Looking for games to consider as gifts for the upcoming holiday season, here's a (current) list of the top items purchased from WoodForSheep in 2014.

• Sleeves - Amalgamated this to one option. If we left to the various sleeve sizes available, it would easily cover more than a third of this list. A good option to prolong the life of that favourite game by keeping it dry, clean and lessening the wear & tear.
• Marvel Dice Master Avengers Vs X-men - an interesting addition to collectible games, Dice Masters lets you field a team of your favourite Marvel heroes and villains to pit against an opposing team, and see who prevails. Available in Starter sets (good for 2 players out of the box), Booster packs, and Booster case. Recently released is the new set - Uncanny X-men (Starter sets and Booster case).
• Deck Box - storage solutions to keep game components from running rampant inside the box, saves set-up/take-down time allowing for more playing than cleaning and re-sorting. ;)
• Sushi Go - a simple drafting game with cute art and theme. Quick filler for the serious gamers, also fun for the casual crowd. May cause food cravings during gameplay.
• Star Realms - interesting implementation of a deck building game. Straight forward rules and game play. Duel aspect makes it fun and challenging.
• Caverna - a recent entry in the farming-as-a-game division. Has established itself as a clear heavyweight in many aspects (game play, number of players, even just shear weight).
• King of Tokyo - take on the role of a big monster trope (ie giant gorilla, oversized lizard, colossal robot) and roll your dice to victory, either by collecting enough points for the win, or being the last monster standing in Tokyo, a favourite destination of monsters of any genre. Recently, the second most popular city for monster visits gets a spotlight in King of New York.
• 7 Wonders - where Sushi Go could be the gateway to drafting games, this "expert's game of the year" continues to be a challenging game that threads the line between simple game mechanics and complex decisions.
• Jamaica - race around the tropical island plundering for food gold, and treasure, but be wary of your fellow pirates and keep a cannonball or two handy.
• Parade - an interesting twist to set collection games where gathering cards equals points, and points in this game is not good.
• Jaipur - a more straight forward set collection game (collecting sets equals points, points are good) that makes for a fun and challenging 2 player experience.
• Pandemic - rather than competing against each other, players in this game have to work together to keep various diseases at bay before they run rampant all over the world.
• Settlers of Catan - a modern classic; collect resources and build your settlement before everyone else on the island does, but keep your options open as you may need to barter with your neighbours.
• X Wing B Wing - add the iconic ship (or several copies of it) to your rebel army to force your way to victory over the evil empire.
• Coup - an intriguing game of bluffing and deduction that's sure to raise the tension around the table.

As we have done in previous years (like here or here), WoodForSheep looks back on the year that was 2013. Our usual disclaimer, the opinions shared by Steve may be slightly exaggerated than intended (but just slightly).

[WoodForSheep]: What was your surprise favourite game that you learned in 2013?

[Steve]: Maybe its a case of a little too much The Resistance, but Mascarade was a welcome addition to play with large groups. This is an interesting deduction game that keeps everyone attentive and involved until the end.

[WoodForSheep]: What's a game everyone wanted in 2013?

[Nate]: Already a popular game, the revised version of Pandemic seems to have re-invigorated the title. There was a lot of interest in this cooperative game, not even counting the released expansions (both old and new).

[WoodForSheep]: How about a good game you learned in 2013 that everyone should play?

[Nate]: As part of celebrating International Tabletop Day 2013, Mercury Games joined in and was kind enough to give a preview of Quarantine. It does have a medical theme, but it's not a cooperative game (not that there's anything wrong with cooperative games). What the game has are interesting choices - which always pique my interest. Some games present you with X choices, but filtering that down to what makes sense, may really be 2, or worse, 1 choice. Games in the other extreme have a billion choices, but no sense of flow, where none those billon make any sense. Quarantine strikes a good balance of varied options and practical choices.

[Steve]: Yes, its a deck building game. Yes, it deals with trains. Yes, both are themes and mechanics that have been explored through different incarnations in separate games, but never together, until now (or I haven't seen it until now). Trains brings in a unique addition to the deck building genre and train-themed games. Nothing entirely ground-breaking, but the game is always and enjoyable experience.

[WoodForSheep]: A goal or vision to accomplish in 2014?

[Nate]: Still need to work on last year's goal... which leaves much room for improvement. Though with all the events and conventions that we've been involved with (and will be involved with), makes one wonder if Markham should have it own gaming convention soon.

[Steve]: Or perhaps it may be time for WoodForSheep to be more... physical (cue music... "Let's get physical, physical. I wanna get...").

[WoodForSheep]: Something interesting you've learned about gamers since being involved with WoodForSheep?

[Steve]: Gamers are EXTREMELY competitive, even female ones. The ladies that say they're in it "only for fun"... WATCH OUT! They'll manage to deprive you of all your necessary resources, leading to a crushing defeat (yet, strangely, I'm content with that, don't mind it at all).

[Nate]: There's not a lot of areas in life that level a playing field like a game can. Those with athletic ability will do better at sports than those who don't. Sure, word-smart people will still do better in Scrabble and world-smart people will do better in trivia games. But, in a well designed game where a 4 year old can claim (legitimate) victory over those 4 times their age, its quite fun to see.

With January having past, figured it was a good time to look back at 2012 now... Instead of later in September.

[WoodForSheep]: What was your surprise favourite game that you learned in 2012?

[Nate]: For me, it would be Manhattan Project. Straight forward game mechanics with a good natural flow to the game. Plus, you can detonate nukes (without all the messy side effects of destruction, radiation, etc).

[Steve]: I was originally reluctant, but after playing String Railways, have to admit, it's a fun game. Its a unique take on a train network game, and it plays in under an hour. I’ll never look at coloured string the same way again!

[WoodForSheep]: What's a game everyone wanted in 2012?

[Steve]: Besides Spot It, which we already talked about last year, I would say Ghost Blitz. An interesting deduction and reaction game, with lovable game pieces, good for families and groups of friends.

[Nate]: Keeping with the big laughs for big groups idea, Anomia is a brain wracker that drew a lot of interest, provided you weren't too busy laughing already.

[WoodForSheep]: How about a good game you learned in 2012 that everyone should play?

[Nate]: After one game of Last Will, didn't like that first experience very much. But after being roped in for another play (with some time in between), found the game to have a lot more depth than I gave it credit for. A nice twist to most games, where you try and have the most money or victory points at the end of the game, this game gets you to spend, spend, spend!!!

[Steve]: Who knew that 16 cards could provide so much fun? Part process of elimination, part bluffing, Love Letter shows that good games can come in small packages!

[WoodForSheep]: What was a pleasant surprise for WoodForSheep in 2012?

[Steve]: Running a booth at TABSCON was a pleasant surprise for WoodForSheep. An unexpected opportunity and I think we did a good job. We met and engaged new people, and were able to promote WoodForSheep to a new audience.

[Nate]: New friends and partners from unexpected connections. Our involvement with the Geekish Holiday event in December 2012 started with a comment on their site. The Board Game Networking Night with The Biz Club in February 2013 came together after twitter exchanges.

[WoodForSheep]: A goal or vision to accomplish in 2013?

[Nate]: Strive to put out engaging content on a more consistent schedule, whether its e-newsletters, recommendations or snippets on social media.

[Steve]: Continue to build and serve a robust tabletop gaming community in the Markham/Richmond Hill area.

In this current world of multi-platform promotions and cross-marketing product sales, it almost seems inevitable that every pop culture brand or big trending movie is plastered onto an off-shoot backpack, plate set and/or toy. Such is the case with games as well, and we're not just talking about the video game variety here. For every upcoming summer movie blockbuster lined up, there's a good chance a Monopoly version of that title is also coming down the pipe. In a number of cases however, this spin-off game is simply superficially connected to the source material, with the game play having very little to do with it (Hello Kitty Yahtzee anyone?). On the flip side, there are games that are very connected to the branded theme, but the mechanics leave little to be desired (as in the desire to play said game).

Thankfully, there are a number of game releases that are good games on their own, but with the added layer of the pop culture brand, further enhances the gaming experience. Let's look at a few that stand out and should garner consideration as an addition to your gaming shelves.

Battlestar Galactica

Reference: TV Show (latest incarnation)
Game: Battlestar Galactica
At first, the game looks to be a standard cooperative game, where everyone is trying to ensure the survival of the human race, which is being hunted down by killer robots (created by the same human race). However, the in-game twist is that one of your fellow compatriots (ie one of the players) is one of the killer robots, too. So while everyone is trying to survive another wave of attacks, this hidden agent may be going abouts sabotaging further efforts to survive. The game is filled with tension and action, much like its namesake television show.

Discworld

Reference: Book series
Game: Discworld
Each player is given a secret role based on some of the fictional characters from the books. Each role determines the player's win condition. Some may win based on how many districts on the board they control, some may win based on how much money is in their possession, others win by causing a lot of trouble. Deducing who your oppenents are becomes key to prevent them from winning, while also using good strategy to ensure your victory. While I haven't read any of the books myself, others have mentioned that the roles are quite true to the characters they represent.

Game of Thrones

Reference: Book series, and subsequent TV show
Game: Game of Thrones
The source material focuses on political and physical clashes between warring clans for control of the Iron Throne. One side may have formidable warriors, the other has greater political influence, another is able to coerce situations to their favour due to their immeasurable wealth. The game also reflects this with each faction having unique advantages. Does the player charge into battle head on, or lurk in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to snatch victory away.

Lord of the Rings

Reference: Book series, and then blockbuster movies
Game: Lord of the Rings LCG
In this cooperative game, each player leads their band of heroes into battle against the evil forces of Mordor. Communication and cooperation will be key strategies to ensure everyone survives the current obstacle - either facing down hordes of orcs or traversing through dangerous terrain.

Game: War of the Ring
Re-enact the epic battles from Lord of the Rings either as the armies of Middle Earth or as the forces of Sauron. Expand your territory wisely, lest your oppenent break through your defenses and wreak havoc to your plans. 

Star Trek

Reference: TV shows (various incarnations) and movies, and rebooted movie(s)
Game: Star Trek Fleet Captains
A tactical war game where each side controls a fleet of star ships. Each faction (with more being released through expansions) has unique abilities that contribute to their individual styles and win conditions. A number of popular ships through the Star Trek universe is recreated in detailed miniatures - Enterprise from the original series, Enterprise-D from The Next Generation and more.

Game: Star Trek DBG
DBG stands for deck building game.
Based in the Next Generation timeframe, this is a game that can be played 3 different ways. Compete against each other by exploring the universe and winning direct confrontations. Or pick sides and recruit allies to victory, recreating the Klingon Civil War event. Or team up and attempt to survive the Borg invasion. Favourite characters like Picard, Riker and Troi (both mother and daughter) help contribute to your winning strategy.

While Nate gets back on schedule on our other series of articles (this one in particular), may as well start a new one and take a look back at the year 2011, the first full year WoodForSheep Hobbies Ltd. was up and running. Let's reflect the year that was, share some observations, and put forth some resolutions that will make the WoodForSheep experience in 2012 better.

For today, let's play complete the sentence with the WoodForSheep boys.

[WoodForSheep]: Ok, first one... In 2011, I learned to play [blank], and found it to be a great game!

[Steve]: Spot It! I remember seeing this for the first time at one of our public Game On! sessions; someone had brought it with them. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. I then became acquainted with the rules and gameplay when we started our involvment with the library program. I thought it would be an excellent gift for my cousin and bought her a copy and taught my family how to play as well. They in turn taught it to their friends. It turned out that everyone LOVES it!

[Nate]: King of Tokyo. A bit underwhelming when preview pictures were first available. Cardboard cut-outs and an itty-bitty board... that's it?!?!?! While other big monster games were being released around the same time, a few with slick looking models, KoT seemed destined to be lost to obscurity. Certainly underestimated that this was designed by the man who made Magic: The Gathering. After one play, we were hooked. Rarely is there a turn that nothing happens - everyone is simply watching how the dice falls, whether its your turn or another person's, since those could still affect your monster. The rules are simplistic, but the path to victory could take many twists and turns. Its been a blast sharing this with everyone else ever since.

[WoodForSheep]: In 2011, we certainly sold a lot of [blank].

[Steve]: Angry Birds Knock on Wood. I can understand the popularity of the digital game, readily available on Apple and Android devices. I didn't think it would translate that well as an actual boardgame. Then, the game was mentioned as one of the "hottest toys" of the holiday season and that caused a lot of buzz and parents were scouring EVERYWHERE to find a copy. We'd try our best to keep it in stock but they just kept going in a matter of days.

[Nate]: Qwirkle. Was going to mention Angry Birds or Spot It, but Steve got to them first (d'oh). The game is abstract with no ties to a particular genre or theme, broadening its appeal and potential audience. Its also not very dependent on prior knowledge (like a dictionary-encompassing vocabulary, like the one Steve has) since its keys are shapes and colours, so the appeal also crosses most age demographics. The fact that this game also won a prestigious board game award in 2011 is just icing.

[WoodForSheep]: In 2012, a game that more people should give a try is [blank].

[Nate]: Hanabi. While the game 7 wonders is quite popular, that game's designer also created Hanabi. This is a straight forward, cooperative game where all the players, as a team, try to complete sets of cards; five colours, numbered 1 to 5. The caveat is everyone plays with their hands face out, meaning no one knows what cards they are holding. We've had games that were hilarious, and games that were agonizing... but always fun. It also comes with rules for another game, Ikebana, but we barely get around to that since Hanabi itself is a fun challenge.

[Steve]: Dixit. It is a simplistic yet fun game to play. It's great for all ages and there really isn't any language barriers since they are picture cards. Every time we've taught this game to new players, they absolutely love it! The game not only fosters creativity but also critical thinking and analysis. It's one of the few games that gamers enjoy since it is easy to pick up and play in a short period of time.

We managed to get a few copies of the much anticipated Super Dungeon Explore, also referred as "SDE", just before Christmas 2011. Being anime fans ourselves, the game is a throwback to classic Japanese role playing (video)games that occupied much of our youth (think Final Fantasy Tactics, DragonQuest, or a Nate favourite, Shining Force - like old school Sega Genesis style). Out of curiosity about all the hype surrounding the game, Nate decided to un-box a copy of the game, for our own, quote-unquote, demo copy (or that's what he keeps saying, though he has more ulterior motives -.O).

Just so this doesn't degrade into an otaku's pet project done in the confines of his basement (not that there's anything wrong with that) that may take years to complete (ok, now that's a bit of an issue), Nate does promise to do a few things as part of this un-boxing...

• paint the figures, so the demo copy at least looks presentable - with a few bottles of paints from a previous fascination of fielding a Menoth/Mercenary army still available (one day, that army will be fielded, says Nate), Nate and his kinder-grade painting skills will get the figures to a non-monotonous state of colour, within a reasonable amount of time (while still making sure WoodForSheep runs efficiently)
• blog about it - at the very least, it will be fun to see how well (or badly) this experiment goes... but it also ensures there's some more content to the site, which will hopefully get Nate to get more organized and into a regular routine, to add more content in the future (where was that worker placement article you keep saying you were going to put together, Nate?)... and, as most writer's try to figure out (or that's what Nate keeps reading), to find his 'writing voice' (or style), besides random ramblings...
• figure out how to use that camera... even though Nate has had his FUJI S5200 for a few years now, he still hasn't managed to figure out what all these buttons and knobs are for (wait, don't do that... uh oh, now it's not turning ON)... -.-

So, with those factors in mind, the goal is to have all (or a decent majority) of the figures in some form of coloured condition by our library-partnered event in March, which is about 11 weeks away (THAT'S NUTS!). You're all free to chime in and make sure Nate stays the course.

As with most things Nate does, the simple route (i.e. painting the figures as presented/suggested by the character cards) was just not enough of a challenge. He wanted something more thematic/recognizable (what an otaku), so he's decided to choose a painting scheme (or several schemes) in tribute... but to what?

First thought was to follow a few schemes from the Fate series of animes (e.g. Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero, etc), but got stuck on the minions and villains. As his following of fantasy-genre animes was more limited than he initially thought (Slayers didn't seem to fit either), he figured may as well go with something even more recognizable - comic books! But then comes the question, Marvel or DC? What would look cooler - shaman 'hulking out' to the angry bear or the paladin decked out in kryptonian armour colours? Without having to prolong this article unnecessarily (because it actually did take Nate a few days consideration to settle on a decision), DC won out on this little internal debate. Anyone out there is more than welcome to give the other universe a shot, and send the link back here so we can check it out!

With the painting scheme settled, this week's victims, err... subjects, are (since there's two of them), SDE sub-bosses Rex... and Rex.

As Rex (and Rex) are supposed to represent a formidable challenge to the SDE heroes, Nate whipped out his (now out-dated, thanks to the "New 52") DC Encyclopedia in search of dastardly villains. Flipping through Killer Croc, Gorilla Grodd and a few other heavy weights (BANE!!!), Nate settled on war world tyrant, Mongul (or it could be his son, Mongul II, who looks fairly the same). An initial attempt at a more golden epidermal layer was an epic fail (see facebook gallery, link further below), and Nate had to eventually cut his losses and use a more substantial base for the skin. Apparently, Mongul does not have any fingernails, which sort of made the colour options a challenge - though Nate settled on the purple since that was the other prevalent colour Mongul sports. Throw in some other purplish hues and the blue, and Rex Mongul is ready to bash some SDE heroes.

The other Rex was an easier decision... big, boney and bad... sounds like your unfriendly, Superman-killing Doomsday! Someone (or is that something) warped enough to rip out their own tail, and use it to bash whatever gets in their way (as opposed to Mongul, who'd use another's tail to do that). Grays, greens and bone tones complete this Rex's scheme.

The final products:

Nate was pretty satisfied with the outcome for Rex Doomsday. He looks ready to bash SDE heroes around the dungeon with no abandon. A bit more mixed feelings on Rex Mongul (isn't it cute, Nate's named them)... hard to visualize how the colour scheme would have worked without diving right into it. Then again, it reminds Nate of a Warjack, still unfinished, that had a similar scheme... that also left Nate with mixed feelings. Perhaps its another lesson learned through this experiment. Rest assured that you don't have to despair too much, Nate isn't loosing too much sleep over it.

More pictures on our Facebook page.

Comments, suggestions, critiques, questions and whatever else are always welcome. Those irrelevant or not very constructive will be simply ignored (Nate's just being upfront about it).

Preview for next week:

Steve recently had the opportunity to ask Justin Gary a few questions. Besides being owner and CEO of Gary Games, Justin is also a devoted gamer and an accomplished MTG Pro Tour player (don't worry if you don't know what that means).

Some highlights:

Steve: Do you have any favorite boardgames at the moment?

JG: Other than lots of Ascension, I have been playing a fair amount of Citadels, Race for the Galaxy, Ra, and El Grande.

Steve: Are there any other titles that Gary Games is planning to release? If so, could you tell us a little bit about them?

JG: Of course we plan to continue making Ascension expansions (including Storm of Souls coming out this November/December). In addition, we are working on several other titles, but unfortunately can’t reveal any details about them now. Look for some announcements first quarter 2012.

Steve: The new Ascension: Storm of Souls expansion will introduce a new card type, Events. Can you tell us more about them? Will future sets also continue to introduce new mechanics to keep the gameplay fresh?

JG: Events are an exciting new addition to the Ascension world. Event cards represent the different factions of the Ascension world rising to dominance. When an event card flips into the center row, it is set aside and creates a new rule for the game that all players must follow. Some cards interact with the Event cards, becoming stronger when their faction’s events are in play. We have a lot of exciting new ideas for future expansions and I know Ascension fans are going to love what we have in store. Storm of Souls represents a lot of great mechanical changes to the game, not just with the new Event card type, but also with Trophy Reward monsters, and a whole slew of exciting individual cards and interactions.

Steve: Can you tell us about your experiences from being a gamer and a game designer? Any advice for those people who want to venture on their own and publish their own games?

JG: I am very fortunate to have been able to build a career around my passion of gaming. For those out there who want to do the same, I recommend putting in the hours to develop their skills and try to get involved in the industry at any level they can. Playing and doing well in tournaments, writing strategy or community articles, and designing and showing off your own games are all great ways to get noticed and hone your skills. Most importantly, be sure to learn from your mistakes and take criticism well- its the only way you will get better.

You can read the full interview @ his blog.

"Snake Eyes!"

In most games, you would not want to be rolling this with your pair of dice. In many popular board games, this means your progress is at an absolute crawl. If this (or similar low rolls) is the majority of your results, it can be a very long and frustrating session. From personal experience, these are the sessions that you want to end now, even if you lose by a large margin, just to end the misery. Its possibly enough reason for you to swear off board games forever.

For games like Chutes and Ladders (or its snake-y variant), Monopoly and even Risk, winning the game often has less to do with a player's wit and more with where you fall with 'Lady Luck'. While this may be interesting to some players, this reliance on the random can quickly become stale, and feel repetitive (read: boring).

But what if rolling the dice wasn't the only way to win the game? That would certainly change how chance affects one plays the game, and even the outcome. While classic games like Monopoly are still dependent on dice rolling results to win, modern games offer various alternatives to progress and even victory - lessening the impact of randomness on the game.

This then allows the game to be engaging for all the players involved, since each player has an active interest in the game no matter what results from their dice roll. Player's aren't simply counting spaces along the board and waiting for their next turn, but they actively observe what the effect of each person's turn has on their own possible plays - increasing the emphasis on planning and strategy.

A few games where chance plays a part in the game, but isn't central to it:

Settlers of Catan - the classic precursor to modern boardgames, Catan relies on the dice for resources to be produced (though not necessarily for the player rolling the dice)... However, if a player is short on resources, they have opportunities to barter with other players for what they need, or, being more mischievous, they can try to acquire the resource using the robber. As well, with various options in the game, the lack of a resource may just mean a shift in strategy on the way to victory (points).

King of Tokyo - players take the role of a giant monster (based on popular monster tropes: giant primate, destructive lizard, invading alien, etc) out to conquer Tokyo. Dice rolls determine if a player is attacking other monsters, gaining powers or accumulating (victory) points. A majority of results still allow a player to 'do something', especially since there are opportunities to re-roll the dice during the turn. Another game similar in mechanics would be Dice Town - this one is set in the American West.

Alien Frontiers - a colony building game set in outer space. Players race against each other to gather resources and build colonies on the newly discovered planet. Dice rolls determine which actions a player can perform during their turn, provided a previous player hasn't already performed that action. Though there are ways to work around that obstacle, or even just raid resources from other players outright. Considered to be a casual or moderate game, expert gamers may find Troyes a more complex and challenging game.

When Donald Vaccarino sat down one day by the seaside and came up with the concept for the card game Dominion, I wonder if he realized this would revolutionize the world of games. Of course, he could have thought, "This would be a really cool game mechanic" - which also works (The part of the story about the seaside is pure speculation on my part).

In Dominion, Vaccarino has literally filtered down the challenge and intrigue of deck construction, aspects commonly found in collectible card games like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic: The Gathering, and made a game unto itself. In most of these card games, commonly referred to as CCGs, deck construction is a balancing act of strategy, synergy, combinations and also actual costs. As with any economic model, limited supply and high demand will cause certain cards to rise in value.

Short of some form of alchemy that would change a Mahamoti Djinn to Jace two-point-oh (Magic reference, don't worry if you don't get it), the frustration with most of these CCGs is the arms race mentality that goes on. As new sets are released every few months, another chase for the- next-big-card begins and starts the cycle anew of finding and acquiring. The challenge among those who play is to accurately predict which cards among the cornucopia of choices will contribute to a winning deck strategy, which would then raise the market value of the card. Prosperity, whether as a collector or a player, is fleeting.

Dominion though, makes this challenge of acquisition part of the game itself. While it may still be a frustrating experience (foiled in getting that last Festival), its contained within the game environment, and doesn't linger when the game ends (or rather, it shouldn't). Different combination of kingdom cards (cards that allow you to take various actions during game play) may make one card good in one setting, but quite useless with other kingdom cards. Using only 10 of the 25 kinds of kingdom cards offered in the game, each session is almost guaranteed to be a new experience; unless you are able to play 3,268,760 times. With the multitude of variations the game can be configured to, increased even further as new expansions are released every now and again, the game certainly doesn't get old or too done.

Another aspect of Dominion that is surprising is the general appeal of the game. The appeal for CCG players is already evident. Game enthusiasts are intrigued by the game since it offers a unique mechanic and even a glimpse into collectible card games, without the large (financial) commitment associated to it. And even females (whether casual gamers or not) find a theme in the game that they can understand and get into... shopping.

What's amazing though, is not just the game Vaccarino has created, but the whole genre of gaming it has spawned. Before Dominion (i.e. before 2008), there was no such thing as 'Deck Construction'. In just a few years, the genre has exploded with many popular games, each with its own theme and unique twists. However, they all have similar mechanics, so if you get a chance to learn Dominion, you already know how most of these other games play.

A quick run through of some of the other 'Deck Construction' games (those that I've played at least):

Thunderstone

Fantasy themed game where each player must fight monsters in a cave. Players can have heroes aid them in the search for the thunderstone, who then can be improved through the game.
My initial play of this game was with the base set and an early version of the revised rules - which from what I understand, wasn't very polished at the time. I didn't quite enjoy the experience and haven't gone back to it since. However, as its now on its 4th expansion (with another one on the way as of this writing), they must have fixed it enough to be worth playing still.

Resident Evil DBG

Based on the popular video game series, players explore the mansion and try and bring the monsters to an end. Most recent rules update has each player controlling two characters from the Resident Evil universe. By arming their characters with weapons and other gadgets, the player must navigate them around the mansion to face the cliche of any adventure video games, the boss.
Of all the thematic deck construction games, I would have to say I enjoyed this one the most. The gameplay gives the same eerie feeling as playing the video game (when you open the door, is there a monster behind it?). However, being one of the more affordable games (retail price is UNDER $30.00), the trade-off is less card choices. Of course, expansions fix this lack of choice issue and RE-DBG has a second expansion coming out soon.

Tanto Cuore

The most popular deck building game in Japan (with 2 expansions already out in Japan) gets an english translation and a release in North America. Each player is the master of the house and is in charge of hiring servants to make it the best home possible. Unique to the game is one 'kingdom' deck only has unique cards in it. Anime. Maids. What's not to like?
Anime. Maids. Sold.
Ok, so a bit of a guilty pleasure game since the game does have good art. The gameplay itself is similar to other deck construction games, but has enough unique elements to make it a fun experience. I would play this ahead of the more fantasy based games, but that's more of a personal preference.

Puzzle Strike

Deck construction with chips, instead of cards. Puzzle strike takes from another popular video game (Puzzle Fighter) and attempts to simulate it in the context of a physical game. In the game, players try to keep a tower of jewels from building too high. Unlike Dominion or Thunderstone, which at times can feel like a solitaire game, Puzzle Strike is all about interacting with other players, well, more like attacking, since one way to get jewels off your tower, is to send it to someone else.
The game mechanics certainly mimic the video game and the variety of characters does make each game unique in its own way. What should conceptually be a fast game though, feels it drags on at times, as there is a tendency for PBA (paralysis by analysis) due to the many options available in terms of actions that can be taken. Genre fans will certainly enjoy it no matter the drawbacks, but unless you 'get' the charm, there are some better options out there (or until there's some revision to the rules).

A few that I haven't played yet:

Ascension

Fantasy themed game

Heroes of Graxia

Another fantasy themed game (I know, there's quite a bit) where players can fight monsters or attack other players.

Nightfall

Horror themed game with focus on player versus player combat and a unique chain mechanic when playing cards.

A few other games coming down the line:

Quarriors

Instead of cards, its dice... by Heroclix makers, Wizkids Games.

Star Trek DBG

From initial previews, this will be set in the TNG universe so players will have access to Picard, Sisko and Janeway. Also from Bandai - who made the Resident Evil DBG.

Eminent Domain

Science fiction based game from an up-and-coming game company, lots of positive buzz and I can't wait to try it out myself.

Penny Arcade

Based on the popular web comic... that's about as much as I know.