I have met so many people through board game sessions. Before the 2020 pandemic hit, we had a boardgame cafe in the city, where we held weekly meetups to test out new boardgames, teach others a game they took an interest in, and even had events promoting various new board games to all!
Just like a lot of things, the pandemic took away the cafe. But it has not stopped eventful meetups now and then. And through those, I have realized that my favorite type of board games are those that involve gems.
Not just gems, but any colorful tokens, crystals, and stones make my brain go into a klik-klak goblin mode!
My boyfriend and I dabble in various kinds of tabletop games and involve our friends in these little fantastical escapades. So today, I want to introduce my favorite styles of board games to you all and name-drop some of the games I have played and some that I wish to own one day.
Let us begin!
The Importance of a Good Board Game
Board games have more use cases than just being a game. There are billions of board games out there, and more so in the making.
What makes me love them so much is how I can experience such beautiful memorable moments with my friends.
For anyone with a challenging or traumatic childhood, playing games with friends as an adult is a soothing experience. It makes us experience the childhood we never had or wish we did.
For me, it reminds me that I have friends to talk to, interact with, and be competitive against in a game we are all collectively enjoying.
And for anyone wondering why I love gemstones and crystals so much, they remind me of beautiful pebbles, colored candies, and everything vibrant around me.
The sheer joy of knowing that many boardgame creators also love to experience the joys of bright and rich hues in the littlest things is always a good reason to support their creations.
3 Gem-Based Boardgames for Your Fun Weekends!
1. Splendor
Splendor is one of the first board games we tried out and now own! And while the game has no fake or real gems, it has various tokens with gems printed on them.
You can play a 1-v-1 match against someone or band up a part of 4 to check who wins. So, how does the game work?
As a player, you start your jewelry business hoping to be a gem merchant with powerful connections. As your business booms, so do many like-minded folks. And now you aim to collect as many gemstones as possible till a nobility notices their achievements as a gemstone mogul in the making.
These gems help to collect cards with values signified as gems of various colors. And each card has a prestige point number starting from zero to five.
When collecting enough cards, whose numbers equal 15 prestige points in total, you get a visit from one of the nobles (they have their cards too.) And you win the moment you reach 15 prestige points!
Now, I can go on and on about the instructions, but that would get boring. It is a pretty gun game, and it gets my goblin-brain cackling for some gem-collecting adventures.
2. Azul
Azul is a beautiful soul-soothing game with intricately-designed mosaic tiles. And as the player, you create some of the most gorgeous mosaic masterpieces using the tiles you get from the in-game marketplace.
The name and the game design date back centuries when the Portuguese King Manuel I (ruled from 1495 to 1521) fell in love with the radiant decorative tiles at the Alhambra palace.
These wall tiles soon became a part of his palace and now can be part of your board game collection! The game starts with 2-4 players, each taking up the role of an artisan.
Your goal is to create various pattern lines to decorate the in-game walls with eye-catching constructions. You can claim these tiles from the central market and strategize your moves within the three step-rounds, comprising of:
- Factory offer
- Tiling the wall
- Next round preparation
As you start arranging these tiles into colorful designs on the game’s floor line, you start earning points to win the game! Certain patterns and sets with the same colors can earn you some bonus points, putting you before the rest in the game.
And by keeping a steady eye on everyone’s moves, you can backtrack their plans, know your next moves, and have fun competitive experiences with your friends and family.
3. Century Golem Edition
Play Century Golem Edition here
Now, this is a game of glittery little crystals! Century Golem Edition has been on my wishlist for a while. And if I cannot have it, I want others to. This game by Plan B is made for multiple players from two to four members.
In this game, you can collect crystals and cards and convert them to acquire various powerful golems! As the story goes, crystals are rare resources in this fantastical world. You are a wizard you can collect them and trade them to animate beautiful, aesthetic golems!
These golems have unique and breathtaking designs, and their art styles will make you fall in love. These golems are artificial constructs capable of carrying out tasks impossible for mortals.
As you play, you collect the crystals and cards for golems victory comes close. And once you have acquired five golems and the most points among all, you are the winner!
The game starts with two cards in hand, and in your turn, you can collect more from the central display. And as for the crystals, those have a crucial feature!
Each golem card is worth specific numbers of colored crystals. These gems have rarity ranks. Yellow is the least rare, followed by green, blue, and pink, the rarest of them all.
You can collect and store these crystals on a storage card and use those during your turn. And in each turn, you can take one of the following four actions:
- Take a new card to add to the hand
- Play a card to generate, upgrade the rarity of, or convert crystals
- Reclaim already-played cards
- Buying a golem
There are so many things to do while playing Century Golem Edition, so have fun! It takes about 30 to 40 minutes for a whole game, making it a perfect choice for friends and family gatherings.
Conclusion
All in all, these are three of my many favorite gem-based board games. One day, I wish to collect many more and introduce them to people around me.
I hope you try one of these games and relish its rich and flourishing experiences.
What board games would you add to this list? I would love to get some more suggestions for my board game bucket list!