I spent last weekend at Western Canada’s biggest board game and TTRPG convention, Terminal City Tabletop Con. One of the best bits of Terminal City is its demo and prototype areas, where game designers bring their newest titles for people to test out.
During the weekend, I played many new games across a wide variety of genres. While they were all fun, there were four games I absolutely loved. So, for those looking for a new board game, here are my 4 Terminal City Tabletop Con highlights!
Sapling Scramble
An Intuitive And Fast-Paced Card Game
Sapling Scramble was one of my favorite games from Terminal City. The game casts players as little forest creatures racing to brew positions from the various things that have fallen onto the forest floor.
The game is powered by cards. At the start of the game, players are given four potion cards, each of which lists the three ingredients needed to brew that potion. The second deck, which sits in the middle of the table, contains ingredient cards. At the start of the game (and at specific points during play,) cards are taken from this deck and arranged face-up on the table.
Each turn, a player can opt to either steal a card from another player’s hand (after which the player may choose one of the face-up ingredients), play a bomb (allowing the player to refill the ingredient stockpile and then pick one,) or brew a potion (if they have the necessary ingredients). The first to brew three potions wins the game.
Sapling Scramble is a fantastic party game perfect for long-time board game lovers and people new to the medium. The rules are intuitive, meaning a new player can learn to play within five to ten minutes or as they play. The card-stealing mechanic encourages strategy and bluffing as players try to keep track of who has the cards they need. However, as having one of your cards taken allows you to draw a new card of your choice, losing a card isn’t a massive setback. Because of this, the game has all the fun of a social deduction game while avoiding the hostile atmosphere these types of games can generate.
Dodeca
A Deeply Tactical Game About Movement
The first thing that strikes you about Dodeca is its circular board covered in lines and patterns. Thankfully, while the game might look complex, it’s easy to pick up and play.
At the start of Dodeca, both players put six of their pieces around the board’s edge. Every turn, a player may move one of their pieces along one of the connected lines to any other open intersection (no matter how far away it is). The core part of the game functions similarly to Reversi. If a piece is trapped between two pieces of the opposing color, it is flipped to the other color, allowing the other player to control it.
The first player to create an unbroken line of 8 pieces is declared the winner. However, this is easier said than done, as every time a piece is moved from the edge of the board, a new piece is added, meaning the number of pieces players have to manage quickly grows, making it much easier to outflank your opponent and flip multiple pieces at once. Because of this, the game is simple to learn but tricky to master because canny players can deploy hundreds of different approaches and tactics.
Available Via The Game’s Website
PopCats Fighter: Unleash the Furry
A Combo Of Kicking Kitties
PopCats Fighter: Unleash the Furry is a 2-player card game that sees cats battle in fighting-game-inspired clashes. The game is broken into a series of rounds, dubbed combos. To make a combo, each player plays a card from their hands, with each played card having to match the symbol or color of the card that came before it. Each card has its own abilities, meaning selecting when and where to play certain cards is key to victory.
What makes this game so memorable is its art. The character cards are fantastic, with each kitty having a unique look that perfectly fits that toyetic pro-wrestling 80s vibe. Because of this, PopCats Fighter is both fun and a visual treat.
Masters of Maple Syrup
A Canadian Game With Plenty Of Sweetness
Firestarter Games is a fantastic tabletop game company, so I was super happy to get the chance to try Masters of Maple Syrup, one of their newer titles, at Terminal City. This 2-player game casts the players as competing Maple Syrup producers, trying to up their yield and create the best syrup possible.
The game is built around card management. Each player starts with a single Maple tree and a handful of cards. Each turn, the player can perform one of three actions: Tapping their tree, harvesting the syrup, or developing their acreage. What makes Masters of Maple Syrup so fascinating is that when a player selects an action, the other player gets to do a weaker version. Also, when an action has been used, it can’t be used again until the other two actions have been used. This means the game has a lot of strategy, as players must carefully consider both sides of the board to come out on top. Plus, having actions affecting both players means that games are always competitive until the end, leading to some gripping games.
