Board Board Games! [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Altaria87

2013-12-28, 01:03 PM

Brother Oni

2013-12-29, 04:36 AM

I dug out my copy of Heroquest a few days ago and tried to teach my 10-year old daughter how to play.
She got the moving/attacking rules quite quickly, but hasn't figured out the whole exploration and the systematic trap/secret passages searching that's the bread and butter of dungeon crawling.

I also forget whether Heroquest is balanced for 4 heroes (not players) or whether the game is playable with just 1 hero, which may have contributed to her confusion.

That said, she's picking up the rules of chess and go quite quickly, although overall strategic thinking is a bit beyond her abilities.

Balain

2013-12-29, 04:36 AM

Edit: Hmmm the links don't seem to actually work on my ipad I will try to check them in the morning on my computer

Here is a list of some of my favourites currently

Dominion (http://http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion), although it seems people either really love it or really hate it, no in between

Terra Mystica (http://http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/120677/terra-mystica)

Agricola (http://http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31260/agricola)

Takenoko (http://http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70919/takenoko)

The Order Of The Stick Adventure Game.... (http://http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24157/order-of-the-stick-adventure-game-the-dungeon-of-d), Personally I prefer not using, The Shortnening, but in our group even setting up for a short game without it we still end up taking like 6 hours instead of 2

Gandariel

2013-12-29, 04:59 AM

Big fan of Carcassonne, Sankt Petersburg and Neuroshima Hex! (also available on smartphones. In particular, *ahem* on Androids with a *ahem* reduced fee)

Avaris

2013-12-29, 06:23 AM

I think Board Games are becoming much more mainstream, or at least viewed as acceptable gifts for people, which can only be a good thing! A lot of people seem to only think of Monopoly or Risk when they think of Board games, and as both of those are pretty terrible it is good to see others getting exposure.

I personally enjoy Dominion, and recently played Ticket to Ride for the first time. I also highly recommend Risk Legacy, as it is a fairly unique concept and overcomes a lot of the problems of normal Risk.

Krug

2013-12-30, 09:54 PM

My older brother and I play Board Games occasionally. We've found Elder Sign and Risk: God Storm are really fun.

Hiro Protagonest

2013-12-30, 09:58 PM

Only "real" board game I ever played is one two-player game of Settlers of Catan. Still great.

I dug out my copy of Heroquest a few days ago and tried to teach my 10-year old daughter how to play.
She got the moving/attacking rules quite quickly, but hasn't figured out the whole exploration and the systematic trap/secret passages searching that's the bread and butter of dungeon crawling.

There's a game on GOG that I love called King of Dragon Pass where you play as an Orlanthi tribe in the setting's past. It's not a board game, but people should play it!

Logic

2013-12-30, 10:15 PM

Are we also including card games played like board games? Like Uno, Munchkin, and Ninja Burger?

However, The Settlers of Catan (along with the expansions Seafarers and Traders & Barbarians) are on my shortlist of greatest board games ever.

Of the classic board games, I personally like Risk, Monoply and Life, but the Risk variants (2210, Godstorm) are the real gems of that franchise.

CarpeGuitarrem

2013-12-30, 11:08 PM

Gave Tsuro and Wings of War: Watch Your Back! as Christmas gifts this year. :smallbiggrin: Both were received immensely well.

warty goblin

2013-12-30, 11:14 PM

I like boardgames, but mostly play them with/against myself. Though hopefully boardgame night gets going again this semester...

Brother Oni

2013-12-31, 09:22 AM

There's a game on GOG that I love called King of Dragon Pass where you play as an Orlanthi tribe in the setting's past. It's not a board game, but people should play it!

Wrong Heroquest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeroQuest).
This one was made by MB and GW and is set in the Warhammer Fantasy world (although the trademark has since reverted back to your Hero Quest company).

CarpeGuitarrem

2013-12-31, 09:41 AM

I like boardgames, but mostly play them with/against myself. Though hopefully boardgame night gets going again this semester...
Ah, that's rough.

Are you familiar with Friday (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43570/friday)? It's a solo deckbuilding game where you play the role of the poor islander whose home Robinson Crusoe washed up on. You spend the whole game helping Robbie to learn competence so that he can eventually beat the pirates at the end of the game and escape...leaving you and your island in peace.

Beacon of Chaos

2013-12-31, 10:16 AM

I only have two friends I see on a regular basis that I play board games with. I just got King of Tokyo and Cards Against Humanity with my Christmas money. Haven't had a chance to play KoT with friends yet, but CaH was a laugh. I'm also waiting for the Back to the Future Card Game to be delivered.

We also like Carcasonne. I have the first two expansions. I also have Lords of Waterdeep, which I love, but it always seems to be ignored in favour of other games.

Of course, I'm the only one of our group who owns any games, with the exception of one guy, who has Monopoly. :smallsigh:

At some point I'd like to pick up Charon Inc. and Belfort, both of which I played with another friend a while back and I really liked them.

I like boardgames, but mostly play them with/against myself. Though hopefully boardgame night gets going again this semester...
I occasionally play games against myself, when I'm bored. I find I can still get some entertainment out of it though. Plus there's no waiting for players who are distracted by their phones. :smalltongue:

Been thinking of going to a games club to meet up with people though.

warty goblin

2013-12-31, 10:28 AM

Ah, that's rough.

Are you familiar with Friday (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43570/friday)? It's a solo deckbuilding game where you play the role of the poor islander whose home Robinson Crusoe washed up on. You spend the whole game helping Robbie to learn competence so that he can eventually beat the pirates at the end of the game and escape...leaving you and your island in peace.
It's not so bad really. For one thing it means I get to play really long games that otherwise I'd never get to, because I can just leave 'em set up on my kitchen table for a week. I can't imagine finding the time for an entire game of Runewars in one sitting (let alone finding somebody else with the time at the same time), but playing a year a night works fabulously. It also means that when I do actually get to play with another person, I know the rules pretty well.

I don't as a rule really go for deckbuilding games. The last game I was playing with myself was Mice and Mystics (which works very well solo), though I'm debating getting an expansion for Battles of Westeros, or possibly Defenders of the Realm. I should really give MageKnight another shot as well.

I occasionally play games against myself, when I'm bored. I find I can still get some entertainment out of it though. Plus there's no waiting for players who are distracted by their phones. :smalltongue:

Been thinking of going to a games club to meet up with people though.
During most of the semester we have a department boardgame night every couple of weeks, which I quite like. It usually lasts a couple of hours, but doesn't go stupid late, and is thankfully devoid of the extremely socially maladapted that I've encountered at other gaming groups.

Cristo Meyers

2013-12-31, 10:31 AM

My cabinet (formerly the ottomon, formerly the space on the floor in front of the end table) of games just keeps growing.

Battlestar Galactica and all its expansions (and managed to somehow get them all in one box...)
Pandemic and its expansions
Quarto
Quorridor
Hex Hex
Wise and Otherwise
Curses
Killer Bunnies
British Rails
Eurorails
Empire Builder
and others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

I've been wanting to get a game of Galactica in now that I have all the expansions, but time is a factor most nights. I love Quarto for a 1v1 puzzle game: it's really simple to pick up but really forces you to think out your next move.

I've played Lords of Waterdeep, but found it kind of unremarkable. It was interesting enough when we were playing it, but I honestly can't remember anything about it now.

...though I'm debating getting an expansion for Battles of Westeros...

How is that? I've been debating that one, but it's got a really steep price point for a two-player game that I can guarantee LadyMeyers won't have any interest in...

CarpeGuitarrem

2013-12-31, 11:26 AM

I also highly recommend Risk Legacy, as it is a fairly unique concept and overcomes a lot of the problems of normal Risk.
I just noticed this.

I will second it again and again and again. Legacy is fantastic. Not only does it force you to make hard (and permanent) choices, but it also introduces new rules gradually into the game--causing it to develop as you play.

Play it through without spoilers, if you can. That makes for a lot of "oh, that's so cool!" moments as the rules grow. My only wish is that the rules evolution packets allowed for more decisions, like "pick which rule goes in the book"; the customization is largely limited to factions.

As for my gameshelf, lemme see if I can remember...

Shogun (interesting area control game with a quirky combat system)
Glenn Drover's Empires (one of my favorites; an amazing worker placement game...also hard to find for a reasonable price)
Space Hulk Death Angel (sometimes brutal card-based version of the classic boardgame, more streamlined, all about risk management and powers)
A Game of Thrones card game (core set) (nifty continuation of their aGoT CCG, in non-randomized format; very solid game)
Legendary (the Marvel deckbuilder) (cool comic-y deckbuilder; I love how cards "combo" into one another)
Citadels (interesting role-based game, not sure how well it holds up after extended play)
Boss Monster (currently MIA, I hope I find it soon!) (super-fun game doused in retro-gaming nostalgia where you build a dungeon for heroes to pass through)
Friday (like above; solo deckbuilding game where you have a limited ability to cull your deck and upgrade it--hard choices abound!)
Channel A (super-fun party game about making up crazy anime titles)
The Resistance (regular and Avalon versions) (a much better version of Mafia/Werewolf)
Coup (quick, speedy bluffing/special powers game--a surprising bit of depth)
Love Letter (Kanai Factory reprint) (super-speedy filler game with constant decision points)
All three Pocket Battles games (nice, fun, light, quick wargaming with "build your own army" combos)
Koi Pond (haven't played yet; a game about manipulating point cards between different areas)

I'm probably missing a few, too.

warty goblin

2013-12-31, 11:56 AM

How is that? I've been debating that one, but it's got a really steep price point for a two-player game that I can guarantee LadyMeyers won't have any interest in...

It's a pretty decent and fairly light game about smashing units of dudes into each other. My only serious complaint is that the rules for moving and attacking are incredibly poorly written*. Once a person gets that figured (which I'm not sure I have yet), it's a cool little game. In a nice touch, it puts a lot of emphasis on commanders, since they're the only reliable way to activate units.

Really though, if you're looking for a fantasy strategy game, I think I prefer Runewars. The scale is strategic instead of tactical, but it manages the admirable feat of having a lot of things going on, and still making sense - which is to say it's got a readily intelligible overall structure, and a lot of things that interact with that structure in clear ways. And there are some rather hands-off tactics in the battles to worry about as well, mostly in the form of assigning damage and routes to your units.

*Thus completing the Fantasy Flight Holy Trinity: Tiny Cards, Billions of Cardboard Tokens, and at least one vital section in the rules that I cannot for the life of me figure out.

Cristo Meyers

2013-12-31, 12:11 PM

Boss Monster (currently MIA, I hope I find it soon!)

That's one I've been dying to try out. I'm already a sucker for 8-bit nostalgia, throwing in creating a boss level to lure wary adventures to chunky deaths is just a bonus.

It's a pretty decent and fairly light game about smashing units of dudes into each other. My only serious complaint is that the rules for moving and attacking are incredibly poorly written*. Once a person gets that figured (which I'm not sure I have yet), it's a cool little game. In a nice touch, it puts a lot of emphasis on commanders, since they're the only reliable way to activate units.

Really though, if you're looking for a fantasy strategy game, I think I prefer Runewars. The scale is strategic instead of tactical, but it manages the admirable feat of having a lot of things going on, and still making sense - which is to say it's got a readily intelligible overall structure, and a lot of things that interact with that structure in clear ways. And there are some rather hands-off tactics in the battles to worry about as well, mostly in the form of assigning damage and routes to your units.

Hmm...sounds interesting. Maybe if I can find it somewhere that doesn't charge the standard Fantasy Flight "Oh dear god my wallet!" price...

*Thus completing the Fantasy Flight Holy Trinity: Tiny Cards, Billions of Cardboard Tokens, and at least one vital section in the rules that I cannot for the life of me figure out.

I've always considered punching out the cardboard tokens half the fun...but then again I was amused by the fact that I was drawing with crayons for the first time in over 20 years when we started playing Eurorails.

Zorg

2013-12-31, 12:34 PM

(although the trademark has since reverted back to your Hero Quest company).

There's a bit of debate about that, but it has given us the 25th Anniversary HeroQuest game (http://www.lanzanos.com/proyectos/heroquest-25-aniversario/necesidades/).

TheEmerged

2013-12-31, 12:58 PM

First, I'm'a gonna just leave (http://www.youtube.com/user/thedicetower) these (http://www.youtube.com/user/geekandsundry) here (http://dicetower.com/).

I got the Forbidden Island\Desert pair of games for Christmas and I enjoy both: I prefer the way Desert has an explorer emphasis, but I have to say Desert does a better job with making players feel the urgency. I've had three games of "Island" end now where the very next card was going to be Water's Rise and a very good chance of the game being over right there. I do prefer the way you have to hunt for the correct tiles in Island though.

I bought myself "Last Night On Earth: the Zombie Survival Game" as my December gaming budget. I greatly enjoy another game from that same company ("Conquest of Planet Earth") and the way it captures the feel of the 50's/60's alien invasion movie and LNOE had some good buzz around it. I'm not actually much of a fan of the zombie\horror genre but the game is still fun and the first expansion is probably going to be my Jan or Feb gaming budget :smallbiggrin: I've been trying to figure out how to run a LNOE "Let's Play" on this board in such a way other people will participate (unlike the COPE one I tried to post).

I like Settler's but it's not well liked in my gaming group. I like Munchkin well enough (I have 3 variants) but it's a little too luck-based for me. I have and play three of the old Milton Bradley "big box" games (Axis & Allies, Fortress America, and Shogun) whenever I get the excuse. I'm also a fan of some older, obscurer games like Mystery Mansion and Scotland yard.

The granddaddy of my board game collection, which I've played so hard for so long I've had to replace the plastic sleeves I put the cards in, is Robo Rally.

CarpeGuitarrem

2013-12-31, 12:59 PM

That's one I've been dying to try out. I'm already a sucker for 8-bit nostalgia, throwing in creating a boss level to lure wary adventures to chunky deaths is just a bonus.

The theme is a blast. Be warned that "hero logjams" can lead to sudden swings when one boss monster tips the scales. Still, the game plays fairly fast, and the interactions of different rooms are very fun.

And so many references!

Hiro Protagonest

2013-12-31, 01:17 PM

Wrong Heroquest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeroQuest).
This one was made by MB and GW and is set in the Warhammer Fantasy world (although the trademark has since reverted back to your Hero Quest company).

Now that's not confusing at all.

Cristo Meyers

2013-12-31, 01:32 PM

I bought myself "Last Night On Earth: the Zombie Survival Game" as my December gaming budget. I greatly enjoy another game from that same company ("Conquest of Planet Earth") and the way it captures the feel of the 50's/60's alien invasion movie and LNOE had some good buzz around it. I'm not actually much of a fan of the zombie\horror genre but the game is still fun and the first expansion is probably going to be my Jan or Feb gaming budget :smallbiggrin: I've been trying to figure out how to run a LNOE "Let's Play" on this board in such a way other people will participate (unlike the COPE one I tried to post).

We had so much fun the last time we played Last Night on Earth. Zombies were killed, people eaten, and someone threatened to feed me to the recently zombified priest. Good times.

I'm also a fan of some older, obscurer games like Mystery Mansion and Scotland yard.

Mystery Mansion...that reminds me of one I did forget: Betrayal at House on the Hill. We've only played it once so far...and I ended up losing because I got locked into dancing uncontrollably for turn after turn while everyone else walked around with impunity to get the stuff they needed to beat me.

The theme is a blast. Be warned that "hero logjams" can lead to sudden swings when one boss monster tips the scales. Still, the game plays fairly fast, and the interactions of different rooms are very fun.

And so many references!

Sounds like just my kind of thing...might have to pick that up when we're at the store next. :smallbiggrin:

Brother Oni

2013-12-31, 02:56 PM

There's a bit of debate about that, but it has given us the 25th Anniversary HeroQuest game (http://www.lanzanos.com/proyectos/heroquest-25-aniversario/necesidades/).

Oh it's back up now? It was up for a couple of days then got hit by a C&D by the current trademark owners.

Edit: This update suggests that it now appears to be a rather complicated trademark issue: link (http://pinsofwar.com/heroquest-suspended/).

There's an interesting comment on that page that suggests GW may be doing a limited release of Advanced Heroquest (they own the IP for that outright) in the next couple of years, much like they did for Space Hulk.

From what I remember of that game, it's essentially Heroquest with more advanced mechanics and movable board sections (much like Space Hulk).

Now that's not confusing at all.

It's a bit of a sordid tale about naive little companies versus big multinational firms: link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16520741&postcount=14).

TheEmerged

2013-12-31, 05:34 PM

RE: HeroQuest. I have to say I've heard Super Fantasy: Ugly Snouts Assault (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbSPl6Mipaw) mentioned as a kind of spiritual successor to Hero Quest, and I'm looking forward to it.

Joran

2014-01-01, 05:24 AM

The granddaddy of my board game collection, which I've played so hard for so long I've had to replace the plastic sleeves I put the cards in, is Robo Rally.

My favorite memory of Robo Rally was when my friend got confused, screwed up his operations order, and sent his robot off the board on turn 1.

My gaming group's first experience with Euro-style board games came with Settlers of Cataan. The really big kickstart was when my cousin gave me Ticket to Ride and I started buying a lot of board games; we'd game every Saturday at my friend's house. Now, we're old, so we don't meet as much, which is a pity.

What games I like

The games I like are what Soren Johnson terms "competitive solitaire" (http://www.designer-notes.com/?p=101).

The feeling of the game is of trying to [complete a personal objective], not of trying to screw over your opponent. The big advantage of competitive solitaire is that when a player loses, they tend to blame their own play instead of their opponents’ decisions, which usually encourages players to try again to “get it right” the next time.

As a group, we aren't highly competitive, so cutthroat games with a lot of heavy player interaction (like Risk or Diplomacy) aren't our cup of tea. So games like Ticket to Ride, Power Grid, Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, and Lords of Waterdeep are games we like.

We also like shorter games. We all live in separate houses now, and meet up for a session of maybe 5-6 hours, so a 4-5 hour Fantasy Flight game isn't going to work. We also have lower attention spans, so a game lasting up to 2 hours at the most, the shorter the better.

Board games enter the 21st century: tablets

The great things about board games is their simpler mechanics and basic layout is that it makes it very easy to port to tablets. I used to play a lot of Ticket to Ride on the iPad and now I'm playing Lords of Waterdeep. Instead of having to coordinate with my friends to have a gaming session, if I have a half an hour, I can get a quick game in.

Also, I think I enjoy playing board games better on the iPad. There's no clean up or preparation, score keeping is handled by the computer, and all the information is easy to see and access (card counts/train counts being an example in Ticket to Ride). I only need a good iPad version of Power Grid and Dominion and I'd be happy.

Zorg

2014-01-01, 06:47 AM

Oh it's back up now? It was up for a couple of days then got hit by a C&D by the current trademark owners.

Edit: This update suggests that it now appears to be a rather complicated trademark issue: link (http://pinsofwar.com/heroquest-suspended/).

The short version is that HeroQuest isn't trademarked in Spain, so Gamezone thought they'd be ok. Since Kickstarter is US/UK based the RPG company that had the rights claimed against it with a UK copyright so Kickstarter took it down. Hence it is now on a Spanish crowdfunding site since they are free to make and market a product called HeroQuest there.

Also recently got my Flashpoint Fire Rescue (http://www.indieboardsandcards.com/fpfr.php) expansions. It's really fun and a good co-op game, pretty customisable difficulty for different ages and skill levels.

MLai

2014-01-01, 06:56 AM

The one game I wish gets a remake is Dungeon Dice Monsters. Now, I don't care about the YuGiOh franchise one whit (beyond having watched the cartoons back when they were on TV), but I love the idea/mechanics of the game. Which really has absolutely nothing to do with the card game (and that's good thing).

Here's the rules:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nicholas.povey1/Yu_Gi_Oh/d_rules.htm

Even without official props, you can make this game out of what you have in your toys/minis/game chest: dice, minis, homemade rules (you can copy official monsters stats if you want, from GameFAQs), and a gameboard either made out of cardboard or maybe an appropriate board from some other game. You can make any theme you want: Star Wars, zombies vs pirates, XCom, whatever.

Vesth

2014-01-01, 12:24 PM

I have...umm...around 30 games on my shelf. And by shelf, I mean under my desk. I have three primary groups I normally play with. The first (my cousins) enjoy Betrayal At The House On The Hill (BATHOTH) the most. The second (my friends) love Shadow Hunters and Saboteur. The third...well, nevermind about them. They're better enthusiasts than me, and they're usually the ones bringing stuff. They tend to go for variety :smalltongue:

I recently opened a second-hand version of Descent 2E, and we had a marathon with it during New Year's Eve. What fun!

I gave Escape: Curse of The Temple and Get Bit as presents, and it was VERY well received. Oh god, the laughing and screaming from Escape...

Anyway, does anyone watching Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9QtdiRJYro&list=PL4F80C7D2DC8D9B6C) or Shut Up And Sit Down (http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/)? They're both pretty fantastic. And may empty your wallet.

@Cristo Meyers: BATHOTH is really fun. Every scenario is different; hopefully you get something better the next time you're traitor! Once, I was this guy who couldn't move, but blew up people at the end of my turn. Or when they came near me. Heh heh heh....
For people who enjoy BATHOTH, maybe you might want to try Tales of The Arabian Nights or even Agents of SMERSH.

Cristo Meyers

2014-01-01, 11:16 PM

@Cristo Meyers: BATHOTH is really fun. Every scenario is different; hopefully you get something better the next time you're traitor! Once, I was this guy who couldn't move, but blew up people at the end of my turn. Or when they came near me. Heh heh heh....
For people who enjoy BATHOTH, maybe you might want to try Tales of The Arabian Nights or even Agents of SMERSH.

Yeah, I've been meaning to drag that out to game night sometime, just never get around to it.

I can't really say I minded the loss too much (hell, I almost always lose), and the mental image of the big dumb jock and his pet poltergeist uncontrollably tap-dancing because of a cursed music box definitely blunted any sense of loss.

Knaight

2014-01-01, 11:43 PM

I've been playing a fair amount of Sentinels of the Multiverse recently, along with Bang!. They're both excellent games, though Sentinels is probably the deeper of the two. Basically, it's a cooperative game where each player plays a superhero with a power and a deck, building up by playing ongoing deck cards that affect them and playing one shots for individual attacks, defenses, and effects. It also has environments and villains, with the goal being to defeat the villain before they take you out - or, in some cases, have a villainous plan go through. I strongly recommend it.

Bang! is basically the spaghetti western shootout game. I've enjoyed it, but that might say more about the group dynamics it brings out than the game itself.

As a group, we aren't highly competitive, so cutthroat games with a lot of heavy player interaction (like Risk or Diplomacy) aren't our cup of tea. So games like Ticket to Ride, Power Grid, Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, and Lords of Waterdeep are games we like.

We play Dominion very differently.

IthilanorStPete

2014-01-02, 12:12 AM

I've only played a few European-style/more complex board games; I don't often get the chance to. Games I've played:
-A decent bit of Settlers of Catan, which is fun.
-Betrayal at the House on the Hill, which has always seemed more interesting than it ends up being. It seems like it depends on atmosphere and immersion, and it's just never clicked for me.
-Arkham Horror, which I've very much enjoyed.
-I've played Dominion, don't really care for it; it's a bit too fast-paced for me. I end up feeling rushed and stressed, which is not what I'm looking for from a game.
-The OotS Adventure game, that's a load of fun.
-Space Hulk Death Angel, as CarpeGuitarrem mentioned. Nice and simple, though the balance feels a bit off.
-Chrononauts, for simple, wacky fun.
-I've played a bit of a racing game called Formula D (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/173/formula-de), which seems very interesting - I want to try it with more players.

Games I want to try:
-Ticket to Ride
-Carcassone
-Pandemic
-Power Grid

Joran

2014-01-02, 01:44 AM

We play Dominion very differently.

Witch early, Witch often is our motto! Those games hurt the most though if there's no easy way to dispose of Curse cards.

Altaria87

2014-01-02, 10:14 AM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-01-02, 11:01 AM

On the subject of Dominion, my group (which consists of a College Game Night which inevitably starts with Articulate then The Resistance: Avalon, then something small like Settlers when most people have left) haven't played it before, and I've never been able to get into it back at home, but I've heard it's one of the bets of its genre. Does anyone know a good way to get in to the game, and deckbuilders in general?
Dominion's a great introduction to deckbuilders, simply because most other deckbuilders clone it to some degree. (Though you might wind up developing some habits that you have to unlearn for deckbuilders, I dunno...) It's simple to grasp, though.

You can be perfectly fine with buying the core set (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion) and not getting any of the expansions. That'll get you large amounts of play. (If you look into expansions, consider Prosperity or Intrigue.)

Also, I personally think that the "first play" setup isn't terribly good. Not a bad intro to the rules mechanisms, but don't judge the quality of play by it. There's more interesting setups in the rest of the game.

Knaight

2014-01-02, 01:03 PM

You can be perfectly fine with buying the core set (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion) and not getting any of the expansions. That'll get you large amounts of play. (If you look into expansions, consider Prosperity or Intrigue.)
Intrigue is a complete game, I recommend getting it before the original. It just has a better set of cards (Swindler and Torturer are way more fun than Witch, in particular).

Gandariel

2014-01-03, 06:26 AM

Bang! Is pretty awesome. Good for 4-7 people (2,3 and 8 are possible but less fun).

I play it with friends at lunch break almost every day, and it's really fun and never gets old:

Basically, everyone has a role in a western city (sheriff, vice, outlaw, renegade).
All roles are hidden except for Sheriff.
Everyone also has a charachter with a special power.
People take turns drawing cards and playing them to attack other players or defend themselves. There's a lot of dynamics going on, because everyone has a purpose:
Outlaws win if the sheriff dies
Sheriff wins if every outlaw and renegade die
vice wins if sheriff wins
Renegate wins if he defeats the Sheriff in a 1 on 1 battle (so after everyone else is dead).

Renegade may look harder to pull off, but basically in the game what happens is that the Renegade always switches "side", acts like a vice when there are too many outlaws, and helps the outlaws when the sheriff is too strong. Also, while it's relatively easy after a while to figure out who is a vice or outlaw, it's harder to figure out who is the damn renegade.

So basically the game goes on as people try to figure out what role are the others and shooting each other (And you get a laugh when you "bang" your friend thrice in a row)

Really really fun =)

Knaight

2014-01-03, 10:52 AM

So basically the game goes on as people try to figure out what role are the others and shooting each other (And you get a laugh when you "bang" your friend thrice in a row)

In my experience, there's also a lot of throwing arms into the air and yelling "Mancato!" whenever anybody dodges, provided that there aren't reasons to keep the noise down.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-01-03, 11:25 AM

I love the Italian cards.

For the gameplay, though, I like Shadow Hunters better as a Bang!-style game. There's more chances to actually get information on people (a big flaw with most hidden role games) and different ways you can leverage game mechanics. Plus, the characters are a bit more balanced. :smallbiggrin:

Gandariel

2014-01-03, 07:41 PM

Took me a while to get that, since i'm actually Italian :P

And yeah, some dudes in Bang! are a bit unbalanced (Santa claus, "dude whose Bang! has to be dodged with 2 Missed!", "Dude who can hold 10 cards in his hand", and a couple others)

But really, if a player gets a particularly strong charachter he usually gets killed first by everyone else. And if it's the Sheriff who gets a strong charachter, the renegade just sides more with the Outlaws and the game is even again :)

[Santa though, is really powerful: Aside from giving friends good stuff and enemies bad stuff, he basically gets to pick his cards from a HUGE pool of cards, and can pull off some nice combos, like picking 2 Bang! for himself for a couple turns, then picking a Volcanic and going nova on the Sheriff]

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-01-03, 07:53 PM

Ahaha. When there's a big group (I've usually played with massive groups), Claus tends to be a very unpopular character. Mainly because of all the time he adds. Heh.

warty goblin

2014-01-05, 07:08 PM

Picked up Descent 2nd Edition and the first hero expansion for Defenders of the Realm today, as my 'I survived Christmas vacation/tomorrow is the first Monday of the semester' reward. Spent the rest of the day playing them.

Descent seems pretty fun, though a bit tricky to play on one's own, since I end up basically doing the work of three people. The tactical combat is pretty fun though. Really need to find another player...

I think I like the new heroes for Defenders of the Realm. I'm not sure why a group would ever choose not to include the Assassin though, she's a one-woman murder machine with excellent mobility and survivability. Comboed with the Captain of the Guard's ability to give other players actions, I could see her being rather obscene, particularly after she offs a general or two. I'm less sold on the Adventurer; getting more cards is nice, but in practice after about turn 3 where you go is so dictated by which batch of minions you need to kill, it's very hard to actually take advantage of.

yougi

2014-01-07, 09:46 AM

Yeah to board games!

I've been playing Guildhall a lot lately, and it seems all those who play it enjoy it. I'm getting the expansion for it this weekend, and I can't wait. It's a rather simple card game, where each card has a profession and a color. The goal is to make guilds of 5 members of the same profession, 1 of each color. When you play a card, you also take an action depending on the card played, and the more members you already have in that guild, the stronger the action.

I'd say my top 5 favorite games are:
1- Race for the Galaxy
2- Dominion
3- Pandemic (although Ghost Stories may take is place soon)
4- Kingsburg
5- Kemet

And the game I play most is Telestrations, where you alternate between guessing what the person before you drew, and drawing what the person before you wrote, without looking at other players' drawings/guesses (only the one right before you). In large groups, it's a hoot and a half, and because the rules can be explained in 3 minutes, it's great with non-gamers too.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-01-07, 10:06 AM

Oooh, Kemet! I've only played it twice, but that is a fun game. Keeps me on my toes, because you have to always be proactive.

yougi

2014-01-07, 11:05 AM

Oooh, Kemet! I've only played it twice, but that is a fun game. Keeps me on my toes, because you have to always be proactive.

Indeed. I love the fact that they force you to attack, and that everything is more or less one move away, and can be attacked at any time.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-01-07, 11:17 AM

I spent so much time counting all the board spaces to check that. Literally every city is equidistant.

warty goblin

2014-01-11, 12:36 AM

Apparently Fantasy Flight is making a Witcher boardgame. I'm hoping for nipple tokens.

Cristo Meyers

2014-01-11, 12:57 AM

Apparently Fantasy Flight is making a Witcher boardgame. I'm hoping for nipple tokens.

If there's no trading cards I'm not interested. :smalltongue:

--

I just remembered how much my copy of Empire Builder hates me. First I get stuck in Mexico City because of an earthquake, then can't pick up the coffee I need because of a longshoreman strike, and then get stuck at the border because the Rio Grande flooded and took out the bridge...

...and I still came in 2nd.

warty goblin

2014-01-11, 03:08 PM

If there's no trading cards I'm not interested. :smalltongue:

'At the end of his phase, the Geralt player may draw up to two cards from the Ladies deck...'

ShadowFighter15

2014-01-12, 04:23 PM

Only boardgame I've been looking at lately is Dreadball (http://www.manticgames.com/games/dreadball.html), but a boardgame club here in town (which I keep forgetting about until the meet's half-over) gave me a chance to play Zombicide and Ninja Burger, both of which are awesome. And Munchkin, of course, but that one should go without saying.:smalltongue:

Really hoping to find a Dreadball League around here or start one myself. Although that could require me to have the minis painted, and my rate of painting from Warmachine is generously described as 'glacial'.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-01-12, 07:41 PM

Just finished my second play of A Game of Thrones with the A Dance With Dragons expansion. That expansion is interesting; the game starts you off with a lot of hard choices.

I've been crushed twice--once as Greyjoy, once as Lannister. Perhaps someday...I'll get the hang of this game.

warty goblin

2014-01-12, 08:20 PM

Speaking of all things Game of Thrones related, after spending a morning with epoxy gluing little army men together I finally sat down and really figured out how the hell Battles of Westeros works. Once I figured that 'must move all ordered units before any ordered units attack' only applies to units being ordered right now instead of over the entire round, things actually worked. The one time Fantasy Flight could have really used an example, they don't stick one in... figures.

It seems a decent enough light tactics game. Combat seems perhaps overly stochastic, but the scenario I played was mostly lower rank units who are more subject to the vicissitudes of fate than the tougher ones.

Now I just need another tube of epoxy. I only got about a third of the way through the monstrous pile of House Baratheon miniatures.

TheEmerged

2014-01-16, 02:45 PM

So, had a day off yesterday and tracked down a different gaming store in the area I'd never heard of before but has apparently been there for >decade. Amusingly I got to the street that the directions said "if you see this street you've gone too far," immediately pulled over... and found myself at the store's front door.

In addition to finally getting a copy of the Love Letter card game (which was an immediate hit when I introduced people to it last night) and an older HERO product I had never managed to find, I scored the Growing Hunger expansion to Last Night On Earth. In addition to the new players, new human & zombie cards, and new optional rules, the expansion also addressed one of my complaints about the base game.

Heavily abbreviated version: human heroes can either move or search on their turns. Since some of the human starting spots are further away from a zombie spawning spots than others (and a few other factors), too often a human hero is able to stand in one building and keep searching it - with little encouragement to leave while the other heroes fight the zombies.

Well, GH added the exploration markers to the game. These encourage the heroes to move from building to building so they have a good chance (16 in 20) of getting a free search without having to spend the move action.

I didn't get a chance to test it in a live fire exercise, but I'm wondering if we'll run into one of the problems we ran into with Conquest of Planet Earth when we added the expansion. For COPE, the added cards from the expansion diluted the original decks more than they added to it. For LNOE, GH looks to add some needed diversity to the Zombie Deck (waaaay too many of the cards there in the base game are duplicates). For the Human deck, at least a few of the cards from the expansion are essentially duplicates of cards from the base game (Rusty Keys serve as Keys for the purpose of scenarios for example).

I also like the addition of the card that serves the same purpose as "Faith", but remains in play for Law Enforcement characters. We've had two games now where the Priest of all people (who can't use any ranged weapons) was turned into a better fighter than the Sheriff (who essentially always has a ranged weapon) :)

warty goblin

2014-01-16, 03:07 PM

Spent some more time with Battles of Westeros. I think it's growing on me.

For starters it looks excellent. I'm a total component-whore when it comes to boardgames, so seeing all the little cavalry and infantry mixing up, banners flying, is a lot of fun for me.

I like the command system as well, since it makes commanders exceedingly important, and absolutely vital for executing all but the most basic of tactics. The battle I was playing last night for instance was essentially two different fights on opposite sides of the map, with the objectives in between. Stark won in no small part because their elite infantry were able to knock out the Lannister commander on one flank very early, allowing the Lannister survivors there to be out-maneuvered at every turn. Lannister fared better on the other flank, since Gregor Clegane is the next best thing to indestructable. But he's a terrible commander, only able to issue one point of orders a round. Even though he knocked Karstark out of the fight, the other's two orders a round meant by that point Clegane's command had been pretty well diced by Stark cavalry flanking actions.

The level of differentiation between lower and higher level units is nice as well. Green troops are easy to order, move fast, but only roll two dice and die if you look at them funny. Red troops are a lot harder to order, move like a snail on crutches, but get four dice in combat and are hard to knock out. Once they make contact, they're simply brutal. Blue troops are happy medium.

Kaww

2014-01-17, 08:00 AM

My group plays a lot of board games actually. We enjoy Arkham Horror and 7 Wonders most, but there are other titles slowly creeping in. Lords of Waterdeep are just one more worker placement game, but we know so much about the city from D&D that it makes the game a lot more fun. Haven't played the expansion though if anyone has please let me know how you liked it. Robinson Crusoe is mechanically similar, but has so much more going on and it really delivers the flavor.

Aside from that a friend of mine and I really like Descent 1.0 we have the full game, but no time to play it:smallfrown:. A thing I want to play, but have no time is Twilight Imperium 3. I'll have to try it when I get some vacation time and kidnap my friends for two days.

Aside from these I've played:
- Tales of Arabian Nights (ok game, but not much staying power. I believe my kids will love it one day, since it's very simple)
- Summoner Wars. Cool for two players, but we prefer What's my word. However sometimes I'm too tired to play it and SW comes as a nice light two player game. I know that's not what it is, but any game can be played in many styles.
- Shadows over Camelot. Hmm. I like the theme, but zero staying power in my group. Disclaimer: We play Arkham Horror with two heralds and all other rules that make the game harder and we win almost every time.
- D&D boardgames. We've played them. Beaten all scenarios. Little staying power, superb production and an excellent number of minis for such a small price.
- Small World. I hate it. Really. I am the guy they all gang up against from round one. I don't play it. No. Even if they promise not to team up against me they all play like the do - because it's good strategy.

I haven't mentioned all of them, just those that left an impression. Hope someone finds this helpful.

TheEmerged

2014-02-01, 10:00 PM

Okay, got to try the LNOEarth expansion in a live fire exercise. The exploration tokens had the effect I thought they would and should be part of the base game (I effectively can't see playing the game without this option now). At least in the sessions we played, the expansion didn't dilute the hero deck the way we saw in COPEarth.

On another note, Love Letter has continued to be a hit with every group I've taken it to. I'm not going to say it's deep - it's not. It is a fun, light card game that can be picked up quickly.

warty goblin

2014-02-02, 12:11 AM

Got the guys together last night for some Descent. It was the first time any of them had played, and the first time I had played with somebody not myself. Everybody picked it up pretty fast though, so we managed to get through the first two encounters in about 3 1/2 hours or so. I think everybody had a blast, so hopefully this can be a regular thing. Since we've been wanting to get an actual RPG group going for eighteen months now, and have only been stymied because nobody's been willing to commit to GMing, this seems like a good compromise.

Picked up War of the Ring as my February boardgame. Plays very well one person, and is just loaded with excellent flavor; I'm not sure I've ever played a game with its theme baked that deeply into the mechanics. The bit where the servants of Sauron get infinite reinforcements, while the Free Peoples can run out is simply ingenious.

Knaight

2014-02-02, 03:51 PM

I went to a local annual board game gathering (it's jokingly called a con, but it's really not) yesterday. Discoveries:

Puerto Rico is a glorious, glorious game and I love it.
Seven Wonders is actually a pretty solid title, and I could see playing it again.
Skull and Roses is a quality social game, and it takes only ten minutes or so.
Taboo is still extremely fun, and still has glaring holes in the words banned list that make some words entirely too easy to convey (e.g. Jewel, which you can get your team to say easily with the non banned "Newton Meter").

Fri

2014-02-03, 05:48 AM

Man, boardgaming has been my main RL contact with people outside of my work for a while now. My group played a lot of board games, though we're kinda worried about the existance of our group now, since one of us got married, and another got a serious girlfriend.

The main thing that we play is A Game Of Thrones: The Board Game. It's the first board game our group ever had, and it's kinda nostalgic for us. It's really tiring to play though. I always ended up with a headache after playing it.

We used to play Descent a lot too, though now the owner had sold it because we've kinda bored with it. Personally, I still like it, but eh, we could buy more game with the money!

I'm personally more interested in card-based board games. I personally currently have Dungeoneer (cool card-based dungeoncrawler, just kinda too many step in a round though), Anima (I like concept, really lots of small texts in a card, so annoying to play), Munchkins, and Forbidden Island (Cool, simple cooperative game that's easy to teach to beginner).

What our group currently have are: AGOT, Lords of Waterdeep, Burgundy, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Eldritch Horror, Twilight Imperium, Twilight Struggle, Carcasson, and maybe more, but I forgot.

What we used to have: Battlestar Galactica, Descent, Mansion of Madness, Seven Wonders, Small World, Last Night on Earth, and more, but I forgot too...

If you're wondering about any of those games, you could ask my impression about them.

Anyone know more cool card-based board game? I'm currently eyeing Space Hulk: Death Angel, is it any good?

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-03, 10:52 AM

Anyone know more cool card-based board game? I'm currently eyeing Space Hulk: Death Angel, is it any good?
Death Angel is pretty fun, in my experience, if a bit random. But in that case, it's about minimizing your risks, if you can. Very brutal. Also, it's best if each player controls one pair of space marines, so it plays well with certain numbers of players.

Eminent Domain is one you might look into, depending on how you define "card-based board game". It's a role-selection game with a deckbuilding element: you build your deck by choosing a role each round, and the role determines the action that everyone takes. The more cards of that role you have in your hand, the stronger your action is.

The board element comes in as you amass an empire of planets, colonizing or conquering them, and then proceed to use them to produce resources and trade them off for points. The cool thing is, victory is multi-faceted and very 4X-based (but with lighter gameplay than, say, Eclipse). (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate...yep, all four X's are covered in the game as distinct roles.) You also have to tech-tree your way up to gain advantages for your empire.

It's a really cool hybrid of card-based gaming and eurogame concepts. Highly recommended.

Knaight: Nice! I remember Puerto Rico being very involved gameplay, but definitely fun to work out the engine. 7 Wonders is a fantastic filler with a great amount of depth.

Altaria87

2014-02-03, 01:28 PM

I finally managed to get Shadows Over Camelot to the table last night, I put the Traitor in even though the other four players were new to the game because I thought they could handle it and wanted to give a full impression of the game.

I then, of course, proceeded to get the Traitor card and had to simultaneously give the team good advice as the teacher of the game while attempting to undermine them. I feel like I did a fairly good job of sabotaging the Grail quest for most of the game by pretending I had no Grail cards and trading them gradually over to the King or throwing them into the lake for Excalibur. Then I left Excalibur to go to fight Lancelot because I got a full house in return for my "only two Grails". So at least the group learned to never trust a guy going for Lancelot :smalltongue:.

Also, this (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coe/tiny-epic-kingdoms) has been brought to my attention, a 4X microgame with a 30 minute play time, which seems very much worth keeping an eye on.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-03, 02:00 PM

Picked up War of the Ring as my February boardgame. Plays very well one person, and is just loaded with excellent flavor; I'm not sure I've ever played a game with its theme baked that deeply into the mechanics. The bit where the servants of Sauron get infinite reinforcements, while the Free Peoples can run out is simply ingenious.
I absolutely intend to get this game someday. Everything I've seen about it seems amazing.

Hiro Protagonest

2014-02-03, 02:01 PM

Anyone know more cool card-based board game? I'm currently eyeing Space Hulk: Death Angel, is it any good?

Dominion. Although the first part of the game (after deckbuilding) tends to be a few people all playing solitaire as they build up their initial power, it's pretty good.

Also, I don't see Settlers of Catan on either of your lists.

warty goblin

2014-02-03, 02:32 PM

I absolutely intend to get this game someday. Everything I've seen about it seems amazing.

It's marvelous, I'm hoping I have time to wrap up my game this evening. For one thing I want my kitchen table back. For another I can't leave the remnants of the Fellowship stranded in Mirkwood, and I think Boromir is about to lead the Rohirrim across the Isen to crush Saruman. Which is good, because there's a metric ton of Haradrim about to assault Minas Tirith, and it'll take way too long to get Aragorn's ass back into Gondor.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-03, 03:04 PM

It's marvelous, I'm hoping I have time to wrap up my game this evening. For one thing I want my kitchen table back. For another I can't leave the remnants of the Fellowship stranded in Mirkwood, and I think Boromir is about to lead the Rohirrim across the Isen to crush Saruman. Which is good, because there's a metric ton of Haradrim about to assault Minas Tirith, and it'll take way too long to get Aragorn's ass back into Gondor.
That's marvelous. I also note that there's a few BGGers who are selling it for significantly less than MSRP...

Knaight

2014-02-03, 03:44 PM

Dominion. Although the first part of the game (after deckbuilding) tends to be a few people all playing solitaire as they build up their initial power, it's pretty good.

If you get Dominoin: Intrigue, this tends to be avoided. Intrigue has lots of attack cards, and no defenses at the Moat level, plus more card passing.

Thiel

2014-02-03, 05:14 PM

I'm a big fan of Settlers and Carcasonne.
Red November is well worth it if you're into co-op games.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-02-03, 05:54 PM

Really looking forward to Xia: Legend of a Drift System (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1438045410/xia-legends-of-a-drift-system-0). Very clever sandbox space exploration game. I just hope I'll be able to get it in the UK after missing the kickstarter.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 01:03 PM

Ooo, board games! Our collection has a few hundred in it, some going back into the 1970s. My wife and I have always been board game players and our two sons are as well.

Just a few of our many favorites include:

Arkham Horror
Awful Green Things From Outer Space
Betrayal At House On The Hill
Circus Imperium
Cyclades
Dominant Species
Formula de
Kemet
Robo Rally
Sentinels of the Multiverse
Twilight Imperium
Wings Of War

warty goblin

2014-02-04, 01:07 PM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-04, 01:09 PM

Also, somebody needs to talk me out of buying Nexus Ops.
*whistles and looks the other way*

warty goblin

2014-02-04, 01:12 PM

*whistles and looks the other way*

You aren't helping me overcome my desire for even more tiny plastic monsters.

One day I will take all the tiny plastic monsters and use them to create the ULTIMATE BOARDGAME. They'll say I'm crazy, oh yes, but by the time they get the torches lit and the pitchforks sharpened, it will be too late.

Knaight

2014-02-04, 01:21 PM

Also, somebody needs to talk me out of buying Nexus Ops.

Nexus Ops sounds excellent.

I mean, the money you spend on Nexus Ops could be spent on a whole bunch of minis (as that appears to be what you want in part), which can be used for any of the numerous games available on Wargame Vault. Like Combat Reactions Three, a wargame that doubles as a battlefield panic simulator. Good times.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 01:31 PM

One day I will take all the tiny plastic monsters and use them to create the ULTIMATE BOARDGAME. They'll say I'm crazy, oh yes, but by the time they get the torches lit and the pitchforks sharpened, it will be too late.
HeroScape would scratch that mish-mash itch. I had originally bought the first set for my wife as a gift. After that our sons purchased quite a bit and have a large set of it that they love to play with. Sadly though it's out of print. It's one title I seriously wish Hasbro wouldn't just sit on.

EDIT: Fixed typo.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 01:34 PM

I dearly want Twilight Imperium. I can't think it's terribly likely I'll actually ever play the thing for real with another human being, but it looks excellent for a long solo run. I find most strategy games work well for that.
TI is a glorious, big, sprawling, thematic, space game. It does take some serious stamina though to get through a game. Our family can play in a reasonable amount of time and its still the longest game we play by a long ways.

Also, somebody needs to talk me out of buying Nexus Ops.
Sorry, can't help you here. Nexus Ops is a good, light game.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-04, 01:35 PM

Nexus Ops is a pretty fun skirmish game, which is why I looked the other way. :smallwink: It's "Ameritrash", but it's really fun "Ameritrash". It's an aggressive game (you will die if you don't push outwards quickly) with diverse unit types, Axis & Allies-style combat, and single-use combat upgrades that can swing a battle your way. It often turns into King of the Hill clashing, with everyone trying to push the others out of the middle.

warty goblin

2014-02-04, 01:35 PM

Nexus Ops sounds excellent.Oh I know.

I mean, the money you spend on Nexus Ops could be spent on a whole bunch of minis (as that appears to be what you want in part), which can be used for any of the numerous games available on Wargame Vault. Like Combat Reactions Three, a wargame that doubles as a battlefield panic simulator. Good times.
I do not allow myself to buy minis raw anymore. I've been down that road, and only madness lies at the end. Madness and about 800 prepainted D&D miniatures.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 01:55 PM

Picked up War of the Ring as my February boardgame. Plays very well one person, and is just loaded with excellent flavor; I'm not sure I've ever played a game with its theme baked that deeply into the mechanics. The bit where the servants of Sauron get infinite reinforcements, while the Free Peoples can run out is simply ingenious.
This is a game I've been looking to try! Read so many good things about it. I'd like to find someone near me who has it so I can try it out.

Tylorious

2014-02-04, 01:58 PM

if you like light hearted, easy to play dnd style board games, check out Heroica. It is quite fun and has cool expansions, and never is the same game twice.

Joran

2014-02-04, 02:06 PM

Puerto Rico is a glorious, glorious game and I love it.

I actually have a couple issues with Puerto Rico.

1) It's not particularly fun with a newbie. Trying to mix together a group of people who've played a few games and someone who's new is going to end with all sub-optimal play. I've joked with my friends that the best strategy is to sit next to the worst player; he's bound to make a mistake and give that guy a major advantage. A poor player drastically alters the balance in the game.

2) A lot of the fun was destroyed when we all started going to BGG to get optimal strategies. Some people didn't like being told what the "right" way to play was.

Ivellius

2014-02-04, 02:20 PM

HeroScape would scratch that mish-mash itch. I had originally bought the first set for my wife as a gift. After that our sons purchased quite a bit and have a large set of it that they love to play with. Sadly though it's out of print. It's one title I seriously wish Hasbro wouldn't just sit on.

EDIT: Fixed typo.

HeroScape is the best.

I'm hugely fond of Risk: Legacy as being innovative, though Small World is probably the thing that has seen more play than anything I own.

Zooloretto is really good and one of the few games my wife seems to enjoy.

obryn

2014-02-04, 02:21 PM

Any other Conquest of Nerath fans? We've played a few games recently when we couldn't get the whole gaming group together. It's been a blast; basically fantasy Axis & Allies with some neat new additions.

I'm loving it; it's a really quality game.

(Also - saw HeroScape mentioned upthread. My friends and I used to be huge fans. We played the hell out of it maybe 8 years ago? Some friends and I got together and bought out the original game back when it got discounted at Toys R Us. I have like 5 master sets in my collection, which is handy. I also bought every expansion I could get my hands on. With the prices they're going for these days, I wish I would have just kept a few in the box. But yeah, I have an overflowing plastic tub full of tiles & pieces. Awesome game.)

Ivellius

2014-02-04, 02:27 PM

Any other Conquest of Nerath fans? We've played a few games recently when we couldn't get the whole gaming group together. It's been a blast; basically fantasy Axis & Allies with some neat new additions.

Conquest of Nerath is one of those games that I'd love to try but can't justify buying. It looks really good, almost exactly what I'd like in a conquest game, but a) I like having options for 5-6 players, b) it's kind of expensive, and c) I have entirely too many such games anyway.

Confession: I own everything of HeroScape, including multiples of each common, except Volcarren Wasteland or Soulborgs and Elves. Those weren't really available by the time I got into it, which was probably 2007 or so.

obryn

2014-02-04, 02:43 PM

Conquest of Nerath is one of those games that I'd love to try but can't justify buying. It looks really good, almost exactly what I'd like in a conquest game, but a) I like having options for 5-6 players, b) it's kind of expensive, and c) I have entirely too many such games anyway.
I got it for Christmas, because I never would have bought it for myself. Because, as you said, it's pretty expensive. It's a lot of value, though; the pieces are really well-made, and the box insert got some justified praise. The rules are quite solid, too - I especially like how sea transport isn't a drag at all. It's actually really slick, which is unusual.

Confession: I own everything of HeroScape, including multiples of each common, except Volcarren Wasteland or Soulborgs and Elves. Those weren't really available by the time I got into it, which was probably 2007 or so.
I have I think somewhere between 2 and 4 Volcarren Wastelands, and quite a bit of the Series 1 stuff like Romans, Orcs, Snake-people, etc. But I don't have a lot of the newer stuff, and I never did get the castles. I'd love to have those castles, but I can't justify it, having not played the game in ... oh, 8 years, give or take. And unfortunately the pieces are just a tad too big for me to use Cyborg Gorillas and the like in D&D.

So real quick though, Agents. Totally the best unit even when you add in the expansions, amirite?

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-04, 02:50 PM

I'm hugely fond of Risk: Legacy as being innovative, though Small World is probably the thing that has seen more play than anything I own.

Legacy is a GLORIOUS GAME. :smallbiggrin:

Mainly because it's one part game, one part social activity. It's like an RPG campaign in scope, and I love the permanent changes aspect...as well as the rules evolution aspect. *significant look* Hehe. Spoilers! That's one great game where the joy of discovery plays out.

Ivellius

2014-02-04, 04:22 PM

I have I think somewhere between 2 and 4 Volcarren Wastelands, and quite a bit of the Series 1 stuff like Romans, Orcs, Snake-people, etc. But I don't have a lot of the newer stuff, and I never did get the castles. I'd love to have those castles, but I can't justify it, having not played the game in ... oh, 8 years, give or take. And unfortunately the pieces are just a tad too big for me to use Cyborg Gorillas and the like in D&D.

So real quick though, Agents. Totally the best unit even when you add in the expansions, amirite?

If you find yourself needing to get rid of some lava sets for some reason...

(you'd get better prices on eBay than from me, though)

Off the top of my head I remember at least three types of agents (Krav Maga, Nakita, and Microcorp). The Krav Maga are kind of OP (and I assume you mean them because they're part of the first Master Set), but the Nakita are more fun. Microcorp are kinda bad, though.

obryn

2014-02-04, 04:26 PM

If you find yourself needing to get rid of some lava sets for some reason...

(you'd get better prices on eBay than from me, though)

Off the top of my head I remember at least three types of agents (Krav Maga, Nakita, and Microcorp). The Krav Maga are kind of OP (and I assume you mean them because they're part of the first Master Set), but the Nakita are more fun. Microcorp are kinda bad, though.
I don't have the boxes or anything, just the magmen, rocky tiles, and lava "water" pieces. :smallsmile:

And yeah, I was talking about the Krav Maga ones. I don't remember the Nakita agents, but I do remember that the Microcorp ones weren't very good at all.

Like I said, I really wish I could justify buying some more Heroscape stuff that I missed out on, but ... I really can't. :smallsmile:

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 04:52 PM

if you like light hearted, easy to play dnd style board games, check out Heroica. It is quite fun and has cool expansions, and never is the same game twice.
I haven't played Heroica, but our sons have played with friends of the theirs and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Any other Conquest of Nerath fans? We've played a few games recently when we couldn't get the whole gaming group together. It's been a blast; basically fantasy Axis & Allies with some neat new additions.
We have Conquest of Nerath and have had a good time playing it. And, aye, the game has some really nice production values.

I don't have the boxes or anything, just the magmen, rocky tiles, and lava "water" pieces. :smallsmile:
Yeah, we don't have any of the original boxes or whatnot, just the components. Two big containers of components.

A couple of years ago I brought them to a game session to use as terrain for some giant monster rampage game. the name of which I don't recall. Worked great.

If I recall correctly, someone used HeroScape to lay out a sailing ship for a D&D game and encounters. Pretty useful and fun stuff.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 05:07 PM

Circus Imperium

Thinking about this, I can't believe there hasn't been any new chariot racing games in the last very many years. We own both Circus Imperium and Circus Maximus. Both have fond memories and can still be fun to play.

But, I'd like to see a new chariot racing game that picks up more modern racing board game mechanics and applies them to a chariot racing theme. Top notch components would be extremely nice too.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 05:10 PM

obryn

2014-02-04, 05:46 PM

I am so very tempted, btw, to go in on this. It looks amazing and a great value.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/617871702/fief-france-1429?ref=users

I just don't know if I can justify $60 for it.

Gnoman

2014-02-04, 05:59 PM

Has anyone played the Honorverse-based Saganami Island Tactical Simulator? It looks interesting, and I'm considering buying it if I see it on Ebay or in a local store again (the publisher's store seems to be down, and I don't know when or if it will be up again), but the high price makes me wary.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-04, 06:19 PM

Any suggestions folks have for good card games?

We don't really enjoy deck building games or collectible card games so those would pretty much be out. We had a blast playing the heck out of Sentinels of the Multiverse this summer and it's still one of our more favorite recent games.

Any suggestions for other great card games?
So, is there something specific you don't like about CCGs? Because if it's just the "have to get random cards to beat everyone else" element, some of Fantasy Flight's LCGs might be worth looking into, most notably Lord of the Rings, which is a pure cooperative game. The decks are customizable, and there's expansion packs of varying sizes, but you can play the game with just the core decks. (On the other hand, if you don't enjoy the deckbuilding element period, they won't be a good pick for you.)

I think I mentioned Boss Monster earlier; it's a great bit of fun where you lure adventurers through a dungeon to their doom for points.

Coup doesn't have a lot of cards, but it's a very fun bluffing/deduction/power-combination game. You have roles on cards, and each role has a different power. You have to figure out how to tactically combine powers...because you can claim to have any role. Figuring out what to bluff about and when is an intense part of the game, especially at 3-4 players.

Love Letter is a blazingly-fast card game where your hand is one card. You draw, and you play one of the cards. When the dust settles, one person is on top. Repeat for Round 2. And so on.

Tichu is a classic trick-taking game that uses partners. Lots of strategy (as with all classic games), but it requires a lot of player parity/knowledge.

Battle Line is a neat head-to-head game where you're trying to form three-card sets at various points in your army's battle lines. If you outrank your opponent's set in three adjacent spots (or in the majority of spots), you win.

Hanabi is a clever co-op game that works by restricting the amount of information you can know. You get to see everyone else's cards, but clues are a resource, and they can only tell you which cards in your hand are a certain color or a certain value. You play blindly.

I haven't played Koi Pond yet (I intend to, as soon as I can), but it's got a very brilliant (and slightly mentally funky) bit of card-flow gameplay. You have a hand of cards, and you play cards in front of you (and discard other cards into a personal discard pile). At the end of a round, you compare the points in your hand with the points in front of you; score the lower value. Everyone's discard piles then empty into the center of the table, where they can be drawn from (as well as from the deck). You then begin another round.

warty goblin

2014-02-04, 06:43 PM

Battle Line is a neat head-to-head game where you're trying to form three-card sets at various points in your army's battle lines. If you outrank your opponent's set in three adjacent spots (or in the majority of spots), you win.

I like Battleline. It's like game by proof.

Kerrin

2014-02-04, 09:26 PM

So, is there something specific you don't like about CCGs? Because if it's just the "have to get random cards to beat everyone else" element, some of Fantasy Flight's LCGs might be worth looking into, most notably Lord of the Rings, which is a pure cooperative game. The decks are customizable, and there's expansion packs of varying sizes, but you can play the game with just the core decks. (On the other hand, if you don't enjoy the deckbuilding element period, they won't be a good pick for you.)

I think I mentioned Boss Monster...

Coup...

Love Letter...

Tichu...

Battle Line...

Hanabi...

I haven't played Koi Pond yet...
Yes, the CCGs turn me off because I like to know what I'm purchasing. LCGs seem better on that point. Deck building doesn't really interest me - don't get me wrong, back in the day I spent many hours building vehicles for Car Wars, characters for Champions/HERO, armies for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, etc. I just don't have the time or interest to do that anymore.

I'll check out some of the card games you mentioned. Boss Monster may be interesting. I read about Love Letter but haven't played it, but it sounded kind of simple. Is a single card interesting?

Some of the card games we have include Sentinels of the Multiverse, Munchkin, Killer Bunnies, and older ones like Uno, Flinch, Mille Bournes.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check 'em out.

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-04, 09:49 PM

Yes, the CCGs turn me off because I like to know what I'm purchasing. LCGs seem better on that point. Deck building doesn't really interest me - don't get me wrong, back in the day I spent many hours building vehicles for Car Wars, characters for Champions/HERO, armies for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, etc. I just don't have the time or interest to do that anymore.

I'll check out some of the card games you mentioned. Boss Monster may be interesting. I read about Love Letter but haven't played it, but it sounded kind of simple. Is a single card interesting?

Some of the card games we have include Sentinels of the Multiverse, Munchkin, Killer Bunnies, and older ones like Uno, Flinch, Mille Bournes.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check 'em out.

I'll also throw in a recommendation for Hanabi. It's a great little logic game to play when you just want something light to kill a bit of time.

There's also 5 Crowns (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1472/five-crowns). It takes a lot longer than Hanabi (you play through 13 hands), but it's surprisingly addictive.

Gnoman

2014-02-04, 09:55 PM

Couldn't you just get two decks of cards and play Canasta?

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-04, 09:59 PM

Couldn't you just get two decks of cards and play Canasta?

Slightly different. There are no 2s in 5 Crowns and 5 suits.

Not sure if that makes a big difference, not very familiar with Canasta.

#edit: also, in Crowns the hand size increases by 1 every round, starting with 3 and ending with 13. In the first hand, 3s are wild. The last, Kings. Hence the tagline: "the game isn't over until the Kings go wild!"

Also, just realized that's 11 hands, not 13...

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-05, 01:16 AM

Yes, the CCGs turn me off because I like to know what I'm purchasing. LCGs seem better on that point. Deck building doesn't really interest me - don't get me wrong, back in the day I spent many hours building vehicles for Car Wars, characters for Champions/HERO, armies for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, etc. I just don't have the time or interest to do that anymore.
Totally sensible.

I'll check out some of the card games you mentioned. Boss Monster may be interesting. I read about Love Letter but haven't played it, but it sounded kind of simple. Is a single card interesting?
Love Letter is definitely simple--I'd class it as a filler game (and for $12 or so, not a bad buy!). You can play a round, once everyone knows how to play, in under a minute. You play until someone wins four rounds. Or you just keep playing for the heck of it, not keeping score. Repeat. (It's actually fairly replayable, until you've played it 20 times in a row. :smallwink: )

Each card has a unique ability, and those abilities interact with one another in various ways. As cards get discarded, you start to figure out what cards other players might have, and you can use your cards to take action against them. Because you always choose one of two cards on your turn, decisions are simple. At the same time, they're not uninteresting decisions.

It's a straightforward game with just enough depth to be interesting, which is perfect for the length, IMO. (Coup is like that, but longer and deeper.)

Chen

2014-02-05, 07:57 AM

I actually have a couple issues with Puerto Rico.

1) It's not particularly fun with a newbie. Trying to mix together a group of people who've played a few games and someone who's new is going to end with all sub-optimal play. I've joked with my friends that the best strategy is to sit next to the worst player; he's bound to make a mistake and give that guy a major advantage. A poor player drastically alters the balance in the game.

2) A lot of the fun was destroyed when we all started going to BGG to get optimal strategies. Some people didn't like being told what the "right" way to play was.

While item 2) isn't a problem for us generally, item 1) I am in total agreement with. A newbie screwing up and screwing themselves in a game is fine. But a newbie screwing up and giving a HUGE advantage to the person sitting right after them in turn order is very frustrating for the rest of the players.

KuReshtin

2014-02-05, 09:27 AM

Knaight

2014-02-05, 11:43 AM

1) It's not particularly fun with a newbie. Trying to mix together a group of people who've played a few games and someone who's new is going to end with all sub-optimal play. I've joked with my friends that the best strategy is to sit next to the worst player; he's bound to make a mistake and give that guy a major advantage. A poor player drastically alters the balance in the game.

Interesting. I didn't see this issue at all - though the veteran players were all out of practice, and the newbies were all the sort to have lots of experience playing games more complex than Puerto Rico, so it might just have been that the skill gap simply wasn't there. That both newbies did well also suggests this - so I suppose it might be that we just didn't have any actual poor players.

We had a blast playing the heck out of Sentinels of the Multiverse this summer and it's still one of our more favorite recent games.

It really is a good game. Plus, the balance issues are actually non-issues due to it being cooperative, even if they can pack a nasty surprise occasionally. Taking a non-A team up against The Chairman in the Pike Industrial Plant was a mistake. A mistake that took two complete rounds to wipe the party, partially on account of horrendous luck involving the Villain deck bringing out a full set of Underbosses and minions, and the Environment deck killing them all and throwing damage around, and partly because the likes of Chrono Ranger are not up for that combination.

Also, Absolute Zero is the best hero.d

As for card games worth looking into - On the low complexity end, look into what Cheapass Games has. I haven't played Falling or whatever their space game was called, but they look interesting and everything else Cheapass makes is pretty good.

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-05, 11:51 AM

It really is a good game. Plus, the balance issues are actually non-issues due to it being cooperative, even if they can pack a nasty surprise occasionally. Taking a non-A team up against The Chairman in the Pike Industrial Plant was a mistake. A mistake that took two complete rounds to wipe the party, partially on account of horrendous luck involving the Villain deck bringing out a full set of Underbosses and minions, and the Environment deck killing them all and throwing damage around, and partly because the likes of Chrono Ranger are not up for that combination.

Also, Absolute Zero is the best hero.

Iron Legacy is worse. The one time we went up against him I was wiped out on the first villain turn. Two heroes gone before we even got to act.

There's supposed to be something new for Sentinels coming down the pipe relatively soon, though I can't remember what it was.

Kerrin

2014-02-05, 12:06 PM

Iron Legacy is worse. The one time we went up against him I was wiped out on the first villain turn. Two heroes gone before we even got to act.

There's supposed to be something new for Sentinels coming down the pipe relatively soon, though I can't remember what it was.
Iron Legacy we've played once and were all set to get smeared but ended up beating him with only a little fuss. I think we benefitted by the order his cards came out. I'm expecting a much harder time the next time we play him.

When we play we generally choose which heroes we want to play (aka what looks interesting today), then randomly pick a villain, and randomly pick an environment. So we never tune our hero choices to a given villain or environment.

A couple of our most memorable fights were against Warlord Voss on the Mars Base and against The Dreamer in Silver Gulch.

EDIT: To add, the new thing coming out for SotM is Vengeance (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/134398/sentinels-of-the-multiverse-vengeance)

Kerrin

2014-02-05, 12:07 PM

Fluxx is fun to play, and really easy to get into. A game can last 2 minutes, or it can last an hour and a half. And there are plenty of different versions of it to give a bit of variation of the same theme.
Ooo, yeah, we haven't tried Fluxx yet. I think we may have a deck around somewhere we got as a free extra along the line. We'll have to try it out. Thanks!

Kerrin

2014-02-05, 12:16 PM

Taking a non-A team up against The Chairman in the Pike Industrial Plant was a mistake. A mistake that took two complete rounds to wipe the party, partially on account of horrendous luck involving the Villain deck bringing out a full set of Underbosses and minions, and the Environment deck killing them all and throwing damage around, and partly because the likes of Chrono Ranger are not up for that combination.
Heh, we've both beaten and been beaten by The Chairman.

In one encounter we had with The Chairman we had Tempest and Visionary in the group of heroes. Visionary managed to pull early both copies of her card that allows her to play it on any target and decide if they get -1/+1 to damage they deal, -1/+1 to damage they take, or can change their damage type. (I think I'm recalling the card correctly). They were stackable so she dropped both on Tempest and gave him double +1 to damage he dealt. Tempest's attacks can often hit multiple targets so The Chairman kept getting his flunkies wiped out by Tempest every round.

Go teamwork!

Knaight

2014-02-05, 12:55 PM

Heh, we've both beaten and been beaten by The Chairman.

In one encounter we had with The Chairman we had Tempest and Visionary in the group of heroes. Visionary managed to pull early both copies of her card that allows her to play it on any target and decide if they get -1/+1 to damage they deal, -1/+1 to damage they take, or can change their damage type. (I think I'm recalling the card correctly). They were stackable so she dropped both on Tempest and gave him double +1 to damage he dealt. Tempest's attacks can often hit multiple targets so The Chairman kept getting his flunkies wiped out by Tempest every round.

We decided to take an A team to the Chairman for revenge after what happened to the previous team. It was glorious, and kind of one sided - I think the lowest anyone got HP wise was 9, with 16 the second lowest. Tachyon kept disabling attacks from The Operative, then with The Operative disabled we beat the heck out of the Underbosses with a bonus +2 to attack every round from Legacy. The last round involved some ludicrous damage drops (e.g. 42 damage from Absolute Zero).

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-05, 01:03 PM

We decided to take an A team to the Chairman for revenge after what happened to the previous team. It was glorious, and kind of one sided - I think the lowest anyone got HP wise was 9, with 16 the second lowest. Tachyon kept disabling attacks from The Operative, then with The Operative disabled we beat the heck out of the Underbosses with a bonus +2 to attack every round from Legacy. The last round involved some ludicrous damage drops (e.g. 42 damage from Absolute Zero).

Sounds like what happened one time when we took on the Chairman. It turned into a huge curbstomp that ended with us knocking the Chairman out in like 3 hits. We were doing ludicrous damage just like you were.

The best battle I've had was against Warlord Voss. It was only three of us, but we each took two heroes so it evened out pretty nicely. We came within a hair's breadth of losing when he summoned enough reinforcements to trigger his win condition, but because of the way turn order works we were able to squeak by.

...then he just started pummelling all of us until it came down to him getting unloaded on the totally-not-the-Punisher (can't remember her name...) Shotguns solve everything, apparently, even intergalactic warlords!

I've also had one game end where the kraken just decided to grab the villain and make off with her. "Attacks the target with the lowest HP" indeed.

Kerrin

2014-02-05, 02:27 PM

I've also had one game end where the kraken just decided to grab the villain and make off with her. "Attacks the target with the lowest HP" indeed.
That's awesome! :biggrin:

DigoDragon

2014-02-05, 04:40 PM

I grew up on the classic boardgames and those friends of mine who owned these more complex games have all moved off, so I don't have much experience with most of what I see here.

I played Hero Quest once, though we didn't finish the adventure. There was this one game I played a few times where everyone is part of a Roman Senate and there are different ways to win, usually involving lots of political deal-making. Everyone can lose too if Rome fails to defeat an opponent during a war. Can't remember the game's name, but I'm sure lots of you know it. :smallsmile:

I played OotS once, had fun with that one.

My favorite memory of Robo Rally was when my friend got confused, screwed up his operations order, and sent his robot off the board on turn 1.

I never got to play Robo Rally, and I'm honestly worried about trying it. I had three friends who were roommate with each other and one of them owned the game. They never let me play because they swore the game was cursed. The last three times they played:

Friend 1 got dumped by his girlfriend though email.
Friend 2 got a phone call that his manager fired him and his team that night.
Friend 3 got a call that his grandmother died of a sudden heart attack.

I even got confirmation on those events so... yeah. I never bothered try the game out. :smalleek:

Fluxx is fun to play, and really easy to get into.

I played that one a couple of times. It's pretty fun, though I agree that time-per-game varies a LOT.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-05, 04:52 PM

There was this one game I played a few times where everyone is part of a Roman Senate and there are different ways to win, usually involving lots of political deal-making. Everyone can lose too if Rome fails to defeat an opponent during a war. Can't remember the game's name, but I'm sure lots of you know it. :smallsmile:

That's actually a toughie. Ancient Rome is one of the most popular boardgame themes, in my experience--especially with eurogames. :smallbiggrin: It's sorta like saying "I watched this movie where Bruce Willis was shooting people". :smallwink:

By the by, one of the most fun games I've played in recent memory that I don't own yet? Space Cadets: Dice Duel. It's a real-time game where you have two competing teams of players trying to shoot one another; both teams control different stations on their respective warship, and, well, it's wonderful chaos.

Engineering starts rolling dice to distribute power to various other stations. Once a station is powered up, they get to roll dice to try and get something according to their station. You have to coordinate to fly around the map, load up torpedoes, build up shields and defensive radar jamming, get target lock on the other ship, and then FIRE AWAY!

Unfortunately, the other team is doing the same thing in real time.

It's glorious.

erikun

2014-02-05, 06:03 PM

Any suggestions folks have for good card games?

We don't really enjoy deck building games or collectible card games so those would pretty much be out. We had a blast playing the heck out of Sentinels of the Multiverse this summer and it's still one of our more favorite recent games.

Any suggestions for other great card games?
What do you not like about them? The purchasing-more-cards or the putting-together-decks element? Because there are a lot of board/card games which simply have a single "set" and the strategy is either drafting cards (7 Wonders) or picking up cards to build decks (Ascention, Dominion). I'm a fan of card games myself, and while I haven't played the above yet, I do have several others that I've liked.

I've been visiting a local game show since the beginning of the new year, and so I've had the chance to play a bunch of different games. Most I've liked, a few I didn't care for, most I'd like to try more than just once. :smalltongue: However, there's still a lot more that I wanted to give a chance, so I haven't had the time. Yet.

Once Upon A Time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_(game)) is a fun little card game that's been quite popular whenever it comes out. It's basically a storytelling card game, where the players collectively tell a story in turns with the intention of playing the cards in their hands as they come up in the story. The goal being, to play all your cards and play your Happily Ever After (conclusion) card. Play can be hectic, though, as mentioning a story element on someone else's card will allow them to steal the turn from you. It's easy to learn and easy to teach, so easy for the new people at the table to understand. TableTop has a playing of the game. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vbA7Bk6-pI)

Fluxx (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxx) is anothe card game that's popular whenever it comes out. It's basically similar to most other card games, except that all the rules are on the cards, and the rules don't exist (including no victory conditions) until they cards are played. Much like Once Upon A Time, it's easy to teach and learn, and tends to be liked when it comes out. And TableTop did an episode on Fluxx as well. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj6C1CBXPvc)

I played that one a couple of times. It's pretty fun, though I agree that time-per-game varies a LOT.
I've found that Fluxx games without Creepers (Monster Fluxx has none) tend to resolve a lot quicker than normal Fluxx games.

Other games? Dixit is good, and plays very similar to most party games like Say Anything or Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, where most of the game is being familiar with the other people at the table. Settlers of Catan is another one popular around here, but I find that a large amount of the game is determined by where you set your buildings at the beginning. Ticket to Ride is popular as well, and I liked it a bit better. Smash Up is another fun card game, where the game comes with eight "decks" and players combine two for the combined deck they'll use for the game. The Gnomes of Zavandor (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103184/the-gnomes-of-zavandor) is an unusual one, not at all what I was expecting, and actually played rather well (although it was quite complex to set up and play). I've also had the chance to play Six (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20195/six) and another with wood tiles and marbles (name forgotten), which is actually pretty good if you like two-player games like chess.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-02-05, 07:25 PM

I played OotS once, had fun with that one.

I'd love to give the OotS game a try. Maybe next time I can get to a UKitp meetup I can give it a shot, I think I saw someone with it last time.

I've heard that it's a really long game though.

I recently saw reviews for BattleCON: Devastation of Indines, and Kemet, and they both look pretty sweet.

TheEmerged

2014-02-05, 07:42 PM

Totally sensible.

Love Letter is definitely simple--I'd class it as a filler game (and for $12 or so, not a bad buy!). You can play a round, once everyone knows how to play, in under a minute. You play until someone wins four rounds. Or you just keep playing for the heck of it, not keeping score. Repeat. (It's actually fairly replayable, until you've played it 20 times in a row. :smallwink: )

Each card has a unique ability, and those abilities interact with one another in various ways. As cards get discarded, you start to figure out what cards other players might have, and you can use your cards to take action against them. Because you always choose one of two cards on your turn, decisions are simple. At the same time, they're not uninteresting decisions.

It's a straightforward game with just enough depth to be interesting, which is perfect for the length, IMO. (Coup is like that, but longer and deeper.)

I'll second the bolded part. It's been a popular game with each audience I've played it with, but I will give it one huge cavaet - play it with at least three players. At 2 players, it boils down to who has to discard the Baron first or who gets lucky with a Guard first.

Important detail about the card-guessing left out above - at least one card is discarded face down each game.

FLUXX - I'm going to second the complaint about the game lengthy varying wildly, too. I seem to be in the minority for not liking it however (it crosses the bridge into the land of Too Random for me).

Knaight

2014-02-05, 09:43 PM

FLUXX - I'm going to second the complaint about the game lengthy varying wildly, too. I seem to be in the minority for not liking it however (it crosses the bridge into the land of Too Random for me).

I'm with you here. FLUXX is cool conceptually, but in practice it has always been unbelievably boring for me.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-06, 12:07 AM

I recently saw reviews for BattleCON: Devastation of Indines, and Kemet, and they both look pretty sweet.
I will certainly vouch for Kemet! (I haven't been able to play Devastation of Indines.) Kemet is a hyper-aggressive (as in, you have to attack and advance to get victory points) game where you're trying to build up the best combo of powers possible. Also you can get a giant scorpion. The tech tree power combos are probably the best part, since you have to puzzle out what strong power combinations are...and get them before anyone else can.

Kerrin

2014-02-06, 12:10 AM

I'll second Kemet. It really encourages getting out and engaging instead of turtling. Plus the artwork and components are fantastic.

Balain

2014-02-06, 12:57 AM

Ooo, board games! Our collection has a few hundred in it....

oh man I thought I had a lot, last count was about 80, but have added many since then.

warty goblin

2014-02-06, 01:01 AM

Wrapped up my Self vs. Self run of War of the Ring tonight. The Free Peoples snatched an unlikely win from Sauron through military victory, when some careful engineering led to the destruction of Orthanc by the Ents, and its subsequent seizure by Boromir and the Rohirrim. A well timed use of Druidan forest teleported the bulk of Rohan's army into position behind the severely depleted army of orcs and Haradrim besieging Minas Tirith, and promptly annihilated them. Thus emboldened, the Captains of the West crossed Anduin and advanced towards Minas Morgul. Sauron promptly deposited three Nazgul and a load of orcs in Morgul Vale, secure in the knowledge that as soon as the action dice cooperated, he had sufficient forces in the vicinity to smash the combined might of Gondor and Rohan permanently. This was a feint however, and Gandalf swung south and assailed Umbar, which had only a token garrison and was stormed in the second attempt. That gave the Free Peoples four victory points, cinching the win.

Fri

2014-02-06, 07:43 AM

TI is a glorious, big, sprawling, thematic, space game. It does take some serious stamina though to get through a game. Our family can play in a reasonable amount of time and its still the longest game we play by a long ways.

I always got a headache and felt my stamina drained after playing AGOT, but not with Twilight Imperium, eventhough the game might last longer than AGOT though.

Any suggestions folks have for good card games?

We don't really enjoy deck building games or collectible card games so those would pretty much be out. We had a blast playing the heck out of Sentinels of the Multiverse this summer and it's still one of our more favorite recent games.

Any suggestions for other great card games?

I'm the same with you. Currently, I have three card games. Munchkin, Anima Shadow of Omega, and Dungeoneer. I don't know if they're good enough to recommend, but I'll try to explain Anima and Dungeoneer to you (we don't really need to explain Munchkin anymore do we?)

Dungeoneer is basically... a dungeon crawling game. You create a dungeon using cards that make dungeon rooms, then your character move on them, fighting monsters, and attempting quests (usually by finding specific room you need). The dungeon grows each turn because you build the dungeon using the cards until you run out of room cards. Every time you enter a room, you collect Glory Point and Peril Point. You use Glory Point to equip equipments or boons, and your opponent use your Peril point to send monsters against you or sabotage you .

I actually find the concept of this game, really neat. Tracking the glory point and peril point is a chore though.

Anima is... a jrpg card game? The illustrations are very JRPGish anyway. Basically, each player build a party, which gives you attack points, speed points, and special abilities. Then you move between area cards, attempting to do your quest, which need a specific area card. But of course, there are monster cards you need to fight, and your opponent will try to sabotage you.

The concept is good enough, but my problem with this game is, the cards are full of tiny texts, which everyone need to read. So annoying. And a round in many player games will take quite a long time.

I don't regret buying either of the game, but I don't know if they're good enough to wholeheartily recommend though.

DigoDragon

2014-02-06, 09:24 AM

It's sorta like saying "I watched this movie where Bruce Willis was shooting people". :smallwink:

Winner of "Best Comparison" award goes too... :smallbiggrin:

After some sleuthing online, I found the game. It was called Republic of Rome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Rome_(game)).
I'm not very big on political type games, but I found that being silent helps other players forget you're there until you stab them in the back. Also: it's easy for Rome to fall in a war because the players can't agree to fight them cooperatively. :smallbiggrin:

I'd love to give the OotS game a try. Maybe next time I can get to a UKitp meetup I can give it a shot, I think I saw someone with it last time.

I've heard that it's a really long game though.

Not terribly long. Average play time is about two hours when I tried it with a group of four. An interesting thing that cropped up is that while the one of the game's mechanics is to backstab each other to profit, everyone instead prefered working together to share the spoils.

Which is hilarious because my friends were more backstab-happy playing actual D&D than this card game which is a parody of it. :smalltongue:

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-06, 09:51 AM

After some sleuthing online, I found the game. It was called Republic of Rome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Rome_(game)).
I'm not very big on political type games, but I found that being silent helps other players forget you're there until you stab them in the back. Also: it's easy for Rome to fall in a war because the players can't agree to fight them cooperatively. :smallbiggrin:

Looks nifty! So is Rome falling a pretty substantial threat, then? It reminds me of the Wildling Attack in Game of Thrones, except that in AGoT, the mechanic doesn't kick in frequently (and doesn't have as harsh of a consequence).

Kerrin

2014-02-06, 11:57 AM

I always got a headache and felt my stamina drained after playing AGOT, but not with Twilight Imperium, eventhough the game might last longer than AGOT though.
I can agree with you here. AGoT always feels like a close up knife fight. Quite exhausting. TI3 feels like you have more mental space between you and your opponents even though it can vary throughout the game. Still quite draining due to length and complexity though it feels different.

I'm the same with you. Currently, I have three card games. Munchkin, Anima Shadow of Omega, and Dungeoneer. I don't know if they're good enough to recommend, but I'll try to explain Anima and Dungeoneer to you (we don't really need to explain Munchkin anymore do we?)
Thank you for the rundown on these two, I'll definitely check them out!

Beacon of Chaos

2014-02-06, 01:46 PM

I will certainly vouch for Kemet! (I haven't been able to play Devastation of Indines.) Kemet is a hyper-aggressive (as in, you have to attack and advance to get victory points) game where you're trying to build up the best combo of powers possible. Also you can get a giant scorpion. The tech tree power combos are probably the best part, since you have to puzzle out what strong power combinations are...and get them before anyone else can.

I'll second Kemet. It really encourages getting out and engaging instead of turtling. Plus the artwork and components are fantastic.
Awesome, definitely going on to my wishlist then. I saw a review of it on SU&SH (http://www.shutupandsitdown.com) and the guy in the review loved it. In fact, I think that site is probably my favourite board game review site. Very entertaining.

Also, someone else mentioned Twilight Imperium. I looked that up and seems awesome. Adding it to my wishlist too, even though I know my friends will probably hate it.

Not terribly long. Average play time is about two hours when I tried it with a group of four. An interesting thing that cropped up is that while the one of the game's mechanics is to backstab each other to profit, everyone instead prefered working together to share the spoils.

Which is hilarious because my friends were more backstab-happy playing actual D&D than this card game which is a parody of it. :smalltongue:
Ah, that'd be good for my group then. Co-op is always nice. :smallsmile:

DigoDragon

2014-02-07, 08:22 AM

Looks nifty! So is Rome falling a pretty substantial threat, then? It reminds me of the Wildling Attack in Game of Thrones, except that in AGoT, the mechanic doesn't kick in frequently (and doesn't have as harsh of a consequence).

How I remember it working is that there's a deck of "Event" cards the players draw from. Some events are wars. So it's possible to draw several wars within a short span to where Rome falls and everyone loses. :smallsmile:

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-07, 10:06 AM

How I remember it working is that there's a deck of "Event" cards the players draw from. Some events are wars. So it's possible to draw several wars within a short span to where Rome falls and everyone loses. :smallsmile:
Ooooooooh. Ouch.

So, I just played Eminent Domain again after a long spell of not jiggering up enough interest in it. As good as I remembered it. However, I realized that I've been terrible at planning the long game, and the end of the game just sorta sneaks up on you. It's one of the most effective timer mechanisms I've seen.

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-07, 10:18 AM

Ooooooooh. Ouch.

So, I just played Eminent Domain again after a long spell of not jiggering up enough interest in it. As good as I remembered it. However, I realized that I've been terrible at planning the long game, and the end of the game just sorta sneaks up on you. It's one of the most effective timer mechanisms I've seen.

I think an expansion for that just came out. I remember seeing something at the store yesterday.

Finally got around to playing Australian Rails last night. Interesting map, should provide a good alternative for two player games between myself and LadyMeyers when we don't feel like playing British Rails (we have Euro and North American too, but those are a little too large for 2 people).

Also played Africana. Really fast-paced, the game was over before I knew it. The moving mechanic really rewards planning and forethought.

And we picked up the Legend of Five Rings edition of Love Letter, should be fun for pickups.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-07, 11:00 AM

I think an expansion for that just came out. I remember seeing something at the store yesterday.
Yep! I got that via Kickstarter, have been wanting to actually get it played. (We just played the base game last night.) The really cool bit is that the expansion fits in the base box!

And we picked up the Legend of Five Rings edition of Love Letter, should be fun for pickups.
Nice! Which version of the cards does it have, I wonder...the 7-value card changed between the original (Kanai Factory) version of the game and the Tempest retheme. (It changes from a risky card to hold onto to a card that reveals a lot of information about your hand.)

Kerrin

2014-02-07, 01:10 PM

Awesome, definitely going on to my wishlist then. I saw a review of it on SU&SH (http://www.shutupandsitdown.com) and the guy in the review loved it. In fact, I think that site is probably my favourite board game review site. Very entertaining.
RE: Kemet... I don't know how you prefer to store your game components, but if you end up getting Kemet, check out the tuck boxes (http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/92370/kemet-tuck-boxes) I made for the game. I know, a bit of self promotion, but the game had such fantastic artwork it just screamed for something better than plastic bags!

Also, someone else mentioned Twilight Imperium. I looked that up and seems awesome. Adding it to my wishlist too, even though I know my friends will probably hate it.
TI3 is a fantastic game, but yeah, it can be a difficult one to get to the table. If you end up getting TI3, drop me a line and I can send you some materials I found helpful in learning/teaching the game. And, of course, BGG and YouTube are full of helpful stuff too!

Kerrin

2014-02-07, 01:16 PM

Been enjoying this thread so much I was rereading the whole thing and noticed something I missed...

Personally, I enjoy playing all sorts of board games. Small World, Ticket to Ride, Nuclear War, Puerto Rico, Carcassonne, King of Tokyo, Smash Up, Ankh Morpork,... There are a lot of good games out there.
Got change for 25 million?

Fun game for its day. Still play it every once in a while.

I'm one of those people who play games because it's fun to play the games rather than always wanting to win. Of course I try to win when I play, but I don't let not winning ruin the game for me.
You sound like my kind of gamer.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-07, 02:56 PM

Gnoman

2014-02-07, 04:29 PM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-07, 05:09 PM

Tackle Boxes are pretty awesome. The only similar thing I know of is sewing boxes, but tackle boxes are made to hold lots more stuff.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-02-07, 07:10 PM

RE: Kemet... I don't know how you prefer to store your game components, but if you end up getting Kemet, check out the tuck boxes (http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/92370/kemet-tuck-boxes) I made for the game. I know, a bit of self promotion, but the game had such fantastic artwork it just screamed for something better than plastic bags!
Ooh, nice! If I actually get the game, I will consider using these.

TI3 is a fantastic game, but yeah, it can be a difficult one to get to the table. If you end up getting TI3, drop me a line and I can send you some materials I found helpful in learning/teaching the game. And, of course, BGG and YouTube are full of helpful stuff too!
Sounds good, though my regular gaming group is just me and two other guys, neither of them has patience for long, complicated games, and one of them has dyslexia. I think I'd have to find a whole other group to play TI3 with. :smalltongue:

Kerrin

2014-02-07, 07:23 PM

On the topic of game storage, can anyone think of a better solution for most games than simply using tackle boxes (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-8616-Six-Tray-Tackle-Box/8586410)? I know a guy who uses those for Star Trek: Attack Wing and Settlers of Catan, and it works extremely well. I'm planning on picking up one for Star Fleet Battles (Finally, I'll be able to organize those pesky counters!) but I figured I'd better see if anyone had an even better idea.
Aye, I use tackle boxes quite often for game components. The white plastic ones with little, adjustable compartments work great. With a bit of measuring I can usually find ones that'll fit in the game box quite nicely. I especially like the ones where each compartment has the bottom front/back edges that are curved instead of 90 degrees. Makes scooping out chits easier, though such containers are less common.

And ... WOOT ... SFB! I didn't know there was anyone around who still played.

Kerrin

2014-02-07, 07:27 PM

That is seriously rad!

All this awesome! (http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1711928/kerrin2)
Glad you really like them. They're some of my favorite ones I've done so far.

Xondoure

2014-02-08, 12:34 AM

My parents and I hosted the family Boxing Day celebrations this year and at one point I got out King of Tokyo to provide some entertainment, at which point one of my cousins explained the rules to everyone before even I could. This made me realise how, in what some people are calling the golden age of board gaming, 'real' board games and not just Monopoly and Scrabble are approachign closer to the mainstream.

Since there's no thread around here to discuss board games at the moment, and it's the holiday season where a few people may have received some new ones recently, I thought it would be a good diea to start one.

Personally, I've just got Lords of Waterdeep and I'm haivng quite a good time with it, though I feel it might become repetitive after a few plays and the theme is basically non-existent. I ahve heard the expansion does vary things up, though.

I got Lords of Waterdeep this holiday season (largely due to Tabletop.) So far I've listed it under "great intro to gaming" and moved on. Such has been my experience with most of the games I've seen / played on the show. Of the two I saw there first and decided to obtain

Any suggestions folks have for good card games?

We don't really enjoy deck building games or collectible card games so those would pretty much be out. We had a blast playing the heck out of Sentinels of the Multiverse this summer and it's still one of our more favorite recent games.

Any suggestions for other great card games?

Smash Up has by far been my favorite. It's definitely one of the most replayable card games I've encountered due to all the deck combinations and face offs. It does eventually grow a bit stale, but that's where the expansion packs come in.

My favorite games at the moment are probably Eclipse, Le Havre, and Imperial.

Eclipse starts as space exploration and quickly turns to combat (apparently there's only so much universe.) The highlight is definitely ship customization. Racing your opponents to the more potent upgrades, and attempting to counter their fleet by altering your own keeps the game on its toes.

Le Havre is like Agricola (made by the same people) with boats. I generally prefer it because unlike agricola you don't start with a hand, and while there are random cards, they come out into the general use area so the game feels like there's much less luck involved.

Imperial wins for concept. You play as investors who can buy stocks in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Russia during world war I. That is, if you choose to have world war I. Whoever has the largest share of a nation gets to decide what they do. And perhaps there's more profits to be found in Britain attacking france rather than having the Germans do it.

warty goblin

2014-02-09, 03:11 PM

Played about five hours of Descent last night. As the Overlord, I actually managed to win a map, which after three consecutive defeats (including one where I didn't even get to act) I was beginning to suspect impossible. Good game, but oh my are some of those monsters completely worthless.

Fri

2014-02-13, 10:39 AM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-13, 10:44 AM

I haven't played it yet, but I love the concept: you set up a timeline, and all the event cards are actually an interconnected network of time-change ripples.

Binks

2014-02-13, 12:34 PM

Talking about card games anyone played chrononauts? Is it any fun?
It's a fun game. Usually takes around 15-20m for a round and requires some mental effort to keep track of your different win conditions and where everything is but I have always enjoyed playing it when it's come up. Best with 3-4 player IMHO, 2 turns into a game of 'flip that', 'flip it back' and get stale fast, 3 works pretty well but 4 is the sweet spot in my opinion. Does have the issue of 'wins out of nowhere' though, where you can be working a plan and suddenly the game is over (twilight imperium has a bit of the same problem) so that takes some getting used to.

Honestly most of the fun comes from the fact you're messing with history though. "Will you stop saving Hitler!" "As soon as you stop killing Lincoln!" is not something you're going to hear during many other games :P.

IthilanorStPete

2014-02-13, 01:09 PM

Talking about card games anyone played chrononauts? Is it any fun?

I don't buy big board games with a lot of tidbits, simply because I'm a mess. I know that if I buy something like that, I'll lose a lot of things.

Chrononauts is fun, though fairly simple. I imagine it'd be pretty entertaining with a group that really gets into the idea of messing around with history.

Fri

2014-02-17, 07:50 AM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-17, 10:36 AM

The Pocket Battles series is a great two-player skirmish game. (Comes in three flavors, Celts vs. Romans is probably the easiest to find.) You build armies out of tiles and then send them at one another in a brutally swift battle.

Claustrophobia is a fantastic two-player dungeon crawler, where one player is the heroes (of a sort) and the other player is the commander of the demons in the caves. Simple, elegant system with a vicious death spiral for the heroes. (Asymmetrical, too--the sides play completely differently.)

warty goblin

2014-02-17, 11:15 AM

Hey, me and my friend is thinking to buy a good board game for two players, any recommendation? We're thinking to just buy an LCG like android netrunner, but I'm not sure about its replayability. I'd rather have a real board game. You know, something like a skirmish game, or a dungeon crawling game, that's good to be played by two players and got a lot of replayability... Any recommendation?

Lesse here.

Skirmish wise, I'm fairly fond of Battles of Westeros. It uses the same basic mechanics as a bunch of other Battlelore games, but puts a lot of emphasis on commanders, which I quite like. Plus it comes with a bazillion little plastic dudes; just be ready to spend a couple hours gluing them to their bases.

Dungeon-crawl wise, there are the D&D adventure games if you want co-op. But why use a bastardized version of a dull system in a universe that contains Mice and Mystics? It's also co-op, has gorgeous art, and a pretty good system, which is basically Descent Lite. So if you want player vs DM style dungeon crawl, just play Descent. Mechanically it's everything the D&D adventure game (or D&D for that matter) hopes to be when it grows up and figures out exactly how tedious a d20 really is.

If you're looking for something a bit more grand strategy, War of the Ring is a tremendously good thing, but only if you really like Lord of the Rings. It's not so much a game with a Lord of the Rings theme as it is Lord of the Rings turned into a board, some cards, and a bazillion little plastic dudes. I will neither confirm nor deny yelling 'Ride for Gondor!' at a particular moment in my last game.

For fantasy grand strategy somewhat less bound to a particular novel*, I have gotten a lot of fun out of RuneWars. To a reasonable level of accuracy, it's Age of Wonders the boardgame, which at least for me makes it a strong contender for the best possible use of cardboard hexes and skeleton miniatures. It looks ridiculously complicated since it has something like ten separate decks of those little pintsize cards Fantasy Flight uses, and set-up takes a good bit of time, but it's actually pretty straight-forwards to play. It's also much improved by the expansion, which is worth it just for the alternate units.

If you like Pandemic, but crave dragons and are bothered by occasionally winning, Defenders of the Realm is exactly the game for you. Just so long as you understand you will almost certainly get your ass kicked so hard you taste boot leather, it's excellent.

*If you say Lord of the Rings is a trilogy, I will bite you.

Ivellius

2014-02-17, 03:03 PM

*If you say Lord of the Rings is a trilogy, I will bite you.

*this is proper if you mean the films

Heroscape is one of the best skirmish games created, but it's sadly out of print. It plays great with just two but also scales well if you end up with more people.

I've heard really good things about Summoner Wars, which is a card/skirmish game created by one of the Heroscape designers, but I can't say I've played it myself.

ShadowFighter15

2014-02-17, 04:46 PM

Balain

2014-02-18, 02:41 AM

Avilan the Grey

2014-02-18, 02:55 AM

A few games I have played that I really enjoy:

Furu Of Dracula - One player plays Dracula, the others are chasing him through Europe as a team.

Battlestar Galactica - The official tabletop game. Actually VERY well done.

Smallworld - and all it's expansions, of course.

Elder Sign - Stop cultists from summoning... something Eldrich.

Cosmic Encounter - Play an unique alien race, and win the colonization race.

Gandariel

2014-02-18, 11:40 AM

I've already posted this in another thread about video games, but this is a board game too, so..

Neuroshima Hex!

It's a strategy board game for 2-4 players
Players place hexes on the board represrinting units and supports, and try to destroy the enemy base.
Every race has special powers, units and different playstyles (Red has bulky, slow, ranged units, while for example green is all about mobility)
There are things such as initiative, melee and ranged attacks, but the rules are actually pretty easy to learn and the game lends itself to a lot of strategy and planning.

The fluff is a war between the machines (red) who have taken over the world, although mutants (blue) have just arisen, and a wilderness army force (green) is resisting the machines. Also there's a Kenshiro-like band of motorcyclers (yellow) who... Look badass?

The expansion(s) add new races (I really like Neojungle for its unique mechanics) and game modes.

It's also been released for iPhone and android; the demo is free, and it's definitely worth a try.

Oh, also, Android users can find the full game for free sonewhere (pm me if you can't)

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-18, 11:45 AM

Cosmic Encounter - Play an unique alien race, and win the colonization race.
I've never won this game.

I still have a blast every time. It's just utter ridiculousness in a great way.

And some day, I will play as the Squee.

Xondoure

2014-02-18, 03:54 PM

Cosmic Encounter - Play an unique alien race, and win the colonization race.

There's a copy of that game in this house that's a fair bit older than I am and in some cases has fallen apart. I've considered picking up a new edition but it just wouldn't feel right.

Komatik

2014-02-18, 08:54 PM

banjo1985

2014-02-19, 03:48 AM

A game I've only just played recently that I really enjoyed was Blood Bowl Team Manager. Great fun with some nice mechanics and a number of different teams to play as. Probably helped that I won too, that usually colours my outlook a little.

TheEmerged

2014-02-19, 09:11 AM

Furu Of Dracula (sic) - One player plays Dracula, the others are chasing him through Europe as a team.

I probably won't be buying this since horror isn't usually my cup of tea (I held off on buying Last Night On Earth for the same reason) but I am curious about one detail. FoD sounds like it's an 'upgunned' version of an older game called Scotland Yard - a game I got a lot of mileage out of back in my late teens\early college years.

Anybody here familiar enough with both to give a yea\nea on that?

Avilan the Grey

2014-02-19, 09:16 AM

I probably won't be buying this since horror isn't usually my cup of tea (I held off on buying Last Night On Earth for the same reason) but I am curious about one detail. FoD sounds like it's an 'upgunned' version of an older game called Scotland Yard - a game I got a lot of mileage out of back in my late teens\early college years.

Anybody here familiar enough with both to give a yea\nea on that?

It is based on Scotland Yard, AFAIR, but with cooler cards and more diverse abilities (again, AFAIR).

And yes, I just noticed my typo.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-19, 10:10 AM

Side note on Scotland Yard, by the way: Letters From Whitechapel is an amazing upgrade to Scotland Yard. It takes the core mechanisms, adds in a couple new elements, and makes it just so. I've played it 4-5 times (don't remember exactly), and it hasn't gotten old yet.

IthilanorStPete

2014-02-19, 10:42 AM

Eldan

2014-02-19, 10:58 AM

Scottland Yard is a game that never worked for me. After the first two or three trial games, no one ever caught the suspect. Not even with six players working against one. An intelligent suspect can run away forever, using just taxis.

Had a really fun game of Arkham Horror this weekend, with seven players.

I was the Magician. Through some luck and fun combinations, I ended up as Arkham Deputy with a combat modifier of +12 (a good weapon, base skill and a free spell that gave +6 to combat) or +15 if I really pushed it (a +9 combat spell, but it cost me sanity). So, I just raced my car around Arkham, killing one or two monsters every turn to keep the terror level down. We won with terror level 2, which is quite low and I ended with 17 monster tokens (plus the 10 I had to exchange for Deputy rank).

The funniest occurence, however, was this:

One player moves to Innsmouth and is thrown into prison. He gets his prison card:
"The guards put a black bag over your head and move you out of your cell. After a while, you hear the ocean and are put into a boat. After ten minutes, the guards pull the bag off and throw you overboard. You are now in the middle of the ocean. Move to devil's reef and have another encounter there."

Then, in Devil's Reef:
"You swim for your live but, just before you drown, you find an empty boat drifting on the ocean and manage to pull yourself in. You wonder what happened to the people in it. Move to the shore and have another encounter there."

Then, on the shore:
"As you stand on the shore, you see some fishermen running away, pointing behind you. A giant tidal wave moves in and pulls you back out to sea. Move to Devil's Reef and have another encounter there."

Then, in the Reef, he moved back to the shore, had another encounter there and found out he was a fishman. Game over.

It was hilarious. We called it wave ping-pong.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-19, 11:47 AM

That's great. The absolute best part of Arkham Horror is the encounters and when they create emergent stories like that.

Kerrin

2014-02-19, 04:56 PM

Arkham Horror can have some interesting things happen that make you go, "Wow, that was neat."

Once in the cave my character heard a breeze whisper his name, then later at the newspaper some spilled ink spelled out his name. Awesome roleplaying opportunity ensued - they really ARE out to get me!

We recently got Eldritch Horror but haven't sat down for a game of it yet. Really look forward to it.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-19, 05:03 PM

Eldritch Horror is really fun; I think it's a lot more mechanically interesting than Arkham.

Avilan the Grey

2014-02-19, 05:17 PM

Knaight

2014-02-19, 06:45 PM

One game I've enjoyed (though I haven't played it in a while) is Gloom (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12692/gloom). Very flavorful, very darkly hilarious - you have a group of characters, you play cards on them that make them more miserable, and the objective is to kill them once they're as miserable as they can possibly be.

You need a group that is playing the storytelling aspect to the hilt, but it can still be glorious. Our entire board game group has several running jokes from it, which were often amazing at the time - there's the presentation of the story from incompetent radio news hosts, and then there was the "Dead girl, dead girl, sitting in a tree. R-O-T-T-I-N-G." song. Good times.

IthilanorStPete

2014-02-19, 08:05 PM

You need a group that is playing the storytelling aspect to the hilt, but it can still be glorious. Our entire board game group has several running jokes from it, which were often amazing at the time - there's the presentation of the story from incompetent radio news hosts, and then there was the "Dead girl, dead girl, sitting in a tree. R-O-T-T-I-N-G." song. Good times.

Yep, like Betrayal at the House of the Hill, it really depends on atmosphere and immersion. Unlike Betrayal (usually), it's for the service of hilarity. :smallbiggrin:

TheEmerged

2014-02-19, 09:36 PM

Gloom is great BUT it's a game you should NOT get the expansions for. The more cards, the worse it gets, for some reason.

I'm not familiar with Gloom but I've seen this aspect kick in on other games - Conquest of Planet Earth (COPE) being the most recent. Essentially the expansion added some nice material, but it also added bulk to the decks. This meant the chance of that nice stuff actually showing up went down.

Key example: the expansion for COPE added some really nice Space Stuff cards. However, it added no event cards that allowed you to draw Space Stuff, and as a result that type of card is now about half as likely to show up.

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-19, 10:23 PM

Yep, like Betrayal at the House of the Hill, it really depends on atmosphere and immersion. Unlike Betrayal (usually), it's for the service of hilarity. :smallbiggrin:

Hey, the image of a murderous jock and his pet shade dancing uncontrollably because of a cursed music box while the others take their sweet time finding the necessary candles is pretty funny.

No, really, that's what happened the last time we played Betrayal. I and my poltergeist got hit with the music box and never got out.

Pretty sure we played it wrong, but hell if it wasn't funny.

I'm not familiar with Gloom but I've seen this aspect kick in on other games - Conquest of Planet Earth (COPE) being the most recent. Essentially the expansion added some nice material, but it also added bulk to the decks. This meant the chance of that nice stuff actually showing up went down.

Key example: the expansion for COPE added some really nice Space Stuff cards. However, it added no event cards that allowed you to draw Space Stuff, and as a result that type of card is now about half as likely to show up.

I've found that Killer Bunnies also doesn't work well with a bunch of expansions. We only have the first three and even then sometimes we have issues.

Sentinels of the Multiverse, on the other hand, only gets better with each expansion. And there's a new one coming out this week.

Avilan the Grey

2014-02-20, 03:21 AM

I'm not familiar with Gloom but I've seen this aspect kick in on other games - Conquest of Planet Earth (COPE) being the most recent. Essentially the expansion added some nice material, but it also added bulk to the decks. This meant the chance of that nice stuff actually showing up went down.

Key example: the expansion for COPE added some really nice Space Stuff cards. However, it added no event cards that allowed you to draw Space Stuff, and as a result that type of card is now about half as likely to show up.

Of course then there's games that has a few expansions that ruin everything, and the others are good:

Munchkin is an example. The game essentially gets better (and you really should have at least 2 expansions to get enough monsters to not have to play rounds and rounds without a fight) except for Demented Dungeons, which just gets annnoying.

Balain

2014-02-20, 03:31 AM

I have been looking all over for the 1995 version of condottiere. But so far no luck. It just seems to be the new one every where. Even. Boardgame geeks seems to only list only the new one.

banjo1985

2014-02-20, 03:58 AM

Sentinels of the Multiverse, on the other hand, only gets better with each expansion. And there's a new one coming out this week.

Seconding Sentinels, that is a magnificent card-game. Personally I think there are a few balance issues amongst the heroes you can pick from, but overall it's great fun. I'll have to let my friend know there's a new expansion out, and by 'let him know' I mean 'bug him to buy it'. :smalltongue:

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-20, 09:00 AM

Seconding Sentinels, that is a magnificent card-game. Personally I think there are a few balance issues amongst the heroes you can pick from, but overall it's great fun. I'll have to let my friend know there's a new expansion out, and by 'let him know' I mean 'bug him to buy it'. :smalltongue:

Apparently one of my wife's co-workers already got their hands on it, though Amazon shows the release as this coming Saturday.

We're kinda hoping Amazon's wrong since we'll be at the store tonight.

Knaight

2014-02-20, 01:53 PM

Seconding Sentinels, that is a magnificent card-game. Personally I think there are a few balance issues amongst the heroes you can pick from, but overall it's great fun. I'll have to let my friend know there's a new expansion out, and by 'let him know' I mean 'bug him to buy it'. :smalltongue:

I actually like the balance issues - the game is short enough that you aren't stuck with a hero, and it's a way to modify the difficulty - particularly as regards synergy. If you want to just kick some butt, Ra, Absolute Zero, Legacy, Argent Adept, and Tempest have you covered. If you want a challenge, time to break out Chrono Ranger, Wraith (without proper support), etc.

erikun

2014-02-20, 09:32 PM

Recent board games I've played at the game shop:

Survive! Escape from Atlantis! (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive-escape-from-atlantis) was a fun one, in some ways cooperative but technically competitive. We played with three players, which is apparently the "easiest" number of players for escaping; things fall apart a lot quicker with four players, apparently.

I played the Star Wars card game (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=175) today. It was rather good, from what I saw, with steps of the game being quite clear. The biggest thing to note is that the game sells card sets, not randomized boosters, so you always know what you're buying - a nice bit of change for people who dislike that aspect of CCGs, but still like building decks.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-24, 12:56 PM

Had a playthrough of Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings co-op game. I played solo, controlling both Frodo and Sam on their way to Mount Doom. Frodo got overtaken by corruption halfway through Shelob's Lair.

Really, really ace game. There's a lot of mechanisms and timers behind it; you're constantly staving off multiple Countdowns of Doom, and your resources are scant. Tense!

Binks

2014-02-24, 06:00 PM

Knaight

2014-02-24, 06:07 PM

Went to an open board game event at my FLG. Played a bunch of games, had a good time. One game in particular caught my eye though, it was a short (5-10m) game called Coup (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/131357/coup) that we played 4-5 rounds of. It seems like (based on limited exposure, I plan to pick it up in the near future but the store didn't have it in stock) a great bluffing game that's more about playing the other people in the game than the hand you were dealt. One of the guys (an experienced player) was barely even glancing at his hand and paying more attention to what everyone else was doing to give an idea of how it went.

I played a few hands recently - it was excellent. As far as glancing at hands, you have a total of two cards and they aren't exactly complicated, so it's hardly necessary.

It's by the same people who did The Resistance, and I'd consider it the better game of the two.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-24, 06:19 PM

Went to an open board game event at my FLG. Played a bunch of games, had a good time. One game in particular caught my eye though, it was a short (5-10m) game called Coup (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/131357/coup) that we played 4-5 rounds of. It seems like (based on limited exposure, I plan to pick it up in the near future but the store didn't have it in stock) a great bluffing game that's more about playing the other people in the game than the hand you were dealt. One of the guys (an experienced player) was barely even glancing at his hand and paying more attention to what everyone else was doing to give an idea of how it went.

Lots of fun, and a game I will definitely be looking to get a copy of in the short term. Thought I'd mention it here since I hadn't heard of it before that event.
I love love love Coup. It works really well with 3-4 players, I've found. You have to build a plan to eliminate everyone else, and at the same time figure out when you're going to bluff...while adjusting to your opponents. And figuring out when they're bluffing. It's a game of counters (most cards seem to have counters, though I haven't figured out how to counter the Duke), so it's tightly-balanced.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-27, 01:35 AM

Holy smokes!

I just got to play two rounds of BattleCon: Devastation at Indines. What a game! All the tactics of a fighting game in card form, with card synergies and cool combos and everything. Highly recommend, and I've hardly seen all the characters in the game. It's everything I think is cool about fighting games minus the one thing (reflexes and having to think in realtime) which makes me totally terrible at them.

Kerrin

2014-02-27, 01:47 AM

Ooo, yes it is a pretty cool card fighting game. I have the War of Indines.

For some reason it took me quite a while to get the hang of it. Sort of like trying to write on a waxy piece of paper. It took a long time to stick for me.

Really cool game. I never thought a video fighting game would translate to cards, but the game does a good job.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-27, 09:46 AM

There's absolutely a learning curve; it didn't start clicking for me until after my first match. There's a lot to compose your strategy out of. You're cycling moves, keeping track of what your opponent has at their disposal, and managing range--while your opponent is doing the same thing. And that's just at the Novice level! The friend who brought it over ran through all of the other heroes with me--and the Master-level stuff is just crazy in its potential...but wow, it requires you to keep track of a lot in your head.

What impresses me the most is that it doesn't fall back on the "rock-paper-scissors" concept that seems pasted into similar games. Sure, some moves are natural counters to others, but there's no artificial "A beats B, B beats C, C beats A" rule.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-02-27, 02:31 PM

I've played the free version of the game on iphone. It's a little tricky to get used to, yeah. I don't know if it's exactly the same version, because it doesn't mention Indines at all. Still, for free you get four characters to play with, though you can fight up to about 25 characters in the arcade mode.

The art for the game is kinda all over the place with different styles for each character. Looks a bit odd.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-27, 03:19 PM

Seems to be the same game, yeah. I don't remember the art styles being disparate in this version of the game (although they didn't look too divergent in the screenshots the app had), and the app definitely looks like it's using characters from Devastation of Indines. (It's a standalone expansion to the first BattleCon.)

The art for War of Indines (the base game) is a lot more all-over-the-place than the Devstation expansion, from what I can tell. Same mechanics, though.

EDIT: Also, that same night I got to try out Puzzle Strike. Fun game! I think it's now my favorite deckbuilder, mainly because of the gem-crashing mechanic.

It's a head-to-head game, and each player accrues "gems" during the game. When you have 10 gems in your pile, you get to take one action to get rid of some of them. Then, if you still have at least 10 gems, you lose. (So, they're a sort of damage.) You can use actions (which you buy from the bank) to combine 1-value gems into higher-value gems. This is important, because of gem-crashing.

A gem-crash action lets you throw a single gem-chip at your opponent. (So if you only have 1-value chips, you can only throw 1 gem at your opponent...but if you have a 3-value chip, you totally throw 3 gems at your opponent.) The gem busts apart into 1-value chips, and they all go to your opponent's pile. They're going to have to combine those chips into higher-value chips if they want to crash you with a lot of gems.

So, super-interesting way to handle damage. (Also, if you have a crash action in your hand, you can counter-crash with a single chip from your pile, absorbing some or all of your opponent's gem-crash, cancelling the gems out.) The game plays very fast-paced, and it's a lot more active than Dominion.

Fri

2014-02-28, 12:19 AM

Welp, I forgot to tell you guys. Enjoy your last shreds of sanities. Cthulhu has awoken.

Yeah, last session we just lost an Eldritch Horror game against Cthulhu. It was hillarious how at the very first turns, basically all kind of game ending events pops out already. There's the spider monster that can potentially end the game in three turns, gates popping out everywhere, a bunch of artifact stealers that also will end the game in some turns if not stopped, so on, so on.

I played the lead investigator, a soldier. I was tasked to combat with the epic spider monster, since I was the strongest. But I have just the worst rolls ever.

The hero of the game was the reformed cultist, who closed gates and kill monsters like there was no tomorrow.

But at the end, cthulhu woke up, and everyone turned insane. Sorry guys.

Cristo Meyers

2014-02-28, 12:52 AM

Played the new Sentinels expansion: Vengeance today. The multi-villain team is pretty interesting, but also pretty brutal. It was clear by about turn 4 that we were toast. Admittedly we didn't exactly choose the most optimal team for a three player game (two tried new heroes in the expansion, I stuck with my usual favorite: Fanatic) and that likely had a lot to do with it.

Still, it's a Sentinels expansion, and a good one. Full-size box, too. So if you've run out of space in the base box you can finally get some room to spread out.

Eldan

2014-02-28, 03:02 AM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-02-28, 10:56 AM

That's okay. We stopped two other monstrosities this weekend in Arkham. Stopped one before it came up, exterminated the fishmen in Innsmouth and blew up an Old One, despite a -8 to all combat rolls and magical immunity.
"Say hello to my little friend KABOOM."

Beacon of Chaos

2014-02-28, 05:13 PM

But at the end, cthulhu woke up, and everyone turned insane. Sorry guys.
S'okay. I mean, if we're all insane, then really, no ones going to notice. No problem! :smallbiggrin:

warty goblin

2014-03-01, 04:32 PM

I uh... I own all the Descent 2nd Ed. expansions now. After forty minutes of sorting I've got everything into three boxes. Hey, I've got four people depending on me for a constant stream of monsters to kill after all. It's a heavy responsibility.

Knaight

2014-03-02, 02:19 AM

I just played Trains - it's the first time I've done so, and the whole group is new. I quite like it, but it is a bit simplistic, so it fills a very different niche than Dominion. Which is fine.

TheEmerged

2014-03-02, 09:01 AM

Speaking of Dominion... Finally got to try Forbidden Island & Desert with the full group this weekend (consensus - everyone liked Desert better). I had brought along Dominion, thinking we wouldn't have time to actually play it but I wanted to show the mechanic to the older players.

When we finished Desert, about half the group wanted to play it again but everyone said "Let's check out this other game real quick, then we'll finish the day with another round of Desert."

Three games of Dominion later, I had to rush out the door so I wouldn't be late for an appointment (that I'd have otherwise had nearly an hour head start on) :smallredface: I have to say I was surprised at how fast the two older kids picked up on it, although the two younger ones had wandered off & were playing Xbox. The other adults were M:tG players back in the day as well so quickly got the hang of it and liked it.

I have to say it's almost funny how much faster than 2nd & 3rd games were.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-02, 01:53 PM

Dominion is crazy fast when you're playing with experienced players. I've finished a game in 20 minutes.

Knaight

2014-03-02, 07:22 PM

Dominion is crazy fast when you're playing with experienced players. I've finished a game in 20 minutes.

I've finished one in 10. Granted, it involved a Procession-Poor House combo to get a gold economy really quickly, then proceeding to buy through a bunch of action cards (including an Ironworks) as quickly as possible while one Province ahead.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-03, 11:57 AM

I've finished one in 10. Granted, it involved a Procession-Poor House combo to get a gold economy really quickly, then proceeding to buy through a bunch of action cards (including an Ironworks) as quickly as possible while one Province ahead.
Yowza.

Also, played more BattleCON last night--this time the 3-player boss rush (YIKES! It was punishing and we died on the second boss) and then a 2v2 (where we narrowly won...I got to be the keepaway angel tank blaster).

Balain

2014-03-04, 11:19 PM

I picked up Caverna. We tried the simpler version last weekend. I like it a lot. Not sure which I like more Agricola or Caverna...I think I am leaning towards Caverna.

yougi

2014-03-05, 09:45 AM

Lords of Waterdeep are just one more worker placement game, but we know so much about the city from D&D that it makes the game a lot more fun. Haven't played the expansion though if anyone has please let me know how you liked it.
The expansion is great. Corruption is a solid mechanic, and it allows for multiple playstyles. Added a lot to the experience, in my opinion.

Any suggestions folks have for good card games?

We don't really enjoy deck building games or collectible card games so those would pretty much be out. We had a blast playing the heck out of Sentinels of the Multiverse this summer and it's still one of our more favorite recent games.

Any suggestions for other great card games?
If CCGs and deckbuilders are out, what about Guilhall, or Guildhall: Job Faire? The two are the same game: you have 6 roles, each in 5 colors. Your goal is to make Guilds (5 cards of same role, 1 of each color). When you play a card to a Guild, stuff happens. You can then trade a Guild for points and a special action. The interesting thing is that the bigger your Guild is, the more powerful their action will be, so there's an advantage to never closing some Guilds.

The two games can be played standalone, each comes with 6 different roles. If you were to take one, I'd recommend Job Faire, as its roles are usually more fun.

On the topic of game storage, can anyone think of a better solution for most games than simply using tackle boxes (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-8616-Six-Tray-Tackle-Box/8586410)? I know a guy who uses those for Star Trek: Attack Wing and Settlers of Catan, and it works extremely well. I'm planning on picking up one for Star Fleet Battles (Finally, I'll be able to organize those pesky counters!) but I figured I'd better see if anyone had an even better idea.
I use pill planners (http://images.containerstore.com/catalogimages/132137/Clear7DayPillOrganizer_l.jpg), or just baggies. For card, I use Hugo's Amazing Tape (http://www.amazingtape.com/), because elastics destroy decks.

My latest discoveries are Android: Netrunner and Lewis & Clark. Both are amazing, and are quickly creeping into my top 5. Lewis & Clark is a racing game, with a worker placement and a deckbuilding element, but the deckbuilding is like nothing you've seen before: it's actually "hand-building", as you keep your entire deck in hand. It's quite awesome.

One I can't wait to try out is City of Iron. Looks simple enough, but very intriguing. Should be getting it to the table in the next week or two.

TheEmerged

2014-03-09, 09:47 PM

RE: Dominion. So, for my March gaming budget I've added the Prosperity expansion and I'm liking it a lot at the moment. Our second Prosperity game turned out to be the first time I've seen a game end to the "empty three piles" rule and would have been the first time I'd have seen Gardens worth 4 points (except Gardens weren't in play).

RE: Netrunner. I'm probably on the short list of people that actually played the original back when it was a CCG. Given that I've sworn off CCG's (the official wording of the policy is that I'm against buying things where I don't know what I'm buying), there's a decent chance of this making its way into the gaming budget in the future.

RE: Storage. I'm running into this with both of my Flying Frog Production games (Last Night On Earth and Conquest Of Planet Earth). I'm probably going to end up just breaking down and taking the board pieces with me to a store to find something that works.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-10, 09:23 AM

More BattleCON! I got to try out yet another character, and this time I think I found someone I click with really well. She cycles through different familiars who give her various types of bonus abilities. So she shifts into different "modes", as it were.

Also, I played Hanabi and Bohnanza...Hanabi is loads of co-op fun, and it's hilarity-inducing...because the only cards you can't see are the ones you're holding! Talk about "the blind leading the blind". Bohnanza is interesting, but not easy for me. It's counter-intuitive to how I think, and trading/valuation games are not a strong suit of mine.

Finally, I played Mascarade...which was fun but a bit confusing. I couldn't quite tell what to make of it, and it definitely plays best when there's so many players you can't tell what's going on. It rather resembles a drunken revel, what with everyone swapping roles and nobody knowing who they are.

Kerrin

2014-03-11, 11:29 PM

Had a great time playing King of Tokyo tonight with my sons. They have both expansions. We played several times, and it was a chaotic, fist-full-of-dice chucking, death-yahtzee, glorious time.

Definitely light hearted, random, and chaotic. Nice, quick filler game material. But, if you don't like randomness in your games, then this may not be one for you.

banjo1985

2014-03-12, 04:22 AM

Also, I played Hanabi and Bohnanza...Hanabi is loads of co-op fun, and it's hilarity-inducing...because the only cards you can't see are the ones you're holding! Talk about "the blind leading the blind". Bohnanza is interesting, but not easy for me. It's counter-intuitive to how I think, and trading/valuation games are not a strong suit of mine.

Bohnanza was my all-time favourite card game until I got hold of Braggart. I love the trade mechanics and the way you have to plan your order of beans. It's not particularly intuitive, but it is great fun. Battle Cattle is great fun too, with the right group of people.

Dynodragon

2014-03-12, 06:10 AM

Played the Firefly board game for the first time last night, nice simple and quick game (4 players total, 2 first timers, game complete in less than 2hours)

Might need a few houserules/expansions to give it more replayability.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-12, 08:44 AM

Weird. I'd heard that Firefly tended to be a long-running boardgame. I've had a mind to check it out, but it didn't sound heavily interesting beyond the theme.

Fri

2014-03-19, 06:19 AM

So, my copy of Space Hulk: Death Angel arrived last week, and I played it two times with a friend.

It's a cool game. I really like it. But good god, the randomness of the dice roll. On our second playthrough, we're doing well until the third room, when suddenly every marines failed to defend themselves against single genestealers.

I definitely want to play it again, but dunno about my friend. We have no problem losing, but losing by rolling zero and one six time in a row really hurts.

I'm currently looking at its puzzle game variant, just out of curiousity.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-19, 08:57 PM

Yeah, it's brutal. I haven't decided how the randomness compares to Pandemic...but I think it's worse because you can do less to mitigate it. Certainly drives home the theme, though.

TheEmerged

2014-03-19, 09:29 PM

For me, the Randomness Curve(tm) is like the Interactivity Curve(tm) - it won't ruin or make a game by itself but it will feature heavily into my feelings on it.

Randomness Curve - imagine the traditional bell curve, with the side facing 0 indicating a game where there is NO random element (many abstract strategy games, Chess) and the side facing infinity as having nothing BUT random elements. I want to feel that my strategy\decisions matter but have that chance that things can go horribly wrong\right.

Interactivity Curve - in this case, the side facing 0 indicates a game where the players are "playing Solitaire together" and the side facing infinity being the stereotypical "party game" where the game amounts to scored interaction. Many old-school "race" games like Sorry, Aggravation, Trouble, and the like have too little interactivity for me, but I dislike games that too closely resemble Mother May I just as badly.

A good example of the Interactivity Curve not blowing a game for me is Dominion (I currently have the base set & Prosperity, and I like it a lot more with Prosperity than without). I like it quite a bit and it has been a big hit at the table, but I'd rank the game as a 7.5 of 10 - I probably like it the least of the players at said gaming table. I enjoy it - heck, I played two games of it today - but I can't shake the impression that I wish I could do more on my opponents' turns than occasionally block an attack.

The Randomness Curve is the reason I don't like a lot of traditional 52-card/4-suit card games. Most of them are simply too random for me to get into. Ironically it is also the reason I don't enjoy Chess enough to put more effort into getting better at it (and probably haven't played a game against a proper opponent in nearly two decades).

Shyftir

2014-03-19, 10:34 PM

I would suggest that Interactivity and Randomness are like two axis forming a graph. There is a perfect amount of both for every player, and every game falls somewhere in the graph.

I personally think that Settlers is as popular as it is because it's sitting at the perfect middle of each scale, making it accessible to every style of play and players of all preferences.

Oh there is another axis! Complication! Well my ability to chart it with mental images just went out the window.

Knaight

2014-03-20, 01:13 AM

I would suggest that Interactivity and Randomness are like two axis forming a graph. There is a perfect amount of both for every player, and every game falls somewhere in the graph.

It's more like there is an area within the graph in which games are acceptable, though it's probably better thought of as a cross section that emerges from a function with way more variables.

banjo1985

2014-03-20, 05:04 AM

I played Runebound last week, for the first time in several years. It's better than I remember it, but once somebody gets in front with a lucky victory or item pull it's very difficult to close the gap.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-20, 09:06 AM

For me, I think that interactivity and randomness are dependent on the context of the game. I really like randomness that forces you to make do with your current resources (Dominion, most card games) as well as randomness that you can plan for (Catan, by building on as many differently-numbered hexes as you can).

And while I generally prefer player interactivity, I also like deeply-involved games with less interactivity. (That said? Dominion is very interactive IMO, just in a subtle, passive-aggressive way. Even without attack cards, the other cards are a limited resource, and a couple players burning through one of the ten piles quickly changes the game for everyone.)

warty goblin

2014-03-20, 02:40 PM

Gave Level 7: Omega Protocol a run with the guys the other night. It's a good time, sort of like a version of Descent that actually hates the players and wants to eat their faces off. This attitude of player-face-chewing is most clearly expressed by the system wherein the currency a commando uses for abilities is gets transferred to the Overseer, who can spend it on monsters to eat face. And at some point, the cost of monsters decreases, so it becomes a net loss for the players to shoot them. Two adrenaline for a chance of one kill buys the Overseer two new monsters to chew on noses. Bottom line: we made it to the objective, but not back.

Next time, I'll remember grenades.

DigoDragon

2014-03-31, 08:28 AM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-03-31, 09:06 AM

Interesting! My current top party games are Dixit (Apples to Apples with surreal art!) and Channel A (Pitch your wackily-named anime series!)

Beacon of Chaos

2014-03-31, 10:32 AM

More of a 'party' type game than board game, but I got a chance to play "Telestrations". It's basically the old game of telephone with drawings. Very hilarious and freeform like Apples-to-Apples or Cards Against Humanity.
I play a version of this we call telephone pictionary on another board. With ponies. Here's the latest one (http://whitetail-woods.com/index.php/topic/1044-telephone-pictionary-6-a-game-you-cant-refuse/?p=19736). Good fun.

TheEmerged

2014-04-09, 10:44 AM

So for my April gaming budget - and my May gaming budget - I purchased "Fortune and Glory". This might be described as "Indiana Jones: The Board Game - minus the Indiana Jones license".

Compoments are pretty cool, although it has the usual Flying Frog issue with having multiple stacks of cards - cracked up to 11. While it is your turn, it genuinely starts feeling like you're playing a pulp-era movie. That's a little bit of the problem, though - it's a bit on the "playing solitaire together" side of the curve. It is pretty thematic though.

The real problem? So help me, they reversed the function of Fortune and Glory in the rules. You buy things with Glory, and you win the game based on Fortune. It's consistent, so it can't be a typo. I think it tripped us up at least three times during our first playthrough.

One advantage, though, is that the cooperative game appears noticeably harder than the other FFP games I've played. Noticeably. As in we lost the first time we tried Co-op, even on easy.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-04-09, 02:49 PM

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-04-09, 04:04 PM

I have no idea how my friend got ahold of Kemet, but it's super-fun. Aggressive, neat combos, great fun.

I just played a game called Koi Pond (you can get it Print-On-Demand from DriveThru Cards), and it was sorta weird but really interesting. It's a game where you're trying to balance cards you play with the cards in your gradually-increasing hand, while also trying to get the majority in a color through your discarded cards. As another twist, your discards form a face-up pool of cards that you can draw from when the next round hits.

erikun

2014-04-09, 05:00 PM

Got both Takenoko and Suburbia for my birthday. I haven't had a chance to play them with others yet, but I gave the solo game of Suburia a go. It's a brilliant little game. Building your own little economic engine is fun, and you get plenty of options (though so far most of my games have come down to: stick blue tiles together, occasionally buy airports). Definitely getting the expansion when I can.

I'm loving the art for Takenoko. That and the cute little figures. :smallbiggrin:
Fun games. Just keep in mind that tiles in Suburia frequently refer to the number of other tiles in play, including owned by opponents, and will generally provide your benefits even after they've been played. If you have a tile that gives you +1 income for each restaurant in play, then not only do you get one income for each restaurant owned by every player right now, but you get +1 income every time a new restaurant is played. (The instruction sheet gives the details for each tile.)

Beacon of Chaos

2014-04-09, 05:47 PM

Fun games. Just keep in mind that tiles in Suburia frequently refer to the number of other tiles in play, including owned by opponents, and will generally provide your benefits even after they've been played. If you have a tile that gives you +1 income for each restaurant in play, then not only do you get one income for each restaurant owned by every player right now, but you get +1 income every time a new restaurant is played. (The instruction sheet gives the details for each tile.)
Yeah, I know. Can be a little hard to keep track of in the late game, though I suspect playing with others will help.

Speaking of which, I went to a games night at the local game shop for the first time. Was a little awkward at first, but everyone was very friendly, and they expressed an interest in the games I brought, even if we didn't get to play them.

We played Last Night on Earth, a zombie apocalypse game. I was on the heroes side and the scenario was to burn down a zombie infested building by finding gas canisters and setting them up in the middle of the zombie spawning pit. The game had some great moments, such as the time that the zombie players played a card that makes one male and one female hero skip their turns due to being... intimate, only to have the High School Principal appear out of nowhere to tell them to knock it off, which was just as well, since the girl was a teen and the guy was about 40 (characters, not players :smalltongue:). Or my character, Kenny the bag boy, finding a Book of the Dead and duct-taping a set of jumper cables to it simply because he was running out of space.

Unfortunately, the heroes lost, as we spent too much time evading zombies and stockpiling items instead of actually completing the objectives, and so the game was lost with Kenny and Sam the diner chef bickering outside while the prom queen was inside the main building fighting off zombie hordes with a home-made flamethrower. Awesome game! :smallbiggrin:

TheEmerged

2014-04-10, 09:11 AM

We played Last Night on Earth, a zombie apocalypse game. I was on the heroes side and the scenario was to burn down a zombie infested building by finding gas canisters and setting them up in the middle of the zombie spawning pit. The game had some great moments, such as the time that the zombie players played a card that makes one male and one female hero skip their turns due to being... intimate, only to have the High School Principal appear out of nowhere to tell them to knock it off, which was just as well, since the girl was a teen and the guy was about 40 (characters, not players :smalltongue:). Or my character, Kenny the bag boy, finding a Book of the Dead and duct-taping a set of jumper cables to it simply because he was running out of space.

Unfortunately, the heroes lost, as we spent too much time evading zombies and stockpiling items instead of actually completing the objectives, and so the game was lost with Kenny and Sam the diner chef bickering outside while the prom queen was inside the main building fighting off zombie hordes with a home-made flamethrower. Awesome game! :smallbiggrin:

Ah, "This Could Be Our Last Night On Earth". Yeah, we usually have to take that card out of the deck when we play - there are kids at the table with their parents either watching or playing as well.

Also, the prom queen was alone? I believe the meme is You're-Doing-It-Wrong :smallredface: The implication from the cards is that she ends up a casualty, but between her fight-avoidance power and her buffing power, she's actually one of the most dangerous human heroes (IMO second only to the priest, especially if he gets paired with the nurse).

Beacon of Chaos

2014-04-10, 11:34 AM

Also, the prom queen was alone? I believe the meme is You're-Doing-It-Wrong :smallredface: The implication from the cards is that she ends up a casualty, but between her fight-avoidance power and her buffing power, she's actually one of the most dangerous human heroes (IMO second only to the priest, especially if he gets paired with the nurse).
Due to circumstances, she was the only one with gasoline and a lighter and everyone was stuck in other places around the map. We did pretty badly that game XD.

Balain

2014-04-10, 04:26 PM

Played Dead Panic last weekend. It was pretty cool. Kind of like castle panic, but there is more differences between them then similarities.

Kerrin

2014-04-10, 09:28 PM

So for my April gaming budget - and my May gaming budget - I purchased "Fortune and Glory". This might be described as "Indiana Jones: The Board Game - minus the Indiana Jones license".

Oooo, I've been eyeing this game for some time. Looks like a fun time. Can't wait to get a chance to try it sometime before deciding whether to buy.

Fri

2014-04-12, 05:34 AM

Last night on earth is actually my personal favourite board game of all time. Maybe because it's one of the first board game I've ever played, I really love every part of that game. Too bad that the owner in our group sold it.

Cristo Meyers

2014-04-14, 10:25 AM

Finally got around to putting our new copy of Scotland Yard through its paces. Plays reasonably well with only 2 people, actually. That was somewhat surprising, a lot of multi-player games break down when there's only a couple of players.

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite games. It just feels so well-balanced and challenging without also taking hours to play. We finished both games in the space of an hour.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-04-14, 11:24 AM

Played tons more BattleCON yesterday. Really love Aria's playstyle. Drones everywhere! She has three different robots that she deploys on the board (they don't move unless she uses some of her stuff that moves the robots around), and each of them has a negative effect on the opponent if they're standing on or next to the robot. It's very fun to catch the opponent in multiple drones at once.

And I even pulled off her finisher in one match: she hits an opponent, throws them, and then if another droid is within range, they hit the opponent, throw them, and repeat for every drone on the board. With the right setup, you can ping-pong your opponent around the board and deal some nasty damage. I won with it.

DigoDragon

2014-04-16, 07:50 AM

I play a version of this we call telephone pictionary on another board. With ponies. Here's the latest one (http://whitetail-woods.com/index.php/topic/1044-telephone-pictionary-6-a-game-you-cant-refuse/?p=19736). Good fun.

Looks fun! Curious to know how it plays. :3

Beacon of Chaos

2014-04-16, 03:22 PM

Looks fun! Curious to know how it plays. :3
It's Chinese Whispers with art. Basically, player 1 PMs a one line description of something to player 2 who then draws it. Player 2 then PMs the drawing to player 3, who then writes a line, and then PMs it to player 4 etc. There's a GM who gets a copy of everything, and once everyone's had a turn, the GM posts the final results and we all have a good laugh. :smallsmile:

Went to the games club again on Monday. Played another zombie apocalypse game (seems to be a popular theme) whose name I can't remember, but was described to me as the board game version of Left 4 Dead. Everyone starts off in a cabin surrounded by zombies and has to work together to find radio parts, which are dropped by survivors. Onces the radio is built, you call for help, and you all have to get to the escape van before you get eaten. It was good fun. The MVP was the guy playing Father Michael, who became an unstoppable killing machine by dual-wielding a fire axe and a chainsaw, drawing the attention of all the zombies while giving his extra actions to the other players.

After that, I got roped into playing Werewolf. And then Resistance. Ugh. Boring. :smallsigh:

I used to play both games on GitP. Werewolf was fun, but I soon grew bored of it. I couldn't stand Resistance from the beginning. But I figured that maybe it would be different playing it in person. It wasn't. I think maybe these are games to play with friends, not strangers. The people who knew each other definitely seemed to be having more fun.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-04-16, 04:09 PM

Huh. Why'd you find Resistance to be boring, if I may ask?

(Maybe it's just me; I've had a lot of tense moments with it. Including the hilarious one where I was sitting next to the other spy, and we both went on a mission twice in a row...and neither of us failed the mission, because we didn't want to both fail it.)

Knaight

2014-04-16, 05:08 PM

Huh. Why'd you find Resistance to be boring, if I may ask?

I can't say I've ever found it that interesting. There's the occasional moment wherein two spies are on a mission and there's the question of whether either should sabotage it, and the occasional tense decision, but most of the time it just doesn't seem that interesting, particularly when playing as a non-spy. I quite like Coup though.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-04-16, 06:21 PM

Huh. Why'd you find Resistance to be boring, if I may ask?
I just never felt invested in it. Nothing excited me, nothing interested me. The theme was tacked on and the gameplay was weak. Maybe it's because I was a good guy, and therefore the only actual descion I got to make was when it was my turn to choose a team, on the last round.

DigoDragon

2014-04-17, 07:49 AM

It's Chinese Whispers with art. Basically, player 1 PMs a one line description of something to player 2 who then draws it. Player 2 then PMs the drawing to player 3, who then writes a line, and then PMs it to player 4 etc.

Ah, very similar to Telestrations, yes. In one match of the game, I was given the word "House Sitting". I drew a pony sitting on a house (with arrows pointing to the roof). Apparently ponies threw the game off completely because everyone after me was so focused on the pony that every word guess and drawing after was about horse stables and horses.

Another one was the word "Medication" which ended with me guessing "Breakfast of Champions" because the drawing I got handed looked like a bow of cereal and a bottle of whiskey. :smalltongue:

Anyone ever play the old board game Fireball Island? That was a popular one among my siblings and cousins. We played that one often when we got together.

Chen

2014-04-17, 08:41 AM

Anyone ever play the old board game Fireball Island? That was a popular one among my siblings and cousins. We played that one often when we got together.

I remember this from when I was quite young. Clearly not a very deep game but it was fun and had a pretty cool (albeit giant) board.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-04-17, 09:08 AM

I can't say I've ever found it that interesting. There's the occasional moment wherein two spies are on a mission and there's the question of whether either should sabotage it, and the occasional tense decision, but most of the time it just doesn't seem that interesting, particularly when playing as a non-spy. I quite like Coup though.

I just never felt invested in it. Nothing excited me, nothing interested me. The theme was tacked on and the gameplay was weak. Maybe it's because I was a good guy, and therefore the only actual descion I got to make was when it was my turn to choose a team, on the last round.
Yeah, I can see that. (And the game gets a lot more interesting for the Resistance when a mission's been failed.) I liked it because it compares quite favorably to Werewolf (more information to go on). Avalon beefs up the gameplay, although the theme feels even odder there.

Speaking of Coup, I'm gonna have to buy their new expansion when it comes out. It introduces factions; you can pay coins to flip your faction (or someone else's faction), and being on the same faction as someone else protects you from them.

Fri

2014-04-18, 08:48 AM

I just never felt invested in it. Nothing excited me, nothing interested me. The theme was tacked on and the gameplay was weak. Maybe it's because I was a good guy, and therefore the only actual descion I got to make was when it was my turn to choose a team, on the last round.

Yeah, totally understand this. But my group love this game. The gameplay for us isn't in the choosing of people to go to the mission, if that's only the gameplay this game is really lackluster. The gameplay in our group is to convince people who are the spies and who are the resistance. We could end up with winding, convoluted reasons for this. Like, "You asked for drink when everyone are closing their eyes. *a couple of convoluted reasoning later* ergo, you are the spy.

TheEmerged

2014-04-18, 10:14 AM

RE: Werewolf\Resistance. See, I just plain stink at this type of game and bluffing games in general. While I'm capable of bluffing, I have trouble in games where it's a large part of the mechanic.

That, and all three times I've played Werewolf I've drawn the werewolf. It's another of those examples of my boolean\bipolar luck.

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-04-18, 11:44 AM

Yeah, totally understand this. But my group love this game. The gameplay for us isn't in the choosing of people to go to the mission, if that's only the gameplay this game is really lackluster. The gameplay in our group is to convince people who are the spies and who are the resistance. We could end up with winding, convoluted reasons for this. Like, "You asked for drink when everyone are closing their eyes. *a couple of convoluted reasoning later* ergo, you are the spy.
Also, the approve/deny part of the voting is a very important bit of the gameplay. If the group isn't seeing some "deny" votes, something's probably going wrong. No mission should be unilaterally passing muster with the group.

Beacon of Chaos

2014-04-27, 04:55 PM

Played Takenoko with a friend a couple of days ago. Not a bad little game at all. I dunno if it will become a regular game for us though; he really likes Carcassonne and that's all I can ever seem to get him to play. Maybe I'll have better luck with Suburbia.

I also found a different gaming club in my area. It's further away, but I'm hoping it will have more room. The one I go to currently is in a tiny shop and it's super cramped.

banjo1985

2014-04-28, 10:13 AM

Played Rampage on Friday night, and loved it. So infantile, but a massive amount of fun. Not a game I'd play often, but all the little meeples and throwing playing pieces of trucks at my opponents made me grin. Pretty decent representation of the old video game, but, you know, not boring after two minutes. :smalltongue:

CarpeGuitarrem

2014-04-28, 03:10 PM

Oh--on Wednesday, I finally played Eldritch Horror all the way through. Entertaining game! We barely won! Lots of neat flavor. Only downside is that it's not as focused, thematically, because you're globe-trotting.

jurgita

2014-04-29, 02:31 AM

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Beacon of Chaos

2014-05-07, 03:29 PM

Finally got to play Suburbia against a human opponent last night. Went along to a club, taught a guy how to play... and promptly got beaten. XD Guess I taught him too well.

It seems in this game that you really don't want to increase your population too early. Doing so limits your income and reputation too much. Focusing hard on your income allows you to easily catch up later.

Also, having "fewest commercial areas" as your hidden goal sucks, since those areas are what get you money.

TheEmerged

2014-05-23, 09:12 PM

So, my June gaming budget came early and I scored - Boss Monster! Only managed a couple of games so far, and a good part of my enjoyment is the nostalgia involved.

I gotta say though, whoever wrote the rules needs lessons in rules writing. We didn't get to the third turn before we ran into something the rules barely touched. The first game definitely fell into the "playing solitaire together" trap, but more spell cards came into play the second time and that's clearly where the interaction happens. The luck is a bit swingy too - game #1 saw a 8-heart hero on the first turn, and game #2 saw the town get stacked to 4 mages that ended up going through one dungeon all at once & that player winning that turn.

On the other hand, I can't wait to play it again :)

Fri

2014-06-12, 03:24 AM

Anyone here into making and playing print-yourself free board games? There are many great ones out there, me and my friends are having a blast with them. The one we're having fun with most currently are Black Vienna and Kill Dr Lucky.

Of course, as with any DIY project, making them is a chore first, but that's part of the fun.

Here's my Black Vienna cards, which I printed from the files got from board game geek.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Faris/Mobile%20Uploads/20140213_222813_zpskcftbcr3.jpg

And my friend made quite an effort to print Cheapass Games' Kill Dr Lucky, making it look like a profesionally made board game, if not for

http://i.imgur.com/RxhLKHQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zcpKTXN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G0AkdRV.jpg

Cristo Meyers

2014-06-13, 09:15 AM

And my friend made quite an effort to print Cheapass Games' Kill Dr Lucky, making it look like a profesionally made board game, if not for

http://i.imgur.com/RxhLKHQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zcpKTXN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G0AkdRV.jpg

Nice. Cheapass did put out a full version of Kill Doctor Lucky (and Save Doctor Lucky, if I remember correctly), but I always preferred the homemade versions.

Have you checked out the card game version, Get Lucky? I think it just hit shelves and it's really good.

Balain

2014-06-21, 04:03 AM

At last count ( about 4 years ago) I had something like 82 board/card games. Many are at my girlfriends currently, but here is a list of what I have here and what I can recall is over there.
Descent journey in the dark (1st edition + a bunch of expansions), samurai swords ( formally shogun), axis and allies, robo rally, a touch of evil, all wound uo, mind trap, mind trap 2, gangster, unspeakable words, tanhauser( plus 2 or 3 expansions), tsuro, star base Jeff, diplomacy, stock ticker, shadows over Camelot , burn in hell,Markham horror ( almost all expansions), torches and pitchforks, paranoia, Ra, Titan, Tower of Babel, star fleet battles, democracy, pirates of tha carabbean DVD, monopoly 65th anniversary, cosmic encounter, Battle of Britain, kingmaker, mid evil, star traders, the. Nacho incident, chez geek and expansions, pirates of the burning seas (many many many shops), xanth the board game, mah Jong titles, 3 or 4 Sherlock home mysteries. Mystery of the abbey, gloom, plus expansions, Cthulhu gloom, skallywagslunch money, beer money, Delbert corporate shuffle, king's blood, clay-o-Rama, twilight emporium, air wars, air supremacy, lord of the rings checkers, Star Wars trivial pursuit, dr. Who trivial pursuit, get out, auto duel, original illuminati with expansions, new illuminati with expansions, nuclear war with nuclear escalation, age of Conan, la bomb, caverna, bang. With all expansions, Agricola with all expansions, 7 wonders with all expansions, apples to supples, Napoleon in Europe, mertwigz maze, the great khan game, fortune and glory, the order of the stick adventure game with expansions, the be Star Wars miniature ship game forget the actual name, Takenoko, zombie dice, zombies by twilight creationsion with expansions, 20 or more munchkin games and expansions, the new dungeon, lords of water deep, Elba, pandemic with all expansions, Dix it with all expansions, formula d with most expansions, forbiden island, princes of Florence, purteo Rico, merchants and mauraders, castle panic with expansion, Sherwood, deadwood, Ben hvrt, collusem, British rails, Australian rails, Russian rails, munchkin quest,get bit, el grande with expansions, dominion with all expansions, carcass one with most expansions, bootleggers,, dragon's gold, citadels, castle, lord of the fries, kill doctor lucky, save doctor lucky, unexploded cow, pimp,the adventures: pyramid of ?????(I forget the name now), pirate flux, werewolves of millers hollow and expansion, infinite city, terra mystica, small world and expansions, world of Warcraft the board game, ugh tech, war of the roses, kings and things, flash point and most expansions, pirates cove, red dragon inn and all expansions, there is a bunch more but my memory is starting to fail me at this late hour.

TheEmerged

2014-08-01, 09:46 AM

Did you guys ever hear the statement about one of the signs of getting old is when your kids beat you at your favorite game? I have no kids of my own, but this happened at our last gaming session. As I've mentioned before our gaming group is old enough that some of the members at the table are the children of the original members. Well, last session one of the kids won at Dominion against her father - handily too, more than twice the victory points he had. It was partially his own fault (he bought the Mint card too early and paid for it), but a victory is a victory.

I was also introduced to a game named Hive (http://www.amazon.com/Gen42-Games-5513656-Hive-Original/dp/B000EN5ZLW/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1406903151&sr=1-1&keywords=hive) by a guy at work. It's a charming game, obviously not something that's going to be my Favoritist-Game-Evah! but good enough I'm going to have to hunt a copy down.

July's gaming budget went for Android: Netrunner. I remembered playing this back when it was originally released, and one thing I remembered about it remainded true - the Runner thinks Corps are too powerful, and the Corps thinks the Runners are too powerful, but in the end whoever gets their "economy" cards fastest wins.

Another old game I picked up recently didn't go over as well as I'd remembered - The Awful Green Things From Outer Space. This is a classic "cardboard chit with 3 numbers" game, where one player\team controls the crew of a space ship that just got infested with the AGTFOS (the other player\team) and each side is trying to wipe out the other. The core mechanic of the game is that the crew has no idea what weapons are going to have what affect against the AGTFOS - the effect is randomly drawn when each type of weapon is first used. The effects range from "none", to 3-5 dice of damage, making the AGTFOS's grow, making them shrink, and the dreaded\beloved effect of blowing the target up into 1d6 fragments. There are enough effect chits that not all of them will be used each game. Well, the crew got quite frankly the worst selection of effect chits I've ever seen. They were on their 5th weapon before they got something that damaged the AGTFOS and their 7th weapon before they got a good one, and managed to get a "1d6 fragments" on one of the area-effect weapons. Needless to say this was not fun for either side - the crew players were getting mopped up on and the AGTFOS players were bored.

The monthly game of LNOE (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29368/last-night-earth-zombie-game) (Last Night On Earth) went much better, essentially in a dead heat when we ran out of time. Yes, pun was intended. We drew the Plague Carriers scenario, which starts the human heroes in the middle of the board instead of their usual buildings - but compensates this penalty (you have to be in a building to search, and therefore draw the cards that give the humans abilities & weapons) by starting the players out with some cards right out the door. It also starts out with all 7 of the "red" zombies on the board (take two victories to destory, roll two dice just like the humans, but only move when a player is within 2 squares), and the human objective is to kill all 7 before the sun sets or the zombies kill 3 humans. Well, there were 2 red zombies left and the zombies had killed 2 humans when we had to stop (human heroes are killed & turned into zombies, but the human players just draw another hero when that happens).