Summer Board Game Buying Guide – Updated July 24, 2024
We always release buying guides during the holiday season for toys, games, and more – this year, we thought we would release a board game buying guide for the end of summer 2024. Getting tired of the kids? Need a night out with friends? Here are a few games we are recommending. As with all our guides, we only include games we have played, so rest assured these are based on our opinions, not on sponsorships!
World Wonders – Components Overview
If you love polyomino board games, then World Wonders is a game you want on your table as soon as possible. This game has great mechanics, and although you might have seen variations of these mechanic in other games, I think this is currently my favourite polyomino game currently available on the market.
It helps that this game also has fantastic production value. The wooden monuments are exceptional, and if you include the recently release Mundo expansion, there is a ton of gameplay here as well. For a relatively inexpensive price based on the production, we think this is an easy home run!
You can find out more by visiting Arcane Wonders!
Aquatica – Components Overview, Review
We have a giveaway for Aquatica thanks to Arcane Wonders! Enter here!
Aquatica is another board game from Arcane Wonders that has a fantastic production value. The pieces in this game are phenomenal, and the dual layered board for sliding cards is fantastic. When you look at the game, you can see where corners could have been cut to save some money, but that wasn’t done here. Even before you play, if you love a well produced title, you will love Aquatica.
Thankfully, the gameplay is great as well. You will be obtaining cards for your player board and then slowly moving those cards up as you get increasingly better benefits. Ideally, you will get those cards into your score pile so that new cards can take their place. With asymmetrical player powers and options for end game scoring bonuses, each game of Aquatica should feel different than the last. Even better, a new Coral Reefs expansion has just / will soon release for the general public!
You can find out more by visiting Arcane Wonders!
Honey Buzz
Honey Buzz is a board game we haven’t written about on the website as it wasn’t a game we got for review. Yes, every now and then, we love to play games that aren’t sent to us for free and just enjoy those moments! That being said, Honey Buzz was one of our favourite games from the past few years. Again, the production value is off the charts, and it’s made even better if you purchase the optional upgraded components!
The theming of this game is phenomenal, and as you use your worker bees to perform various actions – obtaining tiles, getting nectar, selling and completing contracts, etc. – you will be immersed into this forest theme. A brand new expansion for Honey Buzz, Fall Flavors, as recently launched and adds a ton of modules that you can add into your main game. We did get that for review and will have it on the website in a week or so!
You can find out more by visiting Elf Creek Games!
Games We Will be Reviewing
We have given an overview of a number of games we have already played, but there are a few we have (or will be getting) that we haven’t played yet. Still, our excitement to try them is still very high. The following are titles we are excited about, but have not yet played!
I love a game that looks interesting even before I’ve opened the box. Ever since I first saw images of Nunatak, I was excited for what it could be. I am always looking for games that have a unique and distinct mechanism that you don’t see in many games, and it looks like Nunatak might have that mechanism. Here is more from Thames and Kosmos about their upcoming title:
In the windswept and desolate snowy landscapes of Antarctica, peaks called nunataks protrude from the icy surface. They are believed to be the tops of mountains buried deep in snow. In reality, these nunataks are the remains of giant ice temples built by a long-forgotten civilization. As members of this ancient civilization, you brave the harsh conditions to build the largest temple that humanity has ever seen. Sharpen your tools, bridle draft animals and build the vast ice temple. Whoever best places their ice blocks, wins this exciting and complex game. Gameplay: 1. Choose a card. 2. Place 1 ice block. 3. If you can, add a layer to the temple
Ever wanted to play Poker cooperatively? Yeah, me neither, but when I saw that was a thing in The Gang, I was instantly intrigued! I love smaller, inexpensive game experiences, and at 14.99, this game launching soon might be an easy purchase because of the cheap price! Only time will tell if this is any good, but I’m at least intrigued by what the game offers. At the very least, Thames and Kosmos says that if you like The Crew, you will like this! Here is a bit more from the games page:
Round up your gang and get ready to pull off a series of bank heists using the power of poker! The Gang is an innovative, cooperative version of a poker game in which players bet on how good they think their hand of cards will be relative to the other players, and then try to make their predictions a reality. Early in a round, without talking to each other, players choose a chip indicating how good they think their hand will be. They then begin dealing out cards in the middle of the table and have a chance to reassess their hands as more cards are revealed. At the end of the round, players see if they correctly evaluated their hand. If all players did, then they will get to open one of the bank vaults! Once a certain number of vaults are open, your gang wins!
Ever wanted to plant tulips in the Netherlands and watch them grow? Now is your chance with Windmill Valley heading to retail soon from Board and Dice! We absolutely love Board and Dice titles – the production value is excellent, and the game mechanics are simple to pick up, but there is plenty of decision space for players. You can read our review of Books of Time if you want an idea of what a Board and Dice game is all about.
You can enter to win a copy of Books of Time, thanks to Board and Dice! Click here to enter!
Either way, Windmill Valley looks like an incredibly promising game, and we cannot wait to review it on the site. Based on other Board and Dice games we’ve played, we’d almost instantly recommend this one. They haven’t had a miss yet for us, so I doubt that would start now!
Article By Adam Roffel
Adam Roffel has only been writing about video games for a short time, but has honed his skills completing a Master's Degree. He loves Nintendo, and almost anything they have released...even Tomodachi Life.
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Twitter: @AdamRoffel