So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted any updates on our shelf of shame. The last 6 months have been consumed with buying a new home, selling our old home, moving into a rental while the new home was built, and then moving into the new home. Finally settling down again feels great.
During this chaotic period, most of our board game collection was safely packed away in storage. This means the shelf of shame remains quite large, sadly. We did knock off several games, which I’ll discuss in a moment, but I realized something important during this challenge.
Thoughts on our shelf of shame
It’s simply impossible to eliminate a shelf of shame (the size of ours) while new games are still incoming. We spent most of our spare time trying to play the board games on our shelf of shame list, which is silly because new games would come in that weren’t on the list, and it was ultimately like we were creating a shelf of shame part 2. The only real solution I see is to drastically reduce the number of incoming games until the shelf of shame is gone. I find this hobby so addicting, it’s hard to do that. But that’s the plan for now. And new games should be played pronto while the excitement is at its height!
Let’s talk about the games we did play from our shelf of shame
Project L
This is a fun game using wonderfully tactile pieces to build specific shapes. Think Tetris. The only negative I can think of is that it plays so quickly. There’s just not much to the game. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s plenty of times when we only have time for something quick, but also fun! You can read more about our thoughts on Project L here!
Maglev Metro
I’m thinking hard, but this feels like the only “pick up and deliver” game we own. I found it intriguing trying to get everyone to their correct locations. My only problem with Maglev Metro is the nit-picky rules that we couldn’t seem to keep straight. That’s an “us” problem though. We clearly need to keep this game in the rotation because it feels like a board game that could get better over time with more plays!
Beez
This is a board game all about flying around a garden and collecting nectar. The purpose? To create honey back in your hive, of course! We have really enjoyed playing Beez. This is a great one to play with younger kids, and its quick and easy to teach!!
Sagrada
This is just a fun, easy game to play. There’s enough going on to keep the game interesting, without being bogged down with heavy rules. Sagrada would a great option to introduce to new gamers for those reasons. Not to mention all those dice are just fun to play with!
Fairy Tale Inn
The connect 4 style board makes this game visually interesting. Instead of connecting 4 pieces of one color, players will attempt to organize the guests (the pieces) at their inn in strategic ways to score points. Each guest has a unique scoring strategy, and you pick a different set of guests each game which adds to the replayability. The rules are simple enough for kids to grasp, but there’s strategy in the guest placement that makes it fun for adults too. Overall, a win for us. I’d love CMON to release an expansion for this game with a new series of guests!
*The BGG Store does have a promo guest available called the Pixie!
The Favorite
Surprisingly, It’s Fairy Tale Inn for the win. This is marketed in a way that you think it’s just for kids, but it’s basically just a puzzly game for everyone. It’s easy to play, quick to setup, and it’s fun to experiment with the different guests in the game!
Wrap Up
There’s a ton of great games still collecting dust on our shelf of shame. Our new home has a designated place for gaming, which really makes it easier to play them. You can start a game 10 minutes before dinner because you don’t have to worry about using the dinner table for the game.
I don’t have a specific plan for how we’re going to play our games in 2023. I think we’re just going to play whatever we feel like and see how it goes. As we do play through them, I’ll be sure to note which ones are from the shelf of shame on the post!
