PAX Unplugged 2023 Recap

boardgamequest.com:

Another year, another early December fix of games of all kinds for those brave enough to venture forth into the City of Brotherly Love. Still the same place for all those great Essen releases, the unpublished prototypes still being hashed out, and everything in between, PAXU descended into Philadelphia, with your favorite BGQ writers Alex, Jon, and Tahsin there to experience it all.

Nunatak: Temple of Ice (Alex): Nunatak is an upcoming title from KOSMOS that is set to hit markets in early 2024, which had a few copies to play in the First Look area. In Nunatak, you select cards of various suits from a tableau, which give you direction on where you can build your ice pillars. 2×2 sets of pillars get a new floor placed on top, scoring points for the underlying pillars, with an entire pyramid eventually building up on the game board. At the end of the game, the collected cards score in a variety of ways (sets of symbols, numbers of cards) in a manner reminiscent of Nidavellir. Straightforward, quick to explain, enjoyable play, and a commanding table presence made Nunatak the game of PAXU for me.

Forest Shuffle (Tahsin): I immediately purchased this game while playing with Alex and Jon. In a way, it may feel like another tableau builder with a grab for points, but the interaction with the card market driven by the players is what sets this apart. When I got home and managed to play with the family, my son promptly destroyed me in points while gobbling up all the juicy decisions all the cards have to offer. If you’re looking for something with the feeling of Earth or nature-based Race for the Galaxy, this is the one to check out.

Nucleum (Alex):  This seemed like the must-play game at the convention, with every copy occupied