Tag: Board Game

Upcoming

Sneak Peek into What’s Upcoming – 2024 and January 2024

blackcatwhimsy

A new year is here. 2023 was a good year for my channel and I’m looking forward to even more in 2024. I published my first RPG video which was exciting. I’ve been wanting to get that done for a while now and it was good to finally check it off my list. I am going to continue with the new series and I already have my next 2 videos planned out. I joined the Dungeon in a Box subscription and as part of joining, I also received the December Wondrous One Shots adventure. Since the one shot is winter-themed, I want to get those done sooner rather than later. Hopefully, I can get at least one, if not both, published in January.

I don’t want to get away from board games though and I already recorded another unboxing for a Christmas present my husband gave me. It is for a game called Lacorsa Grand Prix. We both love F1 so it’s a good family game for us. I will also finish up the Campus Wahala unboxing video which has been on my list for a few months now. Hopefully, I can get the Lacorsa unboxing done in January, and possibly the Campus Wahala one as well, but that’s lower on the list of all the videos I want to finish in January.

Another new series I’d like to get going this year is playthroughs of some of these board games I am unboxing. I’m more nervous with that series as I don’t want to get any rules wrong. I will start small with some rules-lite games before considering any of the heavier games I own. I am also cognizant of my space constraints so I want to look into a different setup that will provide me more room for not only playthroughs but also unboxings. I don’t have any playthroughs planned for January, but I do want to start this soon as it’s been on my list for most of last year as well.

I will also be continuing my video game playthroughs. They’re a fun change from my other videos and pretty straightforward to create and edit. I will continue my current ones and I also want to add in a few other games. I would like one published in January, but with all my other plans, I’m not sure if I will get it done.

I’m also heading out for a quick vacation which will eat into my work time. I won’t complain though as it’s certainly been a tough couple of months and I need some relaxing time to recharge.

Thanks again for coming along on this journey with me! It’s been a lot of fun and I appreciate the support.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Board Game, Recap

May and Jun’s Whimsical Adventures – 2023

blackcatwhimsy

May was an odd month for me. As I mentioned in my July Upcoming blog, we got into a car accident in May and it was definitely a curveball. I didn’t spend much time working on the channel for a couple of months.

While I didn’t do much for the channel, I did get a lot of RPG videos watched. I watched episodes from a few different seasons of Dimension 20 – The Ravening War, A Crown of Candy, and Fantasy High. I really fell down the rabbit hole with Me, Myself and Die on YouTube. He makes great solo adventure videos and he inspired me to start my own solo adventure. I’m using the DND 5e rules set and the Mythic Games Master Emulator book to run it. I was expecting lots of adventure and fighting, but it has turned into a mystery adventure. It was completely unexpected, but I am loving it! I’ve been kicking around the idea to do some blog posts of my adventure and it’s been added to my list of things I want to do for the channel.

For games, I went hogwild in June! It was a fantastic couple of months for playing. I even got my husband to play a few games of Sushi Go with me! I had some table space available and was able to play the physical versions of La Granja, Under Falling Skies, Nemo’s War, and a new-to-me game, Sleep Tight. I recorded an unboxing video for Sleep Tight a while ago and need to get it edited and uploaded. On BGA I played 10 solo games of Sagani. What a great game. I also learned how to play Teotihuacan, Space Station Phoenix, and Loco Momo. Teotihuacan is such a puzzly game. I’ve played a few games against a much better player and I have learned so much from him by watching the actions he takes. The Castles of Burgundy, Carnegie, Earth, and Ark Nova rounded out the games I played. In all, I played 32 games in June which is the most I’ve played in one month this year.

As you can see, I kept myself busy outside of my channel work but it was channel adjacent. There are so many games out there that I have plenty to keep me busy for years to come.

Thanks for reading!

Board Game, Recap

Mar and Apr’s Whimsical Adventures – 2023

blackcatwhimsy

And I’m back with what I was up to in March and April. March was mostly spent on vacation enjoying some hot, sunny weather. It was glorious and I enjoyed every second of it.

In March I only uploaded one video, an Unboxing video of Herbaceous Pocket Edition. What a gorgeous little game. I love the artwork and it’s a great size to take along on trips. I’d like to do a playthrough of the game. In April I uploaded a video game playthrough of Gloomhaven digital. I tried for a short playthrough and didn’t succeed so I ended up splitting the video in half. Both of those videos are live on the channel. Behind the scenes I worked on editing the Under Falling Skies Unboxing video but it was sporadic at best.

Game wise I was able to get a few different online games in. I played a couple games of Earth published by Inside Up Games.  It has beautiful pictures on the cards and it is pretty to see your player area, or island as it’s called in the game, get built up. There were a few games of The Castles of Burgundy. What can I say, it’s a classic and always fun to play. I also played 2 games of La Granja and a game of Carnegie. A nice variety of games to keep my brain occupied.

Other than that, I watched the Dungeons & Dragon’s movie, Honor Among Thieves. I thought it was fun and enjoyed it quite a lot. I also watched some YouTube videos on roleplaying games. I watched the Dungeon Dudes Dungeons of Drakkenheim series and Dimension 20s Fantasy High series. I’m getting pretty heavily into RPG stuff so keep an eye out for future videos having to do with the world of roleplaying games.

Thanks for reading!

Board Game, Recap

Jan and Feb’s Whimsical Adventures – 2023

blackcatwhimsy

Am I late with this post? Absolutely. I was going to skip it completely but I like writing down what I’ve done. It’s helps me gauge how lazy I have been or haven’t been. It’s also fun to read later on and see what I was up to at the time.

I mainly played a bunch of games online, it was amazing. Mainly played on BoardGameArena. I took part in a Gaming Rules! Tournament for Carnegie. I didn’t win but I had enough points to move on to the 2nd round.  I played a couple solo games of La Granja and A Feast for Odin. The first time I’ve actually played either game. I then set up a multiplayer game of La Granja. I didn’t win but learned a lot and it was fun to see how gameplay changes when you play against other people. I also played some games of The Castles of Burgundy. A classic, I really like playing it. I also learned and played a solo game of Ultimate Railroads. Unfortunately, the BGA adaptation doesn’t have the AI player but it was still good to see how the actions fit together and seeing how your strategy can change the game. I also learned and played Madeira and Clans of Caledonia. All in all, I played 8 different games for a total of 29 plays for January and February and had a blast!

For my channel, I uploaded one Unboxing video for The Phantom: The Card Game. I’m starting to get through some of my oldest received games. It’s embarrassing to see how long I’ve had some of these games and haven’t played them yet! But baby steps, first unboxing, then playing. I also spent time editing and filming some videos.

A co-worker told me about a tv show on Netflix called ‘History of Swear Words’ hosted by Nicholas Cage.  How can you not love Nicholas Cage? He doesn’t take himself too seriously and he does what the heck he wants.  Love it.

Thanks for reading!

Recap

Nov and Dec’s Whimsical Adventures

blackcatwhimsy

November was exciting because I started my journey into RPGs with a Humblewood play. I am playing a Strig owl named Koa. She is a young monk who is just starting out in the world. It was a lot of fun creating my character and thinking through my backstory. We haven’t been able to get together again for our next playthrough but hopefully we can get back into it soon.

For the channel, I was able to get the Three Sisters Unboxing Plus video uploaded. I had quite the adventure trying to open the box. I got a couple of blog posts done. I also edited and published my Tainted Grail video game playthrough part 2. I worked on and finished writing my script for my Herbaceous Pocket Edition unboxing video.

I got a new bookcase set up and was able to get a lot of board games unpacked that I didn’t have storage room for. This helped get games put away but unfortunately, I have already filled it up and am in need of another one!

On to the good stuff of gaming. I played a quick game of Galaxy Trucker on the android app and came in 2nd. Continued the campaign game and played against 3 bots. I played a 4-player game of The Castles of Burgundy on Board Game Arena (BGA). I didn’t win but I came in 2nd with 227 points. I also played a 3-player game of it on the android app. I played against 2 bots and it was a close game, but I won that one. Towards the end of December, I played a solo game of Carnegie on BGA. It was my first ever game of it and there was a lot going on, but it really helped solidify the rules for me. I did not win against Andrew the solo bot, but I gave him a good run for his money. Now that I am getting more comfortable with the BGA website and playing online, there will definitely be more games played that way. All in all, a good stretch of games over the past 2 months.

For Android apps, I continued on with My Mini Mart – still with the annoying ads. I played an oldie but goodie, Candy Crush Soda. I also downloaded a new game called Cats&Soup. Not much action but adorable kitties. It looks like most of the items need to be purchased but it’s a good brain break for a few minutes. I also started playing a game called Mob Control which is fun. I have been spending most of my time playing Eatventure. I love anything food related and it’s been fun leveling up in the game. No ads interrupting gameplay unless I choose to watch one to get a benefit for the game. There are in-app purchases but there is enough opportunity to earn the items that you don’t need to purchase them. It’s one of those idle games where you continue to earn money while you’re not playing it and it’s actually a lot of fun.

On a random note, I got into nail stamping! It was pretty interesting and worked fairly well.  I didn’t have the correct nail polish remover so the nail plates that have the impressions on didn’t get as clean as they needed to be. I will try again though because it was pretty fun. I got a plate that has a bunch of cute cat images and cat sayings on it.

For the holidays I ate a lot of delicious food and had fun both giving and receiving presents. I received some board games and some RPG-related items. I received the Turing Machine board game which I am very excited to play! It looks right up my alley. I also want to get into some solo RPGs including DND. To get me started I received some dice and some dry-erase map boards. Another hobby to add to my huge list!

It was a busy couple of months, but I didn’t produce as much channel content as I wanted. I hope to change that going forward. Thanks for reading!

Board Game, Crowdfunding, Kickstarter

Septima is an Intriguing Game of Witchcraft – Kickstarter

blackcatwhimsy

One game that I’m really interested in is Septima by Mindclash Games. It is on Kickstarter now and is running until July 10th.  I first heard about Mindclash Games when I watched Paul Grogan from “Gaming Rules!” play Trickerion. In Trickerion you play as an illusionist who also has to carefully plan buying resources, learning magic tricks, and performing them to a sold-out theater. Trickerion’s theme grabbed my attention and I started keeping an eye out for more Mindclash Games.

Mindclash Games also published Anachrony (a post-apocalyptic world with time travel) and Cerebria (a fantasy land populated with spirits and emotions), both games I have but are still on my shelf of opportunity. Mindclash recently filled Perseverance (dinosaurs in a lost land!) which believe it or not, is also still on my shelf of opportunity. Big shocker I know.

Mindclash creates heavy, thinky games with unique themes. I appreciate their gameplay and am excited to see what games they come out with. Septima is their newest game.

Septima is set in a land where witches are real and the oldest and wisest witch, Septima, has decided to retire and pass the mantle on to a new witch. As the leader of a coven, you and your coven will be collecting herbs, creating a variety of potions, performing rite ceremonies and healing sick patients. While performing these actions you also need to avoid catching the eye of the witch hunters. During this game you will be proving to Septima that you are worthy enough to take over for her.

Septima is being advertised as a lighter game than people may be used to when they think of Mindclash. After watching a couple playthroughs, I believe it may be a little lighter but still has plenty of strategic decisions involved. Similar to Trickerion, Septima has a base version of the game that is lighter to play and is a good way to not only learn the game but also get familiar with the available actions and the strategy needed to win. As you become more comfortable with the game, you can increase the difficulty by adding on the rite board and the charm cards which provide a special action when played.

Dàvid Turzi is a whiz when it comes to creating solo modes and I’m excited to see how the solo mode plays in Septima. You are playing against the Black Widow whose goal is to drain your wisdom.

I love the art style of the game as it is a throwback to Trickerion. This deluxe edition will also have silkscreened wood meeples, a Gametrayz insert and the Shapeshift & Omens Expansion included.

So, let me know what you think about Septima! Leave me a comment below. Does it sound interesting to you? Will you be backing it now or maybe you’ll wait for the retail version instead?

If you’d like to learn more about the game, take a look at their Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mindclash/septima

Watch the Gaming Rules! Tutorial & Playthrough of Septima: https://youtu.be/SI-R4zFfgdY

Find out more about Mindclash Games on their website: https://mindclashgames.com/

If you’re interested in finding out more about Trickerion: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/163068/trickerion-legends-illusion

Photo by Ksenia Yakovleva on Unsplash