[StoOgE]

So, I got my copies of Lost City and Battle Line in today :D

Lost City is a German printing from 1999 that the seller didn't disclose :/ He said it was the Kosmos edition, and I guess I should have caught that, but when you are selling a foreign language version of the game, you should really point that out pretty clearly seeing as how their were English language editions available for the same price :/

In any case, it is a text free game and I found a rule sheet on BGG so all is well.

I think I understand where the push your luck mechanic is. If you play 3 multiplier cards you can theoretically get a killer score. But if the round ends before you are able to play more than 20 points worth of point cards you could get a huge negative score for that round. Interesting mechanic. Especially since you are forced to use increasing numbers.. so if you have a 7 in your hand you can play it for more points, but it makes your 3, 4 and 5 worthless and makes getting a card in your hand you can play less likely.

I think I'll rather like this game.

Haven't gotten into Battle Line at all yet, but I know it is more directly competitive. I'll figure it out tonight.

[AstroLad]

Neverfade's Section on Thematic Gaming is up!

If you're into longer, more thematic games centered around fantasy & sci-fi themes, check it out! http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...49&postcount=2

[Neverfade]

Yay, I'm helping!

[StoOgE]

Yay, I'm helping!

Awesome work, now the thread isn't completely biased against Ameritrash.

FWIW, I'm thinking of buying Game of Thrones. I love the books and am going to be hosting watch parties for the show next year. So it will be a fun thing to play before the show starts.

House Rule in effect: I am always the Starks, and if the Lannisters win I will actually kill the player.

[Flynn]

Nice addition, Neverfade.

I have I idea: Names to Know in Boardgaming -- basically a way to familiarize newcomers with well known board game creators.

[BattleMonkey]

Wish they would finally reprint War of the Ring

[XiaNaphryz]

Anyone use Wargameroom for online 1960 or Twilight Struggle? I'd be interested in giving it a shot with some GAF folk.

[IMG]http://i54.************/mjbk1y.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i56.************/2jfzpn9.jpg[/IMG]

[StoOgE]

Here is a nice list:

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/58...s-2010-edition

Basically breaks down the top ranked games on BGG by the number of players they are best played with, the number of players they work decently well with and the complexity of the game itself.

It's a good guide to find a game to check out for your group. i.e. "I have 3 friends coming over who like light games". Find a 4 player game in the light category.

[StoOgE]

Anyone use Wargameroom for online 1960 or Twilight Struggle? I'd be interested in giving it a shot with some GAF folk.

I have never played either game, but would like to check them out.

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Wish they would finally reprint War of the Ring

It's supposed to be reprinted sometime next year with an updated rule book.

[XiaNaphryz]

Hmmm...looking around BGG, Vassal may be the better option for Twilight Struggle.

[XiaNaphryz]

I have never played either game, but would like to check them out.

Here's the TS rulebook:

http://www.gmtgames.com/nnts/TSRules-2009.pdf

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Hmmm...looking around BGG, Vassal may be the better option for Twilight Struggle.

How does it work? Is it PBE (play by email) or is it live online?

Speaking of PBE I've always wanted to play Diplomacy but I'm not sure I could get the numbers needed for a live game. Would anybody be interested in playing Diplomacy over email or PM?

[plaidtopia]

Just wanna thank you guys for putting this thread together. I've always liked board games, and have been playing Carcassonne and Catan for the past couple of years from time to time with certain groups of friends, but it wasn't until I rediscovered Axis and Allies a couple months back that I realized how much I actually loved the tabletop world.

I live in Seattle and hit up PAX a few weeks back, doing (what was previously) the unthinkable: I spent most of my time playing board games with randoms. I lost my virginity for Betrayal at House on the Hill (absolutely loved it and have pre-ordered the reprint), Pirate's Cove (pretty fun, but we got screwed at the end, so I'd want to play again to cement my thoughts), and Munchkin (this was everywhere at PAX, but great people made it a blast).

My own group of friends are mostly a bunch of sporadic to ex-videogamers that now typically prefer to just hang out and shoot the breeze. As such, I thought introducing board games would go over well by as they'd allow us to catch up and chat, as well as scratch our geek itch. I stumbled upon BGG and cobbled together a quick, dirty collection of gateway games, personal interests and some BGG-approved recommendations (Carc, Catan, Axis & Allies, Last Night on Earth, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, Dominion, Munchkin, LOTR: Confrontation and Puerto Rico). Without announcing it, I brought a selection over for our next get-together and, much to my delight, they immediately demanded we play LNoE. We played for hours (I played as the zombies and we drew the series) and now they're demanding I bring a selection along regularly -- I'm planning on trying Pandemic or Dominion next time, both of which I've yet to play.

Anyway, to the point: It's been great the past couple of weeks to use your discussion and the amazing OP as a way to quickly orient myself in a new field. I don't know how deep my love for the medium goes (I listened to a couple episodes of Dice Tower and came away a little less than enthused :lol), but I'm glad to have such a resource on GAF.

[XiaNaphryz]

How does it work? Is it PBE (play by email) or is it live online?

Pretty sure it supports both live play and PBEM. You download the Vassal app, then whatever boardgame modules you want to use with it.

[AstroLad]

Anyway, to the point: It's been great the past couple of weeks to use your discussion and the amazing OP as a way to quickly orient myself in a new field. I don't know how deep my love for the medium goes (I listened to a couple episodes of Dice Tower and came away a little less than enthused :lol), but I'm glad to have such a resource on GAF.

Awesome! And don't worry about your feelings on The Dice Tower. It's mostly just a good resource for news and oftentimes I'll just skip to the Top 10 to get some more ideas for games to explore but it can be ubergeeky at times too. The nice thing about the modern hobby is that it requires no such ubergeekiness.

[XiaNaphryz]

After further reading, it sounds like Vassal's fine if you have a specific group of people to play with or are learning the game (or need to PBEM), and that Wargameroom is where to go once you're familiar with the game and are just looking for a quick match (and don't mind having to be online to play).

[AstroLad]

Yeah I did wargameroom for 1960 once and remember it being really user unfriendly.

[StoOgE]

Good God.

I went to one of my local board game stores looking for something to pick up. I had heard good things from some of the guys at the game night about it.. though about picking up something a bit heavier that I can take to these board game nights and play. The store was pretty nice, lots of gaming room in the back, huge minitures collections. and *tons* of demo board games. Looked pretty damn awesome.

but FFS, buying these things at a B&M is impossible. Most of the games were 50 or 60 dollars, plus tax brings them up about another 5 or so. I can buy all of these same games for 20-30 dollars online. I wanted to buy a lighter game, maybe a card game for 20 dollars but they don't even stock that shit.

and the FFG wargames? 70-100 dollars depending on the game. Fuck that noise.

Online purchases it is for me. I'm really liking BGG's used market. It's pretty awesome, other than some people hosing you on shipping (much like ebay sellers.. on, 15 dollar purchase, that will be another 15 S&H)

[AstroLad]

Anyone up for a game or two of RFTG?

[StoOgE]

Anyone up for a game or two of RFTG?

lets do it.

my internets seems to be doing better tonight.

[Cyan]

Sure, I'm in.

[StoOgE]

I am still fuming at that last game.

First, I screwed up bad. I could have settled a non-military world because I had Colony Ship sitting in my hand and never used it.

But 9 card draw and not a single military world :(

This is what I get for going with a military strategy. I'm terrible at it

GG guys, it was fun.

[AstroLad]

[StoOgE]

Card could be devastating with a military strategy. Dear lord.

[AstroLad]

It's so nice to play Race for the Galaxy + expansions without having to shuffle. :lol

Edit: I forgot how rewarding beating the Keldon AI can be. Is it just me or does it seem that when you need them to do a phase (even a simple dev or settle) they never do it? Psychic. Anyway, beat it thanks to Hidden Fortress + New Galactic Order. I love Hidden Fortress.

[StoOgE]

The AI is pretty brutal. I normally play 4 person AI games and win about half the time.

[AstroLad]

That's pretty solid! Seems that a nice production strategy can work well. Too bad I favor military and quick-build. :lol

GAMES I AM PLAYING THIS WEEKEND
Neuroshima Hex: Nothing like 2-player tile-placement post-apocalyptic wargaming (lowercase 'w')! One of the most commonly recommended mediumweight 2P games on BGG, so I'm excited to finally try it out.

Snow Tails: Simple racing game. Suck it haters! I think I might like the mechanics of this one more than Formula D though, which is a baseline requirement.

Tales of the Arabian Nights: Probably our "long" game for Saturday night. Played this for the first time a couple of weeks ago and recounted our exploits on the old thread, but for some reason this storytelling game, which is basically a glorified Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book really grabbed me.

Honorable Mentions: Agricola always threatens to make an appearance and suck up all of our time, and Dominion and Carcassonne are always contenders. My flame for Race for the Galaxy has also been rekindled. And there's also a decent chance I'll get some more 2-player gaming in with Battle Line or Jaipur.

IN OTHER NEWS
Looks like the date for Prosperity is now September 29th. Damn it, I have so many games being held up by this game and its ever-changing release date.

[Neverfade]

It's supposed to be reprinted sometime next year with an updated rule book.

Praise be.

WOTR's rulebook is atrocious. The Collector's Edition is much better at fleshing out the rules, but the original... bring your decoder ring, kids.

[BattleMonkey]

Like to hear how Neroshima Hex plays out, the art intrigued me but the game itself didn't look as visually impressive.

[fenners]

Two months until BGG.Con! I canceled my room at the Westin because my wife can't come, switched to the Ramada next door for a third of the price. Driving up Wednesday morning, driving back home on Sunday morning.

Got my yearly game of Twilight Imperium 3 booked for Friday!

Card could be devastating with a military strategy. Dear lord.

It's also devastating if you've got some regular settle discounts, like -1 for brown or -2 for all planets...

[AstroLad]

Like to hear how Neroshima Hex plays out, the art intrigued me but the game itself didn't look as visually impressive.

Yeah, I know what you're saying. It's pretty basic tile-laying-game aesthetics and definitely not the more FFG-style aesthetics you might expect because of the theme. Same goes for the gameplay really. I'll take a pic of the endgame though.

Two months until BGG.Con! I canceled my room at the Westin because my wife can't come, switched to the Ramada next door for a third of the price. Driving up Wednesday morning, driving back home on Sunday morning.

Yeah really looking forward to it. Do you happen to have an extra tick as a result? My brother-in-law really wants to go but sort of squashed the plan when he found out that tix have been sold out since forever.

[fenners]

Yeah really looking forward to it. Do you happen to have an extra tick as a result? My brother-in-law really wants to go but sort of squashed the plan when he found out that tix have been sold out since forever.

Unfortunately no - she was just coming to hang out with friends in Dallas (we used to live there) but she'd no interest in the actual con.

[StoOgE]

That's pretty solid! Seems that a nice production strategy can work well. Too bad I favor military and quick-build. :lol .

Yeah, I'm starting to sour on produce - consume. It's been really hurting me in our games because I'm the only one really going that direction so I have to do all the lifting. i.e. the producing. If you have a few players going produce - consume you can get help.. i.e. when I pick consume x2 there is a fair chance that someone will pick up produce behind me.

In our games, I use consume and then have to produce the next turn and consume again on the one after that. It really takes the advantages of a produce-consume engine and kills them.

[ianp622]

Yeah, we took this out of our game :)

[AstroLad]

In our games, I use consume and then have to produce the next turn and consume again on the one after that. It really takes the advantages of a produce-consume engine and kills them.

yeah suck it producer boy! i did produce a couple of times in our first game (when i had the windfall-world strategy) but that was mostly just to get enough cards to finish the game off

[StoOgE]

Weekend plans are up in the air.

Sunday I'll play Battle Line and Lost Cities for sure.

Saturday night is a football game. I plan on getting some Power Grid in after the game, but if a ton of people come over it may turn into Roborally which I have not played in months so I'll need to brush up on the rules.

Kind of which I had Mall of Horror actually because I think it is a killer light/party game. I've found some used copies on BGG for 50 bucks so I may go that route.

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

Fantasy Flight announced Mansions of Madness, which takes place in the Lovecraft universe.
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ed....asp?eidn=1621

Horrific monsters and spectral presences lurk in manors, crypts, schools, monasteries, and derelict buildings near Arkham, Massachusetts. Some spin dark conspiracies from the shadows while others wait for hapless victims to devour. It’s up to a handful of brave investigators to explore these cursed places and uncover the truth about the living nightmares within. Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Mansions of Madness, a macabre board game of horror, insanity, and mystery for 2-5 players! This winter, gather your fellow investigators and unravel the dark mysteries within... before it’s too late. Designed by Corey Konieczka (Battlestar Galactica, Runewars) and based on the horror fiction of master writer H.P. Lovecraft, Mansions of Madness creates an engrossing new narrative every time you play. Each game takes place within a pre-designed story that provides players with a unique map and several combinations of plot threads. These threads affect the monsters that investigators may encounter, the clues they need to find, and which climactic story ending they will ultimately experience. One player takes on the role of the keeper, controlling the monsters and other malicious powers within the story. The other players take on the role of investigators, searching for answers while struggling to survive with their minds intact. During setup, the keeper secretly makes choices that will affect both the plot of the unfolding story and the gameplay objectives of both sides. Is the mysterious cult attempting to murder the investigators, or is their goal far darker? Did the master of the house go insane with grief over his dead family, or is a horrible otherworldly force controlling his mind? Only by following the trail and piecing these clues together will the investigators discover the true evil and successfully complete the story! Depending on the combinations of plot choices the keeper makes, clues are scattered throughout the various rooms that make up the board. Each clue is represented by a card, placed face down in the room in which it can be found and consisting of deeply thematic text leading investigators to the next clue card. Investigators must work together, finding the clues and discussing how best to proceed. Meanwhile, the keeper is ever vigilant in pursuing his own agenda, and if he completes his secret objective before the investigators discover and thwart it, then dark forces will prevail. The result is a tense race between good and evil! Both the engaging plot and the stunning components will draw you in to a world of cosmic horror. The beautifully rendered modular map tiles show every intricate feature of the rooms you’ll search, and the monster figures represent the otherworldly forces of evil in horrific detail. The bases for each monster figure even have slots into which you can insert that monster’s token, displaying only the pertinent statistics. These components (a total of 24 monster figures), along with the eight included investigator figures, over 300 cards, over 200 tokens and markers, and nearly 70 puzzle tiles, will help immerse you in a sanity-bending story of terrifying mystery.

It sounds pretty neat.

[BattleMonkey]

Sounds kind of like Betrayal at House on the Hill meets Descent.

[Chorazin]

Sounds kind of like Betrayal at House on the Hill meets Descent.

I was just going to say that.

I'm all in on that!

[StoOgE]

Fantasy Flight announced Mansions of Madness, which takes place in the Lovecraft universe. http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ed....asp?eidn=1621 It sounds pretty neat.

Hard to tell exactly what the mechanics are here. Sounds a dungeon crawl mixed with Scotland Yard perhaps.

[aphoushole]

What expansion is this from?

Speaking of which, I hope to play some RftG this weekend.

I can't wait until Space Hulk: Death Angel comes out.

[AstroLad]

That's from the first expansion, The Gathering Storm.

American version:

[jason10mm]

Two HUNDRED tokens and markers for this MoM game? FFG just HAS to start streamlining their games, or at least pack in a good storage solution! And it sounds way more like Descent than I'm cool with, something like this needs to be fast and simple, letting the story carry the game. Instead I think this is gonna be combat heavy with lots of counters to keep track of.

Minis might be cool though, wonder if they could carry over to AH? Hmmm, maybe they repurposed those investigator minis already :P

[Neverfade]

Here's hoping MOM is more my style than AH.

Curious how inspired by Betrayal this will be. There was rumors before the reprint that FF might pick up the license. Wonder if it was false, fell through, or FF just said 'screw it, we can use an existing license to make a game that will sell more'.



In other news, Innovation is in stock at CSI.

From the maker of Glory to Rome. HLKJHLSHkljLWHeeeeee

[StoOgE]

Two HUNDRED tokens and markers for this MoM game? FFG just HAS to start streamlining their games, or at least pack in a good storage solution! And it sounds way more like Descent than I'm cool with, something like this needs to be fast and simple, letting the story carry the game. Instead I think this is gonna be combat heavy with lots of counters to keep track of. Minis might be cool though, wonder if they could carry over to AH? Hmmm, maybe they repurposed those investigator minis already :P

It's FFG, of course there will be minis. Hell, AH isn't even their design and they tried to force minis into it.

[Neverfade]

It's FFG, of course there will be minis. Hell, AH isn't even their design and they tried to force minis into it.

At 4 dollars a pop, I don't know if I'd call that forcing. :lol

[StoOgE]

At 4 dollars a pop, I don't know if I'd call that forcing. :lol

Let's wait for the reprint and see if minis are in it :lol

[Neverfade]

Let's wait for the reprint and see if minis are in it :lol

You're on, good sir!

[jason10mm]

Well, looks like the ill fated arkham horror minis are in mom. I think I can see Jenny barnes and Harvey walters in the game board shot, plus those monster minis look like they hold squares about the size of ah monster chits. Yeah, ffg knows their cross brand marketing :)