It's a the start of another year so once again Sarah and I find ourselves putting together a list of games to challenge each other to during the year.
Between us we select 11 games.
We play each game once, recording the results.
We play each game again, recording the results.
Games where each player has won once are played again to determine the winner.
Whoever wins the most matches is bought lunch by the loser!
We featured this game's big brother, Agricola, in our 2016 challenge. This version is much smaller, 2-player only and mainly features the animal husbandry (oo-er!) aspect of the bigger game. It doesn't seem to get played very much so I thought this would be perfect for our yearly challenge!
Another 2 player only game with a big brother. We first got this game on a camping trip and always really enjoy it. Sarah always beats me at this but I like it so much that I wanted it in the challenge this year!
Uwe Rosenberg's game from 2015 doesn't seem to get a lot of love which I think is a shame. It took us a couple of games to realise there is a real tension in trying to raid villages but not getting left behind. I'm expecting some tight games in this match.
Another 2 player only game! I really love this game of Sumos competing to push a column of rock into the oppositions' camp. The restrictions on movement and the requirement to rotate the board at least once during your turn makes for a beautiful head-scratcher!
One of the first games that Sarah and I bought. This is a perennial favourite and I wanted to make sure this dice drafting, tent laying game with great money boxes wasn't forgotten. Again, I have a bad track record with this so we'll see how this goes.
Sarah's choices for our 2019 gaming challenge.
Okay, this is a bit of a 'cult of the new' choice, but I picked it up recently and I would like to make sure it gets plenty of table time (not that playing our collection is ever really an issue!) The couple of times I have played Everdell it has taken me a while to get into, so I am really hoping to improve my understanding of the game. Plus the artwork and components are absolutely beautiful!
We picked this up at UKGE last year, and it has only had a couple of plays. Unfortunately, I think something has not quite clicked, and I am keen to play this more. We love Cottage Garden and I am keen to purchase Spring Meadow to complete the Uwe Rosenberg puzzle trilogy, but we need a few more plays of Indian Summer first. Plus, the animal artwork is beautiful!
This is another UKGE purchase from last year. While chatting to the guys at Imagination Gaming, they told us to try Iquazú – it looks like a kids' game, but really is not! I was instantly drawn to this game because of the fantastic-looking board and the moving waterfall with gems underneath. I have really enjoyed every play of Iquazú and I am looking forward to getting it to the table even more.
Okay, I think I am spotting a theme with my choice of games – I love beautiful artwork! Kanagawa certainly has that. I really enjoy this game, but it is not played very often, so I am looking forward to a few more games. This is a shorter game than some of my other choices, so it will be a good one to play when we do not quite feel up to one of the longer/heavier titles.
I think Bryan and I are both surprised I picked this one! We have only played Tzolk'in twice, and to be honest, I think I am a little intimidated by it! We know it is heavy, and because we have not played it enough to fully get to grips with it, it has only come out on very quiet weekends when we have been able to dedicate the time to a game. I really hope to change that with a few more plays this year.
Jobby: I looking forward to playing this as part of the challenge. Normally I often play this for a bit of a laugh; more about having fun than being mean. The challenge normally brings out the mean side in me so beware, Sarah!
Sarah: This is the only game that both Bryan and I had on our lists, so it had to be our 11th title! Clank! is one of my all-time favourite games (I even give it a 10 on BGG!) I really enjoy the deck building element, combined with moving around the board, deciding whether to go deeper into the dungeon for that more valuable treasure, but risking waking the dragon. This is a fun, sometimes incredibly tense game, so I am very excited to play it as part of our challenge.
I will endeavour to keep this site up to date with play reports as we work our way through the challenge. If you haven't already, maybe you can find someone who you can play through a challenge like this? It's much easier to do than all those 10×10 challenges!