Two weeks of games. Last week I expected two players, but we got third. Good that I hadn’t prepared with strictly two-player affairs.

• Dominion: Hinterlands. I’m a Dominion fan, so I like the new expansion. Simple as that. It sure is no Alchemy. There are several interesting cards. Fool’s Gold (money; first played on turn is worth 1, from second on they’re worth 4; if someone buys a Province, you can trash Fool’s Gold to gain Gold) was very popular and used to good effect. Very nice set. Enthusiastic.
• Puzzle Strike. More Puzzle Strike. In the first game I was eliminated fairly quickly and had to watch the other guys slug it out for fifteen minutes or so. That was painfully boring. Other than that, the games were pretty good. Suggest.
• Kings of Mithril. At the circus school I went back to Kings of Mithril. This time we played a bit faster and were able to play two games during the hour we had, almost three. At that speed, the game has a good level of decision-making and interesting stuff to the playing-time. This game is better than the sum of its parts, really – it should be less fun than it is. Delightful game. Suggest.
• It’s Alive! started the games yesterday. So far the only thing I’ll say is that this worked rather well with just two players, despite the auction element. Not a bad filler. Suggest.
• Elder Sign. Considering this game is quite contrary to my interests in many ways (it’s FFG ameritrash, a dice game and a co-op, all features I’m not thrilled about), this was surprisingly good. However, this is definitely going to be my last game of Elder Sign with six players. I might consider the iPad version, maybe. Anyway, not my cup of tea, with all the messy rules and too-small graphical details and fairly non-inspiring game play, but I can see how someone can love this game and the stories it tells. Indifferent.
• Kansas Pacific. One of the less-loved Winsomes, despite being designed by David V.H. Peters, the author of my favourite game Samarkand and SNCF. It just isn’t very thrilling. This time we did have companies across the Land Grant line, unlike the last time, yet it was too late in the game, so buying the Land Grant and attempting to go west wasn’t an option. That seems like a fairly essential part of the game, yet it just hasn’t happened in the two games so far, which is kind of boring. In the end, I’d much rather play other Winsome games, so I’m getting rid of this one. My copy is available on BGG for $35 including shipping (edit: sold in minutes!), in case you missed the recent reprint and want to try the game. Indifferent.
• String Railway: Transport. This didn’t go down too well. I suppose people love the original String Railway too much, and judge this version based on that very different game. This is not a fun game, this is a serious puzzler of a pick-up-and-deliver game. I love it, just like I love the original game, and I’d like to explore this one more. Enthusiastic.

I’ve been listening to Trevor Menear’s Some Kind of Sunshine last couple of days. Check it out, I think it’s a wicked good album.