Tabletop Games

Catan

Great game with a focus on the start and a more serene ride from that point onwards. Prefer a 12 or 13 point game with three players and a settlement start.

Splendor

A sublime game, gorgeous to play with the chips, requires some mental agility and focus throughout. Great for a few games, and then onto something a little more chilled.

Dominion

This card building game is either too solitary or too involved, but rarely “just right”. Once an expansion is added, it becomes a little more interesting, but some of the new cards are very powerful and will frequently disrupt the game to whoever is lucky enough to grab them first. This isn’t my favourite game, but I seem to end up playing it non-the-less when there are a few people about.

The Shipwreck Arcana

I love this collaborative card game. Just love it. Please give it a try and support their Kickstarter campaign.

Ticket to Ride

I am pretty new to this game. I’ve started with Ticket to Ride: Europe and Ticket to Ride: The Netherlands. Please connect with me through the app if you want to play against me at some point.

Forbidden Island

I found this quite enjoyable at the start, but it seems to lose its lustre after a while. Maybe I am choosing the wrong collection of characters?

Rummikub Prime

An addictive tile placing game with the aim of clearing all 14 tiles (identical to playing with two decks of cards) before other players.

Guards of Atlantis

Playing this is a tabletop game in 2022 which is inspired by MOBA games. Playing in even teams, players control their hero using a selection of five cards which are replaced and upgraded as the game progresses.

Haunted House on the Hill

I played this quite a bit with my previous house mates in Melbourne. I think it is best with good food and drink at hand.

London

A pretty smart modern board game – once you’ve figured out the nuances. I need to give this another go.

Carcassonne

Fun to play against someone for the first time as everyone has their own focus on cities, farms, roads, chapels, … Great for a lazy Sunday afternoon when the weather isn’t fine.

Pandemic: Iberia

This is the only variant of Pandemic that I’ve played. It was a great collaborative game, but I did feel that many of the actions were as an outcome of group decisions rather than individual decisions. I guess a lesson for politicians everywhere! It looks great, amazing attention to detail and genuinely informative.

Jaipur

Only played this a couple of times with a really battered deck in a games café.

Munchkin

A fun [larger] group card game – another game that’s best accompanied with good food and drink.

Small World

A fantastic looking board game with some very unique dynamics for each civilisation. I still haven’t worked out when I should go into “decline”… so I’m rarely coming out with the highest score.

7 Wonders

I need to try this one again as there is much more to explore.

Code Names

A cool word based game. Quite enjoyable if you haven’t tried it before.

Century: Spice Road

Only played this a couple of times. It reminds me of Jaipur.

Cards Against Humanity

Overrated. Only fun when drunk and with good company – usually meaning that we do something else.

Carrom

A precursor to billiards with weighted tokens being flicked across a smooth wooden surface. The aim is to pot all the Carrom Men into one of four pockets.