Board Game Friday: Button Shy Board Game of the Month Club (June and July 2025)

Back in June of this year, I decided to join Button Shy's Patreon Board Game of the Month Club.  The basic idea of the club is that for a set price, you'll get a Button Shy Wallet Game (plus expansions) each month.  Unfortunately for me, I chose to join in the month of June, which just so happened to be the first month of the club that was affected by tariff delays.  The month of July was also hit by delays, but finally my June and July games arrived at the very end of August!

Let's see what the first two months netted me (by the way, each month costs $20).

June 2025:

The main game for June was Leaping Lions, a 2-player game about building platforms to stage the most exciting Malaysian lion dance.  

June also brought a pair of expansions for Leaping Lions.  Prosperity is a mini 6-card expansion that includes decorative scrolls for additional scoring opportunities.  The other expansion is Aspirations, which is a 5-card expansion that turns Leaping Lions into a solo game.  

In addition to Leaping Lions and the expansions, the June package also included Unnatural Beasts, a 6-card expansion for Mysticana (a game that I recently purchased directly from Button Shy).

July 2025:

The main game for July was Dionysia, a 2-player game about crafting a drama to win the favor of the god Dionysus in ancient Athens.  As with the June package, the July package also included a pair of expansions for the main game (one for two players and one that adds a solo play option).  

The 2-player expansion is the Muse of Tragedy, a 6-card expansion that adds more scoring options.  The Soliloquy expansion adds a solo play option in the form of a 6-card expansion.

Also, much like June, the July Board Game of the Month package featured another expansion for Mysticana.  

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With two months of the Board Game Club under my belt, you probably expect me to have a full review ready to go.  However, I didn't get my first package until the end of August, which just so happens to correspond to the exact time that my work starts back up.  As such, I'll be honest and say I haven't had a chance to play any of the games yet.  When I do, I think I'll probably start with Dionysia since the Greek theme appeals to me a lot!  

While I can't (yet) comment on how good any of the new games or expansions are, I can say that I generally enjoy Button Shy games.  I'm a big fan of the 18-card limitation; in a lot of ways, I think that constraints breed innovation! 

One of the reasons that I decided to join the Button Shy Patreon is that I saw that most games that were included appeared to have a solo option (either as a natural solo game or with an expansion that adds a solo mode).  When I play solo games, I tend to gravitate to my pile of Button Shy wallets since those games are generally quick to set up (and quick to play)!  I'm certainly excited to give my new solo games a try soon (the craziness of the start of the semester is basically past me now, so I should have more of an opportunity to play games again soon)!

I'm sure I'll have more to say about all of the games featured in today's post at a later date.  Consider this the teaser for a future post!