First things first, next year Airecon Harrogate is on from the 11th to the 14th March. Trust me you need that in your diary now. So… what makes Airecon so epic?
Open Gaming
One of the best things about Airecon is their dedication to having loads of open gaming space. This means there is always lots of space to play games with others – you can play games you’ve brought with you, games you’ve bought at one of the stalls or borrow some from the library. If you are on your own or looking for people to join you for a game you can borrow a light sabre from near the board games library.
Here’s a quick run down of some of the games we played:
Broom Service – you are a witch zooming about on your broom, collecting ingredients for potions and then delivering your potions. It has a really nice bluff element as well as a bit of push your luck. Each round you play cards and choose to either be brave or cowardly. Bravery has better rewards but you risk having your planned action stolen. We really enjoyed it and would definitely play it again.
Age of War – I love a dice rolling game and this is no exception. You roll dice and collect cards (you can steal from others too). Complete sets to win. It’s easy to learn and we loved playing it. I think I enjoyed it more as someone had introduced me to it at one of my events but you can’t get hold of it easily at all so I was delighted when I spotted it in the Travelling Man board games library.
Bang! I’m not normally a fan of hidden role games as I’m rubbish at them but this one was loads of fun. It helps that it’s quite fast – mimicking the fast draw of the gunslinger – that helped me as there is less time to agonise over and discuss the hidden role element. Some of the language in it is outdated and inappropriate which would stop me from getting a copy which is a shame because it’s a good game.
Framlet – this is a bit tetris. You draw the allotted shape within the frame on the page. The complexity of this lies in the different rules and requirements you can fulfil when you draw your shape. You can gain bonuses which will benefit you. I loved the complexity of this and seeing how different people approached adding the same shape to their frame. Definitely one that makes your brain burn in a very pleasant way.
Tricktaking Werewolf game – I know what you’re thinking but this is its actual name. Despite being another hidden identity game this was awesome. Admittedly partly because I massively misunderstood one of the strategies and so was able to remain undetected. What better way to bluff than to behave in a way that would be ridiculous for your character to behave. We had such a laugh playing this – it was absolutely brilliant.
Chinatown – from 1999. It’s an oldie but a goodie. You are building your business empire by acquiring property and then trying to keep all your shops of the same type grouped together. This involves haggling and trading with other players so you can expand your business empire by acquiring matching businesses and adjacent locations.
Some of these games were recommended by Iain, Ava and Tim from the podcast But why Vikings? You can send them questions about all things board games.
2. New Games
Board games conventions are always full of new games to try out and maybe add to the collection. At Airecon there are always lots of opportunities to be taught new games, often by the designer and I always take those opportunities. Much as I love teaching games to others, being taught a game by someone is often a breath of fresh air.
Pipes by Wotan Games.
Pipes is a tactical two player game of trying to be the first to connect your pipes across the board by playing cards which advance you or taking cards that will slow down your opponent. It’s a pretty quick game that I immediately wanted to play again. There are only 20 cards in the deck, making it the perfect game to have in your bag to play when you’re out an about. I really enjoyed playing against Dave Batten – the games creator -despite being predictably and repeatedly destroyed! I played this for the first time when it was just sketched out so it was also lovely to see the gorgeous art work that Rachael Owen has created. I never thought Victorian water pipes could be so attractive but they have such a lovely steam punk vibe that they look really pretty. No AI here. Just real people doing really brilliant stuff.
Chickens N Aliens was another great Airecon find. You can read more about that here: https://cardsordie.com/chickens-n-aliens-a-surprisingly-efficient-alliance/
Labyrinth Carcassonne Ravensburger
I am extremely excited about this. It’s coming out in August and I can not wait to get my hands on a copy. As the name suggests – it’s Carcassonne but it’s also Labyrinth! The aim of the game is to collect treasure tiles and build them into your lands. Each round you push tiles into the layout of the maze, this moves the Labyrinth and if you’ve done it right – makes a path that leads you to the treasure you need. As you add a tile another tile is pushed out and you add this to your own personal Carcassone which you are building in front of you. It’s just a brilliant combination. The game is scored in the most fun way! Pile your collected treasure tiles up, pop your meeple on top and see who has the biggest pile. If you’ve seen me trying to score games using column addition and my fingers you’ll get why I love this so much.
Australis Kosmos
A gorgeous game of being a turtle exploring the seas off the coast of Australia. The game is played over 5 rounds so you are strategising as soon as you start playing, there isn’t time to just float along hoping for the best. Each round starts with rolling dice to determine which actions you will take, and then ends with rolling dice in a battle for bonus points or cards that will help you maximise your score on future rounds. During the round, and by collecting certain cards, you can ensure you have more and better dice for the battle, making you more likely to win. Choose dice to help you earn points by adding coral to the reef, drifting along with the current, collecting fish in shoals and then making sure you have enough food to sustain them. It’s a really beautiful game and managing the different ways of scoring points keeps your concentration, making it really absorbing.
Marrakech & Giant Stomp the Plank – Hachette
These are two games that came home with me from Airecon. I already had normal size Stomp the Plank (which now seems tiny!) but I had to have those chonky elephants – just too adorable. I’m sure you’ve seen lots of photos of it in action in recent events. If you’re not familiar with it – it’s a push your luck game where you turn over treasure cards to allow you to add weights to other elephant’s planks but turn over two of the same treasure and you advance along the plank. Last elephant still on board the ship wins!
Marrakech is a beautiful game with rectangles of carpet that you lay on the board. It’s also viciously competitive. You are basically aiming for board dominance with your carpets and if a competitor happens to land on your carpet, they must pay you – not only for the one they are standing on but any one of yours that’s linked to that space. You roll the dice and move Assam, then lay carpet next to him. It’s a pretty simple game in lots of ways but you need to be really alert to what your opponents are doing and make sure you are making more money than you pay out! The person with the most money and carpeted spaces wins. I’ve bought the normal sized version but if you get a chance to play the giant one at a Hachette event then make sure you do – it’s gorgeous.
You Know It & Yubibo – Zatu
Another two fab games that came home with me thanks to Zatu Games.
You Know It is a quiz with a really clever twist. Just like any quiz game – there are questions and you can gain points by getting the right answer but, you also get points by betting on who will have the right answers and who will have got it wrong. So, it’s also a game about how much you know about your friends’ expertise! I typically prefer trivia games where you don’t need to know the exact answer like Shot in the Dark where you just need to be the closest or What Came First where you have a 50/50 chance of betting which thing came first. Although I was having to guess at answers at times in this, there was the added layer of then trying to work out who actually knew the answers which kept me invested in the game. It’s also fun to bluff and try to convince people that you are a secret expert on James Bond films!
Yubibo is a game of balancing sticks and then if you are successful at that you need to try to balance balls on the sticks! (I have not got to that stage yet). It’s a really good team game – push too hard and you’ll push the sticks off the other players’ fingers; push too little and you won’t be able to hold them up. You have to be really aware of yourself and others to triumph in this. I found some lovely Cards or Die regulars to model the game for me.
3. Events and talks
Airecon hosts all sorts of different events and talks about board games that are well worth checking out. I heard great things about Entropoly. I only made it to one talk at Airecon this year but it was a good ‘un – Tim Clare’s – Monopoly The Game Changers. This was a fascinating talk – especially as a loiner and a lover of retro games. I’ve finally started reading his book – The Game Changers and I’ll add a review once I’ve finished it. If you’d like more Tim Clare in your life in the meantime, tune in to But why Vikings – the podcast with the wonderful Ava and Iain where they answer all your board games related questions.
