[Ryan] It was my turn to get Nemesis: Retaliation to the table and had a blast with a big 5-player game. Definitely a little slow to get going with it being our first time playing, and lots of little rules questions that needed to be clarified. That said, it all comes together to provide such an engaging narrative experience. Really love how it keeps a lot of the heart of the Nemesis series while making the randomness a little less volatile and adding elements of variability that really enhance how different the story will be each game. I only played the original Nemesis once (and really enjoyed it), but I feel pretty confident that Retaliation is the version that aligns the most with my personal tastes.

[Daniel] It was my birthday month, which meant a steady influx of new games to the collection. Thankfully, I’ve already gotten them all to the table! First up was a two-player game of Planet Unknown. We used the two-player variant where, instead of freely choosing any tile every other turn, you simply rotate the Lazy Susan clockwise once per round. It worked perfectly—solving the issue of too much choice, adding the strategy of anticipating what’s coming up next, and speeding up the game since we weren’t waiting on endless decisions. It was a fast and engaging play of Planet Unknown that was every bit as fun as ever. I’m super pumped to have this one in my collection!

[Ryan] Board games are a fantastic way to smuggle educational lessons to kids in a fun way, and I am entering the season of really trying to give my 5 year old math practice as part of our gaming together. Outnumbered: Improbable Heroes is a little more overtly educational than a lot of kids’ games, but it still manages to be a very fun and engaging cooperative game as you manipulate the results of your three dice, along with your hero ability, to reach target numbers and defeat enemies. The basic mode has worked great, and the game can really grow with kids as the advanced mode really amps up the difficulty. If you are looking for a math-centric game that kids and adults will both really enjoy, Outnumbered is probably the best one I’ve played.

[Daniel] The second birthday game I received was Clank! Catacombs. I’ve always enjoyed the original Clank! and Clank! In Space, but this one takes the system to a whole new level with its modular map. The endless tile combinations make every exploration feel fresh and exciting. We played a four-player game, and it was a blast—everyone even managed to escape before running out of health!

[Ryan] I brought Fingagolf along on a vacation trip with my wife’s family, and it was once again a big hit! We ended up playing not just one, but two 9-hole games over the course of 4+ hours, and it was a blast. The materials here are just so dialed in to perfectly simulate golf on your tabletop, and in my experience, it leads to a more fun, casual group experience than paying to go play putt-putt golf. It is fun to take turns building holes, and it really has a huge amount of skill that has the competitive players taking it quite seriously. Just like real golf, you will have plenty of terrible shots, but also amazing moments—there’s nothing like hitting a long shot to the green and having it roll right into the hole!