schmirk

Worker placement game in which you need to make money, plant grape vines, harvest, make wine, and fill orders quicker and better than your opponents. Fewer players allows for more ease of play and less competition, however, more players and more competition increases the challenge and enjoyment for those looking for more strategy.

In Viticulture, players have to find the balance between quite a few factors: money, building, planting, harvesting, making wine and filling orders. The more players there are the more you have to plan your moves carefully and strategically.

There’s a little bit of luck due to the cards you can draw but strategy definitely has the lion’s share in this game. If you’re looking for a challenge with a bit of competition then Viticulture is definitely worth a try.

This is a good game for those who like to play with others rather than against them. The game is played to a ~10 minute soundtrack which keeps the game going quite quickly! All players roll dice simultaneously and rapidly try to place tiles, find the exit, and capture gems in order to escape the temple before it’s too late! Players must work together or success will be difficult if not impossible. The game is easy to learn but quite challenging so you won’t grow tired of it to soon. Once you have a firm grasp on the game you can vary play in order to increase the challenge.

Quite a fun, chaotic game for several players or even solo play.

Machi Koro is a quick, easy game that is quite enjoyable. The object is to build four specific buildings that have increasing values. You start with two buildings (not the four you need to win) and gain money when the die/dice roll matches the numbers on the buildings you own. Some buildings gain money on any player’s roll while others only gain money when you are the player who rolled. Other buildings allow you to take money from other players. The four buildings you need to purchase have certain abilities that are unlocked when you purchase them (e.g. roll 1 or 2 dice, +1 coin to certain buildings, extra turn if you roll doubles) which in turn allows you to roll more numbers and gain more money.

The game requires strategy but also allows for a bit of luck which makes it more appealing to the casual gamer. This, combined with the ease it takes to learn and play, makes it a nice, quick game to play with limited time and/or with someone who isn’t quite an avid gamer.