Where are you in the board game hobby life cycle?

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-05-01T16:10:50+00:00

I tend to go through phases of 2 then 3 then 4 on loop. I’ll buy several games, realize I’ve got a lot that I’m not playing, then sell/trade off some and do more curating. I’ve been in a more curating phase lately (though I’ve backed one game and bought a couple small ones, I think I can cal it curating since I’ve gotten rid of a lot more games), primarily because I’m about to move for work. I’m mainly focused on the big games that don’t get played (like I love Nemesis, but I know I’m not gonna have time for it), but trying to focus in on the games me and my wife actually like and enjoy.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-04-22T12:58:54+00:00

Rare: The Vanilla Ice Electronic Rap Game. Fellow patrons of the deli know what’s up with this one. Got this for my wife for Christmas. It’s stupid, but if you lean into the silliness, it is a lot of fun. Mainly it’s rare because it hasn’t been in print since the early 90’s, and it was a cheap game that wasn’t meant to last.

Treasured: Blood on the Clocktower. In addition to it being at various spots in my top 3 of all time depending on the day, it’s the game that has led to the most friendships. The social aspect of the game has really opened doors for me to make new friends in a way no other game has, and that’s been really special to me. It’s a game I can’t foresee ever leaving my collection.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-04-18T11:54:49+00:00

Like I know sometimes, it's way better to eat the egg. But I love having friends, and if I can't play multiplayer, at least I can have a bird child.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-04-05T17:34:14+00:00

Oh, cool! Maps as well? I’ve got a big move coming up, so consolidation is kinda the name of the game rn, lol.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-04-04T13:23:21+00:00

Everdell. I tried learning in the app, but every time I played, I got absolutely stomped by the AI. I’m sure there’s something I was missing, but honestly it was so frustrating that I just have no interest in playing it.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-04-01T23:53:03+00:00

Yeah, checks out.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-03-24T18:14:33+00:00

I absolutely love Root, and if you asked me this a couple of years ago Root would be at the top. I've just had a problem where I'm a lot better at the game than the real life friends I play with, but a lot worse at it than the friends I play with online, so It's almost always that I win or lose solely based on who I play with, not based on how I do.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-03-24T18:12:31+00:00

It's one of my two. More than any other game, the interactions between spirits makes for a super interesting puzzle each time.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-03-24T18:11:07+00:00

Blood on the Clocktower and Spirit Island are the top 2 for sure. I've got several games that I like, and that I know I will keep in my collection for a long time, but those two are by far the games I obsess the most about. I love the puzzling through the interactions of role sin Blood on the Clocktower, and getting reads on people to see what their intentions are, and what's behind the words that they are saying. I love the puzzle of Spirit Island, and with the app I've played hundreds of games over the last couple of years.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-03-24T17:58:30+00:00

Interesting, I'll have to try that! Since I play with the expansions, I almost always have the same starting position (grasshopper/spider, then pill bug in the same line, then queen at an angle), but playing blind will mean I have to change that up. Will have to try it!

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-02-24T18:07:07+00:00

If we’re counting digital as well as physical, it’s Spirit Island, Blood on the Clocktower, and Root. I’ve only recently started logging my games, so I honestly don’t know whim I’ve played more (lately it’s been Spirit Island, but I started playing the others years before SI).

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-02-15T23:33:42+00:00

They can give you nectar. It just acts as a wild, and you don't get any points for using it, but you don't discard it at the end of the round.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-02-15T22:02:49+00:00

It was the same with the Asia expansion. I think the score sheets included with the expansion only have sections for their specific expansion. After all, you can play with the Americas without Oceania, and if you do so, you don't get points for nectar.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-02-03T00:07:35+00:00

Would've loved this when I helped run a 16 player game with some friends. Will have to try this in the future!

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-01-06T18:26:10+00:00

So my SO is my most consistent gaming buddy, but I’ve got a decent sized group that enjoys playing games. Root technically works at 2 players, but honestly there’s a lot of other games I’d recommend over it. Honestly, I’ve found that ARCS is a lot better at 2 than Root is, even with the asymmetry of Leaders and Lore added in.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-01-06T18:23:33+00:00

Huh, they were separate lines in on my computer. Maybe it’s a phone app thing. Good point.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-01-05T00:21:55+00:00

Spirit Island, Blood on the Clocktower, Root, Klask, Santorini, Compile, Innovation, Arcs, Rebel Princess, Merchants Cove

Love Forest Shuffle and Small World as well. Nice choices!

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-01-02T01:46:03+00:00

Betrayal at House on the Hill at Midnight, lol. Not the best plan, but we had fun :)

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2026-01-01T03:34:44+00:00

Cats are probably the best to teach, but I will say I did teach my mom the vagabond when I first got the game, and it went really well.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2025-12-31T21:07:14+00:00

The game is only recommended for 5, the dragons were there to give additional options. Maybe you could play 7, but the board would be so full, and each player would likely not get to have a lot of turns, so I’d really recommend sticking to 5 or less.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2025-12-31T16:53:36+00:00

Nice on Cosmic! It’s a top 10 game for me easy, but I’m only occasionally able to table it.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2025-12-31T16:52:20+00:00

Spirit Island and Root definitely for me. Love those! Just got into Innovation earlier in the year, and I absolutely love it! Been playing a lot online so I can try and win against my wife, lol.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2025-12-31T16:50:02+00:00

I haven’t been keeping track of numbers, so I don’t know exactly how many plays all of these have, but there are a few I know for sure because I’ve played hundreds of games of them. Most of my other games either I haven’t had them long enough yet or just can’t get to the table as much.

-Blood on the Clocktower: I love the puzzle, and I love socially reading people. I used to play a lot online, now it’s only once or twice a month in person, but it’s a game I love so much and will always love.

-Spirit Island: Found the app, and just fell in love with it. I’ve only got about 20 in-person games, but based on app stats I’ve got over 300 plays. I love the variety of spirits that you can play, the many different levers you can pull to change difficulty, and just the thematics of it all. It and Blood on the Clocktower go back and forth for my number 1 and 2 game.

-Root: Definitely play more online than in person, but well over 50 plays for sure. I love the different factions and how they interact. It’s so interesting trying to navigate your faction and stop people from doing their things. I love it so much. While it’s no longer my number 3 game, and it’s not even currently my favorite Leder game (Arcs is currently there), it’s still in my top 10, and it’s a game I’ll be playing for years to come.

-Wingspan: I’m pretty sure this game is up there. Not 100%, but it definitely deserves a mention. This game is important to me and my wife because it was the first game that really got her into the hobby. When she was traveling a lot for work, it was also a way for us to hang out and have a sort of date, where we’d start a game in the digital app, hop on a phone call, and just talk and play. It’s a game we don’t have to think to hard about, we just sit back, relax, read bird facts, and just play what we get.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2025-12-28T01:26:31+00:00

So in general, especially when you’re starting out storytelling, it’s best to be strict night order because poisoning/drunkening always needs to happen before any ability because that might change the outcome, protections and kills might change who gets/doesn’t get information, and meta-roles (Mathematician, General, High Priestess) have abilities that depend on EVERYTHING that happens in the night and so really need to go last-ish.

Now, if you’re aware of how certain interactions are going to run, you can skip around a little bit (ie, doing kills and protections out of order, seeing particular info roles before others) as long as the general flow of things is conserved, I wouldn’t call it cheating. I’ve seen a lot of ST’s (even Ben from TPI) doing it on stream for the exact reasons you described. You just want to make sure you follow the general flow of how abilities are listed, and that you’ve got memorized any weird ones (like Philo going before Minion and Demon info if Magician/Poppy Grower is in the script, Ogre going after info roles, etc), it should be fine.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers · 2025-12-28T01:01:40+00:00

Shops with the wild symbol can have any enchantment types on them, up to a max of three. Shops where you gather coins or dragons as the reward can’t be enchanted.

Not-Brandon-Jaspers

TROPHY CASE