1P 375 - Popular Mechanics: Dexterity Games

This week we return to Popular Mechanics.  This week we look at games that are sequels to other games.   01:56 The Search for Planet X (BGG) -> The Search for the Lost Species (BGG) 04:33 Arkham Horror (BGG) -> Elder Sign (BGG) 08:00 Sleep Gods (BGG) -> Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies (BGG) 11:50 The Harvest Trilogy: Agricola (BGG) -> At the Gates of Loyang (BGG) 14:50 Dorf Romantic (VGG) -> Dorfromantik: The Boardgame (BGG) 17:50 Cantaloop (BGG) -> Cantaloop 2 (BGG) Honorable mentions Castellion (BGG) Bot Factory (BGG) Nations: The Dice Game (BGG) Comancheria (BGG) Ironsworn (RPGGeek) Final Girl (BGG)

This week Julius shares One Hit Heroes with us.  It's a game about fighting super-villains that are supposedly way more powerful than the heroes.  It's a co-operative game that can be played solo or multi-handed solo. We got into some audio trouble just past the halfway mark around 23 minutes in. From then on, you'll hear lots of clicking and gaps in Julius's voice.  I wasn't able to fix that; but, I was able to fix his pitch which went up a tiny bit.  It sounded as if he'd been on helium for the last 15 minutes :D

This week I tell Julius all about the game SpaceCorp, by John Butterfield and published by GMT.  This game is played in three phases in which you explore colonize, the inner Solar System, then the outer Solar System and finally the nearby galaxies.  The game is based on the Galactican series by Ejner Fulsang. 1P 378 - SpaceCorp 2035-2300AD (BGG) Galactican series (Amazon)

This week Julius tells us about a game as big as a school bus!  Endeavor is a game about exploring the world's oceans solo, cooperatively or competitively.  It's a big game that sounds like lots of fun and very thematic. Endeavor: Deep Sea (BGG)

This week I talk with Mike & Olga Rimer of Caravel games.  They have been making video game content for years and years in the excellent D.R.O.D. series (Deadly Rooms of Death).  A few years ago, they released a solo puzzle game called Twisty Little Passages. Now they have Time Fenix coming to Kickstarter in a month or so.  We talk about all their games and then have a bit of a chat about tariffs and how they are trying to deal with so much uncertainty. 01:30 Caravel Games 05:00 D.R.O.D.: King Dugan's Dungeon (Caravel Games, G.O.G.) 12:05 Twisty Little Passages (Kickstarter) 20:15 Time Fenix (Kickstarter) 41:27 Tariffs

This week Julius and I talk about dexterity games.  It's not a category you see often when talking about solo games, but there are a few fun ones we've tried (mostly). 02:04 Flip Ships (BGG) 05:47 Nekojima (BGG) 09:50 What Lies Beneath (BGG) 12:30 Hunted: Mining Colony 415 (BGG) 15:43 Slide Quest (BGG) 21:20 Hoverkraft (BGG) 25:36 Menara (BGG) 31:14 Jenga (BGG) & Clever Girl (RPG Geek) 34:55 For Science! (BGG)

This week Julius and I talk about the smaller version of Terraforming Mars.  Well, one of the smaller versions.  The game is the very lovely  love-child of Terraforming Mars & Race for the Galaxy, Ares Expedition.  In this game, you are working to make Mars a habitable planet by managing the temperature & oxygen levels while raising oceans.  The theme is straight out of Terraforming Mars.  However, you do it by choosing actions and playing cards simultaneously, just like Race for the Galaxy. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (BGG) Terraforming Mars (BGG, Fryx Games) Race for the Galaxy (BGG)

This week, we talk about Harvest, the farming game from Keymaster Games, publishers of PARKS.  In this game, you are trying to farm and harvest your fields as often as possible.  It's a worker placement that can be soloed by playing against Gairy, the Dairy cow. Harvest (BGG, Keymaster Games)

This week Julius takes us back to the table with Lewis & Clark.  Go on a slow boat ride accoss the North American continent to explore lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase and explore the yet unclaimed Pacific Northwest.  That is, not yet taken from the native populations of the are.

This week Julius and I explore a RPG about exploring a giant castle.  Giant doesn't do this castle justice though.  This is a world inside a castle so immense there are seas in it.  The castle is filled with room so large there are cities and villages in them.  You will wander around exploring and fighting Rooks, massive creatures made of stonework.  When you defeat one, you can gain powerful magic stones, Rookstones. Colostole is a solo RPG by Nich Angell. Colostle (RPG Geek, Colostle.com)