It is already January 6th, and I have already broken my New Year’s resolution to avoid playing board games in 2026. However, the good news is that I played three really enjoyable games this past week.
At our “Euro Mondays” gathering—where we do not always play Euro-style games but keep the name anyway—Logan brought over his new copy of Aquaria for me and Doug to try. Aquaria proves that designer Tomáš Holek has a special talent for game design. This is the third solid game by Holek that I have played recently, published by Capstone Games.
In Aquaria, players spend four rounds acquiring fish cards to add to their tanks. You must maintain the natural balance of the water while scoring as many points as possible. Most people will notice the action selection mechanic first. Players move their dice around a board, and if a move is to an adjacent space, they earn bonuses. It is not exactly worker placement because there is no blocking, though there is a little interaction due to how the bonuses are calculated.
However, there are two other clever tricks that I really liked. The player board has small dials on the up/down and left/right slots. You can manipulate these dials by playing specific cards or taking actions. Matching the dials to the goals for that round gives nice bonuses. The second twist involves powering up the cleaning of the tanks. You can add tokens to boost the cleaning action. If you enjoy building up an engine, running up tracks, and firing up spatial bonuses and combos, this game is for you.
Mitchell and I also got a chance to play Operation Barclay. This is a two-player game about World War II from 25th Century Games. It is similar to poker, but with a story included. One player acts as the Allied powers, trying to secretly plan the re-invasion of Europe from the Axis powers, who are played by the other player.
The board has hidden markers that represent the Allies’ best plans to retake Europe. Winning the poker hands, or even just guessing correctly who will win the hand, helps drive the Allies toward their goal. Alternatively, playing more attack symbols than the other player allows the Axis player to stymie those plans. The first round was interesting, but as we got closer to the six-month mark of planning, the tension was palpable. This is an excellent two-player game.
Finally, my Secret Santa in the Chuck’s Gateway & Filler games group on Facebook sent me Harmonies. It is an absolutely beautiful little puzzle game. I taught it to my wife, and we have played it almost a half-dozen times already. Players are building small habitats to attract animals. You must match those habitats to goal cards to score points.
It sounds simple, but it is not. It is spatially complicated in the manner of games like Akropolis or Fountains. Of the three games discussed here, I prefer Akropolis. This is partly because I am much more in tune with its strategy, but also because I love the 3D aspect of the gameplay. However, I must admit that very few games recently have challenged the puzzle side of my brain like Harmonies has. I definitely want to play it more.
So, those are our first impressions of three great games from the holidays. I hope you and your family had a great holiday and that you enjoyed some gaming, too!
Until next time, laissez les bon temps rouler!
— BJ from Board Game Gumbo
