The Boardgame Thread

[Ingmar]

I think it's way better than Descent 1.0 myself, primarily because if I'm going to play a game like that for a long session, I'm just going to run D&D or Pathfinder or something. The quicker scenarios, less fiddly spawning rules, shorter turns, etc., all work to keep people more engaged in what is going on in my experience. It fits more easily into a weeknight session or as one part of an afternoon of gaming rather than eating up the entire time.

[Ghambit]

Meh, hordes of pissed off nerds are selling their 2.0s and going back to 1.0.  There's a reason a full set now costs like $600.  It's just flat out a better overall game.  The arguments 2.0 players use are akin to saying Eclipse is better than Twilight Imperium.  It's just not.  But yah, if time is your main concern then something like Ravenloft or 2.0 would probably better suit you.  The compromise being running in campaign mode so progress can be saved.

[schild]

Anyone who likes Dungeon Crawly games should really be all over Cave Evil.

Really, anyone who likes games should be (sorry it's expensive :( )

[Ghambit]

I'm planning on trading/selling my Serpent's Tongue for it; if it stays in print long enough.

edit:
or I'll buy this

[ghost]

Caveman Curling was really, really not a big hit with the wife. 

I would also put forth that its probably worth getting a copy of Cave Evil even if you aren't interested because it will probably sell for a few hundred bucks 6 months after the new printing. 

[JWIV]

Ugh

Really hope none of you were backing The Doom That Came to Atlantic City
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/forkingpath/the-doom-that-came-to-atlantic-city/posts/548030

And Keith Baker's response
http://keith-baker.com/the-doom-kickstarter-my-response/

[ghost]

Same thing for the Odin's Ravens Kickstarter.  Apparently the main guy has absconded with the $23,000 that he got from the Kickstarter and is MIA.   

$52 of that is my money.   

[schild]

Game looked like total shit and I don't know why anyone gave them money anyway. (Doom, that is. I don't even know what Odin's Ravens is.)

[ghost]

Odin's Ravens is a badass two player game.  I'm glad I have an older copy to play, but I was hoping to have the newer version to use and keep this one mint.  Oh well.

[Ragnoros]

In the off chance anyone missed it in the Redesign thread, Shut Up & Sit Down is an awesome board game "review" show. I watched the sci-fi special last night and had to pause the video a couple times I was laughing so hard.

http://shutupshow.tumblr.com/episodes Has the first two batches of episodes
https://susd.pretend-money.com/ Is their new site where they are posting videos.

[Soln]

Great show indeed.

[ghost]

Yeah, those are pretty impressive.  I'll definitely keep up with their stuff.

[luckton]

The one they recently did on Tales of the Arabian Nights actually makes me want to get it...why have I not heard of this game before?!   

[Ingmar]

Tales isn't really a game.

[luckton]

Tales isn't really a game.

I gathered as much.  Still, it seems pretty neat.

[schild]

AFAIK, Agents of SMERSH is just Tales done better. Could be wrong though. Have access to both, played neither.

[Goldenmean]

AFAIK, Agents of SMERSH is just Tales done better. Could be wrong though. Have access to both, played neither.

I wouldn't say done better. The stories felt more "samey" in SMERSH, but that might be a side-effect of me liking the spy genre much less than the general fantastic genre of Arabian Nights. SMERSH is a cooperative game, which is either a plus or minus depending on how you feel about those. Tales is directly competitive, but it's hard to really care because everything is so arbitrary.

To echo what other people said, Tales really is a game in only the loosest possible sense. While it's frequently fun, there's 0 strategy involved, and it can be frustrating. It's easy to just get thrown in jail and stay there for the rest of the game, for example. As long as you know that going in and are just in it to enjoy and possibly elaborate on the stories occurring around you, it's fun. I file it in my "Play it with non-serious gamers while drinking" section.

[schild]

Oh sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit.

If Cave Evil hits 600 pre-orders, they're going to sell a mounted board for $15.

That's actually a big fucking deal.

Stoked.

[schild]

On the topic of non-games, I managed to try to min-max Tokaido at a local shop.

Tokaido is a game about walking through Japan.

I min-maxed it.

That makes me a bad person.

Also, I came in second because I misunderstood the turn-taking at the beginning. :(

[Onoes]

Oh sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit.

If Cave Evil hits 600 pre-orders, they're going to sell a mounted board for $15.

That's actually a big fucking deal.

Stoked.

Bah!  I just came to post that, you are too fast, go to bed.  Also, add $3 for shipping the us, so technically $18!  ZING!  (P.s. I ordered one copy of the game based on your excitement, now I'm debating ordering a second copy as it seems like it could actually appreciate in value.... hmmm)

[schild]

This is my second copy, but it's not for resale. It's so I have a second copy in 20 years to actually play. Also ordered the upgrade kit for my first copy.

[Goldenmean]

Can someone sell me on Cave Evil? It just looks a little too Ameritrashy for me, and that's coming from someone who owns a significant chunk of the Fantasy Flight product line.

A lot of what I've read praise its themes, but I've always found the death metal aesthetic a bit laughable, and the horrible font and all black all the time components seem like they interfere with playability. How solid is the actual game for someone who vastly prefers Euro style games (My current top five off the top of my head is probably something along the lines of Terra Mystica, Caylus, Le Havre, Goa, and weirdly, Innovation)

I've almost purchased it a couple of times just because "Hey, cult classic rarity", but every time I go to pull the trigger I look at the illegible font on the website or the fact that they seem to use the word thee in place of the for absolutely no reason, and I just can't convince myself there's a good game in there.

[luckton]

I've almost purchased it a couple of times just because "Hey, cult classic rarity", but every time I go to pull the trigger I look at the illegible font on the website or the fact that they seem to use the word thee in place of the for absolutely no reason, and I just can't convince myself there's a good game in there.

I have to agree.  The aesthetics for the game just scream "turn off" at me.  I don't even know what's going here.

[ghost]

Cave Evil is a good game.  It's not the best game ever, but it's fun.  The production quality is pretty "meh".  Still, with their production numbers and the cult following you really can't go wrong with buying a copy.  If you buy it, play it once or twice and hate it you could still likely sell it for more than you paid for it in a year. 

[schild]

Cave Evil is fucking dripping in theme. It's nowhere near the best game, but it's probably the most thematic game I've ever played.

It's basically a very confrontational arena battle with cave digging and resource gathering and such.

Once you see the game in person, I have to say, the worries about "fonts" and shit go away. It's quite a striking product. The production quality COULD be higher, but it definitely works with the theme. There are moments of brilliance in the design (like the fact their endgame monsters are a million times better than the elder gods in Arkham Asylum). Hell, their whole doom track is better because it's basically inevitable - unless you kill all the other players, thereby winning.

[schild]

On the death metal aesthetic. It's self-aware of how goofy it is, but it takes itself very seriously. I think that helps, a lot. It really just nailed the whole thing. Even the necromancer abilities are _the_shit_ and completely in theme.

[ghost]

It's also a good thing you decided not to back Up Front, schild. 

[schild]

Looooool

[ghost]

The scary thing about the Up Front Kickstarter is that Valley Games is a fairly well established publisher.  Most of the other disasters have been some jackass getting in over their head.  I, thankfully, avoided this one as well, but I believe that I may forego any future kickstarters.  I've had one boardgame crap out on me and a fairly expensive miniature project that doesn't seem to be going anywhere.  I have to imagine that more people being burned will cut into Kickstarter's business.  Maybe not, but they certainly need to improve their screening.  I have a feeling that Kickstarter will get dragged into a lawsuit at some point. 

[Ghambit]

I have to imagine that more people being burned will cut into Kickstarter's business.  Maybe not, but they certainly need to improve their screening.  I have a feeling that Kickstarter will get dragged into a lawsuit at some point. 

This has been my belief all along.  A sad truth.  But once they started lowering the bar on allowable projects (essentially, "hai, I wanna make a game" is enough), it was slippery slope bound for disaster.  Especially when we're talking large studios, established producers, and millions of dollars.  In the end, the only losers will be (you guessed it), the little guy just trying to get off the ground.

[ghost]

Ran through Elder Sign a few times this week.  It's not bad, but it certainly isn't good.  It's a nice diversion game, but too repetitive for serious gamers or significant levels of play.

[schild]

It's purely fucking random. That's the horror of Cthulhu.

[luckton]

My copy of the new Lords of Waterdeep expansion should be here this week or next.  Reviews are pretty good so far, and the mechanics add flavor :D

[ghost]

Random is okay if you aren't trying to be serious, and there is a bit of strategy to it.  The dice don't bother me (and seriously, if you are one of the people that hates random anything and you buy this game you're just asking to be disappointed) nearly as much as the repetitive nature of it.  The common items and unique items are basically all identical in what they do.  There should be something to shake it up a bit. 

[schild]

I played it at length on the ipad (beat all but one campaign - the one that came in the latest expansion).

I need to pick up the Waterdeep expansion.