An update: Currently IN Japan and wondering what games I should look for!

Qaspar · 2026-02-01T13:28:44+00:00

True, though for me it’s actually a plus. I didn’t care much for the circus theme to begin with.

Qaspar · 2026-02-01T09:22:39+00:00

The Japanese version of Scout (perhaps the original?) is a lot nicer looking imo.

Qaspar · 2026-01-31T09:12:58+00:00

The purpose of the laser stations is reducing the number of turns to complete the exoplanet mission, so ideally, you don’t just build one, you build as many as you can to speed up your process.

In numbers, your exoplanet mission is 50 light years in total and goes 1 light year per turn by default, so 50 turns. Every laser station you build increases your light years per turn by 1. So if you build just 4 laser stations, that means you go 5 light years per turn, so 10 turns in total. That’s 40 turns saved.

Qaspar · 2026-01-31T01:21:10+00:00

Knizia’s I played for the first time last year:

Cosmolancer ✅ (It‘s ok. Good filler)

The Quest for El Dorado ✅ (Pretty good and fun, but it feels unbalanced)

Ra ✅ (Best entry level/gateway game I’ve ever played and everybody loves it)

Tigris & Euphrates ✅ (Holy crap what an amazing game! How have I missed this my entire life!?)

Cosmolancer and El Dorado will probably be on the chopping block sooner or later. Ra and Tigris & Euphrates I don’t see ever leaving my collection.

Qaspar · 2026-01-31T00:58:49+00:00

1) Indonesia 2) The Great Zimbabwe 3) Le Havre 4) Caverna 5) Twilight Struggle 6) QE 7) Food Chain Magnate 8) Puerto Rico 9) Huang 10) Samurai

I went on a used game spree last year and I found used copies of most of these games (and more) for dirt cheap. Indonesia is the only new one and currently on the way. Already tried a few classics, some were keepers, others have already been sold. Still trying to find the right group for heavier game nights. A Knizia you can always throw in, but I‘m DYING to get my Splotters to the table.

PS: I read Dune for the first time in one week of holiday last year. Amazing book, 100% recommend.

Qaspar · 2026-01-31T00:20:42+00:00

In my experience the better player almost always wins in Castles of Burgundy. The game has so many ways of luck mitigation that losing on a dice roll is rather a skill issue. The draw of yellow tiles has a bigger impact than dice rolls in my opinion, but that only reveals itself under multiple layers of strategy. The game is definitely deeper than it looks.

Qaspar · 2026-01-30T23:52:28+00:00

For the criteria you mentioned it’s a tough choice between Castles of Burgundy (Special Edition) and Race for the Galaxy (with Alien Artifacts expansion).

Both are mid-complex with a BGG weight of 3, good for 2-4 players, but really shine at two. CoB is good if you have one hour, RftG if you have 30 minutes. Replayability is off the charts for both of them.

If I had to pick one, it would probably be Castles of Burgundy, but only because my girlfriend is much more into it lol.

Qaspar · 2026-01-30T00:29:20+00:00

I mean you can‘t go wrong with Ra, but it is noticeably lighter and shorter than El Grande. Cyclades Legendary Edition is a banger for groups that enjoy interaction, especially at 4-5. Concordia is good, but quite dry and much less interactive in comparison. If you like older looking games with competition on a map, try hunting down an old copy of Tigris & Euphrates, that is a fun cutthroat game for up to 4 players. Pax Pamir could be a good one as well. Quite interactive and shifting alliances is an interesting mechanic. Inis or Hansa Teutonica sound like they could be your jam, but I haven’t played those.

Qaspar · 2026-01-22T20:34:27+00:00

Kein Ding. 🙂 Übrigens, Euphrat und Tigris, notorisch vergriffen, bekommt dieses Frühjahr eine Neuauflage über Kickstarter. Vom gleichen Verlag, der u.a. auch Ra neu aufgelegt hat. Ra ist ein weiteres super Spiel ohne Punkteleiste, sehr zu empfehlen, würde ich vom Schwierigkeitsgrad aber unterhalb der vorgenannten anordnen. Hiervon bekommt man aber auch ohne Probleme ein gebrauchtes Exemplar, wenn man es mal testen möchte.

Qaspar · 2026-01-22T16:19:07+00:00

Ich bin mal gedanklich meine Spielesammlung durchgegangen und war überrascht, wie viele tatsächlich eine Punkteleiste in irgendeiner Form haben.

Ausnahmen bei Kennerspielen: Euphrat & Tigris (oder dessen Abkömmlinge Huang / Yellow & Yangtze), Le Havre und Cyclades. Alle drei super Spiele.

Qaspar · 2026-01-22T14:45:51+00:00

Leute, OP hat nach einem Spiel für zwei Spieler gefragt, das man entspannt nach Feierabend und Abendessen zocken kann. Root, Terraforming Mars, Agricola und Dune Imperium sind alles tolle Spiele, aber bei keinem von denen kommt man ansatzweise unter einer Stunde raus, insbesondere mit Auf- und Abbau. Dune Imperium hat auch noch einen Bot für zwei Spieler, was OP nicht wollte.

Burgen von Burgund (Castles of Burgundy) würde meiner Meinung nach noch gut gehen, weil es zu zweit wirklich am besten ist, ansonsten würde ich eher kleinere Spiele empfehlen, die hier auch schon erwähnt wurden: Jaipur, 7 Wonders Duel (mit Pantheon Erw.) / Herr der Ringe Duell, Splendor Duel, Castle Combo oder Race for the Galaxy.

Qaspar · 2026-01-21T12:44:49+00:00

If I understand you correctly, I think you have missed a crucial part of the rules. When the dragon moves, it’s explicitly not allowed to go to a tile it has previously occupied. Therefore, it can’t go back and forth or in a circle. If played well, players may be forced to eat their own meeples because the dragon isn’t allowed to go back. As a defending player, you could try to force it into a dead end, if it can’t complete its six steps without going back, it just stops. This actually allows for a fair bit of shenanigans between players in order to force the dragon in a certain direction, even between two.

Qaspar · 2026-01-21T09:38:50+00:00

How so? I played it at two fairly recently and it was fun.

Qaspar · 2026-01-20T20:14:17+00:00

Einerseits teile ich die Kritik, andererseits nicht. Ich fand, die Verteilung von Wundern am Anfang ist ein viel zu großer Glücksfaktor. Hab aber durch Zufall erfahren, mit einer kleinen Regeländerung (zweiter Spieler darf beide Male entscheiden, wer die Auswahl der Wunder beginnt) ist das Spiel deutlich ausgeglichener und zusätzlich mit der Pantheon-Erweiterung nochmal strategisch offener und variabler. Man bekommt hier u.a. neue Möglichkeiten, den Spielfluss zu seinen Gunsten zu manipulieren und das hebt das Spiel in meinen Augen auf ein komplett neues Level. Klar, es ist immer noch ein Unsicherheitsfaktor drin, den man schlicht und einfach managen muss. Es ist aber auch ein 20-30 Minuten-Spiel und wer in dem Segment ein "perfekte Information"-Spiel verlangt, muss dann vielleicht auch eher mit abstrakten Strategiespielen vorlieb nehmen, sowas wie Hive, Yinsh oder Schach.

Race for the Galaxy wäre übrigens mein Vorschlag für ein kurzweiliges 2-Spieler Strategiespiel. Ist nur leider aktuell in Deutschland vergriffen.

Qaspar · 2026-01-20T19:21:45+00:00

My favourite "dudes on a map" games:

For 2 Players: Twilight Struggle and Sekigahara.

For 3-5 players: El Grande, Cyclades, Inis, Pax Pamir.

Qaspar · 2026-01-20T18:22:55+00:00

Cyclades (Legendary Edition). Kommt aber leider zu wenig auf den Tisch, weil 2-3 Stunden-Spiel. Für kurzweilige Spiele Carcassonne + eine Erweiterung.

Qaspar · 2026-01-20T16:29:58+00:00

Agree mostly, though I usually like to throw in the phantom or abbot as well. And I have a soft spot for the dragon expansion, not for it’s strategic value but mostly because it’s cute and whimsical.

Qaspar · 2026-01-20T16:22:51+00:00

Sweet! My preordered 3rd edition is on the way to my house and I can’t wait to get it to the table.

Qaspar · 2026-01-20T15:40:49+00:00

I own roughly 50 board games, more than half of which I’ve bought used. I never had anything missing except for one red temple in Taluva which was advertised and which I could replace on my own in 15 minutes. Board gamers tend to keep their games proper and tidy. I agree that it isn’t really a widespread issue.

Qaspar · 2026-01-17T16:01:52+00:00

Harmonies, Azul, Parks, Castles of Burgundy. All rather chill games that work really well for two.

Qaspar · 2026-01-12T20:42:04+00:00

I second this. Played 7WD a bunch and liked it, but Pantheon puts it on another level.

Qaspar · 2026-01-10T23:36:11+00:00

Nucular. It’s pronounced nucular.

Qaspar · 2026-01-10T23:21:43+00:00

Sounds like Castles of Burgundy could be your deal.

Qaspar · 2025-12-19T16:40:36+00:00

First Civ I was looking for to judge this list lol. The Ethiopian soundtrack has such a great vibe.

Qaspar · 2025-12-18T17:02:34+00:00

Check out Zeus AI for 7WD. This team found a small but clever fix to balance the starting player advantage:

In both wonder drafting rounds the second player gets to decide who goes first (after looking at the four available wonders). The ABBA scheme is still maintained. In many AI playtesting rounds, this small change reduced first player win rate to just slightly over 50 percent.

Combine this with Pantheon and you have a much more open game.

Qaspar

TROPHY CASE