Welcome back to the 2019 Tabletop Challenge!

Throughout this year, my partner and I have challenged ourselves to play two games each week without ever repeating a game. With a growing game collection and limited time to just be friends (separate from being employed adults, parents, etc.), we were seeking a way to play together more and thus was born…104 games in 52 weeks. Welcome to the table!

   Board game cover for KERO, showing a person crouched on a rock outcropping in the foreground. THey are acting as a lookout for a large tanker truck, driving through a desolate landscape.

Via Board Game Geek

55. Kero

  • Player count: 2
  • Run time: 30 min
  • Publisher: Hurrican, Kaissa Chess & Games
  • Mechanics: Area Control / Area Influence, Dice Rolling, Press Your Luck, Set Collection, Take That, Worker Placement

In the year 2471, kerosene, KERO, is a precious and rare commodity. Two clans are at odds, struggling to stay alive, seeking necessary resources in new territories, and risking their fuel every time they go out exploring. If you aren’t shouting “WITNESS ME!” by the end of this game, you’re playing wrong.

 

Board game cover for X-Men: Mutant Revolution showing Wolverine, Magneto, Storm, and Cyclops in a field of broken rocks and rubble.

Via Board Game Geek

56. X-Men: Mutant Revolution

  • Player Count: 3 – 4
  • Run Time: 120-180 min
  • Publisher: WizKids
  • Mechanics: Auction/Bidding, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Take That, Variable Player Powers

Following the Phoenix event that fractured the X-Men and the death of Professor Charles Xavier, four rival mutant schools have grown up led respectively by Wolverine, Cyclops, Magneto, and Storm. Each has a unique understanding of what is best for the new mutants appearing worldwide and will seek to recruit these new students into their school. A head-to-head battle, players take on the special abilities of one of these leaders and strives to beat their opponents to find, recruit, and train new mutants for the future of their unique vision.

 

Board game cover for Camel Up, depicting a desert path and racing camels in the foreground. In the top background are the busts of 1920s style illustrated characters.

Via Board Game Geek

57. Camel Up

  • Player Count: 3 -8
  • Run Time: 30-45 min
  • Publisher: Eggertspiele, Piatnik
  • Mechanics: Betting/Wagering, Dice Rolling, Roll/Spin and Move

In Egypt, Camel racing is all the rage. This race consists of five camels and two rogue camels running in the wrong direction. There’s only one lap around the pyramid but there’s nothing orderly about this race as sometimes the camels get stacked up, carrying one another in wayside directions. Players place their bets for the first and second place winners. The earlier a player casts their wager, the more points they’ll score BUT anything might happen in this race!

 

Board game cover for Jorvik, showing a Viking longship in the background and two Vikings in the foreground, one with an ax

Via Board Game Geek

58. Jorvik

  • Player Count: 2 -5
  • Run Time: 45-90 min
  • Publisher: Eggertspiele, Stronghold Games
  • Mechanics: Auction/Bidding, Worker Placement

Today the city is known as York but, during the Viking age, it was a center of trade and was occupied by the Norse, who called it Jorvik (Yore-vick). Players, as Norse Jarls, seek prestige by hosting feasts, trading, pillaging, crafting, and staving off invasions. By the by, did you know there’s a museum in York with a frickin’ RIDE, like Disney-style, that recounts the Viking history of York?

 

Board game cover for Rajas of the Ganges showing a river with tamples and trees on either side, boats, and in the distant blue sky a many-armed goddess holding gems.

Via Board Game Geek

59. Rajas of the Ganges

  • Player Count: 2 – 4
  • Run Time: 45-75 min
  • Publisher: HUCH!, 999 Games, R&R Games
  • Mechanics: Dice, Economic, Territory Building

Economic worker placement! Everyone’s favorite. Set in 16th century India, players take on the role of powerful Rajas and Ranis, seeking to grow their influence, boost the wealth and development of the empire, and increase the wealth of their personal estates. Karma will determine player’s future as they roll their dice and plot how best to use these outcomes to their advantage.

 

Board game cover for Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle Earth showing Aragorn, Gimli, and other LOTR characters battling Orcs and Goblins in a forest.

Via Board Game Geek

60. Lord of the Rings: Journeys In Middle Earth

  • Player Count: 1 – 5
  • Run Time: 60-120 min
  • Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
  • Mechanics: Cooperative Play, Deck / Pool Building, Modular Board, Role Playing

A companion phone app allows each game of Journeys in Middle Earth to become part of a larger campaign. Your fellowship of cooperative players will venture forth to face the growing threat and darkness that encroaches on Middle Earth. Play as your favorite character!

 

Board game cover for Nemeton showing a mystic stone in the middle of a moonlit wood and a stag standing nearby.

Via Board Game Geek

61. Nemeton

  • Player Count: 2 – 4
  • Run Time: 75 min
  • Publisher: BLAM!
  • Mechanics: Grid Movement, Modular Board, Set Collection, Tile Placement, Trading

Druids, guardians of a dying forest, have 10 moons to restore the forest and protect the woodland creatures. Each player’s turn consists of four phases – night, dawn, day, and dusk. Grow healing plants, explore sacred sites within the forest, create potions, and befriend the animals, who will help the druid accomplish their goals. After each player has completed their 10 moons, points are tallied based on the potions, goals, and animal allies gained throughout the game.

 

62. Parcheesi

  • Player Count: 2 – 6
  • Run Time: 30 min
  • Publisher: Handcrafted
  • Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Partnerships, Roll / Spin and Move

The Indian game of Pachisi dates back to 4CE. Each player is given a set of pawns and their home corner. They must traverse the entirety of the board, through the other player’s territories, and back to their “home” section. Pawns may be captured and returned to their starting position. The winner must bring ALL of their pawns home to achieve victory.

Board game cover for Bosk, depicting tall trees with autumn colored leaves drifting down.

Via Board Game Geek

63. Bosk

  • Player Count: 2 – 4
  • Run Time: 20-40 min
  • Publisher: Floodgate Games, Mandoo Games
  • Mechanics: Area Control / Area Influence, Grid Movement, Hand Management

Played over four seasons, players grow their trees in Spring, strategically planting along the board’s grid. In Summer, the trees are scored as hikers enjoy the foliage and trails of this beautiful National Park. Come Autumn, the wind blows the leaves from the trees, and players must attempt to cover as much terrain as possible by making use of the wind’s changing direction. Points are again tallied in Winter for the most coverage of each topographic region of the park.

Favorite of the Month!

Does this really come as a surprise to anyone? HAVE YOU SEEN THE SQUIRREL TOKENS?! Hands down, a digestible abstract game with a luscious aesthetic is my favorite.

 

Board game cover for Judge Dredd The Cursed Earth showing the comic book character Dredd and two other enforcers fro ma dystopian future.

Via Board Game Geek

64. Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth

  • Player Count: 1 – 4
  • Run Time: 30-50 min
  • Publisher: Osprey Games
  • Mechanics: Cooperative

The comic book character, Judge Dredd, is a law enforcer in the dystopian future of Mega City – One. In this game, Dredd and his companions are venturing out into the wastes of the United States to face mutants, dinosaurs, and wastelands. This game was developed for cooperative play but also has variant rules for competitive and solo play modes.

 

Board game cover for Porta Nigra showing the famous black gate of the Roman empire during construction and a Roman master builder on a white horse.

Via Board Game Geek

65. Porta Nigra

  • Player Count: 2 – 4
  • Run Time: 75-120 min.
  • Publisher: Eggertspiele
  • Mechanics: Area Control / Area Influence, Area Movement, Card Drafting, Set Collection

North of the Alps, lies Augusta Treverorum, the largest city of the Roman Empire in the Northern territories. The city’s greatest architectural achievement, the black gate (or Porta Nigra) can still be seen today in modern Trier, Germany. Players take on the role of Roman Master Builders, working to construct the city gate by purchasing 3D building pieces and out-building their competitors.

What game are you most interested in this month? Did you know you can follow the #104Gamesin52 on Instagram to see what we’re playing in real time?

See you next month for more meeples and mechanics!