Coffee and Cards at Main St. Board Game Cafe
By Chris LoBosco
Image from Main Street Board Game Cafe Website: mainstboardgamecafe.com
You know, it’s funny how things appear right when you start looking for them. I hadn’t heard of Main St. Board Game Cafe in Huntington, NY before but once we started our company and attended an expo, boom! There it is.
I’ve been dying to go ever since my eyes hit it, not only for my crippling caffeine addiction, but as a place to just try out a ton of new games. So I dragged Vin with me on a random Wednesday night, and man, this place was lively! Big groups getting together to play a round of Secret Hitler or couples out for a game of Connect 4, this place had it all.
So with a couple of lattes…. and an order of mozzarella sticks (the diet starts tomorrow I swear), we gazed upon a huge bookshelf full of games of all sizes. It’s intimidating when our secret mission was to see what games we are competing against. We forged on and grabbed some games that stuck out for two players and I’ll share them with all of you next time you stop by the cafe.
Kompromat - Duel of Spies by Helvetiq
While we set out on our own mission, this game sees you fight your opponent to successfully carry out mission cards. With each side placing cards, trying to come closest to 21, similar to blackjack. With a lot of strategy and reading your opponent, the familiar gameplay concept translates well into a battle of wits (or what little wits Vin and I have).
Archduke by Stellar Factory
I loved how easy this one was to understand, you want the lowest value cards but the game ends, when someone calls “Archduke!” (It almost reminds me of SkipBo in a way). To start, you only know two of your four starting cards, so as you trade cards with the center pile and swap with your opponent, you really have to take risks with every move. I’m definitely buying this one as soon as possible.
District Noir by Pandasaurus Games
This strategic game sees you and your opponent try and win over a Gotham-esque city and their supporters. With cards in your hand, you can either play a card in line, or take five at the end of the line of played cards. It makes you consider timing and the risk/reward of collecting in order to maximize your points at the end. With my narrow victory, I was the hero the city needed, but probably not the one it deserved.
Rainbow by Outset
After going through Crime Alley in the last game, we wanted to go for something… more cheerful. This is another imminent purchase for me with its simplicity and engaging play. With each player seeing a different side of every card, you work to create a rainbow of 6 different colors. A cloud card or a duplicate color will lose you the rainbow immediately which makes flipping cards extremely stressful (you know, like the feeling you get when you see a rainbow?). There’s nothing like watching your opponent flip a card that you KNOW will lose them the rainbow. Like going from DC to Marvel, the tone and color gives this game a broad appeal.
The Fox in the Forest Duet by Renegade Game Studios
To finish our night of battling each other, we felt we should try something a little more cooperative. This game has you share a game piece, navigating a board and collecting gems. A card will show the suit players must play. Without communicating, the right cards must be played to make the best moves within the time frame. It’s hard to accomplish a cooperative feel when you can’t talk strategy, but we enjoyed trying to think alike, making mistakes, and saying “I wanted you to do X not Y!!” more often than we would’ve liked.
– Chris LoBosco, Founder/Creative Gravitary Games
