I finally put the CONAN strategy board game through its paces last weekend. Very good! Once you get the main mechanic down, gameplay is pretty smooth. It's definitely a strategy game. I think the "Overlord" (basically, the DM: monsters and bad guys) is at a slight advantage in every scenario so the players really need to strategerize to counteract that. As it should be. Good tactical sense is a must.

Ms. Haversack and I also had a rousing game of Moby-d***; or, The Card Game last weekend. That's a good one.

The Monolith Conan board game is the big hit right now. I should be receiving the Stygia expansion this week.
Also playing a lot of Federation Commander. (Streamlined Star Fleet Battles)

So I finally built some of the minis and have played my first couple of sessions of Kingdom Death: Monster. Did anyone else take the plunge on this thing?

I'm terrible and arts and crafts, so the hobby part of the game, building and painting the minis, is kind of lost on me. I'd have happily paid $50 more to have had someone else build and paint these things. As it is, I will likely never paint them. It's just not a skill I have.

But MAN, the gameplay is great. We are just scratching the surface, and, thankfully, Ms. Haversack likes it, too. But it tests all sorts of problem-solving and forward-thinking and strategic and tactical intelligences. Really really elegant. I am psyched we have had time to play and am looking forward to more of it these next couple of weeks!

I am eager to play the new game Illimat.   I backed it on Kickstarter because it is the idea and creation of the wonderful band The Decemberists.  The mechanics are very simple and I think it will provide a wonderful game experience.  Changing conditions, multiple paths to victory, sophisticated esthetics, cool cult vibe...

(Need to remember to perform my Society of Luminaries challenge...)