This month we’re simmering on some slow burner games that took awhile to warm up to. Put on your favorite sweater, have patience and fricas-see it to the end. Which games took you a long time to stew on? We have a few that bubble up like Talisman, Above and Below, Mansions of Madness, and Gloomhaven. So sit back, get braised and casse-role some dice with us.

We will start with Talisman because its a great game for six of your friends to play for five hours or so while catching up on life in between turns. We want to play it even though we know there will be parts of it that will make us cry. It is totally random, there is little to no contact with other players characters, and the game system uses a ‘posh get posher’ theme to enhance that solitude.

This is a 2 – 5 hour escape adventure towards absurdity. You snicker at your friends’ misfortunes before lamenting your own bad luck and much worse dice throws. You shriek harsh threats at your friends and you’ll get to gloat over their body once the boot is on the other foot. This becomes a game wherein the experience is significantly more meaningful and entertaining than the conclusion.