While I attended BGG Con Spring, this was my first BGG Con Fall, and true to what I'd been told, the difference really was night and day. I had a great time at BGG Spring, but I think it's safe to say I'm going to do my best to not miss another BGG Fall ever, especially since they're moving out of the Hyatt Airport (which they've out-grown, and which has a really annoying parking system, and expensive food) and into downtown (bigger space, easier access to restaurants, no dealing with the crazy validated parking weirdness).
I went in with a list of 38 games. I played 9 of them and saw 8 of the other played or at looked into them. I also played 14 other games that weren't on my list, and added more.
My Top 10 of the Show:
1. Blackout Hong Kong
2. Dice Settlers
3. Gizmos
4. Pioneer Days
5. Western Legends
6. Detective - A Modern Crime Board Game
7. Monster Crunch
8. Welcome To...
9. Guardians
10. The Table is Lava
Games I Never Saw:
I saw some of these in box or on someone's table, but never really investigated them at all. In some cases because I knew I had a demo copy waiting for me at home.
Arboretum
Batman Gotham Under Siege
Coimbra
Deckscape: Heist in Venice
Dragon Boats
Everdell
Forbidden Sky
Grackles
Great Western Trail
Kitchen Rush
My Little Scythe
Orbis
Pantone
Petrichor
Reef
Rise of Tribes
Root
Snow Time
Starship Samurai
The Mind
The River
Games I Took Off My List:
Atlandice
Saw it, decided it was a little simpler, aimed at younger players, than I wanted
Dinosaur Tea Party
Saw it, decided it was more party game/casual than I wanted
Terraforming Mars
I want to play more of this, but it was a little long for a Con game since it's currently easily available
Games I Saw Played or Read the Rules:
Before There Were Stars
Saw this demoed by a company rep, it's a storytelling game I want to play
Brass Birmingham
Saw a group playing it, seems like a long game and not my cup of tea
Disney Villainous
Checked it out from the library, learned the rules, it looks like fun
Gunkimono
Checked it out from the library, learned the rules, made it a low priority
Teotihuacan City of the Gods
Saw several people played it, looks too complex for me but I heard lots of good stuff about it
Tower of Madness
Saw a group playing it, it was interesting design, but I heard it wasn't great
Games I Played:
Blackout Hong Kong
Played it, fell in love, definitely buying it when it hits the store
Catch the Moon
Dexterity game where you put ladders on top of one another, liked this a lot
Detective A Modern Crime Board Game
Played about 30 minutes, most of my group wasn't into it, I fell instantly in love and will definitely buy it
Guardians
Played it as a demo with one of the playtesters, really liked it, it's the Overwatch card game I wanted
Holding On The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr
Played out the first scenario, it's interesting but I don't know that it would quite make purchase level for me
Mesozoic
Played it, fun and quick game where you build a dinosaur park using a real-time sliding puzzle mechanic
Shadows Amsterdam
Kind of a mix of Mysterium and Codenames, interesting but not quite sure I'd buy it because I'm only a mild Mysterium fan and I was terrible at this game
War Chest
Really liked this one, great components, simple design, good strategy game
Not Yet In Print:
These were games I saw either in the library or the exhibition hall, and they're on my list to check out when they come out, probably in 2019.
Agents of Mayhem
Blue Lagoon
Bosk
Cupcake Empire
Detective Club
Feudum
Imperius
Kami-Sama
Museum
Onimaru
Sonar Family
Underwater Cities
Games I Played That Weren't On My List:
Dice Chase
A simple dice game of planning ahead, chess-like. I was terrible at it.
Dice Settlers
Dice-based resource management game, one of my favorites
Fake Artist Goes to New York
Simple party game where one person doesn't know what everyone else is supposed to be drawing, Spyfall-like
Fortune
A teach-as-you-go game in the vein of Flee, Fear, and Fortress
Ganymede
Described to me as Splendor in space, it's a little more complicated than that but interesting, coming out next year
Gizmos
This one actually was Splendor like, resource management with marbles, I loved it and bought it at the show
Impact: Battle of the Elements
Simple dice game, a good one for between games at a game night
Jungle Smarts
Simple deduction game using wooden animals... good game. I was terrible at it.
Memoarrr!
Also a simple deduction/memory game, really good for younger players. This was one of the free games I got as an attendee.
Monster Crunch
A licensed game from General Mills. Great artistic design, simple and fun. I bought this one.
Neon Gods
The cyberpunk future of 2009, as you use gangs for area control. Fun.
Nyctophobia
Game where one player is the serial killer, the others are his potential victims and wear blindfold glasses, trying to find their way to safety using touch. Neat idea, not my kind of game.
Pandemic Fall of Rome
Another flavor of Pandemic, this one has an interesting combat mechanic. I liked it.
Pikoko
Trick-taking game where you see everyone's hand but your own, and there's a bidding mechanic where you guess who is going to win the most tricks. Fun.
Pioneer Days
Dice builder where you are pioneers in the old west, one of my favorite games of the show
Plums
Simple trick-taking game that I liked a lot
The Big Score
Love the theme (heists), love the art design, the game was merely OK
The Faceless
Game that used magnets to simulate a "kids in the dark Faerie realm" type mechanic. Interesting mechanics, not a great game.
The Table is Lava
Really fun Meeple-based dexterity game. Bought it, played it with my kids.
Western Legends
An epic open world western game, one of my favorites at the show. Very likely to buy it.
Welcome to Your Perfect Home
Really enjoyed this, kickstarted the reprint to come in next year
Games I Bought Or Got:
Empires of the Void II
Expancity
Foreclo$ed
Galactic Scoundrels
Gizmos
Megaland
Memoarrr!
Push
Saint Malo
Shop 'n Time!
The Table is Lava
My Updated List of Games to Play:
Agents of Mayhem
Arboretum
Batman Gotham Under Siege
Blue Lagoon
Bosk
Coimbra
Cupcake Empire
Deckscape: Heist in Venice
Detective Club
Discover Lands Unknown
Dragon Boats
Everdell
Feudum
Forbidden Sky
Grackles
Great Western Trail
Imperius
Kami-Sama
Kitchen Rush
Museum
My Little Scythe
Onimaru
Orbis
Pantone
Petrichor
Reef
Rise of Tribes
Root
Snow Time
Sonar Family
Starship Samurai
The Mind
The River
Underwater Cities
