Well friends, it’s that time of year again. The time when I dust of the old blog and make a list of my favorite games and books of the year. Sorry if it’s a little rough this year. I was waiting to finish some games that I never finished and it seemed like a slog this year. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

1. Atelier Ryza 2

I was looking forward to this game as I enjoyed the first one. I think this game stream lined everything that needed ironing in the first game, which just made for a smoother game experience overall, and kept me engaged all the way through the game. I enjoyed the story and how the characters grew, and I didn’t feel as much like the story was just tacked on to a crafting simulator, as each side quest really felt like it was part of the story. (Well most of them did.) My only minor complaint is that sometimes the map is still hard to navigate.
My rating: 10/10
Platforms: Switch, PS4, PS5, PC

2. Metroid: Dread

I know everyone is surprised it isn’t first, but I just felt the game didn’t surprise me in any way. (Except for it actually existing! Holy shit!) I expected a fantastic game, especially from what I saw in previews, and a fantastic game was delivered. I binged this game in a weekend, and really enjoyed myself, but I haven’t come back to it to 100% it or try hard mode. I know lots of people who have though. One bit of advice I can give if you somehow haven’t played this yet: Run through the EMMI sections instead of trying to hide. You’ll have way more fun and get the intended feel of the game. If you own a Switch, I cannot recommend this game enough. Mercury Steam really came through on this one. My one minor complaint is that the soundtrack was too atmospheric, and there were no real bops.
My Rating: 10/10
Platforms: Switch

3. F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch

Despite its over the top name, and its pandering to furries, this is a solid metroidvania. I enjoy the combat. It’s pretty. I enjoy how over the top everything is. Not all the music is good, but some of the tracks are just *chef’s kiss*. If you enjoyed Dread, I’d play this one too.
My Rating: 10/10
Platforms: PS4. PS5, PC

4. Ring Fit Adventure

This game just straight up makes exercise fun. It’s an RPG, but instead of fighting monsters you fight cute little personified exercise equipment, BY EXERCISING! If you don’t want to go to the gym (and maybe you shouldn’t over the next two week tbh) I’d highly suggest Ring Fit Adventure.
My Rating: 10/10
Platforms: Switch

5. Slay the Spire

I don’t know why I slept on this. Everyone else in the world has already played it and liked it. It’s my go to “I need something to do on my phone for 10 minutes” game.
My Rating: 10/10
Platforms: Literally everything. You can probably play it on your smart fridge.

6. Flynn: Son of Crimson

I backed this game on Kickstarter and it finally got released this year. After struggling with some games that I liked, but were ultimately less than satisfying, Flynn scratched the itch I was looking for. It’s a fairly fast paced action platformer that really isn’t too hard. If you’re looking for a palate cleanser game, this is one I’d suggest.
My Rating: 10/10
Platforms: All Major Systems (except PS5)

7. Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir

Nothing surprising here. It followed standard anime/visual novel tropes, but I liked it nonetheless. I wish the menu was easier to navigate or parse, and there were (true to form perhaps), bits where you knew what to do, but not how to make it happen. If you like visual novels, check this one out.
My Rating: 8/10
Platforms: Switch

8. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind

I kinda wish I had played this one first? I don’t think it was as good as Missing Heir, and it left me with some questions. It was definitely a lot creepier though.
My Rating: 7/10
Platforms: Switch

9. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

The music was fantastic. Otherwise, it is a fine Zelda game. Worth playing if, like me, you never finished it on Gameboy.
My Rating: 7/10
Platforms: Switch

10. Shin Megami Tensei V

I liked this a lot better than 4. Again, this is due to streamlining a lot of mechanics. It lost its luster about 40 hours in. I wish they’d make JRPGs shorter. BUT FLOWING BLUE HAIR!
My Rating: 6/10
Platforms: Switch

11. The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures

This is two games, and not gonna lie, I didn’t get to the second one. I was really excited about this game, but I am not sure if I just wasn’t in the mood for it or it just didn’t live up to the mainline games. Either way, at some point I’d like to go back and finish it.
My Rating: 6/10
Platforms: PS4, Switch, Phone

12. Cris Tales

I played the demo for this and was really excited, but the whole game was a little lackluster. To be honest, I think it was the loading times that did me in. Between every combat there’s at least 10 seconds of loading time, and there’s a LOT of random combat in this game. That was frustrating because it broke the flow of the game, and pretty much everything else was grand. It was pretty, it had good music, the voice acting was good, the story was (ok, kinda lame), the characters were fun and quirky. I really wanted to like this game, and a lot of the elements were there, but I left dissatisfied. I’d try playing it on another platform (than Switch), as I hear the loading times aren’t as bad, and maybe you’ll have more fun than I did.
My Rating: 5/10
Platforms: All Major Systems

13. Blue Fire

This game was a weird cross between Hollow Knight, Metroid Prime, and OoT. There were some parts that were really fun and a lot of parts that were just incredibly frustrating. I did not finish this game, though I feel like the bones of a good game are there.
My Rating: 4/10
Platforms: All Major Systems except PS5

2020 has been weird. I started it with half of a con and then the flu for a month. Then Covid hit, and so that has put a big kabosh on some real quality gaming that I might have done with my group. I played some of these games virtually, and definitely with a smaller sampling size than I normally have. I played a number of official prototypes of on Tabletop Simulator, while I wait for Kickstarters to be released (look for Bullet Heart, Lawyer Up, and Lunar Base next year! I’m really excited about them!) Here are a list of officially released games that I played this year, either in person, over skype (that was rough), or online. For funzies, I have listed my own rating of the game as well as where it sits on Board Game Geek’s list of rated games.

Blood Rage

Lots of people like this game. I don’t. It’s better than Rising Sun, in my opinion, but it’s just not my cup of tea. Just ok.
My Rating: 3/10
BGG: 35 (Good Lord, really?!)

Roll for the Galaxy

One of my favorite games of all time is Race for the Galaxy, a tableau building card game that I think is about as smooth as a good whiskey. Roll for the Galaxy is a similar game, but instead of using cards uses dice. Instead of just choosing your action and using your hand of cards to pay for what you do, the action you can take on your turn is determined by the dice you rolled, so it’s entirely possible (and by this I mean, this absolutely happens most of the time) that you’re just entirely screwed out of doing the thing you want to do. Which I think is un-fun.
My Rating 4/10
BGG: 91 (I really don’t get how this is in the top 100)

Micro City

I saw this solo game about constructing buildings on Kickstarter and thought it looked interesting, and for $18 I thought it would be worth the try. It’s not bad, I just think if I’m going to occupy my time with a solo game that I’ll probably stick with Deep Space D-6. This one is a little too dry.
My Rating: 4/10
BGG: 4,599 (That there are this many game on BGG is astounding)

Jaipur

Remember way back in February (approximately 657 years ago) when you could still go places? Those were some good times eh? When you could walk into the board game lounge at your local anime con with your teenage daughter, pick out a game, sit down, play it a couple times, and decide it was meh?
My Rating: 5/10
BGG: 133

Marrakesh

I saw this one on After School Dice Club and got it for the holidays last year, but didn’t get to play it until after the new year started. They made it look more exciting on the show, but it’s still a cute game. It’s an area control game about selling rugs at the market. The rugs are nice pieces, and the game itself is fine, but it just didn’t wholly excite me.
My Rating: 5/10
BGG: not even there…

Barenpark

That sitting down in the tabletop hall at a con thing happened in January as well (approximately 893 years ago). My buddy and I pulled out Barenpark, a polymino placing game with bears, as I’d been wanting to check it out. I have to wonder if it plays better at a larger player count than 2. As it was, at two players, I think I’d probably reach for Patchwork, or some other quilt making or cat themed polymino placing games (Calico/The Isle of Cats). Still, if someone took it off the shelf and asked to play it, I’d probably say yes.
My Rating: 6/10
BGG: 286

Rap Godz

A fun family style game about trying to make it in the world of music. Each card you play helps you tell the story of how you became a hit rap artist. My favorite part is the points being little records. This definitely needs more plays for me but *gestures wildly at 2020*
My rating 6/10
BGG: 7309 (you’ll get there one day)

Too Many Poops

Too Many Poops is a set collection game in which you collect cats to attain 10 points. However, if you collect 10 poops in your litter box, you lose. This is a fairly simple game with a fantastic name and a theme I enjoy.
My Rating: 6/10
BGG: 7440

Ice Cool

This game is tag with penguin Weebles in a box. I’ve been waiting for the right time to give it to my father, and this was the year. He loved it. It’s easy to see why it won numerous awards. It’s good, lighthearted fun for your family game night.
My rating: 6.5/10 (I went there, what?!)
BGG: 851

Jurassic Parts

Cute. Fun. Good theme (I might be biased). I especially like how diverse the game’s characters are, and I think that needs to be a thing in more board games.
My Rating: 6.5/10
BGG: 6699

Innovation

I’ll admit to not having given this game a fair chance in the past. Some games take a few plays to really understand them and see their real beauty. Terra Mystica was like that for me, and so was Innovation. Now that I understand it better, I’d like to get a few more plays under my belt, and I think that’s why it’s so low on my list this year.
My Rating: 7/10
BGG: 328

Anomia

This word association game involves a deck of cards. Players take turns flipping a random card in front of them, and if the symbols on the cards match the symbols on another player’s card, those players have to race to say a word in the category of the other player’s card. This is a fun party game, though I don’t know that I need to own it.
My Rating 7/10
BGG: 1737

Tiny Epic Dinosaurs

I think this is one of the better Tiny Epic games. It’s a worker placement game in which you compete to raise dinosaurs on your dinosaur ranch in order to sell them to Dinosaur Island type parks. I don’t know that this game is better than Dinosaur Island, but it’s sure as hell way easier to set up and transport, which means it might hit the table more often. As far as traveling games go, I’d recommend this over Mint Works as your worker placement game of choice.
My Rating: 7/10
BGG: 1441

Moonrakers

Moonrakers is an enjoyable deck building game with a couple of twists. In it you take your spaceship on different missions, sometimes along with your friends, all in the name of money; victory points; and sweet, sweet upgrades to your spaceship. I like the semi-cooperative bit where other players are potentially active and involved, even when it’s not their turn, and I think this helps Moonrakers to stand out.
My Rating: 7/10
BGG: 3000

Spire’s End

Spire’s End is a choose-your-own-adventure style game for 1-2 players. You play a card, read it, decide what to do, and move on. Sometimes you roll dice, and sometimes you manage your action points, which are also your health. Though I haven’t played it solo, I can’t imagine I would enjoy it more than I did at two players. Either way, the story and game play are fun, and the art work is just fantastic. I look forward to sitting down with it again at some point.
My Rating: 8/10
BGG: 4160

Kittin

In Kittin you race other players to stack wooden cat pieces in a pattern as depicted on the card that gets flipped. The first person to finish correctly shouts “meow!” and wins the card. The first to 3 cards wins. I enjoy this game, partially because it’s about cats, and partially because stacking board game bits to make some sort of pattern is a thing I do anyway. I think the racing element is a little bit stressful, but on the whole, this is a cute game. It’s small foot print, quick playing time, and ease of travel are to its credit, and I don’t have a lot of dexterity games in my collection.
My Rating: 8/10
BGG: 12871

In the Hall of the Mountain King

As a music teacher, I like it when classical music makes its way into other areas of my life. Though, not in any way about Edvard Grieg or the story of Peer Gynt, In the Hall of the Mountain King does have a charming troll theme. The resource management and visual puzzle work nicely and is complex without being brain busting, and the “cascading” mechanic is super satisfying. I was able to pick up a second hand kickstarter copy, and having those little plastic statues is nice.
My Rating: 8/10
BGG: 723

Betrayal at House on the Hill

You know what? This game surprised me. When I heard the description to this game, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I’ve been burned to many times by asymmetric games to get really excited about one. BUT, I really enjoyed this game every time I played it. Going around and finding items and power ups is fun. So is seeing the House come together. The game shifts at exactly the right moment, and figuring out what you have to do adds an interesting twist without adding too much complexity. Best of all, Kairi really liked it and was interested in playing again.
My Rating: 8/10
BGG: 511

Tinderblox

Like Kittin, Tinderblox is a game about stacking small pieces. This came in the same kickstarter as Kittin, but I think I like it just a bit better. The stress of racing isn’t there. Instead you have to pick up pieces using tweezers (sometimes with your off hand). You get a long time to watch your friends and/or family get hilariously frustrated with the task given to them. Again, the small foot print, fast playing time, and ease of travel add to my liking of this game. Campfire theme is not as good as cat theme though.
My Rating: 8/10
BGG: 10000 (IT’S OVER 9000!!!!!!!!)

Calico

I like games about cat. This game is sort of a mix between Sagrada and Patchwork, in which you draft tiles and put them on your quilt in specific patterns to attract cats. It’s the sort of game where you have to pick what points your going for, because it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to play a perfect game, achieving the maximum amount of points. Featuring real life cats, this game is cute as a button. (Literally, because there are buttons.)
My Rating 8/10
BGG: 508

Terraforming Mars: Turmoil

A lot of people said this was the weakest of the Terraforming Mars expansions, but my friends and I enjoyed it (for that little of 2020 we got to play it). I think TM plays better at higher player counts. Be warned, I think this makes an already obscenely long game even longer. You may wish to pick and choose which expansions you play with.
My Rating: 8/10 (But TM is a 9)
BGG: 4

Star Wars: Outer Rim

This. Feels. Like. Star Wars. This game is just downright fun, especially if you like Star Wars as much as I do. It’s deceiving in that it starts kinda slow, but picks up at about the halfway point until you’re screaming into the finish line for those last points like the Millennium Falcon making the Kessle Run in less than 12 parsecs. (This is ABSOLUTELY featured in game.)
My Rating: 9/10
BGG: 277

Air, Land, & Sea

Honestly, this game was a huge surprise for me. It came highly recommended, and though WWII is not a theme I would normally enjoy, I asked for it for the holidays, thinking, it was cheap and if I didn’t like it, no big sweat. When I asked for it my mother gave me a very surprised look, but it came and it deserved the praise it got. Fun, easy to understand, quick but with deep strategical decisions, this was a big hit with almost whoever I brought it to. I feel like at some point I should do a list of “what game should I throw in my suitcase?”
My Rating: 9/10
BGG: 855

Ra

From the good doctor, Reiner Knizia, this auction/set collection game is a classic. The rules are really easy to understand, even if for some reason, you order your copy in French like some sort of idiot. (Not that I, like, did that or anything.) On your turn you either draw a tile or start an auction for the tiles available. At the end of each of the three rounds, you score based on the tiles you collected. My father and daughter are both very good at this. I very much enjoy having games that I know, not only will I enjoy, but that the other players in my group will both enjoy and be successful at.
My rating: 10/10
BGG: 177

The Isle of Cats

In the Isle of Cats you take turns rescuing colorful cats off an exotic island and arranging them on your boat for points before the Evil Lord Vesh (whom Kairi is quite convinced is a dog, and now that’s my head canon) arrives to destroy all that’s good and pure (so probably not the cats). So, aside from being about cats and tile laying, what’s great about this game is it has three modes. A family mode, in case drafting is a little too complicated for your play group; regular mode, which invovles drafting cards which help you both place cats and score points; and virtual mode, developed by the game designers when the pandemic hit. This game quickly vaulted up into my top 10, and it will definitely stay in heavy rotation.
My Rating 10/10
BGG: 132

Boy was this a year. I played a lot of stuff… for a change, let’s list them from worst to best!

19. Pokemon Cafe Mix

Absolute garbage. It’s worse candy crush, with Pokemon. Not even being free saved this game. 0/10
Platforms: Switch/Phone

18. The Messenger

So, the metroidvania subreddit really loves this game, and I really don’t get it. I found it uninspired and unfun. I thought the level design was bad. And while the mechanic of hitting things to get an extra jump is cool, it didn’t help the fact that I didn’t think the movement flowed particularly well. Having played at least three other games this year in which the movement was smooth and fun, I just think that’s unforgivable. I also felt the humor and writing fell flat. Circa 2000 Josh would have thought this game was hilarious and great, but not 2020 Josh. 2/10
Platforms: All major platforms

17. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

So, Ori and the Blind Forest was one of my all time favorite metroidvanias, if not one of my all time favorite games. That it was mostly platforming and movement based was to its credit I thought. It also was one hell of a story. WotW seems to have taken all the wrong advice from the last 5 years and come out with a lackluster Hollow Knight clone, which is really a shame since I felt the first game was so innovative. I might go back to it again at some point, because I was really looking forward to enjoying this game. 3/10
Platforms: Switch; Xbox; PC

16. Fall Guys

This game is fun if you’ve got a group to play it with, I think. My best friend suggested that it’s a good game to stream. I’m not much for watching people play video games usually, but that sounds about right. I imagine that’s what led to it’s popularity. It’s just ok for me. 4/10
Platforms: PC; PS4; phone

15. Sakura Wars

I saw an ad for this on FB and decided to give it a shot. I like anime, and relaxed JRPGs, AND dating simulators. I found the JRPG too relaxed, I found the dating simulator lackluster where it wasn’t creepy, and none of the characters were particularly interesting to me. You know what WAS interesting to me? Koi-Koi. A rummy style game which I gather you can learn to play on your own, so maybe get a cheaper game that’s only that? 5/10
Platforms: PS4

14. Genshin Impact

This game is free. I don’t know why it’s free. It has no business being free. I understand that people spent a lot of money on this free game though, so I guess their business model worked. I was nominally interested before my daughter got really into it and I decided to try it for myself. I feel the same way about this game as I did about Breath of the Wild, except it has actual quests for you to complete. But I think open world just isn’t my thing. Cool that you can play this on your phone though. 5/10
Platforms: PS4; Switch; PC; Phone

13. Picross (different versions)

I don’t know if this deserves an entry, but I’m putting it in because I spent a significant amount of time on them this year, and I don’t think I’ve said anything about them before. What I can say about Picross is that they’re great brain teasers. If you can pick one up on a handheld or a phone that’s the way to go. Do it on the train or while you’re waiting to fall asleep. Or if the existential dread of the imminent apocalypse has got you down.
Platforms: I dunno. Go find some if this is your bag.

12. Pokemon Battle Trozei

This is a match 3 game on a grid. It was free (I think) for the 3DS a number of years ago. I don’t know if it still is. Having played some Panel De Pon, which is similar in game play, I thought I’d revisit this, and I was glad to have done so. I understood the mechanics better this time around and enjoyed it immensely. 7/10
Platform: 3DS

11. Panel De Pon

While I have encountered this game before, I had never spent any significant time with it. So when it hit the Switch by way of the SNES virtual console I took some time to sit with it. It was worth my time and I had fun. I played a lot of puzzle games this year. If you have a Switch, you should check this out.
Platforms: SNES; Switch

10. Timespinner

This is a pretty solid if kinda boiler-plate metroidvania. Which is to say, I liked it. It leans heavily on Symphony of the Night. I got a “bad” ending and didn’t feel like going 100% so I put it down. Worth the play-through. 7/10

9. Monster Sanctuary

This game is Pokemon mixed with a Metroidvania. I’m enjoying it (not done as of writing), and it’s a solid game, but I don’t know if it’s my favorite Pokemon game. It does cater to my play style as DOTs seem to be extremely powerful. I’d certainly recommend it for anyone who thinks that sounds cool.
Platforms: all major platforms

8. Ghost of Tsushima

This is a AAA game. It follows the formula of a AAA game (do shit: the game – now with 100% more samurai!). I surprised myself by actually enjoying it. I’m pretty garbage at video games, and sometimes (especially for bow and arrow missions) I had to lower the difficulty. Like all modern AAA video games, you’re free to go beat the final boss whenever you get tired of doing the things you’re doing. 7/10
Platforms: PS4

7. Mario+ Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

This game has no right to be anywhere near as good as it is. It’s charming and engaging if a little goofy. It’s a good game on top of that. If you like tactical strategy games, you’ll like this. Play it. 8/10
Platforms: Switch

6. Touhou Spell Bubble

Though I’m sure some people had their eye on this game, it game out of nowhere for me. It showed up one day in my feed, and I thought, “ooh, I’ll check that out”. So I played the demo and I knew this was right up my alley and got the full game. I enjoyed playing though the main quest immensely, and though I didn’t get the Touhou references, I am assured that for fans of the series, it packs plenty of good jokes an nostalgia. My only complaint is that while it supports local multiplayer, I wish there was online support, especially in *gestures wildly at 2020*.
Platforms: Switch

5. Kunai

This game was surprisingly good, with fluid movement, a cute main character, a BUNCH of hats, and fun game play. I had a lot of fun “spider-man-ing” my way through each area. My only complaint is that it was a little bit short. Sometimes I think a short game is good though. Not every game has to clock in at Hollow Knight’s 40-80 hours main game. 8/10

4. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2

Yo, this game is fantastic. I already like both of these games, and together my wife and I clocked over 200 hours in the first game. I’ve been looking forward to this since it got announced. They added a couple new modes (fever mode most importantly) and a few new characters to go with the new story. And YES, the story is fun and goofy and absolutely worth playing through. 10/10
Platforms: all major platforms

3. Carrion

Carrion is a “reverse-horror” game. That is, you play as the monster, wandering around the halls, ripping people apart and munching on them as they scream, all while you turn into a pulsing, writhing mass of tentacles and teeth. With innovative movement, fun powers, interesting puzzles, a KILLER sound design (seriously, give these people an award), a tense and exciting score, and a just plain fun premise, Carrion is a masterpiece. I do wish it had a map, but it’s short and small enough that it’s not that big a deal. Do yourself a favor and Play. This. Game. 10/10
Platforms: Switch, Xbox One, PC

2. Dandara

Dandara has been on my radar for a couple of years and honestly, I don’t know why I waited so long to play it. It’s different enough to be refreshing, but metroidvania enough for me to jump right in. Movement, despite being weird, is really satisfying, and the bosses were quirky and fun. It features a black main character named after the Afro-Brazilian folk hero Dandara dos Palmares. Absolutely play this game. 10/10
Platforms: Switch, PS4, XBox One, PC, Phone

1. Final Fantasy VII: Remake

In my notes it says “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” but that’s not the most helpful description, so: FFVIIR is the first (third?) of the original game. It’s everything up until you get out of Midgar, which is honestly the part of FFVII I have a lot of nostalgia for. (I don’t feel bad about spoiling this, because I played it for the first time in the 9th grade, and it was old then.) You may know that I’m not huge on AAA games, but everything about this game was fantastic. The game play was fresh and fun. The graphics were beautiful. The writing (yes, they changed and added quite a bit to make this a full game) was excellent. The score was so beautiful it literally had me screaming and crying. I’ll probably buy a PS5 as soon as the next one comes out.
Platform: PS4

I read less books this year than I normally do, but I’m going to attribute that to having read longer and harder books. (Maybe I’m just making excuses though. Apparently I played a lot of board games???) BEWARE! Very minor spoilers ahead. (Nothing you won’t get from looking at the back of the book though.) In an effort not to give too much away I’ve opted to keep my thoughts pretty short on this list.

1. The Broken Earth Trilogy
by N.K. Jemisin

The Broken Earth Trilogy is about an alternate(???) earth in which there are geomancers (think Earth-benders) and is an allegory for slavery. Jemisin won three consecutive Hugo Awards for these books. How Long ‘Til Black Future Month, her book of short stories is on my list of books to read next year.

The Fifth Season: Every Season Must Come to an End

It’s no wonder that the Broken Earth Trilogy won the Hugo three years in a row. All three of these books were fantastic. Uncomfortable, yet engaging, Jemisin pulls you in to a literally broken world. My only complaint is that the parallels are a little too obvious for me, but I suppose when you’re writing a slavery allegory, sometimes you have to do that.

The Obelisk Gate

The second book also won a Hugo, and though the second book is very clearly the weakest in the trilogy, it’s still good. Nassun is not my favorite character. I dunno if it’s because she’s a child, or because my view is tempered by Essun. Here’s a question though. Why isn’t this all one book?

The Stone Sky

SURPRISE! It’s good! There’s some really cool world building that happens in the third book. I’m still kinda meh on Nassun, but Hoa’s chapters are really fun. I liked how it ended with “I want to make the world a better place.” It’s a lesson I think we all could learn from hardship.

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey

I read three of The Expanse books this year. All of which coincide with seasons 3 and 4 of the TV series.

Abadon’s Gate

Season 3 was, I think, the weakest of the show, but the book was better. That being said, book 3 took a shift in style towards Game of Thrones that I didn’t much care for. Also, fuck Melba.

Cibola Burn

I liked this, and I thought Season 4 of the show was really good too, but I’m a little tired of the “over-eager military bad guy” trope.

Nemesis Games

While I’m not done with this one, I think it might be the best in the series so far.

An Unkindness of Ghosts
by Rivers Solomon

This book was also fantastic. I thought the ending was unsatisfying, but I think there might be meaning in that in and of itself.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

This book is wicked depressing. I found it hard to read. I could only handle it in small doses. I struggle staying engaged in non-dinosaur non-fiction anyway, but this was a rough read. Nonetheless, I find books like this important. If you are unfamiliar with the anthropocene or the current extinction crisis, I urge you to check this out.

The Three Body Problem
by Cixin Liu

Yo. This book? It’s weird as fuck man. The book starts with the Chinese Communist Revolution, moves through a nearly incomprehensible description of an alien civilization that is destroyed at random intervals due to their proximity to three stars, and ending with imminent alien invasion (because fuck people?!), this book will have you wondering just what the hell is going on the entire time. For my part, I did mostly like the book, but damn if it didn’t make me feel stupid.

IT by Stephen King

This book has been on my list for a long time, and with the new movie having come out I had an excuse to finally pick it up. I gotta tell you that after reading the book I found the first of the new movie installments to be… disappointing. Like, why is this even popular? Why is it a meme? Why are kids fucking obsessed with Pennywise?! The only explanation I can make is that kids like shitty things. (I mean, come on! They like Chef Boyardee.) I will admit that I haven’t mustered up the self loathing to watch part two, so maybe that’s better???
The book I found to be be creepy. So, good job there, Stephen King! IT does a good job of letting unease slowly creep up on you, and this part of King’s writing I found masterful. But there were other parts that I found wholly unnecessary (and I’m not just talking about the kid sex, although that’s bad too). Also, what’s up with the end? A giant space spider? That’s IT?! Like, this giant build up, a nameless horror that manifests itself into your worst and most private fears, and the ultimate terror… is a giant spider from SPACE?! Ugh.

So (very) early this morning I posted my video game review list. Here are all the board games I played that were new to me in 2019 and what I thought of them in order of best to worst. (Disclaimer: just because it’s lower on my list didn’t mean I didn’t like it.

1. Res Arcana (2 – 4 players)

My notes merely say “this game is rad as shit”, but maybe you’d like a bit more explanation. In Res Arcana (designed by Race for the Galaxy‘s Tom Lehmann) you’re handed 8 cards with which to build an engine and eventually get to 10 points. A player reaches 10 points by playing cards, collecting resources similar to Magic: The Gathering (MTG)’s 5 colors of mana, and buying “monuments” and “places of power”. When a player reaches those 10 points the game ends and whoever has the most points wins (you can get more than 10). If you like either RftG or MTG, or even if you like both, this game is for you. An expansion is coming out early February and I’m really excited for it.

2. Terraforming Mars Expansions
(1 – 5 players)

This year I got both the Venus Next and Colonies expansions for TM. I also got Turmoil but I haven’t got around to playing it yet. Both of these expansions add new cards and a couple of simple mechanics. Venus adds a new track to give you more opportunities to raise your Terraform Rating as well as a mandatory clock on the game, which I increasingly find my group needs. Colonies adds a new way to collect resources, which I didn’t quite like upon first glance, but after playing with it a few times I really enjoyed, and found it added quite a lot of depth. Along with “blinging” out my copy with some swank 3D printed tiles, TM has solidified itself as a mainstay of my gaming group.

3. Sorcerer City (1 – 6 players)

So I heard about this through a podcast that I ended up not listening to, but the description piqued my interest and when the Kickstarter went up, and I was able to see how it played I knew I would love it. It took a good year, but it finally came this month and I broke it out and played it a few times. It was everything I’d hoped it would be. In Sorcerer City you play as the architect of a magical city that breaks apart and rebuilds itself every year. How you build your city will determine how many points you make and what new things you can add to your city. Mixing deck building (like Dominion) with tile laying (like Galaxy Trucker and Carcassone) this hits a lot of my board gaming boxes. It doesn’t hurt that the components and artwork are just fantastic. This is a wonderful mid-weight game that I’d be happy to pull out at almost any game night.

4. Teotihuacan: City of Gods
(1 – 4 players)

Try saying that title ten times fast! Set in the ancient Aztec city of the same name, Teotihuacan is a euro with roundel-like action selection using dice as workers. During the game you collect resources, build a pyramid in the center of the board (COOL!) and work the peasants to death (yikes!) so that they can ascend to the gods (yay????). It’s ok, the peasants are dice. Slightly problematic theming aside, this is a pretty solid euro game, though there’s definitely room for expansion material (Good news! There’s totally an expansion that I haven’t gotten to play yet!) in the form of new tiles and technologies. I haven’t played this at one player, but I think it probably plays best at four.

5. Wingspan (1 – 5 players)

Originally described to me as Terraforming Mars, but with birds, I knew I’d enjoy this game. I loved the little bird facts on every card, and the components are fun. The game play is simple enough to understand on your first play through, but complex enough that you need a few games to understand all the strategies. I’m really looking forward to another game of this.

6. Shards of Infinity (2 – 4 players)

While I’m not sure that Shards of Infinity brings anything new to the deck-building genre, this is a solid entry, and the game play is really tight. I haven’t gotten to play with the expansion though, and I’d also like to try playing it with higher player counts.

7. Cryptid (3 – 5 players)

This Clue-like deduction game has you, a cryptozoologist (go ahead and look that up), trying to find the habitat of a legendary cryptid. The catch is, each player has their own secret clue to help find the habitat and the first person to figure them all out and find the habitat wins. This game is a lot of fun, and it gets rid of a lot of the problems that Clue has, but whatever you do… DON’T MESS UP YOUR CLUE!

8. 7th Continent (1 – 4 players)

There was a lot of hype around this choose-your-own-adventure style narrative game, and it wasn’t available retail for a while, and then there was late backing that opened up after fulfillment issues, and then they decided to go retail because apparently their FOMO (fear of missing out) tactics didn’t make them as much money as they thought. My objections to Serious Poulp’s marketing decisions aside, I think this is a fantastic game that actually lived up to the hype. One of my best friends and I have been making our way though the first campaign and are having a blast with it. While I do wonder if this is the best medium for this type of story-telling, there is something to be said for a cooperative format that keeps me engaged in a way that a similar point-and-click computer game experience might not.

9. Treasure Mountain (2 – 4 players)

This dwarven mining game combines worker placement (Lords of Waterdeep), tile laying (Carcassone), and worker displacement (the Gallerist), and rolls them all up into a point salad game that’s just a little too long. Don’t get me wrong, this game is really neat, and a lot of the stuff in it is just plain fun, but I’ve had to make some house rules that smooth out some of the edges to make this work for me. For example, everything that has to do with the mine is A-MAZ-ING. From tile laying, to mining out gems, to selling the gems… it all feels fantastic. But might I suggest shortening the game by a whole two rounds as well as not awarding points for beating the dragon? The expansion (came in the Kickstarter) also seems unnecessary. Ignore me if you wanna see your mine get huge though, and you might. I’m happy to have this as the Lords of Waterdeep style worker-placement game in my collection.

10. Dinosaur Island: Totally Liquid
(1 – 5 players)

The expansion to the hit Dinosaur Island adds five (YA FIVE!) new modules for playing. A fifth player (IN PURPLE!), secret end game objectives that both effect only you (called Blue Prints) or effect everybody at the table (PR Goals), aquatic animals with varying stats unlike the previous dinos (fun fact, no dinosaurs were aquatic, but some were semi-aquatic), and unique player powers (you can imagine I said that in a Mr. Plinkett voice. I did). Now having played with all of these things I can tell you that I like all of them except the player powers. Oh. This game was hard to put away before, now it’s hell on earth. That’s why it’s so far down on the list, because the game play is still great.

11. Cockroach Poker (2 – 6 players)

This game is some zany fun. It’s simple. It’s quick. It’s easy to learn and teach. I learned about it from an anime. (Go watch “After School Dice Club” btw. You’ll thank me.) I got a lot of laughs at the table pulling this out at family functions over the past week.

12. Tiny Towns (1 – 6 players)

In this game you make a tiny town using tetriminos, one called resource at a time. I won my first game of this by making a literal ghost town which made me giggle all the way back to my hotel room. In subsequent plays, I found it to occupy a similar head-space to NMBR 9, a game which I own and love, but which means I have no need to own this game. I’d definitely play it again if asked though.

13. Luxor (2 – 4 players)

You know the opening scene of “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”? That’s basically Luxor. In Luxor, you play a group of archeologists racing through a pyramid to get the most treasure. The catch is that you can only move using the first or last card in your 5 card hand. I’ve not played a race game before, but I really liked this. I can see why it was nominated for Spiel des Jahres last year.

14. Bargain Quest (2 – 6 players)

This is a fun little drafting game with a cute theme that relies heavily on a lot of adventurer stereo-types. It’s simple enough to teach and learn. You draft a bunch of items to sell to passing adventurers, sell them, and then send said adventurers off to fight a monster. If they win you get more points. If not? Oh well! At least you got their money. Base game needs a little extra variety, but luckily there is a lot of expansion material available! Perhaps the best thing about this game though, is how diverse the characters are. Hopefully more board games will move in this direction.

15. Sailing Towards Osiris (2 – 5 players)

This is a pretty standard dry euro game on a clock. Not much to mention. It was fun, and I enjoyed my play, but I don’t need to own it.

16. Viticulture (2 -6 players)

That was fun. I wish it were about whiskey though.

17. Glen More (2 – 5 players)

Well now, here’s a game that’s nominally about making whisky! Really it’s about making cubes. You make cubes by laying down tiles, which cause all the other tiles adjacent to them trigger or produce (cubes). You use the cubes to buy more tiles or make whisky, or turn them into points. I like tile laying. I like cubes. I like whisky. I like this game.

18. A Fake Artist Goes to New York
(5 – 10 players)

My brother brought this over for Thanksgiving and my daughter LOVED it. In A Fake Artist Goes to New York, the game master decides what everyone is going to draw and tells the group secretly by passing out a word written on a small white board, for example “Judah Maccabee”. Players then take turns drawing (Judah Maccabee) one line at a time until everybody has drawn two lines. Here’s the catch. One person doesn’t know we’re drawing Judah Maccabee. That person is the Fake Artist. At the end, if the fake is found out, everybody (but the fake and the GM) wins. If not, then the fake and GM win. This game works best when everything is going horribly wrong, and you have to be okay with that. You could probably make this game at home, but the retail version does come in a cute little box with cute little white boards and markers.

19. CO2: Second Chance
(1 – 4 players)

Boy, I wish I could get this to the table. I played enough to learn the rules and then haven’t been able to play it again. I have subsequently forgotten all of the rules.

20. Trekking the National Parks
(2 – 5 players)

I didn’t like this game. It’s basically just Ticket to Ride, but slightly more interesting (there are legit some interesting National Parks facts on the cards). If you like TtR, you’ll like this, if you don’t, skip it.

Welp, it’s that time of year again where I make a list of the (new to me) video games I played this year in order of best to worst. Here we go.

1. Tetris 99
   People who already know me and already know about my video game preferences know that I like falling puzzle games a lot. Puyo Puyo is my favorite by far, but Tetris isn’t far behind. Adding on multiplayer free-for-all is just icing on the cake. The only problem is, I had to buy a new Switch for the girls as my wife took over the Switch to play whenever she could. Paying for Nintendo Online is worth it only for this.
2. AI: the Somnium Files
   I liked the Zero Escape series. This game was made by the same guy, and there are definitely some bits where he reminds you of that. Though it’s a little less puzzle-y and pretty short overall, I liked it about as much as I liked 999, which is to say, quite a bit. It flows nicely, and the story is engaging, though some of the somniums (puzzle segments) can be a little silly or irritating (looking at you Minecraft section).
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
   Look, I liked Persona 4 when I played it this year, but SMT games are boring to me. So, when Nintendo told me I could play Persona with a base game I actually liked, “I jump in it”. Aside, if Fairfax County Public Schools wants to make fishing into our regular professional development, I’d be down.
4. Atilier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout
   This game is cute and it’s slow. If you’re not down with getting lost in 3 hour (or longer) crafting loops in which you come out the other end and forgot what you were trying to make in the first place, then this game is probably not for you, but if you want a really chill JRPG, I might suggest this to you. I actually finished it, which is saying something.
5. Feudal Alloy
   When this came out at the beginning of the year I was really looking forward to it, and I found it enjoyable if samey. It definitely came at a time when I was looking to scratch that metroidvania itch, and it delivered. I can tell you that Reddit hated this game, but I liked it so I guess Reddit is full of shit? No news there…
6. Gravity Rush
   I had a lot of fun with this game, until I didn’t.
7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
   Legit, I started playing this yesterday, and the only reason it’s so far down on my list is that I can see myself getting really frustrated with this game and just walking away. I don’t normally like AAA games, and I walked into this one without much background knowledge, but I’m enjoying it thus far. I might have to make an addendum to this list later.
8. Untitled Goose Game
   I know the internet freaking loves this game, but it’s the sort of game that frustrates me. I got stuck and never decided to go back. I also don’t think it lives up to the hype. Kairi loved it though. (*shrug*) Quick aside, the use of scoring is fan-freaking-tastic and I hope this game wins awards for it.
9. Tales of Vesparia
   Boy does this game drag. I thought I liked Tales games, but maybe I only liked Tales of Symphonia…
10. Persona 4
    With all the hype about Joker being in Smash, I thought I’d take a look into Persona. I borrowed my best friend’s Vita and got to work. Here’s a thing, I played SMT4 and found it meh. I like what Persona adds, but it’s not enough to make going through SMT dungeons worth it. Just play Fire Emblem.
11. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
    Disappointing. Expected. Sure it’s a fine copy of Symphony of the Night, but that’s as far as it goes. It doesn’t push, unless you call being needlessly obtuse pushing. In a world in which Ori and the Blind Forest and Hollow Knight exist (not to mention a slew of other really good metriodvanias *see the aforementioned SotN), I don’t think this needs to.
12. Puyo Puyo Champions
    You may be surprised that an installation of one of my favorite game series is so far down on my list, but honestly, this should have been DLC for Puyo Puyo Tetris. There’s no story mode, and the only thing it adds is fever mode. Why that wasn’t in PPT is beyond me. The online community seems to have better support in PPT anyway, so unless you really need to play fever mode, just stick with PPT.
13. Pokemon: Shield
    I think I’m gonna need a whole new blog post for everything I have to say about this game. Suffice to say that Dexit isn’t a thing I care about, but there’s a lot I do care about that was just plain bad. It’s still a Pokemon game though, and I still played all the way through, which is more than I can say for Gen 3.
14. Blasphemous
    I don’t know why the metroidvania community likes this game so much. I picked up the demo when it dropped and got really pumped for this game, and then I picked up the full game on Switch and got really un-pumped. It’s too easy (apparently) for people who are good at video games and too hard for people who aren’t (me).

It’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I gotta tell you, growing up Jewish in the 90s, I didn’t know why we had to learn about it. I remember reading Night in tenth grade and rolling my eyes because “here we go again”.

But for real this time, here in 2019, a mere, what, 80 years later? Here we go again. Look, it hasn’t been 100 years yet and I look at the state of the world and think “here we go again”. I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but it seems we’re repeating history.

Did we forget the Cold War? Did we forget Reagan? Did we forget the Berlin Wall? If we’ve forgotten these things that happened a mere 30 years ago, have we also forgotten the Holocaust? Did we forget what happened to get us there? Last week we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr, but I think we’ve forgotten him too.

Honestly, I feel like I’m in one of those Star Trek episodes where they go back in time and look around them and wonder how humanity ever survived such barbaric times. (Oh a keyboard, how quaint.)

Speaking of Star Trek IV, somebody show that to the Japanese please. There was a whole big deal about this in the 80s. Why does “save the whales” have to be a talking point again? It’s like teenage me is coming back to bite me in the ass because, surprise, I took for granted the warnings of my elders, that these things might not need to happen again, that, perhaps, we might learn from our mistakes.

Judaism has a term that, at least American Reform Judaism latched on to in my youth. It’s called “Tikkun Olam” and it means to repair the world. To make it a better place. When all this is said and done, I really hope we can.

Never again.