Staff Picks

Did you just finish your Pandemic Legacy Campaign and you don't know where to go from there? Are you looking to play something other than Catan for the millionth time at your weekly board game night? Are tensions high within your play group and you need a game to help calm things down? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then the folks here at Mission: Fun & Games and Boardgames.ca have some bonafide recommendations if you're looking for something new to play!
 

Tim - Star Trek Super-Skill Pinball


"As a passionate Trekkie, I am a sucker for anything Star Trek, including board games. I found Star Trek Super-Skill Pinball to be an excellent representation of a Pinball Experience in board game form. Players roll the dice and try to simultaneously move the ball down the pinball board and match the die face to a corresponding space on the game board. You also have flippers that can be used to return the ball token to the top of the board in order to keep the ball in play. However, being a roll-and-write game, your available spaces will diminish fairly quickly, which means you need to plan ahead in order to keep your ball from sinking. There are several versions of the Super-Skill Pinball game in print currently, all with different themes. So even if Star Trek isn't your thing, you should try one of the others! There is even a board that rotates, so a shrewd player can take advantage of the mechanics to keep their ball in play substantially!" - Tim
 
 
Dale - Merchants of the Dark Road
"In this game, you play as a merchant attempting to increase their fame and money over 13 rounds of play. Use your actions each turn to collect items, hire adventurers, gain commissions, or brave the dark road to travel to outlying towns, all in an attempt to improve your standing, or gain funds and rewards. But be warned: should you not keep your fame and money in balance, you will lose! After all, what good is a purse full of the coin if the people don’t sing songs about you, and what good is a song with an empty mug of ale?" - Dale
 

Nathan - Zombicide: Gear Up

"Hold on a sec, a Zombicide game that plays in about half an hour? Surely that can't be possible?!

Well I'm here to tell you it is, and it also happens to be a whole lotta fun! Zombicide: Gear Up is a cooperative flip and write game where killing zombies is kind of like Tetris. Flip the card, activate the coloured weapon by drawing the pattern, and hopefully kill a zombie and upgrade your weapon. Then go up against some fun and silly bosses like the Zombie Pyramid or The Dead Soxs. It's quick, it's fun, it's silly, it's puzzley, and it solo's really well." - Nathan

 

Drew - Trust Me, I'm A Doctor

"I had a chance to play this with the family, and while they weren't a fan of it, I saw the appeal. The art is kind of funky and the ailments are downright medieval. Over the course of play, the game asks you to come up with stories about how each of the Ailments you draw has affected you and how to cure it. This game is fun to play with family and friends who happen to be in the medical field, but be prepared for arguments and terms that you may never have heard of! I would recommend breaking out this game at a party or after a long board game earlier in the night. Who knew you could cure faintness with headscrews?!" - Drew

 

Keith - Advent Dice Calendar


"OK, I'll admit it, I'm a dice goblin. The shiny math rocks call to the very center of my being. This advent calendar not only provides you with an appropriate set of 7 themed dice, it also has randomly selected dice mixed in with them. Included is a special D2! Yes, I know that's just a coin! But personally, I've been waiting for the moment when cash coins would be used so infrequently that they would instead be referred to as D2s instead. Well, this is your chance to seize that moment in time. Or I'm overthinking it all and it's simply a great advent calendar for the roleplaying gamer in your life." - Keith

 

Derek - Next Station London

"I've chosen Next Station London by Blue Orange as my staff pick this time 'round. I love that it's a game that can be played solo or with other people. It's also quite unique, using coloured pencils to signify each round, with everybody using each pencil once to draw the next line in their London underground. It's a quick little game that I can easily play for hours, trying to outdo the game before and reaching for different goals each time. It's challenging in a very relaxing way." - Derek

 

John Small - Blades in the Dark

"Blades in the Dark is a RPG with a dark fantasy, steampunk-like setting where your group is a party of various rogues, cut purses, ruffians, and ne'er do wells seeking your fortune on the dreary streets of Duskvol. The greater the danger, the greater the payoff, they say. Will you succeed or will you get caught? Is the price on your head worth the extra gold in your pockets? Only the dice will tell..." - John

 

Kim - Viticulture

"My staff pick is Viticulture. It's the perfect game for a lightly competitive, co-op experience that won't stress you out. Build your own vineyard from the ground up, and make the best wine you can to win. Growing grapes has never been so much fun!" - Kim

 

Tuppy - Isle of Cats Explore and Draw

"Isle of Cats Explore and Draw is a well done distillation of the original big box game: Isle of Cats. The great puzzle aspect has been replicated, but on a smaller scale. The cats are represented on cards, each of which displays a different cat as a puzzle piece to be fit onto your boat using a different color of dry erase marker. You attempt to score additional points by having families of the same color adjacent to one another. The action cards are laid out in a 3 x 4 grid so that when you take row 1, you now have three actions that you can do. What I really enjoy is the additional 20 combinations or conditions that can be used to score points, so there is always a unique way to add to your score. It plays 1 - 6 players, which is a great player count for large groups, while also including a solo mode. The color markers and components are a very good quality. A great addition to any board gamer's collection!" - Tuppy