Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!



First up: We invent definitions one random word at a time in HaiclueNext: We’re ace pilots in gambling our way to the finish line in Hydroracers: The Schneider Trophy EpicAnd lastly: We send our servants in first as we hunt for ancient treasure in Crypt



Haiclue



Designed by: Will LeafPublished by: Tiger Board Games (2019)Players: 2 – 12Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 30 minutes



In Haiclue, players combine random word tiles to make clues.



Each round, every player uses 15 random word tiles to make a clue for one of the four words in the center of the table. When everyone has finished, the group reads the clues out loud, and everyone guesses which of the four words belongs to each player. If a player guesses correctly, they score a point for themselves and a point for the author of the clue.



Play 6 rounds, add up points, declare the winner, if there is a tie, you play another entire game for the tiebreaker. Just kidding. The winner is the winner and everyone is haiclueless.



Hydroracers: The Schneider Trophy Epic



Designed by: Emmanuel AlbisserPublished by: Platypus Games (2022)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 30 – 60 minutes



Hydroracers is a game of fast races interspersed with preparation phases where each nation improves its aircraft. We played the basic version of the game, which is just the race. So we did not delve into the more complex versions of the game having to deal with aircraft improvement and development.



From 1913 to 1931, the Schneider Trophy took place. Four nations (England, Italy, France and the United States) competed with daring and technique in extremely dangerous speed races.



Races: each player takes a turn to play a card from their hand and move forward on the circuit, and every player has the same hand of cards to play. Beware going too fast around corners, because if you are going too fast, your aircraft will suffer damage.  That damage can carry forward from the first race to the last, so be careful about suffering too much damage in the early laps.



Drafting behind other planes will help your speed, while being out in first will cause you to slow a bit from the headwinds. Each pilot has a special ability, which also impacts how efficiently an airplane moves.



And a betting phase: you will place bets on who you think will win a lap. Collect coins and those coins translate to victory points. The pilot with the most VPs at the end of round 3 is the winner, and gets to invest their winnings in the 1929 stock market, a wise play for any shrewd investor.



Crypt



Designed by: Jeff Chin, Andrew NergerPublished by: Allplay, R2i Games (2018)Players: 1 – 4Ages: 14 & upPlaying time: 25 minutes



Crypt is a dice and card game featuring an auction mechanic, a set collection mechanic, and of course the luck of the roll of the dice. Each player has a set of servants, represented by 3 6-sided dice.



On your turn you will place your servant dice on treasure cards, choosing any value on each die. If you place multiple dice on a treasure card, the values of the dice must be the same. Choosing a higher value can ward off your opponents, but it also increases the odds that your servant will become exhausted. After everyone has placed their servant dice, everyone rolls.