Pax Pamir 2e vs Kemet

There's a rule in Pax Pamir that encapsulates its genius. "Players are free to discuss the game during play and explicitly coordinate their actions. However, any agreed-upon deal should be considered non-binding." In other words, double-crossing is allowed! Pax Pamir puts you in the mind of an Afghan tribal leader, with only situational allegiance to your own government, or to the imperialist British or Russians

**Kemet Blood and Sand**: Found out this week that my groups first play of this game we got some rules wrong, which meant when I went to play it at 2 players we fudged some of the rules but I had corrected some of our previous mistakes. Nonetheless we had a great time and are looking forward to a 5 player match to really get everything going on the board!

3 coalitions(British, Russian, Afghan) are fighting over the country after the fall of the Durrani Dynasty. You are one of several tribesmen who are working to keep themselves on top after the dust clears. Work for or against one of the 3 coalitions, as well as against the other tribesmen. It looks great, the cloth map and pieces are stunning

So you have to be careful with with innopolis. You can show up in that, if you transport from my pyramid, so you get to these temples very quickly and...

My description is pretty dry, but the game itself was very thematic. Lots of Putin jokes, references to Russian famine for us poor players, making fun of my poor "Kabul" pronunciation but also giving me a pass 'cause it hasn't been in American news in 20 years. Also, a unique choice for American independence day.

Haven't gotten rid of any board games in a while, though I'm thinking of letting go of **Puerto Rico**. I haven't played it in nearly a decade, and, well, the theme just gets worse and worse the more I think about it.

\- Because it's a game that rewards creative moves and out of the box thinking more than it rewards system mastery.

The power tiles need to be grabbed up, temples need to be occupied, pyramids need to be developed, there's plenty to do in a short play time. I like that it rewards aggression - building up and just sitting there is a surefire way to lose. The only real beef I have with the game is that I wish it came with more player aids describing the power tiles. Only one is included in the box

**To The Death!**: Tiny small box with HUGE gameplay and variability. Solo players with interest in party synergies, absurd replayability and tactical combat should *not* overlook this one.

But i think kemet is a but too much information overload with the different powers and the theme will probably not resonate with the people i play with

Modern Art (Korean edition) - great art on cards, large gavel, and heavy coins (although not stackable)

Although the old Kemet (not sure what the components of the new Kemet will look like) is kind of in an uncanny valley situation. The miniatures are flashier than cubes, but are crappy compared to miniatures from many other games. If they had CMON (or better miniatures) that would be even fancier than their current miniatures. However, if done well and they were tasteful, I probably wouldn't be horribly upset with them

Robinson Crusoe - The first time we played it completely correct after about 10 plays and barely squeaked out a victory in the castaways scenario. We were excelling until the 6 round when the weather took its toll on us but if good items in hand and a lucky treasure card draw we survived!

**Kemet** (1x3P) First time ever playing this and I was tasked with teaching and unpacking (complaint: Matagot included no storage bags for any components). Ended up taking us around two hours but it was a lot of fun. In the pros column it was easy to learn, had a fun combat system, and was filled with interesting decisions. In the cons column, it was a pain figuring out what all the tiles and DI cards did, the manual was terrible, and it sagged a little at the end

It has a lot in common with Inis regarding the shifting alliances, but it also has some signature Wehrle design ideas. It plays well at 2 with the Wakhan module that's in the box. And it scales very well up to 5p.

Architect of the West Kingdom replaced Viticulture for me. Didn't need another light worker placement - and I have Vinhos to scratch the wine theme.