International Table Top Day 2018

Yesterday was a busy and fun day for me. I set aside our usual D&D Saturdays to enjoy International Table Top Day at some of our local stores. Throughout the day I ended up at three local stores to play games.

The Morning

The morning for me was all about learning to play some new games, and making some purchases of board games. I went to the first store of the day. They were running board game demos. I was given the chance to learn how to play Fairy Tile and Colt Express. I had a lot of fun with both of these games. Fairy Tile was extremely frustrating as everyone was trying to move characters to fit their needs, which were frequently very different from your goals. While very simple in play style, it got us all laughing.  Really enjoyed it as a filler game, it is the one game yesterday that I did not pick up that I wish I did. Colt Express was another game that actions really depended on player interaction. I did terribly at it…I almost ended with no money. We enjoyed it and ended up purchasing it.

While at this store I also did my shopping for the day. This store had held my copy of Wonderland, a game that was an International Table Top Day 2018 Exclusive by Renegade Game Studios. I also purchased Ex Libris and Topiary at this store. We have played Wonderland and Topiary so far. Wonderland is only two players, but is a great small game. It fits in a bag and can be played almost anywhere. There is also a deceptive amount of strategy in game play. Topiary was whimsical and fun. I love the art in it, and game play was easy to teach but felt like it had a learning curve to actually be good at it.

The Afternoon

Step two on my board gaming journey was to the store that asked me to demo some Stonemaier Games. I am an ambassador for Stonemaier Games, and so I went to help the store out and run their event. I taught one round of Viticulture (just the base game) and a round of Scythe. I was not able to play in these games though, as both games were filled. I enjoy teaching these games though so it was still one of my favorite times of the day. Once those two games finished, I headed to the third store.

The Evening

My third venture was the most disappointing of the day. This was the one store advertising International Table Top Day heavily, so I assumed that they would have some fun things going on. I drove about a hour to get to the store, and when I got there the employee had no idea about anything. He said his boss had mentioned something, but he really did not know what he was supposed to do. There really was not anyone playing games, so I took a look at their selection of games. They luckily had some good sales going on despite the lack of knowledge about their events. I picked up Colt Express here, and we headed back home.

The Night

We spent the rest of the night gaming. I was teaching my friend how to play Castles of Burgandy, Meeple Circus and Topiary. All and all a great way to end the night.

Purchases:

• Wonderland-Renegade Game Studios
• Topiary-Renegade Game Studios
• Ex Libris- Renegade Game Studios
• Colt Express- Asmode
• Red Meepillow-Top Shelf Fun