For yesterday’s soup & games night, it was a high of 50*F/ 10*C, rainy, and windy, so it was the perfect time for our bi-monthly soup & games! I was quite excited, because I’d been wanting to make this Asian dumpling soup I found a recipe for (you know how I’m a sucker for things in dough. Problem was I couldn’t find vegan, gluten free dumplings, and while I could make them, I did not want to lol. BUT I was recently in the States visiting family, and found some at a grocery store there! Score! Read on for how everything turned out.

At a Glance…

Soup, Salad, & Sweet Berries

The salad was a hit! I doubled it for our group of 7, and it was devoured! The peanut sauce and quinoa added a nice dose of protein, and the veggies were bright and colorful. Blending them made it way easier than chopping. This had fantastic flavor and texture, and will definitely be going in the rotation.

The soup was my opportunity to use those gluten free vegan dumplings! It was pretty easy to throw together, though by the end I don’t think I had time to season and taste test it as much as I would’ve liked. I think it needed a bit more of something, but I’m not exactly sure what yet. I added a package of baked tofu for some added substance and protein, which I think was a good choice. I loved all the colorful leaves and other veggies! I don’t often use bok choy, so this was a good opportunity to branch out. Next time when I’m not in such a hurry I’ll try it again and add a few more seasonings I think.

I’ve made this pie once before, and thought I’d whip it together real quick, haha. Famous last words. I bought a bag of mixed berries, but since it included strawberries and the recipe said don’t use strawberries, I ended up picking them out, which didn’t quite leave the 8 cups left that I needed. I scavanged my freezer for more frozen blueberries, threw in some cranberries and cherries, and hoped for the best. For some reason it took forever to thicken up, and I even added some cornstarch to it. Because of that, and the fact that we were too impatient to let it sit for the full 2-3 hours, it ended up being dished as more of a cobbler than pie, but who cares! It was still so tasty! Love that crumble topping and gooey berry goodness!

Strategy

Take this with a grain of salt since I have a really hard time ranking things, but I believe Honey Buzz is my # 1 game! At least it was the last two times I attempted to rank them. This is a combination of a few factors, including cute animals, adorable art, fantastic components, unique and strategic mechanisms, and a length that feels just right. The theme, according to BGG/the publisher, is that “the bees have discovered economics. The queens believe that if they sell honey to the bears, badgers, and woodland creatures, they will find peace and prosperity. Spring has arrived and it’s time to build the hive, find nectar, make honey, and, for the first time ever, set up shop.” What a great theme! 😂

It is a worker placement game (like many of my favorites), where you place your little bees to get tiles and build out your own honeycomb. Each tile has actions on it, and when you have completed a circle of tiles, you get to do all the actions in the circle. This includes things like foraging for honey, going to market, getting more baby bees (my fav!), and more. All this is done in order to produce honey in the right combinations to sell at the market to the woodland critters. I love how each game is different, and triggering your actions feels so satisfying! I could gush about this one for a while, but suffice it to say it is well worth your time and you should buy it now and thank me later.

Walking in Burano is a great little filler with bright beautiful art. In it, you’re building five houses in the city of Burano, trying to get lots of plants, flowers, cats, shops, etc. to score points. You can take a combination of cards and money adding up to 3, and all the cards must come from the same column. Your houses should have 3 floors with all the same color, and no two houses of the same color next to each other. When you finish a house, you pick a visitor to come and give you points. It’s so simple and satisfying; I love city building games!

I’ve previously Luthier here. It’s one of our newer and heavier games, with the great theme of making patrons happy by building renaissance instruments. It can be a little tricky figuring out the timing, and that brings some unpredictability and reliance on the goodwill of your fellow players. Sometimes that twist is great because of its uniqueness, sometimes it’s super frustrating. If you’re willing to be flexible and pivot though, this is such a good one!

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].