Convention season is creeping up, awards are getting announced, and the frequency of which I have to mow my lawn is increasing.

Where does my mind go when I'm mowing my lawn? Well, priority one is making sure I don't step into the pile of dog poop my neighbor didn't pick up, but when the coast is clear, I tend to think about the recent board games I've enjoyed playing. There's usually a slow stream of "new to me" board games I have, and they go on the chopping block if they are worth keeping or not. Some don't make it. (Sorry, Greed. You're alright. But alright isn't good enough for my collection.) But others seem to stick with me, and make me think about how I could play it better or I'm reminiscing about the great interaction I had with my friend(s).

A few I've recently have played and have enjoyed are the following: Roll for the Galaxy, Ophir, and Alchemists.

I honestly expected Roll for the Galaxy to either get cut loose quickly or replace Race for the Galaxy. I see a place on my shelf for both. I prefer Race myself, but there's still a strong appeal with Roll for the Galaxy. There is a simplicity that just sets a great rhythm with the game. For a dice-heavy game, I also feel like there's a real solid strategy with it that the random aspects of the dice doesn't really get in the way too much.

While I like the Settle/Conquer duality and the the production phase after trading/consuming of Race more, I also feel Roll has a clearer telegraph of what your opponent will likely do that really helps add to the pace of the game.

Ophir, I expected a light, family style game. And it delivered. I know one of the co-designers of the game is a part of the /r/boardgames commentariat, and I wanted to be fair with both my bias and criticism I'd have for the game when I played it. I have only played it a few times, but my gut reaction is that it's exactly the type of game the Spiel de Jahres award is looking for. It's light in rules and gameplay for the kiddies to safely swim around, but surprisingly deep and warm enough for adults to enjoy the pool too. If this gets German distribution, I wouldn't be too surprised to see it on the SdJ recommendation list. I was also happy to see there was an instructional video for it on their website, but unfortunately this struck us with initial confusion was it was mired with reviews and the Dice Tower logo. We glossed over the instructional video, believing it to be a review of the game. I'll be forthright and say I really didn't care for that decision. There is a good reason why Rodney Smith has avoided critical review. It isn't his brand - and I don't think it should be Board Game Corner's brand either. It needs to at least be very clear, in the title, the video thumbnail, and Terra Nova's website that it is the instructional video. Instead, we all went to google, because we assumed it wasn't actually posted. I know it says "Learn how to play, with Corner Play", but that sounds like a catch phrase of a LP channel. We were looking for a video that said "Watch to learn how to play Ophir". The game deserves clearer distinction. Because it's one of the better "light" games i've played recently. It has really solid pacing, and it is the best pick-up-and-deliver game I've played so far.

And that leaves the mammoth of Alchemists. The rulebook is up there with Dungeon Lords, Galaxy Trucker and Dungeon Petz for it's humor. The more I've played this, the more I've been really impressed with how many parts there are, but how well they all tie-in together. The theory publication mechanic is very entertaining for me. It's such a fun pseudo-science/academia theme on top of the deduction mechanism. It's a busy game, and a lot is going on, but it's just so fun. This has risen into my Top 10 for sure.

What "new to you" games have you been loving lately?

/tl;dr When I was mowing my grass, I pondered how much fun board games are.