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[platypotamus]

Another game of RttG tonight, and you can tell we've progressed because our fourth place score would have tied for first just two games ago.

The winner (not me, again) went military, and just had ridiculous card draws. Rebel Homeworld, the 6 cost development that gives you a point for each military, some other 6 point development that was military related...

My strategy (which was working rather well) was focused nearly entirely on... I think it's called Consumer Markets... the one that lets you consume one good for 2 VPs. Basically as soon as I got it out there, I played nothing but consume x2, and produce action cards. I also had the Black Market (lets you sell, without bonuses, during regular consume). So those, plus two other cards meant, I was making 6 VPs and 4 cards per consume phase. I ended up with almost as many VP Chips as the other three players combined. I had rubbish VP points from my cards though, so it wasn't enough.

 

[Flynn]

Another game of RttG tonight, and you can tell we've progressed because our fourth place score would have tied for first just two games ago.

The winner (not me, again) went military, and just had ridiculous card draws. Rebel Homeworld, the 6 cost development that gives you a point for each military, some other 6 point development that was military related...

My strategy (which was working rather well) was focused nearly entirely on... I think it's called Consumer Markets... the one that lets you consume one good for 2 VPs. Basically as soon as I got it out there, I played nothing but consume x2, and produce action cards. I also had the Black Market (lets you sell, without bonuses, during regular consume). So those, plus two other cards meant, I was making 6 VPs and 4 cards per consume phase. I ended up with almost as many VP Chips as the other three players combined. I had rubbish VP points from my cards though, so it wasn't enough.

Yeah, good military strategy(especially if they start with New Sparta) can really dominate if they get lucky draws. I took your tact, but had the problem of producing and consuming in a way that also benefited the guy running the military gambit. I'm starting now to really look at the other players, thinking about what they'd want and trying not to give it to them when I select actions.

 

[FnordChan]

Can someone recommend me a board game. Here is what I want

- strategic war game
- Players three and up
- One game should take at least 6 hours or up... I would perfer even longer games.

And that's about it.

It sounds like you may want a straight-up wargame of the old-school variety. Nothing helps kill entire days like Advanced Squad Leader or, if you'd rather kill a few consecutive weeks, World in Flames. I've never been much for wargames so I can't actually recommend any to you per se, but that may be an area you'd want to explore.

FnordChan

 

[AstroLad]

Yeah, good military strategy(especially if they start with New Sparta) can really dominate if they get lucky draws.

This. If you can get a double (or more) team going where you're just cranking out produce/consumes you can still beat someone who's getting the cards for a military strategy, but you have to be super efficient and have someone going along with you preferably. Even still if someone gets the right military cards in the right order (like Galactic Imperium and especially New Galactic Order), it's lights out regardless.

 

[platypotamus]

Yeah, good military strategy(especially if they start with New Sparta) can really dominate if they get lucky draws. I took your tact, but had the problem of producing and consuming in a way that also benefited the guy running the military gambit. I'm starting now to really look at the other players, thinking about what they'd want and trying not to give it to them when I select actions.

He did start with New Sparta, but my strategy didn't help him at all. He had zero consume rules until the very last round of the game, so he ended up with 1 VP Chip. (He had that 6 pt development that gives you a VP for each 3 chips too. Wish I had had that one).

I am totally guilty of under estimating the Military path though. The fact that you get to "settle" the military worlds for free if you've got the power to conquer them does pretty well at offsetting the fact that many of them don't seem to produce/consume. I'll be curious to see how the military approach does in the future, because damn his draws were just awesome.

 

[AstroLad]

Galactic Renaissance shouldn't generally help a military player too much. Military players generally don't waste time with produce/consume so tend to pick up few VP chips. They also don't generally build Research Labs, Galactic Trendsetters, or Artist Colony. Renaissance is actually pretty great if you have a Produce/Consume strategy.

 

[platypotamus]

Galactic Renaissance shouldn't generally help a military player too much. Military players generally don't waste time with produce/consume so tend to pick up few VP chips. They also don't generally build Research Labs, Galactic Trendsetters, or Artist Colony. Renaissance is actually pretty great if you have a Produce/Consume strategy.

Yeah, I don't remember what else Renaissance gives you points for, but I'm pretty sure it would have been a 10+ point card for me if I had drawn/played it.

 

[spikydavid]

Can someone recommend me a board game. Here is what I want

- strategic war game
- Players three and up
- One game should take at least 6 hours or up... I would perfer even longer games.

And that's about it.

Warrior Knights

Originally from Games Workshop, re-released by Fantasy Flight Games. You play as one of a number of barons in medieval times. You have to fight, vote and pray your way to victory...

 

[platypotamus]

And in an effort to further the nerdification of one of my nerdy hobbies...

We've been keeping our score sheets lately. After last night's game of Race to the Galaxy, I noted that we must be starting to get the hang of it, since our fourth place score would have tied our winner 2 games ago (score of 37).

I've now spent the last hour or so imputting all our RttG and Agricola scores into a spreadsheet. It tracks everyone's place over the games (out of eight games so far, I've got 2 wins, both Agricola, booooo), as well as everyone's scores. I also do some number crunching on the scores, showing things like the group's min/max,average/median, and then that data broken down by individual as well (I have the highest Agricola score out of the group so far, so that's something).

I'm figuring as we continue to add data to it, more statistical analysis will come be possible, and I loves me some statistical analysis. I look forward to breaking score trends down by month/year and so forth.

I kind of want to break the score entries down into subcategories rather than just total score, but I really don't want to have to enter points for each category of Agricola for every game, as that'll get messy as hell...

 

[Flynn]

And in an effort to further the nerdification of one of my nerdy hobbies...

We've been keeping our score sheets lately. After last night's game of Race to the Galaxy, I noted that we must be starting to get the hang of it, since our fourth place score would have tied our winner 2 games ago (score of 37).

I've now spent the last hour or so imputting all our RttG and Agricola scores into a spreadsheet. It tracks everyone's place over the games (out of eight games so far, I've got 2 wins, both Agricola, booooo), as well as everyone's scores. I also do some number crunching on the scores, showing things like the group's min/max,average/median, and then that data broken down by individual as well (I have the highest Agricola score out of the group so far, so that's something).

I'm figuring as we continue to add data to it, more statistical analysis will come be possible, and I loves me some statistical analysis. I look forward to breaking score trends down by month/year and so forth.

I kind of want to break the score entries down into subcategories rather than just total score, but I really don't want to have to enter points for each category of Agricola for every game, as that'll get messy as hell...

I've seen some fairly cool homebrewed iPhone apps for score keeping -- we use the Agricola one at end game quite frequently. Would be rad if there was a unified way to collect that data, maybe enhancing the kind of user stats you see on BGG.

 

[AstroLad]

sounds like you guys should make a formula d racing league

 

[platypotamus]

sounds like you guys should make a formula d racing league

Don't have that one yet, and I'm not sure if the ladies would go for the theme. Our next moves are expansions for Dominion and RttG anyway though...

 

[AstroLad]

Oh, I was just referring to your proclivity for stat tracking.

 

[Neverfade]

Needs more Dominion reprint. The wait is excruciating.

 

[iapetus]

Okay, since nobody seems to have mentioned it yet, Red November is awesome. Simple (once you get the rules down), hectic fun. There's a real feeling of things getting more and more out of control, and it's great fun. It doesn't seem to suffer from the same problem as most cooperative games of running the risk of the other players having planned out your actions before it gets to your turn - partly because it can be fairly fast paced, partly because you have so much choice of things to do. It's also a lot harder than it looks - in a session we didn't make it past the half way mark before accidentally raining down nuclear hell on the world.

 

[CiSTM]

Oredered Twilight Imperium. Thanks for the other recommendations too but I think Twilight will be enough for me for a while.

 

[Vinci]

FINALLY got Catan Card Game. Wife and I played it twice since getting it, and I've won both games. The first was very close. She would've reached 12 VP on her next turn, so winning the opening toss to see who went first won me the game.

The second time? I felt guilty it was so one-sided. Still fun though.

 

[Neverfade]

Oredered Twilight Imperium. Thanks for the other recommendations too but I think Twilight will be enough for me for a while.

This should have probably been mentioned earlier, but it's pretty widely agreed that the first expansion is a MUST, as it tweaks a few rules that otherwise semi-break the game. Your first several games while everyone is new should still be fine, though.

 

[Shoogoo]

Arkham Horror ordered. Is there any expansions you recommend me? I saw there are loads of them :O

 

[HappyBivouac]

What does Boardgame GAF see as the best value in board and/or card games in terms of amount of fun to be had with 3-6 people vs. how much the game costs? I would genuinely like to know this, as games can get pretty expensive for a college student.

Games I'm looking at/considering buying include Zombies!!! and the War on Terror, the latter being not exactly cheap. I'd also like to know what people think about these two, I guess.

Myself and the people I usually play games with have enjoyed Catan and Bang!! but those have sort of worn out.

 

[FnordChan]

Arkham Horror ordered. Is there any expansions you recommend me? I saw there are loads of them :O

Once you get the hang of the base game I'd suggest adding either Curse of the Dark Pharaoh for a base card expansion or Dunwich Horror for a big board expansion. The former has a nice theme and ramps the difficulty level up without being overly rough (though if you're looking for more of a kick in the teeth there's always The King in Yellow) and the latter is packed to the gills with new content, including some new game mechanics, new investigators, new Great Old Ones, and a whole new board to explore. That said, you should be fine with the base game for the time being.

HappyBivouac, check out Race for the Galaxy, a Euro style card game that's very popular at the moment and which should go over well with folks who enjoy Catan. The base game handles four players, with The Gathering Storm expanding things to five. I forget exactly how much the base game is, but I don't believe it's too terribly expensive, and hopefully you could get a deal online.

FnordChan

 

[Shoogoo]

Once you get the hang of the base game I'd suggest adding either Curse of the Dark Pharaoh for a base card expansion or Dunwich Horror for a big board expansion. The former has a nice theme and ramps the difficulty level up without being overly rough (though if you're looking for more of a kick in the teeth there's always The King in Yellow) and the latter is packed to the gills with new content, including some new game mechanics, new investigators, new Great Old Ones, and a whole new board to explore. That said, you should be fine with the base game for the time being.
FnordChan

Thanks a lot. I'll indeed start with just the base game and see what I'll add from there (if I like the game). No words on 'Black Goat of the Woods' (weird name) or 'Kingsport'?

I can't wait to try it out!

 

[Neverfade]

What does Boardgame GAF see as the best value in board and/or card games in terms of amount of fun to be had with 3-6 people vs. how much the game costs? I would genuinely like to know this, as games can get pretty expensive for a college student.

Games I'm looking at/considering buying include Zombies!!! and the War on Terror, the latter being not exactly cheap. I'd also like to know what people think about these two, I guess.

Myself and the people I usually play games with have enjoyed Catan and Bang!! but those have sort of worn out.

Instead of Zombies, look into Last Night on Earth. As a big zombie fan, Zombies!!! just...didn't do it for me.

As for other stuff, I HAVE to push Battlestar Galactica. It's 3-6 players and gets better on the higher end of that spectrum. You don't have to be a fan of the show to enjoy.

Race for the Galaxy is also a must buy.

RoboRally. Harder to find since its been OOP for a bit, but not impossible. You'd probably spend more on this than the other games, but its also arguably more fun.

If someone made me pick 3 3+ player games from my collection to keep, BSG, Race for the Galaxy, and RoboRally would be those 3.

 

[Neverfade]

Thanks a lot. I'll indeed start with just the base game and see what I'll add from there (if I like the game). No words on 'Black Goat of the Woods' (weird name) or 'Kingsport'?

I can't wait to try it out!

The gist:

Black Goat of the Woods is complimentary.
Dunwich Horror is supplementary.

Kingsport is another big box expansion ala Dunwich, but considered less crucial and the second step to Dunwich.

Of course, I've not played AH yet, but I've done a lot of reading on it, and I'll be going with the same xpacs Fnord recommended myself.

 

[Shoogoo]

The gist:

Black Goat of the Woods is complimentary.
Dunwich Horror is supplementary.

Kingsport is another big box expansion ala Dunwich, but considered less crucial and the second step to Dunwich.

Of course, I've not played AH yet, but I've done a lot of reading on it, and I'll be going with the same xpacs Fnord recommended myself.

Thanks mate. I'll post my thoughts on the game once I get to play it

 

[FnordChan]

Thanks a lot. I'll indeed start with just the base game and see what I'll add from there (if I like the game). No words on 'Black Goat of the Woods' (weird name) or 'Kingsport'?

Those are both good expansions, but perhaps not as crucial. Black Goat of the Woods (with a thousand young, presumably) adds some interesting new cards and mechanics for corruption and cult membership that can really crank up the difficulty level. Meanwhile, Kingsport adds a new board that I don't find to be overly exciting but makes up for that with plenty of new cards, investigators, and Great Old Ones. These are both good, solid expansions that you'll want to look into if you really get into Arkham Horror. However, I wouldn't start with either of those.

FnordChan

 

[AstroLad]

FINALLY got Catan Card Game. Wife and I played it twice since getting it, and I've won both games. The first was very close. She would've reached 12 VP on her next turn, so winning the opening toss to see who went first won me the game.

The second time? I felt guilty it was so one-sided. Still fun though.

I wish I could play more Catan card. Game is pretty underrated but takes a seriously long time. I think we can get through a full game of Twilight Struggle faster.

Okay, since nobody seems to have mentioned it yet, Red November is awesome. Simple (once you get the rules down), hectic fun. There's a real feeling of things getting more and more out of control, and it's great fun. It doesn't seem to suffer from the same problem as most cooperative games of running the risk of the other players having planned out your actions before it gets to your turn - partly because it can be fairly fast paced, partly because you have so much choice of things to do. It's also a lot harder than it looks - in a session we didn't make it past the half way mark before accidentally raining down nuclear hell on the world.

What is the learning curve on that? Can it be taught to casuals quickly or is it more of a slow burn?

 

[iapetus]

What is the learning curve on that? Can it be taught to casuals quickly or is it more of a slow burn?

Don't see why it couldn't be taught to casuals quickly, provided an experienced gamer picks up the rules first. Our problem was misreading the rules on the first playthrough or two and accidentally making about three times as much bad stuff happen as we should have been getting.

The theme and relatively simple mechanics make it a good game for casuals IMO, though there's a bit of a learning curve at the start (as in most games).

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Just ordered Pandemic. I'm a boardgame noob, but my girlfriend and I thought it might be fun to try some out at our favorite bar. We've got another couple committed to trying it out with us. We'll see how this goes later this week... I plan on cracking it open and at least reading the rules through before we try to play a real game.

Any recommendations on other games that might be fun at a bar for 3-5 casuals? Typically it's a scrabble environment, but I want to try out some of the more niche, enthusiast titles.

 

[AstroLad]

Don't see why it couldn't be taught to casuals quickly, provided an experienced gamer picks up the rules first. Our problem was misreading the rules on the first playthrough or two and accidentally making about three times as much bad stuff happen as we should have been getting.

The theme and relatively simple mechanics make it a good game for casuals IMO, though there's a bit of a learning curve at the start (as in most games).

Cool, I'm going to give it a shot. Checking out a few impressions at BGG, a big plus for me is the small box so I can tote it around the country no problem.

Just ordered Pandemic. I'm a boardgame noob, but my girlfriend and I thought it might be fun to try some out at our favorite bar. We've got another couple committed to trying it out with us. We'll see how this goes later this week... I plan on cracking it open and at least reading the rules through before we try to play a real game.

Any recommendations on other games that might be fun at a bar for 3-5 casuals? Typically it's a scrabble environment, but I want to try out some of the more niche, enthusiast titles.

Yes, Pandemic is very simple to learn, but relatively hard to beat. It's a unique game so don't get discouraged by either losing or by the fact that it doesn't really jibe with you. Sounds like Ticket to Ride might be up your alley (the basic U.S. game plays very well 3-5), especially among a casual crew. If you're looking for something a bit more strategic but still pretty quick to learn, San Juan (only goes up to four though), and San Juan in Space aka Race for the Galaxy (more complex, goes up to 5 with the expansion).

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Yes, Pandemic is very simple to learn, but relatively hard to beat. It's a unique game so don't get discouraged by either losing or by the fact that it doesn't really jibe with you. Sounds like Ticket to Ride might be up your alley (the basic U.S. game plays very well 3-5), especially among a casual crew. If you're looking for something a bit more strategic but still pretty quick to learn, San Juan (only goes up to four though), and San Juan in Space aka Race for the Galaxy (more complex, goes up to 5 with the expansion).

Awesome--ya, I read that Pandemic is a tough one to actually win, so I'm prepared for that reality and will temper people's expectations. I've played Ticket to Ride a lot on XBL, that's a great game that I will probably pick up if this game thing goes successfully. I'll go read about San Juan.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Okay, since nobody seems to have mentioned it yet, Red November is awesome. Simple (once you get the rules down), hectic fun. There's a real feeling of things getting more and more out of control, and it's great fun. It doesn't seem to suffer from the same problem as most cooperative games of running the risk of the other players having planned out your actions before it gets to your turn - partly because it can be fairly fast paced, partly because you have so much choice of things to do. It's also a lot harder than it looks - in a session we didn't make it past the half way mark before accidentally raining down nuclear hell on the world.

Nice impressions. I was the first one to bring up the game in the thread I think pre-release, and I have yet to pick it up myself. :lol

 

[AstroLad]

For 15 bucks, hey why not. As long as I can get a nice handful of plays out of it.

 

[dreadfulwater]

I searched the Internet and all the shops in my town center for Arkham Horror. Nobody has it so I guess I'll go with Ebay.

But before I dig it, I'm wondering if it really can be fun with only 2. I'll have the opportunity to play it with 6 or 7 but most of the time that will be just my girlfriend and me.

Can you take 2 investigators to spice things up?

I was just over my friends house yesterday and we played 2 investigators a peice and ended up winning (thanks to my shotgun blasts). previously we played 2 games using one investigator a peice and it was dire. We had a great time. this is a fantastic game. so many things to do. it can get a bit maddening sometimes controlling 2 characters, especially when you start getting tired. it's at that point i Say, "ok, lets stop at the upkeep phase and call it a night".

 

[Shoogoo]

I was just over my friends house yesterday and we played 2 investigators a peice and ended up winning (thanks to my shotgun blasts). previously we played 2 games using one investigator a peice and it was dire. We had a great time. this is a fantastic game. so many things to do. it can get a bit maddening sometimes controlling 2 characters, especially when you start getting tired. it's at that point i Say, "ok, lets stop at the upkeep phase and call it a night".

Argh I can't wait to try it out!! Thanks for the impressions.

 

[Deleted member 20415]

I got a few games in this weekend of good ol' Settlers of Catan.

I lost them all.

Hey Astrolad, I went up to The Compleat Strategist this weekend. 33rd and Madison. The store has tiny alleys but basically every type of game you can imagine. There was even a decent back room for people to play.

The prices are a little higher than you'd get at other places (and they don't honor their online prices), but it was good to check out. There were a hefty amount of people in there too!


Edit: Whoh, I just read that you can play Arkham Horror 1 player? Has anyone here done that? I love the tone of the game from what I've read about it and have never picked it up because I feared no one would play with me.... Has anyone played it 1 player and is it still enjoyable?

 

[spikydavid]

Okay, since nobody seems to have mentioned it yet, Red November is awesome. Simple (once you get the rules down), hectic fun. There's a real feeling of things getting more and more out of control, and it's great fun. It doesn't seem to suffer from the same problem as most cooperative games of running the risk of the other players having planned out your actions before it gets to your turn - partly because it can be fairly fast paced, partly because you have so much choice of things to do. It's also a lot harder than it looks - in a session we didn't make it past the half way mark before accidentally raining down nuclear hell on the world.

Playing single-player with three gnomes last night I survived!

Didn't particularly do anything differently, might just be down to luck, and the order of the cards - had a couple of "Right, that's on 8's, then - d'oh, a 10!" moments, but they were overcome

 

[AstroLad]

I got a few games in this weekend of good ol' Settlers of Catan.

I lost them all.

Hey Astrolad, I went up to The Compleat Strategist this weekend. 33rd and Madison. The store has tiny alleys but basically every type of game you can imagine. There was even a decent back room for people to play.

The prices are a little higher than you'd get at other places (and they don't honor their online prices), but it was good to check out. There were a hefty amount of people in there too!


Edit: Whoh, I just read that you can play Arkham Horror 1 player? Has anyone here done that? I love the tone of the game from what I've read about it and have never picked it up because I feared no one would play with me.... Has anyone played it 1 player and is it still enjoyable?

Single player with two investigators can be OK (good way to learn the game inside and out too, which is absolutely necessary before bringing in others imo); one investigator is dire though.

 

[Flynn]

Dale Yu Q&A about Dominion, expansion, second print, etc. Lots of good stuff.

 

[Neverfade]

I just ordered the Promo cards for Dominion without ever having played a game.

This needs to be in stock nooow.

 

[platypotamus]

So, I'm totally loving my spreadsheet now.

I don't have complete data on my RttG scorecards, so it's not as awesome for that game, but for Agricola, it's pretty sweet.

Some things I've learned about my Agricola style from the spreadsheet:

- I don't get enough points from Animals. In fact, I average only 1.6 points per game, from the total of all three animals. In a perfect world, you can score 12 points total there (though you know, good luck). The group's average is 3.75, over twice mine.

- I'm really much better with crops. I average 6 points per game total for both (out of 8 possible). This is the highest out of the group.

- I REALLY kick ass at using as much of my farm's space as possible, I have an average penalty of 1.8 points per game for unused space, and am the leader in fields points (average on pastures points).

Looking forward to expanding this thing further to see what other cool analysis I can do.

 

[kryptikjoker]

So, I'm totally loving my spreadsheet now.

I don't have complete data on my RttG scorecards, so it's not as awesome for that game, but for Agricola, it's pretty sweet.

Some things I've learned about my Agricola style from the spreadsheet:

- I don't get enough points from Animals. In fact, I average only 1.6 points per game, from the total of all three animals. In a perfect world, you can score 12 points total there (though you know, good luck). The group's average is 3.75, over twice mine.

- I'm really much better with crops. I average 6 points per game total for both (out of 8 possible). This is the highest out of the group.

- I REALLY kick ass at using as much of my farm's space as possible, I have an average penalty of 1.8 points per game for unused space, and am the leader in fields points (average on pastures points).

Looking forward to expanding this thing further to see what other cool analysis I can do.

I'm actually quite interested as to what this spreadsheet contains. Could you post it on Google Docs and link it here?

 

[Flynn]

I just ordered the Promo cards for Dominion without ever having played a game.

This needs to be in stock nooow.

The promo cards are fun. Black Market allows you to bring one of each of the remaining cards into play (you have to pay for it, of course). But it's pretty sweet to have the only witch, thief, etc.

 

[iapetus]

Edit: Whoh, I just read that you can play Arkham Horror 1 player? Has anyone here done that? I love the tone of the game from what I've read about it and have never picked it up because I feared no one would play with me.... Has anyone played it 1 player and is it still enjoyable?

Yes. Given how much of a pain it is to set up, I quite often leave it up after a multi-player game and get a couple of single-player multi-investigator games in afterwards.

 

[Zalasta]

BTW, for you Arkham Horror fans out there, apparently there is a new game called Der Hexer von Salem which is also based on Lovecraft's mythos. It is being tauted as AH in 90 minutes and is apparently a very good one. Here's a small session report if you're interested.

 

[platypotamus]

I'm actually quite interested as to what this spreadsheet contains. Could you post it on Google Docs and link it here?

Yeah, I can probably make that happen... let me get the rest of the info in there and clean up the formatting a bit, will probably be able to post it at some point this weekend.

 

[Vinci]

I wish I could play more Catan card. Game is pretty underrated but takes a seriously long time. I think we can get through a full game of Twilight Struggle faster.

Our first game took about 90 minutes; the second, just over an hour. Then again, the second game was so ridiculously wrong. We're going to play it some more this weekend, I suspect, but ExciteBots is luring our attention away from board and card games at the moment.

Quick question, and forgive me if this seems stupid, but: What all does gold in Catan Card Game do? The only benefit to it I've found is the Mint. Is that all? Are we completely missing some element of the game?

 

[Neverfade]

You're not really missing anything.

Gold is just like a wildcard. You can trade 3 of anything for 1 of something else. So it's just a buffer to get that one extra resource you're short on. The other two gold related buildings just make the trade more efficient.

I <3 the mint.

 

[Flynn]

Just enjoyed a quick afternoon play of Race For The Galaxy and Galaxy Trucker (which I dominated in 2-player. There may have been a rule variation that we missed).

 

[Neverfade]

Just ordered:

Agricola
Arkham Horror
DOMINION!