Concordia

The Roman Empire has always been a popular setting for games, so Concordia is not innovative in that respect. But it is a game by Mac Gerdts, so you know it will not be a run-of-the-mill, nothing-new-to-see-here game. Gerdts’s games are special. But even by the high standards he set with Antike, among others, he has outdone himself with Concordia.

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Splendor

Collecting gems to buy cards that are worth gems, making it easier to buy more cards. When thus summarized, Spiel des Jahres nominee Splendor doesn’t sound like much. But once you start playing, you will realize that games don’t have to sound complicated to draw you in, make you play again and again, try new approaches to outsmart your opponents. Because playing Splendor is not a difficult, but getting what you want with your opponents interfering is.

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SOS Titanic

I imagine that sometimes the pitch for a new board game must sound a lot like the pitch for the weird blockbuster movie of a year. “It’s a Patience game, only you can play it with friends and it’s about rescuing people from the Titanic.” It probably wasn’t an easy sale, but here it is: SOS Titanic, the multiplayer solitaire game with superpowers.

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