My New Year’s resolution to play more boardgames has not panned out. This is because one of my regular game nights switched from board games to Pasión de las Pasiones, another switched to a follow-up to our Planet of the Week campaign, and then because of some cancelations.

But, in the original spirit of Blaugust, here are some random observations of some of the games I have managed to play so far this year:

  • Diamonds – I’ve not played many of my own games recently, but I do enjoy this simple trick-taking game, and I was glad to get to play it again.
  • Dominion – I introduced my son and a friend to Dominion; neither had ever played. It was the first time I’d played Dominion: Intrigue since 2010. In 2026, it’s weird to play a game where deckbuilding isn’t just one of the mechanics but is the entire game. A sign of the success of the original, but it left the design feeling dated. (We played Dominion: Intrigue because that was the only set our FLGS had, and I traded my set and three expansions away years ago.)
  • First Empires – Love the uchronia. I always enjoyed Cambria, which I often took with me as a portable game. I wish there were official rules for different setups of the board for 2 players. 
  • Imperial Struggle – I bought this for my son for Christmas, and we played it over three or four evenings. There’s a lot going on; I don’t think it is as elegant as Twilight Struggle, but I do hope to play it again. I lost handily after the final war.
  • Imperium: Horizons – We played this civilization deck-builder. It was really complex and took much longer than we expected. We feel like we did something wrong, so time to watch an Actual Play video. It’s so asymmetrical that we were competitive despite completely different strategies, which is a promising sign, at least.
  • The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship – My favorite edition of the cooperative game Pandemic is Fall of Rome. This improves on that excellent design very thematically. We’ve lost quickly, we’ve lost right at the end, we’ve eked out wins. It can feel very thematic yet different from the books. Once, Lothlórien was overrun by orcs,  and then I rallied the ents of Fangorn to liberate it. In another game, Gimli conquered and settled Moria. And, in our most recent game, the Eagles took Frodo to Mordor!
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Trick-Taking Game – A little more convoluted than the original, and less addicting. We’ve not sped through it, but we are slowly working our way through each chapter.
  • Scrabble – We play where anyone can use the dictionary, with a print-out of legal two letter words, so it’s pretty relaxed and educational. And my folks, who play most every day, happily point out good places to play.
  • SETI – I have a love/hate relationship with this game. I love the theme; I love the unique mechanic of a rotating solar system. But it is so hard to plan ahead. I had one game where the player to my right was constantly surprising me; I’d think I’d know what he might do, but then he would play a card that upended my plans, and I’d have to rethink my move. So it is very tactical and turns can stretch out; we’ve had games go anywhere from three to six hours. Still, I love it enough I bought the Space Agencies expansion. And I’ve been house-ruling around my one objection (the lack of competition for scanning sectors with just two players).
  • 7 Wonders Dice – The first 7 Wonders game that was a miss for me. (Go play 7 Wonders Architect instead.)
  • We the People – I bought a used copy of We the People, an Avalon Hill game from 1993 that pioneered a number of concepts that revolutionized war-games. In my first play, the Continental Congress was captured (and relocated to Fort Niagara), and I let General Washington get surrounded and lost the war in 1777. Ouch.

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