This week’s Explorable Favorites (Feb 1)

@Dicey Exploits Thanks for sharing! It is always fun to know why game hold a personal space on the shelf.

@TechieMoe/iambfg Power Gridphobia is very real. It’s out there and it’s happening and more people suffer from it than we can possibly know. Power Grid has a very prominent shelf space in my FLGS and I watch people scuttle by it. I cannot even look at it for fear of being locked in the dry, teutonic gaze of Mr. Power Grid himself. It is only through monthly donations to Ameritrash.org and constant attempts by foundations such as Fantasy Flight to produce ‘Cures for Cubes’ that I am able to sit at a table.

Ah, huzzah! For a minute I was perplexed due to the flurry of notifications that came in! Guess I should explain how these ended up here!

Biblios: Have you ever just had a look at a game you’ve never heard of before and thought ‘I need that’? I can’t explain why it happened for Biblios, but I’m so glad it did. It’s effectively become my go to filler game.

I love how every action you take is a gamble, and how, no matter how much power you potentially have in controlling the hands of other players, there’s still a dramatic level of risk that runs throughout. I was never that much of a fan with auctioning mechanics, but the fact that an entire phase based around it hinges on some sly bluffing and hand management that was so centric in the first phase means there’s just a wonderful theatrical edge to it all. It’s meaty enough to be picked over Love Letter (depending on the crowd), but not longer, and is dynamically very interesting.

I don’t think there’s any way I could convince those who hate auctioning mechanics to buy it, but if you do see someone play it at a meet-up or a demo of any kind, I do encourage you to try it. It’s only 10 minutes of bluff-drenched bidding, anyways.

Mysterium: ‘Mysterium is what you get when you mix Cluedo and Dixit.’ was the sentence that raised my eyebrow, and whenever I raise an eyebrow to a game, I have to play it.

The aftermath of every game of Mysterium I’ve had has almost been as enjoyable as the actual game itself, as the room erupts into laughter/dismay/a Mexican wave of palms to the face as the ghost explains exactly what they meant, and just how good, yet utterly daft the interpretations of those things were. It’s wonderful stuff, and no matter who you play it with, some really interesting perspectives emerge depending on who’s playing.

I’m glad these two made the spotlight, and I certainly hope they get a good few plays!

Biblios makes it to the table every now and again.

Haven’t played Mysterium but it looks like fun. I’ll have to put this one on my list. Glad I explored this one!

Thank you @inmarg for breaking the 7 of 9 split on Mysterium so I don’t have to contemplate ‘Fake-a-Play’. 🙂

Unfortunately, the mere whisper of ‘auction’ invokes Power Gridophobia so Biblios does not appear my cup of tea.

And if @Dicey Exploits stops by feel free to share why these make your personal Favorite Shelf…

Mysterium looks great, I love a good party game, particularly one that gets everyone involved.

2 great games to explore

I have the Polish version of Mysterium and it’s a game that all the family enjoy.

I played Biblios once and it is on my wishlist…waiting