It started off with a simple picture. I took it while walking to my classroom one morning. It was of the little garden I pass by every morning on the side of the school, something that I would usually take for granted, but today I actually paid attention to it. The reason being that I only had 100 days left in Jordan, and I had never taken a picture of it before. I do remember the first time I saw this walkway and the way that I thought that it was a nice addition to any school, and it added to the aesthetics. After a awhile, I took it for granted and then eventually did not even pay attention it anymore. But on that day, I decided I wanted to take a picture so I could remember it.
This made me start to realize that there were many little corners of Jordan that I have enjoyed, but I don’t have pictures of. Considering that I took the first picture on a day where there was only 100 days left, it was the perfect time to start taking a single picture every day and to share it on Facebook, so I could collect those small little corners that have become a part of collective memory. Facebook would remind me of them years later, and I could reminisce of my time spent in this country.
At least that was the idea, but something strange happened along the way. People started talking to me about the project. I’ll be honest. This was more for me than it was for people to pay attention, but they started to get excited about the picture I would bring them everyday. It was something simple to share with the world, something that did not have political implications behind it, something that wasn’t about showing off to a crowd of people about how great of a life I can pretend to have. Instead, it was just a simple picture that was shared with people, a snapshot of what life was actually about, sometimes simple, and sometimes something that was more exciting, in other words, the way that life is lived.
At first I couldn’t figure out why these pictures connected so much with people, but then they told me what was that they liked about them. The pictures returned them back to a time when things were simpler, and social media was not a way push our political views, or pretend we were part of a television show that we thought everybody should watch. It was just a way to share our lives with the people we find important. It took away the vitriol and FOMO and made it about the simplicity of life.
I am not going to say that these things have not disappeared from social media, but it has been nice to add something that is different to the sights. It makes me wonder that if more people would return to these kinds of posts that we can retrain the algorithm to go back to that time where social media is something that you are excited to look at and not something that brings us grief. I know it started off as just a project to take pictures for one hundred days, but now that I am half way through the experiment, I am glad to discover that it was actually something a little more.
I cannot claim to have come from the Pacific Northwest, but I have visited enough times to believe that it has now become a part of me. The natural beauty that this part of the world has to offer is unlike any other place in the world that I have seen. There are majestic rivers filled with salmon, elk wandering through the woods, foxes hiding in the plains, hawks flying over the wetlands, and even bear hiding up in the mountains. The place is a paradise for anyone who loves the outdoors. If only there was a way that I could bring that beauty to my table in the form of a board game. Luckily, there is the 2022 Spiel de Jahres award winning game, Cascadia, the perfect way to be transported back to the Pacific Northwest
THEME
Building a wilderness in the Pacific Northwest and populating it with animals does not sound like it would sing very well as a board game. It would feel like just something that was plastered on a game with good mechanics, but I think it was the other way around. The five environments in this game as places that are easily spotted all over Oregon and Washington, and the care given to the animals and their placement also lends itself to the care of understanding these balanced ecosystems. The ways the bears, foxes, elk, and hawks interact with their environments work very similar to how they would in real life. The animal, salmon, is the one that does not always seem to work the way that they should. Granted they do create salmon runs, but this does not always make sense when they appear in plains or mountains. Every time I have played with new people, they have questioned this choice. It is the one small hiccup in an otherwise beautifully planned theme to this game, and it is quickly forgotten once game play begins.
Rating – 9
GAMEPLAY
I love the teach of this game. It is really simple, giving people only four choices per turn. In front of them there are four environments paired up with a type of animal. They pick one of the pairs, and add it to their environment. In the course of the game, they are trying to create bigger environments because they will get points for each of the five types of environments based on how many hexagons they have connected. They will also try to place animals on those overall landscape in certain ways that will also collect a certain amount of points. If they place an animal on a single environment place, they earn a pinecone that also collects points, or the pinecones can be used for special powers during the pick phase that allows a player more options of what they can grab. That is basically all you need to know in order to play the game.
I know it sounds simple, but the choices become tough to make while playing the game. The strategy of what you want to do and when is more complicated then you think. The game also comes with four sets of cards that change how the animal placements score, allowing a fresh perspective on the game if you get tired of the base set. The game gets more complicated with each level, and I would even suspect that you could pick out cards at random to play the various animals if you wanted to mix it up even further. It just makes the replay-ability of the game nearly limitless, and it would take a lot to ever get tired of all this box has to offer.
Rating – 10
ARTWORK
It did not take long to find an artist to add a little flavor to this game. Randy Flynn, the game’s designer, did not even have to look outside of the Pacific Northwest. He was able to find the renowned artist who had created the artwork for games such as Viticulture, Calico, and Wingspan. Her ability to capture the true essence of nature shines in this game. The depictions of all of the animals is absolutely gorgeous, and adds to the gameplay. Also when you eventually build your landscape in front of you, it looks like you looking down at Central Oregon from a plane. There is a nice balance between the five landscapes so one of them does not dominate over another, and when you add the animals, the colors really pop. It does take a game or two to be able to distinguish between the mountains, and the water environments, but besides that, the game is beautiful.
Rating – 9
INTERACTIVITY
This game is what I refer to as a zen game. There is a central portion of the game play area where people make their selection, and whatever you chose is added to a grid that is set up in front of you. When playing the game, you spend more time making decisions that effect nobody more than you, and the pretty design that you create in front of you is created for your own benefit. There is not much interaction with the other players except when you pick your tile and animal. Sometimes people will pick the combination that you wanted because they also wanted the same thing, and sometimes you will pick something because it will prevent somebody else from doing something really spectacular. Otherwise, most of the game is spent designing your own little part of the Pacific Northwest, and rarely do you pay attention to what somebody else is doing. There is a little bit of interaction when you tally up all of the points at the end of the game, especially when looking at the different environments. Some people will gain bonuses for having the biggest of each of the environments, but that still does not have a huge impact on how you play the game. Overall, it is the perfect game for those that do not like to be mean to other people, and most of the interaction of the game is spent enjoying each others’ company.
Rating – 7
EXPANSIONS
The reason that many expansions exist is because people want to breathe life back into a game that have loved but have grown tired of. A good expansion won’t just add new cards or extra places at the table; instead, it will add new mechanics that reminds people why they fell in love with the game in the first place. Landmarks is this kind of expansion. There are now chunky landmark tokens that can add to your board that will allow you to collect a bonus card that gives you another challenge to go after. It complicates the game a little bit, but not enough to make it confusing to anyone who has become familiar with the gameplay already.
Even with this new mechanic, it also adds new animal cards, new tiles, and allows for up to six players to enjoy the game at one time. So it not only adds new mechanics, but it gives you that little bit of extra that you want in an expansion, and it is easily one of the best expansions ever introduced to a game.
Rating – 10
OVERALL
Cascadia has become a regular at my game table, and it is easy to bring new people in to enjoy it because the rules are easy to understand but the strategy is deeper than expected. It has a beautiful table presence, and the initial box has enough of differences in it to make it replay-able without it ever getting boring. Even if it does start to get a little boring, the Landmarks expansion is the perfect addition to bring back the joy that you had when you started playing it in the first place. It is easy to see why it won the Spiel de Jahres award, and it should be a part of everybody’s board game collection because it is a very fun game.
Cairo is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is surprising that what is considered the oldest part of town is still pretty modern in its overall history; this is just the part of the city that has survived the longest. Despite its age, it is one of the places that brings in tourists, pilgrims and curious because it is the Christian part of town, and boasts some impressive old Coptic churches that have their own history that adds more to a city that already has a lot to offer.
The most visited of these churches is the Church of St. George. It is a Greek Orthodox church that looms over the whole neighborhood, and its history emanates from the site. This is the place where St. George was held, and tortured for seven years as they tried to have him denounce his faith in the Catholic church.
The church holds many of the torture devices that were used to convince St. George of the conversion to no avail. They are housed in the same cell where he lived for the seven years, and even include the chain that was used to keep him captive. The chain is the main attraction for visitors here. It is said that if you hold the chain, and say a prayer that God will hear and grant this request. There is always a line of people waiting for their chance to hold the chain.
The history of this part of Cairo goes back even further than St. George. Another church that gathers a lot of people is Saint Sergius and Bacchus Church. It is told that in a cave underneath the altar there is a cave where the Holy Family stayed when they had escaped King Herod’s reign and voyaged into this region. Many people come to this church as well to hop into the line that allows them to walk through the cave and take quick pictures of what their lives might have looked like back then.
The hanging church also brings in many visitors. On the outside, it does not look like much, a plain church that sits on top of many steps in the middle of town. What many people do not realize when they first enter the church is that there in no bottom floor. Underneath the church is another street with a whole group of visitors passing by without ever knowing that there is a church above them. It is an interesting architectural marvel that once you are inside you can see why it has earned the name the hanging church.
The courtyard of the church also has some beautiful mosaics to look at. Though they have been a recent addition to the area, they still add to the feel of the place. Even though they feel a little out of place in Egypt, it is interesting to know that there are so many of them in the Coptic part of the city.
It is interesting to see how much of Jesus’s story is present in the streets of Old Cairo. It is as much a part of the cultural of Egypt as the pharaohs, and adds another layer to this country. It makes traveling to the Coptic churches in Cairo just as much of a tourist destination as to the pyramids. Make sure that you spend at least part of your time in this historic part of Cairo.
I have been many places in the world where history is around every corner, but I have never been to a place like Egypt. The history that is in this country pre-dates many of the places I have visited, and the representation of that history is so grand in design that it is hard not to feel overwhelmed by it. There are many historical sites that people visit when out here like the pyramids, and the ancient city of Thebes, but Egypt has recently opened a new museum that will quickly rival those traditional spots, the Grand Egyptian Museum.
The building itself is an impressive structure located in Giza in the shadows of the pyramids. It has slowly been being built starting in 2006 when they moved the impressive statue of Ramses II which used to be located in the center of Cairo. Since then, they have opened up other sections of the museum over the course of the next couple of decades, and as of the writing of this in 2025, there is 80 percent of the planned museum opened up to the public right now.
This includes the hanging obelisk just on the grounds up to the main building. It is the first thing that most visitors will see and it is a great introduction to the treasures that are held inside. It is a great introduction to the culture. There are many hieroglyphics carved into the stone, but the most interesting one is the one carved on the bottom. Here Ramses hid his name, so if any other kings came and tried to erase his name to take credit for his accomplishments, people would still be able to find the truth on the bottom of the obelisk.
There is also the grand staircase. Visitors have to travel up this staircase to get inside the main gallery. The staircase is covered with the largest collection of Egyptian tombs, statues and arches. They are the ones that are too big to bring into the main gallery, but are still impressive to see. Each one holds its own story, and I would highly recommend hiring a guide so they can take you to the more important ones, and tell you the stories that they hold.
The main gallery was just opened in October of 2024, and is where the main collection resides. There are so many pieces in this place that it would be impossible to see all of them in just one days. In fact, our guide told us that if we spent a minute looking at each one, then we would be in the museum for the next 80 days.
It is broken up into different rooms that follow the history of Egypt as it progresses down the hall. They then break up each era into the culture, history, and stories of that era. It is a lot to take in, so I would recommend taking a guide who can point out the more important pieces, and tell the stories behind them as well. I would not have gotten out as much from the experience if I did not have a knowledgable person to guide me.
I found out that there is a lot to see in Cairo, and that you need to make some decisions if you are planning a short trip out there. The pyramids and the sphinx are obvious musts, but there is another one that most people need to see as well, and that is the Grand Egyptian Museum. I was blown away by the sheer scale of it, and I could not imagine how it will grow even more when they open up the last twenty percent of it. It just gives me another reason to plan another trip some day to go out there to enjoy the museum again.
There are a couple of places in the world where theatre is one of the main attractions. Of course, many Americans know of the appeal of Broadway in New York, but even before that became the gold standard, there was the West End in London. It has been producing some of the highest quality English speaking plays, and musicals dating all the way back to 1806. Many of the productions bring in the best of the stage and screen, and people travel from all over the world to see a production here. It is a big part of what makes London the city it is.
You know you are in London when you travel on the tube, and every time you get off a train, you see poster after poster promoting a production that is now showing in the West End. This includes classic stories from Shakespeare, some of the bigger musical productions that have toured around the world such as Wicked and Les Miserables, and some movies that have been turned into new musical productions such as Clueless and Mean Girls. There is always something to see there, and some of the biggest productions happen in the neighborhood known as the West End.
The West End is a quaint little neighborhood filled with great restaurant, interesting stores, and of course theaters. It is nestled right next to London’s Chinatown, and there is so much to see just wandering up and down the streets. I enjoyed seeing what Chinatown had to offer, and it also boasts one of the biggest bookstores I have ever been in, Foyles.
The streets also hold their own charm. You can take a quick turn, and can easily find a street that would only be comfortable in the confines of London. If you can find it, Craven Street has been the inspiration for many locations in great British writers’ works. Supposedly down the street is where Charles Dickens came across a knocker that inspired him to impose the face of Marley on it for his Christmas Carol. It is also the street that inspired J.K. Rowling to come up with Knockturn Alley from her Hairy Potter series. It is a little hidden, and not many people find it, so if you can, it will be like you are on the street on your own.
But if Craven Street is not enough Harry Potter for you, there is always the London production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the eighth story in the series, and a two part play. It is only in London where they perform the complete play. Everywhere else, it is a condensed version of the story. You can watch this play in two different ways, either break it up in two nights, or watch the first part in a matinee, and the second part three hours later. I would recommend seeing the play in one day. It is a long day, but the time just flies by and there is enough to do in the neighborhood during the break to make the day one that you will never forget.
Whether you go to see one of the big plays playing out in London, or just wandering the neighborhood, the West End is a great place to visit when traveling to this city. It is also a place that will be different every time you visit because there will always be something new to see. I enjoyed my time out here, and I can’t wait until I can come back and see the next performance on one of their stages.
There’s never been a better collection That showcases the world’s history. We will keep it under our protection In a place that’s easy for us to see. Any culture will never disappear Because they have lost their relics of yore; From this point on, they can find it here Though the voyage might be a little chore. We will catalogue every gotten piece With the story of its discovery; Its original import lost its lease When the colonists set its people free. Don’t call us a group of thieves on the lamb Because we brought your stuff to our museum.
Some may only see plastic and cardboard Bound by a thick, complicated rulebook. They can’t comprehend why it’s so adored, But then again they do not really look. They do not see the shared story unfold, Brought on by an agreed set of guidelines As the colorful meeples fight for gold While evading the engine’s greatest fines. It brings our laughter from all who attend, And they do not care if they lose or win For the only care they have in the end Was that the tale was able to begin. So do not bring to us your hate and shame; Instead, join us for our little board game.
We have arrived at the land of the delayed Where we have joined the herds found at the gate. All of our travel plans have been frayed, And I am sure we will arrive a day late. Still, there is our priest with a microphone, Preaching a sermon that may give us hope. It helps to know that we are not alone; A congregation allows us to cope. You find us collected in airports And terminals across this great nation. Though we may seem, at times, all out of sorts, We understand each’s indignation. We ask for safe, timely arrival, To never again go through this trial.
As my brittle bones start to creak and moan, And my joints pop with every movement, I stare at the next morning with a groan, And wonder where this half century went. I have gained plenty more bathroom visits, And they seem to take a little longer Because not ev’rything wants to exit Though my resolve to do so grows stronger. The skin around my eyes begins to sag Because I have to squint to see these words. To recall my sharp wit takes a long lag Where the replay comes so late, it’s absurd. Nobody told me it would be nifty, The day after I have become fifty.
It was another great year of traveling the world, and reading excellent pieces of literature. Combine this with a full time job, and you would think that I would not have enough time for another hobby, but I enjoy nothing more than sitting down with a group of friends to play a game. I have been extremely lucky in this capacity for I was able to play 72 different games over the course of the year. I have taken that list of games, ran them through the Pub Meeple engine in order to put together this list of what I consider the 20 best games I have played this year. Here is what I think those games to be, and how their position has changed from the list last year:
20. Scythe (Down 2)
This is an amazing area control, economic game set in a post-World War I landscape in Eastern Europe. The mechanics of this game are phenomenal, and it is one of the more complicated games to be found on this list. Because of its complication, it makes it hard to get to the table, and to find people who are willing to play it. It also takes at least a couple of hours to play a game. I enjoy the time that I get to play the game, but because of the limited times that I get to play it, it ranks lower on the list.
19. Smash Up (New)
This is a game that has been introduced to me a few time over the years. I usually play it once with the person that introduced it to me, and then I instantly forget about it. Well, I ended up purchasing the app this year, and I find myself drifting to it often. It can be frustrating at time with the powers that come with some of the factions that you can mash up together, but it also fun being that frustrating player that makes everybody’s life a nightmare during a game. I can see myself playing this more of the course of the next year.
18. Stone Age (New)
I don’t play many worker placement games, but this one has become one of my favorites. There are many ways that you can find those victory points to make it a fun puzzle to engage with. It also has just enough luck thrown in to make any game interesting enough to not now what will happen in the end. My favorite part is that you need to use two workers in the hut in order to make another worker. Thematically it works, and overall, it is just a fun game to play.
17. Unmatched (Down 13)
I know that this game markets itself that it can be played by up to four players, but it really sings when played by only two. The game has great asymmetric characters that are balanced well, and they keep on adding new characters are environments to bring new battles to life. It is my favorite chess match, and I am always excited to see what new characters they will bring out. I usually play it on the app, and I would love for them to add more characters through that medium, but I am still enjoying the twelve that can be found there.
16. Cascadia (New)
This was an impulse buy I picked up over the summer while hanging out in Oregon. Since I have gotten it, it has made it to the table on numerous occasions. It is relatively easy to teach, and it looks like it would be an easy game to master, but in fact, it has a great puzzle within its simple design. I also love the fact that it comes with different levels of the puzzle, so you can always challenge yourself with something a little more difficult. I can see this one moving up on the list in following years.
15. Pandemic (Down 1)
Easily one of the best cooperative games ever made, but it has one flaw with it. In order to play at the level that it is designed at, you need to have a group of people who understand the game enough and are willing to have those discussions that the game is designed to have. If you do not, what happens is that one person starts to quarterback, and it becomes just one person playing the game. I will admit it that I tend to become the quarterback, and my goal is to have fun not tell people what to do. Because of this, I usually play this game by myself, and it still brings me a lot of enjoyment as I try to save the world from various threats.
14. Dungeons and Dragons (Down 9)
Just like last year, I have to say that I know that this is not a board game, and some people will believe that it should not be on this list. To those people, I would say that any time I can get a group of friends together to laugh and enjoy the story that we unfold, it is considered a game. I am on the third year of this campaign, and it is starting to wind up. We have played together for so long together that we know each others’ characters and quirks so well that the role-playing aspect has taken over the general game play. It has been a fun group, and I will be sorry when we wrap up the story. I hope that I can find another group to play with next year that is as tight as this group. It is because of this that this game will always find a place on this list.
13. Raiders of the North Sea
I know that there are a lot of other Garphill Games out there that people are always talking about, and I start every new year vowing that I will try another one of them, but then the year passes and the only one I have played is Raiders of the North Sea. I have not even played any of the numerous expansions that can make this game a more complicated one. Despite this, I still love playing this game. I got the digital version of it to play while traveling through Iceland, and now every time I play it, I am reminded of that trip. It is a great worker placement game, and I can only see the playing of a different Garphill Game getting me to move it off of this list.
12. Castles of Burgundy (New)
I know many people have this game as their top spot on their favorite games of all time, so I made the effort to try it out this year. I can see why this gets that distinction from so many people; it is a great game with mechanics that I have never seen anywhere else. It is having a little bit of a revival at this time because of a new edition that has come out which makes the game look spectacular, but the original game is just as good. The long game play makes it hard to get to the table at times, but it is always a joy when it happens.
11. Arkham Horror: The Card Game (Up 4)
I had heard that it was a great game to play with people but most people liked to play it solo. There was going to be a lot of times when I would be by myself, and I wanted a good solo experience for those lonely nights, so I picked this game up. I am glad I did. It has many different scenarios that you can play through and each of them have their own little challenge with the same rule set. The scenarios are even fun to play through more than once as the outcomes change as you go through them. This is one that will always be on my shelf, and I can’t wait to play through more stories as they come out.
10. Long Shot (New)
I bought this game for a trip that I was going to take with a group of friends, and then we didn’t go on that trip. I had this game that was supposed to be great for bigger groups of people, and now I could only play it with my wife at my house, so I needed to find a bigger group of people to play it with. This is when I brought it to the pub, and I found that group quickly. This became the game that I would always bring to the pub, and it really started to shine when we played it with eight people. I love this game, and I love how the final race becomes a crazy race that nobody knows who is going to win. It is always a hit, and I have found very few people who have not enjoyed it.
9. The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine (Up 1)
I will lump both of the Crew games together because they work off of the same mechanic, and I am still surprised how collaborative a trick taking game can be. Last year I included the Deep Sea Nine edition of the game which I do believe is slightly better. This year I hopped back to the original, The Quest for Planet Nine, because I have been playing it more often with the groupI have played with for four years, and we are at the 43rd mission. We hope to finish it in the next couple of months, and I have no idea what type of feeling that will give me. This is a great game, and it is easy to bring to the table because once people get into its addictive nature, it ends up getting played all night long.
8. Everdell (Down 1)
Everdell will always hold a special place in my heart. It was 2020, and we were stuck in our house. We needed something to do or we were going to go crazy. I had done some research on modern board games, and I had discovered this one. It was a new way of thinking about games for me, so I picked up a copy of it. Instantly, it became the thing that we did during the long evenings to help us make it through the pandemic. We might have overplayed it, and it sat on the shelf more lately than it has in the past. Still, we bring it out, and I am quickly reminded of it brilliance, especially when you add an expansion or two. It is the game that got me back into the board game hobby, and I will always appreciate the way it helped me through a difficult time of my life.
7. Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile (Down 4)
This is not a game for everybody. The rules are expansive, and it is hard to teach people how to play the game because of it. There is also the problem of the game evolving after each play as the cards change, thereby, changing the way the game is played. But I have been lucky to find a group of people to play with that is enjoying the history that we are creating with the board. When the moment of that history is dramatic, and the group is adding to creating that history, this game really sings. It is hard to get the group together to play, but it is fun every time I am able to make it happen.
6. Clank! In! Space! (New)
I know that this list does not reflect the fact that I have been getting into deck-building lately, but one deck-building game stood head and shoulders above all the others that I played this year, Clank! In! Space! I loved the way the game combines this famous mechanic with a push your luck element. I was lucky enough to play this version of the game as well as the original Clank! Both are great games, but I do like the space version better. The deck of cards is more diverse, and allows for more fun combinations. Still, if you only have the opportunity to play the original, it will still be a lot of fun.
5. Eldritch Horror (Up 3)
This game is Pandemic on steroids with a better story it tells. It is a lot more complicated than Pandemic, and a game of Eldritch Horror is an epic adventure with twists and turns as you try to save the world from a Lovecraftian apocalypse. I have been able to move beyond the base game to play a couple of the expansions to this game, and it makes the game a lot tougher, but also a greater story. I do not mind if I lose against the game because it turns the story into this amazing tragedy that would be worthy of the big screen. It is not a game for everybody, but I will happy join in whenever it is being offered up to play.
4. Imperial Assault (Up 2)
I have always enjoyed this game, but I have always had a hard time finding people to complete the campaign with me. That changed this year. I now have a group, and we are halfway through the campaign. It is fun to see how the characters get more powerful as you move you way through it, and the scenarios are nicely balanced. It also creates a nice story in a light RPG setting that does not rely to heavily on the rules. I am excited to see how it will all end as a couple of the main baddies have already popped up, and there are a couple more exciting adventures planned. The goal is to finish on May the 4th, and I know that it will not disappoint.
3. Root (Up 6)
This is an amazing game and I am starting to feel comfortable playing two of the factions, the Eyrie, and the Marquis. I still struggle how to make the other two work in the base game, and I know that there are other factions out there just waiting to be learned. I love how well researched each faction is, and how well they balance each other out. Any game of Root is up for grabs just as long as the people playing know how to play. That is the biggest problem with this game. The learning curve is so high that getting it to the table with people who know how to play is almost impossible. But it is such a good game that when you find those people who know how to play, it becomes one of the best games you will ever play. As I learn more about this game, I can see it taking over the number one spot eventually, but for now, it will reside happily right here.
2. Isle of Sky
This is still one of my favorite games to get to the table. I always keep a bottle of scotch on hand so when it does get to the table we can play it the way that it is meant to play. I still have not gotten bored of the base game even though I have the big box version of it with all of the expansions available to me, but still the variance that happens with the base game makes me happy. It also moves at a nice pace, so there is always something to do as the game progresses. And if it ever slows down, there is always the scotch to take a sip off of.
1 Chinatown
I know that there are a lot of board game enthusiasts out there who will be surprised by this pick with all of the problems that come along with this game. It has been repackaged three times, and they still have not taken away the obvious prejudice on the board, and it would take a quick reskinning of the game to solve this problem. From my understanding, this has happened with the game, Waterfall Park, but I have not been able to play this version of the game. Until I do, I will still play this game. I never laugh so hard when playing this game, and I never end up winning. The rules are so simple, but the game play is so intense that it makes it easy to get to the table, and most people who love the act of negotiation love to play this game. I will have to hunt down that new version of the game to see if I can get over the problems that come with this game so I can continue to enjoy it guilt free. Otherwise, I still think it is too good of a game to ignore completely.
John Collings 