EP 111 Culling, Buying, Playing

[@JymmiF]

We also hosted Thanksgiving and got to play some games. I ended up doing a good deal of solo gaming one day because everyone was playing The Crew and they had the max players already and plus the game stresses me out. So I just sat at the other end of the table with my Button Shy and Oink games. But I did get to show everyone Cartographers and New York Zoo. Plus, they introduced me to Hues and Clues as well as Heat. So it was a very fun weekend overall. I'm interested to hear what you think of Grand Austria Hotel. I've never played it, but always been interested in it. And Christmas Movie Magic seems like a hoot! Between Spiel Mill and you, I'm like, "Do I need to get in on this action?"

[@teaNgames]

The only 2 things to keep in mind in deciding whether to get Christmas Movie Magic is that the player count maxes out, surprisingly, at 4, and also that I think it may be best with movies you've already seen because searching for the card items while watching will distract from the movie. If the movie is so dear to your heart that you want to just absorb it, or if it's new to you, the game may diminish the movie. It's probably best with a movie you've seen a million times!

[@JymmiF]

@@teaNgames Oh, good to know! Might not be good for me because I was going to just try it with some new wacky holiday movie.

[@JacobRamirez-li9dt]

Grand Austria Hotel is so good! I have 1st edition, just base game. I sometimes play with the Mautoma. It's great multiplayer or solo.

[@JymmiF]

@@JacobRamirez-li9dt glad to know it's good solo. Means it can be played even if I'm the only one who likes it.

[@Board_Game_Beans]

Thanks so much for the little shoutout! that was a pleasant surprise for us both 😊 This was a great video! We haven’t culled any game yet ourselves (but one or two have come close… heheh) And yay! Railroad Ink! Joana just played it earlier today as a little break from work 🎉

[@teaNgames]

Your Azul video was good! If my fascination with Azul continues we might get the travel version, too!

[@spielmill1755]

Thanks for the mention! Great video! You will like Railroad Ink for sure. And hopefully you like Grand Austria Hotel. It's mid-weight euro goodness. And since you liked Zapotec so much we think you'll like it (though we haven't played Zapotec, just going by what we've heard you say about it). It makes us happy that you all enjoyed Christmas Movie Magic so much. Can't wait to hear about how it goes with family! Oh and we didn't get good at Azul until we played it a ton on Board Game Arena fwiw. We're also glad to hear you enjoyed Ready, Set, Bet! I think we mentioned to you that we had fun with at two.

[@teaNgames]

I'm a bit intimidated by the "Expert" label on the box of Grand Austria Hotel😁 but I think I'll like it! I'm looking forward to playing it!

[@brookruck]

I also just got Rebel Princess despite having a regular player count of only 2 😄I'm hoping to play it at Christmas. 🙂

[@teaNgames]

Let me know what you think!

[@danasimpson1275]

We enjoy your videos and you are so awesome and fun 🎉 Have you tried a Isle of trains all aboard i think you and robert would enjoy it Keep being you and awesome 😊 Also we are from canada and with maybe possibly tariffs coming we have always continued FB market place and our local game store. We pass on our games to new families for them to enjoy. We did the same with JoTL since we dont enjoy campaign games. We give away all our games we cull.

[@teaNgames]

You are so nice! Thank you! I'm not on Facebook anymore, but there's a very active boardgame Discord for the area so I sometimes post games I'm culling there, but a lot of times I just sell them to Half Price Books; we play a lot of family-weight games and the lower cost of games from Half Price means that families can get good games at a good price. I haven't played Isle of Trains...I'll look into it because we do love a good train game! 🚂 Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@JeremyJohnsonmcmxcAD]

You might want to look at My Favourite Things for a trick taking game.

[@teaNgames]

I'll take at look at it, but I'm trying not to buy trick-taking games since they'll rarely be played😁 I really need to find a group of players that like trick-taking!

[@JacobRamirez-li9dt]

I bought JotL super cheap. Glad I didn't spend much, what a snooze fest! I'm not too keen on dungeon crawlers, but I gave it a shot bc of the hype (and it was only $15). Lesson learned.

[@teaNgames]

Sometimes it's hard to hear through the hype to the essential thing of whether *you'd* like the game. I'm better at not buying due to hype than I was when I got JotL, but it's hard not to catch people's enthusiasm for new games...that's why most games I'm interested in go onto a wish list until they "cool off", instead of being an impulse buy.

[@AeronwyD]

I like Floriferous for a cozy solo game but I can definitely see it's not gonna be a great multiplayer game. I was wondering where you sell your games that you're culling? Or do you just give them to other games you know? (I've got a few that I'd gotten early in my addiction the beginning of the year that as I learn what I like, just aren't fitting for me...) Okay, the Christmas Movie Magic looks SO CUTE!! (And sadly it doesn't look like it's available really. My boss and co-worker would love it.)

[@teaNgames]

I usually sell my games to Half Price Books. If it's a Kickstarter I'll either sell it on the local board game Discord, or through my FLGS which sometimes takes consignments. A few of this batch of games went to my niece and nephew!

[@jtsiren1676]

As of December 2024: 1. Too many new games are coming out every year, there is no way to ever play all of the games you have an interest in. 2. Board games require time and shelf space, both of which are limited capacities. 3. Many of the new games coming out will make other games obsolete. It's good to cull. Don't hang on. Let them go, and let them go by. There will be another game.

[@teaNgames]

Good advice! It seems natural to me to evaluate & cull at year's end, especially since year's end is when we buy a bunch of games. Also, I like to think that I'm making someone else's Christmas a bit better because they're getting my culled games at a deep second-hand discount. I like the idea of games circulating in the community. I've benefited from other people's culled games that I've picked up. Games that aren't right us may be right for other people! I don't want all the games: just a good selection that's right for us. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@WhatsDaveUpTo]

Have you played any of the Terra Mystica games?

[@teaNgames]

No, but I've heard good things about them! Do you have a favorite?

[@WhatsDaveUpTo]

@@teaNgames they have a little bit of a learning curve but if you push beyond that they are very fun and rewarding. The original Terra Mystica is nice because its very tight and streamlined. It needs 3-4 players to really shine though. Gaia Project has a cool tech track and is a little more free form, and is better at lower player count. Age of Innovation is like the original with more variation and with smaller maps for lower player counts. They are both awesome. The digital versions on steam are great to learn the games before you play the physical versions. They are all played competitively. They just had an international Terra MysticaCon Championship in Canada a couple of months ago.

[@teaNgames]

Oh, wow, thanks for the comparison and the info about Steam! I've never seen all 3 compared! That's good to know! Thanks again!

[@danasimpson1275]

Clans of Caledonia is also similar and I find an easier learning curve

[@teaNgames]

@@danasimpson1275 I've heard of Clans of Caledonia but I don't know much about it! Probably should remedy that!😁