Something New
If you really love your hobby then you are always looking to expand it. It is similar with board games and miniature games. It is never enough. It is not because you don’t have anything to play or games that you have bored you, it is more because you wish to have more and to have variety of games. I am capable of ordering two-three games at the same time and I still have games that I have played only once or twice.
After playing so many board games I discovered that what makes me play more is the thrill of learning new mechanics and discovering new ones. What makes every game great is how it plays. You can have great illustrations with amazing tokens and miniatures, but if your gaming system is bad, then that board game is probably not going to be that popular. I don’t say that games should not look good, on the contrary, they should but they should also have great mechanics as that is where you benefit the most.
When it comes to choosing a new game I always try to find that has something new in it or at least something new for me. There is a little chance that I will buy a game that has similar mechanics to a game that I played and was not very enthusiastic about. And there is also one very important thing when I choose my next game. I am always looking for a game that has very little or none random factor. I am not really a fan of dice rolling so cards and precise actions in the board game work perfectly for me.
As I said before, I am looking for new mechanics and new gaming experiences. I am not picky when it comes to choosing a game type. I like fantasy, WW2, management, family games, and military theme and so on. I am always willing to try something new even if I am skeptical about it.
As I always have a short list of games I want to buy I have to set some priorities. I always tend to buy newer games before I move to the ones that are quite old. I don’t know why, but I just do. Don’t think that old games are bad. There are some games that will never get old and that are among the best games ever. It doesn’t mean it is good if it is new.
In this article I will mention few quite new games that I tend to buy as soon as possible. So first of all, a game that I already ordered is Dungeon Petz. To be honest I ordered this game without even knowing what kind of game it is. I ordered it because it was made by the same guy that made Dungeon Lords and the same guy did the illustrations. I love Dungeon Lords and I hope that this game will be as good as its older brother. After I ordered Dungeon Petz I decided to download rules and read them so that I can get myself familiar with this game. I always tend to read and learn rules even before I buy a game. That is actually how I decide whether I like it or not.
In Dungeon Petz you take a roll of imp family that breeds different monsters. Graphics are just insane. From what I could read from the rules, this game is similar to Dungeon Lords but it has its own flavor. This is a management type of game without combat, so quite peaceful. Well, depending who you play it with. I can’t wait to get my copy of this game.
Another game that I ran across is also made by the same guy that made Dungeon Lords and Dungeon Petz. It is called a Mage Knight the board game. It is an RPG game but with some of the best mechanics I have ever seen in RPG game. It uses cards and different tokens. Although it has few dice there are not used when you want to do something but rather at the end of your turn as they represent some sort of mana. What I do like about this game is that it lasts long and you are able to modify your character quite a bit. I never liked RPG games where you finally make a good champion and then the game ends. As I understood in this game you are already a hero and you are just becoming stronger, unlike in some games where you start as nobody. It is quite a complex game, which I like, so I am not able to judge it just form reading the rules. I believe that it is going to be money well spent.
After playing Twilight Struggle I was always looking for something similar to that. And I found it. Another GMT game 1989: Dawn of Freedom was made by the same guy who made Twilight Struggle. What I understood this game has similar mechanics but also has something new in it. After reading the rules set and reading some comments on the internet from people who also read the rules, this game might even be better then Twilight Struggle. It is about a battle between Democrats and Communists in the 1989 in Eastern Europe. I found this theme quite interesting as I come from these parts. However, last information that GMT games gave us was that this game will be released in the second half of April.
Another very interesting game also coming from GMT games is the Labyrinth: War on Terror. It has very interesting mechanics and very interesting subject. Some people started protesting as they find this theme quite offensive. War on terror is a part of modern history that is still lasting.
If you have some doubts about which game to buy first, try reading the rules or search the internet for different reviews. I believe that people on different gaming forums are more than glad to help you choose between two games. But be careful as we all tend to like different things.
