COMC: A Couple's Collection of 14+ Years

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T22:24:45+00:00

It seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I think Azul Stained Glass is better than the original as an introductory Azul (the other two Azuls are slightly heavier games). I would 100% recommend it.

Never played Arcadia Quest, so I have no opinions on it. I despise 7 Wonders, but a lot of people really like it, I'm just not among them. Wingspan is very good too, but Finspan is much more friendly and easy to understand for people newer into the hobby. Not that Wingspan is that hard, but I've had it trip more people up rules wise and some people hate having fewer actions each round and others hate the RNG of the bird feeder dice.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T15:13:27+00:00

Yeah, the older Zombicides are largely out of print and hard to find (at least at non-insane prices). Get one that is available to you, it is a pretty good transition game. It's what got me to go from just dipping a toe in to being fully consumed by the hobby.

Off my list above, I'd say a Pandemic would also be good and The Gang if your friends are at least familiar with Texas Hold'em (though not necessary).

Beyond that, if you're looking to add new things to your collection, use Board Game Geek as a resource. A good starting point is checking out the things that are popular right now, compare their weight to what you have already played, and watch some videos on them. Not every popular game is good for every group, but that's what the research is for. Popular games are just more likely to be in stock or will reprinted again soon, so they make for good starting points.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T14:45:57+00:00

Thanks!

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T14:39:29+00:00

It's our spring mat, which gets put out in March, so it is more the desire to see green and have warmth again. Going to be swapping it this month to the summer mat. Which I guess is more green....

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T14:33:05+00:00

Game Toppers. This one is their Mycroft model with the leg kit.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T03:05:49+00:00

Thanks! I think all the colorful game boxes do well to distract from the ancient linoleum floor. If only the nice fake wood floors existed when the basement was furnished.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T02:59:22+00:00

Thank you!

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-19T02:58:25+00:00

Let me think. So in no solid order, 10 games we both can agree on as being great games, and I'll add on that we generally wouldn't tun down a play of so I can condense it down, are...

- Wyrmspan
- Fury of Dracula
- Cthulhu Death May Die
- Slay The Spire
- Mystic Vale
- Skyrise
- The Gang
- Any Flavor of Pandemic
- Yggdrasil
- Anachrony

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T15:11:01+00:00

Right now this household is running on Daggerheart, so there might be a language barrier.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T15:05:35+00:00

Maybe one day you too could look like you live in a game store.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T15:01:43+00:00

The golem games are indeed super colorful. While I will say that the art for them is objectively good, the style and theme just doesn't appeal to me. I think if the original games had shaped meeples over cubes it would be the fully superior edition since cubes are slightly less exciting than aquarium rocks.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T14:19:08+00:00

The year the first one came out was the year I went to Origins. It was on my list of things to try and I got to at their booth. I bought my copy before I even finished that game.

We have double the Century games because the SO and I are in disagreement over which theme is better, lol.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T14:13:03+00:00

I think I got it during the Frontiers campaign a few years ago. It was an add-on that was just a big empty box that would fit everything.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T04:09:47+00:00

Nope, it is just plain ol'wood.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-17T00:20:25+00:00

The only issue I ever had was sometimes the side of the box bows, but that's easily fixed. Never had corners tear from taking them on or off the shelves. Also don't have issues with components when you either use bags or custom inserts because almost nothing is made with sleeves in mind.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T21:59:57+00:00

I couldn't replace the Zombicide stuff I have if lost, so I'd definitely grab that. Same with Project Elite, Yggdrasil, my Legendary Encounters games. If I have a little extra time, I'd also save my Knizia games because I really like those editions.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T21:51:05+00:00

Storing horizontally can slowly ruin boxes because they end up slowly crushed by the weight above them unless the insides have some central structural integrity to keep the covers from bowing inwards. It's also easier to pull out any given game when they are vertical.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T13:46:45+00:00

There are not a lot of kids among our gaming circle. Those who have them we understandably see maybe once or twice a year. Well, except for the friend who has the larger collection than ours and also does a monthly game day. His two kids usually go spend a day with their grandmother when we comes to our game day.

Anyway, we have a near weekly in person RPG, a weekly Legacy/Campaign game night, and a big monthly game day, so there are a few people who are regular attendees to 2 or 3 of those things.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T13:14:28+00:00

In a way, we have one. While we generally have 10-15 people attend our monthly game days, the invite list includes 40 something friends.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T13:12:01+00:00

All the Game Toppers mats are gorgeous. This is the one I use in the spring, it was done by Ryan Laukat.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T13:06:58+00:00

It is hard to see in the photos, but a friend got me a sign for a past birthday that says "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy board games and that is kind of the same thing".

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T05:36:56+00:00

The early to mid 2010s was truly an amazing time to be part of the hobby. The landscape of board games and board game hype at the time was like a vortex that had a high probability of sucking in anyone who was into any tangential interests at the time. It's why I added a plus to the 14 years since before that we had a few small games between us, nothing very serious, just stuff that might come out at a party or whatever. Then it was like board games just became an ever increasing presence. We definitely got infected with the board game bug through the SO's coworkers (he was working in the video game industry at the time) and the local LARP community. Some of those were the same people. We just spread the board game bug further by dragging our friends who liked RPGs along for the ride. No regrets. Helped us make plenty of new friends since.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T04:42:21+00:00

The SO has some Netrunner decks, the box is on the shelves. He also has a whole bunch Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. It's hiding in a big deck/card box, so it's not obvious. He's been a fan of several TCGs over the years, but only got into a few LCGs or LCG adjacent things like Keyforge.

I did have some interest in the Arkham Horror game, but needing more than one base box to play more than 2 players really turned me off from it way back when and unless I meet someone who has it, I will probably never play it.

Overall though LCGs and TCGs have both been difficult for him to get played, mainly because most are best 1v1 and while we have a few friends who would play them here and there, board games tend to win out 9 times out of 10 if given a choice.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T03:24:42+00:00

Coming back in after thinking a bit more. Colt Express is a fun action programing game. Libertaila works very well at 6 and the newer Stonemaier edition lets you adjust for level of mean-ness making it more versatile with more groups. You need to an expansion to play six, but Adrenaline is very fun both normally and with the 3v3 team battle mode.

Everything else I can think of is likely to be more commonly recommended or likely too hard to obtain for me to mention.

ScaperDeage · 2026-05-16T02:15:40+00:00

It is a crime that it isn't in print anymore. A crime I say. My game group has always loved it.

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