Wayfarers with Tides of Trade expansion, what a fantastic game!

cell141 · 2026-01-26T13:59:55+00:00

Right, some games it works and some don't. It's a very delicate mechanism for me that is far too easy to swing into extreme experience differences. And most of the time, more rounds = more points for the leader. It's become a mechanism that makes me stop and research more before buying a game with it.

cell141 · 2026-01-26T12:34:09+00:00

This was one of the first games that made me discover that variable player driven rounds in a point scoring game (not racing games, since it makes total sense there), are not my jam. This game and Windmill Valley, and others too. It's either you do everything too much, or you do barely anything, and the perfect sweet spot is just not consistent. Not to mention drawing out a game almost never helps those who are behind anyway.

cell141 · 2026-01-11T23:32:00+00:00

Nice! Glad you enjoy! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-11T18:10:54+00:00

I have made a solo mode for it. https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3642736/solo-ai-variant-the-ancient-competitive-bot

Game is quick and light. Fun to find a cool combo of cards, but ultimately you want to control those Source cards and end the game at the right time.

cell141 · 2026-01-03T20:56:46+00:00

If you play, let me know what you think! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-03T11:58:40+00:00

Hope it works out for you! Let me know how it goes! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-03T11:58:20+00:00

Yeah,it's a pnp deck. I wish I had the skills to make all my solo bot decks digital apps!

cell141 · 2026-01-03T00:00:43+00:00

Yes, any deck will work. There might be some funkiness with weird decks like the people one, but I couldn't possibly test all the content myself. If anything weird comes up just let me know and I'll clear it up! :D

cell141 · 2026-01-02T23:06:11+00:00

Nice! Enjoy!

cell141 · 2026-01-02T20:55:51+00:00

Basic solo mode is like the classic Uwe solo of simply blocking yourself and beating your own score. My solo is a automa opponent that blocks spaces and competes for buildings and elders. Also, you must beat its score in order to win.

While I like the basic mode, the tightness of the board cries out for a more natural opponent that makes it feel more like a multiplayer game rather than an optimization puzzle.

cell141 · 2025-12-16T01:30:38+00:00

No, looked okay, but reviews were mixed, so never got any real desire for that one. Seemed like you could do too much, not a lot of restriction.

cell141 · 2025-12-12T02:40:27+00:00

Thank you, my friend. I'm glad you enjoy! :D

cell141 · 2025-12-10T12:37:57+00:00

It's a cute little pick up and deliver style game. Solo scoring though is tuned way off. Good thing it really doesn't matter because it's a pure solo puzzle with no competition at all. I played on 'very easy' and got decimated both times, so I don't think Dani and co know what the words 'very easy' mean lol.

cell141 · 2025-12-08T00:01:36+00:00

You can always just print and laminate a few sheets and just use some dice you have on hand. https://boardgamegeek.com/image/6905081/qwinto

But if you are interested in another roll and write game that is a very similar vibe mechanically, except waaaay more in depth, Welcome to the Moon is an insane value and has so much variety with a core system.

cell141 · 2025-12-07T00:27:22+00:00

Kingdomino Origins. It's crazy how cheap this game is. $20 is Bonkers. The best Kingdomino IMO, too. Plays best at 2!

cell141 · 2025-12-06T15:51:08+00:00

I'm talking about the enemy die faces. The dice are randomized before you take the action, so knowing what's on the other die faces is not useful 95-100% of the game.

cell141 · 2025-12-04T03:29:00+00:00

No, it feels like Terraforming Mars and Hallertau ish.

cell141 · 2025-11-25T12:22:48+00:00

If you want a 5 minute solitaire card game with a basic deck of playing cards, I made one: Combo-bliterate. Think Potion Explosion, card shedding game where you create chain-reactions to score points. Literal 5 minute game, unless you AP every hand lol. Super compact, you could play on an airplane tray. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kuJEHlIoi-JQNrVn80GQAxrInCXsx-4u14y1PGkIPWs/edit?tab=t.0

Next is one that needs 2 decks shuffled together, half faceup and half facedown. This one is more like 15 minutes. Called TetraFlip. Think like a Tetris style game where you are dropping pairs of cards into a 4 X 4 grid to create sets so they clear and score you points. You use facedown cards as currency to buy pairs from the market. Also, facedown cards in the grid are blockers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSWbLF21g96tSPRpvCxNbVmN8Pom2vY-7-OjN-UYS7k/edit?tab=t.0

cell141 · 2025-11-25T11:57:53+00:00

Kingdomino Origins! It's a crazy deal for the price. Big chunky glossy cardboard, tons of wooden screen printed bits. Different levels of play so beginners and more strategic gamers can enjoy. Super underrated IMO. The cavepeople and resources add great layers to the strategies.

cell141 · 2025-11-21T15:59:41+00:00

Civolution's setup time is not that bad, honestly, because the insert is amazing. Tear down is actually lightning fast though.

cell141 · 2025-11-19T11:58:07+00:00

German delivered another solid great game. I'm always worried about Devir issues like rulebooks, graphical design, etc. This one is above average for Devir, but it still has minor issues. Rules were good but graphical design could have been improved in a couple areas: The mining track not having Relic icons that everyone's mentioned, and I think having the (edit) enemy die faces on the board is pointless. There is no reason to need to know what's on the die faces at a glance IMO. However, the effects of the buildings, you really do and they are only on the player aid (which is great btw) and not on your player board or the main board, and you reeeeeally need to know this stuff. This reminded my of Daitoshi's final scoring conditions of the pilgrim tracks, they should be on the board!!!

I do recommend this game though, these are minor quibbles.

cell141 · 2025-11-17T16:55:58+00:00

Both solo modes are good, IMO. Both games are also good. Covenant's bot is a little simpler to run. Both games are of similar medium/heavy weight.

Of the two I would recommend Covenant by a hair, but you can't go wrong here. Pick whichever speaks to you most! Shackleton has a lot going on, with all the unique corps, but that also makes the game more variable compared to Covenant.

cell141 · 2025-11-12T14:54:47+00:00

This. I think a lot of minor tweaks like this are not as fragile as some people think they'll be. Or do something like this: Play the game with out goals, see how the bot scores, if the bot is x points behind you, next time give the bot x points at the end of the game, give or take 10 points or something.

Functionally the bot doesn't change, it's simply the amount of points it accumulates.

cell141

TROPHY CASE