Ranking the Games I Bought during Nerdz Day 2024

Welcome to this week’s gaming post! This is the follow-up to an article I wrote a couple months ago listing some of the games I was hoping to see during this year’s Nerdz Day sale. While not all of the games I mentioned ended up showing up during the sale, I still managed to pick up five games during the event. This week I decided to rank those games based on my initial impressions of each. I’ll preface that while I’ve played each of these games a handful of times by now, there’s still plenty of opportunity for these games to shift around after some more plays. So without further ado, let’s jump into the games.

Even though World Wonders shows up at number five on this list, I’ve still been enjoying my time with this tile-laying/polynomial game. In this game, players take turns buying buildings and/or wonders to place in their city. The caveat is that once a player selects a wonder, that player cannot buy more buildings that round. I really like the quality of the wonders themselves, and it’s always fun to place The Great Wall next to the Egyptian pyramids. The reason this game isn’t higher on this list is that I wish the buildings and wonders felt more distinctive other than look and shape, and for a light game, the game goes on a tad longer than I would like. Overall, this is still a solid game, and I encourage you to read my more in-depth thoughts on World Wonders here.

Next on the list is the spirit making game: Distilled. In this game, players buy ingredients, items, and distillery upgrades before combining ingredients in their pantry to distill spirits. Players then have a chance to age certain types of spirits for more points and money before eventually bottling and selling the spirit. As I mentioned in my detailed thoughts here, the theme really shines through with this game and is the main reason I want to keep coming back to the game. My couple of slight nitpicks include the game feeling mechanical/rinse and repeat and the push-your-luck element feeling swingy at times, even with some luck mitigation. The components and inserts are a great addition, and if you’re someone that enjoys this distillery theme, I definitely recommend giving this one a chance.   

There is so much content in Heat: Pedal to the Metal that I’ve yet to explore, so I was unsure exactly where to place this one. After some early impressions, middle of the pack seemed like a fair placing, but this is probably the game on this list that has the most chance to move up over time. In this hand-management, car racing-themed game, players compete to have their car be the first to cross the finish line, while also managing the heat in their engine to avoid spinning out. I haven’t tried out all of the racetracks in the base game, but I’m most excited to try out the “Championship System” that allows you to compete in multiple races before crowning the champion racer. There’s also an expansion that offers even more content. If you’re a fan of racing games, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a look as the game is relatively light, plays fairly quickly, and supports up to six players in just the base game.

Nucleum is another game on this list that has a chance to move up or down this list over time. In this heavy, nuclear-themed industrial game, players place railways, buildings, mines, and turbines on a map, with the goal of energizing buildings. My favorite part of this game are the multi-use action tiles that are either used to take actions or place as railway tiles on the map. There’s a lot of crunchy decision making here, and while I’ve already played this game a handful of times, I feel like I’m just starting to grasp how all of the game’s mechanisms are linked together. While I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game, it’s probably the game on this list that has stuck in my head the longest; however, there are a couple elements that keep this game from the top spot. First of all, this is still a very complex game, with a lot of setup that contributes to the already lengthy affair. Secondly, some of the game’s mechanisms don’t feel quite as enjoyable as others, such as the technologies that can feel very hit or miss and the contract tiles that can be hard to plan for and add a luck element. I plan on publishing my more detailed thoughts on the game in the coming weeks, but if you’re someone that enjoys heavy, crunchy euros, I’d recommend trying out this game.

Finally, the game that most surprised me was The White Castle. In this 18^th century Japan-themed game, players take turns selecting and placing dice on worker placement spots to carry out the associated action. Each player only gets nine turns during the course of the game which is spread out over three rounds, making each action feel important. Normally, this could cause players to feel like the game ends prematurely, but I actually really enjoy how quick this game takes considering its complexity, especially when I can regularly finish two-player games in under an hour. There are also tons of opportunities to combo actions, so you end up accomplishing more throughout the game than you might initially expect. My biggest complaint with this game is that I wish the box size was a tad bit larger – you really have to squeeze everything in to get it all to fit. If you’re interested, I’d recommend checking out my more detailed thoughts on the game here, and I’d absolutely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a mid-weight euro that doesn’t take too long to learn and play, while also having a nice aesthetic.  

With that, I’ll wrap up this week’s gaming highlights! I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the games I’ve mentioned, future content, or format in the comments section below, and let me know if you picked up any games during this year’s Nerdz Day and how you have been enjoying them so far. Happy gaming!

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