I went to Dice Tower West again this year. Hung out with friends, played a bunch of games, and generally had a great time. The following is a list of games I had not played before. Most of them are new – with a few exceptions.

Moon Colony Bloodbath is a parallel semi-solitaire deck builder. It’s a quick game and easy to teach. The premise is pretty funny. I’d play it again, but I would not reach for it. I prefer my games a little interactive.

Fromage is a kind of worker placement game. You’re building a cheese empire! It’s a fairly quick game and not complicated. Not super compelling.

Seas of Strife is a trick taking card game. I’m not much of a card counter, but I had a good time with it. It’s quick enough to play. I’d go again.

Harmonies is a competitive card drafter/board building game. The interaction is the face up card drawing for placement, but as is often the case with games like this, I like my games to be more interactive.

Marvel United is a cooperative boss battler. Each player is a character with some special abilit[ies] they can bring to bear. A lot of the game is figuring out what you can do and what you can do to help other players do the best they can. I like this kind of game and would totally play again.

Leviathan Wilds is a game where you’re climbing a giant stone animal to heal its wounds. This is a coop game where each player has their own deck and some cards they play can help others. It amounts to a strategy game. I’d play again!

The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game This is a cooperative trick taking game. There are 18 ‘chapters’ to the game – mirroring the chapters of the book. You play various characters who must/not take various cards/tricks. I liked this enough that I bought a copy.

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth is a two player competitive card drafter. It has a clever score keeping piece for one aspect. It’s a fair 2 player game based on the 7 wonders model. I’d play it again, but I generally avoid 2 player games.

SETI is a eurogame. I was going to say hard core, but I guess it’s really not that complicated. Boy howdy was it long, though. Way longer than the fun to be had. I won’t play this game again unless I’m with 2 other people who only want to play it. 4 players is too long a game to contemplate.

Décorum I played at a demo table. 4 players are roommates who are trying to decorate their house. Each has a set of artistic conditions (this color/style/item in which rooms, etc). The game is won when all players are happy with the layout. The catch is you can’t say what you want – you can just say how each thing placed makes you feel. I hate that lamp! That paint color in that room is fine with me. etc. I’d play it again.

The Gang is a coop Texas Hold’em game. After each card you vie for which position you think you are in terms of hand ranking. You win the round if you all get the right rank at the end of the 7 cards.

Cross Clues is like a cross between codewords and apples to apples. I just played it once and would totally play it again. I may pick up a copy – maybe to give away.

Bomb Busters is a great cooperative game. If you start by thinking of hanabi you’re on the right track – but you can see your own pieces and there are a bunch of scenarios that add twists to the rules. I would buy a copy except this is the exact opposite of Ellyn’s kind of game.

Gun It I played at a demo table. It’s a coop game where the 4 of you are in a getaway car; there are 3 weapons and the steering wheel and an order you each act in. Your goal is to cause the most mahem with the traffic around you. This is totally a single player solo game that four people can play together if none of them is the type to take over. I’d aim away from it.

Honorable mentions – games I had the most fun playing again this year:

Thunder Road: Vendetta This game is a hoot! It must be said that it is even better (a bunch) with the fire expansion “Carnage at Devil’s Run”, but it’s fun on its own. I would own this if the box were not so big.

Cthulhu: Death May Die is a serious coop strategy boss battler. It’s not a short game, but I really enjoy it. It is thematic, nicely written, good art. I was hoping to play some of the new expansion scenarios but did not find any. Played a couple of scenarios and had a great time.

Scout is a fantastic, short, easy to teach card game for 3-5 (best with 4 or 5). There is no reason to not break this out if you have the right number and a little time to fill.