Tabletop Arcanum

Tabletop Arcanum: a place of learning and exploring of Tabletop Gaming.

09/03/2026

365 adventures Cthulhu by Pandasaurus Games Sorry We Are French continue. August was a great month riding that insanity line and scoring maximum points. Onto September where the last stretch seems to start. I’m hoping to get all the moonstones possible but the dice may have another plan.
Have you been keeping up? How’s your adventure going?

09/02/2026

Okay, how did September already sneak up on us like this. There were so many games I wanted to add into the August play list.
Still while a busy month away from the table meant less games that definitely didn’t mean no games got played. Between games during lunch and regular game nights, plus the MtG Hobbit pre release gave plenty of opportunity for a variety of games to land.

How did your August table look like?

Multiple sessions included:
Marvel Champions Fantasy Flight Games
Spooktacular Level 99 Games
Horror on the Orient Express Chaosium Board Games
Enchanted Ivy Allplay
Cyberpunk Legends Night Crew Games

08/26/2026

Horror on the Orient Express by Michal Golab Golebiowski and Adam Kwapinski published by Chaosium Board Games Chaosium Inc.

Got the train assembled and on the table earlier this week. This one has quite a bit of setup that takes time to walk through. It was almost an hour before we were able to start playing. Learning as events came up slowed us at first but as more turns went on the quicker the gameplay flowed.

There is a lot to manage and keep in check for your train to make it back out of the dreamlands. Monsters and portals need to maintain their limits. Keeping the passengers sane while also making sure they aren’t eaten too. Actions per turn and when to rest to level up and recover have some interesting strategy timing tied to them. One aspect that was nice was even though each investigator has different skills there were common themes across them to ensure each could do a little of everything.

We of course did not win as the portals spiraled out of control after many passengers became insane. Time to learn and adjust for the next play!

08/14/2026

Coming home with me from Gen Con was Enchated Ivy designed by Sarah Joshua and published by Allplay

This solo drafting and building game takes you to a magical in. That you slowly expand. Find room for guests that each have scoring mechanics that keep them happy. Some quests have you looking for a big score but others allow for more clever placements. The game play is quick and simple with lovely art to draw you in. It’s already taken some time for mental breaks at work and comes in a compact box for easy travel.

*Review copy provided by publisher*

08/12/2026

While at GenCon Crafty Games provided a copy of Orapa Mine designed by Junghee Choi and Wanjin Gill to check out and provide my thoughts on.

So far as an initial impression it gives a battleship plus detection game as you set your gems and your opponent does the same. Then taking turns you can target a square to learn what’s there or fire a laser and learn where it comes out and what color. Depending on what angles and colors that laser hits you can have some really puzzling situations. There a lot of room on gameplay for some clever puzzle solving the parts and components are well made. There isn’t much going on with the theme and art but it doesn’t really need much.

Where’s the fun? Solving and uncovering the map of your opponent does give some satisfying moments when you get results as you suspected.

08/11/2026

In late July another game of Twilight Imperium by Fantasy Flight Games was concluded. We tried the twilights fall mode which had us all play as gene sorcerers blending unit upgrades and abilities. Several times we found ourselves laughing at some of the insane combos we found. From infinite fighters to PDS mass firing two spades away.
Not something I would teach on nor suggest for groups who need balanced gameplay. However if you are in for the chaos and ready to adapt your gameplay to the cards it can be a lot of fun.

Have you tried Twilights Fall?

08/10/2026

August is already a week in and the Cthulhu Advendures 365 by Pandasaurus Games Sorry We Are French is still kicking!
In July we had to manage our sanity carefully and in August we have a way to recover some. Have you been planing along? How has your adventure going ?

08/08/2026

Still being casual into the Magic the Gathering scene, I find prerelease events a wonderful way to engage. Everyone is on similar footing with the sealed format, but also you play with the cards you just got too. Got to try another local stores version of the event. GriffoNest Games 🎲🎮 had over 50 players. The community they have built was warm and welcoming. Overhearing other players who were either new to the store or new to prerelease formats all were welcomed and giving grace and advice as needed.

GRIFFONEST in Woodstock, IL is definitely a FLGS to visit if you are in the area. Not to mention the historic Woodstock Square that the store is located at which may look familiar from Groundhog Day.

08/07/2026

It’s madness on how detailed these tiny game boxes are from Shelfy by Brotherwise Games

Your starter kit comes with the shelfy and 5 games to kick off your display. Then add shelfy boosters of 3 games per box. Right now there’s 28 in total to collect including 4 special treatment boxes. The Gloomhavens on the top are a great example of the difference.

It’s fun and silly, but as my day job has me at a semi permanent desk it’s the perfect opportunity to bring in and display my favorite past time.

What games are you excited to see already part of this mini collection?
What would you like to see in session 2 of shelfy?

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