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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 craft custom superheroes to prepare for the climactic battle in Origin Story
Next: We save animal species by creating beautiful habitats in Sanctuary
And lastly: We go “blammer” and “splammer” to grab all the glamor in Hammer Time
Origin Story
Designed by: Jamey Stegmaier, Pete Wissinger
Published by: Stonemaier Games (2025)
Players: 1 – 5
Ages: 14 & up
Playing time: 45 minutes
Your inner superhero is ready to emerge, one chapter at a time. Reveal your backstory, gather gadgets and allies, develop a grudge against your archenemy, and unleash an ultimate ability as you transform. Use a combination of brains, love, speed, and strength to craft your origin story.
Origin Story is a 1-5 player competitive tableau-building, trick-taking game played over 5 rounds. Each round represents a chapter in your development and grants a new card to add to your player mat. Charge your cards and use their abilities to score more points than your opponents.
Sanctuary
Designed by: Mathias Wigge
Published by: Feuerland Spiele & Capstone Games (2025)
Players: 1 – 5
Ages: 12 & up
Playing time: 40 – 100 minutes
In Sanctuary, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically-managed zoo for animals and visitors. A supply of 135 unique zoo tiles provides you with animals, buildings, and projects. In every game, you want to find the best mix from those available to build the most successful zoological establishment. Different effects on the tiles will help you to achieve conservation goals and to increase the attraction of your zoo.
Each player has a set of four action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. One of those cards will let you play projects, and the other three cards will let you play animals of a specific habitat: forest, rock, or water.
Sanctuary is based on its predecessor Ark Nova, but modifies and simplifies many of the mechanisms of that game in an elegant and surprising manner. Your goal to find the best way to puzzle together your animals, buildings, and projects on your zoo map is an ongoing pleasure!
Hammer Time
Designed by: Shaun Graham, Scott Huntington
Published by: HABA (2020)
Players: 1 – 4
Ages: 5 & up
Playing time: 15 – 30 minutes
It’s Hammer Time! Players are working to collect shiny gemstones in the mine. They’ll knock the gemstones off the box using the hammer. To complete their tasks, they need to collect the right number and color of gemstones. But be careful – anyone who knocks too hard will wake Dragomir the Dragon and lose their loot! The first player to completely fill all four of their wagons wins the game.