12 Days of Christmas (Day 3): Top 10 Board Games I Own But Haven't (Yet) Played

Welcome to my latest theme week:  12 Days of Christmas!  Each day, I'll be counting down by one - and with it, a new list that encompasses the day's number.  

Day 3:  Top 10 Board Games I Own But Haven't (Yet) Played

For today's list, I'm counting down the Top 10 new-to-me board games that I'm most excited to play over the holidays.  All of the games on the list below are games that I own (either via purchases made by me or that I've received as gifts) but have not yet played (as of the time of this post).

#10:  AltarQuest

AltarQuest is a big, BIG box game which is ostensibly a dungeon crawler using a big board, lots of miniatures, and many, many decks of cards.  There's nothing small about this game - and honestly, that's why it barely makes my list.  The sheer size of the game is overwhelming (and even more overwhelming is the idea of both trying to learn the rules for myself but also to teach those rules to others).  This was a game I backed on Kickstarter awhile ago and I'm still debating whether I should hold onto the game and try it out or simply sell it to recoup some (all?) of my initial purchase price.  

#9:  Dinogenics:  Controlled Chaos

I've played the original Dinogenics game once before but I haven't played with the Controlled Chaos expansion.  Dinogenics is basically "Jurassic Park:  The Board Game" where you build your own dinosaur park.  My understanding of the Controlled Chaos expansion is that it adds water creatures to go along with all of the normal dinosaur mayhem that you'd expect in a game like this.  It's probably worth noting that you'll see quite a few dino-themed games on this list - there was a time when I backed a ton of such games on Kickstarter and now those games are finally making their way from China to my mailbox!

#8:  Dinosaur World Rawr 'n Write

I haven't had amazing luck with liking roll and write games (my favorite so far is definitely Welcome To and that game doesn't even use dice).  That being said, Rawr 'n Write has been described as a "heavier" roll and write game with a lot more to think about.  That sounds like something that I'll enjoy - and this is one of the few games on my list that I think (?) would be just about as good playing solo as it would being played with other people.  

#7:  Dinosaur World:  Water Pack, Hybrid Pack, and/or Ice Age Pack

These are three (separate) expansion packs for the Dinosaur World board game (a game I have not yet played).  Like AltarQuest, this was a Kickstarter purchase - but on this one I went "all in" and bought all three expansions without having first played the base game.  Risky, but I liked Dinosaur Island a lot (made by the same creators and published by the same company) so I took a risk.  

#6:  Dinosaur World

I suppose I have to be more excited to play the base game than I do the expansions for that game, right?!  Dinosaur World is another "Jurassic Park:  The Game" style game but this one has some additional wrinkles (such as jeep tour through your park each round which makes where you place things even more important, or so I understand at least).  

#5:  Happy Little Dinosaurs

This game was a birthday present from my brother and I have to say, the game looks rather adorable.  It appears to be a relatively simple little card game - but after the heaviness of most of my list so far, I think a lighter, easier-to-learn game is perfect!  Truth be told, I'm probably much more likely to actually get Happy Little Dinosaurs to the table than I am any of the games on the list so far.  

#4:  Apex

Apex is yet another dinosaur themed game but this one is completely different in that it's a deck builder and it's a fighter (not a park builder).  In Apex, you play as a specific type of dinosaur and then try to beat a different dinosaur species (complete with a boss fight at the end).  From what I know, this game is actually more designed to be a solo experience BUT I haven't gotten to play it yet since it came with too many damaged cards (I've since requested replacements but I'm still waiting).  There are rules for playing this game with two players - and I do think I'll probably try that out if I can!

#3:  Divinity Derby

Divinity Derby is a race game where you get to bet on which mythological creature will win (or lose).  There are ways to sabotage certain racers and, generally speaking, unleash mayhem in this party-esque game.  I bought this one purposely to play with my family over the holidays, it seems light enough and fast enough to keep everyone engaged and having fun without anyone getting too upset if they lose.  

#2:  Intrepid

Intrepid is the first (of two) co-op games on this particular list.  I happen to love co-op games so it's no surprise that my top two games on the list are both co-ops.  In Intrepid, you take on the role of an astronaut from a particular country working in the International Space Station.  Players work together to gather supplies, deal with problems, and most importantly, to survive!  

#1:  So Clover!

My list is designed specifically around the upcoming holidays and playing with family...and this game I bought for that reason 100%!  In So Clover! you are dealt four square tiles with each side of the tile having a word on it.  You arrange the four tiles (randomly) on your clover board and then use the top of two side-by-side tiles to come up with a single clue word.  Do that four all four sides of your large 2x2 square and then remove all of your small tiles.  Add in a fifth "dummy" tile to make things more difficult and then it's up to the rest of the group to correctly place your four original tiles on your board in the correct spots using only the four clue words you came up with.  This game sounds a lot like Codenames but fully co-op rather than a team-based competition.

And there you have it, a list of ten games sitting on my shelf that I'm anxious to play!