From rainy afternoons at the cottage to quiet evenings at a campground, board games are a staple of summer getaways. But while vacationing Canadians are dusting off familiar favourites, the future of board games was recently on display at Protospiel North, a twice-yearly Toronto convention of aspiring designers and eager playtesters.
Until one of the prototypes from this gathering makes it to a table near you, here are some tips from Protospiel North co-organizer Joe Slack on how to outwit your family and friends at some popular, published offerings.
Scrabble
A crossword-style word-building tile game.
Learn lots of two-letter words so that you can form multiple words in one turn, and make use of the special scoring bonuses on the board whenever possible.
Monopoly
A dice-throwing, token-moving real-estate game.
If you’re able to afford a property, buy it, and purchasing a long stretch of cheaper properties from St. Charles Place to New York Avenue or St. James Place to Illinois Avenue can sometimes be better than owning Boardwalk and Park Place.
Pandemic
A co-operative, card-drawing, map-based mission of disease-fighting specialists trying to save the world.
Focus on keeping locations with three disease cubes under control to prevent outbreaks, and take advantage of each player’s special ability on their turn.
Azul
A strategic, colourful-tile drafting, mosaic-building game.
Build close together to maximize your scoring, and keep a close eye on what other players are collecting. Drafting tiles they want and leaving behind tiles they don’t want can put you ahead.
Botany
A strategic, Victorian-era exploration and flower-hunting board game.
Build up your reputation as quickly as possible to increase your estate income, and purchasing a second Wardian Case early allows you to collect flowers more efficiently.
Splendor
A Renaissance-era, gem-collecting, card development, merchant-empire building game.
Go for the “cheapest” cards first and don’t worry about points early on. Nobles are free points, so collect cards from the start that will help you earn them before other players.
Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle-Earth
A fast-paced, two-player, card-drafting strategy game.
There are three different paths to victory. It’s best to focus on only one or two of these rather than all three. Keep your eye on your opponent’s progress and play defensively if they are close to winning.
