Staff Picks

Finished your Pandemic Legacy campaign and unsure where to go now? Are you looking for something other than Catan for the millionth time for family board game night? Come check out our staff's favorite recommendations!

Nick: Halls of Hegra

Cut to the chase, Halls of Hegra is a pure solo game where you will be defending the titular fortress from the German army, the snow, supply lines, and your own soldiers' doubt. There are multiple phases, each of which hands you new challenges but will also bring you closer to victory. From Mobilization to the Last Stand, you will be gaining recruits which help dig the fortress from its snowy prison, placing them in their work stations, then helping them recover with a handful of different methods from medicine to supplies.

This game is a solid, thinky, and difficult game, so difficult I shamelessly set it to easy to win! But if you find it easy, try your hand at the random mission deck which adds a little more challenge!

Outside of just the gameplay, the game board is PHENOMENAL! Detailed to look like a reconnaissance board that you are planning over while the attack is happening, with tokens and bits that are easy to distinguish from each other! I find myself occasionally staring at the board while thinking up an action because you truly feel like you are hidden in a bunker in the winter, hoping your soldiers can survive the next attack!

J.D: Night Parade

Katrina: Kronologic Paris 1920

Kronologic Paris 1920 has you solving various crimes at the Paris National Opera. With 3 different scenarios, all with their own questions to answer in various difficulty levels this game is a fun way to become a sleuth and solve some cases.

Compete against others to see who can solve the mystery the fastest, or play alone and rate yourself based on the number of turns it took you to solve the scenario. Uncover clues by asking suspects questions or by investigating rooms at various times. Once you think you know the answer, you can verify and see if you were Sherlock Holmes or Sherlock Nolmes.

Nathan: Destinies

Destinies is a competitive dungeon crawly, sandboxy game of excellent storytelling, adventure, and dice based skill checks.

First everyone decides on a scenario to play.  This game does use an app to tell the story so if you're not a fan of that you might wanna skip this one.  After a scenario is picked each player then picks a character.  Each character has 2 unique destinies you can follow.  These destinies kind of give you a path you should follow while exploring.  

During a player's turn you will explore the huge map, flipping over tiles to uncover new encounters.  After you move you choose and encounter and let the app tell you what's what.  Maybe you see a traveling Monk you want to speak to, a spooky house worth investigating, or a chest that needs breaking into.  As the game goes on you'll be upgrading your character, finding loot to help with your adventure and hopefully fulfilling your destiny.

I love Destinies because it just has this great feel to it and it isn't rules heavy.  You get to explore this huge map, finding fun encounters and trying to look for the right equipment to complete your destiny.  The game uses simple dice checks to see if you complete the encounters and leveling your character just increasing those odds, plus there's bonus dice that you can always add to help you succeed but be careful as they are limited.  There are multiple outcomes to most encounters so replay value isn't as bad as you might think, plus people have created their own scenarios that the app has which is really cool.

Cassi: Nocturne

Cast spells by collecting an assortment of enchanted items with a unique combination of spatial bidding and set collection in Nocturne!

Nocturne is played over 2 rounds, twilight and moonlight - where players cast spells to bid on the items they want the most. Will you choose to spend your highest spell to secure an ingredient? Or will you opt to use less costly spells to potentially block an opponent from getting an ingredient they need? 

Nocturne is easy to learn, but hard to master with a strong theme and beautiful art. With a variable set up, asymmetric player abilities, and unique player goals no two games will be the same, providing fantastic replayability!

Nicole: Hissy Fit

The day has arrived and this time you're ready for it. Right? It's time to get your cat into the carrier and off to the vet for their appointment! This is a co-operative card game that tests your wits against your cats. If Fluffy hides, can you find her? If Sargent uses dead weight, can you convince him with a treat? This quick and easy card game is small and you can pack it anywhere. Fun for both kids and adults, there are different levels to challenge yourself once you think you've conquered your cat. The artwork on the cards are nothing to shake a toy at, every cat is distinct and easy to tell apart. There are even stickers that you can customize the game piece with so if you want to try to make it personal, you can match it to your own pet!

Maddy: Flesh and Blood: History Blitz Decks

Welcome to Rathe! A world of wonder, fantastical lands, and legendary heroes. Flesh and Blood is a trading card game where the deck centres around your hero, their class, and specific abilities. Blitz Deck's provide a perfect quick-to-play format for players of all experience levels, and work as a great introduction for new players to the characters and game mechanics. The History Blitz Decks offer a range of characters belonging to different classes, providing a range of playstyles to choose from. Whether you like to hit hard, hit fast, or make use of magical effects, there's a character for you.

Do you have what it takes to rise through the ranks and become a living legend?

Kendall: Altered TCG

Altered stood out to me for being a new competitive TCG that wasn't really about combat, along with its vibrant art style and slight board game elements. Being relatively new to these kinds of games, I liked that this was easy to get into but packed enough depth to be worth sinking your teeth into. 

The goal is simple; players compete by having their chosen character and their companion race across randomized terrain to meet each other; each card's set of 3 stats determine how effective they are. In addition, you must choose to play your cards in one of two expedition zones comparing stats to determine who advances at the end of that day, while also making use of abilities to hinder the opponent's progress. 

With every card falling under one of 6 factions with unique play styles and mechanics (such as Lyra being the only one that uses dice for instance), all led by one of 3 game changing heroes each, Altered is your ideal case of easy to get into, but with enough depth to keep you coming back.

Bonus Points for having exciting Unique variants for every card that possess *literally* one of a kind modifiers, while also ensuring Hero cards are easy to obtain with one guaranteed in every pack!

Robin: Marvel Dice Throne

Have you ever wondered what it's like to play battle Yahtzee?

Dice Throne is a fast-paced game of skilled card play and dice manipulation with a bit of push your luck. This game supports many play modes including 1v1, 2v2, free for all and more!

Marvel Dice Throne currently has 8 different characters including Scarlet Witch, Loki, Black Panther and Black Widow. Each character has their own unique abilities and powers to throw at your opponents depending on what dice rolls you get. What I enjoy most about Dice Throne is how many characters and how many options you have to play the game- It's quick to bring to the table and easy to learn!  

Peter: Lord of the Rings LCG Revised Core

Go on epic quests in Middle-Earth ​​​​​with this customizable card game!

The Lord of the Rings Living Card Game is an engaging experience of questing and combat with customizable decks, established scenarios, and campaigns. Using famous heroes from Middle-Earth, this card game features an engaging balancing act where you can commit them to quests or wait to use their might in combat! The Revised Core Set provides enough cards for four players to begin the game with preset decks, or enough for one to two players to dabble in constructing their own deck. These features, combined with the overarching campaign you can complete, creates a sense of progression where you take on greater challenges as you refine your skills of deck construction. As a living card game, there are many hero and campaign expansions to explore if you wish to expand your pool of cards and the scenarios you can take on!