[Ryan] Oh man, I had been kind of sleeping on trying Harmonies since it sounded like yet another pattern-building game, a genre that is becoming crowded and that was already filled by Cascadia in my collection. But I kept hearing so many good things that I had to give it a try, and I was kind of blown away by how much I like this one. It is actually quicker than other comparable games, and yet I feel like it delivers an even more satisfying puzzle. The combination of the base landscape scoring and the animal scoring is a nice dual-layer puzzle, but it is really the way you can optimize each animal pattern to trigger them multiple times that makes this game sing. Really loving it so far!

[Daniel] After one play of a friend’s copy, I knew I had to get my hands on Lost Ruins of Arnak. It blends worker placement, deck building, and exploration into an experience that flows incredibly well. I played a two-player game with my wife, and we both agreed this one is a long-term keeper in our collection. Plus, she wrecked me! Now begins the real danger… being tempted by the expansions.

[Ryan] Look what I managed to get to the table! A 3-player game of Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization. Daniel and I have a long history with this game, playing the old edition ~10 times back around 2011, but ultimately culling it as our collection grew, and feeling it could be a little brutal for how long it was. But the new edition really cleaned some things up, and both of us have now happily reacquired it! I was teaching two new players, and it was a great experience and a reminder of how engaging this game manages to be for its entire 4+ hour length. I don’t get it to the table often, but I won’t lie, I’m really interested in picking up the expansion for some more card variety!

[Daniel] It had been five years to the day since I last played Dead of Winter, and getting in back-to-back games was the perfect reminder of why it stands out as a semi-cooperative thriller. The highs are unforgettable: tense accusations, rolling what might be the most dangerous die in all of board gaming, and the electric moment of drawing a Crossroads card and waiting to see if the player next to you triggers it. Our second game was especially memorable—I was revealed as the betrayer, exposed and exiled, only for my objective to shift and my character to seek redemption, ultimately leading to everyone at the table winning together. Revisiting this one was a great time!

[Ryan] If you want a two-player, dueling-style game that can be played in 10 minutes or less, then I can wholeheartedly recommend Toy Battle. My son Toby and I have had a lot of fun playing this one so far; it just has such a nice, rapid pace of play while still maintaining meaningful decisions and strategy. Really an outstanding product overall, with great production value and huge variety with 8 unique maps. This is certainly one that could quickly shoot up the list of my most-played games!