Played a bunch of games over the weekend:
Fireball Island (2018): Played this one twice with 3 players and 4 players with all expansions and everyone had a great time. I was worried about the snakes constantly falling from their perches and causing board reset headaches but in the first game no one was poisoned the whole game so I will continue to include them without worry. Pouring the bees into VulKar proved to be a fan favorite activity in both games. The tiger didn't appear often and was a big miss when it did; will need more practice for it to make an impact though it was fun to make a tiger pounce attempt. Everyone agreed the game length felt just right. First game end game was triggered by cataclysms and the 2nd by snapshots.
Doom (2016): Played the first scenario which was an infestation sample collection mission with 4 players (3 Marines/1 villain). Used the suggested balance tweaks from bgg for this mission subtracting the chainsaw and a couple medpacks. We had a great time with this one as well. Came right down to the wire but the invader player won with some good card play and a tough as nails Baron that refused to die.
Marvel Strike Teams: Played the tutorial and a single full mission with 4 players (3 heroes/1 villain). The tutorial was a victory 5 to 4 for the Heroes. In the full mission it was Falcon, Agent May, and Iron Man up against 3 Hydra soldiers, Radioactive Man, and Winter Soldier. This one came down to whoever won the last objective would win the game. The heroes were on their heels the whole game and the way the objectives were laid out on the map had no opportunity to waste a single action or reserve many between turns either. They managed to pull out the win in the final round though.
This was a big hit with our group and I think Wizkids bungled this one a bit with the Heroclix branding when it really doesn't have anything to do with Heroclix besides the figures having the click bases to track their level. Just seems like people interested in acquiring Heroclix won't be interested and it causes people that aren't into Heroclix to ignore it altogether without learning more about it. Also graphic design is bland, specifically the map tiles though the cards aren't hot either but they are functional and clean so they get a pass. This is essentially objective based Marvel Descent with diceless combat.
Rising Sun: This one was a mixed experience. We played with 6 players going in blind. So it took about 6 hours to get through but I think I enjoyed the game ha. I would definitely be interested in revisiting now that we know how to play though I don't know if I'd play with 6 again. The way the mandates worked were interesting in that everyone gets to do what you pick and you do it last. Some benefits await if you are in a alliance. I'd hesitate to call our specific session "fun" but it was quite the experience!
5-Minute Marvel: Played a ton of this. Quick to setup, quick to play, chaotic fun. Not much to say other than I personally prefer 5-Minute dungeon as I wasn't a fan of having to draw from two separate decks but they are basically the same.
Hail Hydra: Played this social deduction game 3 times. First was with 5 players and it was a Hydra beatdown as Shield was barely able to defeat the first villain before New York was destroyed. The next two times was 7 players and the extra Shield member made a big difference. Hydra won the second game but Shield made it to the final villain. Shield won the third game fairly handedly as we were able to oust one of the two Hydra players fairly quickly. Need some more plays but a better impression of the game after the third play than that brutal first one. May just not be very good with 5 and that 6+ players is key.
Street Masters: Played 3 times. Twice with two players and once with three. I've played this one a few times already and these sessions were no exception as it's always a great time. This is one of my favorite games right now. Just love the theme and fast paced nature of the game. If you know nothing of the game it is comparable to Sentinels of the Multiverse if that game had a board with minis.