Check out the games our staff are loving this month!
Every month BHG staff pick out 1-2 of their favorite games to share! We strive to highlight a diverse range of tabletop games!
What would be your top pick this month?
Lorenzo Il Magnifico (2016) - Dice Rolling, Worker Placement, Strategy Games
It is the Italian Rennaissance, and you are the head of a noble family. It is up to you to ensure the infamy and prestige of your family name by sending your family members out to obtain different achievements. They may gather resources, conquer new lands, influence other nobles, maintain your relationship with the Church, and more! Each turn you will roll dice to determine the value level of each family member, which may influence who you send and where you send them to. This game is played across three periods, each containing two rounds. At the end of each period, players who aren't deemed faithful enough will be penalized, so ensure that you are keeping track of everything!
QE: Quantitative Easing (2019) - Auction/Bidding Game, Set Collection, Economic Games
In QE (Quantitative Easing), you play the role of a central bank seeking to bail out the sixteen "too big to fail" companies from four countries. As a central bank you have unlimited resources, meaning you can write a check as big as you want to try and outbid the other countries. However, if you end up bidding the most, you end up printing too much money and the country you represent will go bust. Unlike past printings, this new edition of QE supports up to five players right out of the box.
Herbaceous (2017) - Push Your Luck, Set Collection, Card Games
Herbaceous is a relaxing, plant-based set collection game in which you are competing to grow the most valuable medley of herbs. Players start with four containers, each one allowing a specific grouping action. On your turn you draw an herb and decide whether or not to keep it in your personal pile or make it available to everyone. Once you decide to use a grouping container, you cannot use that container again for the remainder of the game. At the end of the game, everyone determines the best herb collection and a winner is declared!
Qwirkle (2006) - Pattern Building, Tile Placement, Abstract Strategy
In Qwirkle, players are competing to complete sets of shapes and colors using a pool of 108 colored blocks. After the first player plays two blocks sharing exactly one attribute (color or shape, but not both), the next player then has to add at least one of their tiles to the table without duplicating a tile that has already been played. Players will score points for each block they played, as well as bonus points if they can complete line containing all six shapes or colors. Once the draw bag is empty and someone has used all of their blocks, points are calculated and a winner is declared!
Explorers (2021) - Paper-and-Pencil, Set Collection, Exploration
In Explorers, players are competing to explore their territories and collect the most points. At the start of the game players add four landscape tiles and three scoring tiles to their game board. Players will be given a choice between two exploration cards, and based on what they choose will cross off a certain number of spaces on their exploration route. The game is played over four rounds in which players will expand their territory, collect items, and explore lost temples. The player with the most points wins!
Dizzle (2019) - Paper-and-Pencil, Roll-and-Write, Dice Rolling, Open Drafting
In Dizzle, players are competing to fill out their player board by drafting and collecting dice. Players will take turns selecting dice from the pool at the center of the table, and the rest of the dice they select that round must match that initial number. Players then mark all of the boxes on their scorecard that they filled with dice. The player with the most points wins!
A Royal Will (2021) - Party Game, Push Your Luck, Auction/Bidding, Local Designer
"The best parts of Coup and Love Letter smashed together!" - Josh, BHG Owner
A Royal Will is a game in which you are competing against other players to claim as much of the inheritance as you can. Players will use two cards to try and claim money from the inheritance, each one allowing players to perform different actions or collect a different amount of money. However, don't get too greedy! If players try to claim more money than the inheritance has, the will busts and the greediest player will be penalized. The first player to collect 10 coins wins!
Horrified: American Monsters (2021) - Cooperative Games, Dice Rolling, Solo Variant
Horrified: American Monsters is a cryptid-themed reimagining of another BHG staff favorite: Horrified. In this game players work together to collect items, protect townsfolk, and ultimately defeat the monsters and prevent them from taking over the town. Players can mix-and-match which cryptids they want to play against, choosing from Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, the Chupacabra, the Banshee of the Badlands, and the Ozark Howler. With scalable difficulty and plenty of combinations to choose from, this game is one that can be played over and over with a different experience each time. Be careful, though, while this game is fun and easy to learn, it can sometimes be tricky to overpower the monsters.
Sheriff of Nottingham (2nd Ed. 2020) - Bluffing, Card Game, Negotiation, Set Collection
In Sheriff of Nottingham, players switch between the roles of humble merchants and the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham. As merchants, your goal is to get as many of your goods as you can into the village. Players put a set of cards into their bag and hand it over to the sheriff, declaring what is inside. The sheriff then has to decide whether or not to believe the merchant and allow the goods through, or choose to investigate the bag. If the merchant was telling the truth the sheriff must pay them the value of the goods. However, if the merchant was lying, or the sheriff finds that they smuggled in contraband, the merchant must pay the sheriff. Each round the role of sheriff passes, and the player with the most points at the end wins!
Hanamikoji (2013) - Hand Management, Drafting, Two Players, Card Game
In Hanamikoji, two players are competing to earn the favor of the seven geishas. Each geisha has one item that is their preferred performance item, and without collecting those you cannot win their favor. This is a game of speculation in which you need to be able to outsmart your opponent and claim your victory.
Arkham Horror LGC (2016) - Cooperative Games, Deckbuilder, Living Card Game
In this Lovecraftian horror adventure, players work together to construct a deck which allows their investigator to fight off horrors, stave off madness, collect clues, and ultimately progress through the story to stop the Ancient One from unleashing chaos upon the world. The Revised Core Set has restructured the organization systems and includes a variety of quality-of-life updates, as well as enough cards to start your campain by yourself, or with up to four players.
Shadows in the Forest (1985) - Kids Games, Cooperative Game, Area Control, Team-Based
Shadows in the Forest is a unique game in that it is played in the dark! One player is in control of the lantern, and on their turn they can move it around the trees to try and locate the shadowlings. The rest of the players are the shadowlings, mysterious forest creatures who work to avoid getting caught in the light. As the lantern casts real shadows, the shadowlings need to try and navigate around the forest. The shadowlings win by being able to gather everyone together in one location, and the lantern player wins by finding and freezing all of the shadowlings!
Mountain Goats (2020) - Dice Rolling, King of the Hill, Small Box Games
Mountain Goats is a game in which players are competing to scale the mountains and collect the most points. On your turn you roll all four dice and group them together however you want so that each group adds up to 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. Once you reach the top you can continue to collect points, but, if someone else reaches the top they kick you back to the bottom and you have to start all over again. The player with the most points wins!
Tsuro (2005) - Family Games, Abstract Strategy, Tile Placement, Hand Management
Tsuro is a classic game of abstract strategy in which players take turns laying down tiles to continue the path that their token is traveling. As your token progresses your goal is to be the last one standing on the board. However, another player's tile may move your piece in a direction you didn't want to go. Avoid moving off of the board or crashing into other tokens in order to secure your victory!