What do I want for Christmas?

Hey crew,

I'm not entirely sure I want any board games for Christmas (which feels weird), but wanted to check the collective to make sure I'm not missing anything. Christmas and my birthday are the only times I typically get games and I'm fine with that. I have around 30 or so and like to get stuff played before getting more because if I do then the older one gets harder and harder to get to the table. With that in mind I got Firefly last Christmas and have yet to play. I also got Wiz War and finally played it in August. This is due to the fact that when I can gather a crew it's usually to play bigger stuff like TI3 or Risk Legacy. If I have fewer it's usually my wife and light gamer friends (Parade, 7 Wonders, Euchre, TtR, Dominion, Pandemic).

Is there anything out that that is especially good for 2? My wife really loves 7 Wonders recently but it's 3+ She likes games where you can build your own "stuff" and improve it with SOME interaction (Military in 7W is better than Witches in Dominion). Co-ops are okay and she has enjoyed Sentinels (but again, we havent played with only 2) as well.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

This is indeed a light option, but you might take a look at Machi Koro. It's kind of like a two-headed baby between Catan and Dominion, though a good deal simpler than either one. It's basically a tableau game instead of a deckbuilder, so you buy a card and put it face-up in front of you. On your turn you roll a die, and certain cards activate with certain rolls.

It's a pretty frothy game, and very easy to pick up. I've only played once, but it's fun. It's not the kind of thing you can play over and over again, but I'm not sure it needs to be.

Race for the Galaxy is good for building your own stuff, not a ton of interaction though. Just playing off others' actions. There's Roll for the Galaxy which might be out, haven't played it though.

All I want is a 3" framing nailer, a 2.5" dia. shop vac, and in a perfect world, a really nice tile shear.

And, of course, Full Metal Planete.

I think Robinson Curuso is one the better husband and wife games to come out over the last few years. You can tell your wife, I wanted to take you to the Hawaii but instead we can be alone on our own island. There's a lot of building and working together in RC.

Thanks guys -

Machi Koro is a great suggestion and I cant believe I forgot about it (maybe I thought it wasnt/wouldnt be available).

Race for the Galaxy is one I'd have to play first to see if even I would enjoy it.

And I'm really interested in Robinson Curuso for myself, but would want to try it or have her try it before committing.

Thanks ya'll, let me know if you have any other thoughts/suggestions.

So I think I'm going to offer up:
Machi Koro and Hoity Toity (which I played online and think the family will love - sucks that it's out of print and hence harder to just share an amazon link to) for lighter games

Dead of Winter and Formula D as heavier games (DoW I want eventually, likely a good Bday gift and Formula D just seems like good casual fun that plays up to 10)

And any of the Cutthroat Caverns expansions (we love the base set I got recently) and 7 Wonders: Cities (we enjoyed Leaders so hopefully this won't be too much) to games we already enjoy.

Ska_baron wrote: Race for the Galaxy is one I'd have to play first to see if even I would enjoy it.

I've heard 7 Wonders is very similar, but wouldn't know for sure, I haven't played 7 Wonders.

I prefer Among the Stars to 7 Wonders (which I hated, to be honest.) AtS felt like you could always manage something out of what you got, without being totally boned. 7 Wonders does accommodate more players, though.

For Cutthroat Caverns, my understanding is that Relics & Ruins is the place to start, with the expansions.

Yes, Relics and Ruins is the place to start on CC expansions. It gives you events for the rooms and items that can show up in various ways. It's a great expansion, cheap with lots of meaningful content.

Deeper and darker added some one time character abilities but honestly... you're better off just printing that out and skipping right to Relics.

Cheese & Crackers! Just play Firefly already!

Let's try and clean up the language a little bit, Al.

Thanks.

Santa is bringing me 1775, my son Quartermaster General, and I'm considering picking up D&D Attack Wing. I have a boy that's nuts over Griffons though, so I'd need to figure out how to work one into the game. We'd need four models anyway.

S.

Ska_baron wrote:
My wife really loves 7 Wonders recently but it's 3+ She likes games where you can build your own "stuff" and improve it with SOME interaction

My wife is kinda the same way. I'd highly recommend Rivals of Catan, the two-player Catan card game. It's mostly "build your own stuff," but depending on which decks you're playing with, there is some fun potential for fucking over your opponent.

Also, I'd add another vote for Machi Koro. I just played that last night with the wife and kids, and it's really good. The turns go fast, and there's just enough conflict that it doesn't become boring, heads-down solitaire. In our game, everyone built a ton of the red cards, which allow you to steal money from your opponents on a certain dice roll. The money was flowing freely around the table. There were turns where I'd think, "I'm not going to build this turn, because I'm saving up for a more expensive card." Then by the time my turn came around ... my goddamn kids had stolen all my cash! Just like real life ...

I don't know if it will be out in the US by Christmas and if it is it will be sold out in short notice, but Deus sounds like it would be a great option. You definitely "build your own stuff" and improve it with some mild interaction, and it combines the tableau building thing with a light geographical element. There are some really cool mechanics, and progressively building your civilization's abilities and combos is very satisfying. And it plays really well as a two player game. It's something like a cross between Race for the Galaxy, Settlers and Attika.

I kind of wish that I had kept my early copy...(checks Paypal account)...oh no, I did the right thing.