Every game we played in June 2026 - Game of the Month

0:00 Hello everyone. This is Johannes.

0:03 And this is Synnaeve.

0:03 And you are watching Board Gaming Ramblings.

0:06 And a welcome back to Game of the Month where we talk about the games that we played the previous month. And in this case, it's June.

0:12 June 2026. Half of the year.

0:15 Yes.

0:16 Oof, it's gone. We played games again this month. Maybe Yes, but almost a couple of months ago we almost didn't play games. It was a very weird I was like almost did we didn't make the videos like why we didn't even play almost any games. But we did play some and this time we also played some games and we're going to talk about them. If you haven't seen this videos before, welcome to the channel. You can

0:35 subscribe.

0:36 Yeah, because it is

0:37 free.

0:37 Yes, 100% and you can see videos about board games. This one we're going to do these things. We're going to talk to you about the stats of the month. We're going to tell you all the games that we played and then we're going to go into the most fun experience, biggest let down, biggest surprise and our top three games that we played in the month of June 2026. Are you ready?

0:56 Yes.

0:56 Am I ready?

0:58 Nobody knows.

0:59 Nobody knows. But anyways, let's do it anyways. In June 2026, we played 44 plays.

1:07 Which is less than in May which had 68 games.

1:11 That is less.

1:12 plays.

1:12 We played 17 different games.

1:14 Which is also less than the 37 in May.

1:17 If you aren't If you are very bad at math, these videos can also learn you numbers.

1:22 Oh, okay. So it's 20 20 less than in May.

1:26 I need to be more specific. No, I was just thinking like you learn which numbers are higher than the other numbers.

1:31 We're not that specific.

1:32 We played four games, four that was new to us.

1:36 Which is 11 less than the 15 we did in May.

1:39 And we played 49 hours of board games.

1:42 No, no, I'm not doing that but it's fewer than the 67 we did last month.

1:48 Correct. The most important stat of them all is of course how many times did you win and how many times did I win?

1:54 I won 15 times.

1:56 And my name is Johannes, and I won 23 times.

2:00 What?

2:01 Mostly again the times I played without you, but I I also think maybe we should do maybe we should start doing it with only the games that both of us are in, because then it will be more fair to you.

2:10 Yeah.

2:10 Because it's not fair to you, because people put a lot of things into this. They would be like, "Oh, we don't like you anymore,

2:16 but I like that you have a chance to win as well, you know?

2:19 That is true. But it makes me feel better. I do win sometimes, actually.

2:23 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

2:23 And we had fun. It was a fun month. We played a some We didn't play too many different games, but we played some bigger games and some not as a bigger and badder, but bigger and better games. Not all games are better because they're bigger,

2:37 No.

2:37 but some of these were good, even though they were very long. Some of these games we will do we will do content on them. We have done content on them. Maybe When will you do content on them? Will you ever do content on them? Or wear wigs? With that said, let's go to the next part of the video.

2:54 Yeah.

2:54 Are you ready?

2:55 Yeah.

2:55 Let's go there. You have to walk as well, or we won't get there. Oh, hello there. We're finally at the next like a video game, where like we go to the next section of the thing. There's a new thing we're going to do in all our videos, like in the top 10s.

3:08 A loading screen?

3:09 to

3:09 I'd love to add that. I have too few loading screens in my life.

3:13 Yes, and on videos there should be more loading, because that's what you need. Now, we're going to talk about the things that are important to people, like what games was a fun experience or what experience was fun.

3:26 all the games first.

3:28 Oh, yes. I forgot that part of the video.

3:31 part.

3:31 I just did like the thing where I talked about all the things we were going to do,

3:34 Yeah.

3:34 and I forgot one of the things.

3:36 Yes.

3:36 Are you ready?

3:37 Yeah.

3:37 There's There's actually 17 games we have to say, so let's see if we can do it.

3:41 Mhm.

3:42 In June 2026, we played

3:44 Lands of Evershade.

3:46 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower Trick Taking Game.

3:49 Flip Seven.

3:50 Magical Athlete.

3:51 Rosalie.

3:52 Diablos.

3:53 Rinnyo.

3:53 Nippon Saibatsu.

3:55 Entropy

3:55 One round?

3:56 Inside Job

3:57 Luna

3:59 The Veil of Eternity

4:00 Chocolate Factory

4:01 Architects of the West Kingdom

4:03 Fearless

4:04 Piñatas

4:05 We did it. Congratulations. That was a good job.

4:08 Yeah.

4:08 That will I think that actually since we managed to say so many games in a row in the first take, we should get a like.

4:14 Oh, yeah.

4:15 Yes. I appreciated you saying the longest

4:19 The longest trick taking

4:20 Two Towers trick taking game.

4:21 That's a tricky one.

4:22 Yes. And if you don't want to actually like the video, just point like a don't thumb up to your screen, it should also work.

4:27 Oh, yeah. Nice.

4:28 And now we can do the other things that I already kind of said that we were supposed to do.

4:32 Yes.

4:32 Are you ready to do them? Let's start with the biggest fun experience of them all.

4:36 The biggest fun experience

4:38 most fun experience. My words aren't wording. Are you ready Are you Do you want to begin?

4:42 Yeah, can begin.

4:43 I will close mouth. You will say word.

4:45 Uh I had so much fun playing Flip 7 the other day.

4:50 Yes.

4:50 We have played Flip 7 a bunch of times.

4:52 64

4:53 But we had some people over

4:56 Hello.

4:57 that we know like they know us from the channel and they come came to visit

5:02 Yes.

5:03 all the way from the USNA.

5:05 Yes, they didn't travel to Norway just to see us.

5:07 That that's very important to know.

5:09 happy they didn't feel that. I would have so much pressure. He says like, "We're going to travel to all over the world just to see your face."

5:15 But of the the people that we had visiting, not all of them were really into gaming. So we brought out like a little game that we thought would be fun for everyone.

5:26 Yes.

5:27 And it was really fun especially because one of us kept having like the baddest like the worst luck that I think I've seen for a very long time.

5:37 he had ever in that game.

5:38 Yeah. And it was just like hilarious and we had a really good time.

5:43 It's my most best fun experience as well. It was great. We got to show them around the city.

5:49 Yeah. We live in a for most places in the world a small city, but it's like the fifth biggest city in Norway because we don't have people. And it also has one of the best preserved old towns in all of you northern Europe.

6:03 Yeah, fortress is kind of

6:04 Fortress city. So, it has it's actually quite a big tourist attraction.

6:08 Mhm.

6:09 Uh and we went there. We had some pizza, actually kebab pizza, which is very Nordic and European, but it's like it's a Swedish thing, but we also have it big in Norway. And we also made them some waffle with brown cheese. And they got to taste different Norwegian sweets. So, we had a great time. And we sat outside in this great weather and played board games, which was pretty pretty awesome.

6:31 that said, let's do the biggest letdown.

6:34 Yeah, I I we haven't played a lot of games. So, sometimes we agreed to do this that we just like well, I can't we can't find any letdowns this this year.

6:43 This year?

6:44 Well, I can't

6:44 That would be very like that would be very weird if you played games. Yes.

6:48 during the year, but this month I I couldn't really none of the games have let me down. So, I don't have anything. Do you have

6:56 But it could have been like for example, there was no more milk when you wanted milk. That could have been your biggest letdown. But we don't usually have a lot of milk. So, most of the time milk is fine.

7:06 I would be a letdown a lot if that was like the criteria.

7:09 My biggest letdown was Luna.

7:11 Oh, yeah.

7:12 The Stefan Feld game. Because we played it and it was boring.

7:16 Oh, you had you didn't have a good time.

7:18 a super I did play very poorly. But also

7:22 I had great time.

7:23 I didn't like the game too much.

7:24 No.

7:25 I thought it was fine, but I was bored. And it was my biggest letdown because I was like on this one we were at someone's place and they wanted to play it because they bought it at Spiel when it came out long time ago. Hadn't even punched it. And I was like I kind of know that game. I read the rules. I don't have to tell you the whole thing. We basically needed to know the rules before we played it, then we played it. I didn't have much fun. It was my biggest let down. Do you have a surprise though?

7:47 does it mean that you're okay calling Luna? Have we already called it?

7:51 No, I don't want to call it.

7:52 Okay, okay. Um, my like biggest

7:56 Do we have it still? I don't remember. I haven't seen it in I think it is upstairs.

8:00 it's upstairs. Um, my biggest surprise

8:03 a game you played and you were like, "What?" That's like what a surprise is. What is a surprise to you?

8:10 Hm?

8:10 What is like the word surprise? What what how do you describe a surprise to you?

8:14 Something that I didn't expect.

8:17 Okay, so let's say for example you open the box and there was mouse mice in the box.

8:23 be really surprised. I would have like additional feelings like frightened. Yeah. Or

8:30 That's true because sometimes because you say like something you didn't expect because sometimes you did take something you didn't like as your biggest surprise like you were surprised it was bad.

8:39 Yeah.

8:40 But now

8:40 I've done that also. Well,

8:43 What was your biggest surprise

8:45 Um, my biggest surprise this game also was like a really strong contender for most fun experience because we couldn't stop like laughing when we played this game.

8:55 And it was Luna.

8:58 Yes. It really surprised me that you didn't like it. No, my biggest surprise is a magical athlete.

9:05 Magical.

9:06 This is such a silly game. It's just like

9:09 not a game.

9:10 Yeah, but it is a game. It is a game. It's a pure roll and move.

9:15 Uh-huh.

9:15 In the simplest fashion that you can like imagine, but you all have silly rule breaking special abilities and they're wacky and fun and crazy stuff happens and you just like sit there and be like You're doing stuff that's [clears throat] fun and I'm doing stuff maybe. I don't know. Maybe we're winning. We don't care. It's we we're having a fun time.

9:39 That also makes the game better because you get like invested in your character winning.

9:44 lot of the times, I can't really influence a lot of what is happening. So, I'm just like, I'm just here for the ride.

9:50 But then there was a hope that the ride ends up in you winning because that is the fun because you get the points and we live for points. Actually, I will die if I don't get enough points.

9:58 We played it with It's a up to six six players, but we played it with seven. And this is a game that I would recommend if you want to have like a fun time with a lot of people. I would not recommend it for like a low a group of few people.

10:14 No. For example, the solo game is not a solo game.

10:18 It is very bad as a solo game, I would say. My most surprised biggest is Magical Athlete.

10:23 Oh.

10:24 It's a very fun game. It's way more fun than it's supposed to be. I've been almost buying it for a long time and then or actually first I was like, I don't think I want to play that especially because I played Hot Streak which came from the same company at the same time and I thought it was really boring. I know people like that game. I just don't like it which is okay. I don't like it at all. I thought it was super boring. And then I did a translation into Norwegian for Magical Athlete and when I did I was like, this sounds super stupid and awesome. And I don't know why because I was waiting for it to be available in Norway. It never was. So, I ordered it at last or from the place played it.

11:04 Yeah.

11:05 I don't know why I think people need to know like at 10:00 p.m. I went into cmyk.com. I don't know why I think people need that.

11:13 No.

11:13 I don't think that's why they heard the channel to know like, what was the ordering process like?

11:18 Well, they're getting ramblings.

11:19 That they are. They're getting this is who I am. Deal with it.

11:23 Let's talk about the top [clears throat] three games of the month.

11:26 Oh, do you have three?

11:28 Yeah, I do.

11:28 I also have trees out in the garden.

11:32 Okay. I Should I start?

11:35 Yes, cuz that is the rule. Or do you want me to start this time to break it up? My number three, but then I speak most and you don't speak too much. So, you you can do the number first.

11:45 Okay. My number three

11:47 I'm almost like Kevin Malone now. Like, I speak words, change time, no very smart.

11:53 It's more efficient.

11:54 Yes. More efficient, less words, good. Okay.

11:58 My number three is the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers trick-taking game. Did I say that?

12:05 For the fourth month in a row, it's on the top three.

12:07 It's not.

12:08 Okay.

12:09 I have been like this has been It wasn't last time.

12:12 Okay. For me, it has been like the last few times.

12:16 So, it hasn't been

12:17 the game. That's what you're saying.

12:18 We've played other games also that I want to highlight. So, I have not had this on the list since February.

12:23 Yes.

12:24 Now, I want to highlight it again because we played it and it's it's good.

12:30 Yes.

12:30 Yeah.

12:31 We played it and it's good. We are more than halfway through.

12:36 Yeah, and I like the changes. And it's like yeah, and should I say something more or you happy with that?

12:44 Like spoiler-wise, you shouldn't say too much about the things in it.

12:47 I'm thinking.

12:47 But you have to be in it

12:49 to win it. Well, it is a co-op game. It's like a little like The Crew that you're like trying to all together achieve something with trick-taking.

12:58 Yes.

12:59 And it's follows along the Lord of the Rings story.

13:02 It's a great storytelling game.

13:04 Well, it is a great story that it's based on.

13:07 not telling the story very well.

13:09 for the game.

13:10 don't know the story, it's not like you will after you play this, you'll get that, "No, I know the story."

13:16 movies now because of what I've read now.

13:19 But the it's very good. They are doing We played almost the whole first one and now we're playing this one and there might be a third one because there is a third book.

13:29 Mhm, who knows?

13:30 I think most people know uh because it was so popular. It was not my number three.

13:35 What's your number

13:35 My number three was Lords Lands of Ever Shade. Lands of Ever Shade is climbing my ranks as a very good uh

13:45 [clears throat]

13:45 campaign game. We are doing a full review of this. We have to wait until we have played like the cycle of three adventures. It's not like a full campaign. So, we are finished with the first adventure. So, we're basically done with like a basic starting story. Now, we're on to a advanced story and then we have the expert story. And then there is going to be like an epic uh end, but that isn't before the second wave next year. So, we are going to get through that first three scenarios in the main box and we're going to make a review after that because many people have already made the reviews for the first impressions, for the after 10 hours, for after one, or even after two. I don't know if many have done for like the whole thing. So, we want to do that to see also because it's more chance of us actually finish it wait to do the review. So, we will do a review of that.

14:31 For now, I'm really liking it. A lot of true solo adventure. It is less fighting than in many other of these games, which I think is a plus. I often think the fighting is not that fun. I felt that here it has gotten better. I like it more now than in the beginning. Um all both because it is more fun now, but also because I've gotten more into it.

14:51 Mhm.

14:51 I think it is a really fun game. It feels like the choices you make actually would matter and would actually change a bit. We don't know how much because I don't go like going like this and reading both of the things. Sometimes I feel like I should for review purposes, but I also like to enjoy the story as it is the way we experience it.

15:11 Mhm.

15:12 Uh but yeah, that is my number three.

15:13 Cool. My number two

15:15 two

15:16 is Architects of the West Kingdom and I thought it was just like such a blast to play this again because it's been years since last time and this is a great worker placement game. It's still one of my favorite worker placement games. It's a little different in that regard that you're like putting meeple at a worker placement space, but then it like stays there. So when you go there with another meeple later, the action gets stronger and there can be like an infinite amount of people on the most of the worker placement spaces. And to get people away from there, other people will put them in jail so that you won't get such an powerful action. We played it with the expansion, which I really enjoyed.

16:03 But like it it surprised me in I didn't think well, I hoped that I would still like it as much, but we have revisited games before that was just like, oh, my memory of it was so much more fun than the going back and actually played because I'm I'm a different person now that I'm playing it. But this was so fun still and we played it like in like an hour.

16:28 Yeah.

16:28 And that's like a lot of cool gaming for like a short amount of time, which is really where I like it.

16:35 It's a good game.

16:36 It is.

16:37 It's not my number two. This is the best transition we do. My number two is Diabolo's. This is a prototype that we played that is on Gamefound, I think, right now, if I don't remember wrong. If it's not there anymore or if it hasn't started yet. My my dates get jumbled around when we do things and then the dates come and they go and that's the life. But the game is is really nice. It's long, but it's very good. I enjoy all of the mechanisms. I enjoy the I even enjoy the theme of this like fireworks festival and you are trying to be the best performer and you are managing so many things. You're managing trying to to do worker placement. You are trying to send your people out to do different shows. To do these things, you need fireworks, and the better performance you use, the more fireworks you need of specific colors.

17:24 And you also have this whole troop of people that you want to get move to get into the city, into the street, so you can use them for more actions. It has some very unique, interesting uh mechanisms, and it's one that I have been really enjoying playing, and that's why it is my number two.

17:42 Yeah. My number one is um the same as your number three. It's Lands of Ever Shade. And this game we have played it with has had the potential to be in the top three several months now, but it hasn't made it for me until now. I agree with you. It's like slowly rising and becoming more and more fun. Um in the beginning I was just like I I know I like it, but I like a lot of games. I don't know how much I will like this one. We will like these campaign story dreaming games, so it's always exciting to see how much like we like the specific one, and where does it land? As you said, the story is one thing, but what about the actual mechanisms? And I'm now we're delving into the the more advanced story campaign. I'm I'm really on board with it. I really like the mechanisms, and I really like the story so far, and I'm excited to play it more.

18:44 100% My number one is Rosalee. Rosalee is one that we will be doing a preview for pretty soon, so you will see that. I'm not going to go very deeply into it. It is the newest game from Uchibacoya, who has done Ostia, who has done Sweetland, and other games like What was like the Dino Garden Dust trilogy? I guess it was pretty cool. The but but Sweetland I think and Ostia, those two are my favorites from them. And Rosalee comes in and is in the same vein as Sweet Lands. It's a longer, heavier game. It has some more interaction than Sweet Lands, but it's still a very long game. It's like a 4-hour game with three players, learning game. And then two players will still be pretty long. But it is a lot of fun. There's a lot of neat mechanisms. You're starting so much depth. You're trying to build the best or grow, not build. Build the roses. You're growing the best roses. You're building robots. You are sending me into the and the garden and doing all of these things. And it is a a like a cozy theme, but it is a heavier crunchy eurogame with some blocking and some interaction going on as well.

19:51 Yeah, it's a lengthy game, but it's really solid and has like this really cool clipboard that you're using to choose your actions and those goes around. So you're blocking actions for all the others as well, which is really cool.

20:05 So be on the lookout for a video on that one. And that is the things that we did in this month.

20:11 Mhm.

20:11 Next time there will be other games and also next month there will be another video like this, but with different games and words.

20:17 Yeah.

20:17 If you like different games and words, you can

20:19 subscribe.

20:20 Talk to you soon. Thank you for watching. I'm Johannes.

20:22 I'm Synwae.

20:23 been watching Board Gaming Ramblings and bye-bye.