• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Boardgame-Age

Status
Not open for further replies.
Flynn said:
One of our group bought the new Arkham expansion, but we never got around to playing it at the con -- set-up time is prohibitive.

We picked up A Touch of Evil, but didn't play it yet. I'm not a terrible fan of the photo-real art. The characters look like nerd friends. Still, the game ought to be good.
Click to expand...

Yeah Arkham Horror setup is a bitch; I usually just set it up myself before getting anyone together as taking time to set it up can be a real buzzkill (although I don't personally mind it).

A lot of people have been "hating" on Touch of Evil for its look, even though they apparently love its gameplay. I have to say I don't mind the corniness at all even though it's not quite as suited to ToE as it was to LNoE.

Anybody here ever played the Age of Empires III board game? On a whim, I just picked it up at lunch, having read positive impressions on BoardGameGeek. I've just recently started getting into the board game hobby recently, so there's little rhyme or reason going into what I'm buying.
Click to expand...

I've only played it once, but I like it quite a bit. My only caveat would be that it doesn't seem to be a great two-player game, but that's just something I always specifically look for.
 
Looks like Agricola hit #1 over at BGG. Puerto Rico has actually been dethroned!

Can't wait to give Agricola a spin at our next game night.
 
platypotamus said:
I'm currently attempting to get my board game group to give Agricola a whirl, so that number 1 spot should be helpful in my arguments.
Click to expand...
Are any of them Harvest Moon fans? If so, you might want to take that kind of approach with those people. ;)
 
XiaNaphryz said:
Are any of them Harvest Moon fans? If so, you might want to take that kind of approach with those people. ;)
Click to expand...

I don't think so, though one of them commonly wears a Harvest Moon shirt he got at swag at an E3 years back...

ultimately, there's no real resistance besides the fact that we hadn't been boardgaming consistently and everyone has been wanting to play their favorites again rather than try new stuff.
 
AstroLad said:
Very interested in seeing how Dominion and Wings of War PSN turn out.
Click to expand...

The Wings of War game was very, very early. But like I said, the chance of FFG getting into videogames is a big, big deal.

And Dominion really is the most interesting new-ish mechanic I've come across in a while. Should be fun.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
Cool, thanks for posting that. I didn't bring a camera and there are people I want to shwo this stuff to.
Click to expand...

I don't know what it is, but I find board game set-ups infinitely photograph-able.
 
Flynn said:
Almost forgot.

Here's my GenCon 2008 Flickr Set. Lots of room 500 goodness in there.
Click to expand...

Great pictures, thanks!

Is that big, gorgeous dragon listed under WoW minis from the board game? I'm guessing it's from the miniatures game...I WANT IT but I don't want to have to sift through a bunch of randomized packs...I'm hoping it comes in a starter pack or something? I don't know anything about the mini games.
 
echoshifting said:
Is that big, gorgeous dragon listed under WoW minis from the board game? I'm guessing it's from the miniatures game...I WANT IT but I don't want to have to sift through a bunch of randomized packs...I'm hoping it comes in a starter pack or something? I don't know anything about the mini games.
Click to expand...

They'll probably do something ala the HeroClix and HorrorClix big miniature releases like Galactus and Cthulhu - you just buy those figures individually.

FnordChan
 
FnordChan said:
They'll probably do something ala the HeroClix and HorrorClix big miniature releases like Galactus and Cthulhu - you just buy those figures individually.

FnordChan
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks! I have no interest in these games but I'd love to get that puppy on the table in my 4E campaign...
 
Steve Youngblood said:
Anybody here ever played the Age of Empires III board game? On a whim, I just picked it up at lunch, having read positive impressions on BoardGameGeek. I've just recently started getting into the board game hobby recently, so there's little rhyme or reason going into what I'm buying.
Click to expand...

I really liked it after my first play, but less so each subsequent time. I still think it's a good game though.


Good to hear about more board games possibly heading to console. I really enjoyed Wings of War the last time I participated in a huge 15 player session.
 
Zalasta said:
I really liked it after my first play, but less so each subsequent time. I still think it's a good game though.


Good to hear about more board games possibly heading to console. I really enjoyed Wings of War the last time I participated in a huge 15 player session.
Click to expand...

I was the opposite. I thought it was just a glorified Puerto Rico my first playthrough. After the second or third time I really got the gist of it.
 
For anyone who's interested, The Tao of Gaming is an excellent blog. I haven't seen him in years and didn't know him well, but the author of the blog, Brian Bankler, used to be a regular at my old local game store and I can attest that the man really, really knows his shit when it comes to games.

FnordChan
 
Fantasy Flight officially announced their two video games today. Wings of War which we already knew about and Tide of Iron.

Both are being made by a new-ish developer called Big Rooster in Madison, WI.
 
There actually aren't that many truly un-PC boardgames, sadly for the sake of message-board comedy, but there are a few notable ones.

pic155625_md.jpg
 
platypotamus said:
I actually played Fireball Island again for Nostalgia's sake about a year and a half ago. I won!
Click to expand...

It actually fetches a pretty good price on e-bay; apparently a lot of people share that feeling of nostalgia.
 
Walked into the local gaming store and, whaddyaknow, amongst the copies of Axis and Allies and War of the Ring they had Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries! Bought it on the spot. What a beautiful set.

I was hoping to see Agricola there but no such luck. I guess I have no choice but to order it online before it goes out of print.

Akia said:
Catan is awesome. That is all.

I'm probably going to move up to the Cities and Knights expansion soon.
Click to expand...
Cities and Knights really slows down the game: there are so many little things to keep track of, particularly resources. It makes for a busy, messy board and long turns.

But that's the price you pay for vastly increasing the strategic depth of the game AND adding more offensive tactics. Vanilla Catan boils down to only a couple realistic winning strategies, with Longest Road dominating. Cities and Knights has several times that many viable paths, making it much more interesting for the guy who didn't happen to build his first settlements on Wood-producing tiles. If one player pulls ahead the others have tools at their disposal to pull him back down. All the resources are valuable (sheep is worth something now, no more mad rushes for the sheep port). It's the best way to play the game if you have a group patient enough to sit through a three hour session.
 
So what's the big deal with Agricola?
I played a game of it and it seemed pretty meh.
 
Dsal said:
So what's the big deal with Agricola?
I played a game of it and it seemed pretty meh.
Click to expand...

I only played one session (3 games though) of it and I think the appeal of Agricola comes down to the different ways to play it. I assume you played the most basic one, but the box comes with like 10 different decks of cards that add more complexity and additional rules to the base game.

That being said... as my group played it again and a 3rd time, the 16th turn seemed to come up way too quick. It's a little odd that the game just feels too fast.
 
I went to GenCon too. Flynn, sorry I never got a chance to meet up with you. I spent most of my weekend in the auction room or away from the show with a pretty young thing I met there. (OT: Video Games Live is one of the greatest shows I've ever seen)

I finally picked up copies of some staples at the auction:

Settlers and Cities and Knights expansion
Carcassone
Citadels
Vegas Showdown
221 B Baker Street

and a great card game called Plague and Pestilence. I thought I overpaid paying 26 bucks for it, but it turns out I grabbed the 2nd edition which goes for 60-70 on ebay at the moment.
 
Tsubaki said:
I only played one session (3 games though) of it and I think the appeal of Agricola comes down to the different ways to play it. I assume you played the most basic one, but the box comes with like 10 different decks of cards that add more complexity and additional rules to the base game.

That being said... as my group played it again and a 3rd time, the 16th turn seemed to come up way too quick. It's a little odd that the game just feels too fast.
Click to expand...

I think the appeal is in wrapping your head around the process of getting the farm put together effectively, then learning to think on your feet when you don't get the worker placement slot you want. Also, learning to use your cards and find ways for them to work off each other is totally fun too.

And yeah, there's never enough time to make every plan work. Except for that one time. And that's the time you win.

Gatekeeper said:
I went to GenCon too. Flynn, sorry I never got a chance to meet up with you.
Click to expand...

Sorry I missed you as well. I need to do better about meeting up wit GAFfers.
 
Played TTR:Nordic Countries and Infernal Contraption over the weekend

Nordic Countries was enjoyable, but then I like all the TTR games (except Europe). The map is dominated by the southern half, with lots of long routes up to single places in the north. Tunnels and Ferries, as per Europe and Switzerland. No new game mechanics, except that Wild Cards only cost 1 card, instead of 2. Bonus for most tickets, but nothing for longest route

Infernal Contraption is a game from last year by Privateer press where you play as Goblin Bodgers, creating infernal Heath Robinson style machines, to attack the other players. Very simple kinda game, but a lot of fun. Obviously, very, very aggressive, since the only mechanic is basically to build your machine, then attack other people. The expansion "Sabotage" makes it even messier.
 
So, I finally played Agricola this weekend, having said to hell with it picked it up blind at DragonCon. My friends and I gleefully ignored the strong recommendation to start with the family game and jumped right in to using the E deck, which really seemed like the right thing to do, as playing without the optional cards didn't look particularly exciting. At any rate, we all liked it a lot. Obviously I'll need to play a few more games before I can really comment, but I wasn't bothered by the two major criticisms of the game: the card distribution didn't seem to be overly unbalanced when we were working from the same deck and if it's multi-player solitaire, it's a really entertaining form of multi-player solitaire, so what the hell. In short, Agriciola is as good a combination Puerto Rico/Princes of Florence/farming game that I can imagine off-hand. I'm looking forward to another game this weekend.

I also finally got my own copy of Race for the Galaxy. I confirmed that I'm still lousy at getting the trade system up and running. Hrm.

By the way, has anyone here played Twilight Struggle?

FnordChan
 
spikydavid said:
Nordic Countries was enjoyable, but then I like all the TTR games (except Europe). The map is dominated by the southern half, with lots of long routes up to single places in the north. Tunnels and Ferries, as per Europe and Switzerland. No new game mechanics, except that Wild Cards only cost 1 card, instead of 2. Bonus for most tickets, but nothing for longest route
Click to expand...

Aren't ferries a novel mechanic? Also the eight-train route that allows for four other colors? Not sure as my experience is limited to TtR, USA 1910, and Europe, but it seems that Nordic Countries is Europe ON STEROIDS. Then again I haven't dug in yet, just read through the instructions. Was yet another (quite fun) teach-someone-Arkham-Horror weekend for me.

FnordChan said:
By the way, has anyone here played Twilight Struggle?
Click to expand...

Yes, I play a decent amount (was just mentioning to my wife how we need to get back into it actually). It's a great game for us card-draw fiends, and definitely superior to 1960 though they share many of the same mechanics (and though I still like 1960 and will certainly be playing it again as the election draws nearer).
 
AstroLad said:
Yes, I play a decent amount (was just mentioning to my wife how we need to get back into it actually). It's a great game for us card-draw fiends, and definitely superior to 1960 though they share many of the same mechanics (and though I still like 1960 and will certainly be playing it again as the election draws nearer).
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the comment. I'm not entirely sure how I'll react to the mechanics of the game, but I adore the theme and am seriously considering picking it up blind to give it a shot. The only real catch is that it's a two person game and my game group generally has small mobs of folks show up, so I dunno how much play it might get. Still, I'm quite intrigued.

FnordChan
 
AstroLad said:
Aren't ferries a novel mechanic?
Click to expand...

No, they were in Europe.

AstroLad said:
Also the eight-train route that allows for four other colors?
Click to expand...

That is new.

AstroLad said:
Not sure as my experience is limited to TtR, USA 1910, and Europe, but it seems that Nordic Countries is Europe ON STEROIDS.
Click to expand...

Like Switzerland, it's designed for fewer players, so it wouldn't really count as Europe ON STEROIDS in my book.
 
iapetus said:
No, they were in Europe.

Like Switzerland, it's designed for fewer players, so it wouldn't really count as Europe ON STEROIDS in my book.
Click to expand...

nm i was thinking of switzerland; i own too many tickets to ride actually only played europe once (don't own that one). europe switzerland nordic it's hard to keep all these foreign countries straight. meant Switzerland ON STEROIDS fwiw.
 
AstroLad said:
nm i was thinking of switzerland; i own too many tickets to ride actually only played europe once (don't own that one). europe switzerland nordic it's hard to keep all these foreign countries straight. meant Switzerland ON STEROIDS fwiw.
Click to expand...

It's quite straightforward. All you need is Marklin and Switzerland (possibly to be upgraded to Marklin and Nordic if that's better for the 2-3 player game). The original US map is acceptable if you want an occasional change, and Europe is crap.
 
iapetus said:
It's quite straightforward. All you need is Marklin and Switzerland (possibly to be upgraded to Marklin and Nordic if that's better for the 2-3 player game). The original US map is acceptable if you want an occasional change, and Europe is crap.
Click to expand...

:lol I will stay away from Europe then. I do like the original w/ 1910 expansions for when we have four or five players though, especially when a few are new to the game.
 
AstroLad said:
:lol I will stay away from Europe then. I do like the original w/ 1910 expansions for when we have four or five players though, especially when a few are new to the game.
Click to expand...

Have you played Marklin yet? I still think it's my favourite of the games. The passenger mechanic is great, and the map is more balanced than the US one IMO.
 
In Nordic locomotives can only be used to claim ferries and tunnels: they can not be used to claim any portion of a normal route (except as part of a four-to-one swap for the long Murmansk route). That's new, isn't it? I've never played the Switzerland edition.
 
Evlar said:
In Nordic locomotives can only be used to claim ferries and tunnels: they can not be used to claim any portion of a normal route (except as part of a four-to-one swap for the long Murmansk route). That's new, isn't it? I've never played the Switzerland edition.
Click to expand...

Right, it's from Switzerland. I actually like the tunnel mechanic as it adds a bit of suspense to the proceedings, but thematically I don't understand why every tunnel route, no matter how long, is just draw three.

Have you played Marklin yet? I still think it's my favourite of the games. The passenger mechanic is great, and the map is more balanced than the US one IMO.
Click to expand...

Have not played it yet; will definitely check it out.

Quick AH note: Man, Nyarlathotep is easy to beat. Got him once in a solo game (two investigators) this weekend, and once with a couple other friends (three investigators). His ability is that Mask monsters get added to the bag? Really? Perfect newb monster; I think I might even be able to take him with one investigator (especially if that investigator is the wowverpowered researcher).
 
FnordChan said:
By the way, has anyone here played Twilight Struggle?

FnordChan
Click to expand...

My board game friend just introduced this to me last week. it's a lot of fun - lots of options strategy without being burdened with a lot of rules. i agree that it's a lot better than 1960 also.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

cologne-age 2.0: Recommend and share fragrances here.
2
74
2K
IDKFA replied
Utah becomes first state to target VPN use in age-verification law
News 
24
459
ReBurn replied
Catherine O’Hara has passed away at 71 years of age
2
96
2K
TerribleAtThisGame replied
Collective Shout celebrates Age Verification for porn in Australia: 'For the Children'
Social 
4
377
Banjo64 replied
Brigitte Bardot, French cinema’s glamorous icon, dies at age 91
13
499
BennyBlanco replied
Top Bottom