Level Up Game Day

Tales from the High Seas: Our Latest Gaming Adventure

Ahoy, Crew! Last week, my compass pointed directly to a fantastic destination: Ruckus Cafe for a full day of board gaming with some wonderful friends, hosted by our very own Level Up Board Game Podcast. Sometimes, the best voyages aren’t across oceans, but across tabletops, filled with laughter, strategy, and a healthy dose of friendly competition.

It’s always a joy to gather around a table, unbox new expeditions, and navigate the intricate rules of a fresh, new game, or revisit the familiar shores of an old favorite. From cunning card plays to the fate of rolling dice to miniatures conquering ports across the map, every game is a journey, and every turn is a decision that charts your course.

What I love about these special meet-ups, though, isn’t just the cards, cardboard, and dice; it’s the companionship we create among these voyages. We make these bonds over the shared experience of the board game table. They turn from brief encounters at the table to memories and laughter that roll through the day, and become tales for ages to come.

Speaking of those journeys, here’s a look at the games that filled my day:

Party Games

I kicked off my day with some lively party games, great for a large group of crewmates. I introduced the crew and dove into Landmarks (you might recall my video on this one!). I love this one because it taps into the adventurous theme of being lost on an island, with one person trying to guide their mates out through a series of connected words. The map gradually fills with an array of words, hopefully connected, and their job is to find their way around the map. I start with three words to place on the map, and I give a hint to each word: “Lightning and Chess.” I gave them the hint of “Speed.” Their job is finding where that tile goes on the map. Does it go next to Lightning and Daily? No, that doesn’t make sense. How about Chess alone? Nope, that can’t be right. A-ha, there’s speed chess, and lightning is fast, it must go between those words! The game progresses as I try to guide them off this hostile island.

Next, I sailed into the port of the always-entertaining cooperative word association of Just One, where you must remember, you can only use just one word to hint to your Captain Guesser. Oh, and don’t forget, you can’t use the same word as any of your fellow companions. The Guesser, unknowingly, chooses the word “Pope.” The rest of us might try to jot down the most unique word or the most obvious word that our mind can quickly tap into the Brain Thesaurus. Perhaps, “Leo,” “Chicago,” “Vatican,” “Hat,” and “Peter” might be the clues you and your friends pulled from the memory bank. Except, oh no, Jenny also chose “Chicago” along with me. Like the 3rd strike in baseball, that word is out. Now the Guesser is left with whatever words make it through the rocky coast of synchronous brains.

Pagan: Fate of Roanoke

The afternoon then took a darker turn as we explored the unsettling lore and strategic choices of Pagan: Fate of Roanoke, a truly immersive two-player card game experience. I happened to be perusing through the Capstone Games Discord server and made a brief stop on the Pagan channel. In Pagan: Fate of Roanoke, you are taking on the role of a Witch Hunter or a Witch trying to hide among the town, and each person is trying to outwit the opponent. Through a series of sifting cards, strategic planning, and red herrings, only the most clever player will come out victorious, either saving the colonial town of Roanoke or ultimately succeeding in a witch’s ritual and disguising oneself among the small town, or ruining it—your call.

Through the generosity of Fate, I caught someone inquiring about Capstone offering a way to meet up with fellow Witch Hunters and Witches for the game Pagan. I, being the insanely extroverted person that I am, asked this person, “Whereabouts in the world do you reside, fellow Hunter?” Turns out, his name is Beau, and he lives in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Fates Collide! We have a match! Perhaps Beau completed some potion ritual so we could find fellow Pagan-enthusiasts among the vast array of people.
Nevertheless, I invited him to our Level Up Discord Server so he could see when we are meeting this coming Sunday and join us. He traveled his way to Ruckus Cafe, and we got in a game of Pagan. Where he promptly discovered my Witch, but we had a great time.

Mistwind

For our lengthier voyage, we set sail into Mistwind, a fantastical area control and resource management game that tested our planning and adaptability. Take a ride on some fantastical flying whales across the map, create outposts, hire employees, pick up and deliver goods like fungus, krill, and coffee, and ultimately be the most victorious Whale-Sailor-Merchant known to the Mistwind world. It’s a lot to teach at the beginning of the game, but once the rules are mapped out, the rest becomes smooth sailing. Unless someone adjusts the market, or snatches out the spot you were planning to stop at next.

We have an upcoming podcast episode where Patrick and I talk all about our experiences with Mistwind, releasing on June 5th. Be sure to listen in when that is released.

Five by Five

We finally brought our day to a close with the satisfying dice chucking and pattern making of Five by Five, a perfect capstone to a day of diverse gaming. I have an upcoming review to tell you all about this delightful dice game, but for a quick preview: each player takes their action cards to manipulate the dice on the board to complete their personal, or global, objectives. The ultimate goal is to gain the most points and declare yourself the dominant, most successful dice-pattern creating player of Five by Five.

The Ending Voyage

As a Navigator, I’m always seeking new horizons, and sometimes those horizons are just a shuffled deck away. Here’s to more days filled with strategic thinking, good company, and the endless possibilities that lie within a box of board games!