Two weeks of board games, again:

• Last Train to Wensleydale. This got played once back in 2009 and has been collecting dust ever since. Part of the reason is the assumed two-hour length. Well, we did play a three player game in less than 90 minutes last week, so I suppose it’s not that bad. I should probably try to get this on the table at least couple of more times. This is a weird game that certainly stands out from the standard train game fare. The way you need to get rid of your outrageously expensive track network is interesting. This game also takes some serious planning so that your last turn works out well. Mine didn’t, and I had to suffer huge loss penalty, despite being profitable most of the game. Interesting. Suggest.
• Innovation. Three three-player games with experienced players. Tasty. Enthusiastic.
• Lords of Waterdeep. This was better than expected! Worker placement from Wizards of the Coast, with a Dungeons & Dragons theme and take that mechanics? Doesn’t sound good. Turned out the game was reasonably short (just 80 minutes with five inexperienced players), the take that element was fairly subtle and the game wasn’t half bad. There’s some nice narrative in the quests – it’s not just collecting cubes, well mostly it is, but I thought there was still some fairly fun theme. It was fun to build the Tower of Luck building and complete the “Protect the Tower of Luck” quest – after all, it is my tower… Still just Indifferent. I’ll play again, but won’t suggest myself.
• Felix: Cat in the Sack. Very much a game of skill, this one. I’ve now played seven games, and won the last five. Ok, yesterday I was helped a bit by an opponent who forgot the rules, but still. Lovely filler. Suggest.
• San Juan. It’s been a year from my previous game of San Juan. Way too long. Two quick two-player games were a good reminder that this is an excellent game. Enthusiastic.

Take a look at Making Profit at IndieGoGo. This is a small economic game from Estonia, designed and published by an 18xx PBEM buddy Aigar Alaveer. He hired me to translate the rules, so I’m a bit partial, but it does sound like an interesting game, based on those rules. Simple game of buying and selling shares, developing and running factories. Ok, I have no idea if the idea works or not, but if it does, this just might be a nice little stock market game. My group likes these kinds of games, so expectations are high.

It’s also pleasantly cheap: just $30 for free delivery in Europe and $40 for free world-wide delivery. US games at Kickstarter tend to have world-wide shipping costs starting from $30…