Garrett's Games And Geekiness

Shelley and get two family-oriented games to the table this week, looking first at  Succulent by J. Alex Kevern from Renegade Game Studios then at Endangered by Joe Hopkins from Grand Gamers Guild

This week Shelley and I add and modify the HEAVY 2018 title  Teotihuacan: City of Gods by Daniele Tascini from NSKN and Board&Dice by adding most of the expansions that come in 2019's  Teotihuacan: Late Preclassic Period Expansion by Tascini, Rainer Ahlfors, and Andrei Novac Then we race to build our factory towns in  Fantastic Factories by Joseph Z Chen and Justin Faulkner from Metafactory Games and Deep Water Games

Shelley and I get out the much-discussed Welcome To... by Benoit Turpin to the table once again with most recent Easter and Quack expansions Then we check out the brand new stand-alone version Welcome To New Las Vegas by Benoit Turpin and Alexis Allard,  both from Blue Cocker and Deep Water Games

Shelley and I tackle two Kickstarter games in odd-shaped boxes; first we create our own towns in Villagers by Haakon Gaarder from Sinister Fish and then we take the band  On Tour by Chad DeShon from BoardGameTables.com

Shelley and I head to Japan to build different colored pagodas in  Tajuto by Reiner Knizia from Super Meeple and Abacusspiele then we head to a world of wonderful trains that move the tourists and workers throughout different networks in Traintopia by Przemek Wojtkowiak from Board&Dice

Shelley and I get to drawing some polyominoes in individual grids in Second Chance by Uwe Rosenberg from Stronghold & Edition Spielwiese then we compete to build our civilizations in Tapestry by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games

Shelley and I wander with our camels through the desert, attempting to reunite the nomad tribes in Gobi by Shaun Graham and Scott Huntington from Capsicum Games and then compete to plant and harvest the biggest crops of different types of fruit in Harvest Island by Chih-Fan Chen from Big Fun Games

Shelley and I check out TWO EmperorS4 games this week. First, we get our gem-collecting hats on in order to advance along paths in Trial of the Temples by Wei-Min Ling and Michael Mihealsick then we gather gears and attempt to create mechanical beasts from blueprints in Jiguan: The Eastern Mechanist by Eros Lin

Shelley and I head to Southern California to design and help both locals and tourists find a place to enjoy the beach and shops in Santa Monica by Josh Wood from AEG and then we work to help the meeples escape from the evil gamers who have enslaved them in Save the Meeples by Florian Sirieix from Blue Cocker Games

Shelley and I get another 'draw and draw' game to the table, this time filling our papers with tetris-style pieces that represent landscapes in Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale by Jordy Adan from Thunderworks Games then we pull out one of our favorites to try out a new map and sail around some islands in the Mediterranean in Concordia: Balearica & Cyprus by Mac Gerts from PD Verlag

Shelley and I compete over mandala designs in  Mandala by Trevor Benjamin and Brett J. Gilbert from Lookout Games and Funforge and then we head back to our youth and compete to build the tunnel that connected England to the rest of Europe in 1987: Channel Tunnel by Israel Cendrero and Sheila Santos from Looping Games

Shelley and I get two flawed recent Kickstarter releases to the table this week, making tea in  Chai by Dan and Connie Kazmaier from Steeped Games then head to the Sierra foothills for the gold rush in  Coloma by Jonny Pac from Final Frontier Games

Shelley and I travel around islands on pontoon planes in Wayfinders by Thomas Dagenais-Lesperance from Pandasaurus Games then we travel back in time and wander the Far East in  Marco Polo II: In The Service of the Khan by Daniele Tascini and Simone Luciani from Hans im Glück

Shelley and I have some fun with a quick and easy card game (that's better with MORE than 2 players) 5211 by Tsuyoshi Hashiguchi from Next Move Games and then try a new twist on building rails across the United States in  Railroad Revolution: Railroad Evolution Expansion by Marco Canetta and Stefania Niccolini from What's Your Game?

Shelley and I head to Asia this week, planning a bike trip around Taiwan in UBike Tour: Taiwan by Chih-Fan Chen from Big Fun Games then travel around Kyoto and Singapore in Remember Our Trip by Saashi and Daryl Chow from Saashi & Saashi

Shelley and I put on our hard hats and build up our two cities' electrical infrastructure in  Electropolis by Chang Yu Di, Ku Chun Wei, and Wang Liang from Homosapiens Lab and then get out our binoculars and head 'outside'  to collect birds in new European habitats in Wingspan and its European Expansion by Elizabeth Hargrave from Stonemeier Games

Shelley and I enjoy another dicey roll & write with fireworks in  Lanterns Dice: Lights in the Sky by Chris Bryan from Foxtrot Games and Renegade Game Studios and then we become masters at harvesting, making, and selling tea in  Formosa Tea by Chu-Lan Kao from Soso Studio and Tasty Minstrel Games

Shelley and I join Darwin on his scientific journeys around the Galapagos Islands for On The Origin of Species by Gerard Ascensi and Ferran Renalias from Mont Taber then drift through the clouds in hot air balloons to discover new lands in Die Inseln im Nebel by Volker Schächtele from Schmidt Spiele

Shelley and I attempt to build up our Medieval cities to defend against invading hordes in Paladins of the West Kingdom by Shem Philips and SJ Macdonald from Renegade Game Studios then head to late 19th/early 20th century Paris to learn from the master painters and attempt to gain experience as an artist in Colors of Paris by Nicolas De Oliveira from Super Meeple

Shelley and I find our way back to Renaissance Florence for a third version of Florenza, this time with DICE, in Florenza Dice Game by Danilo Festa and Stefano Groppi from Post Scriptum and Placentia Games and also take an extended journey through Medieval-esque realms to Newdale in Expedition to Newdale by Alexander Pfister from Lookout Games