f13.net

Just wanted to see if any other people here play board games. I have recently gotten back into them. I am not much into RPG gaming, but I used to play quite a bit of Werewolf, Rifts Etc. I play mostly boardgames now, and not many of them. Can anyone recommend any good ones? I currently am into Zombies!!!, Last Night on Earth, Tigris and Euphrates, Etc, but I have heard a lot of good things about Settlers of Catan, Twilight Imperium, Puerto Rico, Zombie Town, and stuff like that. I would really like to get into more board games cause my family seems to really enjoy it.

On another note, for anyone who plays Zombies!!!, I am making a fan made expansion with all kinds of cool stuff. That game is pretty cool mostly because you can edit it it and make all kinds of fun scenarios.   

If I were to get seriously started in board games, I'd start reading here: http://www.gamerdad.com/list.cfm?listID=columns&itemID=12

I'm not going to do that, though.  When I do play board games these days, it's because I have boardgame-playing friends and that's pretty much what we do.  Actually, we all dislike boardgames to varying degrees except the one woman.  Personally, I swore off of board games after the Monopoly Rampage of 1996.

Twilight Imperium is good if you can get 4-6 players together and have a long (read: very long) time to play. Settlers of Catan is a fun strategy type game that I would recommend. Junta, if you can find it, is a pretty hilarious tongue in cheek game in which you attempt to embezzle as much money as you can from US funds for a third world country. A lot of the board games from Fantasy Flight are worth looking into though they are usually pretty involved.

Settlers of Catan is definitely worth checking out. It even works for "the hardest game we play is Monopoly" crowd, sort of an evolutionary next step.

For the rest, sounds like you could benefit from a visit to Board Game Geek (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/newuser.php). Excellent repository, from Connect 4 to Die Macher.

Puerto Rico is a fabulous game. You'll need 3 to 5 players. The only random element is the order in which plantation tiles appear, everything else is player decision-making. Multiple strategies are viable. An experienced player among newbs will almost certainly win, but it only takes a few games to figure everything out, and each game only takes 60-90 minutes.

I wish I could get enough people together to play board games regularly. I would love to play some Trivial Pursuit, but no one in my family will play with me any more. I can't help it if my mind is chock full of useless information!

Yeah I visit BGG a lot. I like that site. I would like to find a fun stat game that doesn't take a long time to play and is not way too involved. Zombies!!! goes off well in my house cause the boy enjoys it and the old lady doesn't mind a board game here and there. The game also has its strategy elements, albeit, somewhat limited elements. The game is fun and the game play elements we added actually make it funner than some of the other zombie /horror games out there. I have heard so much good stuff about Last Night on Earth, but from my experience it is super involved. There is an absurd amount of dice rolling and stat silliness. I do like the game length though. 1 hour to an hour and a half is a good length. Zombies!!! can take 2 to 3 hours if things get nasty or if there are many players. IF you add expansions it gets even sillier.

I really liked Tigris and Euphratis though. It was a really fun little game.

On the more common board game front, I really enjoy Scrabble and Pictionary and Risk. I am awful at Scrabble though. I am an illustrator/designer by trade, so Pictionary is freaking awesome for me. 

I almost forgot, I used to play Hero Quest like freaking CRAZY when I was a kid. My buddy had it and a bunch of expansions and we had a goddamn blast with that. I am sure it is not nearly as cool as I remember but I remember having a LOT of fun with it.

I have to admit though. I really do not like monopoly in the slightest.

Games that I enjoy:

Robo Rally (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/18)

Acquire (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/5)

Squad Leader (plus expansions) (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1035)

The board game version of Civilization (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/71) can also be fun with the right people. 

Gloom is a fun storytelling game, but you need a creatively-minded group to get the most out of it.

Power Grid is an awesome deterministic strategy game, there's very few random mechanics, so a thoughtful player can do very well here. It's about 1-3 hours per game, depending on how many players you have and how experienced they are (i.e. how often do you consult the rules).

Ticket to Ride is a fun, light game, but it's excessively random. There's some strategy, but not much. Better for more casual or younger players, but I still drag it out now and then.

NOTHING but NOTHING compares to Apples To Apples when you have a lot of liquor, some like-minded friends and time to burn.

Oh, I'm sorry.  I thought this thread was about Board Games.  Here I was all set to talk about Scrabble and Sorry!, and you guys have to take it all the way out there!  =)

Seriously..

Perhaps we should make a Casual Boardgames thread for you then?  :oh_i_see:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/lonestar627/Misc/sorry.jpg)


Just saying though... It's a little obscuro right now to be anything other than Serious Business.

We can talk about any board games. Doesn't matter. I saw this game called Hero Scape at the target, last couple times I went. It was like a was strategy game but you can by extra units and it had characters from the future and past and ninjas and knights, all kinds of shit. It looked cool. It reminded me of this game I used to play when I was young. It had all these cool army units, it was orcs and trolls vs. humans and you played on this giant play mat and it had cannons and archers and all kinds of cool stuff. The little miniatures were pretty neat too. It was called Battlemasters, I played that and Hero Quest pretty often. Turns out that both those games were designed for Milton Bradley by Games Workshop and Steven Baker. That it was a stripped down version of War Hammer.

Apparently there was a sci-fi version of Hero Quest in the UK and Australia called Space Crusade. Man I would have loved to play that.

Twilight Imperium is awesome, but yes... you do need a long time to play it. Also, gets better each time you play it, especially if you have the same guys. First time we played it, we played it a bit like Risk, where we were going to war and trying to take over each others home planets constantly. Not the way to play, it's much more strategic than that, and once we figured that out, the game got MUCH better.

Played Settlers of Catan last night...what a sweet game! Anyone tried any of the expansions?

Talisman.  Damn, I need to get another copy now!

Just gonna throw out Axis and Allies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_and_allies.  It's sounds a bit more involved a game than what you're looking for but if you want something to involve people over a long weekend it's a good way to go.  I recall games taking 3-6 hours usually and, uh, much longer at times.

Also, Dark Tower was a childhood fav.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Tower_(game)

Yes.  Be prepared to spend all day on one game if you try a few of those out.   :awesome_for_real:

http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/

Fantastic boardgame video reviewer.

Edit:
I think what I was trying to say was, "Settlers of Catan is okay, if you're looking for (other) great games, consult this guy."

Heh. Talisman. Goodness! I have both the 3rd edition and the 2nd (which I paid a fortune on ebay). Recently though I acquired Runebound (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/21523) which is a good, advanced version of it. More complicated, but cool. Plays (and sometimes grinds) like a C-RPG.

My favourite boardgame of the last 10 years though is A Game of Thrones (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6472), from the R.R. Martin novels. An incredibly cool Diplomacy on steroid. Two expansions have been released, and they are both great.

I own Runebound, Talisman 2nd ed. and Prophecy, but I don't like either of them. It's like playing Freecell in a group. I really only take them out when someone wants to play a long, dull game which involves no planning further than "how to manage my frustration next time the game fucks me up the ass."  :oh_i_see:

Been playing alot of Stone Age (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34635) lately myself. Not an awesome game, but it goes well with the ladies, maybe because it got cute components and theme. One of recent years' many, many worker placement games and kinda constructed in its feel but worth the buck if you're not looking at getting Agricola or Pillars of the Earth. Did I mention that the components are fantastic?

Oh, and Carolus Magnus (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/481)! It's like El Grande's less famous brother, what's not to like?

I love Axis & Allies, have played it for, what, 20 years?

As for Dark Tower, check my avatar  :awesome_for_real:

Talisman? I'll have to check it out!

Anyone tried Agricola?

The Hills Rise Wild, Cults Across America, Arkham Horror, and various CheapAss Games are fun. Save Doctor Lucky, Kill Doctor Lucky, Lord of the Fries, and Devil Bunny Needs a Ham are the best or CheapAss.

The current thing that has eaten my brain is Dominion which is a simply fantastic quick-playing game with some very nice CCG-esque mechanics to it. 

Yes, it's a very good game with a very homely feel to it. It's about assigning workers (family members) to actions and gathering food, livestock and materials to keep your farm running and improving. It's quite daunting for a Eurogame though. Don't expect to really "get it" the first two or three times you play it, a reason why I only bring it out when I got a relatively hardcore group. Mostly good components, with a few practical flaws.

If you're looking for a slightly lighter game in the same vein that's almost as good, have a look at Pillars of the Earth (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24480) or A Castle for All Seasons (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38386). I prefer the former, though, because of the superior pacing.

Sword and Skull is a decent pirate game, not excessively complicated, but there's PvP and with enough players it can be very interesting.

Loot is an amusing card-based game. Played it at work once, and it was fun enough.

Descent, and its expansions, can be tons of fun...IF you can put up with the set-up time, both before and during the game (certain things are not set up until players go into an area). Games can be very lengthy to play.

Heroscape can be a lot of fun, but also somewhat lengthy to play, especially setting up your "board." I like to play "random" teams, where you pick unit cards out of a pile to fit under a certain point cap. Playing faction teams can be cool as well, though some units are very OP.


EDIT: WTF, a Pillars of the Earth game? With an expansion? Does it relate back to the book at all, or is it simply using the name for recognition?

I was at a con fairly recently and picked up a bunch of games that were mostly hits rather than misses.

In descending order of fun-ness they were:

Robo Rally - really rewards sneakiness and planning under pressure.
My Dwarves Fly - kind of an odd card game by SJG and Steve Kovalic
Munchkin the Boardgame - a nice variant on the well known card game.
Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls - fun but not terribly deep.

HammerFrenzy; Space Crusade and Advanced Space Crusade were licenced games produced by Milton Bradley in the mid 90s. They were both quite fun and copies regularly surface on Ebay.

I do. Unless you are really going to try some odd variant, most of the expansions don't add much time to the game. 30 minutes perhaps. Going to six player does add time, just due to the number of folks trying to trade. The chaos is worth it.

Used to play lots of boardgames, most of which have already been mentioned here.

There's a LOTR (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Re-creation-Group-plc-Rings/dp/B0002S6MCU) boardgame that's great - the players play cooperatively against Sauron (effectively an NPC) and it becomes a game of judging when to use cards and getting through sticky situations. Great fun if everyone's drinking, but then most games are  :why_so_serious:

Cosmic Encounter.

Used to play a lot of Civilization (not the computer game, the original board game) in high school but I think it's out of print here in the US now.

Carcassonne - for those who like Catan, this is a really great game

Supremacy - if you like Risk, this is a world domination game where you either rule the economy or nuke the other players

Junta - A military game where each player takes one or more positions (army, air force, navy, president, etc.), players form alliances and throw coups. The goal is to try and stockpile the most money to win the game


I also fully support Talisman, though it's a big investment to get into with all the expansions and whatnot.

I co-designed a board game once. It was a school project, from the AWESOME (ok, hot) teacher who was subbing for our normal art teacher who was out on maternity leave. She asked us for suggestions and ours (my eventual singer and I) were album cover and board game. The album cover turned into our band.

Anyway, it was a victorian jungle safari game, with a bit of Indiana Jones. You have your character and some basic gear, you have to find the lost city of gold. But really, it was just trying to survive, I don't think anyone ever won the game. Kinda Lovecraft-eque. We had wandering monster tables, counter tiles, combat tables, all kinds of ripped off ideas. It was great, wish I still had it.

I really wish i could find the original version of Hero's Quest (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/699) (for a reasonable price) and the expansions.

Any recommendations for games that are viable for two players?

Chess hahah, really though, Kung Fu fighting, En Garde are both really fun games.

Oh, I love that game! It creates the sense of "aw shit, we are so fucked" really well.  :heart:

I'd also like to echo the Carcassonne recommendation. There's a two-player only version too, if I remember right?

Unfortunately I think the co-op Lord of the Rings is out of print.

Everyone tells me that Lost Cities is a good 2 player game, but I haven't actually played it yet. Ditto for Memoir '44 and its related games. If you're looking for giant games that take an hour to set up, War of the Ring is also a good 2 player one.

Yes, you can play it with two players. Our favorite game at the moment!

We have Lost Cities and this thread reminded me I need to pull it out and work out the rules. Just wondering if there are any other good ones floating around.

Apples to Apples a big hit in our family, it goes good with beer & wine…

Settlers of Catan, though I was not aware there was an expansion for 5-6 players… …I did buy an expansion to make it a 2 player game, but could have just DLed those rules and it really doesn't translate to a 2 player game… (often we have 6)…

Civilization, the board game - time consuming, rules slightly bugged (think they've fixed that in a PDF update), but haven't played Mrs. Naum got very angry with me after I broke a treaty with her…

Agricola, have a copy, have not played, hear it's the bees knees of board strategy games… …for 1-5 players, another one of the German euro-gamer genre…

Stratego is pretty fun for 2 players.  Plus it's pretty cheap and comes in lots of flavors (like Star Wars, etc.) that usually add a little twist to some of the pieces, or it can be played normally.

Cooperative games often work very well for two players. I can recommend Red November (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36946). A game about saving a gnomish submarine. A race against the clock, while staying sufficiently drunk to cope with it all. Fast (< 10 minutes) to set up and fast to play (< 60 minutes).

Lost Cities which you mentioned is kinda fun too, but very abstract (flimsily thin theme.) For some reason women seem to enjoy it more than men; not sure why that is. It's a pretty light hand/risk management game.

Ah damn, sorry, I didn't notice that when I linked it.

Why the laugh?  Chess should be #1 on the list of two player board games.

We used to play Diplomacy in high school.  With 5 or 6 people it's lots of fun.  The turns can take forever, but that's because of all the negotiating and backstabbing that goes on.

Oh man, I was trying to remember the name of this game yesterday.  I owe you a beer!!!

Diplomacy really needs a hard limit on negotiation phases to be playable. 10-15 minutes tops. I also think the game suffers balance-wise without the full slate of 7 players.

We used to play diplomacy by email.  Everyone maintains their own copy of the board and emails their turns by a set time every day (or three) to the designated GM (or whatever you want to call them, the person that runs the turns).  The GM then runs the turns and sends out the results.  That way everyone can do their diplomacy/backstabbing by email on their own time.

It works pretty well but usually there's a few people that end up quitting as it drags on then the game flops.

Yeah I used to play PBEM Dip back in college, the actual number of games that completed was very low compared to the number that started.

I seem to remember our negotiation times topping out around 15 mins.  We never set a hard limit; they just normally ran 10-15 mins.

Of course, it seemed like we had the same people playing the same countries every time, so the first couple turns were almost a given and went real quick.

Holy fucking necro! I thought I would drop in and offer my two cents only to discover I had already done so. In 2007. WTF.

That being said; I may try to rally some folks up for a board game night. Something entertaining to do while guzzling booze as fast as possible, and it is interactive enough that the wives can't complain. As much.

Lol I like how none of the rest of us noticed it was a two year necro.

It's just like a PBEM Diplomacy game  :awesome_for_real:

A Ven-Tyr
A Rom-Ven
F Nap-Ion

 :why_so_serious:

You should have PMed it to someone else to post for you if you were doing it right.

Stabbing Austria on turn 1? Are you mad?

Crazy like a fox!

Now you've reminded me of the freak squad I played a live game with at Origins one year.  Thank god the other normal guy won.  I was glad to get knocked out after Mr. Leaky Pus-Eye, I tell you what.  Moral victory.


On the cooperative subject, Shadows over Camelot is another good one, with the added twist that one of your buddies might be a TRAITOR.   I never trusted that King Arthur, personally.  http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15062 (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15062)