Board Games

[Dust]

Recently, I picked up the very fun Arkham Horror (http://z.about.com/d/boardgames/1/0/R/d/gencon_027.jpg) board game. It was a nice change from my tabletop group's usual weekend hack-and-slash diceroller, and we figured we'd continue the trend with Descent: Journeys in the Dark (http://dustygamer.mcmuumio.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/descent.jpg). We weren't disappointed, and it's now something we play weekly alongside D&D and other such products.

We're looking at picking up something new and was hoping you guys and gals had any suggestions. Right now it's the Warcraft (http://z.about.com/d/boardgames/1/0/T/d/gencon_029.jpg) board game that has us interested, mostly because it was made by the same people that did Descent, Fantasy Flight Games. But none of us are big WoW fans and we enjoy the player-versus-player feel, and we're not sure what else is out there.

Would you recommend the WoW board game? If not, what else?

[valadil]

Recently, I picked up the very fun Arkham Horror (http://z.about.com/d/boardgames/1/0/R/d/gencon_027.jpg) board game. It was a nice change from my tabletop group's usual weekend hack-and-slash diceroller, and we figured we'd continue the trend with Descent: Journeys in the Dark (http://dustygamer.mcmuumio.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/descent.jpg).

I like Arkham, though I've only played it twice. It's the only coop board game I've played where it doesn't feel like one player is always calling the shots.

My favorite board game of all time is Game of Thrones. It's a big strategy war game. My friends who haven't read the books enjoy it, but if you're into AGoT, all the better. It came out several years ago though, so you might have trouble finding it.

My newest acquisition is Dominion. I think it's about nobles buying property, but the flavor doesn't really matter all that much. It's deck building game, which is a new paradigm for me. Basically you start out with money cards. On each turn you can buy other cards that have interesting effects, more money, or points. Then you shuffle those into your deck and may get to use them on the next hand. The goal is to end with the most points, but the point cards don't actually do anything else. So you don't want to buy those until you have lots of other cards. The best part is that the card that you do buy, the ones with interesting effects, are different every time you play. The game comes with 25 stacks of these and you play with 10 of those stacks chosen at random. (If I remember my probability correctly (which I probably don't as it's been 10 years (I'm assuming this is 25 choose 10, but feel free to correct me))) that gives you over 3 million configurations of cards. Oh and there are expansions to add more.

[Riffington]

If you like Arkham Horror, Battlestar Galactica is kind of like it (only better).

Cosmic Encounter is quite fun. So is Puerto Rico.
Diplomacy is amazing if you don't mind losing your friends.

[Joran]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Eurogames (or whatever we're calling German style board games nowandays). We played WoW the board game, but generally we don't like Fantasy Flight games. They tend to clock in at the 3-4 hour mark and we simply don't have the patience for those kind of games anymore. It's a large game, which takes up a lot of space, so it's for those afternoon type games in summer rather than a pickup and play type game.

Another game in the Cooperative genre is Pandemic. You run around the world as scientists trying to cure four virulent diseases and avoiding a... Pandemic. You play against the board, similar to Arkham Horror but with an hour playtime rather than 2-3 for Arkham.


My newest acquisition is Dominion. I think it's about nobles buying property, but the flavor doesn't really matter all that much. It's deck building game, which is a new paradigm for me.

Dominion is BY FAR the best game we've played. Playtime of about 30 minutes, pretty easy to learn, and very good depth. Endless possibilities in the cards, and the first expansion makes it even better with even more strategies. It fills in that deck building itch that my friends used to fill with Magic: The Gathering or Wow: The Card Game before.

We sleaved the cards, since you do end up shuffling a lot.

[Zevox]

My newest acquisition is Dominion.
Ah, Dominion. Great game. Heck, my college's Game Club plays it so often that some members have taken to calling it "Dominion Club," and some members have actually burned out on the game at this point. Can't count how many times I've played it since joining the club last semester, and this semester a member brought in the two expansions to the game, which just makes the possible card combinations utterly insane.

Zevox

[SolkaTruesilver]

So.. Arkham Horror, how does it play? What is the goal? How is the gameplay?

[Dust]

Thanks for the thoughts so far, guys and gals.

Arkham Horror is a very long (as already mentioned, 2-4 hour) game wherein you play a character attempting to run around the city, staying alive, fighting monsters and closing portals to the Lovecraftian dimensions while the Great Old One gets ever-closer to waking up and eating you all.
It's a race against time that varies on difficulty drastically depending on which characters the group ends up playing, how well they work together, and which Great Old One happens to be the week's threat.

It's very complicated in that there's a lot of cards and little pieces that go along with it, and the setup/cleanup is a real hassle. We find that it's fairly easy given the source material, especially after learning a few good strategies. The difficulty decreases dramatically as soon as people figure out what to do, and it becomes more tedious than I'd like.

Because a good chunk of it is luck-based, it's fairly common to have two or three players barely managing to scrape by and be useful at all, and one who ends up roaming the streets on a motorbike with the Necronomicon tucked under one arm and dual-wielding shotguns.

I recommend Descent moreso, so long as you're competetive and don't mind losing 70% of the time. It's an old-fashioned DnD-esque dungeon crawl, where the DM has the mechanical advantage and is doing his best to kill you.

[valadil]

generally we don't like Fantasy Flight games. They tend to clock in at the 3-4 hour mark and we simply don't have the patience for those kind of games anymore.

Game of Thrones was quicker than that, despite being FF. It was slow with new players and the rules took a while to explain. But my regular group could finish that game in about an hour.

[SolkaTruesilver]

People here played Zombies ?

[SuperMuldoon]

Going to have to check out Dominion, it sounds pretty awesome.

As for Arkham Horror, I heartily reccomend it. It may take a while to play (2-4 hours as previously mentioned) but its worth it. I've gotten all my friends into it and we play weekly. As for set up/clean up, it takes like 5 minutes, so I don't see what the hassle is? Then again I've got seperate baggies for each type of piece, helps keep things organized.

For those of you who have played Arkham Horror - I'm looking to pick up an expansion, which ones do you recommend? I am leaning towards Innsmouth Horror, but I have heard good things about Dunwich...

[Dust]

The King in Yellow is awesome. My favorite by far, and it's such a small, cheap expansion to incorporate.

[Jamin]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Eurogames (or whatever we're calling German style board games nowandays).

None of the Fantasy Flight games are Eurogames. They are made in America. They are very different animals. So Dust is not in the "wonderful world of Eurogames". He is in the much better world of Ameritash.

[The Glyphstone]

The King in Yellow is awesome. My favorite by far, and it's such a small, cheap expansion to incorporate.

I prefer Curse of the Dark Pharaoh personally. It's got some very nifty additions to the events and items pool.

[Vorpalbob]

People here played Zombies ?

Zombies, Mid-Evil. Great games. When I've played with all of my friends, two of them who always team up did just that, but then one pulled a sweet double-cross, filling the building he was in with nasties, and placing the Necrotelicomnicon (spelled it right on the first try) right next to him.

Later, in a game of SSB Brawl, the favour was returned. The one who had been double-crossed jumped off the map, thus rendering his friend unable to stand before the Snake/Capt. Falcon onslaught ( I love Snake).

[warty goblin]

I personally quite like Axis and Allies. Dad and I play a couple games every summer; we just leave it set up and play a turn or two every day or so. That way we can spend a long time thinking about each turn, and don't get burned out.

It's only good if you like grand strategy, and don't mind getting creamed as the Axis most of the time, although this could be just because I am terrible at rapid offenses in games. I also wouldn't recommend it if you had more than two players, as I can't imagine it would be a lot of fun most of the time as Japan watching the Russians attack the Germans, the British attack the Germans, the United States attack the Germans, and every now and again bothering to send a couple bombers your way to make sure you never go anywhere. With two players though it's an absolute blast, since there's always a lot- perhaps too much- to do.

A note, I've played both the standard and the Anniversary Edition, and I mostly prefer the latter. The standard game has a better technology system, but the addition of Italy as a playable Axis power improves the game balance enormously. Plus the board's got a load more territories, there's a new unit or two, and unit costs have been rebalanced to make navies at least somewhat affordable. Submarines still manage to be both useless and annoying though.

[SuperMuldoon]

I used to play Axis and Allies in college, and we usually had one person per nation :smallbiggrin: We didn't know any big strategies, so half the time it went 'Germany and Japan sandwich the USSR and then take over the world' or 'USSR holds and USA and UK devour Germany and then take out Japan'. Fun times :smalltongue:

[MrPig]

My friends and I enjoy a good game of Settlers of Catan every so often.

[SolkaTruesilver]

I personally quite like Axis and Allies. Dad and I play a couple games every summer; we just leave it set up and play a turn or two every day or so. That way we can spend a long time thinking about each turn, and don't get burned out.


what I don't like about Axis & Allies is the unrealism some players play the game. You would never see Russia do an all-in against germany to weaken it so that GB can come and sweep-in for the win.

the Allies should play the game expecting to prepare for the Cold war afterwhile. That would help the balance of power a lot :smallbiggrin:

[Name_Here]

what I don't like about Axis & Allies is the unrealism some players play the game. You would never see Russia do an all-in against germany to weaken it so that GB can come and sweep-in for the win.

the Allies should play the game expecting to prepare for the Cold war afterwhile. That would help the balance of power a lot :smallbiggrin:

One of the friends I played with said that he had masterminded a plot where Germany and Japan packed up and invaded America as their first goal.

The unrealism is the best part of the game. Otherwise everygame would go the exact same way which wouldn't be very interesting.

As for OP there was this game Small world where you make races by randomly combining races with descriptions. So you can have commando humans, Dragon master Orcs, Pillaging ghouls and Hill skeletons. Then you can invade a fantasy world going to war with the other people at the table. No dice rolling no randomness beyond the combination of race and description that show up just strategy. It's very fun.

[Avaris]

Arkham Horror is a game I have a special fondness for, largely because a large part of the way the game 'wins' appears to be through breaking the players. Seriously, a group of new players trying to get to grips with the rules is not fun. However once you get into it the game is awesome, especially for the sense of acheivement when you actually win. It feels odd having a game where you are expected to work with rather than against the other players.

I'll also second anyone mentioning the awesomeness that is A Game of Thrones. I was lucky enough to pick it up fairly cheaply, and though I've only played it once really enjoyed it. Having a set number of turns in the game really helps, as you can't just sit back and slowly build power (as with Australia in Risk for example), while the integrated turn system (all players take their turns at the sametime by secretly placing orders and then revealing them simultaneously) means it is necessary to properly consider what other players might do at the same time as planning for yourself (I could attack here... but that would leave me open if the player x attacks this turn...).
Edit: Also important to AGoT: no dice. Luck is far less of a factor compared to other strategy games.

[Burley]

I got my dads hooked on Settlers of Catan a month or so ago. We end up playing a couple times a week. It's a really great game. Easy to learn, but there is always room to improve your strategy, and every game is different, so, you don't like you're just making your way around a board. I love it.

[Corlindale]

Would just like to fourth the recommendation of Dominion - it's already seen more play than my other games, and I only bought it 3 weeks ago. Without fail, everyone I've introduced it to have come to love it - even my rather game-conservative mother(!).
My only problem is that I now have to carry it everywhere, and my friends are continually urging me to buy the expansions.

Here's (http://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/index.php/game_reviews/d/dominion) a video review, which explains the game fairly well.

Settlers of Catan used to be my favourite game, I can't really judge whether Dominion will dethrone it at this point. Still, there's no doubt Settlers of Catan is fantastic - another game that can be played over and over again without burnout.

[Ashery]

Diplomacy is amazing if you don't mind losing your friends.

Such fond memories of Diplomacy. It's even better if you have friends that you know to be manipulative little bastards.

Dune and Twilight Imperium are probably the two most often played board games, though. Both of which go well beyond the four hour mark, often past the eight hour mark actually, heh.

Although, I will say, there's nothing like a quick offensive in TI, being stopped just short of your current opponent's homeworld (I recall it being a six or eight player game), and then have the conflict develop into a cold war where both players build up massive armies along some border planets. Actually, that in itself isn't funny, but rather when you and your "enemy" decide to ally and completely wipe out every other player upon realizing that everyone else has drained their military capacity during the last several hours of active conflict.

[warty goblin]

what I don't like about Axis & Allies is the unrealism some players play the game. You would never see Russia do an all-in against germany to weaken it so that GB can come and sweep-in for the win.

the Allies should play the game expecting to prepare for the Cold war afterwhile. That would help the balance of power a lot :smallbiggrin:

Admittedly the insane level of coordination having a single player run both sides gives is a bit unrealistic. On the other hand this once allowed me to take Italy from a minuscule, 10 IPC/turn nation into a country that had more production than Great Britain, and was mobilizing tanks out of India to fight the Americans in Indo-China. I lost that game, but I lost with awesome, and that is all one can truly ask when playing the Axis.

Although I did win one game as the Axis, by invading Russia with a block of about thirty tanks I'd spent the previous half dozen odd turns massing in Germany.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Such fond memories of Diplomacy. It's even better if you have friends that you know to be manipulative little bastards.

Dune and Twilight Imperium are probably the two most often played board games, though. Both of which go well beyond the four hour mark, often past the eight hour mark actually, heh.



Is that the Dune game where there can be 6 players:

3 players are "normal", the classic 3 Rival Houses who wants to dominate the board.
1 player is the "Fremen". They want to break the status quo by capturing one stronghold. If the game ends with them in such power, they win
1 player is the "Navigator Guild", who wants to preserve the status quo. They want no one to win, and preserve the Fremen from gaining a stronghold
1 player is the Bene Gesserit, who picks a winner at the beginning of the game, and if (s)he picked right, the game is won. Off course, you can actually push for that player's victory.

I have been trying to get my hand on that game. How is the gameplay mechanic works out?

[Terraoblivion]

The only game of Axis and Allies i ever played ended up with the US navy being crushed by Japan in a freak accident of insanely skewered roles in one of the first turns. Japan then just picking off any ships the Americans ever got made, while they assisted Germany by invading the Soviet Union through Central Asia. I was Britain and with the US neutralized by the sea and the Soviet Union neutralized by a combined attack by Germany and Japan i couldn't really do much on my own. Especially not after i lost India early on and could not yield any meaningful pressure on either, even though Britain itself was pretty much impregnable, i could not defend it and attack Germany...It was a weird game.

[Zovc]

My collection includes:

Dominion (+Intrigue, +Seaside)
Small World (+Cursed!, +Grand Dames of Small World)
Power Grid
Acquire
Race for the Galaxy
Bohnanza

Feel free to ask about any of those. I played each of those games before buying them.

Race for the Galaxy is the one I most regret buying, because it's the hardest to get people to play with me.

Bohnanza is probably the best party game, but it's hard to convince random people that farming beans really will be a great time (and it totally will).

[Zovc]

Ah, Dominion. Great game. Heck, my college's Game Club plays it so often that some members have taken to calling it "Dominion Club," and some members have actually burned out on the game at this point. Can't count how many times I've played it since joining the club last semester, and this semester a member brought in the two expansions to the game, which just makes the possible card combinations utterly insane.

Zevox

Can I join this club?

[Ashery]

Is that the Dune game where there can be 6 players:

3 players are "normal", the classic 3 Rival Houses who wants to dominate the board.
1 player is the "Fremen". They want to break the status quo by capturing one stronghold. If the game ends with them in such power, they win
1 player is the "Navigator Guild", who wants to preserve the status quo. They want no one to win, and preserve the Fremen from gaining a stronghold
1 player is the Bene Gesserit, who picks a winner at the beginning of the game, and if (s)he picked right, the game is won. Off course, you can actually push for that player's victory.

I have been trying to get my hand on that game. How is the gameplay mechanic works out?

Sounds like we're talking about the same game. There also may be an expansion of sorts that adds in three more factions, except some of those were replaced by house factions and we typically play with eight or nine total players.

The Bene Gesserit have to not only pick the faction that wins, but also the precise turn in which they win. Note that the game only lasts fifteen turns. After which, there's a rather specific condition to be met that grants the Fremen victory (It's close to holding one stronghold, but I'm not sure the exact details). If *that* condition isn't met, the Guild wins by default.

Combat in the game is fairly simple and doesn't involve any dice. When two sides meet, they both appoint a leader, dial in the number of troops they're willing to lose, and have the option of playing an offense and defense card that will affect leaders played. The combat strength of the force is simply the sum of the leader's value and the number of dialed troops. Note that this is done secretly and the players reveal their decisions simultaneously. Upon revealing, the first thing that needs to be done is evaluate the impact of the cards played, but they aren't particularly fancy. For offense you have a poison weapon, physical weapon (I think), and lasgun. For defense, you just have the options of a poison defense and physical defense (shield). The one interesting thing here, though, is that if a lasgun and shield are played at once (Even both by the same player), everything dies, regardless. If a weapon is played that isn't defended against, the opposing leader dies, and not only does he no longer participate in the fight, but the player that killed him is awarded his value in spice. Once the effects of the cards are determined, it's simply a matter of summing up the surviving leaders and troop dials on both sides. The side with the larger sum wins, only loses the number of troops dialed and has the option of retaining any cards played. The loser, however, loses all troops, all cards played, but keeps the leader if he managed to survive.

...That was longer than I anticipated for that section, but meh.

Another important element is that each faction has unique abilities and there are always transactions going on between players. For instance, if any player wants to insert troops from space, the spice paid for transport goes to the Guild player. If any player buys a card with spice, the spice goes to the Emperor, etc. Not only this, but these abilities are transferred (For the most part) to their ally (Which can be changed every time there's a worm). So an ally of the Guild can effectively transport troops for free (Pays the guild, guild returns the spice) and an ally of the Emperor gets cards for free in much the same manner. Note, however, that other factions have abilities that surpass those in many aspects. An Atreides and Bene Gesserit alliance is an absolute bitch due to the fact that they have near perfect knowledge of what to play during battle that will both guarantee their leader's survival, but their opponent's leader's death.

You also have the traitor selection at the beginning of the game that throws the odd curve ball every once in a while. If a player enters combat against his chosen traitor (An opponent's leader), the opponent automatically loses everything. Harkonnen are fun for this element as they get to take *all* of their potential leaders (Five, if I recall correctly, randomly dealt out) to act as traitors. Note that you can receive your own leader when the potential traitors are dealt out and while you can't choose your own to be a traitor, you now know that that leader cannot be one.

Also, one needs to be patient and not overcommit or one'll find their influence over the board drop to nothing.

I'm sure there's a lot more to be explained, but this post is already excessively long, heh.

tl:dr - Fun game, but you need a full night to play it.

[Joran]

Race for the Galaxy is the one I most regret buying, because it's the hardest to get people to play with me.


Race for the Galaxy is a great game, but the learning curve for it is steeper than Dominion. It definitely helps if the player had played Puerto Rico before. I find Race for the Galaxy works best as a two player game and Dominion works best with 3-4.

Dominion has completely subsumed my gaming group. I have the following games:

Bohnanza
Race for the Galaxy (+2 expansions)
Puerto Rico
Ticket to Ride (America, Europe, Germany, and Switzerland)
Pandemic (+1 expansion)
Thurns and Taxis (which is my favorite game to play, but nobody else agrees)

[Togo]

Settlers of Catan
Peurto Rico
Advanced Civilisation*+
Twilight Imperium*
Carcassone
Arkham Horror
Circus maximus
History of the world*+

*warning, long game
+needs about 6 or more players to be worth it

[SolkaTruesilver]

Awesome description

Wooo... what is the name of the board game? just "Dune"?