Get Your Game On: Part 1

Welcome to “Get Your Game On,” the first of two summer blog posts for the SPS Board Gaming community! With a less-than-fortuitous start to summer weather here in the ol’ Granite State, Ms. Yarborough thought it prudent to suggest some nature-themed board games. She has ranked her top five favorites, as well as listed a few others on her TBP (to-be-played) list. So, if you find yourself cooped up indoors thanks to another rainy weekend this summer, here are some games that will help you vicariously enjoy Mother Nature.

Ms. Yarborough’s Top Five

1. Cascadia: This is a pattern-building tile placement game where you are creating habitats for animals–bears, salmon, hawks, etc.–in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Of all the games I own, this is my current favorite. It is easy to teach, everyone gets to craft their own game board, and it’s portable (making it perfect for summer vacation fun).
2. Root: Don’t let the whimsical nature of the mice and racoon meeples fool you! This is very much a full-on war game, more Watership Down than The Tale of Peter Rabbit, perfect for those that enjoy highly competitive territory building games.This is a game of “woodland might and right,” and everyone has differing motives and competing goals. Want to increase your player limit from 4 to 6? Try either The Riverfolk or The Underworld expansion packs. Both have some powerful factions that can give the Marquise de Cat a run for her money.
3. Wingspan: This is the one way I can interact with flying dinosaurs without having Hitchcock flashbacks. Whether you think birds are better appreciated in 2D or you are a consummate twitcher, you will love the watercolor depictions of the birds in this easy-to-teach open drafting game where you try to attract birds of different abilities to your nature preserve.
4. The Search for Lost Species: While I have only played the astronomy-themed sister to this deduction-heavy game (The Search for Planet X), who wouldn’t want to explore the jungles of Indonesia to locate endangered animals? For those who like a good logic problem, this game series offers a more novel motif than another murder mystery game. Be warned, this is a couple levels up from Clue/Cluedo.
5. Reef: Shout out to my researchers who worked on coral bleaching projects for their Marine Biology and Chemistry classes this year, this game is for you! This is an easy-to-teach strategy game of hand management that builds back and betters the reef from the ocean floor up! I love a game of patterns, and I also enjoy fidgeting with all the coral manipulables between turns.

On Ms. Yarborough’s To-Be-Played List

1. Everdell: Foxes, and badgers, and bats! Oh my! This entry-level, worker placement Eurogame is popular with the SPS community and one of the newest additions to Ohrstrom Library’s board game collection. Between the rave reviews from some members of the Form of 2027 and the fact that you can play as a hedgehog, this is at the top of my TBP list this summer.
2. Photosynthesis: Players trees compete for sunlight in another science-focused board game that reaches for the heights of geekery! When speaking with fellow board gamers, this is one of the most common games to come up during  “Have you played . . . ?” conversations, and I haven’t. But I want to!
3. Floriferous: Ooooh, pretty! Not sure about the mechanics on this one but I have wanted to gather a bouquet of these beautiful flower cards since seeing Clémentine Campardou’s gorgeous artwork for this game. Like Cascadia, this is also a great vacation game as you can leave the box at home and fit all the pieces in a pencil pouch for easy packing.

Thanks to Ms. Yarborough for her suggestions! And when you are back in Millville, be sure to check out the library’s board game collection!