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Boardgame-Age
- Thread starter SCHUEY F1
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AstroLad said:
I can see the conversation now
"Honey, I think we have to prepare for the possibility that our child isn't very bright"
"Why Dear?"
"We were playing Puerto Rico and she tried to buy the residence piece.. she only had 3 plantations!"
"She's 3"
I have shrinkwrapped box copies of Squad Leader and Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, the old Avalon Hill bookcase games. Is there an obsessed wargaming community out there that I should approach to get rid of 'em?
Basically I'm looking for the tabletop wargaming version of NeoGAF.
Basically I'm looking for the tabletop wargaming version of NeoGAF.
Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but I'm very much looking forward to Battles of Westeros. I'm a pretty avid A Game of Thrones LCG player and love what FFG has been doing with the license. A Battlelore type game in the universe will be splendid. Looks like great production quality as well.
BomberMouse
Member
Hey congrats Astrolad.
My shipment hasn't even arrived and this thread makes me want to order another one :lol
My shipment hasn't even arrived and this thread makes me want to order another one :lol
my sort of rationalization for buying lots of games is that it gives you great flexibility for playing with different types of people (both in skill level and in general theme interests) and different numbers. this has paid off really well in terms of getting lots of people into boardgaming that wouldn't have if i just had say catan. the path may often (though not always) start at catan or ticket to ride, but it can go a million ways from there. the only sort of gap in my collection (and in boardgaming in general imo) is a 5+-player game that plays well with casual but is not SUPER casual/party gamey. Formula D and the like are too complex and frankly long for true casuals.
much more justifiable in my mind than buying say gow3+heavy rain+generic FPSes of the week, etc. (don't get me wrong though, I buy 2-4 videogames a month too) there's just amazing variety and breadth of appeal in boardgames.
much more justifiable in my mind than buying say gow3+heavy rain+generic FPSes of the week, etc. (don't get me wrong though, I buy 2-4 videogames a month too) there's just amazing variety and breadth of appeal in boardgames.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
AstroLad said:
it doesn't surprise me to know that even your wife falls for it once in a while.
Tomorrow my local game group (FTAGN at UNC Chapel Hill) will be gathering for our fourth day long celebration of Arkham and Pie. The concept is simple: Everyone likes Arkham Horror and everyone likes delicious pie. So we'll be playing Arkham all day long and loading up on non-stop sugar, and there will be at least three or four other sets and pies on hand as well. It'll be great. I'll be bringing a complete AH set and a chocolate chess pie. Anyone in the Research Triangle area is welcome to drop by and join us; drop me a PM for details.
FnordChan
FnordChan
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Congrats! My girlfriend and I actually got into gaming because of our baby. There isn't really much time for us to go out so we stay home and play while the little one is sleeping.AstroLad said:
:lolFnordChan said:
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
About time you posted in here again - you only have like a handful of posts in here, thread starter. :lolSCHUEY F1 said:
And congrats to Astro. Don't expect the kid to seriously join in on games for a while. All my 3 year old wants to do is play other pretend games with the boardgame pieces.
AstroLad 705
platypotamus 328
Neverfade 300
Flynn 295
XiaNaphryz 158
StoOgE 105
FnordChan 94
Cyan 91
aphoushole 80
joeyjoejoeshabadoo 76
iapetus 74
BattleMonkey 66
jason10mm 46
Justin 41
Fragamemnon 41
Zalasta 41
Drey1082 38
Vinci 32
Evlar 32
Shoogoo 32
Gatekeeper 26
Eric P 26
GDJustin 25
Screaming_Gremlin 24
slayn 20
ultron87 20
Ignatz Mouse 19
CTLance 19
borghe 18
echoshifting 18
dreadfulwater 18
Steve Youngblood 17
Qaz Kwaz 16
spikydavid 16
SCHUEY F1 15
platypotamus 328
Neverfade 300
Flynn 295
XiaNaphryz 158
StoOgE 105
FnordChan 94
Cyan 91
aphoushole 80
joeyjoejoeshabadoo 76
iapetus 74
BattleMonkey 66
jason10mm 46
Justin 41
Fragamemnon 41
Zalasta 41
Drey1082 38
Vinci 32
Evlar 32
Shoogoo 32
Gatekeeper 26
Eric P 26
GDJustin 25
Screaming_Gremlin 24
slayn 20
ultron87 20
Ignatz Mouse 19
CTLance 19
borghe 18
echoshifting 18
dreadfulwater 18
Steve Youngblood 17
Qaz Kwaz 16
spikydavid 16
SCHUEY F1 15
Just played a 3 person game of Small World.
It was fun.
It's a bit lighter than I was hoping the strategy would be. Going into decline was really only a tough decision once. Most of the time it was very clearly time to move into decline.
Although one of my friends moved into decline on their second turn with a race because a more powerful one showed up (Dragon Master Warlocks) and won the game because he made the call to cut his losses, and spend 5 VP's to get to the combination he wanted.
I do like the different powers and think they balance well. Every now and then a crazy overpowered race would pop up on the board.. but you would have to spend 3-4 VP's to get to it. So it really sort of balances itself out in that way.
Plus the two players seemed to combine to stamp out the threat of an overpowered foe.
It feels like it could fit nicely into that Ticket to Ride/Roborally level of game where it is a cross between strategy and family game. i.e. I can see this being a fun little entry level game.
It was fun.
It's a bit lighter than I was hoping the strategy would be. Going into decline was really only a tough decision once. Most of the time it was very clearly time to move into decline.
Although one of my friends moved into decline on their second turn with a race because a more powerful one showed up (Dragon Master Warlocks) and won the game because he made the call to cut his losses, and spend 5 VP's to get to the combination he wanted.
I do like the different powers and think they balance well. Every now and then a crazy overpowered race would pop up on the board.. but you would have to spend 3-4 VP's to get to it. So it really sort of balances itself out in that way.
Plus the two players seemed to combine to stamp out the threat of an overpowered foe.
It feels like it could fit nicely into that Ticket to Ride/Roborally level of game where it is a cross between strategy and family game. i.e. I can see this being a fun little entry level game.
platypotamus
Member
AstroLad said:
No joke, this is why I keep telling my wife we need to have kids :lol
Congrats man!
AstroLad said:
Oh man you must torture her even more than I torture my wife.
Neverfade said:
Shit, I should have put all these in separate replies to pad my stats!
Also this:
Wife and I have banned ourselves from Through the Ages until we:
1. Learn and Play at least 1 2P game of Vasco Da Gama.
2. Play Twilight Struggle.
3. Play Le Havre.
Such a harsh penalty... I know.
Steve Youngblood
Member
Yeah, when it works, it blends two of my great loves in life: nerdy game strategy and social drinking. It's also great when you (or someone who is new to the game) first start to "get" the game, and suddenly it morphs from "this is boring, why are we suffering through this garbage?" to "who's up for another game?"AstroLad said:
I really, really need to be more proactive in getting regular board games going. Also, I need to finally play Through the Ages. It has sat unplayed since purchase for over a year.
Edit: And congrats on the forthcoming addition to the family. How soon before you allow Junior to troll message boards?
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
We are going to have have some relative newbies over tonight for some gaming. They have only played vanilla Catan, that I know of, so I'm not sure if we are going to play that or spring Cities and Knights on them. I would like to play a five player game of Robo Rally, it's been entirely too long since I played that game. We shall see.
TransAmerica? Super fun, plays... up to six, I believe, and is short with a casual-friendly theme (trains, natch). So quick that it's perfect for when you're waiting for more people to arrive to start a bigger game, simple enough that it's easy for anybody to pick up.AstroLad said:
Ventrue said:
My friends and I enjoy it. When we won first time out we thought it was pretty easy, but we haven't been so lucky since. Once you start getting outbreak cards and you have cities that are heavily infected it can spread out of control quickly.
It may not be the best game in the world but it is a good change of pace for us since we usually play Settlers...sometimes getting cock blocked game after game in Settlers drives me crazy.
Cyan said:
TransAmerica is a lot of fun, but it may be a bit too casual. That said, I like it a lot and it inspires singing in my local group, and as mentioned it's an excellent filler game. Another 5 player game that comes to mind is Bang!, which works well with up to 7 and can be a hoot and a half with the right group. I'd also recommend I'm The Boss! if it weren't out of print. Sigh.
FnordChan, working his way towards 100 posts in this thread
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Good man. Small World scratches my Risk itch without being overly long. I've played this with casuals and they seemed to enjoy it. One of them picked up on the strategy really well and came close to winning.StoOgE said:
Ventrue said:
I've only played it 2-3 times but really like it.
I like the cooperative aspect and the way that everyone winds up taking on their role. If you are a reseracher you don't really travel much because you need to stay near a research facility. If you are a medic you are globe hopping trying to put out the diseases.
I think it's a really top notch game.
In fact, I'm going to my parents tomorrow and taking it and small world to play..
platypotamus
Member
Alright, we successfully played Vasco Da Gama.
This puppy is joining the likes of Agricola as a game that you is fun but not enjoyable. It's got some really evil mechanics that force a bit of analysis paralysis. The big doozie:
Phase 1: You choose numbered tokens, to place on the board, and that's the order the main actions will take place in. There's a (quasi-randomly determined) first free spot on the board, everything before that costs FFN-picked number to choose that spot...
Soooo.. if 9 is the First Free number, and you choose 7, it costs you 2 to perform that action.
BUT WAIT:
After everyone picks their numbers, the FFN will move (again, quasi randomly) up to 3 spots in either direction. Suddenly stuff is a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive.
I have no idea how that works out well with 4 players.
This puppy is joining the likes of Agricola as a game that you is fun but not enjoyable. It's got some really evil mechanics that force a bit of analysis paralysis. The big doozie:
Phase 1: You choose numbered tokens, to place on the board, and that's the order the main actions will take place in. There's a (quasi-randomly determined) first free spot on the board, everything before that costs FFN-picked number to choose that spot...
Soooo.. if 9 is the First Free number, and you choose 7, it costs you 2 to perform that action.
BUT WAIT:
After everyone picks their numbers, the FFN will move (again, quasi randomly) up to 3 spots in either direction. Suddenly stuff is a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive.
I have no idea how that works out well with 4 players.
On tap for us tonight; getting an early start:
1. Arkham Horror + King in Yellow Herald variant (aka Arkham Horror with just a pinch of King in Yellow)
2. Survive!
3. Dominion, random kingdom cards using the online randomizer. I'm definitely doing even 2-6 cost distribution, but I don't think I'll do "if Attack card in set, must include Reaction." That option seems to be in every randomizer, but I really don't find Attack cards so overpowered that they need that. And if they are overpowered and there's no Reaction, then we'll just be attacking each other nonstop--great!
1. Arkham Horror + King in Yellow Herald variant (aka Arkham Horror with just a pinch of King in Yellow)
2. Survive!
3. Dominion, random kingdom cards using the online randomizer. I'm definitely doing even 2-6 cost distribution, but I don't think I'll do "if Attack card in set, must include Reaction." That option seems to be in every randomizer, but I really don't find Attack cards so overpowered that they need that. And if they are overpowered and there's no Reaction, then we'll just be attacking each other nonstop--great!
Played 2 more games of Small World.
I took it with me to my parents house and played a 2 player game with my mom while my dad watched Soccer. It is really just ok as a 2 player game. It had a lot of strategy in it. I started with the Dragon Master Elves which I thought would be really overpowered compared to my Mom's Alchemist Trolls..
and it started that way. I took a pretty big lead and maxed out my elves so I switched over to Hill Ghoul's. She then went into decline and came back with diplomat Amazon's and shitfucked me.
Half the map were my elves.. and she built her damn Trolls on mountains.. and got to keep the caves after she went into decline which put my ghouls at a huge disadvantage... I could tell she had taken the lead so I grabbed wealthy humans hoping the + 7 would be enough to get me the lead.. but since she was the diplomat amazons and hadn't attacked my active race yet I couldn't attack her fucking amazons and was forced to try and take over regions with my ghouls and humans against her Trolls. I took over most of them but at pretty high costs and lost by two.
I actually think the game has more strategy to it in a two person game but is less fun.
We then played a 3 player game with my Dad after his soccer match ended and it was less eventful than the 2 player game... but I think was more fun. I can only imagine a 4 and 5 player game being more hectic, and thus more fun.
I'd recommend buying this one since the rules are super simple and it is a good deal of fun. I think I had the right idea last time I played the game. This is somewhere between Ticket to Ride and RoboRally on the strategy/chaos line.
I took it with me to my parents house and played a 2 player game with my mom while my dad watched Soccer. It is really just ok as a 2 player game. It had a lot of strategy in it. I started with the Dragon Master Elves which I thought would be really overpowered compared to my Mom's Alchemist Trolls..
and it started that way. I took a pretty big lead and maxed out my elves so I switched over to Hill Ghoul's. She then went into decline and came back with diplomat Amazon's and shitfucked me.
Half the map were my elves.. and she built her damn Trolls on mountains.. and got to keep the caves after she went into decline which put my ghouls at a huge disadvantage... I could tell she had taken the lead so I grabbed wealthy humans hoping the + 7 would be enough to get me the lead.. but since she was the diplomat amazons and hadn't attacked my active race yet I couldn't attack her fucking amazons and was forced to try and take over regions with my ghouls and humans against her Trolls. I took over most of them but at pretty high costs and lost by two.
I actually think the game has more strategy to it in a two person game but is less fun.
We then played a 3 player game with my Dad after his soccer match ended and it was less eventful than the 2 player game... but I think was more fun. I can only imagine a 4 and 5 player game being more hectic, and thus more fun.
I'd recommend buying this one since the rules are super simple and it is a good deal of fun. I think I had the right idea last time I played the game. This is somewhere between Ticket to Ride and RoboRally on the strategy/chaos line.
BomberMouse
Member
Yay, my games arrived today. I had a blast playing Alhambra with my wife today, great game. She was a little confused at first about the permited tile placement. Can't wait to mix some modules from the big box in. 
I think I'll try ticket to ride next, then dominion and finally stone age (which seems like the longest and more convoluted of the bunch, lots of exceptions). Dominion doesn't look too hot on paper but I hope my opinion about it changes once I get a chance to play it.
I think I'll try ticket to ride next, then dominion and finally stone age (which seems like the longest and more convoluted of the bunch, lots of exceptions). Dominion doesn't look too hot on paper but I hope my opinion about it changes once I get a chance to play it.
Played 2 games of Race for the Galaxy tonight instead of trying to get into the free Snoop Dogg show. My friends and I are lame.
I liked it. I told my friends we were going to have to play 2 games since we would be super confused in the first one. And boy were we ever :lol
We kept having to go back to the cheat cards to figure out what the hell all the symbols meant, but midway through the second game we were getting the hang of what different cards meant and how different special powers combined.
It feels a lot like Puerto Rico (which makes sense I suppose given that the developer took ideas from the development of San Juan)... but I think I prefer it. The idea that your resources that you use to build ARE the cards that you use to score VP is fucking BRILLIANT.
You want to build a development but you might have to give up a card you would really like to develop or colonize later to get it done. The weighing of options in this game is really intense.
I also like the role selection process better. In Puerto Rico there is always the feeling that you are going to get to the action you want at some point. Someone will select it. Maybe the order isn't right. Maybe you have to make some sacrifices.. but in RFTG if you need two roles to take place that turn you might be in for a world of hurt.. you have to look at other people and try and guess at what they might need to do and go from there.
My only complaints is the symbols are really obtuse and take some getting used to before you can get to it.. the game also has minimal interaction... you can't really screw another player over in the game... or do anything to impact what they are trying to accomplish (other than failing to play a role card they might want).. but it succeeds in feeling like a race to beat the other guys.
I don't know where this falls.. but I think it is up there with Dominion and Power Grid for my favorite games of the moment. To me it feels like the good parts of Puerto Rico, but streamlined with some really interesting twists.
I liked it. I told my friends we were going to have to play 2 games since we would be super confused in the first one. And boy were we ever :lol
We kept having to go back to the cheat cards to figure out what the hell all the symbols meant, but midway through the second game we were getting the hang of what different cards meant and how different special powers combined.
It feels a lot like Puerto Rico (which makes sense I suppose given that the developer took ideas from the development of San Juan)... but I think I prefer it. The idea that your resources that you use to build ARE the cards that you use to score VP is fucking BRILLIANT.
You want to build a development but you might have to give up a card you would really like to develop or colonize later to get it done. The weighing of options in this game is really intense.
I also like the role selection process better. In Puerto Rico there is always the feeling that you are going to get to the action you want at some point. Someone will select it. Maybe the order isn't right. Maybe you have to make some sacrifices.. but in RFTG if you need two roles to take place that turn you might be in for a world of hurt.. you have to look at other people and try and guess at what they might need to do and go from there.
My only complaints is the symbols are really obtuse and take some getting used to before you can get to it.. the game also has minimal interaction... you can't really screw another player over in the game... or do anything to impact what they are trying to accomplish (other than failing to play a role card they might want).. but it succeeds in feeling like a race to beat the other guys.
I don't know where this falls.. but I think it is up there with Dominion and Power Grid for my favorite games of the moment. To me it feels like the good parts of Puerto Rico, but streamlined with some really interesting twists.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
No, you guys made the right choice.StoOgE said:
So last night we played Vegas Showdown and Wits and Wagers. I won in Vegas Showdown but got smoked in Wits and Wagers. Vegas Showdown is still as fun as I remember but I'm starting to think I need a bigger group for Wits and Wagers. This is the second time we played with five players and it was just ok. I think I had a better time with it when we had seven.
Anyway, today I played three games of Memoir '44 and two games of Agricola. Memoir was actually a hit with my friend. I was planning on getting rid of it because I thought I'd never get it to the table but now I have an excuse to keep it.
My love affair with Agricola continues. I'm having fun just coming up with different strategies to play it. I lost both games but did a lot better in the second game than the first. My only real complaint is that it just kind of ends and it feels like it ends a round or two too early. I feel that once I start to make major moves it's game over.
Looking forward to a Twilight Struggle rematch with my girlfriend tomorrow and that's pretty much my weekend.
platypotamus
Member
Some attack cards are countered by non-reactions really well anyway. My favorite: Using the Library to counter Militia or Torturer. You get to draw up to seven (setting aside Actions if you don't have any left), so if you are down to few cards, you get to draw a lot.
***
Played 4p Vasco Da Gama tonight. Worked really well, though it's a long one. There were complaints about the amount of downtime, but I didn't think it was too bad.
EDIT: Who turned my autopager off? The first part was in reply to Astrolad posting about the random Dominion generator last page
***
Played 4p Vasco Da Gama tonight. Worked really well, though it's a long one. There were complaints about the amount of downtime, but I didn't think it was too bad.
EDIT: Who turned my autopager off? The first part was in reply to Astrolad posting about the random Dominion generator last page
This is true. We went with no reaction requrement. There are so few reaction cards anyway and we already know them all well but otoh there are other cards we've played very little with, especially in the expansions. Still feel like totally random is an inferior experience to a nice pre-built set but maybe we just haven't gotten the right mix. Think I'm going to print out some sets from BGG to add to the few in the manuals, and to use cards from everything.platypotamus said:
hoverX said:
I haven't played Tide of Iron.. but my understanding is Tide of Iron is a light war game.. where Memoir 44 is a super light war game. It has a few elements that are supposed to represent real world battles and tactical realities, but it is really abstract and is very gamey.
I like the game, but if you are looking for a war game, I'd look elsewhere.
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