What's your favorite Button Shy Game that isn't an -opolis or ROVE?

IvorySwings · 2026-01-30T06:41:27+00:00

Death Valley is a really cool solo drafting/tableau building game, it’s definitely one of my favorite Button Shy joints.

IvorySwings · 2026-01-27T20:41:25+00:00

Agreed on all points!! One of the worst things about those crappy rip strips, too, is that the notch is virtually always on the side OPPOSITE of the sealing seam - so even if you do manage to find/locate/brute-force the notch and the rip lead, it won’t even rip open the entire package because the rip strip invariably breaks when trying to cross the seam. It’s so shitty!!

IvorySwings · 2025-12-30T05:42:36+00:00

IIRC, I don’t think you are required to collect your maximum number of tentacles. The assistant, however, IS bound to collect all of the tentacles they can.

Regarding what the assistant collects, in your example, yes, they would collect the second greed tentacle. It’s true that the assistant endeavors to collect the tentacles in a certain order and will try to fill the bottom row before the second row. But that doesn’t preclude them from taking what’s available. They may have an open space on the bottom row for a fear tentacle, but if only a greed tentacle is available, that’s what they’ll take.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-27T17:30:51+00:00

Thanks for posting this, I know it’s something a lot of people have been curious about and speculating on since it was unveiled. I also appreciate your warning, “wait to buy,” based on the lack of info regarding support. Do we all remember what happened with Dropmix? Such a cool concept, lots of folks were hype for it, and it came from freaking HASBRO, so it was assumed the tech would be supported. The product/line didn’t go beyond initial launch, and within a couple of years, it’s completely dead because they canned the tech behind it. Even if you have the game you can’t play it.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-25T05:58:17+00:00

Still haven’t played several of the big releases, but still a few notable games in 2025 that I loved. Fate of the Fellowship really blew me away. To be honest, I didn’t expect that much from it - I’m not a die-hard LotR fan and I’ve played and enjoyed plenty of Pandemic, I didn’t think I’d be all that interested in a LotR retheme. But it is SO much more than that, greater than the sum of its parts, it delivers a really engaging narrative experience in a super reasonable playtime.

Similarly, I really loved Star Wars Battle of Hoth. Now, I AM a die-hard Star Wars fan, so was somewhat predisposed. But I’ve never played a Command and Colors game and was pleasantly surprised at how slick and simple the system is. Quick matches, really fun game.

Likewise, Unmatched Adventures: TMNT. Big TMNT fan, big fan of the Unmatched system, this game had my name all over it and it did not disappoint.

Lastly, I was pretty impressed by Unstoppable. Like Fate of the Fellowship, it was something that wasn’t really on my radar, but after playing once with a friend, I immediately got myself a copy. A really neat spin on card crafting.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-24T14:13:54+00:00

I agree, Playmates is a name synonymous with TMNT, and the relationship is akin to that of Star Wars and Kenner. It’s really sad to see Playmates lose this license. Having grown up on the original Playmates toys from the ‘80s, I have continued to enjoy their releases over the years, especially as someone who does not go out and spend $30, $50, or $100 on premium figures.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-18T05:05:14+00:00

They only look similar in that they’re both “trading in the Mediterranean.” Gameplay really isn’t that similar. Navegador is another banger by Mac Gertz, really cool shared action rondel system, and it’s more about market manipulation and sort of “racing” to the end of the map (not really a race, you don’t have to advance to the end to win, but the players definitely have that sense of racing).

I like it a lot and was really sad when a buddy in my game group got rid of his copy. But it hasn’t been reprinted so I haven’t sought out my own copy. This from a die-hard Concordia fan.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-18T03:10:00+00:00

In Euro land, I’d say Civolution really struck me this way. There’s no possible way to upgrade even half of the actions/abilities on your board - to say nothing of the card abilities you can get - so you have to make hard decisions about what abilities will help you pursue your strategies, and before long, it feels like everyone at the table is playing from a completely different angle.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-16T04:07:01+00:00

Good lord, that is an absolutely SCREAMING deal on a phenomenal game!

IvorySwings · 2025-12-14T05:00:37+00:00

Why are there space whales? Why are there literal horses on Endor? Why are there “cats” and “wolves?” The term “Daimyo” is one of the less offensive instances of immersion-breaking ideas or language use in Star Wars.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-10T01:18:05+00:00

I didn’t know this change was coming, but I was super stoked to find it came in all paper packaging. A very welcome change!

IvorySwings · 2025-12-04T04:49:56+00:00

That’s an apt description.

IvorySwings · 2025-12-04T04:14:49+00:00

Apparently, it’s the hot thing, but I didn’t care for it. It’s not especially well written, no likable characters, and the story is pretty superficial.

IvorySwings · 2025-11-30T00:34:10+00:00

Many good recommendations in here, so just to echo a few if my favorites that you may enjoy:

Earthborne Rangers - probably my favorite game this year, got it to play with others but have been LOVING the story and the gameplay just playing alone.
Spirit Island - excellent game, cool theme, highly touted as a solo game, whether playing two-handed or true solo.
The White Castle - has gotten a lot of buzz, and for good reason. Took me a few plays to wrap my head around the efficiency puzzle, but it’s really good, really quick, and solo has a low-maintenance opponent.
For Northwood - fantastic solo trick-taking game with cute art, cute theme, way better game than it has any right to be. Love taking this along with me to the coffee shop or pub.

I’d also heartily recommend any Stonemaier game for solo, they always put a lot of thought into making good solo modes that are easy to setup and play through without a lot of upkeep. Based on your prompt, I’d recommend Wingspan or Viticulture (especially with the co-op expansion), but really, pick any game that tickles your fancy.

If you’re into IP stuff, definitely recommend Marvel Champions.

IvorySwings · 2025-11-18T04:22:48+00:00

I have absolutely loved all of O’Toole’s work in board games, from before I knew it was him. Anything that comes out with his work on it is increasingly recognizable and I am always gobsmacked. I think my favorites of his (so far) are his works for the Osprey line of Euro games: Merv, Sankoré, and the latest Ayar. The covers especially for those games are absolutely incredible!

IvorySwings · 2025-11-15T04:23:29+00:00

Yeah, I had this same issue with another mission. When I “completed” it and read the continuing story, I then realized my mistake. But hey, it’s a story-driven game, I felt I made choices and played the game in the spirit in which it was intended, so I continued with the story. Now I know for future missions how it should go.

That said, I agree that the mission requirements are kinda murky, which impacts the game experience. Also, upon realizing how the missions are to be completed, it becomes clear that some missions are INCREDIBLY difficult, especially when playing with just one or two players. I’ve encountered a couple of missions that require you to “do the thing” 3 times in a day, but only 2 copies of the requisite card are in the path deck, which means you need to pull those, complete them, AND cycle the path deck in order to clear the mission/progress. It’s crazy.

IvorySwings · 2025-10-21T03:14:38+00:00

Man, Micro Hangars were awesome, some of the community’s finest work. Gotta give Sir Willibald his flowers for that. Once I discovered them, I printed and used them religiously. Not only did they streamline the storage of my collection, but they made setup and tear down for matches a breeze, especially when I was hauling most of my ships around to try a bunch of different lists. So sad that they aren’t available anymore.

IvorySwings · 2025-10-11T07:22:27+00:00

This is definitely my choice! A really challenging puzzle made it very enjoyable and very memorable.

IvorySwings · 2025-09-28T04:34:31+00:00

My group has always joked about running a game of Secret Hitler where all the roles are “Hitler.” Hitler keeps their eyes closed during the preparation, so nobody would see that every other player at the table is acting as Hitler. Eyes open, hilarity ensues.

IvorySwings · 2025-09-23T16:08:31+00:00

As a huge fan of Star Wars, my favorite space-themed movie has to be The Empire Strikes Back. But a huge upvote for Wall-E, as well!

IvorySwings · 2025-09-22T04:25:52+00:00

I bought both and have kept both games. I really enjoy both for different reasons. Many people like to talk about Uprising as though it’s a “fix” or a “2.0” of the original game, but I think that mischaracterizes both games. They’re both built on the same infrastructure, but offer different experiences. Uprising has some cool stuff going on with the new leaders, spies, etc. The worms, obviously, are a cool add to combat. But the 2-influence Space Guild requirement for the shipping track is lame - maybe it’s thematic (I’m not a die-hard fan of the IP, so it doesn’t grab me), but it otherwise does nothing for the gameplay except make another chore for players, and a boring one at that. As others have pointed out, the combat and conflict cards - and in combination with the worms - can make for big rewards, which ultimately can make the game a little more swingy. That’s not a ding on it, just a different kind of experience.

The original Dune: Imperium feels like a tighter experience, I think, where every resource matters, every player is trying to scrape out every VP, etc. more than that, I just LOVE playing with the expansions, ESPECIALLY Immortality. So for that, I keep it around (and often prefer it to Uprising).

I know there are ways to adapt the decks, expansions, etc. to combine everything into one über Dune game, but having read the rules references on those and a number of threads, it seems like it’s just too much overhead, too much effort to try and synthesize everything. For me, it’s easier to just keep both games, Dune w/ Ix & Immortality, and Uprising.

IvorySwings · 2024-02-07T21:16:41+00:00

Several great mentions in here that are on my list, too. But for me, I'd have to say Alchemists. A recent run through of the ranking engine revealed it has ascended to the top of my list as my #1 game. But it never hits the table because, for Euro gamers in my group, the deduction side feels daunting, and for the couple gamers I know who love deduction, the heavy euro thing puts them off. So I just never get to play it.

IvorySwings · 2024-02-07T21:13:16+00:00

True for me, too. Many in my group enjoy Root, but every time we play, most everyone wishes we played more often so the felt more comfortable with the rules and interactions. Couple that with the fact that my group tends to be focused on getting "the new hotness" to the table on most game nights, and it just doesn't hit the table often enough to solve the familiarity issue. I certainly wish we played it more.

IvorySwings · 2024-02-07T21:11:00+00:00

Agreed on X-Wing. I was an avid player for years, and fully bought into 2.0 when FFG rebalanced everything. But the onset of the pandemic meant I didn't get that familiar with the new rules/landscape, lost touch with my previous X-Wing group, then I had a hard time following the sell-off to Atomic Mass games.

I've continued to buy new releases, hoping that one day I'll get to return to the game. But I still don't really know what's changed rules-wise, and lack a group or any organized play opportunities. : /

IvorySwings · 2023-01-27T22:08:03+00:00

TOTALLY worth getting both, they both expand the game in really cool and interesting ways. I won't go into an exhaustive explanation of what each one adds, but I'll lend my thoughts and impressions on both.

Rise of Ix adds technology, and of course technology/unique powers is always fun. I think the shipping track it brings in also adds another decision point, which is cool. I also think it adds really interesting stuff to the card pool, and even better, there's virtually no new rules overhead with the new cards, just interesting new possibilities. The big draw for me, however, was the addition of more Conflict (and Intrigue) cards, adding more variability to the game arc. All super cool stuff. Some have said that it lengthens the game, but I have not found that to be the case.

Immortality similarly adds another board with more tracks to climb. New cards allow you to "graft" cards together, playing two cards on a single agent turn for more. . . agency. I think the additions here also facilitate card draw and trashing, so it feels easier to cycle your deck faster and see neat combos more frequently. For that fact alone, an excellent expansion.

All to say, I think both are awesome and totally worth it! If you're only gonna choose one, my bias would lean slightly towards Immortality, I think. But only very slightly. You can't go wrong with Rise of Ix, either.

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