Tales from the Salt

Hi folks, Kenny here,   SaltCON was a hoot and a holler. I got to play a ton of games (39 total, 33 unique). A surprising percentage of them were fun! 79% rounded unique games if you want to get exact. That's higher than usual and I'm now trying to figure out why. I played a lot more games I already enjoyed which helped. I also did a lot more research. Tom's spreadsheet helped with planning and identifying priorities. More than any gaming event, I felt like we both had a clear idea of what to prepare for and prioritize.    Highlights include Knizia's Samurai and Cascadero (new game alert!) as well as Friedemann Friese's Fishing (nga!). Knizia sure does know how to make placing a piece anywhere on a board the absolute most compelling decision of your lifetime. Biggest bummers were Die Macher and Pumafiosi (nga!). Tom enjoyed both of these more than I did and argues I didn't give the latter a fighting chance. I stand my ground that Pumafiosi was enough of a dud to abort the second and third rounds. Most delightful surprise was Las Vegas Royale. I didn't know much about it, but it really got me hyped with all its gambling / area majority goodness. I'm not scared... busts on Hi-Lo for the fifth time. Biggest disappointment was Fruit Fight, a Knizia push your luck that has been reprinted a number of times under names Cheeky Monkey, Hit!, No Mercy, and so on. I assumed this would be a hit (hehe) given its designer and number of reprints. Love the CMYK production but this is an absolute nothingburger.    Below is the breakdown of all the games played split into three categories. Each category is roughly ranked from most enjoyed to least. Tom and I have already discussed a few of these in the latest episode. More to come.   Oldies but goodies (9) Race for the Galaxy Through the Desert Glory to Rome Jaipur Res Arcana High Society For Sale Ultimate Werewolf Fort   New to me (13) Samurai x2 Las Vegas Royale Power Grid: the Card Game Ghost Blitz Cat Blues Cthulhu: Death May Die Cosmic Frog Ticket to Ride: Marklin Gods Love Dinosaurs Fugitive Roll Through the Ages: The Iron Age Letter Tycoon Die Macher   New new (11) Cascadero x2 Fishing x2 Hot Lead The Gang x4 Cabanga! Skyrise Courtisans Signal Captain Flip Fruit Fight Pumafiosi   Big shoutout to SaltCON. The events were a blast and everything was super professional. The live show went great and we would love to come back.   Kenny