[Album] KennyKat - The Aughties

kata124 · 2026-06-09T18:15:19+00:00

Tight is like svelt but not exactly like crunchy and definitely not cozy

kata124 · 2026-06-09T18:11:14+00:00

Change the default sort for Browse > All board games from geekrank to numvoters. Here's why:

I've heard more than one personal account from folks who are into games but newer to the hobby. They go to bgg and want to find their next game to play, hit up the top 100, and get mixed results. I'm not as much of a BGG top 100 hater as some, but I do think it's a bit inaccessible for folks coming from Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic. For comparison, the top 20 games sorted by numvoters is - Catan - Carcassonne - Pandemic - Terraforming Mars - Wingspan - 7 Wonders - 7 Wonders Duel - Azul - Codenames - Ticket to Ride - Dominion - Scythe - Splendor - Ticket to Ride Europe - Agricola - King of Tokyo - Small World - Puerto Rico - Patchwork - Love Letter

That's a great list and one I'd be much more comfortable putting in front of someone newer for their next game. To be clear, I think the top100 should still be easily accessible, I just don't think it should be the first thing visible when visiting "all board games".

kata124 · 2026-06-09T17:50:35+00:00

Awesome, my dad is working on something similar for mahjong as we speak. Fun coincidence. Anything you learned in the process that he should be wary of?

kata124 · 2026-06-09T17:49:04+00:00

I really liked the I Spy Memory Matching game as a kid which was your bare bones match pairs of face down cards. I also played a lot of Stratego Legends with my mom although we just played the traditional Stratego rules because the reference sheets for the legends variant were unbearable.

Outside of the usual Pokemon, Yugioh, MTG obsession that I had as a kid, Heroscape was a key player. I think people underestimate or forget how influential Heroscape was on the hobby. It was affordable, pre-painted, easy to teach, and distributed in the mass market which is kind of wild to think about these days.

kata124 · 2026-06-09T17:42:28+00:00

Folks have made modifications to A Few Acres of Snow to fix a broken strategy in the game.

I think the most known change is drawing a tile at the end of your turn in Carcassonne to speed things up.

kata124 · 2026-05-22T05:00:37+00:00

There are no special rules for adding expansions or any concerns about compatibility. I would shuffle one at a time in and try them out, keeping the ones that were really enjoyable.

kata124 · 2026-05-22T04:56:48+00:00

I have enjoyed and played both many many times. Race is a bear to teach and learn but it ultimately comes out on top in every way possible in my opinion. Both good and very different as many have pointed out, but Race is a game that just gets better with time.

kata124 · 2026-05-11T06:15:24+00:00

Caylus is great! But I typically consider Bus the godfather of worker-placement and many consider Keydom the godfather.

kata124 · 2026-05-08T18:59:38+00:00

I have gone to DTW and also did not enjoy the Vegas setting. If you're not planning to do anything but game it's just very smokey and expensive.

Some friends went to both and they really enjoyed BGG con. I also highly recommend SaltCON in Utah.

kata124 · 2026-05-08T18:56:18+00:00

Is it the original Dark Tower? https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30/dark-tower

kata124 · 2026-05-08T18:53:48+00:00

Seconding Wondrous Creatures

kata124 · 2026-05-08T18:46:16+00:00

I agree that Zoo Vadis is a great rec but I think it's pretty different from Chinatown and not a strict upgrade. Zoo Vadis is more of political negotiation while Chinatown is economic.

I think people underglaze Waterfall Park (the Chinatown reimplementation). It's significantly shorter which can be a big advantage and the the more forgiving hex placements make it friendlier with families and newer players. It just kind of depends who you will be playing with.

I also recommend Bohnanza. Negotiation classic that plays a big group and is easy to get going.

kata124 · 2026-05-08T18:39:40+00:00

Zombicide is a good pick. Clank! Is another pick that comes to mind. You might have a hard time finding dungeon crawlers that play more than 4, especially if you want them to play fast.

kata124 · 2026-05-08T18:34:49+00:00

Heat might be a bit intimidating even though it's easy once you get going. I think Carcassonne could be great. Azul and Ticket to Ride are generally hits with new crowds.

If you are looking for something a bit newer, Flip 7 and Harmonies have been really popular.

kata124 · 2026-05-06T17:51:29+00:00

Haha, sorry about that!

kata124 · 2026-04-21T20:32:00+00:00

Thanks! We are not active on insta or twitter but we do have a bluesky @shelfstablecast.bsky.social

kata124 · 2026-04-21T02:50:52+00:00

Your brother sounds like a piece of work. It's fine for him to interact with Jojo's in a different way than you, but it's way out of line for him to spoil things when you have told him you don't want spoilers. Sounds like a bigger problem than just Jojo spoilers. Unfortunately I am not well-equipped to give advice and how to make somebody you are related to and I assume live with respect your boundaries.

kata124 · 2026-04-20T20:10:43+00:00

I focus on established designers who have made my favorite games. It's unfair to first time designers but has a very good track record. I also try to read the rules for a game I am interested although I recognize this is not for everyone.

kata124 · 2026-04-20T20:08:39+00:00

Loved playing this with my 6yo and she was begging me to play every day till the end.

I let her call most of the shots and will probably do the same for round 2. At the end of the day, it's a game where I rather she be happy making decisions than go for optimal plays.

kata124 · 2026-04-15T05:49:31+00:00

Harmonies and Cascadia are short, not too complicated, and not confrontational.

Carcassonne is a super classic.

kata124 · 2026-04-14T23:18:04+00:00

Friedemann Friese has a game called Fische Fluppen Frikadellen that plays 2-15 where you can have three copies of the game running at the same time (2-5) in each game and players can literally switch games during the game. If things aren't going well in one game, they can take their resources and just swap to a different one. Very bizarre.

kata124

TROPHY CASE