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by Daniel Holding

I had the great opportunity (thanks to my very obliging wife) to have a very awesome month.

Wasn't a smack load of games, but I got the opportunity to play a few bigger games while Gabbie looked after our little one.

We also got to play some big games ourselves...slowly.
We had a craving for Garphill's Medieval Trilogies, so we decided we'd play through all three sagas.

It takes multiple sessions per game, but we're having a lot of fun playing through these favourites of ours.

So what did we play?


Plays: 37 (21 Digitally, 16 Physically)
Games: 23 (19 Published, 4 Prototypes)
New to me: 5

Games of Note:
Black Jack: 5 Plays (5 Digitally)
I'm not a gambler by any means, but I do enjoy a lot of gambling games (Poker, Black Jack, Liars Dice).
My Nephew & I enjoyed quite a few games of Black Jack while waiting for DnD Sessions to start.
Simple game, lots of luck, but good fun with the right crowd.

Regicide: 3 Plays (3 Digitally)
This game is just so good! I never don't enjoy it.
I can't help but join a game when I'm sitting at my laptop and I see a game pop up on BGA.
I'm still not very good at it, but the fact I keep coming back shows how good it is.

:geek_star:Zeus - 1 Card Game: 3 Plays (3 Physically)
:geek_star:Fractured - 1 Card Game: 1 Play (1 Physicially)
I am taking part in the 2026 1-Card Print and Play Contest, it's a cool little competition with a unique focus on making games that fit on 1 card.
Zeus & Fractured are the only ones I've managed to get round too so far.
Both are unique dice puzzle games, Zeus is more of a movement puzzle, trying to land on temples and not of tridants.
Fractured is a spatial puzzle, about stacking dice following certain rules surrounding number & or colour.
Both games are great solo puzzles, and I'm pretty bad at both 😂

Lightning Train: 2 Plays (2 Physically)
Man I love this game, I have played 5 games of it now, and I discover more unique strategies/options each time.
I introduced this to my parents while they were here and they immediately wanted another game the next day.
It is deceptively simple, but the strategy and depth that comes out of it is immense, for the second game, I just had a thought of "would this work as a strategy", so I tried it and it did.
I can't wait to introduce this to more people! (I just wish it got some upgrades)

Paladins of the West Kingdom: 2 Plays (2 Digitially)
I mean it...soon!

RWBY: Combat Ready: 2 Plays (2 Physically)
I mentioned last post about my sister in law moving away, and us wanting to get some games played before she did.
So we managed to finish up our Combat Ready Campaign with a win!
This game really is a hidden gem, it's nothing fancy, but it's thematic to the show, and lots of fun.
After each fight, before the next active player begins, everyone can spend their earned XP to upgrade cards in their hand, this makes for a fun semi-deck building experience.

Unannounced Garphill Game: 2 Plays (2 Digitally)
This isn't a new project for Garphill, I actually first played it back in 2024 when Shem brought a physical prototype to a game meet up, and even then I had heard them talking about it for a while.
It's been continually worked on and refined (even though it was already solid back then).
I've been enjoying the Solo Campaign that it has to offer.
Trust me when I say, this one is going to blow your minds!

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition): 2 Sessions
My regular D&D group has been rather busy as of late, so we haven't managed to meet up weekly for a while (I say meet up, the rest of the group is in the North Island, I call in via Discord.
We've been playing this for 3 Years now, things are nearing a climax, either an apocalyptic end, or (most likely) a win at high cost.
My Character is a Tabaxi Rogue, the only thing you need to know about him is that he's fast...like real fast (like can do 300 feet in a single turn, aka 91.4 km/hr)

:geek_star:dnup: 2 Plays (2 Digitally)
It's a common trend at the moment, small number based/set collection card games.
dnup is one such game, I quite like giving them a go on BGA because they take 2 min to read the rules, and then 5 min to play.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed dnup.
The concept is you are playing sets of cards (1 or more of the same number) trying to shed your hand, if someone plays a set of the same size (number of cards) but higher value (number on cards), you have to take the cards you played back into hand, but flipped.
Very unique and actually quite addicting.

The North Sea Runesaga,
Shipwrights of the North Sea: Redux,
Raiders of the North Sea,
Explorers of the North Sea: 1 Play each (3 Plays Physically)
I mentioned we have a craving for the Medieval Trilogies, We managed to punch out the North Sea Trilogy this month.
These games are just so good, I think Garphills Medieval Games are a masterclass on how to design a game series, each game is completely unique, yet shares obvious connections.
it had been a long time since we had played Raiders, so that was probably my highlight play of the trilogy.
In the End, I just had such a good time playing my favourite games, with my favourite person.
Final out come of the Rune Saga was 7 Runes each, but I won the tie breaker (of more face down runes).
Architects of the West Kingdom: 1 Play (1 Physically)
We also managed to start the The West Kingdom Tomesaga with Architects, I managed to snag two Tomes & win the game, so it's looking good heading into Paladins of the West Kingdom next month.

Western Legends: 1 Play (1 Physically)
Western Legends is another of my in laws favourites.
So again, we made sure to fit in a game before my sister in law moved away.
Long story short, this is still the best sandbox game out there (in my opinion).
I'm very excited for Western Legends Stories.

Other Plays:
Wayfarers of the South Tigris: 1 Play
Spirited: 1 Play
Hadrian's Wall: 1 Play
7 Wonders Dice: 1 Play
The Gang: 1 Play
:geek_star:Martian Dice: 1 Play
Another Unannounced Garphill Game: 1 Play (can say even less about this one)

This post was a little late, as we had Tabletop Turanga The weekend I'd normally write this up.
You'll hear more about that next month!

Thanks for reading.
If you enjoy, subscribe to keep up to date!

A new rpg item has been added to the database: SRM 2081-17: Framed in Blood

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