FACT: People love lists, consistency and alliteration.
With that in mind, I bring you the fourth edition of Top 5 Friday; a weekly (or bi-weekly, if I’m being honest) list of dork topics, random thoughts and balderdash.
As you may already know, I’m an avid board-gamer. It’s probably my favorite hobby. Unfortunately, being a responsible adult (and gaming with other responsible adults) means that I don’t get to play games nearly as often as I would like. In fact, I probably spend more time buying board games than actually playing them. With that in mind, I give you the Top 5 Unplayed Board Games in My Collection. These are my top 5 unplayed games that I really wish I could get to the table. Let’s begin…
#5 Cuba Libre
Cuba Libre features 4 factions (Batista’s Government, the 26th of July Revolutionaries, the Directorio and the Syndicate) vying for control of Cuba during the Cuban Revolution. Each faction has different strengths and weaknesses, different goals and, therefore, different ways to win. Do you want to focus on monetary control, popular support, terrorizing regions or just a good old-fashioned guerrilla uprising? Cuba Libre lets you do it! It also features COIN’s well-regarded card-driven event system, which I have yet to experience but sounds very promising. I like direct-conflict games, asymmetrical factions and history. Check… check… check!
#4 Star Wars: Rebellion
Star Wars: Rebellion is basically Star Wars: Episode IV, The Game. A desperate, and outnumbered, Rebel Alliance tries to achieve various goals while The Empire attempts to hunt them down and wipe them off the face of the… galaxy (I know that doesn’t sound right but whatever). What I really like is that you’re not completely constrained by the movie plot. A Death Star may, or may not, be constructed; and then it may, or may not, be destroyed. Various heroes can be captured, interrogated and rescued… or not. Your path is up to you! This game has all of your favorite heroes, villains, military units and locations! For a Star Wars fan, what’s not to like? Just look at this picture…
#3 War of the Ring
War of the Ring takes everything I said about Star Wars: Rebellion and applies it to Middle-Earth. You’ve got epic heroes, dastardly villains and famous locations; yet you still have the freedom to develop your own strategy that isn’t rigidly controlled by forcing you to follow the story of the source material. War of the Ring edged out Star Wars: Rebellion for one simple reason: it fulfills a long-standing dream of mine. I cut my board-gaming teeth on Risk and Axis & Allies; and during the many years I spent playing those games, I always wanted a similar dudes-on-a-map conflict game in Middle-Earth. Dreams really do come true…
#2 Conflict of Heroes: Guadalcanal
Conflict of Heroes: Guadalcanal is the latest addition to the Conflict of Heroes series, of which I am a big fan and already own numerous games. As has been previously stated, I tend to be drawn toward historical and direct-conflict games. On top of that, I really enjoy the Pacific theatre of World War II, especially Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal was a tiny, unknown island in the Pacific Ocean that became the center of a gritty, 6-month battle between two super-powers that duked it out over land, sea and air. This game focuses on the land battles and I can’t wait to give it a try!
#1 Forbidden Stars
Forbidden Stars features more of the board-gamey goodness that I’ve already mentioned… direct-conflict, asymmetrical factions, sci-fi, dice-chucking fun! In addition to that, this is the first true 4x game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) on my list. There’s just something about starting on your homeworld, customizing your economy engine, upgrading your forces, expanding your empire and conquering your enemies that really defines epic gaming for me. As a hardcore dork, I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t played many Warhammer games but it’s a well-established franchise with a lot of history and I look forward to experiencing it more in Forbidden Stars!
Well, there you have it! These are the finest games that are, unfortunately, collecting dust on my shelf. They don’t get played for two primary reasons: First, I just don’t get to play board games much these days. Second, all of these games are in the 2-4 player range and, when I actually do get to play board games, we usually have 5+ people. Since I don’t foresee these issues changing anytime soon, I expect these games to continue to look enticing, but dusty, up on my shelf.
Until Next Time,
Rogue Hippo
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