Hi Everyone,
2022 was a great year for board gaming once again. I personally got to travel and attend conventions for work and with it comes a lot of gaming!
*Got Marvel Remix at Essen Spiel
Essen was fun! I got to meet all of the board game industry friends from around the globe. I met Antoine Bauza and a few other board game reviewers as well!
In Essen I wasn't able to play a ton of games as I had back to back to back meetings! I averaged about 17k steps per day and only ate breakfast and late dinner.
We've also opened All aBOARD XP in Uptown Bonifacio. This was an evolution of All aBOARD XP game day that we jumpstarted once again from last 2021. We combined that with all the passion we've bottled up coming from the Dyce N Dyne days. The result is an awesome gaming experience that is focused on leveling up your game days and nights.
Its been now the new go to venue for gaming with friends once again! You get to try some exclusives such as early access to Wingspan Asia, Giant Azul, Giant Takenoko!
We also went back and partnered with Ateneo De Manila Rizal Library to host the first Ateneo Game Day after 10 years! It was fun working with Library together with student organizations to bring board gaming back into the school.
Overall I'm grateful to the Lord, parents, colleagues, friends and everyone who made 2022 a memorable one!
Before I close, here's my top 5 games this year based on experience and memorable moments!
1.) Cascadia
- Hands down my favorite game for this year! It has the perfect balance of simple to learn yet hard to master. I love how easy it is to teach and get people to play. The theme is also very relaxing and building your own habitat is a very calming experience.
- I've played all scoring cards in one night! My gaming group did like 6 rounds in one go and I've logged probably around 10 more games both in my travels and in All aBOARD XP
2.) Just One Philippines
- COVID stunted the growth of this amazing party game but for me I've played it over 50x over the past 3 years and each one has been a hit for sure! This is the game where people can really get to know one another. This is another example of easy to learn yet hard to master and explaining the rules is easy as saying "Modernong Pinoy Henyo"
3.) Fantasy Realms
The church of Fantasy Realms lives! This is the game that brings out the combo centric hand management gamer in me. Its all about combos and the anticipation of looking for that perfect card to complete the line up. Fantasy Realms brings both emotions into play as you build your hand while picking from the discards of your opponent/s. Its tense and a fun experience.
4.) Raiders of the North Sea
I'm a Euro gamer at heart and I love worker placement games. The thing that caught my eye on this game is how the layout enables direction and flow of the game to the player. In Raiders, your goal is to start raiding the smaller villages at the bottom of the map and work your way up to the fort at the top. The board is leading you on how you should be progressing. The worker placement also adds a resource management on top of it as you balance hiring mercs, adding cards and resources to fund your raiders!
Its super fun that I bought the app too so that I can practice and do solo play.
5.) Klask
I've always been intrigued by this "air hockey game". I've been looking at it for years now but finally got to try it out because of work :D
Klask is amazing. The ability to bring people together regardless of age, gender, gaming experience or dexterity ability is top notch. The components and the magnets make it a fun experience and something that you would want to bring home always.
You guys might think.. why are there no heavy games or kickstarter titles and hotness? To be honest with you, I really value replayability and the ability to get new blood into board gaming. This is the part that brings me joy. Do I enjoy heavy games? Yes I like Ark Nova, Everdell, (*insert latest Kickstarter) but that's just for a dedicated gaming session. Cascadia, Just One and Klask allow me to be with people and have fun with them anytime.
Here's hoping to an even bigger 2023! We have grander plans for Gaming Library and I can't wait to show it to you guys once we're ready.
Up next I'll do my top anticipated games that I want to play for 2023.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Game Time :)
Sincerely Yours,
Chief Meeple
