This week, I got to play Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Red7, Captain Sonar, and Sagrada.
Heat, at least the base game, felt too balanced. Every time there was a turn with a speed limit, everybody would bunch up one after the other. We added the car customization module, which helped a lot with letting players get ahead, but then also made the game feel like it was stacked from the start. I don’t know if I would play this again.
Red7 and Carl Chudyk games in general are great. I love the multi-use card design in all his games, and it really makes me want to play Innovation/Mottainai again!
Captain Sonar has been a perennial favourite of mine, but it’s hard to find eight people willing to play it. After one game, two people said “never again” and four people really enjoyed it. Too stressful for some, probably?
Finally, Sagrada. I love how pretty the game is - those dice look delicious - but the gameplay personally feels a bit flat. Our group is too nice to deny others in the dice drafting. :)