XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
There's still ample room for under-the-table negotiations and dickery though.AstroLad said:
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ConfusingJazz
Member
StoOgE said:
Ok, the entire point of Diplomacy is how well you can talk. If you are known as a backstabber, and you can't talk yourself out of it, you will get fucked with every deal you make in the game. My brother can talk like a motherfucker, but no one trusts him. He is a known backstabber, and he has a hard time making allies until he has been weakened heavily.
If you plan on buying Diplomacy, you better start buttering them up now. Seriously. The game is entirely mind games.
If you don't do this, the game will never get past turn two.Blackace said:
This would happen like every game to one of my friends. He always seemed to get stuck with A-H, and he'd inevitably piss off Russia, Turkey, Germany, and Italy within the first two turns, then get destroyed.Blackace said:
platypotamus
Member
Screaming_Gremlin said:
TTA is a recent acquisition for me, but I'm totally and completely head over heels for it. It's a great board game on its own, and it scratches the civilization itch, it's just awesome.
I recieved my first online order today *O*
Ticket To Ride
Small World
Pillars of the Earth
and as a free gift with my order Spiel der Türme.
My gf is currently punching out all the chits and bits as she is evenly excited.
Put in another purchase immediatly because the same store had a couple things on discount and I was warry of their stock running low;
A Game of Thrones
Macao
Dominion
Through The Desert
Small World - 2 expansions
This will have to do for a while though. Especially with the Catan card game + expansions making it's way here from the usa soon too.
Ticket To Ride
Small World
Pillars of the Earth
and as a free gift with my order Spiel der Türme.
My gf is currently punching out all the chits and bits as she is evenly excited.
Put in another purchase immediatly because the same store had a couple things on discount and I was warry of their stock running low;
A Game of Thrones
Macao
Dominion
Through The Desert
Small World - 2 expansions
This will have to do for a while though. Especially with the Catan card game + expansions making it's way here from the usa soon too.
StoOgE said:
I've played the cut-down version, Simply Cosmic, and found it to be the worst game I've ever had the misfortune to come across. Some people seem to like Cosmic Encounter, but if it's anything like my experience of Simply Cosmic, this can only be because of some mental disorder.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Small World is pretty damn good. It scales nicely between two players and five, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.Merino said:
StoOgE said:
I've played a handful of rounds with the new FFG release. Its fun and directly interactive (very not Euro). The changing role cards, as in Small World, transform and possible break the game every time. That can lead to some people bitching that some cards are too overpowered, but the games are short enough that its not a terrible thing.
I think I'm going to stick to the games I ordered for now. That gives me about 5-6 good board games. Should be enough for a while.
I am still looking for a good risk alternative that takes about 2 hours to play and doesn't involve 8000 pieces and has relatively simple rules. I got some suggestions earlier in this thread and they were all way too complicated.
I am still looking for a good risk alternative that takes about 2 hours to play and doesn't involve 8000 pieces and has relatively simple rules. I got some suggestions earlier in this thread and they were all way too complicated.
StoOgE said:
I didn't look back at the other suggestions you received, but Risk 2210 A.D. is a newer risk version, that doesn't go on and on (I think the game ends after a certain number of turns.) and isn't too much more complicated that normal risk.
platypotamus
Member
iapetus said:
I'm also not a fan, having played the full version. OTOH, I'm under the impression that the new release has some differences from the old one I played, so maybe it's better.
I'm a fan of Cosmic Encounter and think that Fantasy Flight did a great job with the new version. Like Flynn says, it isn't the most balanced game you're ever going to encounter, but it can be a lot of fun.
The idea is that each player is an alien race with five planets in their home system who wants to send their forces to take over five of the other player's planets. There is a deck that randomly determines who is being attacked on any given turn, at which point both the attacker and the defender can invite the other players to help them. If you help a victorious attacker, you get another alien base. If you help a successful defender, you get cards or ships back. Combat is very simple: the two players secretly choose either a number card or a compromise card; the high number wins and the use of a compromise card can lead to compensation or a chance at bargaining.
The catch is that each player is an alien with a different power that changes some aspect of the game. Most of these affect combat and to things such as affect the numbers played or the victory condition for the challenges. The fun of Cosmic is seeing how the alien powers interact. On top of that, the players can also draw cards that let them replicate (or, better yet, boost their own) powers, screw over other players in various ways, and generally make things nicely chaotic. When all hell is breaking loose and folks are happily countering each other's moves with cards flying back and forth, that's when Cosmic really shines.
So, yeah, it may not be overly balanced but Cosmic is a hoot and a half. As mentioned, it's fast paced, so even if you have a game where one player is just going to whip everyone else at least the pain is over with quickly and it's on to the next game. Cosmic also expands well, with a new expansion out chock full of new alien powers, plus some other game play alterations you can choose to include or not, depending on what you're in the mood for. I recommend folks check it out, with the caveat that while the new version is very nicely polished and is a great edition of the game, if you didn't get much out of it before it probably won't do a lot for you now.
FnordChan
The idea is that each player is an alien race with five planets in their home system who wants to send their forces to take over five of the other player's planets. There is a deck that randomly determines who is being attacked on any given turn, at which point both the attacker and the defender can invite the other players to help them. If you help a victorious attacker, you get another alien base. If you help a successful defender, you get cards or ships back. Combat is very simple: the two players secretly choose either a number card or a compromise card; the high number wins and the use of a compromise card can lead to compensation or a chance at bargaining.
The catch is that each player is an alien with a different power that changes some aspect of the game. Most of these affect combat and to things such as affect the numbers played or the victory condition for the challenges. The fun of Cosmic is seeing how the alien powers interact. On top of that, the players can also draw cards that let them replicate (or, better yet, boost their own) powers, screw over other players in various ways, and generally make things nicely chaotic. When all hell is breaking loose and folks are happily countering each other's moves with cards flying back and forth, that's when Cosmic really shines.
So, yeah, it may not be overly balanced but Cosmic is a hoot and a half. As mentioned, it's fast paced, so even if you have a game where one player is just going to whip everyone else at least the pain is over with quickly and it's on to the next game. Cosmic also expands well, with a new expansion out chock full of new alien powers, plus some other game play alterations you can choose to include or not, depending on what you're in the mood for. I recommend folks check it out, with the caveat that while the new version is very nicely polished and is a great edition of the game, if you didn't get much out of it before it probably won't do a lot for you now.
FnordChan
Hi guys I'm looking for some advice here. I have to choose between an expansion for Dominion or Race for the Galaxy core set.
what I'm mainly interested in is how RftG plays like.
Is it comparable to Puerto Rico in the way that it's mainly a economic based game or is there much player interaction?
I was interested in the Dominion expansions because of the additional "action" cards it includes.
So what's GAFs opinion?
Also: Should I forget both and buy Stone Age? :lol
what I'm mainly interested in is how RftG plays like.
Is it comparable to Puerto Rico in the way that it's mainly a economic based game or is there much player interaction?
I was interested in the Dominion expansions because of the additional "action" cards it includes.
So what's GAFs opinion?
Also: Should I forget both and buy Stone Age? :lol
Thanks for the thoughts on A&A, all.
I'll second this recommendation. I haven't played regular Risk in years, but 2210AD is a staple at our gaming nights now. I like it because underneath it all it's classic Risk gameplay, but the new additions like the impassable wasteland zones and the moon make it a lot more random. We've played it probably 20 times and it's a very different game every time we play. I still haven't decided if it's worth trying to take and hold the moon. :lolDrey1082 said:
Jex
Member
Just thought I'd say that thanks to this thread, and some discussions over at GWJ's, me and my housemates ended up purchasing a variety of excellent games. Currently we have Dominion, Arkham Horror and Agricola. We mainly play them whenever the internet isn't very fast (village connection) and whenever we have enough people in the house, which is only occasionally. However the most likely game to be played is clearly Dominion because the set-up and play time for other two are so lengthy.
It's much more similar to San Juan. In fact it's San Juan scaled up just right in terms of complexity. There is almost no player interaction beyond anticipating the phases others will choose and speeding up or down based on their pace. Stone Age is pretty great too, pretty simple worker-placement game. If you're into PR it might be a bit basic for your tastes, but I find it quite fun and very pretty.Des0lar said:
BGG overrates Pandemic! /Astro-Neverfade Pandemic Attack Force
AstroLad said:
Well, I wanted a game that was cooperative as well. I also found a nice list of games and how "casual" friendly they were. Most of my IRL friends will not commit to a game that is going to take more than 2-3 hours to play or have super complicated rules.
I want to play Arkham Horror because I love me some Lovecraft.. but there is no way I will get any of them into it. Not after the WoW board game incident anyway.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
I could have written this post word for word. Pandemic Defense Force assemble? I can do that, right?Drey1082 said:
Arkham Horror isn't that difficult to play but teaching it can be a bitch. The other thing is that it looks intimidating as all hell when fully set up. If you ever do get around to playing it set it up before people come over because waiting for you to finish will put them off of the game.StoOgE said:
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
And most of us here.AstroLad said:
ConfusingJazz
Member
StoOgE said:
If you make a theme night, you can get them into it. Spooky music, decent food, brandy and cigars. Its not a guarantee, but it helps.
The problem with AH is that you have to bunker down for at least three hours or so when you have four people. It's rather hard to learn, and especially to play right, but it's surprisingly easy to teach though. LNOE would probably work better for a horror night, but even that, I dunno, the rules are a touch tricky for casuals.
bought carcassone based partly on this thread.
I enjoy playing it, but I still have no idea about successful strategies. Just when I think I have it nailed, someone will throw a spanner in the works.
Bought the Inns and Cathedrals expansion and that screwed me over. Had a massive city, put a Cathedral in it, and then my son (he's 8) proceeded to make it his life's work to stop me closing the city off. (you only get points for a city with a cathedral if you finish it). I ended up in last place :/
BGG is a nightmare place to read. confusing layout, I have no idea whats going on half the time. Which is why I like this thread.
Other suggestions for family friendly board games welcome. Ideally quick setup and around an hours playtime to keep it manageable. Is ticket to ride a good option here?
I enjoy playing it, but I still have no idea about successful strategies. Just when I think I have it nailed, someone will throw a spanner in the works.
Bought the Inns and Cathedrals expansion and that screwed me over. Had a massive city, put a Cathedral in it, and then my son (he's 8) proceeded to make it his life's work to stop me closing the city off. (you only get points for a city with a cathedral if you finish it). I ended up in last place :/
BGG is a nightmare place to read. confusing layout, I have no idea whats going on half the time. Which is why I like this thread.
Other suggestions for family friendly board games welcome. Ideally quick setup and around an hours playtime to keep it manageable. Is ticket to ride a good option here?
TtR is one of the best gateway games out there, period. Setup is fairly quick, takes about 10 minutes to teach at most (as with any gateway learn it yourself and get comfortable with the rules first) and plays in about 45-60 depending how many players you have.mrklaw said:
Hey That's My Fish! is another that springs to mind. Basically you each have two penguins and you're trying to race around and collect points while stranding the other penguins.
BGG suggestions: Try GeekLists. For example search "family" in geeklists. Then do a title search for that. GeekLists are generally pretty great.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
We've been having a good time recently with Tobago. The idea behind the game is that you are on an island rumored to be littered with treasure. The only problem is that you don't have a complete treasure map only pieces of one. Each "piece" of the treasure map is a card in your hand that you will play to try and narrow down the location of the treasure. (ie. The treasure is within sight of a tree) With every clue you play you get a stake in the treasure. That way when it's raised you get a cut even though you didn't raise it. The more clues you play the higher the cut. It's a super fast game to setup and a really easy one to teach. Games will last anywhere from 45-60 minutes.mrklaw said:
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
If you go to the general games listing on BGG, they now have different view options (Overall, Gamer's Games, Family Games, Light Games, Wargames)AstroLad said:
platypotamus
Member
I've never played Pandemic, but Astrolad and I seem to have pretty damn similar tastes, so I'm going to consider myself an honorary member of the anti-Pandemic squad.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
You're all dead to me!
Okay, so I didn't spend twelve hours playing Advanced Civilization today. After eight hours we got through roughly 2/3 of the game and decided that was enough for one day. Fortunately, the owner of the game has the space to leave it set up, so we're going to continue in a few weeks.
For folks who have never played Civ, here's a very brief breakdown. The players all control ancient civilizations who expand over the world, using their control of different agricultural areas to support cities, moving units around to take over new areas, collecting trade goods based on the number of cities they have, and trying to collect sets of trade goods valuable enough to pay for various advances in fields such as the sciences, crafts, arts, philosophy, and religion. The catch is that as you trade goods with each other there are calamities - civil war, slave revolts, epidemics - that can cause you serious set backs, and which the other players are eager to share with you. It's the trading phase and the resolution of calamities that really cause the game to slow down, with everyone haggling desperately to get that last gold card they need to cash in for a major civilization advance, while also trying to ditch the Famine card in their hand as well, followed by trying to resolve just how everyone is getting screwed when the disasters go off. Thankfully, the more civilization advancements you buy, the more they off-set the bad events. As the players gain cities and advancements they progress along a civilization track and the first person to hit the late iron age causes the game to end, with a lot of calculating of points to determine who the actual winner is.
The game is long and demanding, but it's a helluva lot of fun and is quite rewarding, especially with a group that gets into the swing of things and doesn't take it terribly seriously. Like Diplomacy, you're sure to get screwed after spending hours building up your empire. Unlike Diplomacy, you can get back into the game in short order. I hadn't played for well over a decade when a friend of mine got a game together last year and I had a great time...and decided I was up for the game every six months or so. Alas, it's long out of print, but if anyone here ever has a day to kill and a chance to play, I recommend Civ highly.
Afterwards, several of us played my latest acquisition: the new Fantasy Flight Talisman: 4th Edition, which was a pretty good way to recover from playing Civilization all day. Talisman is a classic fantasy quest game of the roll and move variety. It's not what you would call complicated: roll a die, move that many spaces, draw a random encounter card (where you fight a monster, get an item, or do whatever special event it describes), and eventually collect enough cool stuff (including the fabled, necessary Talisman) and increase your stats enough to the point where you can move to the very center of the board and dominate the other players for the win. There's a bit more to it than that, mind you - there are different areas of the board you can't move into until you've reached a certain level of strength, all the different characters have their own special powers that help them in their quest, and so forth - but at heart it's a straight forward, experience type of game. The fun comes in running around and seeing what cards you draw; thankfully, there are plenty of expansions to help add variety to the game when you're getting tired of seeing the same old cards come up all the time. While I own the 2nd edition already, the thought of a nice new version and shiny new expansions was enough to get me to spring for the 4th edition. It seemed to go over reasonably well with the folks I taught it to, so I'll be shelling out for The Reaper in the near future.
So, yeah, I can't recommend Talisman to anyone looking for a subtle strategic experience, but Talisman is a fun, light way to spend a couple of hours. Parts of it can be frustrating and it's cheerfully unbalanced, but I've been a fan of the game for a couple of decades now and I'm having a grand time revisiting it.
FnordChan
I just ordered Galaxy Trucker. I am quite excited to play it as it sounds like it is a lot of fun. It also seems like it should fall into the playing time/number of players sweet spot for my group allowing it to actually get played fairly often.
I am also really intrigued by Twilight Imperium but it is nowhere close to the aforementioned sweet spot. I just don't think my group can manage getting six people together for 4+ hours. Which is unfortunate.
I am also really intrigued by Twilight Imperium but it is nowhere close to the aforementioned sweet spot. I just don't think my group can manage getting six people together for 4+ hours. Which is unfortunate.
ultron87 said:
Get Runewars instead. Its similar to TI in many aspects, but plays with 4 at max and is much shorter. Our initial game with rules explanation, one guy with Analysis Paralysis, and one distracted drunk guy still only took 3.5 hours.
The following evening me and my girlfriend played a 2 player game in an hour and a half.
Sogood.gif
Played a 3 player game of Pandemic tonight. Used the "on the brink" cards and roles, but only 5 epidemic cards and just 4 diseases. Easily won, almost dull game. I'm far from a pandemic hater squad member, but definitely need to up the difficulty.
Unrelated, just discovered GMT games and their P-500 program. SO MUCH money gonna be flowing their way, so much
Unrelated, just discovered GMT games and their P-500 program. SO MUCH money gonna be flowing their way, so much
platypotamus
Member
Neverfade said:
Yeah. Neither the wife nor I are fans. Some sloppy design, too little ability to strategize longterm, and poor differentiation between cards (especially the village cards, but heroes and monsters too). We keep meaning to play again to give it another shot, but we haven't been able to talk ourselves into it.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
If you easily won, then you likely had fortunate card draws more than anything. We only get maybe 2-3 "easily" won games per 10-12 games played.jason10mm said:
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