Shelf of Opportunity – Feb. ’23 Update

Where did the first two months of the year go? Wow! Things have been humming here in Dallas with lots of home and work projects, but there’s always time to game – at least that’s the plan, right?!

This month saw a few ticks off of the SoO list with a few more additions through Kickstarter arrivals. I also was able to play a new game off of my 5yo’s shelf that we got him over the holiday season. Here’s the list of games played and a little bit about each one!

Lacrimosa

Designer: Gerard Ascensi and Ferrari Renalias. Artist: Jared Brando and Enrique Corominas. Publisher: Devir. Player Count: 1-4. 90 Minutes. Age: 14+. BGG Rating: 7.8/10. BGG Weight: 3.12/5.

Overview

Lacrimosa is an action selection, drafting, set collection, area control with a bit of worker movement that is played as a patron of the late Mozart who is trying to sponsor the completion of his final composition, the Lacrimosa movement of his Opus Requiem. This game was Isaac’s #1 game of 2022, and as a former high school and college band director, it became a must play for me.

Gameplay

Players take 4 turns over 5 rounds, choosing between 5 different actions:

Travel – Move the Mozart figure across Europe gaining immediate rewards or end game scoring opportunities.
Documenting Memories – Upgrading your action cards that you use to take actions and/or earn story points/coin/VP’s each round.
Commission an Opus – Draft an Opus card from the supply that can then be performed or sold in later turns for coins and/or VP’s.
Perform or Sell and Opus – Doing either will earn you coins and/or VP’s. Selling it will earn you more, but you lose the card for the rest of the game. Holding on to it and performing it earns you less, but it can be performed again in later rounds and can be used for potential end game scoring.
Requiem – Contribute to the composition of the Requiem by adding an instrument token to any of the movements to gain immediate and/or on going rewards.

Impressions

The game is tight, fun, and incredibly thematic. The attention to detail on the opus cards (each having a different composition by Mozart), component quality, and player interaction is great. I always felt like I wanted either one more turn or just one more option for my turn, which usually tells me that it is well balanced and tuned just right! As a musician, I felt that the game took well known gaming mechanics and integrated them into a musical them quite well. Definitely a game I will be playing again with my fellow musician friends soon!

The Time You Killed Me

Designer: Peter Hayward. Artist: Jor Ros. Publisher: Pandasaurus Games. Player Count: 2. 15-30 Minutes. Age: 10+. BGG Rating: 7.6/10. BGG Weight: 2.53/5.

Two player games are a must have in my household with it being just my wife and I with our two kiddos that are 5 and 3 years old. Finding games that can be played in under 45 minutes and have a quick setup/tear down are also a must. Add in a mix of a “legacy” component and some time travel flair, and you have me for sure! This one definitely hits the mark for me, but may not be a perfect fit for my wife’s gaming wants/needs. I love super think-y, plan out your next two or three move types of games. Rachel, not so much. We got one play of this on the first of 4 scenarios and she was kinda done. I played the first scenario again with a friend and scenario 2 and he instantly bought it!

Without giving too much away because I don’t want to spoil anything for you since each scenario introduces new elements into the game, I’ll just say that its a little like 3D Chess. You have to constantly be on the lookout for where you are in each of the three times (past, present future) and anything that is done to an object in the relative past to the time you are in, can and will effect the objects and/or people in the relative future. If I have already confused you, then you are in the perfect state of mind to play! Also, the flavor text in the scenario cards and throughout the rulebook is top notch! Loved playing this and can’t wait to okay the remaining two scenarios with my buddy, or maybe Rachel on a non-work-day!

Motor City

Designer: Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, and Matt Riddle. Artist: Ilya Avakov and Marlies Barends. Publisher: 25th Century Games. Player Count: 1-5. 45 Minutes. Age: 14+. BGG Rating: 7.5/10. BGG Weight: 2.9/5.

Super fun Roll and Write that just arrived from Kickstarter and 25th Century Games. It’s the third R&R from them, Three Sisters and Fleet the Dice Game, and it definitely delivers! My first R&R games were Clever and I thought there were so many things to do when playing that one. Wow, has this genre of game expanded and really blossomed in the past few years! I played this one at 2 players and I didn’t feel like anything was missing vs. a higher player count. Very much looking forward to getting this to the table again soon!

Well, that’s it for February! I will tell you that March is already off to a great start in terms of knocking more off the shelf, so I am very excited about my next recap! Until then….. enjoy playing!

-Stuart

SoO Update

I will try to update these stats after each month to help track my progress. The Net Difference is based on games played vs. new games added to the running total.

Games on SoO Played in 2023: 4 (2 in each of Jan. & Feb.)

Games added to SoO in February: 2 (4 total)