New To Me Games

These are games that are new to me, with the newest at the top, along
with whatever ultra-brief commentary I have on them. I periodically
update this, but the post time will no longer change and it won't show
up as new in RSSI fees.

2004

May

Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rückkehr des Königs Ugh. Uninteresting game of dice rolling.

Stapelei Simple, extremely compact dexterity game with a donkey.

Nuba Older abstract Knizia game worth a few plays

April (Gathering of Friends)

• DickeLuftInDerGruft Beautiful kids memory game
  
• SunkenCity Light exploration and screw-your-neighbor game
  
• Kaleidos Find words in busy pictures. Ok, but not as fun as I'd heard.
  
• Masterdieb Amazingly produced geometry, memory and role selection game.
  
• SmartyParty Fun party game with lists whose imperfections can be annoying
  
• DestinationTresor Clever, novel and enjoyable deduction game
  
• Tongiaki Somewhat chaotic but some real opportunity for interesting tricks.
  
• PayoffMachine Old 1970s game with marbles. Rather Neat.
  
• 5thAvenue Disappointing, but worth another play.
  
• MaNiKi Very entertaining animal stacking puzzle game
  
• Marco Polo Light but strong game of carefully timed cardplay
  
• StPetersburg Few new mechanics but a very good game none the less
  
• OldTown Older deduction game (sort of) with a very nice mechanic but very random results
  
• Immer oben auf! Fun and cute animal stacking memory game
  
• Goa Outstanding complex game in the mold of PrincesOfFlorence or PuertoRico
  
• Zopp Fun dexterity game
  
• RailroadDice Clever mechanics, fun game, but has some endgame problems
  
• OhPharaoh Disappointing pyramid building game with some potential
  
• PowerGrid Outstanding Funkenschlag rework
  
• MangaManga Dull realtime cardgame
  
• LostValley Beautifully produced but blandly mechanical game
  
• Spy I liked this like Knizia cardgame but most others were unimpressed
  
• Saga Interesting smallbox card game with a nice twist on influence games
  
• LePasseTrappe Simple, fun, entertaining wooden dexterity game
  
• MusicMystery Music trivia game. Not my thing.
  
• Memoir44 BattleCry in World War 2. Fun and nicely produced.
  
• BlueMoon Nice Knizia two player. Needs more plays, but I'm in no rush.
  

April

• Alexandros Some nice mechanics but led to a bad kingmaker result.
  
• SanJuan Very good. Lots of potential.
  

March

• Hansa Not bad, but awfully monotonous commodity collection game
  
• EinfachGenial Fun 2-, 3- or 4-player abstract from Reiner Knizia
  
• Corsari Very light and seemingly overly-luck dominated card game
  
• TicketToRide Nice middle-weight game of connecting cities and building rails
  
• Maritim Interesting puzzle movement game. _Way_ too long with six players.
  
• Landlord A "take that" game from Friedemann Friese. Not bad for a "take that" game, but...
  

February

• Mississippi Interesting older Mattel game all about chain reactions
  
• BalloonRennen Very chaotic and random, but we laughed a lot everytime someone slammed into the mountains.
  
• Industria Pretty good, but feels a bit scattered. Worth another play.
  
• UndTschuss Interesting, but I'm not sure what I think yet
  
• Yinsh Very good
  

January

• PrincesOfTheRenaissance
  
• Dracula A little long, but fun
  
• Adam & Eva Very good
  
• Piratenbucht
  
• Trampelfanten A light kids game with a funky rule or two. Fun.
  
• Coda A quick, light deduction game. That's a rare combination
  
• Bus
  
• LoadedQuestions OK party game
  
• CrocodilePoolParty
  

2003

December

• Viele Dinge
  
• Fish Eat Fish
  
• 10 Days in Africa
  
• Floriado
  

Memory Games

I'm not the biggest fan of memory games, but I find the most common attitude toward them is almost one of contempt. Compared to that, I love memory games. Some memory games exist primarly as a means of leveling the playing field with young children, but many games use it to good effect. Many games use it simply as yet another feature of the game. The most common reaction though seems to be that a memory element somehow diminishes the game. Part of the reason many games are enjoyable is that they act as interesting cognitive exercises; an auction game leads you to think about precise valuation; geometrical games cause you to exercise your spatial reasoning; negotiation games lead you to anticipate other players behavior. Yet, exercising one's memory is somehow a lesser skill. While I'd still rather play games that make for interesting player interaction and a variety of decisions, memory games deserve more respect.

I created a list on the BoardGameGeek of many under-respected memory games. Below are the games that I put on the list as well as those that others suggested that I personally have played and enjoyed.

• Concentration
  
• ImMarchenwald
  
• DickeLuftInDerGruft
  
• HickHackInHuhnerkacke
  
• ImmerObenAuf
  
• Meisterdiebe
  
• MammaMia
  
• EnchantedForest
  
• Shwarzarbeit
  
• Kupferkessel
  
• Dracula
  
• StarshipCatan