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

Boardgame-Age

Status
Not open for further replies.
dreadfulwater said:
I am encouraged by the number of fans Arkham has. I will be playing with a buddy tonight after Chinese(food). Fantasy Flight makes great boardgames. I have several of their Titles. I wish they would re-do Warhammer quest. even though I have a mint copy of the original, FFG giving that old game a fresh coat of paint would be awesome.
I doubt they will, especially with Talisman getting the Dungeon expansion in a couple of months. Their version of Talisman Dungeon is going to be huge though in terms of cards.
 
Neverfade said:
Astro, do you have the Race for the Galaxy expansion?
The Gathering Storm? Yes. The new cards are quite good and it's nice to have a set for a fifth player too. The solo variant I haven't really dug into yet, heard mixed things. Can't wait for the next expansion which I believe is coming out soon.
 
Damn, that was quick (f5? :p).


My question was if it adds any player interaction to the game. I'm enjoying RftG, but I sure do wish I could play cards that affected other's tableau. Any luck on that front?
 
Not that I can think of now; it basically fleshes out the existing mechanic further. New expansion will get into that though.
Three starting worlds and three 6-cost development

Alliance rebelle : the power pictured by a star is
"You may conquer a military world from an imperium player and you add 2 to your military force for each of your military rebel world

Sénat de l'imperium : the power pictured by a star is
"You may conquer a rebel military world"

Recherche Pan-Galactique : the power with a "12" is
"End of the turn : your may now have 12 cards in your hand"
 
AstroLad said:
Not that I can think of now; it basically fleshes out the existing mechanic further. New expansion will get into that though.
Three starting worlds and three 6-cost development

Alliance rebelle : the power pictured by a star is
"You may conquer a military world from an imperium player and you add 2 to your military force for each of your military rebel world

Sénat de l'imperium : the power pictured by a star is
"You may conquer a rebel military world"

Recherche Pan-Galactique : the power with a "12" is
"End of the turn : your may now have 12 cards in your hand"
Ooooh.

Man, I still have to get my hands on the first expansion. There's a game store not too far away (maybe 20 minute drive when there's no traffic), but alas, I am lazy.
 
I'll probably end up getting the expansions regardless. It IS pretty fun, despite some bad draws that can really slow the game down for you. Maybe I just need a few more plays to flesh out some more combos.
 
Oh I almost forgot to mention the VP awards for "most" and "first" (e.g., most 6-cost developments, first to build each power, etc.). Some might say they complicate the game too much but I like them a lot.
 
AstroLad said:
The Gathering Storm? Yes. The new cards are quite good and it's nice to have a set for a fifth player too. The solo variant I haven't really dug into yet, heard mixed things. Can't wait for the next expansion which I believe is coming out soon.

We've been playing Gathering Storm with a group of five for the past couple weeks. Having a good time with it. I hear the next expansion will open it to six. Is that right?

And yeah, those "most" and "first" do add complication, but I'd also argue that they have a sort of balancing effect.
 
Flynn said:
We've been playing Gathering Storm with a group of five for the past couple weeks. Having a good time with it. I hear the next expansion will open it to six. Is that right?
Correct, Rebel vs. Imperium gives another set of cards (so 6 total if you have Gathering Storm).
 
idk if anybody already said this but HEROSCAPE is just good drunk fun

box art
4171231cd578_main400.jpg



some dude's battle field (from photobucket) cause you can make your own
DSC01416Overview.jpg


DSC01420AncientRituals.jpg


another
pic142615.jpg


here's a character card for example (you have attack and defence dice..and there making marvel characters now)
thanos.jpg



here's there home page
http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/

it does take time to set up and you can make it look as good as you want it by buying more sets....and somebody earlier said something about the characters looking alittle rough, that's why i look at all the expansion sets and compare the paint jobs before i buy one
 
AstroLad said:
Correct, Rebel vs. Imperium gives another set of cards (so 6 total if you have Gathering Storm).

Right on. Looking forward to that. I never played much of the game pre-expansion, so I'm thinking I want to go back and play some more with only the first set. I really want to wrap my head around the different approaches without the complications of the Uplift Worlds and all that stuff.
 
Flynn said:
We've been playing Gathering Storm with a group of five for the past couple weeks. Having a good time with it. I hear the next expansion will open it to six. Is that right?

And yeah, those "most" and "first" do add complication, but I'd also argue that they have a sort of balancing effect.

At first I thought 5-player RftG is a great thing, but after one try, the downtime was so horrible that I'd never want to do it again. 6 people? No thanks, especially not with how much space you need at that number (more than a full complement of Agricola I bet).

As for the goal cards in the expansion? Worst idea ever. You don't even need a coherent strategy, as long as you have a majority of those, you can still win (which defeats the purpose of the game IMO).

The Gathering Storm was a disappointment in terms of new mechanics.
 
Zalasta said:
At first I thought 5-player RftG is a great thing, but after one try, the downtime was so horrible that I'd never want to do it again. 6 people? No thanks, especially not with how much space you need at that number (more than a full complement of Agricola I bet).

As for the goal cards in the expansion? Worst idea ever. You don't even need a coherent strategy, as long as you have a majority of those, you can still win (which defeats the purpose of the game IMO).

The Gathering Storm was a disappointment in terms of new mechanics.

Our five player game didn't move terribly slowly. We really keep the players on their toes. Call for the revealing of actions. Then call for revealing of settlements, etc. That keeps players moving. And since it's not a turn-based game, everyone takes their turns pretty much simultaneously, whatever downtime there is doesn't seem that bad. Not Axis & Allies bad at least.

And I'd argue that it would argue that targeting "first" and "most" is just another track. If you chose to dominate it's just as interesting a problem to solve as creating a good military machine or whatever.
 
So, my friends and I are interested in picking up some board games (Settlers, Ticket to Ride, Munchkin) and I was wondering what is the best place to get them online? Cheap and reliable, and will ship to Canada.
 
Shadowmancer said:
So, my friends and I are interested in picking up some board games (Settlers, Ticket to Ride, Munchkin) and I was wondering what is the best place to get them online? Cheap and reliable, and will ship to Canada.
Coolstuffinc seems to be among the cheapest I've seen recently. Perhaps there are some cheap places in Canada as well, but I'm not aware of them. Might wanna check the boardgamegeek ads/marketplace.
 
AstroLad said:
Coolstuffinc seems to be among the cheapest I've seen recently. Perhaps there are some cheap places in Canada as well, but I'm not aware of them. Might wanna check the boardgamegeek ads/marketplace.

I ordered a few games from Coolstuffinc based off of seeing AstroLad mention it earlier in this thread. Cheaper prices than Amazon and got everything in good condition. Of course I am in the US so I am not sure if what shipping is to Canada so it might not be as good of a deal for you.

Anyway, I have just started getting into more serious boardgames in the last few months. I found a group of around 5-6 people from work that seem to enjoy it too. We are only able to get together about twice a month, but have so far have played Twilight Imperium, Arkham Horror, and A&A: Anniversary Edition. I also have Settlers of Catan, Last Night on Earth, and Twilight Struggle, but we are going to probably hold off and go back and play through the previous three games again before moving onto anything else. I'll post some impressions later when I have more time, but I have enjoyed them all so far.
 
Visiting my buddy here in Norcal before GDC. Turns out there's a pretty solid get-together at Stanford. The guy who designed Race For The Galaxy is a Stanford alum so he's been showing up and testing some of his prototypes. Apparently he's a pretty nice guy. Uses normal playing cards with white stickers over the faces for testing.
 
I picked up Bohnanza after hearing nothing but great things about it. One group I play with really seems to get into the light party-esque games. Can't wait to try it out.

Have the RftG expansion, 1960, and Puerto Rico in my cart at coolstuff, need something else to get that free shipping...hmmm....
 
Flynn said:
Visiting my buddy here in Norcal before GDC. Turns out there's a pretty solid get-together at Stanford. The guy who designed Race For The Galaxy is a Stanford alum so he's been showing up and testing some of his prototypes. Apparently he's a pretty nice guy. Uses normal playing cards with white stickers over the faces for testing.
Reeeally? Interesting. I live in the area, I'll have to look into this.
 
Neverfade said:
Have the RftG expansion, 1960, and Puerto Rico in my cart at coolstuff, need something else to get that free shipping...hmmm....

I generally keep a copy of Guillotine in my game bag, which makes for a cheerfully violent little card game to play between longer games. If you've never played, the theme is that it's the Reign of Terror and you're all taking turns decapitating a line full of hapless members of the upper classes one at a time. The trick is that you also have a hand full of cards that shuffle people around in the line, allow you to kill two at once, and so forth. It's a hoot and is well worth checking out.

For something that is absolutely not a light, between-games sort of experience, this past weekend I finally got a chance to play my copy of Through The Ages.

51UY55UeI-L._SL500_AA280_.jpg


It's essentially Civilization the Board Game the Computer Game the Board Game. Here's an excellent, detailed, lengthy review; I'll try to give you the short version as well. Through the Ages is a medium length civilization building game that, in the full game, goes from Antiquity through to the modern age. Each player has a mat that shows their population (the more folks you have, the more food it takes to feed 'em), the amount of resources at your disposal, the happiness level of your population (which you want to stay high, lest you have uprisings), and your military strength. The latter is entirely abstracted, by the way - there is no map, which means you aren't moving units around for hours on end or anything like that. Then off to the side you have the sort of cards that are entering the game, representing improvements in technology (such as going from bronze to iron), wonders of the world (which do things such as provide victory points), leaders (who give special powers), and so forth. Cards are more expensive to obtain as they arrive, becoming cheaper as they move along until they are removed from the game, so there's a lot of resource management that goes into planning how you want to improve your civilization.

My friend and I wound up playing for roughly six hours over the course of two learning games, one simple and one advanced, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Game play moves pretty quickly with only two, but I can see things getting somewhat bogged down with three and I don't really like to contemplate a full four player game. The game is chock full of flavor and it's fun to see which stage of civilization you're at and to get excited about the appearance of, say, the Scientific Method or the Kremlin. There is a lot of strategy to keep you occupied and I can see where poor decisions could absolutely screw you. (I won both games through luck more than anything; I wasn't doing a good job of building up my resource generating engine, but I was able to really crank out the all-important culture points. If the second game had gone into the modern age I would have been hosed.) On the flip side, there's a ton of bookkeeping involved; I'm hoping another couple of games will get my friend and I to the point where we aren't forgetting details every round. Overall, however, I was impressed at how smoothly everything flows once you get rolling and I really enjoyed it. For someone looking for a meaty strategy game, but not one that's going to take you over 3-4 hours to play, I recommend it highly. After all, Through the Ages isn't rocking the fifth place spot on boardgamegeek for nothing.

FnordChan
 
Anyone played Age of Conan yet?

I've had a test run with the roommate but yet to play a full blown game. I think I'm going to end up enjoying it, but to have such a few actions to perform, there's a shitload to take in. :D
 
Neverfade said:
I picked up Bohnanza after hearing nothing but great things about it. One group I play with really seems to get into the light party-esque games. Can't wait to try it out.

Have the RftG expansion, 1960, and Puerto Rico in my cart at coolstuff, need something else to get that free shipping...hmmm....


Bohnanza was a great choice, IMO.

If you're looking for something a bit light, Bang! the card game is pretty good fun. 3-7 players. There's a sheriff, deputies, outlaws, and a renegade, but only the sheriff's ID is known. Different guns have different ranges (range based on table seating order). Definitely a social game rather than a strategy game, but a decently good one because your role determines who you are shooting, so it doesn't turn personal. Plus you get to say "I'm going to bang so-and-so" which leads to immature giggling and never gets old. Ever.
 
Bang! was in the first shipment I ordered since I've been in this boardgame groove.

Its pretty great, and gets better with more people, for sure!
 
Just played the munchkin boardgame for the first time.

Holy crap that takes a long time with 6 people. Granted it was our first time, but it took longer than arkham fucking horror with expansions.

It was alright. I think I prefer the straight forwardness of the card game though.

I think it took around 6 hours.
 
Neverfade said:
Bang! was in the first shipment I ordered since I've been in this boardgame groove.

Its pretty great, and gets better with more people, for sure!


Hmmm, how much more do you need to spend to get the free shipping? I was trying to suggest something cheap, and my first two cheap suggestions are always Bohnanza and Bang.

There're a couple of expansions for Bohnanza. I haven't played any myself, but my sister vouches for Bohnaparte.
 
I recently played Acquire with a few friends. I had a blast. I won, but I'm not entirely sure what strategy I was employing that proved effective.

I need to play again to start figuring things out I think.
 
More Arkham Horror questions:

I want to buy some expansions, thinking one board and one card (though I like additional characters so much, I may go with two boards). Does anyone have any experience with them? Are there any I should definintely get? Or definitely avoid?

Right now, I'm considering Curse of the Dark Pharaoh and the upcoming Innsmouth Horror.
 
So I've sort of been wanting to get into more board games for awhile. I showed my girl the article in Wired about Settlers of Catan and she seemed pretty stoked. Problem is, more than two people. I was looking for something her and I can play together. Any somewhat similar games that two people can play?
 
eznark said:
So I've sort of been wanting to get into more board games for awhile. I showed my girl the article in Wired about Settlers of Catan and she seemed pretty stoked. Problem is, more than two people. I was looking for something her and I can play together. Any somewhat similar games that two people can play?

A lot of folks in this thread have been hyping the Catan card game as a great two player game. It's on my list, but I haven't actually bought it yet.

I have played a good amount of Caylus and Agricola two player, and while both are a bit more complex than Catan, they work well with just two.
 
Catan card game is really good. Fairly complex for a first game and also long though. But if it's the Catan theme you're into (I personally don't like the theme, but I do like the game) it's a good bet. Note that it plays very differently from the board game.

I'm gonna throw in my usual recommendations for Race for the Galaxy (can play up to six now, with expansions, but it's at its best in the two-player variant with advanced rules), and if you're looking for something pretty and cute 1960 (you'll love it, Nixon has a slight advantage in the regular game) or a little deeper Twilight Struggle (the Russians have the advantage here; I'm sorry).

As always boardgamegeek is the place to read detailed reviews, check out pics, etc.

pic446191_md.jpg
 
Which is the Nixon-Kennedy one?

My fiance is 100% anti anything that seems "geeky." No space, no fantasy, etc., so while a lot of these seem like a blast to me I know she'd never go for 'em (although I'm hoping more hit the digital services). The Catan theme seems fairly non existent so I'm hoping it won't be off-putting.

I didn't realize there was a Catan card game, maybe I'll try that out. Is Carcassonne not highly recommended? Pretty cheap on CoolStuffInc.
 
I really like Carcassonne, but I've been spoiled by the XBLA version, and have a rough time recommending the actual board version anymore. Your mileage may vary, but my experience with the boardgame was pretty frustrating due to the ease of bumping the table and completely wrecking the board (you build it yourself as you play, and it doesn't interlock) and trying to remember what it was like. Plus it's really easy to screw up scoring at the end of the game.

The game itself is solid though. Fun and accessible.
 
I know, I was trying to mislead you into buying it. The theme is so well integrated into the gameplay I have to say. And all the little card events are really cool. The whole game just reeks of quality from top to bottom. Even though it's moderately complex, I think it's a good gateway game just because of the prettiness.
pic266111_md.jpg


You guys might like Carcassonne as well yeah; it's pretty straightforward, simple, and non-geeky like Catan. Mr. Jack is another light 2p euro game that is also non-geeky: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/21763
 
Mr. Jack does look pretty cool.

I'm going to order the Catan card game and Carcassone, see if she's into it. Only $30 for the both so no big loss if she isn't. If she is I am totally getting 1960. (I showed her those pieces and she was down, immediately). I just want to know if the Mafia plays as large a role in the game as it did in the real world.
 
eznark said:
Mr. Jack does look pretty cool.

I'm going to order the Catan card game and Carcassone, see if she's into it. Only $30 for the both so no big loss if she isn't. If she is I am totally getting 1960. (I showed her those pieces and she was down, immediately). I just want to know if the Mafia plays as large a role in the game as it did in the real world.
Well I can appease you at least somewhat.

D LATE RETURNS FROM COOK COUNTY 2 2 ECON SC ELECTION DAY EVENT! On Election Day, the Kennedy player gains 5 support checks in Illinois.
 
eznark said:
If she is I am totally getting 1960. (I showed her those pieces and she was down, immediately).

If I remember right from your posts in the PoliGAF thread, I can only assume you will be playing Nixon and she will be playing Kennedy, and it will be a bit of a grudge match. Depending on your personalities, I can imagine that being either extra super fun, or really painful. Hopefully the former!
 
Another +1 for Catan card game. As cheap as it is, you might as well toss its expansion in the cart, too.

Also: Race for the Galaxy -- make it happen. The space theme could be substituted for clowns fucking and its still an awesome game. Force her to play with you.

Otherwise, I guess get San Juan, similar, no space theme (pretending your a spanish conquistador is much better amirite?) and probably easier to slide into as a first game.


Edit: I forgot, her hatred of the space theme rules her out for playing my personal favorite game yet: Battlestar Galactica. And you definitely want to play with at LEAST 4, preferably 5 or 6. That's a lot of obstacles to overcome, sure; I'll just let the fact that EVERYONE I've played this with (including people who don't even know what the show IS) loved every second of it (and can't wait to play again) speak for itself.

I just had to take this opportunity to pimp out BSG. So good.
 
platypotamus said:
If I remember right from your posts in the PoliGAF thread, I can only assume you will be playing Nixon and she will be playing Kennedy, and it will be a bit of a grudge match. Depending on your personalities, I can imagine that being either extra super fun, or really painful. Hopefully the former!

If I can get her to play it I am sure the political dynamic will make it hilarious. And then I will crush her.
 
Ive decided to give Warhammer (40k specificaly) a shot, and bought myself a box set called Attack on Black Reach. Anyone have any recomendation or links on ways to paint, or other things to buy, or pretty much anything on 40k i should know!
 
AMUSIX said:
More Arkham Horror questions:

I want to buy some expansions, thinking one board and one card (though I like additional characters so much, I may go with two boards). Does anyone have any experience with them? Are there any I should definintely get? Or definitely avoid?

Right now, I'm considering Curse of the Dark Pharaoh and the upcoming Innsmouth Horror.

Innsmouth Horror looks like it's going to throw in everything, including the kitchen sink. That said, if you were to buy one of the big boxes available right now, I recommend Dunwich Horror very highly. It's an excellent expansion, with lots of great new characters, tons of cards and such, and the excellent Madness/Injury mechanic to use in place of losing half your stuff when you die. Of the card expansions, I like the Dark Pharaoh as a straight forward expansion that integrates very neatly with the original set. It won't add as much difficulty to the game as King in Yellow or Black Goat, but there's still plenty of nastiness included and the theme is very nice.

FnordChan
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom