Here are my thoughts on some new games I have played recently.

A Wayfarer’s Tale: The Journey Begins (2025)

If I were to spend money on a big roll-and-write game, this would probably be the one. It keeps you engaged on every single turn. You have to make a real choice about which of the five movement methods you want to focus on. You try to keep that focus, but the dice often mess up your plans. To handle this, you need to give yourself several good options so you are not stuck. The game offers different maps for variety, and each one has tricky decisions about which connections to aim for. It runs a bit long for a roll-and-write, taking about 60 minutes. The second game felt a lot like the first one, even though we used a different map. Still, there is enough fun here that I would play again if others wanted to.

Rating: 7

Kompromat (2020)

Two-player games are usually a struggle where one person pulls and the other pushes, but I put this one in the rare “fun” category. In each of the 6 rounds, you put out 4 score cards to compete for. These cards are worth either low points but a useful action for later, or no action but bigger points. Each player plays a game similar to Blackjack for each pile. The first card is face-up, the rest are face-down. The best score without going over wins the card. Since the decks are the same, there is a lot of luck in the order you draw your cards. However, you can improve your odds by counting the cards if you care enough. The play is quick, with lots of internal groaning and the occasional “mmm, perfect.” The reveals at the end of each round are fun surprises. It all plays in a nice timeframe, too.

Rating: 8

Land and Freedom (2023)

This is the first semi-cooperative game I have enjoyed in a long time. It is played over 12 turns. Each turn, you play a card from your special deck for points or its event, similar to Twilight Struggle style. There are three different roles, and each one has different conditions to meet. These conditions determine who gets to place a “win” chip in the bag each turn. But if you spend too many card actions trying to sway the conditions your way, you are not spending actions fixing the hordes invading the provinces. If there are too many hordes, we all lose. However, if one player dominates the win chips, the others will tank the game. So, there is a beautiful balance to find between swaying conditions to give yourself a shot and ensuring the others feel they have a shot as well. Here is the best part: a various number of “win” chips are drawn randomly from the bag each round, and the winner is whoever has the most drawn. This non-determinism is so important in making semi-co-op work. As long as I have a chance, I will do my share. But maybe just a little better chance than you, please, if I may!

Rating: 7

Metro X (2018)

This is a roll-and-write made interesting by how the tracks join and cross. Advancing one track can cross off a space on another track, which limits how far you can advance that one. As each card is revealed, indicating how many spaces you can tick off, the decision each turn is which track to advance. You want to have good, non-limiting options next turn regardless of what number is turned over. As such, you are continually assessing your board, working out what you want or need next on each track. It is not a game I want to play on high repeat given each turn is a bit same-y. However, the changing deck order provides enough variety to say yes to the occasional play.

Rating: 7

Nature (2025)

This is a streamlined version of Evolution which plays in under 30 minutes by only going 4 rounds. The species you create each round are just generic in size and population. There is not much more than a handful of traits, so you get familiar with those quickly. Then it is a matter of getting the most food. The winner will likely be determined by who invests most in food production yet still manages not to get picked on much in hunts. Otherwise, scores will be close and it is a lottery. There is variety on offer by adding in optional card sets that simulate different eco-systems. I do not love the hitty system, and this did not sway me despite the appeal of quicker and tidier play.

Rating: 6

Pampero (2024)

Another dry business game of a type that I have been going off recently. It does not matter how engaging the game management challenge is; it fails to make me care. Use action cards to build power towers to expand what you can do, build wind towers to generate power, and use that power to buy income chips. Most money wins. You seem to have only enough actions to explore half the game, concentrating on the scoring-round categories. The game is bedevilled by icon hell in the tiniest icon font, making most of the game a mystery unless you squint over every chip all game. And let us not forget the world’s most confusing misuse of gaming terminology ever – they are rewards, not contracts! Contracts imply later fulfillment, making the rules so confusing. Anyway, yes, it provides an engaging challenge of balancing money while maintaining strategic focus if the theme appeals and you can afford to give it a few plays to get to grips with it.

Rating: 6

Reforest (2024)

Picture Wingspan type cards – similar art, costs to build, effects of all types, and VPs. On your turn, you draw cards or you play a card to your tableau, spending cards from your hand to do so San Juan style. You have only got 6 spots, but the twist is you can build over the top of a previously played card at a discount. This is allowed as long as you are building something taller, while maintaining the covered cards’ VPs and icons, which are used in effects. There is a LOT of reading in the game to get the synergies you want, whilst working towards the end-of-round goal for points. This makes the game slower than expected, and just as you get more familiar with what is on offer, turns slow down while you are activating all your triggered effects. But still, card-building engines are always engaging, so I could see myself playing again if people were keen.

Rating: 7

Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train (2022)

A friendly kid’s version. Each ticket only needs 2 or 3 links, and each link is 1-3 spaces long. It only takes a few turns to get the cards you need to build some links and score a ticket. Then simply draw a new ticket, and the first to complete 6 tickets wins. That is it. The player who draws into tickets that matches what they have already built will win. But in a 15-minute game for kids, it is all good.

Rating: 6

Thoughts of other Opinionated Gamers

Matt Carlson: I am still interested in giving Nature a spin with some of the add-on modules. Without any of the modules, the game is pretty simple and is basically a kid/family version. The modules do change the nature of the game in significant ways. It is still a minor negative to be eaten by another player’s species, but not nearly the penalty it was back in the previous iteration of the game, Evolution. I have not played it enough to give a judgement on its own yet, but pretty much every change from Evolution is for the better.