Three New Games, Three Great First Impressions
My early thoughts on three games that brought something different to the table.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another Bapter post! Last week, I had a game night with a buddy, and we played three games that were completely new to both of us. Not to spoil anything, but I honestly enjoyed all three. Each offered something a little different, and I walked away with far more positive things to say than negative.
I am planning to do a full review of two of these games, so make sure to stay tuned for those in the coming weeks. Alright, let’s do this!
Pilgrims Curious Adventures
How It Joined the Collection: This game was sent to me by the folks at Valor Mountain Games. I was unfamiliar with it's videogame counterpart, so I went into the first play not really knowing what to expect.
The Quick Pitch: A beautifully designed grid movement game where you are using different movement types to collect items and companions to help fulfill adventure cards and activate special abilities that make turns more powerful.
What Stood Out: Aside from the obviously awesome art style, this one gave me vibes of other games I enjoy, including Lords of Waterdeep. It has that satisfying collect-and-complete feel, but builds on the concept with item cards that can be used to activate companions, giving you even more options on your turn.
After One Play: I’m really looking forward to getting this to the table again. The gameplay flow is straightforward and the actions are simple, but the overall experience still felt unique and charming. The rules took a little longer to read than I expected for a relatively simple game, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Everything was explained clearly, and we rarely needed to refer back to the rulebook once we started playing.
First Impression: A fun and relaxing contract-fulfillment and set-collection game that stands out thanks to its phenomenal artwork, streamlined gameplay, and approachability.
I’ll have a full review up for this one in the next couple of weeks!
Timber Town
How It Joined the Collection: This was one of the games I acquired with my Noble Knight trade-in credit. It has been on my wishlist for a while, so it was nice to finally add it to the mix.
The Quick Pitch: A two-player game in which you take on the role of beaver architects competing to build the best town along the river. Through strategic tile placement and route connection, you’ll arrange colored tiles that correspond to different scoring objectives, similar to Wispwood and Cascadia.
What Stood Out: There’s something about connecting routes in tile-placement games that I really enjoy, especially when you begin finding synergies between different scoring objectives.
What makes this game feel unique is that you can only place a tile in the row that corresponds with where you selected it from the river. Because the river shifts after each player takes a tile, you’re constantly watching what is available, where each tile can be placed, and whether your opponent might grab it before you—or it might drift off the end.
After One Play: I think this one will become a regular suggestion when there’s time for a short two-player experience that is right on the light to medium thinky scale. I played this with a friend, and I’m looking forward to introducing it to my wife!
First Impression: Timber Town is another great tile in the ever growing catalog of two-player-only games out there. The theme is cute, the gameplay is simple, and I enjoy the challenge of the shifting river.
Tenby
How It Joined the Collection: Tenby kept popping up on Instagram through several creators I follow, and I was lucky enough to grab a copy using some of my Noble Knight trade-in credit. I didn’t know much about it beyond the fact that it looked really colorful and inviting.
The Quick Pitch: You’re trying to build the best town using the cards available each round. These cards represent piers, terraces, and landmarks, each with scoring objectives that influence where you place them and which cards you’ll want to surround them with to maximize your score.
What Stood Out: The way you select turn order and actions at the beginning of each round felt unique. Overall, the game reminded me of Santa Monica, which I enjoy, but felt like a stronger version of that experience. It’s a point-salad game with a distinct design, and the number of cards in each deck means every game should present a different mix of options.
After One Play: I could definitely see this one staying in our collection. Sure, it’s a point salad game, but the foundational gameplay is simple enough for casual gamers to enjoy in my opinion. We don’t have a game like it in our collection currently, and I like the drafting, the lack of restriction on how many streets you can build, and how you can earn additional actions with tokens.
First Impression: The iconography takes a little getting used to, but overall, I really enjoyed Tenby. The art style is simple yet thematic, and I loved watching my streets take shape as the game progressed. Scoring in these types of games can present a bit of a challenge, but I didn’t find that to be a negative.
That’ll do it for this one! I’ll be back with another installment of the Publisher Favorites series this week followed by some more reviews next week. Appreciate you, folks.