When it comes to the richness of board games, Five Walnuts is undoubtedly the king. The total number of categories exceeds 200, which is almost 7 times the last place on this list, and if you include the spare parts, it can supply more than 10 ordinary board game stores.
The proprietor of every board game store is also a "big enthusiast" of board games, and the owner of Five Walnuts is passionate about themed board games. The store has Star Wars, and all kinds of versions are quite complete, which is very rare in Chongqing. As we all know, the Star Wars theme is very important abroad, and the same is true for the board game industry. The original Star Wars board game was born as early as the 70s of the last century, and there are no less than dozens of versions of its expansion packs, information articles, etc., once updated and iterated, it is bound to cause a sensation, and the popularity has never diminished. "Resistance", "Imperial Assault" and "X-Wing Fighter" launched after 2012 have an excellent reputation and are the most typical.
The vitality of the Star Wars series of board games is not only due to the enthusiasm of the followers, but also to the mature business environment, and classic board games are always born in established companies. The Star Wars series of board games is published by Fantasy Flight Games in Minnesota, USA, FFG is particularly good at producing high-quality layout board games and themed board games, and is one of the world's top five board game publishers. Corey Konieczka is known not only for Star Wars, but also for StarCraft, World of Warcraft, and the aforementioned Game of Thrones.
Star Wars is far more fun than its own game rules, and the immersive story is also the highlight. Relying on the strong strength of the publisher, the cards and props can also be designed by a professional board game art team, and the degree of exquisiteness is amazing. There are even figures added to it: Jedi, Black Knight, Imperial Combat Robots, Imperial Mecha AT-ST, Star Destroyer, etc. are all included. This is also one of the characteristics of American board games, its plot is full, the sense of substitution is strong, the cards and props are exquisite, the game often needs to use dice, the random factor is strong, the atmosphere is cheerful, and it is easy to mobilize emotions. However, this kind of "American board game" has a long single game time and very complex rules, so board game store owners don't often recommend it.
The corresponding category is called "German-style board games", which have simple rules, weak random components than American ones, and require exquisite computing power to reflect the level of competition. The most typical is "Brilliant Jewel", which was born in 2014 and is still popular in 2018, ranking in the top 200 of BGG's rankings, especially in the East Asian market. However, "Spice Road" is more worth experiencing, this game is created for "spike" "Bright Gems", although it is a new star born in 2017, but in less than 1 year, its reputation and ratings have approached "Bright Gems", "Bright Gems" is regarded as a classic, and the stores that introduce "Spice Road" are relatively rare, so you might as well experience it in the store.
As you can see, the relaxed atmosphere of American board games often sparks communication and strengthens relationships among groups of customers. However, compared to the ingenuity of top designers, some slightly naïve games are more effective. The introduction of "Two People and Three Buildings" by Five Walnuts is a typical example, the game requires cooperation, and it is necessary to use hooks to retrieve props, test body balance, and also test spatial skills, which is very interesting.
Although "Two People and Three Buildings" was released in 2012, its early version was in the Nordic language, and the Chinese version must have been born later than 2014. In fact, there are many games in the store that seem to be unknown but are quite novel. For example, "Colt Express" and "Mysterious Manor" are all high-quality board games born after 2014, among which "Colonize Mars", released in 2016, is the top and must not be missed. The release speed of Chinese board games often lags behind other mainstream languages, and the paranoia that Five Walnuts has been presented to customers almost immediately is appreciated.
When it comes to the environment, five walnuts show some advantages. There are three or four private rooms open to the public, one of which is mainly used for werewolf killing, and its chairs have a simple ergonomic design, wooden round tables, display cases and carpets echo the atmosphere. The other rooms are generally configured, but they can be kept tidy, and the rooms have windows and good permeability.
The disadvantages are threefold. The arcade machines, projection screens, and miniature baby grabbing machines in the store are all arranged in the corridors, and the space is very narrow, which is not conducive to the experience, and this arrangement needs to be improved urgently; On the other hand, the hall environment is hard, with five walnuts sharing the hall space with the real-life escape room store next door, where the permeability is not good, and customers often smoke; In order to reduce operating costs, board game stores often choose commercial and residential buildings with poor environment, and the public space environment is bound to be poor. When you arrive at the hotel, you must choose the elevator next to the bank (Taiwan Garden Store), otherwise it is easy to enter the cheap hotel by mistake.
