There are a lot of board games released each year, and by a lot I mean A. LOT. And the trend is increasing. All of those releases mean there’s quite a few games that are very similar to games that came before them. Some are bad examples of that type of game, some are so similar that the game you like best may be based on nothing but the art. Maybe you are into zombies, or superheroes, or wine making.  Every now and then a new game comes out and it’s so similar to a previous game but it’s so much better that it replaces the old game in your top lists.

It surprised me that last week we ended up finding two games in the same order that we liked better than their doppelgangers.

Cubitos vs Quacks

I really like Quacks of Quedlinberg. Mostly it’s just fun. I love teaching new people because it’s easy to understand, and it gives me the opportunity to play it. My only negative, and this may be a personal problem (I’m aware), is that I fiddle with the cardboard pieces in the bag and it wears the art away. This is a problem that isn’t unique to Quacks. In fact, there’s a distinct difference on the art for the red player’s tokens in Orléans because I can’t stop fiddling.

Cubitos fixed that problem. Instead of building a bag with cardboard bits, you are building your collection of dice. So, it’s a dice builder with faces that won’t wear off while I mess with all the dice the entire game. So that’s nice. Both Quacks and Cubitos has a race mechanism, but Cubitos’ races is an actual race. On a racetrack. And there are decisions to make during the race. Different directions get you different bonuses. So much better than just a simple point track race.

The absolutely best part of the game? ANIMALS!!!

Look at Bahama Llama!!! Look at him!

The animals are wonderful and there are so many different power cards for the different colored dice. This art vaults Cubitos miles ahead of Quacks. I love it so much.

Air, Land & Sea vs Hanamikoji

Hanamikoji was introduced to me ages ago. It’s a beautiful push pull card game with only 21 cards you can play. You attempt to have a better hand on your side of the Geisha to win the favor of that Geisha. There are only four options for moves and you can’t repeat a move. It’s an incredibly thinky game and the art is absolutely gorgeous. Which is why it was so hard to admit that Air, Land & Sea ended up being a better game in my eyes. There’s no contest when it comes to art.

However, there are a ton more cards and so many more interesting choices you can make with Air, Land & Sea. You can affect both yours and your opponent’s side with almost every play. It ends up being a much more dynamic game than Hanamikoji and for me, much more interesting.

All four of these games are wonderful games, but Cubitos and Air, Land & Sea replaced Quacks and Hanamikoji for me. You should check them out.