223 – Top Five Games of 2020 – The Family Gamers Podcast
A round-table discussion with Isaac Villa (Gaming with Sidekicks) and Ryan Gutowski (One Board Family) about the best games of the year.
Andrew gives us a loose timeline of one of the most famous ammunition calibers in the world, the Remington 223.
Thanks to our sponsor, First Move Financial. Go to firstmovefinancial.com/familygamers to schedule a call.
SNAP Review – The Bears and the Bees
Bzz bzz – let’s build the hive and make some honey! Empty your hand and force other players to draw in The Bears and the Bees from Grandpa Beck’s Games.
Go to the SNAP review page for pictures and a transcript.
Favorite Games of 2020 with One Board Family and Gaming with Sidekicks
Maybe we should call this The One Board Family Gamers with Sidekicks Podcast!
We’ve each compiled our top five games of the year (released in 2020)
Number 5
Ours: Abandon All Artichokes (Gamewright) – the deck-wrecking game of getting rid of artichokes!
Ryan’s: Rallyman GT (Holy Grail Games) – He started through Board Game Arena, then got the physical copy. The best part is making the tracks, but the different dice for each gear are a great way to force planning.
Isaac’s: FORT (Leder Games) – “the deckbuilder I never knew I needed.” A deckbuilder with a lot more interaction between players! The theme and the art are great too.
Number 4
Ours: Shifting Stones (also Gamewright) – a sliding puzzle game. Fast and easy to understand.
Ryan: Smartphone Inc (re-release from Arcane Wonders / Cosmodrome Games) – a thinky eurogame with an unusual theme.
Isaac: Calico (AEG) – abstract and puzzly. Make groups of matching colors and patterns. Challenging without requiring too many things going on at once. And art by Beth Sobel!
Number 3
Ours: Prisma Arena (Hub Games) – an arena fighting game, full of combos and attacks. But so simple to get into, with tons of incentive to keep playing (level up your character and get more stuff!) We think it’s appropriate for 8+. (Psst: the stickers can be taken off and re-stuck many, MANY times.)
Ryan: Santa Monica (AEG) – very neat art style with a “Where’s Waldo” feel. Build the Santa Monica boardwalk (beach & pier) by pulling from a two-tiered tableau.
Isaac: Pan Am (Funko Games) – “it could be ‘Planes to Ride’ but…” it’s so much better WITH the theme and the nods to history.
Number 2
Ours: Unmatched Cobble & Fog (Restoration Games) – The whole Unmatched series is great, but Cobble & Fog is our favorite so far.
Ryan: Pan Am – It’s so good. Ryan taught his mom how to play. He tells us a great story about playing with a very low stock price until a sudden skyrocketing at the end of the game.
Isaac #2: Rococo Deluxe (re-release by Eagle Gryphon Games) – Isaac passed on this game back in 2013 due to the theme. Now he loves it. Don’t let the dress-making theme turn you off! Big and beautiful.
Most disappointing boardgame of 2020
This doesn’t necessarily mean a bad game, just disappointment.
Ours: Mariposas (AEG) – We just had ridiculously high expectations for this, based on our previous experience with Elizabeth Hargrave’s games (Wingspan and Tussie Mussie). We want to play it more and see if we can figure out what we’re missing.
Ryan: Nevada City (Rio Grande Game) – Ryan loves everything that goes into this game, and yet the various parts didn’t work well together.
Isaac: Succulent (Renegade Games) – Unfortunately, the box art is the best part. Isaac’s wife likes it a lot better than he does. “That was kinda fun.” There are too many good games to settle for kinda!
Number 1 Games of 2020
Ours: Pan Am. Surprise! We talk a bit about the different player counts.
Ryan: Unmatched Cobble and Fog – Much like Anitra, Ryan didn’t care about Unmatched when it first came out. Fell in love with it later, and started doing “Friday Night Fights” during the pandemic.
Isaac: On Mars (Eagle Gryphon Games) – amazingly thematic. Unlock more and more actions and interact with the other players. Lots of details and it takes a while to learn, but it’s one of Isaac’s top Lacerda games.
Find Ryan with One Board Family:
OneBoardFamily.com
Facebook: @OneBoardFamily
Twitter: @OneBoardFamily
Instagram: @OneBoardFamily
Youtube: OneBoardFamily
Find Isaac with Gaming with Sidekicks:
GamingWithSidekicks.com
Instagram: @GamingWithSidekicks
Facebook: @GamingWithSidekicks and the Gaming With Sidekicks community
Twitter: @GamingWSidekick
Youtube: GamingWithSidekicks
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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord
Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.
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