Monthly Recap: July

This month was Berlin Brettspiel Con! I've been anticipating it for soo long and unfortunately the weekend went by too quickly. The convention was definitely the highlight of the month. You can read more about my time at the convention in my other post. 

As in the last months, July was another slower month of gaming. I recently started a new job and have had less time in the evenings to play. Nevertheless I still had 13 plays overall and managed to play a different game each time. From those games, 5 of them were new to me. Here is the breakdown of those stats:

The 5 new to me games were:

Plantopia: This game comes off my shelf of unplayed games, as discussed in this post. This is a quick card game that I picked up last year at Spiel Essen. The game is straight forward and I'm happy I finally got it to the table.  

Mlem: I didn't jump on the hype train right away when Mlem came out. What eventually sold me is the fact that it is a push your luck game. So far I have only played the standard version, this was a little light for me, I hope to play the other advanced game components to add a bit more to the game. However, for the price, I don't regret my purchase and I'm happy to keep it in my collection for now. 

Mountain Goats: I've known about this game for a while not but haven't had the opportunity to pick it up. I thought I would need to wait until Spiel Essen this year, but I was surprised to find it at Berlin Con. I picked up a copy immediately. Now i just need to do some research and see if I also need to pick up the expansion for this game later.

Intarsia: I could not resist purchasing this game on the spot at Berlin Con. The game components are so nice and I'm a sucker for abstract games. I have heard people question whether or not it's the new Azul. I don't see the need to always compare games against popular ones in the genre. I am happy to have both games in my collection and I think Intarsia offers something different.

Botanicus: When I first saw pictures of this game I wasn't a big fan of the artwork because I thought it looked outdated. However after watching a video about the game play and seeing it set up at Berlin Con I decided to grab myself a copy. After playing through a standard game I can say that I am happy with my purchase and I'm intrigued to what the advanced variant brings. 

 

This month's Highlights:

• Takenoko: This game is still a highlight for me because I got to show it to a good friend this month. As you know, I've been waiting for the giant version and any time I get to teach a new friend this game and on top of that get to show off the giant version, I get so giddy! I still have yet to play with the Chibi expansion, I need to play with Ms. Panda next time I get it to the table.
  
  
• Wok and Roll: The Korean Wave: The Korean Wave is the expansion for Wok and Roll. I was so thrilled to add this to my collection last year after seeing it online so much. I finally learned the Modern Menu side of the Korean Wave. Even after 17 plays, this game is still so good and I reach for it when I want something chill and comfortable to play in the evenings after a long day of work.
  

Here are the rest of the games I played in July: 

Now that Berlin Con is officially behind us, let the countdown to Essen begin!
Happy gaming!