Top Ten Lunch Games

I've written on the subject of lunch games many, many times, but probably most completely here. The category of lunch games--games that can be played and in most cases taught in an hour--is near to my heart for several reasons, not least of which is lunch when I am most likely to have time free to play a game. The pressures and responsibilities of home prevent me from attending more than one game night a month. But over lunch? Then I am free.

In my earlier post, I listed several criteria for ideal lunch games. They are:

• Goldilocks playtime (neither too short nor too long)
• Simple rules
• Simultaneous (or near simultaneous) play (in other words, there's always something to do)
• Chaos factor (players have an opportunity to break gameplay conventions)

So which games am I most excited to play over lunch? Here's my list.

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (a review of Bruges)

Lots of things are going wrong in the town of Bruges. Money is tight, even the king and queen are hiring their services out to wealthy merchants, and threats of plague, flooding, fire, and raid loom on the horizon.

There's no better time to be an entrepreneurial mover-and-shaker in Bruges. Now's your chance to build canals, bolster your reputation, and erect houses for your helpers, all while flaunting what little wealth you've got in a bid for prestige.

News Bits: 9/30/2013

This week's NEWS:

SeaFall, new "Legacy" game, coming in 2014 from Plaid Hat Games and Rob Daviau [Link] I thought the idea behind Risk: Legacy was awesome (if cringe-inducing to this collector), but I don't like the underlying game enough to give it a go. This new game looks fantastic: a 4x game set in an alternate age of discovery that remembers grudges and evolves as you play. This one I would love to try.

The Gondola Ride (a review of Rialto)

Venice. Land of bridges and gondolas and noblemen vying for the favor of the powerful doge. You are one such nobleman, with lots of cards, cylinders, coins, and cardboard at your disposal. If you've got an hour, you've got an opportunity to ride your gondola to the top.

Is controlling Venice in the cards for you? Find out in Rialto!

News Bits: 9/3/2013

I hope you had a good holiday. Here is the NEWS:

MeepleTown's Gen Con recap looks at 7 Wonders: Babel [Link] This was not out on the main floor at Gen Con, as far as I'm aware, so I was glad to see someone's take on the expansion. (First, a quick note: the author is absolutely right that Asmodee was on the ball with both great games and great people to show them off. They almost sold me several games...and made me wish I had indeed bought them. Kudos to Asmodee!) I had said before that I probably wouldn't buy any more 7 Wonders expansions, but this one might change my mind...

News Bits: 8/26/2013

Lots of good stuff this week, including gamers' recaps of Gen Con. Also, be sure to check out our contest (you could win Spyrium, Sentinels of the Multiverse: Enhanced Edition, or Jungle Speed). And now, the NEWS:

Gamers recap Gen Con [Link] Yes, it's true: if you were on Twitter and not at the con, you realize that everyone you knew in the hobby was probably in Indianapolis. And now all the recaps are rolling in. Kim Vandenbroucke of The Game Aisle has done a fantastic job rounding up the coverage. Check out her website at the link above. And if you want to read our perspectives, Wolfie and I wrote recaps last week. 

What I Played at Gen Con: FarmerLenny Edition

Gen Con is billed as "the best four days in gaming," and it must be true, or they couldn't put it on the sign. Okay, I'm not sure how to empirically verify the statement, but my experience at least comes close to validating the claim.

I promised in today's news post that I would discuss the new games I played at Gen Con this year. I don't plan to discuss the people I met (who were great) or tell the story of how these games came to be; I'm just going to give you the skinny on the games and how I thought about them after my play(s). (I'll note whether my play was a full game or a demo game.) The first paragraph is a game overview if you want a (very quick) rules summary; the second paragraph is my impressions. These are in alphabetical order. If you want to skip to the games I liked best, you might want to check the entries for Gravwell, Impulse, Spyrium, and Rialto. Also, sorry; I was too busy playing to take pictures. I realize this is text heavy; I trust interested readers will persevere.

[Note: Futurewolfie posted his Gen Con wrap-up here. It's more about the events at Gen Con and less about the games and fills in the details I left out.]