RIP to a Baseball Legend

 He was a liar, who bet on baseball. But there's no doubt about it, he was one of the best to ever play the game. 

My hats off to this legend and I'm making the prediction he gets into the Hall of Fame next year. 

Mets Clinch!

 Wow. They did it. On the day AFTER the season ended. 

Predication: Mets get swept against the Brewers. (but at least I get one more week of baseball)

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (11)

 

Japanese Buildings

Play the abbot on them and gain points at the end of the game by how many are stacked orthogonally by it. This can lead to MASSIVE points in the game. In fact, the last time I played with it, my nephew was able to score 300+ points during a game. Needless to say, he killed me. 

Little Building

Divide these up amoung the players and when played on a road, you'll score 1vp for each building (including the one you put down) on the board. LOVE this expansion. It makes roads more valuable than usualy and puts more emphasis on building out good roads and using icons on basic tiles which usually hold no value. EXCELLENT mini expansion!

Mage and Witch

When these tiles are played you'll move the mage (which adds points to completed roads or cities) or move the witch (which subtracts points during scoring) Awesome enough to make the interesting but not so many tiles as to make the game annoying. Perfect balance!

Markets of Leipzig

A starting tile that whenever you complet one of the 4 roads which lead to the city, you can place that meeple in the city for bonus points when scoring your next project. Interesting, and really puts a race out on finishing those roads first to ensure you have someone located in the city. But there's only 4 roads so once they're completed that's it. When you collect those bonus points is strategic as well. This is a good expansion to mix into games to make starting strategies change within the players. 

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (10)

 The Gifts

Complete someone's road/city/abbey for them and get a card that gives you special abilities in the game. I love this one but sometimes you get cards you don't need or can't use. It's a great idea. I play with this expansion a lot. Lots of good bonuses on these cards though some (in my opinion) are more powerful than others. 

Gold Mines

When these tiles are completed (road or city) gain the gold on the card whether you scored the tile or not. At the end of the game recieve points for how many you got. It's an ok expansion. It gives you a few extra points at the end of the game which would come in handy if you had a close game but that's about it.

GQ Promo

One I found off BGG's webstore. Just different tiles which add to the options of playabaility in the game. I like them and would use them in every game just to add more options to the board.

Halflings

Divide them up amoung the players and instead of playing a tile on your turn, play one of these instead. They're niceand from time to time come in handy when you need a specific tile for something. We never use them all in a game however. Usually its just 2 or 3 times. But still, worth playing in every game if you have them. 

Ok folks, that's all for now. Have a great weekend and I'll be back with more next week!

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (9)

 Ferries

When played you can place the bridge over the pond any way you want AND make adjustments to other ferry tiles if located on the same pathway. You can end other players roads and make yours longer! Really fun expansion, I play with from time to time during my games. 

Festivals

Made for their 15th celebration, this expansion is awesome when combined with mini-exopansions like peasants revolt, siege and towers. These tiles allow you to PULL one of your meeples off the board if you want. 

Flying Machines

When you play the tile, roll the dice and plant your meeple anywhere that isn't completed. Even if others are already there. This sounds interesting but has yet to make a difference in any of our games each time I've shuffled them into the deck. 

Fruit Trees

When you place a tile next to one of these, you recieve the matching fruit. Collect 4 of the 6 fruit for a maximum 15 points. I love the concept but EVERYONE always gets the points so we don't even count them in the end. It DOES change the game slightly in that everyone is eyeing of ways to place tiles next to the trees to make sure they get their bonus. But if everyone always gets it then what's the point?

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (8)

 

The Cathedrals

Get 2x points on completed roads and one point for each road connected to a cathedral you own. I like this expansion too and when playing with the abbot its a great addition to have. 

Crop Circles

When selected you must place or remove one of your meeples in the indicated area. Great idea for an expansion though I don't play with it every time. 

The Cult

Place this next to a road, city or abbey and if you finish the project first, YOU get the points over the other player. MEAN expansion but one of our favorites to play with. It puts extra emphasis on completing certain areas on the board. 

The Drawbridges

Complete the road, score it and walk your meeple into the city regardless of who's already there. MASSIVE expansion we play with a lot. Really adds new strategies and dimensions into the game that didn't previously exist. 

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (7)

 First off we have the Abbot. An extra meeple which allows you to scores on various tiles in the game you usually wouldn't be able to score on, like the gardens. Fun. I'll play with it every game. 

The Bathhouses

Once you score a place that's connected to these tiles your meeple goes there and you either have to surround the tile, or give up the points shown to get them back. I like this expansion, as it changes peoples strategies during the game. I wouldn't play with it every time but play it every so often to throw oithers off their regular game. 

The Bets

Place you bets and guess how many points that tile will score first! If you're correct you ge the points! Fun for extra points and sometimes you try to manipulate the score to match your token but not necessary in every game. 

The Castles

Every player starts with one of these double tiles you play in the game instead of playing a tile. Yes. Worth playing in just about every game. 

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (6)

 

The final major expansion is ok. Adding ghosts and mist tokens are interesting. Getting extra torch meeples are fun but that it's hard to do and doesn't gain you extra points along the way is a steep price to pay. I don't play with this one all the time but always enjoy it when it comes out. It's a stand alone game too which means you don't need the base game to play it. 

Finally is the mini-expansion for this game which is fantastic. The ability to remove and trap ghosts within the circles is a MUST when playing this expansion. It's really saved me from time to time in getting the ghosts off of me before having to remove my meeple from the board. You may have to pay overseas shipping to attain but if you love carcasonne, that may not be an issue. 

Ok folks, that's it for the base expansions. Time to move on to all those beautiful mini-expansions next!

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (5)

 Not the biggest fan of Hills, but it does speed up the game, so there's that. The shepherds in the game are a nice touch though and one I enjoy. This is a decent expansion that I play with here and there. 

Do you want to go around the score board 8 times? If you like mega scoring in your game THIS is the expansion to get. I really do enjoy all the massive amount of points you can get in the game. Though it is a little over the top, it's always fun to play. One of the best expansions they ever made for the base game. 

Have a good weekend folks!

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (4)

 No. Never. Don't be fooled by the market price of this game right now. It's only high because they never reprinted it. And they never reprinted it because it sucked. 

Turning Carcasonne into a party game was a terrible idea. And my catapult never seems to work very well even though it's in perfect condition. Avoid at all cost!

The castles and bazaars are interesting but the one that makes this expansion great are the bridges. Having the ability to create roads so that tiles can fit is a great concept and one I love playing with! This is one of the better expansions to be sure!

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (3)

 Abbey's are a nice way to bring attention to the smaller details included on previous tiles and giving them additional way you can scroe. Mayor's are nice but since they are regulated to only cities, not too powerful. 

The independant cities with walls are nice when you need to fill in those holes in the game but can't find the right tile. This expansion is one of the better ones to be sure. 

Ugh, not really the biggest fan of this one but it IS creative. I just wish you could easily remember what section of the city did what for your meeples. Plus, tracking who has the biggest scoring road and city can be done by planting a meeple of a neutral color on the score tracker to remind everyone the record to beat. It's not a bad expansion, just one I don't play with all to often. 

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (2)

 Not really a fan of this one, which screws over other players, by booting them out of cities or off the board if the dragon gets them. Also, the fairy just makes the game drag out longer. A know there are a lot of fans for this one, but I only play with it every so often to change up the gameplay. 

Man. Worth getting for the tile tower that comes with it but it's also a "screw you" expansion that I really hate playing with. It's almost impossible to score long roads or cities because other players are SURE to screw you before you can cash in on massive points. Another one I rarely play with. 

Ranking the Carcasonne Expansions (1)

 For the next few weeks I'll be ranking what I think are the best, mediorcre and worst expansions for the game. Just like I did with Alhambra last month. 

I'll start with the base expansions first and the mini-expansions afterwards. 

Adding value to both roads and cities, this is a fine expansion. It doesn't change the overall feel of the game. It's a nice addition to have but not one I must play with every time. 

This adds extra pieces such as pigs (which increase farmer points) and builders, which give you back to back turns when you play in the same road/city as the builder. This really helps pick up the tempo of the game and is a solid one to have. I'd play this one in most games if only for the builders. 

Santa Bowl Update V

 BOOM! Here's the artwork for this year's Santa Bowl! One of my favorites yet!

We're only a few months away now and I still have one final thing to show you before the BIG game so stay tuned for more updates in the future!

(doesn't this image make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?)

Ready or Not (Review)

 A bride marries in to the family and that night takes part in a long tradition where she plays a game with the family at midnight. Unfortunanly for her, the one randomly chosen for her is the game of Hide and Seek. When the family finds you, they kill you and sacrifice you to Satan to retain their wealth and power or the entire family dies from their deal with the devil. 

The game hasn't been chosen in 30 years and now the bride is trying to survive until dawn to win. 

Excellent. 

The movie doesn't take itself too seriously nor does it appear campy. The set design is flawless, as is the story. So much fun. I couldn't believe I've never heard of this movie before. I was engaged the entire time and laughed at the comedic moments that took a dark subject and added a little fun to the plot. 

Worth your time to watch. Excellent movie. 

Have a good weekend folks!

The Night House (review)

 Never judge a movie by its trailer. And looking at the trailer to this film, you'd think you've uncovered a hidden gem of a horror movie, only to watch it and see why no one is talking about it. It sucks. 

Woman's husband dies. She starts sleep walking (like her husband did when they first bought the home) and has vivd dreams that seem real. There's also another mysterious house in the woods that is similar to her's but built "backward".

Right there is the perfect hook for your story...now only if they knew which direction to take it. 

After this it reverts to a simplistic Hallmark story where there's nothing but her talking about the grief to her fellow workmates. Then goes to a more "CSI" TV episode where she discovers her husband was a serial killer who killed himself so he wouldn't hurt his wife and instead of a ghost she felt in the hosue, it was instead his "evil persona" who was haunting her, trying to get her to kill herself. (for absolutely no reason) 

Complete waste of time. 

Might as well be stsarring at the sun

Another beach "tradition" I could do without is the annual beach family photo. Sure it's great to look back on as the years go by and see how much everyone has grown but you also have 20-30 minutes of fighting with kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time. 

Even if you get the perfect photo, you're penalized all the same and have to stay out in the blazing sun for as long as you possibly can to get the unattainable "perfect" shot. 

You also as tasked with starring at the sun since you can't have it ruin the shot behind you in the picture. (though most cameras adjust for that now) So a few weeks ago before we left, I spent 20 minutes making myslef go blind, starring into the sun and trying to hold a smile while my children cried. 

Perfect moments like these will be captured for all enternity in photos which will remind me of these terrible times of modern day torture. 
 

Souvenir Shops

 Whenever we go to the beach my wife always wants to go Souvenir shopping. The store that is packed with cheap carnie crap that is overpriced no matter what their "deals" say. Obvious tourist traps, they don't even try to hide it. Yet people flock to them and throw their money away on cheap trinkets that will be lost, broken or forgotten in under a year. 

It's also a disaster everytime we go. Kids are hungry, tired, angry, fussy and constantly fighting. A nightmare. 

But just like Clark Griswold on Vacation, Megan daydreams about this being a family trip which will carry memorable moments. 

Like the times I have to drag children screaming out of the store because we wouldn't buy them a $15 pack of cards. 

Waste of time. 

Fall (review)

 Jeremy picked out this movie to watch at the beach last month. I'd never heard about it but it's the story of 2 thrill seekers who climb to the top a giant tv tower only to be trap up at the top with no way down. 

It's your typically situational thriller that's a fun popcorn movie and worth watching once. There's even a twist at the end though I didn't feel the movie needed one. It held up well enough without it. 

If you're looking for a thriller to watch, this one is worth your time. 

Trap (review)

 

Watched it last month at the beach. 

Not as good as the trsailer indicsated. I found out what the issue was after doing a little research. The director's daughter was the singer in the movie, which is why it focused on her music more than the movie at times. 

There's also a ridiculous scene where his daughter suddenly becomes the main character in the movie for a moment. It feels forced and doesn't work well with the flow of the film. 

Ultimitely, this was an excellent idea ruined by a director who has lost his way in telling stories. 

Sad to see. 

Twilight Imperium Upgrade!

 Just bought these for my next game. People kept asking where the wormholes in the game were and this way, they won't ask again. 

I love the look of these, PLUS they're much bigger than I thought they'd be. I like the look of them and think they'll enhance the game. 

For now I have nothing else on my radar to help "upgrade" for the game but we'll see what the future holds. 

Campaign Trail Promos (mini-review)

Got a few promos for what's quickly been becoming one of my favorite games in my colleciton.

I did hold off getting them for a while. But after playing with so many personalities I had to get the remaining ones I was missing from my game. 

 While all of them are different, I wouldn't really say any of them are a "must". I do know more people to choose from, makes for a better game all around! And if its a game I love, than the promos are worth it for me. 

Top 50 Vintage Games 2024 (in review)

 

10) Up 7

Megan's favorite game to play. It's been on my list for years and just now hit my top 10. There's stiff competition behind it so it may not last for long though I do believe it'll stay inside the Top 20. 

9) Even

Unless it drops in number of times it comes to the table, I don't see this game leaving the Top 10 next year.

8) Down 5

This was the hardest game to see drop. Sure it's still a Top 10 game of mine, but earlier this year I almost had it at #1. So next year, I think it moves back up. Perhaps even to #5. 

7) Up 15

Girls #2 favorite game. I love it too. So happy they're playing with me. We bring this out all the time. I've played it more than any other previous year. Lovely classic!

6) Up 8

Almost perfect 2 player game. Honestly. Last year it fell from the Top 10 because it didn't come to the table as much. I played it more this year. Can it return to #1 again? I don't think so, but think it will retain it's place in the Top 10. 

5) Up 5

Highest this game has ever been. Is that because I finally won at it? Yes. So it may fall back down the Top 10....or....I am bringing it to LegendsCon II this year. So maybe #1? We'll see. 

4) Up 3

This one also has a chance at the coveted #1 spot now that I'm playing the classic version with my kids. Plus, if Restoration Games ever makes the final expansion, it could be enough to push it all the way to the top!

3) Up 3

Another game that almost took the #1 spot for a while. I don't know of anyone who DOESN'T love this push your luck game. Will it get the title next year? It's not a long shot to say "yes"

#2) Even

If it's not #1 this is the only other spot for it to be. Perfect 10! I'm on the fence on whether to bring this one to LegendsCon next year only due to the fact that it's two players and takes a lot longer to play. 

1) Up 3

Welcome back to the #1 position once again! So why wouldn't it not keep it's #1 ranking? I'm considering of moving this game back onto my "current" list. I think it can go toe to toe with the big dogs. No problem. Leaving next's years #1 up in the air.

Ok folks, that's all for now. See you later on this year for my Top 100 CURRENT Board Games!