Stained Glass Tiger Quacks

Another week is in the books, and I’ve got some more games to share with you. The usual game group was back together this week, and I was able to squeeze in a game with the small humans in my house. Let’s get to it!

Drop It

The first game I played this week was Drop It, published by Kosmos. The game is simple. You take a set of pieces in your color consisting of squares, triangles, circles, and bendy things, and drop them in the upright vertical game board of polycarbonate. You score more points the higher your tile lands, but you won’t score any points if your piece touches a tile of the same color or shape when it lands. In addition, there are spots along the edge of the board, where specific pieces are forbidden. I like to think of those like swanky night clubs that my triangle isn’t cool enough to enter.

I was able to play this one with my daughters, and they both enjoyed it. The tiles can bounce around when you drop them, which foiled some of my best-laid plans and kept the game surprisingly close. I’ll admit the game is simple, and the choices aren’t complicated, but the game is still fun. I like to think about Drop It as “Gamer’s Connect Four.”

The Quacks of Quedlinburg

It’s about time I got this 2018 Kennerspiel des Jahres winner to the table.

The Quacks of Quedlinburg, published by North Star Games, has you competing against other “quack” doctors attempting to create the best potion without triggering an explosion like a novice at the first night of bartending school.

Each round, you add ingredients to your brew one at a time. You want to push your luck to fill your concoction with as many ingredients as possible to score victory points and earn money to acquire more ingredients. Unfortunately, if you push your luck too far and your pot explodes, you only get one, victory points or cash.

I liked The Quacks of Quedlinburg. The build-up in the first couple of rounds is a bit slow, and the final round can be a bit discouraging if lady luck isn’t shining on you, but overall the game is fantastic. Once or twice a game you’ll pull chips out your bag like a wizarding genius orchestrating combos with reckless abandon, and it feels like you’ve conquered the new world (minus the ravaging of natives). That feeling will keep you coming back to this game over an over again.

Honga

Who wants to play a game set in the stone age with an overly needy and attention-hungry saber-tooth tiger named Honga?

In Honga, by HABA, you’ll be gathering berries, mushrooms, taming mammoths, paying homage, and bartering with neighboring villages, all while continuously petting Honga.

On your turn, you’ll play a circular card with hands on it, and the orientation of the hands determine the actions you’ll be taking. One of your action hands better be heading in Honga’s direction, or he’s gonna be at your hut like a crazy ex who eats emotionally. Did I mention, the first thing Honga does when he arrives at your abode is to eat something from your fridge? Thanks, Honga!

All kidding aside, this is a great lightweight strategy game for families. The theme is playful, and the optimal play is continually changing. Outside of a couple of printing mistakes in my copy of the game, I enjoyed it. Not enough to replace Stone Age, but enough to keep around for the foreseeable future.

I’m just glad that Honga is a friendly-looking, man-eating saber tooth tiger and not a 45-year-old man in a van or the petting aspect could get uncomfortable. Good theme choice HABA.

Sagrada

Don’t mind me; I’m just whipping up stained-glass like a real artisan here in the game Sagrada.

In Sagrada by Floodgate Games, you’ll be drafting dice to fill in your stained glass window. The rules are simple; dice in your window cannot be adjacent to dice of the same color or equal value. Also, your window template has spaces that require specific colors or dice values. You fill up your window to complete public and private objectives to score points.

I love the personal puzzle and the drafting angst of this game. I think the design is clean and I love plugging away at my window. I’m looking forward to trying out the expansions. Until then, I’ll continue constructing my masterpiece.