I have recently played several new (to me) board games. I’ve put these roughly in descending order of how much I like them after just one play.
The Red Cathedral
I immediately recognized the Bilibin-inspired art. I initially thought that this game might be a little too complicated to work, but in the end I liked the mechanics and the decisions. The final scoring was a little strange, but that might just be because I didn’t read the rules myself but had it explained to me. I can see this game being intimidating to someone seeing it for the first time who doesn’t like “heavy” games, but it’s not as heavy as it looks.
Rococo
I enjoyed this one. Not enough to buy it, especially given the high price and huge box, but I liked the strategy and the dressmaking theme was something different.
Dice Manor
Including “dice” in the name of a game is getting a little old, but the person who introduced me to this game said it was like Las Vegas and that was enough for me to at least give it a chance. (Coincidentally, Las Vegas is another game I initially had no interest in because of the name/theme, but it’s a good one.) Dice Manor was pretty fun and I’d play it again.
Coimbra
I enjoyed this game, but it’s one that I think might benefit from not knowing the strategy yet. There are many avenues you can take and it might be tedious to try to figure out the ideal one at each step. I’d play it again but I don’t see myself buying it or anything.
Three Sisters
I like complex roll-and-write games (such as Hadrian’s Wall) but I thought this one was a little much in giving you so many choices that result in so many chain reactions. It’s easy to forget some of the powers you have or to make a mistake. These concerns might no longer be an issue on subsequent plays, but I don’t see myself going out of my way to play again.
Cosmic Encounter
I’d been curious about this one for many years, but had never had a chance to play it. I like aspects of the design and how there are so many different races, but the way someone actually wins the game isn’t particularly satisfying. It’s as much of a kingmaker game as Munchkin, though at least everything else about the game is better than Munchkin.
Between Two Cities
This one was nice-looking and had an interesting concept (you build shared cities with other players and your score is based on the lower of your two cities), but I ultimately didn’t care too much for it.
Jamaica
Pirates racing around an island. Amusing to see the chaos, but I think playing this once was enough for me.