How did it get so late so soon?

"How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon

December is here before it's June

My goodness how the time has flewn

How did it get so late so soon?

- Dr Seuss

Better never than late, but here is the roundup of boardgames played in March.

7 Wonders: Duel: I really liked this. I have always liked 7 Wonders (without actually being any good at it) and have been happy to play it. But this is much better and, for the warmongers among you, gives a military route to victory. Boardgaming to me is a social activity and so we don't play too many two player games, but if you're looking for one, this is a cracker.

Archaeology: The New Expedition: Pleasant enough card game loosely set in Egypt, but I enjoyed the original version more.

Code 777: An abstract deduction game in the style of Mastermind except multiplayer and with pen and paper replacing little coloured pegs. I liked it.

Codenames: I was forced to have a go at being spymaster and learned that it can be no fun at all if the words don't fall right.

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong: I'm getting a bit tired of this now. It doesn't work well with larger groups, and its ability to handle larger groups is one of the few reasons for playing it.

Dominion: Hadn't played this in a yonk and rather enjoyed it. I suspect that the two things are connected.

Five Tribes: I'm not at all sure why it's called that, the official explanation clearly being tosh. It's a good game though, another one that uses the mancala mechanic to good effect.

Fuse: Real time cooperative bomb disposal. Yet another co-op game that I like; I must be going soft in my old age. The only link seems to be that one can never win.

Hanabi: Speaking of impossible co-op games that I like anyway.

Isle of Skye: Sort of auction, sort of drafting, but whatever it is it works well. Best played with the full five I think.

Kabuki: Not for me, although I won. It's to do with pattern and colour recognition; really not for me.

Karuba: Bingo (1) meets Tikal meets Carcassone in a solo game played in a group. I liked it a lot.

Lords of Vegas: Close to the end of this game it became apparent that I had been playing different rules to everyone else. I'd like to try it again, but properly before passing judgement. My gut feel is pretty negative though.

Love Letter: I don't know why this doesn't get played more often, it's a very clever design.

Mission: Red Planet: The game is OK, it's me that sucks at it. It's a game in which, essentially, you have to play all of a limited number of cards and second guessing what the others will play is the crucial skill; the crucial skill that I don't possess.

Paperback: It's a fairly simple word game, but I continue to enjoy it.

Power Grid: Nothing like as heavy as its reputation.

Red 7: Enjoyable, abstract, light filler which I've now played more than any other game.

Revolver: You know those two player games that I never find time for? Well here's another one. I won as the Colty gang. No one ever wins as the Colty gang.

Rhino Hero: Ridiculous game.

Splendor: A fine, virtually completely abstract game, and even better now that it was pointed out that we had one of the rules subtly wrong.

A Rufous-vented Chachalaca

Tobago: Ostensibly about treasure hunting, this is a deduction game where what you are trying to deduce (the location of the treasure) isn't fixed until you have finished deducing it. Very clever mechanics; peculiar artwork that would appear to bear no relation whatever to the island of Tobago. I'd play it again.

(1) Did you know that chap who invented the name Bingo (but not the game) was the same chap who invented the name Yahtzee (but not the game)? No, nor did I.