Happy Victoria Day! Victoria Day is a uniquely Canadian statutory holiday that originated in 1845, when the legislature of the Province of Canada declared May 24, the birthday of Queen Victoria, a public holiday. Following the Queen’s death in 1901, the Canadian Parliament established it as an annual national legal holiday. About this time last year we had a themed lunch around this game and British food, and I decided Victoria Day was the perfect time to do it again, especially since we just received the new “Victorian Box”!

At a Glance…

Cornish Pie

This pie from Mouthwatering Vegan is a bit of work, but so so good. It has become one of Jon and I’s most requested birthday meals actually. It reminds us very much of the Cornish pasties we used to get while living in York. They’re kinda like cheap street food that is satiating and satisfying. This Cornish pie is similar, except not in handheld form. Honestly, give me anything inside puff pastry and I’m happy. This pie is filled with cooked apples, sausage, beef, cream, cheese, and potatoes. All vegan of course! The hardest part of this is that in the way we make it, we do a giant version on a pizza pan, and getting the puff pastry to stretch enough is a struggle. Jon was watching me struggle to stretch it (and failing lol), and was like, should I be videoing this for your blog? Lol, no thanks. But after some struggle, we got it! And look at it! It’s so beautiful! It’s hard not to scarf it all down right away, but having leftover Cornish Pie is also amazing.

Obsession

I wore my York University sweatshirt today to represent our time in the UK as we ate this delightful pie and played Obsession. Obsession is a charmingly themed game centered around the idea of trying to build your estate and court the Fairchilds in Victorian England. You do this by doing an activity from your estate, which will likely have staffing requirements and gentry who want to attend. You then add gentry cards from your hand (all with fun flavor text), who might also require their own staff. Doing these activities will help you gain money, reputation, and more guests. You can then use your money to buy buildings to add to your estate. Intermittently throughout the game, there will be scoring opportunities based on different buildings, which the Fairchilds will then use to determine who they want to court. The theme, production, design, and art of this game are all amazing. We have all the expansions, and recently got the metal coins, playmat, Victorian box (to better house everything), and most importantly- Rules Compendium! After all those expansion rules, it was hard to sort through everything, so this compendium was a must buy for us to get this to the table more often. I love how the designer of the game and head of the company listened to his fans about what they needed to get this game played more often. If you’re at all into the Downton Abbey, Jane Austen, etc. type theme, check this one out…it will not disappoint!

Want to buy these games? Check out your friendly local game store (FLGS), Amazon [here], or get a first-order discount at Board Game bliss [here].

Victorian Box

More Game Play