Recommend me some games!

[Klunka]

So ever since PAX East, I've been devouring every piece of info I can get on some good board/card/dice games. I've gotten my hands on 2 fantastic games thus far (Last Night on Earth and Shadows Over Camelot) and was lucky enough to experience some more through friends who had Robo Rally and Gloom.

I'm not satisfied, I want more! Through some research on BoardGameGeek I've found a couple that sound really great in Space Alert and Dungeon Lords. Just wanted to know if you guys knew some other secret game that was great and I might like. Or perhaps something I didn't take a good look at because the concept didn't grab me or the box art wasn't eye-popping.

I've played the classics (Catan and Carcassone) but have really been out of the tabletop loop for too long now. What have I missed?

[Iron Past]

Arkham Horror (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=6). I can only ever play by myself, and even then it's fun. And looooong.

And Stratego, just because. :)


Really wish I had someone to play Stratego with...

[Shadowmage952]

Based on what you've played (and I assume enjoyed) I would also recommend trying out:

Dominion (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-370RGG-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1271963660&sr=8-1-catcorr) - A card game where you "build" your empire (deck) by strategically buying action card, more money, and estates (point by which you win). It is a fairly quick game running about 30-45 minutes each game and a hell of a lot of fun. 2-4 Players.

Small World (http://www.amazon.com/Days-of-Wonder-5510800-Small/dp/B0024H7OF6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1271963791&sr=1-1) - A mix of Risk and Settlers of Catan with a little feeling of Heroes of Might and Magic thrown in. It is a quality game that I bought after doing a test game at Pax East. 2-5 Players and a game takes about 1.5 hours.

[shunoshi]

I have to second Dominion. It's really a great game.

[Klunka]

Arkham Horror seems really cool, not sure why I like all the co-op stuff

This is not the first time someone mentioned Dominion to me, I read up on it and it didn't seem all that interesting. Maybe I'm missing something. I'll have to re-read it. I was reading up on Citadels, are the two games similar in any way?

[Karak]

Arkham Horror seems really cool, not sure why I like all the co-op stuff

This is not the first time someone mentioned Dominion to me, I read up on it and it didn't seem all that interesting. Maybe I'm missing something. I'll have to re-read it. I was reading up on Citadels, are the two games similar in any way?

Arkham is amazing. A bit hard to understand at first but awesome.
Hahahaha. You had the same problem with Dominion I did. I still don't even find it remotely fun but man so many do.

Twilight Imperium is freaking amazing amazing fun.

Heroscape is a cheap and amazingly fun blast even my girlfriend and her mother like it.

Some card games that I play and enjoy:
Illuminati-Complex but I love it

Munchkin(Card game) I hated the boardgame(Munchkin Quest) with a passion

[Klunka]

Arkham is amazing. A bit hard to understand at first but awesome.
Hahahaha. You had the same problem with Dominion I did. I still don't even find it remotely fun but man so many do.

Twilight Imperium is freaking amazing amazing fun.

Heroscape is a cheap and amazingly fun blast even my girlfriend and her mother like it.

Some card games that I play and enjoy:
Illuminati-Complex but I love it

Munchkin(Card game) I hated the boardgame(Munchkin Quest) with a passion

I'm 100% about the theme and concept behind a game. If the description and art don't entice me, then I'm not really interested. I know that's a really lame way to go about things, but I'm just finding it hard to get excited about Dominion.

Same with Puerto Rico. Everyone says it's one of the best games ever made, but you're farmers in Puerto Rico? How is that exciting?

Twilight Imperium does look and sound great, but I'd have a hard time convincing my crew to play a 4 hour game. When they saw 90-120 minutes on the Last Night on Earth box they got a little scared.

I have Munchkin, and enjoy it. It's not the first game I'd pull out when I have people to play with however. I had been reading up on Heroscape, it's nice to hear that some casual gamer types (guess I'm just assuming your girlfriend's mother isn't a hardcore gamer or anything) are into that as well. Have to give some more time to reading up on it.

[NotJeff]

Summoned from the IRC thread to check in.

As with video games, I care WAY more about gameplay & mechanics than flavor.

I love meaty brain-burner games like:
Dungeon Lords, Power Grid, Steam/Age of Steam

I like middleweight games as long as they're short enough for the payoff:
Puerto Rico, Dominion

Hate fluff with more time commitment than the gameplay merits like:
Arkham Horror, Pandemic, Munchkin (the game where reading the cards once and never looking at it again is worth more than playing (sorry, Karak)).

You can see what I'm playing at the geek. (http://boardgamegeek.com/plays/bydate/user/NotJeff/subtype/boardgame)

[Karak]

I'm 100% about the theme and concept behind a game. If the description and art don't entice me, then I'm not really interested. I know that's a really lame way to go about things, but I'm just finding it hard to get excited about Dominion.


I have Munchkin, and enjoy it. It's not the first game I'd pull out when I have people to play with however. I had been reading up on Heroscape, it's nice to hear that some casual gamer types (guess I'm just assuming your girlfriend's mother isn't a hardcore gamer or anything) are into that as well. Have to give some more time to reading up on it.

Ya Twilight is insanely complex and the games can stretch. But if you say do a BBQ and put on some music and just sit and bullshit, it can be one of the most fun times ever.
Heroscape is awesome for 3 main reasons
1 Easy to learn
2 Complex to master due to all the characters
3 So many different groups that you can play 500 games and never repeat.
Try it with say just the master set. Its just really well done with prepaints.

I agree on Munchkin. It is freakishly involved if you have the expansions, which I do. You can play it for hours and still get a bit lost. But that is sort of half the fun. It is also a good social game.

For wargaming I play Fantasy Empires from GW and the original Shogun. Both very excellent games. We do some Bloodbowl as well.

Co-op
Arkham Horror. SO MUCH TO DO. It is one of the most intense and involved games when you are trying your hardest to keep the world sane and still move around and solve the board.

Pandemic. Great co-op game. Kicked our asses the first 4-5 times we played. It FORCES you to co-op and once you really think about yourselves as a team its great.

[Karak]

Hate fluff with more time commitment than the gameplay merits like:
Arkham Horror, Pandemic, Munchkin (the game where reading the cards once and never looking at it again is worth more than playing (sorry, Karak)).


Oh that's all right. You and I must have completely different versions of those games or something.

[Drayven]

I've been having fun with Pandemic

[Karak]

I've been having fun with Pandemic

Ya amazing co-op. You really have to work together, sometimes sacrificing your own turn. Its so unique. I love it.

[Klunka]

NotJeff - Dungeon Lords has been a game I'm VERY interested in, but I keep reading people saying that they don't feel they have enough control over what happens in the game. I'm noticing it appear a number of times recently on your games played list. Would you say those are valid concerns?

Pandemic I know nothing about, I'll have to check that one out. For co-op games I was looking at Space Alert. Could anyone compare that to Arkham Horror or Pandemic? My crew has really been loving Shadows Over Camelot and requested multiple playings, so I don't want anything too similar to that.

[LongStepMantis]

Pandemic is great as long as you don't have pushy people trying to issue orders to all the players. Sometimes, it helps to let someone know that they can do X and get Y result from it, especially with the jobs that revolve around other players, like the Dispatcher. When you get someone who thinks they need to coordinate every action by every player, you want to choke them to death.

[Karak]

Pandemic is great as long as you don't have pushy people trying to issue orders to all the players. Sometimes, it helps to let someone know that they can do X and get Y result from it, especially with the jobs that revolve around other players, like the Dispatcher. When you get someone who thinks they need to coordinate every action by every player, you want to choke them to death.

Yep exactly.To me thats the thing Pandemic does that others do not. It makes you understand the people you are playing with in a teamwork environment. Its great and if you want to win it forces you to be polite, work together and think. Adore it.

[NotJeff]

NotJeff - Dungeon Lords has been a game I'm VERY interested in, but I keep reading people saying that they don't feel they have enough control over what happens in the game. I'm noticing it appear a number of times recently on your games played list. Would you say those are valid concerns?


I would not. The central mechanism in DL involves each (of 4) player picking 3 (of 8) tasks they'd like to try to do, each of which only 2 or 3 players will be allowed to. The tension between picking the best things for you and trying to predict what your opponents will do and either sneaking in before them or seeing that they will block you and picking something else is absolutely delicious to me.

[AliasRomanian]

If you are looking for a two player game and enjoy battles I recommend either BattleLore or Memoir 44. Both are very easy to play and have lots of expansions if you are interested in them.

[kidkimura]

Memoir 44 is great and has great expansions, Hammer of the Scots is a good block game so you are blind to the moves your opponent makes, A game of thrones, and twilight struggle.

[Food Nipple]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/catan.jpg
Settlers of Catan - Cities and Knights Expansion: If you've already got the base game, it's worth picking up this expansion, it has a lot of changes that make Catan a more interesting game. Players need to cooperate to repel periodic attacks from barbarians. Sometimes it's in your best interest to sabotage the defense force to harm other players. My other favorite change is that the development cards have been completely overhauled. There's a much greater variety of playable cards, and you can play up to five in a single turn. You can have some crazy turns if you play a ton of development cards all at once.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/dom.jpg
Dominion: I can't say enough positive things about this game. It's almost universally loved. Each round is played with a random subset of the total cards, so the optimal strategy can be very different from round to round. You need to buy victory points to win the game, but buying points too early dilutes the power of your deck, it's a cool mechanic.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/Power.jpg
Power Grid: Players acquire power plants in an effort to power the most cities. Power plants come in different varieties: Wind, Coal, Garbage, Nuclear, Geothermal, and Hybrid. Power plants are acquired through an auction system and the market for consumable resources is entirely player driven, so if everyone is competing for coal, the price goes up. You can get as crazy as you want with the number crunching, as it's really a game about maximizing your return on investment. Also, the turn order changes each round: the losing player always goes first. Sometimes it's in your best interest to intentionally tank for a turn so you can get a huge turn next time.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/rico.jpg
Puerto Rico: Players harvest crops and load them onto boats to score victory points. It's possible to screw other players over by placing less-advantageous crops on the supply boats. There's also a huge variety of buildings you can construct, each bestows a different benefit. It can be really difficult to figure out which buildings to buy. The game's unique turn order means that the other players will benefit from the choices you make on your turn, so there's a collaborative/competitive tradeoff to all of your decisions.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/dstw_080620_acquire.jpg
Acquire: A game about investing in hotel chains. When mergers occur, primary and secondary shareholder bonuses are paid out and stockholders in the acquired company can either sell off their stock at market prices or exchange it at a 2 to 1 rate for stock in the acquiring company. One part scrabble and one part Power Grid return on investment calculations.

Other games I haven't personally played, but my friends really like: Small Worlds, Dungeon Lords, some of them played Agricola at PAX, that seemed pretty cool too.

Pandemic is Shadows over Camelot minus the traitor. Given the choice, I'd pick Camelot every time.

[kidkimura]

Yes Shadows over Camelot plus the expansion which makes it slightly more difficult as it allows for two traitors.

[AliasRomanian]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/catan.jpg
Settlers of Catan - Cities and Knights Expansion: If you've already got the base game, it's worth picking up this expansion, it has a lot of changes that make Catan a more interesting game. Players need to cooperate to repel periodic attacks from barbarians. Sometimes it's in your best interest to sabotage the defense force to harm other players. My other favorite change is that the development cards have been completely overhauled. There's a much greater variety of playable cards, and you can play up to five in a single turn. You can have some crazy turns if you play a ton of development cards all at once.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/dom.jpg
Dominion: I can't say enough positive things about this game. It's almost universally loved. Each round is played with a random subset of the total cards, so the optimal strategy can be very different from round to round. You need to buy victory points to win the game, but buying points too early dilutes the power of your deck, it's a cool mechanic.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/Power.jpg
Power Grid: Players acquire power plants in an effort to power the most cities. Power plants come in different varieties: Wind, Coal, Garbage, Nuclear, Geothermal, and Hybrid. Power plants are acquired through an auction system and the market for consumable resources is entirely player driven, so if everyone is competing for coal, the price goes up. You can get as crazy as you want with the number crunching, as it's really a game about maximizing your return on investment. Also, the turn order changes each round: the losing player always goes first. Sometimes it's in your best interest to intentionally tank for a turn so you can get a huge turn next time.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/rico.jpg
Puerto Rico: Players harvest crops and load them onto boats to score victory points. It's possible to screw other players over by placing less-advantageous crops on the supply boats. There's also a huge variety of buildings you can construct, each bestows a different benefit. It can be really difficult to figure out which buildings to buy. The game's unique turn order means that the other players will benefit from the choices you make on your turn, so there's a collaborative/competitive tradeoff to all of your decisions.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/foodnipple/dstw_080620_acquire.jpg
Acquire: A game about investing in hotel chains. When mergers occur, primary and secondary shareholder bonuses are paid out and stockholders in the acquired company can either sell off their stock at market prices or exchange it at a 2 to 1 rate for stock in the acquiring company. One part scrabble and one part Power Grid return on investment calculations.

Other games I haven't personally played, but my friends really like: Small Worlds, Dungeon Lords, some of them played Agricola at PAX, that seemed pretty cool too.

Pandemic is Shadows over Camelot minus the traitor. Given the choice, I'd pick Camelot every time.

This is a great list to help you get started!

[Karak]

Original Shogun is damn fun. A bit more simple than today's games but great.
Also my favorite boardgame of all kind Supremacy. With the chemical warfare rules and behind the scenes treachery. Pandemic and Camelot were about 20 years late to that kind of thing. Man the wonderful times I had.

[Klunka]

List of probably really awesome games.

See, this is exactly what I was talking about before. Food, I've played enough video games with you to know we have a lot of similar tastes and I very much respect your opinion, but these games don't attract people.

Dominion just looks very boring. I have no doubt after everyone's recommendations it's fantastic, but if I'm having a game night with friends and this is sitting next to Camelot or Last Night on Earth there's just no way I could get the group interested in it.

Let's see, does everyone want to play a game where we're knights of the round table, crop farmers in puerto rico, investment bankers, power plant tycoons, or zombie hunters?

I can tell you which ones will win out every time. Again I can't stress enough about how these are probably fantastic games. It's just difficult to take them seriously.

[Karak]

See, this is exactly what I was talking about before. Food, I've played enough video games with you to know we have a lot of similar tastes and I very much respect your opinion, but these games don't attract people.

Dominion just looks very boring. I have no doubt after everyone's recommendations it's fantastic, but if I'm having a game night with friends and this is sitting next to Camelot or Last Night on Earth there's just no way I could get the group interested in it.

Let's see, does everyone want to play a game where we're knights of the round table, crop farmers in puerto rico, investment bankers, power plant tycoons, or zombie hunters?

I can tell you which ones will win out every time. Again I can't stress enough about how these are probably fantastic games. It's just difficult to take them seriously.
That's funny cause its true...ha.
For me at least. One reason why I was instantly not interested in Camelot is it was like Pandemic but in a fantasy world and I had like 40 games in fantasy worlds. I need a little strange:)

[Food Nipple]

Your friends are nuts, if you give me a choice between a board game about raising a pig farm and one about killing Cuthulu, I'm going with pig farm.

[NotJeff]

Your friends are nuts, if you give me a choice between a board game about raising a pig farm and one about killing Cuthulu, I'm going with pig farm.

And I ask which one most favors skill over luck without giving a shit about this stupid THEME garbage. :)

[Scull]

And I ask which one most favors skill over luck without giving a shit about this stupid THEME garbage. :)
Then you'll be going with the pig farm too I'd say :)

[Klunka]

Spending some time on BoardGameGeek I've discovered I fall into the "AmeriTrash" category. I don't seem to be a fan of the EuroGames.

I'm just not going to buy Dominion, Puerto Rico or Agricola without playing them first. Their descriptions put me to sleep.

Current list of wants:
Dungeon Lords
Space Alert
Ghost Stories
Tales of Arabian Nights

Collection (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/Klunka)
Plays (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/plays/bydate/user/Klunka/subtype/boardgame)

[NotJeff]

Spending some time on BoardGameGeek I've discovered I fall into the "AmeriTrash" category. I don't seem to be a fan of the EuroGames.
Current list of wants:
Dungeon Lords
Space Alert
Ghost Stories
Tales of Arabian Nights


Of these, Dungeon Lords is not "Ameritrash". It has the characteristic heavy theming, but the game mechanics are much closer to euro. IF you find you love Dungeon Lords, and particularly the action selection mechanism, consider branching to more euros.

[NotJeff]

Then you'll be going with the pig farm too I'd say :)

Oh, I know. I like (not love) Agricola, but hate Arkham Horror.

[Klunka]

Of these, Dungeon Lords is not "Ameritrash". It has the characteristic heavy theming, but the game mechanics are much closer to euro. IF you find you love Dungeon Lords, and particularly the action selection mechanism, consider branching to more euros.

So it has some great depth, and satisfies my need for shallow awesomeness? Looks like I'll be ordering this over the weekend then.

[NotJeff]

So it has some great depth, and satisfies my need for shallow awesomeness? Looks like I'll be ordering this over the weekend then.

You're in the same town as me. If you want to come to one of my weekly game nights and try before you buy, that's also plausible.

[Klunka]

You're in the same town as me. If you want to come to one of my weekly game nights and try before you buy, that's also plausible.

I may very well take you up on that offer, but not for a few weeks at the least. too much going on right now.

Just found a new game that has really peaked my interest called Cyclades (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54998/cyclades). Seems to mix a really great theme, with some cool wargame type play. Anyone played, have any opinions on it?

[NotJeff]

I may very well take you up on that offer, but not for a few weeks at the least. too much going on right now.

We play on Thursdays. Pop me a PM some time.


Just found a new game that has really peaked my interest called Cyclades (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54998/cyclades). Seems to mix a really great theme, with some cool wargame type play. Anyone played, have any opinions on it?

Not I. (And it's piqued.)

[Food Nipple]

Not I. (And it's picqued.)

Isn't it piqued? :)

[NotJeff]

Isn't it piqued? :)

I've always thought so! Ignore the edit timestamp on my message, that was TOTALLY something else!

[Tayaya]

If you've been going to BGG, pull up my profile (name is Tayaya there also). I'm pretty happy with most of the games in my collection, but there are several I admit I haven't played yet.

Pandemic - others have already spoken about this game's enjoyability and I just want to toss my hat in the ring for it also. It's a really well made game that forces teamwork in a way that no other "players vs the board" game I've played ever has. It's best played when everyone else can toss in their opinions and force some good decisionmaking discussions... it's less fun when one guy takes complete charge and runs the whole game, even if that one guy does know what he's doing and leads everyone to victory. I accidentally did that once and felt bad enough about it to convince everyone to start up another game, and made an effort to lean back and watch instead, only throwing down my thoughts when asked, and everyone had a lot more fun. We lost too, but somehow it was a better game. The expansion makes it even better!

Descent - a good game if you have some friends that are interested in D&D but not enough to actually play D&D. It's simplified from D&D some, and the overlord (DM) is supposed to actually make an effort to kill off the players instead of just guiding them along and challenging them. Combat is all done through some very specialized dice, and the character equipping options are basic, but it's a really fun dungeon crawl. The main game comes with a big book of quests, and there are some rules for making the characters persistent, so you could make a campaign out of it if your players like it. There are craploads of expansions too, if your players end up lovin' it.

Arkadia - One of my favorite games that I just happened to stumble across. It's a city-building game where you obtain contracts to build structures to form a city using tetris-like building pieces and worker figures to surround them. When you complete a structure, you earn a wax seal for the job, which you can in turn cash in for coin later on in the game. As you build the city, a castle is also put together out of blocks in the center of the board, and the castle's pieces have an influence on how many coins each of the various seals is worth. On the front it looks like a simple city-building game, but the stock market-like nature of the wax seals and their fluctuating value add a second layer of strategy. Everyone that's played this one so far has come away lovin' it.

Muchkin Quest - if you already know Munchkin, this is pretty much the same game mechanically, but in a modular dungeon-crawl format that adds that missing layer of context to Muchkin that I've always felt it needed. I don't much care for Munchkin proper, but I do enjoy Munchkin Quest. The rules are a little convoluted initially but once you get the hang of it, it makes sense.

Robo Rally - a classic! Race around the modular boards, hitting checkpoints along the way in a race to the finish line. The gimmick here is that rather than directly moving your pieces, you have to program them. Each turn, you "write" a program using a hand of cards to determine where your robot will be going for his next 6 moves (the cards have movements on them, like rotate right 90 degrees or move forward 2 spaces). After the programs are written and played face down, all of the players flip over the first move in the sequence and move their pieces (the cards all have priority numbers on them to decide which bot moves first). After this is done, and the board spaces resolved (a bot on a conveyer belt will move a space in the belt's direction, for example), then the next card in the sequence is flipped and played, etc. The beauty of the game comes in the fact that once the program is written, it cannot be changed until it's completed and the next hand of cards is dealt. Because of this, you have to plan ahead, and of course there's always a chance that an opponent's bot can bump yours off course, forcing the rest of your program to play out "one space off" from what you planned, which could work out poorly for you on a board full of pitfalls, belts, and traps. Furthermore, as you get damaged there's a possibility that certain registers of your bot's memory will become locked, meaning you have a part of your program that you simply can't change anymore, and have to work around. It's a clever, clever little game, and is one of the games that got me into board games again. We still play this one a couple times a year, and it always gets fierce when we do.

2-player games below:

Zertz and Yinsh - These are both pretty abstract strategy games, with very simple mechnaics, but enough clever design to make me smile. They're part of a larger series of games known as the GIPF Project, but of all the games in the series these are my favorite, and the only two I liked enough to plunk down the modest amount of money they cost on.

Polarity - fun with magnets! An interesting little game where you play your pieces by "leaning" them against the magnetic fields of foundation pieces that you laid at the start of the game. If you screw up, and cause other pieces to move and snap together, the other player can pick up those pieces (which have now formed a tower of 2-3 magnets) stuck together and place them down as a new foundation to lean his pieces off of. The problem is that he has to first place the tower, and the field generated by a tower of 2 or 3 magnets is much stronger than that of a single piece, and the potential for him to cause more problems is magnified. It's a great piece of controlled chaos, and one that's fun to play in a public place, because the curiosity of both young and old about a game where the pieces stand at odd angles and move around on their own.

I've got more suggestions, but those are the ones standing out in my mind this morning.

[Klunka]

So I've been getting really into these games lately. Helps I found a GREAT store that unfortunately about 30 minutes away. Still close enough to make a trip every month or so. They had everything I was interested in on the shelf.

Things I've picked up/played and enjoyed:
Tales of Arabian Nights - A nice simple game that any one of my friends can play and everyone has really enjoyed it so far.

Ghost Stories - Cool art, very intense play for a board game, incredibly difficult. Gamer crowd enjoys it much more than the non-gamer crowd.

Pandemic - I'm convinced we're doing something wrong here, because we played 3 times (beginner twice, then medium) and beat it every time. Good fun, but I honestly don't enjoy it as much as

Forbidden Island - Same designer as Pandemic, but quicker, easier and more attractive. Only just released, and they happened to be demoing at the store I found so I decided to give it a shot. It's very much Pandemic lite. Good stuff

Life's a Pitch - Party game that the non-gaming crowd can't get enough of. If you have a creative crew can be hilarious.

Dungeon Lords - Had to get it, and was SUPER intimidated at first. There's so many pieces and the rule book is rather large. Ran through a few of the scenarios and as everything slowly started to click I started getting excited. Got to play it with my gaming crowd last night and everyone really liked it and requesting we play again.

I'm having trouble getting all the pieces back into the box. I looked on BGG and they had tuckboxes you could print out. Anyone tried these out? Do you just print them on regular paper or is there special paper I should get?

[Klunka]

I should also mention, someone else in our group has Robo Rally and Formula De and is pretty adamant about trying them out. Few of you mentioned Robo Rally, anyone know anything about Formula De?

[Shrinn]

I got to play Dominion. I loved the hell out of it and ordered it off Amazon instantly.

I saw Dungeon Lords being played but I didn't want to dive into something so intimidating and long when I had Dominion to demo.

Polarity sounds like it'd be a great addition to my gaming club's roster.

[Tayaya]

I should also mention, someone else in our group has Robo Rally and Formula De and is pretty adamant about trying them out. Few of you mentioned Robo Rally, anyone know anything about Formula De?

Formula De (or Formula D if you're playing the current re-release) is a great game, but one I held of on mentioning because it's really not something everyone enjoys. If you have a LOT of people, that's then the game is at its best. With just 2 or 3 cars on the track there isn't a lot of that controlled chaos that happens when too many cars head into a corner at once, nor are there a lot of mishaps, so the game ultimately becomes rather boring. With a big group, or if you decide to let each player field 2 cars, the racing is better/more exciting. In every game we've played, though, one guy always breaks away from the pack and becomes impossible to catch. I think he just gets lucky with the dice, something that I never do!

The mechanics of the game, though, are as well thought out as a board game about racing could be. You use different dice for each gear (1st gear you only move 1-2 spaces, by the time you're in 6th you're clearing over 20), and at the start of each turn you can upshift or downshift one gear, or stay in the current gear. You CAN downshift multiple gears if needed but you damage the gearbox if you do this too much, and have to make saving throws to make sure your car still runs (same for collisions with other players, avoiding spinouts, getting a better start off the line, etc). It's all about knowing when to start slowing down for the next corner and shifting effectively. It can be a bit of a longer game, and if you play with the advanced rules it's a much better game, but the linearity and completely dice-driven nature of the game cause many to lump it the Ameritrash bin, despite America being like the last place to get Formula De.

Personally, I like it so much that I have 2 copies of it, both the original English release, and the new version by Asmodee. I still need to open and punch the Asmodee version, but we just haven't had a game night in far too long. The new additions Asmodee made were Driver Profiles (which I think grant you special abilities of some kind), and street racing (which the reviews I've read indicate have slightly different rules, but I haven't verified yet).

[Klunka]

Played Formula De last night, a very nice game. We had 5 people, 2 cars a player for the max of 10. One player did break out after the third turn, but I and someone else ended up catching him with some risky 6th gear driving, then blowing a whole bunch of points to downshift 3-4 gears on the 2 stop turn. Good fun, easy to play, recommended for anyone who doesn't mind a good deal of roll and move gameplay.

Also got to play Robo Rally and absolutely loved it. I made it near the third flag well before anyone else (in a three flag race), but had 4 damage so I was only getting the 5 cards. I just couldn't get off the damn treadmill the flag was right next to. Ended up in third. Can't wait to play it again.

I can certainly see my tastes changing from when I started looking at games. Though Shadows Over Camelot and Last Night on Earth remain my favorite games I own, a close 3rd is Dungeon Lords and quickly climbing the ladder is Ghost Stories.

Games I'm looking into and would like impressions for: Space Hulk, Galaxy Trucker, Space Alert and Cutthroat Caverns.

[Tayaya]

Glad you liked Formula De and especially glad you liked Robo Rally. I know what that's like, being out in first and then stuck due to locked registers or bad card hands!

My best RR moment was when I was in a position near the last flag, which we intentionally put amidst conveyors and pits for that added fun time challenge. One of my rivals was obscenely close to me, and determined to knock me off the board (was on my last life too). Luckily he got a bad deal so he couldn't get to me, BUT, I had gotten a GREAT hand of cards and was able to write a program that got me to the last flag either way, whether he could push me a square or not. Never again have I gotten such a perfect hand for the place I was in, but it was an awesome moment to win on such a complex part of the board, with a program that would have worked regardless of what happened to my piece from another robot's intervention. He was so mad that he stormed out after putting my piece back and running the program a couple of times that he left and I didn't hear from him for like a week.

Space Hulk I know people here can give you impressions on. My copy is still shrink-wrapped.

[jpublic]

How, in the name of every awesome board game ever made, have none of you brought up Talisman?

[Tayaya]

How, in the name of every awesome board game ever made, have none of you brought up Talisman?

Because I haven't opened up my copy of Talisman revised 4th edition yet either...

See the problem here? While most gamers have a group but no new games to play. I have the games to play but no group to play them with. For me, getting 2-3 people together to play a game with is like pulling teeth... it happens maybe once every 3-4 months outside of our Sunday D&D session. However, I continue to buy board games every now and then just because I adore good board games.

The problem with my gaming group is that they are mostly a role-playing set. While I could join them for one of the 3 other D&D campaigns they run during the week, I prefer to mix things up a bit, and only play in their 4th edition campaign that they run on Sundays. They do enjoy a good board game, but it's hard to get them to give up a night of role playing to get a couple of good games in.

[Tayaya]

Oh, and Klunka - you may want to take a look at Bolide, if you wanted something like Formula De with less of an element of chance. It's a weird little game, but cool once you get the hang of it. Kinda hard to find but thanks to the internet the search is a lot easier than it COULD be.

[Blue]

Tayaya, move to Columbus. I have no games but people to play them. With our powers combined...

[Karak]

How, in the name of every awesome board game ever made, have none of you brought up Talisman?

I love it. But as most, only a specific ruleset. It's one of those probs with Talisman or at least the way people react to the revisions. We play 2nd with about 9 addons/card desks and maps.

It is my second favorite game after Heroscape. I love it.

[ShivaX]

I love it. But as most, only a specific ruleset. It's one of those probs with Talisman or at least the way people react to the revisions. We play 2nd with about 9 addons/card desks and maps.

It is my second favorite game after Heroscape. I love it.

The FFG version of Talisman is pretty damned sweet.

Its amazing how much of a difference an extra stat (Fate) can make and how much more balanced and fun the game is because of it.

[Tayaya]

Played Talisman, and the Asmodee version of Formula D yesterday.

The newer version of Formula D is pretty cool, having separate rules for the GT cars (like driver-specific stats and nitrous) and some slightly cool track features for the street racers as well like intersections and a raised drawbridge (that I failed to make it over and thus got moved to an irrecoverable dead last). The core game is the same, and the new rulebook does a much better job of explaining the game (simple as it may be) than the old manual from Formula De. There were only 4 of us, though, and we each only fielded one car, so as expected there were very few crashes or even risks of collision and a relatively uneventul, boring race. So even with the improvements, Formula D is still a game best left for those bigger group gaming sessions, I believe. The new dashboards for players to use instead of the Formula De player sheets are pretty cool, and everyone liked the little shift levers to indicate the current gear.

Talisman was a much simpler game than I expected it to be, and feels about as family-friendly-ized as a Fantasy type game could get. It also took a very long time to really wind up. The problem some people have with it is that it's a very guided game, where you follow the prompts of the cards and don't really make a ton of critical decisions with your characters. Gaining stats can also take more time than it really ought to, if you have bad luck and get lousy card draws. The other players, for example, kept getting upset when I seemed to be drawing every bag of gold in the deck, but I explained to them that while I may be rich, I was also about 4-5 strength and 3-4 craft stats lower than either of them, because the gold was coming at the expense of battle experience. In the end though, it became a really close race to the finish. Once one guy gets his paws on the Crown of Command, though, the game ends very quickly of no one else is in the same space to play king of the hill with him. While it wasn't as deep of an experience as I had thought it would be, it's a game that does a great job of making Fantasy games accessible to everyone. Anyone could learn this game pretty quickly, and as my lowly Monk proved, it's definitely possible to come from behind pretty late in the game, so until someone gets the Crown (the end goal of the game) it really is anybody's game. The bits are decent, the board is pretty, and the rulebook is pretty good (and even has a FLOWCHART on the back... a very useful flowchart actually). I'd recommend this one. The only thing I truly don't like - the mini cards. I have this hatred of small-sized cards. They're hard to shuffle, hard for some people to read, and in games where players get a big hand of cards, they can be a pain in the ass to hold effectively. Talisman Revised 4th has a TON of these things, but they actually work out well in this game, since many of them stay on the board or on the table in front of the player as opposed to fanned out in the players hands, and they fit nicely in the board spaces.

[Klunka]

Because I know some of you are dying for an update on how my foray into the board gaming world is going.

Ghost Stories is probably my favorite game right now, but it's unfortunate that both of my gaming groups find it disheartening due to the challenge. We rarely ever win.

Got to play some Galaxy Trucker, and while I find it very fun it has too similar a feel to Dungeon Lords which I enjoy much more, in a multiplayer solitaire kind of way. There are very few scenarios I would be in where given the choice I'd pick Galaxy Trucker over it. Possibly if I was with a crew that was intimidated by lots of rules.

Blokus is a very simple game I thought I would enjoy and never have the desire to play again. I was very wrong. Amazing game very easily taught to anyone. Incredible depth of strategy and just loads of fun. Like a more competitive version of Tetris in board game form.

I personally don't think much of the few games I played of Fury of Dracula, however one of my gaming groups LOVES it. They get upset with me if I do not bring it to our weekly meet up. There's often a fight over who gets to be Dracula, but we've decided to let it down to some simple dice game like Cthulu Dice for instance.

Also got some smaller games in like Banagrams and Chrononauts. Both are better versions of more popular games if you ask me (Scrabble and Fluxx respectively).

Found a store that will let me come in and try out Space Hulk, itching to try that out. Going to borrow Chaos in the Old World tomorrow and hopefully get some plays of that in. Most wanted after that is Space Alert, Cosmic Encounter and Cyclades.

[Kielaran]

If you are looking for something simple but fun, check out Guillotine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine_(game)). It was made by Wizards of the Coast. The game is a lot of fun and really easy for people to pick up and play. Plus it feels really balanced and the person with the best strategy will usually win, not a luck of the draw.

[shunoshi]

I decided to pop in here with an unmentioned game as well as one mentioned before. I played both of these just last Sunday.

The first is the previous suggestion for Arkham Horror. I played this for the first time on Sunday. The rules took a bit to digest, but the setting and gameplay is great.


The second game is Civilization.
http://shunoshi.fathomthat.org/misc/civ_cover.jpg

This is based loosely off of the computer version and is a great game. Both of these games do take a serious time commitment though. Civilization does have rules for shorter length games though.

[Mike Kelehan]

Where's the cheapest place for me to get Arkham Horror?

[TheKeck]

Plus it feels really balanced and the person with the best strategy will usually win, not a luck of the draw.
I have to disagree with this last part. (And I enjoy Guillotine.)

[shunoshi]

Where's the cheapest place for me to get Arkham Horror?

Sci Fi City tends to have great prices on their games. If you place an order over $100 you can get free shipping too, so it may be worth saving up or going in on an order with one of your friends. Otherwise you're looking at about $13 for shipping. Still not a bad price shipped.

Arkham Horror - $38.97 - Sci-Fi City (http://shop.sci-fi-city.com/product_info.php?cPath=52_193&products_id=2024)

[Tayaya]

Sci Fi City tends to have great prices on their games. If you place an order over $100 you can get free shipping too, so it may be worth saving up or going in on an order with one of your friends. Otherwise you're looking at about $13 for shipping. Still not a bad price shipped.

Arkham Horror - $38.97 - Sci-Fi City (http://shop.sci-fi-city.com/product_info.php?cPath=52_193&products_id=2024)

That's a couple bucks cheaper than ThoughtHammer, my usual standby for online gaming. I use them because they're the only company to consistently not screw up my orders and also because their free shipping on orders over $125 was great. Definitely going to give sci-fi city a shot next time it comes to be board-game-orderfest-time!

[Karak]

Where's the cheapest place for me to get Arkham Horror?

Always check local stores first though. No shipping and you might get it right away.

[Klunka]

I decided to pop in here with an unmentioned game as well as one mentioned before. I played both of these just last Sunday.

The first is the previous suggestion for Arkham Horror. I played this for the first time on Sunday. The rules took a bit to digest, but the setting and gameplay is great.


The second game is Civilization.

Woah, wait! There is an ACTUAL Civilization board game? Every time I said that would be a good idea someone told me they DID base a board game off Civ and it was:
http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic236169_md.jpg (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25613/through-the-ages-a-story-of-civilization)
And that currently sits at #4 in the all time ratings on BGG.

I'll add, that once I got to play Chaos in the Old World (Some Excellent (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/video/1339) Reviews (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/video/1191)) I haven't wanted to play another game. One of the most fun, intense and ridiculously strategic games I've ever played. Just don't let whatever Bastard is play Khorne run away with it. Incredible game and I recommend anyone who isn't afraid to play an evil god and decimate the world should play it.

[Klunka]

Always check local stores first though. No shipping and you might get it right away.

If you have a local store, it's a good idea to support them. Thanks to my store of choice they've been letting me open games in store and try them out before buying, and a few times even let me borrow a game. Once they figure out you'll be a repeat customer, they really do a lot to keep you happy.

Otherwise I never would have got a chance to try out some of those ridiculously expensive big box games like Space Hulk (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54625/space-hulk-third-edition), Runewars (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59294/runewars) and Horus Heresy (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/63543/horus-heresy). With their gorgeous pop up maps, ridiculously detailed figures and huge rule/campaign books.

[Tayaya]

If you have a local store, it's a good idea to support them. Thanks to my store of choice they've been letting me open games in store and try them out before buying, and a few times even let me borrow a game. Once they figure out you'll be a repeat customer, they really do a lot to keep you happy.

Otherwise I never would have got a chance to try out some of those ridiculously expensive big box games like Space Hulk (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54625/space-hulk-third-edition), Runewars (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59294/runewars) and Horus Heresy (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/63543/horus-heresy). With their gorgeous pop up maps, ridiculously detailed figures and huge rule/campaign books.

Your store seriously lets you open up games before you buy them? That's like friggin' sacrilege! What do they do if you decide you don't like the game and don't want to buy it? Most board game collectors/buyers are obsessive about being the first one to touch the bits, to punch the game, to make sure everything's kept pristine for as long as possible. Even I must admit I wouldn't buy a game, as new, that was already opened and punched. Hope they knock some money off that price tag!

[NotJeff]

Woah, wait! There is an ACTUAL Civilization board game? Every time I said that would be a good idea someone told me they DID base a board game off Civ and it was TtA
And that currently sits at #4 in the all time ratings on BGG.


Through the Ages is excellent (but longish - 4-6h for a first play). There are also two older boardgames which are excellent, Civilization and Advanced Civilization, which are not based on video games. Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame is in my opinion a trainwreck, with apologies to shunoshi. A ridiculous amount of the game is decided by who happens to get luckiest in where they start, relative to good (but facedown and unknown) exploration chips.

[Klunka]

Your store seriously lets you open up games before you buy them? That's like friggin' sacrilege! What do they do if you decide you don't like the game and don't want to buy it? Most board game collectors/buyers are obsessive about being the first one to touch the bits, to punch the game, to make sure everything's kept pristine for as long as possible. Even I must admit I wouldn't buy a game, as new, that was already opened and punched. Hope they knock some money off that price tag!

Usually they add it to the open box play library. On Tuesdays anyone can go to the store and try anything from their open box. Now most of the time you can't open a new game, but like I said if you're a repeat they like to make you happy.

The owner knows that I personally am seeing if I want to buy the game, not just looking for something to do that afternoon. He also knows if I don't buy that game, I'll probably buy something else. Out of the numerous they've let me try the only ones that had to be opened were Horus Heresy and Chaos in the Old World (which he actually let me take home to try out).

Again, it's just a huge bonus to supporting your local store. They're not always the cheapest (Chaos was $60 for instance. But Space Hulk 3rd edition is $125. Which is cheap for that particular game), but you can definitely end up with some big positives in the end.

[shunoshi]

Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame is in my opinion a trainwreck, with apologies to shunoshi. A ridiculous amount of the game is decided by who happens to get luckiest in where they start, relative to good (but facedown and unknown) exploration chips.

This is very true. Resources can get one-sided by chance. Don't even get me started about plague tokens. Nonetheless, you can overcome the resource deficit with superior tactics and underhanded dealings (good dice rolling helps too ;) ).

I enjoy the game. It's definitely not a pure strategy Eurogame, but it's enjoyable.

[Tayaya]

Again, it's just a huge bonus to supporting your local store. They're not always the cheapest (Chaos was $60 for instance. But Space Hulk 3rd edition is $125. Which is cheap for that particular game), but you can definitely end up with some big positives in the end.

I always want to support my local store, I really do, but their prices on board games are so high compared to online, and with 10.25% sales tax in that area the problem is only compounded further.

Let's say I wanted to buy Talisman Revised 4th edition, the dungeon explansion for it, the highlands expansion for it, and the frostmarch expansion for it. This way my players have tons of board options, and we have alternate endings available as well as a heap of additional cards/items/challenges. In this example we can assume I just played it for the first time and I am fanatical about it or something, hence the need to get the base game and most of its expansions in one shot. In reality, I'd most likely by lookng at buying a few different games instead of a bunch of one series.

To go to Games Plus, my local guy: $59.99 for the base game, $24.99 for Frostmarch (it's just a box of cards and a couple of figs), and $39.99 for each of the other expansions. After tax, you're looking at about $182.

Same load from thoughthammer.com: $40.17 for the base game, 16.72 for Frostmarch, and $26.77 for the dungeon and Highlands - 110.43. I may as well toss in the reaper expansion for $17 to bring the total just over $125 and get free shipping. I'd still have enough money unspent to take the girlfriend out for a $50 dinner.

I really do want to support my local guy, but when he never budges on his prices (they're always msrp), and is in an area with the highest sales tax (local and state combined) in the country, it's a very hard sell, especially when free shipping is factored in. Not to mention he's a 45 minute drive, so add gas and tolls to the cost of getting to him. When the amount of money in savings over the course of buying 3-4 products is significant enough to get another product for "free" (or in the case of my example, an expansion and a nice dinner), it's just too good a deal online.

Yes, Games Plus does have a rewards program of sorts, but I think it's something like "Spend $200 on games and take 10% off of your next game purchase." Compared to saving 20-30% online on every purchase, again there's just little incentive to help keep the local guy in business. I don't make enough money to spend more just to earn "feel good" points about helping my neighbor, so to speak!

[Klunka]

and with 10.25% sales tax in that area the problem is only compounded further.

this is where we differ then. My gaming store is located in New Hampshire, the wonderful state with no sales tax. So for me it's usually not that much of a difference once I factor in shipping. Maybe $5-$10. Though I'm finding his prices on the big box stuff to be ridiculously fair. I wish I was more into those games then just wanting to ogle their huge maps and finely crafted pieces.

I guess I should point out though, if you're local gaming store sucks then don't bother. It's not like every store around here is a gold mine. I just found one I enjoy visiting, and they seem to like keeping me around.

[shunoshi]

I would love to frequent the major gaming store we have here, The Source, but all of their games are priced far too high. For an example, I went there to find out how much Zombies!!! would cost, $27, before tax. Suffice it to say, I bought it from Amazon for $21 shipped.

I wish we had a shop around here that kept competitive pricing.

[Tayaya]

this is where we differ then. My gaming store is located in New Hampshire, the wonderful state with no sales tax. So for me it's usually not that much of a difference once I factor in shipping. Maybe $5-$10. Though I'm finding his prices on the big box stuff to be ridiculously fair. I wish I was more into those games then just wanting to ogle their huge maps and finely crafted pieces.

I guess I should point out though, if you're local gaming store sucks then don't bother. It's not like every store around here is a gold mine. I just found one I enjoy visiting, and they seem to like keeping me around.

Games Plus is a great store. I like 'em quite a lot as far as selection is concerned and for having a great player community. They do have good prices on their Games Workshop stuff and on their paints and dice and other gaming essentials, but for me as a board-game hobbyist, they just don't move enough product to be able to secure volume discounts with their suppliers, and as such can't lower their own prices to stay competitive. The Cook County, IL sales tax, though, is just nuts.

Huge maps and finely crafted pieces? Ahhh the bits. I have to admit that the game bits are part of why I love board gaming so much. A game doesn't have to have nice bits to be a good game, but when a game delivers on the bits, it's just a great thing (and makes it easier to lure others into playing).

[Rune_74]

I found this computer version of talisman that me and my wife tried...it was pretty basic and not that great(the program that is) but it convinced me to buy talisman...so far have played 3 games of it and its pretty good.

I have seen a few others I want to buy(settlers of catan) and some other space games...Arkham has me interested just for the setting.

I'm also wondering if I should buy some of the expansions for talisman.

[Karak]

I found this computer version of talisman that me and my wife tried...it was pretty basic and not that great(the program that is) but it convinced me to buy talisman...so far have played 3 games of it and its pretty good.

I have seen a few others I want to buy(settlers of catan) and some other space games...Arkham has me interested just for the setting.

I'm also wondering if I should buy some of the expansions for talisman.

Could you show me where that is. I used to have it but lost it when my C drive collapsed under a wave of Jenna Haze porn:) They had an online one too but I would LOVE it. I can never ever get enough Talisman. Is it 2nd or 3rd?

[Klunka]

I finally broke down and bought Space Hulk 3rd edition with a friend of mine. Cost us about $60 a piece. At first it seemed like the Terminators were over powered, but we were screwing up some rules: Terminators are supposed to lose overwatch when attacked in close combat, Genestealers CAN reveal and move on the same turn, Terminators do not get sustained fire bonus when moving and shooting, and the timer isn't to hurry up slow players it's a mechanic to show how much faster the genestealers are as they are not timed.

After that, games have been much more even and we're really enjoying it. Cutting those damn figures out was a pain in the ass and we broke one genestealers. Put it back together with some rubber cement type stuff. Not sure if I have the patience to paint any of it.

[Tayaya]

My Space hulk still sits unopened. I keep considering selling it this Holiday season when its value will likely go up as Gamer-spouses secure gifts for their partner. It was a ridiculously expensive item and these days money is really tight that it's tempting to part with.

However, it took so many years of wanting my own copy of Space Hulk, that it's kind of a prized piece of the BG collection.... such a conflict.

Worst of all is just knowing it's right there but being too afraid to open it.

[Food Nipple]

I picked up a copy of Dungeon Lords. Every time we play there's always at least one new player, so I've done multiple "basic games" and haven't gotten the chance to move up the full rules or the expansion.

I think the most surprising thing has been how much the title matter in the scoring. There's so much to manage on the short term that I neglected to have any kind of long term plan for scoring some titles. I definitely like the mechanics, but I do wish it didn't take quite as long to resolve everybody's actions, but that will likely improve as people become more familiar with the game.

[NotJeff]

I think the most surprising thing has been how much the title matter in the scoring. There's so much to manage on the short term that I neglected to have any kind of long term plan for scoring some titles. I definitely like the mechanics, but I do wish it didn't take quite as long to resolve everybody's actions, but that will likely improve as people become more familiar with the game.

It will. Also, screw the basic game, and just learn & teach people the "full game". It's just better, and I bet you and your coplayers can figure the game out without the baby steps.

[NotJeff]

Also, screw the basic game, and just learn & teach people the "full game".

I hate, by the way, when the rules to a game are presented in levels, with each later level as a modification to the earlier rules, rather than standalone. It means when you read the game rules you learn some stuff, and then need to immediately unlearn it when you move from the basic to advanced game.

[Klunka]

Played my first (and second) game of Cosmic Encounter this past weekend (the most recent Fantasy Flight version) and had an absolute blast. Terrific game! Played without techs, and Flares only in the second game.

First game I had the Mutant and got out to an early lead. I had 4 foreign colonies very quickly, then everyone started to realize they should be a tad more selective with who they let ally with them on their attacks. We had several rules wrong this game however (such as you cannot attack a blue colony on a green planet unless you are the green player), and decided that we should play again after re-reading the rule book.

Second game I ended up with Gambler. Best Alien Power Ever! Since everyone had a good handle on the game this time, it lasted MUCH longer. One player ended up with the Filch flare and a few of us were getting pissed he was stealing cards until someone called him out and we realized he was supposed to be doing that.

Lots of fun, will most likely be purchasing this game. Next game on my list to try out with a full crew is Runewars. Looks very pretty, and the mechanics seem very enjoyable from what I've seen in videos and articles.

[Food Nipple]

Isn't runewars one of those games with a 3+ hour game time? That's just too long for my tastes.

[Karak]

Isn't runewars one of those games with a 3+ hour game time? That's just too long for my tastes.

Yes. It is only a saturday BBQ game, or Friday night game for us. Not something I would try to pull out for a quick game.

[Rune_74]

I want to try runewars and dungeonlords...


Cosmic encounter looks interesting....what age level is required for that? Any other space games you guys can recommend other then the 40k stuff?

[Klunka]

I want to try runewars and dungeonlords...


Cosmic encounter looks interesting....what age level is required for that? Any other space games you guys can recommend other then the 40k stuff?

Cosmic Encounter is intimidating at first, and a lot of the alien powers seem to clash (ie, contradict) with each other, but once you get a few rounds in, the game isn't as complicated as it might seem at first. As for content, besides some slightly scary looking art it's perfectly suitable.

If you're looking for family friendly space games you cannot go wrong with Galaxy Trucker. The rare occasion when I have family members interested in playing a game that's always what I break out. Roborally would be another one. Though that's less space and more just sci-fi.

Though I haven't tried it yet, Space Alert has been one many people seem to suggest.

[Rune_74]

I have also been looking at descent, can anyone recommend this?

[Scull]

Descent is fun, but can be tedious from time to time. It requires at least three players, and usually 4+ hours. It is a whole lot like a D&D Dungeon crawl. You have a DM that is trying to stop the players, and the players trying to collect victory points. Setup can take a while, but once everything is ready to go and everyone knows the rules, it flows pretty well.

[Rune_74]

Well purchased Arkham Horror...and race to the galaxy ..haven't played either yet...will try an let you know what I think.

[Karak]

Descent is a good time but JUST like Scull said, man at times it can fucking drag. Another thing I didn't like is that they had a couple things missing from the rulebook which I had to download from their website versus the ones I got in the box. Jezuz that was a confusing bitch to figure out:(

Arkham Horror is very fun after a couple times of trying it. We messed up a bit on plays 1 and 2. But then we had the moment where you brain says "ahhh I see" and since then its a fav.

Runewars is still pretty cool but now we are back to Heroscape and Heroquest. Good standbys. And a couple weekends had a fucking epic game of Supremacy. About 7 hours of back stabbery, black market dealings, gasing of people nations, nukes, and one man stood atop the ruined nations to rule.
And it was not me:(

[Rune_74]

Damn wish I could play a weekend with ya, sounds fun.

[Karak]

Damn wish I could play a weekend with ya, sounds fun.

A GOC boardgame weekend would be EPIC! That right there is an idea I could get behind.

[Klunka]

Got my hands on Defenders of the Realm last week and had a good couple of plays. It's like a mix between Pandemic and Ghost Stories with a fantasy setting. The game is significantly easier that those two however. We never won, but both times I felt like we had the game in hand and just mistakenly forgot to keep a couple things in check (mainly the tainted crystals).

Very fun game and worth a shot, but with Space Hulk: Death Angel right around the corner can't say I'm going to purchase this one.

[Tayaya]

I've been thinking about picking up Castle Ravenloft when it comes out in the next week or so, but I want to wait until someone else gives it a few plays. I'm always looking for fantasy based games that offer a D&D "like" experience without the involvement or commitment running a D&D character takes. This is more for my friends that I don't see with any regularity that still want to kill some monsters as a group. Descent has traditionally been great for this.

[Klunka]

I've been thinking about picking up Castle Ravenloft when it comes out in the next week or so, but I want to wait until someone else gives it a few plays. I'm always looking for fantasy based games that offer a D&D "like" experience without the involvement or commitment running a D&D character takes. This is more for my friends that I don't see with any regularity that still want to kill some monsters as a group. Descent has traditionally been great for this.

I run into the opposite problem where my D&D crew won't play anything watered down, and my board gaming crew won't deal with all the character making.

[Tayaya]

i think that's more the same problem than the opposite one!

[Klunka]

Got my hands on Space Hulk: Death Angel yesterday for a single play. Really great co-op card game. Some really great combos you can throw together with your teammates. We had 4 squads: Heavy Flamer, Assault Cannon, Power Sword and Thunder Hammer/Shield. Out of those I'd say the Hammer/Shield squad was the least useful, but there's a good chance we just didn't understand how to properly utilize them.

[Klunka]

Since I've been into Death Angel as much as I have, I've started to look into more card games. Things that have caught my eye: Summoner Wars, A Game of Thrones and Citadels.

Anyone have any experiences with these that can speak on them a little?

[NotJeff]

Since I've been into Death Angel as much as I have, I've started to look into more card games. Things that have caught my eye: Summoner Wars, A Game of Thrones and Citadels.

Anyone have any experiences with these that can speak on them a little?

I played A Game of Thrones once, and forget most of it beyond a vague sense that it was a passable wargame with some good euro-style mechanics associated.

Citadels I've played a lot, I think it shines at 3-4 players and breaks down into a too-slow mess with 6+. There's a pile of "person" cards that each provide a special perk every turn. They're shuffled up, one (or more, depending on number of players) is discarded, and then they're passed around the table face down with each player taking one. Leftovers are discarded. Everyone has a little information on who each other player might be, but has no perfect information - that's where the meat of the game lies, because there's lots of benefit in knowing/guessing who has what role.

[Klunka]

I played A Game of Thrones once, and forget most of it beyond a vague sense that it was a passable wargame with some good euro-style mechanics associated.

Citadels I've played a lot, I think it shines at 3-4 players and breaks down into a too-slow mess with 6+. There's a pile of "person" cards that each provide a special perk every turn. They're shuffled up, one (or more, depending on number of players) is discarded, and then they're passed around the table face down with each player taking one. Leftovers are discarded. Everyone has a little information on who each other player might be, but has no perfect information - that's where the meat of the game lies, because there's lots of benefit in knowing/guessing who has what role.

Citadels seems more on the light side correct? Which is not bad by any means, but would change who I'd introduce the game to first.

And I didn't realize there were so many versions so I should have specified. But are you speak about A Game of Thrones (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6472/a-game-of-thrones), or A Game of Thrones LCG (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39953/a-game-of-thrones-lcg). I was specifically inquiring about the card game.

[NotJeff]

Citadels seems more on the light side correct? Which is not bad by any means, but would change who I'd introduce the game to first.

And I didn't realize there were so many versions so I should have specified. But are you speak about A Game of Thrones (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6472/a-game-of-thrones), or A Game of Thrones LCG (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39953/a-game-of-thrones-lcg). I was specifically inquiring about the card game.

I meant the board game. Citadels is light-medium, yes.

[Tayaya]

Picked up Castle Ravenloft via amazon this week. Opened up the larger-than-expected box to find lots of things that need punching, 2 big-ass decks of cards some very nice (but sadly unpainted) minis, and some excellent full color documentation.

Very interested in this one as a possible replacement for Descent. As much as I love Descent, it's a logistics nightmare with the sheer number of cardboard chits and tokens and it's all packed in a box that can barely contain it all once punched. If there are enough quests to run here, the setup and storage is easier (thanks in part to a fantastic, well-thought-out inset in the Ravenloft box), and the gameplay is fun, then this may be my new "intro to dungeon crawls" game to play with friends. Hoping to play after work on Sunday if all goes well, with a group of RPG-loving co-workers.

[wsuhoey]

Thread necro!

I've been playing "game night" at my local games store over the past few months, so I've been trying as many new (to me) games as I can, to find what I enjoy and don't enjoy. I've started building up my own collection of games as a result.

I've found that:

- I personally tend to DISLIKE games that involve "victory points" at the end, where you slowly build them up throughout the game (Puerto Rico (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3076/puerto-rico); Endeavor (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33160/endeavor); Small World (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692/small-world)).

- I personally tend to LIKE games that are generally:
- card based (Fluxx (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/258/fluxx) [+ Fluxx variants (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&objecttype=boardgame&q=fluxx&B1=Go)]; Chrononauts (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/815/chrononauts); Munchkin (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1927/munchkin); Dominion (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion); Ascension (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/69789/ascension-chronicle-of-the-godslayer))
- co-op based (Arkham Horror (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15987/arkham-horror), only played once; Pandemic (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic), only played once; Last Night On Earth (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29368/last-night-on-earth-the-zombie-game) interests me but have not yet played it; Posthumous Z (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97050/posthumous-z), a brand new zombie team game which I mentioned on another thread here (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?p=793814#post793814), I've purchased but have not played yet)
- party/social based (Apples to Apples (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/74/apples-to-apples); Wits & Wagers (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20100/wits-wagers), a combination trivia/betting game)
- easy to learn and play, but have distinct strategy and competitiveness (Ticket to Ride (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-to-ride))

So I can recommend checking out those ones if you [i.e. plural you, anyone] haven't and might agree with the types of games that I like.