okay, but after playing, it is amazing how the game blends being simple and strategic so well.

What stands K3 apart from most other abstracts is it is not strictly a two-player game. Players will have to build up a communal mountain using their own pieces. Players’ pieces start in a mountain stack. Since you can only use a piece that isn’t blocked with a piece on top, you begin with limited piece options. As the game progresses players will have more options for pieces but the space you can play on the mountain will be limited based on how it is built. The fun comes in prepping your starting mountain of pieces to be able to continue to play based on what you think other players’ actions will be.

I anticipate playing K3 a lot!

Best Food Theme Game: Burger ASAP!

Food theme games seem to be the next trend with the recent releases of Bag of Chips, Nacho Pile, and Burger Academy. The food theme game that surprised us the most was Burger ASAP! from Blue Orange Games. This real-time puzzle game is fast food fun as you try to flip, stack, and overlap your burger cards to match the order card. I am pleased that this game is as fun as its burger box packaging.

Most Played: Next Station London – 12 times

This month’s most played game is thanks to the solo mode on Board Game Arena. I have loved my solo plays of this flip-and-write game from Blue Orange Games. This is a really fun puzzle as you build out four different color train routes in your city. You are trying to go to many stops in one section while expanding into multiple other areas to maximize your score. As the game progresses, your available route options become limited since your tracks can’t cross.

I highly recommend trying this one out on Board Game Area or with a physical copy.