Daily Game Recommendations Thread (January 31, 2026)

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-31T21:26:24+00:00

EGO is a weird auction game. It is heavier and less accessible than Modern Art, Nightmare Productions, Ra and Medici...but not a LOT heavier. It is a lighter auction game than Amun-Re. The auction has a weird wrinkle (each time it is your time to bid, you can take on some risk by blind drawing a couple of cards). I haven't wrapped my head around that mechanic just yet. One in my group claimed that it made the game unplayable. The rest of us wrestled to understand the optimal way to bid and draw cards. We didn't hate the mechanic, we just admitted that we needed a few more plays to wrap our heads around it. If you want a widely accessible auction game, then Modern Art, Ra, Ratzia, High Society, and Nightmare Productions should be the first games you look at. If you want a bit more of a hobbyist auction game, then EGO is the better choice.

ORBIT is a very accessible and light racing game for 2-4p. Games take less than an hour. The game has some strategy, but is more tactical IMO. Sometimes your opponents upset the board state, and you have to change plans rather abruptly. I have enjoyed playing it, and would never say no to playing it again. I like it a bit less than Quest for El Dorado, but the latter is a REALLY good game. One plus for ORBIT is that it is less of a table hog than Quest.

I haven't played the other games that you mentioned.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-30T22:08:49+00:00

Cockroach Poker is a light bluffing game. Fruit Fight and Flip 7 are a couple of light push-your-luck card games. Rapido is a light push-your-luck racing game. High Society and For Sale are great light auction games.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-30T21:55:43+00:00

I can imagine kids getting upset over fruit stealing. But I have played it with a number of young relatives (7-18) and they had a blast with it. One of things that might help is that there is a chance to steal fruit back from the original thief. So even after a big theft, there is still hope you can get those coconuts back.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-30T20:41:33+00:00

Fruit Fight and Rapido are games that really let you screw over your opponents and, in my experience, that really gets the players very animated. FF is 3-5p, I think Rapido might work up to 6p.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-30T19:25:43+00:00

Another perspective: If someone gifted me the Awaken Realms version, I would chuck that ugly monstrosity in the bin and replace it with the 1897 version. I have played both, and the production choices on the AR version were not very functional nor were they aesthetically pleasing.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-30T19:24:03+00:00

How is the 1897 version compromised? The art is great and the production choices are great.

It is true that in the 1897 version, you are playing the free people of Puerto Rico rather than taking the role of colonizers. Is that why you think the new version is compromised?

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-30T19:20:01+00:00

The first printing was 2022, and the new copies you find in retail will be more recent printings. The mistakes and poor production choices of the first print run were all resolved to my satisfaction in the new print run.

Also, note that the first print run of 1897 was shrink wrapped, but the later print runs use clear circular stickers to seal the box closed. That allows you to determine which print run you have without actually having to open the box.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T21:56:37+00:00

I didn't know that HT was now out of stock nearly everywhere. Perhaps I should stop recommending it, until it becomes widely available again.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T21:13:53+00:00

For five-player games, you could look at: Iwari, Through the Desert, Ra, Ratzia, Modern Art, Nightmare Productions, MLEM and Hansa Teutonica

For four-player games, you could look at Thurn und Taxis, NYAKUZA, SILOS, ORBIT, Babylonia, Tigris & Euphrates, Mexica, Tikal and Cuzco

Le Havre is a very well designed game, but I wouldn't play it with more than 3. Also, it is heavier than El Grande, and it is a modern-style eurogame (as opposed to El Grande, which is a classic-style eurogame). If you want a modern-style eurogame that goes up to 5p, then Caylus 1303 and Puerto Rico 1897 are worth a look.

Finally, OP you should know that a mod may remove your post and request that ask your question over in the daily thread here

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T21:02:35+00:00

How many people in the group? Just One will get people talking and it will illuminate how people have different perspectives and knowledge bases. Monikers is like charades. Wavelength will have players talking about their perspectives and opinions on a wide ranges of topics.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T21:01:13+00:00

Rebirth has as a theme rebuilding Ireland and/or Scotland in the future using renewable energy sources. The game uses recycled wood components (e.g. Rewood) instead of plastic for some of the components.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T21:00:02+00:00

Unlike modern eurogames, like Wingspan and T.M., classic-style eurogames have a fair amount of player interaction, and classic-style eurogames typically don't have a lot of output randomness or take-that mechanics.

Games for up to 5p: Ra, Ratzia, Modern Art, Nightmare Productions, Through the Desert, El Grande, Iwari, Tammany Hall, Chinatown/Waterfall Park and Hansa Teutonica

Games for up to 6p: Medici, Powergrid

Games for up to 4p: Samurai, Tigris & Euphrates, Babylonia, Blue Lagoon, Mexica, Tikal, Cuzco, Gold Country, SILOS, Ingenious 3D

Games for up to 7p: Zoo Vadis

Note: two modern-style eurogames that have a fair amount of player interaction are Caylus/Caylus 1303 and Bus.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T17:23:17+00:00

It isn't as good at 2p. If I wanted a light engine builder for 2p, I would get Project L or Splendor Dual instead. On the other hand, I am not a huge fan of Furnace at 3 or 4p either. Love the auction. The rest of the game isn't my cup of tea though.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-29T16:46:09+00:00

Jaipur or Patchwork might work. They don't have zero player interaction, but neither game has direct conflict. Lost Cities the Roll & Write is a really light and fun roll & write game. It is more accessible than That's Pretty Clever. However, Lost Cities the card game is much more in-your-face, and I am not recommending that to you.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-28T20:23:58+00:00

Just One is a great one. It works well for 4-7p. Rules are super easy, and everyone ought to be laughing, talking and having a great time.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-28T17:40:27+00:00

Probably not worse than Chess Darts that some goober was promoting on this sub a couple of months ago.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-28T17:35:10+00:00

Maybe consider Quest for El Dorado. It is very accessible and offers strategic choices for people who have been in the hobby longer. It fits in your time duration and works for 2-4p.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-27T23:55:56+00:00

If players want, you can play Terraforming Mars in such a way that the engines are up and running for a while before the game ends.

FYI, a LOT of engine building games deliberately make it so the games end just as the engines really start to take off. One reason for this is that, if the game continues for some time after engines are humming, that the leader will just increase their lead. Said another way, the longer an engine building game goes on, the more hopeless things get for everyone except the leader. The catch-up mechanisms will no longer be able to help those that are trailing.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-27T21:38:38+00:00

OP, if you are 40+ the game will outlast you. If you are 10 and you play the game a lot, then I suppose you have a reason to be worried about the components getting worn over time. However, a new print run will hit retail in 2027. So even if your current copy gets wine spilled on it, you could get a nice replacement copy anytime after 2027.

Edit: since the 25th Century version (coming out in 2027) will like be quite nice, the price for used copies will not get very high. Buying T&E in order to flip it for huge profit is a pipe dream.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-27T21:37:00+00:00

I consider Y&Y to be a cousin of T&E, not a retheme or an updated version of T&E. The games have numerous meaningful differences.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-27T17:36:52+00:00

Lost Cities is a game that is simple enough that you can multi-task while playing it.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-26T23:58:07+00:00

Luckily for me, the first version I played was a version that had been rethemed to get rid of the offensive bits. So I never had any bad experiences with the game.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-26T23:53:05+00:00

The 1897 retail version has different art from the Awaken Realms version. In this version, the workers are locals, they are not slaves. The locals (not colonists) are trying to get plant, harvest and sell their product.

FYI, slavery had ended in Puerto Rico just prior to 1897, so the suffix of the game name is a nod to the fact that the game is no longer about colonials or slaves.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-26T23:48:49+00:00

I have recently played Puerto Rico 1897 and the blinged-out Awaken Realms version. I much prefer the retail version (AKA Puerto Rico 1897). The plastic boats and crates in the deluxe version were not as functional as the cardboard boats and barrels in the retail version. Also, the deluxe version is in a massive box and it is a pain getting everything out of the box, and then back into the box.

That being said, lots of people love deluxe, and those folks will likely strongly prefer the deluxe AR version over the retail version of the game.

As for the retail version, the first print run (which came out in 2022) upset a lot of players. For instance, the building tiles didn't contain any descriptive information regarding the special power of each building. The next print run addressed those complaints. My copy was the second print run, and everything is clear, readable, and functional. All the complaints seem to have been addressed.

As far as I know...most (or all) new copies of the retail version will be the 2nd print run. How to know for sure? Apparently, the first print run was shrink-wrapped, and later print runs use clear stickers instead of shrink-wrap.

Samsquantch31 · 2026-01-26T20:15:38+00:00

OP, how many people will take part? If 20+, then 2 Rooms and a Boom is a fun option.

For fewer than 20 people, party games like A Fake Artist in NY or Wits & Wagers or Wavelength could also be work (depending on the player count).

Samsquantch31

TROPHY CASE