Actualol Newsletter - February 2022

Alol-ha patrons,

In this newsletter, I share my 95-91 favourite games, to accompany the second video in my Top 50 games of all time video. And let’s get some Board Game Arena games going. 

Thanks to the 10 Mistakes video, Actualol has now hit 42,000 subscribers! Thank you to the new patrons that have joined this month - I’m really excited for the future of the channel, and can’t wait to share my next video - My Top 10 Games of 2021.

Airecon

I’m going to Airecon, the board game convention in Yorkshire, for the first time this year. Are any of you going? I hope to see some of you there!

Board Game Arena

I’ve run out of games to play on BGA, so let’s play some. I’ve set up these rooms, please join in and we’ll get playing!

Libertalia: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=246614469

Stella: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=246619189

Potion Explosion: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=246629200

Trekking The World: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=246622610

PARKS: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=246622130

Luxor: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=246625140

And if anyone wants a game of Sobek: 2 Players - please invite me to one!

Actual Life

This month we went to Alicante, Spain for the weekend to see my dad and step-mum who are out there in a camper van for a few months.

It was really nice to be in the sunshine for a few days, and we enjoyed some great tapas and sangria. Despite taking two games in my hand luggage, zero games were played 😥

95-91 Games of All Time

95. No Thanks!

The ultimate filler game. Probably the biggest experience you can get from a box this small. I love that you’re pushing your luck not just against the game, but against the other players. Who will cave first? 

The price of taking a card is completely dictated by the mood of the table, and you have to account for that. You might think they’re being too jumpy and taking cards too early, but if you don’t adjust to their tempo, you’ll end up with no chips and you’ll be forced to take cards for nothing.

94. Sagrada

I don’t have Azul in my Top 100 - if I wanted that kind of experience, I’d play Sagrada - a game with a personal puzzle that’s crunchier and more satisfying for it. 

I appreciate the simplicity of the concept - arranging dice in a grid, and that with just a few rules it becomes impossible to complete the perfection you have planned. How fitting for La Sagrada Familia which still hasn’t been finished a hundred years later.

I can’t pretend it feels thematic, but the abstract puzzle is engaging - it tricks you by making it seem possible to pull it off, even though it never is.  I wish this one was available on Board Game Arena - it would be perfect for it.

93. Diamant / Incan Gold

A brilliant push your luck game, in which you have to decide how long to stay in the temple. The longer you stay, the more treasure you’ll collectively find, but if you stay too long you’ll be scared off by traps and get nothing. 

I love that you have to predict when others will leave - because there is shared treasure that you can steal on the way out. And the feeling of staying on after everyone else, getting all the new treasure for yourself is amazing. This one is so streamlined and entertaining that it feels timeless.

92. Bohnanza

What can I say about Bohnanza that I didn’t in my recent review of this classic? I love trading cards, and I don’t love Catan - so this is the only option for me. I wish it was a little shorter, and I wish it had different artwork, but aside from that - I love it!

91. Paperback

I like word games, in theory. I like words, I like trying to create long words and I’m not terrible at them. But they all let me down in some way. They’re either not really about making words (Scrabble), they rely too much on luck (Letter Tycoon), or they give me too much AP (Word Domination). 

Paperback is the best of the bunch. It manages to create a light, simple deckbuilding game that encourages long words, and it feels really, really good when your deck comes together to create one, and score big. I haven’t enjoyed its younger brother Hardback as much - it feels too complicated and I find it frustrating not being able to buy or draw the cards I want.

Games I’ve been enjoying lately

• 7 Wonders Architects
  
• Sobek: 2 Players (play me on BGA!)
  

Song of the Month - I Never Wanted To Be That Girl - Carly Peace + Ashley McBryde


Video of the Month - SNL - Good Variant

Now Watching - Chloe - (Really good thriller mini series!)

Have a great month,

Actually yours,

Jon