10x10 Challenge
This year’s 10x10 Challenge we decided to step it up a bit more and include games that are more challenging and time consuming. Some are games we have played before and some are new to us and one on the list has not even shipped yet that we Kickstarted a few years ago.
To break it down for you more, Fields of Arle, City Builder: Ancient World, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Lupos, Tapestry, and a couple of Tiny Epic games we have played before multiple times and love them. Happy Little Dinosaurs we recently got introduced to and ordered a copy just so we have it on the list.
Merchants Cove, Alhambra, and Namiji (soon as this one finally ships) are all new games to us that we want to make sure we table. This will also help us with the 52 Week Challenge as well, which I will get right into. 
52 Week Challenge
This year we are doing a challenge that will help us table games and expansions that we haven’t played yet since over the past few years we have acquired hundreds of games but haven’t played.
Each week of the year we are going to table something we haven’t played yet. Some of the games from the 10x10 Challenge apply because we haven’t played them yet and/or they have expansions out that we haven’t tabled (Dominion and Tapestry, I am looking at you). Also, we are not limiting ourselves to just one game in this category per week. If we want to table more, we shall.
365 Day Challenge
Again this year we will be doing our daily game play. Last year we only missed a handful (97% completion rate); so this year we are hoping to complete it and get a 100%.
We will be doing one change to it which is we will not pick a game like Second Chance as a last-minute game. We will be making a better effort to pick other games that we know we can do well at even if we are dead tired.
This Year’s Blogs
Unless I get inspiration to write about something else, the plan is to write about the new game or expansion that we played during the previous week. I am sure that some entries will be longer and some will be short based on what I want to talk about. So without further ado…
WEEK 1- TINY EPIC GALAXIES / DIVINITY DERBY
TINY EPIC GALAXIES
We started the year off with completing entries on both lists (10x10 and 52 Week). This week we played Gamelyn Games’ Tiny Epic Galaxies. Last year we had played Tiny Epic Mechs, Tiny Epic Western, Tiny Epic Quest, and Tiny Epic Pirates. At first, I didn’t think too much about these games except it they come in a small box and are probably simple and possibly boring.
As with all the other Tiny Epic’s we have played, Tiny Epic Galaxies did not disappoint in terms of game play. Easy enough to learn the ins and outs of the game in one or two play throughs but may take some time to master. The only reason I say this is that in the few games we played this past week, I lost all of them to my wife after having a good lead early to mid-way through the game.
BGG Description
In Tiny Epic Galaxies each player controls a galactic empire, aiming to expand their influence by acquiring highly contested planets and increasing their cosmic armada. The game revolves around an innovative dice-rolling combo mechanic. The number of dice you roll is determined by the strength of your galaxy. Each die is engraved with symbols representing the various actions you can take, such as moving a spaceship, increasing your culture or energy resources, or advancing your political or economic influence over newly discovered planets.
Through careful planning, you must make the most out of your turn, taking the available actions in whichever order you consider most beneficial. But be careful, as each of your opponents can choose to follow each action you take by expending valuable resources. This means that it can always be your turn, even when it is someone else’s turn!
Players will colonize new planets throughout the game, thereby earning victory points and accumulating special abilities which they can activate for their galactic empire. Careful spending of resources will ensure the fastest growth of your empire, while allowing you to receive the biggest possible pay-off from the actions you take.
Will your influence be enough to control the most powerful planets in the galaxy? Will you be able to meet your secret objective along the way? Will your empire stand victorious?
Weight 2.16/5
Influence on us
An inspiration that helped us really dive into the board game hobby was Wil Wheaton’s TableTop series. He just happen to have an episode in which he played the game with Mayim Bialik (a favorite actress of ours), Tim Schafer, and Andy Weir. Click here for the link to the episode.
Final Thoughts
My wife and I have enjoyed the other Tiny Epic Games that we have in our collection and have backed the two most recent ones on Kickstarter because of how easy it is to get into the games and play them. Tiny Epic Galaxies is no different from the rest in those terms. This game has beautiful artwork, easy gameplay, and of course, the size of the box being small and compact makes it easy to transport.
DIVINITY DERBY
We played a second new game this week because, well, we felt like it. If you like Unicorn Fever or Camel Up that has a racing and betting aspect to it and want something easier to understand and play, then Divinity Derby is a game for you.
Play as one of the mythological Gods and make smart betting choices based on the two hands of cards that are visible to you. Do what you can to even sabotage another God’s picks. You place your betting card face down so no one knows what you selected until the end of the race and put one of the mythological creature tokens on top of it marking your pick. After everyone makes two bets, the race is on.
BGG Description
Zeus has invited a bunch of divine friends, including a couple of new ones, from all around the Multiverse for a little get-together on Mount Olympus…and you are one of them! After a few rounds of ambrosia, soon the racing and betting begins, with the Olympic "All-father" as the ultimate judge.
Divinity Derby is a fun and fast betting and racing game for 3 to 6 players, with a clever "shared hand" card mechanism.
Players, as god-like beings betting on the race of six flying creatures, share a cardholder with each neighbor, and every turn they play one card from each shared card holder. Are you able to guess what your neighbor's intentions and secret bets are and make the best use of the shared knowledge to win your bets?
With beautiful components, colorful art, and simple but engaging gameplay, Divinity Derby is suitable for players of all ages and skill levels.
Weight 1.89/5
Why do we own this?
We picked this game up at a FLGS on sale. The box art drew my attention in right away. As I read the description I felt that it will go well with the racing theme and other mythology based games that we own, such as 7 Fortunes (another un-played game we have).
The circular racetrack and the detailed miniatures complete the game. It is nice to not run a “horse” race on a straight track and the miniatures are large enough so that everyone at the table can see where all the creatures stand in the race. We also like that Zeus has a say in the final outcome of each race too.
Final Thoughts
We understand that not everyone likes betting and/or bidding games and may not find this to be their cup of tea. However, if you do like games in which the game outcome is solely based on manipulation from others, then this game will fit right into your collection.
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